C R O S S R O A D S R E P O R T
By Kent Brunette
From The Pages Of The November 16, 2005
Hearne Democrat Newspaper
The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History will feature an exhibit on Camp Hearne from November 15 through the end of May 2006. Cathy Lazarus, Chair of Roll Call: Friends of
Camp Hearne, Texas A&M University Anthropology Professor Dr. Michael Waters, author of Lone
Star Stalag, yours truly, and others have been helping put this exciting new exhibit together.
The Chamber’s model of Camp Hearne has already been transported to the museum.
This model will be featured as part of the exhibit. So will Bart Lockhart’s old wooden handcart from the historic Hearne Depot, vintage photographs from the Chamber’s growing historic photograph collection , and lots of other memorabilia from Texas A&M’s Camp Hearne Collection.
Does anyone have any photographs of the interior or exterior of the Dixie Café when it was located at 304 South Market Street (where the Hearne Chamber office currently is)? Several folks are in the process of helping assemble a “Then” and “Now” historic photograph exhibit for permanent display at the chamber. While lots of photos of old Hearne commercial buildings and residences have been obtained, no photos of the old Dixie Café building (including street front awning, old front door, aquarium, booths, and seating areas) have yet been located.
You may have noticed that non-local companies hawking shoe sales, discount merchandise sales, credit repair services, satellite television products, and other items occasionally nail materials on wooden utility poles or place signs around town.
A May 25, 1988 City of Hearne ordinance prohibits this practice. “It shall be unlawful for any person to display, erect, locate, or maintain any political posters, signs, or advertisements of any character or description upon or against any utility pole or utility structure of any kind within the City of Hearne.”
“Any person violating this ordinance shall be fined an amount not to exceed $2,000.
Each day of violation and each location of violation shall constitute a separate offense and shall be punishable as herein provided.”
While the possible $2,000 per day per violation fine is not routinely imposed, companies out of compliance with this ordinance are being contacted and asked to discontinue this practice.
Illegally placed signs are routinely removed from utility poles throughout town.
In addition to the City of Hearne ordinance, the Texas Department of Transportation has rules and regulations which prohibit the placement of posters, signs, and advertisements on
TxDOT rights-of-ways. These ROWs often extend several feet into properties adjoining local highways. As a result, the placement of signs on wooden or metal sticks and stakes along local roadways may also be prohibited.
Local residents who host weekend garage and yard sales should be aware of these prohibitions. Should you still decide to place signs along local roadways, it is probably best to promptly remove these items as soon as your weekend sale is over.
Companies which host shoe, discount merchandise, or other roadside sales in the
Hearne city limits are required to obtain a vending permit from the City of Hearne, have a valid
Texas Sales Tax permit on display, and assess state and local sales taxes on merchandise sold.

Volunteers are needed to help conduct burial inventories of Hearne’s Greater Riverside and St. Jose Cemeteries. Hearne’s Norwood Cemetery and St. Mary’s Cemetery have both been inventoried by volunteers in rece nt years. Hearne’s Greater Riverside Cemetery and St. Jose
Cemetery, however, still need to be inventoried. Lists containing most recent burials need to be placed online.
Glen Mack has provided a handwritten list of the names of people who are buried at the
Greater Riverside Cemetery. This list is being placed online. Much more, however, needs to be done. Birth and death dates, family, marriage, military service, and other information needs to be added.
On an upcoming Saturday this January (date to be announced) , when summer’s heat, fire ants, poison ivy, snakes, chiggers, and bull-nettles are gone, a group of volunteers is needed to inventory both the Greater Riverside Cemetery and St. Jose Cemetery. With existing burial lists in hand, volunteers wi ll need to walk these cemeteries and compare what’s recorded on the lists with what appears on tombstones and other markers. Updated burial lists will then be placed online at www.robertsoncounty.info.
Participating in a cemetery inventory helps preserve important information about ancestors & others that may be lost forever to the ages, provides a wonderful opportunity for family members and others to share their history, provides tangible results when the fruits of your labors are posted online, gives you and others an opportunity to breathe some fresh air, get a little exercise, and enjoy an outing on a nice day in Robertson County.
Family history research is quite popular these days. Placing valuable cemetery information online might well result in long lost relatives, family historians, and others scheduling trips to Hearne to learn more about the town, its history, and its people.
If you are interested in participating in this very worthwhile endeavor, please call the
Hearne Chamber at 979.279.2351.
Crossroads Report appears periodically in the Hearne Democrat. Reports are archived at www.hearnetexas.info
. Click on the “Crossroads Report” link to view past reports.
Send comments or suggestions to chamber@hearnetexas.info or 304 S. Market Street.
The views expressed in this report are those of the author & do not necessarily reflect the views of Hearne’s 4A & 4B Sales Tax Boards or the Hearne Chamber of Commerce.