Soy de Duval

The creation of Duval County and its separation from Nueces County, under whose administration Duval County had been, was not without controversy. Within weeks of the election to organize Duval County differences arose. In January 1877, the Duval County Commissioners Court submitted a claim to Nueces County which they anticipated would be rejected. In an effort to “amicably” settle this claim the Duval County Commissioners Court proposed to their Nueces County counterparts that each county appoint two referees to compose a committee of four to arbitrate the matter. If the committee needed clarification on any law, they would ask for an attorney general’s opinion. If they would tie on any matter, that issue would be submitted to 25th District Court Judge Edward Dougherty to decide. The committee’s initial meeting would be held in Corpus Christi and if a second meeting was needed it would be conducted in San Diego. The differences between the counties, as seen by the Duval County Com...

Self-portrait by  Charles Marion Russell.  Christmas greeting  reads  “Best wishes for your Christmas Is all you get from me ‘Cause I ain’t no Santa Claus Don’t own no Christmas tree. But if wishes was health and money I’d fill your buck-skin poke Your doctor would go hungry An’ you never would be broke.”

Altar at St. Francis de Paula was dedicated in September 1942. It was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Adolfo B. Cuellar. Emilio Cadena donated the statute of Jesus. In September 1942 parishioners at St. Francis de Paula in San Diego celebrated the church’s 75 th anniversary in style. The three–day celebration included the unveiling of a marble statute of San Francisco de Paula, the parish’s patron saint, over the main door outside of the building, donated by the Duval Council of the Knights of Columbus. Mr. and Mrs. Adolfo B. Cuellar donated a new main altar made by Bernardo Reyes of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Emilio Cadena, father of the late Eliseo A. Cadena, donated the central statue of Jesus. On either side of Jesus were smaller statutes of St. Dominic and St. Francis de Paula bought with donations from parishioners. The first day was dedicated to the Altar Society, the Rosary Society and the Catholic Mothers Club. The resident Dominican priests celebrated a solemn Mass, followed by...

The Duval County Commissioners Court, meeting in regular session on Nov. 3, 1879, approved a resolution introduced by P. W. Toklas to appoint a committee to draft a resolution for the court to consider on the untimely death of ex county commissioner Rafael Salinas who was found murdered near Concepcion the previous month of October 1879. Named to the committee were Judge James O. Luby, Commissioner Pct. 1 Charles K. Gravis and County Clerk A. R. Vales. The court later deferred consideration of the resolution until its next regular term. No record appears that the matter was ever brought back before the court. Salinas was a longtime public servant, first being selected for an office in 1861 when he was elected Justice of the Peace Pct. 9 in Nueces County. He served as the first postmaster at Concepcion when a Post Office opened at that place on February 6, 1873. Salinas was elected the first county commissioner of Pct. 3 in the county’s organizational election held in 1876. He serve...

Small pox was raging in San Diego in August 1879 and the Duval County Commissioners Court appointed a Sanitary Commission to address the problem. Named to the commission were County Judge James O. Luby, Sheriff E. A. Glover and County Physician T. S. Kupfer. The Commissioners Court granted the group authority to bring the epidemic under control. The commission would place a flag at a home where the disease was present. Once the small pox was over at a home, the commission would order the home disinfected. Property owners were required to keep their premises in clean condition and if they refused, the commission was to report the violators to the county attorney for prosecution under state law. If the Sanitary Commission believed it necessary, they had the authority to establish a hospital and to take all steps necessary to prevent spread of the disease such as hiring any help they needed including guards and nurses. Finally, the commission could isolate an infected house from the re...

Courthouse approved by commissioners court on June 25, 1879. It burned down very suspiciously in 1914. Duval County Commissioners voted on June 25, 1879 to build a courthouse for the recently organized county. Organizational matters continued to occupy county commissioners during their June regular session. The commissioners, who had been renting from Manuel Ancira since the 1876 organization of the county, appropriated $3,700 for a new courthouse. The court referred the matter to its building committee, composed County Judge James Luby, P. A. Mattasson and William Hubbard. H. Heldenfels had developed plans and specifications and the building committee was authorized to enter into a contract with Heldenfels after reviewing the plans. The matter of county roads was also on the court’s agenda. Commissioners appointed road juries to review the various roads in the county. On the jury for the San Diego to Concepcion road were John Dix, F. C. Gravis, Francisco Bazan, Rafael Salinas and ...

Enjoy your Turkey!! Hook ’em Horns!!

Duval County Commissioners declined a petition from Precinct 2 citizens to reinstate their county commissioner. Commissioner P. W. Toklas hastily tendered his resignation on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 1879. Toklas was upset by the court’s approval of warrants submitted by Sheriff E. A. Glover and quit on the spot. After some argument, the court accepted his resignation. Later that day, as the court resumed its meeting that started on Feb. 10, a group of Toklas constituents came before the court to ask that they reconsider the matter. Another argument ensued and the court voted 2-1 not to reinstate Toklas. Precinct 1 Commissioner C. K Gravis and Precinct 3 Commissioner E. N. Gray voted to keep Toklas out and Precinct 4 Commissioner E. H. Caldwell sided with Toklas.  The court had fined Toklas and County Judge James Luby $1 earlier in the meeting for being late. It was Luby’s second fine for tardiness. Reporters covering commissioners court meetings in yesteryear had to be have the endu...

In 2006, when I lived in Austin I used to take Cap Metro’s 935 Express into town to work. I usually tired to find and empty pair of seats so as not to have to interact with anyone while I wrote a novel I was working on. One day there was no place to seat where I could write so I sat next to an African American woman and we struck up a conversation. As it turned out she had been writing a book on the bus as well. Mada Plummer was her name and she published her book “Closure” later that year. This long introduction to a story that will have only an indirect connection to this blog is important because it provides a direct connection to the rest of my story. Her story is based in New Orleans, and while I have never been to New Orleans, I found an immediate connection to the story. You see, the lives of poor folk, whether black, white, or brown often are very much alike. I could relate to Mada’s experiences even though I had only known her briefly on the bus. Her childhood adventures were ...

The infamous Box 13 that gave Lyndon Johnson victory in the 1948 senatorial election. Photo provided by Tommy Molina from the “T.H. Molina Photo Collection. While serious accusations were whirling around in 1948 over allegations of voter fraud in Duval and Jim Wells Counties, the Dallas Morning News found time and space in its newspaper columns to poke fun at the situation. The News , in keeping with the times showed a total lack of sensitivity. In its Oct. 19, 1948, issue the News reported “No Joy in Seven Sisters Because Papa Returned.” The newspaper said a Texas citizen of “Mexican ancestry . . . of course his name was Pedro” was crying uncontrollably on a street corner in the town of Seven Sisters because his father, who had been dead six years, had come back to life to vote in the recent election. His inconsiderate father, Pedro told his friend Miguel, had not come to visit after casting his vote. Mark McGhee relayed the story to the News . The newspaper did not report what...

LBJ with friends in front of helicopter he used to campaign during the 1948 campaign.  From T. H. Molina Photo Collection. Former Texas Governor Coke Stevenson’s Duval County drubbing at the hands of Congressman Lyndon Johnson in 1948 did not go unnoticed by the former governor. He lashed out at the “bloc” and “machine” voting practiced by “Latin Americans” in Duval and surrounding counties. His friends at the Dallas Morning News editorial page were quick to chime in on his behalf. In a Sept. 1, 1948 editorial entitled “Stevenson ‘Slur’ At Duval County” the News took exception with Johnson’s characterization of Stevenson’s complaints as a “slur” against the electorate of Texas. Johnson noted that Stevenson had not complained the four previous elections when he had received the overwhelming support of Duval County. Moreover, he did not hear complaints from Stevenson on boxes that he carried 100 percent in the King Ranch or by margins of 8 to 1 in the ritzy River Oaks s...

San Diego native Raul “Paul” Ramirez penned the book “ El Patron & The Bootlegger” in 2011, which I had the pleasure to read recently. The book follows the life of “a trustworthy Mexican immigrant…befriended by a corrupt yet philanthropic Anglo Don from South Texas where both men find the American Dream and friendship has a price after the Don fakes his own death, leaving behind the secrets of a political and criminal dynasty that gave a predominant senator the presidency.” The story is written as fiction, and Ramirez points out “any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.” While that may be the author’s position, anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of Duval County history can easily match the fictitious characters with real persons that shaped the story of the county’s recent past. Marciano Campos, the Mexican immigrant bootlegger, arrives in the United States and as is quickly ensnared into the illicit liquor trade during prohibition. He brings to li...

Lyndon Johnson In 1948, newspapers across the state focused on political developments in Duval County like never before. The county had seen its share of notoriety but this year was different. The events that unfolded following the Democratic primary were widely reported by local and area newspapers, but to get a feel as to how the world saw Duval County it is instructive to see how events were reported by newspapers such as the  Dallas Morning News . The year started out rather uneventful. The News reported in its January 29 issue that President Harry Truman appointed Euna C. Kelly as postmaster at Freer. The News interviewed Calvin North, a longtime Benavides area cotton farmer, while he attended the Texas Cotton Ginners Association Convention in Dallas. In April, the News reported that the State Board of Education purchased $40,000 of San Diego school bonds. As far as political news, the Dallas newspaper paid close attention on the races for Congress. In February, it ran a s...