Harlingen History by Norman Rozeff

(Norman also has a page of articles on "Valley History" which can be opened by Clicking and a page listing the "Chronological History of Harlingen" which also can be opened by Clicking )

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A Brief History of Harlingen by Betty Murray
A Postcard Exploration
A Chronological History of Education in Harlingen
A Harlingen Cemetery Chronology
Adams Gardens Connections – Ballí to Berly
Biographical Information on Hugh Ramsey
Of Buildings and Business Schools
F. Z. Bishop, Harlingen Developer
Faded History Comes to Life
Flames Fostered Town of Palm Valley
Where the Name of Harlingen, Texas Likely Derives
Good Cheer at the Harlingen Cemetery
Harlingen's First Hospital
Historic Harlingen
The Location of the Providencia Ranch and Harlingen's Early Water Supply
James Henry Dishman
More Cool Stuff
Picture Worth a Thousand Words
Lozano Building Holds Many Memories and Stories
Sad End to Railroad Depot
Silk Stocking Row
Soldiers Stationed in Harlingen, 1915-1916, and Some of Their Actions
Summary History of the Harlingen Army Airfield and Harlingen Air Force Base
The Art of Naming Streets
The Broadway Theatre League of Harlingen and Its Successors
The Butt House on East Taylor Street
The City Parks of Harlingen, Texas
History of the Harlingen Army Airfield and Harlingen Air Force Base
The Harlingen Connection
The Railroad Bridges of Harlingen
Southern Hospitality in Harlingen -- The Verser House
Thomas F. Lee and Leeland
Unusual Photograph Explained
Valley Morning Star and Print Media Chronology
When Giants Roared in Hanger 38
Biographical Information on Wimbberly McLeod
Famed Sculptor, Lincoln Borglum, Farmed in Area
Dedication of the Texas Historical Commission Events Marker Commemorating the Harlingen Army Air Field and Harlingen Air Force Base
Characterizing Harlingen Eccentricities
The Harlingen Cemetery by Betty Murray
Memories of Harlingen's Five and Ten Cent Stores
Sorrento to Lone Star, a History of Good Eating
Harlingen 1910 Poll Tax Payers
Liberty's Belle Lived in Harlingen
Matz Family History
The Old Valley Baptist Hospital on F Street and Its Doctors
The Letzerich Building, Likely Harlingen's Oldest Existing Commercial Structure
The Weller family in Harlingen
Two Famous Architects of Harlingen
A 1930s Harlingen Teenager Coming of Age
Reese-Wil-Mond Hotel and Heritage Manor History
Ross-Bobo House History
Some African American History in Harlingen and the Valley
Identification of Robert Runyon's Harlingen Photographs
Harlingen and Harlingen Area Road History from the Beginning
The Weed Kindergarten School and the Valley Ice Cream Company
Cinema in Harlingen
Harlingen Auditorium and Harlingen Concert Association
Lozano Plaza Plaque Dedication
Harlingen Museum Chronology
Hand-Adams House History
Stuart Place History
Harlingen Skyscraper History
The New York Store and The Diana Shop, A Sweet Connection
Brick Kiln Location Discovered
Sun Valley Shopping Center History
World War II Heroes from the Harlingen Area
Major Facelift Creates a Beauty
Flooding in Harlingen
Airports, Airlines, and Airplanes in Harlingen—A Brief Survey
Bowling in Harlingen
 

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A Brief History of Harlingen as Presented to the Tourist Club, Harlingen by Betty (Mrs. Menton J.) Murray on November 17, 1970

It is a real privilege for me to be here today to extend our thanks to God for our being in our Magic Valley. Being the daughter of two who came from the North as land seekers, stayed here to make their home, and reared their children to love this place on earth, I am grateful that I can share some thoughts with you about Harlingen's beginning.

On May 31, 1909, in an appeal to a group of Seminary Graduates in Richmond, Virginia, in describing the potential of Harlingen, Dr. S.L. Morris said, " Now this rich country is a crude frontier where people who are pouring into the country are laying the foundation for great wealth; but there is little opportunity for organized religious worship—Here is the greatest opportunity for Christian service to be found anywhere."

It was Samuel McPheeters Glascow who arrived to take charge in answer to the above appeal. He described Harlingen in 1909 as a mud town, no paved streets, or roads, or sidewalks—coal oil lamps, not a plumber in the entire Valley—burros, or horses, or mules were the chief means of transportation, and he estimated the population to be about 200.

On the site of (today's) Heritage Manor (the former Reese-Wil-Mond hotel), seventeen charter members, led by Rev. Glascow, gathering in a gospel tent on a vacant lot, organized the First Presbyterian Church of Harlingen, second only to the First Baptist church, which had been organized a few months before. These churches have continued to grow to the present time. A Catholic Church was built in 1910 on "C" Street, and the First Methodist Church was established in 1911. The first church building in Harlingen was a little Seventh Day Adventist Church on 4th and Jackson. It was constructed in1909. A tropical storm [perhaps that of August 27,1909 which came ashore just south of Brownsville] that year partially collapsed the incomplete church building, causing the death of their pastor. For this reason the Adventists never completed their building. By public conscription, the building was later completed so people in Harlingen might have another place to worship. It was shared by several denominations.

Dr. Edgar Graham Gammon followed Reverend Glascow and said, recalling his first impressions of Harlingen, "Everything looked strange—flat land, small trees, the birds, the very atmosphere; the coyotes running and screaming through my yard at night was music. I decided in my mind that I'd stick it out for three months—then six months—I stayed five years and then hated to leave." A full report of progress in 1913 by Edgar Gammon lists Mr. and Mrs. H.H. Burchard as members that year. It is their only child, Dorothy, who is to be one of the hostesses in the Tour of Homes. She is now Mrs. Charles A. Washmon.

Dr. Gammon believed in physical fitness for the young boy. During his stay here he took the boys swimming in the Arroyo under [what is now] the Hiway 83 Bridge [This was where the Arroyo was forded by people going to San Benito or Brownsville.]. He organized a boy's club, inspiring the young men and boys to a worthwhile life. A tiny clubhouse was built to hold their meetings.

Reverend Gammon built a small house, which stood at the corner of Van Buren and 6th, for his bride. At that time he was favored with a Ford Runabout. Prior to the Ford, he had walked or borrowed a horse.

After graduating law school, Lon C. Hill practiced law in Beeville—his law practice often brought him to Brownsville in the Valley. Mr. Hill bought the tract on which Harlingen was located from Mrs. Henrietta King, of King Ranch fame, for $2.50 an acre [the correct figure is $2.00 an acre]. Starting without capital in 1900, with 41,000 acres, with his Arroyo Camp his approximate center (200 feet north of where Heritage Manor is today) Lon C. Hill sketched his plans in the dirt for Colonel Sam Robertson. With a stick in the dust he sketched where he would build his canals, and where he would begin his city, its heart to be where they sat. Mr. Hill began getting options on enormous tracts of land all fronting the river [Not necessarily the case, for he had purchased parcels of land to the north also]. Many owners were descendents of original Spanish grantees [also not necessarily the case, since by this time much of the land had already passed into possession of Anglos]. Land went from one dollar to two dollars an acre. Although hard up for cash, Hill never for a moment had any doubt about the outcome of his plans. He envisioned a railroad, the initial development of an irrigation system, a deep water port for Harlingen on the Arroyo. All of these he helped to bring about. In the charter, the town was designated 25 miles north of Brownsville on the Arroyo Colorado. Since Holland was crisscrossed with canals, Mr. Hill studied the map of Holland and chose Harlingen as the name for his new settlement [The actual story of the name's origin is a bit more complicated]. His first attempt of putting water on Valley soil was carried out with the aid of a wood burning boiler and pump.

In 1903, Lon C. Hill moved his family from Beeville to the new country, taking them first to Point Isabel, then to Brownsville. Twelve [ fourteen in Kate Hill's account] wagons brought possessions and a family of a wife and nine children [along with several other families as well]. Four [three actually] sons herded the livestock. A chuck wagon was part of the wagon train.

On July 4, 1904, the first train came to Brownsville—just a month before Mr. Hill had bought the season's first two bales of cotton. He sent one to the World's Fair and the other to Houston, thus inaugurating the tradition of shipping to Houston for auction. The coming of the railroad boosted prices of the raw land from $2.00 to $75.00 to $125.00 an acre.

Tragedy stuck the Hill family when Mrs. Hill and a son died in November of 1904 of Typhoid Fever. So about three months later, Mr. Hill took his children to the partly completed ranch house at Harlingen. Only the three South rooms were roofed at the time. It was called the "hill" because it was six feet higher than the adjacent land. [Mrs. McKenna's account puts the move-in date as January 1905.] They lived there until 1919. This is the home the Junior Service League has restored and was the first home in Harlingen and is now located in the Museum complex. During the bandit attacks, the Hill home became an arsenal. One room (locked) downstairs held a sizeable stock of ammunition. Mr. Hill had a brick plant along the bluff on the Arroyo in present Finwood Heights [the area south-southwest of the Coakley School]. Original bricks from this plant are still about, but numbered. Dr. Shepard's home is noted as having some. A sugar mill was located on the site of the present baseball diamond at Fair Park. Mr. Hill is a said to have laid a foundation which is an inspiration for future generations to build upon. Lon C. Hill was honored on his seventy-sixth birthday in 1932 as Father of Harlingen. On May 5,1935, his powerful heart stopped.

History tells us that occasional brick buildings crowed between wooden shacks formed the business district, but life in the frontier town was still hard in the Valley between 1904 and 1914. The Valley was often described as "Heaven for men and mules, but Hell for women and horses." [A quote from Harbert Davenport] One of the earliest merchants was Santos Lozano, who moved here from Alice in 1903 [the correct date is 1905]. [In 1915]At the corner of Jackson and "A" Streets the Lozano Building [or brick Pioneer building] was erected to house the Lozano and Son General Merchandise Store.[It replaced a wooden structure built by the Lozanos in 1906.] At 323 West Van Buren, F.H. Pena owned a Variety store. A candle lantern was hung on a post to light the front of the store in 1910. This lantern was hung on a post, was bought for 2.50 Mexican Money in Brownsville and is still a keepsake. The earliest pictures show the Moore Hotel as the first. Harlingen's second hotel was built in 1908, called the Ogan Hotel. Nearby was the first Real Estate office. Mrs. A.H. Weller organized the first cemetery in 1906—the Harlingen Cemetery Association. In 1912, at the corner of Jackson and Commerce, a building was constructed by Dr. C.W. Letzerich, which house his office, the office of a dentist, and the Harlingen Pharmacy. In 1909, Harlingen had a telephone exchange with twenty subscribers. In 1910, Harlingen had a population of 350. The first electric light and water systems were built in 1911 and 1912.

Fifty civic minded citizens bought a steel lamppost each, primarily to light the city streets, however, they used them to shackle bad actors before taking them to the County Jail in Brownsville, if the need arose. Around 1907 the Taylor Lumber Company was opened.

From 1914 to 1917 the virgin lands of this Valley were unbelievably rich and many crops could be grown, but the irrigation systems, marketing systems and citrus industry were all in their infancy and were not yet functioning consistently and efficiently, so Harlingen and the Valley were tied to a one crop economy – cotton, which could not be marketed because of German boats, thus cutting off European markets. Also locally in 1915 was the problem of bandits. Skirmishes along the border and the killing of people of both countries brought militia and regular Army troops to the frontier. In Palm Gardens, just west of Harlingen, on August 10, 1913 the cavalry patrol was fired upon by the bandits, and a Private L.C. Waterfield was killed.

Between l918 and 1923 Harlingen began bursting out at the seams. A brochure published in 1923 said, "Harlingen points with pride to her commercial and industrial activities and advantages. Our diversified agricultural interests naturally require ample marketing and transportation facilities. These facilities are unsurpassed anywhere in the Valley." The oldest known copy of the Harlingen Star, forerunner of the Valley Morning Star was December 14, 1923 . Harlingen had her first fire pumper on March 6, 1922 when it accepted delivery. The first police chief was E.[Elmer] W. Anglin. Business boomed in the 20's. The Harlingen Canning Company was opened. The Harlingen Chamber of Commerce was organized in 1919. A.A. Kimmell was the Chamber's first president and J.B. Challes was its first Secretary-Manager. In the 20's a Valley Mid-Winter Fair was held in December of each year. A queen was crowned and local clubs gave dances to entertain her court. Parades were held and ribbons were prizes for the best of products. As early as 1923 one anchor wrote, "Harlingen is the principal icing station for carload vegetable lots from other Valley points and is the point from which the railroad distributes carload freight to other Valley towns on local consignment. On account of her advantages location as well as other reasons, Harlingen has played an important part in development and shared most generously in the prosperity experienced in the Valley in recent years." The First National Bank came into existence in 1922. It was first located on Jackson Street. Later, it occupied a new home at the corner of Jackson and "A" and in 1951 moved to its present location and is now Nations Bank [by the late 1990s it became Bank of America]. In 1945, the Harlingen State Bank was chartered with Elmer G. Johnson as President and D. B. Dunkin as Vice-President. The Harlingen State Bank became the Harlingen National in 1956. Two more banks were added just in the last two years, the Plaza National and the Harlingen State Bank. In 1927, Hygeia Milk Products Company came into existence with a 60 gallon per day milk capacity in their first home, 215 North "A".

In the entertainment field, the Rex Theater was built and existed from 1910-1915. Movies soon arrived, Lyceum tours and Chatauqua series were a part of the excitement. In 1920, the Rialto was built and opened in 1921. In the 20's, the Municipal Auditorium was built and Valleyites heard such greats as John Phillip Sousa, Madame Schumann Heinck, Galla Curchi, "George White Scandals", "Rio Rita". Baseball was from Harlingen's beginning. Football's first team was in 1913. Golf came to Harlingen in 1928. Always there was horseracing on Valley ranches, but horseracing came to Harlingen in 1935, when a race track was built at Fair Park; betting was legal at that time.

After one race, betting was ruled illegal again. Flying began early in Harlingen. The first plane was owned and flown by Leman Nelson and Clay Rader in 1923. Later, Bill Williams and Leman Nelson opened a flying school in Harlingen.

The Harlingen Study Club was organized in 1920 with a group of women who were largely responsible for founding the library and provided for its support for six years.

The Music Lovers Club was organized in 1925 and federated later that year. Our own Junior Service League was organized in 1947. These are only a few of the worthwhile organizations in this city.

In March, 1941, the Harlingen Gunnery School was opened with Colonel John Morgan in command. Miss Angela Murray was the first civil service employee.

In the interest of agriculture, an article in 1908 in the Gulf Coast Magazine reported that Lon C. Hill met with such success raising mid-winter tomatoes on his Harlingen farm that next year he will plant thirty acres in this vegetable alone. John Closner about that time wrote that the cost of clearing land is about $6.00 an acre. "Our field labor is Mexican. Good farm hands are plentiful at fifty cents per diem the year round. At present, there are fourteen pumping plants in operation and under construction. One of these under construction will have such vast pumping capacity as to all but stagger the human mind – 270,000 gallons per minute – a veritable river itself, bodily lifted from the channel of the Rio Grande and made to run wheresoever the mind of man wills, to make fruitful, to blossom and bloom as the roses of my fair lady's garden, thousands upon thousands of acres of what has been for centuries a desert waste."

Certainly I would be remiss if I did not mention our Medical Center in Harlingen. The Valley Baptist Medical Center began in June of 1925 as a twenty-five bed hospital on "F" Street. Dr. C.M. Cash of San Benito headed this effort. It was enlarged several times and then a new Valley Baptist Hospital was built in 1956 on 77 Bypass. Presently there is a large building project in the process of being built. Also the Harlingen State Tuberculosis Hospital, now Harlingen Chest Hospital of South Texas was built and the keys of the newly completed hospital were turned over in January 1956. On this same day, the new Valley Baptist Hospital, now Valley Baptist Medical Center, was used for the first time though it was not formally dedicated until May 18th. Soon Ed Carey Road became a medical center with many doctors building their offices along the strip. In November 1955 the Base Hospital at the Harlingen Air Force Base was completed. This is now the Center of the Rio Grande Valley Mental Health Clinic. Finally in July 1959 the Valley Baptist Hospital Nursing School was opened and the first class of future nurses was enrolled.

Enthusiasm for the Valley isn't anything new. Here's a sample from the January 1909 issue of the Gulf Coast Magazine. "There is a charm about the Valley of the Lower Rio Grande which all may feel but none can well define. The majestic flow of the river as it winds like a great serpent in the course to the sea—the blue skies; the never ceasing song of the birds; the flowers blooming at all seasons of the year—the matchless groves of lofty palms—all combine to fill the heart with rapture and inspire poetry and song."

"If thou would wander in enchanted land. Go linger by the winding Rio Grande. It is the land of plenty and of peace, where flowers ever grow and songbirds never cease."

On December the 8th, three outstanding homes of Harlingen will be shown.

First to be shown tonight complete in their Christmas finery will be the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Washmon on Riverside Drive. The house is Southern Colonial architecture situated on two and a half acres on the Arroyo Colorado and is within the city limits. Furnishings are in Early Victorian, French, English and American. The Christmas tree is an accumulation of jeweled velvet balls which have been made by Mrs. Washmon herself through the years.

The Joe McGill home, 909 Little Creek Drive, was built only two years ago. It is of contemporary design with choice pieces from Mexico placed artistically in a chaparral setting. Tijinas tile and a screen done by the Mexican artist Lugo give this home an old world look. From each west window throughout the length of the home one can look upon the patio and the garden which overlook the Arroyo.

The gardens of the Dial Dunkin home [at 1009 East Parkwood]are tantalizingly delightful.

Old gold and antique green in a traditional setting best describes the home of Dr. and Mrs. Frank Shepard at 1102 Ferguson. Three wood burning fireplaces lend such warmth [while] the old stained glass doors take your breath away as you enter the dining room. The majestic grandfather's clock in the entrance hall and the chopping block in the kitchen would make a person green with envy except that these things couldn't be owned by nicer people. And don't forget to see the bricks from the early brick factory.

The newly completed country club is an answer to our dreams. Its beauty both inside and out shows much planning to the minutest detail.

Proceeds from the home tour will go to the Hill Home Restoration Fund. The Junior Service League has as one of its projects the restoration of the frame building to its original appearance. The League has purchased some o0f the original furniture and the Hill family has given other pieces of furniture and objects to be used to make it authentic.

Transcribed and annotated by Norman Rozeff, Harlingen Historical Preservation Society, September 2003.

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A Postcard Exploration

Norman Rozeff

Most of the Harlingen-topic postcards from the 1910s through the 1960s are promotional in nature. They picture public buildings such as the post office, municipal auditorium, schools, and the Casa del Sol among others. Additional cards show churches, hotels and motels. Then there are the numerous cards exploiting the merchant sections of Jackson Street.

When an acquaintance e-mailed me a postcard photograph which I had not previously encountered, I was excited at what I perceived to be a structure not visually documented elsewhere. Nearly in the center of the photo is seen a dark one story building sandwiched between the beginning of North B Street and Commerce. The darkest spot is actually a shaded overhang while the building is painted black or dark brown with its window frames in white. I immediately thought that this was the town's first city hall.

The building which served as Harlingen's first city hall was small and rustic. It erection was started in March 1910 by the Harlingen Commercial Club, which was similar to a chamber of commerce, and pretty much completed by the start of June. This organization expended $290 for the lumber, fixtures and other items used in its construction. The club's first unpaid secretary was H.D. Seago, who would later go on to serve many years as Cameron County clerk. In the second half of 1910 the City Commission began to rent the facility in order to conduct business meeting there. In 1926 the city moved into a new combination city hall/fire station facility at 202-204 East Van Buren Street, a city block almost empty even at this date. The old city hall was torn down. The small triangular lot was cleaned and planted. On 9/1/26 its site was dedicated as a small park to honor Gordon Hill, son of founder Lon C. Hill. Gordon, who had died of influenza in the pandemic of 1918, was a promoter of the city, served it in several capacities, and pushed for city park development. Few know it as such, since it appears today little more than a medial strip.

When, in December 2004, an individual donated 20 old Harlingen subject post cards to the archive room of the library, the "A Bird's Eye View of Harlingen" postcard was among them. The Kodak AZO print was considerably clearer than the e-mail reproduction. Sitting clearly atop what I had taken as city hall was a sign reading "Battery and Oil Station." Having been established in 1920 this was Harlingen's first drive-in automobile service station. It was operated by William Witt, son-in-law of G.P. Brandt, who ran the blacksmith shop at 202 N. Commerce. Brandt's occupation would later evolve into an automobile repair firm, the Harlingen Body Works, at 208 N. Commerce.

The photograph appears to have been taken in 1923 from atop the newly-constructed 3-story structure of the A Street Wittenbach Building put up by C.H. Wittenbach and A.J., his grocer son. It would later have an attached five story wing. To the immediate southeast of the service station is seen the 2-story cream-colored brick, over 5,500 square foot structure built in 1921 for Edwin R. Templeton. An outside staircase is to be seen rising to the second floor. That area played a significant part in Harlingen history for here met such organizations as the fraternal Woodmen of the World, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masons, and also DeMolay, Rainbow Girls, Labor Temple for union members, and dance groups. The building currently housing Grimsell's has yet to be built but to the east of its lot, a sign on the building advertises the Hall Bro's (sic) Garage. No signs identify the occupants of the new-looking one story building north across the street from Templeton, but later it will house the Valley Drugs and Sundries Co.

Along Commerce we see the Rio Grande Hardware and Machine Co., successors to Ewing-Phillips Hardware, in a store later to be occupied by Harlingen Hardware and now Broadway Hardware. Next to it is the still one-story feed store of James W. Rhone. In January 1925 it will be purchased by F.G. Jackson. North of it is the Lockridge Millinery shop and Edelstein's with the very same logo the present-day company retains, followed by the warehouse built in 1920 for the Fulton Jones Moving and Storage Co. and adjacent to it is A.L. Brooks' early strip mall housing various commercial enterprises. In the distance up Commerce are the Taylor Lumber Co. (opened 1907), the cotton compress, and the Farmers Gin Co.

Along Jackson Street heading east is the Letzerich Building occupied upstairs by the brothers Drs. Casper W. and Alfred M. Letzerich. It was constructed in 1909, possibly by Charles H. Waterwall. It is likely Harlingen's oldest existing brick building. For a time Hugo J. Letzerich runs the Harlingen Pharmacy on the ground floor. He had arrived as mail clerk on the first train here in 1904. The triangular one-story addition to the Letzerich Building appears to have been added before 1930 for in this year The New York Store is listed as its occupant.

Next to Letzerich Building is the spacious premise of A.A. Kimmel and Company Hardware and Implements at 212 W. Jackson. It got its start in 1918. Kimmel, in 1919, would have the honor of becoming the first president of the newly organized Harlingen Chamber of Commerce, the one that presently exists as the Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce. Johnson's Cafe and the E. B. Thompson News Stand abut Kimmel's. Next to them is the New Manhattan Cafe run first by the Daiments brothers and then sold to G.J. Corris and B.P. Nakes. Sandwiched between the Manhattan Cafe and E. Manautou, a branch of a Brownsville dry goods store which would leave Harlingen before 1930, is a small Photo Studio. The Famous Store would later occupy Manautou's old site.

Across the street is the former Planters State Bank which purchased the lot in 1917. Mack Crenshaw's little wooden barber shop had stood on the site at the southeast corner of Commerce and Jackson. The handsome bank building will be, in 1924-27, home to the Valley State Bank then hold the offices for the Cameron County Irrigation District No.1 from 1927 to 1965. In 1986 the building was awarded a bronze plaque as a Recognized Texas Historic Landmark. Around 1910 two false front wooden buildings, straight out of the old west, once sat next to the barber shop. The first was James Lockhart's general merchandise store which he ran with his oldest sons James Jr. and Brad. In November 1903 the Lockhart family came to the Valley. After managing Lon C. Hill's rice plantation near Brownsville for a short time, Lockhart moved his family to what would become Harlingen. For a time the family lived in tents along the north bank of the Arroyo Colorado. Lockhart commenced the clearing operations for the community-to-be. Upon the arrival of the railroad Lockhart was the community's first postmaster in its city hall location and acted as the unofficial law enforcement officer before the town was incorporated in 1910. The Lockhart store would be taken over by C. H. Ritter. For a time Ritter had to contend with August M. Weller's bustling saloon next door. Weller was the first to purchase lots offered by the Town and Improvement Co. of Lon C. Hill. Weller, after making good money operating other saloons around town, would gain respectability when he purchases the Harlingen State Bank and moves its office to A and Jackson Streets. The building seen in the photo next to the bank building will shortly house Morris Edelsteins's Edelstein's Furniture Store at 217 W. Jackson. It will here from an earlier location next to Jones' Transfer on Commerce. To its east will be the City Barber Shop, then an empty lot likely owned by Weller.

The exploration of this seemingly non-descript post card turns out to reveal unexpected history. Sometimes it's there for the looking.

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A Chronological History of Education in Harlingen
Compiled by Norman Rozeff, Harlingen Historical Preservation Society
Revised April 2009

1903 The children of La Providencia Ranch hands are taught by Miss Margarita Villareal (later she becomes Mrs. G.M. Lozano. Their son G.M. Lozano, Jr. will marry another early arrival to the Harlingen scene. This is Ida Priestly, who arrived here in 1922, as her father with ancestors from Clarksville, TX takes up tenant farming in the Rangerville area. In 2002 she is to celebrate her 86th birthday.) Having been graduated after eleven years of schooling in Brownsville Margarita is qualified to teach. Instruction is in English. Later the school moves into the second floor of the Pioneer Building. This serves some of the Hispanic children until the school district builds a facility.

9/05 Lon C. Hill, the founder of Harlingen, builds a small frame schoolhouse near his new home. It opens with the seven Hill children as pupils; three children (Frank, John and Elizabeth) of Hill's sister and brother-in-law –Mr. and Mrs. J.C. McBee; the children (Lynn and Etta) of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas L. Jones, who had accompanied Hill from Beeville; Henry Bell; and later Katherine Weller, daughter A.H. Weller. This is 14 students in all to be taught by W.A. Francis (1905-07). He will someday head the English Department at Texas A&I College in Kingville. He is to be followed by Miss Johnnie Phipps in the 1907-08 school year and Lillian Weems, later Baldridge, in1908-09. According to Mrs.Baldridge her students were: Kathryne Weller (Mrs. H. D. Seago), Mary Jones (Mrs. H. E. Bennett), Lynn Jones, Henry Bell, Ida Hill (Mrs. H. K. Morrow), Lon (Mose) C. Hill, Jr., John and Frank McBee, Gordon Hill, John Hill, Annie Rooney Hill, Hickman Hill, Sunshine Hill (Mrs. M.L. Caul), and Elizabeth McBee (Mrs. W.L. Darnell).

1907-09 Miss Jesusa Garcia, later Mrs. Cirilo Rodriguez, teaches 12 to15 Hispanic students in a small house outfitted to be a school room. It is on the property her father, Pancho Garcia, has bought from Hill in the 300 block of West Harrison. Mrs. Rodriguez is to die at age 94 on 11/1/84 leaving four surviving daughters.

10/5/09 The Harlingen Independent School District Board of Trustees holds its organizational meeting in the office of the Morrow Brothers Lumber Company. The board consists of John E. Snavely (chairman), C.F. Perry, H.N. Morrow, J.A. Card, R.S. Chambers, W.E. Hollingsworth, and W.H. Kilgore. The first school site purchased was the Alamo School site, just west of the railroad tracks. Lon C. Hill donated half the site and the District purchased the other half, according to Warren W. Ballard, later business manager of the schools. Miss Anna Dixon, later Mrs. Clark of Austin, teaches at the school for Hispanics.

1908-09 The number of school children is still small enough to list. They are: Allie Hathaway (Mrs. Harold Looney), Auro Hathaway (later Buster), Rhubena Hathaway (Mrs. Dallas Ingle), Peter Hathaway, J.D. Dorough, Bunny Dorough, Moody Dorough (Mrs. Flagg), LeRoy Hoffman, Roland Ogan, Lois Ogan, Grady Ferguson, Lucie Mary Weems, Vivian Barbee, Archie Barbee, Lucille Barbee, Luella Barbee, Quinton Barbee, Emmett Anglin, Wyatt Clark, Earl Waterwall, Laura Lockhart, Basil Watwood, and Jesus ?.

1909 Mrs. George Pletcher, mother of George Pletcher, Jr., who would enter the nursery business and become mayor of Harlingen, along with Mrs. Wiles' sister Eula were school teachers in the Adventist Church building. Her brother H.C. Ware and his wife owned a home next door to the old Adventist Church building, which was later to become a community building.

One student, I.E. (Renus) Snavely, of this period recalls that before the first brick schoolhouse was built classes were held in a succession of places. These were the Adventist Church building, which the Adventists never got to utilize, the Baptist Tabernacle, a red brick building on Harrison Street, and two buildings on the downtown blocks of Jackson. One of these was upstairs over a saloon with a pool hall next door.

A Mr. Williams was principal-superintendent of schools at this time.

5/14/10 The School Board of Trustees considers a bond election. On 7/8/10 the issue is set for $40,000, payable in 40 years at 4% interest in order to construct, equip, and purchase the sites for two brick schools. Forty-six voters (51 in another account) out of the population of 1,126 participate on 11/9/10. All vote in favor. L.S. Green of Green and Briscoe, Architects, Houston is selected for the "Main School" to serve grades 1 through 11. A.W. Cunningham is instrumental in purchasing a whole city block between 5th and 6th Street along Main Street for the site of the school. It is purchased from Lon C. Hill for $3,500. The Anglo students are attending school in the former Seventh Day Adventist building while the Hispanic students are in the brick one-story two-classroom school on what will be South E Street.

4/15/11 Contract for $5,649 let to R. H. Tadlock to construct the second story addition to the existing two classroom brick schoolhouse for Mexican ethnics. To some this school was called the Benito Juarez School after the president of Mexico. Juarez was called the Lincoln of Mexico for expulsion of the French and his many reforms during his service as president 1861-1872. The School Board Trustees accept this addition on 3/12/12. At this time J.S. Ford is president of the Board and Prof. William L. Sturgeon is school superintendent and secretary to the board. He is also a staunch First Christian Church member. Later when the board is reorganized, John E. Snavely will handle security. Lucie Weems is principal of the school from 1915 to 1917. This is the first of three schools to carry the name Alamo. By 1930 it was no longer being used as a school. Its second story was removed in 1949 and the rest demolished in 1975. Its location was likely on W. Van Buren not far from the railroad tracks.

4/25/11 Andrew Goldammer is awarded a $25,000 contract to build a three story brick schoolhouse on the northwest corner of Jackson and 6th Streets. J.P. McDonald is to supervise its construction. Another source puts the low-bid contract at $22,800. Now called a $40,000 school, it is nearing completion by 10/26/11. The building is accepted 3/25/12. First called the Central Ward School, it is, in1936, renamed the Sam Houston School.

Advanced students this year occupy a room above the saloon at the corner of Jackson and A Streets. One teacher instructs 15 students who even have to take a course in Latin. Ireneus Snavely, who will be graduated in the class of 1915, later recalls that boisterous saloon customers were frequently a distraction and the facility had no amenities.

1912 A small elementary school sponsored by the Sacred Heart of Mary Immaculate Catholic Church opens in southwest Harlingen with 48 students. It is in a frame house donated by the Extension Society. In 1918 Sisters of Mercy will come from Laredo to join the teaching staff and take care of administrative duties.

4/1/12 The Central Ward School is occupied. It serves as a school from 1912 to 1950 then several years as a community center. In 1952 it is purchased and renovated into an office complex named the E.O. Matz Building.

E.W. Anglin, a school board member in 1911-12, recalls, "We gathered up all the classes scattered about town on April 1, 1912 and moved them all to the new brick building on Jackson Street. The next year was a rainy one and we had to build a board walk all the way from downtown to the school."

1913 Enough boys are enrolled in the high school, so a 14 man football team organizes.

1913-18 Lyceum Courses for adults are held in the Central Ward School in these years.

5/14 The first graduating class (then 11 grades) of the Harlingen High School is compose of Roberta Chaudoin (later Mrs. I.E (Renus) Snavely), Murl and Gladys Snavely, and Fred Osborn.

1915 The Wilson School at Primera to the west of J.F. Rodgers' place is built. Rodgers and J.T. Avery are its prime movers. Lilian Weems Baldridge is to be its first teacher.

The Sacred Heart of Mary opens a three room school. Three years later a fourth class room is added. It is located just south of the church on Winchell (now C) Street.

4/7/16 W.F. Jourdan is superintendent of schools and Pearl Botts is principal of the high school. Domestic science classes will be added next term. Miss Pearl Cleary is principal of the Wilson rural high school.

1918 This is the year Paul E. Phipps comes to the Valley where he later becomes Superintendent of McAllen schools for two years. He comes to Harlingen in 1922 and takes the same position here until 1933, the year of his death. He is a native of New Boston, MO having been born there 4/30/88. He was educated at Kirksville Teachers College in Missouri and Columbia University where he received an M.S. degree. He also has a Superintendent School Diploma from Columbia. This Methodist and Mason married Susan Case on 6/28/11. He was president of the Valley Mid-Winter Fair Association its first two years in Harlingen. Paul Earl Phipps was superintendent of schools in Princeton, Missouri in 1918 when, due to his father's health condition, he brought his family including his father, wife Susan Case, and daughter Jean to McAllen in the summer of 1918. Two years later he was selected to be Harlingen Superintendent of Schools, a position he filled until 1932. His daughter, Jean Phipps Clore, will provide a valuable service by documenting the history of the First Methodist Church in Harlingen.

Jennie Case comes to the Valley from Missouri. She is a graduate of the George Peabody College of Nashville. She and her sister, Mrs. Mattie Case (d.5/51), begin teaching in Harlingen in 1920. This First Methodist Church member dies 7/19/59 leaving a niece Jean Phipps Clore (here in1920). Her brother-in-law, the late Paul Phipps, was an early Harlingen school superintendent.

1919 Some time before 1920, the population of rural Leeland to the west of Harlingen had grown enough that a school was warranted. A frame building consisting of two large rooms to serve all grades was erected at the corner of what is now Business 83 and Altas Palmas Roads. Before 1923 this facility was being outgrown, so a one-room frame building was added to hold the first and second grades.

1920 The school enrollment at the Central Ward School and the West Ward School (formerly Alamo) is 284 pupils as the school year starts. The children of new arrivals will soon push it to 425, 90 of whom are high school students. The Central Ward School has eight real classrooms four improvised ones and two in a new framed addition constructed on the northeast side. The West Ward School has four classrooms. The student growth necessitates the successful passage of a $30,000 bond issue in addition to the $40,000 for the new high school.

In the 1920s Harlingen segregates its Mexican surnamed school children through the 4-5th grades.

When early records of high school graduate were lost in the 1933 Hurricane, Eunice Simmons Madeley (Mrs. Neil Madeley Sr.) and other early graduates took it upon themselves about 1974 to reconstruct the names of individuals. Since the number is small it is accounted for below:

1914 Roberta Chaudoin, later Mrs. Renus Snavely

Gladys Snavely, later Mrs. E. M. Bowen

Murl Snavely, later Mrs. Pletcher

Fred Osborne

1915 Doris Snavely, later Mrs. Paul Earl Phipps

Ophelia Harrington, later Mrs. Morris Chaudoin

Estelle Smith

Moody Dorough

Mary Lou Brown

Irenus Snavely, who would marry Roberta Chaudoin

1916 Vera Thompson

Roy Decker

Emmett Anglin

Arethusa Brown

1917 Pauline Snavely

Eunice Simmons, later Mrs. Neil Madeley Sr.

Frances Scarborough

Roland Ogan

(Van) Buren Sidener

1918 Mattie James, later Mrs. Hough

Willis Weaver

1919 Roscoe Witt

Joe Chaudoin, who was to marry Dallas Hartin

Mabel Waters

Opal Snavely

Corinne Verser

Mildred Gustafson

Jamie Stockton

Gladys Poteet

Gladys Smith

Lois Ogan, later Mrs.Williams

1920 Phillip Hardage Cooper

Lafayette Ferris Weaver

Martha Clarketta Griffith

Edgar S. Place Jr.

Dorothy Louise Place

Eustacia (Sunshine) Dabney Hill, later Mrs. M. Caul

Mertie Elizabeth Hill

Margaret Edna Cook

Bessie Virginia Oler

Betsy Bass

In this decade before the year 1925 the West Ward School is built in the east side of the 400 block of South F Street at 415. It is an attractive two-story brick structure. Its attendees are wholly Hispanic. By 1937 a larger facility is built at 501-2 South F and named the Alamo School. In 1970 or 1971 the school is closed. In the 1987 -88 school year Alamo Jr. High School is to open at the present site of the Harlingen High School –South.

1921 Luz Ramirez, later to be Mrs. Bennie Leal of San Benito, is the first student of Mexican origin to be graduated from Harlingen High School. In 1922 Alfred Lozano, later to be Doctor Lozano, is the first Hispanic boy to be graduated.

6/19/21 A $50,000 bond issue is voted by Stuart Place residents to construct a schoolhouse. Bob and O.E. Stuart donate 10 acres of land for its site. It is scheduled to be completed by January 1, 1922. Mrs. Hugh Fitzgerald is president of the board and Mrs. R. D. Corn secretary. The former is one of the few women in the state to hold such a position. B.A. Elwing and Roy Mulhausen, architects of San Benito and Harlingen, have submitted plans for a modern building to serve the 185 scholars presently enrolled in the district. The same architects have designed the $50,000 new Harlingen High School. The 216' x 145' structure will have two wings each holding eight classrooms and be constructed by W.T.Liston and Son.

1921-22 In this school year 534 students are enrolled.

12/12/22 The School Board of Trustees appropriates $60,000 for construction of a new senior high school. Its ornate twin-towered building is erected on the west side of the double block extending from 6th to 8th Street and between Polk and Tyler. It costs $45,452.50. Four years later on the east side of the two-block strip the main building is constructed for use as a junior high school. In the Hurricane of 1933 the first building sustains such serious structural damage that it has to be torn down. A gymnasium-auditorium is then built in the middle of the block. By 1937, the surviving structure called the Travis Junior High School operates at this place until 1949 when a new junior high school is constructed on 13th and Madison on land donated by the Minnie Gay family. The former junior high school, now turned into the Travis Elementary School, will be demolished along with the gymnasium when a new Travis Elementary School is build on the site but nearer 6th Street in the late 1970s.

1923 The Stuart Place School is dedicated. On the stone monument commemorating it are inscribed the names of the school board. They are: O.E. Stuart, president, J.J. Garrett, vice-president, Mrs. Hugh Fitzgerald, Secretary, W.H. Maupin, I.B. Corns, and H.C. West. A year later with the first graduated class comes the school's first edition of its annual, "Hoja de Palma". The school building will become the gathering place for the rural residents of the area and even be used for church activities. By 1928 the school will be fully accredited. The school building will become the gathering place for the rural residents of the area and even be used for church activities. By 1928 the school will be fully accredited.

June 1923 Seven boys and 13 girls are the first to be graduated from the Central Ward School after 11 years of instruction. Teacher Frank Brunneman has taught Richard Stout, Kenneth Macy, Raymond Rodgers, Frank Houghton, Margaret Thomason, Lucille Bobo, Roe Davenport, Velda Goldammer, Essie McLeod, Vera Letzerich, Maureen Elmore, Velma Baize, Mayme Anglin, Mary Jennings, and Gladys Word among others. There are now 140 high school students and the total number of students has jumped to 1,100. The "High School Buzz" a monthly student newspaper is now being published.

3/5/25 On this date it is announced that a bond issue for $100,000 for new school construction will be voted on 4/4. At month end, Supt. Phipps, who has been here four years, is retained. The bond issue passes. Plans are to add an auditorium to the high school (blk. 45), additions to the Mexican School (blk.109), and repair the grade school (blk.50). Total expenditures will range from $60,000 to $65,000. By July a $43,000 contract was let to H. J. Hanson and Son, Brownsville for new junior high school building (decades later referred to as the "old Travis") to be erected next to the senior high school on 6th. The cost of a 900-seat high school auditorium is put at $21,000 with R. E. Ewing its contractor. W.T. Liston received the $10,000 contract to add four classrooms, two on each side of the front of the Mexican School i.e. West Ward School on E Street. This would double its student capacity to accommodate its wholly Hispanic student body. After the renovation the school is called Ward West Junior High School. By 1937 a larger facility is built at adjacent 501-2 S. F Street and named the Alamo School. In 1970 or 1971 the school is closed but not demolished until 1975. In the 1987-88 school year Alamo Junior High School is to open at the present site of the Harlingen High School-South campus.

In 1925, newly elected to the school board of trustees are John Sanders and A.E. McLendon taking the places of John James and C.A. Bobo who do not choose to run again. Holdovers are president, B.H. Brindley, A.A. Kimmel, Paul Hill, L.M. Chaudoin, R. B. Nunally, with R. B. Hamilton, secretary. Residing in a large bungalow at 313 E. Monroe, John F. Sander's family includes John Jr., Joe G., and Bennie Ray. Joe G., a band member in 1931-32 along with brother Bennie, will distinguish himself at H.H.S. by being named All-District guard in 1935 and being elected president of the "Hy-Y" Club (1936).

5/10/25 The largest graduating high school class ever consists of 34 students.

9/25 G.W. Moothart, president, of Harlingen Business College, opens the school after obtaining a three year lease for space in the A.J. Wittenbach Building. He has operated a similar school in Brownsville.

1926 This is the year Lucy A. Phillips Gough started teaching in the Harlingen School District and which she would continue to do so for 26 years. Her specialty was 7th and 8th grade language arts. A native of Sealy, Texas from which school she was graduated in 1903, she then attended the Texas Normal School in the first year it was open. She taught eight years elsewhere before coming to Harlingen. This First Baptist Church member was an originator of the Fine Arts Club in Harlingen where she continued to live for 31 years after retirement. She was also a supporter of the Valley Baptist Academy and the library. In the 1980s she moved to Sealy where on 9/6/92 she celebrated her 107th birthday.

10/8/26 At a PTA meeting Supt. Butler of the Stuart Place School notes that the addition of four more credits this school year will bring the total to 17 ½ or 18.

10/26 E.H. and Mabel Briggs and A.W. and M.B. Coleman donate land for the construction of a public school to be known as Briggs-Coleman School for the Dishman School District No. 15 of Cameron County. In the late 1940s it would fall under the Rio Hondo School District. It operates until 1967 and is abandoned. The Country Playhouse commences using its auditorium in 1979. In this year Bob Briggs, a descendent of one of the land donors seeks to reclaim the land under its original grant stipulations.

9/23/27 The Briggs-Coleman School , on what is later to be north FM 507, opens its school year in a new building. Prof. C.O. Slaughter is principal, Miss Jewel Hudson teacher of the elementary grades and Miss Mildred Hudson, the primary grades. In the 1970s after the school has closed the Country Playhouse will use the building to host amateur theatrical productions.

1928 The Lozano Building's upper floor is remodeled by Dr. Alfredo Lozano to convert it into Harlingen's first business college.

The city brags that six schools have been completed with a $500,000 investment, and $400,000 of bonds voted for a new high school and two others. School attendance is 2,564.

This same year the South Ward School at 306 W. Lincoln is erected. It is later renamed the James Bowie Elementary School. Its unique colorful cast-concrete frieze by Luiz Lopez Sanchez provides it the nickname, La Escuela de la Vibores (the school of snakes.) The façade blends Mexican and native-American motifs. At this time at 700 E. Austin the North Ward School, later to be called Austin Elementary, is built with designs by the Meriwether and Sauers Company. The combined cost for both is $93, 258.50. Also started this year are portions of the Dishman School.

7/24/28 Several weeks earlier the school district boundaries were extended 900 acres to include Combes and a few other areas. R. B. Hamilton, board secretary, indicates the new Combes School will cost $20,000 to construct. For the token amount of $1 James Henry Dishman sells five acres of land to the HISD trustees in order for a school to be built in Combes. The trustees are O. N. Joyner, Miller Harwood, J. R. Grimes, H. J. Gostzke, A. E. McClendon, William Watterman and Frank Brunneman.

9/11/28 Schools are to open this date with an enrollment of 2,200 expected and this to rise to 2,600 later. Teachers in the system number 70. [This averages to 31.4 students per teacher.]

1/2/29 2,100 children are in school as of this mid-school year date. From 1920-21 when the school population was 816, the system gained only 305 to 1924-25 then 238 were added in 1925-26 bringing the 1926-27 start total to 1,475. This grew to 1,697 by January and 1,983 by April. The escalating growth indicates the dynamic development of the city in this period.

1/8/29 Dewitt and Washburn, Dallas are to be the architects for the new $270,000 high school expected to be completed by January 1930.

2/14/29 W.L. Lehman, proprietor of the Valley Business College, dies at age 41. He leaves his wife and three small children.

4/29 Carl S. Chilton is the principal of the Central Ward Grammar School.

6/17/29 Large ads are carried urging residents to approve a supplemental bond issue of $100,000 in order to finance the $52,000 shortfall for the construction of the new high school but also $20,000 for additions to the West Ward School, the same amount to pay off Comb School notes, and retire other indebtedness. The issue is to carry 278 to 217.

6/30 Student enrollment is put at 2,383.

9/4/30 Called "the showplace of the Valley", the new $350,000 senior high school at 125 S. 13th Street at Harrison is dedicated. It is designed by architects Dewitt and Washburn of Dallas. The former designed the east wing of the White House. At this time the superintendent of schools is Paul E. Phipps. On the board of Trustees are Mrs. J.I. Coursey, O.N. Joyner, Ira E. Eells, S.D. Grant, A.E. McClendon, and Dr. John Crockett. The last senior class to use the facility is that of 1959 which started there but finished in the new high school on Marshall Street. The Spanish Revival style facility in 1958 becomes Vernon Junior High School named in honor of Julia Vernon, a popular English teacher and librarian for years at the high school.

The West Ward School is at 415 South F Street. Its principal is Mrs. Bertha J. Traylor. The South Ward School is at 309 W. Lincoln and Mrs. Lucy A. Gough is its principal. It will later be re-named the James Bowie Elementary School.

In 1930 the Harlingen Valley Business College was located at 215 ½ W. Monroe. By 1937 the college was operating on the third floor of the Embee Building addition at 119 S. Street. When between 1938 and 1941 the Durham Business Institute took over the site, Mrs. Harman Straub moved her school to the Commerce Building at 121 W. Van Buren. She would close altogether by 1944. By 1942 the Embee school location had become the Durham Business College and was under the management of Carl A. Scott. It stayed in this location until 1958 then, after a year at 106 ½ N 1st, moved to 5621 S. F Street. In the 70s it changed its name to Durham College of the Valley. Durham was to go out of business after 1973, possibly when it experienced difficulties with defaulted government student loans.

30-31 A listing encompassing eleven years indicates the growth of the city and its student school population: school year 1920-21 816, 21-22 853, 22-23 1052, 23-24 1099,

24-25 1121, 25-26 1359, 26-27 1686, 27-28 2152, 28-29 2450, 29-30 2735, 30-31 2897.

1933 The eighth grade class is moved to the high school building on 13th Street.

9/5/33 The Labor Day Hurricane of 1933 delays the start of school initially 9/18 to 9/25 and then to 10/2. The high school on 6th Street is damaged beyond repair as is the school for Negroes in the West side of town. The North and South Ward Schools suffer only minor damage. The number of students is put at 3,430, down 147 from the previous year.

1934 The Booker T. Washington School to serve Harlingen's Negro children is erected in the 800 block of W. Filmore at H Street. As the number of blacks diminishes over the years it will be integrated. Although an addition to it will later be made, it is to be superceded. It ceases to be used as a school in 1959. It currently is being used by the school district as a Parental Involvement Center.

In the Fall of this year the Cardinal Football Field is constructed at the cost of $4,500. It is adjacent to the high school.

5/35 The School Board with Frank E. Davis as president, Dr. John Crockett vp, Ira E. Eells, secretary, and Mrs. H. C. Rader assistant secretary vote to rename the schools for the Texas Centennial to be held in 1936. The intermediate school is named for William B. Travis, Central Ward for Sam Houston, North Ward for Stephen F. Austin, South Ward for James Bowie, and the West Ward for the Alamo.

1936 The school system has 80 teachers.

1937 The new Alamo Elementary School is operating at 501-21 South F Street. By 1970 it ceases to function.

In this period E.C. Deering is superintendent of schools. He holds a BA from Baylor University and an MA from the University of Texas. D.M. Denton, who is the high school principal, holds an AB degree from Baylor University.

1940 Durham's Business College opens to train people in stenographic, secretarial, and office skills.

1940-41 It is thought that it is this school year that the Harlingen public school system added the twelfth grade . Previously only eleven grades were taught. The end of the 1941-42 school year sees the conclusion of 11 years of matriculation for grade school students to receive their high school diploma. Across Texas the school years offered are now extended through grade twelve. Some transitional scheduling for 11-12 graders is offered the next two years.

1941 The Bryne Select School of Business is at 117 ½ W. Jackson. It exists only this one year. Mrs. Harry (Ethel) Eggleston is superintendent. Her husband is the owner of the Merchants Credit Bureau.

12/31/42 The school enrollment is 3,125 with a faculty of 97. As 1943 commences the public schools are: Harlingen Senior High School (13th St.), Travis Junior High (Polk), Sam Houston, James C. Bowie, Stephen F. Austin, Alamo, Booker T. Washington, and James F. Dishman. The total investment in the physical plants was $800,000. The 75 member uniformed high school band was a proud achievement.

7/25/46 A school to be associated with St. Anthony's Catholic Church, about to be dedicated, is itself dedicated. Its first classes are held 9/1/46 with Sisters of Devine Providence from San Antonio assuming teaching assignments.

9/47 The Valley Baptist Academy gets its start in Harlingen under the sponsorship of the Rio Grande Baptist Association. Its mission is to teach grade school children primarily from Latin America areas. Its first home is an old store building on E. Madison. Here 28 are enrolled. In its second year it moves to Brownsville and remains there until 1956 when the old Valley Baptist Hospital, 613 South F Street in Harlingen becomes available. By 1962 it has 107 students, 88 of whom live in its dormitories. This same year it becomes an institution of the Valley Baptist Convention of Texas and by 1972 is a primary project of Texas Baptist Men. In 1964, 44 acres of land for a new campus, 5700 E. Harrison, are donated. When the 1972 school season starts and the Academy celebrates its 25th Anniversary it has 165 students, grades 8 to 12, from the U.S. and 11 other countries, mostly Mexico and Central America. The campus has five dormitories, classroom and administrative buildings, the president's house and four faculty houses. There is a staff of 20 teachers, administrative and maintenance personnel. At this time Dr. H.E. Gray has served as the Academy's president since 1952.

Some years after the F Street Valley Baptist structure is demolished, the multi-unit, two-story Robin Hood Apartments are constructed on the site.

1948 St. Alban's Episcopal Day School is established. Its first year sees 28 three to five year olds for the half day sessions. By 2003 this accredited school serves pre-school (age 2 through 6th grade.) The intervening years had seen numerous transitions, especially after the air base closed. By 1956-57 there were 85 students through the newly added third grade. A fourth grade was added the following school year only to see a retrenchment of both grades in 1958-59.

In this year the West Ward Elementary School is in the 600 block of South J. By 1950 it has been renamed the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School as much of it is new, having been constructed in 1946 by Bruce Ramsey construction to plans by Cocke and Bowman. E. H. Poteet is superintendent of schools this year and Dr. N.A. Davidson is president of the school board.

The Booker T. Washington School with two rooms is remodeled and the grade level goes from 8th through 10^th as two grades are added.

The St. Paul Lutheran School is established at Third and Tyler. Its goal is to educate elementary students together with Christian overtones. The school will later expand to handle kindergarten through 8th grade.

12/21/48 A site is given by R.E. Smith of Houston in memory of his mother Minnie B. Gay of Brownsville. Smith is an oil operator in Conroe. The deed is given to J. Lewis Boggus, president of the school board. Smith is cited as trustee for his daughter, Bobbie Sue Smith, 1 year old, for whom the tract had been given. Mrs. Gay came to Brownsville from Jefferson, TX in 1908. Her husband, Portes Gay, was chief of the Border Patrol at Brownsville. The 40 acre tract was acquired by Mrs. Gay in 1918 and remained in tact until the railroad cut through leaving 37 acres. Of this, 6.8 acres has been given for the school site next to Cardinal Field. Brownsville attorney Robin Pate, a family friend, is credited with generating the gift. On hand are board members Arthur Purdy, F. Earl Davis, T.D. King, J.R. Fitzgerald, Guy Leggett, and W.W. Ballard business manager.

1949 The Minnie Gay Junior High School comes into existence on 13th at Madison. Its architects are Cocke, Bowman & York and its construction is by E.J. Waitman. In the 1990s its name is changed to Memorial Middle School as a bone to "political correctness" since the word "gay" has become synonymous with homosexual.

1950 The school system has 5,662 students. This year sees the final integration of the Stuart Place School and the Wilson School of Primera into the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District.

The Fair Park Elementary at 1406 W. Jefferson will become the David Crockett Elementary School in 1952. The new Travis Elementary will open at 700 E. Taylor.

The short-lived Colonial Acres Elementary is at 500 Elm, which is near the airport.

This year 19 year old Joanne Cleckler, coming from East Texas with her husband, begins a 45 year teaching stint with the school district. She retires in June 1957 as assistant principal at Ben Milam. For many years she taught home economics studies at the junior high.

Crockett Elementary will open this year, a music building will be added to the high school, and the Booker T. Washington School will see the addition of two classrooms. Crockett was designed by Cocke, Bowman & York and built by Frank Parker while M. H. Connelly was school superintendent and J. Louis Boggus president of the school board.

1/23/50 Gay Junior High School to accommodate 630 students is set to open. It features a $365,000 ultra-modern auditorium seating 548.

1952 The city has one high school, one junior high school, and eleven elementary schools. There are 5,762 students enrolled under a faculty of 240. The high school now has a 100 member uniformed marching band. Supplementing the public school system are two Catholic parochial schools, one Episcopalian and one Lutheran school each. There are three vocational schools and Durham's Business College with its capacity of 125 students. The Dishman and Wilson School systems have been integrated into the new Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District (HCISD).

1954 8/10/53 The Lorenzo de Zavala Elementary School, 1111 North B, is projected by architect Walter Bowman to be mostly ready occupation by September or October and the Harlindale School, at what will become 2400 E. Jefferson, a little later. The latter will be renamed for James Butler Bonham, the Alamo hero, after a vote of the student body of Colonial Acres. Horace McGee is to be principal of Zavala and Don Schmidt at Harlindale. At the time C. E. Burnett is school superintendent and J.B. Chambers is president of the school board. One of Bonham's first teachers is Mrs. Lee Means who will later become president of the HCISD board. The school district is forecasting an increase of 829 students. Seventy three new teachers will include 14 additional to last season.

7/8/55 The Harlingen School Board votes to admit the city's black high school pupils now attending the Washington School to Harlingen High School. They number around 11. The sixty other grade students at Washington include 10 from Santa Rosa, La Feria, and Raymondville. The board delays a decision on their status and also that of the three black teachers under contract and surplus to the system if integration occurs. The actual integration doesn't occur until 1957 when the three teachers find employment outside the Valley.

8/8/55 A budget of $1,902,561 is approved by the school board. A real estate valuation of $1.35 per $100 is used this year.

9/21/55 First month school enrollment is up. There are 923 in the first grade classes and 4,736 overall in grades 1 through 6. In junior high are 1,470 and in high school 834 bringing overall enrollment to 7,040.

3/56 The city has one high school, one junior high school, and thirteen elementary schools. The physical plant is valued at $4,170,000. A faculty of 320 serves 10,390 children.

Lamar Elementary School comes online at 1100 McLarry Road. It was constructed in 1955 with C.E. Burnett as superintendent and L.R. Baker as president of the school board.

9/56 The School of the Sacred Heart of Mary Immaculate opens its new brick structure with seven classrooms. It would close in 1971, and the building will be used for its parish religious education program.

2/14/59 Joel Hendrix Murray of 1307 E. Filmore dies. He came to the Valley from Stephenville in 1921 and until seven years ago was building superintendent of Harlingen schools.

12/19/58 Is the date of the first occupation of the new Harlingen High School on E. Marshall. C. E. Burnett is school superintendent and Dr. Thomas La Motte is president of the school board. It costs $1,485,000 including the grounds according to Warren W. Ballard, school business manager. On 1/26/59 it is officially dedicated. Speakers are Dr. Ernest H. Poteet, president of Texas College of Arts and Industry. He was superintendent of schools here for 7 ½ years. J. Gordon Nix is to be principal of the school constructed by W. B. Uhlhorn.

2/14/59 Joel Hendrix Murray of 1307 E. Filmore dies. He came to the Valley from Stephenville in 1921 and until seven years ago was building superintendent of Harlingen schools.

9/23/59 The HISD is to put forth a $450,000 bond issue. C. M. Callihan is serving his first year as superintendent of schools, having commenced on July 1, 1959.

1960 The new Sam Houston School, an elementary one, opens at 301 E. Taft bringing the city's total to 14. The HISD this year has 10,463 students and 402 teachers.

3/1/60 The school board approves new $911,654 second junior high school to be built at Coakley Village and the submission of a bond issue to cover its cost. Last week it approved three elementary schools – one at Coakley Village, one Rangerville Road and one at 1st Street and Davis. Coakley Village is on the C.R. Jullian Coakley Estates. The school will eventually be named for Mary E. Coakley. By 6/7/60 plans are drawn for this school.

The Ben Milam Elementary School is being built at 1215 Rangerville Road.

8/23/60 The school budget of $4,715, 299 is approved. It necessitates raising the district tax rate from $1.50 to $1.70. When the schools open in September there are 8,931 registered students with the breakdown: 5,689 elementary, 2,175 Gay Jr. High, and 1,067 Harlingen High School according to Supt. C.M. Callihan.

3/61 The School Board buys out the contract of C. M. Callihan for $18,000 and lets him go. Harvey Broyles takes over as acting superintendent of schools.

3/22/61 Adams Bothers General Construction Co. of Brownsville is awarded the contract for the $602,187 cost of the Coakley Jr. High School. In 1/62 when it comes in at $700,000 the city lacks money for paving 6th Street and the Taft crossing. The school district then says it will not open Coakley this school year.

4/6/61 In view of the announced HAFB closing the school board holds in abeyance the construction of 10 new classrooms.

6/1/61 High school graduates number 257.

8/13/61 The $810/yr teacher pay raise will cost the district, which pays about 13% of the teacher's salaries, $50,000. The base minimum is presently $4,014 annually. The 400 plus teachers here received a raise of $120 last year. In 1960-61 the district received $2,215,863 from the state. About 11,500 students are expected to register for the 1961-62 school year up from 10,976 of 60-61. When a count is made in November, the number of 10,314 is actually down.

9/3/61 A shop and a 12-classroom wing have been added to the Harlingen High School.

11/2/61 The school enrollment is down for the 1961-62 school year to 10,314 from its level of 10,564 in 1960-61.

2/8/62 Twelve additional classrooms are approved for the high school.

4/20/62 Warren W. Ballard, for 30 years business manager of the Harlingen School System, resigns. He started work here in12/1/30. The dual system of management since 1920 will be abandoned and the Supt. of Schools will control all aspects.

5/18/62 John H. Morgan superintendent of the Taft School System is named superintendent of Harlingen schools. His three year contract called for a salary of $16,000 per annum and a car allowance of $100 per month.

5/27/62 The completion of the Mary E. Coakley Junior High School is one year late. Its total cost is $750,000 for the building, paving, and equipment. In September 1,000 students are expected to attend it. It was built under Harvey J. Broyles, school superintendent, and Frank N. Boggus, school board president. Its architects are Hester, Bowman & Swanson while Adams Bothers is the building contractor.

5/30/62 There are 251 graduates of Harlingen High School.

8/62 The La Motte School (T.M.R.) at 216 N. 21st is opened to handle special students. It will come to have 14 teachers and 133 students.

This year also sees the construction of Sam Houston Elementary School to the south of Coakley.

6/63 By this date the Alamo School on S. E Street had grown to have in addition to its main building to the north and two annex building to its south. Total classroom and administration area was 11,724 sq. ft. An auditorium to the northwest was an additional 4,500 sq. ft.

10/25/63 The old high school, now a junior high school is renamed in honor of Julia Vernon. Julia Shawson, the third child of Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth Ann (Ray) Shawson, was born 10/24/93 in Youngsport, Bell County, TX. She came to Harlingen in the 1920s and married Thomas Spillar Vernon of West Virginia in Brownsville on 12/22/26. They made their home at 1218 E. Harrison but had no children. She obtained a 1923 teaching degree from Southwest Texas State Teacher's College, and later added a B.A. from Texas A&I, an M.A. from her first college in 1949, and a B.A. in library science from Texas State College for Women in 1951. In Harlingen she taught elementary school children, then middle school English, and finally high school students before becoming the high school librarian. She organized the chapter of Future Teachers of America at the high school and the chapter was named after her. Her husband died of diabetes complications in 1947. This much–loved educator passed away in Waco at age 88 on 6/29/82.

1965 It is this year that Harlingen College, a business school, establishes itself at 513 E. Jackson in the Matz Building. It is started by key personnel of the San Antonio Business College in that city. O.N. Bard, who worked for them in 1964-65, moves back here and becomes its first manager in 1965.

9/65 The first classes, with 59 students, of the Marine Military Academy take place at old wartime facilities of the Air Force Navigation School at the deactivated Harlingen Air Force Base. The academy for high school students follows elements traditional to the U.S. Marine Corps. Prior to 1965 the founders of MMA planned to locate in Prescott, AZ. A Marine recruiter in Harlingen, Gunnery Sgt. John S. Allerton, read about the proposed academy in Leatherneck. He showed the article to Sam Searles, then a major in the Army Reserve and an official of the Harlingen National Bank. Searles was a former Marine Corps sergeant-major. He spoke to city officials about the academy. The organizers visited here and liked what they saw. Funding came from many sources. One major one was J.D. Stetson Coleman, a WWII Marine Corps Veteran. He bought 26 buildings and about 83 acres from the city for $55,000. He also secured a half million dollar loan and paid the interest on it for the first three years. By 1985 the academy had nearly 400 cadets, 37 teachers, and an annual budget of $3 million for its now 139 acre campus. Its 1981 class had 20 going on to the U.S. Naval Academy, and one the Air Force Academy. Sixteen others received full ROTC scholarships to attend college, with 41 others accepted at major colleges and universities.

In this year the Alamo School at 512 South E is noted as (migrant).

This year the St. Paul Lutheran School is located near the church sanctuary. Nearby is built a facility to house five classrooms, a parish hall, and a staff workroom. The educational program is to grow. In 1973 a Day Care program is initiated as part of the Early Childhood Education Center. The first year 19 children are under the care of Barbara McCaslin. In 1977 this program is integrated into developmental programs for two-year old through eighth grade. In 1981 the construction of a 4-room building allows all classes to be in separate rooms. A school library is added in 1986.

1967 O. N. Bard of Harlingen College leaves the school and together with local businessmen forms the Valley Central College (VCC). By 1968 it was located at 119 W. Van Buren where its competitor, Harlingen College (HC), had moved to in 1966. HC advertises that it offers courses in shorthand, accounting, office machines, bookkeeping, drafting, electronics, air conditioning, refrigeration, and heating. While offering similar studies VCC has both a two year plan and short course. VCC will establish satellite facilities in Brownsville by 1970 and also in McAllen. In a dispute with directors over the profitability of VCC, Bard leaves and Ray Martin becomes general manager by 1971. In 1975 VCC ceases to function while HC had closed in 1973.

7/4/67 Tom Hestand becomes principal of the high school. He was previously assistant principal of Smiley High School of the Northeast Houston ISD. A native of Denison he has a BA from Austin College and a MS from North Texas State University, Denton.

9/67 Texas State Technical Institute (later to be renamed College) –Harlingen, also known as the Rio Grande Valley Campus begins operation as an extension of the Waco Campus of the Texas State Technical Institute (also called the James Connally Technical Institute). Located at the former HAFB, it starts with two instructors and 40 students. Vice President Hubert H. Humphey is guest of honor at the official dedication ceremonies held in a former aircraft hangar on 10/23/68. In the summer of 1969 it, and the campuses at Waco and Amarillo, is separated from the Texas A&M system. Milton Schiller became the vice president of the TSTI Rio Grande Valley Campus and Archie Rosales the school's first general manager. By 9/69 it is offering classes for credit; 78 students are taking classes.

This year structural additions are made at Vernon Junior High School.

1968 The Lamar Elementary School is opened on M Street.

4/70 Students number 11,000 in Harlingen schools. The school budget is $5.6 million, $712.893 from federal sources. The monthly HCISD budget is $345,776.

9/70 TSTI has four new buildings nearly completed. They will add 83,000 square feet to the existing 114,493.

7/18/73 The School Board votes to close all elementary school campuses at the start of the school year. This means children must stay on the campus rather than going home for lunch or elsewhere.

1974 TSTI has 1,262 students.

4/74 There is a school bond issue election. Sought is approval to replace the old Travis School, create a new cafeteria at Bowie, build a new Primera School, create new toilets at Zavala, and a gym and a band hall at Gay-Vernon, all for $1.98 million; air condition all elementary and junior high schools at a cost of $2.2 million; build a Central Media Center for $150,000.

This year the new Wilson Elementary School at Primera is opened to accommodate the area's growing student population. Designed by Cline Associates it was constructed by Dan Winship, Inc. At the time the School Board of Trustees president is Johnny C. Means and the superintendent of schools is James I. Thigpen.

5/21/74 Miss Margaret Thomason retires from the HCISD with 46 years tenure, the longest of any teacher in the Harlingen district. Mrs. Mildred Pierce also retires having taught 26 of her 29 years as a teacher in the Harlingen system.

2/75 TSTI has recently spent $2 million in constructing six buildings, a cafeteria, student center, swimming pool, and dormitories. It is about to make use of two hangers adjacent to the runway.

1975 (fall) The A.O.C. Dent Building is added to help hold the increased enrollment of students at St. Alban's. Surplus military barracks purchased in the 1960s are removed. In 1983 this will be followed by the Marian Cocke Building with its eight class rooms and the main office building. Leon Daniell and Dr. Clark are to provide an activities center and paved play area in 1985. This latter year is to see the first graduation of sixth graders from the school and four years later the school will receive accreditation. The Cocke building will receive an addition in 1993. By 1999, 8,000 pupils will have gone though the school.

At this same time Calvary Baptist Church on 7th Street institutes its Cavalry Christian School. It commences with a school for the youngest children then incrementally adds grades annually until it serves 2 year olds through the eighth grade. Shirley Ashley is the school's first director. By the school year 2004-05 there are over 25 classrooms. Plans are to add 9th and 10th grade levels in 2005-06. These will be housed in two portable buildings having six rooms total. The brick classroom wing on the north side was constructed in 1984. The two story $750,000 gymnasium and six classroom structure was completed in 2003. School tuition is relatively nominal and payments are spread over an eleven month period.

10/20/75 The new $759,627 Travis Elementary School built to accommodate 720 students is dedicated. SHWC, Inc. is its architect while the Eddleblute Constuction Co. erected it. In attendance are Dr. Norma Schultz, president of the school board, J. Gordon Nix, principal, and former superintendent of schools, James I. Thigpen.

This year Allan Brumley becomes head band director at Harlingen High School. (He will have served in various band capacities at San Marcos, Edinburg and Rio Hondo for the previous seven years.) He will occupy that position until 1981 when at age 34 he resigns to go into the insurance business. In 1980 the high school band will be named by the National Band Association one of the Top Ten High School Bands in the country. In 1981 the band with over 300 members marches in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Years Day in California. In its first appearance it is the largest marching unit in the parade.

1976 Jo Ellen Paschall, wife of Dr. Charles Paschall, founds the University Preparatory School, a four year accredited facility. By 1985 it has 47 students and 5 certified teachers. In 5/77 it bought its 6 acre campus on Breedlove Street.

The HCISD initiates the first HOSTS (Help One Student To Succeed) Program in the state. Volunteers mentor students needing extra reading and math skills. By 2003, 975 mentors coach students in each and every school.

4/76 There is a school bond issue election. Sought is approval to replace the old Travis School, create a new cafeteria at Bowie, build a new Primera School and a gym at Gay-Vernon, all for $1.98 million; air condition all schools at a cost of $2.2 million; build a Central Media Center for $150,000.

1978 Basketball coach Carl Owens comes to HHS. With the Cardinals until his resignation in February 2003, he amasses 570 wins over the 25 year span. His overall career coaching record is 809 wins and 387 losses. In his tenure the Cards win 11 district titles and make 19 playoff appearances. In 1973 he led tiny Kennard High School to a 2A State Championship.

Dr. J. Gilbert Leal becomes Texas State Technical Institute president after being on the faculty nine years. At this time the school's 44 acres have nine instructional buildings, a staff of 184, and an enrollment of 992 students.

6/78 By a large margin the $14 million school bond issue is defeated. The VMS in a series of seven editorials had opposed the measure as an extravagance. Other City bond obligations stretching to 1994 amount to $14 million.

5/11/79 Bill Borgers resigns as HHS principal to further his studies. Wally Jackson, assistant principal at Gay Jr. High takes on the assignment. Phase I of the HHS construction is accepted by the School Board.

5/27/79 The Marine Military Academy breaks ground for its Athletic Center.

8/27/79 The School Board dedicates the new 24 room Treasure Hills Elementary School.

1980-81 School district enrollment reaches 12,502 students.

1/15/81 It is proposed by Lubunski Associates that the Stuart Place School be demolished and replaced by a new 20-unit classroom building. The 57-year old structure is deemed to costly to renovate. It currently serves 503 students in overcrowded classrooms. Eventually only the old entrance to the school is retained for historical purpose.

6/24/81 Joe Gassiott, 34, is named HHS principal to replace Wally Jackson who resigned earlier in the year. Gassiott has been for two years principal at Corrigan-Camden High School near Lufkin.

4/30/81 U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice rules that Texas must provide bilingual education to non-English speaking students in grades 1-5 for the 1981-1982 school year and phase it into grades 6-12 in the next seven years. Supt. Dan Ives indicates that this will present no problem for the HCISD. It currently has 18 certified bilingual teachers for kindergarten, 37 for first graders, 33 for second and 23 for third. At present the system has 12,400 students and 700-750 teachers.

6/18/82 The School Board approves $203,150 for the purchase of portable buildings. Three will be placed at Gay Jr. High School, two at HHS, and one at Austin Elementary.

6/20/84 City permit is granted for the HCISD to build the Jane Long Elementary School at 2601 North 7th Street.

1985 TSTI has 2,359 students, 138 full time faculty, 153 non-faculty employees and an annual budget of $7,619,836.

1986 Jack Hatfield, executive with the Valley Morning Star, and others establish The Literacy Center of Harlingen. It will eventually become a Council Member of Laubach Literacy Action, one of the largest literacy providers in the U.S. By 2005 the local center provides instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL), Basic Instruction for English Speakers who need to learn how to read and write, General Equivalency Diploma (GED) training, Pre GED training, Basic Math instruction, and Citizenship Preparation.

9/1/86 The new Alamo School, a junior high, is ready to open with classes to commence 9/2.

1/1/87 The Harlingen High School Band of well over 100 members marches in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Los Angeles.

3/14/87 Larry Guilliouma, Harlingen High School band director is inducted into the National High School Band Directors' Hall of Fame. A graduate of Jackson high school, Massilon, OH he went on to receive a BA then an MS degree from the University of North Alabama by 1975. He then was employed at the University of Mississippi, and the Victoria school system before coming to Harlingen in 1981 where he would supervise seven directors. He was to submit his resignation in June 1987.

5/3/87 The Alamo School, 1701 Dixieland Road, designed by Lubunski Associates Architects is dedicated. The new junior high school opened in September in an undeveloped area west of the Municipal Golf Course. J. Glen Cleckner is its principal. Initially it serves only 9th graders, but plans are for it to accommodate 10th graders in the 1988-89 school year. This will later be the site of Harlingen High School-South.

Major General Harold Glascow, USMC (ret.) assumes the position of superintendent of the Marine Military Academy. By 1989 the enrollment is up to 375, who are offered college preparatory course, grades 8 through 12.

1990 A group of concerned business people in the community form the Harlingen Area Education Foundation. Over a twelve year period it will grow to encompass New Directions, a leadership, tutoring, and mentoring program for high school students; New Directions, a similar program for middle school students; Texas Scholars, a curriculum improvement program that requires 24 graduation credits in college entry subjects; and Technology Academies dealing with computer literacy. The Foundation is financially supported by Harlingen businesses and individuals.

This school year the three junior high schools educate 7th and 8th graders. The former Alamo Junior High School becomes Harlingen South High School.

1992 The Zavala Elementary School is remodeled and in 1997 added to.

9/91 By an act of the 72nd legislature the Texas State Institute-Harlingen becomes the Texas State Technical College-Harlingen. Its Harlingen campus library holds 16,000 books. It has a faculty of 141 for 2,623 enrolled students.

8/91 The HCISD opens the KEYS Academy on North 7th Street near Loop 499. It is a non-traditional school for at-risk students. In 1994 Yolanda Gutierrez becomes its principal.

1993 The Harlingen CISD initiates the New Pathways Center. Its motto is "Guiding One Child at a Time." At its 208 South F Street campus, it offers services to elementary students who may struggle with disciplinary problems at their regular campus. Dr. Mary Brower will be its principal and director for at least its first ten years.

The first "Bird Bowl" football game is played as the new Harlingen High School

South Hawks play the Harlingen High School Cardinals.

11/96 Texas Monthly in its cover article "Our Best Schools"(elementary) names Harlingen Long, Wilson, Treasure Hills and Stuart Place as four-star, the highest ranking.

4/26/98 At the Vernon Middle School a $1.36 million gym is going up to replace the 1939 "the Barn" gymnasium. At Zavala, Dishman, Bonham, and Milam Elementary Schools older classrooms are being renovated as part of a $5.415 million upgrading project. The district has invested $58 million in expansion and improvement projects since 1989 in order to serve the now 16,000 students coming from Harlingen and Combes, Primera, Palm Valley, and Stuart Place as well.

9/98 The Valley High School, a private charter school, opens at 2701 Breedlove Street. It crafts its mission at "high risk" students with histories of low academic scores. In November 2002 the State threatens its closure due to its poor performance and higher than allowed dropout rate for its 300 elementary, 30 middle school, and 150 high school students.

1999 The HCISD tax goes up 10 cents as voters pass an $80 million bond issue for the HCISD, but use of the monies is not implemented until 2002-03. Projects include athletic field houses, performing arts building and expansion of current and existing classrooms. Each of the two high schools will have new soccer dimension stadiums with bleachers on each side, press box, restroom facilities, and concession stands. Harlingen HS South's field will be constructed on Dixieland Road and Harlingen HS on an open field located south of Keys Academy. The new athletic field houses at each school will occupy 16,000 square feet. Approximately 42,000 square feet will be added to each school at the cost of $21 million. Boggus Stadium will also be improved.

In this year St. Paul Lutheran School has obtained the former Army Reserve Center at 1920 E. Washington. It is given the property by the Federal government as it has been declared surplus but with the stipulation that it has to be used for educational purposes for a period of 30 years. It is completely renovated and 40% new construction added along with a full-size gymnasium. It opened for school on 10/9/99. The facility has modern classrooms, fully equipped science laboratory, art room, and music room. It has been part of the educational system operated by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

5/12/00 Cesar Morales, a Zapata native, retires after being Lamar Elementary School principal for 30 years. He attended Texas A & I College and began his teaching career in 1962 at Gay Junior High School.

5/20/00 Verna Young retires after 46 years of service in the HCISD. She began teaching math in 1953 at Gay, served as principal at Bonham Elementary 1975-1984 when she became Harlingen High School principal until this date. She was later elected to the school board.

2/25/01 Jefferson Elementary School and Memorial Middle School are having extensive work done. The jobs are worth $1.8 million and $4.5 million respectively.

4/18/01 Travis Elementary School soon will undergo a $1.8 million upgrade for its 535 students. Treasure Hill Elementary School will get $3.25 million for renovations for its 658 students. Other expenditures are $11.5million for Harlingen High School South and $9.95 million for Harlingen High School.

2002 After 55 years of existence the Rio Grande Valley Baptist Academy ceases its operation.

9/02 TSTC enrollment continues to climb year to year. On 9/00 it was 3,228, 3,841 in 9/01 and 4,217 this date.

2002 (summer) Memorial Middle School is extensively updated.

10/3/02 As the Texas State Technical College-Harlingen celebrates Pres. J. Gilbert Leal's 24 years in office, it has grown on its current 124.5 acre campus to 69 buildings, more than 500 employees, and more than 4,000 credit students. Since 1978 projects added have included 14 instructional buildings, the Student Center, the Fieldhouse, a child-care center, a service support center, and a work force center. These have been valued at more than $30 million. The property inventory has grown to almost $35 million and the annual budget exceeds $38 million. The fall 2001 enrollment was 3,842 and in 2002 was 4,618. Earlier this year TSTC Chancellor, Dr. Bill Segura, named Leal Vice-Chancellor for Border Opportunity Development.

5/03 The Valley Baptist Academy closes permanently at the end of the school year. It is then utilized as the Valley Baptist Mission Education Center.

5/25/03 Construction begins at TSTC for a new Learning Resource Center. Scheduled for completion in October, the two story facility with 35,000 sq. ft. will house the library media center, a library instructional classroom, a spacious lobby, circulation area, study rooms, as well as reference and general collection areas. It is dedicated on 1/22/04.

7/12/03 St. Anthony's Catholic Church opens a middle school for 7th and 8th graders after having closed one in the 1960s when the HAFB ceased operating. The physical plant is at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church on C Street.

2004 A partnership involving the auto industry and others contributes to the school sports infrastructure. Knapp Chevrolet and Valley Baptist Medical Center donate $250,000 each for the project while Hino Gas and Electric adds $200,000. High tech scoreboards are constructed at the Boggus Stadium and also some middle school fields.

5/12/04 Diana Walker, a third grade teacher at Calvary Christian School for eleven years, is selected as teacher of the year '04 from 18 school districts. The honor comes from Freedom Communication Newspapers in Education.

4/05/04 Clearing begins at the site of the new elementary school on FM 2994 (Wilson Road) on its north side about ¾ mile west of its intersection with Stuart Place Road. It had been a sugarcane field farmed by Frank Burns. Construction of the school designed by FRO International, architectural engineers, and erected by the Sam Corp, general contractor, and both of McAllen is two-thirds along by early August. The school will have 85,324 sq. ft. The Rodriguez Elementary School, named after the Harlingen doctor, will not be ready for a September school year opening, so the 500 students who will occupy the school are diverted to temporary quarters behind the Wilson Elementary School according to school principal, Traci Gonzalez. The greatly growing school population has put the district under a strain. Construction projects under way include: Austin and Bowie Elementary Schools, classroom renovations by 1/05; Stuart Place and Wilson Elementary schools, classroom renovations by 5/05; a new middle school, total construction by 7/05; and Harlingen High School, campus renovations and extra-curricular facilities by 11/05.

8/04 The HCISD has a teaching staff of 1,250.

9/7/04 While construction continues on some parts of the school, 27 rooms of the Rodriguez Elementary School welcome new students.

11/04 Edwin and Corinne Swaney publish their 364-page book, "Marching in Cadence: The History of MMA." Sale proceeds will go to the Marine Military Academy. Mr. Swaney volunteers at the MMA Iwo Jima Museum which he helped establish.

12/15/04 After the 15-member nomination committee recommends it, the school board votes for the name Moises V. Vela Middle School, in honor of the city judge and former county commissioner. The school, costing $13.5 million, is located off Palm Blvd., .3 mile south of Business 83. When opened in August 2005 it will serve about 684 students.

TSTC see a 19.3 % enrollment increase from its spring 2004 numbers. 4,461 are currently enrolled with 845 as new students. The percentage over 35 years in age is increasing steadily. Currently 50% are in the 18 to 24 age group; 20% between 25 to 35; and 30% 36 years or older.

3/11/05 The Dr. Hesiquio Rodriguez Elementary School is officially dedicated. This gentleman graduated as valedictorian of the Harlingen High School class of 1935, when he was 15.By the time he was 22 he was a practicing doctor, having received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Center in 1942. While serving in the U.S. Army 1942-45 he interned in St. Louis where he met and married psychiatric nurse Annabel Alberts. He served on the Rio Hondo School Board 1948-51 before moving back to Harlingen in 1954. He died in 1977 at age 58. Among 60 Rodriguez relatives present at the ribbon cutting ceremony were the doctor's widow Ann Rodriguez Guerrero, daughter Suzanne Rodriguez Jones, and his son Charles Rodriguez.

4/8/05 The school district is considering the expenditure of $1.068 million to renovate and upgrade a deteriorating Boggus Stadium.

5/1/05 Calvary Baptist School announces that it will commence high school classes for grades 9 and 10 for the school year 2005-06. Two portable buildings have been set up to accommodate the new classes. The next phase in the school's plans is the construction of a library, expansion of the early childhood center, and making all handicapped accessible. Later a permanent high school structure will be erected and 11th and 12th grade classes added. A fundraising goal is $778,000, of which $260,000 is earmarked for the high school.

6/11/05 Nora "Coach Z" Zamarripa is inducted into the RGV Sports Hall of Fame. At this time the high school girl's basketball coach has a record of 528 wins and 223 losses in a career at Edinburg and Harlingen High Schools. This Lyford native has come a long way since hoeing cotton field on her parent's farm. She played basketball herself at Lyford going on to play at Texas A & I University in Kingsville where she changed her major from business to physical education. She then started her ongoing 25 year coaching career characterized by "an intensity that can be fierce."

2006 The Moises Vela Middle School is constructed on Palm Blvd, just south of Business 83. It required $13 million.

12/8/06 It is announced that over the next seven months the last of the $80 million 1999 school bond issue money will go toward renovations of school district-owned Boggus Stadium. The 9,000-seat facility will get enclosures under the bleachers, more restrooms, and slimmed-down light towers for an estimated $2 million.

2/2/06 A survey reveals that the HCISD salaries are in line with the state average. Serving 17,660 students Harlingen teachers start at $34,000 with the average salary for all teachers being $41,790. The latter is $76 less than the state average of $41,866. The district also pays additional supplemental stipends for attendance, and programs such as band, sports, theater.

2/4/06 TSTC Regents OK transfer of up to 48 hours credit from the school's curricular to a student moving on to a four-year university. The board also approved a $1.275 million purchase of a 42 acre tract south of Rio Hondo Road and between Loop 499 and 25th Street. This will allow for future expansion.

8/07 As the school year begins the HCISD estimates a student population of 18,000 compared to a 2006-2007 one of 17,700. In 2002 there were 16,049 students. A new elementary school is currently being constructed to relieve overcrowding at the Long and Bonham Elementary Schools.

11/28/07 Sitting on a 15.65 acre site on Loop 499 near 13^th Street are the foundations for a new 800 pupil elementary school. To cost about $10 million, it is expected to be completed by the start of the 2008-2009 school year.

12/30/07 Due for completion in the spring of 2008 is the TSTC Cultural Art Center at the corner of Raintree and Loop 499. This $2.1 million structure with 15,563 sq. ft. will be able to seat 600. Having moveable partitions and a separate conference room capable of holding 20-30 people plus a kitchen for catering, it will offer multiple uses to students and community alike. Ample parking will also be provided.

1/22/08 Linda Wade, Superintendent of Schools since 2001, announces her retirement in June. She has completed 35 years in the field of education starting with 14 years as a teacher in Missouri. Next came 21 years in various capacities in the HCISD. She leaves with an ending salary of $160,000 a year.

3/29/08 At age 59, Cheryl Card Gray, daughter of former Mayor Bill Card and Garrison Card dies after a long battle with cancer. Thirty-five years of her life were with the HCISD. She was the first director of the HOSTS Program and for 18 years principal of the Stuart Place Elementary School. Her last year here was 2004. She leaves behind her husband Harold Gray, her parents, and siblings. Her successor as principal is Vivian Bauer.

7/1/08 Steve Flores, 43, commences job as HCISD school superintendent. This San Angelo native has been involved with education for 25 years including high school and junior high school principal in that city, assistant superintendent Pflugerville ISD and Round Rock ISD, Area VI superintendent for Dallas, and acting general superintendent for the Round Rock ISD. He holds a masters of education degree in school administration from San Angelo State University and a doctorate degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001. His starting salary will be $189,500 plus $200/ month phone and $700/month car allowances. The previous superintendent ended her career at a $170,000 salary. He also received a $3,500 moving allowance.

8/31/08 J. Gilbert Leal, president of Texas State Technical College, retires after 39 years with this institution. His first nine years were spent as teacher, migrant counseling supervisor, director of admissions, dean of students, and general manager before becoming president. When he started the institute had 67 students and 30 employees. Today TSTC boasts an enrollment of 6,000 and more than 500 employees.

1/5/09 About 240 pupils from Long Elementary and 200 from Bonham are relocated to the newly completed $10 million Lee Means Elementary School on Loop 499. Principal Elizabeth Maldonaldo leads the staff of 43 teachers and professionals. The school adopts the name Wolverines as a symbol and hunter green as its color.

1/30/09 Texas State Technical College exceeded the 5,000 enrollment mark for the first time last year and this fall registered more than 6,000 students.

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A Harlingen Cemetery Chronology

12/10/09 Seventeen year old Robert Keen Weems is to die in an industrial accident. Town founder, Lon C. Hill, in a telegram from St. Louis designates a site along the San Benito Highway, now South F Street, for the burial.

2/1/12 Initially the Harlingen Cemetery Association, an offshoot of the Harlingen Civic Club ( a women's organization), handles burial arrangements, but upon the club's recommendation the Harlingen Land and Water Company sells 7.6 acres for one dollar to the Trustees for the Harlingen Cemetery. These were B.F. Surface, C.W. Clift, and E.W. Anglin.

2/1/21 –7/45 Sexton E.H. Pinkerton signs all burial permits under the aegis of the Harlingen Cemetery Association.

5/9/47 The Trustees deed the cemetery property to the City of Harlingen. Prior to this date the cemetery includes two major sections. F Street to E Street is the "American Section, and E Street to D Street is the "Mexican Section". Other areas were designated for blacks and for babies. After this month, grave sites may be selected regardless of ethnic or racial origin.

1962 The Tip-O-Texas Genealogical Society surveys and records graves in the cemetery.

1974 The City Commission authorizes a hurricane fence topped with barbed wire to surround the cemetery and two lockable gates. These are erected around the site to stop vandalism. Although the cemetery had a sexton or caretaker, it became neglected in appearance over time.

1981 The Harlingen Cemetery is included in the Harlingen Register of Historic Places.

1982 The Tip-O-Texas Genealogical Society updates, corrects, and alphabetizes the Harlingen Cemetery grave list.

1984 Thanks to the efforts of Mrs. Menton (Betty) Murray, who compiles a history of the cemetery among other lobbying work, a Texas Historical Commission Marker is obtained for the Harlingen Cemetery.

2000s Harlingen Proud, the city, and other organizations take a renewed interest in the cemetery, its heritage, and its maintenance.

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Adams Gardens Connections – Ballí to Berly
Revised July 2006, updated April 2009
Norman Rozeff

Some years back, PBS ran a weekly series called "Connections." In it an Englishman would commence his narration about some distant and obscure event. He would then proceed to evolve a chain of events which eventually tied into the present and some significant occurrence that few viewers could conceive having any relationship with the initial event. The VMS caption on a 1927 photograph noted a large, New York City-type sign atop the Wittenbach Building with the name of realtor Sid Berly. This name sets off an exposition of far-reaching connections.

Our story begins no less distant than the early colonization of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. In 1752 Rosa María Hinojosa de Ballí is born the sixth of nine children to Capt. Juan José de Hinojosa and María Antonia Inés Ballí de Benevides. Her parents are Spanish aristocrats who, because of their status of "Primitive Settlers", are given, among other things, the rights to extensive land grants. The family is to begin residence in Reynosa in 1767. Rosa will marry José María Ballí, a captain of the militia.

When both her father and husband die before the grants are finalized in 1790, Rosa María becomes heir to 55,000 acres. As a knowledgeable business woman she was able to obtain thirty –five leagues of the Las Mesteñas Grant for her brother Vicente. He repaid her by transferring to her 12 leagues of it, an area north of Harlingen to be known as the Ojo del Agua. The astute Doña Rosa managed her ranchlands well. She became known as La Patrona and the first "cattle queen" of Texas. This devout Catholic endowed churches in Reynosa, Camargo, and Matamoros. When she died in Reynosa in 1803, it was said that she had amassed over one million acres in what is now five South Texas counties.

Her La Feria Grant, which extended approximately 16 miles north of the river and was about five miles wide, was over time divided among family descendents, including the Trevinos. Don Anastacio Treviño took possession of parts of the La Feria Grant in 1843. Josiah Turner, who was born 8/10/1826, was one of the Valley's early Anglo pioneers. From Maryland, both he and his brother William had come to Texas as clerks in the commissary department of Gen. Taylor's army. In 1851 Josiah Turner married one of Treviño's daughters. She died in 1854, and he married the remaining daughter, Tomasa Treviño. In 1867 he took charge of the ranch and "controlled it as my own." This was the Rancho Galveston, later to be called the Galveston Ranch. The ranch abutted the east boundary of the La Feria Grant and from the river ran north its full length. When Don Anastacio died in 1874 he left the property to his daughter, who later deeded a half-interest to her husband. Turner then possessed for 39 years what was to be the Adams Gardens tract. In its August 18, 1911 issue the Brownsville Herald ran an article noting Turner's 85th birthday. In November 1913 the paper proclaimed Turner its oldest Cameron County subscriber still alive. In 1906 he sold the Adams Gardens portion of the property to three St .Louis men—Thomas W. Carter, Lemuel Carter, and Peyton T. Carr. After four years they sold it to W.T. Adams of Corinth, MI. He was a wealthy sawmill machinery manufacturer. In the year 1910, it was 14 miles long and had 9,561 acres mostly in brush.

A February 13, 1925 letter written by Adams on company stationary has been uncovered. It deals with the effects of a freeze in the Valley and in particular the limited effects it had on citrus plantings. It noted little damage to trees that were two years of age or older with the exception of the more sensitive lemon trees. The stationery letterhead has on it: W. T. Adams Machine Company, Corinth, Miss., U.S.A., established 1879, manufacturers of automatic and throttling engines, boilers, and sawmills. These are illustrated in an engraving along with an aerial view of the very large industrial manufacturing plant alongside a railroad track with a passenger train passing by. Below the illustration of the plant is a list of particular products being manufactured. These are gas engines, planers, edgers, live rolls, pulleys, shafting equalizers, rip and cut off saws, grist mills, cotton gins, presses, elevators, mill supplies. Adams closes the letter to F. P. McElwrath of Corsicana, TX with a handwritten note extolling a new fast train that leaves San Antonio and also Houston about 7 to 8 pm in the evening and arrives in Harlingen about 7:30 the next morning. Catching this train would save a half-day in the Valley, Adams relates.

In 1930 Adams decided to sell. Seventy-six miles of roads were built after a survey. Land was cleared and citrus orchards planted, however the depression in the 1930s hurt land sales.

The remainder of Galveston Ranch was of interest to other developers. With the fortunes of sugarcane in the Valley ebbing and flowing, Donna Sugar Mill entrepreneur, Jesse C. McDowell of Pittsburgh will purchase the property in late 1919. In a bullish frame of mind he plants a 100 acre seed bed on the tract. Intentions are to expand this to 1,000 acres the next season. South Texas is no longer able to compete with world sugar producers, and the Donna mill is to close forever after the winter processing season of 1921-22.

Ironically sugarcane will once again return to Galveston Ranch. In 1980 Sam Sparks of Santa Rosa will purchase 1,800 acres of the property from the heirs of the Anderson brothers (they were the northern contractors who built Falcon Dam). South of the Military Highway, Sparks will improve the undulating terrain with considerable land leveling before putting it into cane cultivation.

It is the year 1921 that Charles F.C. Ladd comes to the Valley to work for A. J. McColl as general land agent. In the irrigated area north of Laredo he had been colonization agent for the Winter Garden Farms, Inc. He sells much McAllen and mid-Valley property. In 1931 he becomes connected with Adams Gardens, Inc., the outfit which is to subdivide the former Turner Tract. This firm is successor to the Bass Lake Company which in 1929 had offices on Bass Boulevard before losing the company in the stock market crash of October 1929. The Pendletons of Harlingen may also have had a financial interest. It then fell into the hands of the Farm and Home Saving and Loan of Nevada Missouri which hired Ladd to manage the property. The Harlingen firm, of which he is president, is called the Ladd Farm Mortgage Co. For a time Lon C. Hill, Jr. works for Ladd. Ladd also utilizes V. Stambaugh, a Florida horticulturalist, to experiment with semi-tropical trees in order to find something suitable for economic development in the area. Ladd was born 8/28/83 in Miles City, Montana. He was educated at Hutchinson, KS and Kansas City, MO. This Mason married Regna D. Welch of Kansas City on 2/28/18. By 1931 they have a son, Charles, Jr.

The main north-south road of the about one-mile wide and ten mile long Adams Gardens tract is to become Bass Boulevard, the north-south section of FM 800. The parcels were laid out by surveyor Alfred Tamm of Harlingen. Every mile, and sometimes closer, along the boulevard where the cross roads are installed, the developers erect light colored stone pillars to give the appearance of a high class country estate. These were designed by a local artist. The cross street were named for lawyers and architects connected with the project. Today some of the markers still exist (from the north side running south) at Spankler Road, Johnston Lane, Hughes Road, West Business 83 with the most impressive gates at each corner of the intersection, Sherwood Road, Levin Way, Ewing Road, and finally McLelland Road. At the latter is a capricious 20' tall castle having some petrified wood stones embedded in it. Some of the other columns also have petrified wood (probably from Starr County) in them, but most of the stones in their construction appear to be sandstone. Some had semblances of faces on them. Ladd went on to beautify and civilize the tract by planting palms, bougainvillea and exotic shrubs and trees such as kapok.

A stone-veneered house for Ladd is also constructed but has since apparently disappeared. A stone-gated cottage similar to it still stands on the south side of West Business 83 just east of its intersection with Bass Blvd. It was likely the sales office which housed 10 to 12 full-time employees to handle referrals from the offices Ladd also had in Philadelphia, Chicago, Kansas City, and other locations. After the Labor Day Hurricane of 1933 which devastated the citrus plantings on the tract, Ladd went to live in the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio. He died in that city in 1937. After his departure Keith McKanse was named manager of the Adams Garden Land Company until Sid Berly took over.

The first home built on the tract was constructed north of the railroad tracks around 1931 by a family named Spencer. Two other longtime residents of the area were Tom and Ophelia Ashworth at ¼ S. Bass Blvd. Tom had come with his parents to La Feria on 8/20/20 from Stephenville which is near Fort Worth. Their neighbors were Frank and Mary Branson. She lived to 101, dying in late 2001. Just south of where FM 800 turns east the developers constructed about a 360 acre reservoir. A pumping plant was erected on the river on the west edge of the tract. Adams Gardens Irrigation District 19 was formed. Bass Lake just south of Business 83 and named after the first owner's wife, Reba Bass, was in the 1950s to be the venue for boat races, motor and sail, though it only averaged four feet depth. In the period 1929-1933 several tomato canning plants and a broom corn factory existed along the railroad tracks through the area.

Sid Berly was attracted to the Valley in 1920. He is a native of Mansfield, LA having been born there 8/23/96 to a father, C.J., who was a stockraiser. Berly was to marry Marion Elizabeth Walker of Lake Charles on 3/18/17. They had one daughter who was given the same name as her mother. Although he studied law for two years he never completed his studies. Instead he became a representative for the Willys-Knight Motor Co. As president and general manager of Valley Properties, Inc. located in the Reese-Wil-Mond Hotel he becomes a potent factor in the development of both agricultural and city land in the Valley, especially around Harlingen. He served as Chamber of Commerce president in 1946-47 and was a Rotary Club member. In 1952 he was president of Adams Gardens and continued to press for the exploitation of the area.

We have then come full circle in our story. What started out as a modest but progressive ranch enterprise by Doña Rosa María is, 162 years later, now experiencing a spurt of agricultural development, propelled by an entrepreneur with a vastly different makeup and goal. Berly's promotions could not have come to pass without the chain of connections that were laid over time.

By the 1990s residential housing and businesses were moving west from the Stuart Place Tract into the next large tract, that of Adams Gardens. As the area greeted the 21st Century, numerous large, expensive homes on sizeable lots were being constructed along South Bass Blvd. and somewhat less so on N. Bass Blvd. where many subdivisions featuring middle priced homes were being developed. Harlingen then annexed some of the area under its extra-jurisdictional rights. The Texas Department of Transportation was to widen Bass Boulevard in 2002 in order to handle the increase residential traffic along with that of sugarcane haul trucks.

der to handle the increase residential traffic along with that of sugarcane haul trucks.

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Biographical Information on Hugh Ramsey

Having moved to Harlingen, Texas in 1925, Hugh Ramsey is elected Mayor of the city for the first time in 1936, then re-elected for four consecutive terms, and again to serve 1948 to 1946. This native of Milford, TX was born in 1894. He joined the army in 1913 and was stationed in the Valley in 1916. He served overseas in the Great War (WWI) with the 36th before being discharged in 1919. He is a member of the First Baptist Church and the Rotary Club for over 24 years. In the late 30s he is owner of a furniture store bearing his name and is also a general contractor.

As early as 1938, air-minded city officials launch a program designed to stimulate interest in making Harlingen a commercial airport center. The European events of 9/40 awaken popular enthusiasm for defense of the U.S. Mayor Hugh Ramsey makes a definitive proposal to the War Department. City officials, along with Senators Tom Connally and Morris Sheppard, point to a number of factors which make Harlingen attractive for military training. This sets the stage for the start of a military air field here in late 1941. It will become the Harlingen Army Air Field with a mission to train aircraft gunners. Over 48,000 gunners will have been trained before the WWII ends in 1945 and the field closes. In 1952 the field reopens as the Harlingen Air Force Base. In a period of just over a decade before it is ordered closed, it will train over 13,000 officers in air navigation. The economic implications (positive, later negative, then positive again) of what Mayor Ramsey initiated and wrought were immense for the city of Harlingen.

1939 St. Alban's parish builds a more sizeable sanctuary at the corner of 11th and Van Buren. Contractor Hugh Ramsey builds the brick edifice for $8,500 and at no profit to himself. It will be enlarged and remodeled in 1946. The old church, now to be used as a parish hall, will be move behind the new one. The church's first rectory, at 718 E. Van Buren, will be purchased in 5/42.

Hugh Ramsey Nature Park is at the 1000 block of South Loop 499, a northern extension of Ed Carey Drive, where the bridge crosses the Arroyo Colorado. It is named after the former mayor of Harlingen who served from 1936 to 1946 and again 1948-1950. It was designated as a park by the city commissioners in February 1953. Amenities in this 54 acre wooded park include nature trails, an observation blind overlooking the arroyo and restrooms. At some future time it will become the home of the Harlingen Birding Center.

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Of Buildings and Business Schools

Norman Rozeff

The headline of the weekly Harlingen Star of 7/30/26 read "Harlingen Will Have 7-Story Office Building." The accompanying story went on to relate that R.W. Baxter of Dermott, AK had purchased the site (the southwest corner of A and Jackson Streets) for $17,000 cash from its owner, Domingo R. Rotge, Jr. The corner had once housed a saloon in a building which had burned down the year before. Work on the $125,000 structure was said to begin November 1. Baxter had also purchased several lots near the Central Ward School on Jackson. The architects for the building were Elwing and Mulhausen while R.P.Blythe was the contractor. By 2/15/27 it was decided to make the building nine stories. Its projected cost had risen to $160,000. Construction on what most Harlingenites were to call the Baxter Building (now Blaschka Towers) took place mainly in 1927. Mr. Baxter's Rio Grande Valley Life Insurance Building was actually Harlingen's second high-rise building. Decades later it will be purchased by entrepreneur John McKelvey and renamed the McKelvey building.

In 1923 the Wittenbachs, father C.H. and son A.J., the grocer at 115 S. A, construct a three story building on A Street to the south of the Lozano building. When a hamburger stand on a lot to the south burns down they then build the large 5-story Wittenbach Building at 119 South A Street. At first the upper floors could only be accessed by an outside stair. Later the building had Harlingen's first elevator. After several years it will take on the name the Embee Building when purchased by R.N. Jones and the Embee Corporation. In 1930 the building would house, among other occupants, Key Confectionery in its lobby, Lee Printing and Rubber Stamp, Real Silk Hosiery Mills, Inc., the American Legion office, the office of contractor Andrew Goldammer, the National Collection Agency, Burroughs Adding Machine Co., American National Insurance Company, and the office of Dr. Georgia A. Howell, a chiropractor.

In the following years numerous prominent Harlingen doctors, lawyers, and insurance agents would work in the building. The Embee Pharmacy, which was later to become (Kenneth W.) MacPherson's, was in the building. Jones himself would operate his insurance agency in the building along with another entity of his, the Farm and Home Savings and Loan Association. Dr. T.J. La Motte, the noted eye specialist, also had offices in the building.

Marvin Payton, Sr., C.H. Wittenbach's oldest living grandchild in August 2004, says the elevator operated on direct current with crude little buttons for controls. Bob Jones, son of R. N., recalls operating the building's cage elevator. For the younger readers, a cage elevator was one that had accordion-like gates rather than solid doors. It would be serviced manually by an operator who would open the inside gate for passengers then the outside gate which otherwise would be locked to keep people from opening it and falling into the elevator shaft. A lever would control the elevators movements. Floor numbers were painted in the shaft between floors to remind operators where they were. In early models the operator would require some proficiency to stop the lift exactly even with the exit floor, otherwise those exiting and entering the elevator compartment could trip. A common comment by the operator was "Watch your step." Later elevators came with buttons for each floor and were able to stop with precise alignment. Still, elevator operators were retained for many years simply to press the requested floor buttons.

By 1956 the structure took on the name the Commonwealth Building likely because of the Commonwealth Credit Corp. now owning and in it. This company may have been part of the Bentsen family investments cloaked in Lincoln Financial, a holding company operating in Houston. In the early 60s the condition of the building was such that only a few occupants were in it. One was Story's Rod and Gun Shop and a second, Hart Claims Service. By May 1984 after years of vacancy, it is scheduled for demolition as termites have devastated much of its wooden interior. The Wittenbach family, now widely dispersed, gathers in Harlingen for a reunion and to say goodbye to the building.

A 1921 business survey listed one business college in the city. In August 1927, the Valley Business College (School) was advertising itself at 1st and Jackson across from the Rialto Theater. By December of that year the Draughns Practical Business College was in operation on the 9th floor of the newly erected Baxter Building

In 1930 the Harlingen Valley Business College was located at 215 ½ W. Monroe, a location now filled by the Valley Transit Company terminal. Business schools at the time taught English grammar, short hand, typing, filing, and clerical skills. The school was owned by B.A. Griswald and his wife Lelia Jane, who also instructed in it. After being here 5-6 years, Mrs. Griswald died at age 60 on 5/6/35. When the International Business Machine Company started with its office computers, learning to punch IBM cards was another skill taught. By 1937 the college, now dropping the word Valley, was operating on the third floor of the Embee Building addition at 119 S. A Street. When in 1940 the Durham Business Institute took over the site, Mrs. Harman Straub, by then owner of the college, moved her school to the Commerce Building at 121 W. Van Buren. She would close it altogether by 1944.

And what of any school operating in the Lozano Building? Well, in 1941 for one year only, the Bryne Select School of Business did operate at 117 ½ W. Jackson. Mrs. Harry (Ethel) Eggleston was superintendent. Her husband was owner of the Merchants Credit Bureau.

By 1942 the Embee school location had altered its name to the Durham Business College and was under the management of Carl A. Scott. This educational school would remain in the building until 1958 after which it relocated to 106 ½ N 1st Street. By 1966 the school has moved to improved facilities at 5621 S. F Street. It had changed its name once again, this time to Durham College of the Valley.

Durham faced competition when in 1965 Harlingen College (HC), a business school, establishes itself at 513 E. Jackson in the Matz Building. It is started by key personnel of the San Antonio Business College in that city. O. N. Bard, who worked for them in 1964-65, moves back here and becomes its first manager in 1965. In 1967 O. N. Bard of Harlingen College leaves this school and together with local businessmen forms the Valley Central College (VCC). By 1968 it was located at 119 W. Van Buren where its competitor, Harlingen College (HC), had moved to in 1966. HC advertises that it offers courses in shorthand, accounting, office machines, bookkeeping, drafting, electronics, air conditioning, refrigeration, and heating. While offering similar studies VCC has both a two year plan and short course. VCC will establish satellite facilities in Brownsville by 1970 and also in McAllen. In a dispute with directors over the profitability of VCC, Bard leaves and Ray Martin becomes general manager by 1971. In 1975 VCC ceases to function while HC had closed in 1973. With a generous federal government loan program they had advertised "Student loans available; no payments while you are in school." They likely went out of business having accepted some poorly qualified students with sustained poor attendance. The finishing blow was difficulties experienced with defaulted government student loans.

It is in September of 1967 that the Texas State Technical Institute (later to be renamed College) –Harlingen, also known as the Rio Grande Valley Campus begins operation as an extension of the Waco Campus of the Texas State Technical Institute (also called the James Connally Technical Institute). Located at the former HAFB, it starts with two instructors and 40 students. Vice President Hubert H. Humphey is guest of honor at the official dedication ceremonies held in a former aircraft hangar on 10/23/68. In the summer of 1969 it, and the campuses at Waco and Amarillo, is separated from the Texas A&M system. Milton Schiller became the vice president of the TSTI Rio Grande Valley Campus and Archie Rosales the school's first general manager. By 9/69 it is offering classes for credit; 78 students are taking classes. No doubt this institution attracted potential students from and also put pressure on the three private business schools in Harlingen and hastened their demise.

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F. Z. Bishop, Harlingen Developer

When, how and why F. Z. Bishop became interested in Harlingen perhaps will never be known. We can surmise that Bishop found a kindred spirit in Lon C. Hill. Both were ambitious men of vision and both would be founders of communities.

Bishop had, in 1910, established the town of Bishop between Corpus Christi and Kingsville along the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railroad route. The area in 1904 was called Julia or Julia Siding when it was a cattle-loading siding on the Driscoll Ranch. Julia was the name of Robert Driscoll Sr.’s wife. Bishop had purchased over 80,000 acres of the ranchland.

He laid out a model town with all the necessary infrastructure before commencing to sell lots in the townsite at the end of May 1910. He then sold the surrounding land for farming. By 1912 more than 40,000 acres had been sold and in the next two years an amount equal to this had been marketed.

This insurance agent turned real estate developer had a sense of adventure as attested in Corpus Christi Caller articles of 8/3 and 8/4/11.

The Wright Brothers Company had come to town to conduct a public exhibition on North Beach and entice people to purchase airplanes. This was but a short eight years after the Wright brothers’ first successful flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

At the Corpus Christi demonstration, pioneer aviator, Oscar Brindley, asked for a volunteer from the audience. The volunteer who stepped forward was real estate agent F. Z. Bishop. The pilot wanted another volunteer because Bishop weighted about 230 lbs., but he finally agreed to let him fly. Bishop climbed into one of the dual cockpits of the bi-plane and said, "Real estate is going up."

The following day the Caller headlined: F. Z. Bishop Heaviest Passenger Ever Handled in Flying Machine." It noted that Brindley set a world record for taking a man of that weight up to a dizzying altitude of 2,500 feet.

Bishop was asked if he had been afraid. His reply was quoted as: "Danger?", he said, "There wasn’t any. The trip was as easy as sleeping on a feathered bed."

Real estate prices apparently did not go up fast enough nor did sales. Bishop declared bankruptcy in 1916. Somehow he had hidden reserves or was able to attract or borrow new funding.

Perhaps looking for new worlds to conquer, he saw the potential for growth in Harlingen. He purchased parcels of land within the townsite and elsewhere in the next few years. One source notes that he acquired 1100 town lots. At the time most lots had 50 feet of frontage and 160 feet depth. If service alleys are also factored in, and they were platted in the subdivisions, then Bishop bought around 240 acres. To enhance his investment in the townsite, he approached the city fathers and offered one-half the costs of grading streets and installing galvanized drains and would even furnish the engineer to lay out the work. The city agreed to take him up on his offer as reported in the Brownsville Herald of 8/23/19. After rains, quagmire conditions in the streets of Harlingen, and elsewhere in other Valley towns too, was one of the least fond memories of pioneer settlers.

On 1/17/20 the paper noted that Bishop was having constructed a $25,000 three-storied hotel. This Knight of Pythias and Elk would spend several months of each year in Chicago.

Bishop had also acquired land presently west of Hand Road and north of Roosevelt road between Harlingen and Combes. His most ambitious plans, however, were for his large parcel south of Harlingen and south of what is now FM800 and between FM1479 and FM509. He planned to establish on this 1,900 acres or nearly three square miles tract one of the world’s largest citrus groves. This did not come to pass for any number of reasons.

Bishop is still around in 1926, this time with a Harlingen office as general agent for the Amarillo Townsite and Land Company. He advertises "The safest investment in the face of the earth—they are increasing in Values DAILY. We have City Property, Irrigated and Unirrigated Lands."

Bishop moved on to other ventures. He soon was established in San Antonio as the F. Z. Bishop Land Company of San Antonio. One major promotion of this company was the establishment in 1923 of Los Angeles in La Salle County in central Texas. This town 13 miles east of Cotulla never became a sizeable entity although many of its early settlers were hardworking German transmigrants from Williamson County.

F. Z. Bishop came to Texas from Tennessee. He was born there in Mulberry Gap in June 1880 and received his education there. He was buried in his namesake city of Bishop in 1950.

Compiled by Norman Rozeff, Historical Resources Survey Committee

Harlingen Historical Preservation Society

December 2002

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Faded History Comes to Life

Norman Rozeff

Several weeks ago Cheryl LaBerge of the Chamber of Commerce alerted me to what she thought might be a bit of past Harlingen history. While removing a building façade on West Harrison construction workers had revealed a former use for the building. In large lettering, framed on either side by Hygeia Milk and Ice Cream ads, were the words Chuey's Super Market.

It is the year 1939, after their father dies, that Jesus J. Rodriguez and his brothers Tony and Joe leave the San Raphael Ranch west of Santa Rosa and come to Harlingen. Their family has been leasing 2,000 acres in the Adams Garden Tract for the depression era price of $200 per year. Besides their ranching operations they have been raising cotton. They open the Rodriguez Bothers grocery store at 403 W. Harrison. On 11/4/41, a month before Pearl Harbor, J.J. enlists in the U.S. Army, selling his share of the store to his brother Tony for $1,000 but with the stipulation he can repurchase it upon his return. His is discharged with the rank of sergeant on 11/24/45. In 1946 following his discharge he borrows $4,000 from the First National Bank as a GI loan and repurchases the store. It relocates to 407 W. Harrison by 1948. It is in 1954 that Jesus J. "Chuey" Rodriguez opens his Chuey's Red and White Grocery and Market at 222 W. Harrison in the building that once housed Harlingen's first Ford dealership. This was the Hollingsworth Motor Company which built this two story structure and then used the top floor for family housing while exhibiting cars downstairs..The company was to build the handsome art deco building across the street at 221 in 1930. No. 222 had been vacant for numerous years until the Valley Motor Mart occupied it in the years 1944-46. The Red and White refers to the large San Antonio wholesale supplier which furnishes merchandise to small grocers around the state. Chuey will occupy this site until 1962 when the business opens as Chuey's Supermarket at 607 W. Harrison. He has purchased this building from Attorney Lloyd Stiernberg. Rodriguez renames his business Chuey's Discount Center in 1968. After the store experiences a fire in 1972 Chuey's family, with knowledge of the competition from the national chain Kroeger and the increasingly aggressive H. E. Butt stores, urges him not to reopen. He then begins a long career (still continuing at age 87 in March 2005) as a real estate salesman associated with Tom Mason. In 1958 J.J. becomes the second Hispanic elected to the City Commission. When, on 12/14/60, Fred Paschall, owner of a retail store, is elected mayor, Rodriguez is reelected a commissioner as is R.W. Liston. In his peak business years, J.J. is a member, officer, and strong supporter of the Chamber of Commerce.

An equally intriguing piece of signage came to light several months ago, and once again I had been alerted by Cheryl. At 210 N. Commerce Street Bill DeBrooke's crew was blasting loose paint from the side of a brick building in preparation for a new paint job. What should be revealed but older painted signs along the top of the structure. One seemed to want to cling to life, saying "Don't let my memory fade away!" In 30" letters could be discerned "USO CLUB" overpainted with as sign possibly reading "Ayers Brothers Motor Co." USO is the abbreviation for United Service Organization. In World War II, as it continues to do today around the world, the USO provides recreational, entertainment, and other services for military personnel.

The club at this location was sponsored by the Salvation Army. With the Harlingen Army Air Field and its gunnery school gathering momentum, the club opened on 7/15/42.

A Mr. Watts served as its first director, but he was replaced three months later by William C. Block. The motto of the facility was "A home away from home." Indeed it had a lot to offer.

By August 1944, it possessed a music room, a home-like reception room with davenports and easy chairs, game tables, games, books, magazines, and papers, an information desk, typewriter, a long distance telephone, a piano and a library of music. Its rear room included a check room, free shave and shower bath facilities, snack bar, a game room fitted with table tennis and shuffleboard, bowling alley, punching bag and various other games, a dark room, sewing room, writing room, and a conference room along with easy chairs and reading material.

After two years in operation the club was proud to publicize its accomplishments. It boasted that it had distributed 5,716 brochures on religious matters; 188,952 writing pads; loaned and distributed 828 books; opened the special facilities and showers, iron and board, and photo dark room to 8,333; checked 24,513 articles; had participants in special events, trips, club movies, etc and the like totaling 34, 570; and provided accommodating services including meeting trains and busses, shipping packages to 11,912. In all club attendance had totaled 378,227 over the two year period.

Naturally the club had to adjust to an increased number of military service personnel as the HAAF grew to train more bomber gunners. It redecorated and added many new features. These included free picture shows, talent shows, radio shows, classical music and library concerts, programs by civilian talent, game nights and tournaments. Monthly attendance rose from 4,000 to 30,000. This large increase brought national USO recognition and the additional of another assistant, making the club a three-worker unit.

Its success was made possible in part by local volunteers who included both senior and junior hostesses. Saturday nights saw home-made cookies, punch, and coffee provided by the different lady organizations of Harlingen.

Part of the reason the club became a success was the fact that service personnel could ride into town on the bus service established on 9/1/41. On this date the Harlingen Airfield Bus Co. received a state permit to operate. It has been organized by State Senator Rogers Kelley, atty. J. Cullen Looney, both of Edinburg, and Vance D. Raimond of La Feria to transport military personnel and workers the four miles to and from the city to the new army airfield. Its first bus was a 1941 Ford milk delivery truck purchased from Hygeia Dairy for $350 and outfitted to seat passengers. Three months later one Ford school bus having a capacity of 28 was purchased for $2,100. On 2/24/42 the company grew when it received a permit to commence service from Moore field northwest of Edinburg to Mission, McAllen, Pharr, and Edinburg. Its name then changed to the Valley Airfield Bus Co. Fourteen years later, having changed its name in 5/48 to the Valley Transit Co. (VTC), it operated across the Valley with more than fifty coaches with 37 passenger capacity.

The club also served the men on the post by working with the chaplains, Red Cross, and the Special Services Departments on the base. While it was listed in the 1946 telephone directory it was soon to be phased out for this year William E. Ayers placed his Nash dealership in the building. By 1954 William H. Ayers was managing the business which stayed at this location until 1961.

This seemingly modest building holds many happy memories and played an important role in sustaining morale during some tough times. Perhaps some lively ghosts still dance in it to the airy, lively strains of Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, and Artie Shaw music along with the syncopated rhythms of the Andrew sisters.

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Flames Fostered Town of Palm Valley

Norman Rozeff

Deep within the archives of the Harlingen Public Library is to be found an architect's rendition of a large attractive southwest style building. The year 1928 rendition was publicized to entice individuals to become members of a new golf country club to be established along the Arroyo Colorado west of the F Street Bridge. The stock market crash of 1929 waylaid the plans which had come from an organized group of golfers called the Arroyo Country Club.

Still, the idea of establishing a golf course for Harlingen was a good one, so in 1929 the city, rather than private enterprise, picked up the concept. The Harlingen Municipal Golf Course of 168 acres was then built to the design of John Bredemus, famous golf course architect and secretary of the Texas Professional Golfers Association. The course with its 18 holes costing $127, 000 for land and $120,000 for construction was opened for play in February 1930. Its formal opening took place in September when the $10,000 Caddy House was completed. This course is located off M Street, south of Expressway 77/83. It was a par 71 course of 6,360 yards having 120 sand traps and bunkers. A city owned gravel-dirt airstrip is south of the course in a 72 acre area later designated to become Sam Botts Park but which never comes to fruition. When in 1957 Expressway 77/83 is constructed, the course loses some land but expands to the south into a 27 hole course.

And what about the current name of the golf facility—the Tony Butler Municipal Golf Course? Tony Butler first comes to Harlingen as a 25 year old in 1933. Born in Ganado, Texas 4/19/08, he grows up to be a slight to average-build young man. A protegé of the famed Austin golfer Harvey Penick, Butler is to turn professional in 1928 shortly after entering the University of Texas. He is to move to Port Arthur as a pro then return to UT as student/coach, the first golf coach at the school. In 1931 he wins the Texas PGA and a chance to play in the PGA Championship in Providence. This year he is in the money six times. In 1932 he places second in the Texas PGA Championship played in Harlingen.

Butler would leave Harlingen for a position in Beeville but was soon to return and become a fixture as golf pro here for many years. He is good and plays the 18 hole course in a record 62 strokes as verified by his August 6, 1936 score card now in the library archive. The course par at the time is 71. In 1937 he is renting a room at 713 E. Jackson at the home of J.L. Cady, a barber by trade.

When he does leave for greener pastures his devotees petition him to return. On June 20, 1973 the course is renamed the Tony Butler Municipal Golf Course in recognition of his 40 years of service. He retires in 1975 and becomes Professional Emeritus. Butler is to die in December 1979 at age 71. In 1998 he is inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame.

Some regular patrons of the course desire more amenities and perhaps a cozy watering hole. So it is that on 8/15/49 the Harlingen Country Club is incorporated and chartered with total assets of $450.00. The incorporating directors are; J.L. Head, A.M. Jones, R. Kroeger, L.R. Baker, Dr. Phil A. Bleakney, E.G. Pink, J.D. Chambers, Jr., H.H. Young, and Karl Gibbon, Sr. By the following year it has organized with a membership of more than 350. It soon becomes the owner of a two acre $125,000 property adjacent to the municipal golf course. This facility can accommodate 300-400 people. A large swimming pool is one of its amenities.

It is in 1948 that the Municipal Golf Course holds the inaugural "Valley Open" with a $10,000 purse. The tournament lasts only four years after losing money. The noted professional golfers who were champions (in order) were Lloyd Mangrum, Cary Middlecoff, Jackie Burke, Jr., and Chuck Klein. Top notch golfer Craig Wood was also a participant. These golfers were among the best in the country at the time.

In January 1953 Lew Bray, Valley theater owner and citrus grower, will organize the "Life Begins at 40" Golf Tournament. The first tournament is held 4/53 with 79 entries. Over half a century later it has become a major sporting attraction and social event for the community.

With the reactivation of the airfield into the Harlingen Air Force Base in 1952, the city requires another municipal field to handle its growing population. A logical site is the sparsely populated farmland to the west of the city. It had been cultivated even longer than Harlingen itself. In fact, it is the year 1898 in which three families come to western Cameron County from the Indian Territory (Oklahoma). The Jesse Thomas Avery family has two small daughters and a son, Henry Avery, was to be born in the area now known as Palm Valley where the Averys constructed a home.

At a 2003 reunion Margaret Fox, a 1935 Harlingen High School graduate and descendent of the Averys relates an oral history. She recounts that 15 families were on their way to Veracruz, Mexico from Oklahoma. Their plans were to embark for Brazil where each family was to be awarded 694 acres. While camped in the Lower Rio Grande Valley the Averys were robbed, so they did not continue onward. The family patriarch, T. S. Avery (1/29/69-4/8/16), is buried in the Harlingen City Cemetery as is Catherine E. Avery (6/8/76-12/16/18), "Tender Mother and Faithful Friend."

From her obituary, a young Avery coming here in a covered wagon to what would later become the Wilson Tract area from Winnewook, OK was to be Mrs. Vernie Belle Avery Payne. Born 9/7/95 she is to die at age 66 on 3/27/62. After marriage she moved to Mercedes, but on 1/1/43 became postmistress of the Combes Post Office. This member of the First Methodist Church, Combes left two sons, one of whom was J. Paul Payne of Harlingen.

Mr. and Mrs. Jesse L. Adams and Mrs. Adams' parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ogan, are the other two families. The latter settle in the Tiocano Lake area where the Adam's daughter Carrie is soon born. Later the Ogans return to Oklahoma to be followed in1912 by the Adams.

The city does acquire the necessary acreage west of town. Charles (Cut) Washmon is Mayor (1952-56), when the Harvey Richards Field, Harlingen's municipal airport is opened in 1953 at 26.2 N/97.76 W immediately east of Stuart Place Road. After updating in 1959, the north-south runway is 4,950'; the NW-SE one 3,400'. It also has a third turf runway, taxiways, an apron, several hangars, and a terminal building. Operators at the field are Elliot Dusting Service, Elliot Aviation Company, Valley Flying Service, and Young Flying Service. By 1962 Harvey Richards Municipal Airport is operating with four arrival flights daily while six flights depart. Air travel times from Harlingen to major Texas cities are: Houston 3 hrs 22 min., San Antonio 2 hrs 32 min., and Dallas-Ft. Worth 4 hrs 50 min. It is also this year that the federal government closes the HAFB. Economic chaos envelops the city.

On 2/21/63 the City Commission in an effort to make use of valuable resources passes a resolution to establish a regional airport in Harlingen, but this immediately elicits protests from McAllen and Brownsville interests. Harlingenites, however, need an economic stimulus. By a four to one margin in August 1965, Harlingen voters approve a $1.25 million bond issue to convert the former HAFB to a major jet international airport. In 12/67 the Harvey Richards facility is to close as the airlines move to the much larger runways of the former HAFB. By January 1968 the old Air Base has become the Industrial Air Park and the commercial airline facility. Between 1/68 and 2/18/69, a total 3,000 passenger boardings occur.

It is in 1967 that disaster strikes the Harlingen Country Club; its well-utilized clubhouse burns. Some of its sharp-witted members see signs in the ashes. They have a vision, so within the year the 300 or so members of the Harlingen Country Club offer the city, actually the Harlingen Development Corp., its burned out clubhouse and 3 ½ acres next to the municipal golf course plus $133,650 for the 150 acre site of the former Harvey Richards Field. Matt F. Gorges is secretary of the club at the time and also a member of the HDC.

It is a win-win situation for all and the deal goes through. After obtaining 150 acres in what is to become Palm Valley Estates, the club in 1968 under its president Neal Bonner has contractor Frank Parker build a very stylish and enduring clubhouse. In late July 1969 with Matt Gorges as president, the club opens, and the course is inaugurated under its golf pro George McKay.

The golf course owned by the Harlingen Country Club gets its first real test when it hosts its first annual Life Begins at 40 Tournament in the period 2/1-7/70. The 6,973 yard course was almost ready as was the clubhouse.

A year later finds the Palm Valley Estates going up on 383 acres surrounding the course. The clubhouse for its 150 acres golf course has been completed. Van C. Snell leads the Harlingen Development Co. (HDC) group. On its steering committee are Newton Liddell, James Alexander, Hill Cocke, Sr., Fred Flynn, Karl Gibbons, Evan Hurst, and Frank Parker. The company was formed to develop, improve, and sell the balance of 233 acres for cottages, homes, town houses and other facilities. It already has 23 two-bedroom cottages plus 12 larger homes. Ninety of 200 home sites included in the first three units have been sold and a fourth with about 100 lots is being prepared. All have underground utilities.

With growth and development come problems and concerns which have to be resolved or ironed out. So it is that on 11/3/73 the Palm Valley Home Owners Association is formed with its first board members being Ed Marcum, Willis Jondal, Wilson Palmer, Malcolm Adams, and Eloise Goulet. Jack Funk had been chairman of the Palm Valley Estate Utility District.

The HDC is anxious to exit the home real estate business. On 4/1/76 it sells the remaining unsold lots to developer Max Jones, who then foots the bills for security, trash pickup, and street lights.

The community continues to grow with the continuing construction of upscale homes, townhouse and condominiums. Wanting to maintain its independence and possibly fearful that its neighbor, Harlingen, might absorb it, the town holds an election to incorporate itself. The vote to do so is197 in favor and 160 opposed. A general law form of government is set up. On 9/16/80 the City of Palm Valley with 383 acres, 150 which are in the golf course, is incorporated. The property values at the time are $15,124,855. By 1998 the property values will have risen to $81,356,861.The census of year 2000 shows 1,299 people in the community.

And so you now see how out of unfortunate events, the day was saved and both Palm Valley and Harlingen became beneficiaries.

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Where the Name of Harlingen, Texas Likely Derives
Norman Rozeff
Harlingen Historical Preservation Society
September 2003

Some years after it occurred, city founder Lon C. Hill in providing the background for the naming of the town may have slightly slanted the story. That is, when he provided information to Harlingen Postmaster J. F. Rodgers in August 1927 Hill may have taken the opportunity to promote the establishment of a port for the city. At that time he attributed the name selection to two coincidental factors.

Like many of us, Hill was not above embellishing a story, nor seizing an opportunistic moment. When asked once again, this time by postmaster Rodgers, why he gave the name Harlingen to his new entity, he replied in a written letter. In it he stated that because the area was crossed by canals and would one day be served by a port connected to the ocean by a canal he had thought of Holland and its cities with canals. He found Van Harlingen with its canals on a map and finding no other town with that name in the state dropped the Van and went with Harlingen. He went on to add that the railroad builder to the Valley, Uriah Lott, was of Dutch ancestry and, when asked by Hill about the proposed name, indicated that his ancestors from that city were Van Harlingens, so the use of the name would be suitable. Lott’s ties to Harlingen, Holland may have been very tentative in that in 1904 they would have gone back about 230 or more years. Here is a more plausible explanation of the naming of Harlingen.

It is highly unlikely, though not impossible, that Hill would have located or had access to a small scale map showing little Harlingen, The Netherlands, let alone its relatively tiny canal system. It is a small port and city in the Freisland region of that country. It was never Van Harlingen according to its available history. Van, in fact, means "of" or "from" in the Dutch language.

Many early Valley cities were named by and for railroad–connected people, their relatives, and various founding fathers. Some of these early names were later dropped for newer ones. Hill himself had selected Lonsboro as the name of the railroad station on his newly acquired land west of La Feria. When he sold it shortly thereafter, the site nearby eventually was named Mercedes. In 1890 after he had put a railroad through the area, Lott had already had a town named after him in Falls County. This would eliminate it for consideration for the small community growing on the north bank of the Arroyo Colorado in 1904 when the railroad arrived.

There exists in the United States an earlier Harlingen. It is to be found in central New Jersey. Bill Woodall, "an amateur dabbler in history" in that state was kind enough to furnish information on the first Harlingen in North America. Seems like the original Harlingen, now in Somerset County, New Jersey, was settled about 1675 onwards when the region was called "The Province of New Jersey." One recorded birth was that of Johannes Gulick in 1695. There were settlements throughout this area by this time, according to Woodall. The "Harlingen Tract" was sold to Dutch investors in 1710.

Woodall relates that the Harlingen Dutch Reformed Church (in the town of Belle Mead a little north of Harlingen’s location) was established around 1685 as indicated by baptismal records of entire families as would be expected at the formation of a church.

At present Harlingen, New Jersey remains a semi-rural community. It lies on the crossroad between the two historic hamlets of Dutchtown and Bridgeport. It sits on Harlingen Road just to the west of Federal Highway 206, which is also named Van Horne Road in this vicinity. At present there are a couple of stores and perhaps a dozen houses in the district. Based on architecture, at least two of the extant buildings appear to have been taverns, which would have been common at crossroads in New Jersey. Records indicate that Harlingen, NJ had a post office as early as 1895 when its population was 109. It was also served by a railroad. One New Jerseyite has communicated that he believes Harlingen's post office existed into the mid-50s at which time it was closed.

The foregoing reminds us that the Dutch were active explorers and settlers of the continent, every bit as much as the British who were to overwhelm them in numbers.

Our Uriah Lott is connected to this Harlingen. His grandfather, also Uriah Lott, was born there 2/12/1782. His grandmother, Elizabeth Van Harlingen Lott was born in this community on 2/2/1783. This couple was married there 9/22/1805. It is through genealogy information compiled by Sandra M. Lott-Burns that we learn this. It is not known by genealogists where Elizabeth’s ancestors derived from in the Netherlands though her maiden surname is strongly indicative. We do know that Lott’s paternal ancestor who immigrated to the New World was Peter Lott born 1626 in Reynerwout in Drenten, The Netherlands. Peter's wife was born in New York.

It is thus logically evident that Harlingen, Texas, through the information provided by Lott to Hill, has its name derived either from Harlingen, New Jersey, home to Lott's grandparents, or from the maiden surname of that of his grandmother Elizabeth Van Harlingen Lott or perhaps both. What we now know is that there is but a distant and round-a-bout connection between the Texas city's name and that of Harlingen, Holland. Hill, almost certainly, had taken his naming cue from a suggestion made by his friend and associate, Uriah Lott, otherwise how would the proposition "Van" enter the story at all. Over the years the origin of the name Harlingen was likely somewhat distorted with the retelling and the true details of the matter overlooked or forgotten with the passage of time.

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Good Cheer at the Harlingen Cemetery
Norman Rozeff

The title may read like an oxymoron, but knowledge of Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead will dispel that notion. On the evening of 11/1 the normally quiet Harlingen Cemetery will perhaps be experiencing its first major Day of the Dead celebration. It is a celebration because descendents of the deceased are honoring those gone but not forgotten.

The ceremonies of November 1, All Saints Day, and November 2, All Souls Day, have their antecedents in the Mayan and Aztec cultures, later overlaid by Catholicism. A tradition of Mexico holds that one dies three times. First is the physical expiration, second is when the body is interred, and third when the deceased is no longer remembered by the living. Indeed, it is the latter that the Day of the Dead rituals are meant to postpone.

The site of the festivities, the Harlingen Cemetery, originated in a strange manner. William Zachary Weems, Sr. had come to Mercedes in 1907 to build irrigation canals, but by the following year had planted about 200 acres of sugarcane near Harlingen. Weem's son Robert had come from Houston to Harlingen in a railroad freight car with the family's possessions. Weems, together with L.F. Hathaway and Allen Barbee, then constructed a syrup mill in which to process the cane. Barbee, who had come from the cane-growing area south of Houston and had experience with it there, was to run the factory.

Years later, Robert's older sister Lillian Weems Baldridge recounted to a newspaper reporter a story about Harlingen’s first grave. Her brothers Will and Robert Kent worked in their father’s syrup mill. Robert had cleaned out a large vat used for boiling syrup. To keep from walking through it with his boots on, he attempted to walk on the adjacent ledge, then slipped and fell into a full vat of scaldingly hot syrup. He died at age 17 on 12/10/09. There was no cemetery laid out for the new town of Harlingen. Elmer Willams (E.W.) Anglin, Hill's right hand man, wired Hill, who was in St. Louis. Upon learning the circumstances, Mr. Hill wired back instructions, and a hasty survey was made, a short wagon trail was cut through the brush and a place cleared for the grave. Naturally Hill did not want a cemetery too close to the planned townsite and the lots he intended to sell. Still its location had to be accessible. The area he selected was on Mexico Street (later South F Street). This was the major route to go to San Benito via the low water crossing in the Arroyo Colorado and was a little over a mile from the center of town. Robert's grave was and is close to the existing road. W.H. Wheaton assists in the funeral as does Mrs. Weller. Young Joseph Ogan of the hotel family is soon to become the second person buried in the cemetery. Others who died earlier in the area are reburied in the cemetery.

In February 1911, the Harlingen Civic Club through the Cemetery Association, which had been formed and spearheaded by Mrs. Augustus Weller, Mrs. Andrew Goldammer, and later Mr. Brunneman, requested that the town appoint a cemetery commission. It did so by naming C.W. Clift, E.W. Anglin, and B.F.Surface as cemetery trustees. Hill, as president of the Harlingen Land and Water Company, sold 7.6 acres, adjacent to and around the area where Robert was buried, to the cemetery trustees for $1.00. The deed was signed on 2/1/12.

Some notable individuals buried in the cemetery include James Dishman (1934), pioneer rancher; James Lockhart (1947), first postmaster; Osco Morris (1931), early town official and real estate developer; and David L. Hinojosa (1952), Texas Ranger.

Even in death there was a separation of those of various ethnic origins. Graves in one section were for Hispanics and in another for Anglos. Other divisions were for blacks and for babies. This segregation remained until the cemetery property was deeded to the city in early May 1947. In 1982 the Tip of Texas Genealogy Society updated and indexed a list of those buried in the cemetery. It is to be found in the genealogy section stacks at the Harlingen Library.

It was in 1984 that the Texas Historical Commission erected a detailed marker for and in the cemetery. This came about by the thorough research and follow-through efforts of Mrs. Menton (Betty) Murray.

Colorful adornments, decorated altar, flowers, papier maché figures, music, special foods, and candles – all are part of the festivities. The Day of the Dead activities at the cemetery will allow all in the community to recognize and pay tribute to those who contributed so much to our lives and to make our city the success it now enjoys. Starting at 5:30 pm graves may be decorated, and 6:00 will mark the start of planned events at the F Street cemetery.

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Harlingen's First Hospital
Betty N. Murray and Norman Rozeff
February 2005

Part I: Its Background and Conception

Why would a doctor want to come to a wild frontier community lacking in most amenities? If we are generous we can speculate that they may have been adventurous or had a wanderlust. Others may have sought a change in climate and/or scenery. Still others may have been young and just starting their careers. On the unflattering side we could surmise a doctor may have fled more civilized areas to escape debt or an unhappy marriage or even that he was too incompetent to practice elsewhere.

While the community of Harlingen was established in 1904, it did not formally become a governmental entity until 1910. Even so, it had already attracted doctors to serve the growing population of the community and its surrounds. The physician brothers Casper W. and Alfred M. Letzerich had erected a two story office building at the corner of Commerce and Main (Jackson) Streets in 1909. The former was a general practitioner; the latter a surgeon. Dr. D. B. McGehee also came to Harlingen in 1909. Unfortunately those needing long-term or intensive care were not well-served in the town. The nearest suitable facility was the Catholic Devine Providence Hospital in Brownsville, 26 miles away over poor roads.

The second wife of Irrigation District employee Frank H. Brown was Katherine Clarey Brown, a native of Cincinnati. They had married in 1907 sometime after death of his first wife. They honeymooned and lived in Alaska for six months before returning stateside. She had been a doctor in Hopkinville, Kentucky and St. Louis, Missouri. They came to Harlingen in 1911. While not a practicing physician here she realized the need for a nursing facility and opened her spacious home at 1222 West Harrison Street to patients requiring extended care.

It was Miss Marie (Mary) Yeager of Chicago who would move to fulfill a community need. She had purchased uncleared land north of Harlingen and came south to personally view the property. Having expended her life savings to purchase the site, she was in need of funds and took employment assisting local doctors. She was rooming at the Gilbert House, a 20 room stucco building constructed in 1920 at 110 West Van Buren Street. Seeking relief for an asthmatic condition Ida Gilbert and her husband, Louis, had first come to Electra, Texas from Linn, Missouri. With a grocery store, they did well in this oil boom town just west of Wichita Falls but decided the warm climate of South Texas might be even more suitable. In 1919 they moved to McAllen and a year later to Harlingen where they erected their rooming house. While the rooms were nicely furnished the facility lacked any boarding. Mrs. Gilbert did not initiate cooking until 1933 when workmen, repairing and reconstructing the great damages of the 1933 Hurricane, had a need for eating facilities. The room and board then continued until 1943 when Mrs. Gilbert sold the structure, which by 1930 was called the Gilbert Hotel. Mr. Gilbert by 1930 was supplementing family income as a mail carrier. He was to pass on in 1938.

Having realized the great need to care for the sick in and around Harlingen, Miss Yeager sought the advice of Ida Gilbert. When she broached the subject of establishing a hospital in a rented structure, Mrs. Gilbert told her it would be better to have one which was wholly owned. The two women then formed a partnership to move forward in creating a hospital.

The Implementation

It was on 3/26/23 that the Gilberts purchased lots on the east side of Mexico (now F) Street between Tyler and Harrison Streets. The sellers were L.L. and Rose Alaniz who had only 16 days earlier had bought the property. Mrs. Gilbert then secured two former army barracks from the Rangerville area. They had been used in 1915-16 by soldiers policing the border to quell "Bandit Era" unrest and then during World War I. Once moved to the lots the three room buildings were set apart and parallel to one another with plans to connect them with a new structure in order to form a u-shaped complex.

Initially George Day and a Mr. Volkart, often working ten hours a day, were hired to do the carpentry at 50 cents per hour. Then L.E. Hawkins was contracted to do the job. He hired as carpenters and helpers J.A. Sing and his son L.E. Sing, Don Drake, and Henry Murphy. All walls were of single wall, box construction but apparently strong enough to have withstood hurricane force winds over the years. Wooden battens were nailed on the outside seams to keep out the elements. A porch was added to tie all the elements together. On each side, where the former barracks met the tie-in, was a bathroom. Each room had three windows to afford cross ventilation, an absolute necessity with the South Texas summer climate. The roof was of wooden shingles. Across the back of the building a kitchen was fabricated and attached. Here, in addition to the cooking, water was stored and boiled for sterilization. Thus came into physical existence the hospital at 315 South F Street.

The Hospital and Staff

With the erection of the facility, Miss Yeager wrote her dietician friend Miss Julia Bassart of Chicago to come join her in the new venture. Julia consented to do so. A 16' by 17' building was built on the property to house the two women. Mrs. Gilbert acted as business manager and owner of the enterprise. Miss Yeager was in charge of floor duties and Miss Bassart was household manager and also assisted in the hospital that apparently opened before the summer of 1923.

The facility had seven patient rooms for which the charge for each was five dollars a day. Two patient rooms were in each wing and three in the connecting unit. In addition there was a surgery room, reception room, and a storage and preparation room. Doctors who staffed the hospital included, among others, the Letzerich brothers, Casper and Alfred, and Noah A. (Semny) Davidson. Miss Teresa Montalvo was a nurse's aid employed by the hospital in 1924.

After a year in operation Miss Yeager told the newspaper "that it still lacks equipment and is actually an emergency hospital. The foundation stone of the institution has been a desire to help the stranger." She went on to say that the desire was to put the hospital to use as a memorial training school for young women, fitting them for better citizenship and to develop high standard mothers and wives as an affiliate of the well-known Lucy Meyer Training School in Chicago. Lucy Meyer was a Methodist deaconess renowned for her social work.

Organizations came to the aid of the under-funded hospital. The Rotarians and Kiwanis at the suggestion of C. Wunderman donated an efficient bell system for the patients. The local Ku Klux Klan, which was quickly losing political power and public approval by the mid-1920s here in Texas, donated a large roll of sheeting.

The first patient treated at the hospital was one of carpenter George Day's two sons. Robert cut his finger while his father was working there. Among better known individuals who the hospital served were E.C. Bennett, long time fire chief and manager of Harlingen utilities, M. B. (Bill ) House, and Cage Johnson. All three had appendectomies. The latter was also an earlier patient. Constable Cage Johnson while on an investigation at 1217 W. Polk in the early summer of 1923 entered a shootout with Abilano Sanchez. Both were wounded and quickly transported in honking cars to the nearby hospital where they were placed in opposite wings. While Johnson recovered Sanchez was to succumb to his wounds. Another individual who ran afoul the law was a black man, J.R. King. Shot by City Marshall Arthur Goolsby, he died in the hospital in late January 1925.

Joe Gavito, Jr., age 11 and later of La Feria, was to be treated for diphtheria in July 1924 at the hospital. He remembered his sense of isolation. Jose E. Lozano, father of Harlingen Police Captain Abe Lozano was to die in the hospital from long-lingering complications after being gassed during World War I action.

On a happier note are some births occurring at the hospital. Mrs. Winston Harwood, whose husband is retail manager for CPL's ice operations, gives birth to Cordelia Brown Harwood on 11/4/25. Dr. W. J. Vinsant attended. She is so happy with the care given that she convinces Georgiana Hill, wife of Lon C. Hill, Jr., to use the hospital. The Hills' son Owsley is born there 12/7/25. Robert Campos, later to be assistant fire chief in the city, is born there 2/1/26 to Ventura G. and Antonio J. Campos.

Part II: The Demise and Disposition of the Hospital

The little hospital, unbeknown to those striving to make a success of it, was about to face formidable competition. In competition with Brownsville for the site on which to erect a Baptist hospital, Harlingen pledges $75,000 according to a Brownsville Herald article on 1/16/20. This would allow the building of a $150,000 facility or twice the cost of the originally planned one.

Robert Hamilton, Sr., who had lived in Little Deer Creek in Falls County, TX before moving to Harlingen in 1917, and Jack Earnest Stack were among local leaders who saw a need for a hospital here. Hamilton worked as a bookkeeper in the Texas State Bank of Harlingen 1917-20 before opening an insurance office selling Home Insurance. He and others approached Lon C. Hill and the Harlingen Townsite and Improvement Company, and Hill pledged $15,000 toward the building. Short of cash, the company conveyed four lots just south of where the hospital would eventually be built. Two stipulations were that: the hospital would cost more than $50,000 and be built in three years (3/2/23). Incorporators were Dr. N.A. Davidson, G.S. Stringer, and Judge Fred Bennett of Mercedes. When the Baptist Sanitarium of Harlingen was not built within this time frame, the lots were reconveyed on 9/27/24 to the Cameron County Realty Co. based in Dallas. In return the hospital pursuers received lots on F Street without conditions.

The white stucco building, which became the Valley Baptist Hospital, is built in the 600 block of F Street by W.T. Liston and Sons to designs by local architects Elwing and Mulhausen. Birger A. Elwing was born in Linkojsing, Sweden on 6/13/67 and educated at Chalmera University in Gothenburg. He married Sigus Hedstrom on 12/16/89 and settled in the Valley in 1919. The 35 bed facility opens in part 1/22/25 and fully in May 1925. Its charter members are S.C. Tucker, Brownsville; Frank Robertson and Dr. Clarence M. Cash, San Benito; J.T. Foster, S.G. Stringer, C.S. Wroten, and Dr. N.A. Davidson of Harlingen; Dr. R.E. Utley and Fred E. Bennett of Mercedes; E.C. Couch of Weslaco; Dr. L.M. Davis of Donna; and G.T. Balch of McAllen. The capacity of the steel-framed structure is increased in 1943, and again in 1946, so that by 1956 it is equipped to care for 135 people. The facility closes in 1957 with the erection of a new hospital complex near S. Ed Carey Drive. Dr. David Nickell, who came to work in the F Street hospital in 1947, is the last of the F Street doctors to retire when he does so at age 73 on 10/29/84.

Once this major hospital came on the scene, just a few blocks away on the same street, the little, privately-funded F Street hospital was doomed. Mrs. Gilbert, sharp business woman that she was, closed the hospital sometime in 1926. She then converted the structure into a room and board facility. Three of the four center rooms were converted into a spacious dining area. When Miss Bassart left Harlingen is unknown, but she is not listed in the 1930 telephone directory. Mary Yeager was to die July 22, 1928 and is buried in the Harlingen Cemetery in a donated plot, part of the Dearing family lot.

The building which once housed the women was apparently used in 1931-32 by Tommie Gilbert. The rooming house in 1937-38 was called the Tavern Hotel but then took on the name Gilbert House No. 2 the next four years. With two locations to care for Mrs. Gilbert hired Jack Phillips in 1937 to manage the first Gilbert House and then Mrs. D.H. Schellhammer for the position in 1939. After selling her Van Buren business site in 1943, Mrs. Gilbert moved to the F Street one with her daughter Dorothy. The latter was an employee of the air base in 1945 and would marry Vance Harold Glick, a carpenter by trade. By 1946 the newlyweds were also living in the rooming house which by now had no particular name and appeared to have more or less permanent tenants by 1956. In 1958 it became Gilbert House again and carried this designation until 1962 or so. Perhaps trying to cash in on the travel business Mrs. Gilbert listed herself as owner of cabins, only to resume the Gilbert House nomenclature in 1966. While living in the house Dorothy handled S & H Green Stamp matters and later became the distributor for out-of-town newspapers. By 1967 the Glicks were to move elsewhere. Without advertising, Mrs. Gilbert, who lived at the address until1974, perhaps had some paid occupants. She had either died or moved away by March 1976.

Before the property was sold to Lewis Levine in 1978, he sought a useful way of disposing of the structures on it. He consulted Betty N. Murray who was a Harlingen contact person when it came to history. She in turn contacted the Rio Grande Museum Board to ascertain if they were interested in obtaining the historic structure, moving it to the museum complex, and restoring it. Initially the board refused the offer. Although Levine had started action in the summer of 1978 and had hoped for results in six weeks, it wasn't until December 1978 that results were manifested. The Museum Board, and Mr. Ebbage its president, reconsidered the earlier decision. They were aided by city manager Bill Synder who allowed that the city would move only the ten room section and leave the kitchen part behind. The city would pay for the movement if it would later be reimbursed. Synder was to leave shortly before the actual movement occurred, but assistant city manager Harry Savio, who would move up to the full position, followed through. Mrs. Murray spearheaded a group of civic-minded individuals who raised funds from foundation grants, individuals, and organizations to pay for the transportation then the restoration and furnishing of the structure.

C. P. "Butch" Thise helped to reattach the three sections after they arrived. With the guidance of Corpus Christi architect James G. Rome, who was recommended by the Texas Historical Commission, the center section was authentically restored to three rooms. Other restoration was made to the original appearance and state. This was accomplished by a fortuitous circumstance. The 1910-1920-era wood frame Verser Rooming House on the 100 block of W. Monroe Street had been largely abandoned. It owner, Jack Verser, assisted by realtor Bonnie Bahnman, offered the museum the house for whatever it wished to salvage. This allowed the retrieval of doors, windows, ceiling lumber, floor boards, and bathroom fixtures. This was accomplished in the nick of time, for vandals commenced setting fires in the derelict Verser house.

As momentum and enthusiasm grew, the little hospital sprang back to life with equipment and furnishings reflecting the period in which it was utilized. C. W. Phillips, a master craftsman, was to restore and refinish much of the furniture and shelving including the reception desk and its chair, a small bookcase, five fruitwood office chairs, and a library table.

Jack Skagg's donated his father L.L.'s 1920 dental equipment, sofa, two upholstered chairs a desk and filing cabinet, all having been used in San Antonio. T.H. Morrison, former chairman of the board of the Valley Baptist Hospital, supplemented this by furnishing a dentist chair and a Ritter Dental X-ray Machine.

Harry and Ann Nigro donated doctor's equipment including an operating table, washstand, examining table, two kitchen tables, an adjustable table, and bedside table. All of these were once owned by Dr. Nelson Wise Haas of San Benito.

Julie Gallagher Uhlhorn donated her father's books and her father George's complete office including diplomas and pictures. His office had been in the Baxter Building. In 1929 Dr. Gallagher had in turn acquired some of these items from the estate of Dr. A. C. McLamore who had died in 1928, the year before Gallagher arrived in Harlingen.

A former nurse, Mrs. Myra George, knew of an original bed from the hospital. It was owned by the American Legion Auxiliary of La Feria which loaned it to needy individuals. The Auxiliary donated it, and it was placed in the "birthing room" on the right side of the building. In addition, Zora Mae MacPherson's hospital bed was donated by her daughter Helen Thompson. This went into the "isolation room" on the left side of the building.

An old x-ray unit was found in the Bethel Mission in Roma and obtained. Dr. Margo of Rio Grande City furnished a period mortar, pestle and measuring glass while a pharmacist in Brownsville provided bottled items to place in the old display cabinet purchased from a Harlingen antique store.

Monetary donations, too numerous to specify individually, helped to flesh out the museum's requirements. In the spring of 1981 the hospital opened its doors to the public. It is and will remain a little treasure for the community it once served.

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Historic Harlingen

In 1902 developer Lon C. Hill purchased 2 ½ leagues or 11,070 acres of School Lands from Cameron County. He paid $13,837.50 or $1.25 per acre. This area north of the Arroyo Colorado and the Concepcion de Carricitos Spanish Land Grant to the brothers Eugenio and Bartolome Fernandez was semi-arid chaparral and of low value. Hill knew that two things could enhance his property – water to irrigate crops and a railroad to transport the commodities to market. In 1907 he commenced building a major gravity- flow canal with a pumping station at Las Rusias. It would eventually extend 14.6 miles north of the Rio Grande.

Hill encouraged his associates to invest in a railroad to the Valley and to dedicate right-of-ways for it. On 4/20/04 the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway reached "Six- Shooter Junction." In need for a station name and a soon-to-be post office, the name Harlingen was selected by Hill to honor Uriah Lott and the railroad builder's ancestral homes in Holland and New Jersey.

With the almost immediate rail spur to the west from Harlingen being constructed, the town became not only a junction but a commercial hub. The nascent cotton industry took root in its surrounding as did citrus and vegetable production. All were packed, refrigerated, and shipped from facilities within the city. The coming of the Southern Pacific railroad line in early1927 cemented the city's status as the Valley's major transportation hub.

Downtown Jackson Street retains the architectural flavor of the 1910-20s era. The variable architecture and striking beauty of homes of "Silk Stocking Row" along East Taylor Street reflect the affluence of the city's merchants and professionals as the city grew in the 1920s.

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The Location of the Providencia Ranch and Harlingen’s Early Water Supply
Norman Rozeff, Harlingen Historical Preservation Society
July 2003

The Providencia Ranch played an important role in the early days of Harlingen town. The reason was that initially Harlingen had no reliable water supply. Sweet water was brought by barrels in wagons from a productive well on the Saldana’s Providencia Ranch. The ranch’s exact location had been lost with the passage of time.

This service continued until the Harlingen Land and Water Company completed the infrastructure to bring water north from the river. In August and September 1907 the first river pumps were installed and started. At the end of the following month, as the already eleven mile canal approached the Arroyo Colorado, a large wooden flume across it was being constructed. On 3/28/08 the water reached Harlingen, but it wasn’t until three years later that Lake Harlingen, then considerably larger, as a water system reservoir was instituted in a low-lying area. It was fed by a canal running north along what would be 13^th Street then west into the lake.

An early pre-Harlingen plat map, dated likely around the year 1903, was fortuitously found by me in Hidalgo County Historical Commission files in the Weslaco Bicultural Museum. Jay Russell located another plat map of the same area but drawn with information probably a year earlier. Both indicated Saldana properties upon which Providencia Ranch was almost certainly located.

An area of approximately 170 acres is denoted "S. Saldana". It is a rectangular parcel (Survey 47) with its southern boundary directly north of today’s Lincoln Avenue. The parcel runs about 4250 feet east to west and 1750 feet north to south. To its north is a similarly-sized property (Survey 46) listed as owned by E.Contreras. A third tract, Survey 45, adjacent and to the west of these two is designated F. Saldana, and it too has a little over 170 acres.

In 1880 Francisco Saldaña filed a patent on Survey 45 and officially was granted the land after occupation and improvements in 1886. Various members of the Saldaña family likely owned a total of about 510 acres south of survey 27. They called it La Providencia Ranch. Plats of about 170 acres each were numbers 45 (F. Saldaña), 46 (E. Contreras), and 47 (S. Saldaña). The "F" may have been Francisco, who was to marry Anselma Sanchez and upon her death Josefa Abrego. The "S" was his son Secundino from his first marriage. E. Contreras was Estevan (also spelled Esteban) Contreras, who had married Librada Saldaña. Their daughter Josefa, who was baptized in the Presbyterian Mexican Church, Brownsville on 3/7/86, lived on the ranch until 1896-98. Another daughter was to be Anita Saldaña Contreras de Rosales. Herlinda Saldaña of the ranch family was to marry Joaquin S. Sanchez, have a son Jose, and live at 831 Curtis Street, Harlingen. Paulo Saldaña, Sr. and Jr. were other family members.

US 77/83 now traverses diagonally through the east one quarter of the old S. Saldana property, as it does the Contreras tract to the north. Harrison Avenue runs into the upper one eight of the Contreras tract. Survey 46 is also cut by the railroad track, Hwy 83 and Business 83. Survey 47 is currently occupied for the most part by the Valley Vista Mall. It is also transected by Dixieland Road. On the west side of Dixieland Road, Survey 47 is now occupied by numerous commercial businesses in strip malls and on its western boundary by Pletcher’s Wholesale Nursery. At the western boundary Tucker Road heads south to the Arroyo Colorado stopping short of the 2.15 mile distance by about .5 mile. It is on the west side of this .5 mile parcel that the 1903 map indicates the existence of a community named Castanas.

Survey 45 now has the Palm Gardens Mobile Estates in its south half and is cut by Expressway 83 and Loop 54 in its north half.

At the northwest corner of the Contreras tract, a road running southwest-northeast is shown on the old plat map. This heads toward the Paso Real via what is now the Briggs-Coleman area and eventually reaches the old Alice Road but does so by skirting the arroyo where it makes it turn to the east.

The area referred to by the Lon C. Hill family as "Salty Lonesome" was likely close to where present Highway 499 intersects with Harrison Avenue (HWY 106) and possibly within the area now designated as Ramsey Park. It is in this location that the arroyo is closest to Harrison Avenue. From here in 1903 Hill opened a sendero directly to the west along what is now Harrison Avenue.

From Salty Lonesome to the east end of the Contreras tract the distance would have been 4.5 miles. When the railroad came to Harlingen in July 1904, the distance from the new center of town to the east end of the Contreras parcel would have been just about one mile. Continuing south to the northeast corner of the Saldana parcel would have added another .28 mile. Therefore, the minimum water haul distance from S. Saldana property to the center of Harlingen would have been 1.28 miles, and if the ranch well were near its southwest corner, the maximum haul distance would have been 2.13 miles. If the well was in Survey 45 the minimum distance from the town center to the site would have been 1.75 mile at minimum and 2.35 miles at maximum.

Hill, under the entity Harlingen Land and Water Company, may have purchased all three properties in 1903 in order to assure a secure water supply for his town to be. More likely however, he bought the parcels in order to dedicate land for the Sam Fordyce Branch railroad right-of-way of the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway, which would eventually reach west of Mission. The plat maps already show considerable acreage had been acquired north of the arroyo by the predecessor company called the Corpus Christi, San Diego and Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad Company. To indicate how interlocking and transient the railroads were in this period other parcels north of what was to be Harlingen were owned by the Houston East and West Texas and Shreveport and Houston Railway Co.; the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad; and the Georgetown Railroad Co.

A compilation of old abstracts indicates that on 6/10/03 Hill also purchased a tract from Wenceslao Saldana and his wife Felipa A. de Saldana. He paid $500 for their 160 acre lot located directly north of Combes near the Ojo De Agua Grant and adjacent to property owned by the Dishmans and the Georgetown Railroad Company. The railroad coming south from Robstown would come through this property.

Verna McKenna, a Harlingen historian, noted Jesus Saldana as being associated with the ranch. The children of the ranch hands and neighbors were taught by eighteen year old Miss Margarita Villareal, who was later to become Mrs. G. M. Lozano. Having been graduated after eleven years schooling in Brownsville she was qualified to teach. The instruction was in English. Later the school moved into the second floor of the Pioneer Building and remained there until the school district built a facility for Mexican-American students.

Near Harlingen there were various crossing sites on the Arroyo Colorado. The most famous, of course is the Paso Real. Some others are shown on the 1903 map. The community of Tasa is mapped just south of the arroyo near where the old F Street Bridge used to cross and where the US 77/83 one now does. About 3 ¼ miles to its east, and also on the south side, was Palmital. This site is now the extreme east side of the Treasure Hills subdivision. A map of the Valley drawn in 1915-16 for use by the military stationed here at the time designates the crossings as La Tasa and El Palmital. These communities as well as Castanas may have come into existence to offer travelers shelter when arroyo waters were high, and the arroyo could not be immediately traversed. The considerable acreage between the Valley International Airport and the Arroyo Colorado is designated as the Palmetal Co. Subdivision and likely gets its name from old Palmital but with one letter changed over time.

It is also likely that a crossing existed at the south end of what is now designated as Dilworth Road. At the junction of Dilworth Road and the Arroyo Colorado are cuts in the banks on both sides of the stream, and the arroyo is shallow at this point. In the late 1800s the Gutierrez family of Harlingen owned adjacent property and operated three ranches on it. This property was just north of the arroyo and straddled what is now Dilworth Road. A 1917 plat map designates the area close to the crossing as Los Indios Ranch and near the north boundary is La Cruz Ranch. According to Rosaura Gutierrez the mapmaker has erroneously designated them. They should be La India and La Crucita Ranches. The third ranch was El Gigante. A total of around 3000 acres was contained in tracts 39, 40 293, 294, and 295. A longtime wooden bridge which crossed the arroyo at this point was replaced in the 1990s by a wider concrete bridge.

Sometime prior to 1923 the Dilworth Ranch came into existence. R.S. Dilworth was already in the area by late 1908. It was located just southeast of the arroyo crossing. Dilworth Road took its name from this ranch. The 1923 Soil Conservation Service map spelling the ranch name with two "l"s is apparently a typographical error.

Connecting Dilworth south of the arroyo is Turner Road, which is caliche until it intersects with FM 800. Still further south it parallels Rangerville Road before eventually connecting with it. Turner Road is named for Josiah Turner, the pioneer rancher who owned the Galveston Ranch along the Military Road (also mapped by surveyors as the Military Telegraph Road) just west of Las Rucias. This important thoroughfare, now HWY 281 or the Military Highway, is how inhabitants north of and along the river reached Brownsville other than by steamboat.

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James Henry Dishman

Biographical information on Dishman is gleaned from the Texas Historical Commission marker on him in front of the Dishman Elementary School located in Combes between the intersections of Dishman Street and Madeley Avenue and Tamm Street and Madeley Avenue. The plaque reads as follows:

James Henry Dishman 2/22/58 7/30/34

James Henry Dishman was forced at age six to assume a man’s role after his father’s death in the Civil War in 1864. A native of Cherokee County, East Texas he eventually moved to Kaufman County and developed a successful ranching operation. He sold his ranch in 1892 and headed to the South Texas Gulf Coast in search of lucrative ranching opportunities.

In 1893 James purchased a remote and undeveloped section of school land in this area of northern Cameron County. He built a homestead and by 1895 had established a working ranch. He increased his land holdings and within a short time gained a reputation for industriousness and uncommon generosity. He was gravely wounded by a cattle rustler in 1897. Aided by brothers Dr. Fred and Dr. Joe Combes of Brownsville, he was able to recover in six months.

In 1904 Dishman donated acreage for the railroad right-of-way that led to the creation of the town of Combes. In 1924 he donated over 5 acres to the Combes Community as a site for a Baptist church and cemetery. In 1928 he donated money and this site for the construction of an elementary school which when completed in 1950 was named for him. Dishman was buried beside his mother at Harlingen City Cemetery. (1993)

The vital statistics of his mother, Georgiana M. Dishman, are noted from her tombstone as 11/2/1835 12/26/1922.

In the "Standard Blue Book U.S.A. South Texas Edition 1929-30 Vol. XV" is a short biographical note stating:  J. H. Dishman Harlingen Farmer and large landowner. Born in Cherokee County, Texas February 22, 1858. Educated at Public Schools and Masonic Institute. Favorite recreation, Reading. Forefathers migrated to this country from England to Virginia before the Revolutionary War. Served on various committees during World War [I]. Has resided in the Valley since December 1893 and thinks it a great country to live in.

The Georgetown Railroad Co. had on January 20,1879 acquired 640 acres from the State of Texas under the law awarding land to entities which would initiate a railroad This land now encompasses what became Combes. The railroad company did nothing with this land so it reverted to the state.  James Dishman was to purchase it as homestead and State School Land in December 1893 for $1.50 an acre or to be exact $936.  It was all of Survey 22. He, under the law, had to homestead it for a minimum of three years. He certified that he had done so in the spring of 1901 when he noted that two homes on the property were valued in total at $250, a well $75, a windmill, $100, 20 acres of cleared land $200, and three miles of wire fence, $175.  Once state law changed, he moved to purchase Survey 23 since the water in 22 was of poor quality. Lastly he purchased Survey 24 therein giving a contiguous property one mile wide and three miles long, east to west.

In May 1895 his mother left Kaufman County and came to the Valley with her eight year old granddaughter Lena Templeton. Georgia M. Dishman then purchased 3 ½ sections (2240 acre) immediately to the west of Dishman's property. She bought this land from Mexican-Americans who had homesteaded the land. On it she established the Nopalara Ranch.

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More Cool Stuff

Norman Rozeff, Harlingen Historical Preservation Society, May 2004

The author of the article (VMS 4/29/04) on the Valley ice industry had an interesting story of his own. James William Sweeney came to the Valley in 1919. Born in Texarkana on 10/2/98, he had, along with four siblings, been orphaned. The children were raised in the Incarnate Word Orphanage in San Antonio. Jim finished high school, went on to St, Mary's University, lettered in three sports including football where Dwight David Eisenhower was his coach, and was graduated in 1917. In WWI he was a ground crew member of the Lafayette Flying Esquadrille.

He came to work for the American Refrigerator Transit Co. (A.R.T.) in San Benito. It specialized in providing insulated railroad cars for the transportation of produce. He soon was working for the Ice Company, precursor to CP&L. In 1923 he married Mary Yeasel Greiner who, in 1919, had come to San Benito from Chicago with her grandfather. They lived in company housing next to the loading dock adjacent to Fair Park and later moved to San Benito. Sweeney worked for a division of CP&L for 45 years, finally retiring at age 70. This three pack a day smoker died of lung cancer on 4/14/69. A daughter Mary Lou Sweeney Rumbo was to be a long time school teacher and organizer and first president of the Harlingen Historical Preservation Society.

Some chronological history dealing with ice manufacture and cooling follows:

1924-25 The Valley Electric and Ice Company approaches the mark of icing 13,000 railroad cars. It handles each one twice, first for a pre-cooling, then a final icing. At the peak of the season 100 men are employed. In Harlingen the manufacturing building exists today though the lengthy docks which stretched between parallel railroad tracks and carried the ice to the refrigerated cars are long gone. In time the Central Power and Light Company divested itself of the ice making operations and under the dynamic leadership of Lon C. Hill, Jr. evolved into a major South Texas utility. The sizeable old building once utilized by the Southern Texas Ice and Service Company is reached via Wichita and Memphis Streets. "Ice Plant No. 39 Harlingen" is engraved on one wing of the building. It likely indicates that this was one of many plants operated by the American Refrigerator Transit Company to provide ice for its specialized railroad freight cars. Southwestern is no more, but its successor is Reddy Ice with its warehouse in the Industrial Park. It furnishes packaged ice to retail stores.

9/17/30 On a three acre site, Central Power and Light Company (CPL) puts into operation its cold storage plant capable of handing 100 freight cars of products such as eggs, meats, fruits, dairy, and vegetables. J.W. Sweeney will be its manager. Previously he was superintendent of car icing and the ice department for CPL in the Valley, according to F.C. Ludden, Valley District Manager for CPL. In 1930 the building is just outside the city limit on the Combes Highway. That puts it on North Commerce now just north of the Fair Park Blvd. intersection.

1946 Cecil Carruth purchases CPL's cold storage warehouse. The name is changed to Harlingen Cold Storage. Cecil had come to Harlingen in 1929. His older brother Paul will follow about four years later. Carruth in 1930 was the bookkeeper for the Grant Lumber Co. in Harlingen and a year later had worked up to manager. By 1937 Carruth's business was general insurance and loans. By 1939 he was into the partnership of Carruth and Johnson Insurance, then with his brother Paul, and still later with Grant Klopenstein as Carruth-Klopenstein, real estate and insurance. Cecil, called Happy by his friends, was somewhat of a genius or, at minimum, his mile-a-minute mind is open to new ideas. He conceived the idea of commencing a frozen juice concentrate plant in Harlingen. He went to Florida and learned what would be required, including over $1 million of stainless steel piping. He and partners, including Paul, then converted the large plant at 804 North Commerce in the late 1940s. Misfortune befell them when a severe freeze decimated the Valley's 1949 citrus crop. His Texas Frozen Food Corp., for which he was president and J.E. Barr executive vice president, then sought alternatives in watermelon and pineapple concentrates and even looked into freeze-dried foods. When Paul went on with others to found Tropical Savings and Loan, Cecil sought to utilize the plant by leasing it to shrimp and other packers. Squirt brand soda pop with its grapefruit-citrus flavor was even bottled there for a time. The large building contained cold storage vaults, a shrimp processing plant, a citrus juice extraction plant, and a citrus peel dehydration plant along with Rio Freezer, Inc., cold storage.

1954 CPL is finished with its ice-making business in its Harlingen plant. The operation is taken over by the Southern Texas Ice and Service Company, which maintains an office in the Clarke and Courts Building on East Harrison. In 1956 B.A. Majesky will be its manager at its Fair Park Extension plant, while that old ice hand, J.W. Sweeney, will manage the Clarke and Court office. By 1962 the Southeastern Public Service Company, with branches in many Valley cities and towns, will have taken over the manufacturing plant and moved its office to 423 W. Jackson.

1950-74 The Alberti Seafoods Processing Co. selling "King-O-Shrimp" and "Sea Breeze" Brands will pack products in Harlingen. Its owner Lawrence Alberti of Chicago is to die at age 67 on 10/16/60. When, in 1974, Alberti shutters its doors and a year later Western Shellfish at 708 N. Commerce does also, Cecil Carruth is left with his largely useless Harlingen Cold Storage Building.

1976 This is the last year here for the American Refrigerator Transit Co. at 825 N. Commerce. The shipment of cooled vegetables and fruit in railroad freight cars from Harlingen had declined to the point that operations here were no longer economical. Refrigerated trucks had taken most of the business from the railroads. To perpetuate the nostalgia, model train hobbyists can purchase A.R.T. models of refrigerated freight cars for their collections.

10/4/85 When Cecil Carruth dies on this date, the cold storage property is willed to the Rio Grande Children's Home in Mission according to his nephew, Tommy Carruth. The ghostly "white elephant" with its faded Harlingen Cold Storage sign still sits forlornly on Commerce as a monument to changing times.

1996 The Southeastern Public Service Company will continue its ice-manufacturing operations in Harlingen until this year. The Reddy Ice Company will then enter the picture. This Dallas-based company, formerly known as Packaged Ice before going private in 2003, is the largest U.S. maker of packaged ice. It operates in 31 states and D.C. In Harlingen its office and warehouse are in the Industrial Park at 1409 North 28th Street.

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Picture Worth a Thousand Words
Norman Rozeff
February 19, 2004

The Robert Runyon photo triggers a lot of memories. He would periodically come to the Harlingen area from his Brownsville home in order to visually document the community. Many of his more notable Harlingen pictures were taken in 1912, 1915, and for his photograph of the west side of North Commerce Street likely in 1924.

Starting from the left of the photograph we see a side door to the Ewing and Phillips Hardware Store, later to become Harlingen Hardware. It was in the year 1912 that F. Finley Ewing of Ballinger, Runnels County, TX came to San Benito. After four years there he worked for the government in border construction projects. Then, in 1919, he comes to Harlingen to enter the hardware business as half-owner of Ewing and Phillips Hardware Company, Inc at the northwest corner of Commerce and Jackson. Later he is president of the Peoples Gin Company. By 1929 he is president of the Harlingen Development Company. This is the relic of the original townsite company which was acquired by local interests from foreign capitalists in 1924. At this time in the original townsite there are1000 building lots left which this company owns and controls. He is elected Mayor on 4/6/26 and serves until 1928. His term is remembered as one with great progress for the city. His partner, Frank T. Phillips, commuted from his San Benito home and the hardware store which he owned there. By 1931 and for or at least six years the hardware company that occupies the premise goes by the name Rio Grande Hardware and Machinery Company then in 1936 becomes Harlingen Hardware. Harriette Armacost, whose family was long-time owner of Harlingen Hardware and who herself was a familiar face in the store before it was sold several years ago to Broadway Hardware, claims both Phillips and Ewing as ancestors. In its very early days the hardware store building housed the Eastern Seed Company owned by Clark Seed of Corpus Christi. When it closed, its 25' frontage was incorporated into the hardware store.

The next office is that of the Western Union Company. Before the days of reliable long- distance telephone communications, it was this company which served through its telegraph and telegram home delivery system nationwide to connect businesses and families, the latter usually in times of emergencies or to impart special news. Its 20 foot frontage and 25' depth was later absorbed by the Rhone Feed Store.

J.W. Rhone's feed and seed store is the predecessor to Jackson's. Coming from Winnsboro, TX, James Rhone was a pillar in the successful establishment of the (First) Christian Church here. About the time the photo is taken he will be serving as a City Commissioner for a two year term. Sharp readers will notice that the Rhone building has but a single story. It is only after a 1948 or so fire in the premise that the now existing second story was added. In 1937, twelve years after selling his business here, Rhone will own and operate Rhone's Man's Store in Raymondville. This is after he tried his hand at a men's clothing store in Wichita, KS. Rhone, owner of considerable property, was badly hurt by the 1930s depression. This Floresville, TX native is to die in 1975 survived by a son, Louis.

It is in 1925 that Fred G. Jackson takes up Rhone's seed and feed business at 119 N. Commerce and in 1926 sets up Jackson Wholesale Grocery Co. at 101 E. Polk. He is a native of Delta County, TX, has attended E. Texas Normal School College in Commerce, was for a time bookkeeper for an oil mill, a cashier at a bank in Enloe, and manager of the Security State Bank of Cooper, TX before coming here. For a time Jackson's son William Harold Jackson, Sr. is store manager. Later F.G. will bring Harold's twin bother Darold into the operations then daughter Freddie, but daughter Mary Frances apparently has other interests. Still later Jackson will give all the corporate stock to William (still alive in 4/04 at age 90 and living in Plano, TX), his twin, and daughter Freddie Jackson McEver. In 2002 they were to sell it to a syndicated real estate group. Mr. Jackson's wife Myrtle will die on 7/29/77 at age 84, and he will outlive her by a decade, dying at age 95 on 2/10/87. The original Rhone store had a 30' frontage and 94' depth. Behind the store was a 50' by 25' sheet metal building where Rhone's employees put together tomato crates. At the time tomatoes were shipped red ripe in four-basket flat crates made by the Cummer Graham Co. of Paris, TX. Each tomato was hand-wrapped in special tomato paper tissue.

Next in line is the Lockridge Millinery Store. Millinery is an old word meaning women's headwear, hats and notions. This store was short-lived and had disappeared by 1930. Before this 75" section was absorbed by Jackson, it had a Chrysler agency for a time.

Adjacent to it one can barely make out Edelstein's Furniture Store. What gives it away is the familiar logo and font of its sign. The style of the logo has remained unchanged for over 75 years. By 1930 Edelstein's will have moved to 217 W. Jackson and still later to larger quarters across the street at 230 W. Jackson. Over time Jackson's store will grow and encompass the old Western Union premise along with the Lockridge and the Edelstein ones to the north.

Last in line in the photo is the R. Fulton Jones Warehouse. It was in 1920 that Fulton Jones came to town. His first business is delivering ice. Two years later he starts the Fulton Jones Moving and Storage Co. when he purchases a truck with solid rubber wheels. He soon will needed larger facilities so moves to one in the 1000 block of West Harrison. He may have constructed it in 1926 but in any case is there by 1930. Allen Trucking then occupies the old building. Jones' drayage business becomes Valley-wide, and he uses the names Jones Motor Freight lines and Jones Transfer and Storage Co. for his businesses. As the Harlingen area becomes more congested and additional space is required, the now Jones Moving and Storage Co. builds a warehouse facility at 2404 Wilson Road. Living at 320 Pecan, McAllen in his later years, he dies at age 65 on 12/16/62 leaving his wife Ottie and brother George of McAllen. This Church of Christ member left no children.

Between Edelstein's and the next building a barely discernable object is what looks like a Texas Company (later to be Texaco) gas pump with its star logo atop in the lighted portion. Whether this serves the public or is for use by the Jones Company only is not known.

Beyond the photo's lens was the Crown Willmont Paper Co. with its brick structure having 150' of frontage. To its north lay Winkler's Harlingen Bottling Company.

It is obvious that this short stretch of North Commerce Street encompasses a great deal of Harlingen history. We can be thankful to Runyon for recording it for posterity.

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Lozano Building Holds Many Memories and Stories
Norman Rozeff

When in the early morning hours of July 11, 2004, the Santos Lozano Building at 117-119 West Jackson Street, Harlingen was engulfed in flames, the structure would burn spectacularly, perhaps fittingly for its proud heritage. Its aged timbers and flooring were not readily consumed but for hours fought against the efforts of firefighters to extinguish them. The gap created by the burned-out structure was made more ghostly when scorched exterior walls still retained their stateliness. Not only was a physical gap created by the building's destruction but a spiritual one as well.

Santos Lozano had come from Alice to Harlingen in 1905. In early 1906 he was to buy the second commercial lots on Main (Jackson) Street. The first lots in the townsite platted by Lon C. Hill had been purchased by Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Weller, who, in early 1906, had come up from Brownsville with their daughters. While Weller was to do exceedingly well for a time with saloons around town, Santos had more conservative ideas. In early 1906 he builds a small frame structure for a general store with living quarters upstairs. This building was removed in early 1915 and the brick, two-story, S. Lozano Building was erected. Its bricks came from Monterrey, Mexico.

Santos V. Lozano was born in Ejidos San Nicolas de los Garzas (now part of Monterrey), Nuevo Leon State, Mexico in 1863. His parents, Felipe and Otta Gracia Lozano had immigrated to Texas during the Mexican-French War and ended up in Collins, TX when Santos was two years old. In Alice, Santos would eventually operate a mercantile store for fourteen years before making his way to Harlingen. After the death of his first wife, Micaela Beasly, he would marry Tomasa Cantu. His oldest son J.B. Lozano was born in Alice 4/12/92, educated at public schools, and, in 1909, became a merchant with his father in Lozano and Son. J.B. was to marry Herlinda Hinojosa 5/12/12. His younger brother, S.V. Lozano was born in Alice on 7/27/94, and also educated in public schools. When he entered the business the store was called S. Lozano and Son Dry Goods Store. He came to Harlingen at age 11 and was to serve in WWI in a medical detachment. He later was an American Legion member and was in the Woodsman of the World. Both brothers were proud of their Irish-Mexican heritage. In the 1920s the Lozanos had placed store branches in La Feria, Donna, and Raymondville. Another Santos son, Don Guillermo Lozano, would open the first meat market west of the railroad. The family patriarch, Santos, would die at the ripe old age of 90.

The family and the building have many interesting tales to tell. It was in 1903 that the children of La Providencia Ranch hands were taught by Miss Margarita Villareal (later she becomes Mrs. G. M. (Willie) Lozano. Their son G. M. Lozano, Jr. will marry another early arrival to the Harlingen scene. This is Ida Priestly, who arrived here in 1922, as her father with ancestors from Clarksville, TX takes up tenant farming in the Rangerville area. In 2002 she is to celebrate her 86th birthday.) Having been graduated after eleven years of schooling in Brownsville, Margarita is qualified to teach. Instruction is in English. Later the school moves into the second floor of the Lozano Building. This serves some of the Hispanic children until the school district builds a facility for them.

It is in late 1910 that Santos, who is a registered voter, signs a petition which will allow Harlingen, now with a population of 1,126 individuals, to form a commission form of government and officially become a city.

In the Bandit Era centering around 1915, a strange set of circumstances occurs. The story is this. In 1874 Donna Benigna Hodges' first husband, Morgan Barclay buys the first of two tracts from the Matamoros heirs of Jose Narciso Carvazos. He is licensed by Cameron County Commissioners to operate the ferry at Paso Real. When her second husband, Mr. Hodges, dies she maintains the ferry until the coming of the railroad in 1904 ends stagecoach travel. Years later, bed-ridden in her home above the Paso Real crossing she appeals to Santos Lozano to care for her after two ranch hands are killed by bandits. The Lozanos take her to Harlingen and care for her. Having no heirs she wills her ranch to Micaela Lozano. Thus the mercantile Lozano family also becomes ranchers.

Four years after the construction of the Lozano Building, a city ordinance to ban the construction of wooden buildings in the downtown section passes, and the council moves to eliminate existing fire hazard structures. In May of this same year, 1919, Harlingen has a smallpox outbreak. Dr. Letzerich vaccinates many, but Mrs. Santos Lozano, who helps to nurse others, dies of the disease.

Harlingen "white way" is completed in late July 1921. Electric lights on ornamental poles line Main (Jackson) Street. On 8/27/21, Ku Klux Klansman, 104 strong, march down Main Street after citizens celebrate the electric street lighting inauguration with a block party. Masked and in full regalia they carry sign warning bootleggers to go and promoting "White Supremacy." On 8/31 John Myrick (father of Mrs. Jack [Elizabeth] Garrett), J. F. Seago, and T. Kingston lead an ad hoc meeting of 150 individuals in Lozano Hall. In two resolutions the body condemns the KKK as well as vice, and, importantly, supports the constituted form of government in enforcing the laws.

1920-26 Chaperonned dances take place in Lozano Hall to the music of a record player.

Not only is prohibition enforced but so are the "blue laws" wherein retail firms are suppose to be closed on Sundays. The hall serves as the gathering place for special events, and orchestras are even imported from San Antonio.

By 1930 the Lozanos close their Jackson Street business and lease it to C. E. Stone Company, which calls itself a department store. During one of its many renovations the etched sign atop the façade facing Jackson Street, S. Lozano & Son -1915, is plastered over and "Pioneer's Building" takes its place along both the Jackson Street and A Street facades. Numerous businesses are to occupy the premise over the years before Kattan's Western Wear purchased the building in 1998.

In 1970 perhaps it is fitting that a Lozano descendent, Sam Lozano, becomes mayor, for it was his pioneer ancestors who helped develop Harlingen prior to and after 1910. He was born here, is a graduate of St. Mary's University, has been a visiting teacher (truant officer) in Harlingen junior and senior high schools, and will become principal of Coakley Junior High School. He is both the first Hispanic elected to this office and the first native-born Harlingenite to fill the position.

It was in 1980 that the Santos Lozano Building, in later years better known as the Pioneer's Building, was awarded a marker designating it a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. The structure was said to have been constructed of bricks brought from Monterrey, Mexico. The text of the marker reads: Built in 1915, this commercial structure is the oldest existing brick building in Harlingen. It was designed and constructed by Baltazar Torres of Brownsville for the mercantile business of Santos Lozano. It also served as a community center, providing upstairs space for bilingual school classes and special events. A post office was included on the ground floor. Continuously owned by the Lozano descendants, the structure has housed various businesses.

Stephen Fox of Houston, who has an interest in architecture, added the following information:

VMS (7/15/04) Lozano Building Article Feedback

James Matz and others called to bring attention to the fact that the Texas Historic Landmark for the Santos Lozano Building was in error when it states "Built in 1915, this commercial structure is the oldest existing brick building in Harlingen." Matz notes that the Matz Building has an even older history. Its origins trace back to 5/14/10 when the School Board of Trustees considers a bond election. On 7/8/10 the issue is set for $40,000, payable in 40 years at 4% interest in order to construct, equip, and purchase the sites for two brick schools. Forty-six voters (51 in another account) out of the population of 1,126 participate on 11/9/10. All vote in favor. L.S. Green of Green and Briscoe, Architects, Houston is selected for the "Main School" to serve grades 1 through 11. There was no twelfth grade until the late 1930s. Abner W. Cunningham is instrumental in purchasing a whole city block between 5th and 6th Street along Main Street for the site of the school. It is purchased from Lon C. Hill for $3,500.

It is 4/25/11 when Andrew Goldammer is awarded a $25,000 contract to build a three story brick schoolhouse on the northwest corner of Main (Jackson) and 6th Streets. J.P. McDonald is to supervise its construction. Another source puts the low-bid contract at $22,800. Now called a $40,000 school, it is nearing completion by 10/26/11. The building is accepted 3/25/12.

The Central Ward School is occupied for student instruction on 4/1/12. E.W. Anglin, a school board member in 1911-12, recalls, "We gathered up all the classes scattered about town on April 1, 1912 and moved them all to the new brick building on Jackson Street. The next year was a rainy one and we had to build a board walk all the way from downtown to the school."

Robert Runyon , the famed Valley photographer takes numerous photographs of the impressive structure on a visit to Harlingen in 1912. First called the Central Ward School, it is, in 1936, renamed the Sam Houston School.

1921 Luz Ramirez, later to be Mrs. Bennie Leal of San Benito, is the first student of Mexican ethnic origin to be graduated from Harlingen High School. In 1922 Alfred Lozano, later to be Doctor Lozano, is the first Hispanic boy to be graduated. He was graduated from the University of Texas, Columbia University and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, then went on to study in France. While he practiced four years in Harlingen, he also spent time in Alabama and in Corpus Christi, where he died at the early age of 35 in 1939. He was responsible for converting the top floor of the Lozano Building into offices and instruction rooms for Harlingen's first business college.

What was to become the Matz building serves as a school from 1912 to 1950 then several years as a community center. Before a new separate high school is built in 1925, the school is taxed for room with Harlingen's increasing school population. Two wooden classroom buildings for early graders are constructed to the north of the brick edifice. They are later moved south of the Alamo School on F Street when it too requires more classrooms. In 1952, with its name by now changed to Sam Houston School the Central Ward is purchased and renovated into an office complex named the E.O. Matz Building.

James Matz recalls working for his grandfather when much of the wooden interior was removed to reduce fire hazards. In chipping bricks for 10 cents a piece in order to reclaim them, he encountered some marked with Lon C. Hill's kiln identification. This was a bar K (K), the same as Hill used as his cattle brand. Hill's brick kiln operations were semi-commercial in that he used much of the production for his own use. The kiln and clay source were adjacent to the Arroyo Colorado, likely where the Harlingen Thicket now exists.

Runyon's 1912 photos, some taken from the high 50,000 gallon steel water tower built in mid-1912, also show the brick building occupied by the Letzerichs. It is at the northeast corner of Commerce and Jackson and now currently occupied by an antique store. In its early days it served as an office for Dr. Caspar W. Letzerich, the Harlingen Pharmacy operated by his brother Hugo L., and a dentist, who was ensconced upstairs. Some sources attribute its construction, as early as 1909, to E. H. Waterwall, who built the Verser House as well as other early Harlingen buildings. Photos labeled the year 1910 already show this building in existence.

While the legend which was on the Lozano Building may not be entirely correct the structure deserved a marker because of its importance in Harlingen history. Readers are directed to a chapter on Santos Lozano and his brothers in "Rio Grande Roundup: Story of Texas Tropical Borderland (pp.167-174). The article is authored by Minnie Gilbert, and the book is to be found in the Harlingen Library. It includes a description of and an historic photograph of the building.

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Sad End to Railroad Depot
Norman Rozeff

The response by Roberta Lee to the VMS picture (10/28/04) of soldiers boarding a train in Harlingen filled a gap in the city's history. The Robert Runyon photograph was likely taken in 1916-17, a period when regular army and state national guard units were stationed in the Valley and Harlingen to quell border cross-border disturbances. Those in Harlingen included personnel of the 6th U.S. Cavalry; the 26th Infantry with its Companies A, D, F, G, J, and L together with a band, Field Hospital #5 and Ambulance Company #5; the 3rd Texas Infantry of the Texas National Guard with its Companies C, E, F, and H plus Field Hospital # 1.

Mrs. Lee notes that in 1979 she purchased the wooden building in the background of the picture. She tells us it was the yard office of the railroad, initially the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway then later its parent company, the Missouri Pacific System. With the information available to her at the time, she is correct in making that connection. Two Robert Runyon photos taken around 1909, however, reveal the building was initially the Harlingen Depot.

In mid-1904 when the railroad first arrived, it used a boxcar as its first station. Perhaps in the latter part of this year or in 1905 the more elaborate wooden building was erected between the tracks going north and south. The photograph indicates that the building had a brick chimney likely to exhaust smoke from a wood–burning stove needed to warm the waiting room on cold winter days. A metal filigree ornament decorates the peak of the roof and is one of the few artistic architectural elements on this utilitarian structure. A ten foot tall pole topped by a light is on the south side platform to illuminate it at night. Next to the two steps leading to the platform is a small handcart to move luggage. A ladder resting on a dormer leads to the base of a semaphore signal used to communicate with the locomotive engineers. The uppermost sign on the building designates the station as "Harlingen". The eye-level sign between the windows appears to provide the time schedules for passenger trains. On the building's west side is a telegraph/telephone pole.

By the time Runyon took his two 1916 photographs of embarking soldiers some minor changes had been made in the building. The light fixture on the platform had been removed and the semaphore signal has been relocated to a taller pole alongside the building. In the background is seen the two-story wooden Ogan Hotel with its verandas. With their three children Ben Franklin and Cora L. Ogan had come to Raymondville from Sedalia, Missouri to manage the railroad hotel there. In 1908 C.S. Moore had purchased the railroad's hotel in Harlingen. This year the Ogans moved to town to manage this hotel, which would become to be known as the Mooreland. That same year however they commenced to build the 22 room wood frame structure set back at 321 W. Jackson Street. It was razed in 1945. While Mr. Ogan had died in 1922, his widow not only still owned the hotel property in 1945 but also four adjacent lots.

Use of the wooden depot for passenger service was discontinued when a larger, handsome stucco covered depot was put up at Van Buren Street where no railroad track street crossing had yet to be constructed. This depot construction took place in the 1909 or early 1910. This is confirmed by the presence of the building in a Runyon photo but the absence of the city hall structure started in March 1910. The brick Lozano Building has also yet to be erected when the photo was taken. Various Runyon pictures of the new depot show it being landscaped and later when it is in use. The former depot was then put to use as a yard office.

Mrs. Lee moved the old yard office to a location on South Palm Drive 2.4 miles south of Business 83. Together with an old railroad passenger car and an old baggage/mail car, both set upon tracks, the complex was called Arroyo Express and served as a restaurant/gift shop. When arsonists, who had earlier burned out the two rail cars, then burned the depot building in August 2003, they destroyed what was likely Harlingen's oldest extant wooden building once used for commerce. This was a sad commentary for our community.

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Silk Stocking Row
Norman Rozeff
March 2004

It was in the period 1920 to 1939 that, as the professional people of Harlingen became more affluent, the city's first suburb develops just southeast of the business district. Substantial and beautiful houses are constructed on East Taylor Street along the so-called "silk stocking row." In general order of their appearance, these include: The pink-colored Southern Colonial brick with the steeply pitched roof is built by L.W. Hoskins in 1921 at 614 E. Taylor. It is the first house built on the street which was previously occupied by cotton fields. In 1926 the house was occupied by attorney Emory Polk Hornaway and his wife, who was principal of Austin School. He is at one point in the State house of Representatives, and his son Emery is state mascot for one year. A daughter would marry the famous magician, Harry Blackstone, Jr.

It is in 1925 that Miller Harwood arrives in Harlingen. He was born in Gonzales TX 12/18/87. He attended the U. of Virginia and UT, marrying Clair Leverton 11/24/09. He served as city treasurer, was Rotary Club president, and a member of the First Presbyterian Church. Together with L.W. Hoskins he will develop the East Taylor Street area.

In 1925 Dr. and Mrs. J.M. Green construct the two-story Colonial Revival house at 822 E. Taylor. They have been here two years. Born in Weimar, TX 11/19/87, he was educated at Northwestern U. in Chicago. He married Ruth Rylander 1/5/14. He is in investments and real estate. This Baptist is also a Rotarian, city commissioner of streets, and will have an office in the lobby of the Reese-Wil-Mond Hotel.

The Wyricks are by 1945 to own the 1925 Prairie style home on 822 E. Taylor. It was in 1923 that Otha Alton Wyrick, around 18 years old, arrives here. This native of Emerson, AK is to become a citrus grower and cotton farmer. Over the years he is deeply involved in civic endeavors including boy scouting, serving on boards, and with the Church of Christ. When he dies in April 1986 at age 81 he leaves his wife Anna Mote, son Michael of Harlingen, and two daughters.

The Italian villa style home built by W.T. Liston at 613 E. Taylor is for Oscar Nathan Joyner and his wife Anne Evelyn. The house was built in late 1925 and early 1926 for the Joyners who had come to Harlingen in 7/26/19 from Rosdale, TX. He became the first Valley agent for the Texas Co. (Texaco). This Presbyterian member was also a Mason and Shriner.The house was modeled on Boca Raton, FL homes designed by Addison Mizner, a famous architect of the day. The Joyner family owned it to the early 1980s when the new owner completely restored it. O.N. Joyner was born in Rockdale, TX 9/1/91 and attended high school there. He married Annie E. McCalla on 7/15/13. Training under C.W. Blackwell she is one of the first women in Texas to obtain an aviation license. Her husband purchases a plane for her.

At 902 is the 1926 Spanish Colonial Revival home of Mr. and Mrs. B. Manning Holland. He is the executive vice president of the Valley State Bank.

At 617 E. Taylor is the Georgian style 1927 home of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Johnson. He is vice president and cashier for the First National Bank of Harlingen but by 1937 he will have left his wife, who is a Spanish teacher, a widow.

The first Harlingen Ford automobile dealer Bob Hollingsworth and his wife own the 1927 Georgian brick mansion at 701 Taylor. It boasted Harlingen's first private swimming pool. In 1935 it was purchased by real estate developer Sid Berly and his wife. Berly is attracted to the Valley in the year 1920. He is a native of Mansfield, LA having been born there 8/23/96 to a father, C.J., who was a stockraiser. Berley was to marry Marion Elizabeth Walker of Lake Charles on 3/18/17. They had one daughter, who was given the same name as her mother. Although he studied law for two years he never completed his studies. Instead he became a representative for the Willys-Knight Motor Co. As president and general manager of Valley Properties, Inc. located in the Reese-Wil-Mond Hotel he becomes a potent factor in the development of both agricultural and city land in the Valley, especially around Harlingen. He serves as Chamber of Commerce president in 1946-47 and is a Rotary member. In 1952 he is president of Adams Garden.

Around 1928 William L. (Bill) Trammel moves into the English stone house at 1022. He was owner, president and general manager of the Valley Baking Company with its Rainbo brand and later was in top management with the Holsum Baking Company here.

At 618 Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins own their own two story timber frame Georgian style house which they build in 1929. In the 1940s the home is purchased by Mr. and Mrs. McHenry Tichenor. This radio pioneer is to go on to establish a huge radio-television empire founded on Spanish language programming.

At 717 E. Taylor Joseph and Fred Flynn own the 1929 Spanish stucco house until 1957. The latter, who is a principal in the Rio Grande Saving and Loan Company as well as in insurance, will go on to build a beautiful home in the newly developing Parkwood area.

At 917 E. Taylor John and Anne Morris live in their 1930 two story Spanish Colonial stucco house. It has solid wood-hewn beams in its living room. He is a produce buyer, packer, and shipper. It remained in the family until 1968. The house is now owned by Attorney Graham McCullough and his wife Anne.

In the early 30s Mr. and Mrs. Grafton Burdette live in a two story Southern Colonial frame home at 905 E. Taylor. He is a mortician and owner of Kriedler-Ashcraft Funeral home.

Under construction for R.L. and Ola Hill as the Hurricane of 1933 strikes is a Spanish Colonial Revival home at 1102 Taylor. It has notable architectural elements including arched doorways, and windows and a hand-carved front door. The panels of the mesquite door show brush as the explorers found it here, ranch scenes, brush clearing and the introduction of water, and citrus and palm trees. The Hills had come to town in 1928, he from Indiana and she from Oklahoma. He ran the ice plant partnership with Mr. Martin, and they have prosperous branches across the Valley. He is also to be a partner with H. E. Butt in constructing the huge food processing plant at F Street and West Jackson. Eleanor Roosevelt was entertained here as was Gov. W. Lee O'Daniel.

Added in 1933 or 34 is J.L. and Maude Teas' 602 E. Taylor Mexican hacienda style home. He is a salesman with the Washmon Motor Company.

It was in 1935 that the home at 721 was built by William E. Armstrong for Thomas Read Williams, Sr.and his wife Jimmie Davis Williams. It is a Georgian style frame house. Williams, who came here in 1925, was a pharmacist and opened the Rio Grande Pharmacy on the ground floor of the Baxter Building in 1929. He was the first pharmacist in Harlingen to possess a college degree, his from the University of North Carolina. The Williams' son Thomas Read Williams, Jr. became a well-known children's dentist in Harlingen while their daughter, Patricia Williams Speer, followed in her father's footsteps and for many years in Harlingen was a pharmacist.

At 702 E. Taylor, J. Louis and Maude Boggus construct a Southern Colonial frame house for $9,000 in 1939. Boggus had come to the Valley in 1917. Here he owned and operated Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealerships, was president of the Chamber of Commerce, and promoted highways and schools. The city's largest stadium, east of Memorial Middle School, is named in his honor. The house was sold in the late 1940s. Forrest Runnels, one of the founders of Tropical Savings and Loan Co. and the Valley Beverage Co. is later to own it.

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Soldiers Stationed in Harlingen, 1915-1916, and Some of Their Actions

Norman Rozeff

In contending with non-conformist combatants in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. Military is in confrontations paralleling those the military faced in the Rio Grande Valley in the second decade of the 20th century. In that period those contending went by numerous names and acted for various ideologies.  Some were poorly-regulated militia involved in the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920).  Others were seditionists (Sediciosos) fomenting a rebellion with the goal of creating a new republic north of the U.S.–Mexico border. Still others were local residents, primarily ranchers, trying to protect themselves and their properties from loosely-controlled Texas Rangers, unscrupulous Valley lawmen, and others involved in vigilantism. Still more were simply thieves, robbers, and brigands. 

When on October 19, 1915 the U.S. government under President Woodrow Wilson officially recognized Carranza as the head of Mexico it believed cross-border disturbances would cease. They didn't.  Fortunately Gen. Frederick W. Funston, upon request, had in early August begun to receive sufficient military help to supplement his 300 troops at Fort Brown. Soon Funston dispersed 14,000 troops along the South Texas border. Additional National Guard units from various states would supplement these soldiers.

Briefly here is some information concerning the troops in Harlingen:

4/14  By this date troops are already being stationed in Harlingen, since Texas Governor Oscar Branch Colquitt has sent national guard units to the Valley to ease border tensions which have escalated. 

1/19/15  With the area still fairly quiet servicemen were able to arrange for an inter-service football match.  The 12^th Cavalry at Harlingen played the Coast Artillery contingent from Brownsville to a 13:13 tie. Lt. Burwell was the Harlingen's team captain and quarterback. He played well as did W. Largent and lineman Gee.

5/18/16  It is reported in the newspapers that Brig. Gen. James Parker is to establish his headquarters in Brownsville.  He is to command the three regiments of Texas militia being sent to the Valley.  Two of these regiments will remain in the lower Valley.

1915-17  Soldiers of the 6th U.S. Cavalry, 26th Infantry, and the  3rd Texas National Guard are stationed in Harlingen as part of efforts to quell border unrest. They even have several field hospitals for the minimum of 12 companies involved here. The muster of Texas National Guard officers (158) and enlisted men (3,572) had begun on May 16, 1916 after which they were mobilized at Fort Wilson near San Antonio.  It is now Fort Sam Houston.  Second and Third Regiments of Infantry and Field Hospital were stationed all along the lower Rio Grande Valley from Harlingen to Roma. On 8/3/16 on the orders of Major A.R. Sholars, Companies K and L of the Third Texas Infantry are moved by truck from San Benito into Harlingen as the first step in consolidating all Texas troops into Harlingen.  On August 6 the City Council orders a committee of three to consult with Texas State Adjutant General Hulen for plans of cooperation between the general and the City Council and the City Health Officer regarding the camp site. [Brigadier General John Augustus Hulen was later to organize and command the 36th Division in World War I. His profession was a railroad executive, but since joining the Third Texas Volunteer Infantry as a private in1887 he had frequently been called back to active duty.  He held the position of adjutant general from 1902 until his retirement in 1907.  He was recalled in 1916 as commander of the Sixth Separate Brigade.] This month the city appoints a City Health Officer to overlook the soldiers.  The city provides the camp with free water and lights.

The Sixth Cavalry Camp site covered what would now be several city blocks.  It approximately encompassed the area between 3rd and 4th Streets and ran north to south between Jefferson Street at the edge of City Lake to Monroe Street. A goodly number of tents are lined up in orderly fashion. A large corral area bordered by what are now Madison and Monroe and 2nd and 3rd Streets serves to pen the horses. 

One Robert Runyon photo is labeled "The Twelfth Cavalry Camp."  It shows a modest number of tents adjacent to and on the west side of the rail tracks between where Adams and Washington Streets meet Commerce. This may have been only a temporary bivouac for this unit.

South Texas Lumber Company account records of early 1916-17 provide a record of some of the units stationed in Harlingen.  These include Companies A, D, F, G, J, and L of the 26th Infantry and Companies C, E, F, and H of the 3rd Texas National Guard (and later K and L). These are supported by Field Hospital #5, Field Hospital #1 Texas National Guard, and Ambulance Company #5.  In addition to the 6th U. S. Cavalry, there is also the 26th Infantry Band.  The officers of the 26th Infantry have organized an Officers' Club.

In the greater Harlingen area, matters would be quite unsettled for a three month period in mid-1915.  The same held true for the remainder of the lower Valley.  Frank Cushman Pierce, in his Texas Last Frontier was, among others, to document a list of unlawful incidents. Those that were in the surrounds of Harlingen included the following:

It was 7/17/15 that a band of riders, previously reported in the vicinity of the north county line, killed Bernard Boley, a young man.  On 7/25/15 persons unknown set fire and burned a St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway railroad bridge just south of Sebastian.  On July 31, 1915 a bandit raid on the Los Indios Ranch had resulted in the death of one person, Joe Maria Benavides.  On August 3, 1915 rangers and deputy sheriffs attacked a ranch near Paso Real and, because they were alleged to be bandits, killed unarmed Desiderio Flores, and one son who came to his defense.  Returning the next day, the vengeful and errant lawmen killed a second son whom his eighteen year old sister, Josefina tried to hide. Two days later on 8/6, fourteen armed men robbed the Alexander Store in Sebastian, then at a nearby granary picked up A.L. Austin and his son Charlie.  They were taken to their house which was then robbed.  After assuring Mrs. Austin that her men would be safe, the robbers drove them away in a wagon manned by a young man named Elmer Millard. The Austins were then shot to death, but Millard was released. A day later Charles Jensen, a night watchman at the Lyford gin, is wounded by a band of Mexicans.

Caesar Kleburg, manager of the King Ranch, was becoming leery of the ranch being targeted despite its distance from the border. After a report of up to a party of 60 outlaws, later said to be led by Luis de la Rosa, being in the vicinity of the Las Norias station along the railroad line in the King Ranch, Adj. Gen. of Texas Henry Hutchings, State Ranger Captains J.M. Fox and Henry Ransom, other State Rangers, and Captain George J. Head were dispatched north from Brownsville in a special train to overtake them. The date was August 8, 1915. With their arms and ammunition D.P. Gay, Marcus Hinds and Joe Taylor, mounted Custom Inspectors, and Gordon Hill, Deputy Sheriff of Cameron County, boarded the next regular train headed north.  Eight U.S. Soldiers, who were stationed in Harlingen with the cavalry, were posted at the Las Norias division headquarters while the remainder of the first party took off toward Sauz Ranch in a search operation. At the ranch house were two Mexican cowboys, the Mexican ranch carpenter and his wife, the Negro ranch cook and his wife and two Mexican women. After their evening meal most of the defenders had positioned themselves behind the railroad embankment in anticipation of any bandits.  They were soon in a confrontation, for the bandits approached the premise unaware that it was manned. In this action 70 miles north of Brownsville, some of the bandits slipped into the house where one older woman was soon killed by the bandits after an angry confrontation.  Ranch foreman Frank Martin, an old ranger, was badly wounded in the 2 1/2 hour battle, but Lauro Cavazos, another ranch hand escaped injury. The ranch carpenter was shot through a lung and one of the soldiers, who had been wounded and taken out of action, was again shot, this time in a leg as he lay on a cot. Five attackers were killed in the firefight and later two others who were badly wounded were captured.  Unbeknownst to one another, both sides were running low on ammunition. The wounding of a bandit leader may also have dampened the morale of the attackers and precipitated their withdrawal. After midnight two dozen dismounted cavalrymen, several civilian officers, Sheriffs Vann and Baker, Lamar Gill, and Lon C. Hill arrived at the scene long after the action with the Sediciosos had concluded. Striking photos were taken the next day.  They showed mounted lawmen lauding it over the dead bodies of the bandits. The bodies were lassoed and appeared to be ready to be dragged to a burial site. Six more said to have died after crossing into Mexico. A later report put the number of bandits at 79.  They were well armed, some with 7mm Mousers, and had good ammunition.

After an army contingent of 16 was attacked on October 21, 1915 at Ojo de Agua near Mission, three killed and eight wounded, Major General Frederick Funston, Commanding General Southern Department, "asked for another regiment of infantry to be placed in Harlingen to act as a guard so that the size of each cavalry patrol could be increased.  The War Department complied by sending the 28th Infantry from Dallas.", this according to historian Charles Cumberland.

 2/19/15  Captain A.O.P. Anderson commanding Troop B of the 12^th Cavalry thanks Lon C. Hill for suggesting willow poles for erection of a corral and then permitting the cutting of them from his property.

On 6/30/16 army engineers of the 2^nd Division of the US Engineer Corps sent from Washington DC arrived in Harlingen together with a trainload of pontoons. These could be used to forge the Rio Grande should a large military expedition force cross into Mexico.

Although major actions tapered off, incidents still took place into September.  It was 9/2 when a raider band clashed with cavalry near Harlingen. On 9/10 residents near Lyford were attacked but repulsed the raiders, killing two of them.  On 9/13 just before daybreak, the Galveston Ranch southwest of Harlingen was surrounded.  Nine sleeping soldiers were fired upon.  In the skirmish Pvt. Anthony Kraft of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry was killed and two other soldiers wounded, but the attackers were driven off.  Later that day the soldiers apprehended five Mexican ethnics living at the ranch and arrested them.  They were taken to San Benito and turned over to the deputy sheriff who jailed them.  That night at about 9:30 pm the deputy sheriffs took three of the prisoners and started out on the road to Harlingen.  The next morning the three Mexicans were found dead, having been summarily executed.  The encompassing word for this is "lynched". At the end of the month on 9/28 a woman living near Harlingen was attacked by two and wounded in her forearm.

As time passed, the individuals responsible for the disturbances were greatly outnumbered by U. S. soldiers, therefore no set battles were instigated by raiding forces, which could range in size up to 60 to 80 men. The Federal military frowned upon vigilantism and eventually brought a semblance of order and moderation to the chaotic situation.

Historian Benjamin Heber Johnson tells us in his Revolution in Texas".  "Although the identities of most raiders were usually completely unknown, army officers sometimes suspected former Sediciosos.  This was the case in a December 1917 incident, when a cavalry unit near Harlingen shot at five men attempting to cross the Rio Grande.  They killed one of the men who, an officer stated, 'may be one Mariano Casarez, wanted by civil authorities for charges of banditry…connected with de la Rosa and Pizaña in their raids of 1915.' "

One of the major area losses said to be perpetrated by bandits was that of Lon C. Hill's sugar mill.  Located in what is now Lon C. Hill Park and the present site of the baseball stadium, the uninsured wooden-clad mill and adjacent warehouse were burned to the ground on July 17, 1917. It had cost at least $125,000 to erect in 1911.

The 26th U.S. Infantry was under the command of Col. R.L. Bullard.  The 3rd U.S. Cavalry was under the command of Col. A. P. Blocksom who had been commanding officer of the LRGV from June 1914.  By the end of July 1916 the 2nd Texas Infantry in Harlingen was under the command of Col. B. F. Delameter and the 3rd Texas Infantry in Harlingen under Col. George P. Rains. One early AZO photo postcard shows a crude wooden structure about 16' by 12'. This appears to be the quarters for officers.  Next to it is a tent of similar size with a fly to divert rain. In front of these is an open convertible car with an enlisted man driver.  Standing beside it, as the label indicates, is Col. Gaston, 6th Cav., Harlingen, Tex. He is not otherwise noted in any records found to-date.

Accounts with the South Texas Lumber Company indicate the names of some of the soldiers stationed in Harlingen during the Border Trouble period.  These include:

Major A.R. Sholars                                          Lieutenant Purcell

Major J.G. Jenning                                           Lieutenant J.L. Redmond

Captain O.P. Storm of Dallas                           Lieutenant W.R. Wheeler

Captain John B. Chambers                               Lieutenant Malony

Captain W. B. Breedlove                                  Sergeant Furman

Captain B. Compton                                         Sergeant Vincent

Captain Everett Hughes                                    Sergeant G.M. Roper

When the U.S. began to prepare for its entrance into the Great War (World War II) troops stationed in the Valley began to be withdrawn.  This accelerated when the country joined the war in April 1917.  Even so the border remained in an unsettled state of fear and suspicion.

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Summary History of the Harlingen Army Airfield and Harlingen Air Force Base

With the depressed U. S. economy still lingering into the late 1930s, the city fathers of Harlingen, Texas sought to attract federal funds to the area in 1938.

By 1940, and with war on the horizon in 1941, defense concerns escalated. On May 3, 1941 the War Department then accepted Harlingen’s invitation to establish a military airfield on the 960 acres being offered. The following month the lease was approved, and authorization was made for construction of a flexible gunnery school at the field. The initial allocation for the project was $3,770,295. The facility would reach nearly 1,600 acres in size by 1944.

The facility eventually accommodated 6,500 trainees, and at peak operation carried a maximum load of 9,000.

The Harlingen Army Gunnery School received its first assigned cadre in August 1941. Its primary mission, with an initial student load of 600, was that of training aerial gunnery students in a five week (extended to six weeks in 1943) training program. Thousands were trained until the school, one of three such types in the country, closed in 1945. During its existence, expansion of its facilities, such as barracks and technical installations, regularly continued. Graduates served on B17s, B24s, B25s, and B29s among other aircraft. In the 3 ½ years it operated the school trained over 48,000 airmen.

Upon the closure of the field in February 1946 numerous surplus buildings were sold and then transported to other parts of the Valley to be put to good use by civilians.

The initiation of the Korean War in June 1950 brought new priorities to the military. By April 1, 1952 the field was re-activated to serve the U.S. Air Force. The primary mission of the now Harlingen Air Force Base was to train navigators. Course time was initially 28 weeks, later extended to 32 weeks, and finally in 1960 to 38 weeks for Aviation Cadets.

On 3/30/61 it was announced that the Base with its 245 buildings would be closed and phased out by the end of 1962. By the time of the last graduating class in June 1962, 13,355 students had been graduated by the Navigation School.

The impact of the military installations on Harlingen’s economy is told by the statistics. From a city with a population of 13,235 in 1941 it had grown to 41,000 by 1960. At this point the Base had 2,300 military personnel and 801 civilian employees. The payroll was approximately $25 million a year, and a total expenditure of $15 million more being made in the lower Rio Grande Valley.

The loss of the Base severely impacted Harlingen. By 1972 its population had dipped to 33,603. The sale of 1,400 houses in 1963 depressed the real estate market for years to follow. It took a period of years before the former Base’s facilities were fully utilized by an industrial air park, Valley International Airport, Texas State Technical Institute, the Marine Military Academy, and other uses.

In a little over 14 combined years that the military facilities were in operation, they were a source of pride and joy to the city of Harlingen. The interaction between the military and the citizens of the area was one of mutual admiration and regard. All deserve to be remembered.

Norman Rozeff, Harlingen Historical Preservation Society, January 2003

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The Art of Naming Streets
Norman Rozeff

With Harlingen rapidly growing in every direction, subdivision and city officials are challenged to come up with names for streets, avenues, drives, boulevards, circles, lanes, and roads. When the new 1910 Harlingen township was relatively compact, a systematic plan for naming could be instituted. The very first street was in essence a trail. This was the three mile long sendero which Lon C. Hill had cut to access his lands. It ran from what is now Loop 499 to what is currently the Valley Vista Mall. This east-west thoroughfare became Harrison Avenue and has remained one of the city's main arteries.

When the edge of town ended just north of City Lake, the east-west streets commenced there and continued to the south. The choice of names was easy. The city fathers began with U.S. presidents in their order of taking office. Washington was first, of course, and in time the list reached the name of Calvin Coolidge before the Arroyo Colorado intervened. A few presidents were short-changed. John Adams and John Quincy Adams had to share one avenue as did William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison, and Theodore and Franklin Delano as well. The sometimes controversial Rutherford B. Hayes receives shortshrift here. His name is misspelled as "Hays" on street signs as well as on street maps.

Politicians and those in public service always get their share of recognition. So it is that Texas governors Pat Neff, Sul Ross, and Jim Hogg have street names here as do former Harlingen mayors Woods ( this is a misspelling; it should be Wood for Mayor C. Worth Wood), Hode, Washmon, Kroeger, Botts, Roberts and Parker. The streets named for mayors are in northwestern Harlingen near Palm Valley.

In late 1922 or early 1923 E.C. Bennett, manager of utilities and in charge of city equipment including that for fire fighting, authorized street name changes. East of the intersection of Harrison and Commerce the north-south streets were assigned consecutive numbers and west of this intersection alphabet letters in order from "A". At this time existing street names were lost. These were Mexico Street which became F Street and moving east Matamoros, Hidalgo, Winchell, Bell, Hill, Fordyce, Brookings, Van Arsdale, Beggs, Vanderbilt, Bennett, Whitaker (7th), Bryan (9th) and Regin (10th). Bell was named after Dr.S. H. Bell, who was Hill's best friend. Fordyce, Brookings, and Whitaker were backers of the Valley railroads. Brookings went on to fame for his philantropy and the founding of the Brookings Institute. Van Arsdale was another railroad man though with no known Valley connections. Vanderbilt was William K. Vanderbilt, an eastern capitalist who visited the Valley and whom Lon. C. Hill may have been trying to entice to invest here. He was the second son of Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt, the shipping and railroad tycoon. William occupied a famous mansion in Newport, RI and was the father of the famed beauty, Consuelo. Bryan was possible William Jennings Bryan, a friend of Lon C. Hill, several time presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket, and whom Hill had interested in buying land near Mission. The connections for the other names, other than Bennett, are not known. The correct numbering of houses was also accomplished thereby paving the way for home delivery of mail.

Lettered streets now extend west to V Street. It is doubtful that anyone would want to live on "X" Street should it come into being. The numbered streets would eventually move from the city boundary at 13th Street east now to 32nd Street, however 18, 20, 22, 30, and 31 are non-existing. One day when farm land is subdivided they may come into existence.

When John McKelvey laid out his Laurel Park Subdivision in the early 1950s it was one of the first indications of expanded growth. Streets in this area were named after native trees and shrubs such as cenizo, lantana, ebony, mesquite, and elm(wood). Out-of-state tree names were used in the subdivision north of Pendleton Park and also in Treasure Hills.

The Citrus Terrace-WhiteHouse Circle Subdivision selected names of Texas patriots such as Austin, Crockett, and Bowie, then resorted to women's names, often those related to the developer. The latter was also favored in other subdivisions. Fannin, Travis, Lamar, and Sam Houston are other Texas patriots recognized by street names elsewhere in the city.

When the area south of Expressway 77/83 and around Rangerville Road belatedly came into being, the names assigned were those of states and in alphabetical order west to east. Some states were favored; other omitted. When Ed Carey was reached the thought was to rename it Pennsylvania, but history and public opinion overrode this change.

It was in 1919 that Wiley Edgar and Adella Carey had arrived in Harlingen with their 20 year old son James Edmond (Ed) Carey. The following year Ed returned to Throckmorton, TX to marry and bring his bride, Monterey McCay, to Harlingen. He then builds and furnishes for her a two story California style house where Ed Carey Drive now meets Expressway 77/83. He plants 200 acres of citrus in the area and later also grows cotton and vegetables. His first attempt to operate a service station located at North Commerce near the old jail ends in failure. Later however he will successfully own and operate two or three service stations around Harlingen. This First Baptist Church member will support the Boy Scouts and be very active with the Kiwanis Club. His strong faith will encourage his young brother-in-law, L.B. McCay to take up the ministry. He and Monterey have two children, Isla Lou (later Mrs. Wallace C. Athey) and son James Edmond Carey, Jr. After recovering miraculously from a cerebral hemorrhage and semi-paralysis in 1950, Ed, a native of Caddo, TX, will die in late November 1951 at age 52. When the expressway is constructed in the 1950s, the Carey homestead is demolished. Mrs. Carey then builds a smaller residence on her property to the south. She will die in 1978.

Similar to Ed Carey, every street name has a history or story to tell but many have been lost over time. Markowsky is near where the family of that name once farmed. Despite its Polish-sounding name, the family is of German ethnicity. Matz Avenue is named for that family. They lived on the west end where the street intersects with Business 77. When the latter was widened in the early 50s, the Matz home had to be moved several lots east. Morgan Blvd. is named for Col. John R. Morgan. He was the first base commander at the Harlingen Army Airfield and later retired in Harlingen. The construction of the boulevard greatly shortened the travel time from downtown to the base. Dilworth Road is named after the R.S. Dilworth Ranch which existed across the Arroyo Colorado at the very south end of the present road. Mr. Dilworth was ranching here by 1908.

Other streets in Harlingen and the vicinity were named after prominent business people and others of accomplishment. These include Pittman, Davis, Flynn, Ferree, Lozano, Baker-Potts, Brazil, Garrett, Pendleton, (Dr. Pierre) Wilson, Rodgers, Simmons, and Stuart. Grimes may be named after J.R. Grimes, who was vice-president of the Cameron County Water District in 1928 but may have been deceased by 1930.

The city will continue to expand, at least in three directions. As a result new street construction will offer opportunities for imaginative, creative naming.

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The Broadway Theatre League of Harlingen and Its Successors
Some brief historic notes compiled by Norman Rozeff, Harlingen Historical Preservation Society, May 2004.

6/21/59 The Broadway Theater League, a project of the Harlingen Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees), announces a season offering four productions in an effort to expose local audiences to exciting Broadway productions. Charles Feldman is co-chairman of the League. His family owns a chain of alcoholic beverage retail stores in the Valley. For the 1959-60 season apparently only two works, both serious, are booked. They are "Odd Man In" and "Dark Angel".

"The Andersonville Trials", another serious drama is presented on 11/7/60. This is followed by lighter fair as the season continues. First, on 12/15/60, comes the musical "Fiorello" about the colorful New York City mayor, Fiorello Laguardia. On 2/2/61 "The Pleasure of His Company" is put on, and this is followed on 3/15/61 by "Once Upon a Mattress." Season tickets range in price from $8.00 to $17.00, depending upon the attractiveness of seating.

"Thurbers Carnival", light-hearted fare, is presented on 4/7/62. The following season sees "The Sound of Music" being performed on 1/28/63. This followed a special presentation by the radio commentator and raconteur, Paul Harvey. This took place 9/12/62 at the Casa de Sol.

In the 1963-64 season, the very popular musical "Camelot" is staged at a cost of $16,000.

On 6/19/04 Henry Guettel Productions of New York confirmed the English musical "Oliver" for 1/8/65. This production is based on Charles Dicken's "Oliver Twist." Jules Munshin took the lead role. The profits on Oliver were split with the first $3,500 going to the production company, the next $1,500 to the Jaycees, and the remainder being a 70-30 split between the producers and the Jaycees respectively.

An earlier production on 11/24/64 is to be "Never Too Late" starring Penny Singleton and Lyle Talbot. Miss Singleton is the Hollywood actress who, together with Arthur Lake, played in the movie series "Blondie" based on Cy Young's comic strip of the same name.

Tickets this season ranged from $2.00 to $5.95 for individual performances to $4.50 to $10.90 for both attractions.

The 1965-66 saw the comedy "The Odd Couple" being performed on 1/25/66. Later either "Luv" or "Generation" was presented. In 1966 the League began working with American Theatre Productions, Inc. of New York City.

On 4/21/66 saw the performance by Victor Borge, world-renowned Danish comedian and pianist. The Performing Arts, Inc. of New York, Chicago, and elsewhere book him from Dancia Enterprises, Inc. His act required a Steinway piano, which had to be rented from Bledsoe Music of Corpus Christi and transported to and from Harlingen. This instrument is valued at $7,355 and costs $100 to tune. Mr. Borge's fee was $3,000 against 65% of the total box office receipts less taxes. Potential gross was put at $10,100 for a potential seating of 2,026.

The endeavor has its ups and downs. By the 1980s the C of C takes over the handling of this enterprise with the production of "Chorus Line" being its first show. After the revamping of the Municipal Auditorium in the 1990s, the City Parks Dept. assumes responsibilities for the booking and scheduling of productions. These are expanded to encompass productions suitable for children in addition to those presented for an adult audience.

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The Butt House on East Taylor Street
Norman Rozeff
March 2004

In January a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark plaque was erected in front of the home at 718 East Taylor Street. It was authorized by the Texas State Historical Commission in 2000. The legend on the marker reads:

Howard E. and Mary Butt House

John D. Townsend, who had the house built, was an agent for the Kansas Life Insurance Co. The two story brick house originally had a blue tile roof and still retains Austrian glass chandeliers, ornate plaster moldings, a stained glass window, spiral entry columns, and parquet and oak floors. The Butts added the tennis courts on the west side.

Brief histories of both Howard and his wife Mary are worth recounting. He was born in Tennessee in 1895. His father was a pharmacist, who because he suffered from tuberculosis, moved the family to Kerrville where the climate was thought to be drier. Howard's mother, Florence, opened a small grocery store there in 1905 in order to support the family of five. By age sixteen Howard, the youngest of three boys, began to manage the store. He was a smart young man and was valedictorian of Tivy High School when he was graduated in 1914.

He gave himself the middle name Edward before enlisting in the U. S. Navy in World War I. Howard served in the years 1917-19 and for part of his service was an aide to the commandant of the Great Lakes Naval Station. Returning to Kerrville he joined his mother in managing the store which in 1921 he converted to cash and carry, then a risky venture when his competitors were still offering credit.

He attempted to expand into other towns and even into animal feed, but all his enterprises failed. His marriage to Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth of Kerrville in late 1924 appeared to change his luck. In 1926 he opened a successful store in Del Rio. Borrowing $38,000 he purchased three small stores in the Rio Grande Valley. By 1935 he began calling them the H. E. Butt Grocery Company but by then had already begun expanding, such as entering Corpus Christi in 1931. It was in 1946 that the stores began to carry the H.E.B. sign, later updating the logo to H-E-B.

In Harlingen he teamed with R. L. Hill, the ice manufacturer here, and together in 1928 they built the giant canning factory of several hundred thousand square feet. It still stands at Jackson and F Streets. This factory served the company well for it produced over 55 products and was especially valuable in the World War II food effort. It employed over 1,500 people during its peak periods. Van Snell, who served the city in numerous civic capacities, was cannery manager for decades.

As early as 1933, Mr. Butt who was a Mason and devout Baptist, established the H.E. Butt Foundation which helped pioneer philanthropic foundations in Texas. Together with his wife Mary, who had been born in Loma Vista, TX into a large family, they began projects that would address the health and educational needs of South Texas families.

They provided seed money for libraries, tennis courts, and swimming pools for smaller South Texas communities. Later he would serve on several college boards.

Mr. Butt assisted greatly in developing the new Valley Baptist Hospital, the Harlingen Public Library, boy scouting, in the establishment of the TB Hospital here, and donated the original building housing the RGV Museum. He died at age ninety-five on March 12,1991.

Mary Butt, when living in the Valley, worked vigorously to promote programs dealing with crippled children and child welfare as well as pushing tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment. She brought the first equipment to the Valley to evaluate hearing and vision for elementary school children. After moving to Corpus Christi she continued with numerous charitable and civic endeavors. Her work was recognized with honorary doctorate degrees and many awards. She died October 6, 1993 at age 90.

How did this and other beautiful Taylor Street houses come to be? Learn more next week about Silk Stocking Row.

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The City Parks of Harlingen, Texas
Norman Rozeff
Historical Resources Survey Committee
The Harlingen Historical Preservation Society
November 2002

Early in its history Harlingen’s founder, Lon C. Hill, who was also the president of the Lon C. Hill Town and Improvement Company, realized that it would be wise to donate land for churches and parks. He thereby set aside certain corner lots for this purpose. In the 1909 plat of the fledgling town there was set aside three city blocks for parks. These were Bowie Park between Jefferson and Madison and 2nd and 3d Streets, Plaza Porfirio Diaz between Harrison and Van Buren and D and E Streets, and Travis Park between Tyler and Polk and 6th and 7th Streets.

The first park was Bowie Park. This park was named for the Texas Revolution and the Battle of the Alamo hero, James (Jim) Bowie. Early settlers gathered there under the mesquite trees to exchange news. Later newcomers encamped in it as their temporary stopping place before finding more permanent quarters. The area of the park later shrank. It was announced on 10/15/26 that the park, which had a children's playground within it, was to get a small zoo also. First the southwest corner of the park was appropriated to construct the Woman’s Club building in 1927. This building contained the small public library. It was later added to in order to accommodate a more spacious one- room public library. Later a Girl Scouts frame clubhouse was constructed in the park’s southeast corner and then a Day Nursery. In the city’s effort to attract tourism a barracks-type building was erected in the park’s northwest corner for use primarily by "winter Texans". By early 1960 the number of tourists using the center was such that larger facilities were needed. The City Commissions in July 1960 voted to evict the Woman’s Club from the building it had used for over 30 years. The revamped structure, now called the Tourist Center, held an open house on 11/16/61. Still later its activities would utilize the Girl Scout building too. With great foresight the city moved to erect a major facility on the site. Architect Alan Y. Taniguchi of the firm of Taniguchi and Croft of Harlingen was awarded the design contract for what was to become the avant garde Casa del Sol. In April 1961 W. B. Uhlhorn Construction was selected as the low bidder at $91,290 for the building itself but with heating and cooling amenities plus housing for these components would raise the total to $134,368. The Casa del Sol (1961) was erected in the park’s southeast corner. It is a domed structure with a scalloped shaped roof of thin-shelled concrete. With its 120’ diameter it has a seating capacity of 1100 to 1200 people together with a catering-type kitchen. The Harlingen Chamber of Commerce held a naming contest for this new facility. The City Commission selected Mrs. Charles Binney’s Casa del Sol over two other favorites, Easterling Hall and El Rondondo. In attendance at the 2/62 dedication was the 85 piece Harlingen High School band led by Carl Seale and a standing-room only crowd. Mayor Fred L. Paschall, in presenting a certificate to the widow of Finis Easterling, noted that her deceased husband had been instrumental in securing the center when he served on the commission. The building was dedicated in his memory.

Later the Harlingen Community Center (1969) was constructed in the park’s southwest corner where the Woman’s club had stood for many years. This new building then became the nexus for winter Texan activities.

Today Bowie Park itself is but a small bowling green in the northeast corner of the block.

In 1926 the city’s first city hall, a small non-descript structure at the intersection of Commerce and Monroe Streets, was demolished. The small triangular area was cleared and transformed into a park-like state. This area, in existence to this day west of the Grimsell Seed store, was on 9/2/26 named in honor of Gordon Hill, a Harlingenite and the son of Lon C. Hill. Gordon, who worked for the betterment of the city while also serving it in various official capacities, had died in his early thirties during the influenza epidemic of 1918.

Lon C. Hill Park is an old park but has not always gone by this name. It was Fair Park for a long while and more recently Fiesta Park has at times been applied to it. It is a 73 acre facility on Fair Park Boulevard [which in itself was called Valley Fair Blvd.] and surrounds the Harlingen Municipal Auditorium built in 1928 to seat 2500 people. The city commission voted to rename Fair Park Lon C. Hill Park on November 8, 1949. The park was so dedicated 11/19/50 on the day it hosted the 23^rd annual Mid-Winter Valley Fair. Hill’s four daughters participated in the dedication after riding in the Pioneer Parade. They were Miss Paul Hill, Miss Annie Rooney Hill, and Mrs. M. V. Caul of Harlingen and Mrs. Izaak Hill Morrow of Brownsville.

At present this park contains a playground, covered picnic shelters, barbecue pits, two basketball courts, a volleyball area, and a hummingbird/butterfly garden where Lon C. Hill’s first home in Harlingen once was located before being moved in 1992 to the Rio Grande Valley Museum complex near the Valley International Airport. Originally the home was on the site of the Casa de Amistad but was later moved south across the boulevard. The Hill family called the whole surrounding area "The Plantation". It also has the Lon C. Hill Aquatic Center. The park grew in size in March 1983 when the city purchased, for the token amount of $10, the vacated cotton oil mill complex to the park’s east. The Rio Grande Oil Mill, Ltd. of Fort Worth, with Mr. C.C. Wisler president, had offered the16.44 gross acre property to the city in 1982. All but one of the complex’s nine structures were torn down by a contractor. The remaining 1958 high roofed warehouse, now the Oil Mill Athletic Pavilion was transformed into a roller blade hockey rink. To its north a remote-controlled car racing track with adjacent bleachers has been built. The complex’s scale house became the office of the Parks and Recreation Department. The park is the site of the immensely popular annual Rio Fest, a celebration of arts, crafts, history, and entertainment, held each April over a three day period.

Named after the city’s founder, the area was for many years the location of the Valley Mid-Winter Fair. This was a major Valley event concentrating mainly on agriculture. It existed from 1921 through the mid-50s. Forty five acres of the park were sold to the city by the Valley Fair Association for $80,000 in 1927. For years the American Legion operated the municipal swimming pool. Permanent amusement rides in the north part of the grounds afforded weekend excursion activities for both Harlingenites and other Valley people. This complex was called Fair Park and gave it name to the nearby thoroughfare. It was in fact built on part of the area which once contained the Hill Sugar Mill. This facility was burned to the ground by bandits from Mexico raiding the area in July 1917.

In 1960 the park had three tennis courts, a softball diamond, a mini golf course, kiddie rides, a city nursery, a small zoo, and the Optimist Club was operating the Boys Center. This latter would later evolve into The Boys and Girls Club. Also in existence at this time were the Exhibit Building, the Well-Baby Clinic, the Park Maintenance shops, and the State Welfare Office. It was in this year that a new swimming pool was built at 601 North L Street within the park. Park area would later be reduced by the erection of a Navy Reserve facility.

In 1950 the baseball stadium, then seating 3,500, was constructed after a $90,000 bond issue carried. It was the largest of that type facility in the Valley. It is officially carried on the city books as Cardinal Stadium, named after the Harlingen High School sports team mascot. The baseball team played home games in it.

Over the years it has seen a succession of professional baseball teams make it their home field. The first was in 1950 when 200 citizens raised $25,000 to form the Harlingen Baseball Club, Inc. in February of that year. The Class C club which played in the Rio Grande Valley League had 90,000 paid admissions that first season. In 1955 the team is known as the Harlingen Capitols. By February 1960 the Texas League established a franchise in Harlingen. The team, which was known as the Cameron County Giants, became the RGV Giants and commenced its schedule in April. At this time the press often referred to the field as Giant Stadium. As interest in baseball ebbed and flowed the local team ceased to exist. With a sudden announcement in early June 1961, the team’s owner, Jimmie Humphries says the team’s last game will be played here 6/9. Because of lagging ticket sales he has chosen to move the franchise to Victoria, a city which itself had lost a team in recent months.

In 1994 professional baseball returned to Harlingen with the inauguration of the Rio Grande Valley White Wings team of the Texas- Louisiana League. The city completed a $1.2 million renovation of the 50 year old stadium in May 2002. The stadium is currently referred to as Harlingen Field. At the end of 2002 it appeared that Harlingen would lose the franchise due to lagging attendence.

It was in 1966 that the first of many recreational vehicle rallies was organized and accommodated at Lon C. Hill Park. The Casa de Amistad within the park offered a suitable venue for activities of the participants. By the winter of 1971 eleven companies were operating in Harlingen to conduct recreational vehicle and trailer tours into Mexico. Partial hookup facilities were installed at the park to service the more than 10,000 RVs which would utilize the park in the years to follow.

On 9/20/97 The Performing Arts Theater opened at its location in the park’s southeast corner. This medium size theater is owned and operated by a non-profit corporation, but the land upon which it stands belongs to the city.

9/23/04 Groundbreaking occurs for the construction of a 15,000 square foot public skatepark. The location is part of the parking lot next to the Harlingen Boys and Girls Club at Fair Park. Later the remainder of the 77,000 square foot parking lot will be transformed into a sports complex. Recently the club received $300,000 in financial commitments from the Valley Baptist Health System and private donors according to Club Executive Director Gerald Gathright. The city committed $50,000 toward the project. Area skateboarders were thrilled by the development.

Travis Park is adjacent to the Travis Elementary School between Tyler and Polk Streets at 6^th Street. It is named after the Battle of the Alamo commander and hero William Barrett Travis. Initially donated by Lon C. Hill, its area was the city block between 5^th and 6^th Streets and Tyler and Polk. In 1950 the Lon C. Hill Memorial Library at a cost of $100,000 was built on the site. Its west side was beautified by the donation of the Marion Hendrick Smith Garden in the 1980s. When the new library was constructed on ‘76 Drive in 1993, the old library building was occupied by city departmental offices. Now the park has been reduced to a small landscaped area with one wooden playscape and a single picnic table

The George Gutierrez Jr. Veterans Memorial Park is one of the city’s oldest parks. It was originally named the Porfiro Diaz Plaza in honor of the President of Mexico, who served his country for 24 years starting in 1876. It was established in 1931 on land donated by Lon. C. Hill. This was done in deference to the Hispanic citizens of Harlingen who resided in the now La Placita district of west Harlingen. Unofficially it likely existed as a park before this date, for the 1/21/27 issue of the Harlingen Star tells us that Diaz Park is to get an ornamental pool with a bridge across it as well as flower beds around it.

The park along the 500 block of West Harrison between D and Eye Streets is just over two acres in size. It has picnic tables, cast iron benches, a playground and a bandstand.

In 1945 the Harlingen Mexican Chamber of Commerce took on the rundown park as a project. It provided shrubbery and benches and hired a caretaker to maintain the area.

In 1980 it was renamed to its current designation in honor of the Harlingen military helicopter pilot who heroically perished in Vietnam while on a mission. Gutierrez was a Harlingen High School football star and student body leader. After being graduated from Texas A & M University he entered the service. He was killed in action near Saigon on 8/24/65.

Along Harrison Street in the park is a stone commemorative tablet. This monument was erected in 1949 by the Charro Social Club. Engraved on it are these words: In Honor and Memorial of Our Comrades of the Harlingen District Who Paid the Supreme Sacrifice. World War II 1941 1945. Beneath this citation are 50 names in alphabetical order. Later a bronze plaque was affixed with an additional 44 names.

In September 1983 the city appropriated $68,000 to give the park a facelift including a major renovation of the bandstand.

With the reactivation of the Harlingen Air Force Base in 1952, the city’s population grew. This necessitated park growth in order to serve the community. As new subdivisions came into existence, pocket neighborhood parks were established both for beautification and neighborhood use. Among these were:

Revere Park which is located in the Laurel (also called Parkwood) Park subdivision. It is bounded by Revere Lane, from which it takes its name, and North Parkwood Street. The triangular shaped park is .54 acre in size. Its only amenity is a picnic table.

Windsor Park is at the intersection of South 77 Sunshine and Filmore Streets. Its original 1.9 acres dedicated in 1926 by the developers of the Windsor Park Addition subdivision has grown to about 2.1 useable acres at present. It was developed and improved in the 60s and 70s. It has parking for ten vehicles and contains two picnic tables under a canopy plus six concrete tables under the park’s numerous shady mesquite trees. It has two climb/slide playground sets, a spring seesaw, and swings.

Hunter Park is at the intersection of 3^rd Street and McGregor close to the Matz Extension Subdivision. It takes its name from the Hunter Subdivision which dedicated it to the city in 1952. In its one useable acre are two picnic tables under a canopy, two climb/slide playground sets and swings. The parking lot will accommodate ten vehicles.

One of the older city park facilities is the Tony Butler Golf Course. It is named for the long- time pro who managed the course for many years. Located at US Highway 77/83 and M Street, it is a 27-hole golf course with a full service pro shop since 1967, driving range and snack bar. This course was initially organized by mid-Valley citizens as the Arroyo Country Club. It was called the Harlingen Municipal Golf course when its 18 holes were constructed in 1929 and early 1930. The designer of the course was John Bredemus, a famous and renowned golf architect. The land acquisition cost $127,000 and the course construction $120,000.

A private organization, The Harlingen Country Club, was established in 1950. On a two acre site adjacent to the course its 350 members built a $125,000 clubhouse with a swimming pool. Through the efforts of organizer Lew Bray, Valley theater owner and citrus grower, the club initiated its "Life Begins at Forty" invitational golf tournament in 1953. This was played on the municipal course. Professional golfer tournaments with purses were also played on the course.

In 1967 the Harlingen Country Club burned down. Its members then decided to build a new private course and clubhouse on land to be vacated at Harvey Richards Field, now the community of Palm Valley. This municipal airport was to close, and the former Harlingen Air Force Base field was to become the city’s airport. The Life Begins at Forty tournament was then played at its new home for the first time in the spring of 1970.

In 1957 as Expressway 77 in west Harlingen was being widened in preparation for the new December 1960 bridge across the Arroyo Colorado, this necessitated the rearrangement of parts of the municipal course. The city airstrip, a leased setup at the south end of the course, was removed to make a home for new 7^th and 13^th fairways.

In 1973 nine additional holes were constructed at Tony Butler as increased winter tourism made the course one of the more popular and reasonably priced in the area.

In April 1961 Parks Director, James Ross, compiled a brief history of Harlingen’s Parks and Recreation history. He did so as part of a movement to show Harlingen was going to move forward as a community despite the announced closing of the important- to- its- economy Harlingen Air Force Base. A copy of that report is appended. What follows is supplemental material and history after Mr. Ross’s article.

The first two major parks developed in the city both come on line in 1974. Pendleton Park is one of two comprehensive park facilities, the other being Victor Park.

The former is named for Miller V. Pendleton, who was mayor of Harlingen during the Great War 1914-18. It is located at the 1600 block of North Morgan where it intersects with Grimes. The land itself once contained the cattle feed lot owned by J. B. Hodge. It, along with the Hugh Ramsey and Sam Botts park areas, were acquired in the 1952-56 period when Charles "Cut" Washmon was mayor.

Over the years Pendleton Park has evolved and changed to suit the needs of the community. In 1962 its then 37 acres had a lighted field each for Pony and Little League play, six lighted concrete tennis courts. It has a 25 yard covered and heated swimming pool used year round by the high school teams, the Harlingen Aquatic Team and senior citizens in recreation programs in addition to the community at large. The maintenance of the pool had been under the HCISD but in September 2004 was placed under the city parks. In addition it has seven Little League baseball diamonds (added in 1991), a small scenic pond, a sizeable picnic pavilion, and individual picnic area. Its lighted 18 tennis courts were upgraded in 1991 and put under the contract management of a tennis pro. The facility is called the H-E-B Tennis Center and has a pro shop.

The park presently comprises 47.5 acres. Adjacent to its southwest side is a ten acre vacant parcel which the city has been working to acquire by eminent domain but which has been tied up in court for years over the issue of fair market value.

Victor Park is located at the intersection of the 1600 block of South M Street and US Highway 77/83 Expressway. It has soccer fields, four lighted tennis courts, a 50 yard pool, a picnic pavilion, and individual picnic shelters along with five lighted basketball and softball fields. The forty two acre park is named after the John J. Victor estate which donated the land to the city before 1963. In the 1930s it was the site of a roping arena.

City Lake Park/Liberty Garden is at the 600 block of ’76 Drive. It has as its center the small reservoir of the Harlingen Waterworks System. It consists of seven acres of paved jogging or walking trail, the lake, and a meditation garden. The trail is very popular for exercisers. The garden is often the site of outdoor wedding ceremonies and photographs.

The reservoir lake is a natural depression. Previously it was even larger as it extended to the east before being reduced by the extension of 6^th Street through it in 1975. The area filled and drained periodically depending on the weather. After 1908 when the Harlingen Canal reached the city, water was available to keep the area perpetually filled. A 1915 picture taken by Robert Runyon shows the lake filled to its brim and Harlingen’s new homes to its south.

In the year 1976 a part of 6^th Street was renamed ’76 Drive to commemorate the 200^th anniversary of our nation’s Declaration of Independence. The landscaped garden adjacent to the current Cultural Arts Center was designated Liberty Garden. The building of the Cultural Arts Center and its parking lot in 1986 diminished the park area somewhat.

Dixieland Park is at 2501 South Dixieland Road at the terminus of this road. The park was set up in 1978. It has twenty acres with a playground, basketball court, a park pavilion with a barbecue pit, and a Harlingen Waterworks System reservoir. The latter is the site for an annual fishing contest for small children. The pond was created in 1971 when the soil from the borrow pit which created it was utilized for ramp material in the construction of the overpasses tying Expressway 83 to Highway 77.

Rangerville Park is located at 1101 Rangerville Road. The road takes its name from the Texas Rangers’ camp which in the early 1900s was situated near the intersection of Rangerville Road (FM1479) and the Old Military Highway. On the 24 acres of the park are a playground, four soccer/athletic fields, a park gazebo with a barbecue pit, and restrooms. The park was established in1996, however as early as 3/31/88 the City Commissioner considered spending $20,700 to purchase land and establish the park..

Arroyo Park is at the intersection of New Hampshire and Hale Streets on the south side of the Arroyo Colorado. It is one of the city’s newest parks and was built to service the growing number of homes and residents in the area. The Arroyo Estates subdividers had originally given the city 65 acres by 1960, but nothing was done with the area until 1995 when residential development in the area picked up.

Its 29 acres contain two baseball fields, two soccer fields, nature trails with scenic overlooks of and access to the Arroyo Colorado, a playground, a volleyball area, a covered picnic shelter, and restrooms.

C. B. Wood Park is situated at the west end of Harding Avenue in its 200 block. Its nine acres contain a playground and one sheltered picnic table. It has the southwest side access to the two mile long paved Arroyo Hike and Bike Trail. The Carl B. Wood family donated the land to the city prior to 1968. The park is named after the Harlingen man who, in partnership with H. Raymond Mills of Weslaco, is credited with establishing the first citrus packing shed in the Valley. The year was 1922. Known as the Valley Packing Company it was located at North Commerce and Washington Streets.

McKelvey Park is situated at 1325 South 77 Sunshine Strip. 7.5 acres of its present 12.72 acres were donated to the city in 1951 by John McKelvey and his Laurel Park Subdivision. John W. McKelvey was a dynamic Harlingen business man with interests in Southwest Packing Co. He died prematurely of a heart attack at age 52 on 5/6/59.

The city did not file deed to the park area until 1955 and then left it undeveloped. In 1962 heirs (namely Jack Busa) to Mr. McKelvey’s estate expressed a desire to exchange the designated parcel for another site along the Arroyo. The city would not accept an inferior location and eventually won out after legal maneuvering.

The area has a playground and picnic tables. It is the site of outdoor concerts by small jazz groups and others. Since 1986 it has been the annual site of Harlingen’s attractive Arroyo Holiday Lighting and associated festivities. The park has the east side access to the two mile long hike /bike trail along the bottom of the Arroyo Colorado.

Adjacent to the parking lot is a small bronze marker set in concrete. It reads: In Memory of Susie Lackland A Flower Lover and Coordinator of the Bougainvilla Trail of Texas.

Hugh Ramsey Nature Park is at the 1000 block of South Loop 499, a northern extension of Ed Carey Drive, where the bridge crosses the Arroyo Colorado. It is named after the former mayor of Harlingen who served from 1936 to 1946 and again 1948-1950. It was designated as a park by the city commissioners in February 1953. Amenities in this 54 acre wooded park include nature trails, an observation blind overlooking the arroyo and restrooms. At some future time it will become the home of the Harlingen Birding Center.

McCullough Park is on the southwest side of the Arroyo Colorado bridge along South Loop 499. The 6.15 acre park was named in 1964 for former Harlingen mayor, Gene F. McCullough, 1950-1952. The park encompasses the wide east bank of the arroyo where the creation of motorbike trails was feasible. The park resounds to trail bikes revving their engine as they traverse the undulating terrain. It is periodically inundated by runoff waters of the Arroyo Colorado.

At some time in the future a trail may be laid to connect McKelvey Park to McCullough and Ramsey Parks. This will provide access to one of Harlingen’s most beautiful and wild vistas.

The Arroyo Hike and Bike Trail is a unique paved ten foot wide trail running from McKelvey Park in the northwest to C. B. Wood Park near Expressway 77/83 on the southwest. It is exactly two miles long and traverses the floor of the Arroyo Colorado about fifty feet below its rim. It passes under the historic 1905 Arroyo Colorado railroad bridge spanning the 500 foot distance of the arroyo at this point. The trail has two sturdily constructed steel bridges allowing users to cross the perpetual stream flowing at the bottom of the arroyo. The trail was constructed in 2000. It may periodically be closed when excess Rio Grande River flood waters and other upper Valley runoff waters are shunted into the arroyo’s relief course. Its relative wildness and quiet amidst the bustling of the city is an unusual feature of this park area.

Sam Houston Park on 3^rd Street near the intersection of Roosevelt is just north of the school of the same name on Taft Street. It is named for the Texas war for independence hero Samuel Houston. He became president of the Republic of Texas and later U.S. Senator and governor of the state. It is primarily set up for athletic practice and competition, especially soccer.

Vestal Park is an extension of the adjacent Zavala School park grounds. It parallels Lafayette Street at 1111 North B Street. It is accessible from several dead end streets in the neighborhood. In was created in 1990 from land donated by the Fitzgerald family and is named in honor of Mrs. Vestal Davis Fitzgerald. The 14.208 acre site is covered by athletic playing fields.

The Bonham School Park is west of the school at the intersection of Jefferson and 21st Streets. It is named for James Butler Bonham, a South Carolinean who came to Texas to fight for its independence and was killed in the battle of the Alamo. It has a useable area of about .54 acre. Immediately adjacent to it is a sizeable parking area that services both it and the large playing field together with the playscape equipment of the school itself. The park contains two playscapes and two swing sets plus a covered pavilion holding two large picnic tables.

The Harlingen Sports Complex is at 3139 Wilson Road on Harlingen’s west side. Its 41.35 acres are primarily laid out to accommodate athletic competition in leagues and tournaments. It has four lighted softball fields, two athletic fields, two basketball courts, a fishing pond and pier for juveniles, a playground, a handicap accessible playground, one mile of jogging/walking trail, a covered picnic shelter, a large park pavilion with barbecue pit, and restrooms. This complex was created in 1991.

The Harlingen Thicket is an undeveloped xerophytic vegetated area along the west bank of the Arroyo Colorado near McKelvey Park and along Taft Street. It offers semi-arid fern and fauna for nature lovers and bird watchers. The establishment of this area was made possible in 1997 by The Valley Land Fund, the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, and other conservation partners which purchased the forty acres of native brush within Harlingen.

Sam Botts Park was designated as such but was never developed. It was to be located at the south 74 acre tip near the vacated municipal airstrip adjacent to the municipal golf course. It lay between the Arroyo Colorado and the Harlingen Main Canal. Some of its area was taken when the golf course was redesigned; the remainder is scrub brush.

Sam Botts served as mayor of Harlingen from 1928 to 1936. He was the operator of a general merchandise store. In partnership with Fred Chamber, their store was situated on the first floor of the Harlingen First Bank building. This structure at the northwest corner of Van Buren and First Streets had been built likely around 1909 by Lon C. Hill.

Complementing the parks and under the administration of the Harlingen Parks and Recreation Department are several facilities which have been heavily used over the years and are an integral part of the community’s business, cultural and social life. These are:

The Harlingen Municipal Auditorium which was built in 1928 with art deco designs. For many years this theater was the venue for major visiting cultural attractions. In 1992-93 it received a major facelift with the construction of an extended lobby area, new dressing rooms, enhanced acoustics, the enclosure of its windows, and installation of new seating among other things. It seats over 2300 people.

The Casa de Amistad is adjacent to the auditorium. The two buildings are united by a common lobby and an attractive Mediterranian- style façade. Built in 1967 as a large, open metal building, it serves multi-functions such as for trade shows, receptions, concerts, convention headquarters, the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival, and major displays.

The Casa de Sol on Madison Street was built in 1961. It is characterized by its unique architecture. Its large open circular floor space is excellent for receptions, performances, displays and other uses.

The Harlingen Community Center is located next to it. This general purpose brick-facaded facility built in 1969 serves both winter tourism and local activities ranging from aerobics to bridge playing to high school graduation festivities.

As Harlingen entered the 21^st Century, the Parks and Recreation Department had grown in order to provide the widest range of services to the numerous interests of the city’s populace. Organizationally it now had a Director of Public Services, Recreation Superintendent, Park Superintendent, Athletic Supervisor, Program Coordinator, Administrative Coordinator, Recreation Secretary., Parks Secretary, Youth Services Coordinator, Administrative Coordinator, Golf Manager, Director of Arts and Entertainment, and Box Office Manager. A six member Parks and Recreation Advisory Board served to provide direction and input.

On 4/9/86 the department dedicated its new headquarters at 900 Fair Park Blvd. in a building which was formerly a cotton scalehouse.

The activities and services provided by the department are wide-ranging and include: park pavilion use, softball leagues, adult flag football, girls fast pitch softball, tejano/country dance lessons, twirling/ tumble/jazz/cheer classes, fencing, table tennis, tennis classes for juniors, senior aerobics, introduction to photography, a comprehensive winter Texan program, Blues on the Hill Concerts, Arroyo Holiday Lighting, and much more. It was in 1994 that the department commenced its popular entertainment series to better utilize the municipal auditorium. This brings professional theater and related productions to the city. Shows are grouped into Spotlight, Encore and Children’s Classics Series.

Modern Harlingen Park System Got Its Start with Four Parks In 1953
By James Ross
City Parks Superintendent
4/16/61

Prior to 1952 the Harlingen Parks System included only four parks, Lon C. Hill Park, Diaz Plaza, Bowie Park, and Travis. During 1952, the City Commission created a Parks and Recreation Board for the purpose of acting as advisers in order that a concerted effort be given in the beautification and development of the parks and a complete recreation program be offered to a fast growing city. The Parks and Recreation board was charged with the responsibility of laying out a long range program. The City Commission had acquired several tracts of land for park purposes at key points where the population was expected to spread.

The newly created Parks and Recreation Board’s first action was to concentrate on the proper expenditure of the 1953 Bond Issue money. The board decided to recommend to the City Commission that all existing parks be revamped with both plant material and playground equipment and that Pendleton Park, located in the heart of the fastest growing part of the city be completed both as a recreation area and a point of beauty.

In order to provide the children of the city proper playground facilities, equipment was installed, not only in recognized parks, but at four schools where no park facilities were available.

At present the Parks and Recreation Department is supervising and maintaining eleven playground areas located at key points throughout the city.

A summer recreation program is carried out eight weeks each summer with 1,800 children participating. This program includes golf, swimming, tennis, and ball games to the smaller playground games and hand crafts.

Other facilities include the maintenance of eleven ball fields, Municipal Swimming Pool—available figures show that 20,997 people used this pool during the last season, six lighted tennis courts, an auditorium with 2,100 seating, and a professional baseball field now used by the Giants baseball team. All these and many more facilities are maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department.

Today, there are fourteen parks in Harlingen with a total acreage of 237 with four parks or 137 acres still undeveloped. The City Commissions of the past have planned well selecting these beautiful park sites.

The Parks and Recreation Board is charged with the responsibility of recommending the correct areas to be improved. In the program at present, the brush and rough areas are systematically being cleared on the 74 acres of Botts Park, which is south of the golf course; immediate partial development with barbecue pits and some playground equipment will be made at McCullough Park located on the Arroyo Estates Addition.

This department is also concerned with the pruning and maintenance of the various boulevards and park plantings in order that they will bloom when the greatest effect can be obtained.

A recent assignment to the Parks and Recreation Board is to assume the responsibility of concentrating every effort to have beautified all the new expressway boulevards and highways passing through the city, cooperating with other city boards and the Highway Department in order to make Harlingen a town to remember in South Texas.

Plans are being developed by the Parks Department to keep outlined for the City commission a promising park development program for Harlingen. A lot is yet to be done, such as: additional tennis facilities; a new municipal auditorium and civic center; additional sprinkler systems; additional facilities at the golf course; more lighted Little League ball fields; widening the Arroyo Colorado and utilizing the extra area, and tying together Botts Park in the southwest section of the city and Ramsey Park in the southeast part of the city. With this could come water skiing, boat racing, fishing and numerous other aquatic activities. These facilities would help greatly as a tourist attraction and business interests in Harlingen.

The City of Harlingen, because of its climate and great potential in industry and other fields, must have good parks and playground areas if it is to grow into a thriving metropolis.

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A History of the Harlingen Army Airfield
and
Harlingen Air Force Base
Norman Rozeff
Harlingen Historical and Preservation Society
January 2003

Summary

With the depressed U. S. economy still lingering into the late 1930s, the city fathers of Harlingen, Texas sought to attract federal funds to the area in 1938.

By 1940, and with war on the horizon in 1941, defense concerns escalated. On May 3, 1941 the War Department then accepted Harlingen’s invitation to establish a military airfield on the 960 acres being offered. The following month the lease was approved, and authorization was made for construction of a flexible gunnery school at the field. The initial allocation for the project was $3,770,295. The facility would reach nearly 1,600 acres in size by 1944.

The facility eventually accommodated 6,500 trainees, and at peak operation carried a maximum load of 9,000.

The Harlingen Army Gunnery School received its first assigned cadre in August 1941. Its primary mission, with an initial student load of 600, was that of training aerial gunnery students in a five week (extended to six weeks in 1943) training program. Over 48,000 soldiers were trained until the school, one of three such types in the country, closed in 1945. During its existence, expansion of its facilities, such as barracks and technical installations, regularly continued. Graduates served on B17s, B24s, B25s, and B29s among other aircraft.

Upon the closure of the field numerous surplus buildings were sold and then transported to other parts of the Valley to be put to good use by civilians.

The initiation of the Korean War in June 1950 brought new priorities to the military. By April 1, 1952 the field was re-activated to serve the U.S. Air Force. The primary mission of the now Harlingen Air Force Base was to train navigators. Course time was initially 28 weeks, later extended to 32 weeks, and finally in 1960 to 38 weeks for Aviation Cadets.

On 3/30/61 it was announced that the Base with its 245 buildings would be closed and phased out by the end of 1962. By the time of the last graduating class in June 1962, 13,355 students had been graduated by the Navigation School.

The impact of the military installations on Harlingen’s economy is told by the statistics. From a city with a population of 13,235 in 1941 it had grown to 41,000 by 1960. At this point the Base had 2,300 military personnel and 801 civilian employees. The payroll was approximately $25 million a year, and a total expenditure of $15 million more being made in the lower Rio Grande Valley.

The loss of the Base severely impacted Harlingen. By 1972 its population had dipped to 33,603. The sale of 1,400 houses in 1963 depressed the real estate market for years to follow. It took a period of years before the former Base’s facilities were fully utilized by an industrial air park, Valley International Airport, Texas State Technical Institute, the Marine Military Academy, and other uses.

In a little over 14 combined years that the military facilities were in operation, they were a source of pride and joy to the city of Harlingen. The interaction between the military and the citizens of the area was one of mutual admiration and regard. All deserve to be remembered.

The History

During World War II and the Korean Conflict, the sixty five military air bases in Texas played a significant role. The air base in Harlingen, Texas was no exception.

As the poor economy wrought by the early 1930s depression persisted to the end of the decade, Harlingen suffered along with the rest of the nation. When wars in Europe and the Far East commenced at this time, the city fathers expedited their efforts, which had begun in 1938, to improve the area’s economic climate. U. S. defense concerns by 1940 made the location of a military training facility at Harlingen a real option. The relatively flat terrain was not suitable for armor units but would be ideal for air training.

The story of what transpired at the field’s formation and subsequently is best told by Harlingen’s unofficial historian emeritus, Verna Jackson McKenna, as she relates it in the Harlingen Golden Anniversary Celebration April 24-30 [1960], Official Program (Appendix 1, excerpt pp.39-44; see also Appendix 2). Mrs. McKenna was intimately involved with the Harlingen Army Airfield, since she served as librarian at the field from 1943 to 1946. See a short biography of her in Appendix 3. Her exposition, which should be read at this point, forms a detailed chronicle of the military operations at the airfield, and later Base, in the years 1940 through early 1960. The following information is both complementary to and supplementary to Mrs. McKenna’s history.

The Army Air Corps became the Army Air Forces on 20 June 1941 and obtained quasi autonomy in March 1942. Its bases were designated as army airfields, but later usage termed them air fields, two words rather than one.

Early in the base’s creation individuals assigned to it often referred to the facility as the B-26 Flexible Gunnery School. In 1993 documents of the Department of Army Southwest Division Corps of Engineers relating to the closure and remediation of the Base, the physical plant and nature of some of the training activities are spelled out.

The War Department acquired 992.52 leased acres from the City of Harlingen in 1941 and an acquisition of 583.80 acres fee during 1943 and 1944. To quote from the document:

The Harlingen Army Airfield was used for gunnery training in World War II. Students learned to fire the .30-caliber machine gun. This weapon was hand-held and fired by the student from the rear cockpit of an AT-6 aircraft (See picture of this aircraft in Appendix 4). The base later received B-34 aircraft. This twin engine plane, known as the Ventura, was generally utilized for bombardment training and patrol duty. With its arrival students will be taught to fire the twin .30 caliber machine gun from the turret mount on the plane.

Gunnery practice was carried out by having the student fire at a sleeve target which was towed by an AT-6. Students were also taught strafing techniques. A series of shop silhouettes were installed offshore near South Padre Island, and students fired at these water targets from B-34 and AT-6 aircraft.

Former cotton and grain sorghum fields on the Harlingen clay soil series with its relatively flat terrain were gradually transformed into a major airstrip facility. By 1943 the base had five runways, the longest of which was 6,000 feet or over one mile in length. (See some overall base photographs in Appendix 5).

As part of the logistical support for the facility there were twelve underground storage tanks (UST). Six had 25,000 gallon capacities, five 2,000 gallons and one 5,000 gallons. In addition there was one 6,500 steel UST for gasoline as well as a 2,000 gallon above-ground one.

One of the field’s earliest contractors was Ready Mix Concrete, which was to grow greatly from its modest July 1941 sales. At that time, founder Hill Cocke was furnishing the base using two small mixer trucks with a total capacity of less than 100 cubic yards a day.

In the WWII period the planes utilized for training and transportation at the Harlingen Army Airfield were the Vultee BT-13 Valiant, Bell P-39 Airacobra, Bell P-63 Kingcobra, Beech C-45H Expeditor, Lockheed A-29 Hudson, Lockheed B-34 Ventura, Martin B-26 Marauder, North American B-25 Mitchell, Douglas C-47 Skytrain, North American AT-6 Texan Trainer, and Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Photos and specifications for these planes are presented in Appendix 6.

One first-hand account of the training comes from gunnery school graduate Forrest S. Clark. It was related in a Justin Family website with family biographies. Clark who went on to attain a rate of T/Sgt, 67^th Squadron 44^th Bomb Group, 8^th Air Force, participated as tail gunner in a B-24 combat crew in England in 1944 and1945. He tells us:

I went to gunnery school at Harlingen, Texas in early 1943, and we used AT-6 for gunnery practice over the Gulf of Mexico. A few times I got into trouble firing, but most of the time we were so taken with the skeet shooting which was a standard part of practice. We used old rattler infested trap holes to fire the targets, and many times we would flush out rattlers before we got into the holes. We took turns releasing the target pigeons.

I also remember my first practice flight. The pilot took me on a stunt maneuver, and I nearly got dumped out of the rear when he went into a power dive. I went to back Harlingen after returning from Europe in 1945 and was a gunnery and flight director assistant.

Harlingen in 1943 was also the station for Francis "Frank" E. Tucher, who rose to T/Sgt. He was a Martin upper turret gunner. After 18 weeks of Airplane Mechanics School at Keesler Field, Biloxi, Mississippi where he learned to maintain B-24s, he relates:

"From there to Harlingen, Texas for Aerial Gunnery School – we practiced shooting moving targets from the cockpit of an AT-6, first plane I was ever in, in my life. That’s when I got my silver wings as a gunner and my Buck Sgt. Stripes."

This Indiana native went on to participate in 46 B-24 missions in the South Pacific and was awarded seven battle stars.

Edward Markowsky, now of La Feria, Texas, gave me a first hand account (12/02) of his experience at the field. He was in the army by 12/30/41. After a shortened period of basic training he was assigned in March of 1942 to the field in Harlingen, his home town. He was greatly disappointed at this turn of events. His duties over an eleven month period here included flying in the rear seat of an AT-6 Texan. It had a swivel seat. His job was to release the cable- pulled target at which the students of the Harlingen Flexible Gunnery School practiced their marksmanship. The targets were of two types. One was simply a sleeve and the second was a pipe from which hung a fine wire mesh. This latter was termed a barn door or screen door. Although the cable extended 750 feet behind the AT-6 and the missiles were only plastic ones, Markowsky often felt that the shells were coming much too close to his craft for comfort.

Toward the end of the war the P-63E Kingcobra was developed from the P-39. It was not used by US forces in combat, but its RP-63A and RP-63C versions were used in gunnery training. One hundred were produced for this specific use. To quote from the US Air Force Museum information available on the internet: "These manned target aircraft were fired upon by aerial gunnery students using .30 caliber lead and plastic frangible bullets which disintegrated harmlessly against the target’s extreme skin of Duralumin armor plating. Special instruments sent impulses to red lights in the nose of the "pinball" aircraft causing them to blink when bullets struck the plane."

Gerald Menegay, a retiree in Harlingen, was a pilot at the field in 1943 and until his transfer in October 1945. He flew P-39s and P-63s. He recalls the latter plane seldom being hit by gunnery trainees.

One distinguished gunnery school graduate was Technical Sergeant Forrest L. Vosler. The Harlingen Army Gunnery School was his first unit. He received a Congressional Medal of Honor citation for action occurring in the European Theater. The citation is so dramatic and moving I quote it in its entirety:

For conspicuous gallantry in action against the enemy above and beyond the call of duty while serving in a mission over Bremen, Germany, on 20 December 1943. After bombing the target, the aircraft in which Sergeant Vosler was serving was severely damaged by antiaircraft fire, forced out of formation, and immediately subjected to repeated vicious attacks by enemy fighters. Early in the engagement a 20-mm cannon shell exploded in the radio compartment, painfully wounding Sergeant Vosler in the legs and thighs. At about the same time a direct hit on the tail of the ship seriously wounded the tail gunner and rendered the tail guns inoperative. Realizing the great need for firepower in protecting the vulnerable tail of the ship, Sergeant Vosler, with grim determination, kept up a steady stream of deadly fire. Shortly thereafter another 20-mm enemy shell exploded, wounding Sergeant Vosler in the chest and about his face. Pieces of metal lodged in both eyes, impairing his vision to such an extent that he could only distinguish blurred shape. Displaying remarkable tenacity and courage, he kept firing his guns and declined to take first-aid treatment. The radio equipment had been rendered inoperative during the battle, and when the pilot announced that he would have to ditch, although unable to see, Sergeant Vosler finally got the set operating and sent out distress signals despite several lapses into unconsciousness. When the ship ditched, Sergeant Vosler managed to get out on the wing by himself and hold the wounded tail gunner from slipping off until other crew members could help them into a dinghy. Sergeant Vosler’s actions on this occasion were an inspiration to all serving with him. The extraordinary courage, coolness, and skill he displayed in the face of great odds, when handicapped by injuries that would have incapacitated the average crew member, were outstanding.

The Air Force in May 1984 established a Professional Military Education Center for non-commissioned officers. The facility at the Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado is named the Forrest L.Vosler NCO Academy. The Academy has a heraldic shield. On its right upper half is a purple background symbolic of Vosler’s first unit, the Harlingen Army Gunnery School. We know there must be thousands of other dramatic episodes experienced by the gunnery school graduates; their many stories will be lost with age and the passage of time.

The field was serviced by the 623^rd Army Air Force Band. Edward A. Schirmer was one of the members of the band. He later rose to Chief Master Sgt. and was such an accomplished musician that the band hall at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois was named in his honor.

While men were in combat, support roles to release able bodied men for active participation were being conducted by patriotic women. They played a part by ferrying planes where and when needed. One famous WWII photograph was shot in Harlingen in 1943. It shows Elizabeth L. Gardner of Rockford, Illinois. She was a pilot of the WASP (Women’s Airforce Service Pilot organization). The photo of this beautiful spirited woman was shown around the world. Its caption, datelined Harlingen Army Airfield, reads "takes a look around before sending her plane streaking down the runway at the air base." (See Appendix 7.) WASP pilots were qualified to fly B26s and often did so in training exercises over the Gulf of Mexico.

The work of the women was serious business as attested to by the sad incident that befell one of the WASP pilots servicing Harlingen. On June 29, 1944 Bonnie Jean Alloway Welz was en route to Laredo, Texas from Harlingen. She was piloting a fixed-wheel BT-13 with Major Robert B. Stringfellow as a passenger. As the craft neared Randado, Texas, a small community about 30 miles east of Laredo but no longer mapped, the craft experienced problems of an unknown nature. She attempted to land in whatever clearing she could find in the mesquite-covered prairie. As the plane taxied one of its wheels may have struck a gopher hole causing the craft to flip and catch fire. The canopy was open, and the seriously injured passenger had been thrown clear about 50 yards from where the plane came to rest. Hearing the craft low in his neighborhood, a 19 year old man named Skaggs drove up in his truck and commenced to aid the officer as the major kept shouting about the pilot whom it was impossible to rescue from the flaming wreckage. Bonnie Jean perished. She left a small daughter without a mother.

In the Valley, additional fatalities of WASP pilots occurred, one each, at Brownsville and at Mission. In all, 38 WASP pilots died in service of their country.

Another woman serving with distinction at the gunnery school was Captain Helen Morris Deblinger. This Pawtucket, Rhode Island native was graduated as a certified registered nurse in 1933 then went on to obtain in 1936 a graduate degree in the teaching of nursing from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C. She joined the service in 1936. When the war commenced she applied to serve overseas, but her expertise was needed at home as instructor and chief of nurses. After serving in Harlingen she went on to Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama. In her honor, her son Jay L. Deblinger donated $100,000 to establish The Helen Morris Deblinger Scholarship Fund for student nurses attending CUA.

It was in 1943 that the Harlingen Chamber of Commerce published a small brochure titled "Brief Facts about Harlingen". On its cover was the motto "Birth Place of Uncle Sam’s Aerial Gunners." Under the section titled Gunnery School Information we learn in a question and answer format:

What is the Harlingen Army Gunnery School? Answer: It is one of the Nation’s three main Aerial Gunnery Schools for training men who protect bombers with fire-power in the air.

What is the location of H A G S, as it is called? Answer: It is 3 1/2 miles northeast of the city on the Rio Hondo Road.

Is there an auxiliary portion of the School? Answer: Yes. 22 miles east of the school itself, its ground range begins. It covers more than 30,000 acres. Students spend one week of their five week training period there, learning to fire various types of machine guns and turrets. It is bordered on the east by the Laguna Madre, across from which is Padre Island.

Why was Harlingen selected as the site for the school? Answer: Because of its year ‘round weather conditions that permit more than 300 days of flying each year. In fact, one motion picture company selected it as a "location" for January-February film work after visiting nearly every other air field in the south part of the country. Another film company made a complete feature picture, "Aerial Gunner" during October-November, and lost less than two days work because of cloudy weather.

Has the Air Base contributed to the National Fame of Harlingen? Answer: Very definitely. Scarcely no large newspaper in the country has not run several pictures and stories of its efforts, with full credit to its location. More than 35,000 landings and take-offs were accomplished in 1942 without a single fatality to a pilot or gunnery student.

Have Harlingen civilians rallied to the support of this school? Answer: Yes. The Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee has organized a city-wide entertainment composed of representatives from all Service Organizations and Churches.

Is there a U. S. O. Club in Harlingen? Answer: Yes. It is operated by the Salvation Army.

What is the health record of the Gunnery School? Answer: The Harlingen Gunnery School holds the record of lowest percentage of diseases.

In early April 1961 members of the original cadre reunited in Harlingen. The Valley Morning Star issue of 4/6 interviewed some of the reunion participants. The information provided is of interest.

The official opening of the Harlingen Army Airfield was Christmas Eve 1941. Lt. Col. John L. Kottal, who had entered the army in July, was in 1942 stationed at the field as a senior gunnery instructor for the five week aerial gunnery course. He was one of a group of five enlisted men and five officers under Major W. L. Kennedy, now Major General. He remembered helping to assemble the machine guns when the group worked seven days a week for two months. He also recalled gunnery practice along the Laguna Madre when the guns were mounted on sleds pulled by trucks. Also vivid in his mind was mounting guard at the base. Armed security guards walked posts around the outer perimeter of the field. His was near what in the 1950s became the Base hospital area but was then a grapefruit orchard. He remembered picking fruit and passing it on to another post sentry until around the whole field perimeter all guards had received all they could eat. Then came word to "Stop the flow." At that point he knew it wouldn’t be long before his relief showed up. "This was one of the ways we passed the time and supplying each of the guards with grapefruit usually took about eight hours."

Other memories recounted included the fact that Morgan Blvd. had yet to be constructed, and there was no direct route to town. A strict curfew was in place. Men had to be in their quarters by 11 p.m. On Saturday this was extended, but all had to off Harlingen streets by 1 a.m.

Those gathered stated that, initially, gunnery programs at Laredo, Las Vegas, and Harlingen differed until a standardized program was adopted.

During the last full year of its operations the HAAF had the following highlights in its activities:

 1/7/45  HAAF places second in the National Gunners Meet held at the field but on 3/16 wins another National Meet held at Buckingham Field;

4/12/45  Mourns the death of Commander in Chief, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt;

4/13/45  Col. Louis R. Hughes named deputy commanding officer of the base;

5/11/45  Women's Army Corps (WAC) detachment celebrates 3rd anniversary of the corps;

5/21/45  The first B-29 gunnery training class starts at HAAF;

6/23/45  This class graduates 55 gunners;

6/25  The first full size class of 500 men start their B-29 gunnery training;

7/8/45  The second class of 175 gunner trainees is graduated;

8/1/45  HAAF celebrates its third birthday.  2,500 Valley residents visit the base in an open house;

9/2/45  With Japan's signing of an unconditional surrender document on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, World War II was brought to a conclusion;

9/17/45  Col. Roy T. Wright, commanding officer of the base, receives overseas orders;

9/24/45  Col. Hughes succeeds him;

10/5/45  Col. John R. Morgan commanding officer of the 79th Flying Training Wing with headquarters at HAAF is ordered to assume command of Keesler Field, Mississippi;

10/12/45  HAAF becomes a temporary separation center for the men stationed here;

10/19/45  Col. Hughes announces that the gunnery training mission of training incoming basic soldiers is ended;

10/27/45  A reenlistment drive among personnel at the field is begun.

 An Associated Press (AP) story of 1/5/46 stated that the HAAF would be declared surplus.  As such it would be the fourth and last of such bases in this area to be deactivated.  Moore Field, the Brownsville Army Air Base, and the Laguna Madre Sub-Base of the HAAF had already been listed for deactivation. At his time HAAF has a total of 5,000 men split almost evenly between trainees and permanent personnel.

On 2/5/46  HAAF is officially declared surplus property.

Also alter the first sentence in the next paragraph to read: The combat of World War II ended in August 1945.

Between these two insert this:

 A human interest story probably worthy of Hollywood treatment took place at the HAAF Laguna Madre Sub-Base.  Written up by Valley Morning Star reporter Minnie Gilbert in January 1946 the essence of her story is this:  Mrs. Edmund T. (Dorothy) Carter lived at the Laguna Madre Sub-Base of the HAAF, one woman among a post of 17,000 soldiers.  She went there in early 1943 where her husband was superintendent of construction. She made her home on a reservation in the Eighth Corps Area.  In her 40s this witty, motherly, and entertaining lady immediately "adopted all the men at the sub-base."  Not only did she do their mending, write letters to their mothers, and listen to confidences, but she brought pressure to bear to have a chaplain conduct religious services, to provide transportation to and from the isolated base (other than when men were being assigned and transferred), and inaugurated the custom of "birthday parties."  These parties were her own idea and were carried out regularly under her supervision until they were incorporated into the program later introduced by the United Service Organization (USO).

 Mom was instrumental in staging the first wedding at the range July 25, 1943.  She not only arranged for the attendants, refreshments, and reception and altar decorations but, when the bride arrived without the traditional white satin costume which the groom wished to see her wear, sat up to 3:30 am to complete the wedding gown.

 Because her trailer was so small and the boys taxed its small space, they built a small house nearby for her that served as a recreation center.  Here a piano was placed, and Mom was busy much of the time as an accompanist, a role that she fills capably.  She always had several pupils whom she taught piano.  She organized amateur shows and obtained permission to take the boys to the nearby seacoast for outings and melon feasts.

It was her custom to wear a range helmet and whenever a short, stubby figure topped by a helmet appeared about the camp, the boys said they knew "Mom" was around. She attended mail call with the boys and knew how they felt when there were no letters for them.  She did KP (kitchen police—a term, which for the younger set,—means working in the kitchen washing dishes, pots and pans, peeling potatoes, and doing any other menial work the cooks assigned) and helped the baker.  She was assistant to Chaplain Rex and later to Chaplain Fertz, and played the piano for chapel services.  It was the latter who was to perform the marriage ceremony for her son Bruce and Miss Theda Edwards of Ohio.

 Every Friday she received a detail of men instructed to help her prepare the chapel for the Sunday service.  Every Saturday she brought delicacies and gifts for the boys from the Range who were in the HAAF hospital.

 Mrs. Carter stood in the chow line with the men.  At first they ate under a big tent, being served food that was brought out from HAAF by truck.  Only twelve buildings had been built when she first went to Laguna Madre; eight were under construction. The place was "like a wilderness" she recalls and still doesn't like the memory of the time she stepped from her trailer onto a snake.  The coyotes would return to the reservation after dark and their howls are about the only music Mom has no enthusiasm for.

 After leaving Laguna Madre, Mom Carter spent six months at Camp Swift (opening in June 1942, this was a completely new military site of 52,000 acres 28 miles due east of Austin in Bastrop County) where she immediately found herself in exactly the same role except there were many more men.  Elected as "Queen Mother" by 6,500 men at Camp Swift, Mom Carter regards this as the peak of her career as a "service mother". Although the coronation was carried out in a mock ceremony, it was impressively done and provided a superb tribute from the camp personnel to Mrs. Carter.

 Many of the letters and autographed photos now treasured in her bungalow scrapbook are from men who later gave their lives to bring victory to the United States.

Mr. and Mrs. Carter now live comfortably in a small house on N. Grimes Road.  Son Bruce and his wife are building a cottage a few feet away. Bruce was in the army in WW II and shipped overseas with the 102nd (Ozark) Division Band and toured Germany with a circus troop. Another son Bob is employed as a city bus driver.

World War II ended in August 1945. The need for gunners no longer existed. By this time an estimated 48,000 men could call the gunnery school their alma mater. The school and field were soon phased out. Some of the well-constructed barracks were sold or donated. The Citrus Center of Texas A & I University acquired and moved some of them to its Weslaco campus in 1947. A one-story barracks was sold to the Hansen family in Weslaco and was transformed into their home at 801 Oklahoma Street. The Grace Lutheran Church of Harlingen took two of them and moved them to the corner of Jackson and Tenth Streets. One became the sanctuary and the second one the parish hall. In 1948 one two-storied barracks was purchased by the Molder family who trucked it to North Business 77. Here it was transformed into the very popular Green Gables Restaurant and Lounge, famed for its steaks. After 18 years as a gathering place it became an antique store. The building is located at 1910 N. 77 Sunshine Strip. The Valley Baptist Academy secured a number of buildings and relocated them to its campus on East Harrison Street, Harlingen. They exist today but are hardly recognizable with their brick veneer.

Were it not for the availability and economic cost of the surplus buildings, the success story of John and Betty Rugaart might not have been written. A surveyor named Simpson purchased half of a two storied barracks, this being 70 feet in length. He moved it in 1956 to 2415 East Harrison, Harlingen at the intersection with 25^th Street. It was purchased by the Rugaarts, who lived in the top floor with their family, then established a very needed service for the community, the Valley Rehabilitation and Treatment Center, Inc. In this period polio vaccinations had just been initiated; numerous victims of the disease still required physical therapy as did individuals with physical incapacities of a different nature. In late 1966 the Rugaarts purchased an adjacent one story former air force base building. This served as a facility for occupational therapy and speech. After over fifty years of use these two buildings were not yet ready to give up the ghost. The bottom floor of the two storied one and the one story building were both moved in the late 1990s to the town of Combes, immediately north of Harlingen.

In 1947 the War Department became the National Military Establishment. Two years later this name was amended to the Department of Defense. It was on 18 September 1947 that the United States Air Force was established as a separate service.

With the outbreak of the Korean War on 25 June 1950 the city fathers of Harlingen looked to utilize the mostly mothballed field facilities. The direction that the on-going "Cold War" would take was also unknown and of nagging concern. A comprehensive paper was drawn up for submission to Federal authorities. It was titled:

Physical Characteristics
Former Harlingen Army Air Field, Harlingen, Texas
Civic, Cultural, Commercial and Recreational Survey of Harlingen, Texas
City of Harlingen, Texas Chamber of Commerce, Harlingen, Texas
Hugh Ramsey, Mayor Roy Self, President

Its introduction read: "The enclosed data and information is submitted to the department of the Air Force in the interest of reactivating the Harlingen Army Air Field facility as an integral unit in support of the current National emergency." The report then went on to describe what was available at the former base.

It notes that the Southern Pacific Railroad has a direct switch track alongside the brick fire-proof Air Corps Supply Building of 100 x 120 feet, with switch trackage to spot three cars.

Going on it states that the Main West Entrance is approached by concrete highway known as Air Base or Rio Hondo Road. Also a concrete county road parallels the south property line of the Air Field. All streets inside reservation paved with concrete, intact and in good condition.

Details of the Sewage Disposal Plant and Drainage infrastructure are provided. Under Geography it states "field is rectangular 1500 acre area of exceptionally level nature." Also that "An auxiliary air field is the Auxiliary Laguna Madre Air Field [currently the Cameron County Airport]of approximately 13,000 acres including hangars and runway, located 24 air miles southeast of Harlingen.", and that fee simple title to the 1500 acres of land is held by the city.

It was pointed out that the former Harlingen Army Air Field and facility was designed to accommodate 6,500 trainees and at peak operation carried a maximum load of 9,000 trainees. In addition 200 Federal Housing Units, all still intact and livable, had been constructed adjacent to the base’s main entrance.

The report went on to state that the field itself was equipped with five concrete runways, each over one mile in length. All were intact and in useable condition including runway lights as were the control tower, landing lights, three large hangar buildings and a machine shop building.

As for the recreational facilities still extant, these included two swimming pools, tennis courts, a theater building, baseball field, football field, polo grounds, outdoor patio, and beer garden.

Another selling point concerned gasoline and storage. Complete gasoline and storage distribution was furnished by Aqua Systems, Inc. These were located on a railroad siding complete with an eight tank car unloading capacity, 10 underground storage tanks of 23,000 gallons capacity each, together with four air craft lubricating oil storage tanks with a capacity of 10,000 gallons each. For fire protection there existed one fire station (crash) with two 500 gpm fire trucks manned 24 hour per day with personnel on duty.

The remainder of the booklet dealt with the city of Harlingen’s infrastructure, amenities businesses, transportation, schools, hospitals, social and club organizations, climate, etc.

When U.S. forces became fully engaged in the Korean War, the House Armed Services Committee, acting under the National Defense Program, appropriated $15 million for the reactivation of the Harlingen Air Field. Later a $12 million price tag was attached to the field’s rehabilitation. Work started in early 1952. By 1 April 1952 the Base was once more in service.

The Base was projected to have at its peak a complement of 3,500 military personnel, 600 civilians, and a payroll of $15 million annually. Students fell into two categories. One consisted of aviation cadets who would work to obtain their wings along with navigational skills. The second group consisted of student officers, those already commissioned who would be trained as navigators. In numbers the ratio of the former over the latter was about three to one.

Sun Lines, the Base newspaper, drew up a list of some of its top stories as it concluded its press run in 1962. The following information is gleaned from that story and other sources.

The first cadet to report for the twenty- eight week program was Edmund F. Nevirauskas. He, along with 34 others, was in the first class to be graduated on 22 January 1953.

By September 1952 the Base Exchange opened. One old timer who was at the Base relates this anecdote. "Back in the late 50s the Department of the Air Force was still attempting to enforce a strict dress code for civilians as well as military. A large sign over the door of the Harlingen Air Force Base Exchange displayed "Women will not enter this building wearing shorts." Every time I saw it, I would think to myself, they are foolish to think they know what women will do. However, they must have had some insight to the female intellect that I lacked. I never saw a woman inside the building wearing shorts." In October 1952 the first of many Kiwanis Kids’ Day programs was conducted as part of the Base’s community relations efforts. In October the Service Club also opened its doors.

In January 1953, the training course was renamed the Basic Observer Navigator Training Program and was lengthened from 28 to 32 weeks. A $5 million expansion program was planned and contracts were let for the construction of more than 20 new buildings including the chapel, dental clinic, and nine barracks buildings.

A truce in the Korean War came about on 7/27/53, and all belligerency ceased. In September of that year President Dwight D. Eisenhower toured both the Base and the Valley. This was the only time in a decade that a Commander-in-Chief had visited the area.

In February 1954 the NCO Academy was put into operation at the Base. June saw the first wedding ceremony in the new chapel.

AFROTC Summer Encampments were conducted at the base. Later to be Chief Master Sgt. Major, Donald L. Harlow( the second such enlisted man in the Air Force ever to reach this highest rank)led detachments from Southern Methodist University while NCO in charge of cadet training July 1954 through May 1955.

By January 1955 Texas Southmost College offered the first on-base college courses. In September, Hurricane Hilda, with winds up to 125 mph, forced evacuation of all aircraft. It was in this month that the first training flights over the Caribbean took place. Also pleasing to personnel this month was the fact that they received a pay raise. Aviation cadets would also receive flying pay for the first time.

The new $1.3 million Base hospital would open in October 1955.

Tragedy struck in March 1956 when the first fatal accident involving a Base aircraft occurred. Three crewmen were killed in a crash near Robbins Air Force Base, Georgia. In May of that year the Base hosted the largest crowd ever seen here for an Armed Forces Day when more than 35,000 people turned out for the annual event. As the year drew to a close, the NCO Club moved into the building formerly occupied by the old hospital. The cafeteria was remodeled at a cost of $12,000. The 5,000^th student was graduated and the word "observer" was dropped from the course designation.

April 1957 saw the fifth anniversary of the Base for which an open house was held. It was also this month that saw an aviation cadet graduate his whole training program without a single gig. This was an achievement that was never equaled. In June of this year the golf driving range opened. More importantly KP (kitchen police) duty ended forever in July 1957.

The Base’s first commander, Col. James F. Olive Jr., retired in 1958. He was replaced by Col. Norman L. Callish. In September of this year twelve of the Base’s NCOs became the first to be promoted to the new super grades.

One necessary individual who served at the Base from July 1959 to September 1962 was Richard D. Edwards. This career officer retired as a colonel in January 1984. While assigned to the 3610^th Maintenance and Supply Group at HAFB, he was officer-in-charge of various activities involving material control, supplies and logistics.

In 1959 the Base nursery opened; foot printing for all personnel on flying status was commenced; the hospital added a new wing; a credit union opened; and personnel services opened a new recreation camp on the Arroyo Colorado. In July of this year Col. Callish was promoted to brigadier general, and the Base was selected to represent ATC in the Hennessy Trophy competition. This same month saw the arrival here of Col. James W. Newsome, who would later become Base CO.

The Base opened 1960 with the announcement of the third straight accident-free Operation Homesafe. In late January it had received a certificate of achievement for the participation rate in the suggestion awards program. The next month the Base was rated excellent by the ATC Standardization Board, and for the first time military personnel became eligible for cash awards in the suggestion program. It was in March of this year that the Base adopted a new motto—Where Aerospace Navigation Begins. The following month the first class to undergo 38 weeks of training (versus the previous 32 week program) commenced.

May 1960 saw the skeet range opened. The Base Exchange reopened in new quarters in July. The new gymnasium opened in November followed by the December opening of the consolidated arts and craft hobby shop. The Base hosted the Spitz Planetarium traveling show. Seventy performances of "The Star of David" were attended by 3,000 individuals.

As 1961 opened, the Base hosted a first-of-its-kind conference to revise training standards for the navigation training program. The 1/17-20/61 Course Training Standard and Syllabus Conference was attended by officers from the Strategic Air Command (SAC), Military Air Transport Service (MATS), Tactical Air Command (TAC), and the Air Training Command (ATC). Immediately thereafter, navigation electronics with advanced aerospace material was added to the 38 week program thereby lengthening it by six weeks.

In March 1961 the announcement was made concerning the Base’s deactivation and that the Arroyo Colorado recreation camp would close. Still the remodeled NCO Club opened in August 1961. That same month Aviation Cadet Roger Bauman became the first here to receive the Daughters of American Colonists silver bowl award. It was in this month that the Base hosted its last Explorer Boy Scout air encampment.

Hurricane Carla in September forced the precautionary evacuation of all aircraft from the Base. [The movement to Waco was a wise decision, for, as an indication of the storm’s ferocity, the Valley citrus industry suffered an estimated $1,183,000 in losses with an estimated 50% of the fruit lost] Things were back to normal when the Base hosted the second annual Spitz Planetarium show, "A Trip to the Moon and Back."

Ground safety officials opened 1962 on an optimistic note by announcing another accident-free Operation Homesafe. In February, motor pool operators passed the two million miles mark in accident-free miles, the management school was discontinued, and recognition was made of an accident-free year of aircraft operation in 1961.

In March the dining halls were consolidated as Base manning diminished, and the hospital announced its change to dispensary status. The Base hosted its last conference, a corrosion control meeting, in April as the gym, library, and clothing sales store closed their doors. In May the Harlingen civic clubs hosted an Armed Forces Day luncheon at the Casa del Sol with Maj. Gen. C.W. Childe, USAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programming as principal speaker.

(Returning to my own narrative) The history of the Harlingen Air Force Base would not be complete without mention of the reactions of some Harlingen citizens upon learning that the Base would be deactivated. In attempts to rationalize this decision, there soon arose a strong, but not provable, theory about what had transpired to bring about the closure. This theory has become a lasting part of Harlingen’s oral history. It revolves around Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and his supposed vindictiveness toward the city.

The story is as follows: Texas Senator LBJ was campaigning in l959 for the election of Texas democrats. The campaign was nearly concluded when LBJ flew into Harlingen with his wife Lady Bird on November 6, l959. They landed at Harvey Richards Field, which is now the community of Palm Valley. A sizeable crowd of about l500 people greeted him. Among them were an estimated 200 Republicans and "Democrats for Nixon." These two contingents displayed placards which raised the controversial subject of LBJ’s 1948 narrow election margin, possibly abetted by vote fraud. The placards read, "Enjoy Yourself; Scratch Lyndon Twice", "Free Cheese in Every Rat Trap", "I CameVoluntarily, Did You?", "Welcome??", "Landslide Lyndon by 87 Votes", "Double

Trouble – Lyndon Twice", and "L (lacks) B (best) J (judgment)." Several black boxes with "Box l3" lettered on each side were waved above the crowd. These referred to the purported stuffed precinct ballot boxes of the earlier LBJ election.

The Anti-Johnson group had also brought in a hearse with this message lettered on both sides: "I died in l938, voted in l948, and may vote again in l960." The plan was to have six pallbearers remove the coffin from the hearse and march it around the airport tarmac.

Local police, however, had gotten wind of this charade and nipped it in the bud. The anti-Johnsonites were ordered to drive the hearse off the airport grounds.

Johnson was well aware of the dissenters in the audience. He addressed the crowd with sarcastic remarks about his disgruntled opponents. When he concluded his remarks, and he and Lady Bird moved to the red convertible which was to transport them to the city, a 14 or 15 year old boy tagged closely alongside. He bore a placard reading "LBJ, Go Away." This must have raised LBJ’s blood pressure and ire. LBJ and his wife then rode to Lon C. Hill Park where a crowd of 5,000 or so awaited him. He was warmly greeted at this gathering. In the November election, the Republicans carried Harlingen, the only city to go their way in South Texas. To add insult to injury, Texas had elected its first Republican U. S. Senator, John Tower, since reconstruction. To make matters worse, the Congressional Representative of the district was Joe M. Kilgore, a conservative McAllen Democrat and no favorite of LBJ.

In 1960 LBJ was nominated by the Democratic Party to run for Vice President as the running mate of John F. Kennedy. They were elected and took office in January 1961. Two months later on 3/30/61 the Base was ordered phased out along with five other Texas bases. JFK’s order characterized them as "unneeded facilities" as was the Port Isabel U.S. Naval Auxiliary Air Station.

LBJ critics attributed the reason for the Air Base closure to him, the result of retribution for Harlingen’s unfriendly treatment in his earlier visit to the city. Some anecdotal stories even carry the story further. They relate that when the printed closure list came across his desk, Harlingen’s name was not on it and that Johnson then wrote it in himself. Whether any of this is true or merely apocryphal will never be known, but nevertheless the stories have been incorporated into Harlingen folklore.

In its own press release, the Air Force announced that "Navigation training at Harlingen Air Force Base will be discontinued, starting early in 1962 and the base will be deactivated by June l962." This announcement came three weeks after the school had graduated 170 students, the largest class in its nine-year history. The politicians then jumped in to assuage local concerns. Rep. Joe M. Kilgore said that 73 military installations were being closed as part of the administration’s program to revamp the country’s military services. He stated, perhaps erroneously, "Runways at Harlingen are not built with the stress to care for bombers of the Strategic Air Command, so its use is limited." He added that he would ask for a re-evaluation of the "outstanding physical plant at Harlingen." Joining in were Texas U. S. Senators William A. Blakley and Ralph Yarborough. Both requested re-approval of the decision by the Kennedy administration.

At this point, the Base had 2,300 military personnel and 800 civilian employees. The pay-roll was approximately $25 million, and a total expenditure of $l5 million more a year was being made in the Valley.

On 2 April 1961, the Valley Morning Star headlined "Kilgore Holds Little Hope Harlingen AFB Can Be Retained." He denied the closing was political retaliation, although he had voted against the administration on certain measures in Congress. In addressing business leader, Kilgore told them that the Vice President told him personally of his great interest in the Valley area and of his sympathy if there is an economic impact from the government action. Shortly thereafter, Kilgore received word from Air Force Secretary Zackert that a grace period of six months would delay the closure until December 1962. This was not to be.

In the usual flurry of activity after such a significant and momentous decision, a government task force came to town on May 9^th. Its mission was to find ways to alleviate the economic impact on the community. It failed to take any meaningful action.

In early May the HAFB announced the time table for closure. It stated the Base’s complement at 700 officers, l500 airmen, 800 civilians and nearly l000 students. By 12/31/61 the student load would be 600; by 3/31/62 it would shrink to 400; and all navigation training would end by June l962. In the following three months the Base strength would drop to 200, and by l2/3l/62 only 30 civilians would be on the Base manned by 60 airmen and eight officers. The Base’s mission would move to the James Connally Air Force Base, Waco, Texas.

Although the U. S. by now (May l961) was pledging increased aid to Vietnam, Defense

Agency spokesman Clyde Bothiner of the U. S. Department of Commerce said there was no military use for the HAFB. At this point the local citizenry was asked to write

5,000 letters seeking to have the Base retained. 500 letters per day for ten days were to be mailed in batches to Senators, Representatives, the President and Vice President.

The task force of 25 from ten departments and agencies pledged aid to the city. The real property at the base was valued at $l7,343,000, aircraft at $70,605,000, base supplies and tool fund $3,24l,000, and equipment $8,389,000 for a total of $99,578,000. Local expenditures of all kinds amounted to $25,035,04l for 1961 and an estimated $l2,755,l30 for

l962. This helped to put Harlingen’s effective buying power at $49 million, 29.23% of which was from Base employees according to Realtor H. W. Bahnman. Frank Boggus, HCISD Chairman, noted that l237 children of Base employees attended Harlingen schools and that $4 million had been spent in the last few years for new schools. Taxes had in fact been raised 20% to cover this cost. Van Snell of the Harlingen Housing Authority told the task force that Le Moyne Gardens (adjacent to the Base) with 208 units was filled with Base personnel and a trailer park with 77 spaces had recently been installed. He indicated that it would be difficult for the city to keep these facilities open. Similar sad stories were offered regarding unemployment, water supply developments, airport expansion, expenditures for military entertainment, reduction in construction trades, etc.

The Air Force continued to offer excuses for the closure. In mid-June, it contended the principal reason for the closure was the decline in manned aircraft forces, navigator training requirements having dropped 60 percent since l956 and pilot training by 75 percent. In the fiscal year l956 3,000 navigators had been trained, in l96l l700 and l962 plans were for l200. The high overhead to keep the Base up was also cited.

With some foresight, investment banker Fred Flynn suggested (l) a campaign to publicize the city as a tourist center, and (2) construction of a bridge across the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Los Indios in order to get more business from Mexico-- both to offset Base closing losses.

Kilgore was still making an effort to reverse the decision to close the Base. In mid-July he requested that the Department of Defense come up with an economic and military justification for its decision to close the Base. A month later he admitted a reversal was unlikely despite the military build up over the confrontation in Germany with the Soviets.

On 8/20/61 the last cadets registered for the class to graduate 6/2l/62. At this time, the Base gave out a press release outlining the curriculum for the students. In the initial six weeks the trainee first completes preflight courses then becomes a full fledged Aviation Cadet. The first two weeks of this period is known as "The Green Tux" since the students’ daily dress is the green flying suit. He then receives a complete uniform issue and starts to become both an officer and a navigator. Before the bars of a 2^nd Lieutenant are pinned on the student, he must have (l) flown 32 training missions in the T-29 flying classroom – approximately l60 hours in the air, (2) completed 555 hours of academic training subjects, and (3) completed 315 hours of officer’s training subjects.

A typical day consisted of reveille at 4:45 a.m.; l5 minutes of calisthenics, breakfast at

5:l5, set aside 75 minutes for cleaning the barracks and cadet areas; pre-class inspection at 7:l5. Academic and military classes then occupied the morning from 7:30 to 11:30. Following lunch, students returned to the classrooms until 4:30 p.m. Extra curricular activities included band and glee club practice, night classes, night study hall, and honor training. The day officially ended at l0 p.m. unless the student was scheduled for a night

training mission. Upon commissioning, graduates might go on to advanced training, electronic warfare training or direct to SAC, TAC, MATS or ADC.

In late August rumors were afloat that the Base site would be considered for the NASA space laboratory. It ended up in Pasadena, south of Houston.

In mid-September the Deputy Wing Commander Col. Travis Hoover, here since l959, was reassigned to Command Group, Turkey. He had been a pilot in Doolittle’s famous raid over Tokyo. Hoover was only age 23 when he took part in the 4/18/42 raid at the controls of a B-25. He was second to take off from the aircraft carrier Hornet. Later he piloted a B-24 over the Ploesti oil fields in Romania and participated in the initial bombing over Rome. At the end of September the Base held its last open house. That had been a regular event over a period of years. Aided by Kiwanis members, the Base hosted l600 children brought in l8 school buses among other conveyances.

At this time the HAFB sports programs came to an end. In the period l954-57 the HAFB Hustlers baseball team had played in the Rio Grande Valley Semi –pro League. In l959 through l96l the team played in the military’s Southern District compiling a 37-2l record in l96l.

With faint glimmers of hope, rumors flew that the Base would be used by the Department of Defense for an Officers Candidate School. By mid-November, Kilgore had to squelch any such status for the facilities.

The city fathers soon established an advisory board to work politically on the disposition of the Base. Jack Skaggs, a Harlingen lawyer and Cameron County Democratic Party Chairman was appointed to head the Board. Its mission was "to enable it to establish and carry out a coordinated program for securing and insuring the continued use of the HAFB for military purposes and to advise and recommend to the Mayor and City Commissioners as to such action which may be expedient in effecting such purpose." Shortly thereafter Skaggs and City Manager Marshall Bingham were delegated to go to Washington to talk to Department of Defense people to get something going. Robert Steadman of D of D in turn urged the Chamber of Commerce to find non-military uses for the Base.

Both the Valley Baptist Hospital and the Seventh Day Adventist Church considered utilizing the Base hospital, the latter for a geriatrics center. Upon examination of the facility, however, it was discovered that half of the beds and some operating equipment, supposedly badly in need of repair, had been shipped out. The word "plundered" came to the minds of some, and the church and other groups questioned the freeze order placed on the remaining equipment. Despite this Valley Baptist officials remained interested.

As the first month of l962 drew to a close the Base civilian publication Sun Lines which had been published for l0 years by the San Benito News, was to be discontinued. The office of public relations would continue to publish a smaller version in a different format until July. At this point, the Base manning was slightly under 450 students, l500 military personnel, and 500 civilian employees.

Inexorably the wheels were grinding to a stop. April 29 saw the closure of the Base library and clothing store. A day later the two boats, Falcon Wun and Falcon Two, which had been operated out of Port Harlingen for off base fishing, were taken out of service. On May 4 a C-l24 Globemaster cargo aircraft arrived from Travis Air Force Base to transport Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) equipment to Schilling AFB, Kansas. There were at this time only four more classes to go. The manning had diminished to l72 officers, 523 enlisted men, l43 students, and 300 civilians. Of nearly 250 buildings, l00 had been closed with l5 more scheduled in the following two weeks. On May 3lst the NCO (non-commissioned officers) Club was closed.

The community recognized that not only would the losses sustained be economical but also those in human terms. The Rev. D. Williams McClarken, rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church echoed the sentiments of the community when he stated, "The de-activation of the Base is a great loss to this community and to our church, quite apart from any economic considerations. The character, spirit, intelligence, and energy that Air Force personnel have contributed to us in this community have been a great inspiration to all of us and me personally."

The worst tragedy in its history was to befall the Base on 16 May l962. A T-29 with a crew of five plus four scanners had departed the Base on a search and rescue mission in northern Mexico. A small Cessna plane piloted by an American had been reported missing. Contact was lost with the search craft during the day. A four engine SC 54 was sent to locate either missing plane. Other aircraft soon joined the search including five T-29s from Harlingen and four other planes from Corpus Christi and elsewhere.

At l0 p.m. on May l7th the Base Commander, Col. James E. Newcombe confirmed the worst fears. He made it official that their investigation had precluded the possibility of any survivors. Wreckage had been spotted in the remote central mountains of Mexico at Jalpan near Arroyo Seco, Queretaro State. Apparently experiencing engine trouble, the plane had circled once before attempting to land on a 600 foot long mesa atop a mountain. It lost power, clipped tree tops, and failed to reach its intended destination l00 yards ahead. Peasants working in relays brought the bodies to the village of Rio Verde, the first area accessible by four wheel drive vehicles.

On May 23^rd, the community memorial service was conducted at the HAFB chapel. The sad irony of this whole episode was that the missing Cessna pilot, Marcus Hooks of Donna, had landed safely, had had his plane impounded by Mexico authorities, and was imprisoned on suspicion of smuggling. He had apparently soon escaped and made his way back to north of the border but without communicating his plight to U. S. authorities.

On May 30 the Base’s three year commander, Newcombe, was reassigned to the Departmental Command, Korea Base Command. At the same time, the Baptist Convention approved the purchase of 60 acres of land the building in the southwest corner of the Base for Valley Baptist Hospital use. The approved appropriation for $60,000 included the hospital building and thirty smaller buildings in the area. This initiative did not advance.

The solicitation was premature for any disposal would first have to go through the General Services Administration and in the case of the hospital, possibly through the Health, Education and Welfare Department as well.

In early May another interested group had voiced interest. This was the American Association of Emeriti. This organization of 12,000 retired college professors thought of establishing Emeriti Village at the site. They wished to reserve 120 acres, the old officers’quarters, BOQ barracks, and the Base administration building. To move things along an outlay of $60,000 of local funds would be needed. This was soon underwritten by the non-profit Harlingen Senior Citizens organization. Nothing came of this overture although talks went on until August.

On 6 June l962 the final two classes were graduated in a joint ceremony. The last cadet to receive his wings was Richard E. Young. His class included two Vietnamese Air Force officers. Over its ten year history the school had graduated about 50 foreign students from fourteen countries.

In all, l3,355 students had been graduated from the Navigation School. From June of l952 when the first training began to March, l960 when the l0,000^th navigator was graduated the Base averaged l,290 graduates per year. From March l960 to June l962 it graduated an average of l525 cadets per year.

Although the great majority of navigation school graduates fulfilled their military obligations and returned to civilian life, others chose to become career officers. Following is brief information of some individuals of note connected to the HAFB.

El Paso native Wellington J. Pindar, after receiving a master’s degree in physiology, intended to go directly to medical school but was diverted by the start of the Korean War. "I signed up for a three-year tour of duty with the Air Force but ended serving for four years putting my physiology skills to work as an instructor in aviation physiology at the HAFB in Texas." This Albany Medical College graduate (Class of ’59) went on to a distinguished career and, sharing in his success, created an endowment for his alma mater.

General John L. Piotrowski was a July 1953 graduate. He retired as Commander-in-Chief, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs. He retired 3/31/90 and with his vast knowledge served as a consultant to industry and government.

Also graduating in 1953 was Christopher S. Adams, Jr. He retired on 3/1/83 as a major general and Chief of Staff, SAC, Offut AFB, Nebraska.

From a website we learn that David Steiner, a 1957 graduate at HAFB, obtained a PhD in the 60s, flew numerous weather missions into typhoons and later classified Air Weather Service missions in Laos. Before retiring as a Lt.-Col. on 7/1/83, he amassed 6,200 hours of flying time, including 706 hours of combat time. He was awarded eleven Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Another 1957 graduate was Major General Larry N. Tibbetts who retired 4/90. His last assignment was as Commanding Officer, Air Force Military Training Center, Lackland AFB,Texas.

May 1957 graduate Ralph E. Spraker was another major general before retiring 6/1/89. His last post was Vice Commanding Officer USAF Space Command, Colorado.

Graduating 9/57, James G. Jones also rose in rank to major general. He was Chief of Staff, Tactical Air Command Headquarters and before retirement Commanding Officer of Keesler Technical Training Center, Keesler AFB, Mississippi.

Brigadier General Marion F. Tidwell, who retired 7/1/84, was a distinguished graduate of the 2/55 class. He rose to assume the position of Deputy Director Logistic and Security Assistance, Headquarters of the US European Command, Germany.

Major General Ralph E. Spraker retired on 6/1/89. He attended school in Harlingen in 1956-57. His last assignment was as Vice Commander USAF Space Command, Peterson AFB, Colorado.

A 3/90 retiree was Maj. Gen. James D. Kellim, who trained at HAFB 11/58-7/59. He completed his tour of duty as Deputy Chief of Operations, Headquarters Military Airlift Command, Scotts AFB, Illinois.

Brig. Gen. Ralph D. Townsend, an 11/59 graduate, retired 1/12/98 after completing service as Adj. General Idaho Air National Guard.

Robert I. Biss was commissioned in Harlingen 3/60. With the rank of captain and while piloting a F4C he was shot down and taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese on 11/11/66. He was not released until 3/4/73. He possessed innate determination. He is quoted: "I never had any doubts about coming out of it. This is not to say that things weren’t bleak and desperate at times after the tortuous moments, but I always knew I was coming home."

In one of the last classes (1961), Maj.Gen. James J. LeCleir retired 7/92, relinquishing his post as Director, Latin America Defense College, Fort Lesley, Washington, D.C.

Harlingen hopes were ignited in early July when the Navion Aircraft Co., a subsidiary of the Tubular Service and Engineering Corp.(TUSCO) , announced plans to consolidate its Galveston and Phoenix manufacturing operations in Harlingen. This company fabricated the single-engine, five-seater plane named the Rangemaster. It announced plans to occupy five hangars, employ 275 before a year was up, and produce 25 planes per month. While about 50 of the company’s families did move to Harlingen in the months to follow, by December the company was having major financial problems. It filed for reorganization. The company changed hand several times between 1964 and 1976 resulting in sporadic production of 50-60 of the 285 hp H Model Rangemaster.

As the air went out of the balloon in December, Sen. Yarborough let it be known that a helicopter base was being considered for Harlingen. This came to naught.

It took several years before permanent uses were found for the HAFB facilities. First to make major use of the Base’s support facilities was the Marine Military Academy (MMA), a nonprofit educational institution incorporated in April 1963. Its first classes commenced September 1965. It offers a college preparatory course, grades eight through twelve with elements traditional to the US Marine Corps. Enrollment has grown to over 400. While initially occupying the vacant barracks and other support buildings, the school over the years has upgraded and modernized nearly all the old structures and erected numerous new ones. It is the site of a full size replica of the renowned Iwo Jima Memorial portraying Marines and a navy corpsman raising the American flag over Mt. Suribachi. Nearby is the Iwo Jima Memorial Museum.

In November 1967 the Texas State Technical Institute began operations at the old HAFB as an extension of the Waco campus. Later becoming the Texas State Technical College, it as did MMA, used some of the older buildings and demolished others to make room for new structures. Numerous old two storied barracks are currently being used by the school for student dormitories and one story ones for storage and maintenance operations.

In 1968 the Confederate Air Force, presently the Commemorative Air Force, moved from Mercedes to the northwest side of the field and called this area Rebel Field. There it maintained its headquarters, museum and World War II aircraft collection in three large buildings and several small ones. It conducted well-attended annual air shows for many years at the field. In 1991 the CAF relocated to Midland, Texas.

Before commercial aviation came to the site the field was given the name Harlingen Industrial Airport. In late 1970 the field became the Rio Grande Valley International Airport and later was renamed the Valley International Airport. The city’s airport, Harvey Richards Field at what is now Palm Valley, then was closed. The Valley International Airport has long handled more passenger traffic than any other Valley airport. It strikingly beautiful passenger terminal sits between former military hangars 41 and 38.

Part of the southwest portion of the HAFB was used by the city to establish the Rio Grande Valley Regional Museum. Initially the museum’s collection was housed solely in what has been the old Base brig, a building purchased by Howard E. Butts and later donated to the city.

In 1971 Spartan Aviation would utilize over 150,000 sq ft of hangar space and other buildings. It would employ 500 people for its business of overhauling airplane engines.

In 1972 EMAIR, builders of giant agricultural applicator planes, located in Harlingen at Hangar 38 and has been there ever since.

The Base hospital was in March 1972 occupied by the Rio Grande State Center as a 20 bed unit for treatment of drug addiction and alcoholism.

The horrendous number of 1,400 houses for sale in the city in 1963 and the years to follow alone indicates the magnitude of the closure. Homes were being put on the market for $10 a square foot, a bargain basement price. A typical story of what ensued is that related to the author by Mrs. Lois Weatherell Kinney Lynch. She and her Tech. Sgt. husband Charles Kinney had moved to Harlingen upon his assignment to the Base in March 1953. With a girl of five years and a boy of three at the time, they had waited four years before purchasing a modest home on the corner of Massachusetts and old F Street. When her now Master Sgt. husband was reassigned in August 1961 they were unable to find a buyer for the house. Belatedly they secured a renter. Upon the death of her husband Mrs. Kinney moved back to another home in Harlingen but was unable to sell her original house until February 1974.

Over time many homes were sold to retirees, primarily from the upper Midwest. A Valley Morning Star (8/11/02) re-run article notes that the city’s population had jumped from 23,000 in 1950 to 41,000 by 1960. Upon the Base’s closure the population dropped to 33,603 by 1972. Bob Hansen, a native of Manistique, Michigan, was working as a salesman for Bush Supply Co. when he heard the shocking news of the Base’s fate. He had enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in July 1940 and spent four months at the gunnery school in Harlingen while serving a five year hitch. He is quoted as reflecting "In those days, people in this community enjoyed life, the economy was thriving, and it appeared the happiness would continue. I couldn’t believe it closed; it was so suitable for an air base. I came back from having lunch and one of the workers told me he heard it on the radio."

What formerly comprised the Harlingen Air Force Base is now being put to excellent use. One major current occupant of the field is Lockheed Martin, fabricating, among other things, sections of the Atlas V rocket. The whole area is now an attractive asset to the community that suffered traumatic consequences when the HAFB ceased to exist in1963.

In the little over 14 combined years that the Harlingen Army Airfield and the Harlingen Air Force Base were in operation they were a pride and a joy to the city of Harlingen. The interaction between the military and the citizens of the area was one of mutual admiration and regard. Every one was well served. All deserve to be remembered.

References

The major references utilized in compiling this history are attributed within the text as they are used. They are to be found in the Archive Room of the Harlingen Public Library.

Additional, but generally minor, resources were obtained from perusal of the microfilm files of the daily issues of the Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas) newspaper, 1/1/59 through 12/31/62.

Biographical information on various individuals was gleaned from the google.com search engine under the subjects Harlingen Army Airfield and Harlingen Air Force Base.

Bibliography

Commander,USACE, memorandum of; subject: DERP-FUDS Inventory Project Report for Valley International Airport, former Harlingen Air Force Base, Harlingen, Texas August 1993.

Harlingen Chamber of Commerce, Brief Facts about Harlingen, 1943.

Harlingen, City of, and Chamber of Commerce, Harlingen Physical Characteristics—Former Harlingen Army Air Field, Harlingen, Texas—Civil, Cultural, Commercial and Recreational Survey [1950].

McKenna, Verna Jackson, compiler, writer, editor, Official Program Harlingen Golden Anniversary April 24-30 [1960].

Rozeff, Norman, Harlingen Historical Preservation Society Resource Survey: Hangar 38 (EMAIR), March 2002.

Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) www.wasp-wwii.org

The Handbook of Texas Online (www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles):

Confederate Air Force, Art Leatherwood

Marine Military Academy, W. A. Gary

McKenna, Verna Jackson, Minnie Gilbert

Texas State Technical College-Harlingen, Nancy Beck

Adams Jr., Christopher S. www.af.mil/lib/bio

Biss, Robert Irvin www.pownetwork.org/bios

Clark, Forrest S. www.member.aol.com/unclesarchives

Deblinger,Helen Morris http://www.publicaffairs.cua.edu/cuamag

Edwards, Richard D. www.webspawner.com

Gardner, Elizabeth L. www.veteranshour.com/womenarchive

Harlow, Donald L. www.af.mil/news/biographies

Jones, James G. www.af.mil/lib/bio

Kellim, James D. www.af.mil/lib/bio

LeCleir, James J. www.af.mil/lib/bio

Pindar, Dr. Wellington J. www.amc.edu/resources/PillarFall2000

Piotrowski, John L. www.af.mil/lib/bio

Schirmer, Edward A. www.bandofmid-America.com/spotlight

Spraker, Ralph E. www.af.mil/lib/bio

Steiner, David www.stripe.colorado.edu

Tidwell, Marion F. www.af.mil/lib/bio

Tibbetts, Larry N. www.www.af.mil/lib/bio

Townsend, Ralph D. www.af.mil/lib/bio

Tucher, Francis "Frank" E. www.kensmen.com

Vosler, Forrest L. www.spacecom.af.mil

Welz, Bonnie Jean Alloway www.home.swbell.net

Hoffman, Clarence on 2 January 2003, Harlingen, TX

Lynch, Jean Kinney on 22 January 2003, Harlingen, TX

Markowsky, Edward on 22 December 2002

Menegay, Gerald on 7 January 2003, Harlingen, TX

Rugaart, John and Betty on 27 January 2003, Port Isabel, TX

Newspapers

Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, TX), 1 January 1959 –31 December 1962

Valley Morning Star Series "Bye-Bye, Air Force Base", 11 August 2002

U.S. Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson Field, Ohio http://www.wpafb.afmil/museum/research 

Appendices

Vultee BT-13B "Valiant"

Bell P-39Q "Airacobra"

North American T-6G "Texan"

Lockheed A-29 "Hudson"

Bell P-63 "Kingcobra"

Martin B-26 "Marauder"

Martin B-26B to B-26 B4 "Marauder"

Beech C45H "Expeditor"

Douglas C47D "Skytrain"

Lockheed B-34 "Ventura"

Consolidated B-24D "Liberator"

North American B-25J "Mitchell"

Convair C-131D "Samaritan"

7. Photograph of WASP pilot Elizabeth L. Gardner.

8. Citation and photograph of Bonnie Jean Alloway Welz.

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The Harlingen Connection
Norman Rozeff, Harlingen Historical Preservation Society
July 2003

One of Harlingen’s oldest houses sits at 301 E. Madison across 3^rd Street from the Casa del Sol. This two-story structure was built in 1917 and occupied on 1/2/18 by the family of Elmer William Anglin. Mr. and Mrs. Anglin, together with their four small children, had come to Harlingen in 1907 after having lived in Alpine for seven years. The Anglins had married in Gonzales County on March 8,1898. Upon arriving in Harlingen they resided near the Lon C. Hill complex, now the park. Around 1911 they built their first house, a two-storied wooden-framed building north of the newly-created Lake Harlingen. The site, on today’s Woodland Drive, has a newer house currently owned by Mike Powers.

Mr. Anglin managed the properties and business ventures, including land clearing, of Hill. In this job he was closely connected to the growing young town which came into official being in April 1910. He served on the first cemetery committee as a trustee, served as a school trustee prior to 1920, and after 1910 he performed as police chief for 16 years. From 1939 through 1959 he was a justice of the peace.

Anglin’s brother, Everett, originally from Gonzales County, Texas, came to the Valley in 1905 to serve as a Texas Ranger. Several years later and as the revolution in Mexico began to heat up, Everett became a mounted customs inspector along the border. In one hairy incident he rode into Gen. Lucio Blanco’s camp at Rio Bravo in an attempt to reclaim horses belonging to two Texans who had their horses at a ranch south of the river. Not only did Blanco refuse Anglin’s request, but he directed him to a hanging site where, among others, he viewed the body of an acquaintance, Juan Alamia. Alamia, who had served in the Spanish-American War as one of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, had refused to be conscripted into Blanco’s forces.

As banditry incidents escalated north of the border, Everett, two years later in January 1915, was to play a more important role. A tipster from Mexico named Dr. Andres Villareal had alerted him to some suspicious activities. Anglin, in turn, notified Hidalgo County deputy sheriff Tom S. Mayfield. Anglin and the doctor had set a trap to snare the alleged plotter whom the physician had identified. At the McAllen store of Deodoro Guerra, Anglin and Mayfield confronted one Bacilio Ramos Jr. In his satchel they discovered a document which was to be known as the Plan de San Diego. After the contents revealed it to be a revolutionary manifesto, Ramos was arrested and imprisoned in Edinburg. This story and more are documented by testimony Anglin provided US Sen. Albert Fall’s committee and which was published as "Investigation of Mexican Affairs, Preliminary Report of Hearings of the Committee on Foreign Relations, 66^th Congress, 1920."

Revelation of the Plan shocked those Americans who knew of it. It heightened suspicions of those who already felt a conspiracy was in effect and planted seeds of distrust in those who were neutral in regards the intentions of Mexico’s revolutionaries.

The origins of the Plan are foggy, but the manifesto was supposedly written in the town of San Diego, Duval County on January 6,1915. Probably drafted in Monterey by imprisoned Huerta supporters, it sought to foment a revolution by the formation of a "Liberating Army of Race and People", these being Mexican Americans, African Americans, and Japanese, who would "free" the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and California from US control. In an all out race war all white males over age 16 were to be executed. A second version envisioned Indians being brought into the cause, and a third called for the establishment of a "Republic of Texas" to encompass an area considerably larger than the state’s present size.

Venustiano Carranza and his ally Blanco were fighting first to overthrown the Huerta regime and later to reign in the independent Pancho Villa. When north-of-the-border damages escalated and the number of raids from individuals under the territorial controls of Gen. Carranza and Villa increased, the Federal government belatedly responded by sending thousands of Army and various state National Guard units to the border. Unfortunately the disturbances generated extreme repercussions, repressions, and the deterioration of relations between Valley Anglos and Mexican Americans. Excesses by Texas Rangers were not held in check. Only later, through the strong efforts of Valley legislator, Jose T. Canales, were the Rangers called to task. Then the state legislature reorganized them into a considerably smaller and more accountable organization.

Anglin’s discovery of the Plan of San Diego led to the nadir of Anglo-Mexican American relations in the area but also brought about the eventual restoration of order that would allow the valley to grow and prosper in the early 20^th century.

When World War I started Everett raised a troop of cavalry, received a commission of captain, and served at Camp Stanley before being discharged. From that time on, the family called him by the nickname "Cap." In 1926 he went into the real estate business with an office in Harlingen. The firm of Anglin Brothers and Berley promoted farm land and offered excursions to potential buyers.

In March 1959 the Valley Morning Star carried a story about the Elmer Anglin’s 61^st wedding anniversary celebration at their Madison Street home. In attendance were their children Emmett, Lawson and Charles of Harlingen, Everett of Dallas, and daughter Mrs. Mamie Konze of Corpus Christi. The 1920 U.S. Census indicated that 20 year old Emmett O. was working as an assistant bank cashier and already married toVesta L. His eighteen year old brother D. Ross was acting as a foreman for canal grading and seventeen year old Andrew L. was a hardware salesman. Lawson would later follow his father into law enforcement by becoming a Cameron County motor patrolman.

Youngest son Everett, named after his uncle, gained some fame in his own right. On 4/18/43 then twenty seven year old Lt. Anglin of the 339^th Fighter Squadron –the Jungle Air Force- flew one of sixteen P-38s that destroyed the bomber carrying Adm. Isoruku Yamamoto, commander of the Japanese fleet and the planner of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Several accompanying Japanese planes were also shot down.

Anglin descendents still residing in Harlingen include Lawson’s daughter, Mardelle Anglin Ayers and her two children, William H. Ayers Jr. and Vickie Ayers Gonzales.

The  photograph above is provided courtesy of Vickie Ayers Gonzales. It shows Valley law enforcement officers A. C. Dow, Marcos Hines, Hidalgo Deputy Sheriff Tom Mayfield, and Harlingen police chief E.(Elmer) W. Anglin.  See also: "Unusual Photograph Explained" article below.

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The Railroad Bridges of Harlingen
Norman Rozeff
Harlingen Historical Preservation Society
September 2003

Bridges you write? Most would say, "I know of only one." There is only one now, but it is actually the third one to be erected across the Arroyo Colorado. Here is the story.

The laying of track for Uriah Lott's railroad as financed by B.F. Yoakum and his associates, had reached Harlingen by 4/22/04. Its run to Brownsville awaited completion of a bridge across the Arroyo Colorado. This was accomplished by 5/2/04. Undoubtedly this bridge was a wooden trestle which was to be used temporarily until a more substantial steel one could be constructed. When the first freight/passenger train reached Harlingen on July 4,1904, there may have been a minor celebration in the scantily-populated community as the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway train paused en route to Brownsville. We are not sure, for there was yet to be a Harlingen newspaper to record the event.

Sam Robertson, railroad subcontractor for the Johnston Brothers, surveyor, and engineer, and later founder of San Benito, years afterward reminisced about what occurred two months later. He recounted:

The original wooden bridge gave way in part on September 21, 1904 as continued high arroyo flows worked to undermine it. This then disrupted service to Brownsville for 28 days until repairs could be made.

Because the wooden trestle was to be temporary, it is unlikely that it resembled the often monumental wooden structures to be found crossing the numerous canyons of the west. More likely it was intermediate in height. Since railroad grades are almost always kept below 2% because anything steeper would create traction and power problems, the builders would have had to select an arroyo crossing with a gentler slope then where the present bridge crosses. This site could have been just to the west of the present bridge. Here the banks of the stream gradually descend to the floor of the arroyo. An alternative would have been to cut the banks to allow for a more gradual descent and ascent across the arroyo. There is, in fact, a deep cut on the north side immediately adjacent to the current bridge.

The present bridge owned and maintained by the Union Pacific System is the longest span on the railroad line running from Corpus Christi to Brownsville. Its construction was completed in late September 1905. A small badly rusted plate affixed upside down to the diagonal girder at the southeast side of the bridge has the barely discernable date 1905 on it.

The bridge has a design characteristic of its construction period. It is simple, strong, unadorned, and utilitarian. It is of simple truss design and rests on two cast concrete piers straddling the stream within the banks of the arroyo. At ground level each pier measures 31' 8" wide and 9'2" deep. The piers taper to about 21' at their top platforms. The steel pier to pier portion of the bridge is approximately 228' with an additional steel span of 40' on its north end. A wooden trestle of about 224' completes the traverse on the south side. The total length spanned is then about 492'. The bridge is fifteen feet wide with an inside clearance of eleven feet. The height above the stream to the bottom of the bridge is about 38' and to its top about 81'.

This black painted bridge, now oxidized to a cinnamon-colored patina, has played an important role in the Valley's 20th Century commerce and allowed for its growth and development. Now, with the passage of the recent bond issue, its 21st Century future may be limited.

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Southern Hospitality in Harlingen -- The Verser House
Betty Murray and Norman Rozeff
Harlingen Historical Preservation Society,
September 2003

Times were hard in those early years in the Valley. The Versers had been married in Riley, Tennessee and had started their family when Mr. Verser became ill and was given six months to live. He arrived first by himself to see if the Valley climate would help him to get well. He thrived in South Texas and lived forty more years working as a farmer.

Huron's wife, who was also his first cousin, Lucy Verser followed with the little ones. After they purchased the sizeable house from Mr. C.W. Waterwall, who had built and run it as a boarding house, she had one more child, making six in all. Jack H. Verser, the baby of the family, was born in this house in l916 or 1917. Family records are not clear on this point though his social security record says 1917.

What was to be the Verser House was initially the Chaudoin House. A series of pictures taken from atop the Hill Building in 1911 form a panoramic view of early Harlingen. It shows the L or T-shaped wood frame house in pristine condition. It must have been constructed in late1910 or 1911, for Robert Runyon pictures, including Monroe Street, taken earlier in 1910 do not show it. Lily Chaudoin Cleary (R.W. Liston's mother) recalls her family move to the Valley where they first settled on Dilworth Road. Mr. R.L. Chaudoin came to Harlingen with R.S. Dilworth and Winston Harwood. Dilworth had a ranch west of town and south of the Arroyo Colorado. Hard times drove the Chaudoins into town where they rented what was later to be called the Verser House, and Lily's mother offered room and board. When they rented it and lived there, it was known as the Chaudoin House. Lily waited tables for her mother, and it was there she met her husband to be, Osie Liston.

The Verser family lived in the big house which they had purchased, and there were always several people who rented rooms. The main attraction was Lucy's wonderful home-cooked meals, served family style. It was great southern cooking. Many Harlingen people ate there on Sundays. Weekdays, men who worked downtown, chose the delicious Verser food for fifty cents a meal. Also, out-of-town businessmen soon learned the best place to go was to the Verser House on the one hundred block of West Monroe. The address was 114 W. Monroe. The site now across the street from New York Deli is a landscaped vacant lot with large trees.

The rented rooms were comfortable with a washstand, pitcher and bowl and nice furniture. The dining room was dominated by a square oak table which could expand to seat twelve people. This table remains in the possession of Jack's daughter Kathryn Hearn, who lives in McAllen. After the dwelling ceased to be a boarding house the dining area became a combination dining/living area for the family. On its east side was a living room with low built-in bookshelves and some antique furniture. There were seventeen rooms altogether, including the dining room, which was 20' by 40', and the kitchen. All the rooms had a view of the courtyard. The Verser family used the master bedroom on the second floor east side as the sitting room for the family. There was no sitting room as such for the boarders.

Young Maxine Shaddix lived in one of the rooms with her mother after they arrived in Harlingen in April 1920. Later, she became Mrs. Flint Harris of San Benito and fondly remembers this place as home while she and Flint were courting and until she married and went to San Benito to live. Her mother paid Mrs. Verser $100.00 a month for a room and three meals a day for both of them.

Numerous, later prominent, Harlingenites stayed at the Verser House before becoming established in the community. John Myrick and his wife lived there as he began to practice law in 1915 as Harlingen's first attorney. In late 1926 and part of 1927 Ned Sondock, who would found the Delta Office Furniture Company predecessor to Delta Office Supply, lived there while waiting for his wife, Tillye, and their baby son to move to the Valley from Houston. Jim Sweeney, father of Mary Lou Rumbo, also lived there prior to his marriage and while working for the Ice Company which would evolve into CP&L.

The 1930 Harlingen telephone directory lists H.J. and Lucy Verser still living there along with several of their children. These were Annie Conner Verser, who taught school in Mercedes; Corrine Verser, who taught at the Harlingen Senior High School; Bessie Verser; and Murrell Verser, the oldest of the six siblings. He was a packer working at the Snavely Packing Company.

In 1966, eighty-eight year old Mrs. Verser followed her husband in death. The daughters continued to live there for a number of years. A series of fires took place in late summer of 1979. It was not occupied at that time, though it was still in the Verser name. Jack Verser offered any of its contents which could be re-cycled to the Harlingen Hospital Restoration Project. Doors, windows, plumbing, ceiling and floor boards were used to complete the Museum project. What were left over, unused, were the floor boards that were sold as fund raising souvenirs.

Four sisters, who are Lucy and Huron's grandchildren by Jack, and eight great grandchildren are the descendents now alive. Debby Verser Rektorik, one of the sisters, is Chief Special Services Officer at the Knapp Medical Center. Her father Jack passed away in 1998.

Regretfully the Verser House was lost by fire and the ravishment of time, but its memory lives on through this little story, the charitable mementoes purchased by generous citizens, and the fixtures of the house still serving the old F Street Hospital now at the Rio Grande Valley Museum.

Betty Murray's 1980 article was transcribed and annotated by Norman Rozeff, Harlingen Historical Preservation Society, September 2003.

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Thomas F. Lee and Leeland

By 1917 Thomas F. Lee is heavily promoting sales of his farm land west of Harlingen. His Lee Land Company has offices in what he calls Leeland (now the Stuart Place area south of West Business 83), Dallas, Oklahoma City, and St. Louis. He is utilizing excursions to generate sales. One brochure exclaims "Our luxurious private steel Pullman car leaves the Union Station, St. Louis, the first and third Tuesdays of each month for the Home of the Golden Fruit--Leeland--the heart of the Rio Grande Valley." His brochure titles are "The Magic Valley", "Telephone for Rain", "Golden Fruit", Harvest at Christmas Time", and "My Southern Home."

Lee is to construct a substantial attractive two story building on his property. (It still exists several miles from Harlingen at 7901 West Business 83.) It is a sales draw and termed a community clubhouse. When Lee later sells his holdings to the Stuarts, this piece of the property, now termed the Stuart Place Community Center, is used for many years by community residents.

It is in 1912 that Robert Terry Stuart of Kaufman County, TX first comes to the Valley. His development work starts in 1916 with investments near Harlingen, Brownsville, Edcouch, and tracts near Mercedes and Mission. He was born near Terrill in Kaufman County, TX on 1/24/80. His parents are Texas born, his grandparents having come here from Scotland when Texas was a republic. He is educated at the Sam Houston School in Huntsville and the M&F Institute, Chicago. In Oklahoma City he becomes president of the Mid-Continental Life Insurance Co. and the Robert T. Stuart and Co. Investment Banks. He married Maude Elizabeth McKebbons 6/30/04.

1916 Otis E. Stuart comes to the Valley. He and his brother, R.T. Stuart, who as noted, had acquainted himself with the Valley as early as 1912, later develop and promote Stuart Place with its 10,000 acres, probably the largest individually owned agricultural and citrus fruit property in South Texas. Brand names are Stuart's Premium and Stuart's Tree Ripened. Its two packing sheds handling products have a total of 10,000 square feet. R.T. is a resident of Oklahoma City and president of the Mid-Continental Life Insurance Co. (of Oklahoma.)

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Unusual Photograph Explained
Norman Rozeff

In the Our Heritage page of 12/11/03 an article ran on Harlingen's Anglin family. Accompanying it was an unusual photograph (repeated at right) furnished by Vickie Ayers Gonzales, an Anglin descendent. The photograph showed four Texas lawmen, two of whom appeared in unusual headgear. An explanation of the photograph has come to light. In the April 1985 issue of Fiesta, a monthly magazine printed in McAllen at the time and directed at tourists, the same picture is reproduced and a short account of it is made.

The border law officers in the picture (left to right) are: V.C. Dow, deputy sheriff from El Paso; Marcus Hines, U.S. Customs Officer; Tom Mayfield of Donna; and E.W. Anglin police chief of Harlingen. The photo was courtesy of Lawson Anglin, one of E.W.'s sons and himself later a lawman as Cameron County motor patrolman.

Tom Mayfield, who once worked as a supervisor on John Closner's San Juan Plantation, became a Hidalgo County deputy sheriff and, as readers may recall, played a major role in uncovering the Plan of San Diego, an insurrectionist manifesto conceived in 1915.

Elmer William Anglin managed the properties and business ventures, including land clearing, of Hill. In this job he was closely connected to the growing young town which came into official being in April 1910. He served on the first cemetery committee as a trustee, served as a school trustee prior to 1920, and after 1910 he performed as police chief for 16 years. From 1939 through 1959 he was a justice of the peace.

Surprisingly the picture was not taken in Texas, but in Lansing, Michigan. This is how it came about. After serious border incidents began to occur along the U.S.-Mexico border and the turmoil related to the Mexican revolutionists added to unsettled conditions, the federal government sent army troops (nearly 50% of the total number in the ranks) to the border then had to supplement them even more with National Guard troops. Henry Ford, fearing the loss of some of his automobile factory workers to guard call up duty, voiced opposition to government plans. Opposing Ford was the equally vehement Chicago Tribune. When the newspaper labeled him "an anarchist", he found reason to sue it for a million dollars.

The border lawmen were called north to testify in the trial which ensued. They provided accounts of the border disorders and banditry. According to the Fiesta article Lawson Anglin recalls his father spending thirty-eight days in Michigan. The judgment ran against Ford; his claim was thrown out. It was after the trial that this group picture was taken. In a jovial mood Hines and Dow donned Mexican sombreros rather than their own usual hats, possibly Stetsons.

National Guard units did indeed come south. One of the largest encampments was Camp Llano Grande occupied in 1916-17. This was located near the present day Texas A & M Experiment Station at the intersection of FM 1015 and Business 83. Units from Indiana, Nebraska, Minnesota, and North Dakota were stationed here on an area occupying over 200 acres. The camp included a headquarters building, commissary, and recreational facilities. Wither's lodging house was transformed into the camp hospital. South of the railroad tracks were parade grounds, tent encampments, and stock pens. Once U.S. involvement into the Great War was imminent, the camp was abandoned in March 1917, one month prior to U.S entry into the war. The troops stationed there were then called to war service in France.

Over the period, there were stationed at the camp Indiana National Guard troops totaling 3,702 in an artillery battalion, field hospitals, infantry regiments, ambulance companies, sanitary company, and signal company. Nebraska troops numbered 2,153 who, in addition to the above units, had a machine gun company. Minnesota guardsmen numbered 5,117 and consisted of infantry and field artillery regiments. The North Dakota National Guard contingent numbering 1,007 members was also headquartered there though its camp was in Mercedes.

Soldiers of the 6th U.S. Cavalry, 26th Infantry and the 3rd Texas National Guard are stationed in Harlingen as part of efforts to quell border unrest. They even have several field hospitals for the minimum of 10 companies involved here. On 8/3/16 on the orders of Major A.R. Sholars, Companies K and L of the Third Texas Infantry are moved by truck from San Benito into Harlingen as the first step in consolidating all Texas troops into Harlingen. On August 6 the City Council orders a committee of three to consult with Texas State Adjutant General Hulen for plans of cooperation between the general and the City Council and the City Health Officer regarding the camp site. This month the city appoints a City Health Officer to overlook the soldiers. The city provides the camp with free water and lights. Various Robert Runyon photographs of the period show tent camps around Fourth Street, east of Harrison and also along the train tracks on Commerce near where it meets Madison. Runyon also portrays soldiers preparing to embark on a military train near the first depot in Harlingen.

As some troops in the Valley were sent home, some possibly to handle the impending nationwide railroad strike, the cost of maintaining troops on the border had added to the federal government’s budget deficit of $50 million. This was one of the reasons Congress had approved a federal income tax to take effect on 1/1/17. Unmarried people earning $3,000 or more would be taxed 2%, married above $4,000 the same, and those $20,000 or above on a graduated scale 1 to 13%. Corporations with a capital stock value of $75,000 or more would pay a 2% tax.

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Valley Morning Star and Print Media Chronology

Compiled by Norman Rozeff, Harlingen Historical Preservation Society, 5/07

1909 According to a later Harlingen Star article by its owners in 1925, the newspaper had been started this year.

7/30/10 Harlingen Star printer is shot according to a brief Brownsville Herald article.

11/25/13 H. A. Gibbs is editor of the Harlingen Star newspaper. He and his wife may have taken over the weekly as early as 1909. He also serves on the City Commission 4/12 through 11/16.

1915 Gregorio Garcia, who came to Harlingen in 1910, publishes El Precurso, the first Spanish language newspaper in town.

10/29/18 S. A. Pipes is publishing the Harlingen Star.

1/7/20 V. P DuBose and T. C. Claypool purchase the Harlingen Star from T. G. Locke.

7/27/21 Dubose sells Harlingen Star to F. M. Allen of Austin. On 11/2/21 G. K. Shearer is named to be its editor. The paper soon upgrades to a linotype machine that provides fresh type for each issue and a uniform style.

Sometime after the above date, George Stout, a contractor who came with his wife to Harlingen in 1921, is to buy and own the Star until July 1925. Stout, a Presbyterian was to marry Anna M. born in Indianapolis on 4/12/61. They married 9/19/91 and she is to die on 11/20/25. The paper is published every Friday by the Harlingen Star Publishing Company. The annual subscription rate is $2.00.

July 1925 In the third week of this month new owners begin publication of the paper. They are granted a state charter to incorporate. The name of the new firm is the Star Printing Company. The stock is held in the names of R. M. Gillmore, president, W. J. Baldwin, secretary-treasurer, and their wives. They announce that the purchase has been self-financed, that they are experienced in publishing, and that a larger investment is to be made to improve the equipment and increase volume.

12/25 A news item states that the Star is about to install new machinery and office equipment as the current setup is inadequate.

1926 W. J. Baldwin is manager of the Harlingen Star, which also takes in commercial printing. The paper, published on Tuesday and Friday, has E. O. Arnold as its editor and George Cowan as advertising manager. Around this same time Cowan and Sons become proprietors of the semi-weekly (Tues. & Fri.) Harlingen Star. George Cowan is the advertising manager and E. O. Arnold is editor. The latter is replaced by Otto A. Vinke in late August 1926. Vinke has had experience as editor of the Fort Worth Record and with the San Antonio Express. His parents live in Rio Hondo.

8/21/28 Howard Barrett and his wife arrive from Abilene. He is the new owner of the Star Publishing Company which he purchased several weeks ago. He has had publishing experience with the Abilene Reporter and the Abilene Daily News. One new change will be that subscribers of the paper will get home delivery of the paper by newsboys rather than by mail, this to commence 8/24. George W. McDaniel of Abilene comes down also on a temporary basis to iron out circulation problems. On 9/25 the paper's new 28,000 lb. Duplex Press is publicized in a front page picture. It is capable of printing and folding 6,000 copies an hour.

9/28/28 It is announced that the tri-weekly Harlingen Star is to become a five day weekly plus Sunday newspaper under its new ownership. This change takes place on 12/1. The very nature of the paper then changes with the insertion of considerable Associated Press (AP) newswire items. National and international news now dominate the lineage. The headlines take on the look of sensational/disaster grabbers. A Sunday supplement and comics are added. Obituaries are seldom run on local people unless they are of some prominence.

6/2/29 The paper commences a joint advertising venture with Harlingen radio station KRGV.

6/27/30 In a CPL survey the Harlingen Star reports that it has 48 employees. This likely includes delivery people.

This year the paper is purchased by two entities. One is Marsh and Fentress which is publisher of papers in Austin, Waco, Port Arthur and elsewhere. Co-owner is Harte and Hanks which own papers in San Angelo, Abilene, and Corpus Christi. In 1931 the former entity will obtain 100% ownership.

1931 It is this year that the Harlingen Star becomes the Valley Morning Star. The Valley Morning Star's plant and office is located at 118 North A Street, a site later occupied by Luby's New England Cafeteria. A small photographer's studio stands between the VMS and Junkin's Furniture to the north. The VMS is owned by the March-Fentress Group but in 1933 is sold to McHenry Tichenor, who came to the Valley from Oklahoma. Tichenor, who came to the Valley in 1930, served as an administrator for the VBH and was a member of the Elks and Rotary. It was his purchase of a radio station here from Judge Hofheinz of Houston that sent him on the road to becoming a multi-millionaire. Several years later Hubert Hudson, father of the 1930s state senator from the area, purchases the VMS along with the Brownsville Herald and McAllen Monitor. Tichenor is said to have paid $50,000 for the VMS and sold it five years later for $125,000. Soon after Hudson builds a new newspaper plant at 213 South 2nd Street and installs an efficient rotary press to supersede the flatbed one.

3/1/36 The Valley Morning Star's circulation is touted at 3,677 home deliveries, 1,274 motor routes, 1,370 via Valley mail (142 out of the area), and 190 hotel sales for a total 6,653 paid circulation.

1937 Ownership of the Valley Morning Star shifts to H. R. Hudson who also obtains the (McAllen) Evening Monitor and the Brownsville Herald.

1942 (spring) Leo E. Owens who owns papers in Minnesota and California becomes proprietor of the three city papers.

1942/43 In addition to the Valley Morning Star with its 10,000 circulation, Harlingen is the publishing site of Texas Farming and Citriculture Magazine. This 10,000 circulation publication is devoted to the development of agriculture in South Texas and was established in 1924.

1944/45 The Valley Morning Star circulation is 10,000.

10/1/51 Raymond Cyrus Hoiles and his Freedom Newspapers, Inc. purchase the Valley Morning Star, the Brownsville Herald, and the McAllen Monitor for $2 million. The VMS has 70 employees, $270,000 payroll, 140 carriers, and 18,000 square feet in its new plant. It was this year that Hoiles founded Freedom Communications long after his 1935 purchase of the Santa Ana Register in Orange County, CA. In 1999 the newspaper group was to acquire the Mid-Valley Town Crier (Weslaco). By 2003 the Freedom group was the country's 11th largest newspaper company. It owned 28 dailies, 37 weeklies, and 8 television stations, all having an estimated value of $1.3 to 2 billion. This is when Freedom Communications, Inc. solicited bids for the sale or merger of the family-owned company. CEO Alan Bell noted that the board of directors authorized investment banker Morgan Stanley to seek offers. This would establish a market value for the company. This was done and allowed some family members to be bought out without sacrificing the company.

8/26/55 Johnny Martin who came to the Valley in 1926 and worked for the Valley Morning Star for over 12 years is to die at age 51. Under 5' in stature, this colorful news photographer had a sixth sense for smelling out news stories. He leaves his wife Louise and a daughter here.

4/12/59 T. N. Gaines succeeds the ailing Frank Ragsdale as editor of the Valley Morning Star. Gaines has been with the Freedom Newspapers for 17 years and at the McAllen Evening Monitor the last eight.

5/10/59 General manager Ralph Julliard starts new plant and presses of the Valley Morning Star on South 77 Sunshine Strip near the bridge. The plant features a high capacity 9-unit Unitubular Press.

10/31/61 The Valley Morning Star commences its annual editions of Saludos Amigos.

10/30/70 Raymond Cyrus Hoiles, Newspaper publisher and founder of the Freedom Press dies. Born in Alliance, Ohio on 1/24, 1878, he began his newspaper career with his brother Frank who published the Alliance Review. At the time of his death the chain published twenty newspapers with a circulation of 500,000 in eight states.

1/4/81 V. Lyle Debolt, publisher of the VMS, announces a change in the paper's front page format.

5/21/82 Nellie Wobschall of the paper is recognized by the Junior Service League of Harlingen for her many years of service to the community via her editing of the Viewpoint column.

8/22/82 The VMS initiates its satellite antenna to receive direct AP service communications via space.

1/3/99 Minnie Carpenter Gilbert celebrates her 99th birthday. As a nine year old she came with her parents from Oklahoma to Runn, south of Donna. After the flooding of 1909 the family moved to San Benito in 1910. She attended UT in the 1920s. Minnie then began her newspaper career working for the San Benito News, Brownsville Herald and the Harlingen Star which became the Valley Morning Star. During WWII she was city editor of the latter. She retired in 1971 but devoted herself to preserving Valley history. She authored/edited Gift of the Rio, Roots by the River, and Rio Grande Round-up. She was founder and first president of the Valley By-Liners.

1999 Douglas Hardie becomes publisher of the VMS. In August 2007, at age 60, he will retire after 28 years of newspaper work in the Valley. He had worked for the Freedom chain for nearly 50 years having started as a paperboy for his grandfather's media company. In 2003 he helped put together the package which would allow the family to retain 51% of the company, the 11^th largest such chain in the U.S. Upon being graduated from the University of Denver he commenced employment in the Freedom chain and worked in numerous locations. Hardie worked as publisher of the Brownsville Herald from 1979 to 1998.

10/2/02 The Valley Morning Star has a paid circulation of 27,183.

5/11/04 Freedom Communications Inc., parent company of the Valley Morning Star, moved the corporation partly out of sole Hoiles family hands thereby resolving a twenty year feud. In a two billion dollar deal 58% of the stock was sold to the Blackwell Group of New York and Rhode Island-based Providence Equity Partners. Family members who wanted out sold the outstanding shares, however the buyout group can only own a maximum of 49.9% of the voting stock, so the family will remain in control. Tim Hoiles, grandson of the founder, Raymond C. Hoiles, sold his shares, estimated at more than $100 million.

By May 2006 the Freedom Press chain includes the following publications and cities:

Journal-Courier, Jacksonville, IL The Lima News, Lima, OH

Appeal Democrat, Maryville, CA Brownsville Herald, Brownsville, TX

Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, NC Daily Press, Victorville, CA

Free Press, Kinston, NC The Sun, Yuma, AZ

Times-News, Burlington, NC The Monitor, McAllen, TX

Shelby Star, Shelby, NC Quay County Star, Tucumari, NM

The Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, FL Panama City Herald, Panama City, FL

Clovis News Journal, Clovis, NM Daily Press, Victorville, CA

Sedalia Democrat, Sedalia, MO Portales News Tribune, Portales, NM

Recorder, Porterville, CA Desert Dispatch, Barstow, CA

Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, TX

6/9/06 The Freedom Communication Inc. acquires the free-distribution weekly The Coastal Current. The latter, conceived 14 years ago and owned by Jim and Melissa Goller, concentrates on entertainment and South Padre Island. It will be consolidated with Island Breeze, a Freedom publication.

8/15/06 Paul Binz, 51, veteran newspaperman, becomes managing editor of the Valley Morning Star. He has been managing editor at The Monitor in McAllen since 1993 and worked there and at the Brownsville Herald since 1989. He replaces George Cox who is now general manager for the Coastal Current and Island Breeze, recently acquired by Freedom Communications. Binz is a Little Rock native who was raised in Houston.

4/12/07 The Texas Historical Foundation recognizes the VMS as tops among all Texas print media when it gives it "The Journalistic Achievement Award of Merit for Excellence in Print Media."

5/07 After 23 years of covering Valley sports, VMS Buddy Green retires. A native of Mount Vernon, NY he came to Texas in the early 1980s to attend Texas A&I University. He joined the VMS in 1984 and in 1999 was named its sports editor. His coverage was well received over the years.

9/1/07 Tyler Patton, 42, becomes the publisher of the VMS. This Midland native earned a degree in financial management from Hardin-Simmons University and in 1990 began employment with the Abilene Reporter News. He joined Freedom Communications, the parent of the VMS, when, in 1994, he took employment with the Odessa American. In 2004 he became general manager of the Valley Morning Star.

10/1/07 The circulation of the newspaper reaches 23, 919 average over the last 12 months.

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When Giants Roared in Hanger 38
Norman Rozeff
January 2004

As people drive into the Valley International Airport they may spot a large hanger building set back from the road. Even with its fading paint job, this corrugated metal structure stands out because of its somewhat faded international orange paint job, which it has likely sported for 27 years. The logo spelling "EMAIR" in large white letters on its front side adds a sense of puzzlement to most passing by. This is Hanger 38. It was constructed in 1942 when the Harlingen Army Airfield was being developed to train over 48,000 soldiers in its aerial gunnery school, termed "HAGS" for short. It was used the military until late 1945 when the base was phased out upon the end of World War II. Two years after the Korean War commenced in June 1950 and was to be followed by the "Cold War", the field was reactivated as the Harlingen Air Force Base with a mission to train navigators. It did so for over 13,350 officers.

When the military used the black and white checkerboard-painted hanger, it was used to maintain such aircraft as P-39s, BT-13s (a basic trainer), and two seater AT-6s. The latter would either tow a target or fitted with a Browning machine gun in the rear of the cockpit fire at them. Still later B-24s and P-63s would be used in training. The Air Force when it later reoccupied the field used the hanger to maintain such larger aircraft as C-45s, C-47s, and T-29s.

Hanger 38 was one of several of nearly identical design to be found at the base. On its east side facing the runways it had sixteen sliding doors on six tracks. These would be pushed eight to each side to provided access to its 200' wide and 120' deep interior with 20' height clearance to the girder work. On north and south sides of the hanger additional 17' wide spaces had been constructed to hold machining, working, and storage areas. The west side held 19' wide office spaces.

When the base was closed in 1962 the field was turned back to the City of Harlingen. The city then tried to turn it into an industrial airpark and therefore sought to find tenants and businesses to utilize the available infrastructures. By 1967 the Texas State Technical Institute was on the scene using barracks, former administration, and other buildings for classrooms and other uses. Hanger 38, now painted in neutral colors, was used by students studying aircraft maintenance. In 1970 the city decided to move its municipal airport from Harvey Richards Field, where the town of Palm Valley and the Harlingen Country Club now stand, to the larger field closer to the city.

In 1972 the hanger was to see an unusual occupant. EMAIR, a subsidiary of Murray Air of Hawaii, was looking for a mainland site in which to fabricate a new type of agricultural airplane. A Dallas firm suggested Harlingen as a centrally located site with labor in the area not being highly organized. In addition the facility was reasonably priced for lease. The Chamber of Commerce then conducted much of the legwork to ease EMAIR's occupancy.

EMROTH Company doing business as EMAIR was organized by Bill Murray of Hilo, Hawaii and George Roth of Oahu, Hawaii to build a high capacity bi-wing agricultural plane similar to but much larger than the existing bi-wing Stearman aircraft being flown in the 1950s and 60s for agricultural dusting. The Boeing-built Stearmans had served as training planes at the start of WWII. After the war many were converted for aerial agricultural uses. Originally having 220 hp engines, some were upgraded to 330 hp.

The prototype designed by Roth was built in New Zealand over nine month period. It was tested there, dismantled, and shipped to Hawaii. It had the load capacity to apply 2,800 lbs. of fertilizer for Hawaii's sugarcane and pineapple fields as well as convertibility to apply liquid herbicides. The Stearmans then in use had only a 1,200 lb. capacity. Five more super-sized planes were built on Oahu for use in the islands. These were powered by Pratt and Whitney R1340 600 hp engines.

It was 7/30/73 when EMAIR rolled out the first aircraft manufactured in Harlingen. The company had begun operations here in January 1973. The plane could reach a speed of 118 mph and carry 6,250 lbs in its 62 ½ cubic ft. hopper.  This is the equivalent of 450 gallons. The upper wing of the MA-1 Paymaster was 41ft. 8 in. and the lower one 35'.

After manufacturing commenced in Harlingen, 46 aircraft were fabricated. While the initial models were designated MA-1, later ones, with Wright R1820 1200 hp engines, were designated MA-1B. As the cane industry wound down in Hawaii and competitors came out with new, more powerful applicators, manufacturing ceased here. The last aircraft was built December 1986.

As of this time EMAIR does some aircraft engine maintenance work but mostly cares for fabric-covered planes of aerial applicators, hobbyists, and collectors. Long-time owner/manager and Harlingen resident George Roth has retired to the Lake Livingston area. One unsold giant has sat forlornly in Hanger 38 for some years. It now seems that it will soon find a home in Louisiana with an owner who has a sister craft.

Lyle Chipps, supervisor for EMAIR, has been selling off the remaining inventory and plant equipment as the company will soon shutter its doors forever. The fate of Hanger 38 will then be in the hands of the Airport Authority. Whether its event-filled life of 62 years will continue or it will fall to the wrecking ball is anyone's guess.

In January 2008, except for its foundation, Hanger 38 was demolished to make added space for air operations of the adjacent Federal Express Company.

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Famed Sculptor, Lincoln Borglum, Farmed in Area

Norman Rozeff

The name Borglum is hardly a household word to most Americans, but Mt. Rushmore with its famous patriotic monument is certainly known to most. It was the Borglums, father John Gutzon de la Mothe and his son James Lincoln de la Mothe, who were responsible for conceiving and executing the giant heads of Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt comprising the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota. The initial idea was brought to Gutzon by South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson. The Black Hills site on the 5,725 foot mountain named in 1885 after New York lawyer Edward E. Rushmore was dedicated on August 10, 1927 by President Calvin Coolidge. Completion of the work was not until 1941 when World War II suspended any further refinements. While the completion took 14 years all told due to financial limitations, the actual carving took 6 ½ years.

Gutzon Borglum, who was born in Idaho in March 1867, was the son of Danish immigrant parents. His father was a physician and rancher. Gutzon studied art in California and while there executed the large painting Stagecoach, now in the Menger Hotel, San Antonio. In his early 20s he studied in Paris for two years and then a year in Spain. He was awarded M.A. and L.L.D. degrees. After returning to the U.S, he painted and illustrating but began to concentrate on sculpting. Although he studied with and was influenced by the famed French sculptor Rodin, some say that Gutzon went into sculpture to compete with his talented younger brother Solon Hannibal, a sculptor of western art. Gutzon completed a head of Lincoln (1908) now at the Capitol Rotunda in Washington among other commemorative work to follow. He moved to Texas in 1925 to work on a monument to trail drivers. Its casting was delayed until 1940 and then was only a fourth the size of its original conception. It stands today near the Witte Museum in San Antonio. While in Texas, Borglum planned the redevelopment of the Corpus Christi waterfront but this project was never brought to fruition. A model of Christ intended for the waterfront was later modified by his son Lincoln and erected on a South Dakota mountaintop. Lincoln, born April 9, 1912, was Borglum's son by his second wife, Mary Montgomery, a PhD. In 1908 after a nine year marriage, Gutzon had divorced his first wife, Elizabeth (Lisa) Putnam, who was twenty two years his senior.

Gutzon had started to execute the Confederate Memorial on Stone Mountain, Georgia in 1916, a work interrupted by World War I but resumed in 1924. The smooth granite face would feature a frieze of Generals Lee and Jackson, Jefferson Davis and Confederate troops. Characterized by a temper, perfectionism, tremendous vitality, and being fiercely opinionated, Gutzon fell out with the work's sponsors, the Confederate Monumental Association, and destroyed his models. Augustus Lukeman was to take up the reins and complete this project.

At Rushmore and now 60 years of age, Gutzon sculpted five foot models of the presidents' heads. These had to be transformed into 60 foot heads 500' above the valley floor. If each of the figures was carved full-size, its length would be 465'. After surgery in Chicago, Gutzon was to die of an embolism on 3/6/41. Seven months later under the direction of Lincoln and with a final cost of just under $1 million and the removal of 500,000 tons of rock the work ended on 10/31/41. World War II loomed and the last of the $50,000 appropriated had been spent.

Lincoln had joined his father in 1932 and worked for several years without pay. In time he was to become his father's right hand man. Between 1934 and 1938 he was in charge of measurements and enlarging the models as "pointer's" work superintendent; in 1938 he was made superintendent of the memorial. Initially resented by some as possibly being the privileged son of the boss, Lincoln with his quiet demeanor, friendly personality, and strong work ethic soon won everyone over. Four hundred workmen carved the smooth-grained granite. A one point Lincoln hired back workmen his father had fired in a pique of anger. In recognition of his significant contributions to the monument, the government named its visitors center museum, the Lincoln Borglum Museum.

Lincoln Borglum was in his late 50s when, in 1970, he came to the Valley from Hermosa, South Dakota and purchased a citrus grove at 8/10 Mile South Bass Blvd. in the Adams Gardens Subdivision. His former residence still stands on the southeast corner of the intersection of Hoss Lane and Bass Blvd. While operating the grove he continued to create, but much more modest works. He and his wife Mary Ann Bellsworth Borglum enjoyed the Valley and its people. They hosted numerous parties. Mrs. Borglum, born February 16, 1917 in South Dakota, was to die in August 1985. Though residing here, he was to die on 1/27/86 after an illness in Corpus Christi, where his daughter Robin Carter and son Robert lived. This Episcopalian and Freemason also left behind sons Paul, Dick, and James together with his younger sister, Mrs. David Vhary of Reno. Both Borglums are interred in City Cemetery No.1, San Antonio. At the time of his death Lincoln was working on a bust of Lloyd P. Nolen, Confederate Air Force co-founder. Harlingen's Bob Scoggins was a pallbearer at both funerals. He and his wife Marybelle fondly remember the Borglums every time they view their small bronze statue of Lincoln's "The Branding" portraying three cowboys branding a calf and the miniature of the Mt. Rushmore monument Lincoln made for them. Additional works of Lincoln are to be founding the Simon Michael Art Gallery, Rockport, TX. The painter Michael was a lifelong fiend of Lincoln.

Readers will find more detailed information in Lincoln's 1966 book titled My Father's Mountain: Mt. Rushmore and How It Was Carved. He himself is the subject of T. D. Griffith's book, A Sculptor's Son: Lincoln Borglum and Mt. Rushmore.

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Upon the March 6, 2005 Dedication of the Texas Historical Commission Events Marker Commemorating the Harlingen Army Air Field and Harlingen Air Force Base.

Norman Rozeff
Harlingen Historical Preservation Society

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. It is long overdue that we gather here today to remember certain important events in Harlingen history. It was sixty three and a half years ago that Col. John R. Morgan arrived in this city and in this location to assume command of the new Harlingen Army Air Field. Those, mostly military but many also civilians, who served here in the 1940s, and still survive, would now be in their 80s or older. Belatedly we recognize their contributions, thank them, and recognize those who are deceased. Others who passed through the Base gates in the 1950s are in their 70s. To them we also extend our gratitude.

To put into proper prospective their contributions, we must reflect on the history that transpired both here and thousands of miles from this peaceful place.

With the depressed U. S. economy still lingering into the late 1930s, the city fathers of Harlingen, Texas lead by Mayor Hugh Ramsey sought to attract federal funds to the area in 1938.

By 1940, and with war on the horizon in 1941, defense concerns escalated. On May 3, 1941 the War Department then accepted Harlingen’s invitation to establish a military airfield on the 960 acres being offered. The following month the lease was approved, and authorization was made for construction of a flexible gunnery school at the field. The initial allocation for the project was $3,770,295. The facility would reach nearly 1,600 acres in size by 1944. The facility eventually accommodated 6,500 trainees, and at peak operation carried a maximum load of 9,000.

The Harlingen Army Gunnery School received its first assigned cadre in August 1941. Its primary mission, with an initial student load of 600, was that of training aerial gunnery students in a five week (extended to six weeks in 1943) training program. Over 48,000 soldiers were trained until the school, one of three such types in the country, closed in 1945. During its existence, expansion of its facilities, such as barracks and technical installations, regularly continued. Graduates served on B17s, B24s, B25s, and B29s among other aircraft.

Crews on B17 Flying Fortress and B24 Liberator aircraft consisted of ten crewmen. These were pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier, and radio man. From the gunnery schools came tail, nose, ball, waist, and top gunners, some operating in turrets.

The casualty rates sustained by these airmen in the years 1943 until 1945 provide horrendous statistics. One out of three B17s built was lost, 4,750 aircraft all told. In the European Theater of war 340,000 persons were in the 8th Air Force of whom 135,000 were combat crewmen. Of this 135,000, 26,000 were killed and 28,000 became prisoners of war, a loss ratio of 40%. If we extrapolate these figures to the more than 48,000 gunnery school graduates who walked, played and laughed on these very grounds, upwards of 9,200 may have been killed in action and 10,000 could have become POWs.

Two Harlingen Gunnery School graduates especially distinguished themselves and were awarded our nation's highest military honor, the (Congressional) Medal of Honor. The first was Maynard Harrison "Snuffy" Smith. As a 5'6", 130 lb. ball gunner in the belly of a B17, Smith became the first enlisted airman ever to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, from Secretary of War Stinson no less. Thanks to war correspondent Andy Rooney, Smith received considerable publicity for his heroics. His citation reads as follows:

From this action in southern France, the plane managed to limp back to the nearest landing strip in England whereupon it split in two after setting down. Smith had fought the flames with extinguishers, drinking water, and finally urine in collection containers. Smith's heroic efforts had saved the crew as well as himself. He flew four more combat missions before experiencing combat fatigue, a condition which resulted in his being demoted to the rank of private.

The other very distinguished gunnery school graduate was Technical Sergeant Forrest L. Vosler. The Harlingen Army Gunnery School was his first unit. He received a Congressional Medal of Honor citation for action occurring in the European Theater. His citation is dramatic and moving. It reads:

The Air Force in May 1984 established a Professional Military Education Center for non-commissioned officers. The facility at the Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado is named the Forrest L. Vosler NCO Academy. The Academy has a heraldic shield. On its right upper half is a purple background symbolic of Vosler’s first unit, the Harlingen Army Gunnery School.

We know there must be thousands of other dramatic episodes experienced by the gunnery school graduates; their many stories will be lost with age and the passage of time.

The contribution of women to the war effort should not be overlooked. By 1943 there was a contingent of ninety Women's Army Corps (WAC) personnel dong twenty-one jobs at the base. The Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) ferried planes between bases and performed other duties thereby relieving male pilots to other assignments. In Harlingen the WASPs flew over the Gulf in B26s towing targets upon which B24 gunners could practice. The work of the women was serious business as attested to by the sad incident that befell one of the WASP pilots servicing Harlingen. On June 29, 1944 Bonnie Jean Alloway Welz was en route to Laredo, Texas from Harlingen. She was piloting a fixed-wheel BT-13 with Major Robert B. Stringfellow as a passenger. As the craft neared Randado, Texas, a small community about 30 miles east of Laredo but no longer mapped, the craft experienced problems of an unknown nature. She attempted to land in whatever clearing she could find in the mesquite-covered prairie. As the plane taxied one of its wheels may have struck a gopher hole causing the craft to flip and catch fire. The canopy was open, and the seriously injured passenger had been thrown clear about 50 yards from where the plane came to rest. Hearing the craft low in his neighborhood, a 19 year old man named Skaggs drove up in his truck and commenced to aid the officer as the major kept shouting about the pilot whom it was impossible to rescue from the flaming wreckage. Bonnie Jean perished. She left a small daughter without a mother.

In the Valley, additional fatalities of WASP pilots occurred, one each, at Brownsville and at Mission. In all, 38 WASP pilots died in the service of their country.

Another woman serving with distinction at the gunnery school was Captain Helen Morris Deblinger. This Pawtucket, Rhode Island native was graduated as a certified registered nurse in 1933 then went on to obtain in 1936 a graduate degree in the teaching of nursing from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D. C. She joined the service in 1936. When the war commenced, she applied to serve overseas, but her expertise was needed at home as instructor and chief of nurses. Four officer nurses served under her at the HAAF. After serving in Harlingen she went on to Maxwell Field, Montgomery, Alabama.

The Harlingen Army Air Field closed within six months after the cessation of World War II in August 1945.

The initiation of the Korean War in June 1950 brought new priorities to the military. By April 1, 1952 the field was re-activated to serve the U.S. Air Force. The primary mission of the now Harlingen Air Force Base was to train navigators. Course time was initially 28 weeks, later extended to 32 weeks, and finally in 1960 to 38 weeks for Aviation Cadets.

When U.S. forces became fully engaged in the Korean War, the House Armed Services Committee, acting under the National Defense Program, appropriated $15 million for the reactivation of the Harlingen Air Field. Later a $12 million price tag was attached to the field’s rehabilitation. Work started in early 1952. By 1 April 1952 the Base was once more in service.

The Base was projected to have at its peak a complement of 3,500 military personnel, 600 civilians, and a payroll of $15 million annually. Students fell into two categories. One consisted of aviation cadets who would work to obtain their wings along with navigational skills. The second group consisted of student officers, those already commissioned who would be trained as navigators. In numbers the ratio of the former over the latter was about three to one.

In January 1953, the training course was renamed the Basic Observer Navigator Training Program and was lengthened from 28 to 32 weeks. A $5 million expansion program was planned and contracts were let for the construction of more than 20 new buildings including the chapel, dental clinic, and nine barracks buildings.

A truce in the Korean War came about on 7/27/53, and all belligerency ceased. In September of that year President Dwight D. Eisenhower toured both the Base and the Valley. This was the only time in a decade that a Commander-in-Chief had visited the area.

In its own press release, the Air Force announced that "Navigation training at Harlingen Air Force Base will be discontinued, starting early in 1962 and the base will be deactivated by June l962." This announcement came three weeks after the school had graduated 170 students, the largest class in its nine-year history.

In all, l3,355 students had been graduated from the Navigation School. From June of l952 when the first training began to March, l960 when the l0,000^th navigator was graduated the Base averaged l,290 graduates per year. From March l960 to June l962 it graduated an average of l,525 cadets per year. Numerous graduates became career officers and rose in rank over time to assume important commanding positions.

The astounding number of 1,400 houses for sale in the city in 1963 and the years to follow alone indicates the magnitude of the closure. Homes were being put on the market for $10 a square foot, a bargain basement price.

In the little over 14 combined years that the Harlingen Army Airfield and the Harlingen Air Force Base were in operation they were a pride and a joy to the city of Harlingen. The interaction between the military and the citizens of the area was one of mutual admiration and regard. Every one was well served. All deserve to be remembered. That is why the unveiling of this historical marker today in this place is in itself a significant event.

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Characterizing Harlingen Eccentricities

The following humorous compilation is being circulated via the internet in October 2005. It is at least the second version, the first having been both added to and revised. Its original author is unknown but obviously someone very knowledgeable about Harlingen and its society. Despite its humor and exaggeration it does reflect a truth, that is, Harlingen for all of its 60,000 population is in many ways still small town rural in nature, and somewhat provincial to boot. It is an historic item because it documents some aspects of the social scene prevailing at this point in time in the community.

Some Harlingen parents, and not necessarily limited only to the close-familial Latinos, find it difficult to "cut the apron strings" and allow their children to sink or swim on their own. In other instances the grown children, who have moved away, find it too challenging to survive outside the calm environs of Harlingen and their tight-knit loving families of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and readily return.

1. Some people call it "Arlington."

2. Combes is considered another town.

3. La Feria is considered "out of town."

4. People remember hurricanes fondly.

5. A big concert for us is some dude playing at McKelvey Park. (And everybody goes.)

6. We get excited if a new restaurant opens in town, even if it's an IHOP.

7. You spend 5 years at TSTC.

8. Going for a cruise means driving down Harrison and Tyler.

9. You know what a #1 or a #7 is at Whataburger.

10. You remember fondly when the Cardinals won Regionals and still talk about it.

11. You consider yourself a "Cardinal"…. regardless.

12. Olive Garden and Applebee's are considered upscale restaurants.

13. You camp out with your family at Boggus Stadium for high school playoff tickets.

14. There's a difference between the HEBs.

15. You claim you want to leave, but you never do.

16. You have Whataburger and Pizza Hut on speed dial.

17. You grew up watching Larry James and Rogelio.

18. The burning sugarcane doesn't bother you.

19. You secretly love it but won't admit it.

20. "Meeting a celebrity" means standing in line at HEB next to the local weatherman.

21. Your idea of a traffic jam is five cars waiting to pass a Winter Texan on 77 Sunshine Strip.

22. The morning commute is aggravated by "heavy traffic" between 7:55 and 8:05 AM.

23. "Vacation" means driving to South Padre Island.

24. You still wear your letterman jacket --10 years after high school.

25. Your work or classes are canceled because of "dangerous" 30 degree weather.

26. You see people wear tank tops and flip flops at funerals.

27. You think of the major food groups as fajitas, tortillas, and beer.

28. When it rains it's the talk of the town.

29. When it snows it's a national disaster. (Snow?)

30. During the summer, the car trunk doubles as an oven for your groceries.

31. You consider McAllen a metropolis.

32. The Valley Morning Star covers national and international headlines on one page but requires 6 pages for high school football.

33. You've had to switch from Heat to A/C in the same day.

34. You only own 3 spices: salt, pepper, and picante.

35. You think that opening weekend for white wing and deer are national holidays.

36. You find 98 degrees "a little warm" and 60 degrees downright freezing.

37. You think the only seasons are hot, damn hot, and winter.

38. You know if another person is from out of town the second he or she walks in the door.

39. "Overachievers" go to A&M or UT-Austin; the rest must chose between TSTC, UTB, or UT PanAm.

40. You've had several friends move off and move back within a couple of months.

41. All the streets have President's names, numbers, or letters of the alphabet.

42. RioFest, Jackson Street Jubilee, and Blues on the Hill are the major social events for the year.

43. You're old if you remember Six Shooter Junction.

44. Honeymoon means "San Antonio."

45. You get this e-mail and send it to all of your Harlingen friends. (And a few choice others too that don't know what they are missing.)

46. You're sweating on the back porch at midnight.

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The Harlingen Cemetery
Betty N. Murray
1984

[The following is a transcript of a document submitted to the Texas Historical Commission in application to obtain an historical marker for the Harlingen Cemetery.  Thanks to Mrs. Murray's research efforts and documentation, a marker was obtained in 1984 and erected in the middle of the cemetery.] 

Turn off F Street into Harlingen's only cemetery and drive to the center of the cemetery, turn left at the E Street entrance.  All along this newly paved road (the only road in the cemetery) are many gravestones which tell much of the history of Harlingen.

The first person to be buried here was a teenager, Robert Keen Weems, born April 18, 1893 and died December 10, 1909.(1)  Lillian Weems Baldridge wrote "My brother Robert had come down from Houston in a freight car with our household goods.  Bob called it coming to the Valley in his side door Pullman. Robert's grave is the first in Harlingen. [He was scolded to death after accidentally falling into a boiling vat of sugarcane syrup in his father's factory.]  The result of a tragic venture in sugar cane, like rice, was a crop unfitted for the soil. [This is a mistaken interpretation for the early 20th century demise of the sugarcane industry in the Valley.] My father, Mr. James Hathaway, and Mr. Barbee put in a syrup mill, but we were too far away from a market and that too failed.(2) [Actually it failed 10 years before the last sugar mill closed.]" Mrs. Lillian Weems Baldridge came to the Valley in 1907 with her parents.(3)  Others who died earlier were moved to the Harlingen Cemetery.  George Dorough, born October 12, 1868; died February 5, 1904, was one su