Port O’Connor Service Club Garage & Bake Sale

Saturday, October 15, 2011, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Port O’Connor Community Center Pavilion

Check this out for all types of goods– Clothing, kitchen Items, books and pictures, CD’s, small radios and many, many others!

And Remember,

Bake Sale Begins Early!

One last goodbye hug for sister/granddaughter Riley Hughs, and the dynamic duo shove off for fun!

JJ Ault, 71, and his grandson Spencer, 20, set off on a sailing adventure on September 9 on two 13 1/2 foot sailboats that they built themselves.
They left from Kingfisher Beach in Port O’Connor, heading down the coast to the tip of Florida.

“They don’t know exactly how long it will take or what they will do when they get there. They don’t even know exactly where ‘there’ will be,” said Spencer’s mother, Sarah Washburn.
Sarah says this adventure is much like the ones she and her dad, JJ, have taken together in years past. Once they paddled the Red River and Mississippi from Palo Duro Canyon to New Orleans.

They sailed the South Pacific from Hawaii to Samoa and from California to Hawaii.

Sarah and her dad also made their own kayaks and paddled out of Carancua Bay deep into Mexico, just past the crux of the Yucatan. “All of those times, we lived through just by the seat of our pants. It was fun!” Sarah recalls.

JJ ‘s first message to folks back home was sent on September 14, and reported: “We camped four days at Phillips Cut. We loved it so we hated to leave. Spencer has become a great sailor. We camped a mile and a half past Matagorda last night and walked three miles to town today. We are having a great time.”

The Dolphin hopes to receive updates on JJ and Spencer’s trip and wishes the adventurous duo calm seas, fair winds and a safe trip.

Spencer stands on the center stringer of the boat to give it curve, while JJ ties it off with tension ropes to keep the bend in the bottom of the boat.

JJ and Spencer fashioned masts from fiberglass and sails from plastic tarps. It took about 2 1/2 weeks to build the two boats.

Fishing or Not, You Can Help the Community

The count down has begun……In just TWO SHORT WEEKS The “Christopher Ragusin” P.O.C. GRAND SLAM will be gearing up for its 6th Annual Memorial Fishing Tournament!!!! It is hard to believe it’s the “SIXTH!!!” Where did the time go??!!!

When Chris passed away we created this fishing tournament to honor him, a time and place each year where his friends and family can come together to reminisce, catch up and make new memories.

I did not know how we were going to pull it off. I had only fished a few tournaments with Chris and Curtis! I did not have a clue what it would take to put one together!!! Each year has been a learning experience. We use these experiences to hopefully make each upcoming year run more smoothly. We work hard throughout the year to pull everything together. We work really, really, really hard the day before, the day of and the day after!!! When you stop and think about how much we have been able to give back over the years in Chris’ memory, it makes all of the hard work worth it!!!!

I am very proud to say that over the past five years we have been able to give back over $35,000.00. We have awarded twenty two $500.00 scholarships to graduating seniors and three $300.00 scholarships for continuing education students. Cash donations to various organizations: POC VFD, POC Service Club, Girl Scouts, Cub Scout Pack 116, The Port O’ Connor Sports Association, POC PTO, Communities Against Cancer, and Relay for Life, donations to three Churches in Port O’ Connor. We have also adopted 5 angels a year for the last four years, donated to families in need, helped with funeral costs and medical costs, participated in numerous benefits in and out of our community, sent care packages to the Military and much more!!!

We want for everyone to enjoy the festivities!! You do not have to fish to take part. We will be serving delicious food each night. We will have a SILENT AUCTION Friday, October 7TH and a LIVE AUCTION Saturday, October 8TH. LIVE MUSIC TO WRAP UP THE EVENT!!!!!

We would not be able to accomplish this with out the support of our community…..Each and everyone who has contributed, WE SAY “THANK YOU!!!” None of this would be possible without your help!!
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!!!

Logan Smith

Gregor Smith

Logan Smith of Houston caught the first fish of the day, a nice Spanish Mackerel. Gregor Smith of Houston caught the shark he had been looking for all day; fishing with Capt. Bob Hill.

Take A Kid Fishing!
The weather is cooling down a bit and it’s an ideal time to pack up your kids for a weekend visit to the fantastic Port O’Connor/Seadrift fishing grounds.
Catching that first fish is something they will never forget.

The Port Lavaca Writers’ Group invites local authors who are serious about their works to meet twice monthly to exchange helpful critique.
For more information, call 935-0656.