In 1981, Dolia Gonzalez of Edinburg (pictured above second to right), mother of Marine Sgt. Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez (known as “Freddy”), donated her son’s dress uniform and Congressional Medal of Honor to the museum for exhibition.
Other notable exhibits from this era featured artwork from Mexican artist Manuel Lepe and borderlands artist José Cisneros. The museum also published works such as the Heritage Cookbook, Wild Horse Desert (pictured above on left is HCHM’s Executive Director Brian Robertson and Al Ramírez, former Edinburg Mayor; both are reading Wild Horse Desert), and Rio Grande Valley: A Pictorial History. The last two publications were written by Brian Robertson who would become the museum’s Executive Director from 1986 to 1989 when Shan Rankin stepped into the position.
1980: Margaret M. Looney
1981-1982: Helen Evans
1983: James A. McAllen
1984: Foss Jones
1985: Zeb Rike
1986: Celine Cozad
1987: Mary Katherine Alonso
1988: John Kreidler
1989: Kevin Yancy
To view more “Golden Memories,” please visit here.
Photographs: Margaret H. McAllen Memorial Archives
Exhibit: Archivist Kelly Francis-Love; Archival Assistant Luna Galván; Archival Assistant Susie Mathews; Associate Education Officer Joseph Fox; Senior Historian Tom Fort; Development Officer Lynne Beeching; Chief Executive Officer Francisco Guajardo, Ph. D.; Programs and Events Officer René Ballesteros; Programs and Events Assistant Anna Garrigos-Hervert
Contributors: Communications Officer Pamela Morales de Hendricks, Communications Assistant Santiago Alanís, Communications Assistant José Antonio Peña, Cindy Us, Rachel Amaya, Adel Hussein, and Mark Trejo
Thanks to our Golden Partner, and first Corporate Donor, for generously supporting our 50th anniversary.