Well, it’s summer vacation at Big Sandy ISD.  The students are gone, but there is plenty going on.  Some serious construction type work is being done on the building along with the usual cleaning activities, hiring of new employees, workshops, etc.

As you can see below some serious work seems to be going on regarding the roof of the school building.  Probably to seal it for leaks.  Duh.

Another view of work going on.  You can see the trademark Big Sandy Water tower in the background.

Workshops go on continually during the summer at Big Sandy.  Here you can see a blogging workshop going on.

Moriah controlling the school from her little cubby hole. 

Well looks like perhaps a new employee being oriented by the principal and AD.  Who knows.    Wonder if a new teacher out to change the world?  If so, boy is he in for a shock.

Wow.  Looks like a major renovation in the teacher’s lounge.  Probably a new office?

Looks like the ole science room is undergoing a good cleaning.  Man what a year.  Had it’s ups and downs, just like them all.  I am just glad it is summer vacation.  Yeeehaaaa!

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Well, so much for pictures, how about a good recipe?    Here is one from the Old Farmer’s almanac, so it would have to be good!

Spicy Beef Stew

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

• 2 pounds lean beef (preferably chuck roast)
• 2 large onions, cut into wedges
• 1 pound new potatoes, cut in half
• 1 package (1 pound) baby carrots
• 1-1/2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cans (11-1/2 ounces each) hot and spicy vegetable juice
• Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Cut beef into 1- to 1-1/2-inch cubes; place in a 4-1/2-quart Dutch oven. Add onions and next seven ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat; cover and transfer to oven.

Bake 4 hours at 250 degrees. Do not peek. Do not stir. Garnish if desired. Serve with cornbread.

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BIG SANDY HISTORY taken from The Handbook of Texas Online

BIG SANDY, TEXAS. Big Sandy, also known as Big Sandy Switch, at the junction of State Highway 155, U.S. Highway 80, and Farm Road 2911, fourteen miles southwest of Gilmer in extreme southwestern Upshur County, was established in the early 1870s. In 1873 the Texas and Pacific Railway was built through the area, and around 1880 the Tyler Tap, a narrow-gauge railroad, intersected the Texas and Pacific just south of Big Sandy Creek. A switch was constructed at the junction of the two railroads and came to be known as Big Sandy Switch, after the creek. By the early 1880s a small settlement, also known as Big Sandy Switch, began to grow up. A post office was established in 1875, and two merchants named Arenson and Yesner opened stores around the same time. By 1885 the community, now known as Big Sandy, had several stores and saloons, Baptist and Methodist churches, a school, and an estimated population of 500. Several hotels and restaurants opened by 1900, and by the eve of World War Iqv Big Sandy had two banks, a weekly newspaper named the Times, and a cotton market. The town’s principal products included lumber, cotton, potatoes, and livestock. The community incorporated on June 21, 1926. The estimated population was 850 in 1929. By 1933 the population had fallen to 579, and the community had twenty businesses, several churches and schools, and a large number of houses. After World War IIqv Big Sandy again began to grow. The population increased from 609 in 1945 to over 1,000 by 1958, when the number of businesses was twenty-eight. In the mid-1960s Big Sandy had five or six churches, a high school, and twenty businesses. In 1990 the town was a regional commercial and shipping center with twenty-eight businesses and a population of 1,185. In 2000 the population was 1,288. BIBLIOGRAPHY: G. H. Baird, A Brief History of Upshur County (Gilmer, Texas: Gilmer Mirror, 1946). Doyal T. Loyd, History of Upshur County (Waco: Texian Press, 1987). Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. Christopher Long

That’s It For Today!