by James Dawson (Author)
Mayhew, Texas is loaded with colorful characters attached to twin brothers who land in Mayhaw, a small Texas town named for a tree that produces fruit turned into tasty jam, jelly and wine. Self-made and natural problems are solved by fictional folks such as the barbering Beaukiss brothers, Wes and Ches; Shine Parker, their shoe-shine man; and a three-legged dog named John Bell Hood, who solves a criminal case. Also included are a Baptist preacher named Catfish Kincheloe, who smokes White Owl cigars and drives a big car; Hoojay, a Czech immigrant who creates a legendary barbecue restaurant; Wes' enigmatic wife, Becca; and some baseball and football heroes. The Mayhaw gang encounters some real people along their 1930s journey, where fact and fiction are allowed to blend. Segregation was a fact of life in Texas at that time, and the Ku Klux Klan was still a feared commodity. Religion ands sports were important in Mayhaw -- and still are.