In other areas of Texas, they’ll soon be celebrating cooler temperatures, but as a recent transplant to the Crossroads, I am unsure if I should expect the same.
I grew up in Houston, where I came to understand the volatility of the seasons. Then, I went to school in Waco, where I distinctly remember the winter weather arriving the first or second weeks of October. I then moved to Midland, where we were blanketed with snow as far as the eye could see. I actually got my car stuck in it once, believe it or not. I then made my way to Austin, where I continued to understand the volatility of the seasons; at least until the era my roommate affectionately called “SNO-VID.”
I suppose my point is, I’m excited for the cooler weather — regardless of when it arrives.
In this edition of Discover 361, we’re celebrating the coming of Fall and all that the changing of seasons brings; spooky scares, comfort food, heart-warming celebrations, exciting past times, and fun-filled family bonding that we never can get enough of.
In this edition, we’ve got a profile of The Hauntings of Boogeyman Haunted House in Mathis, as well as a look into the day-to-day experiences of Darkseid Paranormal, based in Corpus Christi. If scares aren’t your cup of tea, we’ve got you covered with a breakdown of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, as well as a look into the various types of alternative music being performed in the area. If you’re more of a craftsperson, we have profiles of a tailor and seamstress in operation here in Victoria as well as some recipes for traditional Fall desserts you can share with family and friends. You can also find a glance at the Museum of the Coastal Bend’s efforts to preserve the area’s history, as well as a piece on First United Methodist Church’s yearly Pumpkin Patch event further inside. And last, but certainly not least, we’ve a story on the Lassman family, who operate Double L Ranch here in Victoria, as well as one on the start of white-tailed deer hunting season.
All this to say, like the season itself, there’s a lot of interesting, eclectic content to peruse in this edition, and I think there’s bound to be something — or many somethings — you’ll enjoy. Until next time —
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL MILLIORN | MMILLIORN@VICAD.COM
The preservation of history is crucial, allowing future generations to understand their past and learn from it to improve the future. Keeping the history of South Texas and the Coastal Bend in South Texas is essential, and historians in the area work tirelessly to achieve this goal.
Sue Prudhomme, Victoria College's executive director of cultural affairs, does whatever needs to be done to keep preservation and historical teaching alive at the Museum of the Coastal Bend in Victoria, Texas.
“My job is to make sure that we are meeting our mission here at the museum, and that mission is to enhance an appreciation for the heritage of the Coastal Bend,” Prudhomme said.
She has been working to bring the museum’s upcoming exhibit, focused on the introduction of ranching in the Coastal Bend, to life. She works on completing graphic design projects for interpretive panels, meets with sponsors for the exhibit, makes presentations, helps with museum tours, and may even be sweeping up a mess someone has left on the floor.
Prudhomme does whatever is needed to keep the museum in order and deliver the highest quality experience to its visitors.
“One of my main jobs is to make sure that our educational coordinator, our exhibits and collections manager, and all of the people who work here have the resources that they need to do their job,” Prudhomme said.
Although the Museum of the Coastal Bend has generous donors who help to support the collection and preservation of exhibits, additional resources are always needed to help push the work being done at the museum forward.
“The biggest challenge, of course, is always finding resources,” Prudhomme said. “There's always some new and unique opportunity that comes along, but we don't have the resources in order to make that opportunity happen for our community.”
Prudhomme started her career with a background in business. She began working in museums as a student worker and fell in love with them. She went
STORY AND
into museum direction to combine this background with her love of museums, history, and heritage.
Her path to working in Victoria was one with lots of obstacles influencing her quickly spurred-on job hunt and relocation.
“I was working at an art museum in Louisiana, and I was director of that museum,” Prudhomme said. “[Hurricane] Katrina hit, and the economy took a downturn, so I started looking for a different place to raise my son. I found this job here in Victoria, and it was a perfect fit for me and my son, so we moved here."
The Museum of the Coastal Bend works with landowners, various collectors, and governmental organizations such as the Texas Historical Commission to find the materials and knowledge crucial to help in the process of preserving the artifacts that come into their possession. If the museum cannot acquire specific artifacts for conservation, they actively document those materials and knowledge.
“We know we can't preserve everything, but we can document everything,” Prudhomme said. “[We document] everything that people bring forward or material and knowledge that's unique and important to the history and heritage of this area.”
The school-aged children who visit the Museum of the Coastal Bend are the ones Prudhomme gains the most
| CONT. FROM PG. 9
gratification from showing and teaching the history of South Texas. When kids who can't make a connection to history in the classroom come into the museum, they can visualize the items, people, and cultures they are being taught about.
“When they visit the museum and are actually able to see those materials from the past, and they're able to feel and touch materials, they get excited about history, and they get excited about learning their own history,” Prudhomme said. “You can actually see that light bulb turn on in some of these kids, and it's a privilege to be able to make a difference in their lives.”
The past has a much larger impact on the present than most of the world realizes, Prudhomme said. The knowledge acquired through historical preservation and taught to the public through the Museum of the Coastal Bend can be enlightening.
“I think when you're as immersed in history as we are here at the museum, it gives you a broader perspective on what's happening in the present,” Prudhomme said. “It's amazing how much insight you can have into the present and present happenings by having a deeper knowledge of the past.”
THE TAILOR and
THE SEAMSTRESS
Threads of Purpose and Community
PHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTED TO DISCOVER
The clothes on our back are as important as the people in them.
For Sterling Lynch, a professional tailor and traveling minister, and Amber Carter, a professional seamstress and philanthropist, taking care of people in Victoria and beyond is just as significant
as creating clothes for them. Behind their creative and unique contributions to fashion, as well as the connections they weave within their community, these two special people have more to offer than meets the eye.
STERLING LYNCH:
‘I WORK LONG HOURS TO ADVANCE THE WORD OF GOD’
A struggling addict who felt lost in the world until three years ago, Sterling Lynch happened to walk into a local church and hear words that changed his life. At the time, he was working on fracking sites in West Texas.
“In that moment, 30 years of addiction just left,” Lynch said.
He returned home and prayed to God for for guidance, and Lynch heard the voice of a higher purpose. “I said ‘Lord, I can’t be this man next to me’ and then I heard a voice say ‘Do tailoring,’” Lynch said.
“Second night, I asked the same question again and this time it got specific,” Lynch continued. “It said, ‘You like to sew, do tailoring.’ I found a mentor within a few weeks, and that’s how I got into the tailoring business.”
He would go on to open his shop, Sterling Tailored, in Victoria, where he creates custom caps and unique clothing pieces. He also alters elegant suits and menswear.
“I’ve been sewing for years, just as a relaxation, or a way out,” Lynch said.
In the way God’s love helped this tailor find a way out of turbulent times, Lynch travels the world to help others in trouble also find their salvation and calling.
Lynch works with Extreme Love Ministries, a faithbased organization dedicated to rescuing women and children from human trafficking and abuse in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and other nations and setting them up with skills and resources to start new lives.
“The past doesn’t dictate who you are,” Lynch said. “It was a beautiful experience to minister those women [in Cambodia] and share love. They don’t know anything besides being a number and being treated like cattle. They welcomed our teachings.”
His spiritual awakening started Lynch on a path that allows him to spread love, joy, and understanding to parts of the world unfamiliar with it. And through his business, Sterling Tailored, he is able to bring hope to the hopeless and kindness to the distraught and show them a way out just like he was shown many years ago.
“God or money, you can’t serve two masters,” Lynch said. “I don’t work long hours to get a lot of money. I work long hours to advance the word of God. I use [the business] to help other ministers travel around the world or to fund what I’m doing.”
Spreading God’s love is the pinnacle of what Lynch sets out to do with his tailoring business and his ministry, and money has never been something he’s concerned himself with or motivated by. All he needs is to help others who are lost find what they are missing in their lives.
CONT.
AMBER CARTER : ‘I
WOULDN’T WANT TO DO ANYTHING ELSE’
For Amber Carter, becoming a seamstress took a more straightforward path. At 6 years of age, she was sewing beside her grandmother. In 2017, she began working part time at the Bridal Rail in Moulton, recipient of the Best of the Best 2024. She went full time there in 2021.
“I would go home on Friday, I would make a dress, and I would wear it to work on Saturday,” Carter said of her passion for creating unique items from scratch.
Carter also worked at Jade and Madalynn, another bridal boutique, where the owner took note of those homemade gowns and her talent for needlework. The owner taught Carter formalwear techniques.
“That’s a whole different ball game than regular clothes,” Carter said. “You either pick one or the other because you’re either going to have 40 pairs of jeans to hem or 40 wedding dresses to do. You won’t have time for both.”
For many women, the wedding day is the epitome of elegance and joy, and Carter has no qualms about spending most of her free time with fabric under her palms to help make the day perfect. Not even the dismay of Carter’s husband upon seeing their home filled with mountains of dresses dissuades her.
“I try to always be available for anyone who asks,” Carter said. “Back in the day, summer was slow. When prom was done, right up until school started back up. Ever since COVID, everything has changed and there hasn’t been a slow season since.”
Carter boasts a growing client list including the regulars of All About the Dress, Bridal Rail, and some for her own personal business, Dawn of Design, LLC, which mostly consists of people unable to get an appointment at the other establishments and word-of-mouth clients. Carter encourages people to seek her out if they need professional assistance but reminds people to allow at least 10 weeks for bridal alterations and at least six weeks for other projects. If you want Carter to work on your dress, it is imperative to book a few months in advance to ensure there is plenty of time for completion of the final product.
With a weekly schedule that rarely sees her off-duty, working almost sunrise to sunset, finding someone to mentor has been a challenge.
“It took me a year to learn rolled hem,” Carter said. “There are some fabrics that are really tricky to get to turn. There’s just no time to train anyone. My time is dedicated to my clients.”
Carter dedicates her waking and even sleeping hours to the pursuit of making her clients’ fashion
YES, IT’S A LOT OF WORK ... BUT I WOULDN’T WANT TO DO ANYTHING ELSE .
- Amber Carter
ambitions come true. But for her the work is more than just sewing together applique and lace, it’s the journey of meeting the client where they are and guiding them to the fully realized dress of their dreams.
“I’m very thankful because without [the clients], we wouldn’t be where we are today. Yes, it’s a lot of work. Yes, it takes time out of my personal life. But I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
CREATING WITH A PASSION FOR OTHERS
Philanthropy can mean many different things to many different people, donating money to charities and helping the homeless person on the street, to name a few.
It is defined by the simple desire to promote the well being of others.
To Sterling Lynch, pulling people out of hostile environments and giving new life to dire situations is one way.
To Amber Carter, sacrificing personal desires in the pursuit of creating happiness and joy for brides-to-be and giving new families lasting memories is another.
Together, they prove the clothes we wear, the pasts we shoulder, and the lives we touch all make us human.
PARANORMAL DARKSEID on the hunt
STORY BY MADISON O’HARA | MOHARA@VICAD.COM PHOTOGRAPHY
CONTRIBUTED BY
DARKSEID PARANORMAL
By day they work at a refinery, as a forklift field service technician, and an electrician but at night, Mike Salazar, Joe Rhodes and Todd Leisher hunt ghosts as paranormal investigators.
Darkseid Paranormal, established in 2020, is a Corpus Christi-based paranormal investigative team that travels across the
state looking into supposedly haunted places and strange happenings. Recently they have investigated the old Lavaca County jail in Hallettsville and the Sixth Realm Haus in Victoria.
MIKE SALAZAR
Salazar first experienced the paranormal as a young kid. As he grew up, he began to notice more and more oddities and strange happenings but it wasn’t until high school that he got to star in his own real-life ghost movie. During high school, Salazar and his family moved into a new home, one that Salazar said ended up being haunted.
“I remember one weekend I was up late in my bedroom watching TV and there was a knock on my door. I thought it was weird because my little brother never knocked. I told them to come in and then I asked who it was. That’s when I heard my grandmother’s voice. At the time, my grandmother lived in Titus outside of
Lavaca County Jail Hallettsville, TX
Beeville and we lived in Taft. There was no possible way it could have been her, you know?”
After that instance and seeing shadows and apparitions, his dad called in an investigative team.
“I was mesmerized that there were people that actually go out and do this, versus just seeing some guys on TV do it,” Salazar said.
When he was in college, Salazar reached out to that paranormal investigative team and told them he’d love to tag along sometime. Unbeknownst to Salazar, his dad was assisting the team. That led Salazar to learning the ropes with the team for the next three years. But soon life got in the way and Salazar got busy.
But in 2020, Salazar and two friends joined up and started Darkseid Paranormal. Now with nine years of experience under his belt, their group investigates known or supposedly haunted places advertised or certified as paranormal locations.
“We do get a lot of tips. People reach out to us and say, ‘Hey, there’s an old place over here and we’d love for you all to come check it’,” Salazar said.
While TV ghost shows sometimes depict crazy stuff happening non-stop, that is not exactly what happens in life, according to Salazar.
“Sometimes there's a lot of downtime, and, you know, we get bored, we start talking, and that's usually when stuff will happen when we're not really paying attention, and then we're like, ‘Did you just see that?’ Or ‘Did you just hear that?’,” Salazar said.
He explained that a lot of what you see on TV is heavily edited and something is happening every minute of a 60-minute episode. With AI technology becoming widespread, it’s easier for things to be faked.
“That's one of the things that's really unfortunate about what we do. A lot of stuff can be faked, especially now with AI and people know how to manipulate recordings and video,” Salazar said.
So how does he know when a place is active with paranormal activity? Salazar said proof often comes in recording a voice, what they call an Electronic Voice Phenomena, or capturing something in a photo.
“And the guys can attest to it, if we go and get one really great piece of evidence, that's awesome, and that may be the only thing that happens the whole time, but to us that's what we're
going for,” Salazar said.
JOE RHOADS
As a kid there were things Rhoads heard and saw that he couldn’t explain, that stuck with him as he grew up watching TV shows about the paranormal. He became curious about ghost spirits.
He got involved with Darkseid Paranormal through a friend of a friend. They asked him if he wanted to join an investigation and because he has always been interested in the paranormal, he said yes. Recently he was even named the group’s lead investigator.
“You know there’s clearly stuff out there that has no explanation, things that not even the smartest people on TV can explain,” Rhoads said.
So how do you explain the unexplainable? Rhoads said they use equipment to help gather technical information. They use trigger items that spirits might interact with as well as electromagnetic field meters or EMF readers to pick up energy. For example, light switches emit EMF.
“If you're nowhere around any source of electricity, and that thing starts going off, that means there's some kind of energy around you that you can't see or feel, but there's something, there's something there,” Rhoads said.
The group also uses SLS devices that Rhoads said maps out human figures the eye can’t see and spirit boxes which emit white noise, which in theory allow spirits to speak through the noise and communicate with the living.
“We also use an Ovilus. It’s on every paranormal show that you see. It’s one of the most well-known pieces of equipment. It's basically a dictionary of over 2,000 words and the theory is that spirits can manipulate it and choose out actual words. The Ovilus then displays
those words on a screen,” Rhoads said.
To Rhoads, equipment like this and gathering evidence helps more people believe in the paranormal and it leads to more confirmation, especially at a haunting of someone’s home.
“If someone has a loved one or someone that they know that passed away at a location, and we get that name through one of our pieces of equipment, to me, that's confirmation. To prove a story or an existence of some kind of entity that's residing at a place is helpful,” Rhoads said.
Being a paranormal investigator means Rhoads and the group are getting answers for people who are in need of not only answers but closure as well. His answer to skeptics?
“That’s great, be skeptical about anything because there’s a lot of people out there who do fake things. Our main thing we do when we go to any investigation is try and debunk those things. We’ve never posted or claimed anything was real that wasn’t,” Rhoads said.
Rhoads encourages skepticism and encourages anyone who doesn’t believe in the paranormal to join them on a hunt. You just might change your mind.
TODD LEISHER
After his first ghost hunt at 19, Leisher said he became addicted to the adrenaline rush that came with investigating the paranormal.
“I was living in a little town called Weatherford when me and my friends went to a town next to us called Mineral Wells and we snuck into the Baker Hotel. That was the first time I heard voices and stuff. That’s where it all started for me,” Leisher said.
However his first experience with the paranormal was when he visited
Yorktown Hospital. While walking through the nursery, a rock was thrown at him. He said that was the first time a spirit physically attacked him.
“That rush, it drove me to keep pursuing the paranormal,” Leisher said.
Now in his 30s, Rhodes still chases that rush, investigating haunted places such as Yorktown Hospital. Salazar and Leisher started the group after meeting at a store that Salazar owned.
“He said, ‘Hey man, do you like ghost hunting?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, bro’,” Salazar said.
To Leisher, paranormal investigating isn’t a job, it’s just something they like doing and they don’t ask for money
Sixth Realm Haus
Victoria, tx
when they investigate residences. They are three people just having fun doing what they like doing.
“I think we just do it because we love to explore and find out questions to answer. We like to find out questions that we ask the spirits and for them to return an answer is amazing,” Leisher said.
While they don’t make a profit from their investigations, they help people when they investigate their houses.
“I feel like we help them by clearing their minds of something negative,” Leisher said.
And sometimes hunts are cool, they unveil secrets or the group gets to learn
something, sometimes nothing happens even though they try and do their research beforehand to see if everything adds up.
“It’s kinda like fishing, sometimes things happen and you catch something and sometimes you don’t catch anything,” Leisher said.
When the team first gets a tip for an investigation they review video footage and audio recordings before they investigate. After getting to their haunted location, they try to reconfirm their evidence by trying to reenact and debunk it. At the end of an investigation, they’ll comb through their footage and post highlight videos.
While not every moment is interesting on a hunt, Leisher has had some crazy things happen while investigating. Take for instance the time Darkseid Paranormal was investigating Yorktown Hospital. Leisher said that all of the sudden he needed to use the restroom. And a moment later, in the dark hallway, the guys asked him if he was relieving himself. After telling them no they ran into the next room where they heard the noise.
“The room was completely empty and we went into a corner and on the floor there was a puddle of what I guess was human pee. We used our thermometer tool and it read 92 degrees on the puddle. We could see the steam coming from it and it started to smell like pee, really badly. I’ve never been peed on by a ghost, that was a first for me,” Leisher said.
Leisher said that once someone is in contact with paranormal energy, it goes into their body, too.
“That energy is going into your fear and feeding it. It makes you tired and it drains you. I have to sit down because I don't feel like myself. You just gotta go through it to understand it,” Leisher said.
He said that there’s always something that the eye doesn’t catch.
So how do you become a paranormal investigator? First and foremost, you need a passion to go out there and do an honest job to try and find answers. The team doesn’t recommend investigating something alone. It’s always helpful to have a second or third pair of eyes and opinion on something that is happening.
Ghost-hunting equipment also helps but all you really need is a good camera with night vision, a couple of tools, a haunted house and passion to have an adventure. While it’s not a cheap hobby to have, it’s something people can choose to pursue further. Darkseid Paranormal sometimes has to rent out some of the haunted locations they investigate overnight, and the places aren’t cheap. But to them, $750 for an adventure is completely worth it and comparable to a good hotel room.
But be warned, there are hazards that come with the job. On hunts, Salazar has been scratched, Leisher pushed and Rhoads said that he’s lost time, once losing time for 30 minutes in which there’s a blank spot in his memory. With the physical hazards also comes the mental aspect. Leisher spoke to the ups and downs of paranormal investigating. He said that you really have to know what you’re messing with and that he takes care of himself mentally and spiritually with a cleansing that sometimes means going to church.
While the group is only exploring haunted sites in Texas, they’re hoping to take their investigations across the country and abroad. And soon, Salazar said, they might just be back in the Crossroads area, investigating the paranormal.
Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, it’s worth delving into the unknown and seeing what you can discover. Do you think you have what it takes to become a paranormal investigator?
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go toThe Patch
How First United Methodist Church’s Pumpkin Patch grew from fundraiser to cherished tradition
Bethany and Sage Pompa
TPHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTED TO DISCOVER
he leaves change from summer green to the autumn yellow, orange, and red, the temperature drops off at the turn of the seasons.
As Texans, sometimes it can be hard to join the rest of the country with the classic autumn season of pumpkins, red and yellow leaves, and cooler temperatures. Northern states have pumpkin patches or apple orchards galore to bask among the changing leaves. However in Texas, summer heat clings to the year sometimes all the way into November.
But that doesn’t mean the fall is underappreciated here in Victoria.
For the past 32 years, First United Methodist Church on North Bridge Street has been declaring the start of fall for Victorians with a full-blown pumpkin patch. Pumpkins and gourds of all shapes and sizes fill a lot to create a place for people to pick out their own pumpkins, buy locally made pumpkin bread, or just take a stroll and photos surrounded by the traditional symbol of fall. It has been a staple of fall for the entire Crossroads.
NOTHING BUT GOURD INTENTIONS
This church’s pumpkin patch began in 1992 as a fundraiser, organized by a | CONT. ON PG. 22
Alex and Emma Comer
Wyatt and Cora Borden
Sage Pompa, 1, at the 2022 Pumpkin Patch.
part-time youth director. The event grew so popular, it became a must-do for every October.
Nelda Hensley, a member of First Methodist Church, remembered when the patch was just an idea and says the pumpkin patch has been and is a team effort. Everything about the event is intertwined with giving people something wholesome and good.
The pumpkins and gourds are grown, cut, loaded and shipped by a Navajo reservation in Farmington, New Mexico. This same farm provides pumpkins for churches, schools, and other fundraisers all over the U.S.A.
The pumpkin patch is open every day of October–or until the pumpkins are gone. At the end, First United Methodist receives 30% of the proceeds of sold pumpkins while the rest goes back to the reservation to maintain, support, and provide over 700 jobs for the local community there.
Hensley said $13,750 was sent last year to the community and around $1,000 was put towards the upkeep of the church itself, including an updated chair lift for the choir section and other repairs.
Local organizations who received the proceeds include Golden Crescent Casa, Christ’s Kitchen and other food pantries, Bethlehem House, Restoration House, Victoria Boy Scout Troop 363, and a new Girl Scout Troop made up of young girls from First United Methodist Church’s congregation. Proceeds also go to Hopkins Elementary’s Spring Field Day.
This Pumpkin Patch has been nothing but full of good intentions from the seed to the patch. Hensley said all the work that goes on behind the scenes to make the patch successful is a “team effort.”
GO BIG OR GOURD HOME
Today, the Patch is still growing strong. Current public relations representative for this year’s Pumpkin Patch Committee, Kristen Heller, said they are “always trying to do new things to increase engagement and community involvement.”
The Patch has always been free to enter and enjoy, with benches and fallthemed photo backdrops for anyone to take advantage of. Pumpkins and gourds are sold for attendees to take home and decorate for fall. Over 1,000 elementary kids alone have field trips to
the patch.
The church also makes and sells homemade pumpkin bread, which is a crowd favorite.
Hensley recalled a school bus driver with a shirt proclaiming “I’m the lucky one, I get to go to the Patch,” with a list of orders for fellow bus drivers craving
pumpkin bread.
Heller also said the patch is this wonderful, simple but great thing for Victorians.
“Things are so expensive nowadays, so here’s something for all families and everyone to enjoy,” Heller said. And it’s right in the middle of the community,
Daniel and Emma Comer
so you don’t need to drive hours to get that warm and special autumn feeling.
This year, First United will be offering several events, including but not limited to face painting, a blessing of the pets for the four-legged family members, popsicles, and worship nights with music.
“A CHERISHED COMMUNITY TRADITION!”
Heller herself has been in Victoria for 11 years and has attended the pumpkin patch since her own children were little.
Mary Borden, another Victoria local, brought her two children Wyatt and Cora to the patch every autumn of their childhood since 2006.
“The patch was the perfect backdrop with its vibrant colors and fall decorations. The kids were always fascinated with the different shapes and sizes on display,” Borden said. “And although they have long outgrown this tradition, it holds a special place in my memories and I hope one day the tradition carries on with their own kids.”
Jana Gosset has done this exact thing: she has pictures of her children at the patch almost 30 years ago. Now, as a grandmother, Gosset has photos of her daughter Bethany Pompa and grandson Sage Pompa on the same ground with different pumpkins, like an echo across time intertwined with autumn love.
While we south Texans may have to wait a little longer for the opportunity to enjoy scarves, fur jackets and boots on a cool and crisp autumn day, Victoria cherishes this staple fall tradition that will continue to tie the community and families together.
Pumpkin Celebrating Cooler Weather Desserts with
PUMPKIN BREAD
Pumpkin bread is one of the uniquely festive desserts often enjoyed year round. Pumpkin bread combines the recognizable pumpkin spice flavors with the familiarity of its thick-loaf consistency.
When imagining the most popular holiday desserts, two come to mind. Pumpkin pie features the gentle spice befitting the autumn season and the cooling weather. Pecan pie features the sweet and nutty flavors associated with the changing of seasons, leaves switching colors before falling from their branches.
These two holiday pies stand out as seasonal favorites on their own, but
PUMPKIN BREAD
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY
MICHAEL MILLIORN | MMILLIORN@VICAD.COM
can be even better when combined.
Tina Fuentez, owner of Sweet Fountainz bakery, does just that with her wildly adventurous pumpkin bread.
Fuentez combines pumpkin and pecans into her bakery’s signature pumpkin bread, combining the sweet and spice of the two holiday dessert favorites. Her pumpkin bread is not only unique, but easy and quick to make, taking only an hour to prepare and cook.
INGREDIENTS
• 3/4 Cup Oil
• 2 Eggs
• 1 1/2 Cups-Pumpkin
• 1 1/3 Cups-Pecan
• 4 Cups Pastry Flour
• 1 Tbsp. Baking Soda
• 2 Tbsps. Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 3 3/4 Cups-Sugar
PROCESS
Combine your oil, eggs, pumpkin and pecans in a large mixing bowl. Stir ingredients until fully mixed. In a separate bowl, sift together your flour and baking soda. Add your flour mixture, pumpkin pie spice, salt and sugar to the pumpkin mixture. Mix until all ingredients are combined. Pour your mixture into loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 48-50 minutes.
PUMPKIN PIE
Pumpkin pie is a holiday classic across the entire country and is both a symbol for the warmth of fall and the holiday season. Pumpkins are one of the prevailing symbols of the autumn season and the delicious dessert produced from them is no different. Pumpkin pie is a must have to enjoy the Thanksgiving Day football games and the cheer of winter holidays.
Being able to give pumpkin pie a new taste and experimenting with other distinguished holiday flavors is exactly what makes it so versatile and unique. Alex Rankin, who’s been baking for about three years, does exactly that with her family’s pumpkin pie.
The family recipe, originally from her mom who may have adapted it from an older recipe, is typical for pumpkin pie with the rich flavor and distinguished pumpkin spice aroma. But this pumpkin pie features a twist that distinguishes it from others.
Instead of the typical graham cracker crust, this recipe uses a crust made
PUMPKIN PIE
from crushed gingersnaps. Another staple dessert of the holiday season, gingersnaps bring a new level of sweet spice to the pie. A gingersnap crumble is also included as an element spread across the pie’s surface.
“[My mom’s] been making it my whole life, as long as I can remember,” Rankin said.
This unique recipe has been around for awhile and when Rankin got consumed by the art of baking, she took up the responsibility of mastering and delivering this indulgent dessert to her family’s holiday gatherings.
This pumpkin pie recipe is a cozy one. It’s stuck around for such a long time due to its unique flavor palette and nostalgic connection to holidays of the past for Rankin and her family.
“I've made several other pumpkin pie recipes that are very complex and probably have a lot more interesting recipe notes or ingredients that they use,” said Rankin. “I still come back to this one.”
INGREDIENTS
• 1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough
• 10 gingersnaps
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. chilled butter, cut into
small pieces
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 Tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 Tsp. salt
• 1/4 Tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 large egg
• 3 large egg whites
PROCESS
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll your dough into a 12-inch circle. Place the dough into a 10-inch deepdish pie plate. Fold the edges under, and flute. Freeze the dough for 30 minutes. Place your gingersnaps, two tablespoons of sugar and your flour in a food processor; process until the gingersnaps are ground up. Add your butter to the mix and pulse into crumbles. Combine 3/4 cup of sugar and your remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix your ingredients until fully combined. Pour your mix into the prepared crust. Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. After 35 minutes, sprinkle your gingersnap crumb mixture over the pie. Bake the pie for an additional 20 minutes or until the center is set. Cool the pie to room temperature on a wire rack.
FASHION
THE PEOPLE BUSINESS
Double L Ranch and the Lassman Family
STORY BY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY
MADISON O’HARA | MOHARA@VICAD.COM
MODELS
ASHLEY COWAN, BREON COROLL, BRIAYDEN COROLL JANE LASSMANN, RUBEN PIC AND SHIRLEY WACHTENDORF
FASHIONS PROVIDED BY MURDOCHS
CROSSBOWS AND FISHING POLES PROVIDED BY DOUBLE L RANCH
PHOTO SHOOT LOCATION DOUBLE L RANCH
When you visit the Lassmann family’s Double L Ranch, you’re not a stranger for long. Double L Ranch is run by son, Gary Lassmann, his wife, Jane, and their daughter Robbi, family friend Judy and father and patriarch, Charles Lassmann, who is lovingly referred to as Pop by family and guests alike.
“We’re in the people business. Take care of the people and the money will be there,” Pop said.
Pulling up to the ranch, you’re greeted by Pop as he welcomes everyone into the cabin. Inside, he’s happy to share stories about past visitors and previous hunts he’s been on in the area and abroad. The table is filled with games and familiar faces as the Lassmanns gather round and swap stories about how every trophy
head ended up mounted on the wall. Pop recalls hunters that came to the ranch for over two decades and points out a photograph on the wall where he’s posing with the cheetah he’d hunted in Africa. It’s moments like this the Lassmann family makes you feel like you’ve always been one of them, sitting at that table swapping stories.
For Pop and his family, hunting is a shared way of life and something they’ve always done.
They bought the ranch in the 1980s and for 24 years the Lassmanns have owned and operated Double L Ranch as a family business. They don’t have any flashy equipment or
Wachtendorf
| CONT. FROM PG. 27
clever marketing, just enjoyment for people and nature and word of mouth.
“We get to share what we’ve always done and it’s great working with family. My daughter-in-law, Jannie, she’s a star,” Pop said.
The ranch features about 70 acres of land filled with about 500 to 600 hogs, naturally occurring whitetail deer and axis, fallow, antelope, and red sheep, just to name a few. While on the ranch, the Lassman family is right there with you, helping you track, hunt and find your animal, rain, snow or shine.
“We give people an opportunity to
| CONT. ON PG. 30
Shirley
wears Pnuma hat, Under Armour shirt and Kings camo bottoms.
Ashley Cowan is wearing mens pull over top and mens Pnuma bottoms with Lacrosse snake boots.
Jane Lassmann wears Pnuma hat top and bottoms and Pnuma jacket.
experience the great outdoors, breathe air that’s never been breathed before,” Pop said.
At the ranch, hunters can hunt three times a day — in the morning, afternoon and after dark — for exotics or hogs. They can catch and release fish at their fishing pond and spend the night in the bunkhouse and play games. The feed route is run twice a day, and throughout the ranch are deer-hunting stands as well as 18 corn feeders with lights. One interesting feature of the ranch is an old decrepit house from the early 1900s that is supposedly haunted.
“I’ve got hunters that won’t even go in there at night for hog hunting, they’re too scared of the ghosts,” Pop said.
Another interesting and important thing to note about Double L Ranch is that it’s a bowhunting-only property.
Pop grew up hunting all his life, specifically rifle hunting. When hunting with a rifle, you're 100 yards away from the animal. Pop said it’s easier than bow hunting when you’re about 20 yards away from the animal.
“It’s a challenge hunting with a stick and a string, especially at such a close proximity, because then it’s your skills versus the animal and that animal is smarter than you and has better instincts than you,” Pop said.
While it took him forever to start bow hunting, he prefers the bow now due to how close he must get to every animal. His hope is to get more young people involved in hunting and help people learn about mother nature.
“We see families out here hunting, men, women, children, people from all over the state, country and even as far as Australia,” Pop said.
At their property, they have a bunkhouse that can sleep six people, a cookhouse, showers, AC, satellite TV and everything else you could need for your home away from home. In the winter, Pop said, they are completely booked with hunters back to back. People come from all over, stay three to five days and they usually come more than once. Pop credits that to his family’s hospitality.
“When you’re out here, you’re part of the family,” Pop said.
And the only thing more important to the Lassmans than hunting is family.
Briayden Coroll, left, wears Carhartt overalls, Under Armour shirt with say I won’t hat. Vortex case. Breon Coroll right, wears Carhartt pants, Ariat shirt with orange Pnuma hat.
Ruben Pic wears Pnuma vest, Under Armour shirt and Pnuma pants. Under Armour boots.
BEING PREPARED FOR
H untin G SEAS N
STORY BY CHRISTOPHER GREEN CGREEN@VICAD.COM
PHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTED BY
CORDIA
Hunting season for white-tailed deer begins Nov. 4 and runs through Jan. 5, 2025. Whether you’re out with family, friends or solo, the hunting season is a great way to experience the beauty the Texas wilderness offers. The deer will be roaming pastures and open fields, giving hunters the chance to bring in a trophy kill or a smaller game deer that can be used for home-cooked meals.
There is no shortage of hunting destinations for people who don’t own private land, and there is also no shortage of hunting gear and apparel.
Hunting doesn’t require anyone to wear camo or set up game trail cameras, but those items can help deliver a unique experience for seasoned and beginning hunters. Places like Victoria All Sports, Cordia and Academy Sports and Outdoors have a robust array of selections when it comes to finding the right hunting gear and apparel.
White-tailed deer season in Texas can last a long time, unlike some other states, and that opens up a wide range of temperatures and terrains. Cordia, an online retailer founded by South Texas hunters, has a unique selection of hunting apparel to fit any weather or locale.
“A lot of times I’ll be wearing short sleeve shirts and then other times it could be 40 degrees outside and in those cases it’s best to have some type of jacket on, and we have several that are for various activities and temperatures,” said Cordia founder Chris Grant. “One of the most important things as temperatures get colder is to have layering. One heavy jacket doesn’t give you a lot of options. It’s better to have a couple of layers where you can take one off and still wear the other one.”
A large state like Texas offers a vast array of places to hunt for those who want to experience some time
A man wearing a Cordia jacket gets ready to begin hunting.
A child gets ready to go fishing.
| CONT. FROM PG. 33
away from home and enjoy a nice trip outdoors. Based in Victoria, All Seasons Guide Service provides a full package when it comes to hunting trips.
“Really most of South Texas is great for deer hunting,” Grant said. “South Texas has really good deer with really good genetics. The terrain and the
brush give them the natural proteins and things they need for really good animal growth and maintaining good health.”
The Golden Triangle of South Texas, one of the state’s best hunting territories, is a region of Southeast Texas between the cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange. Each is roughly 20 miles from another and they form the
Taco
‘Bout Peaches
shape of a triangle.
The area has become known among hunters as a place to score large trophy bucks. Places like the Great Horizon Ranch offer guided hunts through the Golden Triangle while places closer to Victoria, such as All Seasons Guide Service, offer guided hunts through a variety of different areas throughout South Texas and the Hill Country.
Top left, a man wearing camo hunts with binoculars. Top right, kids wearing Cordia camo get ready to go hunting
In October, the temperatures drop from their Texas summer peaks, but some people don’t want goosebumps from the heralding winds of fall and winter. They don’t want to just cuddle up and enjoy pumpkin spice lattes and the changing leaves. They want to jump and cling together in delighted fright.
They want the chills of the Spooky Season.
Well, the Boogeyman of the Crossroads area is more than happy to oblige.
LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTLED
James “Boogey” Leverett and his family are dedicated lovers of Halloween. They decided they wanted to share their love with everyone. One way to do this is, of course, the classic Halloween decorations during October for the trick-or-treaters. What started as enthusiastic yard decorations, grew into something more. It turned into a group effort.
It’s “a way for the neighborhood to get together,” said Kay Leverett. “Filled with little scares and something unusual” for the locale.
Their yard has been a must-see
of their neighborhood since 2004. Skeletons, ghosts, bats, witches, and scary clowns, the whole nine yards of spider webs and other Halloween decorations.
Year after year, the decorations got bigger. The Leveretts’s neighbors got involved as well, eventually stretching to four houses and yards dressed to the scary nines. People from all over the Corpus Christi and Mathis area drove by to see the Halloween lights and frights and it got too big for just the neighborhood.
IF YOU GOT IT, HAUNT IT
Boogey and family and friends went public in 2015 with an official Halloween haunted house destination as “The Hauntings of Boogeyman Haunted House.” They found and leased a small building in San Patricio County on FM 666. As the infamous number of the beast, this felt right to the Leveretts of course. But it’s more than just the scary number that drew in the Boogeyman.
The very land around 4813 FM 666 has all the makings of a prime scary story. Going back to pre-Anglo colonization, not even a mile away is a Texas Historical Marker for an
area believed to have been used for generations by Indian tribes and Mexican settlers. According to the Texas Historical Commission, after the establishment of San Patricio, “colonists continued to use the old cemetery on the hill.”
The area had been the site of several battles during the Texas Revolution. The hill is the final resting place of Mexican soldiers, Texan revolutionists, victims of diseases, and settlers and their descendants. Much of the cemetery was neglected until the 1960s when restoration efforts began, according to the Texas Historical Commission. Many of the tombstones were lost or unmarked to this day.
The land is also near the location of the last woman to be sentenced to hanging in Texas. Josepha “Chipita” Rodriguez was hanged in 1863 after being accused of the murder of a traveling horse trader, though she was absolved of the crime in 1985 by the Texas Legislature due to many discrepancies and questionable evidence.
Official Texas Historical Markers
designate the areas as Texas History.
The Hauntings of Boogeyman Haunted House, however, do not take this tragic history of the land lightly. On top of using the building and area to host a haunted house, Boogey walks through the many Texas Historical Markers around their location, sharing the rich Texas history.
“There are 10 markers all on one road,” Boogey said. “It’s full of Texas history that people just don’t know about anymore. And many of the land is still owned by the families of the original settlers.”
Yes, Boogey and family wanted a place to share their love of scares, but it also became a way to bring in people to share the history itself, keeping it alive.
JUST CREEPIN’ IT REAL: SHARING, CARING, AND SCARING
Kay Leverett calls the Boogeyman Haunted House a “family affair. A gathering for us.” Everyone participating in the scares are volunteers, friends and family. They believe Halloween isn’t something bad, it's something to celebrate.
“We want everyone to love Halloween as much as we do,” said Boogey. A good scare can be good fun.
“It’s a small community,” he said. “I don’t do it for the profit, just for the love of Halloween.”
Admission to the haunted house is $25 to $35 a ticket and they average around 900 to 1000 visitors a year.
“If I did it for profit, I would have gone bankrupt in a year,” said Boogey.
The haunted house is filled with old school haunts and scares. Nearly 80% of the props and scenery are handmade. Everything about it proclaims the Leveretts’s passion for the spooky
season.
They even have year-round themed events. They bring in Krampus, the folk character and Santa antithesis for the Christmas season, celebrate “Summerween,” and attend conventions in costume and in character.
Boogey said most haunted houses are “all about the animatronics nowadays. And we have some, but we make more personable scares.”
There’s not much robotics involved, it’s a house with actors in traditional but vivid Halloween creeps and gore.
Getting up-close and personal with people allows Boogey and “fiends” to be personable with people.
“Some people really want to be scared,” Boogey said. “But some are there just because they got dragged in.” Boogey can tailor the experience to be fun for everyone, no matter their spooky needs.
It’s all in good, fake-blood fun. The entire mission of The Hauntings of Boogeyman Haunted House is to give people the thrilling spooky experience they crave, make them love Halloween, and come back for more.
Dreamstereo, from left: Braxton Sullivan, Max Cuellar, Alexx Esquivel, Ryan Solis.
If there’s any one thing the Crossroads lacks, music isn’t it. Just one look at the local musicians page on the website for instrument shop Tee’s Music House illustrates the abundance of talented musical acts across the region, from Victoria to Yorktown to Hallettsville. One commonality among these disparate acts is that most of them belong to one of two genres: Country or Tejano.
And while there’s nothing wrong with either genre, sometimes the need for something more diverse or unique is powerful and one might wonder what other kinds of music are available. In pursuing this line of thinking, a trifecta of acts one might consider “counterculture” here in the Crossroads made themselves known; one at the beginning of their musical journey, one that’s become embedded in the community after having grown up in the area, and another that hasn’t been performing for long but is already preparing to go international.
GIOVANNI GONZALEZ
Giovanni Gonzalez says he’s been working on his vocals for about 12 years, and it shows. Gonzalez is currently working to form a local band, Riverside Drive, in the metalcore / deathcore / country metal genres, but the passion has been there since he was attending Newcomerstown High School in Ohio.
“You know, I didn’t really have any
friends,” Gonzalez said of his time in school. “I wasn’t popular … I was just in the back, nobody knew who I was. When I started doing this music stuff, then everybody started to get to know me.”
Gonzalez moved to Victoria about five years ago, at which point he began posting covers to the music website Soundcloud as a creative outlet. His covers, which include several from The Amity Affliction and Fit For A King, are impressive, especially given that Gonzalez taught himself that vocal style.
“I used to sing country a lot,” Gonzalez said. “Then, I gradually made the transition into metal and I taught myself how to do the screamo vocals and everything. I never got a vocal coach or anything like that. It was just experimental-type stuff in my parents’ guest house, and then all of a sudden, I just started blowing up.”
But, Gonzalez is under no illusion his experience occurred overnight.
“It took me a couple years for the harsh vocals to master,” Gonzalez said. “After a while, I learned my vocal technique, and what I try to tell people that want to learn from me is: You gotta know your voice, the range of your voice, and the tone of your voice. When you can master all three, you’ve got your own personal technique.”
To some, the metalcore / deathcore genres might be an instant turn-off, but to Gonzalez, the genre saved his life.
He is autistic, which he says causes him to get anxious whenever he meets new people, but all that goes away when he’s on stage performing.
“If it wasn’t for metal music, I wouldn’t be here standing,” he said. “I overcame a lot; alcoholism, addiction. Just the lyrics alone gave me a better perspective.”
GLITCH
Glitch is an indie-alternative outfit made up of Kevin Brown on drums, Andrew Davis on guitar and Aaron Gonzalez on bass. All three members also perform vocals. In 2010, Brown and Davis contributed to a separate musical venture known as Joel Anthony Williamson and the Revival, but upon Brown’s exit, the two decided to continue collaborating.
“This project [Glitch] actually began as The Collide,” Brown said, recalling that the project initially featured Stephen Elisondo, who’d eventually leave the band to play lead/rhythm guitar for the band Velvet Drive. “Stephen Elisando formed this band, and we [Joe Garcia and Brown] came up with the name The Collide, and the idea was to be a variety band — strictly covers.”
It was around this time that Gonzalez — one of Brown’s childhood friends —
Top left, Local musician Giovanni Gonzalez performs on stage. Top right, Glitch is an indie-alternative outfit made up of (from left) Andrew Davis (guitar and vocals), Kevin Brown (drums and vocals), and Aaron Gonzalez (bass and vocals).
joined the band, and through a revolving door of members including Justin Cole Salinas, Aaron’s brother Eric and more, the current lineup — Brown, Gonzalez, and Davis, who joined last October — became reality.
In the formation of Glitch, Brown and Davis said, the decision to go against the grain and perform music that could be considered counterculture in the Crossroads was a conscious one.
“We’re definitely playing what we love,” Brown said. “The zeitgeist of the community is absolutely kind of leaning toward country and Tejano, and even the venues that will allow you to play other genres expect you to play covers. So, I learned early on through a couple of other bands that I’ve been in that perform locally, even if you’re going to play originals, it’s important to have covers and then just throw in your originals as a little bonus way to get those songs out there.”
Brown said live venues aren’t pulling the crowds they used to, but that has led to musicians creating their own opportunities in and around Victoria. To that end, the band is preparing for an upcoming event called FOMOfest at DeLeon Plaza.
“That’s gonna be multiple all original bands,” Brown said about the event. “Fear of Missing Out is what FOMO obviously means, but it also has a double meaning — Fantastic Original Music Overture. So yeah, the trend is obviously creating venues for people to hear whatever solid music you have on your own. It’s gotten more easy to propagate that kind of thing in our community, thankfully.”
DREAMSTEREO
Dreamstereo was founded by Alexx Esquivel and Max Cuellar in January of 2023, and already the band is preparing for its international debut.
“We’ve had the luxury to, in basically a matter of months, go from playing local bars to … we’ve been out of state already,” Esquivel said. “We’ve opened up for The Struts, for AWOLNATION, several others at festivals, and we’re talking to our manager and next year we’re going international.”
The self-proclaimed post-punk/new wave/dream pop outfit has more recently welcomed Ryan Solis on drums and Braxton
Sullivan on bass, joining Esquivel and Cuellar on vocals and guitar, respectively. Solis joined the band less than a year ago, while at the time of this writing, Sullivan has been in the band for about a month. Esquivel said the band met Sullivan at their shows, and they put him on the spot.
“He [Sullivan] kept coming to the shows ‘cause he liked the music. We got to meet him that way, and then we were like ‘hey man, we need a bass player. You have a week to learn all the music, can you do it or not?’” Esquivel said. “He showed up ready, he got to work.”
The band’s name is a portmanteau stemming from Esquivel’s love of the Argentine band Soda Stereo and his dream of performing music.
“I was like, ‘I really like that band. I like their sound, but I don’t want to rip them off, so what can I do?’ And I was like, ‘Well, dream. I have a dream, I have a vision. I got the right guys to accomplish it.’ So, Dreamstereo,” Esquivel said. “It just kind of came together. We never went under a different name. It was just a one-time thing and it stuck around.”
“And, there’s also nothing else with Dreamstereo online,” added Cuellar.
In the case of Dreamstereo, Esquivel said the decision to prioritize lesser-known genres like new wave was not intended to be a rebellious move.
“It’s just innovative. It’s something that … there’s a lot of indie that’s coming back around that’s really cool, so let’s bring back new wave,” Esquivel said. “It comes natural, we do it very well. So, why not just really focus on it and push it? And this town has been nothing but welcoming to our style and to us.”
To add, in chatting with the band, it became very clear they are all doing it for the love of the craft and because they believe there’s something special about this lineup and this material.
“Coming from nothing but metal bands and being more or less a cover and studio artist in Corpus [Christi], it’s a lot more diverse,” Sullivan said. “Honestly, I’ve had a taste of everything, and this band, I don’t know what it is, but it makes the hair stand up on my skin, and it really gets the blood pumping.”
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The holiday season is known for shopping at the last minute, donning spooky-cute costumes, and pondering what the new year will bring. The common thread among the last few holidays of the year is spending quality time with brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, parents, and children.
One of these holidays, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), is commemorated over the course of a few days, usually between the end of October, around Halloween, and the beginning of November. This Mexicanderived holiday involves a celebration of welcoming home the souls of lost loved ones and is usually accompanied with food, drink, and parades.
“Creating a space for our Latino community where they can feel at home and welcome has always been one of our main focuses,” said Chris Melendez, owner of Casa de Luna of Victoria. Melendez and Casa de Luna have been supporting this cultural space and cultivating Latino heritage through past Dia de los Muertos events and other avenues for years. “We strive to put on events focused on our Latino community because it’s important for us to celebrate our heritage.”
In recent years, Dia de los Muertos has grown in popularity. Mexico City held its first citywide parade in 2016, inspired by a blockbuster James Bond movie the previous year which featured a large Day of the Dead parade scene. The following year, Disney put the tradition into the limelight with its release of Coco, a worldwide phenomenon that brought more awareness and publicity to the famed Mexican holiday.
“This will be our 4th [Dia de los Muertos] event,” Melendez said of this year’s Victoria celebration being held at the UHV campus the first weekend of November. “[Dia de los Muertos] is about community and the celebration of life. Every year, we do a big community altar where we welcome anyone who wants to participate with pictures of their loved ones.”
Eventually, and over the span of many, many years, Dia de los Muertos has evolved into what is commonly seen today: ofrendas, or memorials of loved ones within homes which are typically decorated with candles, bright marigolds, and stacks of food such as tortillas and fruit. Gravesites
of deceased loved ones are garnished with food and drink offerings, usually the loved one’s favorites, and these souls are then left to return to the living world and feast, drink, and play music with their loved ones once the barrier between the spirit world and this world dissolves.
“The altar is definitely my favorite part of this celebration,” Melendez said. “We try to keep it as traditional as we can with community in mind. It's important for us to teach and welcome anyone who wants to participate in this beautiful celebration.”
During these festivities, it is also common for people to adorn their faces with white paint to mimic skulls and decorate with blooming florals. This design was actually inspired by the early 20th century artist, Jose Guadalupe Posada who first drew similar skeletal figures with the intention of mocking politicians and showing commentary on revolutionary politics. La Calavera Catrina, or Elegant Skull, features a female skeleton adorned with makeup and dressed in fancy clothes and was intended as a statement about Mexicans adopting European fashions over their own heritage and customs. This Elegant Skull, also called the sugar skull, is now one of Day of the Dead’s most iconic images and what most people think of when Dia de los Muertos is mentioned.
Modern-day Dia de los Muertos has evolved into its own celebratory tradition and continues to evolve with the world. It’s an occasion for remembering and honoring those who have passed, portraying death in a
positive light as a natural part of the human experience.
“Through the month of October we like to share the meaning of all things [Dia de los Muertos] like the Cempachil, which refers to the Mexican marigold flower and its iconic scent that helps guide souls back to their families for the altars and papel picado, or the paper banners used at the altars which serve as a symbol of the fragility of life. The yellow and purple colors often used during Dia de
Los Muertos symbolize purity and mourning.”
This year’s Victoria Dia de los Muertos will be hosted by Casa de Luna and held at the UHV campus Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. Melendez and Casa de Luna will provide 60 candles with blank stickers for community members to write in the names of lost loved ones to be remembered. Additionally, this year’s celebration will be host to a plethora of vendors and cultural activities for Dia de Los Muertos festivity-goers.
UPCOMING Calendar of Events in Victoria
Dancers in the Victoria Ballet
OCTOBER
TEJAS FEST
Oct. 4 | 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Oct. 5 | 10:00 AM to 11:30 PM
DeLeon Plaza, 101 N Main St, Victoria
We're getting the word out about Victoria's newest FREE community festival, happening this October 4-5 in the new and improved De Leon Plaza in Downtown Vic-toria!
SHENANDOAH LIVE
Oct. 4 | 6:00 PM
Shooters Bar, 4705 N Navarro St, Victoria
Fueled by Marty Raybon's distinctive vocals and the band's skilled musicianship, Shenandoah became well known for delivering such hits as "Two Dozen Roses", "Church on Cumberland Road" and "Next to You, Next to Me".
company
VICTORIA COLLEGE PTA PROGRAM COLOR RUN 5K
Oct. 5 | 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
405 Memorial Dr., Victoria
The public is invited to join VC's Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Program for a Color Run 5k
BIKES, TRIKES & POWER WHEELS
Oct. 5 | 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
DeLeon Plaza, 101 N Main St, Victoria Hot Rod Tour of Texas crew is proud to bring you the 2024 Bikes Trikes & Power Wheels Custom Car. Truck, Motorcycle, Trikes, Low Riders, Sleds. Exotics and this year even Vintage Campers Charity Show.
MAD HATTER EVENT
Oct 5 | 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM
2806 N Navarro St, Suite H, Victoria
This event is themed after Alice in Wonderland, so come dressed as your
as Flower
favorite character! We will have amazing vendors, food trucks, and more.
2024 NAZARETH ACADEMY FALL FESTIVAL
Oct. 6 | 10:30 AM
Victoria Community Center, 2905 E North St, Victoria
You won't want to miss this year's AMAZING turkey and dressing plus awesome auctions items and more, all to support our school community.
ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH BICENTENNIAL MASS
Oct. 6 | 10:30 AM
St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 101 W Church St, Victoria
St. Mary's Catholic Church officially celebrates their Bicentennial with an incredible Mass in Downtown Victoria, celebrated on the front steps of Victoria's oldest church.
Theatre
dance
Faeries in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Friday at the Victoria Fine Arts Center. Photo by Chase Cofield
THEATRE VICTORIA PRESENTS: SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK LIVE
Oct. 10 | 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Oct. 11 | 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Oct. 12 | 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Oct. 13 | 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Leo J. Welder Center for the Performing Arts, 214 N Main St, Victoria Schoolhouse Rock Live! follows Tom, a nerve-wracked school teacher who is nervous about his first day of teaching. He tries to relax by watching TV, when various characters representing facets of his personality emerge from the set and show him how to win his students over with imagination and music, through such songs as "Just a Bill," "Lolly, Lolly, Lolly" and "Conjunction Junction."
CITIZENS RUN AGAINST CANCER
Oct. 12 | 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM
101 N Main, Victoria Citizens Medical Center will host the 8th Annual Citizens Run Against Cancer HalfMarathon and 5K in Victoria, Texas, which will raise money to help patients in our community who are fighting cancer.
VCMGA 2024 FALL PLANT SALE & HOLIDAY BOUTIQUE
Oct. 12 | 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM
283 Bachelor Dr, Victoria We are gearing up for our 2024 VCMGA Fall Plant Sale & Holiday Boutique!
BICENTENNIAL 2024 OLD VICTORIA TROLLEY TOUR
Oct. 12 | 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM Victoria County Courthouse, 101 N. Bridge St., Victoria
Once a month, the beautiful trolley from Texas Coast Limousines will take attendees along the oak-lined streets in and around Downtown Victoria to see our most venerable structures.
Shop Local
CHUG OR TREAT 2
Oct. 12 | 3:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Riverside Park, 456 Mc Cright Dr, Victoria Join in this fun outdoor music fest celebrating the haunting holiday. This is their second annual event. Open to all ages and costumes are encouraged. $10 entry fee.
DETAR TRUNK OR TREAT
Oct. 17 | 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
DeTar Navarro, 506 E San Antonio St, Victoria
DeTar is having this community favorite event again this year. Bring your little ghost and goblins out for some Trunk or
Treats. Frito Pie, Popcorn and Drinks for Sale.
SPOOKTACULAR
Oct. 17 | 6:30 PM
Victoria ISD Fine Arts Center, 1002 Sam Houston Dr, Victoria
This annual and beloved event is back this year. Bring the kiddos dressed in their favorite costumes. It is encouraged that even adults dress up for the festivities. Keep up with this event here for more information on when tickets will be available for purchase.
1824: A VICTORIA ORIGIN STORY
Oct. 18-Oct. 19
Riverside Park, 456 Mc Cright Dr, Victoria Step back in time this October 1819 in Riverside Park for a fascinating reenactment of life in Guadalupe Victoria in 1824! Period-accurate historical reenactors from all over the state of Texas will be coming to Victoria to present this very special free event.
HOWLER'S HAUNTED FOREST
Oct. 18-Oct. 26 | 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM 135 Progress Drive, Victoria Howler’s Haunted Forest is indoors and climate controlled. Rain or shine, everyone will have a spooky fun time!
HANDS-ON HISTORY: PINCH POTS
Oct. 19 | 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Museum of the Coastal Bend, 2200 E Red River St, Victoria Participants will learn the coil method
to create clay pots, the same method used by people in Texas’ early Spanish missions. Free admission and open to the public. Supplies are provided; first-come, first-served.
FOMOFEST 2024
Oct. 19 | 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM
DeLeon Plaza, 101 N Main St, Victoria Victoria Premier all original music festival! We have teamed up with Mother Cluckers to bring live entertainment and a street shopping extravaganza into synergy! Refreshments will be available from Moonshine Drinkery, as well as lots of local cuisine!
KIXS 108 RADIO PRESENTS
TRUNK OR TREAT
Oct. 20 | 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
DeLeon Plaza, 101 N Main St, Victoria Don’t miss out on this fang-tastic event! Come for the treats, stay for the fun!
NEW CENTURY HOSPICE
DRIVE THRU TRUNK-OR-TREAT
Oct. 23 | 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
1501 E. Mockingbird Lane, Victoria Join some safe family fun hosted by New Century Hospice. Being a drive thru ensures everyone's safety. Come for a spooktacular good time.
Jeff Wright, executive director of Victoria Preservation Inc. leads a tour through the Victoria County Courthouse. Photo by Chase Cofield
3D MAMMOGRAPHY
has proven to increase early detection of breast cancer by 41 percent. Schedule your 3D mammogram today at Citizens Medical Center Women’s Diagnostic Center. Call 361-570-7277 to schedule your mammogram.
