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Did You Know?out, she went to school and was certified as a nurse. She worked in family practice for 14 years. By this time, she was married, raising four children, and caring for her mom, who passed away in 1999.Madeleine never forgot the gift shop business.“Nursing was a good paycheck and an honorable job, but I always remembered my mom’s gift shop,” she says. After she married second husband, Joe Stalls, in 2002, she shared with him her desire to open a shop. She credits him with helping her get established. “I couldn’t have done it without him,” she says.In the summer of 2007, Madeleine spearheaded the first MarketPlace in Old Town with Bluffs at Old Town owner Ken Dempsey. Madeleine got 40 vendors, handling the administrative details, while Ken marked the spots and hired personnel to work the event. It was so successful that the city took it over in October 2008, making it a once-a-month arts, crafts, and food fair.Thank you, Madeleine, for 20 years of exemplary service to the Helotesloved us. Christ loved us through service and giving His life for us. As we celebrate Father’s Day, consider all the sacrifices your father has made for you, how he laid down his life, in a Christ like fashion, to sacrifice his time and desires to serve your family.Let us consider this model as we view our community. I encourage you to not get bogged down with the frustrations of life, but rather embrace how we can invest ourselves by serving one another. Get involved with your family, neighbors,ABy Cynthia Leal Masseybig HOWDY sign above the porchentrance welcomes customersto Simply Yours, Gifts & More, a women’s boutique that has been in business in Old Town since July 2004. Madeleine Stalls, who opened the shop in a small five- room cabin built in 1930, has managed to thrive while other businesses have gone to the wayside because of her persistence and enjoyment of the retail business: “It’s like Christmas every day when boxes of products come in,” she says.The strength of her business is that merchandise changes regularly and prices are affordable. Over the years, she has learned what her Helotes clientele likes. “I know what the people of Helotes gravitate to, what type of jewelry, [and] Western décor for the home is always popular.” A few yearsago, she began carrying women’s clothing to complement the purses, scarves, and other such items showcased in the store.She is also working with the Willow Tree company for quality items with Helotes, Texas on them. “Visitors are always looking for souvenirs they can take home with them that say where they’ve been.”Madeleine was born in Maine, and grew up in St. Augustine, Florida, where her father, who was in U.S. Coast Guard, was stationed. During the summers when she was a teenager, she worked at The Old World Shop, one of the largest gift shops in St. Augustine, where her mother was proprietor.The military brought her to the Helotes area, where she has lived for more than 40 years. A U.S. Army veteran, she served for four years starting when she was 19. After she gotMadeleine Stalls, owner of Simply Yours, Gifts & More, celebrates her 20th anniversary in Old Town Helotes next month.community.Cynthia Leal Masseyis the author of severalhistories on Helotes.Visit her website at https://cynthialealmassey.com.church and life groups and keep your eye on what’s important. May God enrich your life and continue to bless this community.Sincerely,Rich WhiteheadRich Whitehead MayorMayor’s CornerGrads, Dads & Communityear Residents,DIt’s been a great spring-time seasoncapped off with an amazing Cornyval!I hope you seized the opportunity to enjoy Helotes’ premier community event! Now summer is here... High school and college seniors are gearing up for proms and graduation parties, and Father’s Day is just around the corner. It’s an amazing time of year to reflect and realize how blessed we truly are.We often get so busy in life, distracted by the frustrations of work, finance, family, and traffic that we can miss much of the point of life. I contemplated this as my family celebrates 20 years in Helotes this month. We’ve raised our children, had an entire career in the SAFD, my daughter is a college senior, my son graduates from O’Connor this month. When did this all happen? It seems just last week I was pushing my kids around in a stroller. Truly its bitter-sweet as we celebrate our children’s achievements while lamenting the departure of theirLooking To Celebrate Your High School Gradchildhood.All is not lost! In fact, Paul reminds usof a concept throughout his Epistles in the Bible that reveals to us that each day is the first day of the rest of our lives and to keep our eye on the prize of serving God and His Kingdom. We accomplish this not by living in the past, but by embracing our duty to live Christ by loving one another as He firstyour local geico agent makes bundling simple.Home + Auto = easyLOCAL OFFICERod Musslewhite210-673-2391¡Hablamos Español!Limitations apply. See geico.com for more details. GEICO & affiliates. Washington, DC 20076. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2022. © 2022 GEICO. 21_633312129T he Class of 2024 will always be remembered for rising to the occasion with poise,determination, and grace.Highlights Publications would liketo congratulate our seniors and their accomplishments. Is there a special graduate in your life?Is there a senior whom you’d like to recognize? We want to know all about him or her.Simply send us a photo of your grad along with a write-up telling us what makesthem so amazing to info@highlightspub. com. To make our next issue, please send in by June 10, 2024. Please keep at no more than 160 words and not less than 100 words. In the subject line, please put high school grad.Be sure to include their name, what high school they attend, their plans for after graduation along with any awards, scholarships they might have received. We love sharing “good news” and what’s better than celebrating the Class of 2024? They deserve it!4www.heloteshighlights.comJune 2024