Apr 19 2019
By Steve Hathcock Special to the Parade Ellen Smith of Hot Springs, Arkansas sent me an email a while back asking about a bottle she and her husband had found while exploring near the mouth of the Rio Grande after Hurricane Dolly. The bottle you found, I replied, is known as a ceramic, or stoneware, beer …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2019/04/19/rio-history-another-tale-of-the-bottle-2/
Apr 12 2019
By Steve Hathcock Special to the Parade Long before Padre Bali began running cattle on the Island this entire area was a favored destination for wealthy ranchers and their families. At first, the little town that stood on the bay was called El Fronton. Some say it got that name from a sheer cliff that extended …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2019/04/12/a-look-back/
Apr 05 2019
By Steve Hathcock Special to the Press Although the war had ended, the terror had not. A period of lawlessness existed along the Texas border. Because the Rio Grande River was a major artery of ancient trade routes, South Texas suffered the most. The area from the banks of the Nueces River near Corpus …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2019/04/05/rio-history-the-storm-of-1875/
Mar 15 2019
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com There’s an old joke you may be familiar with. More of a weary punchline, really. Anytime someone is acting like a curmudgeon — full of pessimistic, half-glass-full, nihilistic thoughts about the futility of life — someone inevitably tells that person that they need to lighten up, to be …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2019/03/15/writers-block-positivity-and-perspective/
Mar 15 2019
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS We who call Padre Island home, have always known our days are numbered; for our beautiful tropical home is just one hurricane away from annihilation. Oddly, the potential damage of one of nature’s deadliest storms pales when compared to what almost happened to Padre Island one hot day …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2019/03/15/rio-history-atom-bomb-test-site-on-padre-island/
Mar 08 2019
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com Welcome to March! For the Rio Grande Valley, March is a time of interesting dichotomies. A time in between times. A time of cold and gray days brought on by the last hurrahs of winter-like cold snaps, and a time of piercingly sunny and hot days predictive of …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2019/03/08/writers-block-babes-and-bluebonnets/
Mar 08 2019
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS Who was Red Lady and why did 81 sailors choose to bury her atop the tallest dune on Padre Island? Prologue: Summer 1963: Ila Loetscher, yet to be named “The Turtle Lady,” was driving north, along the shores of Padre Island, searching for sea turtle nests when she …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2019/03/08/rio-history-here-lies-red-lady/
Mar 01 2019
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com Sometimes I struggle with what to fill this space with every week. Kind of paradoxically, when your options are nearly limitless, you can suddenly find yourself at a loss for what to do. Having too many options can occasionally feel just as constricting as having too few. Such …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2019/03/01/writers-block-small-observations/
Mar 01 2019
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS Though the basic story line is different from that penned by James Fenimore Cooper, Old Indio’s story is an accurate portrayal of the lives and times of the once proud Karankawa Indians of Padre Island. He was all-Indian and the influence of Europeans did little to change him. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2019/03/01/rio-history-last-of-the-karankawa-indians-of-padre-island/
Feb 22 2019
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com Even though the first official day of spring won’t be heralded in for another month with the arrival of the vernal equinox on March 20, it’s usually a pretty safe bet that all things green and growing will get off to a substantial head start here in the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2019/02/22/writers-block-spring-is-trying/
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