Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 8, 1959 Page: 1 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Palacios Library.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
if
9
Ike Triggers “21st Century Countdown”
A gleeful President Eisenhow-
er watches the seconds start tick-
ing off between now and 1961.
The President is pictured at
Seattle's Hoeing Flight Center
shortly after he pressed a but-
ton on a solar-activated elec-
tronic countdown computer. The
calculator, containing more than
5,000 separate connections, will
countdown the seconds, minutes,
hours and days until noon, May
10, 1961, when the Century 21
Exposition opens at Seattle. The
exposition, in planning stages
since 1955, will have interna-
tional “space age” science as its
theme, in addition to world-wide
participation in technological and
cultural displays. Planning of
the science exhibit, including a
simulated moon exploration trip, kind’s welfare and prosperity.1
is under direction of the Exposi-
tion Science Planning Board,
comprised of 18 of the nation’s
top scientists from government,
industry, and private research
organizations. President Eisen-
hower has signed Congressional
legislation providing the Cen-
tury 21 Exposition with the first
Federul support accorded such
an event since the 1939 San Fran-
cisco and New York World Fairs.
The President participated in
the ceremony following his ad-
dress to the 18-nation Colombo
Conference at Seattle. Secretary
of State Dulles, in a speech dur-
ing the conference, paid tribute
to the Century 21 Exposition as
one which would “fittingly high-
light the place of science in man-
Curtis Family Opens
Modern Super Market
There piay be nothing new under
the sun—but there is something
new under the Rainbow . . . and
it glows brightly.
Curtis’ Palacios Grocery and
Market closed their doors Satur-
day night as a Foodcraft Store
at their old location at 5th and
Main and opened Monday morning
in their new Super Market—a Rain-
bow store at 4th and Main.
Their new supermarket of brick
and glass, with the large parking
area, is a credit to any town re-
gardless of size.
GRASSY POINT
•V
By LORRAINE HASFORD
Little three year old Robert Reid
of England can consider himself
a lucky “little fish”, for he wa3
saved from drowning recently, by
James Stansfield, 52 year old fish-
erman of Fleetwood, England.
Though this happened in Eng-
land it could happen anywhere.
Stansfield saw Robert slip into
the water from a rather high em-
bankment, but he was too far up-
stream for immediate help. When
the boy floated by face down, the
fisherman made a 20-yard cast
•with his fishing rod and hooked
the child’s shirt. After reeling the
boy in, he administered artificial
respiration until the boy regained
consciousness.
• * •
One thing nice about fishing
seasons, they never really come to
an end, like hunting seasons.
There may be times when fishing
is slow, or conditions bad, but
there’s never a day when one can’t
make a try if they so desire.
Take deer hunting season—that
closed December 31. Next: duck
season closes January 14, and quail
season will end Januarv 16.
.• • •
New outboard motors are bet-
ter looking than ever. They are
also more powerful, and therein
lies a problem. With so many
horses behind them, it’s a strong
temptation for even normally a
cautious man to open her up and
go roaring by both fishermen and
swimmers alike^-usually to the an-
noyance of both.
But nobody is more sensitive to
the problem of clowning on the
water than the boaters themselves.
That is why more and more of
them are using the meaningful,
familiar hand gesture, "Thumbs
down’ as a signal of disapproval to
fellow boatmen who get carried
away, The slogan they have adopt-
ed is; ‘Thumbs Down Means Don’t
Clowq’.
Use 6f ’the slogan and hand
aignal has been endorsed by the
Outbdard Boating Club of Amer-
ica, and it has been picked up by
such varied groups as boat and
yaeht clubs, engine and boat manu-
facturers, chief of police, safety of-
(See “FISHING,” Page 8)
The four long double gondolas
loaded with canned goods, break-
fast cereals, laundry supplies, rel-
ishes, jellies, breads, cakes and
dry goods neatly arranged makes
a pretty picture. The large section
devoted to drugs and cosmetics
displays the items to the custom-
ers’ liking.
The beautiful milk cases and
meat display cases make the back
of the store just as attractive as
the front, and these are tied in
with the refrigerated vegetable
racks, ice cream boxes and frozen
foods, and packaged dairy pro-
ducts makes it truly a one stop
shopping center.
All is not visible to the custom-
ers’ eyes for there is the large
storage space and the walk-in
refrigerated storage boxes for the
meats and vegetables in the rear.
The office, located in the north-
west corner of the store, is connect,
ed with various sections, such as,
check-out counters, meat depart-
ment, warehouse, with an inter-com
system. There is continual music
for the shoppers.
George and Verle Curtis, Marvin
and Barbara Curtis, Noel (Potsy)
and Lorraine Curtis are assisted in
their new home by Victor Dole-
zal, Johnny White, Richard Ottino,
Domingo Llanes, Bobbie Tolleson
and Richard Hamlin.
Their grand opening is planned
for the near future.
\
V
l ■
Y
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1959
PALACIOS, MATAGORDA COUNTY, TEXAS
VOLUME LII, NUMBER 2
Pipeline, Plant For Local Gas Field
No Quorum—Council
Meeting Postponed
Action by the City Council on
the request by Houston Natural
Gas Corporation for an 11 per-
cent increase in rates will have
to wait until the next council meet-
ing as there was no meeting held
Monday night due to the lack of a
quorum.
Due to inclement weather the
meeting place was transferred to
the home of IMayor and Mrs. A. H.
Petersen, however, only two coun-
cilmen attended.
Two Wells
Under Test
Three deep dry holes were plug-
ged over the holidays, one east of
Markham, one between Faith-Mag
and Wadsworth Fields, and the
third at Collegeport.
Rumors persisted for several
weeks that Monsanto Chemical
Company was going to make a
well on the Cornelius lease east
of Markham, but testing opera-
tions revealed exactly nothing. The
duster bottoms at 12,516 feet.
And, in the Faith-Mag area
southeast of Bay City, U. M. Har-
rison plugged No. 1 Pauline Hueb-
ner, et al, at 10,040 feet.
Just north of Collegeport, Tide-
water Oil Company plugged and
abandoned No. 1 Higgins-State
around 9,000 feet.
In addition to these three, two
shallow tests were plugged at Bol-
ing. Texas Gulf Sulphur Com-
pany abandoned Nos. 1 and 2 Joe
Kostenik, the former at 682 feet
and the latter at 776 feet.
More late drill reports field-by-
field, area-by-area:
Palacios—Tennessee Gas Trans-
mission Company’s No. 2 W. H.
Ramsey and Russell Johnson’s No.
1 V. iM. Anderson were last re-
ported testing.
Pheasant—Skelly Oil Company’s
No. 1 L. H. Jackson is testing.
Tidehaven—Magnolia Petroleum
Company’s Nos. 2, 3 and 4 W. L. D.
Sartwelle were reworked for a
slight increase in oil production.
East El Maton—Monsanto Chem-
ical Company’s No. 1 Fay was last
reported testing. Total depth is
11,520 feet.
Southeast Caney—One report is
that J. M. Faitz’s and R. B. Mitch-
ell’s No. 1 J. H. Andrews is digging
around 9,000 feet.
Northeast Brazoria—Humble Oil
& Refining Company’s No. 1 Ward
Byers is digging slowly past 14,000
feet.
Meanwhile, the American Pe-
troleum Institute reported that to-
tal petroleum imports soared to a
new high in the final full week of
1958. Crude oil and petroleum pro-
ducts for the week ending De-
cember 26 averaged 2,031,600 bar-
rels daily, up 124,500 from the pre-
vious week’s near-record rate.
Imports have averaged 1,858,000
barrels daily over the past five
weeks.
ml *-■
m
1 ' j
RKmi
*S8$t’ I
HIGH COURT JUDGE SWORN IN—Supreme Court Chief Juitle*
John E. Hickman, right, is shown administering the oath of office
to Associate Justice Joe Greenhlll of Austin at January 1 ceremonies
at the State Capitol. Judge Greenhlll was elected by the voters of
Texas to complete the term (ending Dec. 31, 1960) of the late Judge
Few Brewster. Judge Greenhlll has been serving on the court by
appointment since October 1, 1957.
Radiation Detection
Devices At High School
$3 Million Processing
Plant In Area Planned
Sylvester Clark, Palacios High
School science teacher, has received
a kit of radiological detection in-
struments made available tp the
high school by the Texas Office
of Civil and Defense Mobilization.
Mr. Clark will attend an all-day
class in Victoria on January 17
for teachers of science classes in
the Victoria area for further in-
struction on the use of the various
instruments.
“These instruments are provided
to assist high school science teach-
ers in their nuclear energy and ra-
diological detection instructional
programs,” Clark said. “They have
been distributed to schools through
the country for this type of work.”
The reason for the distribution of
such equipment is that nuclear ra-
diation is not detected by any of
the five human senses, but the in
struments have been developed
which detect and accurately meas-
ure it. Such instruments are neces-
sary equipment in civil defense.
Field instruments are required
which measure the beta and gam-
ma radiation associated with fall-
out.
“The equipment we received is
valued at several hundred dollars,
and includes two dosimeters, a
dosimeter charger, a medium-range
gamma survey meter, a high-range
beta-gamma survey meter, and two
geiger counters,” said Clark. “(We
will use these instruments in our
chemistry, physics, and biology
classes, with our study of radia-
tion.”
Junior Hi School Accepted As Member
Of Southern Association Of Colleges
Superintendent Ralph P. New-
som and Principal George D. Holst
have received letters from W. R.
Goodson, chairman of the Texas
Committee of the Southern Asso-
ciation of Colleges and Secondary
C. Of C. Women Selling Tickets For
Annual Shark Grid Banquet Jan. 19
Tickets for the annual football
banquet are now on sale at $1.50
each. A limited number only will
be available to the general public.
Tickets can be purchased from
any member of the Women’s Di-
vision of the Chamber of Com-
merce, who each year sponsor the
affair. For reservation of tickets
contact Mrs. Pat Raplee or Mrs.
Esther Smith.
The banquet is scheduled for
7:30 p.m. Monday, January 19, at
the Junior High Cafeteria.
Dan Rather of Houston will be
guest speaker. Mr. Rather is news-
caster for KTRH and gives the
play by play description of all
University of Houston football
games.
A delicious baked ham dinner
will be served and the 1957 South-
west Conference Football High-
lights will be shown.
Schools that the Palacios Junior
High School has been accepted by
that association.
The letter reads as follows:
“It is a pleasure to inform you
that the Palacios Junior High
School was accepted for member-
ship in the Southern Association at
the annual meeting held in Louis-
ville, Kentucky, December 1-4. You
will, within the near future, re-
ceive your certificate of member-
ship. Yours very truly, W. R. Good,
son, Chairman Texas Committee.”
The Palacios High School was
accepted by this association in 1928
and has been a member since that
time.
“Some so-called experts are just
people who are a long way from
home.”—Sunshine Magazine.
(Houston Chronicle)
By the end of 1959 the Palacios
gas field will be delivering natural
gas at a record 17.5 cents a thous-
and cubic feet, to a now gas trans-
mission line.
When that starts, property own-
ers and a group of operators will
begin collecting on properties which
have been over three years devel-
oping and a score or more years
harnessing.
The Palacios gas area was “dis-
covered” over 20 years ago by
Glenn McCarthy, but it proved too
hot to handle. The pressures were
too heavy for the then known meth.
ods of control.
Gasser Completed
About three years ago, Christie,
Mitchell & Mitchell conquered the
wild sands in the area and com-
pleted a gasser which started a
play by them and a group includ-
ing Kilroy Co. of Texas, Tidewater
Oil Co., Tennessee Gas Transmis-
sion Co.
In cash it hasn’t meant much to
the operators and the people of the
area as yet. Some of the gas has
been sold but that is peanuts to
what will be produced when the
Houston Corp. pipeline to Florida
is completed.
Engineers figure gas reserves in
the whole area, which extends sev-
en miles long and three miles wide,
reach the fabulous figure of 350,-
000,000,000 cubic feet.
It is figured that Christie, Mitch,
ell & Mitchell’s contract with the
Houston Corp. alone will gross
about $1,000,000 a year. Divided
among lease-holders and operators,
that will mean a lot of money for
the area.
Some deliveries may start by
late this summer, but the bulk will
come at the end of the year, when
the line is completed.
Six Productive Sands
The new Palacios area has six
productive sands in the Frio from
about 7800 down to 9000 feet. So
far some 30 wells have been drilled.
Three or four of them are oilers.
The rest are gas wells.
The operators say that the gas
is exclusive of the money they get
from the liquids extracted from
the gas.
These liquids will be extracted
in the $3,000,000 processing plant
to be built in the area. This plant
will extract the valuable hydrocar-
bons and add pressure to send the
gas on its way through the pipe
line.
By next Christmas, the new de-
velopment should mean a much
richer Santa Claus will be calling
on landowners and royalty holders
of the area, as well as a good payoff
for the several operators, who, to
now, have realized little from their
investments.
Change At
CAA Post
is fairly wet, and the gas income ards.
On January 1, 1959, the newly
created Federal Aviation Agency
(FAA) took over the nationwide
facilities, functions, and personnel
of the Civil Aeronautics Adminis-
tration that has been under the
Department of Commerce for 20
years.
To the eight CAjA people in Pa-
lacios this will mean that while
with the beginning of the New
Year they will continue their ex-
pert everyday job in the city; they*’
now have a new boss, E. R. “Pete”
Quesada, Administrator of the
Federal Aviation Agency.
Essentially this Agency has been
charged with the vital responsibil-
ity of modernizing the Federal
Airways, directing air traffic con-
trol of Civil and Military aircraft,
controlling the allocation of the
diminishing air space and both issu-
ing and enforcing air safety rules.
The creation of the new agency
shows that at last aviation has
come of age and its leadership is
fully recognized. The new Federal
Aviation Agency was designed to
foster and develop this leadership
in the jet age while maintaining
the maximum flight safety stand-
C. OF C. TO MEET
The regular monthly meeting of
the Palacios Chamber of Commerce
will be held Tuesday, January 13.
All directors, members and others
are urged to attend the meeting.
Dr. Norman E. Runyon, presi-
dent, will announce the new com-
mittees at this meeting.
Ally Mayfield Compares Constitution
Of Alaska With Texas At Rotary Meet
Eli Mayfield was in charge of
the Rotary program at the Shrimp
Net Wednesday noon and gave a
comparison of the constitution of
Alaska to that of Texas and other
states of the Union.
The governor of Alaska is elect-
ed for four years and can never
be elected to the office again. He
appoints the Attorney General and
other state officials and are di-
rectly responsible for the way they
conduct their offices. The governor
is also responsible for the revision
of the Senatorial Districts and it
is mandatory every 10 years to
call a constitution convention and
—-—_.____ ~ 11118 meeting. can a constitution convention and
58 Amendments Will Increase S.S. Benefits
THli nnmKflr r\f nnnnL _ iL n i 1 . • .. _
The number of people getting
monthly old-age, survivors, or dis-
ability insurance payments under
social security increased by 1.3
million during 1958. This raised
the total of beneficiaries to 12.4
million as the year came to a
close. Payments at the rate of
$695 million a month are now
going to 6.9 million aged retired
workers, to 2.0 million wives and
dependent husbands of retired
workers, to 1.3 million widows, de-
pendent widowers and dependent
parents of deceased workers, to
2.0 million widowed mothers and
children, and to 300,000 disabled
workers and their dependents.
Benefit payments for the year
totalled $8.6 billion.
All of these people will receive
the increase in benefit amounts
provided by the 1968 amendments
to the social security law, Samuel
F. Ward, Jr., district manager of
the Galveston social security of-
fice, stated today. The amended
law provides for a general increase
of about 7 percent in each bene-
ficiary’s monthly check. This in-
crease is effective with checks for
January which will reach bene-
ficiaries early in February.
Beneficiaries need take no ac-
tion to get their increased pay-
ments, Mr. Ward said. He pointed
out, however, that peope to whom
payments ware made available for
the first time by the recent amend-
ments to the law must get in touch
with their social security office be-
fore payments can start. He esti-
mates that about 400,000 people
nationwide who were not eligible
for benefits before the law was
changed can now start getting pay-
ments if they apply for them.
About 180,000 of these newly
eligible people are the dependents
of persons who were eligible to re-
ceive disability insurance benefits.
Disability insurance benefits have
been payable to severely disabled
workers 60 to 65 years of age since
July 1957. As of December, about
240,000 disabled workers were re-
ceiving monthly payments, Under
the amended law, a disabled work-
er’s wife, dependent husband, and
children can also be paid benefits
under the same conditions as if
the worker were 65 and drawing
social security retirement benefits.
Also now eligible for payments
are surviving dependent parents
of an injured worker who left a
widow, widower, or children en-
titled to benefits. Under the old
law, payments could not be made
to a parent where t,here were such
survivors.
Disabled sons and d ’ghters
over 18 years of ape wh not
been getting at least dr
support from a ret|
L
ed parent may be now able to
qualify as dependents for the pur-
pose of receiving monthly bene-
fits based on the social security
record of that parent.
Disabled workers who applied
for benefits or to have their social
security earnings record frozen but
were found ineligible solely be-
cause they had not worked at least
a year and a half in the three
years just before they became dis-
abled shculd again apply for pay-
ments. These are workers who
were told that they met all other
requirements when they previously
applied; also those workers who
did hot /apply because their dis-
ability had developed gradually and
they had insufficient work in the
three years just before they had
to stop work entirely. Because of
the liberalization of the work re-
quirements in the disability insur-
ance program and the extension of
« ilHW
the retroactivity of applications,
about 100,000 disabled people may
now qualify for benefits or to have
their social security records frozen
to protect future benefit rights.
An additional 5,000 people may
now be eligible for benefits as de
pendents or survivors of insured
workers. These include persons who
could not get benefits because of
marriage or remarriage. For ex-
ample, if a person getting benefits
marries an old-age insurance bene-
ficiary or a disability insurance
beneficiary, payments to both can
now continue.
“Our office, and over 680 other
social security offices throughout
the Nation, arc using all public in-
formation media to notify these
newly eligible people about their
social security insurance rights,"
Mr. Ward said.
SUBSCRIBE ?f
l
THE BEAICON.
A
put to the people if they want to
change their state constitution.
Texas’ most recent revision of
its constitution was about 1876 and
the latest attempt was in 1949
when Allan Shivers was governor
and Ben Shepherd waR attorney
general.
In Alaska the Supreme Court
sets the rules for all other courts.
They have no county government,
no tax limit on what can be levied,
and no debt limit.
The Alaskan constitution is
streamlined in comparison to Tex-
as, Louisiana and other Rtatcs.
Rotarian Bill Massey and guest
of Port Lavaca were the only visi-
tors.
The Rotary reporter was on the
job last week, but rushing up our
New Year’s edition he arrived too
late for the weekly report, so we
print his story a little late:
Rev. Rayford Harris was in
charge of the program and spoke
of life in comparison with looking
to the new year. Five steps were
used in his talk—Uncertain; unrest
of uncertainty; surprising survival;
looking back; and a look to the
future.
(See “ROTARY,” Page 8)
The Weather
Date
Dec. 30
Dec.
Jan.
31
1
2
3
4
5
Jan. 6
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.
Max.
61‘
46°
48"
61"
4.7"
34"
42“
58°
Min.
36*
32"
29"
41"
32"
23"
32"
39“
Pree.
4.70
0.01
0.00
trace
0.00
0.00
0.05
0.13
Total rainfall for year; 0.18
l
I
A
JtaL
f >
/
J
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Dismukes, Jesse V. Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 8, 1959, newspaper, January 8, 1959; Palacios, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth726748/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Palacios Library.