Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1924-12-21
CENTER
CITY, Is PAST
BOOM PERIOD
Little Giant Of More
Than 1000 Is Rapidly
Attaining Permenan-
cy, Mayor Declares

Donna. Center City" of the
Valley. little giant of more
than 1000 leople, has passed
thc boom stage and rapidly Is
attaining its real destiny, &C
cording to DR.. w. f.. Whigman,
recently appointed mayor.
Streets of the business section
lined with fine brick struc-
lures, substantial homes in
the residential section with
fine schools and churches and
beautiful and productive farms -sur
rounding the towh reflect a thriving
~acrmaneney to be admired and to at
tract tho seeker of a place in which to
live a life of happiness and prosperity.
And it is a city built on its own
merits. its citizens point out with
pride. Only a beginning has been made
toward the real development which will
be made in the future, they say. and it
is. a statement not hard to believe for
each of its 1000 residents are boosters.
rounded in 1904 ut the completion Of
the then st. Louis, Brownsville and
Mexico railroad, and named after the
daughter Of I. j. Hooks, who still re-
sides in the city as Mrs. Donna Fletcher.
the town made its first rapid strides Of
development in 1913 and 1919 when
buildings went up almost overnight and
new residents arrived almost daily. The
financial depression of. 1920-21 checked
expansion but the town recovered in the
Intervening years with the balance OF
the Valley and now it is in the best
shape financially in it's history.
Plan Bond Issue
This program includes the building of
a needed liberation plant and is to cost
around $4,000 it is estimated. En-
gineers now are making a contour map
Of the town and preparing estimates OF
cost. The next step in the city govern
ment's plan for development is a pay
ing program. This will be taken up
after the water works. sewerage sys-
TENS are completed.
Cooperation of the city with the
volunteer fire department is giving the
town a better fire fighting equipment
and is bringing about a better trained
bunch of firemcn. This is expected
eventually to result in a lower key rate
on fire insurance. A hose truck has
been bought and 500 feet of new hose
has been added to the old supply of
about 1900 feet, giving sufficient hose
to lay several lines in case Of need.
Business Prospcrs
Every line of business represented in
the town is prospecting just now and this
applies especially to the lumber bust
ness. More substantial residences are
being built in the town and surrounding
country now than at any other time in
the past history of the section. 7. T.
Sanders, president Of the Chamber OF
Commerce and manager of the South
Texas Lumber company, says that many
of the temporary farm homes built when
the land was just being settled now are
being replaced by residences that cost
on an average of $4,000 to $4,000 each,
and that many fine homes are being
built in the town. Business is better
than ever before in the history of the
town at both of the we'll stocked yards.
And while the residence section of
the surrounding country has been built
up in splendid homes the business sec
ton of the town has kept pace, many
fine buildings being completed in he
past year. Two others are under con
sideration at the present time and likely
will be built in the near future as there
is not a single business location avail
able in the town at the present time.
The town has five churches, Presby-
terrain, Methodist. Baptist, Catholic and
Christian. Three of these nave local
naeto,z tha Ma4baI1gt pan4iSt and
Christian; and the Catholis church has
a visiting priest. The Baptist church is
a new $3.50 structure to which the
citizenship points with pride and other
congregations are planning new build
ings.
The Donna high school is one of the
finest in the Valley, where fine schools
are the rule, and has 20 units of af-
f"iliation with the University of Texas
as many as any school its size in the
state. The thirtieths unit is being offered
this year. Application has been made
for a place on the All Southern list OF
affiliated schools and colleges this year.
Under the leadership of Superin-
tcndcnt George V. Bear, the splendid
faculty of 30 teachers is making a splen-
did record for the school. All teachers
in the high school have degrees from a
first class college and a majority OF
those in the elementary grades have
permanent certificates. Two of them
also have degrees.
The Donna Independent district has a
fine high school building just erected at
4 cost of $75 5000. a grammar schooi
building at $4,000 and two buildings in
East Donna for Mexican children. one a
brick building and the other a fran