Christmas is a week away, and it’s time to guard your food and alcohol. The Mari Lywd is on the prowl and here to challenge you. Actually, you’ve probably never heard of them because it’s a folktale from Wales. I believe it began around 1800, but I’ve not gone in depth into this history. Tradition holds that the Mari Lwyd was a group of men with a hobby horse made from a horse’s skull mounted on a pole. One man dressed in a sackcloth and held the pole, and the entourage would accompany him to local houses and request entry by way of songs or poetry. Of course, many homeowners would deny access by the same means. The group would thus continue until one side or the other relented. If the Mari Lywd were permitted into the house, they would be given food and drink, but if the homeowners were victorious, then the Mari Lywd would have to go to the next house. To me, this is akin to trick-or-treating, and I love the Welsh for this.

Here in SETX, we’ve never had to rap battle some drunkards with a horse’s head on a stick, but if anyone else has, I want to know about it. #YmaOhid #Cymru

To be honest, I was aware of a movement that wanted to move Ol’ No. 503, but I wasn’t paying attention. The City of Port Arthur wanted to scrap it, as they always want to focus on historical things; that’s how Port Arthur operates. In the day, you could ask Sydalise Fredeman, savior of the Pompeiian Villa on Lakeshore Drive, for help. This treasure would have been torn down if it wasn’t for her, but Sydalise took no crap from local politicians, and she also had friends with deep pockets. A docent who conducted tours of the Villa in 2012 stated that if Mrs. Fredeman had run for president, she would have made a great one, and I tend to agree.

Again, I haven’t delved into the research on why the 503 was moved from the corner of Gulfway Drive and Augusta Avenue 100 feet away to look centralized at Bryan Park. I know there was talk of asbestos, and I would assume they remedied that with the donated money from a GoFundMe page. I assume this because the 503 is still there. The city of Port Arthur hasn’t thrown it into the scrapyard.

The best thing I saw today on my visit to Bryan Park on Gulfway Drive, where the 503 is located, was a family there doing park-like things: Having fun while other kids were also having fun in this well-groomed part of Port Arthur. The engine might not be up to speed, but this park is. I’m glad to see that the kids are taken care of, but if possible, work on the history.

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