1954 Operation Wetback at Port Isabel

by Leo Rodriguez 

1954 photo of the jetties at South Padre Island

You might find that huge ship full of people interesting, which was a common sight during the 1954-1955 time period. These are illegal immigrants being returned to Mexico, as part of "Operation Wetback".

Operation Wetback was an immigration law enforcement initiative created by the INS, in cooperation with the Mexican government. The program was implemented in May 1954, Operation Wetback was primarily a response to pressure from a broad coalition of farmers and business interests concerned with the effects of Mexican immigrants living in the United States without legal permission. After implementation, Operation Wetback gave rise to arrests and deportations by the U.S. Border Patrol that were civil rights violations, which resulted in several hundred United States citizens being illegally deported without being given a chance to prove their citizenship.

Usually a smaller boat would follow the ship to pick up immigrants whom opted to jump ship before it cleared the channel.

The name of this ship was the SS Emancipation, which carried an average of 800 undocumented onboard, from Port Isabel to Veracruz, Mexico. The city of Port Isabel immensely benefited revenue wise, aside from docking charges, the Border Patrol compensated the city an embarkation charge of 35 cents for each passenger. In a 2 month period in the Fall of 1954, 4,000 passengers had been deported to Veracruz via Port Isabel.

To watch preserved video of Operation Wetback at Port Isabel click on LINK for Texas Archive of the Moving Image 

from Valley Beautiful publication in 1947 sent by anonymous friend.  

1954 0715

1879 RH Wallis photo with Jeremiah Galvan including Mayor Thomas Carson

Office building of Jerry Galvan of E Levee St which may have been on corner of 12th St. Left to right are 1) Jerry Galvan 2) Ed Dougherty 3) John Brown, 4) "Smithwick", 5) Brownsville, Texas mayor Thomas Carson, 6) Pepe Webb (maybe be nicknamed or related to Joseph Webb  who owned E 13th Galeria 409 and 7) Victor Natus who was probably related to Frank Natus who was the only fatality during the 1906 Brownsville Raid.  Thomas Carson was mayor from 1879-1904.  

Close-up of Galvan from RH Wallis photo

back of photo

Jeremiah "Jerry" Galvan was a Brownsville, Texas attorney born in Ireland c1824.

• 
• Jeremiah Galvan "describes himself as someone who knew Mexico and the Mexican people well, having spent five years in Mexico as a clerk, or imprisoned, until he moved to Brownsville. He took it upon himself to relate his own Irish-Anglo-Texan point of view," p. 321. I Would Rather Sleep in Texas: a History of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and the People of the Santa Anita Land Grant 2003.  [from Legislative Reference Library]
• 
• 1863 Bill of Lading written for Jeremiah Galvan's purchase of 88 Bales of cotton.  Buying and selling cotton was a good way to earn extra money back then.  

Portrait of R.H. Wallis;  a pioneer photographer in south Texas to follow Louis de Planque who took many photos of Brownsville, Texas during the 1860s.  Very few of his photos are known to exist.  He also photographed other buildings downtown including Market Square and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico right across the border.

[Thanks to Traces of Texas Facebook page and William Clayton Young for getting most of the information correct]

1926 Earliest radio in Brownsville got start from top of El Jardin Hotel

by Jose Cazares

On December 29, 1926-The piano belonging to radio station KWWG was hoisted to the roof of Hotel El Jardin with a block and tackle, the elevator in the hotel was not large enough for the piano. Here is a photograph of the piano inside the KWWG studio on top of the Hotel El Jardin in 1927.

 The electric sign gracing the top of the Hotel El Jardin was turned on in December 7, 1926. The word " Hotel" was spelled out with unfrosted white globes and the words " El Jardin" were spelled out with blue globes. It could be seen for many miles.

 Robert Runyon photo

The radio station KWWG was owned by the city of Brownsville, it got started in 1925 when a group of 75 citizens from Brownsville gathered to hear G.A. Parker of the Southern Radio Corporation of San Antonio on the subject of Brownsville as a radio casting point endorsed the idea and started a fund of up to $15,000. 

When the call for contributions went out, Lee B. James representing the LONE STAR IMMIGRATION COMPANY, started it with $500, several other contributions followed to raise the $15,000. The radio station was located in a small building between Washington and Adams on 10th street, which was formerly a store house for the city electrical supplies. When it came time to furnish this location, Edelstein's Furniture Co., offered to furnish the radio station's reception room with Wicker furniture, lamps, tables, etc., The Baldwin Piano Co., of New York City furnished the City of Brownsville with a standard Baldwin Parlor grand piano without cost and donated the service of upkeep at no cost. The radio station antenna and aerials were about 124 feet high. 

The radio station's first broadcast was on May 15, 1925, it started with about 500 watts, it broadcasted three times a week, the station later on picked up programs. A contest was held by the Brownsville Herald for the radio station's call  letters and slogan, a Radio set and $10 in cash were given to the winner. The cost of operating the radio station was expensive and so in 1926 the city offered it to the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce which took it over. In January 1927 the radio station's new antennas were installed on top of the Hotel El Jardin and the radio station moved to a new studio that was built on top of the Hotel.

 1926 Miscellaneous radio program announcement clippings

Brownsville in the 1920's was a period of great strides for the city, lots of projects that were planned by the city were finally achieved, among these achievements were;
1. Addition to Travelers Hotel
2. Construction of State National Bank
3. Radio Station KWWG
4. Hotel El Jardin
5. Missouri Pacific Lines new passenger station
6. The coming of the Southern Pacific railroad
7. Chamber of Commerce building
8. Gateway Bridge
9. Los Ebanos subdivision
10. Brownsville municipal Airport
11. Washington Park fountain

The 1920's were a period of great development and prosperity for the city of Brownsville. 
Some of the developments that were achieved in the 1920's include;
1. Brownsville Junior College
2. Radio Station KWWG
3. Hotel El Jardin
4. Missouri Pacific Lines passenger station
5. Chamber of Commerce building
6. Coming of the Southern Pacific Lines
7. Brownsville Municipal Airport
8. New addition to the Travelers hotel
9. Construction of the State National bank building
10. New church for the Episopal church
11. New Methodist Church
12. New Presbyterian church
13. Mercy hospital
14. New Catholic Church ( Guadalupe church)
15. Paved streets
16. The Los Ebanos subdivision 

 Photo copied from and sold on Ebay

Velasquez family photos

Photos shared by Roberto Velasquez

 1959 Hector Velasquez on Calle Alvarado Obregon near Gateway bridge in Matamoros, Tamulipas, Mexico from Brownsville, Texas

 Roberto and Hector Velasquez (right) passing a Shoe Store sign in downtown Brownsville, Texas (?)

 Hector and coiusin Moises (? ) relative

 Servicemen in the Velasquez family

 Friday:  Boys night out with Hector at center and Joe Colunga at the right

Sara Ramirez who had Sarita's (or Velasquez Grocery Store) in Brownsville, Texas with her children Hector, Roberto and Maria (other lady unknown)

 Boca Chica beach party

 1959 en el Rancho

 1963 Javier Velasquez and nephew Hector

 Hector Velasquez worked at his mother's store Sarita's on West St Charles and 2nd

Man on right is Esteban Velasquez.  

Thanks to Steven and Hector Velasquez and others for helping us identify these family photos.  Any help adding more information of people and places in these photos would be greatly appreciated!

1955 KXOL to KXIQ

Well here it is and maybe we should have got permission first because things aren't always what they seem.  Those of you few who read this "blog" know that Brownsville, Texas got a new radio station and right now it's streaming music over the airwaves on your FM dial 105.1 and its call letters are KXIQ. Steve Clark of the Brownsville Herald did a write-up about it recently a part of which you can read HERE.  What you read in the Herald online is just the gist of the actual printed page.

KXIQ 105.1 is a low power FM radio music station that we all hope will make an impact so if you live in Brownsville you can listen in anytime as the music streams 12-hours of commercial-free music.  We wish the ** Brownsville Society for the Performing Arts ** all the best as they continue to build a radio station that will reach the entire community and will try to keep readers posted as to any new developments.

Here's the original photo taken from KXOL News webpage.  A few Photoshop tricks were used to change the letters.  So if we dont get emailed any objections from the fine folks at the original KXOL tribute page we'll keep this posted and you posted as the radio station takes a hiatus for other new developments in downtown Brownsville with the Half Moon Saloon and Brownsville Society for the Performing Arts.

By the way some of you may remember that KBOR's "Voice of Brownsville" Hank Hollingsworth got a taste of radio broadcasting when as a boy in Ft Worth to watch a baseball game being broadcast live by KXOL.  

1955 Chevy delivery wagon

1955 Charro Days announcer

* Bronsbil Estacion gladly promotes with pride and hope the future of Brownsville Society for the Performing Arts and KXIQ 105.1 FM radio to foster education in the arts. *

Amelia Earhart and Alexandra Garcia in Brownsville, Texas

Photos by Cynthia Martinez Garcia

"Here are the pics of my Alexandra Garcia's project. It was a 2nd grade GT project she did this past year. She attends Benavides Elementary here in Brownsville Texas. She had so much fun going all over Brownsville to get info and researched on several websites. All the information is accurate. I posted the pics of the board 2x incase you could not see them clearly. Now, she that we know about your fb page, she will enjoy learning more about Brownsville's history."
~ Cynthia Martinez Garcia

Alexandra Garcia

Informational panels and presentation photos at Benavides Elementary

Alexandra Garcia and teacher.

Transcontinental fligt be Amelia Earhart

Historic Brownsville International Airport

Interior  lobby Hotel El Jardin-December 14 1926- JCazares



Here's the fb comments under a very rare interior look of El Jardin discovered by Jose Cazares 

Cynthia Martinez Garcia Thank you for posting this awesome picture! My daughter's 2nd grade project was on Amelia Earhart and she included info about this hotel. Charles Lindbergh had a party there after he made the first ever air mail flight to Mexico city and arriving in Brownsville Pan Am airport. They both stayed there.

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Cynthia Martinez Garcia She says the pic is so pretty and amazing.

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Bronsbil Estación Ask your daughter if she wants her project posted on our blog and we'll add some picture to it. :D thanks -- didnt know about the Charles Lindbergh party - that must have been a lot of fun

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Cynthia Martinez Garcia Yes, she would love it. I will send you pics later. She loved doing the research. She just turned 8 a few weeks. Thank you.

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Cynthia Martinez Garcia I inbox messaged some of the pics from her project.

There was no need to add photos to Alexandra's awesome project.  This is something new for Bronsbil Estacion.  If you want to send some pics of some family history or your kid's story in sports just like Rene Torre's softball stories contact us brownsvilletrain@yahoo.com    Just like that.  

Thanks Cynthia Martinez Garza!