25th annual Frio County Pioneer Day Saturday, March 23, at the Jail Museum

By Editor | February 14, 2024

SELF-MADE PATINO BUILT CHARITY LEGACY IN PEARSALL

From Mona Hoyle
Frio County Pioneer Day

Polo Patino Park, located in the heart of the West side community, is named in honor of Leopoldo (Polo) Patino, a migrant who settled in Pearsall but whose quiet determination and willingness to help others affected the lives of hundreds of locals.
Patino was born in 1897 and entered the United States in the early 1920’s through what was then an open border from Mexico, for a nominal fee of five cents.
“You probably need to be a resident of Pearsall over the age of 80 to remember who Polo Patino was and how his life affected the lives of our Pearsall community,” Frio Pioneer Jail Museum representative Mona Hoyle said of Patino. “He came to Pearsall in 1925 with no means of support, no family and no money but he had strength and willpower.”
According to Hoyle, one day, while looking for work, Patino came across a crew from the Pearsall Water, Ice and Power Company digging ditches. A crew leader saw him and asked if he needed a job.
That chance encounter would begin Patino’s career with CP&L (now AEP), one that would last for over 35 years.
In 1929, he married Tomasa Alcala and the couple had two daughters, Yolanda and Minerva.
“Throughout his life, Leopoldo developed a deep love for our Pearsall community,” Hoyle said. “He showed that love through all of his volunteerism and the determination to always finish a job once he started.”
In 1943, Patino and Nano Tafolla started the local Boy Scout Troop #103. Polo dedicated his life to teaching the scouts character building and citizenship responsibility training.
“His troop went on night hikes, collected scrap metal for the war effort and scouting contests,” Hoyle noted. “He was a very dedicated man.”
A self-educated man, Patino learned to speak English on his own.
“He would grab a pail of tamales and study the English language as he ate his meal,” Hoyle said of Patino. “When he had to learn about electricity, he would buy books and stay up at night reading; when he started scouting, he bought books to learn everything possible to teach his boys.”
Many in the community would often turn to Patino to assist them with various tasks.
“If someone needed help with their wiring or troubles they would ask him for assistance,” Hoyle said. “If parents brought their wayward sons to Polo, he would try to help them through the Boy Scout troop. By 1948, his troop had over 40 members.”
Polo started the David Crockett Rifle Club, teaching boys the basic lessons of firearms safety. There were hundreds of boys between 1940 and 1966 who were taught and instructed by Patino. Through his dedication to his scouts and to his community, he inspired and motivated many young men to succeed.
In 1962, Patino retired from his job with CP&L, but not from his love and dedication to the community. “He began assisting non-citizens in Pearsall in earning their citizenship,” Hoyle recounted. “He became chairman of the Literacy Group and gave citizen instruction at the Pearsall library.
“He loved the United States and understood the benefits of good citizenship.”
A quiet man by nature, Patino carried a strong determination and willpower as he walked quietly through life, touching hundreds of lives along the way.
Patino passed away in 1969, 13 years before Polo Patino Park was dedicated in his honor in May of 1982.
“Pearsall and its people should be dedicated to the memory of Leopoldo (Polo) Patino for what he did and what he taught us,” Hoyle said. “May we learn from his loving actions and realize that one man or one woman can make a difference.”
Courtesy of The Frio Pioneer Museum Association