Richard Orton's family came from Nacogdoches, but he spent most of his childhood in Midland. He went to UNT and then moved to Austin, where he worked at one of the first rape crisis centers in the nation. He also founded an organization to help and educate others about child sexual abuse. Orton is a photographer, which is how he became involved with the Upshaw family, who are the descendants of freed slaves who founded County Line, a community near Nacogdoches. Mr. Orton began a photograph project documenting the community, which is now a book. Mr. Orton described his career helping to found rape crisis centers, working with child sexual abuse victims, and his connections to the County Line community, founded by freed slaves.

Ms. Ellis works for the hospital system in Lufkin and San Augustine. While attending SFA, she became involved in local politicss after noticing other active Democrats. She is the current chair of the Democratic Party in Nacogdoches County. She describes, in her interview, the current political climate in Nacogdoches, the people running for office, and their political platform.