Winter Texan Times

2023 Mission Citrus Golf Tournament

The Mission Citrus Golf Tournament will take place on Friday, May 5th at the Shary Municipal Golf Course. The day will begin with a registration and breakfast at 7:30 a.m. with Tee-Off at 8:30 a.m.

A majority of proceeds will go towards supporting education for Mission CISD students. The Chamber believes that every child deserves access to a quality education, regardless of their background or financial situation. By participating, you can help make this vision a reality.

A Lifetime Becoming a Rosie

Winter Texan earns unique honors

By Barb Zanetti
Photos by Dennis Zanetti

Alamo Palms’ 98-year-old Louise Unkrich didn’t have white hair when she did the work that would bring her national recognition. Actually, she was a dark-haired teenager.

Typical of other young women whose lives changed course in the early 1940’s, Louise left her Swedesburg, Iowa hometown at 19 to find meaningful work about 250 miles away. Her job would be to assemble parts for B-26’s and B-29’s at the Glenn L. Martin bomber plant south of Omaha, near Bellevue, Nebraska.

“The war was on,” she said. “My boyfriend was in the Navy, and I wanted to help.”

April programs at Bentsen-RGV State Park

20230329 Bentsen ST Park Trees in Bloom Picture1 web Programs at Bentsen-RGV State Park continue through the spring. Feeding is ending for some migratory birds, but there is still more hawk migration. The park is starting their spring and summer programs such as kayaking and Dutch oven cooking. As always, the park offers a variety of family activities and programs.

The park holds a Hawk Watch daily from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Hawk Tower. On April 2, at 10 a.m., they will hold their Useful and Edible Plants class.

Enjoy regional Easter traditions at MOSTH

20230329 MOSTEaster22 25 web The Museum of South Texas History presents ¡Cascarón!, an Easter celebration, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 8.

The museum’s annual event features the regional tradition of decorating “cascarones,” or empty eggshells, filled with confetti. Blank and ready-to-hide cascarones will be available for purchase, while supplies last. Guests can choose to decorate a dozen empty eggshells for $2 or purchase a dozen pre-decorated eggs for $4.

Art Lounge on SPI to host exhibit

flowers web South Padre Island has a new art gallery, The Art Lounge, and it will be hosting an exhibition called Bloom. The exhibit will take place on April 8, from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

The high-end art gallery is turning one-year-old and they are giving the community flowers to celebrate. They are turning the gallery into a garden party for the art opening. Just in time to be held the Saturday before Easter.

Gladys Porter Zoo implements new pricing

The Gladys Porter Zoo has implemented a new dynamic pricing model. Zoo admission prices will now vary through July, depending upon the day of the week. This dynamic model is currently used nationwide at various attractions and is intended to encourage visitorship from Monday through Thursday when the attraction is generally less crowded. At the same time, the slightly higher cost to attend the Zoo provides an inflation-based increase in income at the front gate. Since 90 percent of the Zoo’s operating income is derived from admission sales, this adjustment is needed to maintain a world-class facility, purchase nutritious food for the Zoo’s 1,600 inhabitants, and retain top-notch experts by paying competitive wages.

Updated passport processing times

The U.S. Department of State has extended the processing times for U.S. passports again. Now, the routine processing of a passport application is now 10 to 13 weeks, up from eight to 10 weeks. The expeditated processing – for the additional $60 fee – is now seven to nine weeks, up from five to seven weeks.