NATIONAL INTEREST
Mount Vernon, Texas, could have
become just another fading
outpost. Folks in town weren’t
about to let that happen.
Some of the heart and soul in Mount Vernon:
(top, from left) Enam Chowdhury, chef at the
Chophouse on Bankhead, one of the hot spots on
the town square; Tom Wilkinson, retired professor
and native son; (middle) Karen Chowdhury, partner
in the Chophouse; Lauren Lewis, manager at
the renovated general store M.L. Edwards & Co.;
(bottom) Teresia Wims, mayor; Henry Ruelas,
construction whiz behind many renovations in townSmall-Town
SPIRIT
Lives Here
By Jody L. Rohlena
Photographs by Buff Strickland★★★★★★★★★★★★
★★★★★★★★★★★★
96 july/august 2019 | rd.com