A regular meeting of the CCHC was held Saturday, February 20, 2010 at the Harlingen Library, 76 Drive, Harlingen, TX.

The meeting commenced at 10:13 a.m. with six CCHC members and eight guests present.

Mary Torres, Chairman, called the meeting to order. She then led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag.

Approval of Minutes -- Chairman Torres noted that the minutes of the December 12, 2009, meeting at Brownsville had been mailed to some members, e-mailed to other members, and also posted on the CCHC website. On a motion by Pete Castillo, seconded by Larry Lof, the minutes were approved as distributed.

Report from the Chair -- Mary Torres welcomed the members and guests. She then asked the guests to introduce themselves.

Treasurer's Report – There being no known changes from the previous meeting the secretary reported the current balance at $5,179. He reported that this would likely diminish when and if CCHC members attend the annual THC Historic Preservation Conference in Houston in April. Lof encouraged attendance at the conference as a way to learn more about grant funds.

Museums/Oral History –-Gabriel Godines, the relatively new curator of the Port Isabel Museums, pointed out that the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 4 pm and the Lighthouse daily 9 to 5. He then spoke of remodeling in the museum concerning the gift shop and admissions desk. He happily reported an attendance of over 500 for a story telling event at the museum in early February. Rod Bates is scheduled to give a history presentation on 2/25. The story of the 1920s-safe opening at the museum was publicized in an article by Steve Hathcock in the Coastal Current.

Pete Castillo told of receiving a considerable number of artifacts for the Rio Hondo Museum. The town is looking for a larger site for the museum in that the present one is running out of space.

Rozeff read an e-mail from Steve Hathcock revealing that his store and personal museum on South Padre Island were closing. Fortunately some of the items in his museum and from elsewhere will go into display cases at the SPI City Hall, courtesy of the South Padre Island Historical Foundation. Hathcock will be addressing the Tropical Trails gathering at its next meeting, March 16 at Port Mansfield, on the subject of the shipwrecks of 1554.

Cemeteries – Art Cohan publicized the Harlingen Cemetery tours that will be conducted 1-4 pm on April 24 and on October 23. Tour guides will be stationed at certain interesting gravesites, so those touring will find it easier to move along. When he mentioned that he was looking for a civil war uniform to go along with his station beside the grave of a civil war veteran, reenactor Ruben Cordova indicated that he could help Cohan locate such an item. Cohan said that the cemetery was in the best shape that it had been in years, now that the city was taking an active interest in it. It has a new fence, gate, and flagpole and is being well maintained. The city may soon assign a permanent caretaker to it. Hurricane Dolly in July 2009 and recent storms have played havoc with some headstones, so having a precise mapping for a cemetery is quite important, Art commented. A grid has to laid out and a marker system instituted before information is transcribed and photographs taken. A commercial company has recently furnished Art a sample of a chemical to clean headstones without hurting them. It was tested and worked remarkably well in removing fungus and lichen. After Art Cohan commented about his difficulties in accessing the CCHC cemetery records still being stored in the Port Isabel Museum. Gabriel Godines indicated that he would help Cohan locate and utilize the records that he needed.

Sarah Williams then presented a slide show and spoke of the San Benito Cemetery's recent THC award to give it an Historic Cemetery Designation. She spoke of the difficulties in documenting facts about the cemetery and what the future entailed to make it more user friendly. It presently hold 3,000 graves with markers and many others without. Its earliest stone is marked 1910 while the earliest birth date discovered is in the 1840s. Veterans buried there start in world War I. She also spoke of the adjacent new cemetery in which San Benito native son Freddie Fender is buried and which is run by a second cemetery association. Williams thanked Santos Canales, Buddy Dossett, Norman Rozeff and others for their assistance in obtaining the THC designation.

Art Cohan asked about the existence of a cemetery ordinance in San Benito. Harlingen lacks one. He said that the state has a law requiring city maintenance of headstones.

Mary Torres allowed that the Old Brownsville Cemetery, adjacent to the Dancy Courthouse, had also received a THC Historic Cemetery Designation.

Roads – Rozeff revealed that he had sent a letter to the Cameron County Department of Transportation documenting that the CCHC had approved the submitted prospective road names for roads in the Barreda Gardens and Rio Hondo Park Townsite subdivisions.

Restorations – Larry Lof noted that $5,000 had been added to the Santa Maria restoration funds being held by the Brownsville Historical Association. This brings the total devoted to this activity up to $13,000. Reference was made to the damages done to the La Lomita Mission by bulldozing following a supposed oversight on the part of the diocese. The new bishop is hopefully more history-minded than his predecessor and amenable to preservation efforts being conducted. Small communities such as Santa Maria could benefit if the new bishop helps to shoulder some costs.

Lof stated that Restoration of the Laiseca Building next to the Dancy Courthouse is being addressed by architects and county personnel. It was conceivably saved from total loss and the very last minute. Lof conceives of a storm and fireproof structure being constructed adjacent to the Laiseca Building. It would serve to store CCHC and other archival records.

Rozeff described the recent completion of exterior restoration work on the Ross-Bobo House at the Harlingen Arts and Heritage Museum complex. Any work on the interior awaits more funding.

Website/Newsletter – Webmaster Clint Thomas reported that the content of the CCHC website now totaled 30 mg, 1000 files, and 3000 hyperlinks. He requested that viewers volunteer to test the links for accuracy. Rozeff circulated an attractive bulletin published by the Nueces Historical Commission. He pointed out that while it was useful it was also expensive and that our website serves the same purpose while also getting widespread response from online viewers.

History Markers –- Committee Chairman Rozeff announced that the final wording on the Getsemini Presbyterian Church of San Benito had been ironed out with the THC and the marker has gone for casting. The First United Methodist Church of Harlingen and the second for the Solis (San Fernando) Cemetery northwest of La Feria have had their narratives approved and the THC will now draw up marker wording for approval.

History-Art Contest – no report. Tootie Madden asked if the San Benito Historical Society's art contest could be integrated into the CCHC one. Chairman Mary Torres was to contact Art History Committee head, Mark Clark, on this subject.

Publicity – No report.

There was no recent word on the University of Texas-Brownsville and the Coast Guard negotiations concerning an alternative tower site, one removed from the neighborhood of the old historic former station.

While Sarah Williams flashed a slide show of last year's celebration, Tottie Madden and a contingent of guests from San Benito urged all to attend the Texas Independence Day activities in San Benito next weekend. It will open Friday evening with a symposium of historians. Attendees were also asked to dress in period costumes in order to add to the celebrations color. Norman Rozeff said that John Speer of the newly-organized Harlingen chapter of Texas Exes expressed interest in contacting the San Benito people since the University of Texas alumni annually celebrate their school's founding on March 2, Texas Independence Day.

The SBHS also displayed the new Arcadia Publishing Company photographic history book of San Benito. The selection of historic photographs were excellent and well-reproduced.

Renactor Ruben Cordova of Santa Rosa gave a brief summary of what the organization of which he is a member could do to complement historic event.

The Chairman again introduced Gabriel J. Godines, the curator of the Museums of Port Isabel. He gave a short summary of his background and expressed his desire to serve on the CCHC. He had submitted a membership application for nomination. A motion by Norman Rozeff, seconded by Pete Castillo, was made to nominate Mr. Godines to the CCHC. The motion carried unanimously. His nomination will now be forwarded to the Cameron County Commissioners' Court for approval.

The April meeting to be held in La Feria, April, 18, 2010.

There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 11.15 a.m. Our hosts then served refreshments, and attendees enjoyed sharing information and contacts.

Respectfully submitted,

Norman Rozeff

CCHC Secretary

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