26 years ago, Austin-based band Fastball topped the charts with their hit song “The Way.” But the true story behind the song’s inspiration – and how the hit came to be – is even more incredible.
Chapter 1
An exit to eternal summer slacking, but where were they going without ever knowing the way?
It’s a summer tradition, one that takes greater meaning in cities like Salado and Belton.
For Lela and Raymond Howard, that tradition was Pioneer Day in Temple.
“I knew they were going to be going because they went every year,” said Hal Ray Copeland, Lela Howard’s son.
The Howard’s were both on their second marriage, united through a love of the church, and that late-in-life lust to live.
“I think they just enjoyed going and doing things together. Nanny always used to – that’s the main word she stood by is ‘go’,” said Rhonda Alford Coleman, Lela Howard’s granddaughter.
And on Saturday, June 29, 1997, “go” was on their mind.
