Sounds Good

Bruno, Mission’s Attic ready for the holidays

I spotted George Bruno, Port Arthur high school football great and wine maker at The Cabana at The Grill in Beaumont. Always genial, he told me Bruno & George winery in Sour Lake is set to appear on a “Texas Country Reporter” episode near the end of the year, to highlight his holiday wines. He said when Jimmy Johnson was in town for a reunion, his gang sipped a Yellow Jacket blend from the collection.


Christmas room all set up at Attic
A flashy, lighted new “open” sign was my first notion that The Mission’s Attic got a little facelift. What may have been considered the record room, to the back left, is now full, I mean full, of Christmas goodies. When I visited, there was music and a separate check-out for this popular new section that drew two shoppers from as far as Bridge City. Mae Terro, sales director of the resale shop that benefits United Board of Missions, said she visited the Texas Hill Country and noted shops that offer Christmas all year, so volunteers thought they might as well keep a seasonal room rotating with stock, instead of having to keep it stored off season. Terro said that even if they sold out of all the Christmas stuff displayed now, they have more to fill up the place.
“It’s a little bit of all seasons, all the time,” she said.
The store is across from Jefferson City Shopping Center.


Make it to the movie; the museum
Some of my readers know I love finding pennies, so I loved the penny story I found at the Museum of the Gulf Coast. It’s part of “WWI: Final Survivors,” a collection of David DeJonge’s photographs up through Sept. 18.
The bio that goes with one photo tells how a former soldier was sitting with a French girl who asked for a souvenir. He had none, so he thought, until he found an American penny, which he gave her. She gave him a lock of her hair, which he kept until he died.
Military posters, a vintage firearm and the disc-style dog tags of the day are also on exhibit.
DeJonge worked with Survivor Quest, his years-long project to locate, identify, interview and photograph the last surviving WWI veterans. The project clocked more than 130,000 miles of travel to every corner of the U.S. and England. These survivors are the final witnesses from the United States and England that served from 1914-1919. Group tours of the exhibition are available through Sept. 16. Groups of 10 or more may tour for $2 a person by scheduling in advance. Out of towners can book Port Arthur accommodations.
The exhibition has inspired a free Veteran Appreciation Film Series on Saturday afternoons at 2 p.m. There’s one more:
* Vietnam Sept. 17 – Bob Hope’s Salute to the Troops: The Vietnam Years
Film attendees may enjoy complimentary popcorn and free admission to the temporary WWI exhibition as well as the Museum’s permanent exhibits. The Museum is at 7000 Procter St. in downtown Port Arthur. For information, call 409-982-7000 or visit www.museumofthegulfcoast.org.
ddoiron@panews.com