The Los Fresnos Volunteer Fire Department is celebrating its 75th anniversary of serving southern Cameron County and one constant has defined it through the years. The department is manned by volunteer firefighters. It is, in fact, an all-volunteer force, the only one of its kind in the Rio Grande Valley. The department is unique in another way as well in that it is not part of a city government. The…
The Brownsville of the post-World War II era was pushing west on its main street – Elizabeth Street – in branching out from its downtown core to develop new retailing and business offices. The Rio Grande Valley Gas Company Building was part of that movement. The 21,000-square-foot building, two stories high, got its start in 1947. Additional phases of the building would come in the late 1950s and mid-1960s. The…
The Lighthouse Boutique Hotel is “coastal but subtle.” It’s a description of the Port Isabel hotel as given by one of its owners, Ana Martha Diaz. The two-story, 8,000-square-foot building sits across the street from an 1850s-era lighthouse, providing a name and sense of place for the specialty hotel. It stands on the land that was the site of a military depot built during the U.S.-Mexican War of the mid-19th…
Angela Menchaca was a busy physician assistant, rotating among cardiac clinics in Edinburg when she felt the pull to be closer to her Weslaco home with a young daughter to raise. Her best option was one she knew well. Her husband, Michael, is a family nurse practitioner who has opened a direct primary care clinic in Harlingen. It’s not a clinic like many others with long patient waits. There are…
A letter from a former president said it all in expressing appreciation for a job well done. “Nancy and I know how much work goes into the preparation of such wonderful meals, and we greatly appreciate all you did,” wrote Ronald Reagan in an August 1992 letter to Arnie Creinin. “Thanks to you and your staff, our stay was delightful!” It wasn’t the first time Creinin had cooked for President…
A stately and historic home on Missouri Avenue in Mercedes needed work after years of neglect. Beyond its then-rough exterior, Dr. Barbara Baggerly-Hinojosa and her husband, C.A., saw great potential. Baggerly-Hinojosa was looking for a corporate office for her Leadership Empowerment Group. Hinojosa, a Mercedes native, encouraged his wife to look at the city as a Mid-Valley hub to grow her business. They would settle on 805 S. Missouri –…
Danielle Rodriguez’s first job is the one she currently holds. Technically, Rodriguez’s initial job at the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce held a different title, but she views it as a continuation of the opportunities given to her by Esmeralda Villarreal, the chamber’s chief executive officer. Starting as an intern in college, Rodriguez has worked her way up, diligently, learning and growing in a rising career. She is today the Brownsville…
Barbara Jean Garza was in the midst of a lengthy and successful public administration career at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley when a job opportunity arose that piqued her interest. The Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce was looking to hire a new chief executive officer. Garza’s initial thought was to take a pass on applying for the job but colleagues encouraged her to “throw my name in the…
Being a kiteboarder, Jason Norwood got a frequent question as a sporting event loomed at South Padre Island in 2021. “How do we get from the airport to the Island?” he recalled being asked. Getting from the Valley International Airport in Harlingen to South Padre can be problematic. Finding reliable ground transportation for the hour-long trip from the airport to SPI is often a challenge. This is especially true during…
The way Jesus Mendiola sees it, “you’ve got to move or you’ll go down.” It’s a befitting viewpoint for the owner of two Trek Bicycle stores in the Rio Grande Valley. Mendiola recently opened a store in Harlingen to go with his existing shop in Mission. He opened the latter business in 2007. A visit to the Trek Harlingen showroom features dozens of bicycles of differing styles, colors and prices.…