Brian Adam Kline teaches theater and film at the school in downtown Fayetteville. In 2019, Kline was working on his book about a child who was performing in her first play. Kline, a Fayetteville transplant from West Virginia with a background in acting, asked Mary if she would illustrate his book.

Two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation there remained enslaved people in the United States. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay. The Army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in the state were free by executive decree.

Our dads teach us many things: how to ride a bike, how to drive a car, how to wrap outdoor pipes so they don’t freeze in the winter. Some teach us how to cook or do laundry. My dad taught me how to count change back to customers at his dry-cleaning business long before machines did the calculations for us.

My husband is generally not someone who needs an awful lot from anyone else. In fact, he’s usually the one being called upon by a multitude of folks for help with myriad things. He’s an effective problem-solver, a calm-in-the-storm voice of reason, a task-oriented, get ’er done type person, and an instinctive leader in all aspects of his life.

I have to confess that I never thought about the Trio Theater as “an historical gem,” as it was described in a letter to the editor of my hometown newspaper on Jan. 23, 1980.

With swimsuit season in full swing, we once again feel the urge to lighten up. Thankfully, the local pickings for healthy fare have recently gained options.