Welcome to Newtonberg

By David Emprimo

"Newtonberg is a small town, buried deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas. There it has stood, relatively unchanged, for over a hundred years; and it will probably stand, relatively unchanged, for a hundred more..."

With these words, David Emprimo invites you to take a glimpse into the daily lives of the citizens of Newtonberg, a southern cousin to Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon and Jan Karon's Mitford, and one of the last true examples of "small town life" in America.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leopold Press
• Release date: Oct 11, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301596287

David Emprimo

Leopold Press is a small publisher located in East Texas specializing in children's books, cozy fiction, and faith-based publications.

Book preview

Welcome to Newtonberg:

Stories

by David Emprimo

SMASHWORDS EDITION

LEOPOLD PRESS

Tyler, Texas

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical and public figures, are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical or public figures appear, the situations, incidents, and dialogues concerning those persons are fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2012 by David Emprimo

All rights reserved.

This edition published 2023 by Leopold Press.

For contact information, please email [e-mail]

ISBN-10: 1-301-59628-0

ISBN-13: 978-1-301-59628-7

Cover design by Jill Emprimo.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the memory of David F. Emprimo, D.W. and Billie Donahoe, and Harold Small.

"Towns are like people. Old ones often have character, the new ones are interchangeable."

― Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose

Where we love is home ― home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

― Oliver Wendell Holmes

CONTENTS

Foreword

Founder’s Day

Brother Jim & the Big Tent Revival

Cap’n

Homecoming ‘77

Christmas in Newtonberg

Acknowledgments

About the Author

FOREWORD

Newtonberg is a small town, buried deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas. There it has stood, relatively unchanged, for over a hundred years; and it will probably stand, relatively unchanged, for a hundred more.

Roughly nine hundred and seventy people call the town home, representing the hundred and ninety families or so (with minor additions and subtractions) that have lived there for time out of mind. Here they live out their daily lives – working, shopping, gossiping, and worshiping at one of the three local churches.

They're nice to strangers, whether you're just passing through, or if you decide to settle down. Sure, some of the older families might treat you with some suspicion: initially as outcasts, then as step-members of the family; but eventually, you are treated as equals. It is said in Newtonberg that once your name appears in the Newtonberg Sentinel, our newspaper, then the people of the town have accepted you. The Sentinel being what it is, it doesn’t take much to get your name in there.

Many people grow up in Newtonberg and can’t wait to get away to the big city. After several years away, they are able to observe their hometown and its inhabitants with a certain degree of detachment and perspective. They’re able to see the humor, the love, and the tradition that lies beneath the surface of this community. For that reason, they love it all the more, and it is for that reason that many return, this time to stay.

I hope you enjoy these glimpses at a year in the life of the citizens of Newtonberg, and that you will come to appreciate and love this little town for what it is: one of the last true examples of small town life in America.

FOUNDER’S DAY

On February 20th, Newtonberg celebrated its 150th anniversary. We had our usual Founder's Day picnic on the square, but the sesquicentennial celebration added a bit of excitement to the festivities; and for some of the older families, a bit of poignancy as they remembered their ancestors.

The history of the people who founded our little town is almost as fascinating as some of the people who still live here. General James M. Newton, while serving in the Republic of Texas Army, was sent once from Washington-on-the-Brazos to Natchitoches, Louisiana on an errand. While passing through East Texas, he spotted a lovely piece of land just east of the Neches River and decided that once the war was over, he was going to come back and claim it for his own.

So, once the war was over and Texas had won its independence from Mexico, he returned to East Texas to get his land. Unfortunately, time does a lot to wild countryside, and he couldn't find the right spot. He fought his way through the Piney Woods looking for it for almost eight months. Finally, in desperation, he gave up and just claimed the land where he was. That was the beginning of Newtonberg.

Of course, it wasn't called Newtonberg then. It wasn't even a town. He cleared out the land around him -- probably