The Klu Klux Klan and my Family History

[Shane]

Cool stuff, Rob!

[El Viejo]

Great read and very interesting family history. Thanks for posting that.

[Jackson357]

That is the stuff for history books, Rob.

My grandad moved to edcouch Elsa after the war with my grandmother (a Whizenant) where my mother was born. He hauled brick and feed across the border for years before moving up here. He spoke Spanish well, but come to find out it wasn't the kind my freshman Spanish teacher was expecting. I sure wish we could go back in time to see where they all crossed paths with the Leggett/Ross clan. Small world.

I can't believe a traveling man like you has never been to Rio to meet the other Zabrokis. That would be epic! Imagine the fishing...

I hope I Havnt taken your thread about your incredibly remarkable family off course by trying to make us family.

Dale my FIL last name is Whisenhunt. I've seen his family history it was once Whizenant.

[Dale Moser]

Dale my FIL last name is Whisenhunt. I've seen his family history it was once Whizenant.

Nanny (Rowena Ann) was from around Altus ok, it's a little cloudy as to which side of the red she was born on.

[AtTheWall]

I never knew you were born in La Joya!

When I was in high school in Mercedes, my brother Mark, B-I-L Joe and I played football there back in the late 70's . This was before they pumped a bunch of money into the district so the field was in horrible condition with almost no grass. I'll never forget running out in the Friday night lights and looking back at the cloud of dust that hung in the sky. I could not believe they expected us to play high school football on a field like that... but we did.

Good stuff.

Your family history is rich!

LOL! I was born at McAllen Municipal hospital and according to Mom, she could view Mexico outside her hospital room window. During that period, Mom & Dad were so poor, the La Jolla High School had on campus Teacher's housing where they lived, right on the High School campus. I believe it was a 2 story building with housing upstairs for a few Teachers? Open air windows and fans to cool things, no A/C with all things simple, sharing a common bathroom. Dad had to work at a cotton gin at nights and during the cotton season to earn extra income. It was here in this old Teachers dorm, I was raised on campus. According to my Mom, the locals came to visit to view the little blonde haired baby - rubbing my hair and mentioning it was good luck. Mom went to High School in Panama, Central America, where she learned to speak fluent Spanish. I believe this was one of the reasons why my Dad was attracted to her at Texas Tech? Not too many American girls of that era spoke fluent Spanish, and this was the source of their beginnings.

Max Diaz - The old La Jolla FFA teacher from the 60s till his retirement in the late 70s or early 80s, was one of my Dad's best friends in the Valley. Another tidbit you probably didn't know, my Dad was heavily involved with the Rio Grande Valley cotton industry during the 60s and 70s. He left La Jolla High School and moved to work in Houston for Retzloff Chemical industries. His speciality was, cotton based herbicides and fertilizers, along with becoming a leading emulsification chemist with a heavy emphasis on all things Cotton. i'm fairly certain during that period, my Dad and your family had ties with the cotton industry in an indirect way? Dad worked with Retzloff, Monsanto, Baker\Hughes, ArJay, Dow and others dealing with insecticides and fertilizers including strip tests on cotton fields through that period.

I fondly remember Port Isabel before the condos, where it was literally only the Sea Ranch motel, jetty restaurant with the Aussie boomerang guy and literally white sand to the North of the causeway's turn off to the North jetties. i rolled around the valley with Pops and Max, visiting farms and ranches surrounding La Jolla - McAllen and up into Zapata County to a ranch Max owned that was full of Santa Gertrudis cattle. We would roll through a few fields and pick cucumbers, grab a few bags of tortillas and steaks and simply roll to the pastures to grill steaks on mesquite, after digging a pit in the ground and tossing a steel grate over the coals to finish dinner.

Legdog.....we probably literally crossed paths back during the early years? You played ball on the same grounds I was pooping diapers LOL!

[El Viejo]

Max Diaz - The old La Jolla FFA teacher from the 60s till his retirement in the late 70s or early 80s, was one of my Dad's best friends in the Valley. Another tidbit you probably didn't know, my Dad was heavily involved with the Rio Grande Valley cotton industry during the 60s and 70s. He left La Jolla High School and moved to work in Houston for Retzloff Chemical industries. His speciality was, cotton based herbicides and fertilizers, along with becoming a leading emulsification chemist with a heavy emphasis on all things Cotton. i'm fairly certain during that period, my Dad and your family had ties with the cotton industry in an indirect way? Dad worked with Retzloff, Monsanto, Baker\Hughes, ArJay, Dow and others dealing with insecticides and fertilizers including strip tests on cotton fields through that period.

My dad taught Ag in Mission when Max Diaz was teaching in La Joya. They were good friends. I remember him well. I taught in a Mission elementary school with Max's wife, Estella. Good family.

[Beerkat]

Rich history. I wish I knew more about mine.

[Archery1st]

True story one time many years ago Rob and I were getting in the truck in Austin headed to Freer...some may remember Area 59?

As we loaded the truck I asked Rob..what is your family background?

He took a deep breath and started "Well......and 4.5 hrs later we pulled into camp as he said that about covers it!

Good times!!

[Dale Moser]

True story one time many years ago Rob and I were getting in the truck in Austin headed to Freer...some may remember Area 59?

As we loaded the truck I asked Rob..what is your family background?

He took a deep breath and started "Well......and 4.5 hrs later we pulled into camp as he said that about covers it!

Good times!!

I'd like to have been in that truck...or around the Area 59 fire. Those were cool times.

[HainesNYT]

Awesome. I hope you put this all down in a book to be passed on….I wish my family had done it.

[Archery1st]

I'd like to have been in that truck...or around the Area 59 fire. Those were cool times.

Definitely were..and the campfire has moved a little North and West. Your welcome anytime Dale.
Maybe we can get Ol' Rob to out of the surf and join us.

[Palmetto]

Great read. One thing that intrigues me, is why did the brothers split? If I put myself in that situation, after all we had been through, I wouldn't have wanted to split up like that.

[KR-oldmexico]

Awesome stuff brother! I love history and hearing individual stories!

[Bro. Bill]

Cool read .. And grand paws house is awesome!!!

[Happy97]

Very interesting read. It's amazing to hear stories of the lengths people went through to become American Citizens.