News

Until we meet again

Details: Published: Thursday, 29 March 2018 08:34; Written by Carina Brunson

Fromthepublisher As we come to the close of another wonderful winter season in the Rio Grande Valley we look back on all the great times we have enjoyed with you, our Winter Texan friends. We so much enjoy seeing you come down to deep South Texas each year to get away from the cold weather, but also to be with friends and neighbors.

After 31 years as publisher of the Winter Texan Times, I am still amazed at your zeal for life, your love of country and your caring nature. You make me proud to be the publisher of a newspaper that serves people who have earned my deep respect and appreciation for who you are and the values you bring to our local communities all across the Rio Grande Valley.

Share the fun!

Details: Published: Thursday, 22 March 2018 08:31; Written by Carina Brunson

Wow has time flown by this Winter Texan season!

Now that it is coming to a close, we here at the Winter Texans Times would love for you to share with us – and all our readers – what this season was like for you in the Rio Grande Valley.

What was your favorite event? Did you work with any charities? Did you compete in sports or any type of competition (like the chili cook-off in Llano Grande Resort and Country Club?).

Thanks for coming!

Details: Published: Thursday, 22 March 2018 08:28; Written by Carina Brunson

Fromthepublisher As we near the end of another winter season, it’s time to say farewell to many of you who will be leaving the Rio Grande Valley and heading north in the next week or two.

We want to take a moment to just say, “Thank you” for choosing the Rio Grande Valley as your winter home and invite you to take a few extra copies of the Winter Texan Times Take Home Edition (published on March 15) to share with your friends and neighbors back home. If you need extra copies, call or come by the Winter Texan Times office at 1217 N. Conway Ave., Mission. We printed extras just, so you can share.

Winter Texan Ambassadors Wanted

Details: Published: Wednesday, 14 March 2018 23:38; Written by Daniel Brunson

Fromthepublisher This edition of the Winter Texan Times is our “Take Home Edition.” We invite all our Winter Texan readers to take extra copies of this edition with you when you head north so you can share them with your friends and family.

Getting out and doing all the fun and interesting things you do in the “winter” in the Rio Grande Valley is always more fun when you do it with friends. So, we invite you to become a Winter Texan Ambassador and help us invite more people to come down and enjoy our South Texas Hospitality. Tell them about all the good times you had this winter in the Rio Grande Valley.

Rio Valley Estates celebrates Roaring 20s

Details: Published: Saturday, 03 March 2018 00:24; Written by Carina Brunson

20180301 Rio Valley Estates Roaring 20s 001 Senior citizens wintering in South Texas along with some now living in the Rio Grande Valley year-round, staged an event on Feb. 22 to celebrate “The Roaring 20s.” Held at Rio Valley Estates in Weslaco, over 200 fun-loving residents came to the party.

Some folks remembered hearing about stills and speak easy bars, so party chairs Kathy and David Cochran and their crazy committee tried to recreate that adventurous time.

To get in through the Speak Easy door riddled with bullet holes, you had to know a secret password. There was a guard of sorts at the door who checked for firearms and we heard he might even be into frisking some of the shady ladies who tried to enter. The guard did say the sign that read “Watch out for pickpockets and loose women” had to have the words “loose women” X’d out.

Ever popular Fred Goldsbery played for listening and dancing. Thanks to a great kitchen committee, a meal of salad, ham, potatoes and dessert was served before the fun began. The stage backdrop portrayed a brick background with some jazz musicians featured. Residents brought along their own favorite beverages, such as giggle water, moonshine, the bee’s knees, soda pop or beer.

There were contests for best decorated table. Men and women at Rio Valley Estates always seem to go along with whatever the theme is for any party. This one being no exception, there were well-dressed men who could have been gangsters in those days, and beautifully attired ladies “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in their flapper of Gatsby dresses. Pick pockets roamed throughout. A cigarette-cigar gal walked through the crowd selling her wares – candy cigarettes and bubble gum cigars!

20180301 Rio Valley Estates Roaring 20s 002 Though none were actually old enough to have lived in the 1920s, many had parents who told of adventures from that era. One lady remembered her mother telling her that her own father was a bootlegger who said, “You had to have a bootlegger ID card in my small town, or you’d try to sell to another bootlegger, there were so many around.”

Some of the party’s events may not have really been from the 20s, but they were loads of fun. As Kathy said, “If it was illegal, we did it!” A Rodent Run for the Roses: drew the most attention. The committee had constructed a lighted mouse race track so six live mice could race at a time. Mouse dollars (some claimed they were counterfeit) were used, but that didn’t discourage the gamblers from really getting into the swing of things. They held six races with mice having names such as Mickey, (of course!) Cat Food, Zippy, Squeaky, Oh Here We Go and Leg Cramps. The winner of each race was then placed on a roulette wheel to determine a winner.

It's a challenge each season to come up with something new to entertain and surprise the residents at Rio Valley Estates, but you can bet this nutty committee is already working on an event for 2019!

Winter Texan Ambassadors Wanted

Details: Published: Saturday, 24 February 2018 07:37; Written by Carina Brunson

If you love coming down to the Rio Grande Valley each winter, you’re invited to become a Winter Texan ambassador. The job is simple: share with your friends all the good times you have in the Valley each winter – away from the snow and ice. In a place where you can play golf almost any winter day. In a place where your MH & RV resort is a community of its own with lots of friends to share in a whole array of fun activities.