East Texas Uncovered

Every town has one — that one person whose presence softens the edges of a hard year. The one who makes people pause, smile, breathe again. Here in East Texas, that person wears red. Santa Phil doesn’t just dress  like Santa. He carries the heart of one. You notice it the moment he walks into a room — how the air shifts, how adults straighten up, how kids suddenly remember how to believe in something unseen. But it’s not the suit that does that. It’s him. Because behind the b

Step inside Hillie’s Artwork  in downtown Gladewater and you’ll hear the steady buzz of a tattoo gun beneath a gallery of heroes and...

In a town where new restaurants seem to pop up every season—bringing their trendy menus, Instagram-ready interiors, and opening-week buzz—there’s one place that doesn’t have to chase the spotlight. Texas Traditions has already earned it. A Legacy of Local Flavor Before it was Texas Traditions, the building housed Roy’s , a local eatery many Gladewater residents still remember fondly. Later, it became The Silver Spur , run by Michael Sollars for about two decades. When Michae