Cheers erupted as they announced the winners Clay Brumfield, Zoey Conde, and Rylie Ragusin’s remarkable achievement at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Competing against teams from across Texas, these talented individuals clinched 2nd place in the side dish category.

Their winning creation? A delectable beet salad, crafted ingeniously from a mystery ingredient: raw beets. What’s more impressive is that none of them, nor their supporters, had ever cooked with beets before!
“We couldn’t contain our excitement when Calhoun County 4-H was announced as the second-place winner!” exclaimed their parents. It’s a testament to their hard work and passion throughout the year.

Congratulations to Clay, Zoey, Rylie, and the entire Calhoun County community for this outstanding accomplishment. Your achievement has made us all incredibly proud! -Lea Ann Ragusin

By Emilee DeForest, M.S.

District 11 4-H Spring Spectacular was held on April 4-5, 2024, at the Victoria College Emerging Technology Complex in Victoria. Calhoun County 4-H members participated in a variety of contests at this year’s event. Congratulations and a job well done to all of our members who participated!

1st Place Senior Public Speaking, Advancing to Texas 4-H Roundup – Clay Brumfield

1st Place Intermediate Talent Showcase – Beth Boone and Keeley Brumfield

5th Place Senior Livestock Quiz Bowl – Team Members: Nicole Brown, Clay Brumfield, Justice Epley, and
McKenna Guevara

Consumer Decision Making – Nicole Brown, Clay Brumfield, McKenna Guevara, and Bryce Sandy

LtoR: Keeley Brumfield, Beth Boone

LtoR: Calhoun 4-H Agent Emilee DeForest, Nicole Brown, McKenna Guevara, Clay Brumfield, Justice Epley

LtoR: D11 4-H Council Secretary Taylor Eckelberg, Clay Brumfield

LtoR: Bryce Sandy, McKenna Guevara, Nicole Brown,
Clay Brumfield

Historical Lighthouse Marker at Port O’Connor Library

Spring has sprung!! You drive around town and see the assortment of colorful wildflowers, breathe in the scent of the blooming jasmine and honeysuckle, and see people stopped on the side of the road picking fresh dewberries. It really is a beautiful time of year to be in Port O’ Connor.

The Port O’ Connor Farmers Market is the second Saturday of the month from 8:00 -12:00 at the Kingfisher Beach Pavilion. Our local gardeners and artists provide an array of items from fresh vegetables, jams and jellies, homemade breads, and fresh eggs, to coastal art.

Our Annual Crawfish Festival is quickly approaching. This year you will be able to pre-purchase admission tickets, food tickets, t-shirts, and beer tickets on the chamber website. Pick up will be on Friday, April 26th at the pavilion from 3:00-6:00 or at the will call entrance that Saturday, April 27th. Make plans to arrive early on Saturday so you can purchase your People’s Choice wristbands, which allows you to sample crawfish prepared by our cooking teams.

For the past several years we have been proud to partner with the Calhoun County Historical Society to apply for a historical marker for the Matagorda Island Lighthouse. The wording was approved, our payment was submitted and then we waited for its arrival. Finally, the marker arrived and was recently placed in front of the library. Stop by and read about this cast iron tower which still stands tall today.

Our annual Fourth of July fireworks show will be Saturday July 6, 2024. This event always draws crowds from across the region. The show is based solely on donations and runs in excess of $30,000 per year. If you would like to donate you can do so by visiting our website. The annual fourth of July parade will be on July 4th at 9:00 a.m. Decorate your golf cart, boat, scooter, car, or trailer and join us as we make our way down to the beach and around the northern part of town.

We welcome our new and renewing members, Hook Set Marine – Hookset Marine Gear is committed to offering only the finest products that outfit the world’s most dedicated outdoorsmen. Reel Salty Charters – Reel Salty Charters provides fishing charters, coastal charters, corporate events charters, and saltwater fishing charters to the Mid-Texas Coast area. POCTX – POCTX.com helps people share their pride in Port O’Connor Texas. FishHide Sportswear – provides unique, full sun coverage fishing shirts, as well as hats, T-shirts and a one of a kind ‘’liveweigh’’ fishing stringer system. Gessner Heating & Air – Family owned full-service HVAC contractor providing heating, air conditioning, and indoor air quality to residential and light commercial customers throughout the Brazos Valley. Josie’s Mexican Food & Cantina is family owned and has been in business for over 40 years and offers catering, private parties, and full-service mixed beverages.

For more information on these businesses and our other chamber members please visit our website at www.portoconnorchamber.com.

Cold Weather and Northers Behind Us

Greetings from the island everyone. I hope that all of you are doing very well and taking advantage of this nice Spring weather that we have been having lately.

As I sit outside on the porch this morning having my second cup of coffee, the sun is already shining brightly, and there is a cool easterly breeze coming across the island. A few days ago a hard blowing norther, with winds from the northwest, blew across Matagorda Bay onto the island. My dad has always told me that when the Spring northers begin having a westerly direction, then the northers are just about finished for the year. This latest one had gusts of 40+ mph and dropped 3/4” of rain, always a welcomed sight on the island. And as usual, the tides dropped really low for several days afterwards, until the changing southeast winds brought the tides back up
.
One of the nice things about the low tides is the ability to drive along the gulf beach on the hard packed sand. This makes beach combing and looking for little washed ashore treasures much easier to do. The higher tides mean that the water is pushed up closer to the dunes where the softer sand is, making it more difficult to safely drive. But you can still certainly walk the beach without any issues, and slowly walking while looking for any beach find treasures and seashells, is always the best way to enjoy the beach. As is always the case, the number and quality of seashells that I find on the beach always changes, with some beach visits resulting in lots of nice finds, and other times there are just not many seashells having washed ashore with the tides and surf waves. You just never know from one time to the next what little treasures might be available to find, so the more frequent the beach visits, the better your chances are.

With nicer Spring weather upon us, and the school year nearing the end, a few more weekend islander families will be making their way out here. I always enjoy seeing everyone having a good time and taking advantage of the nice weather, spending time on the beach walking, fishing and just having a nice stroll looking for seashells and sea beans. Of course this time of year is unfortunately also the prime time to come across a rattlesnake on the island. The sunny weather makes them much more active than they are during the colder winter months, so the chances of coming upon one of them is greater. And they are not just in the grassy areas, as I have seen them up in the beach sand dunes several different times. You just simply have to be careful and always watch where you are walking and what you are doing.

Well, that’s it from the island for now. Everyone take care and enjoy this nice Spring weather that we are having. God bless everyone.