Wade Couch of San Antonio, TX hosted a beach clean up in Port O’Connor on Saturday, May 11. For his 7th grade National Junior Honor Society service project, he knew he wanted to give back to this beloved community. Wade’s family has a house in Seadrift and spends most of their free time in Calhoun County. It was a windy day, but Wade and several volunteers gathered including Malcolm Hein with Sharkies Bar & Grille. They collected over 400 lbs. of trash at Pass Cavallo and 100 lbs. between King Fisher Beach and Boggy’s. A majority of the trash was plastic and they also found the following items: Over 30 sandals & shoes, 3 toothbrushes, 2 needles, coffee pot, mop, hundreds of bottle caps and bottles, plastic leg of a baby doll, 3 balloons, 3 lighters, 1 paint bucket, 3 fluorescent lights & 3 spools of fishing line.

Wade’s family host the Mullet (June 20-22) and Little Mullet (June 29) fishing tournaments each year in Port O’Connor. The Mullet is a 501c company that donates the proceeds back to Calhoun county each year. Last year’s proceeds went to The Port O’Connor Community Center, Calhoun County 4H Sportfishing Club & Castaway Charities. The following sponsors are a big reason why the Mullet tournaments are a huge success each year:

D&D Pest Services LLC
Levantino & Company PC
Miami Energy Services
Service First Mortgage Company
CT Fieldscapes
Pure Restoration and Construction
ABM Insurance -Misty Alanis
Chas S Middleton- Dane Mount
Mowdy Boats of Texas
Port O’Connor Rods
FishHide Sportswear
Fayco Printing
Castaway Lodge
River West Builders
Sea Tow Middle Coast Texas
Rohe Builders
Rustic Reminder’s Taxidermy
Momentum Rental and Sales
Sharkies Bar & Grill — with Malcolm Hein.

May’s Hooked on Books selection was Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmis. Nineteen members had “Supper at Two” instead of “Supper at Six”. All firmly agreed the meeting was quite a success. Hostesses were Val Tiemann, Cindy Hanson, Jayme Edwards, Kristina Lewis, and Miranda Edwards who embraced the theme of Lessons in Chemistry with such creativity and attention to detail.

Evidence of planning for the event was found in food, decorations and costuming. My, how the ladies love details related to our reading selections! To the crowd’s delight, Cindy Hanson’s attire mirrored the lab coat worn by the protagonist, Elizabeth Zott. The coat was cleverly labeled with a name tag, “EZ.” Her hair was adorned with a pencil in her bun.

The food was served on a tablecloth which displayed the Periodic Table since Elizabeth referred to it often in her occupation as well as her cooking show. Lasagna and a cucumber and tomato salad was offered as it related to the meaningful incident regarding her daughter’s meal for school. The scrumptious brownies and cookies were not undervalued as Elizabeth Zott was as a female scientist in the 1960s. They were quickly devoured.

To our surprise, the hostesses included past meeting pictures on the TV screen which added a lovely nostalgic touch and fostered a sense of connection and camaraderie among the members. So much reminiscing took place. It was such a treat and seemed like absent members were with us as we chatted about old times and readied for the book discussion. It’s moments like these that truly enrich the book club experience.

Overall, most agreed this fast-paced book has a strong female lead and touches on a multitude of complex subjects of gender and society, which made it a great book for discussion.

As always, the Book Club takes summer break during June, July, and August. However, there’s another intriguing discussion in store for September’s Hooked on Books meeting with our next selection, The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath. Her work is sure to inspire deep reflection and lively dialogue.

For those interested in joining the club, the summer break offers a perfect opportunity to read ahead and become a part of this vibrant literary community. Join us in September. All are welcome. Interested? Contact:
alanehaardt@yahoo.com.

June is the month we celebrate birthdays – our Chapel family is celebrating 10 different people’s special day! We always delight in singing “Happy Birthday” to each one and several cakes have found their way to our fellowship meals. Kyle Hay has been fixing some outstanding food each Wednesday *we begin serving at 7:00 p.m.), including delicacies like stuffed potatoes, sloppy joe’s, pulled pork, brisket, pork loin! He is planning some special dishes for the rest of this month, and all are welcome to enjoy this fellowship with us!

We are hosting several groups in our Retreat Center. We have hosted A.J. and his family, James and Erin and friends, and are looking forward to Jessica being here for a week, and a men’s retreat at month’s end, and a Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, June 29 at 8:30 a.m. Early in July, we have 34 members of a family from the Valley coming for a week of relaxation – all our facilities will be full! Also, our good friend, Collin, will be bringing his family here soon. It is truly a blessing for us to be able to see people come here for a time to relax and see the transformation that happens before they leave! We are blessed to have our Retreat Center, and it being used frequently.

We were honored to be a part of Oil Field Helping Hand Fishing Tournament and are getting geared up for the Lone Star Shoot Out the later part of July. We could not possibly accomplish all we do if wedid not have the neighbors God has blessed us with. Daryl and Debbie and Dennis and Donna are always around the Chapel doing.
something that makes life much easier! They make it possible for me to sit back and watch God’s blessings in action.
We continued passing out food to those in our community who are having a rough time. The Service Club, people from First Baptist, and many we can not identify come by with items that continue filling our Pantry shelves. We received a grant from Formosa and spent almost all of it for meat items that we give out. We could not do this ministry without a lot of outside help – for you!

Pastor Joane and I continue our ministry to other congregations. We are blessed with several pastors – like Pastor Steve, Pastor Luke, Pastor James, Pastor Ted – who come along side Pastor Joane and me to assist us and minister to this local congregation. This allows us to preach at other churches.

Fisherman’s Chapel is an interdenominational congregation (which means that everyone who loves Jesus is welcome to be a part of us), who has been in Port O’Connor for almost 30 years. We gather each Sunday at 10:00 a.m. for Bible Class; 11:00 a.m. for Morning Service; and 6:00 p.m. for Evening Service. We have a Spanish speaking devotion time each Sunday at 5:00 p.m. in the Retreat Center. We gather each Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. for a time of food, fellowship, and time for a special message from God’s Word. One will always find a warm welcome at the Chapel and all are urged to, “Come, Grow With Us!”

A group of 10 community garden plot owners recently came together to work on improving our garden. Thanks to a generous donation from SunRay, we received three piles of landscape rocks. The dedicated volunteers moved these rocks to enhance the shade structure, significantly improving our garden’s aesthetics and functionality.

Our garden site is thriving, thanks to the ongoing efforts of our gardeners who diligently tend to their plots and harvest their produce. The transformation is evident, with lush growth everywhere you look.

A heartfelt thanks to SunRay for their generous donation and to all the volunteers who contributed their time and energy to make our community garden a more beautiful and productive place. Your “ROCK STAR” efforts are truly appreciated!

Danny May from May Farms contributed quite an educational and comprehensive lecture to sixteen POC Community Garden Club members. He discussed topics from fertilization for optimal growth and production to pest elimination, crucial topics for gardeners.

Sharing farmer’s tales and insights into farming culture can be both educational and entertaining. He offered ideas for various growing mediums and provided examples of microgreens, which are becoming increasingly popular due to their nutritional benefits and versatility in dishes. He has many interests in growing through different mediums and had some microgreens for sampling.
-Darla Miles