Steve Hathcock has an extensive background in historical preservation and writing focused on South Texas. He has served as Chairman of the Cameron County Historical Commission for two terms and Vice Chair for two terms, having been a member since 2004. He is also a founding member of the Historical Foundation of South Padre Island and will serve an active role in presenting the history of South Padre Island in the foundation’s new museum, opening sometime in late spring/early summer 2025. Moments in Time is a collection of recovered newspaper briefs and other publications, compiled by Hathcock, offering a look back at the history of the Rio Grande Valley.
Causeway carries 3,148 vehicles in first short week
Up to 11:20 a.m. Friday, 3,148 cars crossed the New Port Isabel Padre Island Causeway since the official opening at 1 a.m. Sunday. H. W. Rainer, toll man on the mainland end of the Causeway on the Friday morning shift said that 71 cars had crossed on this shift today.
On the opening day, Sunday, there were 1,948 cars crossing. The number crossing beginning this morning is 1,200 to just before noon today. That is an average of nearly 300 vehicles daily on weekdays.These cars crossing from Port Isabel to Padre Island have been out of state cars in the majority and with no recreation facilities or living quarters on the island yet. The traffic crossing the Causeway at this time is far in excess of what was forecast when the structure was being built.
There was nothing on the island yet for visitors, but sand, surf, and sunlight. There is no water line. There are no tourist cabins or bath houses. Yet more than 10,000 people have visited the beach since the Causeway was opened to the public Sunday morning. (Port Isabel Press Feb. 19, 1954)
Mastodon tooth found on Padre Island!
Randy Coleman found a huge fossil he believes to be a Mastodon tooth, which he found on South Padre Island as he led a group of guests at Sandcastle Motel on a trip to the Mansfield Cut. Such a truth was found in 1950 and certified to be a Mastodon tooth., according to an old issue of the Port Isabel Press. (San Benito News Feb. 6, 1969)
Note: According to experts the American Mastodon, which became extinct some 13,000 years ago, once roamed across all of North America from the cold snow swept Artic Circle to central Mexico. Mastodon fossil remains are common and well-preserved in Pliocene and Pleistocene age deposits. Complete or nearly complete skeletons have been recovered, some even with preserved hair.
King of the Hobo’s
Jeff Davis, king of the Hoboes, proposed Saturday that railroads put benches in box cars and established a cent-a-mile fare for his estimated 600,000 active “Boes” so they might travel from city to city to find work. (Valley Sunday Star-Monitor-Herald. Feb. 18, 1940)
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