While Strolling Through the Park...

Good Morning,

My name is Cheryl and I'm quietly keeping my finger(s) on McAllen's pulse. With everything happening in this great city, I'm thinking I might need more fingers.

Saturday evening, I strolled over to Archer Park (101 N. Broadway) and had a fantastic time laughing myself silly, while watching Kung Fu Panda. This movie was the first of season for McAllen Parks & Rec's Movies in the Park series. Each Saturday evening through July 25, there will be a different movie (except for July 4th) . There's no charge, so grab a blanket, pop up a bag of popcorn and come check out the action. You can find the entire movie schedule at http://www.mcallen.net/ .

I really like Archer Park. This 1-block park has been a fixture in McAllen since 1917. McAllen's first Mayor, Oliver Percy Archer (b1869 - d1930) deeded the land to the city for a park. The Park was named for him in 1933. The gazebo/bandstand that stands in the center of the park was dedicated in 1918 and at one point, the McAllen Public Library was housed in the basement. It is now home to the office of Keep McAllen Beautiful. (Public restrooms are also under the gazebo)

In front of the gazebo is the Texas Historical Marker, erected in 1981.

Tucked behind the gazebo is the Internatioal Friendship Fountaian, which was presented to the City in 1989 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sister-city relationship between McAllen and Irapuato, Guanajato, Mexico. A nearby plaque commenorates the event.

I guess what impresses me most about Archer Park isn't so much what is there, but what isn't. No picnic tables - there are benches, no bar-b-cue pits or pavilions, no gaudily painted playground equipment. It retains the charm of a town square from the era in which it was built.

So if you have a chance, come stroll down one of the two concrete walkways running diagonally across the park, sit a spell on a bench, and let your mind wander back to a quieter chapter in McAllen's past.