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Trent Jones sprang to national fame in the 1970s when he became teacher/principal/janitor of a one-room schoolhouse out in the vast and awesome Trans-Pecos, halfway across Texas near the fabled ghost-town of Terlingua. The search for a simpler place, a more relaxed and rewarding life-style, led Trent and Olga Jones to Terlingua, whose one claim to fame was the annual chili cook-off contest. Never mind that the salary would make it economically impossible to own a telephone. So what if Trent had to haul his drinking water from five miles away. It was a challenge whose rewards far outweighed the inconveniences. The colorful residents of Terlingua, the school children and their problems and the overpowering beauty of the land all played their part in making teaching in Terlingua an unforgettable experience and an inspirational triumph for Trent Jones.
In the some two decades that Carlton Stowers has been a newspaperman, he has written for TV Guide, Good Housekeeping, Sports Illustrated, won awards from United Press International, the Texas Sportswriters' Association, and the Headliners' Club. In between, he has found time to write around a dozen books. He lives on the outskirts of Dallas with his wife and two children and enjoys most writing about the rural Texas he loves. He serves as associate editor of the newspaper published by the Dallas Cowboys. The Trent Jones have since moved to Boerne in the Texas Hill Country near San Antonio, where he operates a real estate business. |