Treasures of the Gulf Museum • Port Isabel Historical Museum • Port Isabel Lighthouse
Take an adventure back in time with Bobby Wells! Arriving in 1930 as a 7 year old little girl, Bobby shares vibrant memories of growing up in the coastal hamlet of Port Isabel.
Brought to you by the Museums of Port Isabel’s Telling Our Stories oral history program.
For over two decades the Museums of Port Isabel has hosted a monthly oral history program called “Telling Our Stories”. Featuring a wide variety of topics from the rescue of sea turtles to the history of bricks in the Rio Grande Valley to shrimping history, this program has served to collect the stories that keep the history of the Laguna Madre area alive.
Since mid-March, the Treasures of the Gulf and the Port Isabel Historical Museum have had to close their doors. And with that, came the cancellation of all the Telling Our Stories programming. There are still stories to tell and audience that would love to hear them, so a plan has been put in place to continue the programming.
On Thursday, July 2nd, the first in a series of episodes will kick off with local Bobby Wells. Streamed on Facebook, the event will take us on a route through the streets of Port Isabel for a live conversation about Port Isabel’s history and its people. The format allows for comments and conversation while still being safe.
Scheduled for 2 p.m., the route will give a visual of the Port Isabel of yesteryear. Bobby Wells has been a resident of Port Isabel for the last nine decades and brings a wealth of information and nuances to the conversation of Port Isabel’s history and culture and customs.
Tune in live here: https://www.facebook.com/portisabeltx/posts/10158848636094752. The broadcast will also be posted on the Museum website at www.portisabelmuseums.com.
For more information email info@portisabel-texas.com.
The Museums of Port Isabel and the Laguna
Madre Museum Foundation are proud to present its “Telling Our Stories”
Series of 2020 on Thursday, February 27th, at the Port Isabel Event
& Cultural Center, 309 East Railroad Ave. @ 7pm. This month’s topic
will be on “Growing up in Old Port Isabel” a presentation by Mr.
Inocente Zurita.
The Museums of Port Isabel and the Laguna Madre
Museum Foundation are proud to present its “Telling Our Stories” Series of 2020
on Thursday, January 23rd, at the Port Isabel Event & Cultural Center, 309
East Railroad Ave. @ 7pm. This month’s topic will be on “Shrimp Tales: Port
Isabel and Brownsville Shrimping History” a presentation by Mr. Rudy Garcia
& Mrs. Pat McGrath Avery.
Mr. Garcia & Mrs. Avery came to this book from different backgrounds and have spent much of the last two (2) years interviewing, researching and writing the first-person stories of shrimpers who lived the life.
Mr. Garcia, born and raised in the Laguna Madre community, spent much of his childhood exploring the shrimp docks, venturing in and out of shrimp houses, boarding boats and conversing with the crews. When he was old enough to work on board a shrimp boat, his father sent him to sea with his Uncle Joe and his cousin Eddie. Mr. Garcia & his wife, Rita Nina reside in Laguna Vista, Texas.
Mrs. Avery and her husband drove her parents down from Kansas to spend winter in the mid-1970s. Returning to her home in land-locked Missouri, she never forgot the shrimp boats and her first taste of Gulf shrimp. By the time she moved here, most of the shrimp boats were gone, but those remaining still captured her interest. Mrs. Avery & her husband Everett live in Brownsville, Texas.
Rudy and Pat teamed up to write the history and share the stories of those who lived it. Mr. Garcia knew many of the shrimping families and the industry. Mrs. Avery had written several historical books featuring first-person accounts. Two (2) years ago they began interviewing shrimpers and are proud to bring their stories to life in Shrimp Tales: Port Isabel and Brownsville Shrimping History. The book highlights the years when an entire area – men, women and children – worked together as a community.
Please join us for an entertaining evening with Mr. Garcia & Mrs. Avery on a presentation on “Shrimp Tales: Port Isabel and Brownsville Shrimping History”. All locals and visitors are welcomed to attend this free presentation. Complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be provided.
‘Telling Our Stories” is an educational program aimed to preserving the heritage of the City of Port Isabel and the Laguna Madre area. Our goals are to preserve and educate our local and natural history through presentations and exhibits. The program is co-sponsored by the Museums of Port Isabel and the Laguna Museum Foundation. “Telling Our Stories” is presented on the fourth (4Th) Thursday of each month from January through September at the Treasures of the Gulf Museum. Admission is FREE.
Sponsored By:
Pirate’s Landing Restaurant, Garcia’s Family & Mr. & Mrs. Avery
For more information on Telling Our Stories or to help sponsor an event, contact Jeannie Marie A. Flores at (956) 943-7602 or visit www.portisabelmuseums.com or you may also send an email to museumdirector@copitx.com.
“Our Historic Lighthouse”
The Museums of Port Isabel and the Laguna Madre Museum Foundation are proud to present its “Telling Our Stories” Series of 2019 on Thursday, September 26th, at the Treasures of the Gulf Museum, 308 Queen Isabella Blvd. @ 7pm. This month’s topic will be on “Our Historic Lighthouse” a presentation by Valerie Bates.
Valerie Bates is the Marketing Director of Port Isabel with an interest in local history. This presentation is part of the celebration of the transfer of the Lighthouse from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to the Texas Historical Commission. Exciting new research will be presented.
Please join us for an entertaining evening with Valerie Bates with a presentation on “Our Historic Lighthouse”. All locals and visitors are welcomed to attend this free presentation. Complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be provided.
‘Telling Our Stories” is an educational program aimed to preserving the heritage of the City of Port Isabel and the Laguna Madre area. Our goals are to preserve and educate our local and natural history through presentations and exhibits. The program is co-sponsored by the Museums of Port Isabel and the Laguna Museum Foundation. “Telling Our Stories” is presented on the fourth (4Th) Thursday of each month from January through September at the Treasures of the Gulf Museum. Admission is FREE.
Sponsored By: Laguna Madre Museum Foundation
For more information on Telling Our Stories or to help sponsor an event, contact Jeannie Marie A. Flores at (956) 943-7602 / (956) 943-0755 or visit www.portisabelmuseums.com or you may also send an email to jrivera@copitx.com.