Sharecroppers, Skinny Dips & Small-Town Grit in the Bend

It’s about to get nostalgic here! We rewind to the good ol’ days of old Fort Bend with a special episode guest-hosted by Noell Myska, where she sits down with her dad Jimmy Myska and longtime family friend Steve Holmes. Jimmy and Steve share vivid stories of growing up in Beasley and Fulshear: from sharecropping roots, tractor work, and skinny-dipping at rice wells to gas-station hangouts and tight-knit church and school communities. They trace how Fort Bend has transformed from wide-open rice fields and a handful of high schools into a rapidly growing, bustling hub with new neighborhoods, schools, and businesses at every turn. As time passed, they built careers in property tax consulting and aviation, raised families, and learned what it means to stay rooted in a place even as it changes around you. This episode is a love letter to “old Fort Bend,” gratitude for the people who shaped it, and a reminder of how deeply local stories anchor a fast-growing county.


Key Insights & Timestamps:

[01:10]: Introducing Guest Host Noell Myska and “Two Hometown Boys” Jimmy & Steve
[05:00]: Sharecropping, Cotton Chopping, and Jimmy’s Early Years in Beasley
[10:30]: Fulshear in the 60s: Valley Lodge, $0.55 Gas, and Weekend “Hub of Activity”
[20:00]: High School Friendships, Church Life, and Wild Clover-Field Adventures
[27:00]: Building Careers From Property Tax Consulting to Starting a Flying Business
[35:00]: How Steve Became a Pilot and the Story of Teaching Justin to Fly

Key Takeaways:

• Growing up in rural Fort Bend built a deep work ethic and sense of responsibility. Jimmy and Steve’s stories of sharecropping, tractor work, and taking whatever jobs they could find show how early labor shaped their character, independence, and appreciation for opportunity. That foundation carried into their adult lives, from starting a tax consulting firm to building an aviation business.
  
  

• Tight-knit communities can shape a lifetime of relationships and belonging. From Fulshear’s Exxon station “hub,” MYF youth groups, and Valley Lodge hangouts to working at local arenas and feed stores, their teen years were spent in overlapping circles of friends, family, and neighbors. Those bonds didn’t fade with time, they became the support system that carried through marriages, careers, and multiple generations.
  
  

• Fort Bend’s explosive growth is both a point of pride and a source of tension. Jimmy and Steve contrast a past of rice fields, four or five regional high schools, and wide-open roads with today’s reality of constant construction, new schools, and what Jimmy bluntly calls “overcrowded.” But even as the landscape changes, they see Fort Bend as the ideal place to grow up, raise families, and build businesses.
  
  

Guest Spotlight:

Noell Myska
Noell Myska is a Fort Bend County local whose roots run deep in the community. She’s a brand ambassador at Terry’s Landscape and is actively involved in the local nonprofit and advocacy space, including her work with Reigning Strength, where she supports mission-driven efforts serving families in the region. Previously featured on Born in the Bend for her work, she brings a blend of professional insight, family history, and local pride to this episode, asking the kinds of questions only someone raised in Fort Bend’s small-town culture could ask.

Jimmy Myska
Born and raised in Beasley, Jimmy Myska grew up in a sharecropping family, learning hard work early through long days in the fields, driving tractors, and helping his extended farming family. Professionally, he built a successful career in property tax, starting as an appraiser, then becoming a property tax consultant and eventually co-founding his own firm, Mishka & Van De Vort, before “retiring in place” and handing the reins to the next generation.

Steve Holmes
A Fulshear native, Steve Holmes turned a teenage fascination with flying into a lifelong career in aviation, earning his ratings at American Flyers in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and going on to fly corporate jets, manage flight operations, and eventually own an aviation company. He also worked in car dealerships and crane service management before returning to the cockpit to mentor younger pilots.

Resources Mentioned:

• Gulf Coast Aviation

• Dozier’s BBQ

• Lamar Consolidated High School

• Fort Bend County Fair

• Fort Bend Museum
  
  

For More Information:
Born in the Bend is sponsored by Develop Richmond, and is produced and mixed by the team at Speakerbox Media. 

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