Krista Lee Marx

 Krista Lee Marx moved to Elgin in 1972 when her father accepted a call to serve as pastor for a local church. She graduated from Elgin High School, and after college, she returned to Elgin and taught in the school district for over thirty years. She has volunteered with numerous community organizations, such as the Main Street Board, the annual Hogeye Festival, and the Elgin Arts Association. Krista has a deep appreciation for Elgin's history and traditions.

The interview was conducted by Jacque Smith on December 17, 2022. Ms. Smith has lived in Elgin since 2015. She is an award-winning artist and served on the board of the Elgin Oral History Project from 2022 through 2024. Jacque continues to be involved in the organization and community through volunteer activities.

Jacque: Okay, so we'll turn you around this way. Now let's just do a little voice check. Yes. Can you just kind of talk to me?

Krista: I can talk to you while you do the voice check and make sure that all the sound is fine.

Jacque: Okay. Sounds like the sound is fine. So, I'm going to move back over on the other side. Check this little light. Make sure you're on. . . Okay. So, I have to read the purpose. Okay. The purpose of this interview is to include your story in the social history of Elgin for current and future residents through the Elgin Oral History Project. And I'll have some questions for you, but we'd like you just to relax and just tell your Elgin stories. Okay? Would you state your full name please?

Krista: My name is Krista Lee Marx.

Jacque: Okay. Krista Lee Marx, do you live in Elgin?

Krista: Correct. I do.

Jacque: And how long have you lived here?

Krista: My family moved to Elgin in 1972 when I was five years old.

Jacque: From where did they come?

Krista: We came most recently from San Antonio. My dad accepted a call out at New Sweden Lutheran Church and Bethlehem Lund—a dual parish, and we moved here so that he could take that.

Jacque: I see, okay. And is he still there?

Krista: He left that dual parish call after 16 years, but not before I had graduated from Elgin High School and my brother had graduated from Elgin High School, and this definitely became home. They left for a while and then retired back to Elgin.

Jacque: And you left for a while and came back, right?

Krista: I left just long enough to go to college, and then I came back home to Elgin and started teaching and was a part of Elgin Independent School district for 33 years before recently retiring.

Jacque: Teaching what?

Krista: I'm a first-grade teacher in my heart, but I also have been a reading specialist. I have been a Title I teacher, working with kids who have special needs and designated social needs. I have served as an instructional specialist working to support teachers and helping them support the kids. I have done special projects in instruction. I have taught so many kids how to improvise with songs and do remixes to help them with their learning. I got a message the other day from a kiddo that I taught, oh gosh, 10, 15 years ago, who remembers the song! “Write, Write Baby” or something—that’s something that they just start singing. So, I was gone just for a minute and then I came back home, and this has been home. I raised my kids here, and it's where I see myself being period. I am very much a part of Elgin and Elgin is very much a part of me.

Jacque: I know. And we want to hear all about that, but what street do you live on in Elgin?

Krista: I live on East Eighth Street.

Jacque: East Eighth Street. Okay. That's a pretty great place! Okay, so let's just talk about all these different activities that you're involved in—in Elgin. I know that you were recently voted president of the Elgin Art Association. Talk to us about that.

Krista: So, I tip-toed into the Elgin Arts scene somewhat while being kind of dragged into it. I still have a hard time viewing myself as an artist, but I love photography, and I love our town. And it was through taking pictures of downtown when I was out on my early morning walks that had people start coming to me saying, “Krista, you need to do something with this. You need to do something with this. You need to do something with this.” And through that I tip-toed into the arts community and the Elgin Arts Association and entered one of my photographs. And it wasn't of downtown Elgin; it was actually of a heron, but a very special heron to me. It won the People's Choice Award in the Pearls Before Swine Art Show. And from that, I really became kind of enamored with the group and of the opportunities and started doing more and more with the Art Association and was impressed just with the quality of people and the variety of art and the open recognition of what art is and who artists are, so that it's not a narrow definition.

It's very, very wide, and I just became more involved in it. And next thing I know, they asked if I would accept a nomination to be president. And it happened. And I still kind of sit back and wonder as I just get to see the ever-growing art community. And I have considered myself, I guess, a patron of the arts to some extent. I joke that I'm the demand side of supply and demand side of art because I like to buy art. I love to enjoy art and partake of art. And I think it's from that perspective that I see—I bring my unique set of talent, skills, and attributes to the Elgin Art Association. We had our most successful Pearls Before Swine Art Show recently here in October. It was a sight to behold!

Jacque: Success, define success.

Krista: Success. We had the most entries we've had to date. We had the largest number of artists—of unique artists who were bringing their work in. We had the greatest attendance over the past two years. We've added extra days to the show, so more people are coming in and more people are being exposed to the art that is in our community. And before it was kind of like a private club; if you're an artist, other artists and you appreciate the art. And what I see as the gauge of the success for the Pearls Before Swine Art Show is that so many people who aren't a part of that group got to see it and got to kind of dip their toes into the water. So, more people—my goal is for more people like me who don't see themselves as an artist to start to recognize the art that exists in their world and can be celebrated and enjoyed and shared.

Jacque: And so, what do you attribute that? Was there more promotion made this time to let people know that this was available to them?

Krista: We absolutely made the most of social media and put the word out all over the place with social media. We also just extended the days that it opened, and we extended the days for the People's Choice voting. It used to be—it was only on Thursday night; only on what was happening in the gala; only the people that were there for the opening. But now we open on Thursday night. It was a great, big, wonderful party—so many people coming through and it was very simple. One of the things I loved about it was that we didn't decorate. I was like, why are we decorating? It's an art show. The art is the decor that should be the focus of everything that is there. And so, we had the art show Thursday night; people came on Friday; it was scheduled to be open from 10 to 5, but it ended up actually staying open until about 11 on Friday night.

So, we lived and learned on that one. We're just shifting the whole time open later to coordinate with the activities with Hogeye. And then on Saturday, it was open all day as well. And we stopped the voting at two o'clock on Saturday and were able to announce our winners before the end of the Hogeye Festival. So, I think the partnership with Hogeye—the festival itself—was very, very helpful from my own perspective. I'm a volunteer for the Hogeye Festival, in addition to wearing my Elgin Arts Association president hat. So being able to tag team those hats helps to build those connections and makes for a natural alliance. I'm already there and doing two things. So, let's bring it all together. And I will tell you that Ashley and Kyle Smith were magnificent in hosting the space in the Clever Tiger. They staffed it for all those many hours that it was open along with Megan Stuart; they were just amazing. Without them, it wouldn't have happened, but the fact that it was there, and it was the location, and it was open and available and open to all. And it's exciting to me to see the buzz that it generates to be in the space and hear people come in and go saying, “oh, I didn't know this was happening!” This happens in our little old Elgin. And I think our artist community is just continuing to grow, and our art appreciation is continuing to grow and with the Elgin Arts Association continuing to partner with the schools, and with the Pearls of Youth Show that we'll have again. That was another huge success this past spring. And it is all about building those connections and opening doors and windows and avenues and all the things. But just being open, having all the things open, it shouldn't be a secret that we have talented people in Elgin, Texas.

Jacque: And so, you were on the Hogeye committee; what did you do with that?

Krista: So, with Hogeye, I'm on the Hogeye committee, but I also wear another hat as Vice President of Downtown Elgin Inc.

Jacque: And okay, wait, wait . . . How many hats do you have?

Krista: I don't count my hats! I can't count my hats. I just, because if I think about it too long, I go, “oh, I need to take off a hat.” I don't want to take off a hat. I love all the hats that I wear. Downtown Elgin Inc. is the nonprofit branch of the work that we do through Elgin Main Street Board. I'm Secretary of the Elgin Main Street Board.

Jacque: Of course you are!

Krista: So, when I say it all out loud, I'm like, “wait, what?” Through my membership on the Main Street Board—and I've been a member of the Main Street Board for five years—I moved over to also be a part of Downtown Elgin Inc. so that we could have a fund-raising branch of the work that we do with Main Street Board.

As vice president of that, one of my primary responsibilities, honestly, is to run Cow Patty Bingo at Hogeye. So, Cow Patty Bingo has become my baby. I was “voluntold” into it early on and then have just kind of taken it and been able to make a few tweaks. We raised about $6,000 with it this year, and we're funneling toward the legacy project of the sesquicentennial, which is the expansion of Veterans Park. And I am not sad, honestly, that the sesquicentennial is coming to an end. It was another committee that might've been the hat that tipped it for me a little bit. But it's exciting to see the things that have come out of that as well.

Yeah, that's what I did at Hogeye. Ever since I took on that role in Hogeye, that's really been my focus because it's all day. It's all-day selling tickets and rounding up people to go out and sell tickets and explaining what Hogeye is and explaining what Cow Patty Bingo is and seeing people who come in and think that the cows that we have must be girls because they don't have horns! They did happen to be little heifers. But educating some of the folks who come in and think that if a cow has horns or if some cattle have horns, it must be a boy and not understanding that that's not the piece of equipment, that's the defining factor! But that's another piece that I just love about our town, that we provide that experience.

I looked over at one point and there was a young family with a little one, probably about two and a half or three years old, who was just captivated by the cattle, absolutely captivated. And just to see their eyes, the great, huge eyes as they're getting to see something that they wouldn't otherwise living in their subdivision and going to their daycare and whatnot--not ever really breathing country air. But to see a cow on First Street and such a large animal for a kid!

Jacque: For a little kid!

Krista: For a little kid. And we kind of bring in the pick of the litter on the animals. We partner with a family that has show cattle, and they bring in two of their sweetest heifers. That’s what they've done for us in the last several years as long as I've been affiliated with the project. And we know, and of course, I have the little handmade signs in hot pink saying, “please keep your hands back.” But we get very gentle ones on purpose. There's quite a science to it. We make sure that they are well-fed. They've had plenty of fiber, and they get a nice little treat of molasses right before it's time to go out and take care of business. So, there is a science, but it is joyous. And this past year we added an additional 200 squares. So that raised more money, raised about a thousand more dollars total over what we had been traditionally raising. And next year, we plan to expand even more, selling out tickets.

Jacque: So now are there two heifers in the pen at the same time?

Krista: That's what we started doing with the added squares, so that we could just kind of keep things moving as it were. But it's the first plop that matters the most.

Jacque: I see. And what kind of reaction do you get from the heifers?

Krista: They are just as happy as could be! They're used to people. They're acclimated to that from being show animals. They're used to people being around and just the noise of people, and they seem just as happy and content as could possibly be to be there and get to snack all day. We have a shaded area for them, so they don't get too hot, and historically, they walk out and take a few steps, take care of business, and then they just head right on back to their little pen and get back to their business of eating. Not a bad gig!

Jacque: And do they have names? I don't know.

Krista: They do. They do, but I don’t know what they are. They are spoiled little show heifers, but I don't know what their names are.

Jacque: Well, I know that people get really excited about it, buying tickets and carrying on.

Krista: And I always tell them to buy lots of tickets. It's a great fundraiser. It is a wonderful fundraiser. And Bluebonnet Electric helps us out with getting it all set up. David Glass from Elgin General Store helps us by providing the fence panels and everything to build the pen around the grid and for the heifers. And then we've got Jason Hodde and JJ Murphy who provide us with the animals, and they come in. It's a great collaborative effort. Elgin Breeding Service always makes a contribution for a big gift card.

The Lost Pines Hyatt always donates a two-night stay out there that's a part of the prize. And this past year, Firewild donated a whole roast. So, all those things have been going together as a prize. Now I've made a motion—a suggestion--that we divide that up into three prizes because it's a lot. And that way, if you have more chances to win, then more people will play because they have the chance to win. But I always say as I'm selling the tickets, all right, poop happens at four. Poop happens at 4, and it's amazing how many people don't believe me. And they'll come at 4:15 and they're like, “oh, did we miss it?” I'm like, “poop happened at 4!” Yeah, I don't believe in invisible hurdles. I'm going to tell you what you need to know. Poop happens at 4!

Jacque: Have the cows over the years ever, and we may be talking too much about this for the interview, but any strikes, any refusal to poop at 4?

Krista: Yes, yes. Now, this is before I came on board, but once upon a time, there was a year when there was no poop during the whole thing. They waited for an hour. We release them into the little pen over the grid at 4, and they released them and everybody came and gathered; and they waited, and they waited, and they waited, and they waited, and they waited! And there wasn't a Plan B at that time about what to do, but it was time to break down the event. The festival was breaking down, and people were going home—still no poop. So, they finally just decided to draw from random numbers. So that is now officially in the rules of how Cow Patty Bingo is. If there's no poop within 30 minutes, then we take care of it. But now Jason and JJ are great. They make sure that everybody's got lots of fiber and they've had plenty of water. They have it down to a science. They know exactly what the gastric cycle is of the cows. They know when it's going to be time to poop. So, we plan accordingly for the poop particulars during Hogeye.

Jacque: Okay. So, talk to us please about Main Street, the Main Street organization, and what's going on there and some of the plans that they have.

Krista: So Main Street Board—I don't know exactly how long it has been a board. I used to be a country girl, so I couldn’t join the Main Street board because to be on the Main Street board, you need to live downtown or live in town or be a business owner in town. And I was able to join it when I lived in a loft apartment at Second and Main. You don't get much more downtown than that, but it was a natural transition because downtown is where it's at. That's where we get our identity as a community. And my role at that time with the school district was in human resources. A big part of it was recruiting teachers. And I really made a very concentrated effort to make sure that was a part of what I told potential teachers when recruiting—talking to them about our downtown and the community and about the spirit that's there.

One of my sadnesses right now is that so many people are moving to the community, but not really in the community. They're living off 290 in those subdivisions, and their idea of Elgin stops at the subdivision. It doesn't come on down 290; it doesn't come off 290. It doesn't come to Main Street. So that is the large part of the mission and the work of the Main Street Board—to keep Main Street vibrant, to bring people downtown, and to actively work to promote Elgin. One of our business owners, Monica Nava with Chem Cafe says, “Well, Elgin is downtown.” I'm like, I like it! I secretly want that to be a slogan, but that hasn't made the vote just yet.

But I think that's true. I mean, that's where you get the spirit of the community when you are downtown, and you see the spaces. Now for me, it has an extra layer because I can walk downtown and remember, oh, this was the Western Auto. And in the Western Auto there was that smell of Western Auto. It smelled like the bike tires, right? Yeah. It had that smell like the bike tires. And that's where I got my first bike—in the Western Auto. That was on Main Street.

Jacque: Where?

Krista: On Main. It was in the first block about where, and I've been thinking, I actually was thinking about this the other day. It was a part of what is now a part of Martha's Market. I think that's what it's called. Now it is the little antique mall piece that's there. But right in that area. At one point in time on Main Street, we had Western Auto. We had Bill's Dollar Store, and we had a Winn’s. You could go into Winn’s, and you could get a goldfish, or you could get fresh popcorn, or you could get clothes. You could get fabric and all the notions that you needed to sew things. It was a little bit of everything, but they had the fish tanks in the back—a very big deal to have those fish tanks in the back. And at Bill’s is where you would go to get more of the things that you needed. That's where you would go to buy your soap or that's where you would go to get kind of the notions, I guess, that you need just for daily life. And at that time, we had our grocery store downtown. And was that where, I can't remember what it was called right now.

Jacque: Is that where the Dollar Store is?

Krista: Yeah, that was our grocery store. And now when you walk into Dollar General, it's amazing to think that that was the grocery store for town. Now, prior to that, there was also Q&S Grocery, which was right here. Just what direction is that? North on Main from Eighth Street. So, where it curves around and splits off to Taylor Road. That was Q&S Grocery. Now it's just a vacant convenience store. But at one point, that was the grocery store that we would go to when I first moved to Elgin. And we would go in there and get our milk, and I remember getting milk in the glass gallon jugs that had the paper cap on top. And I guess I was, I know it was five, but I remember seeing cantaloupe in the big bin, but in a pyramid—walking in and there was a pyramid of cantaloupe. There was the butcher case and getting ham sliced from there and getting our fresh eggs and getting our milk and rinsing out our milk jugs and bringing it back. And then those would go off and be recycled, and we would come back in—sterilized and refilled and we would get our new milk. Yeah, it's been a long time!

Jacque: And those groceries, that food was provided by local farmers. The milk from…you know where that came from?

Krista: I have zero idea. I was five. It was magic. It was magic. It was just always there. And I don't know where it came from, but I do remember that the man that worked at the butcher counter, which I think ran the whole show honestly, but I remember him having the paper hat, the little white paper hat thing that had the little fold across the top. I remember him having the hat and the apron and fresh slicing meat for us and things like that in that little bitty place that's now kind of a defunct convenience store. So that's my earliest grocery store memory. It was Williams—that's what it was downtown when it was on Second and Main—Williams Grocery. That was when we got big time. We went from Q&S Grocery to Williams. They were there for a long time. When the video industry first really took off and you could get a VCR, you would be able to rent movies. And I remember my mom sending me inside with a check that was written out to Williams Grocery that was the deposit to check out a VHS tape. And I feel like it was some huge amount of money. And I remember thinking, I don't know if it was $20, I don't know if it was 50. I don't know what it was. In my mind, it was a huge amount of money that we would put in. And that was your deposit that you had that check. And if you did not return the movie, they would cash the check.

Jacque: Wow! So, that's how that worked.

Krista: And it was, yeah. They had, I think, basically a bookcase of VHS tapes that we would go and shop the VHS tapes and leave that check and then be able to take them home. And now you can get anything on demand from the comfort of your home without another piece of equipment.

Jacque: Yeah. That technology kind of migrated pretty fast. So, you grew up in Elgin, have lots of memories here. What's your favorite memory?

Krista: Well, I can tell you one of my first memories is tied to the centennial celebration. We moved here in the spring of ‘72 in conjunction with Western Days,

Jacque: Which was when?

Krista:

In July, July. It was a very big deal when it was in July. The parade was themed for the centennial. So, I remember my grandma making me a dress with a pinafore and carrying an old parasol and walking in that parade in my centennial garb. And my brother, who at the time was two, was in the wagon and he was wearing the little shorts and his little suspenders and a little white shirt. And he had a string bow tie that was a little clip on that he wore that had been specially made for the centennial. So, it said Elgin Centennial, what? 1872 to 1972. And that's one of my first memories was being in the parade because I felt famous being a part of that in the centennial celebration then.

But speaking of Western Days, growing up was very much a big, big deal because we didn't have the same kind of connectivity we do now. You weren't on social media with your friends, you weren't on the phone with your friends all the time, especially if you lived out, and it was going to be a long-distance phone call, you weren't able to talk to your friends. So, from the time school was out in the summer until the time we came back in the fall, you often didn't get to see each other except for Western Days. And when Western Days came, it was a big deal.

Everybody came to the park, everybody was there. That's when you finally got to reconnect with your friends, and you would just see these bunches of kids running around all over the place. Wonderful things. And then in high school, it was still such a big, big deal since in the eighties. I remember making a new sundress to wear because it was always hot at the tennis court dance.

But you had to be cute because you hadn't seen anybody all summer long. And who knows what would have happened if the boys had turned handsome or just not gross anymore. You need to be ready. Yeah, you need to be ready. And I remember choosing my pattern, choosing my fabric, making my dress, and meeting all my friends down at the park for Western Days at that tennis court dance. It was a big, big deal on Friday night. And then having the parade on Saturday and being down in the park all day on Saturday in July. And I look at that now and I think, man, that was hot, but I didn't think it was hot then. It was just what we did. Well, it probably was not as hot as it is now. Plus, I was not as old as I am now and not as used to air conditioning because you ran around outside is what you did. Especially growing up in the country, it was a big deal to come into town and see everybody at Western Days.

Jacque: Yeah. So, you have your thumb on the pulse of the city. I think you are involved in so many different activities in town. What is the best part about it? What I'm going to ask you, what is the best part of living in Elgin? What would you like to see done differently though? So those two questions.

Krista: I love the traditions and the events that we have every year. Some that we've been doing forever, such as Western Days. Some that are relatively new though not really new when you really look at it anymore like the Hogeye Festival. But all those things that we have that just happen every year are amazing. But what I treasure most about our community is that when there is someone in need, people band together, and it's just what we do. And you see it time and time again with different groups. It's not always the same people that are putting together a benefit, but there's always someone who is putting together a benefit if there's a need. At one point in time, there were several kids in town that had been diagnosed with cancer and were fighting cancer. And we were at, I can't remember the event. I know we were all at JD and Donna Harkin's house out on Red Town Road.

And we were just sitting and talking, just sitting and talking out on the porch, front porch conversation. And JD said, “Well, nothing—I’ll tell you what, we are nothing but a pile of shit if we don't do something for these kids!” And we took that idea and thought about kind of thing we all did and put together a sale of barbecued chicken halves. And we got permission to be downtown in Veterans Park, and we sold chicken halves and a bake sale. Those were the things that we could do. What do we know? What can we do? We put out the word and raised so much money that we were able to give each of those families several thousand dollars to go toward their expenses. And that was really the first time as an adult when I had been a part of something like that. We did it for several years. While there was still a need, we ended up calling our group HOPE, for Helping Out People of Elgin; and joyfully there stopped being as much need. It was the strangest thing. It was just a combination of factors. There wasn't—the cancers weren't

connected, but there were just several kids that were battling cancer at the same time. And to see them now, the kids have all done very well. So that's also another reason to celebrate. But that's just one example. When the tornadoes came through, there was almost this feud that was happening between different groups that were trying to help.

Jacque: Do you mean the latest, the most recent tornado?

Krista: When that most recent tornado came through, just last spring, The community again came together, and there were fundraisers that popped up and different organizations were having fundraisers, and the monies were channeling in different directions. There were things specific to people and the things that were not. Several years ago, there was a tragic, tragic accident that took the lives of some of our kiddos at Elgin High School. So, some of the parents joined together. We needed to raise some funds to help these families to pay their expenses and get that done. We put together barbecue, a barbecue benefit, and raised thousands and thousands of dollars just a couple of weeks ago. There's another gentleman in town who is facing cancer, and he doesn't have insurance. So, his family put together a benefit. Again, thousands and thousands of dollars raised. And it's what we do. And that's what I like the most is that it's just what we do. And it's something that's not just from one pocket of the community, but it's from different areas of the community. It's just kind of the culture that if there's a need, we'll get together and we'll figure something out. What do I wish were different?

I wish we had a sandwich shop downtown. I do--for a nice soup and sandwich, like Thundercloud. No, no. Something small—something that's family-run. Something that has wonderful fresh baked bread. Something that I think we should have the sandwich shop. So again, this comes from my downtown perspective.

Jacque: In your spare time?

Krista: Sure. You don't want me cooking anything. So, no. I'm going to say “no” to that, but I would sure eat there a lot! I wish that—I wish we had more businesses and more retail. I wish we had more places to eat with more options, restaurant options downtown. I would really, in the perfect world, like more of that energy and development would be happening there. Currently, I mean, our fill-rate is tremendous compared to most small towns our size. I guess I'm starting to take the small off the description as we get bigger and bigger. But compared to most towns our size, our fill-rate downtown is tremendous. But we have a lot of insurance agents that are downtown, and that's great. I mean, it's wonderful that they're centrally located, but they're not bringing more people downtown.

Whereas retailers need places to eat; so do musical venues. And I think we're starting to see those things develop. And downtown is kind of expanding, which I love. The downtown area extends to Central Avenue, which is fantastic. The Depot side—Depot Street—is really developing nicely. I want those things to continue—that energy to bring more opportunities for engagement downtown. There's my wish. Plus, a sandwich shop!

Jacque: Plus, a sandwich shop! Well, that's wonderful. Okay. Thank you very much. I had just one more question. So, this recording will be heard by generations to come hopefully, and we'll learn about Elgin as a thriving little community. What words of wisdom do you have for future Elginites?

Krista: My hope for future Elginites and the future of Elgin is that the spirit of community continues. So, my words of wisdom would be to treasure each other, to stop and notice and delight in the other people, in the community, in the history of the community, in the promise and potential of the community. But to slow down the busyness of life, to recognize the small-town roots that we do have here, and the connectivity that fosters. I want future generations to nurture each other and to recognize and value the nature and the spirit of the community. And I hope that the things that I treasure most are things that will continue. The spirit of—if there's a need, we come together. And that's just what we do. I hope that that's always what we do in Elgin, Texas.

Jacque: Great. Sounds good.

Krista: Yeah, because before you know it, it's going to be 50 years from now. That's right. Just like that. Just like that.

Jacque: Well, thank you very much, Ms. Krista. I appreciate it.

Krista: Thank you for the opportunity. Okay.