The Rio Grande Valley

Louise and I have just wrapped up our 10th winter in the Rio Grande Valley (simply called "The Valley" by most of the people here).

The Valley starts at Rio Grande City in the West and runs to Brownsville in the East.  Total population of the area is about 1.3 million people.  The population swells by about 710,000 people in the winter as "Winter Texans" descend on the area to avoid winter in their home state.

If you drive through a shopping center parking lot, you will see more out of state and out of country license plates than Texas plates.  Ontario and Quebec plates are very common, along with those from the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.  Winter Texans from Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota are everywhere during the winter.

The Rio Grande Valley is roughly divided into three areas with the upper Valley starting at Rio Grande City and including Mission, McAllen, Edinburg, and Pharr.  The mid Valley runs from Alamo in the west to Harlingen in the east and includes Weslaco, Mercedes and La Feria.  The lower Valley is dominated by Brownsville and includes Port Isabel and South Padre Island.

The Hispanic influence is everywhere and the Spanish language is as common as English.  The Valley is separated from sister cities in Mexico by the Rio Grande River.  Reynosa is just across the river from McAllen, Nuevo Progreso is a sister city to Weslaco, and Matamoros lies just across the river from Brownsville.

Winter Texans have traditionally crossed the border in droves to shop in Mexican towns.  Their spending has focused primarily on pharmaceuticals, liquor, dental services, and of course, souvenirs.  Because of the drug wars which have become common in Mexico, many Winter Texans today are hesitant to cross the border.  Louise and I used to regularly cross the border but quit doing that about five years ago.

Interestingly, the number of Winter Texans is declining rapidly.  Five years ago, it was estimated that about 800,000 people came to the Valley for the winter.  That number today, as stated earlier, is around 710,000.  It seems that many of our generation and the one following are not attracted to the RV lifestyle and to spending their winters in warmer climes.

Louise and I do really enjoy our winters here.  It seems that every year, about October, we begin to really look forward to going south.  The park where we stay, VIP La Feria, is in La Feria, about seven miles west of Harlingen.  We've been there long enough that we have a lot of friends in the park and spend a lot of time visiting back and forth in each others' sites.  We see these friends on a daily basis, unlike at home so we really are closer to them than to our friends at home.

I think we will continue to come to the Valley as long as we can.  We sure don't miss the Oklahoma winters!

Thomas Perry Porter Sr.

Tom Porter was born October 6, 1888, in Austin, Travis County, Texas.  Austin is the capital of the State of Texas and Travis County is slightly more than 1000 square miles in size.  His parents were William Eugene Porter and Laura Emaline Dunham Porter.

William was born in Minnesota but had moved to Missouri and then to Texas as a youth.  Laura was born in Missouri and had married L.A. Wyatt when she was 16 years old in Palo Pinto County, Texas.  Palo Pinto County is located about 65 miles west of Ft. Worth.  L.A. Wyatt’s fate is unknown but Laura had a son by him, Albert, who was born in 1879 in Palo Pinto County. Of interest to residents of Mannford, Albert later married a woman named Callie and they had a son, Raymond. Raymond was known to local residents as "Slip". He was sort of the town "ne'er do well".

In 1886, Laura married William Eugene Porter in Fannin County, Texas.  Fannin County is located about 60 miles northeast of Dallas, a good distance from Palo Pinto County.  Laura and William had five children as follows:

Ethel Dorothy 1887 Whitesboro, Grayson County, Texas

Thomas Perry 1888 Travis County, Texas

Hermina (girl) 1893 Indian Territory, Oklahoma

Doss 1898 Indian Territory, Oklahoma

Arbell Abt. 1899 Indian Territory, Oklahoma

There are, of course, no records of the 1890 Census.  During the 1900 Census, William Porter was listed in Township Two of the Chickasaw Nation in Indian Territory.  All five of his children, as well as Albert Wyatt, his stepson were listed as living with him.  Interestingly, William’s marital status was listed as widowed.  It is presumed that Laura died during the birth of their youngest child, Arbell.

William Porter supposedly died in Antlers in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma in 1904.  No documentation for his death exists however.  At any rate, Tom would have been 16 years old at this time.

By the time of the 1910 Census, Ethel Dorothy had married William Renner and they were living in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, just northwest of Elk City.  The Census listed them as having two living children at home as well as her brother, Doss.  The rest of the children, Tom Hermina, and Arbell, have not been found in the 1910 Census, neither has Albert Lee Wyatt, their half brother.  Albert Lee did, however, register for the draft in 1917 (during World War I) while living in Mannford, Creek County, Oklahoma.

Sometime before 1910, Tom Porter also came to Mannford.  He worked as a cowboy on the Wilson Ranch whose foreman was M.W. “Cap” Alexander.  DNA testing indicates that Cap Alexander’s wife, May, had a son, Tommy Herman, by Tom Porter while she was married to Alexander.  Since Tommy was born in February, 1911, it is presumed that Tom Porter was working on the Wilson Ranch in 1910.

By 1917, when Tom Porter registered for the draft, he was living in Dundee in the northwest corner of Archer County, Texas, just south of Wichita Falls.  He was still listed as a cowboy, now working for W.T. Waggoner on his ranch.  The Waggoner Ranch was then and is today the largest ranch in the United States with a single fence line.  The Ranch encompasses more than 510,000 acres in six counties.  In the draft registration, he was listed as tall and slender and with a stiff arm.  Family lore indicates that he was injured in a fall from a horse, the arm was never set properly and resulted in it being somewhat immobile.

Tom married Margaret Ann Cox on October 30, 1919, and they had two children: Thomas Perry Jr., who was born in 1920, and Minna Lo, born in 1922.  Both were born in Menard, Texas, in Menard County.  Menard is 235 miles from Dundee so it is presumed that he no longer worked for the Waggoners in 1920.  In fact, the 1920 Census listed his occupation as a truck driver for an oil company.  The 1930 Census listed his occupation as a tool dresser for an oil company.

By 1935, Tom and his wife, Ann, and their two children had moved back to Vera in Knox County, just southwest of the Waggoner Ranch.  His occupation was listed as foreman and it is possible that he was a foreman on the ranch.  They remained in Vera at least through 1942, where he registered for the draft during World War II.  In the draft registration, he was listed as working for W. R. Ross of Ft. Worth, although his occupation was not listed.

Sometime after 1942, Tom and Ann moved from Vera to Seymour, a distance of only 18 miles.  Tom opened a saddle and leather shop on Main Street in Seymour and ran that business until his death in 1974.  For several years during that period, he shared his store with a watch repairman, V. V. Overton, who had a work bench in the front of the store.

Tom died on June 7, 1974, and is buried in Riverview Cemetery in Seymour.  Four years after his death, his son, Thomas Jr., died in New Orleans, Louisana.  Tom Jr. is buried beside his parents.  Ann lived for in Seymour for 18 years after Tom’s death, dying on February 26, 1992.  She is buried beside her husband.