The St Valentine's Day Massacre on Brownsville Station

by Javier R. Garcia

I want to thank Jim Barton for putting me back in the fight.  We'll be examining a swarm of media seekers trying to force public opinion even after the city was gracious enough to invite them to their own town hall meeting to discuss relocating the Jefferson Davis stone which they hate so much.  After the Jefferson Davis Memorial stone meeting, they continued to pester our city commissioners at city hall where more important matters are needed to be addressed.  If you want to view nearly two-hour video of town hall meet click link-- the sound is of poor quality. 

Townhall: Jefferson Davis Memorial - 11/29/17

Ms. Serrano at town hall doing her "He's a great guy... yadda yadda" spiel.  Note uninterested reactions from her support base behind her.

spiel - noun  .a long or fast speech or story, typically one intended as a means of persuasion or as an excuse but regarded with skepticism or contempt by those who hear it

Here's some of the media spill-over about that rock which followed the town hall meeting and was observed on our Facebook page last weekend.

Michelle Serrano, who stated at town how meeting that she works for a local museum, spoke with reporter Derick Garcia who is a knock-off of the Ryan Wolf reporter who achieved a grand celebrity-like status using social media in the Rio Grande Valley and sensationalized cockroach hunting in RGV restaurants.  He did good.

Instead of searching for cockroaches and rats, Mr Garcia searches for controversial issues since humans respond better to that and we all know the media is all about ratings.  KVEO-23 lacks experience of other local affiliates KVEO-4 and KRGV-5 when it comes to reporting news.

In the interview Serrano condescendingly speaks to Garcia's viewers on what Brownsville's culture is and basically hijacks it by saying Charro Days is something "Our culture" celebrates.  Whose culture?

If I did it right, here is link  to video so you can watch the so-called news segment but you will probably have to have your Facebook account open since it was posted on Garcia's FB page.

Serrano once ran a downtown hole-in-wall establishment called "B.A.M." (Brownsville Arts & Music) and tried a lot of things in the name of art and music including drag queen shows that no one was interested in seeing so the club folded.  What does this have to do with her activism against that rock in park?  Nothing.

At this time there are plenty of young energetic promoters, musicians and artists working as, or with entertainment or social clubs and art galleries creating events downtown. B.A.M. will likely become a footnote in downtown's punk rock scene and memories of bands who played there or be forgotten for the most part but those who remain move forward as the immense Market Square and surrounding projects continue to develop.

 What follows are a few other comments that were sent to the page 

It looks as though city set up cameras to undermine threat coming from ani-rock history activists but Derick Garcia publicized cameras to warn them.  It's a li'l kick in the ass for Big Brother. 

Someone suggested they will go after religious statues next and I agreed then ....

This history teacher took something I wrote literally so I spoke to him about Jesus.  For the most part, people on Brownsville Station are appreciators of the history and culture and the vintage photos we post.  Other than that - they do not have time to fight over a rock.  Life has real challenges for them so I do not seek a base to escalate this ridiculous rock fiasco.  We will just have to wait and see what solution will be discovered.  

A vintage Lynda Carter photo posted to page drew up a red-flag for one particular person....  By the way the rock haters have called me misogynist and other names and even poke fun and make childish crude remarks about proponents of rock who have not engaged with them on social media the way I have but their character assassination attempts have not affected me in any way yet that I know of.  

Osbert ran for judge or some other political seat a couple of years ago and claimed to have a PhD when I met him at a Port Isabel anti-LNG protest.  A friend told me he used to cut her lawn only a few years ago.  Whatever or whoever he is, today he is a follower of Antonio Castillo- the instigator who brought racist charged accusations to the people of Brownsville, Texas.   While spying on Antonio's Facebook page one day I discovered that some of his friends are "keeping tabs" on the Brownsville Station Facebook page.  Maybe Osbert thought he could call me out about what is appropriate to post on the page but the funny part is that he didn't understand the meaning of the word "prude."

Mr Juarez is also a follower of Antonio Castillo but came to defend Derick Garcia's amateurish ostentatious reporting.  I was just toying with him.  No one cares about the rock as much as they do but they seem to feel threatened by what I post on a Facebook page.  If you're someone who visits this blog but does not have a Facebook account - congratulations!!  This is the Facebook culture and you don't want to be apart of it if you have real issues to deal with.

 I'm not sure but I think he's an used car dealer or something.

Then he tapped out

The Derick Garcia's statement that the majority of people who wanted stone removed was not true .  The meeting was made for rock haters and handful of rock proponents.  They do not represent entire city of Brownsville but the media wants you to believe they do.  They even drew up phony statistics to fool people that rock haters represent a majority of people in Brownsville.  Fake news.

I realize they are only expressing their opinions but we just have to wait and see what happens, right?   Rock haters are using media to pose questions about that rock as we are about to celebrate Charro Days.  Every year the media finds something to create controversy over issues on the border but I guess this year it's a rock.  Has Ms. Serrano taken up "the cause" which was once Antonio Castillo's cause?  It should soon be over and they can celebrate, right?

Of course most people on our page who do bother to comment make much more intelligent comments than other Facebook pages for Brownsville. That I can brag about.

No one wanted to hire Castillo to teach in Brownsville, Texas after he insulted the majority of people living in our peaceful city on the border so he moved to Las Vegas where it's hotter than hell.  The Paiutes called nearby Death Valley "Tomesha" - Land of the Flaming Earth.  I hope he gets to explore that area.  Good riddance Antonio.  You should have taken Jim Barton with you.  

 Has anyone seen or heard from Jim Barton?  I hope he didnt die yet.

Commissioner Jessica Tutreau supports Antonio Castillo's agenda to remove rock but cannot give an cohesive argument on why she stands on the issue other than it bothers a small group which is what this is.  All the other so-called 5,000  "online" petition signatures the rock/history haters boast about came from liberal networking by people who "aren't even from Brownsville."  If anyone was wondering, I was born in Brownsville, Texas but raised in California but have lived in Brownsville my whole adult life and people didn't act like this before.  Remember that?

I say put it on a ballot to vote at the next election -- all or nothing - to keep rock or remove it completely.  I would be interested in seeing what the outcome would be. 

Trolling the trolls I did.  They love to fight over that rock.  There were more in the past but that's in the past so we wont look that far back but instead, see a response to another instigating rock hater who made a scene at what was supposed to be a peaceful town hall meeting to resolve rock issue, in our next post:

click --->  Not an endorsement  <--- click

2017 0226 Buffalo Soldiers honored by C.M.B.C. in Harlingen, Texas

by Javier R. Garcia

I had to post this photo first because it was the only close-up I took of Corinth Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Donald Ray Ellington (red shirt).  Ellington invited some friends and  historians for an early afternoon event to talk about black history.  The 1906 shooting known as The Brownsville Raid in which 167 soldiers of the 25th Infantry U.S. Army were discharged without honor by President Roosevelt has always been a interesting topic because it is one of those history's mysteries that may never be solved. If forensics or fair legal process had been applied to the case back then, the heroic Buffalo Soldiers would not have been found guilty (but we'll leave that for historians to debate if they want to).  I'll introduce those other gentlemen pictured above with Mr. Elligton later but first....

The "Inspirational Singing" by the Corinth Missionary Baptist Church Adult Choir lived up to its name on the program description which was handed to me as soon as I arrived to the large tent set-up in case a lot of people showed up, which they did.  They all sang and played beautifully.  I had always imagined what it might be like to listen to live gospel music and was truly pleased with the music and singing.

There were a few honored guests at the event including two city commissioners and Sheriff Omar Lucio seen here with a deputy and CMBC volunteer Gerald Flowers.  Volunteer members of the congregation wore red shirts and greeted visitors and handed out programs as they took a seat at a table under the big tent.  Tony Guitierrez (top left) with the Lower Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce had a few words of advice for business entrepreneurs in the audience and CBMC Reverend Lonnie Davis with  Harlingen, Texas District 4 Commissioner Ruben De La Rosa are pictured top right.   Not pictured is District 5 Commissioner Victor Leal who was also present.

Captain Paul Matthews is the founder of the Buffalo Soldiers Museum in Houston, Texas.  He explained how warriors of the Cheyenne Native American tribe respectfully referred to black soldiers as Wild Buffaloes due to their fierce attacks and fighting spirit and of course, the sodier's coarse hair which would be much like a buffalos wool.  Buffalo Soldiers were established in 1866 (after the Civil War) and were regiments of 9th & 10th Calvary and 24th and 25th Infantry.  Brownsville Texas was visited by U. S.Army Colored Troops between 1862 and 1906.

1860s era Wild Buffaloes charging into battle (photo copied from VisionQuest 

Actor Wayne Dehart's monologue was outstanding!  His reenactment opened with a description of what is was like becoming a free man and traveling to New Orleans where he was mustered into the Army and later ambushed by Indians while hunting for fugitive Apache Chief Victorio along the northern Texas border with Mexico.  The performance also made him a witness to the Houston Riot of 1917  (Camp Logan Riot) where 5 policemen were killed by Buffalo Soldiers of which 19 were court-martialed and sentenced to be hanged.  Parts of his monologue were taken from a 200+-page manuscript of original documents describing buffalo soldier's experiences and attitudes of the time.

Dehart has appeared in television and films, most notably A Time to Kill (1996), The Apostle (1997), Jason's Lyric (1994) and RoboCop 2 to name a few.  He works with Captain Matthews at the museum and is currently with the Ensemble Theater in Houston, Texas.  There are clips of him acting on YouTube for those who are curious enough to look.

 Photo of baseball team at Fort Brown in 1906

 We took a short break to feast on fish, potato salad and cole slaw which was catered for guests.  

Dr. Antonio Zavaleta gave historical accounts of Fort Brown soldiers in the Rio Grande Valley.  He intends to see that a "historical zone" at Fort Brown is established to commemorate the plight of soldiers who gave their lives in service to the U.S. Army at Fort Brown.  We hope readers of this blog and contributing members of the historical community will come together to support the idea.  History has shown that UTB-TSC was resistant to ever establishing a "1906 Buffalo Soldier" historical marker but maybe UT-RGV Brownsville will actually accomplish something about it this decade.  We can appreciate Dr. Zavaleta's broader goal to recognize all the African-American soldiers who were in Brownsville including those of the 25th Infantry implicated in the 1906 incident.  At the conclusion of his discussion he read off a few names of soldiers who had been buried at Fort Brown who were victims of Yellow Fever or Cholera epidemics.  

 1906 buffalo soldier image courtesy of Rene Torres

 Soldiers in formation while in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898

Earl Smith (inset photo of CMBC program and souvenir guide with photo of Smith's meeting with President Barack Obama after he became president).

William "Earl" Smith is a longtime Valleyite from San Benito with roots that go far back to the earliest vaqueros in the Rio Grande Valley.  His work in the hotel security business allowed him the pleasure of making an acquaintance with both past president Bushes, Bill Clinton and Smith's personal favorite, Barack Obama.  He told the story about a patch he gave to Senator Barack Obama while he was on the campaign trail in 2008.  Smith  carried that military patch with him for 40 years and wanted Mr Obama to have it to get him through rough times as it had seen Smith make it through his stint in the Vietnam War.  You can read more about it by clicking on this Washington Post link.

 1890 Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Infantry.  Some are wearing buffalo fur coats and holding other props for this group photo. (Source:  Wikipedia)  Not only were they used by the U.S. Government to exterminate Native Americans or move them to reservations, they also helped kill off the buffalo.  Many had just been freed and there were no other jobs for them to take so many joined the army and saw the west settled.  

 Mr. Smith was made an honorary Buffalo Soldier and presented with en embroidered jacket by Captain Matthews.

 Captain Paul Matthews, Dr. Antonio Zavaleta and Wayne Dehart

Company "A" 25th Infantry Regiment U.S. Colored Troops (Source:  Bernard Stewart Buffalo Soldiers)

 Earl Smith signed autographs and took photos with visitors.

Captain Paul Matthews and Wayne Dehart also signed autographs and took photos.

It was a great time had by all under that big tent.  I met some very interesting people and learned more about the role of African-Americans in the Rio Grande Valley.  Everyone prayed and ate together.  It had been a long while since I attended church and felt right at home in Harlingen.  

Until next time, thanks for looking in on Bronsbil Estacion.  Please copy URL and share link with your friends who love RGV history and its people.  

1906 Brownsville Raid / Brownsville Affray / Brownsville Affair August 13-14

Could this be the "tough element" with bad intentions....

From typewritten interview notes by Ralph Schmeling 

"Letters Exchanged between Joseph W. Parks and Ralph Schmeling concerning Negro Raid"

This photo has appeared in a few books but none have an inkling of who these men were.  They assume they were locals but it appears that they were not.  Just a few good ol' boys looking for live targets they can kill without consequence.