Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Guillen, who came from the old Road and Bridge school of county road crew experience, died in 2008.
But in those 40-odd years, he established a tradition of hard work, political savvy and a knowledge of the county road system unequaled in Cameron County.
With his trademark baseball cap and stubborn hard-work demeanor, he schooled several generations of county employees under his care.
Now, following the 2001 unanimous dedication by the Cameron County Commissioners’ Court of a resolution naming the new Precinct 1 Public Works Brownsville Warehouse in his honor, a ceremony to do so will be held 9 a.m. Friday (February 2) at the site of the new structure.
The new building is ocated at 2050 S. Browne Ave., across from the Pedro "Pete" Benavides Cunty Park.
In his 40-plus years of service to county residents, served under the following Pct. 1 Commissioners: Tony Tamayo, Johnny Cavazos, Ted Hunt, D.J. Lerma, Lucino Rosenbaum, and Pete Benavides. Current commissioner Sofia Benavides moved for the new warehouse to be named after Guillen.
After retiring, he owned and operated 20 acres of farmland some of which he later developed into Guillen Cemetery on Boca Chica Road just past Browne Road.He was also a longtime parishioner of Christ the King Catholic Church where he was involved with Valley Interfaith. His name will be affixed to the new building in honor and recognition of his long time service to the residents of Cameron County.
Guillen was born in McNeil, Texas on April 27, 1923. As a young boy his family moved to Valle Hermoso, Tamps., Mexico where he met and married his wife, Angela Chavira, from Olivia, Texas. He and his wife moved to Brownsville more than 50 years ago where they raised their family of 11 children. Many are teachers and professionals of which he would proudly talk about if given a chance.
As a young boy he moved to Valle Hermoso, Tamps., Mexico where he met and married his wife, Angela Chavira, from Olivia, Texas. He and his wife moved to Brownsville more than 50 years ago where they raised their family of 11 children.
He worked for Cameron County Pct. 1 as a Foreman for the Road Maintenance Dept. for over fur decades. During that time he served under the following Pct. 1 Commissioners: Tony Tamayo, Johnny Cavazos, Ted Hunt, D.J. Lerma, Lucino Rosenbaum, and Pete Benavides.
After retiring, he owned and operated 20 acres of farmland some of which he later developed into Guillen Cemetery. He was a longtime parishioner of Christ the King Catholic Church where he was involved with Valley Interfaith.
The new Anastacio Guillen Precinct 1 Public Works Building will be built on a 21-acre tract of land located at the intersection of California and Browne Road.
The building is 9,000 square feet and will house the Precinct #1 Public Works staff. It’s divided into two major functions: an Administrative Area consisting of an entry waiting lobby for visitors, staff offices, a meeting conference room/lounge, and building-mechanical spaces.
The second area is the crew vehicle storage bays which utilize some enclosed storage to protect large equipment, along with a wash bay for these vehicles.
This site also includes a parking area for visitors and employees. It also has a large lay-down area for public works stock materials with plenty of room for expansion.
The building utilizes a steel structure with metal studs and concrete masonry unit
(CMU) walls clad with grey and blue horizontal and vertical metal panels. The exposed steel columns and beams at the crew vehicle bays will be galvanized and have metal panel soffits to finish off the underside of the metal roof structure.
