Four States Living Magazine

There is something special about Mistletoe Market that signals the arrival of the holiday season in Texarkana. It may be seeing familiar faces, finding the perfect Christmas gift, gathering with friends, or simply walking through the doors and feeling the excitement of the season.

Maddie and Josh Warren had imagined what their son’s arrival would look like a thousand times. After trying for a couple of years to conceive, they learned in the summer of 2022 that they were expecting. By October, they knew they were having a boy. His name would be Riley James.

Typically, Temple Memorial Pediatric Center awards one child annually with the Kid of the Year Award. However, this year, the Rider children—Blake (10), Ellie (9), Tatum (7), Anna Marie (6), and MacKenzie (5)—were honored as their first Family of the Year.

If you have been in Texarkana for any length of time, odds are you are familiar with Julie’s Deli, located in Summerhill Square. Even if you have never stepped inside the longtime local staple, you probably know where it is—and you may even know some of the items on the menu. Over the years, Julie’s has simply become a part of life here for residents and visitors alike. 

Coach Cecily Butler, long-time Arkansas coach and current PE teacher at Genoa Central, was recently inducted into the Arkansas High School Coaches Association (AHSCA) Hall of Fame. Her career in education and athletics spans 33 years, during which time she has encouraged and inspired countless student-athletes.

Death is something everyone has to deal with and no one wants to think about. Brad Sheppard, a local licensed funeral director, embalmer, and college professor, has made it his mission to make the death less mysterious, in part by providing insight through viral social media. 

Early Texarkana was a Reconstruction-era town that seemingly sprang up overnight. Construction began on its first buildings within hours of the sale of town lots. In just a few months’ time, the town had expanded along 20 blocks and was growing fast.

Farmers Bank and Trust Company was founded in 1906 in Magnolia, Arkansas, by T.S. Grayson and Robert Warnock Sr. with a philosophy of serving their neighbors. The company started with $75,000 in assets, equivalent to approximately $2,782,500 in 2026 dollars.

The Four States Fair wasn’t built by one person. It was built by generations of local people who treated it almost like a family responsibility—people who showed up, worked hard, passed along what they knew, and, when their time came, handed the reins to someone else.

The story of Robbins Toyota begins with founder Eddie Robbins, who grew up the son of a used-car dealer. He graduated from the University of North Texas, with plans of becoming a banker.

If the walls of Texarkana ISD could talk, they would have one heck of a story to tell. They could tell us about three teenagers who made up one of the district’s earliest graduating classes. They could tell us about boys who left high school to serve in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, sometimes never returning to finish the diplomas they had started.

TRAHC’s ArtSpace didn’t simply appear as the latest home for its growing programs. There is nearly half a century of history behind what happens inside these walls—and that history began long before TRAHC had any facilities to call its own.

Some families pass down heirlooms; we pass around kitchen accessories with jokes on them. Humor is a cornerstone for us, so this is apropos. My cousin Emily once said we needed to gather an oral history of sorts and title it “Memorable Meals.” We bring the food, and we bring the funny. Combined, the two result in a body of work that admittedly gets less accurate, but more entertaining, with each retelling.

When trying to write about what I’m most thankful for, I looked through the last year of my photos. Words could never capture the smiles, love, and fun. So, here are some snapshots that remind me of happiness and gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving. 

Most of the towns and villages in Bowie County were named for the pioneers who helped found them or for the families who owned the land originally, according to a study of the origin of names of towns in the county made by H.P. Briley.

PUBLISHER’S LETTER
Robin Rogers, Ed.D.
October 2026

I’ve always looked a challenge straight in the eye. If I wanted to accomplish something, I figured I had to work for it, learn what I didn’t know, and keep moving forward—even when I wasn’t entirely sure what I was doing.

So since I couldn’t qualify for the 40 Under 40, I devised a list of 40 “under-40” things I can apparently no longer do.

PUBLISHER’S LETTER
Robin Rogers, Ed.D.
September 2026

PUBLISHER’S LETTER
Robin Rogers, Ed.D.
August 2026

PUBLISHER’S LETTER
Robin Rogers, Ed.D.
July 2026

PUBLISHER’S LETTER
Robin Rogers, Ed.D.
June 2026

PUBLISHER’S LETTER
Robin Rogers, Ed.D.
May 2026