CROSSROADS REPORT
By Kent Brunette
From The Pages Of The August 27, 2008
Hearne Democrat Newspaper
This past Friday afternoon, I watched from the loading dock at the back of Hearne
Steel as a forklift loaded with ninety-two, twenty-foot sticks of one quarter-inch by one & a
quarter-inch flat strap approached the waiting trailer via a small puddle of water.
As the heavy flapping & slapping load was eased onto the trailer bed, I told the
Hearne Steel employee next to me, “you’re looking at downtown Hearne’s new benches.”
“I know,” he said. “I read about it in the newspaper.”
Jim Pemberton, senior pastor at the Victory Church of the Brazos Valley in Hearne,
is about to start working his magic on this gray metal flat strap. Pemberton has already
measured & taken pictures from every angle of the old park bench borrowed from the
Robertson County courthouse grounds. All pertinent information has been recorded &
inserted into a computer program.
After the flat strap was loaded, Pemberton & I hopped into his pick-up & headed
over to the Hearne Chamber to load the “pattern” bench onto the trailer. Pemberton took
it with him so on-the-spot comparisons can occur throughout the construction process.
While the new benches will be very similar to the old ones, minor structural
improvements will be made. To increase stability & durability, the back legs will be
straightened out a little. Rather than having two legs support a seating area which spans
the five-foot length of each bench, an intermediate third leg will be added. A couple of no
longer needed support braces will be removed.
According to Pemberton, “The old courthouse benches were haphazardly
constructed out of a combination of three quarter-inch & one-inch flat strap. Bumping up
to one & a quarter-inch material throughout will create a stronger & more uniform bench.”
Some of the horizontal metal straps on the ninety year-old benches are starting to
sag in places. The above improvements will help the new benches better withstand the
rigors of street life & assure many long years of service to Hearne residents & visitors.
Pemberton hopes to have a prototype bench built by the time the Hearne Democrat
hits news stands on Wednesday. Watch this report for the latest information.
Every week, this paper prints obituaries & stories about local residents & people
with connections to Hearne who have died. I wish to remember Gause resident Aline
Simms who passed away on Sunday afternoon at the ripe old age of 87.
For the past dozen or so years, Aline & my dad, Bill Brunette, have been constant
companions. They met when they were in their mid-seventies. Both had earlier lost
spouses to cancer.
Constantly on the go, Aline & Bill became fixtures at the monthly New Baden
Jamboree. They were also regulars at senior citizen & other gatherings in Giddings,
Lexington, Thorndale, Rockdale, Cameron, Criesman, & other local towns.
Aline’s was a life well lived. She will be missed by those who knew & loved her.
Crossroads Reports are archived at www.hearnetexas.info. Click on the
“Crossroads Report” link to view past reports. The views expressed in this report are
those of the author & do not necessarily reflect the views of the City of Hearne, Hearne’s
4A & 4B Sales Tax Boards, or Hearne Chamber of Commerce.