< Previous10 COASTMONTHLY.COM | ApriL 2023 A few years back, I read a report that still haunts me. It was about how the Texas twang was on the endangered species list. When Coast Monthly asked readers what was the biggest clue they were Texan, few hesitated to say it was the way they talked. Their answers and the aforementioned article made me stop and think about my own Texas accent, or lack thereof and what it said of my heritage. I’m a native-born Texan and proud of it. I’ll tell y’all not to tump anything over, but aside from pronouncing egg “ayg,” my twang is barely detectable. It wasn’t always that way. Researchers cited in the article blamed the disappearing drawl on urbanization, pop culture and an influx of new- comers, including Californians. I blame my mother, who, before you judge too harshly, was Austin-born to an old Texas family that included some of the state’s earliest settlers. And she could out-drawl us all. But my teenage twang grated on her ear. My mother was of a generation that worried slow talking might be confused with slow thinking. Years after the fact, she got her back up anytime she thought of how Lyndon B. Johnson, born in a farmhouse in Stonewall, Texas, was ridiculed for his accent. Johnson might have had an above average IQ, but to linguistic bigots, he was a hick. Even Johnson attempted to mute his accent at the White House, according to historians. My mother feared my pronounced twang would limit me professionally and socially. I had no ambitions to be president, I told her. Honestly, it didn’t look fun then and sure doesn’t now. But she was wise, leveraging my teenage aspirations to be an MTV video jockey into a summer of elocution lessons. My father, who in the Air Force was nicknamed “Tex,” had deep reservations about what he considered an almost traitorous act. But when it came to the fit and finish of his daughters, he always deferred to my mother. All summer of my 15th year, I went to those elocution lessons, and with the exception of aygs, cleansed my classic Texas dialect of diphthongs — the tendency to stretch our vowels, converting one-syllable words into two. I learned to put the “g” back in words ending in “ing” and take the “r” out of words like “washing.” By August, I still used the beautifully efficient y’all, but in an accent considered to be neutral and acceptable. Of course, I never went on to become an MTV video jock- ey, finding more comfort behind a computer than in front of a camera. And it stings just a little when people can’t quite place my origins. No matter how you say egg, Texas is a wonderful place, both odd and beautiful. Each April, Coast Monthly celebrates Texas and its traditions. Y’all enjoy. LAURA ELDER Coast Monthly Editor FROM THE EDITOR OF Y’ALLS AND DRAWLSIS YOUR HOME MISBEHAVING? 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Julie Ghidoni “Never ask a man if he’s from Tex- as. if he is, he’ll tell you. if he isn’t, don’t embarrass him.” Taylor Wilson Well, i didn’t think talk would be the answer until i recorded a new message on my salon phone and listened to it. Yikes, it’s talk! Chriss Sendejas it’s definitely the music we listen to! Texas country over mainstream any day. Shelley Coltzer What we eat. We love brisket with Texas-style barbecue sauce. Rick Wade The unabashed and prevalent use of the word “y’all.” Jerry Jones i laughed when i heard this com- ment about Galveston’s West End; “Only in Galveston … beach and Gulf view on one side of the street and cows on the other side.” John Bertolino Sr. Saying “y’all.” Loving Texas-style barbecue, pecan pie and black- eyed peas. Jim Rosenfeld My usual greeting is “Howdy.” Linda Dobbs Willis it’s how we think. Courteous, welcoming, friendly. Gladys Haak Friendly! Joan W. McLeod Friendliness and enjoying a cold Lone Star Beer. Jim McCurdy Thanksgiving dinner is venison roast cooked in red wine and Christmas dinner is wild turkey stuffed with apples and onions. Mary Branum Christmas Eve in Texas is tamales! Kitty Allen Definitely my accent! Trudy Deen Davis Courtesy, manners and friendliness. Magen M. Ortiz The way i talk? Nothing odd with the way i talk. it’s those non-Texans that talk funny. Don Walker it’s the food i eat, such as Whataburger as well as good barbecue. Taylor Aiken The hat. Dale Williams A true Texan is a can-do person. The can’t-do people aren’t from here. Jhonny Langer Wearing my cowboy boots and cowboy hat with my Texas jeans with big buckle belt! How’s that for a native Ohioan? Fred Koperski Oh my, how i talk. My Southern accent is what gives me away all the time. The way i say water and picture. Stacey Gottlob Apparently, i have a Texas accent. people talking to me for the first time seem to instantly know i am from Texas. Leona Pleasant people are usually made of 60 percent water. i’m, however, made of 60 percent Tex-Mex food. Gerald Vimont Hun, i dunno, but i’m hangry so i’m fixin’ to go mosey down to pit Stop BBQ on the seawall. Maybe it’s how i talk? Bobby Martin Apparently, it’s my accent although i never knew i had one until someone told me. Although i think most peo- ple use “y’all” these days. Christine Ruiz Hopkins it’s a state of mind — you just know there is no better place to live than Texas. Brooks Cima it’s how friendly we are. Mary Brechtel What’s the biggest clue you’re a Texan? is it what you wear, eat or how you talk? F i LE p HOTO: STUA r T V i LLANUEVA A Texas flag waves in the breeze on the beach near the west end of the seawall in Galveston.Leading Orthopedic Care to KEEP YOU MOVING Our sports medicine specialists in Clear Lake can help keep your body in motion. At Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, we know every movement matters. 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Clear Lake14 COASTMONTHLY.COM | ApriL 2023 Lexi Ashcraft, left, and her younger sister, Ava, both are involved in the Texas City independent School District’s agricultural programs. p HOTO: STUA r T V i LLANUEVA COASTMONTHLY.COM | ApriL 2023 15 FEATURE A FAMILY TRADITION Sisters prove it’s a girl’s world as they make their way in FFA story by SARAH GRUNAU O n the morning of Oct. 17, 1969, Johnny Holland from Tennessee stood before a Future Farmers of America delegation and read the following resolution: “Whereas, we, the delegates, to the Forty-Sec- ond annual convention have voted to allow all students of vocational agriculture to become members of the FFA; “Whereas, we therefore have expressed our belief that all individu- als are created equal and should have equal opportunities.” That hard-won resolution paved the way for girls across the United States to participate in FFA. More than 50 years later, three sets of sisters in Galveston County are proving they have the confidence, determination and dedication to raise and show livestock. LEXI AND AVA ASHCRAFT Sisters Lexi and Ava Ashcraft are navigating a male-dominated activ- ity side by side. Lexi, Texas City Future Farmers of America president, has been in the game since she was 8 years old. A junior high school student, She’s setting a path for her younger sister Ava, who also is actively involved in FFA, an organization founded in 1928. FFA has taught Lexi life lessons and allowed her to meet people along the way, she said. But it also has helped her forge stronger bonds with her sister, she said. “FFA has definitely brought my sister and I closer together,” Lexi said. “It has made us spend a lot of time together.” Although more girls are joining FFA, it’s still a predominantly male organization. “FFA has definitely brought my sister and I closer together. It has made us spend a lot of time together.” LEXI ASHCRAFT16 COASTMONTHLY.COM | ApriL 2023 FEATURE “Most of my agriculture teachers have been male, also,” Lexi said. In 2019, FFA marked 50 years of female membership for FFA, according to FFA.org. Today, 43 percent of the membership is female, and 50 percent is male. Last year, at the 91st National FFA Conven- tion & Expo, a group of female leaders in the agricultural industry spoke to members in small, round-table discussions about their own career paths. Lexi is proud her sister is following the FFA path. “It is so fun to watch her grow up, espe- cially in FFA,” Lexi said about her sister. “It takes me back to when I was little.” (Above) Lexi Ashcraft, president of the Texas City FFA, leads her steer across a pasture at the Texas City Independent School District agricultural barn. (Left) Ava Ashcraft is following in the footsteps of her older sister, Lexi, by raising livestock. pHOTOS: STUArT ViLLANUEVA LAUREN MAROUL AND KENDALL LINK Lauren Maroul is preparing herself for her last rodeo as a high school senior and Dick- inson FFA president. But knowing that her FFA-involved sister Kendall Link will be following in her foot- steps makes leaving a little easier she said. Lauren is a senior at Dickinson High School and actively involved in her school’s FFA program. She joined FFA in sixth grade, following the example of her older siblings and mother. Maroul just won Grand Champion Senior Showmanship at Houston’s 2023 Livestock Show and Rodeo. “It is so fun to watch her grow up, especially in FFA. It takes me back to when I was little.” LEXI ASHCRAFT COASTMONTHLY.COM | ApriL 2023 17 Sisters Kendall Link, left, and Lauren Maroul both are members of Dickinson High School’s FFA program. Link, a freshman, and Maroul, a senior, started their FFA journeys in the sixth grade. p HOTO: STUA r T V i LLANUEVA18 COASTMONTHLY.COM | ApriL 2023 FEATURE When she isn’t busy tending to her pig, Cookie B, Maroul keeps herself busy with school and running track. But FFA holds a special place in her heart, she said. Pigs are her favorite animals to show be- cause they’re so full of personality, she said. After seven years of involvement, Maroul will tip her cowboy hat one last time at the Galveston County Fair & Rodeo on April 14. Maroul will graduate from Dickinson High School in May. Stepping out of her role and involvement with FFA, she’s satisfied knowing Kendall will carry on her legacy, she said. Kendall also started her FFA journey in the sixth grade, but has been showing pigs since she was 8 years old. She looks forward to tending to her pig Opie after school every day. “It takes a lot of help and knowledge to raise a pig,” she said. “It probably took me about two years to feel comfortable by my- self with the pigs.” A day in the life of an FFA student raising a pig involves feeding, cleaning and walking for up to 30 minutes a day, she said. Both Lauren and Kendall look forward to the new people they’ll meet traveling around the state for shows. Mom, stylist and personal assistant, Amy Link, who said she learned a lot about life (Above) Dickinson High School senior Lauren Maroul, president of the school’s FFA chapter, sits with her pig, Cookie, at the school’s agricultural facility. (Right) Kendall Link brushes down her pig, Opie. Link looks forward to tending to her pig after school every day, she said. pHOTOS: STUArT ViLLANUEVA “It takes a lot of help and knowledge to raise a pig. It probably took me about two years to feel comfortable by myself with the pigs.” KENDALL LINK COASTMONTHLY.COM | ApriL 2023 19 and work in FFA growing up, has been by Lauren and Kendall’s side along their jour- neys, and is well recognized in the Dickin- son agriculture barn and around town. “We call her the mayor of Dickinson,” Maroul said. ARHIANNA AND MACKENSIE SCALES Sisters Arhianna and Mackensie Scales, who both show steers with Santa Fe FFA, are carrying out a family tradition. They both found a love for FFA as they followed in the footsteps of their parents. “I was a sophomore and my husband was a senior in high school,” Jeanie Scales, moth- er of the sisters, said. “I didn’t start showing steers until I was a senior.” “He would always bring them out to see the steers when they were little,” she said. “This was their destiny.” Arhianna is the president of Santa Fe’s FFA chapter and a Santa Fe High School senior. Like her sister, Mackensie shows cattle and has had a special love for FFA since being introduced to farm animals at a young age, she said. Mackensie has no intention of leaving the organization after her sister graduates, she said. Despite a sisterly competition, the girls can agree on one thing: Having the opportunity to meet other FFA-involved students when traveling for rodeo competitions is one of the most memorable and most enjoyable parts of being involved in the organization. Santa Fe High School freshman Mackensie Scales, left, and her sister, Arhianna, a senior and president of Santa Fe FFA, both are raising steer to show at the annual Galveston County Fair & rodeo, as well as other shows across the state. p HOTO: JENN i FE r r EYNOLDSNext >