As WW II veterans came home, they often bore deep physical and emotional scars inflicted by the war and returned to Valley communities themselves and under stress trying to easy the pain and welcoming their native sons with celebrations made for heroes.
Port Isabel made merry with the ex-GIs: they attended church en masse for morning services, and later had a barbecue luncheon. The day's festivities ended with the doughboys dancing the night away.
As the lights of celebration subsided and all returned to their pre-war routines, one Port Isabel military veteran noticed that something was missing in his community.
Corporal James “Jimmy” LaRoche, who was a boat builder by trade, was bothered that too many kids were sitting idle and getting into mischief in his neighborhood. So he hit upon the idea of establishing a summer sports program in his hometown.
He formed a recreational softball league for the neighborhood kids, a sandy retreat mere steps away from their front porch. LaRoche said then, “We had a few bats and softballs around, so I gathered the kids and asked them if they wanted to play ball and they did.”
So within days, the sweet music sound of the crack of the bat and kids' shouts of excitement resounded throughout the streets of the port city.The self-appointed director along with the neighborhood kids got to work, clearing a vacant lot and creating the perfect diamond. With a backstop in place and player benches filled with eager youngsters ready to play—it soon became the busiest place in town.
“Some of the best games we had were the ones between the girls and boys and sometimes they were pretty close, “said La Roche.
Unlike today, the idea blossomed without raising taxes or selling bonds. The games were so popular that there was a need for “tripleheaders.” Riding the wave of popularity, the program was on a fast track of becoming a city-wide juvenile softball league.
LaRoche, son of P.I. boat builder Frank LaRoche of Port Isabel, said he decided to spend his time with kids in order to lead them into a constructive way of life that would better equip them to accept the responsibilities of adulthood.
The adage that One person can make a difference had never proven more true, and the LaRoche’s story is a good example of that. Join a cause and make a difference.
Note: LaRoche was an anti-aircraft gunner who lost the sight of one eye partly form 90mm gun concussions and partly due to having had eight attacks of malaria. The P.I. veteran ended his military service as an instructor. He was born and raised in Port Isabel and prior to the war, worked on his dad’s pleasure boats operating from the port.
He volunteered for army service in Brownsville in June 1942 and in less than two months later was sailing toward the South Pacific for active service.
Upon returning to his roots in Port Isabel, Jimmy declared, “That Port Isabel is the most peaceful place on earth.”
1 comment:
Wonderful story
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