Gazette reporter Aaron Brand interviews longtime Texarkana journalist Sabrina McCormick about her recent travels and studies in Northern Ireland — and Sabrina plays a couple of traditional songs on the harp.
When Houston-area technology professional Benny Prince began researching his Ark-La-Tex roots, he had no idea he would meet a character literally larger than life. James Wesley “Big Jim” Patterson, Prince’s great uncle, stood out in the family story as much as his reported 8 foot, 4 inch height stood out among residents of Bloomburg, Texas, where he died on Halloween 1920. A trove of heirloom documents, including rare vintage photos, told Prince the tale of Patterson’s life as a circus sideshow performer, businessman and member of a family that played an important role in the history of Cass County. Now Prince is working on a book about Big Jim and hopes someone out there can tell him even more about the giant billed by Sells Brothers Circus as “The World’s Tallest Man.” This episode was first released Sept. 26, 2021. LINKS Kickstarter: "Out of the Borderlands into the Big Top," by Benny E. Prince Email Benny Prince ...
Lynn LaRowe's name is very familiar to Texarkana Gazette readers. As the Gazette's longtime legal affairs reporter, Lynn has covered the biggest local crime stories of the last 15 years, as well as hundreds of other cases and lawsuits. For this week's episode, host Karl Richter spoke with her about her career, how she does her work and the insights it has given her. And she previewed some of the stories she is working on now. ...
Ina McDowell is in the forefront of efforts to bring Texarkana's long-neglected downtown back to thriving life. As executive director of Main Street Texarkana, she works to keep downtown rooted in its past as it progresses into a new future. She and host Karl Richter talked about the downtown renaissance currently underway — as exemplified by the renovation of the Hotel Grim and other major projects — what Main Street does to help accelerate the process, and what you can do to get involved. ...
