Hopkins County native and author, Anita Friddle Stubbs, addresses a crowd of
interested readers, at the Sulphur Springs Public Library, on Thursday night, as
she reviews her new book, "The Velvet Bridge."

 

Hopkins County Authors
"Come Back Home"
And Entertain Locals

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

Author Thomas Wolfe wrote an entire book entitled "You Can't Go Home Again." However, that wasn't the case in Hopkins, on Thursday night, when two local authors, who have moved away, made appearances in Hopkins County. Local readers were first able to attend the presentation of Anita Friddle Stubbs, at the Sulphur Springs Public Library, and then rush to the Hopkins County Genealogical Society for their monthly meeting and hear the presentation by Patsy Johnson Hallman.

Stubbs, author of  "The Velvet Bridge" reviewed her book and told of the deep meaning she found while researching her husband's family. "I had always known that my husband was adopted, but when researching the records for his birth mother and studing about the conditions of East Texas during the time of his birth, the idea for a book surfaced," explained Stubbs. "And, when you decide to write fiction, you can make it have a 'happy' ending, regardless of what the facts bear out!"

 

Union Community native, Anita Stubbs, answers questions about her book, from the audience,
on Thursday night, at the Sulphur Springs Public Library.

 

Stubbs' book is set in East Texas, in a place much like Hopkins County, and deals with the trials of abuse, neglect, and the facts that many women in the 1930's were faced with no one to turn for help. "Poverty was especially hard on the women and children and many times left them with no means of escape," expressed Stubbs. "When the support of the family network was destroyed, it was a 'dog-eat, dog-eat world!"

Stubbs grew to adulthood on a sandy land farm in the Union-Seymore Communities of southern Hopkins County and attended Sulphur Springs High School, where she graduated in 1961. She and her husband now make their home in Canton.

 

 

Meanwhile, prolific author, Patsy Johnson Hallman, was reared in the southwestern part of Hopkins County, near Miller Grove. She has written a number of books and her latest book is entitled "Tales From Miller Grove." The book traces the history of the Miller Grove families in Hopkins County, from Old Man Miller, who had the first trading post and the community's namesake, to the present. "There's always been a good supply of storytellers in my family and among the other families in Miller Grove," expressed Hallman. "One of the favorite times, as I grew up, was when the family would gather and share stories from the past!"

 

Dr. Patsy Johnson Hallman reviewed her latest book, "Tales From Miller Grove,"
at Thursday night's Hopkins Genealogical Meeting.

 

Hallman, a sister of local attorney Coy Johnson, has written these stories down, as well as gathered the favorite "tales" from other neighboring families, and compiled them in a unique collection of a community history. "It's something that all of us should preserve for future generations," exclaimed Hallman. "The stories are priceless and give readers a window into what it was like during the formative years of our community!"

 

 

Dr. Hallman shares remembrances with the Pippins, Akins, Burns, Darrows, Fergusons, Garmons, Garretts, Marables, Dickens, Woods, and Renshaws, as well as gives an account of community landmarks that are no longer standing.

 

A large crowd assembled at the Hopkins County Genealogical Society, on Thursday night, to
hear Dr. Patsy Hallman's review of her book, "Tales From Miller Grove."

 

Dr. Hallman addresses the crowd, gathered for Thursday night's Genealogical
Society meeting, many of which had family members in her latest book.

 

A retired educator at Stephen F. Austin University, Dr. Hallman makes her home in Nacogdoches, where she continues to write and remains active in her community, making many trips back to Hopkins County each year to visit relatives.

Both Stubbs' and Hallman's books are available at the Sulphur Springs Public Library or can be purchased at the Hopkins County Genealogical Library, at 212 Main Street.

 

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