Texas Travel Log, December 1977 Page: ATTACHMENT
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DECEMBER 1977
TEXAS THE DHT COMMISSIONERS HEARD from a Lower Rio
Grande Valley delegation Nov. 17.....asking that a tourist information
bureau be placed in that area..... in a later session, the commissioners
X _ considered the matter.....and Nov. 30, Engineer-Director Luther
DeBerry directed the staff to begin preliminary engineering and
studies.....to be presented to the commissioners at their December
meeting.....at that time, authority COULD be granted for initial plan-
ning.....preliminary plans then could be returned to the commission
for consideration of construction funding.
"WE'RE MOVING INTO THE NEW tourist information center
now and expect to be fully operational no later than mid-Decem-
ber, "said Bro wnsville CofC Executive VP Steve Bosio.....final pav-
ing of the parking area is underway and the sidewalks to the facility
still are to be completed. Bosio anticipates that appeals and hear-
ings of the court suit concerning the facility's location may drag out
over a year.....he also said the furnishings are in the new build-
ing.....including the special effects such as the giant map display and
the instant communications system with area hotels and motels.
PORT ARANSAS IS GETTING READY for an "invasion" of Canadians.....according to an active CofC member, J.C.
Barr....."Our fall season is up considerably from last year and starting in January the Canadians on bus tours will start arriv-
ing."Barr, who owns two condominiums with 250 living units, estimates the 1977-78 winter business will be 30% better than a year
earlier..... "The group that brought us six two-week tour groups last year have scheduled seven two-week groups and nine
28-day tours. Since one group leaves just as a new group arrives, there will be nearly triple the number of people here at all
times."
PORT ARANSAS VISITORS WILL FIND ENLARGED FERRY OPERATIONS IN USE.....in mid-November, DHT officials
and local civic leaders welcomed the Texas First Lady as the sparkling new Janey Briscoe ferry was dedicated and entered ser-
vice immediately.....and two new ferry slips have also been constructed this year.....there are now six ferries serving the greatly in-
creased traffic that is ferried across the Corpus Christi Ship Channelbetween Aransas Pass and Port Aransas.....DHT personnel
estimate that more than 1.4 million vehicles will cross on the ferries in 1977 - carrying about five million people.....and that number
is expected to increase substantially in 1978 with the addition of the new ferry.
UP SIX FLAGS WAY, BRUCE NEAL reports that park attendance in 1977 exceeded 2.5 million - "An all-time record".....and
Neal predicts that 1978 attendance will surpass the new record. "Shock Wave, "the spectacular double-loop roller coaster should
be in operation by opening date, "The good Lord willing and if the creek don't rise. "Neal means it about the creek rising since
the ride is being built over Johnson Creek which has wandered through the Arlington area since the days of early In-
dians".....readiness of the ride to meet the Mar. 11 opening date depends on the testing schedule as well as the weather. Neal says
the foundation work has been done and erection of the steel will begin Dec. 15.....and adds that now that the park has closed for
1977, his busy season starts.....a major slice of his time is spent at press conferences on the new ride - where the eight-foot model
"attracts everybody's attention."
TEXAS HOUSE SPEAKER BILL CLAYTON has been named to the national Advisory Committee on Travel and Tourism
(ACTT).....which consists of three governors and six other officials.....ACTT, which is funded by a $146,000 contract to the Council of
State Governments by USTS, held its organizational meeting in late November.....Clayton's office says 10 hearings around the
country are scheduled at sites to be determined later.
"THE LONE STAR" OUTDOOR DRAMA IN GALVESTON will open Apr. 15,1978.....for an expanded season brought,on by
its success this year.....the 1977 schedule opened June 30 and almost 30,000 attended the 59 performances - one performance
was cancelled due to rising tides from Hurricane Anita. Sue Collier said the 1978 schedule will call for performances on Wednes-
day through Saturday until May 15 when the nightly except Monday performances start.....it reverts to the Wednesday-through-Satur-
day schedule again in September.....news director Collier says general admission in 1978 will be $3 ($2 for those 12 and
under).....reserved tickets will be $4 and $5 and group rates will be made available for parties of 20 or larger.....get more information
from Sue at Lone Star Drama, P.O. Box 5253, Galveston 77551.THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY is looking for about 22% more visitors than last year.....Richard Pinkerton, McAllen
CofC executive VP, says many long-staying visitors were turned away last year for lack of trailer or apartment living spaces.....but
1977 figures reflect a 17.2% increase in the number of trailer spaces and a more than 31 % increase in commercial apartment units
over last year.....Pinkerton said that the CofC is publicizing by newspaper and radio the tourism packets available and that tourists
were stopping by for them in record numbers - and registering, which will be used in the new CofC survey.....the CofC, head said
they had hoped that 2,000 families might stop in..... "but we have registered over 1,500 now and we're barely into December. "
AN ITEM ABOUT A TEXAS STEER has found its way into a book by Patricia Edwards Clyne - "Ghostly Animals of
America"includes the story about the "Murder Maverick of 1891".....the story relates the killings which followed an argument over
the ownership of the calf and the later sightings of the grown steer after saloon fights in towns near the mountains of Big
Bend.....DHT's Richard Pierce is credited for his assistance.....the hard-bound volume, $5.95, is published by Dodd, Mead &
Company.TRAVEL AND INFORMATION DIVISION AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701
STATE DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
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Texas. Travel and Information Division. Texas Travel Log, December 1977, periodical, December 1977; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1543063/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.