C APITAL Highlights A half-dozen lawsuits challenging the 13 approved Texas constitutional amendments appear to be dead in the water, The Dallas Morning News reported. The secretary of state’s office last week declared the propositions approved and now a part of the Texas Constitution, while Gov.

Remember the Autograph Books we used to pass around in school? You would try to write something cute, maybe a rhyme, then, sign your name? I remember this one from my school days: “When you get married and have twins, don’t come to me for safety pins.” Or, “When you get old and cannot see, put on your specks and think of me.”

T EXAS History Two weeks after the amputation of most of his right leg, Monty Stratton was released from the hospital on Dec. 13, 1938.

La Grange public school trustees voted to shorten the school day and curtail energy use by 15% to comply with Texas Education Agency recommendations. Class periods were to be cut by 10 minutes and the lunch hour by 5. The school day would begin at 9 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. If Congress passed the Daylight Savings Time bill, school hours would be 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thermostats were to be set at 68 degrees in cold weather and 78 in warm weather. Student activities, including athletic events, were to be held in the afternoons in January, February and March. Unnecessary lights were to be turned off and buildings not necessarily used for instruction were to be minimally heated. Maintenance and custodial work was to be performed during the day rather than at night. Jan. 7 was set as the starting date for the new schedule. On April 1, schools would revert to the old schedule.

I read several Facebook posts complaining about seeing Christmas decorations on the outside of people’s homes right after Halloween. In my opinion, the day after Halloween is a little too early to be hanging Christmas lights or putting up any outside holiday décor on the lawn.

To the Editor: The 1875 E. J.

Howdy friends, It’s still Thanksgiving time for me; I didn’t get enough last week. And, while at it, have a few other things to clear up.

When Dad harvested his corn crop it was stored in a corn crib. Later in the year, usually during the winter, we would load up the surplus ear corn and truck it to town to sell to either the feed mill or to the local feed lots. It was usually my job to do the loading or shoveling of the ear corn into an electric-powered elevator, which in turn carried the corn into a large grain truck. My brother, George Jr., would be on the truck bed stomping and spreading the load which we did to assure uniform and maximum packing of the load.

T EXAS History The National Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City admitted its first black member on Dec. 10, 1971, but the honor came 39 years too late for legendary Bill Pickett.