“Beacon of Light…Anchor of the Community”

Library News:
POC Library Hours: Phone Number: 361-983-4365
Sunday – Monday: Closed
Tuesday – Friday: 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
*Note: Closed on February 17th for President’s Day

Hasta la vista, 2023! Welcome to the new year! If you are looking for entertainment, educational materials, or technology, visit your library branch today and look no more! We have all the genres of books, such as fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. What kind of plot do you prefer? Mystery or thriller? Are you interested in tragic endings or the supernatural? We have more than enough on the shelf or technology access to keep you happy. Our shelves are bursting with new stories, knowledge, and adventures waiting to be discovered.

National Library Lovers Month 2024 begins on Wednesday, February 1st, and ends on Tuesday, February 28th. Do you know there are over 17,000 public libraries in the United States? Whether you are a local resident or a visitor, the library and The Friends welcome you and encourage you to become a life-long fan, too.

THANK YOU to Our January Donors
Many thanks to Mary Jo Walker and Beacon 44 for providing gift certificates for Bingo. Players were certainly motivated through your generosity and support.

Wednesdays:
8:00-9:00 AM – Coffee & Conversation – Sip, sip! Hurray for a new year with friends! Catch up with your coffee mates about your holiday experiences.
9:30–10:30 AM – Bingo – The fun follows the 8 AM coffee event every Wednesday! Special thanks to the generosity of the noted sponsors.
January 3: sponsored by Trinity Shores
January 10: sponsored by Bethany Senior Living
January 17 sponsored by Calhoun Home Health January 24: sponsored by Victoria Hospice
*Special Note: No Bingo on January 31st
1:00-3:30 PM – Mah Jongg – What happens at the Mah Jongg game stays at the Mah Jongg game. Join us for a friendly game!
Thursdays: 1:00-3:30 PM – Bridge – Fun Fact: The word “bridge” comes from a Russian version of whist, called “biritch,” meaning announcer or herald (bridge players “announce” their contract bids) and which was introduced to Constantinople in the 1880s
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Friends of the POC Library:

Have you ever wondered what the mission statement of The Friends is? The mission statement is “To stimulate increased public usage of the library among all segments of our population, enriching the lives of the people and community of Port O’Connor, Texas and its visitors.”

Nobody “loafed” around on the annual Gingerbread House Day at Port O’Connor Elementary School. The traditional event was very much enjoyed by students, faculty, staff and The Friends.

Be sure to mark your calendar and save the date for the upcoming January 2024 Super Saturdays Children’s Programs and Adult Programs:
• Children’s Programs:
January 20th, Saturday, Dolphin Slide Show and Game Day from 10-11:30 AM
February 10th: Valentine Creations, 10:00 – 11:30 AM

• Adult Programs:
January 21st, Sunday, Come Create & Conversate, 2 PM-5PM
Crafts and snacks provided for an afternoon of socializing and fun.
Buzz on Beekeeping on Monday, February 26th at 7 pm

Submitted by Darla Miles
Friends of the Port O’ Connor Library, Publicity Committee/Historian www.friendsofportoconnorlibrary.org
Facebook Page: Friends of the Port O’Connor Library, Inc.

The Calhoun County Historical Commission invites you to the dedication of the historical monument honoring Louis Antoine Andry (November 25, 1727- March 20, 1778). It will be held on Saturday, February 10 at 11:30 a.m. at the Bauer Exhibit Building, 305 Henry Barber Lane, Port Lavaca.

Unveiling will be at the La Salle Monument on Matagorda Bay.

Born November 25, 1727, in Saint-Germain-En-Laye, France, Louis Antoine Andry (aka Don Luis Antonio Andry) sailed to New Orleans in 1746. In 1752, he married Louisiana native, Marie Jeanne Lapierre (1732-1818), and they had nine children.

Andry had an illustrious military career, first with the French and later with the new Spanish regime, serving as engineer of the Colony, royal surveyor, adjutant major of the city of New Orleans and captain of the infantry. His assignments capitalized on his engineering, mathematical and mapmaking skills, greatly impacting the Louisiana Colony.

In 1777, Louisiana governor Bernardo de Galvez chose Captain Andry to map the Gulf Coast from the Mississippi River to Matagorda Bay. The mission was risky due to navigational dangers and conflicts between Texas coastal Karankawas and Spaniards.

On December 13, 1777, Andry and his crew of 15 Spanish and French, including his 15-year-old son, Cadet Jean Constantin Silvere Andry, sailed from New Orleans on El Senor de la Yedra. Three months later, with mapping essentially completed and supplies running low, Andry’s schooner entered Matagorda Bay to get supplies from Presidio la Bahia. They encountered Native Americans led by Joseph Maria, who deceitfully attempted to gain Andry’s trust. Over several days, small groups of crewmembers went ashore in search of food, never to return.

On March 20, 1778, Joseph Maria and 11 other Karankawas overran La Yedra, anchored in Matagorda harbor. Using the ship’s guns, they killed Andry, his son and three sailors, looting and burning the schooner. Tomas de la Cruz, sole survivor of the Andry Massacre, was taken as a slave by Joseph Maria.

The fate of Andry and his crew was unknown until 1779, when De La Cruz was rescued from slavery and informed Spanish authorities. This news raised Spain’s concerns about the escalating threat posed by the Karankawas, resulting in the decade-long Karankawa-Spanish War.

Giving Back to the POC Community in 2023:  The Service Club would like to thank the entire POC Community for your overwhelming generosity, and unwavering support, of the Service Club’s 2023 fundraisers, and let you know that your donations to the Club go directly back into projects that benefit POC!

The Club is proud to share that during 2023, it donated $22,268.46 to the following POC projects and events:  $15,000 to the POC Community Center Beautification Project;  $1500 to Student Scholarships;  $1,375 to the POC Community Cemetery Chapel Repair and Memorials;  $1.000 to the POC Benevolence Fund; $999.80 for 10 new tables for the POC Community Center Pavilion;  $814.63 for the Senior Citizens Christmas Luncheon;  $500 to the Angel Tree Fund; – $350 for POC Teachers’ Start Up;  $250 for Community Champions Awards;  $200 for the Toy Run Breakfast;  $144 for POC Student Awards; and $135.03 for POC Trunk or Treat.  The Service Club is now busily preparing for bigger and better things for POC in 2024, and wholeheartedly thank you for all that you do to support us!
Memorials:  In memory of Jordan Therese Vasquez, the Club made a donation in her name to the POC Cemetery Association.

Farmers Market:  The Club appreciates your ongoing support at our Service Club Booth at POC’s Farmers Markets, the next one being Saturday, February 10, 2024 from 8:00 AM to 12:00 Noon.  Please come check out our homemade baked goods and treats, potted plants, hand crafted items, “Service Club Cookbooks“, “POC- End of The Road” License Plate Covers, and raffle tickets of $5.00 each for a beautiful handmade quilt. There is something for everyone, so please stop by!!

Service Club Meetings:  The Club’s next meetings will be on February 1, 2024 and February 15, 2024 at 10:00 AM at the POC Community Center!!  All Ladies are welcome!

Garage Sales: The Club is in full swing preparing for our Spring Mega Garage Sale, scheduled for April 6, 2024, and is gratefully accepting your generous donations of household, kitchen, and decorative items; small appliances; clothes; shoes; toys; children’s and baby items, etc. Due to limited space, we cannot accept furniture at this time, and we can never accept mattresses because we cannot resell them.         For information, please contact one of the Service Club Ladies listed below:

Alane Haardt- 281-416-6028
Nancy Ladshaw- 830-832-0510
Marie Hawes- 361-676-3093
Nan Burnett- 832-276-5948

Port O’Connor second graders found owl pellets on the playground.  We dissected them and found bones, teeth, and fur , and crab claws!
It was a lot of fun.
Sheryl Haynes, teacher

The Saturday after Christmas a dozen volunteers loaded a few hundred sacks of oyster shell onto a barge destined for Bill Day Reef. The sacks of shell were a result of multiple days of volunteer effort filling sacks in Seadrift and transporting them to POC TPWD dock. The project was organized by San Antonio Bay Partnership (SABP) and funded by a CMP (coastal management plan) grant from the Texas GLO. Volunteers from the Texas Master Naturalist Mid-Coast Chapter and Braskem (Seadrift) spent 5 days in 2023 shoveling shell into the mesh bags from an old pile of hardened dirt and shell.

The extreme low tide made a messy, effortful job of the offloading. Each sack, ranging in weight from 20 to 40 lbs, was carried over 100 feet through shallow water and slippery mud to its destination at the high point of the small shell island.

So why spend all this time and effort to put shell onto Bill Day Reef? According to Allan Berger, SABP chairman, “To elevate the island so that American Oystercatcher might nest there again.” “Brigid and I have been monitoring nesting oystercatchers for several years.” Berger explained. “In years past, we had a couple pair of oystercatchers nesting along Bill Day Reef but the smaller islands have washed away.”

According to the American Oystercatcher Working Group, the oystercatcher (banding code AMOY) is one of the few birds to specialize on bivalve mollusks living in saltwater and is completely restricted to marine habitats. Its future success depends on its coexistence with humans and the mitigation of factors affecting rise in sea level.
“So why not try to elevate the reef?” Berger said, “All we needed was shell and lots of help. Even if the oystercatchers don’t nest, the shell is back where it belongs.”

Last year we monitored seven oystercatcher nests from Matagorda Peninsula to Panther Lake. They lay three eggs per nest hoping at least one chick fledges (flies). Unfortunately, only one chick of all those nests made it to fledging. Reasons for low survival include wash over and predators. With sea level rising, erosion of shell islands, and high tides of spring storms, eggs and small chicks get washed away. Predators like crabs, coons and coyotes take their share. And, when adult AMOYs are flushed from the nest, gulls and caracara can swoop in and snatch up a chick as quick as a French fry from a McDonald’s parking lot! Nesting season starts in February. So, fishermen, be on the lookout for the black, brown & white bird with the long candy-corn-colored bill, and please avoid shell islands until August. For more information about the American Oystercatcher https://amoywg.org/american-oystercatcher/ To help with island restoration projects email SanAntonioBayPartnership@gmail.com To support local conservation efforts make a donation https://www.sabaypartnership.org/support-us/

-Brigid Berger, Texas Master Naturalist Mid-Coast

Oyster Catchers