Four States Living Magazine

At 71, Kay Thomas is busier—and bolder—than ever. A lifelong artist, educator, provocateur, and national arts integration specialist, Kay doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. In fact, she seems to be hitting a new creative stride.

“I’m at the top of my game,” she said. “I know how to build pretty much anything I want to build. It’s just—do I have the strength to do it? But I never expected my career to explode with such success at age 71.”

For Camille Sherman, the world got pleasantly smaller when she welcomed a 15-year-old boy from Denmark into her home. In 2022, Camille and her husband, Kevin, had flown out from their hometown of Atlanta, Texas, to join a business trip with Kevin’s boss. During the trip, Camille recalled, the boss was completing paperwork to host an exchange student and asked if he could list the Shermans as a reference. “The very next day, the coordinator called and talked to Kevin,” Camille said. “He asked if we would be willing to host. So we got our first exchange student in the school year of ‘22 to ‘23. His name was Alexander Bodholdt, from Denmark.”

A love for educating children comes naturally to local teachers Daniela and Samuel Tirrito. On a given weekday, they spend time with a diverse range of ages, from Daniela’s elementary-aged pupils to Samuel’s high school students. Between them, Daniela and Samuel have a combined 30 years in education. Instructing, listening, supporting, soothing—an educator’s daily to-do list—all continue after the final bell, as they parent four young children of their own.

Over Monica Washington’s 20-year career as an English teacher, one activity she developed stands out as particularly revolutionary: “Pie Chart of My Perspective.”

Monica would present a given topic or issue and then ask her teenage students, “Where do you get your information? What gives you your belief? What percentage is family? What percentage is reading? What percentage are your friends?” The exercise changed the culture of her classroom.

There’s an old camp song that ends with, “Camp Mystic, I will pledge my true and faithful love to you.” As locals share stories about the beloved summer camp they called home for years, it is clear that the pledge is more than a lyric. This blissful summer haven was struck with tragedy when floodwaters rushed through in the early morning of July 4th, 2025. Usually, the Guadalupe is calm and clear, gently lapping the edges of centuries-old cypress trees that grow alongside its banks. Many summer camps dot the landscape along Highway 39 in Hunt, approximately 18 miles outside of Kerrville, Texas. Camp Mystic is one of those camps, set to celebrate its 100th birthday in 2026.

As August begins, so do preparations for the incoming school year: gathering supplies, buying clothes, and memorizing the new schedule. On top of that, seniors have to prepare for the end of their high school journeys, and for some, their journeys as athletes. For Pleasant Grove High School’s Lynleigh Henderson, this month represents all of that and more.

Before most of their peers have even stumbled out of bed, the White brothers have already mowed half a neighborhood. What started as a remedy for boredom during the memorably sluggish summer of 2020 has snowballed into six seasons of lawn care for Jeb, Chapman, and Harrison White. “We mainly mow, but we do [also] offer light landscaping and bed work,” Chapman said. “We started doing yards with our parent’s lawn equipment but have since invested about $7,500 in purchasing our own equipment.”

Brody Fincher fell in love with art as a child and has pursued it relentlessly since. Currently a senior at Queen City High School, he has made a name for himself on campus through his artwork. 

“Beautiful things always captured my attention, and I was drawn to the subject [of art],” Brody said. He also has several family members who were involved in the arts who helped to encourage his interests. In particular, his mom, who is a painter and interior decorator, has influenced him to grow his art from a hobby to a professional skill. They now work alongside each other to transform spaces with new art and interior design.

The garden has finally hit its stride and is producing fruit and vegetables at full speed. July’s sunshine and showers gave most gardens the boost they needed to finish what they started in the spring months. Hopefully, you watched in anticipation as small, tender plants or fragile seedlings emerged timidly from the dirt—eventually, bursting into an overachieving harvest of tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, okra, basil, and more.

Mayor Bob Bruggeman of Texarkana, Texas, received several phone calls from sports writers across the country in 2013. They wanted to know how he felt as mayor about Texarkanans Michael Wacha and Will Middlebrooks opposing each other in the World Series. Bob was quick to note that he had umpired many of the now-pro players’ high school games. That information changed the angle of their stories.

Jamie Simmons, who has been a public historian and museum director for more than three decades, entered into her career by accident.

The Texarkana Museum of Regional History was, in fact, looking for a paid intern. Jamie, who double majored in history and art, jumped at the chance. “That was my entry to the Texarkana Museums System,” she said, “and I didn’t leave for 30 years.”

Mary Adele Philips is part of a lineage of nurses: “five generations past and yet growing,” she said, explaining that her great-great-grandmother, great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, and aunt all worked in nursing. “There is no doubt in my mind that our family has been anointed and appointed to be God’s caretakers,” she said. “This call runs as deep as my family heritage and is woven into the very essence of who I am.”

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