DECEMBER 28, 2022 www.wintertexantimes.com 2 WINTER TEXAN TIMES MOBILE HOME INSURANCE HIDALGO COUNTY We Also Insure PARK MODELS • TRAVEL TRAILERS MOTORHOMES • GOLF CARTS • “CASITAS” 5TH WHEELS • AUTOS • MOTORCYCLES Galvan Insurance Agency, Inc. 1101 East Business 83 Donna, TX 1 1/2 milesWest of Don-Wes Flea Market www.galvaninsuranceagency.com *Premium subject to carrier underwriting. Rate subject to change. *$271.00per year. Conditions Apply. As Low as Plan Covers: Fire, Lightning, Explosion, Smoke, Wind (Hurricane, Tornadoes), Hail, Riot & Civil Commotion, Land & Air Vehicles... Also Includes $100,000 Liability Coverage. Flood Coverage Available Call or Come See Us 956-464-2886 A Christmas party needed a community’s help Winter Texans came to the Rescue By Barb Zanetti Photos by Dennis Zanetti Almost 1,000 presents were assembled. Santa was scheduled to appear with his buddy, The Grinch. The photographer was ready. Six hundred children and several dogs were registered online to receive gifts at The Landmark on Tower’s Second Annual Christmas party. The only thing missing was more good help. Restaurant owner Roel Landa said he didn’t even know how much he needed Santa’s Winter Texan elves. The day of the party over a dozen residents of Alamo Palms RV Resort andAlamo Rec-Veh Park showed up and they were ready to work. “I told them [the Winter Texans] after the event was over last night,” he said, “’I don’t know how I would have done it without you!’” During the afternoon of Wed., Dec. 21, the over-55 group helped decorate the restaurant’s enormous courtyard. “We all pitched in, grabbed the decorations that The Landmark provided and put them up where they looked best,” elf Carol Norman said. “All of us did our part.” Mary Lou Kennedy agreed that it was a Winter Texan group effort. “Dennis had good ideas with the large paper balls, and we followed his lead,” she said. “Kathy and Peggy took on the lollipops. Mark, Joe, and Bobby mounted the candy canes on the perimeter. Mike worked on the tree decorations. Carol helped at the fence. We all dug in and we did it!” But there was still much work to do. Over $4,000 had been spent on the decorations and toys from The Landmark on Tower’s Community Fund*, plus more toys and donations came from area organizations and businesses. Employees had handled the initial sorting of toys, but that work wasn’t complete. In the restaurant some Winter Texans pitched in to finish sorting toys by age group. Meanwhile, several others began hauling toys to fill the enormous, gift-wrapped boxes on the stage to prepare for the nighttime party. But their work wasn’t done yet. The children hadn’t arrived. At 6 p.m. when the restaurant’s courtyard doors opened, the ambitious group was still there, helping The Landmark’s employees at the chilly outdoor event. Residents of both parks worked side by side to See RESCUE pg. 14 Mark and Joe bringing box to stage Mark Norman (left) and Joe Herman joined several of their friends and neighbors from Alamo Palms RV Resort and Alamo Rec-Veh Park to carry hundreds of toys to the stage to prep for The Landmark on Tower’s Christmas party. Joel Landa, and his family and employees, said they appreciated the Winter Texans’ help in making this event special for well over 500 children.
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