Our Town

My town population is 262. It is a 100% rural area where we have more chickens then people and that is no joke. If you have ever had a Sanderson Farm chicken leg, breast, or thigh I bet it came from Marquez. So when the local Chamber decided to put on an event you knew it would have something to do with chicken.

Today was our claim to fame festival called the Wing Ding Festival. They have Vendor booths, a domino tournament, a 5K, street dance, car show, chicken poop bingo and a wing cooking and eating contest. Today was a real treat because the festival was one block from the polling place to vote for our new school board members. I say by 1:30 pm that 44 people had voted.  I guess since I'm telling you everything I will tell you I voted for Gilbert Garcia and Kyle Futrell.

Matt and Shawn Noey have had a cooking team now for last three years in a row called Fowl Play. They have been blessed to come home with a trophy every year.

Today sitting under the ash tree in the park where the event was held there was a gentle breeze and I couldn't help but notice young love, families enjoying each other, young adults having small class reunions and talking about life after High School. School age kids were running around every where in a safe environment. I wonder how I got lucky enough to be accepted by this small town. Matt and I have lived in a small town, (cough) Madisonville, but this town is different. This town everyone knows everyone and someone's married to someone's cousin twice removed but the cool thing is they are so kind and generous to each other. When they say they are going to do something for you they do. These people have really helped Matt and I during some hard times. I would like to think we have helped them out too.

I can tell you a few cool things they have done to give you some idea how this town rallies around each other. One year I wanted to send Christmas cards to the troops overseas that represents everyone from our town. I couldn't afford the postage for all those cards so I put it out on Facebook and within a week the local post office and myself had collected enough cards and stamps to make it a reality.

Just today Landon wanted a necklace at the Wing Ding Festival for $25.  I said no! An hour later a complete stranger had given him the money for the necklace. That happens at the ballpark too. The Harris' are always buying Payce something.

 Red in a Small Town non profit origination was hosting an event in Marquez and a local family stepped up and said not only did they have a friend in Louisiana that would give us a good deal on crawfish but they also drove to Louisiana to get it for us. .

The sad thing is I see so many people helping each other in this town I almost take it for granted. From a house flooding, to events to raise money for a pastor that had a heart attack, to helping people on the side of the road that ran out of gas, to helping someone because a tree fell on their fence line and the cows got out, the good deeds are everywhere and you don't even have to look for them.

I have to tell you one of the coolest stops in our town is the Kountry Korner. It is a local gas station I like to think of it as the heartbeat of the town. The elite boys in the High School call themselves the Kountry Korner Mafia. If you need anything or want anything you can find it or get it there. The owners were born and raised here and love this community and would do anything for the citizens.

They say small towns are full of drama, mine is full of chickens. The smell of  chicken poop is awful sometimes and tractors on farm to market roads were hard to get use too. The beautiful sky more then makes up for getting stuck behind a tractor. We have neighbors that look out for each other and that truly live by Love thy neighbor as Thyself.

This is our home and our family. I hope they know how truly blessed we are because of them.

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