Oct 05 2018
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS The trip onto the flat area proved to be short lived. Bill circled around and headed towards the edge of a line of dunes. Now, I could see what had attracted his attention. There, half buried in the muck, lay an ancient weathered beam. The butt end of it showed a most …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/10/05/rio-history-following-the-tracks/
Sep 28 2018
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com With the recent rains cooling things down a little, and also spurring an explosion of vegetative growth throughout the Rio Grande Valley, I decided it was high time to do a little outdoor tidying up this weekend. My patio, though bare concrete, is shaded by a lovely, mature …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/09/28/writers-block-foreteller-of-fall/
Sep 28 2018
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS In March of 1950 the Willacy County Navigation District appeared in court and sued to have the 1,760 acres of land immediately surrounding the port facilities of “Red Fish Landing” condemned. In a court ordered settlement, the District paid the American Legion $3 an acre for the land it owned. The small fishing …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/09/28/rio-history-a-brief-history-of-the-mansfield-cut/
Sep 21 2018
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS Tonya Illman was walking across a range of sand dunes located on Wedge Island, located about 90 miles north of Perth in Western Australia when she noticed something sticking out of the sand. “It was a lovely old bottle” she told a reporter, “and I picked it up.” Later, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/09/21/rio-history-tales-of-the-bottle/
Sep 21 2018
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com I know a place that has magic. A place that is magic. A place filled with wonder and excitement. With fierce battles on fields stained brightest scarlet. With quiet meadows where dragonflies float clumsily through the air on summer afternoons. It’s a place where dragons sleep, and where …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/09/21/writers-block-real-life-magic/
Sep 14 2018
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com Here today, gone tomorrow. It’s a cliché. And, like most clichés, the popularity of its usage comes from its truth. Such is the case with some ephemeral marvels I’ve witnessed during my daily travels this week. Perhaps you noticed them, too? It began Monday, on my first drive …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/09/14/writers-block-beauty-in-transience/
Sep 07 2018
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com Last week, I wrote about the aerobatic accomplishments of a certain turkey vulture that I saw swooping low over the ground in its quest for tasty tidbits of the less-than-living variety. But, what I didn’t get to mention is that that turkey vulture wasn’t the only avian acrobat …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/09/07/writers-block-precision-pelican/
Sep 07 2018
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS In his book, “Hurricane Almanac,” writer Michael J. Ellis talks of a cyclone called Racers Storm that formed up in the Yucatan in 1837. The storm was named for the British Sloop of War, “Racer”. The ship ran ahead of the storm for some time before the storm’s eye …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/09/07/rio-history-racers-storm/
Aug 31 2018
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com The morning sun was shining bright, and what clouds hung in the sky were fluffy and white — a happy morning scene as I drove along the blacktop on my way to work. Suddenly, a dark shape careened into my field of vision from the left. It glided …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/08/31/writers-block-buzzed-by-a-buzzard/
Aug 31 2018
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS The practice of quarantine, as we know it, began in Europe during the 14th century. Ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were required to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. This practice, called quarantine, was derived from the Italian words quaranta giorni which mean 40 days. …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2018/08/31/rio-history-quarantine-a-brief-history/
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