Tye Ray Frisby, born on February 19, 1962 to John Paul Frisby and Elva Frisby went into eternal rest on September 12, 2022 at the age of 60 years old surrounded by his wife. Tye was co-owner of Vel’s Construction. He was survived by his wife aka “Honey” Velia Brieno Frisby of Devine, TX. He is also survived by his children: Kyle and Tyler Frisby of Devine, TX, Rosalyn Beamish of Devine, TX, Beth Ford of Bandera, TX, Courtney Lamb, Alexander Eric Gonzalez of San Antonio, TX, Ashley Maree Renteria of San Antonio, TX, Alyssa Sara Yanez of San Antonio, TX and Juan Antonio Yanez of San Antonio, TX; 19 Grandchildren; and other relatives. A Celebration of Life Service held at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 in the Hurley Devine Chapel with Pastor Herbert Halbeisen of the Exchange Life Christian Church officiating. Services to conclude at the chapel.
Larry Wayne Mercer, 74, of Lytle Texas, passed away on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, in San Antonio Texas. He passed away at Pam Specialty Hospital due to a chronic medical condition. Larry Wayne Mercer was born in Ft. Sam Houston Hospital in San Antonio, Texas to Nehoma Bethke Mercer and Earl Frank Mercer. He grew up with four sisters, three brothers and three dogs. As a child, he loved spending his time riding bikes, climbing trees and playing with cars with his siblings. (He attended McCollum High School in San Antonio, TX.) As he got older, he enjoyed helping his father learning many trades along the way, which sparked his passion for construction and becoming a superintendant for Vincent T Contracting for many years. Later in life he met Rosa Elva Zaragoza, in Piedras Negras, because his line of work would bring him there. They fell in love, married, started a family, raising two children and completed the family with four more children. As a family they loved to barbeque, dance, fish, take vacations to the beach, and enjoyed spending family dinners at Chinese buffets! Being a kind and dependable father was of the utmost importance to Larry Wayne Mercer and he certainly did not disappoint when it came to wholeheartedly, loving and being there for his family. Larry was a caring and dependable partner and husband to Rosa Mercer, a father of six, who was always there for them, through their ups and downs, and a grandfather who enjoyed sharing his experiences in life with them. He served in the Army and fought in the Vietnam War. Enjoyed riding horses, breaking horses, riding motorcycles, and hunting. Had a passion for gardening and took pride in his tomatoes and loved his flower beds! As he aged his health deteriorated, but he managed his illness with strength and grace. Heaven has gained an angel, where there is no more pain or discomfort joining his family and friends. In addition to his children, Alfredo Gomez, Diana Gomez (4 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren), Larry Earl Mercer (2 grandchildren, 1 great grandchild), Nahoma Mercer (2 grandchildren, 3 great grandchildren), Jesse Mercer (5 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren, one on the way), and Betty Kay Mercer (4 grandchildren), Larry is survived by his sisters, Linda Gyle Mercer, Doris Ann Mercer, Brenda Kay Mercer; and brother, Ronald Lynn Mercer. He was proceeded in passing by his spouse, Rosa Elva Zaragoza Mercer; father, Earl Frank Mercer; mother, Nehoma Bethke Mercer; brothers, Earl Dean Mercer, Donald Lee Mercer; and sister, Angie Nell Patton. He will be greatly missed by his loving family and always remembered in their hearts. We are sincerely grateful to the many families and friends who have given us support and comfort during this time of loss. A Visitation will be held at Hurley Funeral Home Chapel, 14822 N. Main, Lytle, Tx. 78052, on Friday, September 23, 2022, from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, with a Prayer Service at 7:00 pm. Interment will be at 10:00 am, Saturday, September 24, 2022, where everyone will meet at the Hurley Funeral Home by 9:30 am to follow one another to the Lytle Community Cemetery in Lytle, Tx. Anyone who wishes to sign the online guest book, share memories or leave condolences, please visit www.hurleyfuneralhome.com Arrangements under the direction of Hurley Funeral Home, 14822 N. Main, Lytle, Tx. 78052, (830)709-0698.
Dale Edward Milward passed away suddenly on May 29, 2022 in La Coste. He was 71 years old. Born on April 13, 1951, he was raised in Amarillo and moved to San Antonio with his family as a teen. He went to John Jay high school and was a co-Captain of the Mustangs football team when he was just a Sophomore. He was awarded a college football scholarship in 1970. He was an excellent carpenter, and as owner of Dale Milward Construction Company, he built a number of nice homes in the local area, including those of his brother and sister. Dale worked for Gas Go Markets in his later career, doing remodeling and also involved with new construction of the company’s Shell convenience stores. He is preceded in death by his parents Martina and Byron Milward, and his brother Chuck Milward. He is survived by his brothers Ronnie, Mickey (Pam), and BJ (Trinket) Milward, his sister Patti (Larry) Young, and his partner Ronni Littleton.
Texas Market picture on College Street taken from 1949 Devine Corral Yearbook.
Solving a mystery & finding history can be a simple as looking at an ad in the back of a 1949 Devine Corral yearbook! The TEXAS MARKET was a popular store in downtown Devine in the 1930s-1950s, along with Loggins & Lilly, and Schott’s Red & White, – all on the same street! In fact, the building it was in is still standing and being remodeled on the historical downtown College Street! Steve told about his great uncle, Arturo Gutierrez, at the Texas Market store as well as other members of his mother’s side of the family who were local grocers. The well-known Gutierrez families were instrumental in serving the Devine community for years in their grocery stores – Gutierrez-Chapa Grocery (where Viva Zapata is now) owned by his granddad Pedro “Pete” Gutierrez & Aunt Hortencia Gutierrez Chapa; The Texas Market; the original Independent Grocery owned by Clemente Gutierrez where Steve worked as a stocker; followed by the second, larger Independent Grocery owned by Roberto Gutierrez. Both Independent Grocery stores can still be seen on FM 3176 near Hester Ave. When shopping in Devine you could always depend on a friendly face and a fair price when shopping in their stores! More stories & information about these grocery stores and others in Devine will be included in later articles in The Devine News.
The Adams National Bank builidng in 1908 shown above is still standing and provides residence for local families. Notice the large oak tree is still there in both pictures!
Josephine McMann instructs Melanie Means during the August meeting in Lytle.
The Friendship Art Club is having their Fall Arts and Crafts Show on Saturday, October 1 in the Lytle Community Center. This is the first year we have been able to offer creative crafts as well as fine arts. A few booths are still available. If you are an area crafter and are interested, please call Jane Brown, Show Chairman, at 210-415-2546. Show your talent in a comfortable air conditioned environment. Set up starts at 10AM, Friday morning, September 30. Judging starts at 2PM for the art competition and we are asked to complete set up before 2. No tents are necessary and tables will be provided. Fall Shows are just beginning and this is a good opportunity to share your talent. More than 20 booths will offer a wide variety of creative items for the holidays, in an air conditioned environment. Make a plan to enjoy all the Fall activities offered around our area. We open at 9am and close at 4pm. There will also be food trucks to offer a variety of menus. An extensive raffle benefits our local students with annual scholarships for graduating seniors in Devine, Natalia, Lytle and Somerset. Exhibitors are invited to participate in a judged competition of fine arts and three dimensional art work. The audience votes for the People’s Choice Award given to the audience favorite art work. Each business meeting provides a program to expand interest and knowledge of a variety of art procedures. The October meeting will be an educational judge’s critique of art work entered in the October 1 competition. Special thanks to area artist, Josephine McMann, who worked with us in August. Her program was how to apply gold leaf to your work for extra sparkle. Her demonstration included actively using the application method. We appreciate her taking the time to share her knowledge. Please join us any Tuesday morning at the Lytle Church of Christ fellowship room. Many members use this time to learn from each other and to work in a variety of media. If you are interested in participating in the show, please call Jane Brown 210-415-2546, or come by Tuesday morning. We start at 9:30 AM.
KK DuBose Calame, second from left, was the guest speaker at the Current Events Club meeting on September 13th. Hostesses for the meeting were (l to r) Kathleen Zadik, Judy Eaddy, and Cherri Budington. Also shown are antique cameras and an early painting of the Devine News Office. The Devine News is celebrating 125 years this year.
The Current Events Club met in the lovely home of Judy Eaddy on September 13th for their first meeting of a new season. After delicious refreshments, Kathleen Calame, publisher of the Devine News, presented the program entitled, “125 Years of the Devine News”. The newspaper is not only the official newspaper of Devine, but also the official newspaper of Natalia, Lytle, and LaCoste. The Devine News was first published by George B. Holcombe for three months before W.L. DuBose purchased the paper in 1897 (traded a brand new horse and buggy) and the newspaper remains in the DuBose family to this day. K.K. DuBose Calame’s parents (Pat and Kitty DuBose) turned the paper over to her in 1999. KK’s daughter Kayleen Holder is the current editor of the paper, and fifth generation. KK shared many memories about the newspaper and brought some antiques from publishing past. The upcoming drawing was discussed by club members. Tickets will be available at Walmart on September 17 and 24th, and in October on the first and 22nd. Items for the drawing are: 1,000 pounds of deer corn, 500 pounds of deer corn, and a $300 gift card. Ticket cost is $5.00 or 5 tickets for $20. Tickets will be available and the drawing held at the Fall Festival on November 5th. Funds raised from the drawing will go to local causes, charities, and organizations and for two Devine High School scholarships. Another item of business was the National Wreaths Across America Day. One may sponsor a wreath for $15 to be placed on a veteran’s grave this December 17th at the Devine Evergreen and St. Joseph Catholic Cemeteries. A ceremony will be held at cemeteries from Arlington, Virginia across the nation and then wreaths places on the graves of veterans. To sponsor a wreath honoring a veteran, you may go online to www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/TX1147P. Posters across town have QR codes so donations may be made online. Current Events Club members will be at the October 1st Market Day in Devine to assist with orders. The next club meeting on October 11th will be lunch and a trip to the Lighthouse for the Blind in San Antonio.
Perry Peacock and Mary Etheridge Peacock, Joyce Peacock Bendele’s parents.
As many know, the contribution women made in the war effort of WWII was invaluable. While the men, for the most part at least, served overseas, there were roles that needed to be filled back home. In addition, many men who were not called up for myriad reasons also served at home in numerous ways. For the next few weeks, we will pay homage to the men and women of this nature who have connections to our community.
This extended dry spell has created widespread challenges for many parts of La Brasada and beyond. And with the frequent reminders almost daily all over the media, it is understandable for some of us “elders” to think back and recall “water management techniques” used from earlier days. I cannot tell you the year my Grand Parents drilled their water well on our Home Place, but it was already there in my childhood days of the 1950’s. I am told it was originally “sweet water”, but all I can remember is that it tasted bad and would ruin a white shirt, turning it into the color of “rusty red” if washed in it. Then and now, we use that well’s water only for livestock and wildlife purposes. Such a situation meant washing days began by drawing buckets of water from the hand dug cistern just outside the back door into the various wash tubs arranged in a systematic pattern by my Granny along the back porch. It also meant that cistern was the sole source of water for cooking, bathing, and drinking, drawn into the house by a hand pump. Those details will be used for a different tale or two down the road, Lord willing. Whenever it did manage to rain over the course of time from about the mid 1950’s to the late 1970’s, I can recall the water gathering process was always the same. We would let the water run off the tin roof for a period of time deemed sufficient by one of my Grandparents. This was to remove any of the unwanted deposits found on roofs everywhere in south Texas, so use your imagination as to the specifics that were washed off. Then, upon command, whoever was around that could help, would form a gutter brigade and move our spouts so the water run off would be directed into that old cistern. Just sitting here while writing this, I can recall either Granny or Grand Dad saying to me…MIND THAT GUTTER BOY. This meant pay attention and do my assigned task quickly and efficiently in order to salvage as much of that precious commodity as possible. That lifestyle seems rough and mostly awful to many who will read this. But such was the life of dry land, small scale farmers and ranchers during that time and before. All my Grand Parent’s kids and grandkids moved on to live in places like Pearsall and San Antonio, so we all experienced running water piped to our homes by the municipalities. But “out at the farm”, that gutter process just seemed like a normal part of country life for 3 generations of family member over the course of about 40 years. It has hard to believe that is has been almost 50 years since minding the gutters was part of my duties while out at our little piece of heaven. And I sure enough hope I don’t ever have to go back to that way of getting my water. But having done so sure does allow me to be reminded of the blessings of living like most of us now are able to do.
New Season New Rifle New Location
Not sure how many of your fine readers are counting, but as I sit and write this Tale, it is exactly 60 days until Opening Day of regular white tail deer season in La Brasada. Certainly, hunting will begin earlier on some ranches with varying permits, but the one available to all us nimrods is November 6, 2022 in our neck of the woods. Even though it has been over 60 years since I started getting excited about that day, I still look forward to it with high hopes and anticipation. That is especially true this season because of 3 new aspects. The day itself, of course, but also because I will be toting a new fire stick out in the woods and doing some of my hunting on a new piece of ground. The rifle is because of a separate firearm acquisition in the last 18 months or so. That one was a replacement for a particular rifle I had used for 30+ years and it was plum shot out. I bought a “new used one” and it has proven to be accurate and “fits me good”. It sits kind of on the smaller end of my collection, size wise. But the opportunity came along to get its “bigger brother” and I jumped at the chance. So far so good in terms of my ability to use it. Same design, feel, and fit. Certainly, there is NO logical reason for this last purchase. But kind readers please understand that we have come to a Peace Treaty of sorts at Casa Rosenauer. I do not question the number of ladies shoes in our Master Bedroom Closet and The Boss Lady pays little mind to the gun cabinets so long as her personal rifle is kept clean, sighted in, and with an adequate supply of the specific ammo that she shoots like a Sniper. The third aspect comes from what I participated in for 47 years as a ranch broker, and that is my 30 year lease place sold! I admit to being sad when the news of that upcoming event was announced to me from the Trust Officer in charge of the place. But it is an acquisition by a neighbor on two sides and they are putting back together, as much as they can, a big ranch I broke up and sold decades ago. It is going to a “good home”, and I wish them well with those acres. Given that event I needed to make another deal and with a bit of fortune a new spot has been obtained. It is smaller than the other one, but closer to my own place. And it joins some big country, all low fenced and lightly hunted. As my wise Granny used to tell me as a child, “Stop fretting over that! Things mostly work out. And if they don’t go your way, maybe next time it will”. Wise council. We are now clearing senderos, making food plots, setting up feeders, and all the “stuff” that needs doing on a new place. Lord Willing it will be a good situation for both me and the owner. And like I told my family, I don’t need to fret about “looking over” that same old terrain I have been seeing all these years. It will be something new and I AM EXCITED!
Welcome to “What Happened Last Week at Lytle PD,” not exactly the nightly world news but here you go: Officers handled 51 calls for service and conducted 42 traffic stops. Those stops resulted in 37 citations and 5 warnings. Officers made 2 arrests last week (both were booked into the Atascosa Co. Jail): #1 – Ofc. Diaz conducted a traffic stop on IH-35 Access Rd. and determined the driver had an active felony dope warrant out of Dimmit County. #2 – Ofc. Diaz received a report of an intoxicated driver. He conducted a traffic stop on FM 3175 @ the IH-35 Access Rd. and determined the suspect to be intoxicated. He was arrested for D.W.I. We took reports of 5 property crimes: #1 – Camino Real on Benton City Road reported a flatbed trailer was stolen. #2 – The construction company doing site work at Saddle Ridge Estates reported that approx. 200 gallons of diesel fuel was taken from 3 machines, a window was broken as well. That’s a lot of diesel fuel, about $900 worth! #3 – A complainant reported $1,100 in unauthorized transactions on their bank account. Here is a hint: If you use my plan and keep your account on the verge of being overdrawn you will never have that problem. #4 – A Benton St. resident reported that an unknown female entered his residence and took one Miller Lite beer. He captured the incident on his home security system. Yes, this did really happen. I am just going to call this unknown suspect the “One Beer Bandit.” #5 – We ended the week with the report of a theft of a catalytic converter from a vehicle that was parked at the Park & Ride on IH-35 (by Lytle State Bank). The vehicle was a 2014 Camaro so it must have been a skinny thief that got under that car. The Natalia Mustangs pulled off a victory over our hometown Pirates. Let me be the first to say, “Welcome to Lytle, the Gateway to Natalia.” There is always next year. Now for some important news: TXDOT will close the NB Entrance Ramp to IH-35 (this is the one by Lytle State Bank). It will be closed from Sept. 21st – Oct. 4th. There will be some construction work on the ramp. A lot of people use this route to get to San Antonio; you can always take Main St. and access NB IH-35 that way. Just tell yourself you are taking the “scenic” route and maybe it won’t be so bad. The ramp closure caused rumors to run wild. Did a few TXDOT employees have a bet over the big rivalry football game? If Lytle won, they would shut down a ramp in Natalia and if Natalia won, they would shut down a ramp in Lytle. I investigated this rumor and believe it is nonsense that popped into my head as I drafted my weekly report.
My parents hosted the dove season celebration party this weekend, and it was the party of the year as usual. To my dad, dove season is right up there with Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone knows how Uncle Tommy feels about dove season, so it was cousins galore out there. Watching all those kids running around almost makes you dizzy. Sure is awesome to spend time with my cousins though, and my best friend who also came. It’s funny how later in life, no matter how good of friends or cousins you are, you probably only get to see each other a couple times a year (unless your kids parties and schedules overlap) because (as it should be) the kids come first. There’s practices and birthday parties, doctor’s appointments, weddings, showers, work, and in between all of that business, there’s a few really special moments when you have this crazy thing called “free time”. The highlight of the night was awesome live music by my dad “aka Uncle Tommy” and his buddy Barlynn (they used to play in a rock band together and they don’t miss a beat even after all these years). I even overhead some of the little girls talking about “what a great singer Uncle Tommy is”. It cracked me up, seeing how the younger kiddos enjoy it as much as the adults who look forward to hearing those old familiar songs that my daddy sings better than the stars who cut the songs (in my opinion). Dad and Barlynn both chose the family man life over the life of rock stars, and that’s one more reason we love them so much! I am pretty sure my brother Sherman and Uncle David danced with every girl there. Props to the guys who aren’t afraid to dance! Even my cousin Lewis and Joanie got out there and danced to a special song Uncle Tommy played for them. It took a little coaxing but when Uncle Tommy broke out into a railroad song, the railroad man knew he had to take his girl onto the dance floor. Unfortunately, at the end of the night, my daughter fell on a rocky driveway and the rocks were really mean. It left a huge gash, but she is so dang tough, she didn’t cry from the injury. While the doctor was threading stitches through her knee, I let her go on a little Amazon shopping spree to take her mind off things, but I am still amazed that she didn’t cry. That’s one tough girl. Cheers to a little free time, and to the guys who aren’t afraid take girls on the dance floor. Girls love to dance! Dancing with my husband is definitely one of my favorite things to do even after all these years. So if you are looking for a way to charm your wife, take her dancing and don’t make her sit on the sidelines the whole time!
