Category Archives: Places

Thoughts and Ramblings; Eclipse; An Exit Plan; Scarlet O’Hara’s Younger Sister, and the Museum of the Gulf Coast are Awesome; 2024 Hurricane Forecast, and More on the 50th Annual Galveston Historical Homes Tour .

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I hope everyone got a peek at the solar eclipse on Monday. It was cloudy here, so there was a filter effect, and you could actually get a photo or two from a regular camera. I took a few cell phone photos. I’m not that into photographing the sun. In contrast, I will go to great lengths to get a shot of a lunar eclipse. I have a few on my Flickr page. I’ll leave the link to it at the bottom of the blog.

For the past 12 months, I’ve been going through some things I’ve collected over the years, and I feel that some of this stuff needs a home now. Other things, such as the regional history books, need an exit plan—my exit plan, to be blunt. I have a considerable number of books on the history of Southeast Texas (SETX), and although most of them do not have monetary value, the references they contain are priceless for researchers, and they eventually will need homes.

My research on SETX history and my twelve years of researching Florence Stratton are in good hands. This data shouldn’t be lost because it is currently held by multiple people and a few organizations. History should be available to everyone; it should not be locked up! For the most part, this blog and its Facebook page have sought to uncover little-known SETX stories and facts. I’ve tried to show the glory of these stories because I think that they are as good as any well-promoted celebrity in our area who has a billboard dedicated to them stating “X lives in our museum.”

On a side note, I know a celebrity who doesn’t live in a museum, although part of her is in a genie lamp interred in one. That would be Scarlet O’Hara’s younger sister, and she is as awesome as the museum. I’ll leave the links at the bottom of the blog, and I will state that the Museum of the Gulf Coast is a top-notch museum, which you must visit!

Not to cause alarm, but those weather people are getting a bit giddy. No, not the ghost-hunting weather people in our area, which I wrote about in October, but those folks who think that weather forecasting should always be dramatic. Hell, they even name snowstorms now! Apparently, we are supposed to run out of names for tropical storms during this season. If that’s the case, then I hope they add phi, slama, and jama from the Latin alphabet (a couple of these characters may or may not be in the Latin alphabet). A friend at the University of Houston suggested that I recommend these names. Sometimes, I question her input concerning facts.

Honestly, I do believe that if I ever see Jim Cantore in my area, I will run like hell. He has a bit more cred than anyone at WeatherNation. I only know about this channel because I had Dish during Hurricane Laura, and they were reporting “from Lake Charles, Texas.” It’s not that I put the Weather Channel on a pedestal, but WeatherNation is its Dollar Tree version, if you see what I mean.

The 50th anniversary of the Galveston Historic Homes Tour is a few weeks away, and I acknowledge that I am a bit dizzy because of this tour. I kind of know where some of the ghosts are hiding, but they will not be on the tour, and as volunteers, we do not talk about such things. If you want to talk about such things, you can hit me up while I’m standing in the line on Saturday, May 4, as I will be taking the tour. Alternatively, you can ask the expert, Kathleen Maca, and take one of her tours. Whether it’s a Galveston cemetery tour or learning about ghosts on the strand, she is the best when it comes to Galveston history and those stories you can’t find anywhere else. I’ll leave a link to her tour schedule.

Today, I smelled summer, or at least I smelled May. The ligustrums are beginning to bloom, which is lovely for me but a death knell for those of you with allergies. I refuse to quote Lynyrd Skynyrd, but “Ooh, that smell!” Growing up, I loved the smell of ligustrums in the morning, at noon, and during the night. Unfortunately, one of my siblings is not too keen on this hedge, and she’s a step away from the ER if she goes near it. I’ll just state that I love ligustrums, but it’s bad when you invite people over for a garden party and the heads of half of your peeps explode.

Most people know that I don’t have garden parties, and if I did, I would have cetirizine as an appetizer.

Since it’s the 50th anniversary of the Galveston Historic Homes Tour, I will insert a few additions to this blog from the early days. Looking back, I’ve blogged, promoted, and taken the tour since 2012. I love the tour, and I treasure the Candy Lady, whom I volunteer with. I will also state that the homes are haunted. As far as the Galveston Historical Foundation goes, I’ll give them a positive nod and say that they have rid themselves of the parasites who used to run what was a dog-and-pony show. The tour is now a decent event to visit and volunteer for. I hope to see you on the tour on May 4 and at the 1871 Frederick and Minna Martini Cottage on 1217 Market Street on Cinco De Mayo!

Rediscoveringsetx Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/25032584@N05/albums

Museum of the Gulf Coast: https://www.museumofthegulfcoast.org/

Evelyn Keyes:

Tales From Hallowed Ground: Evelyn Keyes

2024 Hurricane Forecast:

https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2024-04-04-hurricane-season-outlook-april

44th Historic Homes Tour (Flickr photos):  https://flic.kr/s/aHsmj557xC

39th Historic Homes Tour:

39th Annual Galveston Historic Homes Tour

Thoughts and Ramblings: SS Texaco Oklahoma; Gulf of Venezuela; Eagle Otome; Godspeed to Those Wanting to See the Eclipse

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Last week was the fifty-third anniversary of the SS Texaco Oklahoma sinking. Obviously, the Oklahoma was a Texaco tanker. It sunk off Cape Hatteras in high seas on its way from Port Arthur to Boston. I’ll leave a few links at the bottom of this blog. Many of the crew who perished were from Port Arthur and nearby communities. Thanks to Fr. Sinclair Oubre for keeping their stories alive and to the Port Arthur International Seafarers’ Center for being a lighthouse for mariners who are in port and want to go shopping and spend money locally. Unlike other independent taxi services, they transport the crews without charging hefty fees. Ten or fifteen dollars is a lot better than eighty or one hundred. What say you?

There is another anniversary coming up, and I know this because a few years ago, I was walking the grounds of Greenlawn Cemetery in Groves and came across a tribute memorial stone. (Apparently, I do this a lot. I can’t enter a cemetery and not find something that catches my eye.) The stone in question is for the Gulf Refining Company employees who lost their lives in the Gulf of Venezuela fire. This tanker was a Gulf ship docked in Port Arthur in 1926. On the morning of April 11, at about three in the morning, there was a bit of a problem.

Just before the explosion on the Venezuela Sunday morning, which cost the lives of 27, the last tank being filled overflowed on the deck, [as] established this afternoon in the testimony of L. W. Williams, night dock foreman at the Gulf refinery, and L. W. McFaddin, dockman, both on duty at the time.

I’ll leave some photos of the newspaper articles. This was certainly a tragedy on a big scale. It reminds me of what happened to the tugboat Chief in November 1936. My great-uncle was employed at the Magnolia Refinery as a fireman on that tugboat and was waiting at the Atreco docks (the Total docks nowadays) for a tanker to arrive to bring to Beaumont. The Chief was a wooden tug, probably built in 1893, so it was not equipped with the best 1936 technology. I guess it wouldn’t have mattered because someone turned on the gasoline hose and the fuel spewed onto the tug and spilled into the engine room where my uncle and the cook, Paul Harris, were.

In the end, my uncle drowned, so he must have got out of the engine room to jump in the water. I have all the newspaper articles about the incident and what happened later. I will not go through all the family stuff, but I will say that when I was inquiring about my uncle’s death certificate, I discovered that a client of mine owned the house he lived in back in 1936, and I’ve been working there occasionally for the past twenty years or so. I’ll leave a link about the tugboat Chief as well.

Since this has organically become a maritime blog, I want to make an observation on the tragedy that happened on March 26 in Maryland. To those not in the know, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after the container ship MV Dali lost power and hit one of its piers. The bridge went down like a house of cards, leaving a major international port and four military ships trapped for who knows how long. My observation is as follows: Why in the hell didn’t they put concrete pilings (dolphins) next to the structure? At first glance, I didn’t even see the dolphins near the piers—because there aren’t any. Oh well, I’m in Texas.

The Martin Luther King Bridge as well as the Rainbow and Veterans Memorial Bridges have them. You would have to take them out strategically. I’m sure the Texas Department of Transportation is on the ball when it comes to the Houston ship channel (gasp).

Thanks to Sam Bronson Cooper, U.S. congressman and father of Willie Cooper Hobby, the Port of Beaumont is a thing and has grown into the fourth busiest port in the United States; it is also a military hub. Things happen, including the Eagle Otome in January 2010. It lost power and hit a barge just after sailing under the Martin Luther King Bridge. I especially remember this because I spent the next day working on Pleasure Island, smelling crude oil in the northerly winds after a cold front moved in. I will spare you of my time working for the Corp of Engineers.

To those ready to see the partial solar eclipse in this area and to those paying big money to have a great experience seeing it in central Texas: good luck and Godspeed. According to all the Aggie weather peeps, it will be raining. If it is raining, I have a few lunar eclipse photos. I always enjoy lunar eclipses, or maybe it’s just the Pink Floyd music! Also, if you’re in a location where you can see the partial eclipse but have no glasses, just look down at the ground. Whatever the shape of the sun, you can see it under a tree. The shadow of the leaves forms the shape of the eclipse. Prove me wrong!

Until next week, Live Long and Prosper!

Texaco Oklahoma:

Click to access texoklahoma.pdf

https://www.hartenergy.com/exclusives/ss-texaco-oklahoma-among-lessons-learned-maritime-safety-18234

Tugboat Chief:

Tugboat Chief

Eagle Otome photos:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsjpmys2t

Thoughts and Ramblings: Middle Passage Marker; 50th Anniversary Historic Homes Tour; So Said Susie on Easter Sunday

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There’s a new marker in Martin J. Popeye Holmes Park in front of the sub-courthouse. It was installed and dedicated last Saturday by the African American Cultural Society and the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project. The marker states that its purpose is to “Commemorating the Lives of African Ancestors Who Perished During the Middle Passage and Those Who Survived and Were Transported Through Sabine Pass, Texas” (1817–1837).

Seeing the wording of the marker makes more sense to me now because I heard in November that the organizations wanted to put up a marker in Port Arthur. It makes sense that it was a passage through Sabine Pass because, at that time, there was no Port Arthur, nor any other town or port existing on the northern banks of Lake Sabine. The township of Aurora came later, but it was wiped out by the hurricane of 1886.

To my knowledge, slave traders, such as Jean Lafitte, usually used the land where the city of Prairie View (Bridge City) would develop, and around Deweyville, on the Sabine River. For those not in the know, yes, Jean Lafitte was a slave trader. I guess that changes your search for his treasure—I digress. Note, I’m not a fan of anything French, especially if they’re running slave ships for the Spaniards—my twenty-four percent Spanish ancestry digresses as well.

According to their Facebook page, the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project was supposed to dedicate this marker on December 1, but I’m sure things happen, like markers not being ready at the foundry. I’m not in the know, but it’s up and in a good place to see it. I will add a link to the Port Arthur News article written by Mary Meaux. I also want to add this quote by Gail Pellum, president of the African American Culture Society: “You can’t let [history] go. If you don’t learn from it, you will repeat it and it will not be good on either side.”

As someone interested in many histories, this is the truest quote that you will hear. This is why it is important to remember all histories and learn from the past, as there are those who will try to repeat it.

The Galveston Historical Foundation finally released the addresses of this year’s 50th Historic Homes Tour. I, for one, am ecstatic to see a home on the tour that I volunteered at in 2018. It was the cover house that year, and according to the owner, it’s haunted, but don’t tell the GHF because they don’t like people talking about that—or so I was told a few years ago. It was also the house where the neighbor’s cat used to hang out on Sunday mornings in the nice Catholic church (which looks like a mosque) and then look for dinner. That year, he hung out in the front yard and dined on a bird that he’d caught. I can’t say it was much fun for the lines of people waiting to enter the house. I saw him the following year on the tour, as there was a house on the tour about a block away. He certainly got around and loved the attention.

All the houses look great, and I’m ready to tour these gems. I am also ready to volunteer! I will be at the 1871 Frederick and Minna Martini Cottage at 1217 Market Street on the first Sunday, so stop by! I hope to see you there. The Galveston Historical Foundation is always looking for volunteers, so if you think you might be interested in volunteering for this tour or other projects they have going on, I’ll leave a link at the bottom of this blog.

It’s Easter Sunday, and I hope you and your peeps are doing well. As a closer, I’ll let Susie Spindletop finish the blog, as she knows she has to carry me sometimes. Who does that better? Well, Susie, of course!

                                                   March 28, 1932

OLD-TIME Easter in Beaumont meant seeing Mrs. Messenger drive in from Rosedale with her buggy filled with dogwood, honeysuckle and palmettoes to trim St. Mark’s church. One year Mrs. Messenger created a sensation by managing to get a calla lilly to bloom in time for Easter.

Dr. Messenger was the rector who held the service here one Sunday and in Orange the next. He swelled his salary by raising fine fruit.

                                *                                       *                                    *

NOW, Della, did you ever hear of live chickens being party favors? I didn’t either until I learned that Elizabeth Tyrrell gave them away at her Easter party. Ann Page Carey named hers Susie. Thank you, Ann Page.

                               *                                        *                                    *

Did I tell you that I hear that Lois Cunningham has bought the C. F Graham senior house corner of McFaddin and Fifth? Ruth and I.D. Polk are living there now, but some day I predict Mrs. Cunningham and Lois will move in.

When I first came to Beaumont it was the A.L. Williams home.

                                          March 28, 1937

Easter gives us one diversion. Instead of arguing over which came first, the hen or the egg—we can switch off to the rabbit and the egg!

                                   *                            *                            *

Every Easter brings forth a different egg. Just a few years ago everybody speculated on what the minister’s wife was going to wear Sunday, or what tie Mr. Flapjacks would sport. Then came the day of movie stars and they do some strutting for they don’t have to depend on papa or hubby to open up diplomatic relations with the milliner and dress maker.

Take Constance Worth featured in “China passage” falls for sport effect with a little Juliet cap of bright colored raffia instead of sports hat with her simple silk, which is belted in braided Raffia.

Remembering the late news from Ethiopia with Ras this and Ras that we should change raffia to raf.

Della, I had to stop here to keep all these dress names from driving me to the tung nut house.

 *                         *                             *

Today, Easter will be exactly 12 hours and 23 minutes long. You spend 12 hours dolling up to show off 23 minutes.

SUSIE.

Port Arthur News: Middle Passage Marker

Middle Passage Marker in Port Arthur commemorates ancestors, provides history of local slave trade

Jean Lafitte:

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/jean-lafitte

50th Historic Homes Tour:

Galveston Historic Homes Tour

Galveston Historical Foundation Volunteer Opportunities:

GHF Volunteer Opportunities

Florence Stratton (Susie Spindletop):

Thoughts and ramblings: U.S.S. Texas, Sam Bronson Cooper, Mansard House, International Women’s Day

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Photo Credit: Stephen Rivers Battleship Texas Foundation Group Facebook Page

On Tuesday, the USS. Texas was moved from her 18-month refit on a Gulf Copper dry dock in Galveston to a water dock at the same shipyard for interior and deck repairs. One of the most important restorations will be restoring the ship’s pine deck to its original historical specifications. They will also be renovating the interior, such as the restrooms, which would be a plus if you’re going to be a museum ship. I added a few videos of the move on Tuesday, which I was unable to attend because I have a job most of the time, but that morning, I was at the Relaxation Station at Central Mall—because when carpal tunnel and shoulder pain become allies, you need more than Tylenol.

One recurring fodder that the Battleship Texas Foundation keeps regurgitating is that, when the ship is finished, they’ll tell you where it is going to dock. I can tell you exactly where it will be moored. And here’s an overview photo of where it will be placed in all its glory! It will be next to the Elissa at Pier 21. I don’t know why they are doing this. It’s annoying, and it looks like they’re trying to hide something. As far as I know, they plan to reopen to the public in late summer 2025.  I’m going to make the call that it will be spring 2026 before a public opening is allowed. That’s okay with me. Just do things right, and come on, Texas!

Samuel Bronson Cooper was a prominent figure in the political landscape of both Texas and Washington during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born on May 30, 1850, in Caldwell County, Kentucky, Cooper moved with his family to Woodville, Tyler County, Texas, that same year. By his early 20s, he was establishing himself as a respected lawyer. In 1871, at age 21, he was admitted to the bar, and in 1872, he began private practice. He served as prosecutor for Tyler County from 1876 to 1880, and in 1881, he was elected to the Texas Senate, where he served for four years.

As an aside, the story that interests me the most at this point is that Asa Stratton was also serving in the Texas Senate at the time. If that name rings a bell, as it should, Asa was the father of journalist Florence Stratton. I believe this was the crossroads where Florence and Samuel’s daughter Willie would eventually meet and become friends in their youth. Throw in W. P. Hobby’s living and growing up in Woodville, and we have a history in the making that I’ve spent many hours (years) researching!

In 1885, Cooper was appointed as the collector of internal revenue for the First District of Texas in Galveston by President Grover Cleveland, where he served for three years. He ran for Texas state district judge in 1888 but was unsuccessful. His political prowess wasn’t yet done. Samuel would go on to seek a higher calling.

 In 1893, Samuel B. Cooper was elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas’s 2nd Congressional District as a Democrat. During his tenure in Congress, Cooper championed several issues important to Texas, including agriculture, land-use policies, and transportation infrastructure. He played a significant role in securing federal funding for projects such as railroad expansion and the improvement of navigable waterways, which were vital to the state’s economic development. His tenure would end in 1905, when he lost the election to Moses L. Broocks, but his absence was brief. He would be back in the US House of Representatives in 1907 and serve until 1909.  I will mention here that during this time, Sam Bronson Cooper is the reason Beaumont has a deep water port.

Cooper was nominated by President William Howard Taft for a seat on the Board of General Appraisers in May 1910. He was confirmed by the US Senate on May 24, 1910. His service was terminated by his death on August 21, 1918.

Well, those Cordray kids have done a thing and become hoteliers. If you have access to the Discovery App, then you may have seen their restoration of the Mansard House. I only mention this because the Mansard House will be open to the public for tours on March 16 and 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day. The cost of the tour is $25 per person. All proceeds will be donated to Restoring Galveston Together—a nonprofit that funds home repairs for local families in need! I’ll be there—how out you!

Speaking of Galveston and families in need, I can’t forget my tour of the Sealy Mansion in 2013. Magnolia Sealy was the wife of George Sealy, an entrepreneur, and she opened up the Sealy mansion during the Great Storm of 1900. Magnolia opened her doors to 200 people, giving them food and shelter when those whose homes were still standing did not. And she let them stay for a few months, while other well-to-do individuals turned their backs on Galvestonians. I put her high on my list of SETX women who made a difference for good. You don’t hear this story very often, but it’s true and it happened.

Magnolia Willis Sealy is pictured. In 1875 Magnolia Willis Sealy married George Sealy. George and his brother John  Sealy were wealthy Galveston businessmen with extensive interests in cotton, banking, and  railroads. It is generally believed that the Magnolia Petroleum Company, owned by John’s son  John Hutchings Sealy, was named for his aunt Magnolia Willis Sealy. That company would later  merge into the Mobil Oil Corporation, and today it is Exxon-Mobil.

Magnolia’s story could have fit into my Friday blog for International Women’s Day, but truth be told, I wanted to go more international, and the stories I chose are actually my favorites. The Nachthexen were laughed at and dismissed by their male counterparts, yet they fought and died, achieving victory on two fronts—victory over the Wehrmacht and their Soviet male comrades.

The Trung sisters fought against Chinese tyranny. Trained by their father in military tactics, they taught peasants to fight with weapons and for their freedom. This is a unique story in the world of combat, witnessing two women instructing others to defend their land.

Boudica had no problem defending her land, especially after the Romans killed her husband. Again, the Romans dismissed her army as minimal, but they paid the ultimate price in the beginning. (Never diss this miss!)

I will also throw out the names of Jane Long (Mother of Texas) and Kate Dorman because there are no others that can size up to these Texans.

Until next week!

U.S.S. Texas—Enjoy!

Samuel Bronson Cooper:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_B._Cooper

Mansard House:

https://www.themansardhouse.com/

Jane Herbert Wilkinson Long:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Herbert_Wilkinson_Long

International Women’s Day:

It’s International Women’s Day; Nachthexen; Boudica; The Trung Sisters; Jane Long; Catherine Magill Dorman

Thoughts and Ramblings: D. A. R. Talk; Ezerbet Says Hi; Three Millionaires Want to Build Mansions in a Swamp; Vuylsteke House

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Many thanks to the Captain William Sanders chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR). I was again honored to be a speaker at their February meeting this week. More people showed up this year, but they weren’t there to listen to my ramblings. This chapter reaches out to the local high schools and asks the faculty who the outstanding students are, and the faculty and counselors give their shout-outs. The students receive one hundred dollars in cash, a certificate, and information on obtaining a scholarship through the NSDAR. I think this is an outstanding idea for local organizations, and they deserve to be mentioned whenever possible.

The talk went well, but the refreshments were better. I only had one heckler this year. My two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter Ezerbet was in the audience and greeted everyone, repeatedly (“Hi!”). Thanks to the person who sent a bag of Fritos her way. She enjoyed them, along with anything that caught her eye and her stomach after the meeting. By the way, her name isn’t Ezerbet, but when I mention her in future blogs, I will refer to her like that just to irritate one of her parents.

One of the advantages of being part of the Jefferson County Historical Commission is being around people who know a lot more than you do about a subject or how to do certain things, such as presentations. Shout-out to Dr. Steven Lewis, who is a wiz at creating PowerPoint files and Excel spreadsheets. He is the only reason I can produce some of these things. I’m pretty savvy when it comes to technology, but not this type of stuff. I think that, deep down, I just hate Mister Softy (MSFT), a.k.a. Bill Gates.

Speaking of another Mr. Gates, part of my talk was about some of the old houses in Port Arthur, especially the few ones standing on Lakeshore Drive—the Vuylsteke House, the Pompeiian Villa, and Rose Hill Manor. One that is no longer there is the John W. Gates House. It was located one house down from the Pompeiian Villa. The John Gates House burned down in the 1960s, but the carriage house is still there, as is the Texas Historical Commission (THC) marker placed in 2001.

Here is the story of the original plan by a few millionaires who wanted to build some pretty nice homes in a swamp.

The Pompeiian Villa is a replica of a Pompeiian home from AD 79; it was built by Isaac Ellwood, the “Barbed Wire King,” in 1900. It was one of three structures to be built on the eight-acre stretch of lakefront property in Port Arthur. The second home was John Warner “Bet-a-Million” Gates’ twenty-room Georgian Revival mansion, a pre–Civil War Gone with the Wind-style home with a carriage house at the back. A third home was planned by an investor, Mr. James Hopkins (president of the Diamond Match Company, St. Louis, Missouri); sadly, Mr. Hopkins could not come up with an idea for a suitable structure, so the land between the two aforementioned homes was never built upon.

After the Pompeiian Villa was completed, Mr. Ellwood lived there for a year. In 1901, he sold it to Mr. Hopkins, who loved the house dearly, so much so that he sent for his wife in St. Louis to live with him in this great abode during the winter months. Mrs. Hopkins took the train down from St. Louis, expecting to see paradise. After the train ride, she boarded a carriage and was taken to her new winter home. When she arrived, she saw the great villa in all its glory—built in muddy marshlands next to a lake. She was not impressed. Without hesitation, she returned to the train station and traveled back to St. Louis without setting foot inside the villa.

I also mentioned the Vuylsteke House, which was built in 1905 by J. E. Alexander in the space of seventy-five days for Adrianus Jacobus Maria Vuylsteke. Mr. Vuylsteke immigrated to the US in 1893 and moved to Texas in 1894. After his marriage to Nettie Minerva White in 1898, they settled in Jefferson County. Mr. Vuylsteke was appointed to the Dutch consulate for Port Arthur in 1906.

In 1908, the Vuylsteke family sold the house to John Tryon, a manager at the Gulf refinery who would eventually become Port Arthur’s mayor between 1917 and 1921. After having multiple owners, the house was moved to its current location on Lakeshore Drive, renovated, and used as a rental property. Finally, after years of deterioration, it was bought by the Port Arthur College Foundation and restored in 1986.

I also showed a couple of pictures taken by Port Arthur News photographer Don Larson, which I purchased at an estate sale. To me, they are iconic because of who is in them. The first one is from the Babe Zaharias THC marker dedication in 1979. (Yes, Beaumont, the Babe was born in Port Arthur!) It shows Sydalise Fredeman holding her hat while Bum Phillips takes the cover off the marker and Bob Hope looks on. The second photo shows Bob Hope looking on again (I think he did that a lot) while a lady with a shovel breaks ground for the new Bob Hope School. And yes, that is Wayne Newton in the background! If anyone knows who the lady with the shovel is, please let me know.

Well, I’ll end this blog the same way I ended my PowerPoint—with a photo of my fat cats and a link to my website. By the way, Ezerbet says, “Hi!”

Danke schoen. Until next week!

Thoughts and Ramblings: I Miss Mr. Heat Miser; The Seagull; Ronald, Texas; Preserving the Legacy of W. T. Block Jr; Remembering Roy; Red Cross Armband; Don’t Ever Mess With My Bananas!

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Good morning to everyone except Mr. Snow Miser. Here he comes now, the big ham. His icy crap and low temps suck. I prefer Mr. Heat Miser because he’s Mr. Green Christmas. He’s Mr. Sun. He’s Mr. Heat Blister and Mr. One Hundred and One. They call him Heat Miser because whatever he touches starts to melt in his clutch. He’s too much!

I hope you all survived this icy nonsense called mid-January. I blame all the folk participating in dry January. January is never dry, just frozen for the weekend, then we deal with rain and the Canadian thistle weeds, clover, and other growing stuff that appears in spring. Not to brag, but I am certified in afterlife heat-tolerance training. This does not matter in January, though. It basically means that I have a jacket on when the temperatures fall below 67 degrees.

This week, I have been focusing on the Port Arthur High School yearbooks that I acquired from a friend who texts me whenever he finds something from Port Arthur. Although I can’t take everything he suggests, he somehow finds a lot of interesting stuff at estate sales. I have five editions of The Seagull, the yearbook of the first years of Port Arthur High School. I have the ones from 1918, 1922, 1923, 1925, and 1927 thanks to Mr. Don Smart. All the years are digitized and can be viewed at the Portal to Texas History. I’ll leave a link at the bottom of the blog.

I’ve also been looking at my maps, and the city of Ronald stands out because it was, I believe, a place where the train stopped. I have a map of the city from a Texas and New Orleans Railroad Survey. I did find a “Ronald, Texas” stop on the Houston and Sabine Pass Railroad. It was just south of Fannett and northeast of Big Hill on an 1898 map that I purchased from the Spindletop Boomtown Museum over ten years ago. I will state that this map keeps on giving, whether it’s finding Catherina Stengele’s rice farm and land or Ronald McDonald touting that he and N. A. Gallagher founded a city (yep, that’s his name, and now I really want to look into the story). I will also give kudos to the Spindletop Boomtown Museum for selling this treasure.

On Friday, I attended the “Preserving the Legacy of W. T. Block Jr.” lecture. Bill Block, W. T.’s son, did a fantastic job of explaining why we need to preserve history and how to do it. His journey of reclaiming some of W. T.’s files and learning the ropes of self-publishing to bring his books back to print for a decent price is commendable because some of these online stores are ridiculous. In the end, though, will you pay for what they offer? Luckily, the reprints of his father’s books are accessible at a decent price. I’ll leave a link at the bottom of the blog.

This event really had a good turnout, and I hope to attend more of these gatherings at the Tyrrell Historical Library. My only regret was not knowing that the Listen Closely podcast hostess/“Old News” Facebook page creator was in the audience. If you haven’t checked out the podcast and the Facebook page, I have the links! If that’s okay with you, Mrs. Marble! I love your work.

A few weeks ago, a reader sent me down memory lane. I found out that someone in her family lived basically across the street from the house I lived in during the 1990s. Also, we had a mutual interest in one of our neighbors. I have many spirit animals that have influenced me (isn’t that what the kids say? Or is that the new-aging community?). Margaret Hamilton (Wizard of Oz), Bunny Rabbit (from Captain Kangaroo), Oscar the Grouch (from Sesame Street), and Yukari Akiyama 秋山 優花里 (Tank Enthusiast from Girls Und Panzer) have all had an influence on my life, but not as much as Roy Temple. My neighbor, who was a living being, had a major impact on me on many levels. He taught me a lot and told me stories of coming to Port Arthur from Leesville, Louisiana, in 1957. I did a tribute for him in 2012. I’ll leave a link.

I don’t know if I ever told this story here before (I could go back and look for it, but it’s cold and my search engine is sketchy). A friend—we’ll call him Doug—saved a few treasures from a garbage pile. Unfortunately, someone passed, and the nieces and nephews threw out many boxes of gems. (This happens all the time, so if you have something to pass on, you should know that your family members are the worst people to trust to pass it on. Make a plan.) These boxes contained oil stock certificates, abstracts, lawyer stuff, a map of Hardin County, and a World War I Red Cross armband. The stock certificates were never given to me. Although worthless, they were cool, so the finder decided to keep them. They gave me the other stuff. I contacted the Hardin County Historical Commission and agreed to give them the map and all the papers. I decided to keep the armband. Everything was good to go the day before. That evening, as I was photographing and digitizing as many papers as I could, I became ill—ill enough to recognize the sign that a treasure needs to be in a certain place. The next afternoon, I dropped off all the papers, along with the armband, because that is where I suspect Mr. Cruse wanted it to be—I digress.

Today, if you visit the Hardin County Museum, you will see the Red Cross armband in the case, among other historical relics. I don’t go there often, but I love this museum, and I hope it continues to grow.

Would you be interested if there was a volunteer day to help clean up an abandoned cemetery in Jefferson County in late January? If you think you might want to help, reach out to me so I can give you the details. I will definitely be talking about this in future posts; for now, we need to get the details in order.

Until next week, make sure your bananas are secure in your kitchen because Ratatouille paid the ultimate price for sneaking in under the oaks on Block’s Formosan Farm and trying to eat my bananas at 3:30 a.m. The bananas are safe now, but my Tanto short sword is chipped.

Don’t ever mess with my bananas!

The Seagull -Port Arthur High School Yearbook 1918: 

https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth139825/

W.T. Block website

http://www.wtblock.com/

To Purchase His Books:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/W.-T.-Block/author/B001JS50ES?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Listen Closely Podcast:

https://www.facebook.com/HTTLISTENCLOSELY

Old News:  

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555333351969

Tribute to Roy:  

https://www.rediscoveringsetx.com/2012/07/24/remembering-roy/

Museum of Hardin County:  

https://www.facebook.com/MuseumHardinCounty

Thoughts and Ramblings: Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour Lineup; Too Soon to Carve Turnips

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This week is our Third Annual Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour. The dates and times are Thursday, 4–6 PM, and Saturday, 10 AM to 2 PM. I wanted to put this out because something posted on social media says we have the tour from 10 PM to 2 PM. I don’t know about you, but there’s no chance in hell I’ll be out among the mosquitos for 16 hours. I guess we could ask the Black Shirt/Weather People to fill in, but that would be nonsense. I don’t think an SB-7 repels mosquitos. I digress.

Someone asked if the cemetery tour was the same on both days, and I responded with a yes-and-no answer. Yes, most of our new researchers are speaking on their subjects on both days, but some of our regulars and guests will be presenting on certain days. Remember, this is Museum Madness Weekend, and some presenters will be at their museums/historic homes on Saturday. Also, there’s a time limit on Thursday because it gets dark sooner, bringing out our buzzing, winged friends from the Bayou. So I wanted to put out the full schedule for you to see and decide if you want to attend both days or pick and choose. That’s your call.

History of Magnolia Cemetery

History of the Yount Mausoleum

McGreevy Plot

Sheriff Ras Landry

Photographer Frank Weber

Chambers Family Plot (Thursday only)

Original Cemetery on the Hill

Caroline Hinchee

Journalist Florence Stratton

Pipkin School and Reverand Woodson Pipkin (Saturday only)

Martha Mack Cemetery (Saturday only)

There may be a special guest up front on Thursday to introduce you to this year’s tour. All I know is she was a hatmaker, and she was prominent in Beaumont.

The tour is self-paced, with no start or finish per se. We sign you in at the front, give you a program, and you can choose where to go. There will be 9 presenters on Thursday and 10 on Saturday. Some of the names you’ll recognize from past tours, and some are new to the list. The new ones tend to be volunteers, and their research is either on family or interesting subjects in history. This is my favorite part of the tour because we have some excellent people who bring some amazing stories to light.

This year, I will be a rover. I won’t be stationed anywhere, but if any questions arise on the tour, I will gladly answer. If I can’t answer, I’ll go to my partner in crime, Judy Linsley. I remember my first year of being on the Historical Commission, in 2012, when we did a thing at the McFaddin–Ward House Museum. I was on the house’s porch, at a table, giving out Historical Marker information on Jefferson County, and my first question from someone was, “What is this Santa Anna townsite, and where is it?” Back then, I was kind of cocky, but that changed on this day because I had no idea of the history. Judy saved my backside that day, and there have been many days since when I’ve valued her input on history. And without her, this cemetery tour would never have begun. Also, thanks to the McFaddin–Ward House Museum docents for the walking tour in 2014.

I’d also like to thank the Liberty County Historical Commission for the inspiration to do a historic cemetery tour. I get why they don’t do it anymore. For my Halloween costume, I’ll dress as a cowboy pulling a wagon full of cats. Cat herding is tough.

In a little more than two weeks, it’ll be Samhain/Halloween. I would have bought my turnips already, but they don’t last more than a week when carved. I’m sure Stingy Jack would complain, but he’ll just have to wait for something to light his way through the eternal darkness. For those who don’t know the origins of Stingy Jack and turnip carving, I’ll leave a link to a video explaining why Jack is the way he is, but the origin of pumpkin carving for Halloween began in Ireland with the legend of Stingy Jack and the carving of turnips. Jack was not a good man; not only did he screw up his life, but he also screwed up his afterlife. Hearing the story of Stingy Jack and his worthless life, I put him in either the Senate or Congress. It’s pretty bad when even the devil feels for you. Watch the video. Film producer Gary Andrews created it, and it’s very well done.

Until next week, don’t let anyone tell you cat herding is not a thing, because it is. I should have used EDS!

EDS Cat herding Commercial:

Stingy Jack:

Liberty Historical Commission: Whispers From the Past

2013 https://flic.kr/s/aHsjLufFaP

2014  https://flic.kr/s/aHsk5BkJk1

Thoughts and Ramblings: Cemetery Tours, Ghost Tours, Reid Tevis, Wings over Houston, Texas Raiders Memorial, and the Legend of Bragg Road

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Photo Credit: Rivers Fulton, Fans of Wings Over Houston Airshow

Cemetery tours and ghost tours present pretty much the same thing, but they have different aspects. They both talk about history, which some ghost hunters hate, but you cannot separate the two. Without referring to history, you can’t talk about someone or something haunting your trailer in Deweyville, can you? The Blackshirts/weather people rely on SB-7 Spirit Boxes to communicate with the dead (not talking about anyone specific from this area—cough!). Do they work? I have no idea.

An SB-7 is supposed to work like a broken radio. You ask it questions while it turns the radio dial. Some say that you will hear answers from departed folk in the white noise. I have one, and it has never worked. I know a few people who think it works, and that’s okay, but the aggressiveness these people show when you call them out is hilarious. I’m not saying that you didn’t hear an Indian say “ugh” in a trailer in Deweyville, but the electronic voice phenomenon you put on your YouTube channel (which has since disappeared) was about as legit as that time when the Ghost Adventures show—I digress. Do what you want, just don’t charge people $50 to “educate” them on your BS.

As ridiculous as a broken radio thingy sounds, I can take it even further. This time, I can only chastise myself for this ridiculousness. Years ago, I downloaded an app on my phone called Ghost Radar. There is a free version and a paid version. I think I paid $4.99 for it. I don’t know how it is supposed to work, but here is the description:

“Ghost Radar® is the original application designed to detect paranormal activity. Ghost Radar® attempts to detect paranormal activity by making various readings on the device. Traditional paranormal equipment can be easily fooled when simple mundane bursts of normal energy occur. Ghost Radar® sets itself apart by analyzing the readings and giving indications only when interesting patterns in the readings have been made.”

Scientifically, this is impossible, but even a broken clock is correct twice daily. I’ve used it in my home, and when I go to the cemetery, I get nothing 90% of the time, but there is that 10% that I can’t explain. Like that time when I was on the hill at the cemetery, and the app began its usual spouting of words that do not make any sense together. I was alone and not really paying attention to the area in front of the cemetery. Then it started throwing out words such as “animals, front, danger.” Yes, that will get your attention. I poked my head out toward the front of the cemetery and saw nothing. I will also say that I was near Police Chief Reid Tevis’s headstone when this occurred. Was Reid still on watch that day? Probably not, but it did make sense to check my surroundings. Reid Tevis is yet another story on the hill during the cemetery tour—no ghost talk, just history and greatness. I’ll leave a link below.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16044144/reid-tevis

Another episode took place when I was near Sheriff Thomas Langham’s grave. The app emitted just one word: “run.” I laughed then, and I still laugh today. Nothing was going on, but if Thomas Langham had a sense of humor, I might have experienced it. I have other stories, but I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell them. (Some people don’t like other people knowing that their house is haunted.) I’ll get back to you.

Next week, it’s time to Niitakayama nobore 新高山登る一二○八 (climb Mount Niitaka) at Wings over Houston at Ellington Field. Not seeing the Texas Raiders B-17 Flying Fortress will be rough. Her participation in the Tora show always added a special touch to the reenactment of the history of the Pearl Harbor attack. That big bomber flies in from the mainland, weaponless and out of fuel, and tries to land during a full-scale attack. The iconic movie Tora! Tora! Tora! which the show was born out of, is the longest continuously performing nonmilitary airshow act in the United States. Most of the planes flying in the reenactment were designed for and flew in that movie.

This blog comes out on Sunday, October 8. So, today, the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial (MCVM) Park will be hosting members of the Commemorative Air Force. They will honor the B-17 Texas Raiders that was lost last year; they will also unveil the MCVM Park’s newest monument. The events will be live streamed on the park’s Facebook page. I’ll leave a link at the bottom of this blog.

Last week, I added my most read blog of all time, “The Legend of Sarah Jane Road.” I believe my second most read blog needs love too. “The Legend of Bragg Road” was a paranormal investigation of sorts. It was the ’80s, and we didn’t have any fancy gadgets or black shirts. Common sense was the next best thing, together with a paperback edition of ESP, Hauntings and Poltergeists: A Parapsychologist’s Handbook by Loyd Auerbach.

Until next week.

Legend of Bragg Road

My last venture into the spooky realm might have been eerie, but Bragg Road has always been much more so, mainly because I have seen the light, so to speak. In the late 80s, a few friends and I frequented the sandy eight-mile road, which runs between Highways FM 787 and FM 1293 near the town of Saratoga.

Located in the heart of the Big Thicket, one could definitely lose oneself in the pitch blackness of the forest. Except for the single light that mysteriously shines on occasion. But what is this all about? Let’s delve into the history of this lonely road.

In 1902 the Santa Fe railroad cut a line through the dense thicket between Saratoga and Bragg. These tracks were needed for hauling oil from the Saratoga oilfields, along with logs and cattle. For a long time, just one trip per day to Beaumont and back seemed to be enough to progress this wilderness into civilization. However, perhaps inevitably, the wilderness won and the city of Bragg is all but forgotten.

In 1934, the tracks were removed leaving behind a sandy road, which was used mostly by hunters who inadvertently kept the thicket from reclaiming it. It was around this time that some began seeing a strange light. (Note: In the book Tales from the Big Thicket by Francis E. Abernethy, there was one sighting of the light even before the tracks were removed.)

So what is behind this strange light that has been seen for nearly 80-plus years? The foremost story is that a railroad man was decapitated in a train wreck, so now he holds a lantern high while he looks for his head.

Other explanations include the Mexican cemetery where a foreman, rather than pay his road crew, killed them and kept the money. They were swiftly buried. Now their restless spirits haunt the road.

Whatever the source, there is a light on that darkened stretch. Skeptics will tell you that it is a reflection from car lights, but that would not explain the earlier sightings when there were few cars traveling down or near the road. Furthermore the old Model T’s headlights wouldn’t have shined brightly enough.

Another possibility is swamp gas. I could entertain this theory because of an investigation I was a part of 25 years ago.

In the late 80s, I made numerous trips to Bragg Road. The first was a day trip, and my friends Bryan and Hector tagged along. I only mention this because, after unsuccessfully identifying the road, we stopped at a store in Saratoga where Hector asked a lady where Bragg Road was. She explained to him how to get there and asked why we were looking for it. Without pause Hector explained we were going to a friend’s house that was located on the road. The woman grinned and wished us well. We did find the road and traveled down all eight miles never seeing a house or any sign of life. We had a good laugh over this.

My second trip down Bragg Road was a night-time journey done solo, but I saw nothing, only the blackness of the thicket. Fortunately my next jaunt into the forest did pay off. A few friends and I did see the light. It looked like an oncoming train if you were standing on the tracks. Try as we may, we could never get close to it. The light would flicker and then disappear.

On one occasion Paul Newman and I (Note: Not the actor turned racecar driver turned salad-dressing king) did an investigation to find out just what the light was. We started by removing all evidence of tire tracks at the entrance to the sandy road, followed by all three turnarounds. We figured that if we saw a light then we would have some idea if it was from a vehicle traveling down the road or something else.

As the night progressed, we saw the light several times, but only one vehicle, other than ours, passed down the road. We checked each turnaround and found only one set of tracks. Our investigation ended without a clear answer as to the cause of the light, or if it was indeed paranormal. We did conclude however that the light, at the very least, was not from a vehicle.

Usually when I go down that road, I see the light, except on full moonlit nights. Although the light seems to be far off, I have talked to people who know people who have seen the light close up, but sadly I have never personally met anyone who has done so, nor have I been privileged to witness it in close proximity. So please take the last statement as is.

So if you’re ever along FM 787 or FM 1293 and want a thrill, just turn onto that dark sandy road. You may just see that ghostly train headlight coming toward you. And what a sight it will be.

Niitakayama nobore 新高山登る一二○八:

https://todayshistorylesson.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/climb-mount-niitaka/

Montgomery County Veterans Memorial (MCVM) Park:

https://www.facebook.com/honoredmission

Wings Over Houston 2022; Tora! Tora! Tora! WWII Demo:

Tora Tora Tora Airshows

https://toratoratora.com/

Thoughts and Ramblings: THC Project Spotlight; Operation Blue Remembrance; Deputy John E. Hutcheson; The Legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers in the 20th Century

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Good news on the state front (still waiting for national publicity, though): the Texas Historical Commission (THC) has added the Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour to its Project Spotlight publication. It is good to know that the THC actually reads all the counties’ annual reports. The tour didn’t start out as a Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) project, but some of our members went above and beyond the call of duty to make it happen. And they are still bringing the history. I’ll leave the dates and times at the end of this blog.

John E. Hutcheson

While at Magnolia Cemetery last week, I learned that Operation Blue Remembrance (OBR) will be hosting a memorial service for the fallen deputy John E. Hutcheson, whose end of watch was June 28, 1925. The OBR is a non-profit organization from Baytown that was approved by the state and the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization on June 2, 2020. Its primary focus is “assisting the law enforcement community in any way” they can and visiting all the graves of fallen officers in Texas and a few other states. I’ll leave a link to their full story at the end of the blog.

The OBR’s motto is Nemo Oblitus, which is Latin for No One Forgotten. The reason the organization is coming here is that neither the family nor the county purchased a headstone for Deputy Hutcheson when he was buried in Magnolia Cemetery. The man was forgotten until the OBR went boots on the ground and discovered that he had no marker. Well, that will change on Wednesday, September 20 at 10:00 a.m., when they will set a brand-new headstone for the fallen deputy, paid for by the organization. Indeed, no one must be forgotten. Ever. Kudos to this group for doing this. Now that I know about them, I want to know about their next projects.

So, what happened to John E. Hutcheson? Here is what we know.

Deputy Hutcheson was shot and killed with his own revolver by an unruly prisoner in the county jail. The man was in jail for public drunkenness and was working off a $21 fine. At around 1000 hours, the prisoner threw a piece of metal at Deputy Hutcheson, grazing his head. The deputy reported the incident to the sheriff, who told him not to give the prisoner lunch without the assistance of the sheriff.

Deputy Hutcheson did not heed the warning and enlisted the help of two other prisoners to help serve lunch to the prisoner. As he entered the cell, the man hit him in the head with a pot and knocked him down. The prisoner then grabbed the deputy’s .45 caliber service revolver and shot him in the chest. The two other prisoners immediately attacked the prisoner and during the struggle, the suspect was shot in the head and fatally wounded.

The two prisoners who assisted Deputy Hutcheson were released from prison for their heroic actions.

Deputy Hutcheson was survived by his wife and four daughters. He was buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Beaumont, Texas.

Source: https://www.odmp.org/officer/17099-deputy-sheriff-john-e-hutcheson

A wife and four daughters usually don’t have the money for a headstone, especially if it’s 1925. I haven’t delved into the story here, but I want to learn more about it. The public is welcome to come out to the cemetery and attend the memorial service in remembrance of John E. Hutcheson, and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office will be well represented on the occasion.

On Thursday, I attended a virtual presentation by the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission. It was called “The Legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers in the 20th Century.” Cale Carter II, director of exhibitions at the Buffalo Soldiers Museum in Houston, did a superb job. He enlightened me on a few things about the 24th and 25th Infantry units in the Pacific theater of World War II that I would like to research.

The buffalo soldiers’ history is new to me, and I’ve only begun to discover their past. Here in SETX, we can confidently say that we have a buffalo soldier buried in Beaumont’s Evergreen Cemetery. For years, people speculated that there was a soldier buried there, but the facts weren’t available. Then, a researcher named Kate Hambright, who is also on the JCHC, found the last piece of the puzzle, which identified him as a soldier who fought in the Indian Wars.

Jerry Lloyd is an actual buffalo soldier because the units that originated this term were from 1866–1898. There were some Black units who fought in the Civil War on the Union side, and there were a few who fought for the Confederacy. I won’t get into this because I am not knowledgeable about the Civil War except that my great-great-grandfather came to this country in 1868 from Italy when “y’all got your sh*t together!” Some say we still haven’t, but we’re trying. I believe this is true!

George Shaw, who is also buried in Evergreen Cemetery, died in France in the Great War in 1918, along with our recognized fallen. He wasn’t a buffalo soldier, and that’s all right, but he did receive a new headstone, at the same time as Jerry Lloyd. Shaw did have a headstone, but it stated that he was a private. George Shaw was a sergeant, and when you die in a war that you didn’t ask for but participated in, accuracy matters. Thanks again to Kate for also discovering this! I will leave a link to the full video of the presentation. Thank you, Kristy Peloquin, development manager at the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission.

Well, that’s about it for this week. Until next time, Nemo Oblitus. Ever!

The times and dates of the Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour are as follows:

Thursday, October 19 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

2022 CHC Project Spotlights:

Click to access 2022%20CHC%20Project%20Spotlights.pdf

Operation Blue Remembrance:

https://operationblueremembrance.org/#

Buffalo Soldiers Museum: https://buffalosoldiersmuseum.org/

12 News Now: Jerry Lloyd and George Shaw

https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/two-black-fallen-soldiers-receiving-headstone-evergreen-cemetery/502-872d65aa-a1a9-4ec4-b621-529bf8d3d6de

Friends of the THC:

http://www.thcfriends.org/

Texas Historical Commission:

https://www.thc.texas.gov/

The Legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers in the 20th Century (Full Video Presentation)

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=267001102819972

Thoughts and Ramblings: 100 Things to Do in Beaumont? Is the USS Texas Homeless? A Drive down Memory Lane

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Someone wrote a book called 100 Things to Do in Beaumont Before You Die. My first thought was, “That’s nice,” but I can get this kind of information at most museums and attractions in our area. The Beaumont Conventions & Visitors Bureau has a website that offers this information for free. So, why the book? Who is the audience? And who wrote it?

I learned a lot about people’s thoughts about Beaumont from my covert operations regarding the USS Texas. At the time, they were looking at which city should host it. Everyone dismissed Beaumont as a drive-through city and wasn’t cordial about it. I have the audio! I believe 秋山 優花里 Akiyama Yukari would have been proud of me and my shenanigans, but I digress! We know many visitors frequent both the Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur and Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum in Beaumont. Some of them are international. Not the numbers that the USS Texas needs to stay afloat, but the numbers are good (but not that good to vacation here unless you fish).

The book’s author is Lauren Monitz, a freelance journalist who has moved to Beaumont. She’s written other books like this one and has a travel blog called The Down Lo. Let’s just say that her travels are global, as is her following. Her Instagram rocks about 101,000 followers (and I didn’t even see one cat video). It’s obvious that she wrote the book because she saw a lot of good things in this area and wanted to spread the word. Kudos to her for this. I’ll leave a link to her blog below.

Regarding the USS Texas, there is no certainty that the foundation will moor it to Pier 21 in Galveston next to the Elissa. Is Tilman Fertitta getting cold feet? Probably not. The problem may be similar to that of Beaumont hosting it. There are restrictions in the waterways that may have to get Congress involved, and we already have too much incompetence in politics. I know the ship needs 250,000 paid visitors a year to break even, so the foundation wanted it in Galveston. If not Galveston, then where? Corpus Christi is not in the mix, and that is interesting because they know how to take care of museum ships. I’m sure it will end up somewhere on Galveston Island, but I wonder about the repairs needed in 30 years due to the salt water. The state of Texas has given the foundation 35 million dollars to go away. Hopefully, there will be some sort of GoFundMe page in 2053 to crowdfund the repairs.

Last Sunday, I took a drive down memory lane. I wanted to check Eddingston Court on Procter Street in Port Arthur. The site is privately owned now and fenced in, so I knew it would only be a drive-by. The structures haven’t changed much since the sale, but at least the grass is mowed, and Dionicio’s conch shell wall is intact behind a chain-link fence. This was a sight to see when it was built in 1929 by tugboat captain and businessman Ambrose Eddingston. One can only hope something will come of this property so that it can shine again.

I also noticed new construction next door at the old Pond Estate, at least along the road, but the land goes back to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The Ponds owned Greenlawn Cemetery in Groves before selling it to the corporate entity known as Dignity Memorial, which is not question friendly unless you have your checkbook out. This is really sad because most of my family is buried there. Last year, as part of the Texas Historical Commission’s cemetery inventory project, I tried to get in touch with someone of substance at this Dignified Dog and Pony show. I needed to know if Johnson Cemetery is separate from Greenlawn. I know it used to be separate, but the goal of the inventory project was to answer questions about how many cemeteries were in a county. I still haven’t heard back from them. I will also add that the same company owns Forest Lawn in Beaumont. I asked them a similar question, and I did get an answer. The person on the other end of the phone wasn’t happy to talk to me, but at least I got an answer. I’ll just leave it there.

The old interurban office on Austin Avenue and the Adams Building were my next drive-bys down memory lane. I really hope they do this building proud! Kudos to Motiva!

Whenever I drive through Port Arthur, I am drawn to Ninth Avenue and the good memories of the area, but before reaching the memories, we stop at Saigon Market for sweet bread. Yes, I do miss Howard’s Grocery and JPOTS (Just Part of the Store), but I miss Alston’s Nursery even more. If you grew up in Port Arthur, and depending on how old you are, you will know this nursery by different names. Back in the day, it was Eagleson Nursery, then Norman Alston purchased it and spent many years selling the regular stuff, but you could always go in and purchase just one vegetable plant instead of a pack of six. Corporate Walmart failed in this case.

I had a good relationship with Norman. He was full of knowledge of the industry and had common sense. At the time, my neighbor Roy was also a frequent shopper at the nursery, and there was a certain rivalry between them concerning who could grow the biggest cabbage. Of course, Roy, who was born in Leesville, Louisiana, was to me the ultimate farmer. He educated me on many things, from growing red potatoes to changing all the gas lines in the house. Usually, they would compare produce, and the winner would usually be Norman. I did a write-up on Roy; I’ll leave the link at the bottom of this blog.

Of course, as I was surrounded by nurses during my life, I have to mention St. Mary’s Hospital. It’s now an empty lot, but the flagpole and a plaque memorializing its existence are still there. It’s sad for those who worked there and remember the place; the original building was mutilated by redevelopment and expansion. Even if they had wanted to, they could never have saved the original structure. I have a few photos of the front of the original building with the name on it.

Across the street from St. Mary’s Hospital, there was an apartment complex that was moved to the beach as rentals. The ’70s maybe? I have no idea if they are still standing. St. James Catholic Church and School was south of the hospital. I remember the five-story addition of the hospital being built in the ’70s. I also remember the cement circle where a few nuns would exercise by taking walks along it. Someone told me there was a building in the middle, but I didn’t follow up on this. And even after all this talk, penguins were not referenced.

I’ve previously mentioned on the blog why Ninth Avenue gets all curvy near the Bob Hope School, which was once the Hughen School. The interurban depot stood in the middle of two dead-end roads. After 1932, I guess people figured out that this spot would make a good shortcut over the tracks, or it’s possible that the shortcut began during the war in the ’40s because almost no one had a car in this area in the ’30s. I know that the interurban tracks were removed and used for the war effort.

I didn’t mention Calvery Cemetery, where I also have family, nor my frequent visits to TG&Y across the street from the cemetery. I also didn’t mention Ace Hobby Shop on Twenty-Fifth Street, where I usually purchased World War II carrier models, and Gerald Schnieder’s store. Good times.

Occasionally, I like to drive through the old neighborhood on Nineteenth and Twentieth Streets, but things have changed. Some of my old neighbors and friends have gone, including the Tremonts, Myers, Duhons, Domacs, Fontenots, Romeros, Belangers, Les, Trans, Garcias, Broussards, and Boones. All good people. Some have moved on; others have moved up. I’ll end it here, but I do want to say that five-year-old me ate the perfect crabcake thanks to Mrs. Domac.

100 Thungs to do in Beaumont, TX Before You Die:  https://www.reedypress.com/shop/100-things-to-do-in-beaumont-texas-before-you-die/

Lauren Monitz:  https://www.instagram.com/lmonitz/

The Down Lo:  https://thedownlo.com/

U.S.S. Texas: https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/battleship-texas-future-uncertain/285-4dc0930c-a758-48d3-8322-51ad9287e316

Interurban: https://www.rediscoveringsetx.com/2013/07/10/interurban-railway/

Old Roy:  https://www.rediscoveringsetx.com/2012/07/24/remembering-roy/St. James School Photos:https://flic.kr/s/aHsjHbBt2P