Ellinger Tomato Fest Cancelled but Parade Marshall And Senior Citizen of the Year Are Still Recognized

William "Billy" Koehl and Bernetta Cook are the 2020 Honorees

The 84th Annual Ellinger Tomato Festival, that was scheduled for May 29-31, 2020 has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. The annual event that normally includes a BBQ cookoff, dance, parade, fried chicken meal, auction and raffle serves as one of the largest fundraisers the organization counts on to support the maintenance and operations of the 1935 community center hall. For those that are interested in contributing to the ECC to help defray the loss of the fundraiser, feel free to do so by mailing Ellinger C of C, PO Box 37, Ellinger, TX 78938.

While all events related to the Tomato Festival are cancelled, the Ellinger Chamber Board of Directors would still like to recognize two individuals who were planned to be honored during the festivities. The Ellinger Tomato Festival Parade Marshal is Mr. William “Billy” Koehl and Ellinger Senior Citizen of the Year is Mrs. Bernetta Cook.

Koehl

Billy Koehl expressed these sentiments when receiving the notification he was selected as Parade Marshal:

“It is a great honor to have been selected by the Chamber board of directors as this years parade marshal and I thank them very much. It is nice to be working with a great bunch of people. Under this board a lot of great improvements have been made.

I am married to the former Adeline Jurajda. It will be 57 years this year in June. We have 3 children. Keith who is a Catholic priest in Taylor, Texas. Aimee, a physical therapist assistant who is married to ToddNovosad, a grandson,Jack Novosad; and Miriam, a registered nurse who is married to Danny Moerbe.

I would like to give you a little history about my connection with the Chamber and the Tomato Festival.

My parents and grandparents owned Koehl’s Place, a beer joint and liquor store with the coldest beer in town. My dad, Walter Koehl would haul ice from La Grange to ice the beer down. Most of the farmers would come to town on Saturday to stock up on groceries, etc. Usually the women did the shopping and the men would play dominos at Koehl’s Place and drink the cold beer. The store also sold Polar ice-cream which was very good.

Every year when the Tomato Festival would come around, my dad would build a float over an old truck. After the frame was made it was covered with domestic cloth and then painted with a water base paint. Crepe paper flowers (roses, wisteria, etc.) were made by my family and two neighbors, Misses Annie and Mary Koepke and were used to decorate the float. The float was stored under the Lee Walla gin. One night before the parade a rain storm blew in and got the float wet. You can imagine what it looked like with the red crepe paper getting wet. There were red splotches all over the float. Luckily dad got up early that morning and then repainted the whole float and put new red roses on it and it was ready for the parade. Oh, the float won first prize. Koehl’s Place won first prize in the parade for 10 years in a row.

Barbecue was served for the noon meal at the festival. My dad mixed up his seasoning and would work at the store all day and then barbecue all night so that the people would have something to eat who came to see the parade and other activities.

I have been involved with floats and parades all of my life, from being in charge of the Tomato Festival parade for 10 years, and also in charge of the Fayette County Fair parade for many years and helped design and create many of the fair floats.

The town of Ellinger and the Tomato Festival hold a special spot in my heart along with many memories. The festival has been cancelled this year because of the virus. Next year the festival will be bigger and better than ever. Again, I thank the Chamber for naming me as parade marshal, and I will remember in my imagination as I ride in the convertible in the 84th Ellinger Tomato Festival Parade. Come to Ellinger, Texas where history and hospitality meet.”

Mrs. Bernetta Cook has been a longtime member and supporter of the Ellinger Chamber, and was selected for the honor of Senior Citizen of the Year. Mrs. Bernetta Cook provided this biography that details her long connection to the Ellinger Chamber.”

Cook

Bernetta A. Schertz (Cook) was born in 1939 to Elo and Isabel Suchadoll Schertz on a farm near Fayetteville, Texas. She worked on the farm, picking cotton to earn money for school, helped her dad with his concrete business and learned to cook from her grandmother, Tillie Schertz. She attended the St. John School in Fayetteville and graduated from St. John High, as her class Valedictorian in May 1958. During school, Bernetta worked a variety of jobs, most notably as a nanny. In the summer of 1957, she nannied for the Robert Sudd family in Houston, caring for their three children ages two, four, and six.

After high school graduation, she attended Durham Business College in Houston, graduating in October of 1958. On November 27, 1958, Thanksgiving Day, she married John H. Cook at St. John’s Catholic Church, Fayetteville. John’s work at Dow Chemical Co moved them to Angleton, Texas. In January of 1959, Bernetta began her career in the title/legal business working at the Brazoria County Abstract Company, where she worked for over 22 years before venturing out on her own. She did pipeline/right of way for Ernest Ross, Inc. in Houston, and she also provided work for various attorneys and law offices.

She worked at the Angleton Chamber of Commerce and was honored as their Ambassador of the Year. She served for six years, in two stints in the 1970s and 1990s, as the Director of Religious Education at the ST. Basil’s Catholic Church in Angleton. She also returned for another stint at the Brazoria County Abstract, working in the legal department of Stevens & Rau, Inc. Her work as an independent contractor brought her many jobs, most notably as a pipeline/ right of way landman with Mustrange Engineering, which had her work all over Texas, primarily in Corpus Christi, where she lived and worked in that area from 2003-2011. She continued to volunteer for the Angleton Chamber, participating in their After Hours Events.

She joined Jafra Cosmetics as a Sales Consultant and worked her way to manager, providing many opportunities to travel, meet new people and make lifelong friends. She also became a lifetime member of the Brazoria County Fair Association, where she was co-chair of their Gold Club for several years.

Bernetta and her husband raised three children, daughter Gerardette, and two sons Jeffrey and Jonathan. Together they participated in the PTA and Band Boosters where they co-chaired the sno cone sales at the football games and were chaperones for many Purple Pride Marching Band road trips.

They chaired food service at Project Graduation for Jonathan’s class. Bernetta participated in various church organizations, including membership in CDA Court Immaculate Mary of Angleton since 1958, the KJZT and volunteering for various K.C. and church events, including chairing the sauerkraut food service at St. Mary’s in Ellinger.

Bernetta’s work with the Angleton Chamber led to her work in the Ellinger Chamber of Commerce. Her husband John’s parents had been members of the Ellinger Chamber since its inception. As a child, Bernetta attended and volunteered at their various functions. Her wedding reception and 50th anniversary celebration were both held at the Ellinger Chamber Hall. Bernetta’s participation in Chamber functions ranges from hands-on work, baking food items and selling tickets, to donating auction and raffle prize items. She and her husband and all their family members, including their three children, son in law Patrick, and granddaughter Jessica Martin have all actively participated in the Ellinger Chamber throughout the years.

Since returning to Fayette County in 2011, Bernetta has been very active in the local community. She is an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church and its various functions.

She is a participating member of the St. Mary’s Altar Society. For any bake sale, auction or fundraiser, Bernetta will always bring some fresh baked items and various gifts and prizes. People always look forward to her candy and sweets. Bernetta has also been an active member of the Fayette County Fair Association, having been a Pewter level member for seven years. Bernetta is known for always lending a helping hand, being a good friend to everyone, and just having a good time.

She loves to travel and see the world. She has been all over the Americas by car, plane, and cruise ship. Bernetta loves to play Bingo, lotto, and she enjoys the casinos in Las Vegas and Lake Charles. She has been an Elite Member at the Golden Nugget, has enjoyed front row seats and meet and greets with artists like Charley Pride, The Oak Ridge Boys, Gladys Knight, Kenny G., Lee Ann Womak, Tracy Lawrence, and The Village People. She has always cherished the good times with friends and family and looks forward to many more occasions in the future.

The Ellinger Chamber would like to thank all supporters of the Tomato Festival for understanding the decision to cancel this year, and we are hopeful that we can hold events again very soon.