The Enterprise (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 47, Ed. 1 Friday, November 19, 1948 Page: 1 of 14
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Mercedes Area Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.
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CARAVAN TO OPEN RIO RICO BRIDGE
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- SERVING MERGEDES, EDCOUCH-ELSA, LA VILLA, MONTE ALTO
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VOL. XXXV, NO. 47
MERCEDES, TEX., NOV. 19, 1948 $2.00 PER YEAR — 5c COPY
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DEUSETTES
By Woody Hargraves
•00L00A ADD
We were quite happy to have in
the mail a short letter from friend
Tom Phillips, Santa Rosa, the grand
old-timer newspaperman of the Val-
ley . . . Tom is spending most of his
time in the "old rocking chair , but
his letter sounded cheerful as al-
ways.
* * *
The Federated Clubs Country
Store was a howling success and a
very sizable sum was realized from
the gay two day affair . . . we hated
to miss it but it fell on nights we
had to work, as does the Legion
Atomic Minstrels, playing tonight as
we write this and due for another
showing tomorrow . , . we hope the
Legion show proves profitable, too,
and it always amazes us the way the
people of this city get things DONE
. which brings to mind that Gil-
son Knapp, local car dealer and
president of the Kiwanis Club, is re-
cuperating nicely at his home after
a. recent serious illness .. . . we feel
that part of the responsibility for
his sickness may be due to the driv-
ing work he did as Kiwanis Club
president in completing the Child
Welfare Clinic . . . civic work can
be hard and a thankless task, but
Mercedes people will always do
their part, and sometimes more.
* * *
Shelley Collier, "banker-hunter,"
has returned from Van Horn, Texas,
where he and friends got their deer
. . Shelley says the deer there are
smaller than in past years due to
Kick-Off Breakfast Launches
Chamber of Commerce Drive
New International Bridge Opens Formally Nov. 24;
'More Than 200 Citizens of Mercedes, Edcouch, Elsa,
| | La Feria To Participate in Good Will Caravan
The annual finance and membership drive of the Mercedes Chamber
of Commerce was launched Tuesday morning at a breakfast meeting at
the Aztec Cafe with twenty members of the Finance Committee in attend-
ance. .
The finance campaign is bing conducted under the personal direction
of W. V. Sproles, chairman of the Finance Committee, who spent a con-
siderable amount of time working out the plans for one of the most
energetic Chamber of Commerce membership campaign ever conducted in
Mercedes.
Attention
Sporting Fans!
The Mercedes-La Feria football
game will be played in La Feria
at 2:45 on Friday afternoon of
this week instead of on Friday
evening as originally scheduled.
The change was imade at the re-
quest of the La Feria Schools,
the boys on both teams, and many
fans in both towns as these
people wished to see either the
McAllen-San Benito game or the
Mission - Weslaco game Friday
night. It was not possible to
play on Thursday evening as the
local Legion Minstrel Show was
already scheduled for this date.
Local Band To Play
In Mid-Valley Fair
Opening Parade
The Mercedes High School Band
will participate in the opening
parade for the Harlingen Mid-Win-
the summer drought .. . and we saw ___*
Bill Wittmann, local locker special-■ter Valley Fair on next Monday
. , • + 1 20 his afternoon, November 22. Following
ist, dressing out several deer at nis ’ 4
Frigid Food Bank . . . guess he got the parade members of the band
will be admitted to the Fair grounds
the fever looking at all that venison
cause he claims he expects to leave
soon for a week's deer hunt.
Mercedes played an important
part in President Truman’s success-
ful campaign trip . . . seems that
Ben Tucker got a gift briefcase
from Mexico City, that was given
him by Manuel Espinosa, city carrier
. . . Ben was so proud of it he car-
ried it to Ft. Worth on a recent trip
and his friend Eugene Pinson, for-
mer? Valley postoffice official, and
now a Postoffice inspector, borrowed
it to pick up the mail for President
Truman on his various stops during
the campaign trip ... . thus, in an
without charge and will have the
opportunity to see many of the fea-
tures of this year’s attraction. The
band will probably go in a chartered
bus supplemented by a few private
cars.
L. IL Graham Leaves
For Dallas To Attend
TSTA Convention
Superintendent L. R. Graham and
family will leave for Dallas' next
week where Mr. Graham will attend
the annual convention of the Texas
'State Teachers Association. Mrs.
involved way, Mercedes “carried |
the mail” for Pres. Truman . -
Grocery business picked up this
week, when Johnny Snow, Piggly
Wiggly owner, announced the arri-
val of a new son at his home and L.
W. Gross, announced an 8 lb., 8 oz.
boy at his .home . .. Mr. Gross is
ass’t. manager of H. E. Butt grocery.
Doggondest fish story lately • - •
Clyde Hollon and his party, includ-
ing Dick McAfee and Barrister
Lauderdale caught 134 speckled
trout one day last week . .. Lauder-
dale claims he caught the first, the
last, the biggest and the most fish
of the whole bunch . . . when a guy
is that lucky he should go ahead
and clean the fish, too . . .
* **
In the last few months we have
had to sit in two different group
meetings and hear two uninformed
persons voice their doubts as to
whether a “certain project” or a
"planned program” could be pos-
sible because Mercedes didn’t have
a DAILY NEWSPAPER . . . for
their information a recent National
Survey made by experts showed that
weekly newspapers have the closest
readership of any type of newspaper
. . . WHY . . . because they have
personal names, events and news of
a more INTIMATE nature because
a small city is necessarily more
neighborly and more interested in
each other . . . second, a weekly
newspaper may be read several times
in the period of a week between
publications ... this newspaper is
closely read and widely read by the
people of this community and its
support has been freely given and
will be continually given, to any
worthwhile civic project . . . if you
have something the people of this
city feel is worthwhile, tell them in
your local paper and they will help
.. . but if your project is not re-
ceived favorably by our readers,
then that is YOUR fault, not theirs
or ours . . . and before we go any
(Continued on Back Page)
Graham, Sammy, and Buzzer, will
continue on, to Denton and Pilot
Point for a brief visit with relatives.
Mr. and Mrs. Graham also plan to
attend tde SMU versus TCU game
on Saturday, November 27.
Mr. Graham is a member of the
Executive Committee of the State
Teachers Association and represents
the Valley counties on this im-
portant Board. This year’s meeting
is probably one of the most im-
portant to be held in many years as
it will consider tde main proposals
outlined in the Gilmer-Aiken Com-
mittee Report on proposed changes
in the Texas Educational System.
According to Mr., Graham, there are
many good points in the Gilmer-
Aiken Report but the Valley schools
will have to oppose some of the most
important ones particularly those
relating to financing of local school
districts.
Child Development
Consultant Addresses
School Faculty Here
Miss Madeline Merehon, Consult-
ant in Child- Development from the
University of Maryland, was the
featured speaker for a dinner meet-
ing of the Mercedes faculty held in
the school-cafeteria on Tuesday eve-
ning of this week. Miss Merchon
discussed "Emotions” and how we
learn to. use and control them. Fol-
lowing the group meeting Miss Mer-
chon and Miss Holdsworth, Valley
Child Study Coordinator, met with
a group of teachers who are work-
ing in the Child Study Program.,
Others present for the dinner in-
eluded Mr. and Mrs. Henry- Lauder-
dale, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Hollon,
Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Barry, Mr. and
Mrs. Fred Johnston, and Mrs. George
Schwarz.
Little Snow Man
Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Snow an-
nounce the recent birth of their
son, John Micheal.
Legion To Conduct
Re-Interment Services
For Pfc. Darrell Riley
A budget of $11,000 will be re-
quired to carry on the work of the
Chamber of Commerce during the
next twelve months, Sproles advised
the committee. “This is- the mini-
mum amount needed”, he said. He
expressed the hope that more money
than the minimum requirements
will be raised, because a number of
projects are slated which will re-
quire a larger budget.
“If the town is worth living in, it
is worth supporting,” Sproles stress-
ed. He pointed out that during past
years the financial burden of de-
veloping this town has rested main-
ly on the shoulders of the business-
men, “However there are a consider-
able number of citizens who should
contribute their share to the financ-
ingof community progress, he said.
“We want all of these citizens to
join the Chamber of Commerce and
take an active part in community
work,” he urged.
President E. K. O’Shea said that
the work of the Mercedes Chamber
of Commerce during the past few
years was reflected in our industrial
and commercial growth. "In order
to continue this growth, we must
have a well-financed organization,”
he stressed. “We have a fine citi-
zenship and I know that they will
support an active program,” he said
confidently.
Attending the breakfast meeting,
in addition to Sproles and O’Shea,
were O. E. Van Berg, Woody Har-
graves, Roe Davenport, Charles
Coleman, Johney Snow, Joe F. Mar-
tinez, Hector Dominguez, George
Graf, Jr., Ferguson Wood, Arturo
Arredondo, Otis R. Johnson, Jim
Riley, Chas. Hupp, Clarence Archer,
Gordon Leonard,. Bill Wittmann, C.
W. Hawkins, J. A. Glover, Jr.
Four Local Boys
Attend National
FFA Convention
A caravan of two hundred or more Mercedes businessmen and other
citizens will start on a gondwill trip into northern Mexico next Wednes-
day, November 24 to celebrate the opening of the new Thayer-Rio Rico
bridge across the Rio Grande, six miles south of Mercedes.
The opening of this bridge will link together two of the most fertile
and beautiful valleys in North America. During the past few years the
Diez y Ocho de Marzo region, south of Rio Rico, has been developed into
a prosperous agricultural area, rivalling in productiveness our own Rio
Grande Valley.-
Services for the re-interment of
Darrell Vernon Riley, son of Mr.
and Mrs. James Riley of Mercedes,
who was killed in action in the
early days of the invasion of France,
will be held in the Stotler Chapel at
3:00 p.m., Friday, November 19,
1948, according to Charles Jones,
Commander of J. A. Garcia Post No.
172, who are conducting the ser-
vices.
According to Post Chaplain Ernest
Vogel, services, by request, will be
simple. Re-interment will be made
in Ebony Grove Cemetery. Those
who will serve as pallbearers are E.
B. Worley, Ed Dexter, Frank Avant,
John Jordan, Spence Copeland, and
Luther McDonald.
Kirk Schwarz, Texas FFA vice-
president, and local cotton contest
winners—-Charles Schwarz, 'Carroll
Lloyd Schwarz, and Virgil Hunt—
were among the 20 FFA boys from
the Valley and 30,000 from all over
the United States, Hawaii, and
Puerto Rico to attend the National
FFA Convention in Kansas City,
Missouri November 14 through 18,
according to Curtis Reagan, local
vocational Agriculture instructor.
The three contest winners re-
ceived an expense free trip to the
convention, through the sponsorship
of the Mercedes Cooperative Gin,
Watson-Ross Gin, Chamber of Com-
merce, Mercedes Farm Bureau, Ki-
wanis Club, Rotary Club. Kirk Sch-
warz, as Texas vice-president of the
FFA, received the trip, expenses
paid, through the state organiza-
tion.
The Mercedes Chapter of FFA
also wished to express their indi-
vidual appreciation to Mr. C. B.
Ray, local Farm Bureau manager,
and to R. E. George, Farm Bureau
president, who helped to push this
project.
Local Schools Get
Two Day Holiday
The Mercedes Schools will be
closed on Thursday and'Friday of
next week in observance of the
usual' Thanksgiving holidays. School
will resume as usual on Monday
morning, November 29. Due to the
holidays, the six weeks report cards
will be issued on Thursday, Decem-
ber 2, instead of on the usual Wed-
nesday date.
Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Blette,
who have been vacationing for the
past .six months, returned to Mer-
cedes. on Wednesday of last week
and will make their home in the
Valley.
Country Store
Event Successful
Opening Ceremonies Set
The official opening ceremonies
at the new international bridge at
9:30 a.m. and the cabrito barbecue
at Valle Hermosa at noon will be
the highlights of the trip next Wed-
nesday. The opening ceremonies
will be attended by leading civic
and political leaders from both sides
of the border.
Final plans for the bridge opening
and the barbecue at noon were
worked out by representatives of
the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce
and the Valle Hermosa Chamber of
Commerce Wednesday morning at
the new Rio Rico bridge. Alfonso
Guajardo, President of the Valle
Hermosa Chamber of Commerce, and
Vice President Cosme Santos and
Manager Alfredo Valdez, conferred
with Arturo Arredondo, chairman of
the good will trip arrangements
committee, Al Cain, Manager of the
B & P Bridge Company and Man-
ager Carl A. Blasig of the Mercedes
Chamber of Commerce.
Valle Hermosa Ready
President Alfonso Guajardo of
the Valle Hermosa Chamber of Com-
merce officially invited the Mercedes
good will trippers to be the guests
of the Hermosa Chamber of Com-
merce at a barbecue Wednesday
noon. “The hospitality extended us
by our good neighbors in Mexico is
most impressive and we hope that
An estimated 600 people brought
over $600 profit to the Mercedes
Federated Clubs, during the two
evening showing of the Country
Store, according to the various club
chairmen.
A complete financial report is not
as yet complete, according to George
Carnes, treasurer, but the gross
profit taken by the various booths
stands as follows: Country Store
Proper, $169.78; Country Store PrO-
duce, $55.30; Fancy Work Booth,
$73.10; Square Dance, $67.50;
White Elephant Booth, $111.78;
Bingo, $77.44; Hotdog Booth, $30.-
13; Soft Drink Booth, $27.23; Pop-
corn Stand, $6.30; and miscellaneous
sales totaling $4.00.
Mrs. R. E. Kirkpatrick, general
chairman of the whole Country Store
celebration, wishes to express her
deepest appreciation for all the fine
cooperation of the many taking part
in the event, and for the generous
offers of time, labor and donations
of those who helped to make this
show a success.
Official Kiwanis Visit
Pres. Roe Davenport. designated
Wednesday, November 24, as an
official Kiwanis Interclub Rela-
tions Day, with full credit for at-
tendance for all Kiwanians mak-
ing the Goodwill trip to Mexico.
A roundtable will also be held in
Mercedes.
Those not making the trip can
make reservations for the local
roundtable by calling the club
secretary, Kirk Leonard.
Tigers Given Big
Edge Over Lions
In Coming Game
For the last game of the season
the Mercedes Tigers are traveling to
La Feria to take on the Lions who
ruined Rio Grande City’s winless
record. Mercedes from all angles
will come out to pin this season-end
tilt.
Time for the contest has been re-
scheduled for 2:45 p.m., Friday, ac-
cording to the office of the Mercedes
High School.
For many years there has been
close rivalry between La Feria and
Mercedes, which compares with the
Mercedes-Weslaco affray, only with
Mercedes in the title role.
This is the game that La Feria
has been waiting and preparing for
all season. As usual, Robert Keyes
will be pacing the Lions. If Keyes
flicks Friday night, the game is
going to be close. ' ‘rj »
La Feria will try anything to pull
Mercedes and Rio Grande City down
in the 30-A cellar for a three-way
tie. Mercedes will be fighting equal-
ly harder to pull one last, win to
make up for the very narrow squeak
at Raymondville last week. 2
The way both teams look from the
sidelines, Mercedes’ worst scare will
come from a. 21-14 win .for the
Tigers. If the Tigers click, the
game will be a runaway, uau
- ================ Fui :
Ed Pennell Takes
1948 Championship T
Of Local Rifle Club -
every business man of Mercedes will
make this trip,” Johney Snow,
chairman of the Merchants Commit-
tee said.
The good will caravan will
assemble at the old city park, ad-
joining the Missouri Pacific depot,
and leave promptly at 9:00 a.m.
Wednesday. All automobiles and
their occupants are urged to be at
the park by 8:45 a.m. to enable a
final checking of all vehicles be-
cause of the international require-
ments.
A°
Formal Opening Held
For New I.O.O.F. Hall
The formal opening of the new
I.O.O.F. Lodge Hall on Ohio and 4th
Street was held Sunday, November
14, between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m.
The Rebekahs served refresh-
ment: Floral decorations were fur-
nished by Flowerland.
Bargain Day Date
Changed To First
Friday, Saturday
The Merchant’s Committee of the
Chamber of Commerce met Wednes-
day and after discussion of the Bar-
gain Day by members, it was decided
to change the publication- date from
the first Thursday of each month to
the first Friday and Saturday.
Dates for the next Mercedes Bar-
gain Day will be Dec. 3 and 4.
Agricultural Expert
Visits Family Here
Dr. John Howard Ellison
and
wife are visiting in the home of his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Ellison,
this week. Dr. Ellison recently re-
ceived his doctor’s degree in Horti-
culture at the Cornell University,
Ithaca, N. Y. He has accepted a
position on the Cornell faculty and
will be stationed at the Cornell Ex-
perimental Station on Long Island,
N. Y.
Dr. and Mrs. Ellison will return
this week.
Shop In Mercedes!
Information Requested
Those who take their automobiles
must get the complete information,
requested in the form mailed out by
the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce,
by Saturday of this week, .Novem-
ber 20. ' The Chamber of Commerce
arrangements chairman, Art Arre-
dondo, will take this information to
Matamoros Monday and file the offi-
cial automobile registration forms,
which will be made out in quintupli-
cate by the Mercedes Chamber of
Commerce staff to facilitate the offi-
cial filing. This arrangement was
agreed upon at a conference at
Matamoros between Pedro Coronado,
chief of Customs and Art Arredondo
and Carl A. Blasig. The required
automobile tax will be paid by the
Mercedes Chamber of Commerce,
official sponsor of this trip. Those
Who fail to get their automobiles
cleared through the Mexican custom
officials prior to the trip, will prob-
ably be unable to go with the cara-
van.
La Feria Joins Caravan
A group of fifteen automobiles
from La Feria will join the good will
motorcade, and there will also be
some automobiles from La Villa and
Edcouch-Elsa, according to Chamber
of Commerce officials.
How are the roads from Rio Rico
to the Valle Hermosa, is a question
which has been, repeatedly asked the
Mercedes Chamber of Commerce.
From Rio Rico to Centro, a distance
of twelve miles travel will be over
a dirt road which is in good condi-
tion in dry weather. From Centro
to Ramirez and Valle Hermosa the
roads are gravelled and paved. Auto-
mobiles will have no trouble making
this trip.
. Next Monday is also the deadline
for arranging for the barbecue at
Valle Hermosa. All those going in
automobiles X should supply the
Chamber of Commerce office with
the correct number of people who
will, go with them by Saturday. A
Chamber of. Commerce committee
will go to Valle Hermosa Monday
Ed Pennell fired his way to the.
1948 Championship of the Mercedes
Rifle Club Sunday, turning in a neat
795 and 41x‘s out of a possible 800..
0. J. Schaeffer came in a close
second with a 793 and 33x‘s, and
Herb Hemenway took third with a
790 and 35x’s. -/
Last year’s champion, Bob Jen-
kins of La Feria went completely out
of the running, taking sixth place
with a 786 and 39x‘s,w^
Other members of the Mercedes
Rifle Club in the match were C. H.
McConnell, Jimmy Lauderdale, Wal-
ter Wolff, John Warburton, E. Ken-
nedy, Denson, and Leonard Bunt-
rock.
Christmas Seal Sales
Start Tomorrow
With the help of many volunteer
workers, Christmas Seal lettershave
been made ready and will be mailed
on Saturday, November 20th, ac-
cording to. Mrs. H. L. Murphey,
County, Seal Sale Chairman. Mrs.
Murphey asks that returns be made
quickly, as soon as the letter is re-
ceived, so as to hasten completion
of the fund-raising campaign.
Mrs. H. W. Riddle, Executive Sec-
retary of the Hidalgo County Tuber-
culosis Association, the organization
supported by Christmas Seal contri-
butions, stated today that she be-
lieves donations will be greatly in-
creased because of the interest being
shown in the free Chest X-ray Sur-
vey, a Christmas Seal project. Mrs.
Riddle urges everyone above fifteen
years of' age to have an annual
routine X-ray, in any town in the
county, because, as she says, "It’s so
wonderful to know you’re O.K.",
Mr. and Mrs. R. E. Lugg and son,
of Osage, Iowa, are here visiting.
Mrs. Lugg is a niece of Mr. J. E.
Riley. The Luggs plan to make
their future’ home in the Valley. .
morning to make final arrange-
ments. “The people of Valle Her-
mosa are going to considerable ex-
pense in entertaining us and we
trust that everyone will cooperate
by letting the Mercedes Chamber of
Commerce know by Saturday if they
are going,” President E. K. O’Shea
states.
A recent survey by the tax com-
missioner in Diez y Ocho de Marzo
region shows that this new valley
has a population of approximately
60,000 people. The acreage in this,
region is irrigated and,the soil is
very fertile.
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The Enterprise (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 47, Ed. 1 Friday, November 19, 1948, newspaper, November 19, 1948; Mercedes, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1631927/m1/1/?q=%22rio+rico%22: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.