This year’s Deputy Santa Program runs from December 2 to December 19. Toys will be distributed to participants at three designated locations on December 19.

The Blinn College livestock judging team delivered an impressive performance Tuesday at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Ky., placing fourth in a highly competitive national contest where less than 100 points separated the top five teams.

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The Polka Lovers Club of Texas Museum (PLCTM) hosted their annual “Donor Appreciation Dance” on Sunday, November 17. Museum organizers offered Polka and Waltz dance instructions for all ages and all elements of dance experience from general steps to twists, turns and twirls. It was a laughing good time for all who participated. Plus, happy music for happy people was bountiful.

Fayette County Commissioners Court met Monday, Nov. 25, to take up a wide range of County business.

La Grange’s iconic holiday event Schmeckenfest will be on Thursday, Dec. 5, from 5-8 p.m. The parade will kick off the event beginning at 5:15 p.m and proceed down Colorado St. towards the courthouse square.

It was a rare day for smiles inside the district courtroom in La Grange last Tuesday, Nov. 25. In a place normally reserved for divorces, criminal trials, and lawsuits, tears of joy fell as an adoption took place.

When the Hostyn Hill Greenhouse held its annual open house on Saturday after Thanksgiving, a steady stream of new and returning customers visited the country poinsettia paradise south of La Grange. It’s a Fayette County Christmas tradition. Among the shoppers were: (above left) soon-to-be-96-year-old Edith Muzny of La Grange and her son, Mick, of Lake Jackson; (above right) Brittni Keilers and her son, Camden, of La Grange; and (below left) Finley, Joe and Clarisa Marshall and Melissa Martin of Weimar. (Below right) Linda Muras Franks, a cousin of owner Doug Janda, helped poinsettia admirers with their purchases that also included Christmas cactus, ferns and amaryllis. If you missed the big day, Hostyn Hill Greenhouses will have a great selection of locally grown poinsettias for sale throughout December, although those of us who shopped on Saturday may have eaten all the Christmas cookies. Sorry.

The next regular meetings of the American Legion Quade-Werchan Post No. 338 and Ladies Auxiliary are scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 5. The meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. at their facilities located at 1503 N. State Highway 237 Round Top. Prior to the meetings, the post and auxilary will celebrate the end of the year and the upcoming holiday season with a social hour beginning at 5:30 p.m. followed by a catered meal. Reservations for the catered meal are strongly recommended.

T EXAS History Five dozen Europeans from the slums of New York City set foot in Texas on Dec. 3, 1833 on their way to a promised paradise on the Rio Grande.