DECEMBER 13, 2023 www.wintertexantimes.com 2 WINTER TEXAN TIMES 1217 N. Conway Mission, Texas 78572 (956) 580-7800 © Copyright 2023-2024 by Nexus Publishing LLC, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without express written permission of the publisher. The Winter Texan Times is not responsible for errors or omissions in advertising. In the event of an error in an ad or omission of an ad, the newspaper’s financial liability is limited to the cost of the ad in questions. The newspaper is not responsible for any other damages, tangible or intangible. Typically a make-good ad or re-rescheduled ad is considered to sufficiently meet the newspaper’s responsibility. Dan Brunson Publisher dan@wintertexantimes.com Carina Brunson Editor carina@wintertexantimes.com Anastasia Brunson Office Manager anastasia@wintertexantimes.com Published by Nexus Publishing LLC Parks Calendar: Items must be open to the public activities in the parks only and must be submitted by park owners, managers, or activity directors. We do not accept listings for reviews, workshops, lessons, or dance classes. Please include all pertinent information, a contact person, and contact phone number. Submission deadline is Thursday 5 p.m., the week prior to the publication date. Send to Winter Texan Times, 1217 N. Conway Ave., Mission, Texas 78572 or email to parkscal@wintertexantimes.com. News: We are always looking for news about events, organizations, exhibits, fundraising, and more, from parks, chambers, cities, museums, and other venues. You are welcome submit your news items, photos of recent park activities, or news story ideas about your park or park residents. Please include all pertinent information, a contact person, and contact phone number. Submission deadline is Thursday 5 p.m., the week prior to the publication date. Send to Winter Texan Times, 1217 N. Conway Ave., Mission, Texas 78572 or email to news@wintertexantimes.com. Events Calendar: Items must be open to the public. Please include all pertinent information, a contact person, and contact phone number. Submission deadline is Thursday 5 p.m., the week prior to the publication date. Send to Winter Texan Times, 1217 N. Conway Ave., Mission, Texas 78572 or email to news@wintertexantimes.com. Reunions: We feature reunions and meetings that are happening throughout the Valley. We hope that if you are having such a meeting, you will send the information to us so we can help you spread the word. Please include all pertinent information, a contact person, and contact phone number. Submission deadline is Thursday 5 p.m., the week prior to the publication date. Send to Winter Texan Times, 1217 N. Conway Ave., Mission, Texas 78572 or email to reunions@wintertexantimes.com. Winter Texans joined thousands of people along the street in anticipation of the 2023 Weslaco Lighted Christmas Parade. Near perfect weather made it even more exciting for those in attendance. Knowing what one of the alternatives is around the country made it even more special. “This is the type of weather to watch a Christmas parade,” said Chris Clark, who along with his wife and a group of five others all hailing fromWisconsin and one rabble-rouser from Arkansas. “This is my first time at this parade.” Mary Lauer wore a pink shirt proclaiming she was a Winter Texan and gave everyone else some fun-loving jabs and grief, then faked tears as some retaliated back jokingly. “Do you see what I have to deal with,” she joked. That group lives either in Siesta Village or Pine to Palm, while down the road maybe 60 yards away from the Wisconsin group was a 10-pack of northern visitors, these hailing from Iowa and with plenty of golfers it seemed amongst the pack. Mike Engleman of Mason City, Iowa was one of those golfers. He plays golf as much as possible and enjoys, among others, Monte Cristo and Tierra Santa, where he had just played and shot a 41-42 at the Weslaco course. Engleman said the Winter Texan life in the Valley all started when he and his wife came to the Valley to visit his sister in-law. “They were Winter Texans and we stayed with them for a week and thought we would just be Winter Texans,” he said. “We love how friendly it is every place we have gone to, and we looked around at a lot of different parks and fell in love with Rio Estates.” They bought a place and when it was time to go home, they didn’t want to leave. “We went back to Mason City, put our house up for sale and sold it in six weeks,” he said. “Everything is a mile or two from our park. Texas was never on our mind, not even in the top 10, let alone five miles from the border. And here we are. We moved in six weeks ago.” Weslaco parade draws large crowd See WESLACO pg. 18 Front row, left to right: Donna Apfel, Mary Lauer. Back row, left to right: Gary Janssen, Marilyn Janssen, Chris Clark, Jim Clark, Pat Lauer. Photo by Henry Miller Winter Texans having fun at the Weslaco Parade. Photo by Henry Miller
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