City of Edna

Traffic temporarily altered at Gayle, Meadow

Current drainage pipe work at W. Gayle Street and Meadow Lane has reduced traffic flow to one lane on Gayle and will close Meadow.

Crews hope to complete the work and return the streets to normal traffic flow on Tuesday.

In the meanwhile, residents are advised to use an alternate route if possible.

City’s Ornament Sales Lead to Lighted Santa Sleigh Purchase

Proceeds from donations made last year are helping to pay for Christmas decorations this upcoming holiday season.

City Finance Director Valerie Callaway said that last season’s sale of personalized ornaments for the city’s Christmas tree raised enough funds that the city was able to purchase a lighted, animated outline of Santa Claus in his sleigh with three reindeer for display.

“Within a short amount of time we were able to purchase this to help light up the City of Edna,” Callaway said. “Of course, there’s plenty of room on the Christmas tree for more ornaments. Proceeds from the ornaments will help light up the City of Lights.”

The purchased sleigh is 5.8 feet tall by 8 feet long, with 223 colored LED lights rated for 50,000 hours of use. The reindeer will be in two sections: a two-reindeer unit with reindeer that are 6.2 feet tall by 5.5 feet long, with a combined 234 LED bulbs, and a one-reindeer unit that’s 4.6 feet tall by 5.5 feet long, with 105 LED bulbs.

Residents and businesses may still purchase ornaments for the city tree, Callaway said.

The city accepts donations of any amount toward the holiday decorations, with amounts of $250 or more eligible for a personalized ornament. The ornaments are printed on plastic board and large enough to be seen while driving past. They are expected to last for three years of exposure to the elements during the holiday season.

For questions regarding the ornament program, to donate to the program, or to purchase a custom ornament, contact Callaway at City Hall at 361-782-3122 or stop by City Hall, located at 126 W. Main St., Edna, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Happy 4th of July!!!
Flag City shirts are all over town! Thank you to the Jackson County Tax Assessor's office for sending us their group picture. The City of Edna is thankful for all the support and patriotism celebrating Flag City with us!!!

Edna, Did You Know?
The current form of city government with a mayor, council representatives for each of five districts, and a city manager hired by the council and mayor has not always been in place.
When the city incorporated in 1926, voters elected a mayor and two commissioners to represent them. That system changed in 1951 when a group of citizens petitioned Mayor Harry Mauritz to change to an aldermanic system with a mayor and a group of representatives known as aldermen.
According to an article in the Edna Herald newspaper on Oct. 11, 1951, the two city commissioners agreed to authorize a special election on Dec. 4 to elect three aldermen. The current commissioners D.A. “Dewey” Strane and W.H. “Bill” Mercer and Mayor Mauritz would not be on the ballot but would continue to serve out their terms and be on the ballot the following year, allowing continuity of government.
A special election was held Dec. 4,1951 and the aldermanic style was adopted, with the result being that Strane and Mercer became aldermen along with W.T. Westhoff, Arthur E. Anderson, Alison Dill “A.D.” Gayle, Jr.
According to an article in the Edna Herald on Dec. 6, 1951, the election drew far more votes than any prior city election, with 338 votes cast. Previously, the highest number of votes cast had been 57.
An alderman and a city council member are the same thing. Alderman is an older, more traditional term, but both simply mean a local, elected official.
- Information courtesy of Edna City Council minutes of Oct. 8, 1951, Dec. 6, 1951, and Dec. 11, 1951.
- Information and screenshot courtesy of Portal to Texas History and The Edna Herald newspaper, Thur., Oct. 11, 1951
(https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth763834/m1/1/)
- Information and screenshot courtesy of Portal to Texas History and The Edna Herald newspaper, Thur., Dec. 6, 1951 (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth763916/m1/1/)

Edna, Did You Know?

The City of Edna hasn’t always had street lights.
In fact, it wasn’t until after World War II that the city council requested installation of six street lights by the Central Power & Light Co. That request was recorded in the minutes of the Aug. 5, 1948 council meeting.
On the evening of Sat., Oct. 9, 1948, more than 1,000 people crowded the courthouse lawn to listen to the Edna High School band play the national anthem and other songs, hear the local dignitaries speak, and to see the lights come on.
President of the Edna Chamber of Commerce, Dr. R.E. Lee, spoke as master of ceremonies, welcoming everyone. Mayor Harry Mauritz threw the switch. George Gilliam of Central Power & Light congratulated the city on its modernization efforts, and Judge Olin Culberson, a member of the Texas State Railroad Commission and local businessman, spoke about the improvements that he personally had witnessed in town since his arrival in 1921.
The evening concluded with a fiddler’s contest and street dance.
While we unfortunately do not have a photo of the crowd that evening, the photos here do show street lights in downtown Edna during the 1950s.
- Information courtesy of The Edna Herald newspaper, Oct. 14, 1948, page 1, and from the Edna City Council minutes of Aug. 5, 1948.
- Photo courtesy of Mr. Roy Ortolon, L.J. Korenek, and L.K. Miller

THANK YOU to the Edna City Council and Mayor Lance Smiga for generously paying for the city employees to enjoy steaks, potatoes, salad, tea, and dessert for lunch today!!
THANK YOU to City Public Works Director Brad Ryan and Wayne Grudzieski for grilling the steaks!
Today's lunch was the council's way of saying thank you to city employees for volunteering to make the first annual Flag City Celebration a success.

Captions: Council member Chris Jackson, Mayor Lance Smiga, and council member Amanda Friedrich attended today's "thank you" lunch.
Wayne Grudzieski, front, and Brad Ryan, rear, grilled steak and potatoes for city employees.

It was hard to go hungry this afternoon and evening at the first annual Flag City Celebration in downtown Edna.
From free hotdogs by HEB and free popcorn by the Fair Court to Dodds Barbecue, Georgia Mae's, and Shiloh's Kingdom Kids, to plenty of lemonade and beverages from Latrice's, Reverse Thirst, and Charlie's Sports Bar and Grill's beer garden, there were plenty of options for everyone.
Thank you all so much for being a part of this event!