Mon., Jan. 20    Cooking with Seafood
6:00 pm        Bauer Exhibit Building, County Fairgrounds

Thurs., Jan. 23    Calhoun County Democrats Club
6:00 pm        GI Forum, 2738 W Main, Port Lavaca

Mon., Feb. 3    Calhoun County Republican Club
6:00 pm        Grace Episcopal Church, Port Lavaca

Tues., Feb. 4    Bunco
7:00 pm        POC Community Center Meeting Room

Tues., Feb. 4    Seadrift City Council
7:00 pm        Seadrift City Hall

Thurs., Feb. 6    Port O’Connor Service Club
10:00 am    Community Center Meeting Room

Sat., Feb. 8    Pharmaceuticals in the Environment
12:30-3:30    Seadrift Library, 502 S. 4th St.

Mon., Feb. 10    Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce
6:30 pm        Community Center Meeting Room

Thurs., Feb. 13    Sweetheart Banquet
6:30 p.m.    Port O’Connor Community Center

Sat., Feb. 22    Crock Pot Cook-Off 361-920-1743
4:00-6:00    Seadrift School Cafeteria

AA meets each Saturday night at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall in Port O’Connor.

POC Lions Club meets the second Wednesday of each month, 4:00 p.m. at Port O’Connor First National Bank

Seadrift Chamber of Commerce meets the third Thursday of each month, 6:00 p.m. at First National Bank meeting room, Seadrift

Commissioner’s Court meets the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month at 10 a.m., 1st Floor of the Court House, Port Lavaca.

Crossroads Astronomy Club meets at 7:00 p.m., third Mondays, at U of H, Victoria, Room 223 info: wes81461@yahoo.com 935-2016

Calhoun County Quilt Guild meets the first Wednesday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at the Fairgrounds Exhibit Building.

Open Arms (Families Surviving Infant Loss) meets every third Tuesday at Central Church of Christ, 801 E. Airline, Victoria, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

Calhoun County Democratic Club meets the last Thursday of the month at IBC Bank, Port Lavaca, at 5:30 p.m.

Calhoun County Republican Club meets first Monday of each month 6:00 p.m. at the Episcopal Church Community Room, 213 E. Austin, Port Lavaca.

CASA (Christians Against Substance Abuse) meets each Thursday from 7-8 p.m. Call 361-652-7451 for meeting place.

Friday Night Youth every Friday except the first Friday of each month, 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., Fisherman’s Chapel, Port O’Connor

First Baptist Youth Group (Port O’Connor) meets every Wednesday night from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Grades 6th – 12th

Port O’Connor Cemetery Association meets 3rd Thursday of each month at POC Community Center

POC Sports Association meets the third Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at POC Community Center.

Ladies Bible & Book Study is held every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church Fellowship Hall in Port O’Connor

National Alliance on Mental Illness (N.A.M.I.) meets 3rd Monday each month from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Parkway Church, Victoria. Support group meets at Laurent Towers fountain from 6-8 p.m., 2nd and 4th Tuesdays each month.

Biddie Hileman

Every year around Christmas time, the ladies of the Port O’Connor Service Club go all out to present a holiday-themed luncheon as a gift to the senior citizens of the area. And for the past several years, they have used the occasion to honor those in the Port O’Connor community who they recognize as embodying the quality of “service”. This year the Club chose to honor Biddie Hileman and Robbie Hawes.

Like many residents of Port O’Connor, Biddie and her husband Marvin, moved here for the fishing. They previously resided in Cuero, but found they were spending so much time in Port O’Connor, they decided to relocate and build their home here. That was more than 20 years ago and they have never regretted it. “I love it here,” Biddie said. “I wouldn’t live anywhere else. There are a lot of good people here.”

It wasn’t long after settling in their new house that Biddie joined the Service Club. She has always taken an active part, including many years as chairman of the Club’s twice-yearly garage sales. “Everyone works with the garage sale, but it was my job to decide who did what and when, acquire all the needed supplies, make sure the sale is advertised well in advance, and find some one or some group to remove the leftover unsold goods from the sale,” she explained. Additionally, Biddie and Marvin accepted lots of donated goods and stored them in their shed until sale time.

Biddie also served as chairman of the Pecan sales, taking orders, picking up the nuts in Sequin and bagging and selling them, a job that is now in the capable hands of Club member, Sally Jones.

Although Biddie no longer chairs the garage sale or pecan sale, she is still the “go-to gal” when it comes to baking. There aren’t too many folks around here who haven’t tasted her famous cocoanut cakes. Biddie has baked for weeks at a time, freezing the cakes to be ready for the next bake sale or benefit. Her cakes have even been auctioned at the Children’s Hospital in Houston. This reporter remembers one local benefit where a cake baked by Biddie sold for $800.

Although she has slowed down a bit, this mother of three, grandmother/great grandmother of 20, still enjoys being a part of the Port O’Connor Service Club and a part of the Port O’Connor community. “I first thought I would be bored living here,” she said, “but there’s never a dull moment.”

Robbie Hawes

Port O’Connor native, Robbie Hawes, the Club’s other Citizen of the Year, doesn’t sit still long enough to be bored, either. The plaque he received says it all: “Thank you for always being available when needed and the many unselfish hours that you have given back to the Port O’Connor community.” Many of those hours were spent hauling garage sale items and doing other heavy lifting for the Club. His most visible contribution perhaps are the rows of American flags that he has been in charge of placing between the Community Center and Highway 1289 each year for Warrior’s Weekend. Precisely spacing the flags is a job Robbie takes pride in. Expressing his disdain for anyone who steals a flag, (Can you believe anyone would do such a thing?), he is quick to put the flag line back in order to greet our wounded heroes.

The owner, with his wife Marie, of Boat House Bait, he has also been generous in donating bait and ice for community events and for excellent product and service for his customers. Robbie, the father of three sons, has been a Port O’Connor shrimper for 46 years. His nickname among shrimper buddies is “Mr. Clean”. You may have seen Robbie dressed as his namesake winning the Halloween costume contest in October, much to the delight of his six grandchildren.

Leaving his Port O’Connor home only long enough to serve in the military, Robbie quickly returned. “There’s no place like home,” he says.

Our hats are off to those brave individuals who despite temps in the 30s, braved the wind and waves to make the crossing from Freeport to Port O’Connor delivering Christmas toys for children in our area. Although they were offered the option staying put and having some folks from Port O’Connor come and pick up the toys, these stalwart boaters determined the toy run would go on. A few boats had to turn back, but 16 made it through to the finish even though most at some point ran aground.

After completing the hazardous trip, these selfless fellows and gals helped unload their toys and bikes, then after a very short rest time, got their boats ready and were off again down the Intracoastal participating in Port O’Connor’s Annual Lighted Boat Parade.

Photos by Mike Hessong

Lots of Toys for the Kids

Members of the Port O’Connor Service Club and many other local volunteers bundled up against the cold to unload the Toy Run boats, pack several trailer loads and transport for safe keeping. The next morning, they were out unloading the toys into the Community Center and packing them up for distribution to children in our area.

Marie Hawes, Chair of the Adopt-An-Angel program, reports that in addition to 60 Port O’Connor children, there were at least 2,000 kids from 3 counties who received toys thanks to the Toy Run. “It was the most toys I’ve ever seen,” she said, “and the most volunteer help we’ve ever had.”

First, our local “Angels” are provided with toys to supplement the clothing that local Adopt-An-Angel donors had provided. These gifts help to make a great Christmas experience for kids who might not otherwise have much.

Next, representatives from 12 different organizations were allowed to choose toys, benefiting such groups as The Harbor, Brown Santa, Bluebonnet Youth Ranch, and others.

A family in Victoria was also the beneficiary of toys. They had lost everything in a house fire. Marie watches the papers around this time of year to see if Toy Run and our local volunteers can help in this way.

Photographer Mike Hessong has posted Toy Run and Boat Parade on Facebook and furnished photos for Dolphin Talk. Although he has taken many photos of the Boat Parade, it was his first experience up close with the Toy Run arrival and preparation for the Boat Parade.

“What an unbelievably touching way to truly ‘see’ the Christmas Spirit first-hand,” he said.

Thank You, Toy Run!
Thank You, Adopt-An-Angel donors and volunteers!
Thank You, All who helped make this a Merry Christmas!

“When World War I erupted in 1914, launching the first great European war of the 20th century, soldiers on both sides were assured that they would be home by Christmas to celebrate victory,” according to author Victor Parachin. Men did not get to see their families on Christmas, for the “war to end all wars” lasted four years, and 8.5 million men were killed, with hundreds of thousands more dying from injuries.

On Christmas Eve, that December 1914, the weather was cold, freezing the blood mingled, muddy water and slush of the trenches in which the men were bunkered. On the German side, soldiers began lighting candles, which clearly illuminated German troops, making them vulnerable, but the British held their fire. In fact, German soldiers who celebrated Christmas on the Eve, held trees over their heads extending holiday greetings to their enemies. British soldiers began hearing “Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!” and the English began singing along.

The singing of “Silent Night” quickly neutralized all hostilities on both sides. One by one, British and German soldiers began laying down their weapons and gathering into “no-man’s land”. That night, former enemy soldiers sat around a common campfire. They exchanged small gifts – chocolate bars, buttons, badges, and small tins of processed beef from their rations. A British soldier wrote, “I was out talking and shaking hands with the very men I had been trying to kill a few hours before!” Mortal enemies had agreed upon a great truth: “Christmas is about peace on earth, good will to men.” On some parts of the front lines, the truce lasted only Christmas Day, but on others, as late as New Years. A German participant wrote, “It was a day of peace in war. It is only a pity that it was not decisive peace.”

In the midst of the horror of World War I, a song proclaimed the coming of Jesus and briefly stopped the brutality.

“Silent Night” might have never had its place in history had it not been for a last-minute crisis at a church in Oberndorf, Austria. In 1818, at St. Nicholas Church, Pastor Joseph Mohr had discovered that the organ was badly damaged and could not be repaired before Christmas. Mohr, who occasionally led signing while strumming his guitar, realized traditional Christmas carols would not sound right on his stringed instrument. Thinking about Jesus’ modest birth more than 1,800 years earlier, Mohr began writing “Silent Night, Holy Night”. Using simple phrases, the young pastor felt inspired as he retold the story of Christ’s birth in six short stanzas.

At midnight, parishioners filled the church expecting to hear the organ’s resounding notes. Instead, Mohr strummed the guitar and directed the choir to sing this new song which caused the congregation to experience a unique and memorable Christmas Eve service.

The story of “Silent Night” almost ended that evening as Mohr put the music away with no thought of using it again. Mohr was transferred to another parish and, for several years, “Silent Night” was never sung. However, in 1825, master organ builder Carl Mauracher, while reconstructing that same church organ, discovered the music left behind by Mohr.

Mauracher was impressed and began introducing the carol to musicians and audiences. Soon folk singers that traveled all over Europe began adding “Silent Night” to their repertoires. Although the carol was causing an enormous stir across Europe, Mohr remained unaware of the accolades his music was creating. Penniless, Mohr died of pneumonia in 1848 at the age of 55. He never learned his song was spreading around the world. In 1863, John Freeman Young translated three stanzas of the carol into the English verses people still sing today.

Today, “Silent Night” is sung on every continent in scores of languages.

“Silent Night” is about the peace that Christ’s coming brought. The peace that enemy combatants tasted briefly in the midst of bloody conflict nearly a century ago was only a glimpse of what Jesus offers to people living today. The peace that came to the world because of the coming of Christ is genuine and lasting. This peace can cleanse hearts and banish all sin. It can mend broken relationships and turn enemies into friends.

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Why not choose to do as the soldiers of World War I did? Why not choose to lay aside all feelings of enmity and allow that peace to reign at your Christmas celebrations, and beyond? Why not allow 2014 to be the year of “PEACE” in your life and allow it to replace the difficulties of 2013? Allow Jesus to be your Lord and peace will be yours!

Merry Christmas and a “peace-filled” New Years!

Silent night, Holy night
All is calm, all is bright
‘Round yon virgin , mother and child
Holy infant so, tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, Holy night
Shepherds quake, at the sight
Glory streams from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sings Hallelujah.
Christ the Savior is born,
Christ the Savior is born.

Silent night, Holy night, Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face, With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at thy birth, Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

Caylin Compian seemed quite content with Santa at the Port O’Connor Fire Station.

Thanks to the Port O’Connor Volunteer Fire Department for hosting Santa and giving the children rides on the fire truck.
Photos by Lynette Hummell