Jan 27 2017
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com It’s hard to call it “winter” when the days have been warm enough to go for walks along the beach barefoot, or when it’s been warm enough to dip your toes in the surf while on those walks. I know that from personal experience since I’ve recently taken …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2017/01/27/writers-block-winters-no-rest-for-the-weary/
Jan 27 2017
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS When is the best time to go treasure hunting or beachcombing? If I had an Indian Head penny for every time I have been asked that question. Let me share some stories I’ve heard over the past 30 years. Local handyman Randy Baker had been walking behind the dunes …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2017/01/27/rio-history-beachcombing/
Jan 20 2017
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com It’s no secret that the Rio Grande Valley’s best kept secret is its amazingly diverse wildlife. We’ve got elusive ocelot stalking through the thorn scrub beneath a clouded moon, and lemony bright great kiskadees chattering loudly in our backyard bird feeders. There’s zebra longwing butterflies flitting hither and …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2017/01/20/writers-block-time-to-be-wowed/
Jan 20 2017
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS Our story begins on the eve of third Battle of New Orleans. (January 8-18, 1815) General Andrew Jackson accepted the offer of help from the Baratarians. In return, all who fought would receive a full pardon from the United States Government. It was a chance to start life anew …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2017/01/20/rio-history-the-battle-of-new-orleans/
Jan 13 2017
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com It’s officially been ‘winter’ for a while now, but it wasn’t until this past week that we truly saw some wintry weather. Now, sure, we’ve had a couple of cold fronts blow through during the 2016-2017 winter season already, but they’ve all been pretty tame compared to the …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2017/01/13/writers-block-thar-she-blows/
Jan 13 2017
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS Over the years, I have penned several articles about how Padre Island got its name. This latest version is in response to an email from John Nolan who wanted to know more about the history of Padre Island……. Padre Nicholas Balli, for whom the Island gets its name, was …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2017/01/13/rio-history-how-did-padre-island-get-its-name/
Jan 06 2017
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com We nearly one full week into the new year and I wonder how many of us have already broken our New Year’s resolutions. It’s ok. It happens. In the time I’ve been here my previous columns for the first week of January have also been about new year’s …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2017/01/06/writers-block-new-year-you-you-again/
Jan 06 2017
By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS “The foot locker, as our family has been calling it, belonged to my maternal grandfather. After he passed away in 1981 the foot locker went first to his son and then to my aunt. I was very close to my grandfather growing up. That, combined with my natural curiosity, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2017/01/06/rio-history-tails-you-win/
Dec 23 2016
By DINA ARÉVALO Port Isabel-South Padre Press editor@portisabelsouthpadre.com If there’s one tradition celebrated by almost every Latino family in South Texas, it is the tradition of Christmas tamales. Tamaladas offer an opportunity for several generations of a family, usually women, to gather together in the spirit of cooperation for a day (or two) of hard work …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2016/12/23/writers-block-christmas-tamales/
Dec 23 2016
Death of a Queen By STEVE HATHCOCK Special to the PRESS 1927: The Absecon, an Army Corps of Engineers dredge, with its thousand horsepower pumps, was busily dredging up hundreds of yards of black mud off the floor of the pass. The monotonous chugging sound of the pumps suddenly changed pitch as the 36 inch hoses …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.portisabelsouthpadre.com/2016/12/23/rio-history-no-whining/
Comments