Category Archives: History

Thoughts and Ramblings: Texaco History with Elton Gish; Talking Port Arthur in H-E-B; Sarah Bringing Out My Tora (Triggered); a Few Words on Florence

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Last week, a couple of people asked me about books written on Texaco, and I immediately thought of Elton Gish. Elton authored Texaco’s Port Arthur Works: A Legacy of Spindletop and Sour Lake. Elton worked for Texaco for decades, and he became interested in its history early when he noticed old photos hanging on the walls of its offices. One day, he asked if he could have an aerial photo of the refinery; eventually, he was given an 8 x 10 photo and was hooked on the company’s history ever since. I have an hour of audio of him speaking at one of the Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC)/Certified Local Government meetings in 2016. I’ll get into that briefly, but first I want to go down the Texaco books road.

I forgot the year, but I found another book on Texaco at an estate sale (another shout-out to Heather at Ready, Set, Sale). I found both the paperback and hardback versions. The book was The Texaco Story: The First Fifty Years 1902–1952 by Marquis James. The hardcover version had a letter attached to it, signed by the chairman of the board and the president of the Texas Company. I don’t translate scribble, and the names are not significant to me, so I will skip the who’s who of Texaco’s grand pooh-bahs. However, I do believe that the letter was important to both the receiver and the company at the time.

Both books have some great photos from long ago, and I will also throw in an awesome box set of postcards I have from 2001 from the Texaco Inc. historical collection (again, Heather rocks!). I could, and did, spend hours looking at these photos and postcards.

The Elton Gish audio file from 2016 brought back many memories. I had forgotten about his journey at Texaco, and the other speakers at the meeting were also fabulous. Sarah Bellian, a JCHC member and the then curator at the Museum of the Gulf Coast, definitely added some color to the history at the meeting. Sarah is currently the curator at the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii (more on this later). Elton’s presentation at the meeting in question was nothing less than superb. He brought many Texaco product containers, cans, and boxes from throughout the company’s history. He even donned a Texaco uniform and hat! My only regret is that I didn’t make a video of the meeting because he had a PowerPoint presentation with his talk. I do have a few photos of it, which I will post.

I ran into a good friend at H-E-B this week. I won’t go all in—like Toodlum, a.k.a. Martha Ferguson, did in the ’90s about Adam Troy Rodriguez—but I will state that there is no one else I will stand next to in the cheese section in front of the meat aisle for over 30 minutes talking about Port Arthur history. The fajita potato at his restaurant, Mi Ranchito in Groves, Texas, was all I needed back then. (Pie Face’s jambalaya was also pretty good at the time.) I got to know his family, and I loved all of them. So, I guess I’m having a Toodlum moment. It may be controversial, but I will go ahead and say that Troy’s dirty rice is the best. I don’t care what your grandmother cooks (unless her name was Mrs. Domec and she made crab cakes when I was five years old—heaven!).

Last week, I asked if anyone would be interested in volunteering for a cleanup project. Thanks to those who responded. This project is in the works, so it may take some time to dot the i’s and cross the t’s, but I will keep you informed. When the ball gets rolling, we will do a piece on it here.

I have a few audio files from the past that I want to revisit next week. One includes my uncle. I did an oral history about when he lived in Beauxart Gardens in the ’30s. I also want to listen to my friend Millie’s oral history of when she lived in Port Arthur during World War II. I have many things to do, but not the time to do them, but I’ll try.

I mentioned earlier that Sarah is now in Hawaii, at the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum. In April of 2020, while everyone was locked down and masked up, I received a message and two photos of a letter printed with the letterhead of the Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. The second page contained a plethora of events that happened during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. I will say that Sarah knew of my excessive interest in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!, and that day she threw this old mediocre dog the most significant bone from his childhood. Courtesy of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum at Pearl Harbor (USS Bowfin)! Everyone knows I’m obsessed with this movie and World War II history. To have a crumb of insight into what was going on at the time and the film’s preparations was gold for me. There will be a day that I will go all Yukari Akiyama 秋山 優花里 in on a blog about this movie, along with the original Midway. Heck, Les Nessman (Richard Sanders) was in it before he made history by reporting on the infamous turkey drop on WKRP in Cincinnati. I will do a whole blog on this stuff and publish it as a Sunday Extra Edition, and no one will read it because it doesn’t mention Beaumont or Port Arthur, but I will not care because it’s Tora! Tora! Tora!.

Eighty-six years ago tonight, SETX lost a friend—Florence Stratton died at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans. I’ll post the tribute to her at 6:30 this evening, but I did want to get into a few things first. I’ve been doing this blog since May 2012. Along the way, I’ve learned many things and researched many people, but Florence is the one person I’ve continuously investigated. I’ve spent an enormous amount of time and money trying to bring her story to light. Yes, there are articles written about her, and their authors did a good job with what information they had at the time. In my work, I wanted to uncover her story, which is hard to find because she was always in the background. Despite all the Susie Spindletop Weekly Letters, she offered little insight into her life. The letters mostly promoted her friends and readers, as she knew people would be interested in them. This is why there were 200 people inside her small house at 1929 McFaddin Avenue for her funeral. It is also why the funeral procession to Magnolia Cemetery was a mile long.

Thirteen years of digging into her family’s and friends’ history has been a treat, and I will continue to dig. I’ve noticed that more people, especially women, are becoming interested in her story, and I’m glad to see this because she was there in 1918, in the background, doing her part to try to get women the right to vote. They succeeded, but to my knowledge, she never wrote about her role in this struggle in her weekly letters. (Her weekly letters began on February 28, 1926, so eight years later, but it was still a special achievement.) I just hope that I have allies so that when I’m gone, someone will continue digging into the life of Florence Stratton (a.k.a. Susie Spindletop). And I think I do. I hope I’ve given them a good starting point. Florence Vor! Full speed ahead!

Until next week, I hope we can put the life preservers away while driving to H-E-B. I’m about ready for a hot drought.

Farewell To A Valued Friend:

THE DEATH of Miss Florence Stratton brings genuine sorrow to a numerous company. It is with a feeling of the greatest personal loss that those of us who had been closely associated with her through the years in newspaper work mourn her passing. And all of us who knew her well feel quite certain that when she entered that corridor of eternal darkness she did so unafraid, her head held high and her spirit uncowed.

First as a public school teacher and then as a newspaper woman, her whole life from youth to death was busy and useful. She loved her work, found no diversion that equaled it in pleasure and satisfaction,and to it devoted her talents and energy to the full. On her last assignment when she suffered a slight stroke she stood by her guns until her chore was completed, then left the office never to return. Into her work she put the sympathy and sentiment that marked her character. She was always a womanly woman, concerned primarily with the interests of women, and always a gentlewoman in the broad and best sense of the word. In the course of her long and honorable service she made and kept innumerable friends, by all of whom she will be tenderly remembered, and the still larger circle who knew her through her work will not soon forget…

                                       Bill Beaumont

Beaumont Journal January 29, 1938

Elton Gish—Texaco History:

https://www.texacohistory.com/

Martha ‘Toodlums’ Ferguson:

https://www.rediscoveringsetx.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/1498881_499869243458550_1847275268_o.jpg

U.S.S. Bowfin; https://www.bowfin.org

Tora! Tora! Tora! The Movie:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066473/

Tribute to Florence Stratton:

Tribute to Florence Stratton

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: New Year, New Plan

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The New Year is a time when some people try to change their lives for the better. Some try to get fit, while others focus on getting their life in order. Here, under the oaks on Ye Olde Block Formosan Farm, we think it’s time to revisit some of what we collected over the past twelve years. We also think that some of our treasures need a good home, so those items will be sent to a better place as we see fit. Stay tuned.

Last week, we sent a few Beaumont directories (1978–1984) to the Tyrrell Historical Library for safekeeping. This was a no-brainer, but I do have some small collections that may not fit on a larger scale. A few years back, I did a few estate sales. Shout-out to Ready, Set, Sell Estate Sales (thanks Heather!). We found a lot of interesting things that should be preserved in SETX history. One in particular was the Norma Davis World War II scrapbook. This is where I found out about Taro Kishi penning an article in the Beaumont Enterprise about wanting to serve his country. As he was Japanese American in the 1940s, there was definitely a problem with this for the powers that be, and he was denied the chance to serve. Eventually, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was formed with Japanese Americans, but unfortunately without Taro, and it fought in the Italian campaign. They fought proud and true. Their motto was Go for Broke!, and they did!

I also learned about Kichimatsu Kishi, whom I put on the pedestal of those who had many successes and failures in life; he was the one with the most common sense. Kichimatsu and his family lived as American citizens, but after Pearl Harbor, he knew that anti-Japanese sentiment would peak. So, that Monday, he turned himself in to the FBI in Port Arthur. I guess that’s what you do when you have no idea what just happened, but you know how people will react. He spent two months in an internment camp but was released after his hearing because, according to his son Taro, he answered all the questions correctly.

One of the questions the authorities asked Kichimatsu was the following: “If the Emperor ordered you to bomb the oil refinery in Port Arthur, would you do it?”

Kichimatsu replied thus: “First, I am a farmer and businessman and know nothing about explosives. Suppose I was adopted into another family and my biological parent ordered me to harm my adopted family. I could not do so.”

He was a better man than me—I hate politicians at all levels—but he had no choice except to participate in their dog and pony show. It backfired, though, and it made way for the family to return to normality.

Another treasure I found at an estate sale was an almost complete collection of World War II Time Life Books. I have twenty-seven of the thirty-nine that were published. I think that was the total of the series.

Speaking of books, we have acquired many regional SETX history books over the years. I really don’t want to add up how much we spent on purchasing these treasures, but some of the money went to local museums. A few favorites we purchased locally were the Centennial History books from Port Arthur and Nederland, a few pictorial-history books from Hardin County, and some from Chambers County. There are many others that need to be cataloged and listed for their preservation.

Of course, we took the eBay route on a couple of occasions and visited a few bookstores. Some of these were local. All five Florence Stratton books were purchased online, along with the great find of the original edition of The White Plume in the Bunker’s Monthly magazine, published in 1928. I will also admit that an autographed Arthur Stilwell book was purchased by accident. You know the scenario. You were shopping online, and it was left in the cart, but then a month later you wanted to purchase Willie Cooper Hobby’s memorial book, which you had only seen at the LBJ library and in Woodville. Yes, the Arthur Stilwell book is autographed, but as most of you know, I’m not a fan of Mr. All Hat and No Cattle. Truth be told, I have a few other books written by him, and they are of little use to me in researching history.

My Beaumont books are many—the Walker sisters (Judy and Ellen), their father (John H. Walker), and a copy of the 1939 American Guide Series book for Beaumont. Thanks to a friend, I also have an American Guide Series book for Port Arthur from 1940. All these volumes offer a wealth of information, and they are an inspiration for me.

A couple of prized possessions from 1946 and 1947 are two phone books from Port Arthur, which were given to me by my late friend Jerry Burnett. Last week, on our Facebook page, there were many people who wanted to prank call their ancestors. Before you dial, just remember Yukon!

As I dig deeper into my collection, I see the Betty Maggio Port Arthur Collection (1979). It states “fine art for correspondence” on the stationary, and I believe this is magnificent art! I have a couple of buttons from the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electrical Railway Employees, Division 241 May 1918 and Division 1031 February 1936. I also have a Beaumont City bus token that was given to me by Beaumont History Bits. I’ll have to ask the mayor, Roy West, whether it is still valid.

I could go on and on about these treasures, and I will throughout the year. Today, though, I will end with one that was given to me by a family friend, Millie Rougeau, a few years back. She was the oral-history source for my article “Life in Jefferson County during World War II,” which was published in May 2013. Millie gave me her family’s World War II ration book, with stamps. I’ve posted a few photos of it through the years. She passed in 2023, and I thank her for trusting me with this treasure. I will find it a home.

Audio and video recordings of family and friends (oral histories) are a hell of a lot better than photos because you can still hear people’s voices.

Until next week.

Life in Jefferson County during World War II

Thoughts and Ramblings: A Look Back

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It has been a most intriguing year for me, to say the least. We found the “Elks Love Nest,” which was given away in a raffle in December 1926. The house still stands in 2023.

We also found Beaumont’s “daredevil,” Louis Sacker, eating horseshoes and nails in 1926 while doing other strongman stuff. Grrr! (These are the types of stories that appear when you search in old newspapers.)

Eunice Stephens, Florence Stratton’s niece, was proven right about the discovery of a town called Florence. Yes, I ate crow at dismissing this because Florence, Texas, was established in 1857 in Williamson County, but a fellow researcher (thanks Kate) found an article referring to a train stop called Florence Switch in Hardin County. The depot/stop had no post office but lasted until at least 1912. I nicked a 1912 train stop map from the internet as proof. Sometimes we can be a bit dodgy, but it was the original map and I just wanted proof of the location of Florence Switch. I’ll pay $150 for a signed book by Florence Stratton and $150 to walk around the U.S.S. Texas in drydock, but I do have my limits.

I was honored to speak to the Daughters of the American Revolution, Captain William Sanders Chapter, in Port Arthur in February. And, heads up, I will be doing the same this February.

In February, I also visited the U.S.S. Texas at Gulf Copper in Galveston. I was five minutes late but managed to drive from the ferry to the shipyard parking lot in those five minutes (you do the math and the wind speeds—sorry/not sorry). On my visit, I noticed that most people there were not from Beaumont, but they opined about Beaumont being a drive-thru city and that they would hate to see the ship moored there. I had assumed it would be moored in Galveston, but for some reason, they didn’t mention it after Beaumont and Baytown were taken off the list. However, it will be moored near the Elissa.

In March and April, I participated in a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey at the Sabine Pass Cemeteries. Our goal was to find the mass grave of yellow fever victims from the mid-1860s, but due to the clay soil and lack of permission to access the known site, our efforts didn’t yield much. This investigation is ongoing!

In April, I visited the Tallship Festival in Galveston. Touring the four ships, plus one modern ship, was fantastic, and I managed to do it in an hour and a half. My main love at this festival was the U.S.S. Thomas Jefferson. This modern National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship is a federally operated hydrographic vessel out of Norfolk, Virginia. It does ocean mapping and is a vital tool for scanning shipping areas after a hurricane or any other problem that could endanger the maritime sector. The ship is here to scan the waters and make sure they are clear of debris and hazards. It was here for Hurricane Delta in 2020, and it did its thing for Hurricane Maria in 2017.

This year was Port Arthur’s 125th anniversary, and there were many efforts to tell the story. My favorite was the online map of historical markers. Les McMahen did an excellent job on this!

The 49th Galveston Historic Homes Tour was one to remember for me, at least for me. As some of you know, I take the tour on the first day and then volunteer with the candy lady Bev from Liberty County on Sunday. I stayed at a friend’s Airbnb this year, so I didn’t have to drive from Jefferson County to Galveston via Winnie. Between waiting for the ferry and that drive, it usually drives you insane. Whatever the insanity, Mama Theresa’s Pizza is there, and this is my dinner waiting on the ferry! Hope to see you at the 50th in May. I hear there’s something exciting planned!

The drought hit us hard this year. It was worse than in 2011. If you remember, that was the year that many forest fires threatened Plantersville. There was a lot of damage between Houston and Austin that you can still see today. Well, this year was more of a look at how low the river has become “and is that a ship?” While we heard about a few incidents from the news media, many boats have sunk along the Neches. If you take the Ivy Bill Tour along the Neches, they’ll point them out to you! That crew is impressive!

In May, two veterans interred at Evergreen Cemetery received headstones. The new headstones were for Sergeant George Shaw, who died in France during the Great War (WWI), and Jerry Lloyd, a Buffalo soldier who fought in the Indian wars. The replacement headstone for George Shaw was necessary because the original one erroneously stated that he was a private. Thanks to the research conducted by a member of our Jefferson County Historical Commission, a headstone with the correct information was sent, as Sergeant Shaw deserves. The situation with Jerry Lloyd’s headstone was a bit different; as far as we know, he never received one. If there was a regular one marking his grave, it had disappeared. Research confirms that he was buried in Evergreen Cemetery, but we’re unaware of his specific location.

In September, fallen Deputy John E. Hutcheson received a headstone in a ceremony at Magnolia Cemetery. Thanks to Operation Blue Remembrance (OBR) for making this happen and paying for it. OBR is a nonprofit organization from Baytown, 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 the graves of fallen officers in Texas and a few other states. OBR’s motto is Nemo Oblitus, which is Latin for “No One Forgotten.” The organization stepped in because neither the family nor the county had purchased a headstone for Deputy Hutcheson when he was buried in Magnolia Cemetery.

The 3rd Annual Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour was well received, with record attendance this year. The Texas Historical Commission even included us in its Project Spotlight publication. This is basically their way of giving county historical commissions throughout the state a shout-out for what they are doing to preserve history. This is excellent because a lot of people involved in the tour work tirelessly to preserve various aspects of our county’s history. The stories from the tour usually stem from their own research, and they do a wonderful job. See you next year for the fourth annual tour!

So, what’s in store for 2024? I have no idea, but I’m sure it will be full of shenanigans, history, and anime references that no one gets, but that’s okay. I do know that no one here will be participating in “dry January.” Cheers!

Thoughts and Ramblings: Susie Spindletop Edition II

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It’s been a busy week here, Under the Oakes on Ye Olde Block Farm. So I’ll be back next week with more nonsense and shenanigans. In the meantime, Susie is here to guide you through some SETX life in 1931.

                              Susie Spindletop’s Weekly Letter Snipetts 1931

Dear Della:

Right at the start I want to express my appreciation for your being present at the opening of the fair. Your husband wasn’t much to look at but he counted as one and that’s something.

Your children were very attractive at the beginning but with lolly pops, taffy candy and the results of a bad cold all mixed in one they would hardly have added anything to the art exhibition an hour later. Be that as it may, you started right by coming early so you can decide on where to spend your time looking things over during the remaining days of the fair. I’ve heard that the old bachelors will be quartered in what was formerly the livestock pens.

 *           *           *

Della: I’ve got a camel’s hair coat.

Della’s husband: Where’d you kill the camel?

                                              *           *           *

Good thing Thanksgiving is coming soon for the yallerlegged chickens have disappeared from this section. The Methodists have been here a few days in conference about what I was not informed.

And as usual, I had to make a break. Our former resident Dr. Mills, was here, and I congratulated him on becoming a circuit rider.

“Excuse me, sister,” said he, “I’m presiding elder.”

“Pardon me, elder,” said I,”I didn’t know you were that old.”

He hasn’t seen me since because I always see him first.

                                           November 8, 1931

Just because I’m fondly anticipating the day when I will be 21, the stork left his perch with the first blast of winter and made me wrong again.

Last week, I told you Mr. and Mrs. Joe Broussard had 21 grandchildren. I’ll admit that I was a little careless in not counting them myself, but some women forget to even powder their nose.

Honestly, I have never done anything to excite the enmity of Ruth and I.D. Polk, but they are responsible for my predicament. A son was born to them October 29, making a grand total of 22. That’s where I get out. I said total of 21 and not grand total, which, of course, would be 22

                                                November 1, 1931

Believe it or not, Della, but I helped to organize the Col. George Moffett chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, here 25 years ago. Or rather, I was present when it happened.

About all I can remember about it is that it happened at the home of Mrs. Rush Norvell, located where the Woodhead place now is. The chapter’ll be celebrating its silver jubilee this week at Mrs. Norvell’s. I do remember something was the matter with Mrs. Norvell’s fireplace, so the meeting was held in the dining room. The Manse at Staunton, Virginia, where Woodrow Wilson lived in the museum known as the little White House. Here is a sideboard that belonged to Col. George Moffett. “Tis a replica of the one at Mount Vernon.”

                                                   *                  *                 *

In trouble again. Mr. E.D. Leach writes from Ceres, New York, to say, “You are all wrong, LaSalle’s bones are reposing in Forest Lawn Memorial Park. That can be easily established. Why would anybody want to be found dead at the Country club? That isn’t what it’s for?”

I don’t like to get into an argument but when I had the explorer buried at the Country club don’t feel like digging up his bones and interring them somewhere else.

I’m now notifying Mr. Leach that La Salle was never in New York. He has in mind Peter Stuyvesant, the fella who bought Manhattan Island for $25

                                                             October 4, 1931

Della:

I’m convinced that Joe Lederer is a hayseed pure and simple. Last year he was in Chicago, went out to the stock yards when they were feeding the cattle, and immediately took to his bed with hay fever.

This season, he remained in Beaumont but somehow got a waft of new mown hay and immediately began to sneeze. Joe says hay fever is nothing to sneeze at but he just can’t help it.

  *                *                 *

Then I know a milliner who says the handling of feathers gives her the hay fever. It seems to me that this would be feather fever.

                                                      *                  *                *

That may be the reason the judge pined so much when he saw Maude Miller raking the new mown hay. He had hay fever and didn’t know it. It might have been!

                                                    September 27, 1931

“Maud Muller” is a poem from 1856 written by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)

Dear Della:

Now, I’m in trouble over a little mesquite steer which caused my friend, Mr. Patterson of Junction, the creator of mesquite animals, to get into a trinity of trouble. He, armed with a trusty Colts, the dog armed with a vicious growl and the steer armed with vicious horns clashed in the stillness of that delightfull west Texas atmosphere. Now I feel I can realize the cautious creep of a man who thinks his home has been invaded, is still being invaded, and powder liable to be burned at any time. But let him tell the story.

My Dear Susie:

I am returning you, under separate cover, the mesquite steer with the wide, white horns, which you so kindly presented to me some weeks ago, and which rested with my choicer curios beside a rosewood musicbox. I thank you for it most sincerely, my friend.

It would today still be in its place, save for an incident fraught with terror for me and mine. Say what you want, my friend, the black details of this incident shall remain with us, to haunt us through the night, for many a month. I hasten first, however, to say that you were innocent of any thought that the facts I am about to transcribe here would occur. How could you possibly know… So, of course, I hold you blameless, but nevertheless these things did occur.

My wife and I, she upon the divan and I in my great grandfather’s comfy chair, had been listening to late night offerings on the radio. The music was soft charming. The living room was darkened save for a low brass lamp reminiscent of our old homes in the kerosene days. Outside, in the utter darkness of the avenue, a cricket chirped, not unpleasingly, in the damp depths of the old ligustrum. The last not of a song faded and the light was switched off.

The first peculiar thing I noticed was a strange sharp bark, and a low trouble growl from my little dog, followed by a terrifying yelp, and then, strangest to us of all, a complete stillness on her part. Our room, you know lies removed by the den, hallway, and the dining room from the living room… I had been thinking of Jacob’s supernatural story of , “The Monkey’s Paw,” a terrifying tale. Suddenly without a wisp of warning, came the sound of a furious commotion from the living room. I set down the fact, unabashed, that I was frozen paralyzed. I make no attempt to fictionize these facts. More after the fashion of a steel robot than a man my hand found my Colts and, guided. I think now, more by instinct, than by my own faculties, I made my way—I hardly know how—to the front of the house. Or, rather, I got part way. In a strange, sort of orange, red light, I saw the little mesquite animal grown to enormous size. The red nostrils were aflame with wrath. The horns were lowered, though they rose above the tops of my chairs…And then, and, then he came at me…and I felt something grasp me tightly…Then in a shudder I saw it all. The rest of the night I refrained from sleeping on my back.

Foolish am I , perhaps, but a thing like this is deep seated, and I ask you kindly to take back your steer. J.P.W.

                                                           *                 *                 *

I can appreciate his feelings for once upon a time I had an alley cat take possession of the house, the roof,the yard and all streets, and alleys leading thereto. But I had to fire a scream instead of a bullet from a trusted revolver.

                                                           *                 *                *

Now I think just for that I’ll give Mr. Patterson another job. The city zoo has adopted two lion cubs or the cubs have adopted the city, only time will tell. Anyway I’m sending him a picture of them and see if there’re any mesquite branches that look like them, after the said mesquite branch has passed through his artistic fingers.

                                                          *                *                   *

The trouble is he may make a lion so realistic that it will roar in the early morning hours and the trusty Colts revolver will be brought into play.

                                                         *                *                   *

And I have another job for him which cannot be executed until I take a long vacation. I will send him a picture of your husband for reproduction and let some one say that he got the inspiration from Noah’s Ark. Must arrange it so things will blow over somewhat I return.

                                                 September 20, 1931

Della, you often hear people say they have gotten to the end of the road. Well that’s m Good-bye

                  Susie

                                                 September 13, 1931

A Brief History of Florence Stratton Part 1:

A brief History of Florence Stratton part1

A Brief History of Florence Stratton Part 2:

A brief History of Florence Stratton part2

Maud Muller:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maud_Muller#:~:text=Throughout%20the%20rest%20of%20their,%22

Thoughts and Ramblings: Making My List and Checking It Twice, Florence Stratton, Martha Mack, Jeanette Catherina Stengele, and Kate Dorman v. Dutch Margaret

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Martha Mack

When November starts, I make a list of research projects to conduct in the winter months, when I have more time to dedicate to my studies. I make my list, check it twice, and then I usually never stick to it because I have too many rabbit holes to go through. The Mari Lwyd and the Belsnickel keep knocking at my door and interrupting me. I’ll admit that I welcome when the Mari Lwyd brings it! But she usually wins because I don’t rap, and I have enough alcohol as well as apple and carrot cinnamon muffins to share. As far as the Belsnickel goes, I have no idea why he is around because there are no children here to use his switch on. Yes, I’ve probably been bad, but he has a tiny stick taken from a tree, and I have a Katana—four actually. At least Krampus and I get along. We respect each other, and we are both disgruntled with St. Nick. I’ll leave links at the bottom of this blog post for those not in the know.

Florence Stratton 1907

Florence Stratton

I’ve been researching Susie Spindletop since 2012, and I continue to discover new clues in her life, such as the location of the town/railroad stop that Eunice, her niece, said was named after her. Yes, Eunice, I’m still eating crow for this discovery, but I’m glad to have learned about its existence in Hardin County.

This winter I want to continue working on having a digital copy of every Susie Spindletop’s Weekly Letter. I have most of them, but some are illegible on microfilm. This is why I will be searching for all the ones I can get from the online newspaper archive. Concerning the rest, I will make a list and send it to the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, where the original copies of the Beaumont Enterprise are held. After I have all the weekly letters, I will submit my research to the Tyrrell Historical Library.

All my research can be found at the Jefferson County Historical Commission, plus a few other places, in case I die after consuming too many Zummo sausages. My doctor is from New York, and she has a problem with Zummo sausages because they are not like the German sausages she grew up on, but she is not German. It’s okay, because I am also not German, and I have a problem with SETX kolaches. “How dare you call a pig in a blanket a kolache?” I say with my best Greta Thunberg voice and frown. (If you don’t know who Greta is, don’t worry. You’re not missing much, and I won’t have a link at the bottom of the blog.) Also, where are the pastries? When you know your food, then you know. I will add that the true kolaches, both meat or pastry, are made in Central Texas. Shout-out to Schulenburg and Fredericksburg.

Martha Mack

Last year, Martha Mack Cemetery was added to the Magnolia Cemetery Tour because its history overlaps with that of the Pipkin section of Magnolia. Here is its history.

For much of the 20th century, many African American Beaumonters began their education at Pipkin Elementary School on Pine Street. In 1911, when Millard Elementary School for Whites was assigned a new brick structure, its old two-story wooden building was moved to the Pipkin site on Pine Street. This building was also replaced by a brick structure in the 1920s. In 1974, the City of Beaumont acquired the school and its land and demolished the building in 1981. The property was sold to Magnolia Cemetery in 1999.

Pipkin Elementary School was named for Woodson Pipkin, who, along with Charles Pole Charlton, founded the first locally operated Black school in Beaumont. Pipkin was a former enslaved person who had received an education and realized the importance of literacy for the emancipation of African Americans. A Methodist minister, he cofounded an African Methodist Episcopal church, which also served as an education center. Pipkin also made his living as a teamster, clearing roads and hauling goods with his horse and mule teams. He lived in a two-story home on Main Street, near where the Beaumont police station is today. Woodson Pipkin died in 1918 and was buried in Martha Mack Cemetery.

We are still trying to find out if all those interred in Martha Mack Cemetery were moved. There are some documents that state that some of them were moved to Evergreen Cemetery, but we can’t confirm this. This must be addressed because the cemetery area needs to be cleaned up.

I haven’t even mentioned that Martha’s history is also a bit of a mystery. I talk about the veil thinning around this time, but boy was it thinning last year with the amount of information that came through on Martha. One thing I like is that her family is also researching her story, and we aim to share it. I put Martha in the same category as Florence Stratton and Catherina Stengele. They were all women who took no crap, but Martha’s path was harder, and I think that some sort of article and/or paper is necessary to tell her story. This will happen.

Jeanette Catherina Stengele

I need to get back to researching Catherina because there are still some unanswered questions about her life, her country of birth, and why it took until the 1980s for her twelve plots around the mausoleum to be tiled. The best line during the Magnolia Cemetery Tour came from the Jefferson County Historical Commission’s own Jerrilynn Miller, who played Catherina. Her explanation for having twelve plots all for herself was priceless: “Because a girl needs her space.”

I also want to go back and look at old research that I haven’t touched in years. One bit of history that I would like to find out more about is the Old Dutch Margaret v. Kate Dorman case. W. T. Block is my only source on this, and I would love to acquire more information concerning it. Apparently, Dutch Margaret was assaulted by someone with a parasol after she entered Kate’s restaurant talking trash. I’ll leave W. T.’s take on it in the links.

There are other things I would like to research. In the end, time will tell, and I have little time.

Until next week, Remember!

 Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!
 Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!
 Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!

Belsnickel: https://youtu.be/SfFXzkUV2ok?si=3_VlDU8TLyOk19yO

Mari Lwyd: https://youtu.be/VRRJC2ZaVX0?si=-fYKLe_McvIl-akt

Krampus explained: https://youtu.be/VbkGuCozc9M?si=xE1L6OU7Ee-gCwtE

Woodson Pipkin and Pipkin School: https://www.sfasu.edu/heritagecenter/9619.asp

Kate Dorman and Dutch Margaret: http://www.wtblock.com/wtblockjr/catherin.htm

Thoughts and Ramblings: Ground-Penetrating Radar Survey Results, Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour, Walking Tours in the Cemetery, and Gypsies

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The ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey that I was part of in March and April at the Sabine Pass cemeteries has produced some results. Although known graves were detected, nothing was found in the yellow fever mass grave, which is where the survey initially sought bodies. The conclusion is as follows:

Although we were successful in getting adequate GPR penetration on the single grave transects, we were not able to locate any mass graves in grids 1, 2, or 3. Based on William Theodore Block’s information, we should try to obtain permission from the landowner to GPR the Jeanette LaBove tract.

I’m not in the know concerning this project, and I will delve into it more in the future. What I can say now is that the aerial photo marked as indicating William Theodore Block’s area (where the mass grave is) shows the exact land that the team must be given permission to survey. Yes, I assumed that the graves were where we did the GPR survey, but couldn’t we have asked for permission before doing a grid search of Port Arthur’s concrete landfill? This is ongoing!

Last week’s historic cemetery tour at Magnolia Cemetery was a success. More people showed up this year than in previous years. The event is growing thanks to you. I must also credit those behind the scenes and our growing number of passionate researchers and volunteers. The original tour began in 2014 when Judy Linsley and I did a walking tour for the docents of the McFaddin-Ward House Museum. Thanks to everyone involved!

I will throw out this question. Would you be interested in group walking tours throughout the year? I say this because walking tours have their own appeal. Certainly, you can add a lot more history to them, as we did last year on the Friday tour after the lecture at the McFaddin-Ward House Museum. Originally, there were supposed to be two cemetery walking tours held thirty minutes apart. Judy Linsley and I were to take twenty people on each tour and walk from the office to the hill. However, some emails got mixed up (people also just see what they want to see in emails…), so we were forced to do one tour. I will say that this was probably one of the best tours that I’ve been a part of. Since Judy knows the original family plots on the hill better than I do, she took her group up there and talked for thirty minutes, while I led my group around the lower part and presented those residents. It worked out well because if you want to know about the people buried on the hill, Judy is the person to listen to. I know the people and the stories around the office and the flagpole. We agreed that we would do a prisoner exchange at the thirty-minute mark in the middle of the tour area, at the Keith plot where Tom “the Tramp” is interred. It was my idea to transfer the people on the tour between the two of us. I thought that by listening to guides who know their subject matters, the visitors would have a better experience. It was also me who called it a “prisoner exchange.” This is how my mind works, so consider this if you want me to speak at your event.

Catherina Stengele Mausoleum

Mary Oxford Englander wrote a piece in the 1991 Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record that I find intriguing. I would have loved to know her sources. I say this because she notes “personal interviews” among her sources. Well, as far as I know, none of these were recorded oral histories. Now, we can’t research some of these claims because there is no one left to ask. This is why recorded oral histories are essential! The whole article looks like it was written by a local photojournalist who shows up and screws up the piece even though you gave them the facts and the actual book of facts. It is possible the interviewee provided her with good information, but the dates and the times are wrong. It is not too hard to go out to the cemetery and look at Jeanette Catherina Stengele’s mausoleum to check when she died. It was 1909, not 1904. However, I will give a pass to both on the subject of Stengele because she lied about her age, even in death. The birth year, which says she was born in 1866, should actually read 1856.

My main questions are for Billy King, who managed the cemetery for years; unfortunately, they won’t be answered because he’s dead. This is how historical preservation works, people! I do have a source at the cemetery who has been there for years, and every time he opens his mouth, I need to write down the nuggets of history he offers. I see an oral history in his future, like it or not, because people need to learn about his knowledge. I did find out where the gypsies or someone else did their juju magic in the cemetery. The article mentions gypsies visiting the site and pouring whiskey on the hallowed ground of a friend or family member. The cemetery told them to stop, but they kept doing it because they were gypsies. An unmarked above-ground vault near a sago palm was usually the location for the burned-out candles as the cemetery staff showed up for work in the morning. It has been years since this has happened, but it went on all the same. It is still a mystery why someone would frequently burn candles on that grave. I guess we will never know.

Concerning ghosts haunting the cemetery, I have one story from 2016 that I will tell. The day before one of our Heritage Society tours, I was out making sure that everything was set up. I started driving down the road left of section W when my better half saw a lady in period clothes walk across the road behind the truck. This kind of freaked her out, but since living under the oaks at Ye Olde Block Farm, she has grown to see different things here. We are used to the regular culprits, especially when we do restorations.

Until next week. Nos Galan Gaeaf, Happy Halloween, and Samhain blessings.

Thoughts and Ramblings: Wings over Houston; The Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour

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Don Smart presenting Ras Landry.

Overall, the show was good, but when I arrived at 10:50 a.m., I discovered that they had shut the gates 30 minutes early, and walking among the planes that participated in the show was no longer possible. There was no access to the bombers or the Tora planes. This year, the jump team got to jump, which was nice, but I would have rather had access to the planes. Around noon, the Big Ugly (a B-52 bomber) showed up to do its flyby. This was more or less when the solar eclipse was at its fullest. I didn’t get any photos of the solar eclipse for two reasons. First, I didn’t care; second, putting those glasses over a camera, or even a phone camera, was a chore I wasn’t willing to do. I have many photos of the lunar eclipse, which you can check out at the links below.  For a solar eclipse, you can try the following trick. Stand under a tree and behold all the crescent suns on the grass or the pavement. Through the tree’s filtered light, you will be able to see the eclipse without the pain of staring at the sky and going blind. Heads-up: there will be another solar eclipse in 2024.

The wind and the cool temperature were great for us sightseers, though not so much for the pilots. The Tora show went ahead without a hitch. They know what to do, and the Pyro Crew is always competent in creating an explosive side for the show. This is the reason I attend. The B-25 Mitchell bomber Yellow Rose flew as a B-17 trying to land during the Pearl Harbor attack. I thought that the B-17G Yankee Lady wasn’t going to fly in this fantastic reenactment, which kind of looks like a free-for-all of World War II planes gone wild. By the way, glad to see the P-40 showed up this year! Another treat was when the B-25 Mitchell bomber Doolittle Raiders flew after the Tora show. They added the story of the Doolittle Raiders taking off on the USS Hornet in early 1942 to bomb Tokyo.

The Yankee Lady did fly, along with the C-47 That’s All Brother and the B-25 Devil Dog. I’m glad that they just let the bombers fly by themselves and did not have another parade of smaller planes flying at the same time, as was the case last year. I’m no expert in aviation safety, but I do have the common sense to know that you shouldn’t put two shows on at once. Last year in Dallas we found out that doing so is a bad idea!

I have a few issues with the airshow, but I’ll keep them to an “If you were there to hear it.” Weekend warriors on their phones with no clue and locked gates in the parking lot—I digress. It’s all good. The FBI hasn’t reached out yet; I’m just saying. Next year I’ll show up at the break of dawn, so I won’t have to deal with petty BS.

The third annual Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour was this week, and I want to thank all who were involved in the planning and the research for it, as well as the grounds crew. You made this event a success and did an excellent job! For those of you who attended, I hope you had a great time. When you think back on your experience, you can thumb through the free program you received when you signed in. Kudos to those knowledgeable volunteers who actually put this together. Technology nerds rock!

Speaking of technology and someone who is a rock in the community, Lynn Simon was supposed to explain the history of Woodson Pipkin and the Pipkin School but was unable to attend on Saturday, so he made a mini documentary. He included not only Reverend Pipkin and the school but also a few people who are interred in the Pipkin area of the cemetery. A mini cemetery tour, if you will. Lynn is a wiz at this kind of thing and did a superb job in creating another way to get history out to the masses. Those who know Mr. Simon will agree that he has a wealth of knowledge and helps on serveral projects in the community.

JCHC member Bruce Hamilton manning the golf cart.

I continuously learn new things about Magnolia Cemetery as well as other cemeteries in Jefferson County and adjacent counties. I will not get into the spooky side of things this week, but I will say that I was told some stories and have found a few articles about hauntings, gypsies, and things going bump in the night when you least expect it. That’ll be for next week.

Until then, Catherina was Dutch!

Tot volgende week!

Wings Over Houston 2023: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAYykP

Lunar Eclipse 2019: https://flic.kr/s/aHskQS3gxh

Lunar Eclipse 2018: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmdpLbdY

Lunar Eclipse October 2014: https://flic.kr/s/aHsk4pnSod

Lunar Eclipse April 2014: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjX69oPV

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.

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