I've just read a good book: Giant's Bread

I don't even want to describe it. I don't even want to call it a book, so I'll refer to it as a novel.

Written by Mary Westmacott, published in 1930. Here I can use the acronym IYKYK without flinching.

Twice a character utters "I'll work like a n-", but I don't want to cast out the novel because of two derogatory words.

I never had to look back to see who characters were. I never thought, "oh, this is a boring part". I just read and read, and abruptly stopped at the last word. 

I suggest reading the whole work, then re-reading the foreword.

Marvelous and heady, over 400 pages.

Get a job in Scurry County, July 2026

There are some unique and profitable jobs out there this month. Jump fast to snap these up before they close.

• USPS.COM: Scroll down to Careers>Rural Carrier Associate>Apply Now>Continue and use keyword Snyder or pick Texas and scroll down to Rural Carrier. This is a very rare opportunity to get on with the post office as a career employee. It comes with all the benefits, including insurance, vacation time, sick time and eligibility to subscribe to the Thrift Savings Plan, the po version of a 401(k). You'll need a good sturdy vehicle and the desire and abililty to work hard. It'll be worth it when you get your paycheck!
• Scurry County: Home>Departments>Maintenance>Courthouse Maintenance Job. Work hours are from 4 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday. The chosen applicant would be responsible for cleaning the courthouse, the annex, the library and the health unit, as well as other areas. It would be interesting to get to be in those spaces with no one else around. There are also county openings for a health unit clerk,  a park laborer and a senior center bus driver.
• Western Texas College: Home>Faculty/Staff>Human Resources. I think the part-time library assistant is the most lucrative job, but there are many others that may be of more interest to you, like being a security guard, bus driver or college groundskeeper. There are also quite a few instructor openings.

That oughta get ya started! Get to filling out those applications!

Nolan County Sheriff's Sale July 2026

An auction for following tax foreclosed properties will be held July 7, 10 a.m., at the Nolan County Courthouse in Sweetwater, Texas.

• 202 West Arkansas
• 1010 West Louisiana
• 308 West Louisiana
• 318 Patterson
• 2012 Douglas
• 612 Bell
• 1009 West Avenue C
• 609 Ninth Street

More information can be found on the Perdue Brandon website.

Local paper subscriptions

A good way to keep up with what's going on is to have a current newspaper subscription. For those who enjoy the tactile feeling of a paper and turning pages to see what's next, you'll get the bonus of also having a digital copy, which is handy for quick referencing.

Here is information for obtaining your weekly papers around this little area of Texas:

Double Mountain Chronicle - news for Fisher and Stonewall Counties (Rotan, Roby, Sylvester, Aspermont)
114 E Sammy Baugh Ave, Rotan, TX 79546, 325-735-2562 
$88 yearly for in-county and surrounding counties subscription
$94 yearly for other Texas residents
$100 yearly for out of state

Sweetwater Reporter - Nolan County news (Sweetwater, Roscoe, Blackwell)
112 West Third Street, Sweetwater, TX 79556, 325-236-6677
$125 yearly for in-county subscription
$135 yearly for out-of-county, out-of-state 

The Snyder News - Scurry County news (Snyder, Hermleigh, Ira)
3201 College Avenue, Snyder, TX 79549, 325-573-5486
$105 yearly for in-county subscription
$135 yearly for out-of-county, out-of-state 

All of these subscriptions include print and digital versions of the newspapers. 

Visit the websites for other options. 

Nolan County Sheriff's Sale June 2026

Yet another tax sale for Nolan County, to be held June 2, 2 p.m., at the courthouse, 100 East 3rd, Sweetwater, Texas.

The properties up for auction are listed below. All are in Sweetwater, unless otherwise noted:

• 401 East Broadway
• 801 West 7th 
• 703 SW Georgia
• 2100 Bristol Drive
• 114 Fisher
• 1200 Mulberry
• 118 CR 204, Blackwell
• 2204 Pease
• 610 West 5th
• 1212 Kiowa & mobile home
• 1800 Hubbard
• 304 East Ave A
• 501 East Ave B
• 2001 Bristol

 More information can be found on the Perdue Brandon website.

Nolan County Sheriff's Sale May 2026

Nolan County will conduct their sale on May 5, 10 a.m., at the courthouse. The following are the properties up for auction:

• 202 West Arkansas
• 1010 West Louisiana
• 308 West Louisiana
• 318 Patterson
• 2012 Douglas
• 612 Bell
• 1009 West Ave C
• 609 West Ninth
• 911 West New Mexico

This and other tax sales are listed on the Perdue Brandon website.

There will also be a foreclosure sale on the same day, at 1 p.m., at the courthouse. The property to be sold is 217 County Road 217. Details can be found on the Nolan County Clerk page. 

The courthouse address is 100 East Third in Sweetwater, Texas.

Rotan spring farm auction

The Fisher County annual Whitley May auction will be held next weekend, April 11, at the Rotan rodeo grounds. It will start around 9 a.m. Saturday morning.

Nolan County Sheriff's Sale 2026

The Nolan County Appraisal District has done an excellent job on posting and listing for the March 3 sheriff's sale. Not only have they made the list available online, there are addresses for each property. The information can be found on the Nolan CAD site.

Here are the properties up for auction:

• 1400 Mason
• 209 Robert Lee
• 108 East New Mexico
• 1306 Pease
• 703 Coke
• 505 Elm
• 303 Tom Green
• 1307 Elm
• Six lots in Maryneal
• 303 Poplar
• 300 East 14th
• 1405 Burch
• 114 West Broadway
• 110 West Broadway
• 310 Main Street in Roscoe
• 707 Pease
• 1010 Woodruff
• 205 Hickory
• 323 West Ave A
• 1211 Vine
• 105 Bell
• 104 Alexander
• 109 East Texas
• 205 West Alabama

The sale will be held at the Nolan County Courthouse in Sweetwater at 2 p.m. 

Wait, where?

The Fisher County Commissioners showed surprise when a citizen speaking at the monthly meeting expressed concern about new construction by IREN on FM 540, about 3 miles north of where it junctions with SH 92. The court appeared not to be aware of the project.

This is the Sweetwater 2 project, set just to the west of Hamlin, within the Fisher County bounds.

KTAB TV in Abilene reported on the project March 10, 2025. Specific site information was not given, other than it was to be located 28 miles from the Sweetwater 1 project. 

Sweetwater 1 is located on FM 611 in Fisher County. 

Both sites are in Fisher County. The city of Sweetwater is in Nolan County.

The commissioners' meeting can be viewed on the Fisher County Courthouse Texas YouTube channel.

The KTAB article can be viewed on Big Country Home Page. 

Longworth Community Center to be auctioned

At 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, parcel 32152 will be sold by auction at the Fisher County Courthouse.

The county owned property consists of 1.36 acres and a 2,040 square foot building. It's appraised at $46,320 by the appraisal district.

It is located just off FM 57, on the north-east side of Longworth. 

There is no minimum bid. 

 

Update:

The Longworth Community Center property was sold to Alexandria Rivas of Roby for $23,500.