Lowriders are a passing hobby for some, a
business for others, but for Pat Brown Jr., it’s a way of life.
Brown, 62, of Victoria, has been cruising
low and slow for more than 40 years. The president and founder of Low Impressions
Car Club, a lowrider club in Victoria, saw his first lowrider in 1979 while
spending a weekend in San Antonio. He’s raised his kids in the culture and even
introduced his grandchildren to the scene. “I was in San Antonio, and I saw some lowriders and talked to some of
the guys and bought a magazine and fell in love with it,” he said. “I decided
to figure out how to lower my car, and that was the start.”
Julian “Jay” Perez Jr. 39, works on the front suspension of a customers car at his home/shop in the Little Mexico neighborhood of Port Lavaca. Perez, now the son in-law, of Pat Brown got into lowriders by first going to car shows organized by Brown in the 90’s.
A tattoo of a Pachuco in a zoot suit adorns Julian “Jay” Perez Jr. right forearm. Much of Perez’s fashion and style is influenced by his love of the cars and culture.
Rosary beads hang from the rear view mirror of Tim Lopez’s 1977 Oldsmobile Toronado. Religious iconography Derby hat’s Dickie’s and flannel button ups are synonymous with traditional lowrider style and attire.
His first car was a 1970 Plymouth Satellite
two-door, “the Roadrunner body style with a 318 and a two-barrel carburetor,”
he said: “It was sky blue with a white top. And Cragars (wheels) all around
it.”
Members of the lowrider community emphasize family in their clubs and competitions Christopher Perez, 13, the son of Julian “Jay” Perez Jr. shows his 1954 Murray Sad Face custom peddle car. Many lowrider shows have competitions for younger participant that have lowrider bicycles and peddle cars. Chris’s car was painted by world famous custom car builder Freddy Leal in Corpus Christi.
“Maria”, 1951 Chevy StyleLine Delux owned by David Gomez, 60, of Inez. The four-door sedan is built in what is described as the classic lowrider style. The car has a modern drivetrain from a 1985 Impala the front has been lowered 2 1/2 inches and air bag suspension in the rear lowers the tail to only inches off the pavement.
Compared to today’s standards, the cars
were simple. Brown remembers having to figure out how to lower the vehicle:
“The first thing I did was I pulled some of the leaf springs from the rear end
and dropped it about four inches.”
Like many in his generation, Brown grew
up around cars. “When I was a kid, it was hot rods,” he
said. “My uncle had a Nova that he raced. As a kid I was into Fords, but now I
like Chevys. My second lowrider was a 1977 Ford LTD, but it burned. The
solenoid on the hydraulics shorted and burned the whole car up. It was blue
with the sunset pearl and lots of flake.
“It was real nice, and I had tears in my
eyes that day. White interior, chain steering wheel, side pipes.” Brown said he
had spent a lot of money on the car just to see it go up in flames.
In his late teens and early 20s, Brown
spent most of his weekends in San Antonio and met some of the members of the
Las Cruces Lowrider Club.
His interest in lowriders has taken him
to other parts of Texas, and in many cases, he has forged long-lasting
friendships with other diehard enthusiasts.
“I’ve known the Leals in Corpus since
they were kids and their dad was doing it (creating lowriders),” he said. “He’s
older than me, but we go way back.”
For many years, Brown would organize an annual
car meet at Riverside Park. He still meets people who credit him with
introducing them to lowriders. He jokes, “We probably sold more beer
than any other festival in Victoria when I was putting on the lowrider show. We
had clubs from San Antonio, Houston, Corpus, all over Texas coming to our
show.”
In April 2014, Brown was honored by his
peers for his years of service and as a pioneer of the scene during a lowrider
meet in San Antonio that brought together clubs from across the state and
nation. On that day, he shared a stage with his mentors and other lowrider
builders. “I was given a plaque for
35 years in the scene, and it says ‘Carnales por Vida (Brothers for Life),” he
said.
Article originally published in the Victoria Advocate
TIVOLI – Cool temperatures and gray skies Tuesday made for a day of fun, food and learning.
The Science and Spanish Clubs Network Inc. hosted its 11th annual Early Bird New Year and an 82nd birthday at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. Eighteen Corpus Christi students from Grant Middle School’s Environmental Science Club rang in the new year with games, food and hiking at the refuge.
The event was made possible in part by a donation from Inteplast Group.
Yolanda Aviles, CCISD instructor and science club sponsor, said she has organized a New Year’s Eve field trip for more than 15 years. She said field trips offer the students different learning opportunities. “They become more observant with each experience,” said Aviles.
According to a Coastal Management Program progress report, Science and Spanish Clubs Network Inc. serves more than 400 students. The program’s mission is “to develop the next generation of leaders in stewardship of the Greater Gulf of Mexico ecosystem,” said Richard Gonzales, the organization’s founder and CEO.
Article originally published in the Victoria Advocate
HALLETTSVILLE – The West wouldn’t have been won without the horse.
Horses and burros forged their place in American history by the tasks they performed and the companionship they provided. That fiery spirit is still evident in the wild horse herds today that roam Western states.
The Bureau of Land Management was tasked in 1971 with maintaining and cultivating these symbols of the American dream. The BLM conducted a Wild Horse and Burro Auction at the Wilbur Memorial Complex in Hallettsville in early February. The sale placed 24 of the more than 40 animals with new owners.
Pat Williams, the state lead for the New Mexico Region Wild Horse and Burro Program, welcomed a small crowd of buyers on that Friday morning in February. He provided a brief overview of the program and how it serves the horse population as well as the ecological well-being of the area where the animals roam.
What that meant is that horses and burros found on U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management land are protected under federal law, specifically the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, Williams said.
There are 177 total herd management areas throughout 10 Western states. And whenever the total population exceeds its limit, BLM officials capture the excess population.
Other reasons the BLM goes into federal lands to round up wild horses include the danger of fire or drought.
The wild horses primarily roam in Nevada, Utah and Northern California. The burros come from Southern California and Arizona. More than 240,000 wild equines have been collected and placed since the program’s inception. According to BLM data, almost 73,000 wild horses and burros share the 26.9 million acres – a population of almost three times the target population. It takes about nine football fields of native vegetation to feed one wild horse for a week, BLM officials said.
There are virtually no natural predators for wild horses and burros, Williams said, and a herd size can double about every four years.
“So we try to manage them” to maintain an ecological balance in those herd areas, he said. “We manage not only for wild horses, but we manage for livestock, wildlife, riparian areas … So when they just basically breed out of control, they can be really detrimental to those lands out West.”
The equines arrive at the auction completely unbroken, buyers learn before the event begins.
“These are wild horses; they have never been handled in any other way than just run through a chute. So if you have a weak spot in your corral, make sure you button it up before you let that horse out. Because if it’s going to leave, it’s going to leave as soon as you let it out,” Williams explained to potential buyers before the Hallettsville event.
With every purchase, buyers are given a bill of sale and a certificate about the animal’s health. And Williams gives the new horse and burro owners a quick piece of advice.
“The best thing when you get home is turn it out, put some hay in there and just leave it alone. Then start working with it. Give it 24 hours or whatever before you start messing with it,” he said.
Chad Pasak, 42, and his son Bear, 2, Both of Hallettsville look at the horses during the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro auction Friday. The two day event was held at the Wilbur Memorial Complex in Hallettsville.
Regina Hammer of Hallettsville, TX. Listens to Pat Hofmann explain the auction before the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro auction Friday. The two day event was held at the Wilbur Memorial Complex.
Article original published in the Victoria advocate
