Mabee Regional Heritage Center

08/31/2026

Our doors are always open for you! 📚✨ Stop by the Mabee Book Exchange Box, located just outside the Flying Queens Museum entrance. Books, trinkets, and more are available for everyone to enjoy! Take what you’d like, and leave what you don’t 💛

08/27/2026

Artifact Spotlight: 1972 Flying Queens' Program

This week’s artifact spotlight is a Hutcherson Flying Queens’ Program from 1972. This program was created for two games against the Ya Tung Girls’ Team. The Flying Queens were the National AAU Champions and the Amarillo Invitational Champions and so they hosted the Republic of China Champions, the Ya Tung Girls’ Team. The first game was on February 1st, 1972 and the second was a couple of days later on February 3rd. These games were played in the Hutcherson Physical Education Center, The Hutch, and the second game had the largest crowd ever to see a basketball game in Plainview at that time with 2,900 people in attendance. Both teams played using a heavy press strategy to make up for the lack of height from their players. A press strategy is used to apply pressure on the ball handler to attempt to force a turnover. This worked quite well for both teams and the first game ended 66-62 with Ya Tung taking the lead. The Queens made their comeback in the second game and finished 54-47.

What makes this program stand out is its vibrant design and the glimpse it provides into both teams. The unique pattern, color choice, and general design of the front cover makes it very eye-catching. On the inside it showcases each of the players from both teams and some general information about each player. For the Queens, this information includes their hometowns, height, and school classification. For the Ya Tung players, this information includes their school classification, school of attendance, and height. At the bottom of the inside pages are pictures of the different hand signals that a referee might use and what they mean. This includes motions for different fouls, no score, substitutions, and several other things. This really allowed the crowd to be fully involved in what the referee was calling.

Here at the Mabee Regional Heritage Center we have an entire museum dedicated to the interesting happenings of the Wayland Flying Queens. Stop by to see their history unfold through uniforms on display, informational videos, and real game footage!

08/24/2026

08/20/2026

Artifact Spotlight: Glasses and Case, circa early 20th century 👓

This pair of glasses and its case comes from our Museum of the Llano Estacado collection and is associated with the optometry office of Dr. Clovis Mevil Clough. Born in Mineral Wells, Texas, in 1888, Dr. Clough practiced optometry in Plainview. During the early 1920s, he regularly traveled to Tulia to provide eye exams and glasses to residents of the small community. By the 1930s, he served as chairman of District 1 of the Texas Optometric Extension Program and led the district’s February 1936 meeting in Amarillo. Later that year, Dr. Clough installed lens-grinding equipment in his Plainview office, allowing patients to receive their glasses the same day as their eye exams, which is a major improvement in efficiency and convenience at the time. Dr. Clough died in 1967 at the age of 78 and is buried alongside his wife, Maude, at Plainview Memorial Park Cemetery.

Visit the Mabee Regional Heritage Center to view more artifacts in our Museum of the Llano Estacado, and check out our 50th Anniversary Exhibition! ✨

08/18/2026

We have flashlights, lanterns, and headlamps to illuminate your way through our darkened Museum of the Llano Estacado; see the museum in a "new light" and spot our interactive questions and history tidbits. Our 50th Anniversary Exhibition is on view until October 31st 🔦✨

08/13/2026

Jimmy Ray Dean was born on August 10, 1928, in Plainview, Texas. He was an American country singer, television host, actor, and businessman. He died in Varina, Virginia, on June 13, 2010, at age 81.The charismatic performer achieved massive success with his hit song "Big Bad John" (1961). The beloved artist also gained widespread popularity hosting his television variety program, "The Jimmy Dean Show" (1963), and appeared in the James Bond film "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971).The acclaimed musician earned a Grammy Award in 1962. Beyond his entertainment career, his legacy includes founding the Jimmy Dean sausage brand in 1969, and he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

08/11/2026

We have fun and interesting facts about the LLano Estacado region throughout our Museum of the Llano Estacado as part of the 50th Anniversary exhibition! Visit us before October 31st see if you can to find each one hidden in the dark 🔦🔆

08/05/2026

Get career-ready with the Pioneer Career Center’s Fall 2026 Pre-Professional Workshop Series! Join us from 5–6 p.m. in the Mabee Regional Heritage Center Auditorium on these dates to learn practical tips to strengthen your applications, avoid common job-search mistakes, and make a confident impression in your next interview:

📌 Sept. 14th: Applying Online: Key in Your Canidacy
📌 Oct. 12th: Ghosting, and Other Job Search Errors
📌 Nov. 9th: Internships: Be an Interview MVP

For more information about these workshops, email Jeffery Vera at [email protected]!

08/05/2026

Looking forward to it! 💙💛