Thanks For Your

Years Of Service!

Greg Stout…..6 years

Jerry Marney…..5 years

Ronnie Goolsby…..2 years

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Nancy Brixey…..May 7

Linda Wallace…..May 15

Danny Sims…..May 18

Amy Wallace…..May 20

Laura Pate…..May 30

Don Turner…..June 4

Tony Roberts…..June 8

Michael Godwin…..June 22

Dana Hunter…..June 24

Ronnie Goolsby…..June 28

Rains County Post Newsletter May, 2007

Mary Sue Cole Mary Sue Cole Mary Sue Cole Mary Sue Cole Appointed County Appointed County Appointed County Appointed County Extension Agent Extension Agent Extension Agent Extension Agent Mary Sue Cole has been appointed as County Extension Agent—Family & Consumer Sciences for Rains County, effective May 15, 2007. A native of Rusk County, Cole grew up in Overton & received her BS degree from Texas Woman’s University & her Master’s Degree from Texas A&M—Commerce. Mary Sue has served as the Hunt County Extension Agent—F&CS for the past 18 years. In Rains County, Cole will work closely with Stephen Gowin, County Extension Agent—Agriculture & Natural Resources, & office manager Kay Player. She will work with citizens, Extension commit-tees, organizations, associations, and other groups in order to plan, conduct and evaluate Extension educational programs & activities in all phases of Family & Consumer Sciences, Community & Economic Devel-opment, and 4-H & Youth

Development.

COUNTY HOLIDAYSCOUNTY HOLIDAYSCOUNTY HOLIDAYSCOUNTY HOLIDAYS

May 28.....Memorial DayMay 28.....Memorial DayMay 28.....Memorial DayMay 28.....Memorial Day

July 4.....Independence DayJuly 4.....Independence DayJuly 4.....Independence DayJuly 4.....Independence Day

September 3.....Labor DaySeptember 3.....Labor DaySeptember 3.....Labor DaySeptember 3.....Labor Day

Rains County

Extension Is Online Rains County Extension

is online at:

http://rains-co.tamu.edu

On our website you will find the

Rains County Post Newsletters,

news releases from the Rains County

Extension Agents, upcoming events,

& links to other interesting web sites.

New County EmployeesNew County EmployeesNew County EmployeesNew County Employees

Billy Don Shortnacy….. Road & Bridge Department Gene Brown…..Sheriff’s Department

Annual Youth Fishing Tournament

The annual Hooked On Fishing, Not On Drugs Youth Fishing

Tournament will be held on May 19th, 8:00 a.m.,

at Thousand Trails/North Park on Lake Tawakoni.

The tournament is open to all kids 16 years old and younger.

Sponsors include: Rains County Sheriff’s Office, Thousand Trails,

Emory Police Department, East Tawakoni Police Department, Point Police

Department, Rains ISD Police Department, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department,

Texas Cooperative Extension, Department of Public Safety, Rains County

Constable.

Rains County Post Newsletter Page 2

Skidboot, 'World's Smartest Dog," Passes Away

Skidboot, considered as the world’s smartest dog, passed away on March 25th, 2007,

at the age of 14.

On Sunday evening, March 25, Skidboot was laid to rest beneath an oak tree on the

Quinlan, Texas ranch to which he contributed greatly in building. Human and canine

family members attended Skidboot’s burial.

Skidboot is world famous for his performances with owner David Hartwig of Quinlan,

Texas.

Recognized as the “pet star of the world,” Skidboot has amazed thousands of people

over the years with the his amazing talents.

Skidboot & Hartwig performed at the annual Rains County Fair in September, 2001.

He also performed locally at the Hunt County Fair and the State Fair of Texas, but he

also made television appearances on the Oprah Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,

The Late Show with David Letterman, Inside Edition and The Animal Planet. Besides

making national appearances, Skidboot was also a frequent visitor to local schools.

Skidboot’s most popular performance was the stuffed-ball trick. Hartwig would tell

Skidboot, “Now, on the count of three I want you to go fetch that ball.” After Hartwig

would throw the ball he would count, “One, two, 11, 12, 13, 26...,” but Skidboot wouldn’t

retrieve the ball until Hartwig said the number three.

The history behind Skidboot goes back to when he was just a puppy. Hartwig, who is a

horse shoer by trade, was at a ranch and mentioned to the owner that he hadn’t bought

his wife a Christmas present yet. So the owner gave him a puppy to take home.

When Hartwig started home, he got to thinking that the puppy just wasn’t the right dog,

so he took the puppy back and got another one. This would be the puppy that became

Skidboot. Skidboot was half Australian blue heeler and half chef’s surprise.

Page 3

But Skidboot was uncontrollable at home and was tearing into things. Hartwig started

playing with the dog, teaching him to lie down. Every time Hartwig did something,

Skidboot would imitate him.

Hartwig soon learned that he had an extremely smart dog, and he made a video

of Skidboot’s tricks and sent it off to “Pet Stars”, during it’s first season on the air.

After winning the $25,000 prize, he went on to appear on the Oprah Show twice.

From then on, it was “Hollywood, here I come” for Skidboot and Hartwig. After numerous

appearance on television shows, a short movie was made on Skidboot, which has been

circulated on the web, and he even has his own book, “Skidboot: The Amazing Dog.”

Skidboot’s health started to decline, however, after he was kicked in the head by a horse.

It blinded him in one eye, then eventually, Skidboot went blind, and he had to retire.

According to Skidboot’s website, Hartwig has been trying to carry on Skidboot’s legacy

performing with the Friends of Skidboot.

“Skidboot’s timeless magic lives on in his videos, his book, and other products available

on his website,” Hartwig stated on the website. “Skidboot is at rest, the bell of time

having made it’s inevitable toll. What a wonderful life of 14 years he lived.” “Never has

a last minute, second thought Christmas gift ever shone so brightly as Skidboot.”

Hartwig requested that Skidboot can be remembered by making donations to

local animal shelters in Skidboot’s name.

For more information, visit Skidboot’s website at www.skidboot.com

On his website you may leave messages offering your condolences to Skidboot’s family.

David Hartwig & Friends of Skidboot will be performing at

the 77th Annual Rains County Fair on Friday, September 14, 2007.

Make plans now to attend this very exciting & entertaining show!!!

Rains County Post Newsletter Page 4

What It Took To Get An 8th Grade Education in 1895 (Contributed by Bob Sisk)

Remember when grandparents & great-grandparents stated that they only had an

8th grade education?

Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895? This is the

eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the original document on file

at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society & Library in Salina, KS., and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS—1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.

2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph.

4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of “lie,” “play,” and “run”.

5. Define case; illustrate each case.

6. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.

7-10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use

of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cents/bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?

4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at

$50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find the cost of 6720 lbs of coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 foot long at $20 per metre?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?

10. Write a bank check, a promissory note, and a receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Page 5

Orthography (Time, one hour)

1. What is meant by the following: Alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication.

2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?

3. What are the following, and give examples of each: Trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, lin-

guals.

4. Give four substitutes for caret ‘u.’

5. Give two rules for spelling words with final ‘e’. Name two exceptions under each rule.

6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.

7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis, mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter,

mono, sup.

8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card,

ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, far, last.

9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.

10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syl-

labication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1. What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?

2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas?

3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?

4. Describe the mountains of North America.

5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fer-

nandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco.

6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.

7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.

8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?

9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.

10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying “he only had an 8th grade education”

a whole new meaning, doesn’t it?! FYI - NO! I don’t have the answers, and I failed the 8th grade test!

RECIPE CORNER

Pear Walnut Squares

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp cinnamon, divided

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and sliced

3 large eggs

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, powdered sugar, butter,

1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon and salt; mix well. Press into the bottom of a greased 7 x 11-inch

baking dish. Top with nuts and pear slices. In the same mixing bowl, beat together eggs,

brown sugar, vanilla and remaining cinnamon until well combined; pour over pears.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until set in center. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutrients per serving: Calories 175, Fat 9.6 g, Protein 3.00 g, Carbohydrates 20 g,

Sodium 41.2 mg, Fiber 1.1 g.

WORDS OF INSPIRATION

People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. They chase

idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness

that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was

within.

— Ramona Anderson

Courage doesn't always roar. Often courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying,

I will try again tomorrow.

— Mary Ann Radmacher-Hershe