Everything Nac

Join Nacogdoches Naturally for a day trip to Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area in the Davy Crockett National Forest on Saturday, April 6.

Participants will meet at 8 a.m. at SFA’s Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St., and ride on SFA vans or caravan in their own vehicles to the recreation area. Travel time is approximately 40 minutes, and the group is expected to return to Nacogdoches at approximately 4 p.m.

Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area was built in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It surrounds a picturesque 45-acre lake that was once a log pond and a source of water for the Central Coal and Coke Company sawmill, which operated from 1902 to 1920. The recreation area has been closed since April 2011 when a tornado hit the park, but it recently reopened for day use.

Area residents are invited to register for the trip and enjoy the beauty of East Texas in the early spring. Backpacks, binoculars, magnifiers, field guides and fishing gear will be available for interested families. There also will be canoes and kayaks for families to use on the lake. Nacogdoches Naturally will provide a picnic lunch for the group.

“The day trips that we offer are a great way for families to visit local recreation areas with minimal planning and packing responsibilities,” says Kerry Lemon, project director. “Our staff is there to assist, educate and engage families in fun recreational activities.”

Activities are designed to cultivate outdoor skills and an awareness of outdoor education with the goal of families developing a lifetime appreciation of the natural world. All programs are family-friendly and appropriate for all ages.

Nacogdoches Naturally Family Outdoor Adventures is a project sponsored by SFA Gardens in the Arthur Temple College of Forest and Agriculture and funded through a More Kids in the Woods grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-U.S. Forest Service.

Cost for the event is $15 per family using a personal vehicle. If SFA van transportation is needed, the cost is $25 per family. The registration deadline is Thursday, April 4. Space will be limited, so participants are encouraged to register early. For more information, contact Kerry Lemon at (936) 468-5586 or lemonkb@sfasu.edu.

Former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will be the featured guest at the 2013 installment of the Archie McDonald Speaker Series at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Hutchison served as senator from 1993 through January 2013 and remains the only woman to have represented Texas in the U.S. Senate. She is expected to discuss her latest book, “Unflinching Courage: Pioneering Women Who Shaped Texas.”

The speaker series event is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in the Grand Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center on the SFA campus.

“During Sen. Hutchison’s tenure in the Senate, SFA received federal funding to support important ongoing research in many areas, including education, forestry and agriculture,” said Dr. Baker Pattillo, university president. “She was one of SFA’s strongest proponents in Washington, and the university is eternally grateful for her strong support and friendship throughout the years.”

Hutchison served in the Senate leadership. She was first elected vice chairman of the Republican Conference and later elected chairman of the Re­publican Policy Committee, becoming the fourth-highest ranking Republican senator.

When she left office, she was the ranking member on the Senate Com­mittee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice and Science. She is a former chairman of the Military Construction Appropria­tions Subcommittee and served on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

Hutchison was a member of the Republican National Hispanic As­sembly National Advisory Committee. In 2012, she was unanimously elected chairman of the Board of Visitors at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. She previously served as chairman of the board from 1998 to 2000 and from 2008 to 2009 before being re-elected to serve again this year.

The former senator grew up in La Marque and graduated from the University of Texas and UT Law School. She was twice elected to the Texas House of Representatives and was elected Texas state treasurer in 1990. In June 2000, she and several colleagues co-authored “Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate,” and in 2004, she released her first book, “American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country.” Hutchison published her most recent bestseller, “Leading Ladies: American Trailblaz­ers,” in October 2007.

Hutchison did not seek re-election to the Senate in 2013 and chose to donate some of the artifacts from her historic political career to SFA. The artifacts, which include service awards, photographs taken with world leaders and other items of historical interest, are now on display in the Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Room in SFA’s Ralph W. Steen Library.

SFA’s speaker series was created in spring 2010 by the College of Liberal and Applied Arts to honor and preserve the legacy of Dr. Archie McDonald, as a distinguished scholar, educator and community commentator. In the tradition of McDonald’s writings and oral presentations, a prominent national figure is hosted annually at SFA to discuss contemporary cultural issues.

McDonald taught history at SFA for 48 years and served as director of the East Texas Historical Association and editor of the association’s journal for 37 years. He was a past president of the Texas State Historical Association, past vice chair of the Texas Historical Commission and author/editor of more than 20 books on historical topics. Along with teaching, McDonald served as the university/community liaison for SFA, was a weekly commentator on Red River Radio in Shreveport, and wrote a weekly column for The Daily Sentinel in Nacogdoches and other newspapers. He passed away on Aug. 16, 2012.

McDonald participated in the first three events in the speaker series, interviewing former heavyweight champion boxer and iconic businessman George Foreman, Apollo 12 astronaut and professional artist Alan Bean, and 61st U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III. The Speaker Series is sponsored by SFA’s Student Government Association.

McDonald’s widow, former Nacogdoches Mayor and Nacogdoches Economic Development Corporation President Judy McDonald, will interview Hutchison at the upcoming Speaker Series event. She served on the Nacogdoches City Commission for 18 years, was the first female mayor of Nacogdoches and inspired her husband’s humorous self-help book, “Helpful Cooking Hints for HouseHusbands of Uppity Women.”

She said she looks forward to interviewing Hutchison, who personifies the pioneering women about whom she frequently writes.

“In East Texas, we talk about people who ‘carry the water and tote the wood,’” McDonald said. “With her service in both our state government and in the U.S. Senate, Kay Bailey Hutchison definitely fits that description. She served as a member of the most exclusive ‘men’s club’ in the nation – the U.S Senate – and not only served admirably, but rose to considerable power. It was certainly a loss for Texas and SFA when she decided it was time for a break from public service.”

The speaker series event is free and open to the public. Free passes may be obtained at the Involvement Center on the first floor of the Baker Pattillo Student Center or at the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors Bureau in downtown Nacogdoches. For more information, call (936) 468-2605.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present a student-directed production of “Adam and the Experts” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 13, in the Downstage Theatre in the Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus.

Commerce senior Benn May, who is a performance major with an emphasis in directing, will direct the play by Victor Bumbalo.

May described “Adam and the Experts” as “a play about how a person handles the loss of his best friend to AIDS in the peak of the scare.”

“Adam searches for help and comfort while coping with the fast-approaching loss of his friend,” May said.

The cast features Baytown freshman John Brokow as Adam; Sugar Land sophomore Daniel Miller as The Man; Keller sophomore Austin Davis as Eddie; Brownsville sophomore Anna Goldberg as Sarah; Friendswood freshman Anna Drake as Ensemble Woman; Mount Pleasant senior Stephen Graham as Ensemble Man; and Houston senior Will Hackney as Jim.

The production team includes Heather Abbott, Garland sophomore, stage manager; Vanessa Hendricks, Emory junior, assistant director; Barbara Grimes, Garland senior, scenic designer; Cadie Horne, Houston junior, assistant costume designer; Amanda Warren, Central Heights sophomore, lighting designer; Whitney Daniel, Dallas senior, sound designer; and Stephen Davis, Baytown freshman, assistant stage manager.

May’s directing credits have included director for “Lady Aoi,” “Concorde Fallacy” and the high school summer workshop production of “Animal Farm.” He was assistant director for “Stage Door,” “The Madwoman of Chaillot,” “2012 Festival of New American Plays” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” He was costume designer for “Contribution” and assistant costume designer for “Almost, Maine.” He was wardrobe master for “Tom & Jerry,” and he will be part of the wardrobe crew for the upcoming “bobrauschenbergamerica” that will open at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, in W.M. Turner Auditorium and will run for five nights. His acting credits at SFA include “Twelfth Night” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” among other productions, and he played Tom in “Schoolhouse Rock Live!”

“Adam and the Experts” is recommended for mature audiences. Tickets are $5. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407.