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 Born
and raised as "Okies", Bob and Sherry came to Texas in 1983 when Bob was
transferred from Oklahoma to Dallas with a large oil company. Although they were
surprised to learn that "Texas" had five letters instead of four
as they had been taught, they fell in love with the Lone Star State from the
very beginning.
Having lived in big cities like Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and
Wichita, Kansas, they soon learned that Dallas was a REALLY BIG city. However,
they assumed that all new Texans had to wear boots, a large hat, and live in
Dallas as part of the initiation ritual. And so, they endured --- at least for
awhile.
In 1984, the couple stayed in their very first bed and
breakfast in Jefferson, Texas. They discovered a totally different type of
travel accommodations and, well, just listen as Bob tells the story:
"As I was lying in bed at the B&B, Sherry whispered,
‘are you awake?’ ‘I am now’, I replied, ‘what do you want?’ ‘Well’, said Sherry,
‘I just decided what we are going to do with that old house.’
‘This really got my attention’, said Bob, ‘because we
did not own an old house – we had a new house in a Dallas suburb’. ‘What old
house,’ he replied? ‘The old house we are going to buy’, she said. ‘Oh, and what
are we going to do with it’, he stammered ?
‘We are going to do a bed and breakfast’, she stated
emphatically!"
And so, the couple returned to Dallas with much to talk
about. But, as you can guess, Sherry prevailed and soon they were "out on the
trail" looking for "just the right house" and the right town.
After one and half years of visiting every small town
with 60 miles of Dallas, looking at dozens of old houses, attending planning and
zoning meetings, they learned two things:
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Most small towns did not really know what a bed
and breakfast was, AND
-
They didn’t want one!
In July, 1986, the couple was at the same bed and
breakfast in Jefferson (they had become good friends of the innkeepers) and
Sherry picked up a copy of an "antique paper" and saw a house "for sale" in
Mineola, Texas (the picture was very small and black and white – for good
reason).
"This is the house I have seen in my mind’s eye for
these past months", Sherry exclaimed, "but where is Mineola, Texas"? To which
Bob replied, "I have no earthly idea".
After checking a map, it was determined that, with a
slight detour, they could drive through Mineola on the way to Dallas.
And……..they did!
The house was painted red and green, had been vacant for
almost two years, and was in terrible, terrible shape. "This is perfect", Sherry
cried. As Bob tells it, "Sherry never lets a small thing like money get in the
way of something she wants to do". And so, the house was purchased!
Following nearly a year of restoration, the couple moved
into their "dream house" and received their first guests in December, 1987. And,
as the saying goes, "the rest is history".
In 1990, the Home Terminal, housing the
Engineer and Conductor rooms was added to meet the increased demand
and, in 1992, the Tack room was built (complete with a "two-holer") on
the site of the original stable.
"Although our family and friends thought we were crazy
at the time, they all agree [now] that this was the right thing to do", the
couple said. Sherry left "corporate America" in 1988 and Bob followed in 1991
and "there have never been any regrets". We love this little town and our home
and want to share them both with anyone who wants to go to a place "Where
Time Stands Still".
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