Swimming Pool Opens for Summer

If you’re a kid in Roscoe with a little spare time on your hands, life has to be looking up—school’s out and on Saturday the swimming pool opened for the summer.  It’s being run this year by Elementary School Principal Andy Wilson and schoolteacher Patty McBride. 

The pool is open Tuesday-Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00pm.  Price of admission is $1.50 with season passes available for $50. 

The pool can also be rented for private parties that begin and end between 6:00 and 9:00pm.  The fee is $60 for two hours and $70 for three hours, and that price includes an approved licensed lifeguard.  For additional details, phone 325-766-2352 during open pool hours.

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ROSCOE AND THE BANKHEAD HIGHWAY

In this modified 1936 county map, the red line indicates the route of the old Bankhead Highway; the blue  one is I-20.  The map will appear in Dan Smith's book on the Bankhead Highway.  (Use of map courtesy of Dan Smith.)  Click image to enlarge.  

Earlier this month, the Roscoe City Council approved the placement of a historical plaque commemorating the Bankhead Highway in Memorial Park, just across the street from the museum.

Most of us are aware that Broadway used to be a part of US Highway 80 back before Interstate 20 was built in 1959, but not everybody knows that before  it was Highway 80, it was known as the Bankhead Highway—an early grand route that stretched from Washington, DC, to San Diego, California. 

Now, a group of enthusiasts is working to preserve the memory of this once famous highway, and it is largely through their efforts that Roscoe will join the project, just as other such cities along the route as Ranger, Eastland, and Cisco have recently done. 

The Bankhead Highway was so named for Alabama Senator John H. Bankhead (1842-1920), an early proponent of national highway development and, as I’ve been told, a distant relative of the Roscoe Bankheads. 

Originally, the highway that ran through Roscoe, then a dirt road, had no name, but that changed in 1917, when the entire route from Texarkana to El Paso was officially designated Texas Highway 1.  Then in 1920, it also became a part of the transcontinental Bankhead Highway, a marked national auto trail. 

In April 1919, when the Bankhead Highway was being organized and the routes being set, a pathfinders’ convention was held in Mineral Wells to determine the best route from Memphis to El Paso. 

After much argument, the group settled on a main route and a couple of alternate routes.  Roscoe was on two of the routes—the main one that went from Texarkana to El Paso and the alternate “scenic” one that went from Texarkana to Roscoe and then up to Snyder, Lubbock, and Carlsbad.

The pathfinders’ convention also made proposals about the required quality of the highway.  Here are a couple that reveal the state of the roads at the time:

        • To so construct and repair all roads and bridges that a uniform speed of twenty miles an hour may be made over the roads and bridges in automobiles without injury or discomfort to the occupants of the machine.

        • To maintain free and safe ferries over such streams that cannot be bridged at present.

The highway’s main route received an additional designation in 1927 when national highways were assigned numbers.  It then became US Highway 80, with the 0 on the end indicating that it went from coast to coast. 

During the time it was the Bankhead, the highway received many improvements that made travel by car much easier.  Locally, the underpass under the railroad track on the “old road” near Avenger Field was built in 1926, the same year the city of Roscoe paved its downtown streets with bricks.  The underpass just west of Loraine was built in 1929.  

Additional paving was done throughout the late 1920s and into the 1930s.  A brochure describing Highway 80 in 1927 said that 798 of its 2671 miles, about 30%, were paved with brick, concrete, or bituminous macadam and over half, 1472 miles, was surfaced with gravel, sand-clay, or topsoil.  It would later become the first highway paved from coast to coast. 

This map showing the Bankhead Highway will be on the plaque placed in Memorial Park.

Its nickname, “The Broadway of America,” was responsible for the renaming of First Street in Roscoe to Broadway—and Second Street in Sweetwater, also to Broadway—because those streets were the route the highway took. 

It was also sometimes known as the Dixie Overland Highway and the Coast-to-Coast Highway and was touted as an important military and “all-weather” auto route across the U. S.  

The Bankhead Highway plaque is not a marker from the Texas Historical Commission but the creation of the Texas Bankhead Highway group headed by Dan Smith of Fort Worth, who came up with the signs and has been instrumental in getting them placed in cities along the route.   

Smith has been researching the highway for years and will soon publish a book on the subject through State House Press in Abilene.  He has also recently given talks in Ranger, Eastland, and Cisco on the highway and its history.

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: MORE RAIN!

Storm clouds over Roscoe on Monday afternoon. (N.b.: This is a color photo.)

Amidst several hours of thunder, lightning, occasional strong winds, and even hail in some places, the area got some much needed rain on Monday evening.

Amounts varied from no more than a trace north of town to three and a half inches and more south and southwest of Roscoe.  Most of the hail fell around Champion and south of Loraine and varied in size from pea-sized to an inch in diameter.  Areas south and southeast of Sweetwater also got some hail.

In Roscoe, reported amounts of precipitation varied from a half to three-quarters of an inch.   Wastella and areas west of town got about the same.  Cristal Aljoe, just northeast of town, got .8”. 

Roscoe hit triple digits with a 100°F day last Thursday, and yesterday the temperature rose to 97°, but the weekend was milder with highs in the upper eighties and lows in the upper sixties.

Today should be hot with a high around 100°F, but tomorrow and Friday should be milder with highs in the eighties and lows in the sixties.  The weekend will see a return to the mid-nineties with lows in the seventies.  There is no rain in the forecast. 

--o--

† MANUEL D. SANTIAGO

Holy Mass of Christian Burial for Manuel D. Santiago, 89, was held this morning at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church with interment following at Roscoe Cemetery with United States Army Graveside Honors.  Mr. Santiago died Sunday, May 27, at Sweetwater Healthcare Center.

He was born June 5, 1922, in Sweetwater and married Tomasa Herrera on January 1, 1947, in Loraine.  A member of St. Albert’s Catholic Church, he was a groundskeeper at Texas State Technical College until his retirement.  During his life, he also farmed and worked for the Roscoe, Snyder & Pacific Railway.  He was a veteran of World War II and a lifelong resident of Nolan County.

Survivors include his wife, Tomasa Santiago, daughter Julia Jimenez and son-in-law Margarito, all of Roscoe; sisters Martina Quintana of Roscoe and Carmen Herrera of Coahoma; daughter-in-law Gloria Santiago of Roscoe; grandsons Junior and Fabian Jimenez of Sweetwater and Christopher Santiago of Roscoe; granddaughters Diana Jimenez of Roscoe, Linda Brooks and Amy Lujan of Sweetwater; 14 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by a son, Robert Santiago; brothers Ralph, Vicente, and Raymond Santiago, and sister Cecilia Quintana.

--o--

20 Roscoe High School Seniors to Graduate at Friday Commencement

RCHS Class of 2012 Valedictorian Jacinda Morales and Salutatorian Lynnsi Moses.

A chapter of life will close for twenty Roscoe Collegiate High School Seniors as they cross the stage to successfully complete their high school careers on Friday night.  

And, as was the case last year, over half of them will graduate with their Associate’s Degree from Western Texas College in Snyder already in hand, thanks to Roscoe High’s collegiate program. 

This year’s valedictorian is Jacinda Morales, who finishes high school with a four-year average of 99.08.  She will enter the University of Texas in the fall.  The salutatorian is Lynnsi Moses with an average of 96.08.  She plans to go to Midwestern University. 

Here is a list of the Class of 2012:

*Amber Adames  A
Isabel Aguayo
*Natalie Anthony  A
*Hannah Box  A
Dakota Bradbury
Matthew Cuellar
Devon Freeman  A
*Corey Hatcher  A
John Hermosillio  A
*Sara Herrera
*Sara Kingston  A
Anjelica Lomas
*Katie McIntire  A
Shlana Mitchell
*Jacinda Morales  A
*Lynnsi Moses  A
Eric Padilla
Adrian Segura
Corey Vrubel
*Hannah Weems  A

* = Top Ten
A = Earned Associate’s Degree

Dakota Bradbury, Anjelica Lomas, and Corey Vrubel are early graduates who completed their work at the end of the fall semester. 

The Commencement ceremony will begin at 7:00pm this Friday, May 25, in the Roscoe High School cafetorium. 

Baccalaureate services were held for the graduates at the First Baptist Church this past Sunday evening.

--o--

FFA AWARDS BANQUET HELD AT ROSCOE HIGH

The 2011-2012 Roscoe FFA Awards Banquet drew a sizeable crowd to the Roscoe High School cafetorium last night for a supper, awards ceremony, and auction.  Roscoe’s ag students were recognized for achievements in several local and district competitions, graduating seniors were given a sendoff, and new local and district officers were named for the coming year. 

Here are Roscoe’s FFA Officers for 2012-2013:

President: Torrey Willman
Vice President: Kendall Moses
Treasurer: Jose Rangel
Secretary: Stina Tomlin
Sentinel: Faith Boren

--o--

SCHOOL’S OUT!—ALMOST

The day Roscoe kids have been looking forward to for some time now—the last day of school—will finally arrive on Friday.  At 1:55pm school lets out for the summer.

Unfortunately for some, the recess will be brief as summer school begins on Monday, June 4. 

--o--

DOWN MEMORY LANE: THE URANIUM SITTING PARLOR

One of the strangest—if not the strangest—of businesses ever to set up shop in Roscoe had to be the Uranium Sitting Parlor.  The year was 1955, and it didn’t stay open for too long, but I can still remember the place and the stir it caused at the time. 

It was in that old red brick building on the west side of the first block of Main Street, the one that had the Barq’s Root Beer advertisement painted on its north wall, and was next to Mrs. Clausell’s laundry.  It was somewhat dark and dingy inside with old people lying in red sand in areas separated from one another by planks.  Some of them were completely covered up to their necks while others had sand over only the affected areas, such as wrists, ankles, and feet.

The sand was radioactive and said to be wonderfully capable of alleviating aches and pains from arthritis,  rheumatism, and other similar maladies.  Customers paid by the hour, and their certainty that the uranium was beneficial caused for a booming business.

Those of you who weren’t around back then may not know that the discovery of radioactivity, its presence in uranium, and the part it played in the creation of the atomic bomb all had a profound effect on the popular thought of the time.  No one was quite sure what it all meant, but the atomic bomb blasts were proof that mankind was dealing with something new and powerful.

A movie of the time entitled “Them” (1954) captured some of the prevalent wonder.  In the movie, ants exposed to radioactivity from atomic testing in the desert became huge and invincible and attacked mankind, reinforcing the impression that radioactivity was a mysterious force with unusual powers. 

Thanks to Stanley Cleckler, who provided me with a couple of articles, one from the Roscoe Times about the local sitting parlor and the other from the San Angelo Standard-Times about the origins of the craze, I am able to supply details that would otherwise have been impossible. 

According to the article from the San Angelo paper, the craze began in Comanche.  A dairy farmer there by the name of Jesse F. Reese discovered that sand on his 216-acre farm had uranium in it.  Not too long afterwards, a stranger knocked on the door one day and asked if he could sit in Mr. Reese’s ditch.  He explained that back home in Washington state, he paid for radiation treatments to ease his rheumatism pains, and he was thinking he might get the same relief from the radioactive sand in the ditch. 

Reese agreed, and before long word got around about the healing powers of uranium sand, and several other people showed up to do the same thing.   Rather than run them off, Reese built a shed in his back yard with enough room for six sitters.  He put sand under the floor and in the walls and charged two dollars an hour. 

Business started slowly, but soon he was getting 150 visitors a day, and it wasn’t too long before a uranium sitting parlor was established in Brownwood.  It was also a big success.

At this point, Harvey Cleckler, a Roscoan who was living in Brownwood, decided to get involved.  He was a character and an entrepreneur who, among other ventures, was the man who used to bring the donkey basketball games to Roscoe.

He came to Roscoe with some of the uranium sand and established the Roscoe Uranium Sitting Parlor.

According to the Roscoe Times, people “literally began sitting on the first shovel full” of radioactive sand that he unloaded, and the place was soon averaging “upwards of thirty people a day.”  Mr. Cleckler made no claims that the radioactive sand would cure or even help any disease.  He merely made the sand available and charged a price for people to sit in it. 

Here's one customer's testimonial copied verbatim from the Roscoe Times article, "It's the only thing that's ever helped my arthritis.  I could hardly get up the stairs until I started uranium sitting.  Now I walk up them easily."

Harvey's brother Frank took charge of the Roscoe parlor while Harvey moved on to Lubbock to establish another one there.

The Roscoe parlor originally had two “beds,” but that was later increased, and I seem to remember at least five or six.  I don’t remember how long the parlor remained open, but it wasn’t too long.  I guess at some point people figured out that their rheumatism or arthritis was still bothering them and gave up on the sitting sessions and the curative powers of radioactivity. 

But it was all the rage for a while and is now an indelible part of the history of the town.  If anyone has any pictures of the place, inside or out, I’d love to have a copy for the museum.
  

--o--

WEATHER REPORT

Skies were sunny with breezes were from mild to gusty as the area experienced a week of typical May weather.  Highs reached the upper eighties and lower nineties, and lows were in the high fifties and lower sixties.  On Sunday evening there was a solar eclipse right at sunset.

The forecast is for more of the same—minus the eclipse—with no rain in sight and temperatures even warmer with triple digits forecast for tomorrow and highs in the upper nineties for the days following.  Lows will be in the upper sixties and lower seventies.
 

--o--

Christi Pepper Beal and Robert McBride Win Council Seats

Christi Pepper Beal and Robert McBride were elected to three-year terms on the City Council.

Christi Pepper Beal and incumbent Robert McBride were the winners in the City Council election held on Saturday at the Community Center. 

A special meeting of the City Council called for yesterday to canvass the election results confirmed the outcome.  Here is the final tally of votes for the two contested seats:

       Christi Pepper Beal    51
       Robert McBride          50
       Robert Fortin              27

A total of 69 people voted, but not all voted for two candidates. 

Beal and McBride will be sworn in by the Mayor at the next City Council Meeting on June 12 and begin serving three-year terms.  

The term of Council Member Ken Brawley will expire next year, while those of Helen Perry and Virgil Pruitt will last for two more years. 

--o--

STUDENTS HONORED FOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS AT ACADEMIC BANQUET

Congratulations to these 11 Seniors graduating with their Associate of Arts Degree from Western Texas College: Katie McIntire, Amber Adames, Devon Freeman, Jacinda Morales, Corey Hatcher, Lynnsi Moses, Hannah Box, Sara Kingston, John Hermosillio, Hannah Weems, Natalie Anthony.

Numerous students received honors Monday evening at the Academic Banquet held at Roscoe Collegiate High School.  In addition to the eleven graduating seniors pictured above who are also receiving Associate Degrees from Western Texas College through Roscoe High’s collegiate program, other students receiving honors were as follows:

Best All-Around Students:

      Senior Boy: Corey Hatcher
      Senior Girl: Jacinda Morales
      Junior Boy: Keeston Ford
      Junior Girl: Faith Boren
      Sophomore Boy: Luke Rovig
      Sophomore Girl: Whitney Williams
      Freshman Boy: Chase Cathey
      Freshman Girl: Jesenia Peña
      8th Grade Boy: Vincent Pantoja
      8th Grade Girl: Teresa Herrera
      7th Grade Boy: Brayden Beal
      7th Grade Girl: Karina Cisneros

Highest ACT Score: Jose Rangel
Highest SAT Score: Keeston Ford

The outstanding students in forty-nine separate high school and junior high classes were also recognized.

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BELLAMY BROTHERS TO RETURN TO ROSCOE ON FRIDAY

The Bellamy Brothers at the Wind Festival last fall. (Click image to play video.)

The Bellamy Brothers, who drew such a large crowd to Roscoe during the West Texas Wind Harvest Festival last October, are returning Friday night for an encore performance, this time at the outdoor stage of the Lumberyard.

The performance starts at 9:00pm, and there will be a $10 cover charge.  For information, phone the Lumberyard at 325-766-2457.

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MAYOR PROCLAIMS THE MONTH OF MAY AS LAURA FAY DUNCAN MONTH

At  yesterday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Pete Porter, with the unanimous approval of the Council, proclaimed the month of May as “Laura Fay Duncan Month” in the City of Roscoe.

Mrs. Duncan, who celebrated her 105th birthday on May 7, has been active in the community since moving to Roscoe in 1930, was the English teacher at Roscoe High from 1930 to 1939, served as an election volunteer for decades, willingly donated time and energy to community affairs, and taught Sunday School at the Methodist Church for over seventy years.  

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: MORE RAIN!

Last Thursday, we got a nice, slow rain ranging from an inch and a quarter to two inches, depending upon location.  In town, most of the people I heard from got about an inch and a half, which brings the total for the year to a little over 8.5 inches.

On Sunday, another .05” fell, and on Monday there was a dark cloud in the west that looked very promising but never materialized, not in this area anyway.  Even so, we’ve received an abundance of moisture in the last week or so, and even though more would be better, most of us are thankful for what we’ve got.

The weather has continued to be unseasonably cool for May, with high temperatures in the seventies and lows in the fifties.  That appears to be coming to an end, though, as today’s high is forecast to be in the mid-eighties with a steady warming trend as we move into a weekend with highs in the nineties.  The chance for rain also seems to be over at least for the next few days.

--o--

YUCCA BLOSSOMS AND ALGERITA BERRIES

If you’ve driven around in the ranch country around Roscoe recently, you may have noticed that the yucca plants are in full bloom and the algerita bushes are just covered with ripe berries.  

I mention the yucca blossoms because not everyone knows that in some circles they are regarded as a gourmet’s delight.  The petals of the flowers are good to eat, and back when I was living in Austin, some of the yuppies there considered it classy to sprinkle yucca petals into their salads—both for color and for the delicate taste.   Recipes on the Internet instruct you to boil the petals in salted water or use them as an ingredient in omelets.  They can also be used in soups.

A cousin of mine in the panhandle says that when the stem that holds the yucca blooms first comes out, it is also good and tastes like asparagus, but I’ve never tried it. 

If you’ve never heard of algerita bushes, then you need to know that they’re also very common in these parts and can be found in varying degrees all over the western half of Texas.  Their size varies of course, but bushes are generally three or four feet tall and three or four times that across. 

The berries are small, round, and red, and the bushes are covered with little silvery green leaves that have sharp points on them like holly, only worse.  If you try to pick the berries with bare hands, the leaves are guaranteed to puncture your skin and bring a sharp pain and possibly a drop or two of blood—but the pain is worth it because the berries are just bursting with taste, the perfect combination of sweet and sour. 

One word of warning, though, if you’re going out to pick some—watch out for snakes.  Rattlesnakes know that birds and little critters love the berries, so they sometimes hang out under the bushes in hopes of snagging something. 

A better strategy than picking the berries by hand is to spread an old bedspread or blanket underneath the bush and then beat the branches with a stick.  That knocks the ripe berries right off the limbs, so you can get a lot of them quickly.  Unfortunately, it also knocks off a lot of the sharp little leaves that have to be dealt with later on, that is, if you plan to eat the berries raw or use them to make a pie.
 
If there is an easy way to separate the leaves from the berries, I have yet to learn it.  A few years back, I went out and gathered about a gallon of berries and leaves.  When I got back home, I put water in the bathtub and poured them in, hoping that the berries would sink and the leaves would float, or vice versa. 

Unfortunately, neither occurred.  Some leaves and berries float while others sink, so the only benefit of dumping them in the water is to clean the dust off the berries.  As far as I know, the separation of berries from leaves still has to be done by hand. 

(News Flash: I just talked to Dianna Heady, and she says a hail screen probably available at Higginbotham-Bartlett should be able to catch the leaves while letting the berries fall through.  I’ll have to try it.)

The old timers usually made jelly with the berries, but algerita berry pie is an absolute delight, and it is also possible to make algerita berry wine.  Recipes for all these are available on the Internet.  Bon Appetit!

--o--

†LOUIE SHULER

Former Roscoan Edgar Nance wrote to report that Louie Shuler passed away after surgery on Saturday.  Shuler grew up in Roscoe in the forties and early fifties.  Memorial Service is Sunday in New London, Texas.  

--o--

Cinco de Mayo Celebrated with Supper, Parade and Street Dance

The band Norteño Audio M filled the air with Mexican music on Saturday night. 

Roscoe celebrated Cinco de Mayo last weekend with a supper and evening of activities at the school on Friday, and then a parade on Saturday morning followed by a street dance on Saturday night.

A large crowd was on hand for the Mexican pile-on supper and a variety of entertainment in the school cafetorium, and there was also a carnival along with games, music, snacks, and other treats.  All proceeds went to senior scholarships.
 
On Saturday morning, the parade down Broadway had plenty of caballos and caballeros as well as floats and vehicles from which candy was thrown to the kids.

Then that evening another large crowd enjoyed the vendors and the street dance on Cypress between the City Hall and Old Town Park with music provided by the band Norteño Audio M.

--o--

ELECTION DAY IS SATURDAY FOR CONTESTED CITY COUNCIL SEATS

The polls will be open from 7:00am-7:00pm this Saturday, May 12, at the Roscoe Community Center for voting in Roscoe’s General Election.

At stake are two contested City Council seats.  Three candidates—Robert McBride, Christi Beal Pepper, and Robert Fortin—are running for two Council seats.  The winners will be the two with the most votes.

Early voting ended yesterday. 

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: RAIN!

 

Following several days of sunny skies and highs in the upper nineties, a cool front moved through on Monday, bringing with it unseasonably cool temperatures and some much needed precipitation. 

Temperatures dropped over twenty degrees under overcast skies, and at about 4:00 on Monday afternoon rain started falling and continued for over an hour.  Another light rain then fell on Tuesday morning.

On the west side of town Lyndall Underwood received .89” of rain on Monday and another .44” on Tuesday morning for a total of 1.34”, bringing the yearly accumulation to just over seven inches.  On the east side of town, Kenny Landfried recorded an almost identical 1.38" total.

North of town, Mike Alexander got 1.75", and just northwest of town at Cottonwood Creek Kenny Landfried had 1.8".  Wastella, on the other hand, had less with Billy Roy Hallman and Gary Pieper getting about an inch.  David Duncan, three miles west of town, got .95", and Garland Marth, just north of him, got 1.2".

The cool weather is predicted to last through the weekend with highs in only the seventies and lows in the fifties.  There is also a good chance for more rain with meteorologists predicting a 40%-50% chance of thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday. 

--o--

LAURA FAY DUNCAN CELEBRATES 105TH BIRTHDAY

Roscoe’s oldest citizen, Laura Fay Duncan, celebrated her 105th birthday on Monday with a party at Sweetwater Healthcare Center, where she now resides. 

She was born into a large family in Cisco on May 7, 1907, when Teddy Roosevelt was the President, and graduated from Cisco High School in 1924.  In 1928, she graduated with a B. A. from Texas Women’s College in Fort Worth and that fall began her teaching career at Divide, where she taught for two years.

In 1930, she moved to Roscoe, where she was the high school English teacher until 1939.  The seniors of 1939 dedicated the annual to her, and that same year she retired from teaching and married Everett Duncan, who remained her husband until his death in 1978.  In 1941, she completed her M. A. at Hardin-Simmons University.  She then had three sons: Joe, Edwin, and David, and spent the forties and fifties raising them.

In those years she was also known as a public speaker who gave talks to women’s clubs and organizations all over the big country.  An artist, she also taught art classes and worked with ceramics, and over the years has made too many quilts to count.  One of her paintings of a desert flower is in a museum in Arizona. 

A lifelong Methodist, she has been a member of the Roscoe congregation since 1930 and taught Sunday School there for seventy years. 

She lived at home until she was 100 but has been at the Sweetwater Healthcare Center since November 2007. 

--o--

CENTRAL ROLLING PLAINS CO-OP HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING

The Central Plains Co-op held its annual Stockholders’ meeting last night at the school cafetorium with a meal of barbecue catered by Big Boys Bar-B-Q.  Items of business included the Manager’s Report, Regional Reports, and Audit Report, along with the election of two directors.

Roscoe was reported to have ginned a total of only 9,966 bales of cotton last year compared to 70,379 the year before—and that 9,966 included cotton from Snyder and Roby, whose gins didn’t open.  We can only hope that that measly amount will never be repeated.

--o--

OPEN DOOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER RECEIVES $600 PROCEEDS FROM CHILI COOKOFF

Pictured from left to right are Open Door staff members Billye Hughes, Cristal Aljoe, and Nerissa Jay and Chili Cookoff organizers Fester Hoggle (a.k.a. Larry Cornoyer) and Kelly Etheredge.

Organizers of the First Annual Screw Terlingua Chili Cookoff presented a $600 check to officials of the Open Door Child Development Center yesterday at the Lumberyard Restaurant.

The money was the proceeds from the chili cookoff held during Roscoe’s Spring Fling on April 21.  It will be used for outdoor activities and equipment.

--o--

WEATHER CHANNEL TV SHOW FEATURING ROSCOE WIND FARM NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE.

An episode featuring the Roscoe Wind Farm in the Weather Channel series “Turbine Cowboys” was aired a couple of times this past week.  Entitled “The New Frontier,” it is the second episode in the series and is now available online.

The video lasts 21 minutes and features two locales—Nome, Alaska, and the Roscoe Wind Farm.  The narrative moves back and forth between the two places, and the amount of time given each is pretty much the same.  

You can view it by clicking here.

--o--

Play Ball! Roscoe Baseball Teams Kick Off 2012 Season

 Players, coaches, parents, grandparents, and other baseball enthusiasts were on hand Saturday at George Parks Field for the opening ceremonies of the Roscoe Little League.  Individual players in four age groups received their team caps at home plate, and this year’s teams were presented to the crowd.

This year there are seven Roscoe teams in four age groups:

T-Ball (ages 4-6)     Sponsor
        1. Cubs    Roscoe State Bank
        2. Reds    Homer’s Metal Arts & Gifts

Midget (ages 7-9)
        1. Rangers     Peter Sheridan Law Office
        2. Brewers    The Lumberyard

Freshmen (ages 10-12)
        1. Tigers       Miles Auto Sales
        2. Padres     The Paint Company

Juniors (ages 13-15)
        Rangers        Stanley Ford

The Midgets, Freshmen, and Juniors will all play ten or twelve-game schedules in the Colorado City League.  The season officially began last night with the Brewers downing the Rangers 10-6.

There will also be games at George Parks Field this week on Thursday and Saturday evenings.  The concession stand will be open and serving brisket sandwiches and burritos, as well as drinks and other items. 

--o--

DOWN MEMORY LANE: THE 1954 BEAUTY PAGEANT

Those of us who are old enough to remember the 1950s will recall what a big deal beauty contests were in those years.

When TV came to west Texas, it brought with it the annual Miss America pageant, which according to Wikipedia was the highest rated program on television well into the early sixties.

On that night, everyone watched the show and made their predictions about who the judges would pick.  When the winner was announced, host Bert Parks would sing, “There she is, Miss America,” and the newly crowned queen, with tears of joy in her eyes, would walk down the runway as the runners up and everyone else applauded—and for the next couple of days she would be the most popular female in the country.

Local beauty contests were also popular, and in 1954 Roscoe held its own pageant with Christine Clayton being crowned Miss Roscoe, while runners up Pauline Nance and Norma Lynn Eckert were designated her Maids of Honor. (See Photo of the Week in the right-hand column.)

Christine was sponsored by the Roscoe State Bank; Pauline was sponsored by Haney’s Drug Store, where she worked at the soda fountain; and Norma was sponsored by Shelansky Dry Goods, where she worked on Saturdays when everybody came to town.

Miss Roscoe went on to compete in the Oak Creek Pageant when the lake officially opened, but the winner was someone from Sweetwater.

Norma, who has supplied me with all these details, also mentions that on the Sunday after the Roscoe pageant, “the pastor of the First Baptist Church preached a sermon on ‘parading around with hardly any clothes on,’ and there we were, the three that placed, on the front row of the choir with everyone looking at us . . . and two of our dads were deacons.”  

Despite all that, however, she says, “Daddy was still proud of me.”

--o--

CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION DOWNTOWN ON SATURDAY

Cinco de Mayo will once again be celebrated downtown this year.  A parade down Broadway will begin at 10:30am (with line-up at 10:00).  

Street vendors will set up in the afternoon, and there will be live music and a street dance "on the bricks" in the evening on Cypress Street between the Roscoe State Bank and Old Town Park.  

Music will be provided by the band Norteño Audio M.  They will set up around 6:00pm and play until 10:00pm. 

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CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION AND SCHOLARSHIP DINNER AT SCHOOL ON FRIDAY

Roscoe Collegiate High School will be hosting its annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration and Scholarship Dinner on Friday, May 4th, at the high school.
 
There will be a bounce house, face painting, mini-Mercado, paletas, music, lotería (Mexican bingo), cakewalk, and other games for all ages.  Students will be presenting throughout the dinner as well.

The carnival is from 4:00-8:00pm, and the dinner and presentations will run from 5:00-7:30.

There will be student work on display, door prizes, tours of the new areas, and student presentations.
 
Dinner includes Mexican Pile On, drink and dessert.  Price of the dinner is $6.00 for adults and $4.00 for kids 4-10.   Kids under four are free.  Proceeds benefit senior scholarships.

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EARLY VOTING UNDERWAY FOR CITY COUNCIL ELECTION

Early voting for the City Council Election began on Monday at City Hall and will continue through next Tuesday, May 8.  Times for the rest of this week are 8:30am-4:30pm.  For next Monday and Tuesday, the times are 7:00am-7:00pm.

The General Election is next Saturday, May 12, at the Roscoe Community Center.

Three candidates—Robert McBride, Christi Beal Pepper, and Robert Fortin—are running for two Council seats.  The winners will be the two with the most votes.  

The election for the contested County Commissioner’s Office in Precinct 1 between Terry Willman and Jerry Hulcy won’t be until later.  Early voting for that one will run from May 14-25 with the regular election day on May 29 from 7:00am-7:00pm. Voting will take place in the County Clerk’s Office in the Nolan County Courthouse.

Willman will be on the Democratic ticket and Hulcy on the Republican.   Roscoe is included in Precinct 1.

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WEATHER REPORT

Last Wednesday was the first day this year that the temperature went over the century mark, with a 104°F reading at Lyndall Underwood’s Davis Weather Station on the west side of Roscoe.

That’s the only day so far to hit triple digits, but the weather has continued to be hot and dry with highs in the nineties and lows in the sixties.  Sunday and Monday were cloudy and there was lightning in the distant northwest but no precipitation anywhere near Roscoe.

The last couple of days have been downright windy with 15-20mph winds and gusts up to 35-40mph.  The forecast is for more of the same for the next few days with continued highs in the nineties and lows in the sixties.

As is so often the case, we could use a good rain but there appears to be none in the immediate future.

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†GUMECINDA “CINDY” DELOERA LIMONES

Holy Mass of Christian Burial was held yesterday at 10:00am for Gumecinda “Cindy” DeLoera Limones, 74, at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Sweetwater and was followed by interment in the Sweetwater Cemetery.  Mrs. Limones died on Saturday at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene.

Gumecinda DeLoera was born March 11, 1938, in Champion and married Frank Limones on December 28, 1958, in Loraine.  A certified nurse’s aide, she was self employed and a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church.

Survivors include her husband, Frank Limones of Sweetwater; daughters Sylvia Galarza of Grand Prairie and Elsa Gonzales of Sweetwater; sons, Frank, Jr., and Richard Limones of Sweetwater, and Nester Limones of Roscoe; 12 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren; brothers Antonio, Rodrigo, and Felipe DeLoera of Roscoe, and Thomas DeLoera of Loraine; sisters, Paula Muñoz of Sweetwater, Josefa Castor of Roscoe and Aurora Muñoz of Loraine; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents; three brothers; and four sisters.

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