By Herb Moering

Among the hundreds of Winter Texans attending the 19th annual Ron Hoover RV and Marine Center Open House January 15 and 16 in Donna were a number of armed forces veterans who spend their winters in the Valley.

One of them, Richard Chandler, a Vietnam U.S. Army vet, was accompanied by his wife, Raye, as they were interested in seeing what’s new in trailers. Of the 14 winters in the Valley the couple has spent all of them at Countryside RV and MH Park in Donna. They saw the park advertised in a camping magazine and thought they would park their pickup popup unit there and then look around. But, Raye said, “The welcome was so warm and the price so reasonable, they didn’t see any reason to go elsewhere.”

The first year they stayed three months. The next year it was five months and when they bought a mobile home up for sale in the park, the stays were even longer away from their place in Wisconsin. Richard, who was one of the last guys chosen before the end of the draft, spent 19 months deployed to Vietnam.

He mentioned all the activities at Countryside that include shuffleboard, horseshoes, card and board games. beanbags and bingo. Country jams are held, at which the couple run the popcorn and pop stand. Raye figured “if you are bored, it’s your own fault.”

Then there is Jim Christensen, who recalls that he was in the Minnesota Army National Guard for 39 years, 10 months and 27 days, retiring as a master sergeant in 2004. His service involved a couple trips to Germany and one to Panama.

He and his wife, Mary, were first time visitors to the Ron Hoover Open House and liked having a hotdog and seeing what was new in RVs, since their summers are spent in Minnesota. They have a mobile home in J Five MH and RV Park in Mission, where they stay for six months. That meant they would miss the bitter cold expected in the Midwest in the last half of January. “Thank God I’m here,” Mary added.

Jim said that Ron Hoover is his place to find parts, noting there are fewer such places in the Valley now, although he also has a trailer dealership nearby.

Those at the open house also had time to peruse the products of the various vendors on hand for the two-day free event. The visitors were treated to DJ music, door prizes and giveaway items as they enjoyed their hotdogs and drinks in the warm sunny outdoors. Special pricing on RVs, boats and land rovers was advertised.

Ron Hoover T-shirts were handed out to those signing up for the drawing of a major prize given away each day.