Friday was the first day since two months ago that bars could open in Texas, albeit at 25% capacity. Tofel’s Place in Ammannsville hasn’t officially opened its doors just yet, but a few regulars with iceddown coolers gathered on the pecan-shaded concrete slab next door that afternoon. Store owner George Tofel (right) was there, along with a fellow from Florida (left) who drove up in a Porsche. He wore a most unique face mask, and only identified himself to the newspaper as “Mantis Man.” He recently moved to the Dubina area, he said. About a half-dozen others were “cooling off” with George and Mantis Man that afternoon, with lawn chairs and molasses tubs spaced properly at six feet apart. They engaged in a discussion about how one loads sacks of feed and lumber into (or onto) a rearengine Porsche. After a while, the talk turned to comparing the ride comfort of the various farm tractors that drove by the store. Unfortunately, the others did not want to appear in the newspaper photo. Photo by Andy Behlen

An inmate at the Fayette County Jail tried to hang himself last Sunday morning, May 17.

An $8,300 grant from the Lower Colorado River Authority and the City of La Grange will help the Texas Quilt Museum replace deteriorating signage throughout its 19th-century period garden on the square in downtown La Grange.

The COVID-19 virus may have derailed many public Memorial Day observances in Fayette County this year, yet John F. Kennedy’s words in his 1961 inaugural address still ring loud and true. Photos from a Memorial Day ceremony in La Grange hosted by Koenig-Belvill Funeral Home in 2016 remind us that our commitment to honoring those who died in the service of this country remains steadfast.