CC Magazine August 2013 by Publication Printer

CC MAGAZINE

AUGUST 2013

SECRETS OF PORT A

LITTLE

CHAPEL ON THE DUNES

STARS SHINE IN CC

CARRIE UNDERWOOD BAG FEE VOTE CC COUNCIL TO VOTE AUGUST 20 It Don't mean Nothin' if it ain't

FREE

DRUG TESTING A BAD IDEA FOR HIGH SHOOL STUDENTS TOO

MCNELLY'S DAYS ARE NUMBERED

THE RANGERS FACE AN UNWELCOME TRUTH

magazine

JEFF CRAFT

From the Publisher...

The plastic bag campaign has finally got something to happen, city council will be voting on a fee program August 20th, unless they don't, which might also happen. I'm not looking forward to adding another layer of forms and hassle to our city, but I'm so tired of seeing plastic bags stuck in trees, on dunes, and floating n the gulf that I'd accept a complete ban of the things. I know a lot of people have a lot of money invested in the way things are right now, but the secret to good government is to take those people into account and still move forward. The Corpus Christi bag ordinance, as it looks today, is definitely trying to take the interests of everyone into account. Large grocery operators might even come out ahead at the end of the day with the provision that says they can keep five percent of the bag fees they collect. As Colleen McIntyre, Council Member for District 4, pointed out, the five percent "administrative fee" kept by merchants acts as a perverse incentive, generating income on a per-plastic-bag-used basis that didn't exist before. So stores using plastic bags and charging a dollar per transaction get five cents back- when you're talking about five cents for every person who buys groceries in the city each day, it might add up to an incentive to use more plastic bags, not less.

Publisher

JEFF@JEFFCRAFT.US

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Samantha Koepp, Dale Rankin, Georgia Griffin, Ronnie Narmour, Aletha Eyerman, Charlz Vinson

PHOTOGRAPHY Miles Merwin, Jeff Dolan, Janette Park-Rankin Dale Rankin, Georgia Griffin, Max Strycharske, Ronnie Narmour, Angela Maria Gonzalez

CONTACT CC @ 361.443.2137 361.949.7700 505 S Water St Suite 545 Corpus Christi, Tx 78401

ADVERTISING JEFF CRAFT 361.443.2137 JAN RANKIN 361.949.7700

I'll tell you what I'm really excited about though... Comedian Steve Trevino will be filming his second Showtime special right here at the American Bank Center on September 21st. Steve has graced the cover of CC Magazine before, but this time, he's invited us to be the program for the showmeaning we'll be devoting the entire September issue to Steve Trevino, and everyone who goes to the show on the 21st will have a CC Magazine put in their hands on their way into the arena. Thanks Steve for inviting CC Magazine to share in your success! We can't wait to see the show.

Carpet Cleaning

Jeff Craft

ÂŠ Copyright 2013 all rights reserved. CC Publishing, LLC reserves the right to edit, rewrite & refuse editorial materials and assumes no responsibility for accuracy, errors, omissions, or consequence arising from it. CC magazine shall be held harmless indemnified against any third party claims. CC Publishing, LLC accepts no claims made by agents, contributors or photographers. Opinions expressed by contributing writers or columnists are not necessarily those of CC Publishing, LLC or its affiliates. Advertisers appearing in CC magazine present only the viewpoint of the advertisers. CC magazine is printed in the USA. We assume no responsibility for advertising claims made in this publication. All correspondence to this publication becomes the property of CC magazine. Publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without express permission of the publisher and author(s).

Dear Mr. Vinson,

Endless War on Drugs

Letters

Bag Heroes

The article you wrote, “Large Sodas and Crack Pipes,” should be printed in the New York Times. No one has stated the case for legalization of drugs better than anyone, except for Attorney & Professor of Law, Alan Dershowitz whose book; “Our Right to Drugs,” was published a number of years ago. It would seem you might have read it since many of your arguments are almost verbatim to the book. Although much of Dershowitz argument is based on our constitutional right to own property (Drugs here defined as property) he covers the fundamental reason our government sees fit to criminalize mood altering substances and that, of course, is money. The bureaucracy the government has created to control drugs is a richly ingrained aspect of the American economy. Think of the number of prisons which have been built to house the thousands of mostly poor, black or Hispanics who have little opportunity in devastated neighborhoods except to sell and use drugs to give them at least a dream of a life. The big time operators, the Cartels, the billion dollar organizations who feed off the poverty of those mentioned above, rarely if ever get caught and those who do have powerful armies of soldiers to kill off witnesses and hire powerhouse attorneys if they ever get to trial. Now consider the city, state and federal taxes needed to pay the growing number of prisons guards, medical staff, probation officers and their staffs. Which serve the enormous number of prisoners who are incarcerated spend time in prison then released back into the same depraved environment and therefore are soon re-incarcerated. It has been estimated that since the so called “War on Drugs” was established in the 70’s under president Nixon the government has spent over one trillion dollars to end the “drug problem!” but alas, today drugs are purer, cheaper and more available especially to young people, (children) than ever before in history. Our government is not stupid. They know that the best way to control anything, whether it be alcohol, drugs or prostitution and gambling is to legalize it, make it available under controlled conditions and tax it! Thereby you take the profit away from the criminal element that runs the drug scene at present. But they also know that deconstructing the massive programs created to stop the drug problem will take a far more imaginative creative and brave government they we have enjoyed in a long long time. Thank you for your willingness to speak out. I salute you!

Our August Bag Heroes at the Texas Sealife Center on North Padre Island are helping to spread the word that reusable plastic bags are the way to go. As Amanda Terry, Director of Rehabilitation at the center knows, sea turtles eat the bags and birds get them wrapped around their feet. Turtles that ingest bags often die and impaired birds often cannot fly or find food. On making the switch to reusable bags, Amanda tells us, “Wildlife is affected by plastic trash more than people think. If there are less loose plastic bags, then there’s less of a chance of animals ingesting them and becoming entangled in them.” We salute the Texas Sealife Center for the service it provides to injured sea animals and helping to raise people’s awareness about the dangers posed by plastic marine debris. facebook.com/skiptheplastic

Michael Rodi (age 71) PS it is also a fact that many people who are legitimately in pain, go on suffering because their doctors are afraid to prescribe pain alleviating medications. Too many of these people resort to illegal purchases or at the end of hope… suicide!!

RE: Is Citgo a Ticking Time Bomb?

Citgo is only one of many older refineries on the port. The same conditions exist at Flit Hill and Coastal. These are post World War 2 refineries. These are places where CAT CATCHERS (CFCU) Reversals can and do happen. Reversals occur when 1,300 degree gas oil goes into the regenerator which is where fire fed catalyst is heated. This is where most major refinery fires have started. On the subject of HF Alkylation, Hydrofloric is a dangerous acid where calcium is the only neutralizer. It burns skin until it reaches bone. The most dangerous chemical in any and all refineries is an HF alkylation catalyst called aluminum alkyl. (look it up) Then ask yourself how it is transported. (truck) Same as HF acid coming down I-37. As a former employee of Citgo and Valero I can tell you Valero has a hydrogen unit that converts natural gas to pure hydrogen. It heats natural gas to 1,700 degrees at 1,500 PSI. if it blows, you’ll feel the ground shake in San Antonio. I flinch when a local news station describes an incident at a refinery. Such as a fire stared in a heating unit. (There’s supposed to be a fire in a heating unit, not a blast.) It started because of an overheated tube, (regular maintenance can stop this) a positive draft, (operators can spot this if they are paying attention) flange leak (worn outseal) etc. Valero has two flares, one is sour (H2S, SO3) and they are routinely fined by the EPA (not TCEQ) Bill Isaacson

August 23, 2013

Bag It

“Bag It” the movie at Bay Jammin’ Cinema Series, Cole Park Amphitheatre: Volunteers are needed to man table at event and hand out customer service guides and tattoo children. Any and all environmental groups are encouraged to set up tables. More event information can be found at facebook.com/cleancity or facebook.com/CorpusPride

06 Carrie Underwood The 2013 South Texas Academic Rising Scholars (STARS) Extravaganza will be featuring five time Grammy winner Carrie Underwood. With over fifteen million albums sold, Carrie Underwood has truly cemented herself in the music world and with her most ambitious album to date called Blown Away, she has surely wowed fans yet again.

Duded Up Like a Barb Wire Drummer McNelly and his troop of Rangers try to clean up for polite society, then promptly return to the bush.

Drug Testing High School Students Another bad idea brought to you by the War on Drugs. Now local schools want to demand bodily fluids from our children to prove they're not using drugs.

Little Chapel on the Dunes Perched solidly on top of the tallest dune in the city of Port Aransas stands The Little Chapel on the Dunes. When its chief designer and builder Aline Badger Carter envisioned a small chapel on the island in the 1930s,there was no ferry service to Mustang Island nor causeway connecting Corpus Christi to North Padre Island or Mustang Island. It remains the oldest consecrated church on the island. As you carefully climb the 22 sand and rock steps from the street to the top of the dune, the little chapel comes into view.

04 Letters 11 Sports 14 Rumors & Lies 19

Dining Guide

20 Art Scene 21 The Lenz 22 The Canvas

CC Council to Vote on Plastic Bag Fee

Mayor Nelda Martinez is supporting a proposal to require that businesses using plastic bags charge a fee of either 10 cents per bag or $1 per transaction. According to city staff, the fee will bring in $1.3 million in the first year that can be used for education campaigns, cleanup efforts, or to reduce residential garbage collection fees.

CARRIE The Stars Align for

UNDERWOOD 14

By Kristen Bily he 2013 South Texas Academic Rising Scholars (STARS) Extravaganza will be featuring five time Grammy winner Carrie Underwood. With over fifteen million albums sold, Carrie Underwood has truly cemented herself in the music world and with her most ambitious album to date called Blown Away, she has surely wowed fans yet again. Blown Away was released on May 1, 2012 and debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 with the first week of sales at an amazing 267,000 copies. The eclectic fourteen song album is a vast array of emotions from heart break and revenge, to get on your feet anthems all while staying true to that guitar laced country sound. This album remained at number one for a second week, becoming Carrie Underwood’s first album to spend two weeks at the top of the billboard charts. The STARS Student Scholarship Fund relies heavily on the support of corporate sponsors, organizations, and the community in order to support the ambitions of young and promising students to attend the college of their dreams. Since the formation of the Stars Scholarship Fund in 2002, Stars has since awarded nearly $19 million dollars in college scholarships and assisted 9,199 students in achieving an education through these scholarships. This year’s extravaganza will be the 11th that is held right here in Corpus Christi and just like the year before, Stars strives to be better than the last. With past artists such as Blake Shelton, Lady Antebellum and Sugarland, Carrie Underwood will have no problem exceeding expectations. This year’s headliner Carrie Underwood first made a name for herself when she won the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. Since her success on Idol, Carrie Underwood has gone on to become a multi-platinum selling recording artist, along with winning sixteen Billboard awards, six Grammy Awards, and seven American Music Awards. Carrie Underwood even began to try her hand at songwriting, which got her nominated for a Golden Globe Award for best original song. Her debut album, which was released shortly after her win from American Idol in 2005, rapidly became the fastest selling debut country selling album in Nielsen Soundscan history. Carrie Underwood’s past albums have been no stranger to emotion in her songs, while also showing Carrie’s amazing vocal range. Her most recent album “Blown Away” also includes 8 songs of the 14 that were co-written by Carrie herself and it is this album that is said to be her most ambitious album yet, because it explores a darker side of the human spirit. With some emotional tracks about cheating and revenge, the entire album is not full of a dark and sinister side. The album also explores the power of moving on from a lost love, the pleasures of hometown living, but does not forget the upbeat sound we have all come to expect from Carrie Underwood. Her Blown Away international arena tour was announced on May 1, 2012 which included the Royal Albert Hall in London, which sold out in 90 minutes. The second leg, which kicked off at the beginning of this year has become a huge success not only in the United States but internationally as well. Carrie will also be welcoming special guest Chase Rice. Chase first became a household name after he was a contestant on the Survivor Nicaragua and placed second. Since then, he has gone on to release two albums, Country as Me, and Dirt Road Communion and he most recently co-wrote the number one hit single “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line. The Stars Extravaganza will be held on Thursday, September 5, at the American Bank Center Arena and floor seating will be reserved for Stars sponsors. 100% of the proceeds earned by sponsors goes directly into scholarships for the students in South Texas to reach a higher level of education. For inquiry into becoming a sponsor for the 2013 Stars Extravaganza or for more information on the Stars Scholarship Fund, visit www. StarsScholarship.org . For more information on upcoming events, visit www. AmericanBankCenter.com. American Bank Center is Corpus Christi’s premier event center. Find us on Facebook/ AmericanBankCenter,Twitter @AmericanBankCtr, and Instagram @AmericanBankCenter.

CC History

DUDED UP LIKE A BARB WIRE DRUMMER McNelly's Rangers Try to Look Respectable, Fooling Nobody By Dale Rankin Editor's note: This is the latest in a series of stories based on the book Taming the Nueces Strip written by Texas Ranger George Durham who was part of a troop of Rangers headed by Captain L.H. McNelly who formed the troop to stop raiding in the Nueces Strip between the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers in early 1875. After the release of King Fisher the Ranger company began to unravel. McNelly's consumption had left him weak and unﬁt for Ranger service. While he was recovering in the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, most of the Rangers were moved to the frontier town of Oakville located about halfway between Corpus Christi and San Antonio on the old stage road which is now IH 37. About the only thing left in Oakville these days is Vann's Barbeque and an historic marker to hearken back to its colorful and violent past.

Plenty of bad whisky As Durham put in on his arrival in 1876, "Oakville was a wide place in the road about twenty-five miles west of Beeville. In fact, the wide place in the road wasn't any too wide, but it was populated well with saloons and a store or two. It was well named as it was in a big mott of Spanish and Live Oak, and there were maybe a dozen houses, or shanties, stuck off in the brush." "Its population came and went. At least some of them went. Quite a few others never made it any further. Plenty of bad whiskey always seems to make plenty of bad tempers. But it was not then and is not now the business of Rangers to referee or stop private, man-to-man squabbles and fights. If there's a local law that's their business; if there is no local law they fight it out."

John Wilson's dinner invitation The Rangers camped about half a mile outside of Oakville to await further orders. Durham met a man named John Wilson who was living in a shack along the Nueces River. One day while Durham was visiting him and fishing Wilson swigged from a bottle of bad tequila. While Wilson was frying up the fish a man named George West rode up; a man who now has a town named after him. At the time West owned about half of Live Oak County including the water they were fishing in. He allowed no hunting or fishing on his land and made this known in a forcible manner.

As West turned to look at the Ranger Wilson ﬁred one shot. "Shucks", he said. "I mished. I never mish a hat at this distance. West got down off the horse and ate the ﬁsh.

Veneer of Civilization When Durham got back to camp his Sergeant was agitated. "The Captain wants me to fetch you and two others to San Antonio for duty. We need to be there by noon tomorrow." They rode out without rest and headed across Buck Pettus country then Wilson County where they struck the San Antonio road and headed north. They arrived in San Antonio before noon and left their horses outside the Staacke Building which still stands near Alamo Plaza and walked over the Menger Hotel where McNelly was healing from his illness.

Get some new duds "You boys wait outside," the Sergeant said. "I'll report to him." When he came back he said, Captain's not stirring around much. What he wants ﬁrst off is for us to all get some new clothes. Don't go around in those work clothes. Get coats and wear them. Find a barbershop and get a shingle and have your boots shined." San Antonio was an amalgam of frontier Army post, old Mexican village, and the beginnings of a modern city which manifested itself in dance halls, burlesque theaters, the Longbranch Saloon on Main Plaza, and a large gambling houses at the corner of Soledad and Commerce where King Fisher was shot dead less than a year later. The Jack Harris Gambling House and the Silver Dollar Saloon were where the high rollers hung out. The talk the day that Durham arrived was of politics and outlawry. A bank at Gonzales had been robbed, the stagecoach to Austin had been held up, cattle were being stolen and King Fisher was the man most associated with it.

Duded up like a barb wire drummer Durham found his way to a tailor named Pancoast and got a new suit of clothes then on to the Lucchese shop for some new boots. By the time he was ﬁnished he was "duded up like a barb wire drummer". In fact it was in Main Plaza a few years later where Bet A Million Gates, dressed much like Durham was

"Can't you see the signs?" he asked. Then he turned and saw Durham's Ranger badge. "You draw pay from the state to enforce the law and here you are breaking the law!" "Misher," the tipsy Wilson said, "thish here Ranger ketched me flat-footed breaking the law about fishin'. he was kinda nuff to let me cook up what I'd ketched afore haulin me offta jail. I'm right sorrowful and I'm gonna give you part of 'em back. I'm gonna let you git down an' eat part of 'em I got cooked." "I don't eat fish," West stammered. "I don't eat fish and turn loose of my horse's reins." 08

Military Plaza, San Antonio, 1875

that day, put up a square of barbed wire and challenged stockmen to bring in their wildest bull where he would pen it and hold it. It was this demonstration that brought barbed wire to the South Texas plains.

Their creed was that when a Ranger was ﬁghting man to man, the rest stayed out. It was his ﬁght to win or lose.

But on this day Durham and his new store-boughts made their way back the Menger for inspection by their Captain. He went into the room where McNelly was in bed and looking none too good from his illness. "By doggies it looks like he's planning to get married," McNelly said. "Don't spend all your money, son. Save what you've got left. You probably won't have a job with the state much longer." "Why," Durham asked, "is it something I've done?" Yes," McNelly said. "You carried out my orders, and I carried out the orders of Governor Coke, and now they claim the Governor had no right to give me those orders. So they'll likely throw the Governor out in the election, and us with him." Durham saw an era of Texas history coming to a close before his eyes. All he could picture was his Captain a year before leading his Rangers into a fight aboard his stallion Segal in the fight at Palo Alto twirling his pistol chamber and reading scripture to a dying bandit. "They're saying McNelly's outfit was a bunch of brutal killers who never did take a prisoner," he was told by his Sergeant, "and wouldn't let an outlaw surrender. I reckon the captain wanted to dress some of us up and let folks see we were human." The human Rangers were now ordered back to Oakville. They were going to take another crack at King Fisher.

Back to the brush. After leaving McNelly in the Menger the Rangers were headed back to Carrizo Springs to take another crack at arresting rancher and Border Lord King Fisher. The talk around San Antonio was that all of the stolen stock moving from Central and South Texas into Mexico was going through Fisher's Ranch outside Carrizo Springs.

Enhanced Interrogation Techniques Lieutenant Lee Hall had been named the new commander of the Ranger troop In McNelly's

John "Bet-A-Million" Gates

absence. Lee ordered the men to take 25 men and head into King Fisher country and round up anyone they came across. The Rangers were given ten minutes to get ready to ride out of San Antonio and after two days of hard riding and spending the night in a cold camp in the brush they arrived in Carrizo Springs. In short order they had five prisoners and after using their signature enhanced interrogation technique, hanging a prisoner by the neck to a tree limb, he told them where to find the camp where the latest bunch of stolen horses were being kept. The man's name was Noley Key and he told them to head for a camp near the west end of Espantoso Lake where Fisher and his men were moving a herd of stolen horses from East Texas through to the Devil's River in the next few days. He also told them that King Fisher had left a couple of days ago with a herd of about 150 stolen steers for delivery in West Texas. Unknown to the Rangers until later, Fisher had stopped overnight at the Maverick Ranch located at the headwaters of the Medina River. Key told the Rangers there would be about six or eight men holding the horse herd and the Rangers rode to a point about half a mile from the bandit camp and dismounted. The bandits had a sentry out and he fired a shot, narrowly missing Ranger Seargent Armstrong. Armstrong answered with one shot and the sentry fell dead. The Rangers rushed the camp and the fight was on. There were seven men around the fire and five Rangers.

One-Eyed John The Rangers charged with their repeater rifles firing wild and the bandits did the same with their pistols. Four bandits went down in the first few volleys and the three still on their feet were wounded. A Ranger by the name of Boyd confronted a bandit well known to the Rangers from previous encounters. His name was John Martin and he was a big Kansan who was listed in the book of Texas outlaws as One-Eyed John. Martin had worked the border between Kansas and Missouri as a bushwhacker before coming to Texas. He was known for his skills with a knife. One-Eyed John had emptied his revolver and was now backing toward the brush brandishing a knife. Boyd leveled his rifle and fired but it jammed. One-Eyed John charged and Boyd pulled his Bowie Knife. The other Rangers watched. Their creed was that once a Ranger was fighting man-to-man the rest stayed out. It was the Ranger's fight to win or lose.

For an idea of downtown San Antonio in those days visit Alamo Village in Bracketville, Texas. Built by James "Happy" Sheehan, the Alamo Village was built for the movie "Alamo" starring John Wayne and has been used for at least a dozen movies since then.

One-Eyed John outweighed Boyd by a good fifty pounds but that made him slower than Boyd and he was also hampered by a bullet wound through his hip. Boyd was cut but not badly injured and worked his way around Martin's left side where he couldn't see. He came up behind Martin and Durham, who was watching the fight, said that when he drove the blade of his Bowie Knife home the Rangers could hear bones crunch. Both men went down in a heap in puddle of six inches of water. Boyd attached himself to the bigger man's back and held on. The fight went on for over a minute and finally Boyd stood up but Martin 09

In a 1900 horse race in England, Gates won $600,000 on a $70,000 bet, which rumors escalated to over $1 million and conferred on him the nickname "Bet-AMillion." A compulsive gambler, he once participated in a marathon poker game on a train journey from Chicago to New York. After a week of nearly constant play (meals were taken at the poker table), the match ended with about half a million dollars changing hands. Gates' career began with a trip to San Antonio, Texas in 1876 when Isaac Ellwood hired him as a salesman for the Washburn-Moen barbed wire company, and a dramatic demonstration with cattle penned into Military Plaza. He later started the Southern Wire Company of St. Louis, Missouri, which merged with the wire company of William Edenborn to form Braddock Wire Company, from which Consolidated Steel and Wire Company was organized in 1888. With the help of Chicago attorney Elbert Henry Gary he created a monopoly in the US wire industry in 1898 with American Steel and Wire Company, which was sold in 1901 to J. P. Morgan in a deal (also negotiated by Gary) to become part of the new U.S. Steel conglomerate. Gates was a founder of the The Texas Company which became the Texaco oil company. He became inﬂuential in the development of the city of Port Arthur, Texas when he took over the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad in December 1899 after he forced it into bankruptcy along with its previous owner and Port Arthur founder Arthur Edward Stilwell.

The Menger Hotel

didn't. Boyd was taken to the doctor where it was determined that “the knife wounds hadn’t found a hollow spot. The Rangers took stock of the bandits. One lived about thirty minutes and when he died that tallied seven of them dead. Only four of them could be identified, one of the dead was the informant Noley Key who was shot "while trying to escape." The stolen horses stampeded during the firefight and not a single one was recovered. The Rangers made a sweep of the brush from the camp and twenty two bandits were rounded up and they began the 35-mile march back to Eagle Pass.

This 1865 photo is hanging on the wall of the Cavalier Room in the Menger Hotel. The Menger is a story in itself. Located directly across the street from the Alamo it opened in 1859 and in the days before refrigeration a cave that ran under the hotel and then under the Alamo served as cooler for beer and its famous mango ice cream. It was the gathering place for Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders when they trained in San Antonio and still has a bar there named for them. It was also Captain Richard King's home in San Antonio when he left his ranch and the suite where he died is now named in his honor and his ghost is said to walk the halls. It was the gathering place for Confederate officers on their way to Mexico to fight for Maximilian after the Civil War, and it was a favorite stop of President Bill Clinton who would leave his motorcade waiting out in Alamo Plaza while he went inside for his mango ice cream. Construction begain on the hotel in 1858 when German immigrant William Menger, expanded his boarding house business as an adjunct to his brewery. Immediately successful, construction on

a 40-room extension was started before the initial building was completed in January 1859. By the 1870s, the Menger was the best known hotel in the southwest. The hotel is mentioned several times in the works of O Henry, and hosted Ulysses S. Grant in 1880. It hosted Theodore Roosevelt at least three times, most notably in 1898 when he used the bar to recruit men to join his cavalry unit, the Rough Riders, who would fight in Cuba during the Spanish-American War. The Menger was San Antonio's most popular hotel throughout the 19th Century. Other notable guests have included Robert E. Lee, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mae West, Babe Ruth, Oscar Wilde, Lillie Langtry, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and William McKinley. The Menger also holds the unofficial title of "The Most Haunted Hotel in Texas." The Menger claims to host 32 different spirits including Richard King and Sallie White, a maid at the Menger who was murdered by her husband and buried at the hotel's expense.

One of the Rangers managed to get a dispatch off by telegraph which was printed in the San Antonio papers the next day. This would distress McNelly but he and the Rangers all knew he was destined to be fired anyway. The state blamed the expense of treating his illness and keeping him in the Menger Hotel - about $200 per month - but everyone also knew the real reason was that once he had cleared the organized bandit gangs from the Nueces Strip his brand of justice was no longer politically expedient. Every now and then you had to let some bandits surrender or the rest had no reason to do anything but fight to the death; which was fine with McNelly but now some of the bandits, like Fisher, had lawyers. King Fisher was rounded up three more times but the Rangers never made a successful case against him. But McNelly wasn’t done yet. The Rangers were ordered to DeWitt and Karnes counties north of the Nueces Strip to quell the most violent feud in Texas' history. In the past five years more than 150 people had been killed without a single indictment. Things were so bad that the judge in that area with the unlikely name of Judge Pleasant had not been able to hold court in five years for fear of his life. The feud was centered in the town of Cuero.

Next Time: The Taylor Sutton Feud What became known as the Taylor Sutton feud had begun as a disagreement between two men; Buck Taylor and Bill Sutton. It all started in 1868 when Taylor drove a herd of horses to East Texas for sale. He had collected the stock from several horsemen and when he got to the sale the horses brought to him by Sutton turned out to be stolen and caused Taylor much trouble. When Taylor returned to Cuero he told anyone who would listen that Sutton was a horse thief - fighting words then and now. Bill Sutton shot and killed Buck Taylor and Taylor's friend Jack Chisholm. It turned out that a man by the name of John Wesley Hardin was related to the Taylors and came over from his home in Gonzales and killed Bill Sutton and three black reconstruction police who tried to arrest him. It was the beginning of a career as a gunfighter that would leave more than twenty five men dead before Hardin was captured by Rangers in Florida, went to prison and eventually became a lawyer in El Paso where he was shot to death over a poker game. After the killing of both of the men who the feud was on in earnest. By the time the Rangers were called in it had been going on almost ten years. When the local doctor Philip Brazell was dragged from his house in the middle of the night and killed in front of his twelve year old son who saw recognized the murderers and was killed too.

The Menger Hotel Today

Judge Pleasants had seen enough. He called in the Rangers.

WEDNESDAY

DOWNTOWN

EVERY WEEK

CORPUS CHRISTI

Every WEDNESDAY 5 to 7 pm 00

EAT LOCAL! & BUY LOCAL!

505 South Water Street

At The Vil age Shopping Center ( Tango Tea Room)

Market Manager Isaac Nolte 11

(972) 523-7217

Corpus Christi Council to Vote on Plastic Bag Fee August 20

Plastic bags are the third most common kind of litter. Unlike bottles or cigarette butts, plastic bags ďŹ&#x201A;y around the city and the bay, harming wildlife, damaging ďŹ sh populations, and giving visitors the impression that our once pristine beaches and wetlands have become little more than a landďŹ ll. 12

The Proposed Ordinance

ayor Nelda Martinez is supporting a proposal to require that businesses using plastic bags charge a fee of either 10 cents per bag or $1 per transaction. The bag fee initially appeared on the agenda for the May 28th meeting, but Mayor Martinez delayed the item because City Attorney Carlos Valdez asked for more time to investigate how a lawsuit against the city of Austin regarding it's ordinance on plastic bags. Martinez put the item back on the council agenda July 30th, after the ordinance was given a thorough legal review, including new language in the ordinance that would protect Corpus Christi from the kind of lawsuit that held up the Austin ordinance. According to city staff, the fee will bring in $1.3 million in the ﬁrst year that can be used for education campaigns, cleanup efforts, or to reduce residential garbage collection fees.

it was "one of the most transparent and longlasting initiatives." Scott also said he was concerned that the city has not considered other options that would not cost consumers. Martinez, however, said research in other cities has proved that educational campaigns are ineffective. At-Large councilwoman Lilian Riojas said she wanted to see more of a strategy about litter in general, not just plastic bags. Citing the very low number of litter citations issued by the city despite an obvious litter problem. At-Large councilman David Loeb expressed concern that money raised through this program be used to reduce garbage collection fees. District 4 council member Colleen McIntyre, supported removing the fee completely for the Green Star Program.

At-large council member Mark Scott expressed opposition to the ordinance, saying "This is disturbing. I'm disturbed at what this might communicate to the public which is, 'We don't care what you think. We know what's best, and we intend to make it happen.'"

"There's little incentive for a business to join the Green Star program because it takes just as much effort to collect a nickel as it takes to collect a dime, and they're actually reducing the additional revenue they would get from the administrative fee."

Mayor Martinez dismissed claims that the public hasn't had input in the process, saying

The city council is scheduled to vote on the ordinance Aug. 20.

Businesses using plastic bags will be required to register with the Solid Waste Department Businesses will be required to collect an "environmental recovery fee" of either 10 cents per plastic bag or one dollar per transaction. The business must decide which fee to collect when it registers with the Solid Waste Department. If a business collects less than $250 per month in plastic bag fees, it can remit the fees to the solid waste department quarterly. If it collects more than $250 per month, fees must be paid monthly. Businesses may keep %5 of the bag fees they collect as an administrative fee. Violations First violation. A written warning notice shall be issued to the business that a violation has occurred. No fine shall be issued for the first violation. Second Violation $100 fine Third Violation $200 fine $500 fine for each additional violation in the same calendar year.

Fees collected under this Ordinance will be used for the following purposes: • Giveaways of free reusable bags • Public education on reducing plastic checkout bag use • Hiring of more code enforcement ofﬁcers and other City employees to enforce this Ordinance and other litter ordinances of the City • Cleanup programs of shorelines, storm drains, streets, parks and dumping areas • Reduction of the residential solid waste/ garbage pickup charges • Payment of the administrative fee to participating retailers

Green Star Program Businesses who are Green Star Certiﬁed may charge half the fee for plastic bags. (5 cents per bag or 50 cents per transaction) To participate in the Green Star Program, businesses will prepare a work plan that accomplishes the following: • Demonstrate a 60% reduction in plastic checkout bags provided to customers • Provide trash receptacles outside the business for customer use • Perform daily cleaning of parking lots, rear loading docks, areas around dumpsters and adjacent public areas where trash accumulates • Put up signs at store entrances and checkout stands encouraging customers to use reusable bags • Display reusable bags at the entrance to the business • Maintain a training program for employees at checkout counters to encourage the use of reusable bags

Businesses which become certiﬁed in the Green Star Program shall be required to continue to comply with the above standards as a condition of maintaining certiﬁcation.

Rumors & Lies By Charlz L. Vinson Cvinson@ccmagonline.com

Who's Paranoid Now?

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or afﬁrmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Amendment IV, United States Constitution

otice what's not there- Nowhere does it say "unless we really want to," or "does not apply if you are an enemy of the state." It doesn't take a constitutional scholar to see that any “warrant” granted in secret, giving blanket access to the electronic papers and effects of everyone in the country is illegal. It may take a while for the law to catch up with itself, so in the meantime, you might want to learn how protect yourself. Before the Snowden leak, I might have laughed off anyone suggesting the government was actually logging every phone call and email. It just seems so wasteful. Are we to believe that there that many terrorists out there? The problem with labels like “terrorist” is their vague nature. After September 11, US law enforcement and intelligence agencies were given super-constitutional powers to combat the threat understandably believed to have been posed by Al Qaeda and its afﬁliates. Now those powers have creeped into territory where they can be used against almost anyone arrested for any reason.

Dangerous Vegetarians The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, a federal law enacted in 2006, deﬁnes anyone going into a slaughterhouse and taking pictures of the sausage-making process as a terrorist. I’ve met a few animal-rights activists in my life, and while they aren’t the best folks to have at a barbecue, none of them struck me as dangerous to national security. How is it that the laws intended to protect us from Osama bin Laden, et. al. are being used against vegans? Who’s next? Sooner or later it’s going to be you, or at the very least, it'll be me.

What if I were to write a column praising the actions of this year's Enemy of the State, Eric Snowden? I know the ﬁrst amendment says I can, but the fourth amendment isn't looking to healthy right now, so who's to say anyone will respect the others? Even if you believe “Snowden is a dropout, a loser, a hacker, and un-American,” he was someone who could easily have had access to your private communications without you knowing about it. Is it reasonable to believe that contractors like Booz Allen Hamilton, who have been tasked by the NSA to sift through our data, only hire the most honorable and honest people available? Given the contractor's incentives, it seems more likely that thousands of high-level security clearances have been given to people who have no reason to have them. And they laughed at me when I sent the ﬁrst column in an encrypted email! Whether Snowden is a self-aggrandizing geek who betrayed his nation or a brave young man following the dictates of his conscience, doesn't matter. If you want to go deep down the rabbit hole, I heard one report that Snowden was actually put in place by his former employers at the CIA who wanted him to expose the NSA program as part of an interagency squabble. Now ask yourself, what else might they be doing right now that we don't know about yet?

Sweet, Sweet Pie

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Tango Tea Room 505 South Water Street 361-883-9123 Monday - Thursday 10 am - 8 pm

Friday - 14Saturday 10 am - 10:30 pm

Closed Sunday

government agency. Non-biased research shows the kids will keep using drugs, testing or no.

Drug

Testing

at School The Tyranny of Good Intentions

by Kyle Hoelscher

lour Bluff ISD will start rolling out random drug testing for its students soon. Any student that participates in extracurricular activities will be forced to give a urine sample so that the school can chemically examine them for criminality. In theory, the intention is good, to keep kids off drugs. In reality, it will only further deteriorate student privacy, damage the future of at-risk youths, and waste your money.

First, let’s touch on the issue of student privacy. The random urine examinations will be performed on junior high and high school students. So, we are not talking about the very small children. We are talking about young adults (high school) and puberty age kids (middle school). These kids are at the stage where we should be teaching them responsibility, individuality, and life skills. This drug testing furthers none of that. It only serves to teach them that the government can do what it will. They learn that the government doesn’t need suspicion to test you for drugs. They learn that it’s ok for the government to punish and embarrass you for the wrongdoing of others. They learn that rights are subject to the whim of school administrators and government policy. This is exactly the opposite of what these children should be learning. It’s this sort of conditioning that leads kids to grow up and choose the welfare ofﬁce instead of the employment ofﬁce. They will be learning the lesson that the government controls their lives, not them. The government will watch out for their well being, not them.

Of course, this is all done under the great umbrella of the War on Drugs. And this type of urine testing is going in at many schools across the state. The idea is this: if we test for the drugs, then the kids will stop using the drugs. But, like all other good intentions of the drug war, it is applied in the exact wrong way. Instead of doing a harm reduction approach, they opt for a punishment approach. School administrators keep emphasizing that they are trying to help the kids make good decisions, but they are giving no incentives to do so, nor are they teaching them how to make good decisions when it comes to drugs. They are teaching them that if you smoke pot (which is, by far, the main drug that kids will be caught for) then you will be kicked out of extra curricular

programs. What the drug warriors don’t like to hear are statistics, because statistics almost unanimously show that the drug war policies are fundamentally broken. And this first statistic is pulled directly from the Corpus Christi Caller Times in their issue on June 23, 2013, where they wrote a very positive account of this drug testing and failed to talk about how much of a failure and waste these programs are. To quote from them, “34 percent of students at schools that use testing said they would definitely or probably use substances again compared with 33 percent at schools without such programs.” A study from the Journal of Youth and Adolescence agrees with those finding. A study by monitoringthefuture.org also agrees. A review of research consistently shows that there is no change. The only sources that put drug testing in a good light are government agencies, but even they cannot cover up how useless the programs are, since the quote above comes from Institute of Education Sciences, a

The real thing that keeps kids off drugs is the extra curricular activities themselves. Giving students a place to go after school that is safe and welcoming is the only thing that has shown to have any positive effect on drug use by youths. Students who only have a drug using parent at home, latch key kids, or otherwise at-risk youths have few options. They end up being sucked into a culture of drug use and criminality, and it is no surprise that they grow up and get pulled into the criminal justice system. Many times, they don’t even get to grow up, and they get pulled into the school-to-prison pipeline (an article for another time). Random urine examinations only create one more barrier for these students. The kid who has experimented with marijuana in the last few weeks will merely decide to opt out of beneficial programs like band or sports. They will decide to abandon an environment where there is camaraderie and safe fun. Instead, they will head over to their buddy’s house, where they will simply sit around, get high, and eventually get into some trouble. As many readers know, I have no issues with people sitting around and smoking pot, but I do not want children doing it. The best way to keep children off drugs is to keep children active participants in things like after school programs and extracurriculars. A final issue is the money that will be wasted on this useless program. Flour Bluff will spend $25,000 per year on this program. When we here federal budget numbers in the billions, we forget about small sums like $25,000. But let’s put this in real terms. What could you do with $25,000? Now, for those with kids, what could you do for your children with $25,000? What do you think a school could do with an extra $25,000? They could upgrade computers, buy new books, have laptop or tablet rental programs, upgrade their wireless infrastructure, give teachers a much needed raise, fix school equipment, or improve school lunches. This list could go on and on and on, and I don’t even have a child in a school. Parents could think of 100 more ideas to do with $25,000. Instead, this money will go down the toilet, along with the future of many at-risk youths, who choose to ditch extra curriculars. We’ll flush the lives of students who fail their urine test. These kids will be kicked out of extra curriculars. These kids will be labeled drug addicts for the rest of the time they are students. They will be forced into drug classes that will further alienate them from the student populace and get them closer to a life of addiction. In general, the students will be humiliated as a group and learn a damaging lesson regarding the power and nature of government. At the end of this whole process, there will be no fewer drug users in Flour Bluff schools than before the testing started. If you have children in Flour Bluff schools, I ask that you attend a PTA meeting and put a stop to this. Your children are not wards of the state. They are yours. They are not political tools that can be drug tested whenever. Stand up for your children, you are their example too. As a parent, if you allow this to happen to them, you teach them that its ok to allow this to happen to others. If you have further questions, you can always email me.

22 Sandy Steps

The Little Chapel on the Dunes By Brent Rourk

erched solidly on top of the tallest dune in the city of Port Aransas stands The Little Chapel on the Dunes. When its chief designer and builder Aline Badger Carter envisioned a small chapel on the island in the 1930s,there was no ferry service to Mustang Island nor causeway connecting Corpus Christi to North Padre Island or Mustang Island. It remains the oldest consecrated church on the island. As you carefully climb the 22 sand and rock steps from the street to the top of the dune, the little chapel comes into view. Though the Chapel is small in size, it is huge in color and spirit. A visit to this heavenly chapel has brought thousands of people a sense of joy, comfort and spirituality. It is still without electric lighting or air conditioning, and open windows and an open front door permit a comforting Gulf breeze and welcome the sounds of local shore birds to soothe and inspire the soul. It is during a moment like this that the images in the frescoes come alive and the spirit connects with more powerful forces.

Christmas holiday at their 27 room mansion in San Antonio Aline would “entertain protestant orphans,” according to her son Frank Carter, now a 93 year old resident of Port Aransas. Aline customarily wore long, ﬂowing, white gowns, a white, wide-brimmed hat, a white bow, and white socks and shoes which together gave her appearance of an angel. Coupled with her strong Episcopalian beliefs and her loving and giving demeanor, she was considered to look like and act like an angel. Aline had been referred to as the ‘Little Angel’ by a national magazine that revealed her visits to jails with books and fruit baskets where she would teach the Bible and astronomy. The Little Angel could be seen in her white ﬂowing gowns and dresses walking

Carters Purchase Land in Port Aransas The Carter family still lived in San Antonio in the 1930s and began to vacation and retreat in Port Aransas, Texas. The family would travel to Port Aransas for one month during the summer and rented a house on Avenue B owned by the Fair Family of Dallas, Texas. Goodwyn Carter purchased the acre of land in Port Aransas on which the Little Chapel and the Carter House now stand for about $3,800 in 1938, and quickly the Carters built a humble home there. The current address of the Chapel is 207 11th Street in Port Aransas, At that time according to son Frank Carter, “There weren’t many homes on the island”.

Build a Chapel

The Carter Family and the Chapel

Aline had the idea of building a chapel on the island (the Carters already had a chapel in their San Antonio mansion), so not long after they built their house they began construction on a modest chapel perched on a high dune on the adjacent lot. Frank states that there was no other church on the island at that time and that Aline built the church for the children of Port Aransas. From that high dune a person had an impeccable and unobstructed view of the Gulf along the eastern shore of the island.

Henry Champe Carter (1861-1948) was a well-known attorney, judge and former president of the State Bar Association of Texas. Henry met Aline when she was 16 years old. It was rumored that Carter’s son Goodwyn was courting Aline. Henry allegedly told his son, “If you don’t marry her, I will.” Henry and Aline were married in San Antonio in 1915 when Aline was reported to be 20 years old. Within a few years Henry and Aline had a family of three sons: Henry Champe Carter Jr., Frank Joseph Carter, and David Paul Carter. Aline was an avid Episcopalian. She performed volunteer work in jails on a continual basis, taking time to teach and mentor prisoners. During the

to The Little Chapel to pray or meditate or ﬁnd inspiration to work on her poetry. Aline originally referred to it as the Chapel of Eternal Light. She loved the way the morning light burst through the east facing windows and how the afternoon sunsets lit the chapel through the west window.

Flagstone from the Hill Country A tile in the altar steps is detailed with a hand-painted ﬂower 16

The chapel ﬂoor was constructed out of ﬂagstone that Frank remembers “was taken from a quarry in the Hill Country in Texas”. Frank recalls that his family

collected the heavy flagstone and brought it down each time they visited. The beautiful stone had to be loaded from their car to a shrimp boat and then to Port Aransas. San Antonio artist Ethel Wilson Harris assisted Aline in supervising the chapel’s construction throughout the process. Ethel made some tiles and had them built into the modest Chapel altar. Within a year the white stucco chapel was completed and the “White Angel”, dressed in her flowing white gowns, could be seen using it for her prayer service and meditation retreat. Before long Aline began having regular Bible studies for the children of Port Aransas. Aline would let locals know that she was in Port Aransas and those folks would let their children know that the “White Angel” was going to have Bible studies. Sometimes her chauffeur Henry would pick up the kids and transport them to the Chapel.

His last surviving brother, David, recently passed away in San Antonio in the same family home he was born to in 1921. David had an active role in maintaining and preserving the Chapel. David Carter, like his daughter Marline Carter Lawson, perceived The Little Chapel on the Dunes to be a beautiful and valuable landmark. Marline recounts her father’s wishes in that regard, “David wanted to be able to share The Chapel on the Dunes with the people of Port Aransas. He knew that his mother Aline would have liked it if everybody could see it and have some access to it.” Marline recounts the time when David and the Port Aransas Museum met to discuss how the Chapel could be made available to the public. David agreed that it should be shared, so he favorably and readily approved the Museum’s desire to become another active caretaker and to share it with the public.

Bible Stories and Ice Cream The children would climb the dune and enter the modest Chapel, at that time painted a stark white inside and outside. Children would patiently sit on the flagstone floor or mats and attentively listen to the White Angel’s Bible stories. After Bible study the children would all walk to the Carter residence and happily eat ice cream and cake, incredible treats for isolated island children back in the 1930s and 1940s. Frank Carter contends that the cake and ice cream were a major factor in how well-attended Bible study was. With a wry smile he shares that Aline firmly disputed his claim about the ice cream being the reason that children attended Bible study. Aline’s Bible study continued for almost 10 years until hard times hit the island.

Frank and David Carter Frank Carter has had a special relationship with The Little Chapel on the Dunes. As a teenager he was there when it was built and assisted his family in selecting and hauling the flagstone. He attended the Bible classes in the Chapel along with two of his brothers and several local children in Port Aransas. He was living in Port Aransas when the Chapel was painted and helped care for the Chapel for many years and even now he keeps a concerned eye on it. He understands why the Chapel is so popular for weddings and why people wish to take tours and is proud to show it off himself sometimes.

Frank’s son Vinton James fancied himself as an amateur herpetologist and loaned his snake collection to the Chapel after Frank had the Chapel and grounds cleaned. “Word leaked out” that there were poisonous and dangerous snakes in the Chapel. In fact, purposely included in the resident collection were an 11 foot python, named Marathon, a couple of copperheads, and a couple of rattlesnakes. Frank’s idea to place snakes in the Chapel worked, and once he put the word out, the vandals halted their Chapel visits.

Frescoes in the Chapel The Little Chapel on the Dunes was initially painted white inside, and over the years the bright white paint gradually yellowed; a result of natural fading and minimal maintenance. Vandalism had also left its sad mark on the walls. Further, layers of dust had hardened on the walls, making the walls dull and unattractive. The inside needed restoration after years of virtual neglect. Enter artist John Cobb who met up with Frank Carter in the 1970s.

Cobb’s Background Initially, Cobb studied art at the Texas School of Fine Arts from ages 7-12. His family then moved to the Coastal Bend. He graduated from King High School and found a very inspiring teacher there. Later Cobb went to attended both the University of Texas and the Rhode Island School of Design. At Rhode Island, Cobb, “had a great winter season water color course with Dean Richardson. This set me on course to do large-scale watercolors.” He graduated in 1983 from St. Edwards University.

God and Science Aline continued to use the Chapel for Bible study as well as for the spiritual benefit of herself and her family. She was also vigorously engaged in studying and sharing her love of astronomy, one of the many miracles that helped explain the wonder of God, instead of opposing God. Her unwavering beliefs in the union of science and God were clearly distilled during an age when both were seen as oppositional or mutually exclusive belief systems. Although Aline was a “woman of prayer”, according to Frank, she maintained that, “science was a process of discovering the work of God.” She had an observatory built in their family mansion in San Antonio and several locals delighted in being able to scan the skies from the Carter Observatory. Aline died in 1972 at the age of 80. She did not live long enough to see the addition of the frescoes in the Chapel, however, she would no doubt be pleased that the Chapel has been maintained by the family and shared with the world. She left a legacy of love, generosity, kindness and an exceptional Little Chapel on the Dunes.

Serpents

John approached Frank Carter about painting the inside of the Chapel. In 1978 he began a series of frescoes that presently cover every inch of the inside of the Chapel. He did not accept any money for his work and saw his gift of the frescoes as a part of his own spiritual journey.

Aline Carter, the "White Angel" built the Little Chapel on the Dunes David was particularly fond of Aline’s words about the Chapel that can also be heard in a video on the website www.Chapelonthedunes.com and is also played for visitors at the Chapel. The video, narrated by Aubrey Keating Carter, daughter-in-law of Aline Carter, offers insights into Aline’s life and the glorious Chapel.

Vandals The war ended and the Carters still owned homes, the Chapel and property in Port Aransas, but times were still tough for many people. It was difficult for the Carters to manage their home, the Chapel and rental properties from San Antonio and soon the Chapel fell into disrepair. Frank admitted that it was challenging to maintain the Chapel and that the once beautiful Chapel was a mess. The ground had been littered with refuse and bottles by vandals. Frank remembered that, “They threw stuff all over and you would not believe what kind of mess it was. They did everything and it smelled awful”. In fact, the smell inside the Chapel was over-bearing and horrific, and Frank felt compelled to do something to stop further damage. 17

John thinks that Frank Carter might have paid him a dollar, which would make it a commissioned work of sorts but Cobb’s work at the Chapel fused deep spiritual connections and meanings and his own place in life. Cobb also wished to reveal in an innocent way some kind of new life within himself, like a child. John claimed that perhaps the painting in the Chapel, “might possibly deliver me from a real sense of abandonment.” His inspiration for painting it was mainly the altar inscription, “I Am the Light of the World”. The carter family did not dictate the content or the style of the paintings and Frank Carter, according to Cobb, “never seemed too worried about the content of ideas too much.” Though Frank and John had different beliefs, backgrounds and experiences, they had a positive and supportive relationship. With the content and style left largely to Cobb, he went to work in “two major stretches, and a few intermediate occasions.”

Frescoes – Stay or Go? Not too many years ago the idea surfaced that The Little Chapel on the Dunes should be repainted all white on the inside, covering forever the colorful and imaginative frescoes. During a rededication in 1998 celebrating one of the Chapel renovations David Carter threw out the question of whether or not Cobb’s frescoes should be whitewashed over so that the inside walls could return to their stark white original color. Guests at that rededication ceremony were given the opportunity to vote on the fate of the

The inscription on the altar reads "I am the light of the world" walls; back to their simple white or leave Cobb’s more colorful frescoes as they were. The crowd of revelers voted as requested. The majority overwhelmingly favored leaving the colorfully painted frescoes as they were. The frescoes survived and the ‘white wall’ idea died. John Cobb still travels from his home in San Antonio to the Chapel periodically to touch-up or brighten up the frescoes. Cobb, an Austin, Texas resident for years, hopes that after people view the frescoes they consider that, “The wildest and most wonderful things can be formed of circumstances, when God has a hand in helping you. No work can accomplish what He does for us, we would be glad most of all when we were closer in His direction.” Cobb’s style according to him, “has become more mature, serious and complete. I recently did another chapel consisting of 23 panels. It is a touring work and most recently was in Tyler, Texas.” Cobb presently works with Valley House Gallery in Dallas where many of his works are displayed and sold.

A Strange Wedding in the Little Chapel on the Dunes A young lady contacted the Carter family about

Even the ceiling of the chapel is entirely ﬁlled with Cobb's artwork getting married in the Church on the Dunes. According to Frank, the lady said, “I want to warn you now that it is unusual,” however, she offered no further explanation and the Carter family did not prompt her for more information or what she meant by unusual. When the wedding day arrived a large crowd assembled and waited for the ‘bride-to-be’ to arrive. The church was overﬂowing and the crowd waited patiently outside. Finally, the bride, resplendently dressed in a white wedding gown, boots and spurs rode up the dune on a white horse where she found her groom anxiously waiting. During the ceremony some folks laughed and smiled, enjoying the event. The bride-to-be asked Frank if she could open one of the windows so that she could allow the horse to stick its head in the window. Frank obliged and the young lady placed her hand on the horse’s head through-out the ceremony. After the ceremony, she took off down the dunes on the horse, leaving the groom stunned and the onlookers startled. The assumption was that the young lady had actually married the horse. An old horse shoe rests in one of the alcoves inside the Chapel. The story goes that it is a horse shoe from the very horse that the young lady married. Hard to tell if it is or not and those who might know aren’t telling. It does make for a good story though and the horseshoe’s peculiar presence makes every visitor wonder about its purpose and history.

Tours of the Little Chapel on the Dunes

Elvis or Archangel? A colorful image resembling Elvis Presley is prominently painted on the ceiling. Is it Elvis? An archangel? Daniel’s vision of a monster? Or something else not yet discovered?

Pepper Pendzinski is the kind of person who nearly always has a wide and warm smile. Her sense of humor and positive outlook on life radiate from her as if it were a permanent aura. She sees events and situations as opportunities and blessings, an outlook that requires signiﬁcant positive resolve, faith and conﬁdence. Those

qualities help make Pepper one of the effective Port Aransas Museum Board Members. They also make her an ideal tour guide of the Little Chapel on the Dunes which she does on the ﬁrst and third Fridays and Saturdays of each month. For an informative and awe-inspiring tour of the Chapel contact Pepper at 361-749-3800. Visit their website at www. portaransasmuseum.org

The Future of the Little Chapel on the Dunes The Little Chapel on the Dunes is a treasure; a small yet powerful monument to the strength, determination, fortune and desires of Aline Carter. She succeeded in building a haven that still becomes one with nature, a place where peace and beauty dwell, and a place to reconnect with God or one’s own spirituality. Nestled on a high dune, it still overlooks some of the Gulf of Mexico. It still offers tranquility and a place to “listen for the whispers of your God”, and if a visitor listens carefully, the cries of birds and sounds of surf still serenade. The Chapel remains a “sanctuary of peace and inspiration for all who seek and wonder” as the Chapel was originally intended, according to Aline’s daughter-in-law Aubrey Keating Carter.

Snoopy’s and Scoopy’s Snoopy’s Pier was literally a product of the Redfish Wars, a battle over commercial fishing rights in Texas. Ernie Buttler realized the Redfish Wars signaled the beginning of the end of the commercial fishing industry in Texas. So Ernie decided to give up trying to catch fish and shrimp and start cooking them instead. In August 1980 Ernie and his wife, Corliss, purchased a small bait stand and burger joint with a fishing pier on the Intracoastal Waterway. Over time, the place was transformed with a lot of hard work and patience into a family-friendly seafood restaurant. Special attention is given to providing local harvested quality seafood at affordable prices. Scoopy’s was opened by Ernie’s wife and features home made soups, salads and sandwiches using only Texas products. Scoopy’s is proud of their shrimp salad, known by locals as the best in town. They also have great house made desserts and ice cream by the scoop. 13313 S.P.I.D. · Corpus Christi (361) 949-8815 · snoopyspier.com

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Dining Guide

Town & Country Cafe has great breakfast and lunch specials every day, offering great food at a fair price. Town & Country Cafe is a great location for business meetings and client luncheons and there is no charge for the use of the meeting room.

4228 South Alameda

Corpus Christi, TX 78412

(361) 992-0360

Locally Owned and Operated

Taste The Difference! The Gourmet Pizza

949-7737 15370 SPID- On the Island Located on Padre Island, Island Italian has been serving the community since 1987. A family friendly restaurant, Island Italian also serves beer and wine and is available for private parties of up to 53 people. Flat screen TV and DVD / VHS for meetings. Delivery on Padre Island after 5pm. Daily Lunch and Dinner Specials. Hours of Operation: Monday - Thursday 11am to 9:30pm Saturday 10am to 10pm Sunday 5pm to 9:30pm

Our famous Padre Pizza dough is handmade daily. Our sauces are created from the freshest tomatoes and seasoned with our own Chef’s blend of natural herbs and spices. Our lasagna made from scratch daily is the most tasty and delicious you will ever try, and our salad selections are prepared to order using the freshest produce available. 14993 SPID On the Island 949-0787

Art Scene

A Few Items Of Note

Studio C Gallery

HOURS:

Corpus Christi, TX 78401

Mon: 10am - 3pm

361-881-8325

Tue - Sat: 10am - 4pm

studiocgallery.com

K Space Contemporary 415 D Starr Street

Hours: Wed-Sat 11a – 5p

Corpus Christi, TX 78401

Free Admission

361.887.6834

First Friday ArtWALK

KSpaceContemporary.org

August 2nd – 5:30pm to 9pm

Owned by a group of well-recognized local artists, Studio C Gallery is situated within the Art Center of Corpus Christi on the bayfront overlooking the marina. Studio C Gallery houses a variety of high quality wearable, functional, decorative and/or gift-able works of art created by talented Texas artists.

Main Gallery: High in Fiber Works by Paula Gron, Alicia Ross, Dianne Berman, Erika McIlnay, Ashley Thomas, et al

Art Star Gallery: #Stop Making Sense Gerald Lopez & Claudia Wafer Expecting Marilyn Alicia Ross

Art Museum of South Texas

100 N. Shoreline Drive

Hot Spot Gallery: CLOSED

Art Center of Corpus Christi 100 Shoreline Blvd

Hours: 10a – 4p

Corpus Christi, TX 78401

Tuesday through Sunday

Tel: 361.884.6406

CLOSED Monday

Fax: 361.884.8836

Admission is always FREE

“Long Tall Sally” Debbie Cannatella

Treehouse Art Collective Hours:

309 North Water Street, Suite D Corpus Christi, TX 78401 361.882.4822

Tue-Sat

11a – 8p

Sunday

Noon to 6p

Free Admission Always

TreehouseArtCC.com

First Friday ArtWALK August 2nd, 5:30 – 9pm

The Independents Show 2013 Works on display through July 12th

First Friday ArtWALK August 2nd – 5pm to 7pm Opening reception for Clay Studio Group Annual Afﬁliated Group Exhibit, juried by Claudia Reese Works will be on display through August 27th.

Claudia Reese, Solo Exhibition Claudia Reese started Cera-Mix Studio in 1981, location on Tumbleweed Trail in Austin, Texas. She creates beautiful dinnerware, tile, sculpture, fountains, water catchments systems and gardens all around.

NEXUS Afﬁliated Group Exhibit of 8 TAMUCC Art Department Graduates

Annual Souper Bowl

Featured Artist: Cliff Welty

Go here to get your tickets! http://www.artcentercc. org/events/souper-bowl

Tel: 361.825.3500 Fax: 361.825.3520 artmuseumofsouthtexas.org Hours: Tues - Sat 10a to 5p

Sundays 1p to 5p

Closed Mondays & Holidays

Seniors (60 and older) - $6 Active Military - $6 Students (13+) - $4 Free to all members, children 12 and under;, and TAMU-CC students. Free Admission every First Friday in honor of ArtWALK!

Greg Reuter: For the Record 14 July through 29 September 2013

Experience nature like never before. Exhibition organized by Greg Reuter, and Deborah Fullerton, AMST Curator.

A Noble Pastime: from the Collection of the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation Exhibit runs through August 25th, 2013

The hunt comes to life with representations of hunting expeditions, displays of game, and portraits of animals and the hunters.

Creative Connections Gallery

Fine art paintings by noted Texas painter, Cliff Welty. Join us for art, music, refreshments and FUN!!!

The Merriman-Bobys House

CreativeConnectionsCC.org

Heritage Park

Wednesday – Saturday 11a – 3p

1521 North Chaparral Street Corpus Christi, Texas 78401 361-883-ARTS (2787)

Cliff Welty

Tango Tea Room 505 S Water Street Suite 545

Hours: Mon – Tue 10a - 8p

Corpus Christi, TX 78401

Fri & Sat 10a - 10:30p

361.883.9123

First Friday ArtWALK

Sunday Closed

August 2nd, 5:30 – 9pm New featured artist each month. First Friday drummers, dancers, and street performers. Art, music, poetry, fabulous food, and shopping, all in one! Downtown Corpus Christi Farmer's Market Every Wednesday 5-7 pm featuring local growers and crafters

or By Appointment Always Free Admission

First Friday, ArtWALK August 2nd, 6p – 9p

Featured Artist: Ed Portis The gallery is showing two simultaneous exhibitions by local photographer, Ed Portis: The Culture of Boats and Mexican Culture. Both Ed Portis exhibitions approach familiar subjects with a fresh eye. Works on display through August 28th.

First Saturday and Sunday NEW HOURS!!

BUY A BOWL, FEED A FAMILY Friday, August 30th Hundreds of one-of-a-kind ceramic bowls are hand crafted by the Barry Brown Clay Studio for this collaborative Food Bank fundraising event at the Art Center of Corpus Christi. For just $20, you can pick your favorite bowl, choose a delicious soup, and support your community Art Center and Food Bank.

Adults - $8

Corpus Christi, TX 78401

Check the museum website calendar for lots of fun family and adult events throughout the month.

ArtCenterCC.org

Check the website for art camp and class information & registration!

Admission:

1902 N. Shoreline Blvd

Barry Brown Clay Studio 100 N. Shoreline Drive Corpus Christi, TX 78401 Located inside the Art Center of Corpus Christi. The Barry Brown Clay Studio is open to the public for classes and available for studio use by members only. The Clay Studio Group is a volunteer organization that maintains and runs the studio.

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Lenz

Grow Local South Texas Classes @ Tango Tea Room

Island Moon Artwalk & Beach Market @ Mike Ellis Beach

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Canvas Exposing Local Artists…

Paula Gron is evolving…

some of Paula’s works have a humorous twist to them. Take for example the punning piece titled Spring Cleaning with springs as basket stakes, or the pearls and mop strands in Domestic Goddess… you get the idea.

aula Gron is a delightful MidWestern transplant who has been putting down roots in Corpus Christi for the last 8 years. Hailing from Ohio originally, Paula and her husband Jack Gron (sculptor and TAMUCC Chair, Department of Art) spent 20 years in Kentucky, where they raised their daughter.

“Yes, I’m a big chucklehead. We always have humor going on around here. It’s just about being a charwoman. My husband still works full time so he pretty much expects me to do it all, which I don’t blame him for, but being the charwoman (doing the groceries, the meals and the cleaning), I had to make a comment about that.

Armed with a major in Graphic Design and minor in Illustration, she embarked on a 30-year commercial career in those symbiotic disciplines, all the while developing her other artistic interests. “I started because I’ve always sewn, and was interested in ﬁber. I did seriously play around with basketry. I took classes in the 80s, but did coiling techniques before then, so this basketry craft and exhibition thing kinda started right around ’76 or so. I started showing pretty seriously in the 80s. I’m evolving.

“Then the piece that’s called My Toothbrush [is] because I had to go get braces, because of a jaw problem, in my old age. I literally got these braces taken off when I turned 60, which was phenomenal to me. It turned out I wasn’t even the oldest person who’s gotten braces before; I thought I’d set a record!

“I am probably evolving into being more of a fine art fiber artist… a fellow exhibitor said, “Oh, you’re really not a basket maker, you should call yourself a fiber artist.” So, I have to quit calling myself a basket maker, but I was always into the functional craft and did learn basketry traditionally. I learned all the traditional techniques, but at the same time that I was interested in basketry I was taking some weaving classes. I like loom weaving, but I always wanted to take that thing off the loom and make it threedimensional; I’m definitely not a yardage weaver. I abandoned the loom eventually and just went back to the basketry, pure basketry techniques.”

“It came from collecting some brush handles. It’s hard to ﬁnd old scrub brushes, but the scrub brush kind of did relate to my charwoman role. You can take the brushes (bristles) out of all the holes, and you’ve got holes ideal for putting stakes in to weave on. That’s how that started. That’s a traditional technique for things with kids in camp, just give them something that has holes already and the stakes already in there. So, I had these handles… and that handle looked like a toothbrush to me. Building it with metal was the

Pure basketry meets the now retro 35mm negative rolls?? “I was looking for something that I had multiples of, because I just wanted to explore it… I didn’t want to mess with a reed that gets wet again, and if you have reed, too, you’re kind of drawn to do something more traditional with it. It’s a little restrictive. I keep seeing a lot of work out there [by] artists that do multiples, or just repetitive, they just have a lot of the same materials – something odd – you know. I did like recycling, and just playing with it to see what happens with stuff. I have that commercial background, and then I have a commercial craft background, you could say; now I’m doing more ﬁne art. I’m moving into a ﬁne art direction.” As you can see by the accompanying photographs,

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next move… I thought well this would make it great, I’ll do it all white, like your teeth, and I’ll put these little things, these little braces on it, but I got to a point where it was hard to work with the metal after a while. That’s when I put the little roots in there that were like my aching roots of my teeth! “Now, I’m trying to explore. I mean, granted, I don’t really have that much time to work on my artwork, but I am just trying to explore something that moves me. Like I said, I come from that commercial world… I’m not used to doing work that’s for myself – just making art for art’s sake. Wow! That’s a new concept! I’ve met a lot of great watercolorists here and they just watercolor. I’m, like, wow – that’s an idea – I don’t have to watercolor for a client, I can actually just watercolor for fun!! So I did, I did explore that for a while and I still need to get back to that. I’ve got so many things I want to do, but just don’t have the time for it. Just playing with materials is a good idea too. Playing and experimenting, seeing where it goes. Any artist should do that, if you can afford the time.”

downtown… it still looks pretty much the same way it did 8 years ago when we moved here, but there’s more activity. There’s definitely more activity. People come out for ArtWalk. “It could be too much development’s going on in the whole South Side… it’s kinda late in the game, so many other cities have the same problem, I don’t know, but um, but there are people who do want art spaces and art galleries. A friend of mine started, with friends, the little Studio C down there in the Art Center. Now, they have to charge artists a monthly fee to get in there, which is a shame, but it’s risky. It’s nice to see that people are still willing to take the risk.” Galleries are a risk. Art is a risk. Creating fine art with unusual media like fiber can be a big risk. If ‘fiber art’ is a term you’re unfamiliar with, don’t feel alone. Fiber art is sometimes called textile art, but that term is a bit too specific because it encompasses materials beyond textiles – it is literally any artwork constructed with or including fiber as a major element. Processes vary widely and can range from sewing & stitching to weaving & basketry. The end results can be traditional, like quilting, or contemporary, like Paula’s sculptural basketry. Fiber is something of a slowly rising star in the world of art media that is finally coming into its own.

Time is a recurring theme in our conversation. A very busy woman, I don’t think grass gets time to grow under Paula’s feet – in addition to working on ﬁber creations in her home studio, she still occasionally takes graphic design and illustration clients. On top of that, when possible, she also likes to pass on her 30 years of experience and knowledge. You can contact her for lessons through her website, SculpturalBasketry.com, or keep an eye on the courses offered at the Art Center of Corpus Christi – Paula is planning to offer a weekend class there this fall. Paula also shows her work at various galleries, but like many artists, she wishes there were more venues available. “I’d like to see Corpus Christi develop

Paula Gron’s work is being featured in the very successful group show High in Fiber at K Space Contemporary alongside other notable ﬁber artists Alicia Ross, Dianne Berman, Erika McIlnay, Ashley Thomas, etc., presenting an amazing spectrum of works in ﬁber. Catch the show on this month’s ArtWalk, or any time before it closes on August 24th – you’ll be glad you did!

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Food That Loves You Back

Tango Tea Room 505 South Water Street 361-883-9123 Monday - Thursday 10 am - 8 pm Friday - Saturday 10 am - 10:30 pm Closed Sunday

The Latin Lover A homemade black bean patty with avocado and fresh Tango Salsa... A Latin Lover Always Satisfies