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FINAL DISPATCH

From the “Jodie Doin’s” column of the Kileen Weekly Gazette, November 22, 2013: 

When millionaire (and former schoolteacher, as he never fails to point out!) Trevor Anderson throws a party, you know it’s going to be Texas-sized, and last week’s bash in Jodie’s JFK Memorial Park was no exception. It was also a Texas-sized surprise for his lovely wife Sadie, who turned “80 years young” earlier this month! 

“How he kept it from the nosiest woman in town I’ll never know,” said the happy birthday-girl, pictured here with all five of her children, all eleven of her grandchildren, and an even half-dozen great-grandchildren. Clan Anderson was flown in from all parts of the country by her handsome hubby of fifty golden summers. 

“What a wonderful thing to do,” she said, “and gosh, how we did eat!” 

The menu? Need you ask? Barbecue by the gallon and pecan pie for dessert! As they say in these parts, “That’s goood eatin’!” 

Music was provided by the Tejano Trio, and the dancing went on into the wee hours. “She may be getting on in years,” one smiling partygoer told this reporter, “but that lady can dance the shoes off women half her age!” 

The flowers? Yellow roses, of course, for the prettiest yellow rose in Denholm County! 

When asked about her arm, which was in a cast that had been signed by many “wee hands,” Mrs. Anderson told this reporter it was a simple break, and healing well. “I’ve always been accident-prone,” the belle of the ball admitted. “If there’s something to trip over, my toes will find it!” 

When queried about how she thanked her husband once the festivities were over, the still lovely Sadie—unbent and six feet tall—answered with a shy laugh. “I just told him how much I loved him,” she said. “He’s always been my good angel.” 


The photographer has been careful to take his picture so it features the right side of Sadie Dunhill Anderson’s face; from that angle, the scar indenting her left cheek is not visible. But that was the photographer’s decision, and not at the subject’s request. It’s a very old scar now, the wound inflicted by a man who has been many years in his grave, and she makes no particular attempt to hide it. Her husband says it lends character to her face, and sometimes makes a point of kissing her there. That isn’t in the article—of course not—but the man who found this item during one of his frequent Internet searches would not have been surprised.

To the loving eye, even smallpox scars are beautiful. 

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