Garrett Simmons, owner of Rowdy Axe Company in Temple, shows his form during a Sunday interview. Rowdy Axe will be offering free lessons and throws on April 1 at Down@The Yard, a First Friday event planned for Temple’s food truck plaza. David Stone photo

By DAVID STONE Our Town Temple

One of Temple’s newest businesses will make its debut April 1 at Down@The Yard, one of many events planned for the next First Friday.

Rowdy Axe Company is the creation of Garrett Simmons with a little help from his father-in-law, Jimmy. The company has been in business since 2020, but was operating primarily in the Liberty Hill area.

“I was a manager at Waco Axe Company but lost my job when the pandemic hit,” Garrett said. “Jimmy had this old trash trailer out in a field, and we started working on it. He taught me how to weld while we built the throwing trailer.”

That trailer soon would be the focus of Rowdy Axe Company, and Garrett pulled it to events, parties and festivals in and around Liberty Hill and Georgetown.

“I’m now in marketing with the city of Temple’s Parks & Recreation Department,” he said. “My wife and I decided to move to Temple to be closer to work.”

So along with packing up furniture and personal items, Garrett hitched up the trailer and headed north.

“Down@The Yard will be my first event in Temple,” he said. To celebrate, Garrett will allow people to try their luck for free.

“I want to help people love this sport as much as I do,” Garrett said. “I’ll spend as much time on the trailer with a thrower as needed so they feel comfortable with an axe. Then, the game will begin.”

“The Game” is a competition-style event where participants get 10 throws at the large wooden target inside the cage. A red circle marking the bulls-eye is surrounded by four rings that increase in size until the edge of the target is reached — much like a big dart board. A direct hit on the bulls-eye is worth 6 points, and points decrease the further away from the center the axe sticks. The person who scores the most points wins.

Garrett’s current trailer allows one thrower at a time, but he already has plans for a bigger competition-friendly apparatus.

“Instead of the target being at the end of the trailer, I will have a trailer that is split into two sections lengthwise,” he said. “I’ll have four targets in the middle of the trailer, two on each side. The throwers will stand off the trailer, and I’ll have barn-style doors on both sides that swing out, creating protective outer walls to the throwing lanes.”

Garrett, who has been throwing competitively for three years, hopes to fill his calendar with events and parties throughout the Temple and Belton areas.

Down@The Yard also will feature live music, yard games and tasty options from participating food trucks.

“It’s going to be a fun evening,” said Jenny Morales, co-owner of The Yard-based Chock Full of Cheese food trailer. “We will be playing games such as Corn Hole, and food will be 10 percent off. We will be offering special brownies with cream-cheese frosting as well.”

Music for Down@The Yard will be provided from 6-8 p.m. by Amber Dreams, an indie pop duo that uses a pedal harp, vocals and a beat machine.

Amber Dreams will be performing at Down@The Yard on April 1 at the Temple food truck plaza. Courtesy photo

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MONDAY | MARCH 21, 2022

READER FEEDBACK

Our Town Temple has received the following comments regarding THE SUNDAY REPORT: Temple’s Street People.

Nancy Smith: These street people are part of the make-up of our city, and their story needs to be told. I have often heard the statement, “Many of us are just one paycheck away from homelessness.” Thank you for the excellent reporting!

Tim Simecek: Great article, Dave.  I feel like there has always been a poverty issue in Temple. However, I had no idea that the homeless issue had elevated to this level.  I’m happy to see that Temple is actually doing something about it. But, even their proactiveness could lead to developing problems. I afraid that once word gets out about Temple’s willingness to accommodate the homeless, Temple will become a haven to the homeless from other places. It’s a double-edged sword. But I think it’s a chance Temple has to take. I just read that 30-35 percent of the homeless have mental-health issues and/or substance abuse issues. I find that hard to believe. I’d be willing to bet it’s considerably higher than that. Just as much focus needs to be put on that as just finding them a place to live. I commend MaryAnne for keeping her sobriety as her highest priority. As long as she hangs onto that, she has a chance. 

Hayden Knott: Great article. There is a tiny-home village here in Kansas City, MO, designed and built for homeless veterans.

AROUND TOWN: the weekend in photos

A high-flying dog snags a Frisbee during the Good Karma K9Z performance at Saturday’s Pawz on the Plaza. It was a beautiful day to spoil a pooch with doggie treats, pup apparel, a pet illustrator and fun in the water fountain! The event was held at Santa Fe Plaza, along Market Trail and at The Yard. David Stone photo

Larry Golden walks backward as Hercules follows by rolling a big ball across the Good Karma K9Z arena Saturday during Pawz on the Plaza. Golden, a trainer since 2015, uses only rescue dogs in his show. David Stone photo

A dog and its owner stroll through the water fountains Saturday at Santa Fe Plaza. The fountains were turned on about a half-hour into the festival and immediately became a “pupular” attraction! David Stone photo

Baxter Ray poses in front of a sculpture at Santa Fe Depot on Saturday during Pawz on the Plaza. Baxter — furbaby of Mallory Anthony — apparently took a break from his scooter ride! Courtesy photo

The Sparta Volunteer Fire Department held a big car show over the weekend and attracted dozens of sweet rides, including this award-winning Mustang (above) owned by Connie Moore. Below, a crowd of onlookers — including Rod Rodriguez in the foreground — admire the classic rides. Pagie Ratts photos

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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NEWS FROM EVERYWHERE

At one time, Temple had three Safeway grocery stores and three Piggly Wiggly’s. Where were the Safeway stores?

ANSWER IS AT END OF TODAY’S ISSUE

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

To include your events in What’s Happening, email information to OurTownTemple@gmail.com. Photos are welcome to for use in the publication as space permits!

On this day in 1801, Philip Nolan, mustanger and filibuster, died at the hands of Spanish troops. It was not his first visit to Texas to acquire horses. He was also known to be carrying on illegal trade with the Indians. He left Natchez at the head of a body of well-armed men in October 1800 and made his way to the area north of Nacogdoches. He then proceeded to a now-unknown Central Texas site, where he erected a small fortification, including some corrals, and began capturing mustangs. He was killed at his fort on March 21, 1801, by troops from Nacogdoches sent out to intercept him. His men, captured and tried, spent years in prison for their part in Nolan's final expedition, the precise nature of which has not been satisfactorily explained. Nolanville was named after Nolan.

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On this day in 1966, Edith Wilmans, who in 1922 became the first woman elected to the Texas legislature, died in Dallas. Wilmans, born in Louisiana in 1882, moved to Dallas at an early age. She helped organize the Dallas Equal Suffrage Association and was president of the Democratic Women's Association of Texas. To learn more about the legal problems involved in improving the status of women and children, she studied law and in 1918 was admitted to the bar. She served only one term in the legislature, and in 1924 and 1926 she ran unsuccessfully for governor. In 1925 Governor Pat M. Neff appointed her to the All-Woman Supreme Court, but she was disqualified from serving because she lacked by a few months the required seven years' experience in the practice of law. She ran for the legislature again in 1935 but was defeated. She also ran for congress in 1948 and again in a 1951 special election but lost both races.

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TODAY’S TEMPLE TRIVIA ANSWER: The three former Safeway stores are still standing. The Gym fitness center on 57th Street, the bingo hall at the intersecion of Avenue M and 25th Street and the Hispanic grocery store Supermercado Guanjuato on East Adams Avenue were all Safeway stores back in the 1960s and ‘70s.