Describing the onion as a “lowly vegetable” didn’t set well with the late Othal Brand, for 20 years the McAllen, TX, mayor who cleared many hurdles during his 90-year earthly pilgrimage. His beloved Rio Grande Valley is now a world center for vegetables in general and for onions in particular. Ever restless and ever persuasive, Brand often lacked patience, his shirt sleeves already rolled halfway up to take on whoever or whatever stood in the way. Lesser figures might have “let onions be,” but Brand always believed these veggies – pointed to regularly as reasons for bad breath and weeping – could be ...