Fair & Square Imports, a fair trade shop in downtown McKinney, is hosting a Fair Trade Oriental Rug Event March 19-22 that aims to change the way rugs are made and sold, featuring rugs that provide opportunity and security directly to adult artisans.

Tami Howard has been named Photographer of the Month at Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge for March. Howard said that her interest in Hagerman began shortly after moving to Texas, in 2013. She had volunteered at another wildlife refuge back home and wanted to continue her volunteer service in a similar setting. Twelve photographs taken by Howard at Hagerman will be featured on the Friends of Hagerman web gallery during February.

Winter Vortex means mittens, school closings, and a nibble marathon.

Not far from our farmhouse was a small stockpond or tank that had been constructed to provide a watering hole for cattle and other farm animals. As a small child I thought of this pond primarily as the home of crawfish, frogs, and turtles. With a little homecured bacon tied to a piece of string attached to a short stick, my little brother and I could catch a few unwary crawfish.

The word lasagna comes to us from the Greek word lasagnum meaning dish or bowl. The ancient Greeks used baking dishes named lasagnum. They began using the same dish or bowl to make a pasta layered with other ingredients as fillings in which they changed the name to lasagna.

1836 – A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico. Washington-on-the-Brazos is known as "the birthplace of Texas" because it was here that, on March 1, 1836, Texas delegates met to formally announce Texas' intention to separate from Mexico and to draft the constitution of the new Republic of Texas, organizing an interim government to serve until an officially elected government could be put in place. The delegates declared independence on March 2, 1836. Their constitution was adopted on March 16. The delegates worked until March 17, when they had to flee, along with the people of Washington, to escape the advancing Mexican Army. The townspeople returned after the Mexican Army was defeated at San Jacinto on April 21. Town leaders lobbied for Washington’s designation as the permanent capital of the Republic of Texas, but leaders of the Republic passed over Washington in favor of Waterloo, which later was renamed Austin.