Jasper - the promised land
By PATTY SHAW Jasper

In the summer of 1977, my family moved to Jasper from Central Texas. We knew no one in Jasper, but 30 years later, this is home.

Friends laugh when I refer to this place as "the Promised Land," but we had lived in several small towns in Texas until my father found the Jewel of the Forest. Here we have stayed.

We went through the loss of my grandparents the first year we lived here and dear friends became family. They adopted us by their care and generosity. Some have since died; Herman Reizig and others that we loved. The caring spirit that the people of this area offered to us lives on.

I have since married and we are raising our children here. They know no other place but Jasper as home. They are blessed to have a town that takes care of each other through any crisis. I have seen this town go through so much and answer with prayers and songs.

There are so many people working together and in different projects and ways to give this town a promising future.

We are a beautiful land and people, blessed by God. Our differences are minor compared to the good we accomplish by working together.

Thank you, Jasper; you are a great place to call home.