There are a lot of places to live in the world. There are a lot of nice places in Texas. Anyplace someone calls home is special, of course, but there are many advantages to this stop on the Union Pacific line. It’s time to review a couple of those advantages.
Geography. One has to start with a map. Mineola is blessed to have the Sabine River protecting the southern boundary line. Not only does it shape the southern boundary of the county, but the lowland surrounding it, is a natural stop to eventual complete development between Lindale and Mineola.
Wood County has one foot in the Post Oak Savannah eco-region of Texas and one foot in the Piney Woods eco-region. As one heads east from Mineola on FM 49, by the time one passes into Pine Mills, the transition is complete.
The county is the best of both worlds – towering tall pines in the east and commanding grand oak trees in the west.
Farm to Market Road 49 also leads past one of the higher points of the county, near Mount Pisgah and one of the few remaining fire towers in East Texas. The highest point in the county, Mount Stivers is east/southeast of Winnsboro.
Geography has also blessed residents with being far enough away from the urban mega-center of Dallas so as to remain rural, but close enough to make the big city just over an hour away. Likewise, it’s only 40 minutes to Tyler and 50 to Longview. Greenville and Sulphur Springs are like distances to the north.
It is not uncommon for folks to work in any of these places, including Dallas, and reside here in the county.
For folks tending a garden, some get the sand and others the clay. Each presents significant growing challenges. If one tends the correct crops for each soil type however, the garden will flourish.
Convenience. Small towns can be judged by a variety of things. Here are a couple of completely arbitrary measures.
Mineola benefits from two hardware stores and two feed stores. The brilliance of this arrangement is simple: if one doesn’t have something, the other likely will.
This ‘rule of two’ applies to other specialties in town as well. It is one indicator of a flourishing community.
The town also has that very welcome feature of offering breakfast, lunch or dinner. Aside from fast food, there are sit-down restaurants, with more than one option available to someone seeking a meal.
Having travelled to many small towns in East Texas while covering sports, it can be said with confidence that Mineola is a good feeder.
Unique fixtures. The aforementioned ‘rule of two’ does not in any way devalue the one-of-a-kind institutions resident in Mineola. There are many. Among them are the Select Theater, the League of the Arts, Wisener Field, the Nature Preserve, the Derby, the Train Station and the annual Mineola Rodeo.
Those institutions and events, and many others like them, make Mineola recognizable. Especially for long-standing events, but also for lasting institutions, it is easy think that they simply happen – that their longevity ensures their continued existence and success.
That is simply not the case. Even cursory investigation into any of the unique fixtures which define the city reveals a long list of reasons of why they are yet with us today. There are stories aplenty behind each of them, and assuredly, another long list folks responsible for their success.
Those individual acts of support may be as simple as making use of the nature preserve. Conversely, they may benefit from a number of groups (both formal and informal) who dedicate themselves to volunteerism in the city.
Quite possibly it is the willingness of the residents to work for the benefit of the community that make Mineola, Mineola.
This town is like any other in that there are always challenges to overcome. There is lawlessness to be policed and growing pains as the city expands. Yet, the drive to improve the city and what it offers and how it grows, tends to carry the day.
Perhaps, though, the greatest draw to Mineola – as in many small towns in Texas – is the nature of the people. It is not commonplace for someone met in the course of running errands, to greet one again at an unrelated event. But exactly that has happened repeatedly since moving to this town ten years ago.
Each town in the county has its own identity and draw. For Mineola, it might just come down to that willingness to say hello.