WILL "INCLUSION CABOOSE" EXCLUDE LATE RAUL BESTEIRO?

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

I see that the article in the Brownsville Herald today of the old caboose that was once dedicated to the memory of the former Port of Brownsville Director  - and Brownsville Independent School District superintendent - Raul Besteiro, makes no mention of his name.

At one time, before the caboose was sandblasted and painted, there was stenciled lettering that commemorated Besteiro's service as port director which at one time owned the Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad. (Click on graphic to enlarge.)

Mr. "B," as he was called, was generally well liked in the community, but was caught up in the Bridge to Nowhere scandal at the port where $21 million was spent tying to build an international truck and rail bridge that on port property in the city's east side.

Mr. B was hired as port director partly because of his love for Lionel model trains and the intricate toy railroad he kept in his playroom. 

He was once featured in a Sunday front-page article in the  Herald playing with his trains just before he was named port director after he had retired as the superintendent of the BISD. He even had a traditional striped train engineer's cap on while he played.

Apparently, the port trustees were so impressed with the deft skills he exhibited with the toy track that he was the natural choice to run the shipping port with its Brownsville Rio Grande Railroad. Go figure.

Just after he and former U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz were pictured on the front page of the New York Times tallying votes and pushing for the North America Free Trade Agreement in Washington, the Bridge to Nowhere $21 million scandal broke out and Mr. B's fortunes dropped like the money did into Dannenbaum's Engineering in Houston pockets through transfers to money exchange houses in Mexico.

Incidentally, Ortiz - through his chief of staff Lencho Rendon - were also mired in the dealings between the port and Dannenbaum and lobbying on their behalf.

Anyway, after his death, the linear park on the old abandoned railroad right-of-way was established and a red caboose with the lettering "In Memory of Mr. B, Raul Besteiro" was placed next to the Brownsville Museum of Art.

For years, the wicked and idle tongues in and around the city have been wagging saying to anyone within earshot that Mr. B is buried in a mausoleum inside the red caboose.

But neither the Herald article nor the main movers of the so-called "Inclusion Caboose" make any mention of his name.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening for the “Inclusion Caboose,” a kids library housed in a vintage, renovated caboose, is scheduled for Sept. 14 at 10:30 a.m. in Linear Park.

According to Dolly Sevier, the Brownsville pediatrician “inclusion” is part of the name because the ongoing project will eventually feature amenities for special-needs children in addition to books. 

Sevier told the daily that for the time being the caboose will be regularly staffed between 9 a.m. and noon, with story time at 11 a.m., on Saturdays to coincide with the Brownsville Farmers’ Market. The caboose, under the purview of the Brownsville Parks and Recreation Department, will also be open for special events, she said.

The caboose was donated by the Brownsville & Rio Grande railroad in 2007 and placed in Linear Park, which is within the Mitte Cultural District. 

The city budgeted $40,000 for the exterior renovation of the caboose, partnering with the Brownsville Preservation Society, which coordinated the project. The renovation involved sandblasting and painting the exterior, building a new platform and removing a chain-link fence that had surrounded the caboose for years.

And Mr. B?