FORE! GOLFING IN THE RGV!
This week features the scenic South Padre Island Golf Course.
www.welcomehomergv.com • • February 14, 2018 RECIPE• CONNECTION! Check out this week’s listings of Executive Chef Bettina Tolin shares what’s happening in the RGV! a classic comfort that is beef stew!
UPCOMING EVENTS!
Welcome Home See details on page 10.
See calendar starting on page 29.
VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 17 • February 14, 2018
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Try this recipe on page 45.
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WINTER TEXAN
• • • your official connection to the rio grande valley • • •
I’m still on cloud nine after
spending a wonderful week in the Caribbean with three busloads of folks from all over the country! The fun we’ve had getting to know each other and the camaraderie we’ve shared has been priceless! We’ve laughed until we’ve cried, swapped stories, and cut up throughout the trip. I advised the group that just because we can eat it all doesn’t mean we should, but, luckily, I think we all packed elastic waistbands so we weren’t too miserable on the ride home. Group travel is definitely the way to go. We left with our suitcases and came home with a week’s worth of memories and 170+ new friends. Be on the lookout for more travel opportunities with us! We have big news to share in next week’s paper! • We’re just connecting the dots,
Kristi
The Story of Turo
the Chalk Doggy Bank by Donna Hale, Monte Cristo RV Park
Bud and make sure he gets special attention. Now 90, he has celebrated his last few birthdays there with friends. Bud met Verna in 1949 after returning home from serving in the U.S. Army Constabulary in Germany. Bud ran his own dairy farm, and when his parents passed away, he and Verna took over running the familyowned general store in Thomaston. Bud was also fire chief in the town of 800 and later a select man. Verna HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUD CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 >>
CHALK DOGGY BANK PICTURES CONTINUED ON PAGE 21 >>
Pizza Hut’s Most Faithful Fan Lives Each Day to the Fullest by DeWayne Johnston, Chimney Park RV Resort
There
wasn’t much to do in South Thomaston, Maine, in the late 1960s, so when a Pizza Hut opened in nearby Rockland, the Baum family decided to give it a try. They enjoyed the experience so much that they kept going back every Sunday, and as Joseph (Bud) and Verna Baum’s family grew, it became a family tradition. Their three children, Brenda, Marsha, and Joe Jr., their eight grandchildren, and their 16 great-grandchildren in Maine still meet at Pizza Hut in various combinations. Bud and Verna became Winter Texans in 2003 and continued to visit the Pizza Hut in Mission on East Expressway 83 weekly until Verna passed away in 2014. Several of Bud’s friends from Chimney Park RV Resort still accompany him to Pizza Hut for Sunday supper, where he usually enjoys a Meat Lovers or a Supreme. The waitresses all know
Turo,
the chalk doggy bank, was purchased in Mexico in November and brought home to the Monte Cristo RV Park. A plan was quickly concocted to fill the bank for a charitable cause with winnings from golf games, donations from RV park residents, and even donations from the golf pro for golf instruction. It was decided that charitable cause would be St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. As the word spread, Turo started filling up with donations from others in the Monte Cristo RV Park, neighboring homeowners, and players in a weekly golf tournament at Monte Cristo Golf Course. An anonymous person offered to match all of the donations in Turo. St. Jude’s was contacted, and they advised us that they wanted to have a representative present when Turo was opened and the money counted. Tuesday, January 30, at 4 p.m., members and friends of Park residents gathered with the St Jude’s representatives in the clubhouse. We opened Turo and counted the money inside. We were very happy to present St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital with $6041.80! •
Bud Baum (l) and some friends recently at Pizza Hut in Mission
Pizza Hut holds good memories for Bud
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR 2017-2018 SEASON SPONSORS