An announcement

The McAllen Heritage Center will open its doors on Monday, June 23rd, at La Placita, 301 S. Main at 1 pm!  The Center will be open 1 pm to 5 pm from Monday through Friday.

Members of the founding board of the McAllen Heritage Center stand in front of the Center’s first location at La Placita in downtown McAllen. (Left to right) Spurgeon ‘Spud’ Brown, Gracie Silva, Nedra Kinerk and Elva Cerda, board president.

The MHC’s main purpose is to provide the community with a place to enjoy and learn about McAllen’s colorful past. Its goals are to continue to expand the exhibit and to assist in the preservation of sites, works of art, documents, papers, pictures, records and writings of historical, traditional or cultural value. Many projects are underway that include the Traveling Trunks exhibit designed to be used by local schoolteachers to assist them in teaching about McAllen history. MHC also hopes to introduce a new art program for children that will take place in the museum soon as well as hold story telling sessions, discussions and view films about McAllen’s history.

The MHC has received support from throughout the community and through the generous contributions of the City of McAllen, Historical Foundation of Hidalgo County, McAllen Oldtimer’s Club, IBC Bank, Marilyn and Rick DeJulio, Robert and Dr. Nedra Kinerk, the Junior League of McAllen, Frost Bank, Futuro McAllen, Rogelio Troyo and through the numerous personal contributions that have been made to MHC. Also acknowledged is the hard work of the founding board of directors headed by board president, Elva M. Cerda, and the board members: Spurgeon “Spud” Brown, Dr. Nedra S. Kinerk, Gracie Silva, Marilyn DeJulio and Carmen V. DeLeon.

The museum director is Karen Gebhardt Fort, who brings of wealth of knowledge and experience to the Center. She invites the public to visit from 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday to enjoy the inaugural exhibit and invites calls (687-1904) to inquire about membership, exhibit information or about summer plans. Museum volunteers are also being sought to assist at the museum during operating hours.

A grand opening event is planned during the first week of October in conjunction with the PalmFest International Folklife Celebration festivities. This event promises to be a gala event to formally introduce the museum, staff and board of directors to the community.

The MHC board dedicates the Center to two of its founding board members who passed before their dreams of a McAllen history museum were realized, Helen Snider and Rick DeJulio. Snider, a member of the Oldtimer’s Club and also one of the driving forces behind the MHC, is acknowledged for her diligent acquisition and preservation of historical items that formed the basis of the initial MHC collection. DeJulio served as board president and was also a dedicated historical advocate whose efforts in McAllen are recognized and deeply appreciated. Through their families, significant monetary and collection contributions have been made to MHC.

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