By: Shad Sullivan

There is a bit of fame and acclaim at the junction of state highways 79 and 25 in the middle of Archer County, Texas. At this junction the majestic Archer County courthouse stands proudly on the historic square as a testament of time honoring those who came long before in search of the American dream. Preceding the Anglos and the longhorns and the boundaries of the county being surveyed, this wild frontier was home to the Wichita, Caddo and Comanche. It was a place where great herds of the Plains Bison swept across the landscape in migration, the Gray Wolf found his home in the plum thickets and the wild coyote leapt into glory. Kiowa warrior, Chief Kicking Bird, defeated the US Cavalry at the battle of the Little Wichita River nearby before barbed wire cut the plain and the railroad snaked its way west. There is a rich history here.

Fast forward a half century and the history gets richer. Made famous by the movie, The Last Picture Show, the marquee above The Royal Theater was brought to life to help serve as a community and performing arts center. One of the greatest American novelists to ever live and the writer of Texasville and Terms of Endearment, Larry McMurtry, was born in Archer City. His writing has paved a path to many Oscar and Emmy awards. His Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Lonesome Dove, is still revered by cattlemen, cowboys and sane Americans as the greatest writing, turned television miniseries of all time. American actor Sheb Wooley was born in the swastika oil field in the southwest corner of Archer County, while the infamous duo Bonnie and Clyde kept a secret hideout in the countryside near Megargel. Some of the greatest cowboys and trail drivers of days gone by called Archer County home, as did American politicians like Graham B. Purcell Jr. In more modern times, HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines invested in Archer County real estate, while coyote hunting extraordinaire and podcast star, Clay Reid can be found at Murns Café before the sun rises. Yes, this richness is unusual for rural Texas, but perhaps, even it is eclipsed by Archer Counties heart.

Typical of rural Texas and America, the citizens of Archer County are mostly conservative. Dedicated to their communities, schools and churches, they hold their youth in the highest regard. As well they should, after all, they are the future. Archer City, Holliday, Windthorst and local home schools are known for excellence in academic and athletic achievements which flow into their youth programs. 4-H and FFA are key programs that carve a path to youth development and life skills. Through community service, educational opportunity, working groups and individual projects youth are taught leadership skills, personal responsibility, financial stability and in the end, a rite of passage.

Annually, 4-H and FFA members from across the county gather at the “county barn” to exhibit and show their home economics, industrial arts and livestock projects. The county show is a culmination of their time learning through their selected project. It creates a competitive, yet even playing field where their projects are evaluated and rated or “placed” first to last. The youth then sell their respective projects in a competitive, public auction to raise money for personal gain. First to last, last to first… for Archer County it’s all the same.

Justin Oliver is a Junior at Holliday High School. A multi-year 4-H and FFA member who participates in shooting sports and chose “meat rabbits” is his 4-H project. Justin is a gentle giant of a young man whose presence alone demands respect when he walks into a room. Looking much like a college football coach, Justin is a man among the boys in size, however, that is overshadowed by a slight smile that reveals the shiny glimmer of braces and his late grandfathers’ silver-belly hat. And ode to his life hero and a reminder that he is still a kid. Justin is highly intelligent and communicates well but is quiet in his dialogue and sometimes choppy in his speech. He is fiercely independent and would rather work alone and, in the calm, than in the chaos of people. Justin is an only child who has communicated with adults more than kids his age, and perhaps his maturity and humility are a result of that.

Justins mother, Helen Spyra, is a 48-year-old single mother and teacher who has dedicated her life to Justin and her parents. John and Kathy Spyra, were instrumental in helping raise Justin and John served as Justin’s father figure after his “original” father left when Justin was only six months old. Justin credits his grandfather for teaching him how to be a man and supporting his dreams, while getting him to and from activities when Helen was working. Certainly, they are a close-knit family but like most American families, they are not without their share of Adversity. Well, maybe they have had more than their share.

When Justin was just two years old, Helen was diagnosed with melanoma that had penetrated deep into her arm. Surgeries and treatments at MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston resulted in successful treatments, but the doctors warned that this type of cancer was aggressive and often reoccurring. The scars left behind are dramatic and a reminder of how fragile life really is. In 2021, Helen’s mother Kathy passed away leaving a gaping hole in the family unit, only to be followed by the death of her father and the person Justin looked up to most in 2023. They say trouble comes in three and less than a year later it came knocking.

In early 2024 Helen started experiencing symptoms of nauseousness, headaches and double vision. The melanoma from years past continued to be the “elephant in the room,” so Helen took no chances and sought expert medical treatment in Dallas. Cat scans and MRIs revealed a deeply embedded brain tumor that was tightly wrapped around an optic nerve. Thankfully doctors were able to secure and remove the tumor, however in the process severed the nerve that controls Helen’s eye movement horizontally. This resulted in the inability to control movement from left to right and vice versa. The sever did not affect her sight, nor her ability to control movement up and down, but it did affect her brain’s ability to decipher what each eye was visualizing. With the confusion this caused, Helen’s doctors suggested she use a permanent eye patch to reduce interference and on the heels of a second surgery to correct the problem they advised that time may or may not help. Either way, life went on and Justin had 4-H projects to be considered. When the rabbit breeder of his choice informed Justin and Helen that they could not provide the animals in a timely manner, the scramble was on. Somewhere in the chaotic hunt of finding project rabbits and Helen’s eye surgery, Justins pickup was T-boned and totaled while he was near Ft. Worth. Uninhibited by adversity, he took his project forward and soon enough the county show had arrived. In his disappointment, his rabbit project ended up last in class which resulted in the very last spot in the public auction that boasted 224 participants. Justin knew immediately that it was going to be a long night in the wait and suspected his sale would not garner much money or attention.

“There was something in the air that was different that night,” according to Helen. As she volunteered to help in the concession stand, she was astounded that she had seen so many old friends and said, “it was good and amazing!” Normally, as the stock sale approaches the 100 th participant, the buyer pool quietly falls away leaving only a hand full in the game. However, at the 2025 Archer County Stock Show and Sale, the generosity of the buyers’ pool went uninhibited to the end. At lot 223, the auctioneer and the secretary stopped the sale to announce that Archer County buyers had set a record with over $400,000 in receipts investing in the youth of Archer County. Then it was Justins turn.

Fitted with his grandfathers’ silver belly hat, Justin entered the ring in his quiet and unassuming manner. A bit shy by nature, Justin’s expectations and hopes were that he would receive $1000 for his rabbit, so when the bidding hit three thousand, he was “in shock!” Unbeknownst to him the bidding war had only begun and without knowing Justins life story the crowed stood to their feet in ovation as the auctioneer continued his chant. Disbelief and excitement enveloped the barn and when the bidding was over the gavel struck “sold” at $10,000!

According to Helen, Justin is an “old soul” who loves weaponry, history and people who keep their promise. Helen has a new perspective on humanity because of people like Chris and Terry Aulds who owned the winning bid and, “helped Justin for no gain.” Similarly, and in disbelief, Justin said his experience was “like a dream” and plans on using his earning to attend trade school. In the meantime, Justin intends to dedicate his time to practice welding, his 4-H projects and to honor the people who make up the heart of Archer County.

Shad Sullivan ranches in Archer County Texas and Colorado.

The Heart of Archer County

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