𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗥, 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗔𝗟 𝗝𝗨𝗗𝗚𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗡 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗖𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬

 

Ben Neece 

Ana and I lost a friend Monday afternoon, former municipal judge/city commissioner Ben Neece, the officiant for our wedding October 12, 2019 on a resaca deck at Laura Miniel's homestead.

Most in Brownsville remember Ben for his 32 year tenure as Municipal Judge, a service he performed with a certain human compassion, more often than not opting to assign community service in lieu of fines, an alternative that worked well in this financially-challenged town.

After retiring as judge, Neece served on the city commission, working to improve downtown lighting, reworking antiquated building codes and reorganizing the city's planning department.  

Neece was also instrumental in creating the B.I.G. grants to improve signage and store fronts downtown as well as promoting the Ozanam Center on Minnesota Avenue to serve our our community's homeless. 

But it was a chill little music hangout at the rear of the city's historic Hide Building, the Crescent Moon, that endeared many of us to Neece.

Henry Lee

While the Earthmen and Lords of D'Nile featuring Ben and friends J.J. Strubelt and Joe Hugonette, served as housebands at the Crescent Moon, so many other acts filled that little brick box with sound; the legendary Henry Lee, the Foncerrada family, Louie Villarreal, the Bluzanos and Clay Moore's Frontier Jazz Band.

J.J. Strubelt

Just a couple hundred yards from the border on 11th Street in downtown Brownsville, the Crescent Moon was the go-to place for music for several years.  

It was just such a damn, welcoming place with a homey, comfortable tone. 

With no fancy refurbishing, just those old heavily-upholstered, sofa-like chairs from Hotel El Jardin, that quaint, small building on East 11th Street had perfect acoustics, acting like a speaker that pushed the music through you before sending it out onto the street.

There was no air conditioning, but during Brownsville's hot sweaty nights, Ben would open both the front and back doors to allow the ocean breezes to cool the place.

I don't know how he did it but Neece brought in bands from all over the area and from as far away as Dallas, not just Tejano or conjunto, but rock and roll groups, blues and even a brilliant Mexican rapper on drums.

Ben will be missed.