ROCKWALL/HEATH, TX (Dec. 19, 2014) At the risk of being labeled old-fashioned (as if that’s a bad thing), we at Blue Ribbon News have decided to go out on a limb and bring old school back.
I looked up the meaning of “old school” in both Wikipedia and the Urban Dictionary, just to make sure it isn’t perceived as something negative by EVERYbody. The fact that I turned to Google instead of my Merriam-Webster hardback proves I’m not completely behind the times.
I was pleased to learn that old school is defined as “anything from an earlier era and looked upon with high regard or respect; something that has been shown to have lasting value or quality.”
The Online Slang Dictionary definition – which made me laugh – says old school describes something you remember from a long time ago, “like in the 80s or early 90s.”
Even Mark Twain encouraged going out on limb because “that’s where the fruit is.” So we’re introducing an old-timey social column – a throwback to an era when newspapers reported the comings and goings of local townsfolk, like when Mabel Johnson visited her sister Mrs. K. Wallace in Austin, or when LaVern and Charles Falls purchased the Rockwall Ice House and supplied blocks of ice for everyone’s “ice boxes.”
Admittedly, this is not a stretch for us. After all, we are Blue Ribbon News, so named because we feature only good news – spotlighting the people, places and events that impact our hometown in a positive way. Whether your story is big or small, we believe it deserves to be told, so more ‘good’ will follow. We already went out on a limb when we launched BlueRibbonNews.com four years ago, and THEN – a year later – followed with a print publication, at a time when newspapers are supposedly dying.
Who better to bring back that flavor, those relationships and that history than guest columnist Kim Timpa, whose Rockwall roots stretch back to a time when her dad, the late Jimmy Wade Williams (namesake of JW Williams Middle School) served as RISD Superintendent. Kim, a Rockwall grad with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Baylor University and a Juris Doctorate from Baylor Law School, has been practicing family law in this area for more than 20 years. The Timpa Law Office is located on the downtown square, where Kim readily recalls the history of each building, the businesses that inhabited them and the people who brought them to life.
“Rockwall has always been unique. Community members have always taken care of each other. I want to share those qualities and traditions with all of our residents as our community grows,” said Kim. “Writing about the people I love is fun, and Blue Ribbon News is the perfect place to share stories and pieces of history that keep us connected.”
Kim’s community ties run deep. In addition to being a member the Rockwall Bar Association, she is a board member of the Rockwall Area Chamber of Commerce, where she serves as the Committee Chair for the Young Professionals of Rockwall; and she is a board member of Rockwall County Helping Hands, where she is a founding member of the Helping Hands Community Circle. She is a lifelong member of the First United Methodist Church of Rockwall, currently serving on the Board of Trustrees. She is a founder and former board member of the RISD Education Foundation. She and her daughter, Jamie, are members of the National Charity League. Her husband, Joe, is a local business owner.
Next up on Kim’s calendar is a holiday gala at her house – a present to herself, she says, “because I love the people of Rockwall, and I want to enjoy the holidays with them. Rockwall is my extended family.”
Look for her to write about it in her 2015 column, “For the Love of Rockwall,” in print (and yes, online, because we’re not that old school). It’s our way of ringing in the new year, as we “take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne” (which roughly translated, means “for times gone by.” I had to look that up on Google, too.)
By Dawn Redig, Blue Ribbon News editor.
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