The Duval County Freedom Party: Part Three
POSTED BY: CARDENAS.AE@GMAIL.COM JUNE 21, 2018
Enter the Freedom Party
In was into this scenario that the Freedom Party came to be. In an interview with Jesenia Guerra who was working on a master’s thesis at Texas A&M University, Kingsville, Donato Serna provided a look at one of the reasons why the party may have gotten traction. In early 1952, Guerra wrote that Carlos Barrera, a Duval County Deputy Sheriff, awoke Serna at 11 p.m. with a message from Barrera’s boss, Sheriff Daniel Garcia. The sheriff wanted Serna to meet him at Arnulfo Farias’ grocery store. Upon his arrival at the store, Serna found a number of his fellow veterans with Sheriff Garcia, a longtime Parr confidante. To their amazement, Garcia informed the group that he had decided to challenge Parr in the next election.
Garcia, however, formally resigned on April 4, 1952, declaring he was finished with politics and would tend to his ranch and other personal interests. He said his only role in politics was to cast his personal vote and nothing more. At the same meeting in which Garcia resigned the Duval County Commissioners Court named George Parr as sheriff.
In preparation for the election, the Freedom Party began to hold political rallies throughout the county. In mid-June, a caravan of seventy-seven cars, escorted by two Texas Rangers, paraded throughout the county promoting the Freedom Party. They concluded their excursion in Freer, in front of the American Legion Hall where District Judge Sam Reams declared his “one thousand percent support” for the Freedom Party. The judge added that Parr was running scared. On June 29, 1952, all twenty-nine Freedom Party candidates went to the small community of Ramirez for a rally where they were pleasantly surprised by a turnout of some 1,000 supporters, exceeding expectations. Of the twenty-nine candidates, nineteen were veterans.
Despite the enthusiasm of Freedom Party supporters, the Old Party swept the election. Parr himself outpolled his opponent for sheriff, war hero Carlos McDermott, by a margin of 2,952 to 961.
Source: Texas State Archives.
While the veterans may not have been too skilled at political games, they did know how to engage the enemy. The Texas Rangers were providing cover for the Freedom Party. Responding to complaints from constituents, Gov. Alan Shivers directed Homer Garrison, head of the Texas Department of Public Safety to look into claims that Parr was harassing Freedom Party members. One particular complaint was that Parr’s deputy sheriffs were driving by homes of Freedom Party members and using floodlights they would light up their homes in the middle of the night. Texas Attorney John Ben Shepherd also sent investigators to Duval County. By the end of the year, FBI and Internal Revenue agents had joined the investigation.
(Next week we continue with Part Four.)
4 COMMENTSON "THE DUVAL COUNTY FREEDOM PARTY: PART THREE"
Roselynn | June 29, 2018 at 12:36 am | Reply (Edit)
There is another book about Duval County called “LBJ and the
Mexican Americans: The Paradox of Power” by Julie Leininger Pycoir.alfredo@mcmbooks.com | July 2, 2018 at 10:10 am | Reply (Edit)
Thanks, Roselynn. Will check it out.Mario L. Vasquez | June 21, 2018 at 10:40 am | Reply (Edit)
Interesting reading about this subject matter, politics in Duval County, during those times. I grew up in Benavides, Texas and my mother’s family was involved in the politics. I was glad to know more about the Freedom Party itself. My grandfather, Ireneo “Neo” Canales, and his son, Horacio “Lacho” Canales, were members of the party.
I don’t know when they became involved, but I recall other members from your post and Amador Caballero. I recall their involvement in the mid-1950s to 1960, when both my grandfather (1959) and uncle (1960) died within one year of each other. Lacho was a war veteran and graduated from law school at UT. He ran unsuccessfully ran for county judge twice and for sheriff at the time of his death.
Politics was hard and dirty. In small communities like San Diego, Benavides, Freer, Realitos, Concepcion, etc. After the oil bust, in some of these communities population dwindled and many of persons remaining were related. Families were divided over politics and Jacksonian rewards for the loyal members of Parr’s followers. Two of my aunts from the Canales family were teachers in Benavides, and they were fired as a result of the politics.
I went on to college at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas) at the age of 17. I even met Donato Serna’s son while there, but we never discussed politics. I eventually went to law school, and currently live in Houston, Texas. Your series and its participants remind of earlier days. Tony Bill and I lived together in Brownsville when we were both teaching there. Enjoy your work.alfredo@mcmbooks.com | June 21, 2018 at 5:26 pm | Reply (Edit)
Thanks for your comments. Glad you are enjoying these posts. Three more parts to come, in which Lacho is mentioned.
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