La Marque Times (Newspaper) - December 25, 1985, La Marque, Texas DAY FITNESS Nation's expert begins column for The Times See profile on Page IB NEW LIFE Couple opens dreams with LM resta See their story on Page 6A INDEX Area deaths 8B Living......... ......6A 5B Our 4A Pic 2A Sports......... .......IB Groups prevail for yute 1�l By JAMES HARTSFIELD Staff Writer The fanfare and trappings of tlie Yule season in La Marque have grown this year through the city's Christmas Parade and planting of a community Christmas But maybe more the community is still talcing care of its own despite economic hard Throughout La individuals and groups of citizens are working to insure that every family in town has a merry Their efforts will supply needy families with food and presents they otherwise could not Citizens are helping those in need with donations ranging from cash to In the words of Esther coordinator of the community-wide Youth Aid morning I wake up and I every little child in La That's something the whole town can be proud YAP is in its 19th year and has grown from providing Christmas toys for the needy children of one dozen families its first year to providing toys to about 500 this a community-wide thing now - it's not just Esther Rice Rice The program was begun by the late C.V. Rice and has been continued by his wife since his Toys and funds to support the project are donated by community citizens and Money is also raised through the annual in Four toys for already packaged and were delivered to the families by volunteers all day Dec. Children will also get a bag of fruit and the best this year it's ever The program never requiring work throughout the she By Jan. 12, Rice will be out picking up toys from city stores to put away for next Other programs by various area groups to aid the needy during the holiday season The local Salvation Army collected donations for toys and food distributed to needy families throughout Galveston County Dec. 23. Under the nationwide for they distributed in new toys and 3,000-4,000 used Drop-off points for the toys donated by area citizens were located at local fire Christmas baskets containing enough food to last longer than just Christmas dinner were also distributed that day to about 600-700 Most of the food for the baskets was donated by people in the Lt. John Petty closer we get to the more compassion people show for their fellow man and they really start to give Petty Mainland Center Hospital also collected canned foods and sponsored an program where each department gave Christmas cheer to children from See Cause Page 8A Top tails add flavor to chimney work Sweeping success by La Douglas Bonney puts on quite a show for his customers as he cleans their chimneys wearing a top hat and He says the gimmick not only but is By JAMES HARTSFIELD Staff Writer Back in the 1500s a man in top hat and tails bending over the top of a chimney wasn't an unusual But in this Gulf Coast area a chimney sweep is hard to come by and to find one who wears a top hat and you wouldn't think it was been having a lot of A lot of people do when they see me up on the I just smile and said Douglas La own chimney jobs don't have to be done from the they can be done from But if people want me to go up and dance on their I he bonney first became interested in working as a part-time chimney sweep after a advertisement Ui a fire station Shortly he read a feature article on sweeps in the Mother Earth News and was saw there was a need in the community for Bonney along with his owns and operates chimney Bonney has been a Galveston firefighter for nine a La Marque resident for six months and a chimney sweep in his spare time for about three moved to La Marque to get a little peace and he wife and I like the small town He ordered his equipment from the company in the ad and got his training from an instruction ual received with the needed a job to do in my spare time during the he lot of firemen up north work as sweeps in their spare A top hat was sent compliments of the company with the equipment he His tuxedo tails were tailor-made and ordered from gives me a chance to talk to people about fire prevention In the he Since Bonney has read several books on chimney He is proud of his profession's long lot of customers ask me about he Chimney sweeps have been sweeping for more than 500 he They began in England in the 1400s. started wearing top hats and tails in the 1500s. re worn for good According to a young chimney sweep was working on the roof of a house in which a wedding ceremony was being He lost his footing and fell but the tails of his coat caught on a rain The bride saw the sweep hanging from the roof and pulled him In through a why if a sweep kisses a bride on her wedding day and shakes the hand of the it's good Bonney During the early centuries of the 4- to 8-year-old children were sold and apprenticed to chimney sweeps as he boys See Chimney Page 8A Burglaries still riddle LM police have reported five burglaries since Dec. 12 and although they have not been attributed to the recent flux of cat three of them occurred while residents were at A number of La Marque residents have told The Times that they are taking special precautions to guard their homes against the burglar police believe is responsible for 37 Some are sleeping with guns under their while others have added locks and other security devices to their La Marque police released a composite last week of what they believe the burglar looks like in hopes of locating a Capt. Larry Crow said Friday the response to the composite was overwhelming and that police are working on several new In the most recent five residential more than hi cash and other items were In three of the residents were at home during the One resident was sleeping and another watching television at the time of a in the 1400 block of Foreman See Bursaries Page 8A Love of Christmas sparkles home LM couple takes pride in malung Christmas ornaments since 1950 By DANA GIBSON Special twinkle little or in December it's the Christmas tree lights that During the month of lights seem to take on a different meaning as do other types of Some people just seem to go out of their way to bring the spirit of Christmas One such couple is Wallace and Ida Bell Crow of La They have a special way of warming the heart when it comes to At first glance the outside of their house is just an ordinary with a few a Santa poster on the door and a few strings of lights on the trim of the Once all of the magic and color of Christmas comes to Shice 1950 Ida 74, has been as busy as any elf making Some are hand but most she makes out of She adds a each to her vast collection of Around her tree is a miniature town made out of A toy trahi weaves its way in and out of the The tree is decorated with hand white ornaments In the shapes of snowflakes and balls of On the fireplace Is an scene from a would-be Santa The open ceramic room portrays at home relaxing in his easy chair and Mrs. Claus bustling around the On the floor of the ceramic room is painted a rag on the wall a Sweet sign and all of the comforts of Hanging from the mantle are two red one reads Mama and the other An unusual note to the fireplace is the two elf ladders hanging on both The ladders consist of pieces of rope connected by pieces of Hanging casually on the rungs of the ladders are tiny elves dressed in green equipped with pointed shoes and smiling In a corner next to the fire place 12 Apple Dumpling Gang dolls stand waiting to be The doll's clothes are hand crocheted right down to their Amongst the dolls is the famous Strawberry To the left of the dumpling dolls is an detailed two-story miniature The wooden house even has a front porch with Through the windows of the house a living room can be And in the living room is a television being watched by a little man In an See Christmas Page 8A on Main Street glows every Christmas with i
