mcallen - leading the way

9 780578 082400

54595>ISBN 978-0-578-08240-0 $45.95

McAllenL E A D I N G T H E W A Y

The First 100 Years1 9 1 1 - 2 0 1 1

EILEEN MATTEI

A publication of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce

Sparsely settled in 1908-1909, McAllen drew farmers to town to shop and to ship their produce.Windmills pumped water for use at the McAllen Hotel, in the foreground, and for residences.

The First 100 Years1911 - 2011

McAllenLEADING THE WAY

4

McAllenL E A D I N G T H E W A Y

The First 100 Years1 9 1 1 - 2 0 1 1

EILEEN MATTEI

First EditionPrinted in the United States of America by Signature Book Printing, www.sbpbooks.com

Copyright © 2011 McAllen Centennial PublicationsAll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,

including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to:McAllen Chamber of Commerce

1200 Ash AvenueMcAllen, Texas 78501

956.682.2871

ISBN: 978-0-578-08240-0

A publication of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce

Published and managed byTopp Direct Marketing

1117 N. Stuart Place Road, Suite 103Harlingen, Texas 78552-4344

John W. Topp, President

Alan Hollander / Tequila Group AdvertisingArt Director / Graphic Designer / Photo Editing & Digital Retouching

Geoff Alger / Curator, McAllen Heritage CenterEileen Mattei - Writer

Frank Birkhead - HistorianJeffrey Millar / Tequila Group Advertising

Lynne Lerberg – Editorial Assistant / AdministrationBracken Millar / Tequila Group Advertising

While the young city's dusty streets could turn to mudwith seasonal rain, shoppers kept clean and dry thanksto wooden and, later, concrete sidewalks.

5

ForwardL E A D I N G T H E W A Y

Explorers and ranchers had traveled this land for hundreds of years, but the

history of McAllen the city begins with the pioneers who decided that a patch

of thorny brushland near a railroad track was going to be their home. Leading

the Way: McAllen's First 100 Years honors the legacy of those who had the

gumption and passion to settle in this spot six miles from the Rio Grande.

Those people had a belief in themselves and a belief in what McAllen could

become. On one of the nation's last frontiers, they went after the American

Dream. Over the past century, people have come to McAllen with faith that the

city was the best place to build a home, raise a family, or open a business.

Decade after decade, children grew up to become part of our community while

newcomers kept arriving to put down their own roots. Working together,

people settled in, and with time, blended their cultures and their families, their

traditions and languages. The result is our vibrant and forward-looking city.

The stories here recall the people and events that shaped the city's future and

its prosperity. Here we see the foundation of McAllen's future.

Richard Cortez

Mayor

McAllen, Texas

6

AcknowledgementsL E A D I N G T H E W A Y

Photo CreditsWe gratefully acknowledge the many individuals and organizations who contributed the photographs in this book.

The photographs appear courtesy of:

Sylvia S. Alanis, Geoffrey Alger, Arts District Business Center, Spud Brown, Bruce Lee Smith Estate, Bryan TumlinsonPhotography, City of McAllen, First Presbyterian Church, Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas, Lucille Graham, Enrique E.

Guerra, Cecilia Guillot, Harlingen Arts & Heritage Museum, Alan Hollander, Jones & Jones, John Kreidler, McAllen Chamber ofCommerce, McAllen Economic Development Corporation, McAllen Heritage Center, McAllen Public Library, Bob McCreery,

Museum of South Texas History, John A. Paris, Rio Grande Valley Ballet, William H. Sanborn, Bill Stocker, The Library ofCongress, The Robert Runyon Photograph Collection CN, CT, di_ore_number 3035, 3036, 3038, 3043, 3053, 3055, 3059, 3062

& 3067 The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin, Tom Weekley, Bill Whalen.

ReferencesAllhands, James L. Railroads to the Rio, 1960. Amberson, Mary M. M. et al. I Would Rather Sleep in Texas, 2003. Falls, History of theSeventh Regiment. Jacobson, Lori. “Soldiers in the Valley 1916-17” 1982 MIM. Johnson, Marjorie. History of the Rio Grande Valley,

2001. Osborn, Frank. “Before and after coming to the Lower Rio Grande Valley.” McAllen High School. McAllen, A BicentennialReflection, 1976. McAllen Library files. Monty's Monthly, 1920-1935. Spence, Ruth G. The Nickel Plated Highway to Hell: A politicalhistory of Hidalgo County, 1986. Ramsey, Closner Files. Robertson, Brian. Wild Horse Desert, 1985. Sasse, Fred. “Memories of Men of

the D Battery…at McAllen Texas-1916.” The Monitor. Vickers, Paul. “City of Palms: Historical Facts (50th Anniversary).”

Without the priceless assistance of Geoff Alger and Frank Birkhead, this book

would not have been possible. John Topp organized and managed the entire

publication, an enterprise of daunting dimensions. Alan Hollander artistically

merged design and countless photographic images. Lynne Lerberg provided

invaluable backup. People like Sylvia Alanis, Spud Brown, and Enrique Guerra

Jr. told me family stories that brought McAllen to life and supplied photos. So

many helpful individuals have contributed their knowledge and enthusiasm.

I thank them for the privilege of working with them and for expanding my

appreciation of McAllen.

Eileen Mattei

In 1942, young soldiersfrom Moore Air Fieldnorth of Mission came to McAllen to jitterbugwith USO hostesses.

7

Table of ContentsL E A D I N G T H E W A Y

Turning Point I: The Tale of Two Townsites 1908-1911 8

Turning Point II: Troops Spark Changes 1916-1918 14

Panoramic Foldout: McAllen 1916 19

Turning Point III: Rolling Out the Welcome Mat 1960 24

Turning Point IV: Shifting into High Gear 1973-1976 28

The Visionaries 32

Open for Business 36

Destination McAllen 46

Shaping the Community 52

Arts and Culture 58

Taking Time Off 64

The Next 100 Years 72

Timeline: McAllen Through the Years 76

Family and Business Profiles 106

Index 152

For decades, ArcherPark, shown here inthe 1960s, has provided a place torelax, sit in the shade,and listen to music inthe cool of the evening.

1

TURNING POINT I • 1908-1911

The Tale ofTwo Town Sites

On May 16, 1907, the McAllen Town Company

was founded by William Briggs, John Closner and

O. Ems Jones on land Briggs had purchased for

three dollars per acre. The new townsite company

cleared the brushland and began selling lots in the

town called East McAllen, located on 640 acres

two miles east of the first McAllen train depot.

The Dewey and Osborn families were among those arriving inthe new town of McAllen in 1908. Tent camps like theirs dottedthe brushland while people waited for houses to be built.

10

Briggs and Closner had jumped at the opportunity to establish their town.Four months earlier, on January 26, 1907, James B. McAllen and his half-brotherJohn Young had dissolved their McAllen Townsite Company. In its two years ofexistence, the McAllen Townsite Company had done nothing to develop theproperty at the McAllen train depot, neither platting the tract nor promotingthe land. It's unknown if the family felt they were protecting their commercial properties to the south in the county seat, now known as Hidalgo, by not developing a rival town at McAllen or, maybe they had no interest in townbuilding, preferring to focus on ranching.

Back at the beginningThe story of two townsnamed McAllen actuallystarts around 1902 whenland and canal companiesbegan developing farmtracts north of the RioGrande. William Briggsand various partnersbegan purchasing over

12,400 acres of porciones (long, narrow north-south strips of land with RioGrande frontage dating to the Spanish colonial era), most owned jointly andindividually by John McAllen, James B. McAllen and John Young.

In the summer of 1904, the Sam Fordyce rail line, a branch of the St. Louis,Brownsville & Mexico Railway, pushed straight west from the Harlingenjunction. Land owners and developers granted the railroad rights of way andbonus land in acknowledgment of the traffic the train would draw to their property. “When our grading forces came through McAllen’s fat slice of HidalgoCounty land, nothing existed,” recalled railroad construction administrator J. L.Allhands. John Closner told him, “John (McAllen) would never do anything to

The roof on the right advertises Guerra BrothersGeneral Merchandise, opened by brothers Enrique andModesto before their father joined them in business.Cantina La Esmeralda, Proprietor A. Saenz, wasreportedly the first building erected in the new town.

The McAllen LandCo. founded in 1908sold town lots to buyers who openedlumberyards and general merchandisestores.

11

promote his town. He never gave us an acre towards the bonus until after therailroad was put through.”

With the train track laid down, on December 5, 1904, Uriah Lott, JohnMcAllen, James B. McAllen, Lon C. Hill, and John Young formed the McAllenTownsite Company with a $40,000 investment. Railway service began onDecember 19, 1904. In 1905 Closner cleared a road from the isolated McAllendepot straight south to the county seat. Wagons rumbled down Depot Roadconnecting the river to the rail. By 1906 Samuel Samano’s general store and atiny lumberyard huddled near the depot. The station agent, it was said, sat at thedepot and shot deer that wandered past his lonely post.

But in December 1906, two years after a steam locomotive first went throughthe point named McAllen, railroad coordinator J. McManus issued an ultimatumto James B. McAllen. He could choose either to develop the McAllen townsite

The PresbyterianChurch, on the right,was completed in1910, a year after theMethodists built theirown church. Oillanterns illuminatedevening services.Looking north, theMcChesney Brothersstore, the train depot,and the ice plant are visible in the background.

By 1901, the twice daily arrival of trainsbrought crowds to the depot to find out thenews and see who was traveling. Note thesemaphore accessed by the roof ladder. Thisdepot burned down in 1914 when storedammunition exploded. (The 1905 westMcAllen depot had vertical planks.)

12

by clearing the land and laying out streets or else he could deed half of thetown’s 400 acres to the St. Louis Union Trust Co. representing the railroad’sownership and dissolve the townsite company. The townsite company wasclosed down, although Horace Dennett later opened a grocery and dry goodsnear the still-operating depot and a few houses were built.

In the meantime, Briggs’ canal companies had been clearing land and digging amain channel north. Engineer Rowland E. Horn was hired to plat the town ofEast McAllen, lining up gridded streets east of the canal. He placed the town’scenter around the railroad track at Main Street and the privately-built railroaddepot. The town site stretched from 10th to 18th Street and from RailroadAvenue to Houston Avenue. A saloon at 17th and Railroad Avenue was the firstbusiness opened followed by the McChesney Brothers General Store.

Briggs moved a two-story wooden building from 17th Street to Main andRailroad Avenue, where it became the McAllen Hotel. Mrs. O.P. Archer managed the hotel which had no electricity or running water, although a windmill out back supplied water for the single bathroom and for water basinsin the rooms. A tent city sprang up and served as home for the Dewey andOsborn families and many others as they waited for their houses to be built.

The main canal of the Rio Bravo Irrigation Company crossed the rail line in thevicinity of present day South Bicentennial Street, in September 1908. “Thecoming of the Rio Bravo Canal ...injected life and spirit into things” and spurredMcAllen’s growth, Dr. Frank Osborn told Allhands. Wagon tracks crossed the

McAllen Schoolstudents, posedwith a donkey in1909 or 1910,brought lunchesof cold biscuitsand chicken.

13

dusty streets where, by the end of 1908, East McAllen had a population around300. The young town had two saloons, five stores including the Guerra brothers’,two lumberyards and a one-room school house with 20 students of all ages.

In 1909, the Rio Grande, unrestrained by levees, flooded the new town threetimes. Years later, Frank Osborn wrote, “you could get in a boat a little this sideof the country club and go all the way to Reynosa if you had anything to go for.”Osborn, named postmaster, moved equipment from the untended westMcAllen post office into his new drug store building. The first edition of theweekly The Monitor hit the streets on December 11 and reported that a $10,000public school was to be built and that Dr. R. S. Pershing would open a 20-tonice plant. “Two years ago not a house was standing where McAllen now stands,” trumpeted the paper. “It was April 1908 when the first house waserected.”

Arriving in 1910 to manage the McAllen Town Co., T. Jud Powell recalled, “Youcouldn’t get very far from the hotel or the general merchandise store withoutrunning into dense brush.” Yet that year The Monitor reported that McAllenfarmers had shipped 52 cars of cabbages, 62 cars of onions and 15 cars of watermelons. By this point, west McAllen had disappeared. The new BusinessMen’s Club, the predecessor of the Chamber of Commerce, installed a horsewatering trough on Main Street.

On February 13, 1911, following a vote by 45 men who had at least six monthsresidency within city limits, McAllen was incorporated. Frank Crow was electedmayor. An early ordinance prohibited four-legged livestock from roaming insidecity limits. The town had turned a corner.

A wagonload of merrymakers prepared for a trip to Mission’s Independence Dayparade in 1910. O.P. Archer, who came to McAllen to run the first hotel, openednumerous businesses: a feed and seed,ice cream parlor, auto dealership.

2

TURNING POINT II • 1916-1918

Troops Spark Changes

Troop trains brought12,000 wool-cladNational Guardsmenfrom New York toMcAllen in a rainy July 1916.

Following the 1910 Mexican Revolution, bandit

raids erupted across the Rio Grande Valley,

alarming McAllen residents. Texas National

Guardsmen, arriving in 1914, had little success

controlling the escalating number of robberies,

kidnappings, and killings attributed to border

bandits. The discovery of the treasonous Plan of

San Diego with the arrest of Basilio Ramos at the

Guerra brothers’ store in McAllen brought the

Mexican conflict to the heart of the city. It was

in earshot already.

Trumpeters of the 71st New York Infantry summonedsoldiers to meals, formations, and endless gun drills.

16

“On quiet days in school, the teacher would let us stand on the roof and listen

to the fighting in Mexico,” Lucille Rich Eskildsen recalled about her school days

during the bandit era. “It was always a game for us children.”

President Woodrow Wilson increased the military presence in the Valley to a

total of 111,000 troops in 1916. The McAllen’s Business Men’s Club

contributed $2,500 to secure land for a military camp in the town,

according to pioneer Dr. Frank Osborn. From July 2 to July 12, 1916, trains

ferried over 12,000 New York National Guard soldiers, their tents, cannons and

rifles, motorcycles with sidecars, mules and wagons to McAllen from the

Harlingen rail junction.

As they marched down McAllen’s unpaved streets, the 1st and 2nd New York

Cavalry, 1st and 2nd New York Artillery, the 7th, 12th and 69th Infantry

Regiments, along with an ambulance company, field hospital, Signal Corps and

the 22nd Engineers, greatly outnumbered the town folk. Establishing their camp

between Depot Road and 18th Street, the soldiers had to remove acres of

At the intersection ofMain and First Avenue(today's Business 83),the McAllen Hotel welcomed guests whosesons and husbandshad come to McAllenwith New York andNew Jersey NationalGuard units.

17

prickly pear cactus before they could set up their tents. Clad in wool uniforms,

the soldiers struggled in the summer heat made more miserable by frequent,

torrential rains.

Fred Sasse of “D” Battery, 2nd New York Field Artillery, grumbled like all

soldiers do. “We had a very busy and back-breaking month clearing the tent area,

gun park, and then the picket line for our horses.” He complained about the 200

untrained King Ranch horses which had to be schooled and “gun drill after gun

drill, one training hike after another.”

McAllen residents believed the soldiers had come to protect them from bandit

incursions. Major General John O’Ryan gave orders that said otherwise: “(It)

should be impressed upon the recruits that while they are provided with

ammunition they are prohibited from firing...” The army’s objectives, he said,

“...do not include the protection of the border from raids.” Instead the purpose

of the massive military buildup was technical training, drilling and field

The city donated land for the camp, but soldiers spent weeks clearingprickly pear cactus and mesquites to have space for their tents,weapons, and horse picket lines.

Soldiers tired of armyfood and tents couldwalk a few blocks eastto McAllen's ice creamparlors and cafes.Although not officiallyin the Valley to chasebandits, the presence ofthousands of soldiersdeterred wrongdoers.

18

maneuvers as World War I loomed. In reality, the thousands of troops stationed

along the Rio Grande presented a powerful deterrent for lawless elements.

Infantry patrols, wearing protective leggings, and cavalrymen flowed across the

brushlands and swerved around mesquite and cactus. The troops faced no

battles but plenty of bugs; no dangers but great discomfort.

The arrival of 12,000 men overwhelmed the city’s utilities: the light plant had

only a single cylinder engine, and the water supply was overstretched. Existing

retail businesses – saloons, cafés, groceries – could not keep up with the

demands of their new customers. The Palace of Sweets, an ice cream parlor,

closed its doors every 20 minutes to regulate the flow of soldiers seeking a

snack. “Business was so great we had to handle the customers in shifts and keep

police at the door,” said owner Mrs. O. P. Archer. The McAllen Café, which

Marion Floyd Dilley had purchased in 1915, stayed open 16 hours a day to serve

soldiers hungry for something other than army chow. At Molina’s Meat Market,

Moises Molina Sr. had a lucrative contract to supply meat to the troops.

Businesses in tents sprouted along Main Street like cabbages. New cafés, bars,

dime stores and a dollar-a-night hotel welcomed the Yankees and their cash.

A soldier’s pay was $30 month, and Hidalgo County offered few places to spend

it. Instead of living in tents, officers in the 7th Infantry, nicknamed the

millionaires’ regiment for its wealthy soldiers like Col. Cornelius Vanderbilt III,

and those in Squadron A, a famously well-dressed New York cavalry unit,

rented McAllen houses and spent money freely.

The army post had its own recreational options, including two moving-picture

theaters and YMCAs, and the soldiers’ baseball and football teams played the

McAllen High School teams. First New York Calvary soldiers joined in a church

raising, laboring to erect the wood frame First Christian Church in one day.

The 1917 groundbreaking for the Casa de Palmas, the grandest hotel southof San Antonio, signaled a new era of prosperity as agriculture boomed.

�

OPEN23

Other troops raised money for a rectory at Sacred Heart Catholic Church that

enabled it to officially become a parish in 1917.

The National Guard units began leaving McAllen after only four months and all

were gone by March 1917. The short invasion by friendly forces awakened

McAllen entrepreneurs to the possibilities of trade on a grand scale. In August

1917, R.E. Horn and O.P. Archer formed the Rio Grande Valley Hotel Corp.

intent on building a first class hotel to serve as the city’s social and business

center. Citizens reportedly invested $15,000 in the venture as well.

When the Casa de Palmas Hotel opened in 1918, McAllen had become an

agricultural boom town: orchards were selling at $1,000 to $1,200 acre. The hot

new crop of broom corn – a 10-foot-tall sorghum variety used for brooms –

drew spendthrift broom corn buyers to the Casa de Palmas, where they were

warmly received. Monty’s Monthly, a local publication, noted: “They do

not hoard their money, but put it in circulation and are a most valuable asset

to any community.”

The stage was set for an era of prosperity and growth.

The 12,000 soldiers at the hugecamp established between 18th and 23rd Streets far outnumberedthe city's residents.

� OPEN

3

TURNING POINT III • 1960

Rolling Out theWelcome MatFor McAllen, the world does not end at the Rio

Grande. The city became a jumping-off place for

Mexico-bound caravans in the 1930s and then a

departure point for motor coach tours. It thrived as

a port of entry for Mexican shoppers and travelers.

Built in 1926, the HidalgoReynosa suspension bridge wasa welcome improvement on therowboats and ferries that hadconnected McAllen to Mexico.

1. The site of the future Archer Park had a

diagonal path crossing it in 1916.

2. McAllen had a fenced deer park on the

tract where Casa de Palmas was built in

1918.

3. The Hidalgo County road to Reynosa was

known as 10th Street following a street

renaming in 1936.

4. This street was called Broadway after

1936.

5. Main Street has had many names including

Palm Boulevard.

6. This is the site of the first east McAllen

Depot, which burned in 1914.

7. The O.P. Archer Ford and Studebaker

dealership was the first car company

in McAllen.

8. At the first high school, built in 1911,

grade school students were taught on the

first floor and older students to grade 11

were upstairs.

9. The First Presbyterian Church, built in

1910, served briefly as a schoolhouse.

10. This Missouri Pacific Railroad Depot was

the third station named McAllen.

11. This canteen for soldiers occupied the site

of the future Crow Building.

12. The McChesney Building housed one of

McAllen's oldest mercantile stores.

13. Identified on the original plat as First

Avenue, this street has been called

Railroad Avenue, Highway, and today,

Business 83.

14. McAllen's first one-room schoolhouse was

built in 1908.

15. The McAllen Hotel and Annex, relocated

several times, was the first stop for many

early settlers and traveling salesmen.

16. The Methodist Church was the first

church built in McAllen.

17. The Candy Building housed McAllen's

original bank, The First State Bank &

Trust Co.

18. The 805 Building was a place to buy car

batteries, tires, and furniture.

19. 15th Street was a growing commercial

thoroughfare in 1916.

20. The O.C. Maule Lumberyard was the site

of the town's first Protestant services.

21. This boarding house was among the first

built to serve newcomers to McAllen.

22. Today's Austin Avenue, this was Second

Avenue in 1916 and later called Closner

Street.

23. Today's Beaumont Avenue, this was first

called Third Avenue and then 16th

Avenue.

24. Sacred Heart Catholic Church, built of

wood in 1911, burned down in 1924.

25. 16th Street was primarily a residential

street between two commercial districts.

26. The camp of Squadron “A”, New York

National Guard.

27. The camp of the Second Field Artillery,

New York.

28. The camp of the First Field Artillery,

New York.

29. The camp of the Battalion Signal Corps.

30. This tire repair shop probably had a huge

influx of customers with the military in

town.

31. The camp of the 69th Infantry, New York.

32. The D. Guerra & Sons building was built

in 1912 and is still in use in 2011.

33. 17th Street for a period was officially

named Guerra Street.

34. The location of the First, Third, and

Fourth Ambulance Companies and the

Second Field Hospital.

35. The camp of the 12th Infantry, New York.

36. The camp of the 22nd Engineers,

New York National Guard.

37. The Guerra house was at one time the

largest house in McAllen.

38. La Esmeralda Saloon, in a different

location on this street, was reportedly

the first building in McAllen after the

town was platted.

39. The camp of the 7th Infantry, New York

National Guard.

40. The canal is bracketed by 18th and 19th

Streets.

41. The camp of the First Calvary, New York.

42. Nordmeyer's Elevator had steam-operated

machinery to move grain.

43. The Headquarters of the Sixth Division.

44. The original railroad depot, built in 1905,

was located in this area on Depot Road.

45. The Post Hospital.

46. The First Field Hospital.

McALLEN, TEXAS • 1916

A Moment in Time

17

prickly pear cactus before they could set up their tents. Clad in wool uniforms,

the soldiers struggled in the summer heat made more miserable by frequent,

torrential rains.

Fred Sasse of “D” Battery, 2nd New York Field Artillery, grumbled like all

soldiers do. “We had a very busy and back-breaking month clearing the tent area,

gun park, and then the picket line for our horses.” He complained about the 200

untrained King Ranch horses which had to be schooled and “gun drill after gun

drill, one training hike after another.”

McAllen residents believed the soldiers had come to protect them from bandit

incursions. Major General John O’Ryan gave orders that said otherwise: “(It)

should be impressed upon the recruits that while they are provided with

ammunition they are prohibited from firing...” The army’s objectives, he said,

“...do not include the protection of the border from raids.” Instead the purpose

of the massive military buildup was technical training, drilling and field

The city donated land for the camp, but soldiers spent weeks clearingprickly pear cactus and mesquites to have space for their tents,weapons, and horse picket lines.

Soldiers tired of armyfood and tents couldwalk a few blocks eastto McAllen's ice creamparlors and cafes.Although not officiallyin the Valley to chasebandits, the presence ofthousands of soldiersdeterred wrongdoers.

18

maneuvers as World War I loomed. In reality, the thousands of troops stationed

along the Rio Grande presented a powerful deterrent for lawless elements.

Infantry patrols, wearing protective leggings, and cavalrymen flowed across the

brushlands and swerved around mesquite and cactus. The troops faced no

battles but plenty of bugs; no dangers but great discomfort.

The arrival of 12,000 men overwhelmed the city’s utilities: the light plant had

only a single cylinder engine, and the water supply was overstretched. Existing

retail businesses – saloons, cafés, groceries – could not keep up with the

demands of their new customers. The Palace of Sweets, an ice cream parlor,

closed its doors every 20 minutes to regulate the flow of soldiers seeking a

snack. “Business was so great we had to handle the customers in shifts and keep

police at the door,” said owner Mrs. O. P. Archer. The McAllen Café, which

Marion Floyd Dilley had purchased in 1915, stayed open 16 hours a day to serve

soldiers hungry for something other than army chow. At Molina’s Meat Market,

Moises Molina Sr. had a lucrative contract to supply meat to the troops.

Businesses in tents sprouted along Main Street like cabbages. New cafés, bars,

dime stores and a dollar-a-night hotel welcomed the Yankees and their cash.

A soldier’s pay was $30 month, and Hidalgo County offered few places to spend

it. Instead of living in tents, officers in the 7th Infantry, nicknamed the

millionaires’ regiment for its wealthy soldiers like Col. Cornelius Vanderbilt III,

and those in Squadron A, a famously well-dressed New York cavalry unit,

rented McAllen houses and spent money freely.

The army post had its own recreational options, including two moving-picture

theaters and YMCAs, and the soldiers’ baseball and football teams played the

McAllen High School teams. First New York Calvary soldiers joined in a church

raising, laboring to erect the wood frame First Christian Church in one day.

The 1917 groundbreaking for the Casa de Palmas, the grandest hotel southof San Antonio, signaled a new era of prosperity as agriculture boomed.

�

OPEN23

Other troops raised money for a rectory at Sacred Heart Catholic Church that

enabled it to officially become a parish in 1917.

The National Guard units began leaving McAllen after only four months and all

were gone by March 1917. The short invasion by friendly forces awakened

McAllen entrepreneurs to the possibilities of trade on a grand scale. In August

1917, R.E. Horn and O.P. Archer formed the Rio Grande Valley Hotel Corp.

intent on building a first class hotel to serve as the city’s social and business

center. Citizens reportedly invested $15,000 in the venture as well.

When the Casa de Palmas Hotel opened in 1918, McAllen had become an

agricultural boom town: orchards were selling at $1,000 to $1,200 acre. The hot

new crop of broom corn – a 10-foot-tall sorghum variety used for brooms –

drew spendthrift broom corn buyers to the Casa de Palmas, where they were

warmly received. Monty’s Monthly, a local publication, noted: “They do

not hoard their money, but put it in circulation and are a most valuable asset

to any community.”

The stage was set for an era of prosperity and growth.

The 12,000 soldiers at the hugecamp established between 18th and 23rd Streets far outnumberedthe city's residents.

� OPEN

3

TURNING POINT III • 1960

Rolling Out theWelcome MatFor McAllen, the world does not end at the Rio

Grande. The city became a jumping-off place for

Mexico-bound caravans in the 1930s and then a

departure point for motor coach tours. It thrived as

a port of entry for Mexican shoppers and travelers.

Built in 1926, the HidalgoReynosa suspension bridge wasa welcome improvement on therowboats and ferries that hadconnected McAllen to Mexico.

Two milestones in 1960 illustrated and demonstrated McAllen’s position as an

international and cultural destination: the new ownership of the McAllen-

Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge and the opening of the McAllen Civic

Center.

The Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge, built by Joe Pate and associates in

1926, connected two cultures and two economies. The wood-planked suspension

bridge, badly damaged in the 1933 hurricane, collapsed in 1939 when a

suspension cable snapped. A pontoon bridge carried international traffic until a

replacement suspension bridge was completed in 1940. By 1954 the Hidalgo-

Reynosa bridge ranked as the second busiest port of entry on the border.

In 1960, negotiations led by V.F. Neuhaus paved the way for the City of McAllen

to buy the north half of the international bridge from investor-operator Joe Pate

for $1.6 million. The deal proved to be a bargain, both for the steady stream of

A second suspensionbridge replaced theoriginal span bridgewhich had collapsed in 1939.

McAllen's purchase ofthe Hidalgo ReynosaBridge in 1960 resulted in a regularstream of revenue forthe city and a happyflow of travelers to and from Mexico.

26

visitors to and from Mexico who arrived in McAllen and for the steady income

stream. The city soon took over operations of the McAllen-Hidalgo-Reynosa

International Bridge, although Hidalgo by contract continued to receive 36

percent of the net income from southbound traffic.The timely purchase bolstered

private investments in the city. The new Royal Palms, Flamingo, and Frontier

hotels and the Holiday Inn boasted of their swimming pools and locations near

shopping centers. McAllen-based Dan Sanborn had created the unique Sanborn’s

Mexico Travelog and was on the way to becoming the border’s largest seller of

insurance for Mexico-bound tourists.

The city opened a four-lane concrete bridge in 1967, and by 1969 net income was

$344,000 on approximately 10 million crossings. A parallel four-lane bridge was

completed in 1988.

The modern bridges spurred McAl l en ’ s r e t a i l , a g r i cu l tu ra l

processing, and tourism sectors. By 2010, the McAllen-Reynosa International

Bridge netted $10 million dollars annually, bringing $640,000 to the City of

McAllen general fund. The city bridge division employed 40 and about 100

federal officers were stationed at the bridge. Most importantly, the bridges

funneled visitors to McAllen businesses.

McAllen’s second “million dollar gamble” in 1960 was the construction of a new

Civic Center on Tenth Street. In the 1950s civic activist Lucile Hendricks began

campaigning for a civic center to be used for cultural events such as plays and

concerts. She served on a city committee that researched other cities’ centers and

recommended an architect.

Credited with drawing 10 conventions to McAllen in its first eight months, the

Civic Center provided an auditorium which seated 1,800 and a convention hall

The Grande Courtson Ash Street, withkitchenettes available,was typical of thetourist lodgings of theearly 1960s.

The new Civic Center,opened in 1960 beforethe Expressway wasbuilt, had translationequipment second onlyto the United Nationsin New York.

27

that held 1,280. Gallons of Border Buttermilk (frozen pink margaritas) were

served on the spacious patio. In 1963, National Cash Register chose McAllen’s

Civic Center as its international training site. Soon the city had installed equip-

ment and headphones for simultaneous translation in six languages, the only U.S.

venue outside the UN with that capability.

Cultural activities flourished. Artist Helen Stahl launched Patrons of the Arts; the

Valley International Players took to the stage; touring companies of Broadway

shows appeared. Performances were hosted by the Opera Society, the Community

Concert subscription series, and McAllen Performing Arts. The LULAC New

Year’s Eve Gala, the

Masonic annual dinner

and the Noche de

McAllen brought much-

anticipated festivities.

Beginning in 1964,

Airstream trailer cara-

vans rallied at the Civic

Center with up to 400 gathering to travel in Mexico. By 1965, conventions

were the town’s fastest growing industry, making McAllen the seventh busiest

convention town in Texas, although it was 25th in population. Over 1,000 tourists

belonged to the McAllen Tourist Club.

Six years after opening, the center underwent an expansion “for the money crop

which ranks right up with citrus and conventions for McAllen – tourists.” The new

City of Palms Tourist Club enticed Winter Texans with games, potluck suppers,

dances, and Spanish classes. McAllen was the first city in the Valley to schedule a

full calendar of activities for its members. McAllen offered 700 parking spaces

plus water outlets.

Twelve years after its opening, the Civic Center was responsible for bringing $1.5

million to McAllen annually and was being used 25 days a month for concerts,

pageants, shows and private parties. About 70 conventions per year booked the

center, which helped sell many of McAllen’s 1,000 hotel rooms.

“It’s hard to measure the value of the center,” said City Manager Bill Schupp.

“Without it, it is doubtful McAllen would have gained the stature it now enjoys

as a cultural, business, tourist and convention center.” Luminaries from jazz great

Dave Brubeck to opera diva Beverly Sills have graced the Civic Center stage.

Caravans of trailersrallied in the CivicCenter parking lotbecame a commonsight.

The shuffleboardcourts in Archer Parkdrew crowds of WinterTexans.

4

TURNING POINT IV • 1973-1976

Shifting Into High Gear

In the space of three years, McAllen underwent

a startling make-over. Between 1973 and 1976,

with the opening of La Plaza Mall and Foreign-

Trade Zone No. 12, McAllen gained a revamped

economy, a future tightly linked to Mexico, and

a new emphasis on manufacturing.

The thousands of trucks transportinggoods between Mexico and the U.S.helped McAllen become the largestinland Foreign Trade Zone by 1982.

After McAllen inaugurated the nation’s first inland foreign-trade zone (FTZ) in

1973, the city catapulted to a front and center spot as a port of entry. By 1982,

McAllen ranked as the nation’s largest general purpose FTZ based on dollar

value. By 1998, it averaged $4 million in goods daily, hitting a total annual value

of $1.1 billion, thanks to the consumer electronics of FTZ tenants such as

Zenith Electronics and General Electric crossing from Mexico to McAllen. Job

opportunities soared on both sides of the border.

The complicated process that created the McAllen Foreign-Trade Zone began in

1965 at a McAllen Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors meeting that

sought ways to diversify the economy and stimulate job growth. With the

support of community leaders, John R. Freeland, Peter G. Payte and Morgan

Talbot incorporated the McAllen Trade Zone and arranged the sale of 100 bonds

at $1,000 each to local citizens willing to put their own money on the line to

spur the city’s growth in a new direction. After years spent acquiring grants,

letters of intent and documentation as the first non–seaport FTZ, the 40-acre

Manufacturers anddistributors drawn toMcAllen and Reynosaby the EconomicDevelopment Corp.brought thousands of jobs and new residents to the area.

Vast shipping centershandle electronics,appliances, textilesand automotive components movingbetween Mexico andMcAllen.

30

duty-free zone began operating in 1973. Mexico, meanwhile, had launched the

maquiladora or twin plant program. That prompted manufacturers to consider

a joint Reynosa-McAllen maquiladora, when few people could even pronounce

the word.

The McAllen FTZ attracted more new jobs

than any previous federal Economic

Development Administration grant, as

numerous manufacturers took advantage

of lower freight and production costs. The

logos of top American and international

corporations appeared on FTZ warehouses

and logistical services buildings where

armed U.S. Customs officers inspected

in-bond merchandise. In 1984, the FTZ

doubled to 80 acres and later added 8.5

acres at the airport. In 1994, the McAllen

FTZ operated at 95% capacity with 35

To finance theForeign-Trade Zoneand its goal of bringing more jobsand more businessesto McAllen, residentsbought $1,000 bondswith no guarantee ofrepayment.

For 17 years Mike Allen led theMcAllen EconomicDevelopment Corp.'scrusade to bring manufacturing companies to theregion.

31

businesses employing about 800 people. In 1996, the FTZ extended its boundaries

to include 695 acres that became Sharyland Business Park. A major produce

terminal opened nearby. South Texas College established a technology campus in

the zone. Overall, the FTZ was instrumental in drawing over 200 maquiladora

operations such as Whirlpool, Delphi and Seagate to the border.

The McAllen Economic Development Corporation began operations in 1988

providing information and assistance to industrial clients interested in locating

in McAllen or Reynosa. A descendant of the merger of the McAllen Trade Zone,

Inc. and McAllen’s Industrial Board, the MEDC recruited an average of 29

manufacturing companies a year during its first decade.

Shopping made simple

In 1974, a young McAllen city planner was stunned but receptive when a

representative of mall developer Melvin Simon & Co. approached him about

locating a mall in McAllen, noting the city was a last frontier for retailers. The

selected site, south of Expressway 83, included orange groves owned by Lucile

Hendricks and 80

acres owned by A. L.

Morgan at Wichita

and 10th, which once

held the Porvenir

Ranch bar. Anchored

by Dillard’s, Jones

& Jones, and J.C.

Penney, La Plaza

Mall opened in 1976

with 55 stores. An

overnight success, La Plaza drew well-to-do shoppers from Monterrey, Tampico

and beyond and became known as the mall with an airport attached. The

popularity of La Plaza south of the border prompted a slangy Spanish verb:

mcallear – to go shopping in McAllen. Out of space and urgently needing an

expansion, La Plaza in 1982 bought a segment of South Main Street, closed it,

and added more stores.

Renovations and expan-

sions brought the Simon

Property Group mall up

to 140 specialty stores and

six anchors in a profitable

m i x o f t r e n d y a n d

traditional clothing stores,

jewelers, shoe emporiums,

cafés and bout iques,

complete with valet parking. Sales soared to over $450 per square foot per month,

making La Plaza at one point the most lucrative retail property per square foot in

the nation. Mexican shoppers account for 35% of La Plaza traffic, boosting the

sales tax which makes up about 20 percent of the city’s revenue.

Left: Jones & Jones,known for their elegant style, openedtheir La Plaza Mallstore in 1976.

Below: The biggerthe magnet, thegreater the attractionproved to be a truismas La Plaza Malldrew Mexican andAmerican shoppers in such numbers thatit became the highestgrossing mall in thenation.

5

LEADING THE WAY

The Visionaries

Because it was blessed with strong visionary

leaders, McAllen evolved into the Valley's most

dynamic city over the course of 100 years.

Remarkable individuals committed their time,

expertise and money to guide the city to a

vibrant, prosperous, and gratifying future.

In the early 1920s,residents listened tomusic at the wooden bandstand in themunicipal park that would be named after O. P.Archer in 1933.

The Entrepreneur: Oliver P. Archer (1869-1930)

Oliver Percy Archer and his wife Clara became

the managers of the McAllen Hotel in 1908. He

organized the hundreds of home seekers flooding

into the new town while simultaneously running

a feed store and later an ice house. With E. U.

Bartliff, he got palm trees planted, prompting the

“City of Palms” nickname. Archer worked to

have McAllen incorporated in 1911 and was one

of the original city commissioners and the first

president of the Business Men's Club. Elected

McAllen's second mayor and marshal, he served

from 1913 to 1923, the years of the military boom times and the broom corn

bonanza. Archer co-founded the Rio Grande Valley Hotel Corporation, opening

the Casa de Palmas hotel in 1918. Ever the entrepreneur, he opened Archer Auto,

the town's first car dealer and an ice cream parlor, too. The municipal park,

acquired by the city in 1917, was named Archer Park in 1933

The Community Leaders: The Guerra Brothers (1886-1935, 1888-1927, 1893-1939)

In 1908, brothers Enrique,

Modesto and Jose Guerra

took their earnings from

selling mules and opened

Guerra Brothers General

Merchandise in the new

town of McAllen. While

Modesto sold groceries, Enrique managed land clearing contracts and sold mesquite.

When the brothers' parents and siblings joined them in McAllen, the family

business got a new name, D. Guerra & Sons, and a brick building in 1912. The

family bought more lots and established other businesses on 17th Street, which

became known as Guerra Street. The brothers bought thousands of acres of ranch-

land in Hidalgo and Starr County. They became respected community leaders.

In 1927, Modesto became the first Mexican-American elected to the City

Commission and was followed by Enrique. Their younger brother Ramon, a

charter member of the Texas Good Neighbor Commission and first bilingual

graduate of McAllen High, also was elected to the City Commission.

The Hired Hand: Bill Schupp (1904 - 1985)

As City Manager from 1946 to1974, Bill

Schupp served eight McAllen mayors who

attributed much of McAllen's progress in

those years to Schupp's astute management.

Under his guidance, McAllen's airport went

from grass runways to an international

terminal. The City built a library, public safety

building, a museum, a golf course and

Modesto P. GuerraEnrique E. Guerra Jose Guerra

34

clubhouse and City Hall without issuing bonds. “The best bargain in the city

budget is the salary paid to Bill Schupp for services rendered,” said former

Mayor C. W. Davis. Lauded for running the city like a business, Schupp at the

same time insisted on keeping the city and its parks clean and green to encourage

visitors to come back. He brought average citizens into municipal government.

The Voice: Leonelo Gonzalez (1908-1985)

Leonelo Gonzalez spoke up when he saw

injustice and then worked to right the wrong,

which earned him the title la voz del pueblo. He

came to McAllen in 1925 and around 1940

established his newspaper El Eco, where he

was reporter, editor and publisher. The free

publication gave Spanish-speaking residents

access to news about McAllen.

In the 1940s, Gonzalez, with Lucile Hendricks

and others, helped eliminate the half-day classes

for younger, Hispanic grade school students in

south McAllen. Soon, all Spanish-speaking students were attending full-day

classes. In 1947, he was instrumental in starting a six-week crash course in English

for Spanish-speaking children prior to their entry in first grade. His voice helped

assure that Thigpen School was opened to accommodate Mexican-American

students and that PTAs were established at Hispanic-dominant schools.

After Gonzalez joined the McAllen Municipal Hospital board, he and his wife

Cecilia worked with doctors to decrease the community's high infant mortality

rate by helping establish a free well-baby clinic.

The First Lady: Lucile Hendricks (1909-2007)

Lucile McKee came to the Valley in 1926,

married Harold Hendricks the next year, and

during the Depression ran their three-bedroom

home as a boarding house. At Hendricks

Construction, she initially handled the office and

figured bids, but later managed construction

projects including Pharr's first high school and

the McAllen bus station.A Girl Scout leader and

chair of the Mothers' March on Polio, Hendricks

was elected to the school board, the first female elected official in Hidalgo County.

She became president of the school board “to ensure that all children received a

quality education regardless of their economic status or English proficiency.”

Hallmark braids looped on her head, Hendricks was the first woman member of

the Associated General Contractors of Texas and the McAllen's Housing

Authority, where she served for 18 years. She advocated for a McAllen civic center

as a venue for cultural events and served on the committee that laid the

groundwork for its construction in 1960. Immersed in organizations which

expanded the scope of performances at the Civic Center, she co-founded the RGV

International Music Festival and championed cultural and historical appreciation.

35

The Maverick: Othal Brand (1919-2009)

Othal Brand, out of school in Georgia by age

13 and selling fruit from a street cart, went

on to become the world's largest grower and

shipper of onions. He served in the Marines

during World War II before moving to

McAllen with his wife Kay in 1952 and

establishing Griffin & Brand, a multi-million

dollar produce company.

Brand had a visionary's sense of the future.

He served on the McAllen school board in

the 1960s and then on the city commission.

In 1977, the conservative populist became mayor and over the next 20 years

guided McAllen to its ranking as the third fastest growing metropolitan area in the

nation with his aggressive attention to numbers. Brand filled educational gaps with

South Texas College and a school for children with special needs. He established

the McAllen Economic Development Corp. and hired Mike Allen to run it. He

led the city to acquire more land, build infrastructure, and start the Boys and Girls

Club. He reached out to the poor by planning a low-income housing community

and working to create jobs for all McAllen residents.

Brand was called far-sighted and brash, a strong leader and a polarizer. He replied

to critics that an “effective city leader sees the big picture,” and others benefit from

his vision.

The Healing Hand: Dr. Ramiro Casso (1922- )

With a degree in engineering and World War

II service behind him, Laredo native Ramiro

Casso graduated from the University of Texas

Southwestern Medical School and in 1957

opened his McAllen Family Practice office.

Dr. Casso treated thousands of patients and

operated a charity clinic for farm workers. In

1996, he founded El Milagro Clinic for

McAllen's uninsured and indigent. The first

physician member of the McAllen Hospital

board, he was appointed to the Texas Board

of Health and the Texas Human Rights Commission.

Having done manual labor as a child, Dr. Casso empathized with farm workers.

Dr. Casso advocated for farm workers' rights, marching with Cesar Chavez and

posting bail for striking Starr County farm workers. As a LULAC member, he

worked with civil rights advocates on the case that integrated Hispanic children

in Texas schools.

Dr. Casso delivered thousands of babies during his career. In retirement, South

Texas College's Nursing and Allied Health Division became another one of his

babies. In 2001, it was named the Dr. Ramiro R. Casso Nursing and Allied Health

Center.

Bubblegum KingAndy Paris made amillion dollars andthe cover of Lifemagazine after introducing the U.S. to his penny gum shipped fromMcAllen.

6

LEADING THE WAY

Open for Business

If it’s good for business, it’s good for

McAllen. That principle, backed by vision

and determination, has fueled McAllen’s

growth and made McAllen the Rio Grande

Valley’s leading metropolitan area.

Farmers began moving to McAllen once the railroad gave them away to get their crops of cabbage, cantaloupes and citrus to market.

38

During 1905 and 1906 at the original, isolated McAllen train depot, a handful

of businesses, including Samuel Samano’s general store and Horace Dennett’s

dry good shop, struggled to survive. When William Briggs and John Closner

established the McAllen Town Company tract to the east in 1907, they cleared

a townsite and envisioned retail trade as the engine of growth. Newly arrived

farmers would come into McAllen for seed, feed and household supplies. The

St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexican Railway that rolled through town twice a day

would carry abundant harvests to market.

By 1908, the McAllen land sales office operated on today’s 17th Street, near La

Esmeralda Cantina (possibly the town’s first business) and opposite the Guerra

Brothers’ wood frame general merchandise store. Lumberyards, the McAllen

Hotel, the McChesney Brothers general store, Macedonia Vela’s building and

other wooden shops dotted the wide unpaved streets where horses stood

hitched to railings. The English-speaking and Spanish-speaking businesses

clustered around Main and 17th streets, near the railroad station. The earliest

In 1914, McAllen had electricity, butnot paved streets or a water system.

Cars filled downtownstreets when farm families came toMcAllen for Saturdayshopping and visitingwith friends.

39

residents pooled their money for a town water well. The Monitor began

publishing in 1909, the year that farmer Arend Renkin shipped the first carload

of cantaloupes by rail from McAllen.

When the city incorporated in 1911, McAllen businesses included Kriedler’s

Undertaking, First State Bank & Trust, the Molina meat market, a pharmacy, an

electric company,

and several feed and

seed stores. The

B u s i n e s s M e n ’ s

Club installed a

watering trough for

the horses that

farmers had ridden

to town for supplies.

Under the slogan ‘We Pull Together,’ the club hired L. U. Bartliff’s Saturday

night picture show for six months. “This free show created a lot of

friendship and helped enlarge our trade territory,” wrote early settler

Dr. Frank Osborn. He witnessed McAllen residents banding together for the

Kreidler hearses doubled as ambulances until the 1960s.

Above: The MinterCompany paid afarmer $2.25 per crateof produce in 1920.

Left: The Studebakeremerging from O.P.Archer's showroom isready to roll eastdown the street knownthrough the years asRailroad Avenue,Highway Avenue and Business 83.

40

common good: “Ernest Horn’s bank furnished the farmers with money to buy

cows; and popular subscription built a creamery...that helped the farmers over

a hump.” The Business Men’s Club, the predecessor of the Chamber of

Commerce, worked on filling mud holes on roads and getting bridges built

across canals so shoppers could get to McAllen. The city began to take shape,

adding an ice house, an automobile agency, a jeweler and an ice cream parlor.

Mexican bandit raids, beginning in 1912, resulted in a bonanza for McAllen in

1916 when 12,000 American soldiers set up camp on the city’s west side. Far

outnumbering the residents, the troops collected monthly pay but had few

The Missouri Pacific depot wasbuilt after the original burneddown following an ammunitionexplosion in 1914.

Lumberyards, essential for building a town, wereamong McAllen's first businesses. Myatt BrothersEconomy Lumber opened as the city grew.

41

places to spend it. New stores and cafés – some in tents – catered to the

demands of thousands of paying customers. The soldiers’ six month

deployment boosted calls for an upscale hotel. Once again citizens united, this

time contributing $15,000 to the construction of Casa de Palmas Hotel, a

project led by banker Ernest Horn and entrepreneur O. P. Archer.

By 1920, the railroad was shuttling in thousands of landseekers as well as

buyers for the boom crop of broom corn, a tall grain. Boarding houses

proliferated as the nation and McAllen entered an era of prosperity. Monty’s

Monthly of McAllen touted the Valley as “a piece of high-class merchandise to

be sold to people of means who are looking for warm climate, small or large

citrus farms, and the many other things the Valley has to offer as investments.”

Land developer A.J. McColl estimated he had hosted 250,000 landseekers at the

McColl Clubhouse by 1931 and sold $50 million of land.

Banks thrived as harvests of citrus, cabbage, carrots and cotton went to market.

The Neuhaus family established McAllen State Bank; the Lloyd Bentsen family

started First National Bank; and A. F. Vannoy opened Valley Federal Savings

and Loan.

The Chamber ofCommerce has nurtured the groupsthat formed theForeign-Trade Zone,Leadership McAllen,and tourist clubs.

The impressive State Bank & Trust Co., squeezednext to the McAllen Hotel, opened in 1925 andclosed during the Great Depression.

42

The hurricane of 1933 flooded the city and brought commerce to a halt. At

Moody’s White Kitchen, Madelyn Brattin Parks’ parents could provide only a

brief respite for unfortunate residents: “They sold every crust of bread and every

pot of coffee they had until they were

completely out of food.” The city

bounced back from the disaster. Morris

Nelson completed construction of the

South Main Street post office, one of the

dozens of buildings he added to

McAllen’s skyline.

The national economy boomed after

World War II. Bubble Gum King Andy

Paris launched the Paris Gum Company

on Business 83 and shipped a million pieces a day. Brownie’s Service Stations

spread, and teens gathered under the canopy at the Robin Drive In. Yet McAllen

was still a small town of 20,000 in 1950. When the Stocker family wanted to

move Palace Cleaners from a flood zone on Ithaca

up to Tenth and Tamarack, banks refused to lend

them money. The new location was outside city

limits, and McAllen would never grow that far

north, the Stockers were told. But the airport

runway was paved now, and Trans-Texas Airways

offered flights north. Amy Jones, who had first

opened her women’s clothing store in the Guerra

Building, saw the family business store grow into

Jones & Jones with a three-story building

complete with elevator on Main. Frequently

Colorful labelsidentified growersand packingsheds.

Packing sheds employedhundreds during harvest months.

43

equated with Neiman Marcus, Jones & Jones featured the popular Patio Tea

Room with its ever-changing Marquand mural. Vegetable and fruit packers

continued to supply the nation with Magic Valley products.

The long-established La Estrella Bakery attracted yet another generation of

children who pedaled their bikes to Galveston Street to buy cookies fresh from

the brick o v e n . J C. Pe n n e y himself arrived for the opening of his newest

store. Men tipped their hats to the ladies dressed up and shopping downtown.

Herb’s Supermarket gave S&H Green Stamps to customers. In 1959, the

Holiday Inn joined Royal Palms, Flamingo and Frontier motels catering to

tourists. Dan Sanborn developed his Mexico travelogs and began arranging

tours.

McAllen’s far-sighted purchase of the Hidalgo-Reynosa bridge started a revenue

stream that combined with oil and gas royalties, helped keep taxes low, a

further enticement for new businesses and new residents. Hurricane Beulah in

Builder MorrisNelson, who constructed CascadePool, the PalaceTheatre, post officeand Levin andNassar buildings,funded the firedepartment's purchase of a laddertruck after a firetrapped him on adowntown roof.

44

1967 was a wet, destructive blessing in disguise. Flood insurance payments

funded a make-over of damaged businesses and residences. That building surge

signaled the gradual displacement of agriculture from the center of McAllen’s

economy. Neiman Marcus’ 1967 Christmas catalog offered a unique gift from

McAllen: Angel-Kist Novelty Groves’ lifetime citrus tree lease, which included

the tree’s total production with options to pick your own or have them shipped.

The McAllen Foreign-Trade Zone, established in 1973, attracted twin plants

(binational manufacturers) which jumped McAllen into the top rank of U.S.

ports of entry based on dollar volume. Thousands of jobs stemmed from the

FTZ and the subsequent McAllen Economic Development Corporation.

Opening in 1976, La Plaza Mall acted like a magnet drawing affluent shoppers

Classic mid-centurymodern architecturedefined the BillMoyer Nash showroom on(Business) Highway 83.

Under differentnames, the Chase Tower hasdominated theMcAllen skyline for over 40 years.

45

from Mexico and south Texas. Within four years, McAllen surpassed Laredo as

the Texas border retail destination. McAllen eventually claimed the highest

grossing mall per square foot in the nation as retail became a dominant sector.

Shoppers, tourists, and

business travelers increased

the var ie ty of hote l s,

restaurants and services.

The 21st century brought

McAllen another generation

of entrepreneurs, an increase

in ecotourism, a revitalized

17th Street entertainment

district, dynamic retailers and

strong healthcare and finan-

cial sectors. Founding

McAllen, Briggs and Closner

did not envision the details

of McAllen commerce 100

years in the future, but they

knew a vibrant business

community would be at the

heart of the successful City

of Palms.

Palms Crossing, next to the McAllenConvention Center, represents the newestphase in McAllen's retail growth.

The revitalizedCine El Rey addsto the bright lightsand entertainmentdowntown in the21st century.

7

LEADING THE WAY

DestinationMcAllen

From its earliest days, McAllen has rolled out

the welcome mat for visitors. Soon after

William Briggs and John Closner established

the McAllen Town Company in 1907, Briggs

built a two-story hotel at Highway Avenue

and 17th Street in the newly platted town.

The McAllen Hotel, dating from 1908, was built byWilliam Briggs, who with John Closner founded theMcAllen Town Co. in 1907 to develop and sell city lots.

The next year, the wooden McAllen Hotel was relocated to the intersection of

Main Street and gained an annex. Despite an initial lack of electricity and

running water (a windmill pumped water from a well to the single bathroom in

each building), the hotel remained the center of life in the town for 10 years.

Conveniently near the train depot, it welcomed visitors of all sorts: eager

landseekers, traveling salesmen, and buyers for crops of broom corn and

produce. Hotel guests came to the warm climate for their health or to visit their

soldier sons and husbands posted to McAllen during the Border Bandit troubles

in 1916.

The opening of the elegant Casa de Palmas Hotel in 1918 gave McAllen the

loveliest building south of San Antonio. The spacious hotel elevated the city’s

image and attracted celebrities over many eras. As landseekers continued to

flood into the Valley, developer A.J. McColl built the McColl Clubhouse to

wine, dine, and give visitors favorable impressions of McAllen. In the 1920s

and 1930s, thousands decided to settle here, convinced after one visit. The City

sponsored a Texas Press Association trip that brought newsmen from Dallas

by Pullman car to experience and write about McAllen’s White Way with its

shaded lamp posts and the park-like boulevard of 15th Street.

Early winter visitorsflocked to McAllentourist camps for avacation filled withfresh-picked citrus,sunny days and tripsto Mexico.

The Fairway MotorHotel ushered in anew era of travel andbathing beauties.

48

A 1 9 2 2 M o n t y ’ s

Monthly magazine

proclaimed McAllen as

“destined to be a winter

tourist resort,” given the

increasing number of

travelers. The same

issue advertised the

“Valley’s handsomest

Filling Station” and

Hotel Antlers in the

uptown district with

moderate rates and free

garages.

Mrs. A. A. Cornel l

opened a tourist camp

of screened cabins in

1924. “The pay camp idea is the popular one at this time,” a newspaper reported.

A previous, free tourist camp in McAllen had disappeared as the city expanded.

Southern Pacific offered Dallas – McAllen round trips in air-conditioned

coaches for under $20. The Chamber of Commerce began its visitor

recruitment program in 1937.

Following World War II, new motels changed the landscape. At 10th and Pecan,

the deluxe Frontier Hotel sported the newly popular California-style patio and

pool. Billing itself as “the place where all tourists meet,” the Bide-A-Wee Tourist

Courts at 306 Ash offered kitchenettes in suites “only 7 miles from gay

Reynosa.” The Tropical Hotel Court boasted of i t s shuffleboard courts and

oversize, plaid-spread-decorated rooms.

Journalist Dan Sanborn

opened a store that sold

orange juice, curios, a

mimeographed newsletter

and then Mexican insurance.

By 1954, Dan Sanborn’s

Mexican Trave logs had

revolutionized the border

travel industry and placed

McAllen front and center as

a travel destination and a jumping-off spot for Mexico trips. With step-by-step

directions for navigating Mexico’s unmarked roads, the distinctive yellow, red,

and black travelogs were free to Sanborn Insurance customers. In his hallmark

Panama hat, Sanborn relentlessly promoted tourism to the Valley and to

Mexico, leading goodwill motorcades to Monterey and San Miguel de Allende.

In 1952 Trans-Texas Airways began the first daily commercial flights from Miller

McAllen Airport.

Casa de PalmasHotel has played hostto dignitaries andcelebrities, weddingparties and black tiegalas throughout itslong history.

Dan Sanborn startedoff selling Mexicancurios, but his incredibly detailedmile-by-mile travelogs for Mexicomade his travelinsurance business into thelargest one on theentire border.

49

When the McAllen Civic

Center opened on Tenth

Street in 1960, the city

braced for an influx of

conventions and tourists.

The Civic Center installed

simultaneous translation

equipment in 1963 and

began hosting internation-

al conventions. During

National Cash Register

con fe rence s, peop le

donned headphones to

listen to translations in

four languages. Only U.N.

headquarters, it was said,

had similar translating

capabilities.

McAllen purchased the Hidalgo-Reynosa Bridge in 1960. Within a few years,

caravans of silver Airstream trailers were rallying in the McAllen Civic Center

parking lot before 300 to 400 at a time headed south of the border. By 1965,

conventions were the city’s fastest growing industry, with 70 conventions

arriving annually. Convention-goers returned to McAllen on family vacations.

Soon visitors could choose from 1,000 rooms in 36 hotels.

The Tourist Center Annex was built six years after the Civic Center opened,

recognizing “the money crop which ranks right up there with citrus and

conventions for McAllen – tourists.” The new City of Palms Tourist Club for

McAllen sought thetitle of “Winter ResortCapital of Texas” bypromoting a tropical,citrus-filled ambience.

Silver Airstreamtrailer rallies at theCivic Center (1972)introduced thousandsto McAllen.

50

Winter Texans offered Spanish classes, potluck suppers and dances. McAllen

became Texas’ seventh-ranked convention site, although it was only 25th in

population. “Without the Civic Center, it is doubtful McAllen would have

gained the stature it now enjoys,” said then-City Manager Bill Schupp. The

McAllen-Hidalgo bridge crossed 4.4 million people, making it the third busiest

border gateway. As predicted 46 years earlier, McAllen earned the title of

“Leading Winter Resort of Texas” when approximately 12,000 Winter Texans

arrived for the 1968 season.

The airport’s new

passenger terminal

opened in 1972 and

was five times larger

than its predecessor.

The Casa de Palmas

Tourist Club, the

result of the 1973

merger of c i ty ’s

two visitors clubs,

e n r o l l e d 1 , 6 0 0

m e m b e r s w h o

e n j o y e d a f u l l

calendar of activities.

Millions of Mexican tourists had been streaming into McAllen for years before

La Plaza Mall opened in 1976. Local merchants gladly accepted pesos at the

exchange rate of 100 pesos for $8. By 1978 Mexican tourists spent $15 million

annually. Peso devaluations in 1982 and 1987 crippled McAllen’s economy and

demonstrated the importance of tourists from the south.

McAllen continued to publicize its amenities and its proximity to Reynosa’s

McAllen earned the title of “SquareDance Capital” whenit hosted a beginners'class for 1,200Winter Texans.

McAllen successfullycourted business andleisure travelers fromMexico.

51

bullrings and markets. By 1979, the city topped the list for Texas tourism

growth, up 52%. A Convention and Visitors’ Bureau campaign promoted the

low cost of wintering in McAllen to Midwesterners, while more conventioneers

came to town. In 1987, Winter Texans spent $14 million locally. Tourist Club

members paid $25 dues for four months of activities.

S h e p h e r d e d b y Jane Kit t leman, eco-tourism arrived in the 1990s and

fostered an appreciation for the Valley’s unique birds and plants and the

importance of preserving wildlife habitat. The “mother of birding in the Rio

Grande Valley” worked to develop the World Birding Center at Quinta Mazatlan,

which lured birders to McAllen from around the world.

Through the years, the Winter Stage series, Texas Tropics Nature Festival, and

the Square Dance Jamboree successfully attracted new and returning visitors to

the city. Border Buttermilk receptions made the welcomes memorable. Mexican

tourists helped keep La Plaza Mall among the highest-selling shopping centers.

One hundred years into its history, McAllen continued to spread the welcome

mat for convention visitors at the city’s Convention Center on Ware Road.

The impressiveMcAllen ConventionCenter brought a newflood of conventionsand visitors to theCity of Palms.

8

LEADING THE WAY

Shaping theCommunity

The characters and the futures of McAllen

residents have been shaped in part by the schools

and churches they attend and by the associations

they join. Memories of these vital elements of

the community linger long in those who have

benefited from their guidance.

McAllen’s first school, a white, one-room building, welcomed 20 students.

In 1911, the town built a two-story school for first to eleventh grades and

employed three teachers: Stella Pershing, Adela Wells, and Isabel Muniz. “We

took lunches of cold biscuits…and maybe a chicken leg,” recalled C. A. Fink,

an early student. In 1916, the high school had a single graduate who was both

valedictorian and class president. Until 1921, students had to pay a monthly

tuition of $1.50 to $3.00 per month.

In 1917, the older students moved to the newly built McAllen High School

nearby on Austin Avenue. Hispanic children attended Theodore Roosevelt

In 1914 all grades, first through eleventh,attended classes in one building.

Below: Young Spanish-speaking studentsattended a “Mexican School.”

54

School in south McAllen. The new cafeteria charged a nickel for banana

sandwiches and apples. At that time, teachers were prohibited from attending

public entertainment or dances on school nights, and teachers had to get

permission from the school board to travel out of McAllen. Considered a pro-

gressive school district,

McAllen opened the

Faculty Club, a dormi-

tory for McAllen’s

single female teachers

in 1923 and used it

until 1950. The school

district also banned

married women teach-

ers from 1926 to 1934.

The building boom of

the 1920s brought the

new grade schools

Woodrow Wilson and

Sam Houston. A new

high school at Austin

and Twelfth Streets

replaced the 1917 one

which became Lincoln

g rade s choo l . A

post-World War II

population boom led to new schools: Thigpen, Crockett, Navarro, Austin, Travis,

Zavala, Alvarez, Jackson. The regional Negro high school, Booker T. Washington,

closed in 1957.

The air-conditioned McAllen High opened in 1963. McAllen Memorial High

School enrolled its first students in 1975, while Nikki Rowe High School

opened in 1992. The International Baccalaureate Programme launched in 1999.

For decades high school students put onminstrel shows untilthe entertainment became politicallyincorrect.

The McAllen HighSchool Class of 1925 gathered fortheir 50th ClassReunion in 1975.

55

Academic and technical courses at McAllen’s 34 public school campuses, with

over 25,000 students, and at numerous private schools continue to build

a strong foundation for individual and community success.

Lack of funding

halted the launch

of Carroll College

in 1924 in today’s

College Heights

n e i g h b o r h o o d .

What started as a

branch of Texas

State Technical Institute in 1984 became an independent community college in

1993. South Texas College grew to five campuses and 22,000 students by 2010.

Churches

A lumberyard was the site in 1908 for the first interdenominational religious

services in McAllen. The Presbyterian evangelist who led the early services

helped organize the First Presbyterian Church, which began using the school

building on Sundays until 1910. The First United Methodists organized in 1909,

followed by the First Christian Church and the Baptists. While Oblate priests

had ridden horseback circuits of Hidalgo County settlements for decades as the

Cavalry of Christ, in 1911 Sacred Heart Catholic Church was built and then the

Catholic school.

The churches multiplied and their congregations grew with the city. In the

Until 1950,McAllen's unmarriedfemale teachers wereexpected to live in theFaculty Club.

South Texas College'sTechnology campus isconveniently locatednext to advancedmanufacturing plantsnear the ForeignTrade Zone.

The FirstPresbyterians'“little white church”was a reference pointin early McAllen.

56

1920s, Archer Auto Company was lauded for

contributing a percentage of their weekly sales to the

Baptist Church building fund. Baptisms and

weddings drew the larger community together in

celebrations while funerals offered comfort for a loss.

Sunday worship, Bible study groups, children and

youth programs, and charitable activities continue to

foster active faith.

Associations

Shared interests and a desire to socialize and improve

the community led to the formation of service,

professional, civic and cultural groups. For at least 50

years, most clubs were men-only or women-only

associations.

The Business Men’s Club, the earliest known

organization that later became the Chamber of

Commerce, worked to entice shoppers to McAllen by

building a horse watering trough on Main Street and later sponsoring free

outdoor movies on Saturday nights. Formed in 1915, the first women’s club,

Hoit-Hammond, evolved into a home demonstration club with programs on

cooking and sewing.The McAllen Masons were chartered in 1915.The McAllen

Music Club formed in 1917 and began supporting a music teacher for city

schools. The Business Men’s Club shared a two-room building with City Hall

from 1917 to 1924.

In 1919, the Rotary Club held its first meeting at Casa de Palmas Hotel and went

on to support scholarships and many local charities. The Study Club in 1921

began meeting to stimulate discussions on important topics. In 1923, the Lions

Club was founded. By 1934, the McAllen-Mission

Garden Club was selling hibiscus at nine cents per

plant and working to beautify the city. Also

in 1934, the Literary Club opened. Over 20

women’s groups banded together in 1938 to form

the City Federation of Women’s Clubs. They

raised funds to build a meeting place at Pecan and

Second Streets by charging 34 cents a head for

bean suppers. The Mission-McAllen Beef

A boy's FirstCommunion was asolemn occasion.

The MunicipalHospital, the city'ssecond, opened in1928 with 85 beds.

Explorer Scout Bill Stocker is flankedby his proud parentsin 1963.

57

Syndicate, formed by the Bentsen brothers, began raising money to purchase

young farmers’ animals at the Mercedes livestock show. Beginning in 1953, the

Women’s Auxiliary of the McAllen Hospital contributed thousands of volunteer

hours, organizing book and hospitality carts, staffing the information desk, holding

teas for mothers-to-be, and

funding the purchase of

medical equipment.

Over the years, communi-

ty-minded organizations

proliferated and focused

on interests as varied as

the International Orchid

Society, the Valley Land

Fund and Maquila Wives.Activities and needs of children were addressed through

Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, and Girls Scouts. Leadership McAllen

introduced emerging leaders to the many facets of the city, public and private

agencies alike. The combined efforts of McAllen’s associations have shaped the

community and continue to improve the quality of life and prosperity.

Young Tom Weekley'ssteer won a prizefrom the Mission-McAllen BeefSyndicate.

The Lions Club isknown for collectingeyeglasses and donating them to the underprivileged overseas.

Girls Scouts learnfrom hands-on scienceexperiments.

9

LEADING THE WAY

Arts and Culture

Music teacher Profesor Bercerra posedin 1915 with his students who includedFaustina Castillo Santiago.

Even before the city’s incorporation, travelers

and pioneers would gather around the

McAllen Hotel piano to sing and entertain

themselves. By 1914, children were taking

music lessons from instructors like ProfesorBercerra and giving recitals. Prosperity

triggered by the troops posted in McAllen in

1916 paved the way for women’s groups to

expand music, arts and cultural performances.

A shared appreciation of the arts links the

McAllen of the early 1900s and its traveling

Chatauqua lecture and cultural programs

to today’s Arts & Entertainment series and

Art Walk.

Nuevo Santander Gallery's exhibits of Western,Mexican and contemporary artists sparked an artawareness that led to the popular First Friday Art Walk.

60

Music in the air

Organized in 1917, the

McAllen Music Club, the

first in the Valley, hired

and for two years paid

the salary for a music

teacher in McAllen

schools. By 1919 Archer

Park was the site of

Wednesday evening com-

munity singsongs where

period favorites like

“How I Hate to Get Up

in the Morning” filled the

air. Silent films playing at the Queen Theatre were accompanied by an organist

playing music that underscored the drama of early films like Daddy Longlegs and

the antics of comedians.

The municipal band, comprised of volunteer musicians directed by city employee

Dusty Rhodes, began performing at the Archer Park bandstand in 1927 for an

audience seated on blankets and listening to popular songs. When the bandstand

burned, the city put up $2,673 to replace it in 1933.The American Legion Band

performed at Archer Park from 1948 to 1950. In 1974, the town band

re-assembled with former McAllen High School musicians playing monthly

concerts. Today, the McAllen Symphonic Band shares its love of music during

winter concerts and its traditional soul-stirring Fourth of July performance.

The Community Concert Association, formed in 1954, hosted shows by Jose

Greco, Fred Waring,Van Cliburn and other well-known musicians. Seeking a

performance venue more sophisticated than the high school auditorium,

cultural a c t i v i s t s l ed

b y L u c i l e Hendricks

rallied the community. The

opening of the million

dollar Civic Center on

Tenth Street in 1960

spurred another blossoming

of the arts. The Opera

Society held an annual

weeklong opera festival

complete with famous

singers and elegant dress

galas. The South Texas Lyric Opera performances carry on that t radi t ion,

returning La Bohéme and other operas to the Civ ic Center s tage. The

McAllen Chamber’s Arts & Entertainment series presents touring Broadway

shows and performers at the Civic Center as well as free outdoor concerts at

Archer Park and the Convention Center’s reflecting pool.

The Nutcrackerballet presented by the Deborah CaseDance Academy is aperennial favorite.

Graphic artists combine creativity and colors to bringexcitement to barewalls.

61

Valley Symphony Orchestra, which originated at Pan American College in 1952,

brought free concerts to schools and the public, introducing many to classical

music. In 1984, under the direction of long-time conductor Carl Seale, the

symphony welcomed the 30-year-old Rio Grande Valley Chorale as a partner.

Today the 75 professional musicians of the Valley Symphony Orchestra present

concerts and chamber music, often with the Chorale.

The Junior League and the City of McAllen collaborated on the birth of the

McAllen International Museum in 1969 in Las Palmas Park. The new MIM

building was dedicated on July 4, 1976 as part of McAllen’s Bicentennial. A

major millennium expansion opened the Children’s Discovery Pavilion and

learning labs, while the older building hosted fine arts exhibits. In 2003, the new

name International Museum of Art & Science confirmed a fresh focus.

Educational programs like the Amazing Skies exhibits stimulated children and

adults while the muted light of the stained glass window exhibit (which

IMAS attracts visitorswith permanentexhibits that rangefrom stained glass and works by contemporary artists to a human sundialand hands-on displays that spark children's imaginations.

Music fills the night atperformances aroundthe city.

62

includes two Tiffany pieces) bathed visitors in tranquility. Traveling art shows

and works from the permanent collection continue to entice crowds to IMAS.

The McAllen Study Club opened the city’s first library in 1932 with a

60-book nook in the Chamber of Commerce. Book contributors gained library

membership. In 1936, the club moved its 2,575 books to the basement of the

Archer Park bandstand. The new McAllen Memorial Library at Fir and Main

replaced the outgrown basement site in 1950.

Fine arts

Through the years, art galleries came and went. In 1963, artist Helen Stahl

launched Patrons of the Arts, which presented monthly art shows and exposed

residents to regional talent. In 2003, the

Nuevo Santander Gallery, fueled by

Becky and Ché Guerra’s passion for

Western art and artifacts, and Art

House, Mayra Brown’s innovative stu-

dio, became the anchors for Art Walk, a

communal First Friday event hosted by

studio owners and artists. By 2010, over

4,000 people were thronging the area

between Main and Tenth to visit the 27

venues of visual and performing arts on

the monthly walk and to meet local

painters, sculptors and artisans. To

encourage the arts community, McAllen

Arts Council began fostering citywide

arts programming with Chamber of

Commerce suppor t i n 2005 .

Promot ing c rea t iv i ty, cu l tura l

The Valley Symphonic Orchestra has introduced several generations to the amazing power of expertly-performed music.

Art exhibits at privategalleries and at IMASintroduce visitors toworks in new mediaand old.

63

appreciation and arts education, the Council worked to enhance the cultural

environment through projects such as fine art shows, the McA2 Creative

Incubator with its studio, performance and exhibition space, and the Strings to

Success program, which starts first- and second-grade students on the violin.

In 1953, the Pan

American Civic Players

began 13 years of the-

atric presentations at

Casa de Palmas. The

Valley International

Players began in 1968

by presenting Barefoot

in the Park and Picnic.

Melba Huber, who

started her dancing

school in 1958, founded the McAllen Dance Theater which has showcased

ballet, jazz and tap performances by generations of students.

McAllen’s active support of the arts continues to enrich the lives of residents

and visitors.

McAllen’s New Year’s Eve Bash and BallDrop includes live musical performances.

The Art Village onMain was constructedby Alonzo andYolanda Cantu toenhance art businessesand provide a gathering place.

10

LEADING THE WAY

Taking Time Off

McAllen High fielded its first footballteam of 12 players in 1914.

The Early Days

Despite the rigors of establishing a town in

hot, thorny brushland, McAllen pioneers

found time to enjoy life in their new home,

once they moved out of temporary tents and

hotels. “To eat dinner with your neighbor

meant taking your own chair,” recalled Dr.

Bodenhamer. At the McAllen Hotel, travelers

and residents gathered around the piano to

sing and entertain themselves, according to

Judge T. J. Powell.

Modern Woodmen of America, a fraternalbenefit society, boasted a camp band in 1928.

66

A daily high point was seeing who got off the westbound 9:30 a.m. train and

then who boarded the eastbound 6 p.m. train to Brownsville. Early McAllen

residents took advantage of abundant wildlife by

catching fish from canals and Hackney Lake and by

hunting quail in the backyard. “When I came to

McAllen, one of our chief forms of entertainment was

to shoot rattlesnakes,” Callie De Lisle said. Another

resident remembered shooting a bear in 1910 in the

mesquite patch on West Houston Avenue. A modest

amusement park with croquet, horseshoes and cards

occupied the corner of South Main and Chicago.

Everyone loved a parade, especially the American

Legion Fourth of July parades which began in 1910. A

bathing beauty revue and 39 buglers enlivened

McHi's 1919 girls'basketball teamplayed games dressed in middyblouses and bloomers.

Tennis players Lethaand Ade Lee Chisumwore required all-white dresses aswell as stockings.

The CascadeSwimming Pool hosted the PriscillaClub in the 1930s.

67

Independence Day festivities in 1923. Throughout the year, the town band

entertained listeners in the park, and touring Chautauqua entertainers drew

people to lectures and performances. Theaters hired organists to accompany the

silent movies they screened. Queen Theater showed The Hunchback of Notre

Dame starring Lon Chaney and charged 25 cents for adults, a dime for

children. In front of Cook’s Feed &

Seed, an “argue bench” gave idlers a

forum for discussing what the world

was coming to.

The Roaring Twenties

Landseekers pouring into McAllen in

the 1920s mingled with their future

neighbors at dances and events held at

the Casa de Palmas Hotel and at the

McColl Clubhouse, also known as the

nightclub Club Royale. Miss Lola

Alley, a lyric soprano with the Chicago Grand Opera Company, gave a recital at

the high school auditorium while visiting her parents in McAllen.

The Tepaguaje Club’s nine-hole golf course gained a clubhouse in 1923, the

predecessor of McAllen Country Club. Women emerged from Valley Beauty

Parlor, next door to Band Box Millinery, sporting the height of 1924 fashion –

permanent oil waves with flat marcel curls or ringlets. Children swam in canals

or, after 1925, at the Cascade Swimming Pool. Kids biked down a caliche road

Dance performancesfollowed interpretivedance classes.

For an ice cold rootbeer in the middleof summer, crowdsheaded to the Chic Inn.

Fed by an artesian well, theCascade Pool had diving boards in itsearly years.

68

to the tree-shaded, spring-fed park which featured multiple diving boards,

slides, and night illumination.

Farmers and businessmen riding the 1920s boom

were also riding in new four-door touring cars

that cost $495. Graduates of the local pilot

training school joined the Valley Aero Club.

In the midst of the Depression Hiram Garner

opened Valley Distillery, producing wines from

citrus juices. Moody’s White Kitchen was a

favorite place for a meal or snack.

During World War II, Moore Air Field trainees

Music classes –piano, violin andother instruments –naturally led toaccordion bandslike this one in1938.

Dressed for SadieHawkins Day1950, five girlsplayed on the canal crossing near Bicentennial,despite their parents' warnings.

Dances at clubs,hotels, and the high school werecoming-of-age rituals through the generations.

69

and staff attended parties at Whalen

Park while Hollywood stars like

Ginger Rogers stopped in McAllen to

sell war bonds and enthrall the

crowds. The Big Band sound and Texas

Swing had dancers moving at clubs

and hotels in McAllen and slipping

over to Reynosa to catch a show at

Joe’s Place or The Patio.

The Post-war era

In the late 1940s, the Robin Drive-In,

complete with canopies and carhops,

and Dixie Drive Inn were among the

places where teenagers showed off a

girlfriend and a car. Hangouts such as

Mr. Q’s with hamburgers for 15 cents

drew youths, while adults could be

found at Eddie’s Covered Wagon, Sammy’s Chuck Wagon or The Patio at Jones

& Jones. Winter visitors gathered at the McAllen Tourist Club and the City of

Palms Club for shuffleboard, cards and potluck suppers.

Children bicycled to Estrella

Panaderia for after-school treats.

They caught Saturday morning

film serials of cowboys and Tarzan

or in the evenings sat in the car

with their families watching

movies at Palms Drive-In or the

Valley Drive-In. In the 1950s and

1960s many children became avid collectors of horny toads. They sold the

lizards for ten cents to Dan Sanborn who resold them to tourists for 65 cents.

Over time, citrus groves

where generations of

children had careened

their bicycles began

giving way to more and

more subdivisions.

D u r i n g M c A l l e n ’ s

second 50 years, the

names of places where

residents enjoyed time

off changed. From the

1950s to the 1980s,

Faulkner’s Drug Store

offered the best burgers

in town served at a

Everyone went to the movies,especially when the theater promised air conditioning,Technicolor andWalt Disney's latest.

Cine El Rey openedin 1947 to showMexican movies.

At Whalen Park,a popular chefcooked up a stormfor big events.

70

lunch counter complete with a fully equipped soda fountain. In the 1970s, teens

cruised Sonic Drive-In, went to the Twin Canals west of Ware Road to park and

party, and hung out at Valley Bowl and McAllen Bowling Center. Older boys

swam in the canal area known as the Falls on North Tenth Street, and occasion-

ally drove a car along the canal bank

pulling a ‘skier’ on a tire tube. The Short-

Line Station on McColl was the place for

country and western music and dancing.

Families picknicked in city parks.

Little girls and willowy teenagers alike

twirled and tapped through classes at

Melba’s School of Dance. Boys enrolled

in classes for newly-popular karate and

judo. By the year 2000, Hollywood

17 had become the movie destination,

and the hangouts were Starbucks,

Moonbeans Coffee House, and Sushi

Kumori.The Second Street hike and bike

trail and Bill Schupp Park became places to meet and exercise with friends. The

17th Street Entertainment District and Art Walk offered new diversions, as did

the new Spray Park. Yet some traditions last for generations in spots

like Rex Bakery which

cont inues to draw

customers for fresh

empanadas and con-

chas eaten at swivel

stools at the counter.

Families still spread a

blanket i n t h e p a r k

t o watch fireworks on

Independence Day.

Girls celebratedtheir fifteenth birthdays withquinceañeras, a religious and socialevent.

McHi cheerleadersposed on motorscooters in the1960s.

The ChristmasPosada to ArcherPark draws a flock of angels and carolers to accompany theHoly Family everyDecember.

71

The Sporting Life

McAllen High School fielded its first football team in 1914 and ever since sports

have energized Friday nights with football, basketball and baseball. Sports such

as volleyball, golf, swimming, track and

tennis developed athletes and boosters.

McAllen high schools captured Valley and

regional championships in swimming,

volleyball and football. Games between

McAllen schools packed upward of 13,000

into Memorial Stadium. For alumni,

sporting events promised the opportunity

to run into old friends and catch up.

Professional and semi-pro teams came to

town, too. The Oklahoma Indians held

baseball spring training in McAllen in 1939.

The Dusters, a minor league baseball team,

called the city home in 1977. The NBA Development League team RGV

Vipers and the Killer Bees Ice Hockey team now play at the State Farm Arena.

Through the years,

McAllen residents

have always found

ways to enterta in

themselves and share

a good time with

friends and family. At

a picnic or pachanga,

birthday party or

charity gala, hunting

or fishing, at a concert

o r ou t b i rd ing ,

McAllen abounds in

ways to enjoy one’s

time off.

The Rex Café has been the go-to place for pan dulce,coffee and visitswith friends since1947.

Underneath theBentsen Tower, thecommunity dancesthe night away atMcAllen’s NewYear’s Eve Bashand Ball Drop celebration.

Athletic skills develop in skateparks as well as onbasketball courtsand ball fields.

11

LEADING THE WAY

The Next100 Years

One hundred years ago, McAllen’s early

settlers needed equal parts of courage,

perseverance, and a spirit of adventure to

establish a home or a business near the

railroad tracks that ran through thorny

brushland. In settling on America’s last

frontier in the Magic Valley, those brave

souls found a true home with energetic,

like-minded people, friends who spoke

English and Spanish.

Healthcare is a growing part of McAllen's economy.

Even before its incorporation, McAllen pictured itself as more than just a

lonesome train stop. Catering to customers with that early horse-watering

trough and later building a grand hotel, the City of Palms demonstrated

characteristic gumption and a shared vision of a bright future. McAllen actively

pursued new residents through early

land excursions parties and later

maquila partnerships. Progress was

measured in new houses and schools,

bountiful crops and busy packing sheds,

additional shops and restaurants.

After 1961, during McAllen’s second

50 years, the agricultural-centered

economy diversified and grew stronger

retail, tourism and manufacturing

sectors. La Plaza Mall won the title of

the highest grossing retail space.

McAllen gained the rank of the nation’s

fastest growing Metropolitan Statistical

Area. The area led the country in the

lowest cost of living.

During its first century, McAllen weathered floods and freezes, border violence

and peso devaluations. The City of Palms emerged from those challenges

dynamic and determined. People recognized McAllen as an excellent place to

The city parksplash pad at 29thand Zinnia Streetsgave kids a newspray ground.

Las PalmasHistoric Districtrecognizes a neighborhood ofpalm-lined streetsand landmarkhomes.

74

live and work and raise a family surrounded by friends in a vibrant bicultural,

semi-tropical setting. Yet while looking to the future, McAllen residents take

time to celebrate their city’s history. The Old Timers Club is a living repository

of tales and memories. McAllen Heritage Center has become a treasured attic

of documents, photographs and mementos of the past. The McAllen Historic

Red-crowned Parrots, Green Jaysand other exoticbirds draws thousands of birdersand ecotourists toMcAllen and createappreciation of aunique habitat.

The nightlife on17th Street fills theair with excitementand music.

75

Preservation Council was

formed to identify and protect

landmarks and historic districts

and to guide the city in balanc-

ing preservation of historic

buildings with growth.

The stage is set now for the

next 100 years. South Texas

College has blossomed into a

four-year institution. Ties to Mexico have been strengthened by the Anzalduas

International Bridge. The McAllen Convention Center is attracting an increasing

number of events and visitors. The creative arts are celebrated at monthly Art

Walks and at IMAS. On 17th Street, the lively entertainment district aims to

rival Austin’s Sixth Street. Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center and native

plantings draw ecotourists from around the world to see rare wildlife and habitats.

The strong business

community includes

both farmers markets

and manufacturers.

Progress and success are

measured not only by

dollars and data, but by

how much people’s lives

are enriched and the

opportunities they have.

It is measured by enduring traditions like Fourth of July parades and Christmas

posadas, and by new college classes and job openings, and by the adults and

children biking and hiking along the canal on Second Street and the young

people working out in Bill Schupp Park. On all counts, McAllen continues to

exceed expectations. The city’s future can be summed up in one word: Bright!

Quinta Mazatlan,once the home ofeccentric publisherJason Matthews, isMcAllen's WorldBirding Center.

The Second Streethike and bike traillets residents havefun keeping fit and enjoying theoutdoors.

From its vibrant arts district and the revitalizeddowntown to established neighborhoods andindustrial parks,McAllen is leadingthe way for theValley and forthe future.

Timeline


77

In 1767, King Carlos IV of Spain grants the lands known as Porciónes 62, 63,

and 64 on the north bank of the Rio Grande opposite Reynosa in the Spanish

province of Nuevo Santander to persons who never claim the property. Manuel

Gomez gains title to those lands in 1790. His wife Gregoria Ballí claims

ownership of Porción 65. The couple’s heirs, her sons the Dominguez brothers,

acquire Porción 61. In the late 1850s, Salome Ballí, a Dominguez granddaughter,

begins systematically acquiring what had been her family lands with her first

and second husbands, merchants John Young and John McAllen.

In the late 1800s, sparsely populated Hidalgo County has its county seat on the Rio

Grande in Edinburgh, today called Hidalgo, and relies on river boats to take cow

hides, the major trade good, to market. Mexican copper and silver circulate freely

and are accepted for county tax payments, for customs duties, and at the post

office. In 1895 Gertrudis Cavazos is buried on the former porción which had

become ranch land belonging to the McAllen family. She rests in what is the

oldest marked grave in McAllen’s La Piedad Cemetery, a burial ground donated to

the city by John McAllen before his death in 1913.

Before 1900

A jacal was the first home forsome of the region's early settlers.

Rowboats ferriedpeople and goodsacross the RioGrande to andfrom Reynosa untilthe first bridge wasbuilt at Hidalgo in 1926.

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1902 John Closner negotiates the purchases of 8,000 acres in Porciónes 63, 64,

65 and 66 at three dollars per acre for developer William Briggs.

1904 In December the railroad tracks of the Sam Fordyce branch line arrive

in McAllen, the nearest point to the county seat located six miles south on the

Rio Grande, as it heads westward past Mission. This rail extension of the St.

Louis, Brownsville & Matamoros Railway originates at the Harlingen junction.

Land owners and developers typically granted railroad owners bonus land and

rights of way in consideration for the traffic that trains would draw to their

station. On December 5, Uriah Lott, John McAllen, James B. McAllen, Lon C.

Hill, and John Young form the McAllen Townsite Company with a $40,000

investment. Train service begins on the railway on December 19, 1904.

1905 In February the McAllen Depot, distinctive with its vertical planks, opens

in the middle of thick brushland. John Closner clears a road from the depot to the

county seat on the Rio Grande. Years later that road becomes 23rd Street.

1900 - 1909

This plat map wasfiled in 1907 by theMcAllen Town Co.,which had beenestablished by landdevelopers WilliamBriggs and JohnClosner.

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1906 The first telephone line runs to the depot, the start of Hidalgo Telephone

Co. The townsite has Horace Dennett’s grocery and dry goods store, Samuel

Samano’s general store, and a tiny lumberyard, according to James Allhands, a

railway historian.

1907 James McAllen and John Young, pressured by the railway to either plat,

improve and promote their townsite or give it up, opt to give it up. They

officially dissolve the McAllen Townsite Co. in January. In May, John Closner and

William Briggs establish the McAllen Town Company on Porciónes 63 and 64,

about two to three miles east of the McAllen’s abandoned site. Land clearing and

canal digging crews surround the spot initially known as East McAllen, whose first

business is reportedly a saloon at South 17th Street and Highway Avenue.

1908 Briggs hires Rowland Horn to plat the 65-acre townsite centered at 14th

or Main Street and the privately built train station. Early settlers deal with

primitive conditions, pitching tents along the wagon track while waiting for their

houses to be built. “I lived in a tent when we came to McAllen, but nobody tried

to highrow us, because if they didn’t live in tents they lived in little two- or three-

room houses,” C. M. Rich recalls. Mrs. Gladys Weaver Closner writes, “We lived in

a two-room house about a mile north of what is now Sixth Street. Water was

The first McAllentrain depot,identifiable by itsvertical planks,opens in February1905 in the midstof brushland.

The F.B. Love Storerented the back ofthe building toKreidlerUndertaking.

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hauled to our house in barrels on a sled. We were too poor to have a cow.” In a

one-room white building, a single teacher educates 20 students of all ages. Spanish-

speaking students attend a separate school on the “other” side of the tracks.

The Rio Bravo Canal Company crosses the train tracks near present-day 18th

Street. Briggs moves his wooden frame McAllen Hotel east three blocks to

Highway Avenue and Main St. and hires Oliver Percy Archer and wife Clara of

Brownsville to manage it. Interdenominational services are held at a lumber

yard for 13 people. Brothers Enrique and Modesto open the Guerra Brothers

wholesale grocery business on the street which will soon be named for their

family. Tents at the corner of Main Street and Austin Avenue shelter the Dewey

and Osborn families. By year’s end, the town has five stores, two lumberyards,

two saloons, and a population of 300.

1909 Arend Renken ships McAllen’s first train car of cantaloupes. Henry

Blaine Glendenning and his father arrive in a boxcar (called a side-door

Pullman) with livestock and personal belongings. He opens the first jewelry

store and then an optical office. In December, the first weekly Monitor is

published by Garland Buck and editor M. J. Cox. Flooding, the Rio Grande

reaches six miles to McAllen in pre-levee days.

The McAllen LandCompany sold citylots from its officenext to theMcChesneyBrothers store.

In front of the McAllen Hotel, a boysprays water on the dirt street.

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1910 H.H. Rankin builds a telephone exchange for 20 subscribers, who tell the

operator to connect them to a city resident. Dr. Frank Osborn opens McAllen’s

first pharmacy and becomes the second postmaster.The American Legion puts on

the first Fourth of July celebration. Briggs

donates five acres for Roselawn Cemetery.

“I shot a bear in a mesquite patch where

Mayor Phillip Boeye’s house now stands

(603 Houston)," C.A. Fink reports.

1911 Meeting the criteria of having lived in

the town boundaries for more than six

months, 45 men vote to incorporate

McAllen. Frank Crow is elected the first

mayor and becomes the de facto city

marshal. The Ice and Light Company of

McAllen is designated as the electricity provider. The McChesney Brothers’ store

between Highway and Austin is the largest building on the dirt streets of the

1910 - 1919

This 4-4-0 steamlocomotive stoppedin McAllen.

PhotographerRobert Runyoncaptured thesethree McAllen children in 1912.

McAllen secondand third gradersposed with their teacher Mrs. Friday.

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sparsely populated city. L.U. Bartliff plants palms along the wooden sidewalks of

Main Street (soon nicknamed Palm Boulevard) and works a team of mules to

water them. “In the early days, L. U. Bartliff did more to beautify McAllen than

all other citizens put together,” Russell Rice says. Ramon Guerra, whose older

brothers established Guerra Brothers, is the first bilingual graduate of McAllen

High School. The First State Bank & Trust Company opens for a 16-year run.

The McAllen Business Men’s Club, predecessor of the Chamber of Commerce,

organizes and makes its first project a Main Street horse-watering trough.

1912 O.P. Archer opens a car dealership. The City bans hogs within city

limits and prohibits four-legged livestock from roaming the streets. Around this

time, a popular subscription raises funds to build a creamery to help dairy farmers.

Mexican Revolution refugees trickle into the area as lawlessness spreads.

1913 Four girls make up the graduating class: Hazel Archer, Frances Buck,

Gladys Hall, and Winnie Harding. The Fire Department, motto: “Always on

Hand,” is organized.

1914 The Missouri Pacific Railroad depot blows up in April when 30-30 rifle

bullets in storage catch on fire. McAllen High fields its first football team with

12 players. Bartliff’s open-air picture theater screens films once weekly. The

Farmers broughtcarts of cabbages to the train depotfor shipment tonorthern markets.

Cars and horsecarts sharedMcAllen streets.

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Hidalgo Canal Company has a pumping plant and canal system that is irrigating

6,000 acres in the McAllen area. The U.S. Army commander in South Texas

declares the “territory between the Rio Grande and Military Highway a military

zone” because of Mexican bandit incursions. No rangers or sheriffs are allowed

on the army-patrolled strip from Boca Chica to west of Roma.

1915 A Hidalgo County Deputy Sheriff arrests Basilio Ramos at the D. Guerra

& Sons store. The man carries documents that become notorious as the Plan of

San Diego, a Mexican-German plot to reclaim Texas from the U.S.A.

The Mexican revolution spills across the border: Dr. Mercedes Fernandez is

kidnapped and taken into Mexico to care for wounded revolutionaries and then

returned to McAllen. School children hear gunshots from battles in Reynosa.

Dr. Harrison’s Hackberry Street house is also an office and clinic with patients’

beds. Garbage pickup by horses and wagons begins. George Ehlinger ships the

first rail car of McAllen grapefruit from his orchard at Sixth and Ash.

1916 From July 2 to 12, about 12,000 Federal troops arrive by train in

McAllen as part of a major expedition “to protect citizens and conduct combat

training exercises.” After clearing the land of cactus and mesquite, the soldiers

belonging to New York and New Jersey National Guard units set up camp in the

In 1916, soldiersfrom the EastCoast drilled inMcAllen in preparation for the nation's entryin World War I.

Far from home at Thanksgiving,soldiers from New York enjoyedturkey, oysters andcigars.

Rudimentary roadsforced militaryvehicles to travelwith spare tires.

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area around Depot Road, now 23rd Street. Soldiers patrol McAllen streets on

horseback and crowd in the few stores when off-duty. Moises Molina's meat

market supplies tons of meat for the soldiers' meals. Wealthy New Yorkers, like

Col. Cornelius Vanderbilt, impress city residents and enjoy a Camp

McAllenThanksgiving dinner of oyster soup, roast turkey with oyster stuffing

and New England plum pudding. Troops begin leaving McAllen in November.

1917 The last soldiers depart by March, after volunteers from the First New

York Calvary help raise the new First Christian Church. McAllen High School

is constructed. Street paving begins in the business area. The Volunteer Fire

Department has 24 firemen and hand-drawn hose reels.

Dan Ceballos opens Ceballos Funeral Home, the area's first that is Hispanic-

owned. O.P. Archer transfers park land to city. The flu epidemic takes a heavy

toll of lives, especially among Latin Americans.

1918 The Casas de Palmas – elegant with Spanish-style red tile roof, twin

towers, and patios – opens as the creation of O.P. Archer, Rowland Horn and

citizens who purchased $15,000 in stock of the Rio Grande Hotel Corporation.

The new sewer system begins to replace privies and septic tanks. In one week

D. Guerra & Sons sells more than 500,000 bricks, heralding a building boom.

1919 Theodore Roosevelt school opens in south McAllen for Hispanic

children. Mary Pickford stars in the silent movie Daddy Long Legs at the Queen

Theater. The school district builds the Faculty Club to house unmarried female

teachers.

The railroad depot,rebuilt in 1914,was McAllen's primary connectionwith northern markets, shippingout crops andbringing in salesmen and land buyers.

Until the cityinstalled its firstwater system in1918, windmills topump water werecommon sights atMcAllen residences.

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1920 Population 5,331 Dr. Doss opens his sanitarium, a private surgical

hospital with X-ray machine, at 1018 Hackberry and advertises in Monty’s

Monthly, a publication promoting the Valley’s opportunities.

1921 An ad for McAllen Creamery touts its good ice cream and its “Prompt

service given mail orders.” Broom corn is the money crop, and buyers fill hotels,

spending lavishly. Hoit-Hammond Home Demonstration Club learns about

home and yard beautification. The McAllen Study Club starts. Children over

seven attend school for free. Thousands of palms and trees are planted to

beautify the city. McAllen sponsors a Texas Press Association trip bringing

newsmen from Dallas in Pullman cars.

1922 A. J. McColl holds a Home Settlers’ Day picnic and invites those who

bought property through his land sales business. Mr. Mac had promised people

“a land of milk and honey” and no buyer at the picnic was dissatisfied with their

1920 - 1929

Telephone operators pluggedwires in the switchboard to connect partieswishing to talk toeach other in thisphoto datingaround 1920.

McAllen started booming with the rest of the country in the 1920s.

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move to McAllen. The Archer Auto Co. reports demand for Studebakers is up.

The first tourist camp site opens.

1923 The Fourth of July begins

with 39 buglers playing “Reveille”

around the city and continues with

a parade, basket lunches and

speeches at Archer Park, and a

baseball game at American Legion

Park. The Columbia Theater

reopens with cooling devices and a

$10,000 organ, played by Mrs. Nell

Watson because “Good music is

the chief essential in any theatrical

program.” Palm City Motors begins selling Maxwell and Callers in the Daniels

Building. Jacob Edelstein opens his furniture company and travels on Sundays

to collect from far-flung customers.

1924 Julia Montgomery rages

about rouged faces and lips, reporting

she almost wept on seeing that

makeup on a teenage girl cranking a

car. The daily McAllen Press begins

publication and lasts until 1942.

Blanche Sybilrud arrives in McAllen

and in a few years is singing duets on

XEAW radio station as a Texas

Bluebonnet. Plans are revealed to

build Carroll College. The City

contributes $120,000 and 40 acres

intent on having the region’s first

college. Funding stalls but the

layout of College Heights lives

on. Telephone operators begin

connecting long distance calls.

The DossSanitarium onHackberry was adoctor's office andprivate hospital.

Phyn Perkins,Valley MidwinterFair princess,1923.

Two- and three-mule teams worked the productivesoil of farms surrounding McAllen.

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1925 The 25-bed McAllen Municipal Hospital opens. S. Cantu & Sons General

Merchandise, Dr. Carlos Balli, and music teacher Hilario Bercerra advertise in

El Diogenes, McAllen's first Spanish-language newspaper. Admission to the

Cascade Swimming Pool is 10 cents. An

eight-mile stretch of road from McAllen to

Hidalgo that costs $1 million is called the

Nickel-plated Highway to Hell: it ends at a

toll road leading to a saloon and dance hall

owned by a county official.

1926 Southern Pacific Railroad starts

service to McAllen. The International

Bridge opens to Reynosa on July 10 as

McAllen Mayor F.B. Freeland greets

Reynosa’s mayor in the middle of the bridge. The confusion of First, Second

and Third Avenues running east and west, and First, Second and Third Streets

running north and south is ended with the renaming of streets. Names are

changed again in 1936. First Avenue or Highway Avenue becomes 18th Avenue

and later Business Highway 83. The original Fourth Street becomes 14th Street

and later Main. The Palace Theatre,

built for Louis Gerlts at South Main

and Beaumont, houses a pipe organ

played by Winifred White Collavo.

Teacher Amy Jones opens Jones Book

Store, selling office supplies and later

upscale gifts, parlaying family fashion

flair into Jones & Jones.

The impresive StateBank & Trust Co.opened in 1925and closed in theGreat Depression.

Veterinarian Dr. Chestine withHarry Cheeverand a colt at aNorth Tenth Streetcorral.

This colorized postcard from1922-23, lookingsouth on Main,has had the electrical linesdeleted andmountains inserted.

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1927 Modesto Guerra and then Enrique Guerra join the McAllen City

Commission. The new McAllen High School is the largest in the Valley. Jose

Fuentes opens La Estrella Panaderia, which becomes famous for its pan de polvo.

Teacher Dorothea Brown begins her career, inspiring students and guiding debate

teams until her

retirement in 1970.

The new telegraph

station opens as the

nation's most mod-

ern sending station.

1928 Vannie E.

Cook buy s the

Coca-Cola Bottling

Co. Congressional

hearings held at McAllen Baptist Church probe election-stealing by the Hidalgo

County political machine which prevented the duly-elected Gordon Griffin from

taking office. The Good Government League had formed in McAllen in response

to fraud and corruption in county contracts. The city debuts a 85-bed municipal

hospital and converts the original hospital to a nurses’ residence. Kriedler’s

ambulance (hearse) rates

are $1 per mile. Police

alarm boxes are installed

to let officers call into

the station to find out

where they should go.

Dr. F. E. Osborn installs

the first concrete pipe

irrigation system on a

10-acre tract.

Developing thegrowing city'sinfrastructure,McAllen installedits first sewer lines.

The secondMunicipal Hospitalwas built in 1928,only three yearsafter the first.

This touring car and its owner, possiblyK.W. Jones, were photographed in 1923.

89

1930 Population 9,074 Sam Miller donates 109 acres to McAllen for an

airport, with the stipulation it bears his name for 50 years. For 18 years, only

private planes use it. On April 29, a storm covers McAllen in hail and sleet.

1931 The Town Band’s

volunteer musicians play

Thursday evening concerts at

Archer Park. The Palace offers

bargain matinee prices as the

Great Depression spreads to the

Valley.

1932 The McAllen Study Club

opens a book nook at the

Chamber of Commerce with 60 volumes. Soup kitchens and labor camps aid

unemployed residents and migrants.

1933 The Depression closes First National Bank and First State Bank. Workers

on city sewer projects received one-third of their wages in cash and the balance

in chits. Businessmen who accept chits for merchandise then use them to pay

taxes. Sam Miller forms what evolves

into the First National Bank of

McAllen.

The 1933 Hurricane damages

the international bridge. Officer

F r e d e r i c o S a e n z i s t h e f i r s t

McAllen policeman killed in the

line of duty.

1930 - 1939

The FireDepartment's mascot in 1937was 7-year-oldSpud Brown.

An April 1930storm brought hail that coveredMcAllen streetsand quickly melted.

This postcard shows the spring-fed CascadePool, a favorite place to beat the summer heat.

90

1934 Paul T. Vickers is manager of

the reorganized Chamber of

Commerce located at Ash and

Broadway, which aims to stimulate

economic growth and tourism. Jason

and Marcia Matthews, eccentric

publishers of American Mercury,

begin construction of Quinta

Mazatlan using 12-inch adobe brick.

The McAllen Garden Club selects

hibiscus as the City flower.

1935 The Upper Valley Art League begins classes and exhibits that lead in

1969 to the founding of McAllen International Museum. To cool off during the

summer, the Volunteer Fire Department hosts water fight between kids and

firemen.

1936 The McAllen Library moves to the

Archer Park bandstand basement and is

open Monday and Friday afternoons and

Saturday. Mrs. T. J. Powell breaks a bottle

of grapefruit juice to open the new WPA

post office. Southern Pacific offers air-

conditioned Dallas-McAllen round-trips

for under $20. Bethel Missionary Baptist

Church, mainstay of the black community,

opens. Hiram Garner opens Valley

Distillery and produces wines from citrus

juices.

The Sinclair station, owned byHammerley andTomlin, had attendants whopumped gas andchecked the oil and tires.

These ice boxes infront of GrandeCourt helpedincrease food safety and cooldown drinks.

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High school student Keith Rumbel decides to

raise money to pay off the American Legion

Post’s mortgage with the first rocket mail to

and from Mexico. After binational negotia-

tions, six-foot-long rockets are launched

across a wide, flooded Rio Grande on July 2.

One rocket hits a Reynosa bar and

another crashes in a cornfield. A Reynosa-

to-McAllen shot smashes into a car.

Nevertheless the stunt raises nearly $2,000

through rocket mail stamps.

1937 McAllen taps a gas dome estimated

at a trillion cubic feet and benefits from the

natural gas supply for houses and the boost

in city revenue.

1938 The Farm Security Administration

operates camps for migrant agricultural

workers in central McAllen. Farmers go

there to find workers.

1939 The Oklahoma City Indians

baseball team holds spring training in

McAllen at American Legion Park.

Admission is 40 cents to the 3 p.m. games

which pit the Indians against the St. Louis Browns, Phillies, and Toledo

Mudhens. A suspension cable at the international bridge breaks and sends

vehicles and pedestrians into the Rio Grande, causing one death.

The Rotary Club, whose members were communityleaders, met at the Casa de Palmas.

Damaged by the1933 hurricane,the internationalbridge collapsed in 1939.

Whalen's opened a modern,Hollywood-stylefurniture store onthe far reaches ofHighway Avenue.

92

1940 Population 11,877 Leonel Gonzalez publishes El Eco to inform the

Spanish-speaking community. His children deliver the free newspaper.

Construction is completed on the replacement Reynosa bridge.

1941 Herman Rocha opens the first Hispanic-owned taxi service and is

followed by Agapito Hernandez and Hernandez Taxi in 1945.

1942 Ginger Rogers appears at the Palace Theatre and later at the Casa de

Palmas to sell war bonds. The July Fourth parade honors Spanish-American War

1940 - 1949

Moody's White Kitchenat 1401 Austin had asteady clientele enjoyingcounter service.

Actress GingerRogers came toMcAllen to encourage her fans to buy War Bonds.

93

veterans: A.A. Hughes, Jet Grigsby, E.H. Smith and L.D. Harris. Lauro, Reuben

and Noe Guerra, although not serving together during World War II, are dubbed

the Guerra Air Corps Squadron.

1943 Bill Whalen hosts parties for servicemen

stationed at Moore Air Field. Gossips ask: Does

the lemon pie factory secretly research atomic

burn treatment for the government?

1944 Gwen Crawford of McAllen appears in

the Loretta Young movie Ladies Courageous

about women pilots who ferry bombers from

the war factories.

1945 The City takes over the water supply

system from private companies. McAllen State

Bank opens at Broadway and Highway 83 and grows over 30 years to become

the city’s largest bank in terms of deposits. McAllen joins with Mission and

Edinburg to operate Tri-Cities Municipal Airport at the former Moore Air Field.

Army Air Corpsguys met McAllengals at WhalenPark parties.

World War II limited the gasused by privatecars.

At the USO inMcAllen, MooreField airmen madetheir own music.

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1946 Andy Paris, using his

access to Mexican latex, begins

making Paris Bubble Gum

in McAllen in Texas’ first

air-conditioned plant. Selling the

sweets at a penny a pop, Paris was

a millionaire within a year and on

the cover of Life magazine as the

Bubble Gum King. Chief of

Pol ice Cl int Mussey starts

keeping records of arrests, crimes and accidents. The first convention and civic

center is built.

1947 Rogelio and Estella Guerrero open Rex

Café. KRIO obtains a radio station license to

operate from sunrise to sunset. Cine El Rey –

flamboyant with its red and gold canopy and art

deco/southwestern interior – begins screening

Spanish language movies and hosting appearances

by movie stars such as Luis Aguillar. The Old

Timers Club is formed by Paul Vickers to “resolve

disagreements among historians about the early

days of McAllen.”

1948 The airport’s grass runway is paved over.

The American Legion’s band begins weekly

concerts at Archer Park.

1949 The deluxe Frontier Hotel, built in the new California style, opens at

10th and Quince. Ester Ruenos Izaguirre establishes Teatro Mexico on 17th

Street and later is the owner of Valley Drive-In. Temple Emmanuel is

established.

GIs overseas sentV-mail home tofamily and friends.

When World WarII ended, couplesbegan cruising theValley and beyond.

Baskets of orangesare stacked atMissouri Pacificdepot for shipment.

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1950 Population 20,067 McAllen Memorial Library opens at Main and Fir. J. C.

Penney himself comes to open the new McAllen store.

1951 Dan Sanborn opens his tourist store which grows into Sanborn’s

International Travel Service, the largest insurance agency for Mexican travel.

Casa de Palmas guests include Anthony Quinn and Marlon Brando with the rest

of the cast of Viva Zapata being filmed in Roma.

1952 Trans-Texas Airways begins daily flights from McAllen-Miller Airport.

1953 The Cascade Pool is officially desegregated. The Pan American Civic

Players begin 13 years of theatrical presentations at Casa de Palmas.

1954 The Southern Pacific depot

becomes the City Jail and Police

Department.

1955 Blanca Gonzalez, Mary Sotello,

and Sylvia Santiago are among the thou-

sands of McAllen school children who

line up for the new Salk polio vaccination.

1950 - 1959A Dr PepperBottling Co. crewposed at the SouthBroadway plant in 1951.

The Frontier Hotelopened as middleclass Americansbegan to see theUSA in theirChevrolets.

President DwightEisenhower rodethrough McAllenin a motorcadewhile in the Valleyto dedicate FalconDam.

96

1956 Booker T. Washington High School, built in 1941 for Negro students,

closes. After 400,000 miles and 38 years, rural mail carrier Arthur Willey retires.

1957 Russian spy Rudolf Abel is held in McAllen for six weeks and questioned

by the FBI at the alien detention center near 25th and Quince. He stands trial

in New York and is later exchanged for U-2 pilot Gary Powers.

1958 McAllen has over 90 manufacturing, processing, canning and industrial

plants and cotton gins. City packing sheds ship 15 percent of American cabbage

and 20 percent of its citrus.

1959 Fiesta Drive-In on

South 23rd Street draws

families by the carful to

Friday night movies.

McAllen is listed among

the top retirement cities

and noted for the nation's

l a rge s t shu f f l eboard

courts. The McAllen

Tourist Club has over

1,000 members. Ads for

Royal Palm Motel and

Flamingo Frontier Hotel

spotlight swimming pools

and proximity to shopping

centers.

The lone runwayat Miller Airport ,with Cascade Poolto the right and LaPiedad Cemeteryto the north, sat farfrom the crowds.

Cowboy outfitsmade little RoyRogers and GeneAutreys out ofyoung BabyBoomers, 1956.

97

1960 Population 32,728 The million dollar Civic Center opens on Tenth Street.

Banker V. F. “Doc” Neuhaus negotiates on the City’s behalf with Pate Associates,

resulting in McAllen’s purchase of the international suspension bridge at

Hidalgo for $1.6 million.

1961 The celebration of McAllen’s 50th anniversary in March includes a golf

tournament, winter visitors’ barbeque, a Reynosa luncheon and bullfight, a

parade, and a grand ball at the Civic Center. Paul Vickers compiles historical

facts in the “City of Palms” booklet. Forty gas wells are operating in the

McAllen-Pharr field, a huge boost to the economy. A new airport terminal

opens.

1962 Chemo Longoria is named McAllen’s first Hispanic “Man of the Year.”

Valley Botanical Garden, a preserve of palms and native plants providing habitat

for horned lizards and indigo snakes, opens. Norman Heard arranged to train

mentally handicapped people here.

1963 Yancy's Market on Pecan Street had bacon at 59 cents a pound and chuck

roast for 45 cents.

1964 Wally Byam Airstream caravans rally at the Civic Center parking lot prior

to Mexico trips.

1965 Conventions become McAllen’s fastest growing industry because of the

Civic Center and 36 hotels.

1966 Mexican pesos are accepted by McAllen

merchants at the exchange rate of 100 pesos to $8

during a 22-year span of currency stability.

1967 A new concrete McAllen-Hidalgo-Reynosa

bridge opens. Hurricane Beulah brings disastrous

flooding and national news coverage. Water rises so

high inside the McAllen-Miller Airport terminal

that Sam Miller’s portrait is lifted from the wall.

1960 - 1969

The AlienImmigrationCenter site inMcAllen laterbecame the home of McAllenInternationalMuseum in 1969.

98

The Neiman Marcus catalog offers a citrus tree lease through McAllen’s Angel-

Kist Novelty Groves run by Jim Griffin. Leasers can have fruit picked or visit

the grove and their tree to pick their own.

1968 McAllen claims the “Leading Texas Winter Resort” title and welcomes

12,000 winter visitors who spend $6 million. Griffin and Brand develops a 125-

acre industrial complex and locates its processing-shipping facility there. The

library completes a major expansion.

1969 McAllen reaps over $250,000 in sales tax, the highest in the state

proportionate to population and thirteenth overall for Texas, although its

population is under 40,000. The money flows from tourists, shoppers, and traffic

passing through to Mexico. McAllen Bridge crossings exceed 10 million and

make it the third busiest border gateway. The McAllen Museum, chartered by

the McAllen Junior League, opens in the refurbished, former alien detention

center.

A political event in Whalen Park inthe 1960s drewdignitaries LloydBentsen, Kika dela Garza, JohnConnally, and J.C.Looney.

Hurricane Beulahin 1967 floodedmany McAllenstreets includingBales Road.

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1970 Population 37,636 W.D. Whalen hosts the 25th anniversary party of

McAllen Old Timers Club. Motor coach tours depart from the new Sanborn's

office on South Tenth.

1971 The new Palm View Golf Course, where a round of golf costs $3, is

inundated twice by flood waters. The city ends garbage incineration.

1972 To ensure orderly growth, city officials agree to begin annexing land. City

Manager William L. Schupp is named “Man of the Year.”

1973 McAllen’s Foreign-Trade Zone, the nation’s first inland facility, begins

operating as an industrial complex on 40 acres following years of development

from a Chamber of Commerce initiative that had strong bank support. The new

McAllen-Miller International Airport terminal is five times bigger than the

previous facility. Lightning destroys the newly remodeled Casa de Palmas set to

open under the name La Posada Motor Hotel. Restored to its original style, it

safely re-opens in 1974 to host Neiman Marcus fashion shows.

1974 A City ordinance requires new developments to landscape ten percent

of property not covered by buildings. After being rebuffed during a civic club

meeting, airline founder Herb Kelleher drops McAllen from the list of cities that

Southwest Airlines will serve.

1975 Thanks to $1 million net income from the City-owned bridge, McAllen

has the lowest tax rate in the Valley.

1976 La Plaza Mall opens and grows into the most lucrative per-square-foot

mall in the U.S. McAllen City Clerk Tiva Sanchez is named Texas City Clerk of

the Year. McAllen Housing Services is founded and evolves into Affordable

Homes of South Texas. Beginning teachers are paid $8,400.

1970 - 1979

Foreign-Trade Zoneopenings were celebrated by theU. S. Secretary ofCommerce, MayorOthal Brand, U. S.Rep. Kika de laGarza and cityand chamber officials.

100

1977 The Dusters,

McAllen’s first profes-

sional sports team, begin

an 80-game season of

Class A baseball in the

Lone Star League.

1978 Following family

tradition, Alonzo Cantu

opens Cantu Construction

Co. and becomes instru-

menta l in McAl l en

growth. Striking farmers

at the international bridge

are met by tear gas bombs.

1979 The Goodyear blimp America arrives to televise the Palm Bowl.The City

promotes its access to Reynosa’s professional bullrings and Indian Market as

well as its own Botanical Gardens, two-week Spring Festival and museum.

McAllen leads Texas cities in tourism growth. The City sells McAllen General

Hospital to private investors.

1980 Population 67,042 The City receives $114,445 from FEMA to repair

damages to public property caused by Hurricane Allen. Attorney David Ewers

joins his father and grandfather in the law firm established by his grandfather.

1981 The Vannie E. Cook Jr. Cancer Center, which started as an M.D.

Anderson affiliate in 1977, becomes an independent facility. Border Buttermilk

is served at the McAllen International Toll Bridge Employees Service Award

1980 - 1989

McAllen OldTimers met torecall their livesduring the city'searly days.

Maquiladorasemployed thousands andhelped makeMcAllen a majorinland port of entrywith $4 million ingoods crossingdaily.

101

dinner. Josef Garza, Danny Boultinghouse and Charles Wilson organize the first

Leadership McAllen program. Glen Roney co-founds Texas State Bank.

1982 La Plaza Mall adds 50 new stores keeping the south of the border

ambiance. Mexican peso devaluation hurts the entire economy. Bridge revenues

plummet as international shoppers retrench. City property tax evaluations

reach $1.1 billion. The first seniors graduate from McAllen Memorial High

School. Rio Grande Regional Hospital opens. McAllen has the nation’s largest

general purpose Foreign Trade Zone in terms of dollar value, averaging $4

million in traffic daily or $1.1 billion annually.

1983 McAllen receives the Presidential Award for Export Service, recognizing

how much the city’s exports help reduce the U.S. trade deficit. The City

prepares to adopt a computer system to manage finances. Temperatures dip to

19 degrees during the devastating Christmas freeze which kills thousands of

palms and citrus trees.

1984 Texas State Technical Institute opens a McAllen branch. The Candlelight

Posada in Archer Park draws 20,000 people to watch the costumed procession

from Old Town.

1985 McAllen Medical Center opens. The City Parks Department advertises

beginners’ swimming lessons with Gus and Goldie at Cascade Swimming Pool.

1986 La Estrella Panaderia, built of adobe in 1927 and famous for pan de polvo,

is taken over by the next generation. Delia Fuentes runs it with brothers Alfredo

and Jose using a brick oven that was originally wood-fired.

1987 Attorney Ruben Cardenas, whose law firm occupies the former Southern

Pacific Passenger Depot on Bicentennial, celebrates the unveiling of a historical

marker on the restored 1927 station. Donut shop owner Phyllis Griggs is the

first woman elected to the City Commission and serves for the next 14 years.

1988 The McAllen FTZ and the Industrial Board evolve

into the McAllen Economic Development Corp.

1989 Col. Nikki Rowe, McAllen High Class of 1956 and

West Point 1960, is killed by communist rebels in the

Philippines.

Freezes in 1983and 1989 decimated theValley citrus cropsand ornamentalplants.

Col. Nikki Rowe(1938 -1989)escaped from aPOW camp inVietnam.

102

1990 Population 84,201 Germans Astrid Prups and Friedhelm Newmeyer

arrive to teach in McAllen schools under Germany’s School Teacher Exchange

Program.

1991 Edwardo Alaniz leads the La Piedad Cemetery Board to begin

restoration of the historic graveyard. The nation's most profitable Radio Shack

and the most successful Luby's are located in McAllen.

1992 Mike Perez

becomes McAllen City

M a n a g e r. Vo t e r s

approve a referendum

to build a new conven-

tion center at northeast

Wa r e R o a d a n d

Expressway 83. The

“ M c A l l e n H i g h

Memor i a l t o the

Classes of 1913 to

1963” is erected next to Chase Tower which occupies the old school's site.

Astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American into space, arrives for the opening

1990 - 1999In 1994, First CityBank dominatedthe skyline asMcAllen movedinto an era of prosperity.

The All-AmericaCity Award wentto McAllen in 1996.

103

of a Kmart store, of which he is part owner. High school math teacher Leo

Ramirez appears on CBS Morning News after being named one of 10 American

Heroes in Education.

1993 The first students enroll at South Texas Community College. Built by the

City of McAllen, the school evolved from a TSTI branch. The Expressway

83/Highway 281 junction overpass opens. The maquila industry in Reynosa has

a $381 million impact on McAllen as the city diversifies its economy from

agriculture, tourism and Mexican retail trade to include manufacturing.

1994 Soza’s Rodeo Arena is the scene of McAllen’s first Professional Rodeo

Cowboy Association event which includes calf roping, bull riding, steer

wrestling and features professional and home-grown talent.

1995 The new City Hall opens and the former City Hall becomes the tax

office and teen court.Another peso devaluation has less impact because maquila

traffic has made McAllen less dependent on Mexican consumers.

1996 McAllen ranks as the third-fastest growing metroplex in the nation. It

attracts about 29 new companies annually during the 1990s. The MSA is first

nationally in job growth with a 23 percent increase over five years, according to

Forbes. A Wall Street Journal article notes McAllen has the lowest non-mortgage

household debt of any U.S metropolitan area. The Foreign Trade Zone swells by

695 acres owned by Hunt Oil.

1997 Leo Montalvo, long-time city commissioner, is elected McAllen's first

Hispanic mayor. McAllen surpasses Laredo as Texas’ most popular shopping

destination. Thanks to Mexican shoppers who account for 60 percent of sales at

La Plaza and downtown, sales tax revenue for December is $4.3 million.

1998 Mayor Leo Montalvo and city commissioner John Schrock are

authorized by the city commission to purchase historic Quinta Mazatlan for up

to $1 million, but bidding exceeds that amount and the two take a risk that the

commission would approve the additional $300,000. The City finalizes the deal

for $1.3 million from Frank Schultz.

1999 Futuro McAllen is organized to address quality of life issues. The

temperature hits a record 110 F.

Panasonic becomesone of McAllen'sindustrial partners,bringing jobs toMcAllen andReynosa.

104

2000 Population 106,414 The Green Jay is named the official City Bird. The

recycling center opens on Bentsen Road.

2001 The Dr. Ramiro R. Casso Nursing and Allied Health Center opens at

South Texas College with 697 students.

2002 Ted Uhlaender, the 1957 McHi graduate who played for the Minnesota

Twins and Cincinnati and appeared in four World Series games, is on hand when

McAllen dedicates Uhlaender Field in his honor. The Chamber of Commerce

moves to its new building.

2003 Oscar Cardenas is named McAllen's “Man of the Year.” McAllen ranks

third on the “Least Expensive Places to Live” list.

2004 An amazing Christmas Day snowfall brightens the holidays.

2005 The Alfredo Gonzales Texas State Veterans Home opens with 160 beds.

The McAllen Chamber of Commerce Creative Incubator is established on

South 16th Street. MEDC celebrates the 47 companies brought to the

McAllen-Reynosa area along with 11,400 jobs. Since 1998, MEDC has recruited

223 companies to McAllen and 289 to Reynosa.

2000 - 2011

The McAllenConvention Centeropened in 2007and brought morevisitors to McAllen.

105

2006 Astronaut Michael

Fossum, who attended

McAllen schools, circles

the earth aboard the space

station. Rick DiJulio leads

effort to form the McAllen

Heritage Center in order

to preserve and exhibit

historic memorabi l ia ,

photos, and document

collections. Mike Allen

steps down after 18 years

as McAllen EDC president

and is named Border Texan

of the Year.

2007 The Texas Veterans’

Memorial is dedicated.

2008 T h e M c A l l e n

Chamber of Commerce

in i t ia tes i t s $50,000

Innovation Grant Program.

2009 The Anzalduas International Bridge opens. A New Yorker article

spotlights the high cost of healthcare in McAllen.

2010 Population 132,000 The Rio Grande stays at flood stage for eight weeks

but McAllen escapes damage. Citizens organize to save the McAllen Botanical

Garden and the 1960s-era Civic Center.

2011 McAllen celebrates the 100th anniversary of its incorporation. Attorney

Ruben Cardenas is the longest serving volunteer in the McAllen Chamber

Greeters. He continues to serve after 51 years.

The ninth hole atMcAllen CountryClub presents abeautiful challengeto golfers.

Performances,picnics and playgrounds –McAllen CityParks offer activities for thewhole family.

This land party (people who came to the Valley to look at farm land)posed for McAllen photographer Eskildson on January 10, 1921.

Profiles


108

LEADING THE WAY

AEP Texas is connected to and servesmore than one million electric consumers in the deregulated

Texas marketplace. It is headquartered inCorpus Christi, with regulatory and governmental affairs offices in Austin.Major cities served include Corpus Christi,Abilene, McAllen, Harlingen, San Angelo,Vernon, Victoria and Laredo.

As an energy delivery (wires) company,AEP Texas delivers electricity safely andreliably to homes, businesses and industryacross its nearly 100,000 square mile service territory in south and west Texas. AEP Texasalso maintains and repairs its lines, reads electric meters, and handles connections and disconnections as directed by the Retail Electric Providers (REPs) selling electricity in thearea.

More than 1,500 AEP Texas employees are connected to their local Texas communitiesand actively involved in many civic organizations helping to make their communities better places to live, work and play. In addition, AEP Texas contributes more than $1 million annually to teach electrical safety, improve education, enhance the environment,and support community and economic vitality in the areas served.

AEP Texas is part of the AmericanElectric Power system, one of the largestelectric utilities in the United States,delivering electricity to more than fivemillion customers in 11 states. AEP ranksamong the nation's largest generators ofelectricity, owning nearly 38,000megawatts of generating capacity in theU.S. AEP also owns the nation's largestelectricity transmission system, a nearly39,000-mile network that includes more

than 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines, which is more than all other U.S.transmission systems combined. AEP's transmission system directly or indirectly serves about 10 percent of the electricity demand in the Eastern Interconnection, the interconnected transmission system that covers 38 eastern and central U.S. states and eastern Canada, and approximately 11 percent of the electricity demand in ERCOT, thetransmission system that covers much of Texas. AEP's utility units operate as AEP Ohio,AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power(in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Public Service Company ofOklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, see thecorporate web site, AEP.com.

AEP Texas

109

LEADING THE WAY

The largest law firm south of San Antonio, Atlas & Hall, LLP has helped shapeMcAllen's future for over 50 years. The original firm, founded by Morris Atlas andHoward Stafford in 1953, merged with other McAllen firms to become Atlas &

Hall in the 1960s.

The full service law firm covers the spectrum of litigation and transaction law,representing individuals, small and large businesses, estates, governmentalentities, banks, media outlets and other organizations. The attorneys of Atlas &Hall continue to combine their first classlegal skills, in-depth knowledge of theregion, and their focused attention to thebenefit of their clients. Many of the firm'slawyers joined the firm directly out of lawschool and have remained because theyshare a philosophy of the practice of lawand a respect for one another.

During two pivotal events that have determined the direction of the city, Atlas& Hall represented the City of McAllen.In 1960, the firm helped negotiate the

purchase of the Hidalgo Reynosa International Bridge, a transaction which has provideda steady revenue stream to McAllen. Later the firm led the fight to successfully thwart anattempt to close McAllen-Miller Airport inorder to establish a regional airport inHarlingen.

Members of the firm are active in the RioGrande Valley community and in the legal profession statewide. Atlas & Hall attorneysserve on the boards of major charitable, non-profit and educational organizations providing both pro bono legal support, as wellas leadership to the Museum of South TexasHistory, IMAS, STARS, the Vannie E. CookCancer and Hematology Clinic, South TexasCollege and many others. For decades, thefirm's attorneys have served on city advisoryboards and committees.

Atlas & Hall expects to grow as McAllen growsand to remain involved in fostering the city'sprosperity and its future.

Atlas & Hall, LLP

110

LEADING THE WAY

Even at ninety-five, Lloyd Millard Bentsen did not believe in retirement. His farmsand ranches covered more than 60,000 acres and, along with his citrus, banking, oil,and far-flung real estate interests, occupied the time not spent with his family or

hunting and fishing. Throughout his lifetime, his pioneer spirit, astute insights, and generosity created a legacy that continues to enhance his community, his family, and theRio Grande Valley.

Born to Danish immigrantsPeter and Tena Bentsen on ahomestead in White, SouthDakota, on November 24,1893, Lloyd Bentsen helpedmaintain the family's stockfarm. He received only a fewyears of formal education,but was a voracious reader.As a youth, he tamed wildmustangs in the Dakotas, followed the grain harvest,and nearly lost his life in amotorcycle accident in 1915.During World War I, Lloydenlisted in the U. S. ArmySignal Corps, AviationSection. He received hiswings and an officer's com-mission in the 198th AeroS q u a d r o n , t h e F l y i n gWildcats.

After the war and a stintbarnstorming, Lloyd joinedhis parents in Mission, Texas. The beautiful Red Cross volunteer, Edna Ruth “Dolly”Colbath, captured the young man's heart, and the couple married in 1920. Family alwaysranked foremost in their lives: their four children – Lloyd, Jr., Donald, Kenneth and Betty– as well as their fourteen grandchildren – Lloyd III, Lan, Tina, Becky, Don Jr., Kathy,Karen, Molly, Betty, Ken Jr., Will, Ellen, Dan Jr. and Susan.

Adhering to a personal creed of “Back your judgment” and believing in the future of theRio Grande Valley, Lloyd expanded his land-clearing business into buying that land. Hewent into debt convinced that land purchases would pay in the long run. He soon becamea leader in the development of Valley cities and businesses. His enterprises ranged frombanking, ranching and farming to real estate and oil. For 50 years, Mr. Lloyd, as he wasaffectionately called, was an owner and Chairman of the Board of several South Texasbanks. He co-founded Lincoln Liberty Life Insurance Company and the Mission-McAllenBeef Syndicate. In 1946, envisioning a unified, developed Rio Grande Valley, Lloyd

The Lloyd Bentsen Family

Lloyd and Edna Ruth Bentsen

111

Bentsen co-founded the Valley Chamber of Commerce and was the first president of whatbecame the Rio Grande Valley Partnership.

Lloyd Bentsen's business interests were balanced by years of public service and philanthropy.Just before World War II, he organized and led the Valley's Texas Defense Guard Battalionwhich inspired the formation of Defense Guard units across Texas. After serving thirteenyears as the Texas State Guard Reserve Corps commander, he was inducted into theGuard's Hall of Honor. The National Guard Association of Texas, recognizing him as“one of Texas' most distinguished citizen soldiers,” bestowed the Minuteman Award. Hereceived the U.S. Marine Corps League's Citation of Merit for loyalty to community andcountry, the Texas A&M University's Award of “Outstanding Texan,” and the SilverBeaver Award from the Boy Scouts of America. The Texas Business Hall of Fame hon-ored him for his vision, dedication and courage while the Heritage Hall of Fame of theState Fair named him a Texas Legend.

The Lloyd Bentsen family was co-donor of the land for Bentsen State Park. Long a supporter of First Baptist Church of McAllen, he was a major contributor to Rio GrandeChildren's Home whose activity center was named for his wife.

When questioned about success, Lloyd always gave the credit to his beloved wife, Dolly.Born September 6, 1898, in Somerset, Texas, she was reared by her grandparents. A cherished wife, mother and grandmother, Dolly is remembered as a beautiful woman, gracious and kind with a delicious sense of humor. Her homemade ice cream, rich withcream and eggs, was known far and wide. Quick to praise, soft-spoken Dolly was a treasureto her family and friends.

“One wonderful thing about Dad and Mother: they always said they were from the Valley,not a separate city. They had such pride in the whole area,” said daughter Betty BentsenWinn. The Bentsen children flourished: Lloyd Jr. as a U.S. Senator from Texas and U.S.Secretary of the Treasury; Donald as owner and CEO of several successful companies;Kenneth as a prize-winning Houston architect; and Betty, as CEO of the Lloyd BentsenPartnerships and Foundation.

Edna Ruth Bentsen died in June 1977 after 57 years of marriage. Lloyd Bentsen died inJanuary 1989, leaving his family, friends, and the Rio Grande Valley a better place to livebecause of his example, foresight, and commitment. As Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobbysaid, “He was one of the last great patricians of Texas.”

112

LEADING THE WAY

In 1921, 20-year-old Lewis Boggus, Sr., became the youngest owner of a Ford dealershipin the United States. This accomplishment in Mission came as no surprise to those whohad observed the young Texan's drive and talents.

Lewis established a string of dealerships from Corpus Christi, Brownsville, San Benito,Harlingen and Raymondville, and added the McAllen dealership in 1936.

I n 1 9 5 0 , L e w i s ' son, Frank, beganworking at BoggusFord McAllen afterhe graduated fromTexas A&M. Afterservice in the AirForce, Frank becamethe general managerof the Harlingendealership, settlingthere with his wifePe g g y a n d t h e i r children Barbara Sueand twin sons Boband Jack.

Frank eventually ran the McAllen dealership until Bob, a University of Texas graduate,stepped in. Jack managed the Harlingen dealership until his death in 1992. Bob began taking over the family business from Frank in 2001. He is now president of the McAllenand Harlingen dealerships, which rank among the Valley's top sellers.

In 2010, Boggus Ford McAllen acquired the Lincoln Mercury franchise and recently completed a major facility upgrade. In Harlingen, Boggus Ford relocated to a new, spacious facility on Expressway 83 and acquired the Lincoln Mercury franchise in 2007.At the time of this writing, Ford Motor Company has discontinued production of Mercury,leaving Boggus the only Lincoln dealer in the Rio Grande Valley.

In 1990, Frank was presented TIME Magazine's Quality Dealer award, the most prestigious honor in the industry. In recognition of exceptional performance and distinguished community service, the rare award was presented to Bob in 2007.

Frank and Bob showed dedication to their community through professional and personal involvement. Frank helped establish Texas State Technical College, the Boys and GirlsClub, the Boggus Education Pavilion at Valley Baptist Medical Center and, with his daughter Barbara, the Ronald McDonald House of Harlingen. His guidance has shapednumerous financial, charitable and civic boards. Bob has served as president of the TexasAutomobile Dealers Association, the Valley Dealers Association, the Valley Partnership,McAllen Crime Stoppers, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and served on the boards ofmultiple organizations. He and his wife Karen have three children, Ashley, Austin andKatie and two grandchildren, Londyn and Emery.

Boggus Ford

113

LEADING THE WAY

In the midst of the 1976peso devaluation, Georgea n d J o y M a s s o

established The Boot Jack, awestern wear store cateringt o t h e e n t i r e f a m i l y.Experienced in retail clothing,the Massos recognized anenduring yet underservedTejano market for westernclothing and accessories suitable for ranch life as wellas festive occasions. GeorgeMasso designed the popularPecos Bill line of boots, soldexclusively at the store, while Joy managed the Boot Jack’s advertising campaigns.

For years, Boot Jack customers have come from across South Texas and Mexico to findevery major brand of western boots along with appealing men’s, women’s and children’sclothing and jewelry. Regional country western and Tejano bands turn to The Boot Jackwhen they want the latest in good-looking western wear.

Active in the Valley community and supportive of its current and future customers, The Boot Jack is a long time sponsor of 4-H and the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Showand Rodeo: Educating Youth - Promoting Agriculture. Through Champs for Champions,the Massos participate in awarding scholarships to deserving students.

The Boot Jack has become the Valley’s largest family-owned and family-operated westernwear company, employing hundreds over the years at its three stores in McAllen and twostores in Brownsville. Recognized for its achievements in marketing and advertising, theBoot Jack gives customers retail service second to none.

The Masso children – Kevin, Selina, Mike and Mark – began stocking shelves and helping out at age 10 and as teenagers worked as cashiers and learned more. After highschool, none of them expressed interest in joining the family business, but they changed

their minds as young adults. KevinMasso brought the stores into thecomputer age in 1989. Selina andBen Pena, Mike and Robyn Masso,Mark and Karen Masso joined withtheir cousin Luis Masso to operatedifferent store locations.

The Masso family is proud to be apart of McAllen and the RioGrande Valley community and history.

The Boot Jack

1976: The first Boot Jack location at 409 S. Main Street in McAllen occupied a 4,000 sq.ft. building.

1989: Store #1 moved across the street to 504 S. Main Street to a 20,000 sq. ft. building.

114

LEADING THE WAY

By the time Othal Brand could makechange, he was peddling fruit and vegetables on street corners in Atlanta.

Fifty years later Othal Brand was Mayor ofMcAllen and chairman of the board ofGriffin & Brand, a family-owned producecompany that became the world's largestgrower, packer, and shipper of onions. Knownas the Onion King and a tireless advocate for the poor and for McAllen, Othal was considered by some to be the most influentialfigure in South Texas politics of his era.

Born in 1919 in Grayson, Georgia, Othalstood in a soup line as a child and quit schoolin tenth grade to sell vegetables full time tohelp his family. In 1934 he and his brotherstarted a produce business with Othal as thebuyer and Billy as the salesman. At the start ofWorld War II, Othal enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in the bloody arena ofGuadalcanal and the Solomon Islands. Friends said Othal never got over being a Marinemaster sergeant and a boxer.

Othal married Marine corporal KathrynWiggins in 1945, a union that lasted 64 years.Back in the produce business, Othal took hisyoung and growing family to Florida, Coloradoand Texas while he oversaw purchases ofcantaloupes, onions and tomatoes. Othal andKay moved to McAllen in 1954, and raisedtheir four children: Lynn, Karyn, Cynthia, andOthal, Jr.

The Brand brothers and the Griffin brothersformed Griffin and Brand which grew fruits and vegetables on farms spread acrossnine states and into Central America. Thecompany processed and shipped fresh

vegetables and fruits worldwide, chartering ships, running mammoth storage warehousesand freezing plants. Othal, planning crops and negotiating trade agreements, became aleading state and national figure in the industry. Featured on the cover of VegetableGrower, he was inducted into the Texas Heritage Hall of Honor for his numerous contributions to agriculture, including aiding in the development of the 1015 onion.He served several presidents on the Advisory Committee for Perishable AgriculturalCommodities and the National Commission of Agricultural Workers. Texas A&MUniversity presented him with the prestigious Knapp-Porter Award.

Othal Brand

115

Tall, with black-rimmed glasses, dressed in a white, short-sleeved shirt and dark pants,Othal was exceptional in his diligence and dedication. He never seemed to tire, workinghard all day long and attending meetings at night. He exercised by playing handball. Heread voraciously and studied the Bible. A CalvaryBaptist Deacon and a Sunday school teacher for 30years, Othal embodied the scripture To whom muchis given, much is required. Traveling armed inMexico and with a Bible, he got the nickname pastor con pistola.

Othal Brand served on the McAllen School Boardfor six years where he helped initiate migrant workereducation programs and the academy for specialneeds and problem students. He set the school district on a path to greater achievement and servedon the Texas Committee for Public Education. Afterfour years as a McAllen City Commissioner, Othaldecided in 1977 to run for mayor.

Othal, a conservative visionary, understood the changes that McAllen needed to transformitself from an agricultural town to a booming, business-oriented city. He willingly shoulderedthe challenges of city leadership for five terms in order to accomplish his goals of communityimprovement. His results-oriented approach ruffled feathers but created momentum forprogress. He formed the McAllen Economic Development Corp. and hired Mike Allen tolead it. He launched an affordable housing program for low-income families, fought for

the independent community college which became SouthTexas College, built a new Miller-McAllen Airport terminal, andpushed the city to acquire landfor the future, including the site ofthe McAllen Convention Center.He appointed hundreds ofcapable citizens to City advisoryboards.

Othal Brand's political voice wasloud and clear. In contrast, hewas characteristically quiet about

his and Kay's philanthropy. He helped found the Rio Grande Valley Children's Home andthe Boys & Girls Club of McAllen, donating the land for the center later named for him. He served on countless educational, charitable and religious boards and received numeroushonors. He was awarded three honorary doctorates: from Texas A&M University-CorpusChristi, Hardin-Simmons University and Howard Payne University.

When Othal's daughter wanted to give her parents 20 scenic acres in the Hill Country,Othal immediately responded: “I've spent my entire adult life in McAllen, building businesses, churches, charities and a mighty fine city. I will live there until I die.”

Othal Brand was buried in December 2009, in the shadow of McAllen City Hall, with aCity of McAllen lapel pin over his heart. He had lived life to the fullest.

116

LEADING THE WAY

In 1919, at the age of fourteen, P.S. Brown left his home on the farm in Runge, Texas,for San Antonio where his natural sales ability made him a top seller of grape juicedrink. In 1923 he hitched a ride to the Rio Grande Valley and found a job at a San

Benito cotton gin. Nicknamed Brownie, he was soon running a Shell Oil Co. service station on Highway 83 in Mercedes. Moving to McAllen, he met and married Laura Parks

in 1928. For a wedding present his mother-in-lawMinnie Parks gave the couple four lots at the corner ofDepot Road (23rd Street) and Highway 83. Shell OilCo. built the first Brownie's Service Station on thatproperty. P.S. and Laura had two children: SpurgeonWilliam (Spud) born in 1930 and Geraldean Ann in 1932.

Land companies bringing parties of land seekers to theValley had their cars serviced at Brownie's because heagreed to talk positively about the region. Brownie's OilCompany sold wholesale petroleum products from apick-up with a 500-gallon tank. World War II cut shortBrownie's planned venture into tractor sales, but it led tohis establishing Brownie's Feed and Seed Co. sellingPurina feed, seed and hardware to farmers.

Always wearing a hat, Brownie often took friends, customers and salesmen to the Green Top Café for coffee and conversation. He was a member of the

McAllen Volunteer Fire Department, Kiwanis, and St. Paul Lutheran Church. He served onthe Hidalgo County Water District #1 board for 25 years and was a director of Texas ButaneDealers Association. He was always called “P.S.” or “Brownie,” rather than his given name.

Spud graduated fromMcHi in 1948 andhelped build theregion's first self-servicestation, a conceptBrownie had noticedtaking hold inCalifornia. From 1948to 1950, Brownie'sexpanded rapidlyadding ten more stations in Edinburg, Mission, Pharr, McAllen, Rio Grande City and Harlingen. The neonsign read “Brownie's Serve Yourself, Save 4 Cents per Gallon.” Female attendants in whitecoveralls cleaned windshields and made change.

After his father’s death in 1972, “Spud” Brown continued the operation of Brownie's ServiceStations and Brownie's Oil Company. Hollis and Geraldean (Brown) Fritts operated Brownie'sFeed and Seed Company.

Brownie’s Oil Company

P. S. Brown

117

LEADING THE WAY

In 1933, the Clark family sold 147 cars duringtheir first year in business on Highway 83.Charles Clark began working for his father in

the Body Shop, and in 1952, he became the dealerfor Clark Chevrolet.

The Clark family – Charles, his wife Dorothy, andtheir son Kirk – extended to include the entire dealership, where Dorothy knew every employee by name. She treated the waiting room like anextension of the family living room brimming withwarm welcomes, cups of coffee and time to visit.

Charles and Dorothy Clark were fervent collectorsof contemporary art. Their son grew up immersedin the world of art and completed his first oil painting at age 10. Kirk studied sculpture anddrawing at the University of New Mexico and thenreturned to McAllen, becoming Used CarManager in 1969. In 1976 Kirk took over the family business as its Dealer with Charles stayingon as General Manager until his passing in 1990. For the next seven years, Dorothy Clarkappeared in Clark Chevrolet dealership television commercials with Kirk, creating instantrapport with the “Right, Mom?” “Right, Son!” dialogue.

Today Clark dealerships support more than 200 employees, but the sense of family remainsstrong with birthdays celebrated, meals shared and enthusiastic encouragement for oneanother. Business success has followed three consistent principles: always doing the rightthing, giving every customer plenty of reasons to come back, and treating everyone like family. In 1999 Clark Chevrolet delivered 2,000 new vehicles with the help of 130 associates.

In 2008, Kirk Clark earned the prestigious Dealer of theYear Award from General Motors.

A passion for excellence in business mirrors Kirk Clark'sdynamic career in art. His paintings, totemic sculptures,monoprints, and jewelry have been exhibited in galleriesacross the United States, Mexico and Rome and captivated avid collectors. Kirk has continued his family's commitment to the wider community throughactive participation and leadership in the Chamber ofCommerce, Valley Land Fund and, of course, the arts –IMAS, Art Walk, and the Charles and Dorothy ClarkGallery at UTPA.

Kirk is married to Jeri and the father of Charlie, Anne,Alex, and Daniel and the grandfather of Ryan andEmily.

The Clark Family

Kirk Clark

Charles and Dorothy Clark

118

LEADING THE WAY

In 1927 two-year-old VannieE. Cook Jr. and his familyarrived in McAllen from

Louisiana after his father boughtthe Coca-Cola Bottling Companyin the City of Palms. Vannie wasraised in McAllen, graduatedfrom McAllen High in 1942 at theage of 16, and briefly attendedShreiner Institute in Kerrville.Vannie Jr. soon joined the U.S.Navy and served during WorldWar II. He graduated from theUniversity of Texas in 1947 andwent to work with his father learn-ing the ropes. Vannie's daily tripsto the bank to deposit a sack ofnickels, back when Cokes cost anickel, introduced him to CarolynVance whom he married in 1952.

When Vannie Sr. died in 1954, Vannie Jr. took over the bottling company and MayfairMinerals which was started by his father a few years earlier. Vannie's good business senseincluded an innate ability to choose the right thing at the right time. Vannie was a founderof Texas State Bank and actively involved in civic activities and a variety of businesses,acquiring numerous properties in the Valley which have become commercial and residential developments. Eager to help people, he was involved in numerous civic activi-ties, but was nonetheless private in his philanthropy. Early in the 1970s, he and friends DocNeuhaus and Lloyd Bentsen committed their resources to developing a cancer treatmentcenter where Valley patients could receive radiation therapy. Active on the planning committee from 1974 to 1977, Vannie helped raise $1.5 million from private and publicsources. That paved the way for the 1977 opening of what became the Rio GrandeRadiation Treatment and Cancer Research Foundation. Vannie continued to serve on theFoundation's board, and, as the center was overwhelmed by patients, began planning for alarger building. The new facility opened in 1989, one year after Vannie's death, and wasnamed the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Cancer Center for the leader who had done so much toestablish the center. It is now the Vannie E. Cook Jr. Children's Cancer and HematologyClinic operated by the Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine.

Vannie was a generous, unpretentious, much-admired man who loved to hunt. Heacquired ranches around the country and particularly enjoyed the family's Hill Countryranch where he, Carolyn and his mother often took their children- Kathy, Vannie III,Tommy and Carol - and many family friends.

Vannie's widow Carolyn married Dr. Ken Landrum who is the chairman of the Vannie E.Cook Jr. Cancer Foundation.

Vannie E. Cook Jr.

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1962, Guantanamo, Cuba....Lázaro Fernández was working at La Elegante, his UncleJose’s fabric store, until Jose Fernández exchanged life under Castro’s dictatorship for liberty in the U.S. Settling in McAllen with his wife Isabel and son Noe, Jose opened

the Rio Bravo Store on a shoestring, selling only cloth remnants for 5 and 10 cents a yard.In 1963, Lázaro Fernández, hiswife Maelia, and children MariaLuisa, 4, and Lázaro Jr., 2, alsoarrived in “The City of Palms.”Lázaro began working with hisuncle and together they built thebusiness that has grown into threequality textile stores serving niche markets.

The original store, more thantripled in size, is now Rio BravoDecorative Fabrics. Changingwith the times, the store movedaway from home sewing and decorating fabrics in order to

focus on upholstery and drapery fabrics. Silk and embroidered drapery fabrics, designerupholstery and drapery trims, and the region’s largest selection of indoor and outdoorupholstery materials are among the 10,000 items in stock.

Dos Rios Corporation specializes in fabrics from all over the world: magnificent Italian silkprints and brocades, exquisite French and Chantilly laces, and elegant Swiss embroideredfabrics and cottons. The collection of imported trimmings includes Austrian Swarovskicrystals and Czech sea beads.Clients searching for distinctivefabrics for weddings, quinceanerasand other special moments haveturned to Dos Rios since 1972.

Novel Des ign Centre se l l s exclusively to interior decoratorsand designers from Mexico, SouthAmerica and the Caribbean aswell as the U.S. Since 1982Lázaro Fernández Jr. has followedhis passion for fabrics to millswhere he selects the latest fabric textures, colors, and designs. Clients rely on his talents forputting together patterns and colors to create breathtaking drapery and upholstery selections.

Cousins Noe, Lázaro Sr. and Lázaro Fernández Jr. grew up in fabric stores. Today with pride they carry on the family business that started in Cuba far from the Rio Grande Valley.

The Fernández Family

Pictured left to right: Lazaro H. Fernández, MaeliaFernández, Noe Fernández, Isabel Fernández, Jose Fernández,

Lazaro H. Fernández Jr., Maria Luisa Fernández,.

Rio Bravo Store, downtown McAllen, 1965

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LEADING THE WAY

In 2008, members of First Presbyterian Church of McAllen celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of their church. During this year-long celebration, churchmembers celebrated the centennial with many festivities and a special worship service.

As the first Protestant church in the McAllen area, FPC-McAllen was established threeyears before the City of McAllen was incorporated. Early services were held in C.O.Maule's lumberyard with lanterns providing light for not only the Presbyterians, but theBaptists, Methodists and other believerswho came together to worship.

Within a year the Presbyterians beganto raise monies to build their ownchurch. The women organized theLadies Mission Society and held chickendinner fundraisers. Construction on“The Little White Church” at the corner of South 12th Street and AustinAvenue soon followed and was completed and dedicated in the springof 1910. This original location is stillhome to FPC-McAllen today.

As the City of McAllen grew so did church membership and the leadership of FPC-McAllen embarked on a three-part building commitment. The fellowship hall was com-pleted in 1949, classrooms in 1956 and the beautiful sanctuary in 1960. The sanctuary is

of modern design and features impressive soaring stained glass win-dows and an 18 foot cross that seems tofloat on air over the communion table.The massive pipe organ was customdesigned and hand-built in England.

Faith, fellowship and family flourishedunder the guidance of strong spiritualand community leaders. FormerMcAllen mayors Angus McLeod, FrankFreeland, Dr. Robert Osborn and JackWhetsel have been active members ofthe church.

The congregation of FPC-McAllen has always reached out to help the broader community.They were directly involved in establishing three missions that remain vital today: Su Casade Esperanza in Pharr, Puentes de Cristo in Hidalgo and Tamaulipas, Mexico, andComunidades Unidas Pro Salud in Mexico (CUPS).

In the 1960s, Lynn Flowers started a kindergarten program for five-year-olds at FPC-McAllen and today her vision carries on at FPC-McAllen as the city's premier Pre-KSchool. The church's famous Lynn Flowers Hand Bell Choir was named in her memory.

First Presbyterian Church of McAllen

First Presbyterian Church, 1910

The three-part building commitment started in 1949

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American heroes consist of ordinary people who devote their lives to doing extraordinary things for others. Leonelo Gonzalez, with the help of his wife,Cecilia, was that kind of person.

Gonzalez came to McAllen as a teenager and worked as a linotypist with various newspapers. He worked as a manager at The Monitor before he established his own newspaper in 1940. Gonzalez started El Eco newspaper in an effort to inform the community with a publication written in Spanish.

As a member of McAllenGeneral Hospital Board,Leonelo, with Cecilia'ssupport, began a “Well-Baby” Clinic. The clinicintroduced pre-natalhealth care, nutrition andchild care. The establish-ment of the clinic wasimportant to Gonzalezbecause it improved thehealth of children inMcAllen.

Gonzalez, one of the firstHispanic members ofthe McAllen Independent School Board, helped initiate a six week summer pre-school program for Hispanic children to learn English before entering first grade. He was instrumental in ending half-day classes for children in the late 1940's and helped establishPTA programs at elementary schools where mostly Hispanic students were in attendance.Leonelo was dedicated to expanding the access of education to the children in the

community with a focus on reachingout to the Hispanic families ofMcAllen. In recognition of thiseffort, McAllen dedicated theLeonelo H.Gonzalez ElementarySchool in March 1992 and lateropened a city park named for him.

Leonelo and Cecilia Gonzalez leavea legacy in their four children whoalso strive to serve their community.Leone lo Hec tor (decea sed )

continued in his father's printing profession. Iris Yolanda (married to Ray Pearce) is anestablished Cancer Counselor and the Director of the School of Spirituality at theEpiscopalian Diocese of Dallas and Fort Worth. Cecilia Carmen (married to retired StateRepresentative Roberto Gutierrez) is a recognized Early Childhood Educator. RomeoVictor (married to Delia Pro) is a professional Electrical Engineer.

Leonelo H. Gonzalez - La Voz del Pueblo

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H-E-B has a longhistory of serv-ing the Rio

Grande Valley. Since1929, the company hasbeen a presence in theregion, growing along-side Valley communitiesas it worked to provideresidents with the lowprices, the freshest prod-ucts and the servicesTexans have come toexpect from their H-E-B.

Today, H-E-B is one of the nation's largest independently owned food retailers, operating329 stores in Texas and Mexico, with annual sales of over $16 billion and employing morethan 76,000 Partners (employees).

But what makes H-E-B truly stand out is its commitment to its customers beyond the fourwalls of its stores. Each day the company works to make its communities a better place tolive. This commitment is demonstrated through H-E-B's public service involvement andcharitable giving in the 150 communities in which it operates.

This service to the community began in 1905 and is known as the H-E-B Spirit of Giving.H-E-B's commitment to education, hunger prevention, disaster relief, diversity, volunteerism and the environment, coupled with its corporate giving philosophy, is recognized as an important part of the way the company does business.

H-E-B donates five percent of its pretax earnings annually to charitable organizations thatare committed to making a positive difference in Texas communities. The company hasalso instituted signature community programs including the H-E-B Excellence inEducation Awards, the H-E-B Feast of Sharing Dinners and the H-E-B Food BankAssistance Program.

The company also has a strong legacy of assisting communities in crisis. In the wake ofHurricane Dolly, H-E-B deployed 89 trucks loaded with groceries and supplies; providedfood, ice, water and baby supplies to numerous area shelters and residents; set up the H-E-B Disaster Response Unit equipped with a Pharmacy and Business Center; andserved meals from the H-E-B Eddie Garcia Mobile Kitchen.

Additionally, H-E-B believes its Partners have a responsibility to the community throughvolunteerism. To date, H-E-B Partners have contributed more than 100,000 hours ofcommunity service to help friends and neighbors.

The story of H-E-B is very much a story about Texas. It's a celebration of the people, history and regions that make our state great.

H-E-B

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IBC was founded in 1966 to meet the needs of small businesses in Laredo, Texas.Today, it serves as the flagship bank of International Bancshares Corporation. Since itsopening, IBC has grown from less than $1 million in assets to more than $11.3 billion,

making it one of Texas' largest holding companies and earning it the title of the largestHispanic-owned financial institution in the nation.

David Guerra, presidentand CEO of IBC-McAllen, has played acritical role in IBC's unprecedented growth inthis area during the last20 years. His leadershiphas enabled IBC toprovide customers accessto 31 Hidalgo Countybranches in McAllen,Hidalgo, Pharr, Edinburg,Mission and Weslaco.

IBC has gained a reputation as a consumer-friendly bank because of its menu of free products, its seven-day service and extended hours and its topnotch banking professionals.IBC follows a business strategy of offering sound, practical business advice to customerswhile making it a priority to do more for them. This “We Do More” goal is evident in itsfocus on reaching out to the underserved population. IBC operates much like a “supercommunity bank,” structured like a smaller institution with local boards for decision-making with competitive lending capacity.

An advocate of corporate social responsibility, service and charitable outreach, IBC-McAllenactively participates in the communities where it does business. An Employee Advisory Board(EAB) coordinates community-related outreach. In 2009, IBC-McAllen's more than 450employees and leadership contributed more than 7,000 hours of community service.

Many community outreach efforts focus on education for area youth, including the implementation of a microcommunity, or learning laboratory at Sam Houston Elementaryin McAllen. The goal is to give students a solid understanding of financial concepts. At thelocal level, IBC-McAllen won the Texas Bankers Foundation 2003 Cornerstone Award forongoing involvement with the microcommunity program, Houstonville. Another example ofIBC's commitment to philanthropy and volunteerism in McAllen is a community-wide donation drive for our troops. In 2006 through a partnership with radio station KURV-AMand Operation Interdependence® (OI), IBC collected nearly two tons of supplies to benefit approximately 10,000 servicemen and women. Over the last four years, this programhas been adopted by all IBC communities in Texas and Oklahoma and has resulted in thecollection of about 13 tons of goods for more than 40,000 service men and women.

IBC

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Seeking a warmer climate in 1909, Chicago area undertakers Harry and HarrietKreidler moved to the Rio Grande Valley and began farming. When a ranch hand’sbody was brought to them, they realized the region’s need for their services. Kreidler

Undertaking Company opened July 1912 in a back room of the Western Union Office onSouth Main. Harry Kreidler built cloth-lined, cloth-covered wooden caskets which were

taken on a horse-drawnhearse to Roselawn and LaPiedad cemeteries. Harriet,who had been the firstlicensed female embalmer inIllinois, reportedly becamethe first licensed femaleembalmer in Texas.

In a few years, the funeralhome moved to a statelybuilding at the corner ofBroadway and Aust in .Harry continued making a

few coffins with brass handles even after commercially-made coffins became available.Maynard L. Kreidler, their son, ran two McAllen businesses and occasionally assisted hisparents. In 1928, he completed a 10-day mortuary course and formed a partnership withHarry and Harriet.

To mark Kreidler Funeral Home’s 25th anniversary in McAllen, the family came up withthe catch phrase “Thotfulness.” The people who commented that the word was misspelledproved that the ad was being read. Kreidler branches were opened in Mission andEdinburg but later were sold.

Harry Maynard, the third generation of Kreidlers in McAllen,put up the cemetery tent to shadethe bereaved and helped with simi-lar chores before attending LandigMortuary School. He joined hisfather in the family business in 1949and became president of KreidlerFuneral Home following hisfather’s death in 1957.

Kreidler Funeral Home moved to its current at 314 North 10th Street in 1961. The fourthgeneration John Kreidler joined the company in 1972 after graduating fromCommonwealth College of Science. H. Maynard Kreidler retired in 1989. John’s sonWilliam graduated from Commonwealth and joined the family firm in 2002. The KreidlerMemorial Chapel opened across from Valley Memorial Gardens.

Through five generations, the Kreidler family has cared for the people of McAllen, treating them fairly and honestly with dignity and compassion.

Kreidler Funeral Home

Harry W. Kreidler

Kreidler Funeral Home at Broadway and Austin

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Mesquite and live oak trees shade La Piedad Cemetery, creating a quiet, gracefuloasis for remembrance and contemplation in the middle of McAllen. Tendedwith love by family members and a dedicated staff, La Piedad Cemetery

mirrors the history of McAllen’s Hispanic families and the blending of cultures.

The cemetery given the name La Piedad, the Spanish word for Mercy, started as a smallburying ground on the McAllen Ranch and predates the city of McAllen. The oldestmarked grave is that of Gertrudis Cavazos who was buried here in 1895 with her husbandBlas Maria Cavazos laid to rest beside her in 1901.

A La Piedad caretaker told the story that John McAllen gave the cemetery land to the Cityof McAllen before his own death in 1913. The Asociacion del Cementerio La Piedad wasfounded in 1913, incorporated in 1930, and received over 10 acres from Emmet andMargaret Arnold in 1965.

By 1991, La Piedad was sadly neglected. The association’s new president Edwardo AlanizSr. and board members Tiva Sanchez, Anival Ramirez, Estela Aguello, Jesus Martinez,Jose Cazares, Jose Ozuna, Concepcion Gonzales, and Jose Alonzo championed efforts to

preserve and revive the old graveyard. An eraof surveying, paving roads, and erectingfences followed with the help of the City ofMcAllen.

La Piedad Cemetery has long been honoredto be the last resting place of more than 250veterans, more than any Valley cemetery.Annual Memorial Day services led byVeterans of Foreign Wars and American

Legion posts commemorate the lives and patriotic service of World War I, World War II,Korean War and Vietnam veterans. Foreign army soldiers include Maximiliano Ramat, aveterinarian who served with General Pancho Villa, and Mexican cavalry Lt. ClementeOrozco Mata.

Today La Piedad Cemetery, under the care of the Asociacion del Cementerio, covers 13acres with approximately 7,000 grave sites. In 2008, La Piedad Cemetery was awarded aTexas Historical Marker in recognition of the part it represents of McAllen’s early history.

La Piedad Cemetery

This rebuilt gravestone of Gertrudis Cavazosrepresents the oldest gravesite in McAllen.

La Piedad Cemetery in 1950.

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Lacks was founded in 1935 when Sam Lack, a Russian immigrant, started his firststore in McAllen, Texas. Though he had seen many parts of the country, Lack chosesouth Texas for its beautiful countryside and tropical climate. His successful career

as a merchant began in a modest building at the corner of Main and Beaumont in downtown McAllen.

America's love affair with automobiles during the 1930s convinced Lack to create a specialty business selling auto parts. Under his watchful eye and with tireless support fromhis family, his business flourished. Only three years after opening, Lack built his secondstore in Edinburg, whichwas quickly followed bystores in Mission andWeslaco.

The war years of the 1940swere hard, and auto partswere rationed along withf o o d a n d g a s o l i n e .Determined to succeed,Lack began offering house-hold appliances - the firstnew product category since the stores began. As he added products and opened storesacross the Valley, Lack's business transformed from a small auto parts chain into a full-scalefurniture and appliances operation.

In 1949, Lack’s son-in-law Myles Aaronson began helping him run the family business.Aaronson later purchased the Weslaco store from Lack and began his own expansion program, called Lack's Associated Valley Stores, Inc., but continued to trade under the

Lack family name. Aaronson purchased the Edinburg andMission stores from Sam Lack andhis son Stanley in 1990, and thecompany changed its name toLacks Valley Stores, Ltd. in 1995.

Two years later, Lee Aaronson, sonof Sylvia and Myles Aaronson,

became the stores' chief executive officer. The stores remain a family-owned businessunder the guidance of the Aaronson family, including Lee Aaronson, Carolyn Aaronson,Vicki Hutson and Julie Keim.

Today, Lacks Valley Stores, Ltd. has twelve outlets in south Texas from Laredo to PortIsabel with the company's newest store in Alice opening in May 2011. Lacks Galleria inMcAllen is one of the largest furniture stores in Texas at 140,000 square feet.

Lacks is one of the top 100 retail furniture operations in the U.S. according to FurnitureRetailer, the furniture industry's leading periodical. It employs over 700 associates. Thecompany celebrates its 76th birthday in 2011.

Lacks

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MPC Studios didn’t start out specializing in website development when it openedin 1998 with only one client. MPC was providing McAllen-based WornickCompany with video production and graphic design services, but that focus

quickly changed when the fledgling company began creating websites. That move triggered requests for custom websites from other area companies and quickly placed MPCin the forefront of web design in the Rio Grande Valley where it has remained ever since.

In 2010, MPC Studios had more than160 clients in five states. A creative staffof 20+ works out of a 6,000 squarefoot multimedia production center inHarlingen and McAllen offices insidethe Art Village on Main. The companyhas evolved into providing three pri-mary services: Web Development;Corporate Branding and MarketingServices; and Custom ApplicationDevelopment. An impressive list ofclients for these services includesKnapp Medical Center, Texas NationalBank, Magic Valley Electric Coop,Kolder/Numo, the University of Texas at Austin-Chemistry Department as well as theMcAllen Chamber of Commerce and McAllen Convention and Visitors Bureau.

MPC’s turnkey web design servicesinclude all necessary components forestablishing a distinctive online pres-ence: original concept and design, photography, video, written content,custom programing, organized production, comprehensive hosting,search engine optimization and othertraffic-building strategies, along withongoing development and supportafter launch. The MPC team haslogged more than 300,000 hours

creating more than 500 websites, a number of which have garnered awards.

MPC Studios also helps clients strengthen their brand and overall image by using a combination of traditional market communications, online/interactive marketing andsocial media/networking.

The third area of expertise is custom application development. MPC produces client-specific solutions not available in existing off-the shelf software.

The award plaques dotting the MPC Studios walls suggest that objective has been achievedfor years.

MPC Studios

MPC Studios, Inc. maintains offices in McAllen (pictured) and in Harlingen.

The original staff members of MPC Studios (L-R) - Kate Hurry (Senior Art Director), Sean Clarke

(Senior Programmer), David Watkins (Founder, CEO),David McDonald (General Manager).

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Around the time that the City of McAllen was incorporated, the McAllen BusinessMen's Club was established as well. This predecessor of the McAllen Chamber ofCommerce installed a horse watering trough on Main Street as its first project,

setting a tradition of innovative projects that draw customers to city businesses. The clubhung up a banner emblazoned with “We Pull Together” and in 1914 provided freeSaturday night silent movies to bring area farmers and settlers to town.

The Chamber of Commerce housed McAllen's first library, a Study Club endeavor.In1934, Paul Vickers became the Chamber Secretary and managed the organization for25 years. He stimulatedeconomic growth and wascalled the father of wintertourism. He established theOld Timers Club in 1947to assemble the facts ofMcAllen's early days directlyfrom its pioneers. His s e c r e t a r y Ru t h C l a rkga ined fame for herscrapbook, a collection ofnewspaper clippings and typewritten original accounts of the history of McAllen and theRio Grande Valley. For McAllen's 50th anniversary, Vickers compiled the “City of Palms”booklet.

The McAllen Chamber of Commerce has long fostered economic and cultural development. An initiative in the 1960s to diversify the economy led by Chamber Boardmembers John Freeland, Morgan Talbot and Peter Payte resulted in the creation of theMcAllen Foreign-Trade Zone #12 in 1973. Hundreds of business people contributed

$1,000 each to make the FTZ a realityand boost international trade.

Today, with over 2,000 members, theChamber of Commerce is a vibrant organization that aggressively works to foster entrepreneurs and small businesses.McAllen, the retail center of South Texas,is one of the nation's fastest growingMetropolitan Statistical Areas. It ranks

among the least expensive places to live and the best places to launch a business. Retail andinternational trade, tourism and manufacturing are thriving.

The Chamber remains focused on creativity, innovation, small business development andentrepreneurship. Its Convention and Visitors Bureau successfully promotes McAllen as adestination for shoppers, birders and Winter Texans. It fosters the creative arts through theCreative Incubator, the Music After Hours Outdoor Concert Series, the McAllen PublicArt Committee and the McAllen Arts Council. The Chamber also conducts numerous business and community events throughout the year..

McAllen Chamber of Commerce

LEADING THE WAY

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In December 1904, when the railroad reached Hidalgo County brushland six milesnorth of the Rio Grande, the extended John McAllen family and other investors established a townsite.They never developed the property and in January1907,

dissolved the business.Three months later and a few miles east, William Briggs and JohnClosner started the McAllen Town Company with plans for a Magic Valley shipping center. Soon trains carried crops of citrus, onions, and melons to market while stores supplied farmers with seeds, lumber and furniture. In 1911, residents voted to incorporatethe city of McAllen and elected Frank Crow as mayor.

The Mexican revolu-tion sparked banditryin the Valley. In July,1916, McAllen – witha population under5,000 – welcomed12,000 national guardtroops. Officially thes o l d i e r s w e r e o n training exercises, but

the military presence deterred bandits. The troops overwhelmed McAllen's few stores andgave businessmen a taste of prosperity and a hunger for more when the troops left after sixmonths. City leaders built an elegant hotel to draw more visitors. McAllen land companiesbrought Midwest farmers in by train, tempting them with warm winters and long growingseasons. In ten years, the population doubled.

The Great Depression strangledtrade, forcing the city to pay itsemployees in chits redeemable at local stores. By the 1950s agriculture and the populationwere booming. Strong leaderskept taking giant steps forward,investing in the Civic Center and the international bridge to Reynosa. Tourism andinternational retail diversifiedthe City's economic base, aprocess continued with the pioneering inland Foreign Trade Zone and then the McAllenEconomic Development Corporation. Thousands of manufacturing and logistics jobs andnew residents came to the region along with renewed prosperity.

McAllen gained fame as La Plaza Mall became the most profitable shopping center in thenation. In 2010, McAllen ranked as the Metropolitan Statistical Area with the fastestgrowth rate as well as the lowest cost of living. McAllen's quality of life is enhanced by successful schools, a vibrant art community, natural assets including exotic birds, a landmark Convention Center and above all, a dynamic, diversified economy.

City of McAllen

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McAllen Country Club, the premier private club facility in the Rio Grande Valley,caters to members and their guests with a championship golf course, fine dining, swimming pool, seven lighted tennis courts and fitness facilities. The

exclusive, member-owned club emphasizes comfort and an uncompromising dedication toquality and service.

The McAllen Country Club of today is worlds away from the Tepeguaje Club, a nine-holegolf course which opened on south McAllen farmland around the late 1920s. In October1945, seven McAllen men purchased 83 acres that included the abandoned golf courseand a modest wood frame clubhouse for $41,000. In February 1946, the McAllen CountryClub was incorporated by Earl Baldridge, A. A. Bonneau, Gene Darby, Mitchell Darby,Robert T. Elmore, Max Lutx, V. F. Neuhaus, and Tom Stinson with 61 original stockholders.The original clubhouse was replaced in1956. During Hurricane Beulah in 1967, privateplanes from McAllen-Miller Airport seeking safety on high ground filled the club’s parkinglot. The next year, members bought the adjoining 40 acres which allowed the club toexpand to an 18-hole golf course.

Today the spacious Clubhouse builtin 1996 conta ins a GrandBallroom, which seats 300, six banquet rooms and five diningrooms which all boast a reputationfor exceptional cuisine.

Tree-lined fairways enhance the Jay Riviera-designed (front nine) golf course that challenges and appeals to golfers of all levels with manicured greens and lush fairways. APGA Golf Professional oversees private lessons and tournaments for adults and junior golfers.

The Olympic-sized pool with certified lifeguards and lanes for lap swimming offers fun forthe entire family with Dive-In Movie Nights, a shaded baby pool and a snack bar/teenroom adjacent to the pool. The Club organizes children’s summer adventure, fitness, tennis, golf and swimming camps.

As the region’s top-ranked tennis facility, McAllen Country Club includes seven lightedcourts built to USTA specification. It hosts the annual Men’s Futures Tennis Tournamentand the RGV Cancer Classic Golf Tournament. A state-of-the-art Fitness Center providesthe latest cardio and strength training equipment and on-site personal trainers.

With its ambiance and amenities, McAllen Country Club is the preferred venue for business and social events.

McAllen Country Club

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Competitive and compassionate, Mike Allen first arrived in McAllen as an Oblatepriest in the 1960s and served at Sacred Heart Church. As he focused on helpingpoor people without a voice, he realized that a job provides dignity and is the basis

for a decent life. Supporting business growth to lift up the community, he chaired a smalleconomic development corporation.

Mike Allen left McAllen and the priesthood in the 1970s but returned tothe city in 1987. Mayor Othal Brandhired him to lead the new McAllenEconomic Development Corp. Heaccepted the challenge to diversify theeconomy beyond agriculture, WinterTexans, and retail trade with Mexico , aswell as to improve relations with Mexicoand to put the Foreign Trade Zone inthe black. With his vice president KeithPatridge, Mike put together a radical

plan that enabled McAllen to chart a course of continuous growth that brought 16,000new jobs and 220 major companies to the McAllen MSA in less than 20 years.

Despite numerous obstacles, Mike and the MEDC worked to attract foreign investment toReynosa through the maquiladora program. As U.S. companies opened maquilas inReynosa, Mike Allen predicted that manufacturer supply and support businesses wouldopen on the Texas side and plantmanagement would move toMcAllen. The innovative plan paidoff, creating a critical mass ofmaquilas and regional economicinvestment which turned theMcAllen Hidalgo InternationalBridge into the largest inland port ofentry. From the early plants run byWhirlpool, West Bend Appliances,Eaton Corp, Black & Decker, Nokiaand Delco Electronics to 21st centuryinvestments by Panasonic and SteelCase Furniture, MEDC's efforts brought 290 companies and 70,000 jobs to Reynosa.

Today the MEDC can take credit for approximately $1billion in products that annuallypass through the Foreign Trade Zone.

Always an advocate of developing McAllen and surrounding communities, Mike Allen created the Texas Border Infrastructure Coalition and led countless organizations, evenafter his retirement from MEDC in 2006. A champion of education and how it improvedthe lives of individuals and the community, Mike Allen was a trustee of South TexasCollege until his death in 2010.

McAllen EDC

Mike Allen, Founder of McAllen Economic DevelopmentCorporation and Dr. Ramiro Casso, former South TexasCollege Vice President for Institutional Advancement.

MEDC presenting an appreciation to the consulate for hissupport during his term. Left to right: Keith Patridge, current

President and CEO of McAllen Economic DevelopmentCorporation; Mike Allen and David Stone, Former U.S.Consulate General in Matamoros; Janie Ramos, Vice

President for US Business Recruitment at MEDC; MEDCBoard Past-Chairman Rick Guerra and Mrs. David Stone.

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LEADING THE WAY

The McAllen family derived from a blend of settlers first arriving along the RioGrande sometime after 1748 during the Spanish colonization of Nuevo Santander.Salomé Ballí de la Garza, born in Matamoros in 1828, descended from a

long-established family of merchants. In 1853, she married John Young, a Scotsmanattracted to the area by trade during the Mexican War. They had one son, John J. Young.

Salomé married his associate, JohnMcAllen, a Scotch-Irish immigrant, twoyears after Young's death in 1859. Born in1826, McAllen sailed to America in 1845to escape Ireland's potato famine, andarrived in South Texas to travel toCalifornia's gold fields. However, caughtup in border violence during a Mexicantariff uprising, he was captured inMatamoros and held until his escape. InBrownsville, he found work with Youngand they partnered in various enterprises.John and Salomé had a son, James BallíMcAllen, in 1862.

James and his half-brother, John J. Young,assisted in the family mercantile trade,farming, ranching, and investments. Afterthe Civil War, John McAllen involved himself in politics at the county and state

level. Through the Ballí family, Salomé had acquired lands in Hidalgo County along theriver and the family's original land grant of Santa Anita, some forty miles north. She andJohn McAllen eventually moved to the Santa Anita where they expanded their cattle business, sending livestock with their sons on the trails to Kansas. As railroad expansionbecame more viable, businesses sought to extendthe St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railwaywest along the Rio Grande. In 1904, JohnMcAllen, James B. McAllen, and John J. Youngformed the McAllen Townsite Company in partnership with the railroad. McAllen Station,built in 1905, was primarily used to ship produce.

After the death of James B. McAllen in 1916, the management of the land fell to his widowMargaret and eventually to their sons, Eldred andArgyle McAllen. Argyle carried on the cattle operation through the struggles of the Great Depression. Today, the McAllen familycontinues to ranch, foster wildlife habitat, andparticipate in the community of the Lower RioGrande Valley.

McAllen Family

John McAllen, 1880

Salomé Ballí McAllen,1864

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The great success of McAllen'sCentennial festivities in 2004prompted event organizers to take

steps to establish a McAllen historicalmuseum and to develop a citywide folklifefestival showcasing the region’s culture.

The McAllen Heritage Center, Inc.(MHC) was formed in 2006 with a mission to provide the community a placeto enjoy and learn about McAllen's colorful past. After a diligent effort to findthe right location and secure funds to sup-port it, McAllen Heritage Center openedin the historic La Placita building in June2008. MHC continues to expand itsexhibits and assist in the preservation ofhistoric sites, documents, films records,works of art, and writings of historical,traditional or cultural value. Projects suchas the Traveling Trunks exhibit help localteachers explain McAllen's rich history. MHC has also developed satellite exhibits for theMcAllen Memorial Library and McAllen Miller International Airport. Story-telling sessions, an oral history video project, children's activities, hosting community meetingsand presentations of lectures and films are part of MHC's diverse programming.

The MHC has received tremendous support from the community. Initial benefactors include The City of McAllen,the Historical Foundation of HidalgoCounty, McAllen Oldtimers Club, IBCBank, Marilyn and Rick DeJulio, Robertand Dr. Nedra Kinerk, the Junior Leagueof McAllen, Frost Bank, Futuro McAllen,and numerous friends and supporters.The key to the success of McAllenHeritage Center has been the dedicationof the MHC founding Board of Directorsled by Board President Elva M. Cerda

and board members, Spurgeon “Spud” Brown, Dr. Nedra S. Kinerk, Gracie Silva, MarilynDeJulio, Danny Boultinghouse, and Carmen V. DeLeon.

The McAllen Heritage Center is dedicated to the memory of two founding board members who passed away before their dreams of a McAllen history museum were realized. The efforts of Helen Snider and Rick DeJulio – both dedicated historical advocates - are deeply appreciated and will long be remembered.

McAllen Heritage Center

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From the day our first schoolopened in 1908 throughtoday, McAllen ISD has had

a tradition of setting the bar. Awhite one-room schoolhouse stoodwith its shutters open, the sounds ofan iron bell beckoned from a whitesteeple, and a single woman–ateacher–welcomed twenty childrenof all ages. The young McAllencommunity’s first school soonbecame overcrowded, reaching 743students just two years later.

Classes were transferred into a nearby church to accommodate more children. In 1911, asecond school was established for the children of Mexican workers. In 1913, four teenagegirls became the first graduates of what was known as “Common School District NumberEleven.” In 1915, the 34th Texas Legislature passed an act establishing the McAllenIndependent School District.

Today, the district continues to set the standard, with a globally-recognized advanced academicsprogram that draws the attention of universities across the country. Students are accomplished,well rounded, and ready to take on the world. Here is excellence that produces results:

• Globally-recognized advanced academicsModel Program touts 99.5% success rate.

• Internationally/nationally recognized student scholars–International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, National Merit Semifinalists, Gates Millennium, and more–at high school and middle school levels

• State and national champions.• State and Regional Teachers of the Year–

17 in 19 years.• Landmark instructional programs where students earn Associates Degrees in Engineering

or Biology before their high school diplomas.• Academic standards that produce state titles.• Innovative fine arts program so cutting edge – with professionally certified music

instruction like strings and drum corps beginning at the elementary level – that universities like UT at Austin send interns here for training to earn a fine arts university teaching degree.

• Alumni include scholars and professionals in all walks of life, novelists, national sports figures, TV news anchors, acclaimed artists, actors and directors, civic leaders, a college dean, a federal judge and an astronaut!

McAllen ISD was named a 2010 College Ready Gold Performance AcknowledgementSchool District and one of the Top 25 Districts with Highest Number of Students applyingto Texas Colleges.

McAllen ISD

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Until 1918, McAllenresidents had to relyon salty well water

a n d c a n a l w a t e r . A s the population approached5,000, the City of McAllenbuilt its first water purifica-tion plant.The capacity atTreatment Plant No. 1 wasincreased several times as thecity grew. Severe drought inthe 1950s forced McAllenPublic Utility to drill deepwells to maintain a continuous water supply. Treatment Plant No. 2 opened in 1959 alongwith Boeye Reservoir as the population neared 30,000.

Fifty years later, with almost 100,000 more residents in the city, the McAllen Public Utilityservices over 42,000 water accounts and 37,000 sewer accounts. The Southwest andNorthwest water treatment plants have the capacity to process 58.5 million gallons fromthe Rio Grande each day. McAllen Public Utility is in a planned strategic growth mode,installing vital infrastructure to ensure that residents have an uninterrupted supply of potable water that meets the highest standards. A new 70-acre southeast reservoir isreplacing Boeye Reservoir, freeing 50 acres on the site near La Plaza Mall for commercialdevelopment. A new Groundwater Well is supplementing the Southwest Water Treatment

plant. Two new large elevated water towers willbe providing additional water pressure andstorage to meet growing demand.

The Wastewater System has 51 lift stations thathelp transport sewage to two wastewater treatment plants. A new lab building will allowmore analytical services and a more thoroughindustrial wastewater pretreatment program.The expansion of the North WastewaterTreatment Plant, upon completion in 2012,will nearly double treatment capacity and provide sufficient sanitary sewer services forthe next 20 years.

The five members of the McAllen Public Utility Board of Trustees maintain the MPU andadvise the General Manager, who oversees the utility which includes Water Systems,Wastewater Systems, Customer Relations, Utility Administration and Billing, and MeterReaders. The utility maintains water lines, fire hydrants, valves and water meters. McAllenPublic Utility, committed to customer service, efficient energy use, water conservation anda safe, reliable water supply, holds a Superior Rating from the Texas Commission onEnvironmental Quality.

McAllen Public Utility

Water Treatment Plant No. 1. Historic buildingis being restored in Fireman’s Park.

McAllen Public Utility’s Water Treatment Plant No. 2.

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Trained during World War II as an ArmyAir Corps flight instructor, J.F. “Mac”McCreery was assigned to Harlingen Air

Gunnery School as an aerial gunnery instructor.On weekends, the Iowa native taught civilians howto fly.

In 1946, Mac and his wife Ardath opened a flyingschool in Mercedes. Two years later, they movedMcCreery Aviation Company to the municipal airport in McAllen, at a time when crop-dusterswere the most common aircraft. As the general aviation industry grew, McCreery Aviation Co.expanded beyond flight training and began sellingand servicing private aircraft. Early on, Mr. Mac served as the Airport Manager for 20 years.Ardath, who shared the family love of flying, got her pilot’s license in 1952 while helping runand grow their aviation company and raising two children. Their son Bob, who grew up work-ing at the airport, got his pilot’s license at 17 and joined the family business full-time in 1979.

McCreery Aviation Co. listened to customers’ requests and continued to add new services forthe flying public. From aircraft maintenance, they expanded into aircraft rental, aircraft

storage, aircraft parts sales, air charter and ambulance, and avionics (repair of aircraft electronics), while continuing to fuel private andcommercial aircraft flying into McAllen MillerInternational Airport. As a full-service Fixed BaseOperator – the largest FBO in the region –McCreery Aviation Co. is often the first point ofcontact for aircraft arriving in the Rio GrandeValley from elsewhere in the U.S or from Mexico.Private pilots rely on McCreery Aviation Co. aircraft services while enjoying the modern transientterminal designed for their traveling needs.

Backed by dedicated employees committed to safe-ty and customer service, McCreery Aviation Co.will continue to fly at the top of its class.

McCreery Aviation Co.

J. F. “Mac” McCreery

Bob McCreery

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In 1968, the year Bert and Dorothy Ogdencelebrated their 20th wedding anniversary,they purchased the Ralph Balou GMC

Buick Pontiac dealership in Edinburg. Berthad been selling new cars for years and, as asideline, bought used cars up north, restoredthem to running condition and sold them inthe Valley. Bert, Dorothy and their daughtersJanet and Kathy had spent many Sundayafternoons driving the Valley looking at cars.Dorothy ran the office of Bert Ogden Motors.Bert, affectionately nicknamed parajito by hisemployees, was known to roll up his sleevesand lend a hand on car repairs or whateverneeded to be done. Bert, who had arrived inthe Valley as a teenager in 1942 and loved theHispanic culture, took the time to learnSpanish. His favorite phrase was ¡Dále gas!meaning Let's Go.

In 1978, Janet Ogden married Bob Vackar, an Edinburg native, Texas A&M graduate andU.S. Army officer veteran of Vietnam. After the birth of their daughter Kristin in 1982, Boband Janet returned to the Valley where Bob joined the Ogden team once Bert had agreed thatBob could expand the business by acquiring more stores.

Bert insisted that Janet star with him in the company's television commercial, believing sheadded humor and the family connection soimportant to the Valley market. Janet becamethe public face of Bert Ogden Motors. In 1988Bert and Bob purchased the Chevrolet store inMission followed by the BMW Nissan dealership in McAllen. Tragically Bert andDorothy died in an automobile accident in1992. Bob continued building the Ogden

legacy, steadily adding other stores to the Bert Ogden lineup. Under his guidance, the businessgrew to include 14 franchise lines (Chevrolet, GMC, Hyundai, Cadillac, Subaru, Infiniti,Mazda, KIA, Chrysler, Dodge, Buick, and BMW) in 11 stores with 600 employees in fourcities: McAllen, Edinburg, Mission, and Harlingen.

Bob and Janet Vackar continue to meet new challenges and new people with equal enthusi-asm. For more than 20 years, Bert Ogden employees have donated their time to the EasterSeals Foundation annual telethon. The dealership group participates in many scholarshipefforts and supports numerous other projects that benefit the community. Dále gas indeed.

The Ogden Family

Bert and Dorothy Ogden

Janet and Bob Vackar

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Growing up with his father, Enrique, a recognized historian and noted antiquity collector, Che Guerra naturally developed an interest in regional history, art andantiques early in his life. As a boy, Che began collecting historical artifacts. As a

young man, his pastime led him to buy whole groups of antiques in order to acquire a fewselect pieces for his own growing private collection. At the age of 29, he married his wife,Becky. Soon after that, theydecided to turn his hobbyinto a business. They wouldset up a professional galleryto display and sell fine artand qual i ty his tor ica l artifacts.

With Che's special interestin colonial history, theydecided to house thegallery in a space thatreflected the time periodwhen Spanish explorer Josede Escandon colonized theprovince of Nuevo Santander in 1748. Escandon established towns along the Rio Grandein North Mexico and South Texas. The Guerras set about building a replica of a SpanishMission that would have been the center of a community settlement in the 1700's. Usinglocal materials, caliche stone and mesquite, they set out to meticulously recreate a historicalstyled structure. This was a long, tedious process: for example, the stone carver spent three

years carving the caliche caprock into thedelicate moulding needed for ornamenta-tion. Authentic 150-year-old carriage doorsand colorful tiles were imported fromMexico to add to the structure's ambiance.Upon its completion in 1998 the gallerywas named Nuevo Santander Gallery inrecognition of the region's history.

Nuevo Santander Gallery exhibits Westernart, Latin American art and ContemporaryTraditional art. The Gallery specializes in

museum quality artifacts of South Texas and Mexico including textiles and western accoutrements. The work of nationally and internationally known artists creates excitement for gallery visitors.

Under the direction of Che and Becky Guerra, Nuevo Santander has provided strongleadership for the regional art community. In 2003, Becky developed the concept of ArtWalk, a first Friday celebration of the arts which has grown to attract thousands eachmonth. As the acknowledged anchor of McAllen's growing Arts' District, NuevoSantander has drawn more artists, studios and galleries to McAllen.

Nuevo Santander Gallery

Nuevo Santander’s Main Gallery.

In 2003, Becky Guerra developed the concept of Art Walk.

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In 1908, three brothers, Enrique, Modesto, and Jose Guerra, were eager to start a business in the brand-new town of McAllen. They traveled from Starr County northto San Antonio to sell a pack of mules. With the proceeds from the sale, they built their

first business, a mercantile store, on 17th Street in downtown McAllen. Enrique workedland-clearing contracts andwould sell the indigenousmesquite wood as fuel for areairrigation pumps. Modestowould sell flour, beans andcoffee to the Mexican laborersEnrique would hire. Thebrothers offered their father,Diodoro, a partnership thatresulted in the D. Guerra &Sons store and a new brick

building built in 1912. The Guerra family continued to work hard and soon made theirmark in the development of McAllen by establishing several businesses along 17th Street.

As time passed, the businesses changed; some buildings fell victim to age and begandeteriorating. One hundred years later, in 2008,Judge Arturo Guerra Jr. decided to renovate theoriginal historical building and invited hiscousin, Che Guerra, to help create a restaurantin the midst of the City's new “DowntownEntertainment District.” Che, a restaurateur atheart, had managed the restoration of La BordeHouse Hotel in Rio Grande City and had alsooperated Che's restaurant there. Che bought the property adjoining the 1912 buildingfrom his father, Enrique Jr., and built a patio that matched the historic construction styleof the original brick building.

Together, Arturo and Che, DiodoroGuerra's great-grandsons, opened “ThePatio on Guerra” in October of 2008,introducing fine dining set in a vintageatmosphere in historic downtownMcAllen. In 2010, the two cousins purchased land immediately adjacent toThe Patio from other Guerra family

members and completed an ambitious expansion project for the restaurant which openedin April 2011. Throughout this entire endeavor, both Arturo and Che painstakingly paidcareful attention to detail in order to reflect a period in history of charm and elegance.They have retained a section in the original building that proudly displays historic familyimages, paying tribute to their ancestors.

The Patio on Guerra

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Goals properly set are goals halfway reached. At the age of six, Raul Peña knew hisgoal: he dreamed of becoming a doctor and helping his community. The boy whoalso admired the Dallas Cowboys and their coach Tom Landry, a Mission native,

wanted to combine his love for medicine and America's team. Today Dr. Peña is theMedical Director of his award-winning private practice, The Pena Eye Institute, located inthe City of McAllen, a city in constant growth and a center of commerce serving SouthTexas and Northern Mexico. Dr. Peña is The Valley's Official IntraLasik Surgeon for theDallas Cowboys and specializes in premier blade-free Lasik and cataract surgery.

Raul Peña graduated fromMcAllen High School in1978 and started the longjourney through college,med ica l s choo l , andOphthalmology residency.After graduating from theUniversity of Monterrey,he married his high schoolsweetheart, Suzanne, hisbiggest supporter in thefulfillment of his dream.His studies moved them allover the country, alwaysknowing that one day he would return to his beloved Rio Grande Valley to give the gift ofsight. Dr. Peña conducted research at the Retina Institute of Maryland, trained at Scott &White Memorial Hospital, and served as the Chief Resident of Ophthalmology at theUniversity of Cincinnati. After completing residency and four kids later, the Peña familyheaded back to South Texas.

Through hard work, perseverance and the support of the wonderful people in his life, Dr. Peña has achieved his goals and is living his dream. His experience and dedication have

led the way in refractive andvision corrective surgery. Hehas performed thousands ofrefractive, cataract and anteriorsegment procedures for adiverse patient base.

Dr. Raul Peña is the mosttrusted eye surgeon in SouthTexas as far as the DallasCowboys and many others areconcerned. “It is amazing. Ican see better than 20/20now,” said Dixon Edwards.The three-time Super Bowl

Raul A. Peña, M.D.

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Dallas Cowboys linebacker came to Dr. Peña for the IntraLasik procedure. “I have to thankDr. Peña and his top- of-the-line technology for this miracle.” You don't have to be a starathlete to get first class treatment from Dr. Peña. Val ley res ident Linda Kostenkoturned to Peña Eye Institute for her successful cataract surgery and was thrilled with theresults. “After surgery with Dr. Peña, for the first time in my entire life, I can see better than20/20. The world is bright and full of color.”

Dr. Peña is a proud member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the AmericanSociety of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and a member of St. Paul's Church inMission, TX. His breakthrough ophthalmologic procedures have been featured onnumerous television shows and media outlets. He was voted one of America's TopOphthalmologists by the Consumers Research Council of America. He is a great supporterof higher education and continuously participates in community events. He serves as a

board member for the MissionChamber of Commerce. “I lovethis community. I love what I do.I will continue serving mypatients with the best customerservice possible and latest technology available today,” Dr.Peña said.

Dr. Peña, known as Raulitoamong friends, and his wifeSuzanne have four children.Suzie is a graduate of Southern

Methodist University with a degree in broadcast journalism; Stephen and Alexandra areattending the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas; and Samantha isa student at Sharyland I.S.D. They call the City of Mission their home. As a family theyenjoy spending time together outdoors, volunteering at ACTS Retreats, at golf, football,and soccer games and, of course, going to the Dallas Cowboys games!

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The Rio Grande Valley Builders Association, Inc. (RGVBA) , chartered in 1968 as theHidalgo County Builders Association, is a non-profit trade organization formed forcharitable and educational purposes. The RGVBA continues to operate for the

benefit of home builders and those engaged in allied industries in the Valley and is an affiliate member of the National Association of Home Builders, Washington D.C. and theTexas Association of Builders, Austin, Texas.

To better identify our base location, the name was changed to McAllen/Hidalgo CountyBuilders Association, Inc. in 1991. That was followed by the change to Rio Grande Valley

Builders Association, Inc. in 1998 which allowed buildingprofessionals from throughout the Valley to access the membership services provided by the RGVBA.

The RGVBA hosts many special events. The event ofgreatest benefit to the community at large is the annual“Parade of Homes” which introduces new home trends in various market prices and neighborhoods. The latest initiative is “Green Built-Rio Grande Valley,” a voluntaryprogram offered to building industry professionals committed to embracing environmentally friendly buildingpractices in the construction process.

Jim Moffitt of McAllen served as our first President in 1968.Among our past presidents are Jack Cawood, Arturo Guerra,Jerry Gray, Jim Southwell, Richard Moore, Harold (Hal) L.Lusby, Joe Averill Jr., Jerry Leadbetter, Alonzo Cantu, Paul E.

Johnson, Jim Pavlica, William Lavender, Bobby Guin, Gary Burch, David P. Garcia, G.A.Smith, Dale McNallen, Fred Munguia, Rey Benavidez and Rodrigo Elizondo Jr. ExecutiveOfficers include Rita Smith, followed by Karen Simpson. Marcy M. Alamia is the currentExecutive V.P.

Membership is open toany person or businessrelated to the buildingi n d u s t r y o f g o o d character and businessreputation that agreet o a b i d e t o t h eAssociation By-Laws,subscribe to associa-tion purposes, andapproved by the Board of Directors. Monthly membership meetings and special workshopsare held to allow members the opportunity to learn about industry changes, legislative issuesand networking opportunities.

The RGVBA has played an important part in McAllen's past and looks forward to a brightfuture in this vibrant community.

The RGV Builders Association, Inc.

RGVBA Directors left to right: Abraham Quiroga, Magic Valley Electric Co-op, Fred Munguia, Affordable Homes of South Texas Inc., Rudy Elizondo,

RGVBA President, Marcy Alamia, RGVBA Executive V.P., Sandra Brown,Sorrento Fine Homes, Elva Cerda, Frost Bank, Jerry Garcia, ProBuild,

Mike Duffey, Zarsky Lumber Co.

Mr. J.M. Moffitt (right) receivingRGVBA Charter, 1968.

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Sacred Heart Church is celebrating itsCentennial Jubilee in 2011. Its history isentwined with the City of McAllen. It

was a small village with few residents from1904 to 1908. The Oblates of MaryImmaculate would travel by horseback fromLa Lomita near Mission to offer Mass and thesacraments to Catholics, usually in someone'shome or in a school. The first Mass celebratedby the Oblates in McAllen was in 1908 at theFink Ranch 2 1⁄2 miles southeast of McAllen.

In 1911 funds were raised to construct a woodframe chapel located at the corner of Chicagoand 15th Street in downtown McAllen. By1917, Sacred Heart Church became a parishwhen the rectory was completed, and Fr.Francis Dupassieux, OMI, became the firstpastor. In its 100 year history as the principalchurch, Sacred Heart established 15 parishes and earned the name of “Mother Church.”The boundaries ran from the Rio Grande River to Brooks County and from Sharyland toAlamo.

Sacred Heart provided a Catholic school education to many children from 1913 to 1967. Itcontinues its education mission today through a religious education program for children andadults.

The Pancho Villa raids in 1916 brought as many as 12,000 soldiers from New York to the areawho attended church services. Residents of New York City supported the renovation of thefirst church and the construction of the new church in 1924 when an electrical short started a

fire and the church burned to the ground. Thechurch that stands today was dedicated in 1926.

Over the years the church has undergone majorrenovations. In 1997, the stained glass windowswere installed, making it one of the most beautiful as well as historic churches in the RioGrande Valley.

Today, more than 1,200 people experience thepresence of God through services conducted atthe church each week. During the Centennial,to further enhance its historical contribution tothe spiritual and civic founders of the city, thechurch is undertaking several projects to leaveits legacy to those who follow in the footsteps ofthe original settlers of McAllen.

Sacred Heart Church

Sacred Heart Church, 1920. Photo courtesy ofOblates of Mary Immaculate Archives

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In 1941, Wayne Allen Showers arrived in theRio Grande Valley with his parents ChesterWilliam Showers and Lena Tolbert Showers

and brother James Andrew. Wayne’s father, a citrusgrower and farmer, instilled in him a love of agri-culture. He earned a Texas A&M Universitydegree in Horticulture in 1953 and a Master’s inEntomology. After military service, he marriedReba McDermott, and they returned to the Valleyin 1958 where their daughters Gay and Brendawere born.

Wayne devoted himself to promoting Valley agriculture and the importance of an education. Aspresident of Griffin and Brand, he publicized the1015 onion and the growing, packing and shippingindustries. His knowledge, enthusiasm, and charismatook him to the leadership of national, state, and local produce and citrus associations. Headvocated for agriculture education and research and championed the School of RuralPublic Health and the Vegetable Fruit Improvement Center. The first President Bushnamed him to the Commission on Food and Food Distribution to Russia. He was namedDistinguished Texan in Agriculture in 2003.

Through scholarships, aid programs and reference letters,Wayne helped countless Valleystudents get into college. Hehad a talent for seeing thepotential in others and helpingthem achieve their dreams. A firm believer in possibilities,he took many students underhis wing. Devoted to youngpeople and always activelyinvolved with the community,

Wayne helped establish the McAllen Boys & Girls Club and served on the board of RioGrande Children’s Home for many years. His six years of service on the Texas A&MBoard of Regents allowed him to apply his commitment to education statewide.

Wayne’s numerous professional and civic contributions brought him honors. He was mostpleased to be named Texas A&M University’s Outstanding Alumnus by the Texas A&MAssociation of Former Students in 1994. He served on many boards including ValleyNational Bank and the Texas Rangers and was named the 1996 Border Texan and the1993 Citrus King. Wayne Showers, a devoted Christian, died in 2004 leaving a legacy ofdignity, grace and caring. A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1

Showers Family

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In just a few short years South Texas College has become a significant factor inMcAllen's current growth and future prosperity. Originally known as South TexasCommunity College, the institution opened its doors in fall 1993 with only one

location on Pecan Boulevard. The campus had originated as the McAllen branch of TexasState Technical College on a site donated by the City of McAllen in 1984. The collegegrew by leaps and bounds,demonstrating the region's needfor a comprehensive communitycollege. In September 2001,voters approved a $98.7 millionbond issue, which allowed anaggressive construction andexpansion program to begin.

In 2005, STCC became SouthTexas College - STC. TheMcAllen-based college was oneof three community colleges inTexas selected to pilot a four-year bachelor's program in applied technology. STC becameaccredited as a four-year baccalaureate degree-granting institution and currently offers twobachelor degrees in the field of applied technology.

South Texas College has grown to five campuses-the Pecan, Technology, and Nursing andAllied Health campuses in McAllen, the Mid-Valley Campus in Weslaco, and the Starr

County Campus in Rio GrandeCity. New teaching centersopened in spring 2010 at theJimmy Carter Center in La Joyaand Main Place in McAllen.

Today, STC enrolls 30,000 collegecredit students and offers morethan 100 degree and certificateprogram options including associate degrees in a varietyof art, science, technology,a l l ied health and advanced manufacturing fields of study.

The college's workforce and continuing education programs

provide employers with customized training, helping the city become a leader in economicdevelopment and rapid response manufacturing.

STC is ranked as one of the top colleges in the nation, having earned accolades fromWashington Monthly, the MetLife Foundation, San Antonio Express News, Community CollegeWeek, and Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education.

South Texas College

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Francisco Ochoa, Sr. opened the successful restaurant chain Pollo Loco in Sinaloa,Mexico, in 1975. With his brothers, he operated 80 restaurants in Mexico before bringing Pollo Loco to Los Angeles in 1980. In 1987 he launched the Taco Palenque

fast food chain with a Mexican menu in Laredo, and then in 2005 he and his family introduced Palenque Grill and savory charbroiled chicken to South Texas.

At age 14, Francisco(Pancho) Ochoa hadd r o p p e d o u t o fschool to help hisf a t h e r r u n h i s businesses in Sinaloa.He soon agreed withhis father that goinginto business is themost exciting life'swork a person canchoose. Pancho'sexperiences gave himthe insights and thepassion to eventually

develop three successful restaurant dining concepts. Yet throughout the tremendous expansion of Ochoa family businesses, family has always come first. The family recognizesthat harmony is a key ingredient both in the commercial kitchens and at home.

Early photos show a smiling Pancho presiding over gigantic charcoal grills cooking dozens ofchickens. Pancho, his wife Flérida, and their six children - Francisco Jr., Carlos, Omar, Lizeth,Flery and José - prize flavor and quality. They all enjoy cooking and tasting and trying outnew recipes, right down to the 16 grandchildren ready to learn the family business.

The extended Ochoa family still operates 45 PolloLoco locations from headquarters in Monterrey afterselling the U.S. locations to Denny's in 1983. TacoPalenque's freshly-made tortillas stuffed with fajitasand choice of salsas have helped the fast food chaingrow to 16 sites. Palenque Grill's perfectly charbroiled chicken and other succulent dishes combined with excellent service and upscaleambiance contribute to the restaurants' popularity.

Family stories about Pancho's father, Enrique Ochoa,and about Pancho himself told by his sons revealinspiring role models for succeeding generations.The themes are about seeking quality and value;about perseverance and taking care of family; andabout tasting food and enjoying work and your life tothe fullest.

Taco Palenque

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When Edinburg College was founded in 1927, it began as a small two-year community college with one building and 200 students. Over the past eightdecades, the college has undergone six name changes - all reflecting growth,

achievement and success. In 1989, after an historic merger with The University of TexasSystem, Pan AmericanCol l ege became T heUniver s i ty o f Texas - Pan American. Today, the University is a growingand thriving anchor to the Rio Grande Valley'seducational, economic, andcultural structure.

UT Pan American sits onapproximately 300 acres inthe heart of the city ofEdinburg. The studentbody may be large at almost 19,000 undergraduate and graduate students, but personalattention from faculty and staff gives students a small, warm campus feeling. TheUniversity's seven academic colleges - Arts and Humanities, Business Administration,Education, Science and Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Science, Social andBehavioral Sciences and Health Sciences and Human Services - boast 56 bachelor's, 57 master's, three doctoral and two cooperative doctoral programs.

Known for delivering the highest standardsof teaching and lear ning, UT PanAmerican, the state's tenth largest public university, has shaped the lives of more than70,000 graduates and continues to graduateover 3,000 students each year.

The University has many academic braggingpoints, including the only Physician AssistantStudies Program in Texas outside a medicalschool, a Ph.D. in Business Administrationwith an emphasis in International Businessthat is one of only six such programs in the

United States, and an MBA program the Princeton Review rates in their “Best 301Business Schools” in the country. In the arts, the UTPA Mariachis have been recognizedon some of the biggest stages in the United States, including performing with the HoustonOpera and at the White House for President Barack Obama.

Over the years, UT Pan American has earned recognition by some of the country's majorpublications, including Forbes Magazine, which has included the University among thetop 100 public colleges and universities in the United States and in 2009 and 2010, it wasamong the top five best public universities in Texas.

UT Pan American

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Jimmy Van Burkleo, born in1 9 2 4 , g r e w u p i n aMercedes family of tenantfarmers. After helping build

runways in San Antonio duringWorld War II, he worked at aRaymondville Dodge dealer inthe parts department . Heworked his way up to servicemanager and sales manager atvarious mid-Valley dealerships.In 1960 Jimmy was appointedgeneral manager of GlascoMotors, a Nash Rambler storelocated across from Archer Park.He added Lincoln Mercury tothe lineup. After Mr. Glascodied, Jimmy convinced a bankto loan him money to purchasethe dealership in 1963. Underhis leadership, the business grew,and in 1971 he changed thename to Van Burkleo Motorsand moved to a larger facility atTenth and Fern.

Jimmy married Dorinda Ward, a McAllen High School Home Economics teacher anddepartment head, in 1952. Their children – Bill, Terry, DeeAnn, and Pat – grew up working at the family business: washing cars, driving customers home, chasing after parts,and helping in the office. Jimmy believed that his kids needed to be working and learninggood habits and work skills.

The automobile dealer community was small back then. Jimmy was widely known for hishonesty and for running a service-oriented store. Well-respected in the auto community,both locally and statewide, Jimmy served on industry boards including on the nationallevel. He was presented with Dealers Awards by both Ford and Chrysler (Jeep). Fordbestowed its highest dealership honor, the Chairman's Award, on Jimmy Van Burkleo in1994 and 1995. He was named the Time Magazine Person of the Year for the State ofTexas in 1996.

Bill, who began working with his father in 1974, bought Van Burkleo Motors from Jimmyin 2000. At Bill's death, the dealership remained in the hands of Bill's wife Christine.

Terry married Patti Pitchford, and they bought the iconic El Pato Mexican Food restaurantsin 1997. After law school, DeeAnn married Marshall Payne from Dallas, and they still residethere. Pat married Andrea Miller of Baton Rouge and is the longtime Executive Director ofthe Baton Rogue Boys and Girls Club. Dorinda Ward lives in McAllen.

Van Burkleo Family

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LEADING THE WAY

In 1980, seeing an opportunity to expand in an underserved area, John and AudreyMartin opened the A. G. Edwards office in McAllen. Among the first CertifiedFinancial Planners in McAllen, the Martins saw the A. G. Edwards office grow

rapidly thanks to the brokerage's philosophy of putting customers first and providing solidfinancial advice. Despite high demand for their services, the brokerage never turned anyrelationship away, no matter how small the transaction, according to Audrey Martin, thefirst female manager for A.G. Edwards in Texas.

Greg Douglas became manager in 1992 and maintained the brokerage's commitment toclients' success. He retired in 2007, the year the brokerage became part of Wells FargoAdvisors, and passed the reins to Jerome Raders. He saw the office through one of thetoughest markets in history and continues as manager today. “The office has come a longway with the help of great clients, a great staff, the fact that we work for our clients andthat their needs come first,” Jerome Raders said.

Wells Fargo Advisors is a subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Company, one of the nation's largest,strongest and most respected financial institutions. Wells Fargo & Company has been in business since 1852 and is known for its responsible stewardship of its clients' assets. Its brokerage business is represented by nearly 21,800 financial advisors nationwide, and it holds$900 billion in client assets as the second largest full-service brokerage. Wells Fargo Advisorswas born out of the Wells Fargo & Company's 2009 acquisition of Wachovia Corporationwhich also included Wachovia Securities' 2007 acquisition of A. G. Edwards.

Unlike other brokerage houses which are entrenched in Wall Street, Wells Fargo Advisors'headquarters are located in St. Louis, Missouri. This location helps Wells Fargo Advisorsmaintain a national footprint and sustain the regional culture, where a person's word andhandshake still matter. As one of the nation's premier financial services firms, Wells FargoAdvisors enables clients to experience the finest investment planning due to the company'scommitment to remain on the forefront of service, technology and education.

Wells Fargo Advisors

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Wilkinson Ray Iron & Metal Inc.continues a family tradition oftenknown as the original recyclers

of South Texas. The third and fourth generations now carry on W. C. Wilkinson'sbusiness principles. Wilkinson Ray Iron &Metal Inc.'s main office is located inMcAllen, Texas, with branches throughoutthe upper Rio Grande Valley. In addition,convenient locations are offered in the areasof McAllen, Mission, Pharr and Donna.

Wilkinson Ray Iron & Metal Inc.'s missionis to provide current and future customerswith numerous years of experience and professional customer service. Since theearly 40's, the Wilkinson family business hascontinued to buy and sell ferrous and non ferrous scrap metals. Wilkinson Ray Iron &Metal assists customers to dispose of unwanted metals including radiators, batteries, automobile bodies, iron, scrap metal, loose tin, lamina, brass, copper, aluminum and aluminum cans.

In 1987, Ray, his wife Rosie and sons Bradley and Stuart moved to McAllen to open theMcAllen site and then fostered McAllen's recycling efforts. Wilkinson Ray Iron & MetalInc. is dedicated to offering reasonable prices and certified weights to assure customers ofgood quality service with integrity. Quality retailing, scrap processing, recycling

industrial scrap metals, and quality collectionservices are offered at Wilkinson Ray Iron &Metal Inc.

After their arrival in McAllen, Ray and Rosiebecame actively involved in the McAllenChamber of Commerce in various committeesincluding the Greeters, Ambassadors,Candlelight Posada and International Relations.The Wilkinsons' community involvement hasincluded the Valley Environmental Awareness

Campaign, Keep McAllen Beautiful, City of McAllen Community Development BlockGrant Council, United Way, Easter Seals and Texas Parent Teacher Association, just toname a few. Currently, Ray is a board member of International Bank of Commerce andRosie is actively serving Bible Study Fellowship International and a sustainer with JuniorLeague of McAllen. Both are members of Calvary Baptist Church.

Wilkinson Ray Iron & Metal Inc.'s processing scrap metals and recycling efforts ensures a healthy and economical environment for the future. This family-owned business encourages everyone to keep their community clean and reduce the burden on landfills byrecycling today.

Wilkinson Ray Iron & Metal

151

LEADING THE WAY

Bill Wilson, raised in Oklahoma during the Depression, reportedly walked five miles,uphill both ways, to school in the snow. After graduating from the University ofOklahoma and serving in the Navy during World War II and Korea, he came to

McAllen. An exploration geologist by trade, he co-developed the five-star Fairway Motor Hotel.

Bill Wilson gained a reputation for fairness andabsolute integrity. Deeply involved in his communityand church, he led the Citizens League, Rio GrandeSamaritan Council, and Rotary, and became theModerator of the Presbyterian General Assembly.He gave care to caregivers, touching many lives.

Bill said part of God's plan was “to send me goodpeople to be in business with so I would have time todevote to other activities.” His unselfish, Christ-centered goodness was admired by everyone hetouched.

Bill Wilson's spirit of service to the community wascontinued by his son-in-law. Neal P. King graduatedfrom Mission High School in 1968, and then fromTrinity University as a history major. He marriedWileen Wilson, Bill's daughter, in 1972. Two years later Nealjoined Whitsitt

Ralston and Stiff Insurance Agency and became aprincipal in 1975. When the group was purchased in1985, Neal was named managing vice president forthe Valley. In 1995, he helped form Shepard WaltonKing Insurance Group, becoming the heart and soulof the McAllen office.

Neal's commitment to the community began in 1972with McAllen Jaycees and continued throughout hislife. He co-founded Crime Stoppers, chaired theMcAllen Airport Board, led the Valley Land Fundand the drive to purchase Quinta Mazatlan. Workingto make McAllen a better place, he was active in theMcAllen Chamber, Texas Jaycees and a foundingmember of McAllen North Rotary.

With a heart as big as Texas and memory to match, Neal believed that “any story worth the telling is worth improving.” He, Wileen and their sons David and Bill sharednumerous travel adventures. Neal shared his love of the Starr County ranch with familyand countless friends, teaching them an appreciation for the beauty of the land. Haylee,his beloved granddaughter, was his special helper filling bird feeders.

Bill Wilson & Neal P. King

Neal P. King

Bill Wilson

152

Abel, Rudolf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96All America City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102Allen, Mike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30, 35, 105Allhands, James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 12, 79 Archer, O.P. .12, 13, 18, 19, 23, 32, 33, 39, 41, 56, 80, 82, 84, 86Archer Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19, 33, 60, 89Ballí (Young McAllen), Salome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77Bartliff, E.U. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33, 39, 82 Bentsen, Lloyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41, 57, 98Bercerra, Professor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58, 59 Beulah, Hurricane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43, 97, 98Brand, Othal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35, 99Briggs, William . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-10, 12, 33, 45, 46, 78-81Business Men's Club . . . . . . . . . . . . .13, 16, 33, 39, 40, 56, 82Cantina la Esmeralda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 19, 38Carroll College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55, 86Casa de Palmas . . . . .19, 33, 41, 47, 48, 56, 63, 67, 84, 95, 99Cascade Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66, 67, 87, 95, 96, 101Casso, Ramiro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35, 104Cavazos, Gertrudis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77Cine El Rey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45, 69, 94Civic Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25, 26, 34, 49, 50, 60, 97, 105Closner, John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8-11, 38, 45, 46, 78, 79Convention Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45, 51, 60, 75, 104Cook, Vannie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88, 100Crow, Frank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13, 81De la Garza, Kika . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98, 99Doss, Dr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85, 86East McAllen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8, 12, 13, 19Eisenhower, Dwight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95Faculty Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54, 55, 84First Presbyterian Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11, 19, 33, 55Free (Foreign) Trade Zone . . . . . . . . . .28-30, 44, 99, 101, 103 Freeze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101Frontier Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26, 43, 48, 94, 95Gonzalez, Leonelo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34, 92Good Government League . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88Grande Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26, 90, 126Griffin & Brand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35, 98Griggs, Phyllis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101Guerra Family . . .10, 13, 15, 19, 22, 33, 38, 62, 80, 82, 84, 88 Hendricks, Lucile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26, 31, 34, 60IMAS (MIM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61, 62, 75, 90, 97, 98International bridges . . . .24-26,43, 49, 50, 87, 91, 97-99, 101Kreidler Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39. 79, 88La Plaza Mall . . . . . . . . . . .28, 31, 44, 50, 51, 73, 99, 101, 103 La Piedad Cemetery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77, 96, 102Love, F.B. store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79McAllen Chamber of Commerce 29, 40, 41, 48, 56, 62, 104, 105McAllen depots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11, 20, 38, 78, 79, 84McAllen Economic Development Corp. 29-31, 35, 44, 101, 104

McAllen Heritage Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74, 105McAllen high schools .53, 54, 64, 66, 70, 71,82, 84, 88, 101, 102McAllen Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12, 16, 19, 38, 41, 46, 47, 80McAllen, James B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 11, 77-79McAllen, John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 11, 77-79McAllen Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62, 90, 95, 98McAllen Town Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9, 13, 38, 46, 78-80McAllen Townsite Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 11, 78, 79McChesney Bros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11, 12, 19, 38, 80, 81McColl, A. J. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41, 47,67, 85Methodist church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11, 19, 55Miller, Sam/Airport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89, 96, 97Missouri Pacific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19, 40Molina, Moises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18, 39, 84Moody's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42, 68, 92Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13, 39, 80Montalvo, Leo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103Moore Air Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68, 93Municipal Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56, 57, 87, 88Music Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60National Guard troops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-18 40, 83, 84Nelson, M. R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42, 43Neuhaus, Doc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25, 41, 97Nuevo Santander Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59, 62Old Timers Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74, 94, 99, 100Osborn, Frank . . . . . . . . . . . . .9, 12, 13, 16, 19, 39, 80, 81, 88 Palace Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87, 89 Paris, Andy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36, 42, 94Porciones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77-79Quinta Mazatlan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51, 75, 90, 103Rocket mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91Rogers, Ginger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69, 92Roney, Glen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101Rotary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56, 90, 91Rowe, Nikki . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101Sacred Heart Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19, 23, 55Sanborn, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26, 43, 48, 69, 95Schrock, John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103Schupp, Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27, 35, 50, 99Southern Pacific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48, 87, 90, 95 South Texas (Community) College . . . . . . .31, 35, 55, 75, 103 St. Louis, Brownsville & Matamoros RR . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 78Temple Emanuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94Texas Veterans Memorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105Tourist Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27, 96Trans-Texas Airways . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42, 95Valley (McAllen) Botanical Garden . . . . . . . . . . .97, 100, 105Vanderbilt, Cornelius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18, 52, 84Vickers, Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90, 94, 97Whalen, Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91,93, 99Young, John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 11, 77-79

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