The Mercedes Enterprise (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 54, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 1969 Page: 1 of 10
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The Merce
Mercedes, Texas, 78570, Thursday, December 4, 1969
K ERC E D;E S P U E L IC LI 0 R A R Y
53 6 3RD STREET
CITY
nterprise
Vol. 54 No. 49
Price 10£
Singing Chnstmos Tr©© Op©ns Yul© Sgqsoii
Public Invited December 4,
5, No Admission Charge
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„ ENTERPRISE PHOTO
SOMETIMES IT WORKS, SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T-Fire Department friends
from Harlingen operated some of their long ladder equipment here Monday
as seen above, to examine a faulty 47-year-old fire siren at City Hall by
which local residents mark noon-time, fire alarms and evening curfew. It be-
came balky over the weekend, sounding at times, remaining silent at other
times. The inspection revealed that a repair job is needed.
To Reward Shop-at-homers
‘It pays to do your Christ
mas shopping in Mercedes’
is the Chamber of Com-
merce message to Merce-
des residents in a pre-
Christmas campaign open-
ing this week.
Fourteen downtown mer-
chants and institutions are
participating. Each of 1C
stores will present $5-value
merchandise to a lucky
shopper each Saturday. After
the campaign’s final Satur-
day—December 20— cash
awards of $50, $35 and $15
will be presented to three
lucky local shoppers who
registered at any of the
participating stores*
Central Power and Light
Company, Dave Metzger’s
4-M Materials, First Na-
tional Band and Hidalgo
County Bank are providing
the cash awards as a com-
munity service gesture,,
All persons visiting any of
the following business loca-
tions between now and De-
cember 20 may register and
become eligible for weekly
merchandise prizes and for
the cash finals:
C. R. Anthony’s, Beall’s,
Borderland Hardware
Ferg’s Foodland, Han-
shaw’s, Queen City Laundry,
Reynolds Jewelry, Sav-More
Home and Auto Supply, Mer-
cedes Super Drug and The
V ogue.
Replacing Worn Garbage Cans Is Goal
The City will begin plac-
ing red tags on serviceable
garbage cans as a warning
to residents to replace the
cans, according to City In-
spector Joe A. Saenz.
A number of cans in all
areas of the city have
deteriorated or have been
damaged to the extent of
having jagged or sharp ed-
ges capable of causing in-
jury to workmen, or to such
an extent that the lids or
covers will not fit secure-
ly, he said.
The red tags will be at-
tached to all such cans be-
ginning January 1, 1970. If
they are not replaced, ’the
cans will be picked up by
garbage trucks.
Property owners are re-
Two Make
No. 1 Teams
Nine Mercedes high school
football Tigers were men-
tioned in offensive-defensive
selections of the coaches’
16-AAA All-District team
announced this week.
In the offensive lineup
Tiger tackle Art Cowden was
listed as a first-teamer, end
Joe Cano and center Jimmy
Greenwood made the second
team and honorable men-
tion status went to quarter-
back Jack Lyons and run—
hing back Amadeo Cadena.
The defensive All-District
first team includes Lyons
as a halfback. Second team
Tigers on defense are line-
man Tirso Garza and line-
backer Teodoro Tanguma.
Lineman Bobby Martell and
Juan Garcia are on the de-
fensive honorable mention
list.
minded that rocks, bricks,
or parts thereof, waste
building materials, scraps
or other trash resulting
from building or remodel-
ing operations will not be
removed by the city. Such
waste and trash shall be re-
moved by the contractor,
owner, or occupant of the
building or premises at his
own expense.
Many residents do not
have racks or garbage cans
as required by" City Ordin-
ance. It will be necessar}'
that either metal or wood
can racks be used by all.
Garbage can tops can be
tied to the racks in order
to prevent them from blow-
ing away or being other-
wise lost, suggests the In-
spector.
This community’s fourth
‘Singing Christmas Tree*
production will be a public
event Thursday night and
Friday, December 4 and 5.
There is no admission
charge and all are invited to
see and hear the annual mu-
sical introduction to the
local Christmas holiday sea-
son at the MHS-junior high
auditorium.
In the annual tradition,
sponsored bjr the Mercedes
Music Club and the Merce-
des Enterprise, green-rob-
ed singers stand on a tree-
shaped scaffold decorated
with natural Christmas tree
greenery and lights. Their
faces are the ornaments.
Beside the ‘Tree*, table-
aux change to meet the
changing themes of the mu-
sic.
And a separate choir from
public elementary schools
sings separately and in con-
junction with ' the ‘Tree’
choir.
There are 36 singers on
the ‘Tree*, 45 tableaux
characters and 43 children’s
choral members.
In addition, more than two
dozen other persons have
provided direction and spe-
cial assistance in the ‘Tree*
production.
Mrs. O. W. Sumerlin is
director of the presentation
and Mrs. J. H. Penn is pia-
no accompanist.
Here is the list of ‘Tree*
singers, representing all of
the community’s religious
denominations:
Mary Alice Baingo*, Ca-
rol Barnes, Leslie Barnes,
Oscar Castaneda, Mary Lee
Ewing*, Beth Ferguson*
Gail Gallaway, IsabelGar-
za, Judith German*, Dennis
S. Gonzalez*, Sylvia Gonza-
lez*, Ricky Givens
Charles Greenwood*, Ma-
rie Greenwood*, Janet Hart-
nell, Flo Hild, Floyd Hoel,
Vickie Hohner
Victor Hohner, Frances
Jackson, Velma Karle, Ju-
dith Kennv, Ralph Kies, Ida
Mae Klein
Verle Martin*, Cathy Mit-
chell, James H. Penn*, Nan-
cy Phelps, Dee Poovey,
Barbara Raulie, Connie Re-
agan
Virginia Schwarz*, Wen-
dell Schwarz, Betti Sisk,
Doris Stewart, Nora Stewart
Those with asterisks have
been ‘Tree* singers all four
years.
'Out-hustle' Is A Key Word
“We have some experi-
ence, but no height . . . we’ll
just try to out-hustle them’*,
says Coach Alex Estrada of
the 1969-70 Mercedes high
school basketball squad,
which opened workouts in
earnest this week.
Leroy Mendenhall is as-
sistant basketball coach.
Four lettermen return to
lead the basketball Tigers,
pictured at right. They in-
clude the club’s tallest, 6-1
senior Art Cowden.
Cowden, who has two pre-
vious basketball ‘M*s; sen-
ior Jack Lyons, 5-11 1/2,
second team All-District
last season, already a three-
letter man; Teodoro Tangu-
ma, senior, 5-9, also a hold-
TEAMS TOO EVENLY
MATCHED FOR DECISION
A rare football story was played to an unusual
conclusion here this week. Two grade school Flag
Football League teams were declared co-champions
of 1969 competition and were presented twin troph-
ies Tuesday, after having played each other so tight-
ly that officials decided to call the championship a
Kennedy Cowboys and Travis Rams won deci-
sively over everybody in sight (four other teams of
fifth and sixth graders) except each other. After
playing 1] games, they had 9-1-1 records.
When they met on September 20, the Rams won,
16 to 8. In an October 25 re-match, the Cowboys
took it, 12 to 8.
And in a play-off November 20, their game was
a scoreless tie.
Faced with that final stand-off, school physical
education directors ruled against further battle and
declared the teams co-champs.
er of three letters, and Ed-
die Torres, 5-8, junior two-
letter man, will be the heart
of the current Tigers.
Others working toward
varsity positions:
Oscar Salinas, 5-9, sr.
Raul Hinojosa, 5-9, sr.
Robert de los Santos, 5-9,
sr.
Ramiro Yanez, 6-0, jr.
Johnny Martinez, 6-0, jr.
Ricardo Castillo, 5-8, jr.
Arno ldo Flores, 5-8,
soph.
Size and experience make
Weslaco and Edcouch-felsa
16-AAA championship fav-
orites, according to Coach
Estrada.
Tigers get their first
taste of competition this
week in the annual Mission
tournament. They meet La
Joya at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
Then comes a home-open-
er on Tuesday, December 9,
against Lyford. Junior var-
sity will compete at 6 p.m.
and varsities will tangle at
7:30.
Harlingen’s tournament
will complete the Tigers’
second week of the season,
beginning December 11.
And, concludes Coach
Estrada, "We have some
out-hustling to do”.
Singers in the children’s
choir:
From Kennedy elementary
school—Norma de la Cerda,
Paula de la Fuente, Alma
E. Gallaga, Josefina Garcia,
Senaida Luna, Esmeralda
Sanchez, Sandra Villalobos
From Taylor elementary
--Rosa Maria Teran, Mary
E ster Tanguma
From West elementary--
Esteban Cano, Mary Anne
Castaneda, Linda Garcia,
Odelia Garza, Rose Mary
Gomez, Rosann Gorena,
Marta Huerta, Cindy Mar-
tinez, Jesse Martinez, Car-
men Leyva, Irma Olivarez,
Irene T re vino
From Travis elementary
--Linda Whitmire, Aurora
Romero, Bertha Romero,
Jeanette Dodson, Yvonne
Rodriguez, Karen Onderonk
Lynda Halliburton, Sue
Whitmire, Norma Lopez,
Gigi Ortega, Olga Ortega'
Sylvia Gonzalez, Emma Si-
erra
Juan Mdape, Elizabeth
Mize, Jill Moore, Scott
Gonzalez, Hugo de los San-
tos, Victor Padilla, Orlando
Guerrero
Ramiro Webber, Lulu
Vasquez, Diana Garcia, Ju-
lie Wade, Cindy Hild, Deb-
bie Reagan, Judi Gorena,
Roy Herrera, George del
Angel
Rigoberto Zavala, Rosa-
linda Casarez, Dolores Sa-
enz, Alicia Cantu, Alma Vil-
larreal, Debra Hatley, John-
nie Lee Williams
Arlene Eversole, Mary
Alice Perez, Gilda Marie
Garza, Mindy Irby, Otilia
Castaneda, Patricia Hinojo-
sa, Leticia Garcia
Production committee
chairmen:
Tableaux—Mr. and Mrs.
A1 Smith, Mrs. Carl Moore,
Mrs. Don Tidwell.
Tree Scaffolding—R. P.
Edgemon.
T ree Lighting and Decor-
ation—Mrs. W." C. Ross III,
Mrs. Jack Schwarz.
Stage Scenery — Lauro
Saldana Jr.
Spotlight Operation—Gus
Harp, Rex Franklin.
Publicity—Hoyt Hager Jr.
Ushers—Sea Scouts of
Explorer Ship 59.
Hospitality hour Friday
night for cast, committee
members and families—
Residents of Queen Citv Re-
treat No. I and No. 2.
BRINGS CAPITOL FLAG TO
FIREMEN’S B-Q AS CITY GIFT
_ States flag which has flown over the
Capitol Building in Washington, D. C., will fly over
*7® City Hall building in Mercedes after a visit from
US Representative Kika de la Garza Thursday night
of this week. 6
Rep. de la Garza, a native of Mercedes, will
be here to address those who attend the annual Fire
Department barbecue supper December 4 at the
Civic Center. He will discuss ‘Border Relations*
including remarks about the late ‘Intercept’ drug-
traffic-control effort and the new ‘Operation Coop-
eration arrangement between the US and Mexico.
And he will make the flag presentation to Mayor
A dan Cantu. J
Barbecue will be served from 6:30 to 7:30 p m
Thursday. K
Local pianist Jack Graf will furnish musical
entertainment. Bob Kenny will serve as master of
ceremonies.
Firemen have tickets for sale and more will be
available at the door.
K — m ** W
REP. de la GARZA
... flag gift to City
O/cf and New in 7 Program
Concert program for the
Mercedes ‘Singing Christ-
mas Tree* includes tradi-
tional numbers and new se-
lections and arrangements
purchased especially for this
fourth annual performance.
December 4 and 5, 8 p.m.,
MHS auditorium.
Here is the concert sched-
ule:
—Silent Night, Franz Gru-
ber, arranged by Alice
Parker and Robert Shaw.
— ‘Angelic Voices and
Glad Witnesses* theme —
Angels We have Heard on
High, old French Carol, ar-
ranged by Warren Angell;
While by My Sheep (Echo
Carol), from 17th Century,
arranged by Hugo Jungst;
Whence Comes This Rush of
Wings Afar?, Bas-Quercy
carol, arranged by Bill W.
Porter.
— ‘Songs of the Blessed
Child* theme—Slumber Song
of the Infant Jesus, from
F. A. Gevaert; Sweet Little
Jesus Boy, Robert Mac-
Gimsey, arranged by Orrie
Lee; J. H. Penn, soloist.
— ‘Children Offer Praise*
theme—O Come, All Ye
Faithful, from Wade’s Can-
tus Diversi, descant by
Francis Day,- Thy Little
Ones, Dear Lord, Are We,
J.A.P. Schulz, arranged by
Comfort Hinderlie Dale;
with children’s choir.
— ‘Gladness Reigns*
theme—Mexican Christmas
Procession, Mexican
Christmas Carol arranged
by Paul Christianson;
Christmas Day, Burt Bach-
arach; The Little Drummer
Boy, Katherine Davis, Hen-
ry Onorati and Henry Simi-
one.
—Kings Adore Him
theme; March of the Kings,
Provencal Noel, text and ar-
rangement by Roy Ringwald.
— ‘Tell the Joyous News*
theme; I Heard' the Bells,
Bernard Yuffy, arranged by
Gerald Myrow; Joy to the
World! The Lord Is Come
arranged from G. F. Han-
del, descant by Francis
Day, with the audience ioin-
ing.
As the choral themes
change, the following per-
sons will serve as charac-
ters of complementing tab-
leaux:
Three kings—Ruben Hino-
josa, John Ray Jones, Carl
Moore.
Drummer boy — Kelly
Smith.
Bell ringers—Billy Sava-
rino, Ruben Hinojosa Jr.,
Chap Ross.
Home scene — Liborio and
Josefa Hinojosa, Libo, Mark,
Carlos, Debby, Lenita and
Lisa.
Mary and Joseph—Marian
and Guy McClendon.
Angels—Cindy Champion,
Carla Smith, Irma Ortiz,
Susan Hyde, Suzanne Smith'
Beth Herndon, Linda Moore'
Linda Greenwood, Lisa Do-
minguez, Bobbi Kaye Jones,
Karen Brewer, Margaret
Olivarez, Rosie de los San-
tos, Alice Green.
Children—Brenda Pruitt,
Morris McClendon, Marian
McClendon, Jackie Free-
man, Alan McWilliams,
Scott McWilliams, Dee
Franklin, Jeff Franklin.
Shepherds and attendants
—Robert de los Santos, Art
Cowden, Jimmy Greenwood,
Jack Lyons, Mike Green'
Mark VanBerg.
Deficit Is Lowered
An ‘improved financial
condition’ was seen in an
annual audit report of the
Mercedes School District
from the Lauder & Drew
accounting firm last week.
Presented to the School
Board, the audit shows an
approximate operating defi-
cit of $6,000 on August 31,
down from a deficit" of $55*
000 a vear ago, after costs
i::
L*
^ ENTERPRISE PHOTO
LEI I ERMEN LEAD BASKETBALL TIGERS... varsity veterans, left to right
Art Cowden, Jack Lyons, Teodoro Tanguma, Eddie Torres.
involved in opening a new
Mercedes high school build-
ing.
The report lists 12-month
expenditures of $1,373,434.
02 for local maintenance,
$94,907.60 into an interest
and sinking fund, $55,110.
09 for food sendee and $27,
804.93 for transportation.
Also last week, the Board
approved a $10,000 contract
with Mission Paving com-
pany to pave the north park-
ing lot at MHS and access
roads to it, plus paving the
access road from the south
parking lot to Florida Ave-
nue.
Superintendent N. K. Fitz-
gerald said many cars will
be parked on un-surfaced
areas for about three weeks
after the work was started
on Wednesday “and rain will
cause some severe prob-
lems*’, He urges students
to form car pools and leave
as many cars at home as
• possible for the duration of
the paving project.
Tree Sale
Has Begun
Fir and Scotch pine
Christmas trees arrived
Wednesdav and Mercedes
Band Boosters opened their
annual sale, this time in the
former Western Auto build-
ing on Texas Avenue. Sale
hours are 3 to 6 p.m. week
days and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
on Saturdays.
Prices will range upward
from $1.70, according to
Mrs. Joe Crenshaw, project
chairman.
Christmas sales help fi-
nance annual spring concert
trips for the MHS Tiger
band.
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The Mercedes Enterprise (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 54, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 4, 1969, newspaper, December 4, 1969; Mercedes, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1105830/m1/1/: accessed June 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.