A 100-year-old Aggie. (original) (raw)

And, indeed, he was quite an Aggie.

After growing up in Farmersville, between McKinney and Greenville, Holsonbake graduated from Texas A&M in 1931 and became the long-jump champion of the Southwest Conference in 1929 and 1930. Those "good old days" at College Station grew into a lifetime love of the Aggies.

He still has his scuffed Aggie boots and plans to hand them down to a great grandson when he becomes an Aggie.

But, around Hughes Springs, Holsonbake is known for his life's work as a conservationist long before people began thinking about water and soil conservation. His passion started as a vocational-agriculture teacher in 1930 at Nevada in Collin County and later at Rockwall. He moved to Hughes Springs in 1937 where he taught until 1970.

His daughter, Diane Johnson, said Holsonbake's students "were his boys, and they still are. I always said if I got in jail, dad would not get me out, but he would get his boys out."

In each community, Holsonbake taught his students the importance of taking care of Texas' natural resources.

And in 1976 when he became a director of the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District--a job he still holds after 32 years--he started working on water conservation before it was a recognized practice.

"It has been the focal point of his life," said Walt Sears of Hughes Springs, general manager of the district.

When Lake of the Pines was built in Northeast Texas, Holsonbake was present when U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson and Speaker of the House came to dedicate the lake.

It was one of the highlights of a devoted Aggie's life.

Bob Bowman's East TexasFebruary 22, 2009 Column
A weekly column syndicated in 70 East Texas newspapers
Copyright Bob Bowman