Best Commercial
Kirk Vossler – Captain Harold

Best Small Pleasure
Eric Rogers – 20 Mowdy

Most Spirited
Jimmy Hall 34’ Yellowfin – Wet Dream

Best Overall
Chris & Michele Hanson – 27’ Grady White

Best Large Pleasure
Garrett Supak – 35’ Center Console

“Santa got too happy.”
Photo submitted by Jay Lack

Boat Parade Winners Not Pictured:
Best Medium Pleasure – Micael Brown – 30’ Pro Sport cat
Most Unique – Randy Rabe 24 ‘ Shoalwater
Distinguished Service Award – United States Coast Guard

Two Winners Take Home $500 in Merchandise

POC Hardware’s Wanda Redding presents giveaway awards
to Maria Denny and Nathan O’Neill

The fall season just got a little more golden for POC Hardware & Supply and Nathan O’Neill and Maria Denney.

On November 30, 2017 Nathan O’Neill and Maria Denny were chosen as winners of the POC Hardware $500 Shopping Giveaways. Nathan O’Neill and Marie Denny were selected from more than 200 entries submitted at the store from August 28 – November 13, 2017.

Teddy Hawes said that POC Hardware is delighted to provide one of its customers with the opportunity to make their fall projects a little more exciting. “Everyone has a few extra chores this time of year, and we’re glad that Nathan and Maria will be able to choose whatever tools he or she wants to get the job done. We thank all those who entered the giveaway for their participation.”

POC Hardware is located at 1738 West Adams, Port O’Connor, and has been serving customers in the town area for 30 years. POC Hardware offers a complete line of building supplies for everyone from the do-it-yourself homeowner to the professional. POC Hardware has been a Do It Best Corp. member since 2013.

Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Do It Best Corp. is the only full-service U.S. based, member-owned hardware, lumber and building materials buying cooperative in the home improvement industry. With annual sales of over $3 billion, Do It Best Corp is the second largest co-op in the industry, serving 3,800 member-owned stores in the United States and 53 counties.

The end is near. All years have an ending, and then a second later on, new one begins. Regardless of what you believe about the very beginning of time, that’s the way it has been forever.

I had a friend who had suffered through many years of being down on his luck tell me that as far as he was concerned the end of any year was in effect; good riddance. That might be said of 2017 and Harvey’s visit to many of us in Calhoun County.

On the other hand, if you are still around, you could say I am happy that it wasn’t worse. If you are an Astros’ fan, you might be exuberant about how the year ended.  Injuries have rather ruined the Texans hope for this year.  And so it goes.

One might be reminded of the Clint Eastwood movie, the Good the Bad and . . . so on.  It seems that things just don’t go all one way.   As my Mom used to say, “This too shall pass”. The hard part is remembering that saying includes good times also.

This is the Holiday Season. Many of us celebrate Christmas. In fact, many of the world’s religions have celebrations that happen around the end of our yearly calendar. That implies a New Year starting.

The major cycles of life follow the yearly cycle.  Mathematicians are familiar with the Sinusoidal nature of cycles. They have some highs, some lows, and in pure math vacillate around a common line.  When one is young that line seems to be trending up. As we grow older it also seems to curve towards flat and for some of us it begins to trend downward.  However, in all cases there is the up and down fluctuation.

One hopes your trend is up because that is more fun than the downward one. And as usual, the perception of which way it is trending can be dependent on your attitude. Like time, life will move on and it is better to look forward to that movement.

Sometimes there are imminent changes in your life and you have to physically move on.  Such a time for me is now. Many reasons dictate that it is time to do just that.
And so this is the last time I will be able to reflect on life with you in this paper. I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you and hope you have enjoyed some of them also.

It is time to retire; not only to bed, but to a less venturesome life and let others assist in the everyday chores of life.  I was never a military soldier, but like old soldiers I must fade away. C’est la vie. I will bask in memories of joys of past, and nap while dreaming of future joys.

My fondest hope is that you will have a joyous and happy future.    -Phil Ellenberger

Round 2 of cast’n and blast’n, its going to be a good round. Round 1 was a great success with P’s and D’s (Puddlers and Divers). The Puddlers were Pintails, Gadwalls, Widgeon and Teal. A few Boot Lips also came back in Ryders’s cotton candy jaws. The Pintails seemed to be up in numbers around here and those are my favorite. We actually shot some drakes with surprisingly long tails. Their decoying antics are so awesome, I personally think they decoy the best, they look like little angels coming down from heaven. On the Diver side of things, redheads poured in the decs by the hundreds. Redheads really commit to the spread once they take that 1st look. Talking with some other duck hunters we agreed there were a bunch of Buffleheads already here. We had 1 hunter who shot a real pretty drake that he took to his taxidermist.
Billy, booked in several groups of duck hunters that were great shooters, so it made my numbers go up so far this year. We had calm and clear conditions on some of the days which is great for mosquitoes, but not for ducks. But the duck numbers have been so good we were able to kill limits of P’s and D’s. Despite the calm that comes before the norther and after we SMASHED ‘em.

Fishing has also been really good. Trout and Reds with an occasional flounder are filling zip lock bags. Flounder Gigging is back and the giggers are poking some monsters. 5, 6, and 7 pounders are pretty common if you hold off on the smaller ones. Remember its only 2 until December 16th then it goes back to 5 flounder per license holder.
The other day we went scouting in West Matagorda and Port O’ Connor and saw a bunch of ducks scattered all over shallow flats and on the bay front. The mild weather has fishermen out in some of these spots, mostly in front of the bay’s drains.
Wow! I just looked out the window and saw another flock of ducks flying the Lagoon. Holy cow there’s another flock. DUDE!! I’m getting pumped up for the opener. I’m telling you it should be a barrel burner.

The Saltwater Lodge is booking daily events. Billy Rhyne is the new contact to book your next outdoor outing. Give Billy a call and he can give you the latest scouting report. The NEW LODGE number is: (713) 907 4796.

We wish everyone a Coastal Christmas and a Coastal New Year!!!

That’s because everything is better on the Coast,
Captain Jeff Larson, 281 217 0399