TAMIU’s Killam Library Presents Photo Exhibit on Hurricane Beulah

Texas A&M International University’s (TAMIU) Sue and Radcliffe Killam Library is hosting a photography exhibit entitled, “Community Response to the Hurricane Beulah Crisis in the Rio Grande Valley,” a collection of photographs of the infamous Hurricane Beulah in the late 1960’s.

Free and open to the public, the exhibit is on display in the Special Collections and Archives reading room, located on the second floor of the Killam Library. It includes 50 photographs of Hurricane Beulah taken from the personal archives of Mario E. Ramírez, M.D.

Hurricane Beulah is known as one of the most exceptional storms in Texas history. It affected the U.S.-Mexico border, compelling over 14,000 refugees from Camargo, Tamaulipas to travel across into Roma, Texas for medical and food supplies.

With the aid of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio and the U.S. Army, hurricane victims were given the proper care in order to persevere through this destructive period.

The exhibit is meant to demonstrate the sense of camaraderie that develops within a community during a severe weather occurrence. The photographs are divided between four basic tenants that embody the essence of the situation: determination, hospitality, resourcefulness, and compassion.

“We, as a university, are always trying to inform the public about how important it is to respond to community whenever there is a great need. When you have extreme weather, it is the perfect opportunity to serve your community,” said Jeanette Hatcher, Special Collections librarian.

University of Texas graduate George F. Tuley took all of the photographs of the hurricane’s damaging aftermath as well as of the incredible display of community and heroism seen during this destructive time.

The exhibit is funded by the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio.

For more information, please contact Hatcher, at 326.2404, e-mail jhatcher@tamiu.edu.

Information is also available online at tamiu.edu and on the University’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. A free University app for smartphones and the iPad is available for download at tamiu.edu.

This news release was prepared by TAMIU Communications Intern Mayra Flores.

Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information Services at prmis@tamiu.edu