The Pharr Press (Pharr, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 19, 1984 Page: 1 of 7
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130 E. Caffery
piiarr, Vexas
ggSKK MmORTXL LIBRARY
PHARR, TEXAS 7357?
City of Pharr to celebrate 75th anniversary this year
787-2291
JULY 19, 1984
PSJA WEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER FOR 62YEARS
The perfect childhood ?
Growing up in a truck stop at
the intersection of two highways in
Dkn arar William J. Helmer now lives in Chicago and is a senior editor
iliail. at Playboy magazine.
Reprinted with permission from the April
issue of TEXAS MONTHLY Copyright
By William Helmer
1984 by TEXAS MONTHLY
When I lived there in the for-
ties and early fifties, the little
border town of Pharr didn’t
have a whole lot going for it. Its
five thousand-odd souls
resided in a flat, sunbaked rec-
tangle around the intersection
of U.S. 281-which headed 250
miles north toward San An-
tonio and 12 miles south to
Reynosa-and U.S. 83, a three-
lane killer that 'paralleled the
Rio Grande from Brownsville
up the Valley to Laredo and
whatever lay beyound. Homey
loads abounded in the weed-
filled ots downtown, along with
red ants and deadly snadburs
that were the nemesis of bare
feet and even bicycle tires.
Pharr was a trucking center
for the Valley citrus industry
and a staging area for forays
into Mexico, but the highway
intersection itself was the best
the town could do in the way of
a civic promotional device.
Thus Pharr was called, rather
pathetically, the -Hub City. In
1947 my father bought an em-
pty building must north of that
intersection and opened
Pharr’s most celebrated
business establishment, a
truck stop called the Hub Cafe.
Growing up in South Texas
was, in retrospect, a good ex-
perience, and growing up in a
truck stop was a memorable
one. Between the ages of nine
and seventeen I lived in a
somewhate confusing world of
pious hypocrisy, fairly benign
racism, and petty cussedness,
where true Christian charity
collided with colorful and
desperately real redneck
depravity. My parents were
Catholic, which made them
social outsiders who could get
away with running a truck stop
and selling beer. Al and Myrtle
Helmer were white Catholics,
to clarify the matter, treated
with courtesy and curiosity
befitting a species rare in the
Valley
Car wrecks and packing-shed
fires were about the only ex-1
citement in town, and order
was maintained with relative
ease by the local constable,
“Whispering Tom” Mayfield, a
tall and tough old relic of a
former Texas Ranger. He wore
a nickelplated Colt .44 hooked
inside his belt by its loading
gate and whiled away most
'evenings leaning against his
1948 black Oldsmobile coupe
with its nickel-plated siren,
nodding silent greetings to
S‘| iiers as -r Kept an eve n
the red light bulb atop the
nearby water tower. Whe lit. it
signaled trouble in Pharr, San
Juan, or Alamo, the towns that
made up his beat. He’d lost his
voice either to World Ward I
gas or to a bullet in one of his
many gunfights, depending on
the storyteller. He was known
to handle “drunk Mexicans” in
the John Wayne manner and to
show kids his old wounds, like
LBJ with his gallbladder scar.
But otherwise, law enfor-
cement was largely a do-it-
yourself proposition. People
didn’t lock their doors at night,
and most didn’t bother to take
the keys out of their cars.
In those years, life was hard
and we were short on money,
thought I didn’t know it at the
time. Our house was a two
bedroom frame structure on
the southern city limits (the
Back Highway, Route 1;
telephone 678-M, one ring). It
came with a deranged old plow
horse named Prince, whose
only purpose in life had been to
pull the previous owner’s hand
lawnmower, and he hated kids.
One night he ot into the
chicken coop, overdosed on
mash, and went belly up in the
back yard. I didn’t mind losing
Prince, but I loved our thirty or
so chickens and fussed with
them constantly. I even learned
a nervous and confused ver-
See Hub P. 3
Corrine Silguero Cruz
Former Pharrite
wins local talent
competition
Corrine Silguero Cruz, for-
merly of Pharr, won the local
vaocalist catergory of the local
Star Search talent auditions.
Cruz won an all-expense paid
trip to New York to audition for
the nationwide talent search,
Star Search.
The national competition is
broadcast weekly on television
and losted by Ed McMahon.
Local Star Search som-
petition was in McAllen at th
e Big Apple. Cruz was the un-
defeated female vocalist for
six weeks in a row and advan-
ced to the finals July 1.
A formar Valleyite, Cruz at-
tended Pan American Univer-
sity as a vocal music major and
performed locally in the Valley
International Players Summer
Stock Theater in 1976. She has
also performed with her own
band at several local night
spots in McAllen.
Cruz has performed inter-
nationally in England, France,
Switzerland, Belgium!
Australia, Italy and Mexico.
She has sung in Houston and
is currently appearing with her
band at Santiago’s in Austin.
Her ambition is to sign with a
major recording company and
to some day host her own
special musical variety show.
Alaniz Removed From
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
INSIDE
THIS
ISSUE
EDITORIAL
HUB STORY
H.E.B. SPECIALS
SPANISH SECTION
SPORTS
Classified
HAVE A NICE DAY!
P.2
P.3
P4&5
P.6&7
P. 8&9
P.10
Alamo City Commission
* Copyrighted story of the
PHARR PRESS.
The PHARR PRESS has lear-
ned that Cruz Alaniz has been
removed from his position as a
City Commissioner with the
City of Alamo. Alaniz’ removal
came about as a result of a
Texas Attoreney General’s
Opinion.
As the PHARR PRESS had
previously reported, the Alamo
Commission had requested
the AG’s opinion earlier this
year as a result of questions
raised after the April 1983
mayoral elections in Alamo.
Alaniz, in the middle of his
term as a city commissioner,
filed for election as mayor.
Alaniz was defeated but con-
tinued as a city commissioner
in his unfinished term.
Several members of the new
commission questioned
whether Alaniz should have
resigned as a result of his run-
ning for another position in the
middle of his term. The Alamo
City Charter did not address
the issue; consequently, the
Attoreney General’s opinion
was requested.
Citing Section 11, Article XI,
of the Texas Constitution, the
Attorney General’s office poin-
ted out that elected officials
should resign to file for the
new position. Consequently,
Alaniz forfeited the position.
“It applies” in this case, and
“an automatic resignation did
occur,” stated the letter. The
letter continues, “while there
may be a vacancy for which an
appointment may be made, the
official who has automatically
resigned continues in the of-
fice...until their successor is
qualified.”
This last comment from the
Attorney General’s office
prompted the Alamo Com-
mission to contemplate ap-
pointing someone to fill the
remainder of Alaniz’ appoin-
tment. In response, Alamo in-
surance agent Alfredo Navarro
was appointed this week to fill
the vacancy for the remainder
of the term.
The appointment of Navarro
brings about some important
political changes in Alamo.
During the 1983 city elections,
newcomer Rudy Villarreal was
elected Mayor, with Donaciano
Garza and Candelario Baldazo
elected commissioners,
defeating an established slate
of candidates. This left only
Alaniz and Eddie Garza as the
holdovers from the previous
administration. This often led
to 3 to 2 votes at various city
meetings.
Navarro’s appointment will
give the new group a greater
control over the city com-
mission. This may also be
more solidified in the 1985
April elections if Navarro is
elected for a new term.
City Commission
Drops Evaluator
The Pharr City Commission
backed away from' hiring an
evaluator to examine em-
ployees and city operations. In
doing so, the Commission
capped a month-long effort to
settle on selection criteria and
parameters for the evaluation
and questions over the ef-
ficeny of city operations.
Mayor Fidencio Barrera
opened the discussion over the
evaluator by opposing the
hiring of a consultant, saying,
“We should not pay” an
evaluator to do this. Barrera
suggested an alternative of
having either the City Com-
mission do the evaluation on
its own, possibly with the
assistance of a “Blue Ribbon
Panel” of local citizens, or
having professors from Pan
American Univeristy School of
Business do the evaluation
with students.
“It is the responsibilty of the
commission to do it per-
sonally,” stated Barrera. He
pointed out that the evaluation
of employees and operations
was part of the responsibly of
the commission.
Barrera emphasized that a
system of dealing with
problems. He pointed out that
the Commissioners should
address their concerns about
particular employees or
problems to the city manager.
Commissioner Leo Pruneda
argued that the evaluator was
necessary in order for the
commission to do its job
properly. He pointed out that
the objective was not to “fire
anyone” but the objective was
“ to streamline operations, to
catch waste.” He said the final
objective was “was to provide
the best service for taxpayers.”
A member of the audience,
Mr. Q Ward, a member of the
Charter Review Committee
which authored the charter
amendments which were voted
on in 1982, pointed out that the
charter provided a method of
evaluation for city employees
and operations.
“We (the charter committee)
wanted to give the City
Manager the responsibilty of
running the city” and being an-
swerable to the city com-
mission, pointed out Ward. He
added that the charter required
an annual evaluation of all em-
ployees by the city manager
and an annual evaluation of
the city manager by the City
Commission. Ward went on to
ask whether the evaluations
had actually been done as
required by the charter.
City Commissioners confir-
med that they had not done a
formal evaluation as required.
Additionally, City Manager
Reyes Vela admitted that such
evaluations had not been done
for the employees in a formal
manner.
Mayor Barrera stated that
perhaps the city had been
remiss in fulfiling this part of
the charter but promised to
keep a closer look at the char-
ter in reference to city matters.
As the discussion
progressed, Commissioner
Jim Brewster questioned
whether an evaluator was
actually needed. “The city is
not falling apart,” asserted
Brewster. He went on to point
out that the city was not facing
any major problems.
However, Commissioner
Julian Avendano disagreed. “I
cannot believe that everything
is perfect with the city,”
charged Avendano. He went
on to say that the evaluation
was necessary in order to have
an accurate idea of what im-
provements were needed.
“I challenge anyone in this
room to say that we have not
given him (city manager) the
guidance and he had refused,”
in dealing with problems
within the city, stated Barrera.
He pointed out that the com-
mission has consistently
provided the city manager with
suggestions on employees and
operations.
“I disagree,” stated Pruneda,
as he reiterated his support for
having the evaluator. He ad-
ded that he had received many
complaints concerning the city
operations.
Several members of the
audience presented their op-
position and support for the
evaluator. Andy Narvaez poin-
ted out that the issue of an
evaluator had first come up
when a crowd of residents had
come to a city meeting to
complain about the fire and
police departments. He added
that the evaluation was going
to be used as a tool for
management purposes.
Commissioner Roberto
Ramirez moved to have the city
commission conduct the
evaluation on its own. The
motion was seconded by
Brewster. However, the motion
was changed when it was
suggested that the city simply
follow the procedure set out in
the charter. If this would not
work out, then an evaluator
could be hired.
After some more discussion,
Mayor Barrera, Brewster,
Ramirez, and Victor Garcia
voted to have the charter
procedures followed. Pruneda,
Avendano, and Lorenzo Garcia
voted against the motion.
In other action, the Com-
missioners made some
changes in the present or-
dinances covering alcoholic
beverage sales. On first,
reading, the commissioners
amended the Zoning Ordinan-
ce to provide a conditional use
permit system to allow the sale
of alcoholic beverages in
designated commercial zones.
The ordinance removed the
stipulation that on-premise
consumption be tied to food
sales. The conditional use
permit would set requirements
for space and parking needs.
Also on first reading, the
commissioners passed an or-
dinance to match hours of
dispensing alcoholic
beverages to conform with
state law.
In other aciton, the com-
missioners took the following
action:
-passed a resolution
authorizing the purchase by
the Hidalgo County Finance
Corporation of mortgage loans
for residences located within
the city limits of Pharr. The
program will provide low-
interest mortgage funds for
homeowners. Some income
limits would be set for ap-
plicants, with an borrowing
limit of approximatley
$50,000.00. The program would
be administered by local
financing institutions who
choose to participate.
-Approved a change of zone
from R-4, high density multi-
family, and O-P, office-
professional, to R-TH,
townhouse residential. Fran-
cisco Javier Vega was
requesting the change for
property along W. Sam
Houston between Winterhaven
and Villa Del Rey.
-Approved a change of zone
from general commercial to
heavy commercial at E. ex-
pressway 83.
-Approved the preliminary plat
approval of Tara No. 2 Sub-
division.
-Held a public hearing on diver-
ting $300,000.00 from the
Community Development
Block Grant program to pay for
improvements to the sewer
treatment plant.
-Approved the submittal of an
application to the Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department for a
50 percent grant to make im-
provements to Moore Road
Park.
-Held an executive session on
legal matters.
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Morales, Juan Carlos. The Pharr Press (Pharr, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 19, 1984, newspaper, July 19, 1984; Pharr, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth866644/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Pharr Memorial Library.