“Crazy Water” is Booming Again

Twenty miles down the road from our home is Mineral Wells, a town made famous in 1904 by a highly mineralized spring whose waters have healing powers.

In the early years, Mineral Wells was a happening place. People came by the thousands, motoring in, arriving by wagon or in droves by rail. Health seekers, politicians, A-list movie stars, rich cattlemen and the curious – they all came to the “City Built on Water.” They could stay at the elegant, “high-rise” Baker Hotel featuring dining and dancing along with the beneficial waters. As interest in Botox, collagen, and the Adkins diet increased, the restorative powers of Crazy Water waned.

Then in 1999, Scott and Carol Elder purchased the Famous Mineral Water Company and brought new life to Crazy Water. They spent the next few years reintroducing the once nationally known waters locally and regionally. They kept the historic part of it going and enhanced and built on the heritage/tourism aspect, always remembering their dream for a bathhouse.

The bottled mineral water is now sold in Whole Food stores, Central Market and Albertsons with Kroger coming on board soon. With the bottled product thriving, The Elders focused on the longed-for Crazy Bath House which is now a reality. They kept the turn-of-the-century look and feel, appointing the house with period pieces that help create the experience of an old- fashioned, take-a-load-off soak in mineral water. Patrons can schedule mineral bath treatments during the day or stay overnight in the guest rooms with private mineral baths. The Crazy Bath House also offers a Micro Bubble Tub. The bubbly apparatus injects countless oxygen-rich micro bubbles into the bath, resulting in natural cleansing, exfoliation and moisturizing of the skin. A number of massage techniques and services are also available.

Once again, things are good down at the well. If your Rhumatiz or Arthur-itis is acting up, take the long “Crazy” road to the bathhouse.

The Misfits

America’s wild horses don’t really belong anywhere – yet nothing symbolizes the spirit of the American West like the Mustang. And some of them are finding love and sanctuary in Parker County, Texas.

Megan Parks, a photographic artist, loves beautiful, wild-spirited things so she was naturally drawn to the mustang. She and husband, Gary, own several and say that they are gentle and easy to train. They purchased them from the Bureau of Land Management, a federal agency that has legal oversight of mustangs. The Parks search BLM websites where they view photos and profiles. Confirmation (how well they’re built) is a priority. And the horse must be sane. Gary and Megan say they love mustangs because they tend to be hardy, beautiful and sweet- tempered.

Their latest acquisition is Wakita, cremello-colored with crystal blue eyes, who they found in a Herd Management Area in Colorado. Megan began working with him the morning he arrived. Now, two weeks later, Wakita is completely focused on Megan. He follows her around the pen and leans his head on her shoulder.

The BLM reports that there are some 40,000 mustangs, or about 14,000 more than the federal regulations allow. The herd, which has not been culled for years due to lack of money, increases a fifth every year. Some groups want the mustangs slaughtered because they get in the way of commercial land use. Advocates for the mustangs say they should be allowed to roam freely. Ranchers say failure to manage the herds has sharply cut the availably of range grasses needed for grazing their cattle. Whatever happens politically in the rest of the world, The Parks’ mustangs know that here, they are safe.

The Parks say the mustangs are awesomely intelligent. They are examples of survival of the fittest. If they aren’t smart, they don’t live long out in the wild.

Grace After Fire

When you hear the phrase, “troubled veteran” and you think of a bearded guy in worn combat fatigues sleeping under a bridge with a dog, you may want to think again.

Far too many veterans in this country fit that stereotype, but the number of women veterans with serious issues is on the rise. In fact, women veterans are the fastest growing homeless population in the nation.

The non-profit organization, Grace After Fire, has a mission to help female veterans help themselves by providing resources to boost their emotional health and careers upon returning home. Women coming out of military service don’t have the support that men do. A woman is expected to immediately switch roles and be a wife, mother and career woman. That’s a tough assignment. Since Grace After Fire was started, unemployment for female veterans has dropped from 16 percent to 8 percent, the number of homeless female veterans has greatly declined, and they have not had a female veteran suicide in four years.

You might like to get involved in a branch near you. They can use volunteers and funds.

Just Peachy

Last week-end, Parker County, TX put on a hoe-down, hootin’-nanny, wing-ding with all the trimmings.


More than 35,000 peach lovers descended upon downtown Weatherford for the 30th Peach Festival. Popular attractions featured over 200 food booths, arts and crafts, children’s activities such as boat rides, and live music. The Peach Pedal Bike Ride had 2,227 riders and raised big bucks for various charities.


All entrances into the downtown courthouse square were blocked off with local policeman on hand to help direct walking visitors. The entry fee for adults was $5.00. Businesses and churches offered shuttle service. The church I attend served as one of the rest stops, supplying air-conditioned comfort and ice-cold bottles of water. Twelve dozen bottles were dispensed.

This year, patrons could expect an especially sweet time. Our mild spring, with adequate rainfall, but no late freezes or hail storms, helped Parker County produce a bumper crop. The area’s signature fruit was in abundant supply, ripe for the picking amid the numerous peach vendors.


Our community enjoyed a bumper crop of funds as well as fruit. The admittance fees added up nicely. One church sold individual servings of home-made peach ice cream totaling 40 gallons. One long street of peach vendors sold their wares in baskets of 1 peck, 1 quart, 1⁄2 bushel or 1 bushel. Several reported being sold out by noon.


Local eateries got in the spirit of the event by offering special concoctions. The Wild Mushroom served Parker County Peach Cheesecake. Generously stuffed and glazed with fresh peaches and a hefty splash of peach schnapps, this chilled delicacy was a big hit.


The Fire Oak Grill developed a recipe for seared scallops with butter-poached local onions and pickled Parker County peaches. The chef used local honey, vinegar and sea salt to quick-pickle the peaches.


The Back Home Bakery offered Mama’s Peach Cobbler using a Depression-era recipe. The ingredient list was short and sweet – and rich with real butter and condensed milk – but the taste and satisfaction was long-lasting.


The local Chamber of Commerce president reported all systems functioned smoothly, due in large part to scores of sponsors and volunteers working long hours in almost-100-degree heat.

The festival provided wholesome family-friendly entertainment – and folks got their quota of vitamins C and D. 


P.S. Recipes are available on request.

People You Should Meet in Parker County, Texas

Seven years ago, when downsizing became necessary, we chose Parker County because of its proximity to our children and grandchildren, its excellent medical facilities and its progressive expansion of schools, churches, businesses and residential communities. We didn’t know about its extra benefit of being filled with interesting, extraordinary people. Of the 100 interviewed, nine are listed below.


There’s Dr. Joseph Daniels, orthopedic surgeon, whose life is based on the simple mission of improving patients’ access to health care.


Tucker McGee is a painter inspired by Norman Rockwell. He paints life and everything in it. He loves to be in his studio with a brush in his hand.


Catherine O. Oseni recently opened Alpha Care Pharmacy and River of Life Health Food Store. She was drawn to anti-aging by her love of people and passion to help them.


Then there’s Shelly Burmeister Mowery whose portfolio includes, Mare Care, Inc., Mowery Stallion Station, Mowery Cutting Horses and Westernlifestyles TV. Her life is centered around horses from raising, selling, breeding, promoting to competing. She spent 30-plus years in equine sports broadcasting from rodeo to cuttings and nationally televised events.


Local attorney, Mac Smith, became a trial lawyer/litigator 40 years ago because the work is challenging, unpredictable and enjoyable. He was born, raised, lives and works (and plans to be buried), in Parker County.


Educator Patti Young’s degree in special education enables her to teach children with disabilities. Her life’s ambition is to be the voice and promoter of the student and their families who often are voiceless.


Coach Mike Osina has spent 23 years coaching and teaching at Weatherford College. He believes that being a good teacher and athletic coach is truly a calling of the heart.


We often see Kyle Williams, a teller at the bank where we do business. When he’s not at work he can be found singing his heart out or mentoring young men in fatherless households.


Van N. Houser, a local pastor, knew from age 14 that he wanted to make a difference in the lives of others regardless of their social position, race or life situation. He works to help people understand “that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with a loving God that wants them to live free, loving and full of joy.”


The diversity, dedication and uniqueness of the Parker County residents are the most valuable assets of the county.

Destination Diner

All-American diners serve comfort food with a heaping side of nostalgia.


Call it a coffee shop, greasy spoon, or lunch counter, but if the eats are cheap and no-frills, as well as hot and hearty, then chances are good you’re being served a burger, hash-browns and eggs or a fresh-from-the-dessert-case piece of pie in an all-American eatery known as a diner.


There is one a couple of miles from our home, and we eat there every week on beef-pot-roast day. The beef is velvety tender, the carrots, potatoes and onions are cooked to perfection and the brown gravy is to die for. The iced tea and a serving of cake come with the meal. We sometimes have a burger and onion rings, and they’re great, too.


Today’s diners are usually chrome-trimmed, railroad-car-shaped structures outfitted with a counter, stools and a bustling open kitchen. They trace their beginnings to the late 1800s when there was a large increase of factory workers. The diner met the demand for quick, affordable meals – and lots of them. Around l858, a smart gentleman in Providence, RI began serving sandwiches and coffee to night workers from a horse-drawn food cart. By the early 20th century, manufacturers were building moveable structures big enough to accommodate both tables and customers and the diner was born. By the early 1940s, most diners and the cheap comfort food they offered became fixtures in American life. The 1950s were the golden age of diners when nearly 6,000 diners opened across the country.



Remember Arnold’s in Happy Days, where Richie, Potsie and the Fonz congregated? And Mel’s Diner where Mel, Alice, Vera and Flo served up laughs from a fictional truck stop in Phoenix in TV’s Alice?


For over 60 years, white-apron-wearing waiters and waitresses have served blue-plate specials, saying, “Thank you for coming.” I say, “Thank you for existing. This is what America is all about.”

Scratching Forever

My husband always claimed, “I could walk through a field of poison ivy and not get it.” Famous last words!


Once while clearing fence rows, he learned people can develop an allergic reaction to poison ivy after many uneventful exposures to the plant’s oily sap, urushiol. Once sensitized, your skin is likely to react to every subsequent exposure. You don’t have to touch the plant to react. Gardening tools, sporting equipment, even a pet that has been in a patch of poison ivy, can cause a reaction.

Urshiol shows up elsewhere, including in the skin of mangos and the bark and leaves of the tree. Cashew shells also harbor the toxin. That’s why cashews are sold shelled and processed at a temperature high enough to destroy urushiol.


Poison ivy has two equally evil relatives, poison oak and poison sumac. And we must learn to recognize all three.

• Poison ivy grows as a small ground plant or a shrub or vine. The vines, green in summer, turn bright red in winter. The leaves, stems, roots, flowers and berries all contain urushiol.
• Poison oak, with compound leaves of three or five leaflets, usually grows as a shrub. In my area of Texas, it’s a vine.
• Poison sumac grows as a tall shrub or small tree. It produces leaves with rows of paired leaflets and a single leaflet at the end. It is found in wet habitats in the Northeast, Midwest and swamps in the Southeast.

Urshiol can penetrate clothes. Long sleeves, pants and gloves cannot guarantee protection. Even rubber gloves can be breached. If you are likely to contact poison ivy when gardening, wear vinyl gloves. Never try to burn a poison plant. Burning releases the toxin, which may land on skin or, worse, be inhaled. Should you contact a urushiol-containing plant the American Academy of Dermatology recommends washing your skin immediately. Luke-warm, soapy water is best but even plain water can limit the exposure to the sap. Take care removing contaminated clothing, and wash them item separately and soon. The sap is so hardy, it can cause a rash in the dead of winter, or even a year after contaminating clothing or shoes.


Beware this evil monster – just ask my husband!