Why We Live Here
or Life in Big Bend’s tiniest towns:
Shafter, population, 27
As told to and distilled by Megan Wilde ~ Paintings by
Avram Dumitrescu
Sacred Heart Church, Shafter,Texas,Watercolor on paper 11 inches by 17 inches
Patt Sims, long-time science teacher in Presidio, and Ken Sims, retired Customs agent, first moved to Shafter in 1976.
The Sims have lived on a hill overlooking Cibolo Creek since the mid-1980s.
P
att: I miss the old-timers. When
we moved here to Shafter, it was
primarily Hispanic old people,
some who were miners and, of course,
their wives. There were only 13 people
living here then. And then it’s gone
through several changes. At one point it
was mining people again. Then it was
law enforcement. Then there were
12
Cenizo
teachers, and we’re still in the teacher
phase.
Ken: There’s several Presidio school
teachers that live here now.
Patt: That’s most of it.
Ken: I don’t think there’s anybody
from cities.
Patt: It’s nice to have a diversity of
people. We don’t see our neighbors
Third Quarter 2009
very often, but if they need something,
we’re here to help them. But I do miss
the old-timers. They were an unrushed
society. You go. You sit down. And you
just watch Shafter. And then eventually
somebody will say something. The talk
is very quiet and very relaxed. No pres-
sure. No judges.
Ken: I remember the first time we
took (our son) Josh trick or treating...
Patt: Oh God...
Ken: We probably made it to maybe
four houses because we had to stop and
visit everyone.
Patt: We never made it to everybody
in Shafter. Ever. But it was really enjoy-
able. It wasn’t just “Here, have a couple
of Snickers.” It was “Here, have a bag