Holiday Giving And The Memory Of The Rare Snowstorm Of 2004
The holidays offer South Texas a time of community togetherness and celebration. Last week I discussed some of the toy and food drives in our area. I also want to take the opportunity to continue to touch on some of the highlights of the holidays in our area, as well as ways families can join together in the spirit of the season. In addition, I want to take a look back to the White Christmas of 2004, and how that event has impacted our area.
Continuing The Season Of Giving
During the holiday season, many families choose to participate in the holidays by giving back to the community. This could include volunteering at a local food bank or soup kitchen. Our area Food Bank is currently taking volunteers to help sort and process food donations that have been made during this busy holiday season. The Food Bank began operations in 1982. It is estimated that 19,000 people from around South Texas have access to food from our area Food Bank weekly. You can find more information on their hours, location, and practices at Corpus Christi Food Bank. Other options to participate in the season of giving include simple things such as assisting with clothing donations to individuals in need. Metro Ministries, for example, offers weekly volunteer opportunities such as sorting clothing donations. There are endless ways to help those less fortunate such as starting a canned food drive in your neighborhood, volunteering at local senior centers, or simply bringing extra canned goods or clothes to donation centers around the area.
There are many family activities that our area puts on for local families during the holidays. These have included the Harbor Lights Festival, the La Posada Boat Light parade on Padre Island, and the Enchanted Holiday Forest at the Port Aransas Civic Center. The Port Aransas event, which occurs from Monday, Dec. 15th through Friday, December 19th, allows children and their families to decorate holiday trees or simply enjoy the holiday atmosphere. Open hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for this special season experience.
The South Texas Christmas Miracle: A Look Back
In 2004, a rare weather event occurred on Christmas Eve in The Coastal Bend. It has been called the “South Texas Christmas Miracle” and “White Christmas in South Texas.” In 2004, South Texas had been experiencing an unusually cold air mass from the north and that particular Christmas Eve temperatures were in the low 30s. A disturbance developed along the western Gulf of Mexico creating the opportunity for snow to fall in the southern area of the state. While there was some light snowfall on Christmas Eve morning just to the north of our Coastal area, the bulk of the snow began accumulating later in the evening, continuing throughout the night and blanketing much of the area by Christmas morning. In Corpus Christi, the snowfall broke the 4.3 inch record set back in 1895, 119 years ago. Approximately four inches fell in Port Aransas. It was the only white Christmas in the area since 1918 when 0.1 inches of snow was recorded as falling. This year, the United Parcel Service (UPS) filmed a commercial in our area, commemorating the White Christmas event in our Coastal Bend.
As a reminder, the 84th Texas Legislative session is fast approaching and will be back in session in January of 2015. As always, I want to hear your ideas and suggestions as we get closer the start of next session. These ideas and information are important forms of feedback and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact my office.
If you have questions regarding any of the information mentioned in this week’s article, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. Please always feel free to contact my office if you have any questions or issues regarding a Texas state agency, or if you would like to contact my office regarding constituent services. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).
– State Representative Todd Hunter, District 32
Rep. Hunter represents Nueces (Part) County. He can be contacted at todd.hunter@house.state.tx.us or at 512-463-0672.
