Soy de Duval

Not the actual cave reported being located in Duval County. POSTED BY: CARDENAS.AE@GMAIL.COM DECEMBER 26, 2018 In the summer of 1867, the Corpus Christi Advertiser ran a story that a cave called Llano Blanco Cave was discovered in Duval County. The newspaper reported that exploration as far as seventy-five yards into the cave had revealed “large chambers and a stream of running fresh water; so cold you do not need ice.” “A natural well, 25 feet deep, was found some 200 yards from the entrance,” the Advertiser reported. It added that “air rushes with great force.” It said that walls in the cave were formed by a sulfate of lime, and “untold quantities of plaster of Paris could be made out of it.” Other elements were present but had not yet been fully examined. The cave, the newspaper said, had been dormant for years. In a flair of ethnocentrism, the Advertiser proclaimed that the cave had been “awaiting the acuteness of Yankee enterprise” to take advantage of what the it had to offer.

POSTED BY: CARDENAS.AE@GMAIL.COM DECEMBER 10, 2018 Father Armando Ibanez, OP Photo by KSAT TV. On Wednesday, December 12, on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Father Armando Ibanez will celebrate his 25th anniversary as a priest. The occasion will be marked by a Mass at St. Francis de Paula beginning at 6 p.m.  He was ordained at St. Francis de Paula on December 11, 1993, and celebrated his first Mass the following day. Father Ibanez, whose roots are in San Diego, joined the Dominican Order, which served San Diego, Freer, Benavides, and Alice for more than half a century. Prior to his entry into the priesthood, he was a reporter with the Alice Echo-News and the Corpus Christi Caller. His current ministry is as an instructor of journalists and filmmakers at Texas A&M University. (Click on image to read.) 2 COMMENTS ON "FATHER IBANEZ CELEBRATES 25 YEARS AS DOMINICAN" DANIEL CUBRIEL | December 11, 2018 at 9:50 am | Reply As a young altar boy, I remember my uncle, A

POSTED BY: CARDENAS.AE@GMAIL.COM NOVEMBER 20, 2018 (This article appeared on the November 14, 2018, issue of The Enterprise, Duval County Edition. It is used here with permission.) Poncho Hernandez Jr. The Enterprise One hundred years after being lost in the Bermuda Triangle in the rough seas between Barbados and Norfolk, VA, the mystery of the U.S. Cyclops remains unsolved. Leopoldo Esteban Garcia Declared missing on March 4, 1918, after setting sail from the West Indies, the 19,000-ton cargo ship was eventually given up for lost by the Navy, with the relatives of the more than 300 officers, crew members and passengers notified. Leopoldo Estaban Garcia, of San Diego, was among them. Born in 1891 in Duval County, Garcia traveled at the age of 23, to Galveston to enlist as an Apprentice Seaman in the U.S. Navy in 1914. He later served as a Seaman aboard the USS Pittsburg before being assigned to the USS Cyclops. The USS Cyclops was one of four Proteus-class colliers (cargo ships) built

POSTED BY: CARDENAS.AE@GMAIL.COM JULY 10, 2018 Investigations impacted Parr machine, helped Freedom Party The first test on how much impact local, state, and Federal investigations were having on Parr’s political hold came in the 1954 Benavides school election where Freedom Party candidates were challenging three Old Party incumbents. In those days, Freer was part of the Benavides school district, and all the candidates were from Freer. The Parr incumbents were W.C. Kelley, Paul Green, and Troy Carey. The challengers were F.J. Sparkman, Manuel Garza, and Bob Mayberry. Despite having the ballots impounded, Parr candidates won easily by a better than a two to one margin. George Parr “With all the adverse publicity and all that Attorney General John Ben Shepherd could do he still can’t change the minds of Duval County voters,” Parr said.   While not discounting the importance of this election, Donato Serna felt the real test was going to be the July Democratic primary. Parr did not appea

POSTED BY: CARDENAS.AE@GMAIL.COM JULY 15, 2018 The beginning of the end The next bi-annual election for county offices in 1958 proved to be prophetic for the Freedom Party. Three complete slates were on the ballot: Parr’s Old Party, the Tobin Party, and the Freedom Party. When the smoke cleared on election day, the Parr candidates received forty-four percent of the vote. To the surprise of incumbent County Judge Dan Tobin, his slate was nudged out of the runoff by Freedom Party candidates who received thirty-one percent of the vote. With a combined majority of fifty-six percent, the outsiders, and in particular the Freedom Party, appeared poised to finally knock off Parr and his cronies. The column in The Bellaire Texan provides a recap of Parr antics. Click on photo to read the article. But, it was not to be. A week after the vote, Dan Tobin announced he had reached an agreement with George Parr to kiss and make up. He was back in the machine, and he left the Freedom Party in limbo.