Vintage Photos of Weslaco's Farm Security Administration Camp

So friends of the PFH blog, what exactly is this? Here's what the Handbook of Texas Online has to say:

In 1939 the United States Farm Security Administration established a camp north of town on what is now Highway 83. The $250,000 camp, the first of its kind in Texas built expressly for the purpose of housing migrant farmworkers, became known as Weslaco North.

So, with that information out of the way, we get to the real treat of this entry: the photographs. Thanks to this incredible blog known as Shorpy, I found some fantastic photographs of 1939-1942 era that deal with Weslaco life. I would have preferred some photographs of the downtown area and dirt roads in general, but I'll take what I can get. I was trying to think of which one was my favorite, but it's difficult to pick just one since most of these are incredibly charming photographs. Enjoy.

Pharr From Heaven is now on Facebook.

Since everyone and their mothers is now on Facebook, I thought it would be a good idea to create a fan page for the Pharr From Heaven blog. On it, I will post a link to every new entry that is posted on this blog and share some historic Rio Grande Valley photos that I've become enamored with. So, if you have a Facebook account and love the Rio Grande Valley as much as I do, please check out the Facebook fan page at:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pharr-From-Heaven/160749277275369

Thank you for checking out this blog, I really appreciate it.

Roger Huerta set to fight against Bellator Champion Eddie Alvarez

Note: Some may wonder why I wrote this article that is mainly about mixed martial arts on a site that is specifically for the Rio Grande Valley. While Roger Huerta wasn't born in the Valley, he did live here and spent his childhood and teenage years in the streets of Pharr. He had street fights in Pharr and Memorial Middle School, and was on the high school wrestling team for one year at PSJA North High School. He was also once a member of the notorious Tri-City Bombers aka TCB, one of the Valley's most well known gangs. So he's as Pharr as it gets in my eyes, as he was able to overcome being a homeless kid in the rough neighborhoods of Pharr to become one of the top fighters in MMA.

Classic Valley Theaters # 1

I love this old photograph of McAllen's Cine El Rey. I've never seen the film "Juan Charrasqueado", but Pedro Armendáriz is such a great actor. Great presence and his work in "La Perla" and "María Candelaria" is top notch. If you want a great history of the Cine El Rey theater, it could be found here.

Here's a couple of classic photos of two of Pharr's most famous theaters. They were found thanks to this great site, the first pair of photos is of the Texas Theater, located in downtown Pharr. This theater was basically deserted for ages now but it has been recently remodeled and it is trying to get across the image of a classy theater that holds plays, one man shows, business meetings and serves as a ballroom for events like a Quinceañera. But back in the day, it was known as the type of theater that Travis Bickle would take a date to...

Next, this Cactus drive-in theater was built by Interstate Theatres, and it opened around 1950 or 1951. When it was first opened in the early days, it was managed by a man named John Connelly. This drive-in theater was located on Highway 83, what's left now in its place is a Workforce Solutions building (which used to be a Wal-Mart for a brief period then later evolved into the chains discount experiment Bud's in the 1990s) and a few stores like a dollar store, a thrift store, and a nice Mexican restaurent.

I love how is it says "The Most Beautiful Theatre in the World - Pharr, Texas" on the bottom. I wish more photos were available on this place.