Also in today's Chron, a 100-year-old synagogue in the small town of Wharton (about 40 miles southeast of Houston) is closing due to declining membership. The descendants of the original Jewish settlers have moved on to big cities here and elsewhere, and there aren't enough people left to afford maintenance on the 80-year-old brick building that served as their temple or to pay for a rabbi. It's a sweet but sad story.