Week ending November 15:  PreK- Jaxon Smith; K- Saydi Ramirez; 1st- Aliza Dean; 2nd- Timothy Reneau; 3rd- Clara Stryker; 4th- Vanessa Martinez; 5th- Aubrey Ragusin

Week ending December 2:  PreK- Jacob Stryker; K- Rori Null; 1st- Torunn Short; 2nd- Ana Brown; 3rd- Mimi Mizzell; 4th- Waylon Thomas; 5th- Landon Jones

Week ending December 9:  PreK- Destiny Garcia; K- Brantley Ruddick; 1st- Leray Austin; 2nd- Bryce Sandy; 3rd- Skyler Pessall; 4th- Kailey Guzman; 5th- Nicholas Ragusin

Week ending December 13:  PreK- Charli Hatcher; K- Kolton Kendrick; 1st- Paxon Crone; 2nd- Kolt Leiker; 3rd- Haiden Dean; 4th- Abygail Gonzales; 5th- Grace Brown

Week ending January 10:  PreK- Wesley Preece; K- Saydi Ramirez; 1st- Blaklei Ruddick; 3rd- Haiden Dean; 4th- Waylon Thomas; 5th- Adamariz Zuniga

Thanksgiving will be here soon, and what better way to kick off the Christmas season than with our 2019 Lighted Boat Parade. This event, sponsored by the Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce, will be held on Saturday, December 7, 2019, scheduled to start at dusk, approximately 6:30 pm in the ICW from Larry’s Harbor to just past Clark’s Inn and is open to all boats of all sizes that meet the minimum U.S. Coast Guard Safety Requirements. There is no entry fee. Please, give us a call, decorate your boat and join us!!

The Captains’ Safety Meeting will be held at the Inn at Clark’s at 5:30 p.m. on December 7, along with late registration and assignment of parade positions. The U.S. Coast Guard will have a member at the safety meeting in case of any questions or concerns.

Locals and tourists alike look forward to this annual event, and it is hoped that many boat owners will participate. Plaques will be awarded in several categories – Best Overall * Most Spirited * Most Unique * Best Commercial * Best Large Pleasure * Best Medium Pleasure * Best Small Pleasure. This year, as in the past several years, we are happy to announce that the U.S. Coast Guard along with most of the boats and owners who participate in the Toy Run are planning on being a part of this great tradition. It looks like this year is no exception – This is going to be a fantastic lighted boat parade.

If you would like to participate, or for more information, visit the Chamber website, www.portoconnorchamber.com and download the registration form or contact the Boat Parade Chairman, Bill Tigrett at 361-983-2671.

So, get out your calendar and mark this event as a MUST DO, or at least a MUST SEE!!! And join in the fun!

Melissa and Luke Doggett and Rose Sherman Williams

“Meeting Rose was the most important thing I have done in a long time,” 11 year old Luke Doggett said, as he left the Letters to Rose presentation by Rose Sherman Williams, a Holocaust survivor.

Luke sat in the front row, in a room full of adults, listening attentively to Rose share her experiences. “I know I am the last generation to hear and learn from the stories told by the actual Holocaust survivors themselves,” Luke said.

Rose’s courage to retell the family’s tragic memories during World War II left a lasting impression on Luke. He attended the event with his grandmother, Georgia Hawes, and was touched by Rose’s grief when her own grandmother was shot trying to help save the orphaned children. Luke also found it remarkable that Rose had such bravery and strength, when she was only a few years older than him, to smuggle food from the kitchen of the concentration camp to help save others.

He returned the following day to his 6th grade English class and shared some of Rose’s stories and his experience of meeting a Holocaust survivor.

“I believe it is important to tell Rose’s story so history does not repeat itself. In stories like Rose’s, you learn in a personal way why it is wrong to treat others badly or kill them because of their culture, religion, or how they look. I have always admired our veterans and her presentation reminded me of the bravery of the men and women that serve our country and save innocent people like Rose,” Luke said.

Luke is the 7th generation of the Hawes family to live in the Port O’Connor area starting with Hugh Walker Hawes and is the grandson of John C. Hawes. Luke currently resides in Needville, Tex.

The Letters to Rose presentation was held at the Port O’Connor Library on October 22nd.

Seadrift School Honors the men and women who have and are serving the United States of America. Thank you for your service.
-Leslie Shirhall

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Meet Butch & Mary Hodges

Born and raised in Seadrift and a third-generation commercial fisherman, Butch Hodges with his wife Mary pass down a legacy of caring and sharing with those in need- specifically those who served our country, our wounded warriors. Butch and Mary are able to do this through an organization called Combat Marine Outdoors (www.CombatMarineOutdoors.org). For eleven years Butch and Mary have worked doing fund-raisers, rounding up fishing guides, doing all that they can to help accommodate the eighteen to twenty warriors that come to the Seadrift area each year.

Butch Hodges knows firsthand about military service having served in the U.S. Army with the Military Police and as a Platoon Sergeant. Because of his service in Vietnam he was awarded many medals, including the Army Commendation Medal. After his military service, Butch served as Seadrift’s Chief of Police and as a County Deputy. He then worked at the Seadrift Union Carbide plant for twenty-nine years.

Concerning his and Mary’s work with the Combat Marine Outdoors, Butch has this to say: “Working with these wounded warriors has been an experience of a life-time. The way we were treated when we came back from Vietnam- a dog shouldn’t be treated that way. Because of the way we were treated I’ve dedicated my life to seeing that it doesn’t happen again. I can’t thank Seadrift enough for all their support for what we’re doing for the Combat Marine Outdoors.”

This is 9th in the Sedroft Legacy series.