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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1983)
1 Page 6/The Battalion/Wednesday, December 7,1983 Historian examines river life Rio Grande’s past studied United Press International BROWNSVILLE — A.A. Champion sits in a little room with a magnifying glass and 46,500 index cards and outlines the past life of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and all the inter connections that make it larger than itself. Champion is sought by histo rians, government officials and laymen alike for his knowledge of the way things were. Many seek information on the 1840s when Brownsville was no more than a series of fields cultivated by Mexicans along the surging Rio Grande. Schooners and their wind- lapped sails bobbed in the near by Gulf of Mexico near the end of their journey from New Orleans to the docks at Brazos- Santiago Pass — where goods would be unloaded, placed in mule trains and hauled to the Italian, French, U.S. and Ger man merchants trading in the bustling market at neighboring Matamoros, Mexico. At 84 years of age. Cham pion’s research throws off a whirl of stories. The northern Mexican states and Texas Mexicans, he says, were in “sympathy” with the Anglos during the mid-1830s at ^SEEKING SCHOOL OF HAIR DESIGN •Salon Service At Reduced Rates •Today’s Advanced & World Renowned Method of TT© *70 Cutting & O3#0-/0/0 ^ Designing ^^^^^^140^Texa^Avc^S-^Icx^^Acadcmy--C^S. the time of the Texas secession from Mexico. “The northern Mexican states had no great love for the central government of Mexico. They had been mistreated and given a bad time.” Dressed in dark slacks, white shirt and a contemporary tie. Champion leans back in his desk chair and crosses his hands be hind his head and what’s left of his white hair. His thoughts are geared to another time. He remembers the time be fore manmade concoctions like dams tamed the Rio Grande. “Today we don’t even have a river. We have a little ole’ dirty creek that used to be a navigable Rio Grande, rampaging Rio Grande that would fill up twice a year and overflow into the rest of the country, be a sea of water for weeks. “Nobody could stop the Rio Grande. It was a terrific stream. Reddish, murky and swift what a beautiful sight.” Champion’s research has allowed him to talk authorita tively about the number of steamboats that puffed and churned up and down the river, carrying Gen. Zachary Taylor’s troops and supplies before and during the Mexican-American For 50 years, Albert Alfonso Champion has been researching and investigating the history of the area, his home that was cre ated in part by pioneer ancestors who settled in Port Isabel when there was not much there other than Taylor’s troops, camped and preparing for war with Mexico. Champion, born in 1899 in what was then known as Point Isabel, still manages real estate and other investments. Contemporary histories of Brownsville rely on Champion’s notes that go back to when the Spaniards colonized Northeast ern Mexico in the mid-18th cen tury. The most unique novelty gift for the man in your life. Are those grades kind of low? Show some good bull by taking home little B.S. TaJke a break from studying. Stop by the MSC (first floor) and see this unique novelty gift Only 83.00 Dec. 7-9 sponsored by the Marketing Society. a He also speaks of the time when Spaniard Alonso Alvares de Pineda First explord the Gulf Coast from Florida to Veracruz and landed south of the Rio Grande, at present-day Soto la Marina, Mexico, for 40 days in 1519. Some historians believe that it was the mouth of the Rio Grande that de Pineda and his men found, but Champion uses a complicated and technical map showing the shifting mouth of the Rio Grande and other infor mation to dispute that claim. Champion has some disdain for newspapers and their fast- paced and sometimes frantic re quirement to print information that he feels is without deep and thorough verification. But jour nalists might find it comforting to know Champion, who calls himself a researcher and also sometimes questions the accura cy of historians. “A historian can make an error and that error will be repe ated by others not going into deeper research,” he said. “I want history to be a deep, resear ched, truthful history.” For instance. Champion said that the National Park Service sponsored a team to study the first Mexican War battle site at nearby Palo Alto for considera tion as a national park. But Champion said he soon in formed the researchers that their calculations of the battle field site just outside Brownsvil le were off by about 3 miles. LOUPOT'S OFF CAMPUS CORNER VACATION CRIME OFF CAMPUS CENTER located in Puryear Hall across the street from the YMCA Phone: 845-1741 The Christmas season is approaching quickly and this means that most students will be leaving town to go home for the holidays. Therefore, many of you will be leaving your apartment, house condominium, duplex, or mobile home unattended. The Off Campus Center would like to remind all off campus students that holidays, unfortunately, are peak times for burglaries. Although several apartment complexes in the Bryan/College Station area utilize some form of security, the extent and effectiveness of this security varies greatly among complexes. There fore, you need to assume responsibility for protecting your property against crime. Listed below are a few precautions and simple security tips to help insure that you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF YOUR ROOM JH r Af 01! MA NO SEARCH 1. Strong locks are the single best deterrent to break- Use a rod to secure a sliding glass door or window. 2. Remember not to leave keys hidden outside of your apartment. If you can find them, so can an in truder. 3. Never leave notes indicating that you are away. 4. Keep an inventory of your valuable possessions, listing model numbers, serial numbers, and brand names. Send a copy to parents or a relative. 5. Stop all deliveries including mail and newspapers. 6. If possible, ask a trusted friend to watch your place. Be sure to leave a number where you can be reached in case of an emergency. 7. Take valuables with you if at all possible, especially TVs, stereos, sewing machines, cameras, typewri ters and bicycles. 8. Try not to panic if your apartment has been entered. Contact the police and the manager immediately. Do not disturb anything, because the smallest de tail could offer valuable information to police in their investigation. 9. “Operation ID” is a program supported by your local police department in which you engrave your driver’s license number on valuable items. An en graver may be checked out from the University Police Department. 10. You may wish to use an automatic (on-ofl) timer on a lamp. Timers can be purchased for as little as $6.00. We urge you to check with your apartment manager or property owner before you install any additional security devices, such as deadbolt locks. For brochures and other information on crime pre vention, contact the Police Department or come by the Off Campus Center. Are you looking for roommates for the up coming spring semester? The Off Campus Center is sponsoring roommate sessions on December 7, 8, 9, 12, and 13 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 402 of Rudder Tower. Sessions will also be held on January 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, and 25; places and times will be announced. •0 i.UlE WISH You A MERRY CHMTMS' j: s n ]R< Loupot’s Off Campus Corner is sponsored each month by Loupot s Bookstore at Northgate as a service to Texas A&M students. Stories and artwork are provided by the staff of the Off Campus Center. Unite< ib PAS fobstine inan C; jroughoi are again I from eau dergvmen P1 he 1 pjjg[or of £ J;hai 6a t) would noi “as a forn \ feniembe Ijesus Chi on [Friday “”he C; its laws in Dorm Decorations Ciadi Ttckitt, Bttalux Yvonne Garibay, a sophomore biomedical science major from Waco, and Beckie Blakeway, a business analysis and management major from Little Rock, Ai display their prize-winning entn the hall decoration contesi Krueger Hall. Structure defects found in amusement park rid United Press International HOUSTON — The head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission says defects were found in two other states on amusement park thrill rides similar to one that caused a fatal accident at the Texas State Fair this year. Commission chairwoman Nancy Steorts said an investiga tion turned up structural defects in Enterprise rides at Valdosta, . Ga., and Lakeland, Fla. At the commission’s recom mendation, owners of those two rides closed them down, she said. “When they saw what we saw, they didn’t mind keeping it (the ride) closed,” said Steorts. A similar ride in West Palm Beach, Fla., did not exhibit any structural problems and con tinued operation at a fair during the past three months. On Oct. 17 in Dallas, an En terprise gondola broke loose ther [onwid onal OPEN HOUSE Villa Oaks West 1107 Verde ph. 779-1136 Mon-Fri 9-5 Sat-Sun 1-5 Pre-Lease Now-Move In Now NoRenttill Jan. 15,1984 and flew onto the crowddj Fair Midway, killing ok and seriously injurir i ;| others in the gondola. A 15 people were treated juries No official cause of tkti accident has been although inspectionsgi vealed that bolts were weakened on the ride. It was the second tad dent involving a State Fa I in recent years. In car plunged off the Si ride, killing one man and ing several other people Steorts said invesdgal engineers from the saffi#^ A * ; mission were going to® 10111 amusement parks to tli»l^> n g- safety of their rides. I* A cal She said Texas hasnt»Mbnin ing or inspections of park rides, but 22 otte® Can do “In Texas there is ance program, but ho| next year there will bea lion program,” she said “We will encouragetl* 1 ®hdy m, )r of iter. JNDE< • A m; Jthird to take a more activerol(-®Js Lib licensing and inspecWP**ARA these rides.” I * W° Several multimillrfj Ve * )ee lawsuits have been filedi«‘|i n |?Ph or as a result of this year’sai TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL XAE ACACIA K£ ©X nK0> MEN'S EKA ATO RUSH 2X FIJI ATA K A Invites YOU To A Spring Rush INFORMATIONAL MEETING DECEMBER l 1983 AGGIELAND INN 6:00-8:00pm Call for more info X Travis Erwin 764-7570 Greg Simonsen 693-6504 I KPOOOOOOOOOQ'OCXaOOOOPOCHPO^C^POO'O-P-OOQO