Special to The Leader

The countdown is on for the Happy Birthday Lufkin!  Celebration in downtown Lufkin from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. on Monday, September 12, 2016 at the Lufkin City Hall on 300 West Shepherd Ave. in Lufkin, Texas.  The Angelina County Genealogical Society sponsors the event annually because their president Dickie Dixon noticed on a handbill with the original plat of Lufkin that on September 12, 1882 the Houston East & West Texas Railroad auctioned off town lots for the town of Lufkin to begin.  Accordingly, four years ago on that date, the first Happy Birthday Lufkin! Celebration kicked off the event with Dubby Perry as the emcee and Dickie speaking on “The Coming of the Railroad.”  Next year, Dickie will write a musical called “The Best Mayors Ever” to celebrate the 135^th birthday.

At 9:00 A.M. in the atrium of the city hall, guests will enjoy doughnuts, cookies, and coffee provided by local businesses and the Genealogical Society.  Local dignitaries and city officials will extend their birthday wish to the City from 10 A.M. to 11 A.M.Local businessman Neal Naranjo will inform the attending public about how his ancestor A. B. Jennings helped to found Lufkin in his presentation “A. B. Jennings and the Coming of the Railroad.”  Guests will dine sumptuously at noon on food provided by local restaurants for the food judging contest called Happy Birthday Lufkin! Taste Fare.  A panel of five judges will impartially judge the top three restaurants and award them with certificates of achievement to proudly display in their restaurants. Local historian and genealogist Dickie Dixon will summarize his findings on “The Merchants on First Street:  The First Hundred Years” at 1:00 P.M.and “The Merchants on Second Street:  The First Hundred Years” at 2:00 P.M.

Door prizes contributed by businesses will be awarded on the hour and half hour throughout the event.  Attendees do not have to be present to win.

For more information, call Dickie Dixon at (936) 240-8378, or e-mail him at dickie.dixon@hotmail.com