NELSON'S NOTES #77, Fun N Sun, San Benito, Texas, Nov. 21, 2008

SIGNS OF FALL IN THE VALLEY

21st Annual Sand Castle Days on South Padre Island

In mid-October, sand sculptors from around the country, and even from the far-away city-state of Singapore, spent three days creating sand masterpieces at Isla Blanca Park. Spectators milled around as the paid sculptors shoveled, molded, scraped, and brushed grains of sand into huge scenes. Festival visitors voted for their favorites. The winner was "Hide and Seek by the Reef" created by Meredith Corson of Treasure Island, Florida.

If I had known visitors could get ballots, I might have voted for this sculpture of rock stars. There were so many good exhibits that there should have been awards for second and third places, too. (Click here to see more sculptures on Bruce's video.)

Hurricane Shutters Come Down

While folks up north were raking fall leaves, down here we were taking down hurricane shutters. Hurricane season is officially over on December 1, but Bruce took down the last of our shutters in late October.

The Park's Winter Season Begins

This season interesting new tours are being offered, thanks to Anne Gilmer, Fun N Sun's new Events Coordinator. Last year Anne was a volunteer with her husband Jay at another Valley park and is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the Valley. For over ten years, she has designed and made jewelry, and she and Jay sell the jewelry through their business, The Gems. Anne is a Fun N Sun seasonal employee, and Jay is a Workamper in the Activity Office.

Only ten days after starting her new job, Anne had researched and organized several new tours. Here she is helping a new resident sign up for one of them. "Anne and Jay hit the ground running from the time they got here," says Bonnie Edenfield, Fun N Sun Activity Director.

THE PUMP HOUSE

One of the tours Anne organized is The Pump House tour in Hidalgo. This tiny city of 7,322 is an hour's drive west of San Benito and a mile from the Rio Grande River, the U.S.-Mexico border.

Hidalgo has so much! Inside the old Pump House is a large museum where Viola, our knowledgeable and lively guide, explained the workings of the old pumps, valves, and pipes. The grounds of the museum are an official World Birding Center site and include a 4-mile biking trail and a 2-mile walking trail. The city took advantage of its location along a butterfly and bird migration route and put in abundant and colorful native plants that provide nectar and seeds.

We marveled at the wide variety of attractions in this little border town, which could be depressed but isn't. Viola told us that enthusiastic volunteer groups want Hidalgo to be outstanding and work with city employees and officials to make that happen. The city can be proud of its many attractive tan-brick buildings, surrounded by trees, that are on the National Register of Historic Places. Strings of little light bulbs are wrapped around the trees, a sign of the preparations underway for Hidalgo's annual Festival of Lights, which we will go to next month.

Hidalgo schools also shine. In 2006, the Hidalgo Independent School District won the H-E-B Excellence in Education Award, making it the best school district in Texas. Three years ago the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation chose Hidalgo High School to be an Early-College High School. After talking to students at the school last month, the Gates want it to be a model for other Early College High Schools. (The school also offers a regular high school program.) In 2007, the Gold Medal Award granted by U.S. News & World Report placed the Hidalgo Early College High School eleventh in the over 18,000 public schools nationwide. It was chosen based on students' performances on state tests, standing of economically disadvantaged students, and the college-level courses. Viola's eyes glowed with pride when she told us her grandson is a student at the school.

The butterfly experts in our family--our daughter Kristi and grandson Matthew--say they're almost positive the butterfly in the middle of the picture is a Red Admiral. Although we came to Hidalgo two weeks past the peak migrating season, many butterflies were still filling up on nectar before completing their long flight south.

A butterfly lands on our guide's hat.

Unfortunately, a section of the Border Wall is being erected near the trail and, at least during the construction phase, it mars the view. Many people in the Valley resent the wall's intrusion on their lives (for example, in some places it splits up farms), and they feel it's too expensive and won't correct the problem of illegal border crossings.

Maybe Hidalgo will make the best of the wall, just as it did when unwanted Africanized honeybees accidentally arrived in 1990. After the city recovered from the shock, The World's Largest Killer Bee was created for a parade float. Ever since, the bee has been prominently displayed at City Hall Plaza for all to see, and one of the school sports teams is called the Killer Bees.

The pump house and irrigation system that were established in 1909 transformed a desert into a productive, fertile valley.

An extensive model railroad, one of the displays planned for the city's 100th anniversary next year, is being erected by the Rio Grande Rails Club in the Pump House Museum basement.

This example of an early 20th-century gas pump had a glass case so people could see how much gasoline they were getting.

NEW MUSIC ROOM

Valley residents, cities, and businesses are still repairing and rebuilding structures damaged by hurricane Dolly last July. When the park's old music room lost its roof to Dolly's winds, the equipment inside was rain-soaked. Now we have a new music room that will be finished soon, and a nice piano donated by the Buck-Ashcraft Funeral Home.

HELPING THE ECONOMY

While we can, Bruce and I are trying to help the ailing economy by buying things we've been talking about for a while: two recliner chairs to watch movies comfortably on our new 42-inch, Sony Bravia HD TV; a new Blue Ray video player; and a TV stand. To make the stand, Bruce bought two cabinets (they also have much-needed drawer space) and customized them by adding a top that extends over both cabinets and building shelves in the middle for DVD storage. He left an opening at the bottom of the shelves so the heating and cooling register behind them would not be blocked.

Bruce also attached a cable that allows him to play videos on TV that reside on his computer.

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Marianna Nelson