The
Issue 571
Island Moon
The voice of The Island since 1996
March 26, 2015
Around The Island By Dale Rankin
editor@islandmoon.com We woke up Sunday morning to cries of “there’s a giant ball of fire in the sky!” it seemed that right on cue as the Spring Break Exodus headed off The Island the sun came busting through. In this case, what happened on The Island didn’t wait for Sunday, it left on Saturday. When Sunday broke bright and clear the locals grabbed their sunglasses and headed for the outdoor watering holes at Mikel May’s and the Back Porch. The day after Spring Break marks the beginning of the Sweet Spot of the Island calendar as the Old Farmer’s Almanac calls for temps in the 70s and only slight rain through the months of April and May. Spring has begun and the beaches are in good shape and not crowded, the fish are biting, Island dogs are happy to be able to hit the beach, water temps are rising, and life is good on our little sandbar.
High water
Texas-sized beach cleanup Saturday, April 18
Fourth Fireworks The mosquito attack will be followed by the Mother of all Deck Parties as fundraising for the Third Annual 4th of July Island Blast! fireworks show is in full swing. Organizer Jerry Watkins says thanks to help from the Padre Isles Property Owners Association more than half the $15,000 needed for the show has been raised. Anyone wanting to contribute can mail a check made out to Island Blast to 13517 King Phillip Court on The Island. In the past three years since Jerry and Sharon hatched the idea the fireworks show at the end of Whitecap has become a big part of the Island calendar and this year looks to be another great event, minus the fire on the spoil island as that was (hopefully) a onetime only event.
Pelican’s Landing A hapless pelican flew into a highline early Sunday morning and knocked out power to the area around Fortuna Bay to the end of Whitecap. The outage lasted until almost dawn but many of the people slept right through and woke up to find their electric alarm clocks flashing. We have had fewer outages this year than in most since the frequent rains have knocked the salt deposits off the lines which are the usual cause of the trouble as they weigh down the lines which then swing in the breeze and cause shorts.
No softball It is said you can tell Island kids because they are the ones that take their shoes off to play in the street and put them on to play in the parks. That is especially evident this time of year when the thoughts of Island kids turn to baseball, softball and soccer and their parent's thoughts turn to the fact that for the kids to play in leagues they must go OTB. This is a perennial complaint from parents, especially those who cannot register their kids in the leagues that play in Flour Bluff due to their being full and must make the long trek to the fields on the Southside of town half an hour away. The lack of softball, baseball, and soccer fields on The Island is particularly galling given the vast space that sits empty in Island parks which goes unused except for
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Weekly
FREE
Photo by Leslie Willey Jr.
Inside 361
Island Saw 45% Growth from 2000 to 2012
Volunteers needed for Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup Volunteers are needed for the nation’s biggest all-volunteer coastal cleanup Saturday, April 18. The 2015 Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup takes place at 30 of Texas’ most popular tourist beaches. Volunteers can sign up online at www.texasadoptabeach. org to take part in a fun-filled day at the beach that makes a difference. “The Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup is a great day at the beach for a great cause," said Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush. "Come out for sun and sand and help keep Texas beaches clean at any of our 30 clean-up sites along the coast. The Adopt-A-Beach clean-up starts at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 18." Each volunteer will be given data cards, gloves, pencils and trash bags. All volunteers are advised to wear closed-toe shoes, bring sunscreen and plenty of drinking water. The Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Cleanups are held rain or shine!
It is a good time to be an Island bird as the recent rains have left our ditches and fields with standing water all the way south to the National Seashore. But what’s good for the birds may not be so good for the humans because it won’t be long before we’re all doing the Skeeter Dance as all that standing water is sure to produce the Mother of All Mosquito crops. Stock up on dryer sheets and mosquito spray, it looks to be a buzzing time in the next few weeks.
Free
Texans who are not able to attend the cleanup can help keep their beaches clean by making a taxdeductible donation online at www. TexasAdoptABeach.org. There are several different Adopt-A-Beach
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Median household income 2012 - Source: U.S. Census Bureau By Jim Lee Director South Texas Economic Development Center
Texas A&M University Corpus Christi Strong growth in the Corpus Christi’s Southside is well known. Less well known is development within the
area code 361, except perhaps for the Schlitterbahn Water Park under construction on the Island. This area, which lies east of Oso Bay, includes the City of Flour Bluff, North Padre Island, Mustang Island and Port Aransas. Because of differences in their socioeconomic makeup, these communities have experienced very different development trends in the last decade.
SMA Celebrates Greek Week
Food, Fashion, and History at Seashore
Table 1 shows some data for the five census tracts within the 361 area, along with county level data. Until recently, Nueces County and the Coastal Bend as a whole have seen little overall population growth at less than one percent annually. Yet the growth experience has been highly uneven. A recent Caller Times article reported that the so-called
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Inside the Moon
By Brent Rourk Greek attired middle school students paraded through the Seashore Middle School gymnasium, proudly strutting their finest and latest in Greek clothing, hoping to be named winners in one of a few categories in the Greek Week Toga Fashion Show. The full gym was treated to stunning and at times creative fashion as well as more modern renditions of Greek Togas, as evidenced by the ‘camo-clad’ Greek boys. In the Most Authentic division of the Toga Fashion show, Tatiana and Nikolai Ortiz were anointed winners to thunderous applause, capping another successful Greek Week. For years students at SMA have been spending a week studying Greek literature and mythology, food, dress, and more while involving virtually all of the student body and staff. This year’s festivities included a buffet of Greek foods, fabulous projects on Greek history and mythology, the fashion show, and the traditional ‘Pi’ throwing where students get to throw a whipped cream pie in the face of a teacher in fun celebration of the Greek’s discovery of Pi. SMA staffer Shannon Trial discussed the history of Greek Week at SMA, “The first year at SMA, the faculty wanted to begin a tradition that involved learning, literature,
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A group of SMA students eagerly participate in the Toga Fashion Show. photo by Brent Rourk and fun. It became a cross-curricular festival, with activities varying from year to year.” Trial commented more about the different activities, “We've included the Olympics during Olympic years,
Greek food, projects by the art classes, and performances by the drama students. Every year it's a bit different with a couple of mainstays-
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A little Island history
The Best Skiffs for Fishing the Laguna Madre
Bobby Kimbrell moved to Flour Bluff in 1944, where he still lives, and worked there as a commercial fisherman for more than fifty years. By Bobbie Kimbrell In the early days of commercial fishing in the Laguna Madre starting about 1940, most of the skiffs were about 12 to 16 feet long and on the narrow side, about three to four feet wide and were made of wood planking. The sides were usually made of two 1”x12” cedar and the bottom was made of 1”x8” fir or pine. Nearly all of the skiffs were propelled by a combination of oars, a push pole and a removable mast and sail that was mounted near the bow. A boat builder by name of Kipler started making the first wider skiffs, about
five feet wide and 16-feet long which made it easier to stand up in the bow and run the trotline without being off balance. Most of the Kipler skiffs had a tunnel stern and a small air-cooled engine because outboard motors had not come into practical or popular use yet. About the year 1946 boat builders started using plywood for the sides of the skiff and fir planking for the bottom and then soon after that time they started using ½ inch plywood for the bottom because outboard motors were coming into use and the faster speed would cause the plant bottom to start leaking or sometimes break.
Vannoy Skiffs Sidney Vannoy started making the first 16-foot skiffs for sale. Prior to that time all skiffs were homemade
Meet the chefs A6
Farah's Fishing Adventures A7
Amarillo Slim A8
with an occasional builder offering one for sale. The first Vannoy skiffs had plywood sides and fir bottom with oak splash rails and rub rails. The oak rub rails around the top of
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Live Music A16