U.S. Senator John Cornyn
As the days grow shorter and cooler, pecan trees in Texas prepare for their annual debut. Leaves take on hues of amber and crimson, painting a breathtaking landscape that attracts visitors from near and far. Amidst this natural transformation, pecans reach peak maturity and are ready to break through their sturdy shells.
In 1919, the pecan tree was named the state tree of Texas, thanks in large part to former Texas Governor James Stephen Hogg. On March 2, 1906, Hogg expressed his wish for a soft-shell Texas pecan tree to be planted at his grave with its nuts distributed to Texas farmers for planting. Years later, journalist Katie Daffan suggested the pecan tree become the state tree of Texas in Hogg’s honor. This idea quickly gained widespread support, leading the state legislature to unanimously pass a resolution formalizing the designation in 1919, which was reaffirmed eight years later during the 40th Texas Legislative Session.
Read more: The pecan tale of plenty
Cities throughout the Rio Grande Valley have had to make some adjustments to their Veterans ceremonies due to inclement weather. Some of these ceremonies are being rescheduled, locations are changing for a couple, and some are being cancelled. There are still one or two that will still occur as scheduled.
The City of Mission is making changes with almost every event they had scheduled.
Read more: Veterans Day ceremonies cancelled, rescheduled, or location changes
Even though our little cold snap didn’t last very long, we still had some pretty good weather. It’s been just right for the most part. And with all this great weather, more people are out and about, enjoying the golf courses and the many nature parks we have in the Valley.
We continue to say that there is so many things to do in the Valley. Our events calendar and Parks calendar are proof of that. But it isn’t just the parks and entertainment events that are happening. All of our nature parks have regular activities too.
If you look at the World Birding Center parks, their calendars are quite full most of the year too. They have nature walks, guided tours, presentations, craft times, and more. You can look at those calendars on their website at www.theworldbirdingcenter.com. There you can find the links to all nine parks. Make it a goal to try to visit each one this year. Each one has something unique that isn’t like the other, so they are all worth visiting.
Don’t forget we have a few wildlife refuges, the eco-tourism center, and other nature parks to visit too.
We also have a variety of museums and theaters in the Valley. We try to share what is happening at these locations, but there is so much more going on that we don’t always get to talk about. Make sure you look at our RGV Visitor’s Guide online in our digital editions at www.wintertexantimes.com.
Our Visitor’s Guide includes map inlays and is organized by location. You can find information about state parks, nature centers, museums, and so many other areas of interest in the Valley.
Let us know if you decide to use our guide to plan some outings. We would love to hear about where you go and see some photos of your excursion.
As always, if you have some interesting news to share, some charity events coming up for the holidays, or a person people should know in your park, send the information our way to news@wintertexantimes.com.
Thanks to the Winter Texans, I now understand more about the game of Cricket … at least on paper. Now all I need to do is make time to go to one of their games. In fact, one way to keep up with all the happening in the Rio Grande Valley is to read the Winter Texan Times.
And there is a lot going on. Just take your pick – there is something for everyone – music, art, dances, garages sales, cruises on the Rio Grande River or on the Laguna Madre for fishing. The Rio Grande Valley has just about all you could ever want. Sure, we are not really a Valley, and we don’t have any mountains. In fact, we are virtually at sea level.
I live in Harlingen, where just a few miles up the road is a small town named Combes. Now old timers would call that town Combes Mountain. But why?
When I look up the elevation of Harlingen, my computer tells me that the average elevation of Harlingen is 46 feet. The elevation of Combes is just 39 feet. Could it be because Combes is somewhat north of Harlingen, people identified north with going up? Now I am really beginning to wonder why or how we look at things.
Residents of Harlingen have always said that downtown Harlingen is 33 feet. Since the Rio Grande River is actually higher than downtown Harlingen, it stands to reason that when the river floods, Harlingen, as well as most Rio Grande Valley cities, are going to be flooded. The natural flow of the flood waters will be from the river toward the Gulf of Mexico. Anyone living in the Rio Grande Valley in 1967 when we experienced Hurricane Beulah will remember how most of our Valley towns experienced major flooding. With excessive rain and slow drainage how can we not flood?
Read more: The water and rich soil of the Valley
The Veterans Day observance got off to an early start with Edinburg holding a parade Saturday morning honoring those locally who have served in the U.S. military.
Nearly 90 entries from the community were part of the event, which featured the commander and crew of the Navy ship USS Gonzalez as the grand marshals. Other units included local high school, middle school and elementary school marchers, American Legion, scout troops, city, and school officials.
Read more: Edinburg honors Veterans with parade
Cities throughout the Rio Grande Valley are holding activities to remember and honor Veterans that have served. We have several stand-alone stories that highlight some major celebrations, so make sure you look through the entire issue so you don’t miss anything that might be in your area.
When you look at social media posts for the parks, and residents of the parks, on Facebook you can see there was a wide range of fun had by Winter Texans throughout the Rio Grande Valley. We saw pictures of someone dressed as a bowl of Fruit Loops, vampires, skeletons, superheroes, dragons, and so many more.
The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is celebrating its 76th year of delivering hope to children in need across the Nation. U.S. Marines and volunteers will be conducting over 850 local toy collection and distribution campaigns in all 50 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Islands.
