History of the Valley Anthem

by Eryn Reddell Wingert

Did you know, the Rio Grande Valley has an anthem? Nearly 100 years old, the tune has faded away somewhat–but not entirely. It is still sung today by travelers–upon returning to the Valley, boosting civic pride at Rotary meetings, and in childhood memories. 

“Rio Grande Valley (For We Love Our Valley Home)” was an ode to the region composed by the Forty and Eight Quartette, buddies who had served in World War I: Cott Boling, William Buck, Dick Collins, and N.G. “Nappie” Chatelle. 

The group’s name originated from the war, referring to box cars used to transport American troops to the French front. Each car was marked, denoting its load capacity: 40 men or eight horses. They were narrow and cramped, “A mutual small misery among American soldiers,” according to the website, fortyandeight.org, a society for American veterans.

The men took that “small misery” and turned it into a positive. Often referred to as “‘the famous Forty and Eight Quartette of San Benito”’ in newspaper articles, the men performed at venues around Cameron County and beyond. 

According to an October 1928 article in The Brownsville Herald, the Forty and Eight Quartette was set to perform at a national quartet competition when the event was canceled. 

“Rio Grande Valley (For We Love Our Valley Home)” was composed in 1928 by Boling, Buck, Collins, and Chatelle, with arrangement by Claire Burton Chase of Los Fresnos. The lyrics: 

Romance and orange blossoms

Sunshine and flowers

A place just to spend happy hours.

Contentment and peace

Where the friends that you meet

Have a spirit of fellowship sweet

Oft when I’m blue comes a yearning

To this dear spot I’m returning

For we love our Valley home

Way down upon the Rio Grande

Land of yours and land of mine

Land of palm trees and the bright sunshine

There we’ll live in Paradise

Where roses bloom on every hand

For we love our Valley home

Way down upon the Rio Grande

In 1928, the Herald’s “In Our Valley” column–a compilation of local tidbits–announced, “The Valley now has a song.” The song steadily gained popularity through the Quartette’s performances at banquets, luncheon clubs, and live venues.

But there were a few hiccups that proved disappointing, according to newspaper accounts. One instance referenced when 2,000 Valleyites welcomed the 2nd Army division detachment in 1937 and only a fraction–reportedly 100–knew the lyrics, sparking the McAllen Chamber of Commerce to launch a Valley-wide campaign. 

An August 1937 McAllen Daily Press Editorial Page column put the call out, urging “SING, VALLEY, SING!” in its headline. It called for “every luncheon club, every school, every legion post, every woman’s organization, and every group which meets regularly to learn the song and sing it.” 

The community-wide effort called for clipping the lyrics and singing along when KRGV played the song at the end of the station’s daily broadcast.

In 1938, the Valley Sunday Star-Monitor-Herald column “This ’N” That” referenced an “embarrassing moment” that took place at a Thanksgiving luncheon, citing only one out of six women in attendance knew the words to the song. Once again, a call went out for locals to learn the lyrics.

Eventually, the song took hold. By the 1950s, it was being sung in classrooms and civic gatherings across the Valley. 

A Facebook post about “Rio Grande Valley (For We Love Our Valley Home)” garnered nearly 200 enthusiastic responses last year. While some long-time residents said they had never heard of it, the majority remembered singing it in civic clubs and as school children.

“My mother learned it in school, and I first learned it from her,” wrote Kenneth Anderson. “She went to Lyford in the 40s.” Another commenter shared, “I remember singing on the school bus riding to and from football games.”

Many referenced learning it from their music teachers; others said they sang it at Lions, Kiwanis, and Rotary Club meetings; and some said they still do. 

And then there’s the book. In 1948, the song became the title of a book by Miriam Chatelle. 

Miriam’s husband, Nappie, was a member of the Forty and Eight Quartette. According to a 1948 article in the Herald, Miriam wrote the book to help support her family after her husband passed away. The book originated as an article she wrote on the history of her hometown, Los Fresnos.

The article also reports that Miriam described the Valley “as a house with 30 children, each with a distinguishing personality.”

Various newspaper announcements and reviews of the book allude to it presenting the same sense of pride for the Valley as the song.

“When my sisters and I travel home to the Valley,” writes Sue Clayton, “we start singing that song as soon as we see the palm trees.”