10/23/2026
🏛️📜 TODAY IN DEL RIO HISTORY!
🇺🇸 October 23, 1930 — 96 Years Ago Today!
🎃🎶 WHEN DEL RIO DANCED THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION!
Imagine Del Rio, Texas, in October of 1930.
The Great Depression was beginning to grip America. Businesses were struggling, families were facing uncertainty, and communities across the country were learning to make do with less.
But here in Del Rio, something special was happening.
📰 On October 23, 1930, the Del Rio Evening News announced an upcoming Halloween Masked Ball at Fikes Hall!
The dance was scheduled for Saturday, October 25, with proceeds benefiting the Del Rio City Band! 🎺🥁
Local women were organizing the festivities, helping bring the community together for an evening of music, dancing, costumes, and fellowship.
❤️ THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MOMENT!
Nearly a century ago, during one of the most difficult economic periods in American history, the people of Del Rio were still finding ways to support one another.
They weren’t simply organizing a dance.
They were supporting their musicians, preserving community traditions, and creating memories that would last generations.
🎶 THE DEL RIO CITY BAND
Long before social media, television, and modern entertainment, community bands were an important part of small-town American life.
They brought music to public gatherings, celebrations, patriotic ceremonies, and special occasions.
And in October 1930, Del Rio residents were preparing to gather at Fikes Hall to support their own musicians.
🏘️ WHAT WAS DEL RIO LIKE IN 1930?
The railroad had already helped transform Del Rio into an important border community.
San Felipe Springs continued to nourish the agricultural lands and neighborhoods that helped establish our city.
Across the Rio Grande, Villa Acuña remained an important part of the shared culture and daily life of our border communities.
And throughout Del Rio, families were building the traditions that generations of us would inherit.
💜 THIS IS WHY WE PRESERVE HISTORY!
Not every important historical event involves a famous person, a battle, or a major political decision.
Sometimes history is found in an old dance hall.
Sometimes it’s a local newspaper announcement.
Sometimes it’s a photograph of musicians whose names have nearly been forgotten.
And sometimes it’s the memories our grandparents carried with them but never thought to write down.
Those are the stories we want to save.
📣 DEL RIO, WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Does anyone remember Fikes Hall?
Did your parents or grandparents ever mention the old Halloween dances, the Del Rio City Band, or the social gatherings of downtown Del Rio?
Do you have old photographs, programs, newspaper clippings, or family stories from those days?
👇 PLEASE SHARE THEM IN THE COMMENTS!
You never know when one family memory might help us recover an entire chapter of Del Rio’s history.
📚 DEL RIO HISTORICAL PRESERVATION PROJECT
Preserving Our Past • Honoring Our People • Sharing Our Stories
📰 Historical reference: Del Rio Evening News, October 23, 1930. The newspaper announced the upcoming October 25 benefit dance; the announcement alone does not establish whether the event took place as planned.
❤️ Because the history of Del Rio belongs to all of us!
