Eugene Collins

Leading by example

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By HILARY INGOLDSBY WHITESIDES

that they can see it, then that’s all I would lashing a bright smile and tipping like to be. If the kids can say ‘I remember his hat, Eugene Collins is a reminder that old man and he was pretty good.’” that — with all its beauty, charEugene became involved in the acter and culture — nothing quite San Marcos Youth Service Bureau compares to the people who call after seeing a newspaper ad the Hill Country home. asking for volunteers. Eugene was born With his love for in 1928 in La Grange, children and desire Texas. Today at age 80, to help people, he the Baptist preacher felt it would be an travels 102 miles from ideal fit for him. his home in San Marcos Encouraging the to Fayetteville every other youth to carry themselves Sunday to teach his congregawith respect and to follow tion there. their dreams supports his He also somehow finds the motto that “anybody can be energy and drive to volunteer somebody.” Eugene also enjoys four days a week at the sharing stories from San Marcos Youth his childhood Service Bureau, and giving a free afteradvice from school proa life wellEugene Collins. Photo by Hilary Ingoldsby Whitesides. gram for kids lived. ages 11-17. After all, in With a drawl that pays homage to sim- his 80 years Eugene has seen the world pler times, Eugene says he finds the energy change in many ways. and will to help by “never stopping” and After his childhood on a farm, he believing he can make a difference. was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he “I believe I’ll be rewarded in heaven. served for two years as a cook. Later he It’s one of those belief things, you believe worked in California as a carpenter and what you believe. Believe that this bad in Texas doing roadwork. world don’t owe you nothing,” he says. In 1986 Eugene says he “got tired of the “Give yourself, give some of your time bad world,” started going to church, and to God instead of the devil. If I can just be soon after became a preacher. He wanted that light, for these kids, set up on that hill See EUGENE COLLINS, page 3

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EUGENE COLLINS, from page 2 to escape the negative influences of the world and help others do the same. In recent years, Eugene says he has seen too many people lose their potential — and even their lives — to drugs, alcohol and crime. Such temptations facing young people today are one of the reasons he chose to become involved in the San Marcos Youth Service Bureau. But not all the changes he has seen in his lifetime have been negative. “When I came up, you couldn’t go to restaurants through the same door that other colors did. All that’s changed now where all men are created equal and everybody’s the same,” Eugene says. “That’s what I’ve seen and I think it’s the very best thing that could have happened.” Equality is a creed Eugene lives by

calling himself “the color black, but not a black preacher,” because he preaches to everyone. He smiles as he talks about Martin Luther King’s “dream” and the opportunities available to all young people today. “I don’t meet no strangers. I’m not the type of person where you have to be a certain this or that. Color don’t mean nothing to me, you know, because everybody is somebody in my life regardless. That’s the thing,” he explains. A recent San Marcos Youth Service Bureau activity focused on setting goals for the new school year. Eugene’s goal? To be nice to everyone he meets. The Hill County just got a little friendlier. FYI • For more information about the San Marcos Youth Service Bureau, call 512-396-5437 or visit the web site at www.ysb.org.

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Visit with writers, illustrators at Texas Author Day November 9 SAN MARCOS H The San Marcos Public Library will host more than 30 Texas authors and illustrators at the fifth annual Texas Author Day Sunday, November 9, from 2 pm to 5 pm. A variety of genres will be represented, including local history, Texana, mystery, horror, memoirs, children’s literature, poetry, history, and fiction. Visiting authors and illustrators include Sarah Bird, Mary S. Black & Bruce Jordan, Don Blevins, Joyce G. Bradshaw, Diana Castilleja, Ron George, Lila Guzmán, Veronique Zehnder Hahn, Martha Hannah, Larry Dowell, Rolando Hinojosa-Smith, Frances Hunter, Bowie V. Ibarra, H. Joaquin Jackson, Allan C. Kimball, Jim & Jerry Kimmel, J.A. LeVitt, David Liss, James A. Mangum & Sidney Spires, Laurie Martin, Joann Odenwelder, Jeanette N. Passty, Paul Pullen, Sterling Rogers, Debbie Roppolo, Ruben Ruiz, Andrew Sansom, Janice & Tom Shefelman, Gary Layne Smith, Billy Taylor, June Venable, Bert M. Wall, Nancy Daniel Wesson, and Ken Woodard. FYI • Books will be available for purchase at the library. Autographed books make wonderful holiday gifts for book lovers of all ages. Admission is free. The library is located at 625 East Hopkins Street in San Marcos. For more information call 512-393-8200.

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