Category Archives: World War2

Thoughts and Ramblings: Texas Point, William D. Quick, John McGaffey’s Gold, Legends, and Fireworks

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Last week, when someone mentioned that they had visited Texas Point, where the coastal gun positions were during the Spanish–American War and World War II, I wanted to use a photo of mine dating back to when I last went to the area. I thought the search would be easy—boy, was I wrong. On my Flickr page, which contains more than 8,000 photos, I found many of Sabine Pass, but not of this spot. Then, I checked my photographic database, which is probably three times bigger than the Flickr page, and I still couldn’t find one. So, I ended up searching the blog’s Facebook page, and I finally found what I needed. I also found many more interesting photos that I had forgotten about. Some of these were from the William D. Quick archive. There is one photo of what looks like a saloon with people near the front playing cards; other people are standing outside on the walkway, probably posing for the picture, with nine barrels dumped on the dirty street. Who are these people? What are they doing? Why? These are a few of the questions that came to my mind.

I would assume that the photograph was taken in the 1890s. According to Blanche Morgan’s recollection of early Port Arthur, you could have seen the same scene around 1905. I will also throw in the Catfish Hotel in Sabine from the 1860s. No one went thirsty in those days. Although no one in the photo resembles Dutch Margaret, I doubt that someone was assaulted with a parasol. I’ll leave a link at the bottom of the page for this story. I think Sabine Pass was the Wild West before the Wild West existed. I guess I’d have to talk to Sam Houston about this because he’s one of the folks who founded the city.

One mystery that has intrigued many is the legend of John McGaffey’s gold. According to historian W. T. Block, it’s folklore. However, in the past, many people have searched for the gold booty of the Spanish, which Josiah Carton stated was buried by pirates on a beach in the area. My first thought was the following: If he knew where it was, why didn’t he dig it up? Legends are fun until people start desecrating cemeteries looking for precious metals. “In 1936, one hunt resulted in considerable vandalism to an above-ground brick burial vault in McGaffey Cemetery, so desecrated that bones were left scattered about on the ground.” I’ll leave a link to W. T. Block’s article at the bottom of this blog.

Bragg Road

There are many legends in our area; some are more factual, while others are more speculative. The Bragg Road/Saratoga lights? Maybe. Sarah Jane Road? I’ll leave a photo that shows that Sarah Jane Bridge did not exist in 1938. By the way, there were no trees to hang oneself from on that nonexistent road. If you are interested in reading my 15 minutes of fame, which came with no monetary value, you can check out the links to the “Legend of Sarah Jane” and our antics on Bragg Road. These two are my most popular articles by far. People like spookiness. If you know of any spooky stories here in SETX, then get in touch with me at rediscoveringsetx@gmail.com.

I hope everyone had a happy holiday and an amazing time at your local fireworks show. I know Nederland’s display went off without any incidents. There was no word from Beaumont, but I’m sure that the Beaumont Camera Club was there to document the display’s awesomeness. I’m only bringing this up because in Port Arthur there was a “situation”. No one got hurt, but there may have been a snafu in terms of firework etiquette. It does suck when you are launching fireworks during a drought. Nothing major happened except a grass fire, which was put out with the help of the fire departments of Port Arthur and Bridge City. But that photo by Ricardo Chavez was awesome! Photo Credit: Ricardo Chavez. Story by KBMT 12 News Now.

I know the Port Arthur fireworks display well. I was lucky to have the keys (with permission) to set up on what I call a hill, though it’s actually a wave brake. To translate from engineerspeak, a wave brake is a barrier placed on a property to save its structures from being destroyed during a hurricane. Not to spoil the ending of this episode, but it didn’t work during Hurricane Ike, and it took 10 years for them to rebuild. During that time, I took my first photos of the fireworks show, locked in a property away from the public. Yes, I lost a lot of blood because you don’t use DEET or anything else around lenses. I was new, okay, and I preferred having my blood sucked out of me than ruining a shot with slimy hands. I took some nice pictures. However, in the end, I figured that hanging out in Beaumont to photograph the fireworks was much less blood consuming.

Well, I have many links this time, but some of them are worth a click. This week, Facebook stole all the good parts of Twitter and put them into Threads. I am on it, and the reason I will be putting my blog there is that Instagram doesn’t do links. Also, the only reason I’m on Instagram is that I hate Facebook, which owns Instagram. I digress. Don’t follow me on Instagram unless you are okay with bog witches, World War II, Tankery, and cats. You have been warned.

Until next week.

Flickr photo page: https://www.flickr.com/people/25032584@N05/

Blanche’s Journey:   https://www.rediscoveringsetx.com/2014/04/16/blanches-journey-an-early-look-at-life-in-port-arthur/

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

John McGaffey’s Gold by W.T. Block:  https://www.ned.lib.tx.us/john1.htm

Legend of Sarah Jane:  https://www.rediscoveringsetx.com/2012/10/23/legend-of-sarah-jane-road/

Legend of Bragg Road:  https://www.rediscoveringsetx.com/2012/10/30/legend-of-bragg-road-saratoga-light/

 12 News Now Port Arthur Fireworks Display:   https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/port-arthur-fireworks-display-ignites-fire/502-86392137-c3fa-4928-a605-6db67babad9d

Flickr Fireworks Port Arthur (2014):   https://flic.kr/s/aHsjZky5Pj

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/paulprosperie/

Threads:  https://www.threads.net/@paulprosperie

Thoughts and Ramblings: World War II, Presidents, Okinawa, Texas Point, and Bayoulands

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First Baptisit Church Nederland

After finishing Crucible of Hell by Saul David, I need a break from books about the Pacific theater in WWII—at least for a while. This time, Madeline Kahn, I’m actually “tired.” Okinawa was the last battle in the Pacific theater, and the one with the highest number of American casualties. Overall, 12,500 American soldiers, 77,000 Japanese soldiers, and 30,000 Okinawan civilians were killed. The Okinawan civilian casualties are an American estimate, and I believe the true number was considerably higher. Not to get into too much historical detail, but many died at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) as well as the Americans, who threw grenades or used flamethrowers in the caves where some people were hiding. I would also blame the IJA for this because its propaganda scared the locals into entering the caves. I think Crucible of Hell is the right title for this book.

Does anyone have any book/audiobook suggestions on lighter topics? Sorry, Eat, Pray, Love suggestions are not inspiring for me. Autobiographies are all right but can be lengthy. I’ve listened to a few biographies of American presidents on Audible, including Teddy Roosevelt, William H. Taft, and Harry S. Truman, and enjoyed them. All three presidents left their mark on this country, but I think that Taft was more useful when he was governor-general of the Philippines. He treated the Filipinos as equals when most actors in the area dismissed them as a subhuman Asian race.

With all his might, Teddy went after the corporations to make them pay their taxes. This to me is hilarious because the powers that be made him vice president to shut down his political career. Unfortunately for them, William McKinley was assassinated, and the bully pulpit was then in full swing. I will add that Teddy charging up San Juan Hill must have been a wonderful sight. I’m sure the buffalo soldiers enjoyed watching the charge after they had already taken the hill, way before Teddy’s Rough Riders showed up—but I digress.

I guess Truman’s fate was similar because he was put in the same situation. Becoming president after the current president dies in office is one thing, but taking over during a two-front war and not being briefed on anything concerning said war is ludicrous. But that was FDR’s way. He was a true politician to the bitter end. As you can probably tell, I’m not a fan of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Truman did what he had to do. And if you’re wondering about the bomb, let us consider what would have happened with Operation Downfall (i.e., the invasion of Japan). If the Allies had invaded Japan, there would have been up to 750,000 American casualties. The bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed 129,000 and 226,000 people, respectively. The firebombing of Tokyo alone killed between 80,000 and 130,000 people. We can all speculate more than 80 years later, but this was Truman’s decision, and I would say it was the right one.

I could get into a bit more detail regarding how the Soviets would have invaded Japan’s northern islands, but I’m tired. So, I’ll move on and sift through the Instagram feed of my Japanese friends, who are headed to the beach in Okinawa because it’s summer. Being musicians, they are all playing gigs and have no idea where McFaddin and Crystal Beaches are. I guess it’s the same thing we do, minus the gigs, but most of us in SETX are at the beach this time of the year. I didn’t know this was a thing until someone mentioned that foreigners are amazed that we drive on the beach. It’s always been done here, but not in other places. For it to happen, you need a group of friends with a four-wheel drive that has a good winch. To my English friends: I spelled “winch” correctly. We are not talking about a wench. The only time we do that is in October in Plantersville, Texas. Rest in peace, Ded Bob.

Actually, I’m amazed to hear that someone drove to Texas Point this week. Sure, it is a good place to visit, but the road somewhat resembles the current beach road from Sabine Pass to High Island, which is unpassable. The site held a couple of artillery batteries for coastal defense during both the Spanish-American War and World War II. The only thing left is the circular mount that the gun was attached to. It’s been a few years since I’ve been down there, so I’m glad the area is still accessible.

This week, the Bayoulands podcast series had Judith Linsley on to talk about Lamar University and its first 100 years. Actually, a book about this is coming out in the fall, so stay tuned! I loved the podcast. I am always curious about what the powers that be want Judy to discuss because she constantly makes SETX history sound interesting. Bayoulands also highlights our history with numerous guests, so check it out.

Until next week, have a safe and festive holiday, and don’t get stuck driving on the beach, Wanda!

Crucible of Hell by Saul David:

Battle of Okinawa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa

Operation Downfall:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall

Ded Bob: https://youtu.be/77Bj6t-UA_M

Texas Point Gun Emplacements:

http://www.fortwiki.com/Battery_155_-_Sabine_Pass

Bayoulands Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3zoUJjiwtZWVhoTzEBuaul

Evening Edition: We Meet at Midway!

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Painting by R. G. Smith

Today is the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Midway. Some say that this battle was the turning point of the Pacific theater. However, in my opinion, the battle that took place a month earlier in the Coral Sea was the game changer because of the damage inflicted on the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku. Both vessels were unable to participate in the Midway campaign. The allies also suffered a great loss when the carrier Lexington was scuttled and the Yorktown was heavily damaged. Amazingly, though, the Yorktown managed to limp back to Hawaii and spent 72 hours in drydock getting patched up in order to participate in the showdown in the Pacific.

Overall, the IJN had ten carriers total to the United States three carriers based in the Pacific. Six had participated on the attack at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. With that said, the Kidō Butai, which was down to four carriers instead of the six of the main force, was sent to Midway. Obviously, this would have been enough to ensure victory, but unbeknownst to Admiral Yamamoto, the Americans had cracked the IJN’s code used for the target they referred to as “AF.” Joseph Rochefort and his fellow cryptanalysts figured out that “AF” was Midway Atoll.

The main intention of the Kidō Butai was to sink the American carriers. They failed at Pearl Harbor, but after the Doolittle Raid on Japan’s home front, they decided to set what they thought was a trap in Midway. However, the sacrifice of many American pilots manning torpedo planes allowed the dive bombers to sink three carriers in less than ten minutes: the Kaga, the Soryū, and Admiral Nagumo’s flagship the Akagi. The fourth carrier, the Hiryū, kept fighting, and its planes took out the Yorktown. However, ironically, the Yorktown’s dive bombers disabled the Hiryū, leaving a great victory at hand. Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi and Captain Tomeo Kaku chose to go down with the Hiryū as it was scuttled with two torpedoes from an IJN destroyer.

Realizing that the United States had won a great victory, Admiral Spruance pulled back for the night because he didn’t want to risk his ships in a night battle. Yamamoto’s occupying force and reserve fleet retreated. The many losses of pilots, mechanics, and carrier personnel hampered the IJN’s ability to wage a counterattack in later battles. Those who survived the Battle of Midway were transferred to different areas and were told not to talk about it. The IJN treated the survivors as failures, which led to its downfall in the end.

Many books have been written on this historical episode; even a few movies have been made about it. I will leave the links at the bottom of this blog.

Shattered Sword by Jon Parshall and Anthony Tully:

http://www.shatteredswordbook.com/

Joe Rochefort’s War by Elliot Carlson:

Joe Rochefort’s War: The Odyssey of the Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto at Midway

Battle of Midway Tactical Overview – World War II | History:

Torpedo Squadron No. 8:

We Meet At Midway:

Thoughts and Ramblings: Historic Homes Tour Is a Wrap; Archie Wallace; Griffing Park; the Company Store; Howard’s Grocery; The Oilers Blew it; Some Guy with Nice Hair Didn’t

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Edmund and Lorena Toebelman House

The 49th Annual Galveston Historic Homes Tour has wrapped up. Unfortunately, due to the inclement weather, we had to end it at three in the afternoon instead of at six, the usual time. I know there were a few disappointed souls out there, but when the streets flood, it may not be a good idea to let wet booties or bare feet walk through a house. Overall, the tour went well, but it did have its moments. As I wrote last week, I volunteered at the Edmund and Lorena Toebelman House. The morning was nice and cool, and we had a steady stream of people. I was a porch docent by choice. We didn’t have any issues other than the fact that the group had to wait a few minutes after I spoke because of the house’s layout. We didn’t want a traffic jam from the staircase to the living room. Everyone was fine with that, and the wait was worth it, in my opinion. It’s a beautiful house, and the woodwork is amazing.

Kudos to my fellow volunteers who, unlike me, usually volunteer on Mother’s Day. I have done so a couple of times, but the outside chairperson told me this was his 20th year. Generally, on Mother’s Day, it’s hard to get people to volunteer, and that’s why I did it and probably will do it next year. A little insight into the 50th anniversary: the Galveston Historical Foundation is planning something special, so follow them for updates as we get close. As far as I am concerned, despite the tiring drive, it is worth it. If you’re interested in volunteering, I’ll leave a link at the bottom of this blog post.

Unfortunately, I’ve lost another friend and fellow Jefferson County history lover. Archie Wallace was a client of mine, but we would end up reminiscing about Port Arthur, the interurban, those rich people in Griffing Park, our mutual friend Roy Temple, and Port Arthur Mayor Bernis Sadler’s annexing quests. When asked how the city would pick up the offshore rig’s garbage, Bernis said, “Just leave it on the curb; we’ll pick it up.”

Archie was one of the few people I asked about their life during World War II. He was a child then, and the main thing he remembered was the sugar rationing; also, he had no idea where Pearl Harbor was. I’m sure those rich folks in Griffing Park had encyclopedias, but I digress. In his younger years, he worked on the streets in Griffing Park, so he knew the answer to my question. Back in 2015, I found a photo in the Beaumont Enterprise, taken where it is now, 32nd Street and Twin City Highway. It was a then-and-now photo. The first was taken in 1929, while the second was from 1959. It was nothing special, but it did show that looking south in 1929, you saw nothing, and the road curved to the right instead of making a 90-degree angle like it does today. In 1959, you could see the newly constructed auditorium and gymnasium in the background. Again, there were no trees, and the road curved to the right. If you stand at the stoplight on 32nd today, you don’t see the school, but if you glance to your right, you notice a street leading into Griffing Park that was blocked off by a barrier long ago. Since 32nd Street runs west to east, and Twin City Highway runs north to south, you really couldn’t have a fifth road there. Hell, most drivers in Port Arthur can’t figure out a four-way stop.

I will state that the roads in Griffing Park are different for a reason. Another client/history lover who has since passed told me they are the way they are because this area was a nursery and you can’t turn a wagon at a 90-degree angle. Mrs. Thibadeaux was full of information, and I loved our conversations. I haven’t been to Rose Hill Manor in a while, but the dolls on the second floor were hers. She was also a friend of my neighbor Roy Temple and his wife.

Archie also mentioned trips to the company store on Saturdays. Whether it was Texaco or Gulf, most people did this. I know my grandfather did. Unlike nowadays, it seems that Saturday morning was the day back  then—now I’m in HEB five days a week. I remember my father going to Howard’s Grocery every Saturday morning. Howard Hatfield made sure there was more stuff to buy in the 1970s than in the ‘30s, and we appreciated this. JPOTS (Just Part of the Store) was much better than Howard E. Butt’s flaming bird! I remember how excited we got in the ‘70s about the National Football League stickers on the loaves of bread. Unfortunately, it was usually a Seattle Seahawks or a Kansas City Chiefs sticker that no one cared about, but we still stuck it on our school books. The Houston Oiler sticker was nonexistent as far as I know—I never saw them. I guess the NFL dropped the ball on that one, but I was only a fan of Earl Campbell and could not care less about a disgruntled team that would eventually end up in Tennessee. Shout-out to Bum, though. He knocked on the door; then, the following year, he banged on it. He then broke his foot trying to kick the door in because the iron curtain took no crap from any team.

Now that I’ve ticked off all the Houston Oiler fans, I will add that I knew about Washington Huskies quarterback Warren Moon because he was QB with the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League before he came to Houston when Hugh Campbell, the Eskimos coach, took the head coaching job for the Oilers and lasted one year. Warren stayed a bit longer, but they never really played forward in the end. I won’t even mention those Buffalo Bills people who had the audacity to come from behind and make it to a Superbowl, where they lost to some Port Arthur native coaching the Dallas Cowboys. I remember he had nice hair and a few rings. Shout-out to Don Beebe for never giving up. Sorry, Leon.

Until next week!

Galveston Historical Foundation:

Home
GHF Volunteer Opportunities

Bum Phillips Kick that SOB in/Higlights Houston Oilers Pep Rally 1980 :

“The Comeback” (Oilers vs. Bills 1992 AFC Wild Card) :

https://youtu.be/u1lgLXsO2Ag

Thoughts and Ramblings: Watching Darkness Fall; Brothers in Arms; 49th Annual Galveston Historic Homes Tour

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761st

Lately, I’ve been spending time and money on my Audible account. I’ve downloaded audiobook after audiobook—mostly World War II biographies but with a few lighter reads on plagues, pestilences, and musicians. I’m still recovering from the bio of Dave Mustaine (Megadeth’s front man) on life on heroin, hating Metallica, and edging on the Northern Irish into a riot. It’s a good read, but I’m still detoxing from the amount of heavy drug use it contained. And I won’t even get into Nikki Sixx’s book The Dirt!

I finished two books this week, and I highly recommend both. The first is called Watching Darkness Fall by David McKean. It describes the situation in Europe leading up to WWII and the four American diplomats who witnessed it firsthand. I’ll admit that this book brings out my hatred for Joe Kennedy almost as much as my views on MacArthur and Roosevelt. Maybe I’ll get into that one day, but I want to discuss the next read.

The second book was Brothers in Arms by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (yes, that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Anthony Walton. The subtitle reads The Epic Story of the 761st Tank Battalion, WWII’s Forgotten Heroes. The 761st was the first Black mechanized battalion in the army and the first of its kind to see action in WWII. The book follows the struggles, tribulations, and racial discrimination of these soldiers from their training in Louisiana and Texas to being hand-picked by General George S. Patton to fight in his Third Army. And fight they did. They went up against elite Panzer divisions and endured a casualty rate of 40 percent. In the end, they broke the Siegfreid Line, advanced through many German cities, and liberated the concentration camp in Gunskirchen, Austria. In the movie Patton, you will see a tank division advancing across the Rhine River. That was the 761st, but for some reason, some idiot decided to use white actors instead of giving an accurate account of these fighting men. I’ll leave a link to a documentary that provides a complete picture of the 761st below.

The 49th Annual Galveston Historic Homes Tour begins next week, and I want to give a few details about what to expect for the first two weekends of this May event. There are ten houses/properties on the tour (the 1920 City National Bank building is not a house, but it was on previous tours; I hope to see it fully restored). No word on the booty call. Last year there were five houses where you needed to wear booties, and that took a lot of time. Not knowing more about the properties where I will not be volunteering could be a problem, so stay tuned. My house is small and has only one story, so it should be fine.

When taking a historic homes tour, you should have a plan because the ticket is only good for the first two weekends in May. The ticket costs $45. Since 2012, my plan has been to take the tour on the first Saturday and then volunteer on the first Sunday with the Candy Lady. I will post my views during Saturday’s tour and hopefully guide you in visiting the different properties. With that said, I will now offer my guidance to my friend Wanda because she is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

  1. Each ticket is valid for one visit to every house on both weekends. If you can go both weekends, taking the tour with family and friends is a great experience. However, if you only have one weekend or even only one day, then it is better to take the tour with no more than three people. Long lines can be an obstacle. One year I took the opening-day tour solo, and there was a point when I passed in front of 14 people because they only had enough room for one more person in the group.
  2. Some of the houses are in the same neighborhood, so have a plan to park centrally. You will be able to walk to multiple places without wasting time looking for a parking spot for the various destinations.
  3. NO HEELS! I should have put this up top. This is the one thing I’ve never understood. Why would someone wear heels on a home tour that involves walking upstairs and on lovely restored floors? If you do wear heels, you’ll end up walking through some stranger’s house shoeless. There was an instance when a homeowner had their beautiful restored floor damaged by someone who chose not to wear comfortable shoes. The money raised by the tour paid for the floor to be restored once more.
  4. Booties! Speaking of shoes, it is always inevitable to have one house on the tour that doesn’t want you, Wanda, prancing around in heels or people walking on their newly restored floors. I get it, restoration is expensive! But then why have your home on the tour? Anyway, I digress. This will undoubtedly slow down the number of people taking the tour. So, there may be some waiting time.
  5. It may be better to visit popular homes, such as the cover house, at the opening, during lunchtime, or close to the last tour (six in the afternoon). I’ve found that these times have fewer lines.
  6. Volunteers. Most of the people checking your ticket, selling you the excellent wares that the Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) has to offer, and who are stationed throughout the property are all volunteers. This means they are not getting paid. The white shirt-black pants army is there to keep the tour rolling and help you visit these beautiful homes. I say this because when you find yourself in a line, know that most of these people are doing the best they can to give you a great experience. Concerning the historical knowledge of these places, I am looking forward to seeing what the GHF will offer its volunteers. One year, I volunteered to be a docent on the front porch and all I got was a 3 x 5 index card of information. I will admit that it has finally gotten better!
  7. Visit the Old City Cemetery! The wildflowers are lovely and a great photo opportunity for photographers.
  8. Make sure to look for the cemetery tours hosted by Kathleen Maca. They sell out fast! The reason is that she is a great storyteller and has written several books on Broadway’s prominent cemetery.

Until next week, I believe shiplap will be in our future, and if you complain about seeing shiplap, then you shouldn’t have paid $45 for a historic homes tour—but I digress.

Come Out Fighting: The 761st  https://youtu.be/yDI7zOONVn4

https://www.army.mil/article/1792/the_761st_tank_battalion_fighting_the_enemy_beating_stereotypes

Watching Darkness Fall:

Brothers in Arms:  

Galveston Historic Homes Tour:  

Galveston Historic Homes Tour

Kathleen Maca:  http://kathleenmaca.com/index.php/book-signings/

Thoughts and Ramblings The Evening Edition: Sabine Pass Cemetery, Beaumont Municipal Airport Fly-In, I-10, and TxDOT is the Devil

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Page Cemetery

Yesterday, I returned to Sabine Pass Cemetery to visit ol’ Kate and get a few more photos of the bluebonnets engulfing Page Cemetery and a couple of other plots. The temperature was 74 degrees, and the weather was perfect, unlike last week, when temperatures topped out at 54 degrees and a cold wind and drizzle affected the survey. What a difference a week makes in SETX. I was also there to photograph the Page Cemetery stone to send to the Historical Commission to verify that it is “Page” and not “Pace,” as stated in the records. I guess Google needs to update its maps as well. It’s “Cemetery Road,” not “Pace Cemetery Road.”

Driving to Sabine Pass

Speaking of roads, I don’t think I’ve mentioned anything about the new road that heads to Sabine Pass. They built it further inland and away from the ship channel. While it’s very nice, I must say it has a few dips, and I was airborne a few times—but I digress.

After my trip to Sabine Pass, I high-tailed it to Beaumont for the Beaumont Municipal Airport Fly-In. I thought it was an excellent event and will certainly be back there for other events. A couple of things caught my eye. The first was the Vultee “Valiant” BT-13. There are few of these trainers left because most were sold for parts for crop dusters. It’s a beautiful plane, and the pilot/owner was a wealth of knowledge about the history of his Valiant. I’m glad he decided to fly in, as he said that he wasn’t really planning to be there but changed his mind when he saw his plane in the Fly-In advertisement. “I guess that if they make you Miss March on the cover, you ought to show up.” 

Another gem at the Fly-In was the Nanchang CJ-6A Chinese trainer. I’ve never seen anything like it. Sorry to geek out with World War II aviation talk, but it looked like someone took a fuselage from a Nakajima B5N2 “Kate” and the wings of a Vought F4U Corsair and put them on a three-wheel cart. It’s gorgeous, and the pilot/owner loves every minute of flying it. Another odd thing I had never seen before was the three pegs sticking out from the top of the wings and in front of the plane near the nose. These were used to tell the pilot and trainee that the wheels were down. In the air, when the wheels were retracted, the pegs slide into the wings and fuselage to show the crew that they were up.

There were a few other vintage planes and two helicopters at the show, but most planes were a hodgepodge of civilian aircraft enticed by the cheap fuel. Some of these could also be called vintage, or they at least looked the part. But the highlight, at least for me, was when the T-6 Texan landed. She is a beauty. As you may have figured out, I love planes of this era, and the Texan is high on my list because it was the last trainer for pilots. After you graduated from flying this gem, your options as a newly certified killer of the skies were endless—that is, until you come across some guy with a clipboard helping his buddies get the good planes, while leaving you in a lottery with all the other new pilots. I base this statement on Ken Thomas’s reflection of his time flying a P-47 Thunderbolt in World War II. His story is told on the Warrior Next Door podcast. If you want to hear a great oral history story, check out the link at the bottom.

Well, that’s about it for this extra edition. I believe that everyone was happy yesterday. Kate with her new bow, me looking at the vintage planes, pilots getting cheap fuel, and Beaumont Municipal Airport enjoying the turnout from the event. I assume that the only ones ticked off were the people on I-10 westbound, as when I passed them, they were backed up in Beaumont; however, when I talked to the Valiant pilot, he said he had flown over I-10, and it was backed up to the Anahuac bridge. I-10 and TxDOT are the devil.

The Warrior Next Door Podcast: https://www.thewarriornextdoor.com/ken-thomas

Thoughts and Ramblings: The Yellow Jack, Kate, and the Two Sarahs; Willie Nelson; the GPR Survey; Olveta Culp; Jackie Cochran; and the Nachthexen

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Last week, I talked about the mass grave of yellow fever victims from 1862; I’ve also mentioned the Yellow Jack before in connection to Kate Dorman lore. So, let’s get into what happened and the history of that time.

In July of 1862, the yellow fever epidemic hit Sabine Pass as a result of a vessel that ran the blockade by the Union navy. At least one thousand people deserted the area, afraid of what was then known as the Yellow Jack. The fever killed a hundred people in Sabine and Beaumont combined, forty of whom were Confederate soldiers. At the time, a woman named Kate Dorman, who owned the Catfish Hotel, saw her tenants fleeing like everyone else in Sabine Pass, but she stood strong. Seeing the sick and dying from the wretched disease, she turned her hotel into a makeshift hospital. With no regard for their health, Kate, Sarah Vosburg, and Sarah Ann King Court cared for the unwell.

Sarah Ann King Court

At this time, Union forces were in the area but were not permitted to take the town because of the yellow fever outbreak. It wasn’t until October that the federals decided to land in Sabine and take out a fort and the calvary barracks. They had a howitzer but needed a horse and a cart to transport it, so they took Kate’s. Only God and the Union navy know what wrath Kate unleashed upon them. After seizing Kate’s horse and cart, the soldier in command went to Kate’s husband and said that they would hang him if he didn’t shut up his wife because hanging a woman in 1862 would not look good for the federals. Also, legend has it that the commander assured Kate they would return both the horse and the cart. And they did. Even in war, ticking off a four-foot-eleven Irish woman is not good.

I don’t know if this is accurate, but according to Willie Nelson, “you can’t hang a man for killin’ a woman who’s tryin’ to steal your horse.” I assume it would be reversed if the woman owned the horse and some guy and his foreign military invader buddies were the thieves. So, I guess Kate would have had to shoot him and go to trial, but it was wartime, and Texas law did not matter when the state was invaded by a foreign power, so I have no idea. Maybe I thought about this too much. I guess I should post this on one of Wanda’s pages so that an argument would ensue. I’m certain that a few of her besties would be in Facebook jail after commenting.

Well, the ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey was not good. The results were not good because of the weather conditions and the ground’s saturation. The GPR only worked up to a meter down, which meant nothing was found. I assume we need to be out there in August’s hot, dry, and drought-like conditions. This is fine with me, and I’m sure the others will agree because it was cold! Currently, with notice, I have no problem volunteering for this project. One thing I wonder about is if it is in the marsh. I don’t know if the GPR is something that could be used. I’m sure there’s something out there, but there are many more intelligent people than me in the mix, so I’ll let them handle it going forward.

Jackie Cochran

Yes, it is Women’s History Month, and I want to bring up Olveta Culp, but I’m pro-Florence Stratton, so I’ll do it like this. William P. Hobby married Willie Cooper in New Orleans in 1915. Florence was best friends with Hobby and Willie, so much so that she lived in the Texas governor’s mansion. There is lore that when Willie died, Florence may have thought that W. P. would marry her, but he married Olveta instead in 1931. Hobby was fifty-three at the time, and Florence was forty-nine, but Olveta was twenty-six. Not knowing anything else other than that, I will leave you with this quote from Jackie Cochran, the head of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), on Olveta, “I will not serve under a woman who doesn’t know her ass from a propeller.”

Jackie with her WASP trainees

Jackie Cochran was a pilot and didn’t have time for political BS like Olveta. She also knew that her gals in WASP could ferry planes from the factories to their destination for the war effort, while their male counterparts were in combat roles. She was the first woman to fly a bomber across the Atlantic and volunteered for a time in England. So, she saw how female pilots were a great resource for the war effort. They were appreciated, unlike the WASP women here in the United States, or the Nachthexen who were flying real sorties against the Germans. I want to get into that in a bit.

It’s amazing how much crap oozes to the surface when people do things that tick off others. What did they do? They did a man’s job and probably did it better. Many men took offense for some damn reason that women were wearing the uniform and getting the job done. The crap that these women had to go through, including the sabotaging of their planes! Really! Some of the pilots died because of this. These jacklegs, who never saw combat, were ticked off because a woman could fly a plane. That is the lowest form of life, and I compare this to the Russians, or should I say the Soviets?

Nachthexen Night Witches

I mentioned the Nachthexen (Ночные ведьмы) earlier. These ladies did see combat and were equally ready to do their part. So much so, in fact, that they flew crop dusters at night on German targets. They had to turn their engines off and glide toward the target as soon as they reached their mark. They dealt with frostbite and carried out multiple bombing runs each night. Their clothes didn’t fit because they were given male uniforms, and they were not seen as proper soldiers. These were the women of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, later known as the 46th Taman Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet air force.

This is not really SETX history, but the Nachthexen (Night Witches) and Jackie Cochran hit a nerve with me, as much as old Kate did. Kate would have approved of Jackie Cochran, and if she had had twenty-five Night Witches, she would have dealt with the federals stealing her horse.

Until next week.

W.T. Block Yellow Fever:

http://www.wtblock.com/yellow_fever.htm

Redheaded Stranger:

Jackie Cochran:

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

Oveta Culp Hobby:

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

WASPs:

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

Night Witches:

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

Thoughts and Ramblings: USS Texas

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Last week was an experience, to say the least. I left my house at five thirty in the morning, and I thought that would give me enough time to make it to the shipyard in Galveston by around seven thirty, but boy, was I wrong. Everything was on time until I was about five minutes away from the ferry, then Wanda happened. And it happened at five miles below the speed limit. I didn’t pass on her because I’ve had great luck with the ferry lately, but this will never happen again. We finally boarded the ferry at around 7:38 a.m., but my tour was at eight, so I was still simmering from the delay—at least we were moving. While on the ferry, I noticed that my weekly Sunday morning post hadn’t appeared on Facebook. Everything was business as usual on WordPress, but Facebook does its own thing. After arriving home, I discovered that the post was scheduled for seven in the evening instead of in the morning. I had scheduled it the night before, and I always have issues with Facebook, so this is the last time I’ll schedule a post on Facebook when I’m sober, but I digress.

I made it to the shipyard by around 8:05 a.m., although it was off to the races on Broadway Avenue and Pelican Island Causeway to make it there. To be honest, that black Ford F-150 in front of me was going at least 70 mph. Not sure what he was late for, but it was most likely dropping someone off at the cruise ship.

The tour was excellent, and the docent nicely explained the historical background of the last dreadnought. Also, it’s always a good thing when you have someone who knows the work being done and points out the process of how it’s actually done. These tours are held every Sunday from eight in the morning to three in the afternoon. You must sign up for them through the Texas Batteship Foundation’s website, but please don’t do what I did and think that there is only one tour at eight in the morning, because if you do, you may find that Wanda is lurking out there to make you late.

Okay, now let us delve into the history of Old Hoodoo, and my propaganda about why it should come to Beaumont.

The USS Texas is a New York-class battleship that was approved by Congress in 1910, laid down in 1911, launched in 1912, and commissioned in 1914. It was the first ship to have ten 14-inch guns. While it was the most potent weapon in the world at the time, as they say, today’s powerful weapon is tomorrow’s outdated pea shooter. The USS Texas served in World War I and World War II, during which it escorted war convoys across the Atlantic. It shelled the enemy in Normandy on D-day and provided naval gunfire support during the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Serving in two world wars, the ship suffered only one casualty in the line of duty—Christen Christensen, the helmsman on duty on June 25, 1944, in Cherbourg, France. The Texas was firing on German positions in the port when an enemy 24-cm shell skidded over the top of the conning tower and exploded. Eleven seamen were injured in the blast, but Christensen succumbed to his wounds.

The USS Texas was decommissioned in 1948 and was the first permanent battleship memorial museum in the United States. The museum operated under the direction of the Battleship Texas Commission, which the Texas Legislature established to care for the ship’s safe upkeep. In 1983, the ship was turned over to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department due to mismanagement and neglect by the leadership of the Battleship Texas Commission. The Texas was moved to a dry dock for repairs in 1988.

This brings us to the past few years. Over time, the Texas has taken in water. This has been bad—about 1,500 gallons per minute bad. However, two years ago, the foundation that now runs the Texas agreed to put foam in the hull to reduce the leakage. The water intake went from 1,500 to 50 gallons per minute. This is good news for a stationary ship, but if you’ve seen the video of the vessel being moved, you’ll know that there were a lot of nervous people on that day. The Texas could have sunk. Fortunately, the ship made it to dry dock, where it is today.

As far as I know, they are only considering three places to relocate the USS Texas: Beaumont, Baytown, and Galveston. All three have good and bad points. Ultimately, though, the most important thing is what is best for the ship. First and foremost, it will be out of dry dock no later than June 1, 2023. After that, we will not know where the Battleship Texas Foundation plans to dock the vessel until the chosen city can begin construction on its part of the agreement. I am certain that they have a plan, but I find it odd that they hadn’t already made a decision.

So, what are the pros and cons of each proposed site? Certainly, Galveston is the most popular tourist attraction, but it is hard to get to. If the ship was moored along Interstate 10, it would be much easier to reach. That is a plus for Baytown and Beaumont. Another problem is keeping the vessel in salt water. Recently, I was told that this would not be a problem if the maintenance was kept up, but if history repeats itself, I am concerned. Based on my little knowledge of Galveston politics, I do know that they would want a piece of the pie, so to speak. I assume that the money raised by the Battleship Texas Foundation is for the upkeep and maintenance of the ship, and it should stay that way. I do not know if Baytown or Beaumont will be seeking a cut of the profits other than what the tourists would bring in. Finally, I am biased and will state that, in Beaumont, the water, although not pure, is not salty. There is a lot of potential to make this a great place to visit.

In the end, it probably will come down to politics. Still, I hope the powers that be will consider making sure that a Texas treasure is preserved. The ship is the last of its kind, and it needs to be protected.

Until next week

The Texas Battleship Foundation

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Thoughts and Ramblings: Florence Stratton, New Headers, Derrick Riggs, the Big O, the Grey Ghost, and Fold3

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Last week was the eighty-fifth anniversary of Florence Stratton’s death, and I gave a brief account of her life on Saturday. Unfortunately, I could never tell an accurate story like those around her would have been able to. So, on Sunday’s Thoughts and Ramblings, I published a tribute to the Beaumont Journal/ Beaumont Enterprise journalist. I added no content because I wanted to use actual sources who knew her and worked with her. One thing that was mentioned in a few accounts was that her coworkers used the 30 as a tribute to their fallen comrade. As far as I can tell, the 30 was used to indicate the end of the story or say goodbye. However, as a researcher, I could never use the 30 because in 2012 I began my journey to learn more about Florence and keep her story alive.

After eleven years of research, I am still learning. Yes, Florence’s life ended in January of 1938, but her legacy should be treasured and live on as an inspiration to those who may want to follow in her footsteps. Whether it’s journalism, charity, or just caring about people and trying to make a difference, we need this. Florence cared about everyone and did her best to make things right.

Here at RediscoveringSETX, we have some new headers, and I for one am ecstatic about it. To me, it’s almost like looking at one of those Iron Maiden album covers minus the little devils with pitchforks. You can find all kinds of SETX things in them. Sorry if you don’t know who Derrick Riggs and Iron Maiden are. Actually, I’m sure Steve Harris, the founder of Iron Maiden, probably forgot who Derrick was because he went with someone else, but the fans didn’t forget—I digress. Up the Irons, Eddie! And no, I’m not a West Ham fan. Queen’s Park Rangers all the way!

Speaking of Iron Maiden, a few months ago, I was digging through my box of old Kodak moments for some pictures of airshows from the 1990s and found a few photos from their 1983 visit to Beaumont, with the Scorpions. I had no idea who the Scorpions were, but at the time, they played their hit “Blackout” on the radio every hour. Unlike most people, I hear lyrics differently, and all I heard Klaus Meine singing about was that he had a really big nose, or that’s how I understood the lyrics. I’ve seen the photos, and I agree. I also witnessed him swinging the mic and tossing it into the air, nearly hitting the rafters of the Beaumont Civic Center, or was it the Montagne Center? I’m going to have to ask Mikey Mayhem, a fellow connoisseur of local history who was also there. If you subscribe to any of Facebook’s local history pages, you may know him. I’m going to say that he’s into all sorts of shenanigans. Mikey is researching some forgotten family histories that should probably be turned into a movie. Stay tuned!

In the same box, I found some photos of an aircraft carrier being towed through the intercoastal canal in 2006. To give a bit of background, back then I was working on Lakeshore Drive and had no idea that there was a small carrier in the mothball fleet at McFaddin Bend in the Neches River. The USS Oriskany, or the “Big O” as some called it, was put there to be scrapped. The ship was a veteran of both the Korean and Vietnam wars. It was decommissioned in 1976, sold for scrap in 1995, and then repossessed in 1997. Its fate was finally sealed when, in 2006, the 880-foot carrier was sunk off the Florida coast to create an artificial reef. To my knowledge, it was the largest vessel ever sunk to make a reef, but if you had seen it, you might have wondered how anyone could land a plane on it. Knowing nothing of what I know now, I looked up and saw an aircraft carrier being towed down the intercoastal canal! Yes, this was a wow moment.

The USS Oriskany had a rich history, and its burial at sea was a fitting tribute. I wish they’d done something similar to the Grey Ghost. The USS Enterprise was scrapped with no regard for its history. It’s disgusting that a ship with so much importance was thrown away. A watery grave would have been better, if not a museum! I won’t get into a Yukari Akiyama 秋山 優花里-type rant about ships instead of tanks, but I know that she would back me up on this. I would have loved to see the Grey Ghost docked anywhere instead of becoming a pile of garbage. It was the only carrier that lasted the war, and after the Battle of Midway, it was even, at one time, the only carrier in the Pacific. Admiral Nimitz knew this; fortunately, the Imperial Japanese Navy didn’t. Yes, the Battle of Midway was a great victory, but you can lose your advantage when you’re in the Pacific theater and your commander in chief is not thinking about you and is too busy sending everything to the European theater. Yes, that was a thing.

My Yukari rant is finished for now. Changing the subject a bit, we all know that the USS Texas should be in Beaumont, so if you’re in the know, let’s bring her here. She’s self-sufficient.

A friend of mine has been looking into his father’s history. I’ve known this for a few years. Recently, he asked me if Fold3, a military history website owned by Ancestry.com, would be worth the money. I told him that it was worth it for me because I do significant research on multiple people but that if he just wanted to look at his family history, I could do it for him. Fold3 is a great site for researchers interested in finding someone’s military background. It’s also a great place to find war diaries from WWII, which I use. In 2012, a lot of information was released by the government from this time, which is why I found it on Fold3.

Well, that’s about it for now. Until next week, we don’t #uptheirons or support #WestHam. #WeRQPR #ForeverRs

Scorpions Blackout:

Derrick Riggs: 

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

U.S.S. Oriskany:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Oriskany_(CV-34)

U.S.S. Enterprise: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(CV-6)

Fold3: 

https://www.fold3.com/

U.S.S. Texas: 

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“Thoughts and Ramblings: Susie Spindletop’s Weekly Letter; Magnolia Cemetery Tour; Ellwood, California; Was Mothra at the Battle of Los Angeles? Ancient Astronaut Theorists, It’s Your Call!”

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It’s a new year and time to set my goals for my research and this blog. One of my main goals this year is to digitize all the Susie Spindletop’s Weekly Letters. I have most of them, and I should be able to obtain the others with the help of a newspaper archive and the Sam Houston Regional Library & Research Center. I will add that all my research is stored at the Jefferson County Historical Commission.

The second goal is the Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour—I want to talk about the origins of where we came from and where we are. In 2013 and 2014, the Liberty County Historical Commission (LCHC) created a superb program to raise funds for its work. They went all out on history and even dressed in period clothing. To me, this was spectacular, so I wanted to bring a history-based tour like that one here. I got my chance to bring history alive in 2015 with the help of Judy Linsley and the McFaddin-Ward House. We did a cemetery tour for the docents of the McFaddin-Ward House. It wasn’t like the LCHC  program, but it was a start. It was me and Judy, who knew a lot more than I did, taking a tour of the cemetery and telling stories of interest to the residents. Afterward, Judy and I did a couple more cemetery tours for the Beaumont Heritage Society.

At first, the Beaumont Heritage Society didn’t want to do a “happy hour” in a cemetery, but after not finding any other place to hold it (I assume), they changed their minds and went ahead with it. I guess it was a success for them because about thirty-five people signed up for membership of the society. It’s amazing how money changes your perspective. We did the second tour in 2016, and it went well, but after Hurricane Harvey happened, we stopped the event. At the time, Magnolia Cemetery was not in a good state. There were many problems, and management is correcting many issues that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. It is getting better.

In 2021, Kelli Maness, Magnolia Cemetery Board President, reached out to me to bring back the tour. I saw they had a new board and were making a significant effort to turn things around, so I agreed. We planned the event and it went great. For those who have taken the tour, we did a Thursday evening from five to seven, and a Saturday morning from ten to two. Our attendance was excellent on Thursday, to the surprise of a friend who thought no one would come out. Saturday was also good, and we achieved our goal of promoting Beaumont and SETX history.

In 2022 things were no different, except for the love the Beaumont Enterprise andKBMT showed us when promoting the tour. I’ll also give kudos to the folks at KFDM, who promoted the Magnolia Cemetery lecture at the McFaddin-Ward House Museum. The tour went well and we are planning the third Historic Magnolia Cemetery Tour for October. This will not be an October ghost tour but a history one. We have grown from two people presenting SETX history on a walking tour to ten to eleven presenters stationed throughout the cemetery. The great thing about this is that the presenters are either researchers who have studied the people they talk about or relatives who are proud to tell their families’ stories. We don’t give 3 x 5 index cards and tell someone to speak for four hours. (Sorry Galveston Historical Foundation—I know you changed your evil ways but I only volunteer with the Candy Lady.) We want the history of our area to be known through past residents, and so many good people volunteer their time and research to help out. I am grateful to everyone who helps out because no money is collected from the printed program, tour, water, or snacks during the event. This is education for the public, and you’re welcome because it’s free. I want to thank everyone who gives their time and knowledge to make the tour possible.

I also want to thank Kelli Maness for caring enough to provide the guys with the proper equipment to tend to the cemetery grounds. She is also the one who is trying to save Magnolia Cemetery, which is a not-for-profit organization. Her work will not go unnoticed.

This week I did a bad thing. I changed the channel from DISH scapes to the History Channel. And boy, they were on a marathon to throw in all kinds of ancient astronaut theories. Some of the Sumerian gobbledygook—I can see the point. But then they mentioned the Battle of Los Angeles (1942), and that’s when the expletives came out. I know a bit about this time, and I want to use the good people of the Port Arthur News as references because the Los Angeles Times from 1942 is not digitized, as far as I can tell. Hmm. Aliens? I think not, but I will reference a John Belushi movie later.

On the night of February 24 and the morning of the 25, 1942, all hell broke loose in the sky over Los Angeles, California. Antiaircraft positions opened fire, and they hit nothing. No, I’m not going to pin the gunners as storm troopers from a galaxy far, far away, but when you shoot at ghosts, the bullets fall to the ground, and it rains metal over a panicked civilian population. The total number of deaths was five; three car crashes and two heart attacks. So, what the hell happened that night must be explained by what happened the evening before. I knew nothing about this story until I heard it mentioned on Dan Carlin’s podcast. Dan Carlin is not a historian; he is a diehard history researcher who gives his opinions on certain subjects with added factual content. He grew up around Ellwood, California, and this is where the story begins.

On February 23, President Roosevelt prepared to make one of his fireside chats that all the US would listen to at the time. In the meantime, the Japanese ordered their submarine I-17 to fire upon a refinery in Ellwood, California. Its mission was to attack the facility, but there was not much damage. The main issue was that a foreign power attacked US soil. Something that hadn’t happened since the War of 1812 and the Battle of Baltimore. The submarine was huge. Some accounts compared it to a cruiser or a destroyer, but since it had only one 14 cm/40 11th Year Type naval gun firing at the shoreline, people quickly figured out that there was no mass invasion of the Western United States. Actually, the whole point of the action was to mentally screw with the civilians along the California coast. And it worked. They were scared, and then February 24 happened.

The Battle of Los Angeles was covered across the nation; I added a few headlines and articles from the Port Arthur News. I’ll also add that in one of the articles, L. E. MacDonald, a clerk at the West Los Angeles police station, was quoted as saying,

“As I watched the searchlights, anti-aircraft fire broke out. I saw a plane that seemed to be up at least 20,000 feet. It looked like a butterfly.”

A butterfly? Could it be that L. E. MacDonald mistook a plane for something even more ominous from Japanese lore? Could that “butterfly” actually have been a 怪獣 kaijū awakened from its sleep in the 1950s by nuclear testing? Could it be the creature that goes by the name of モスラ Mothra? If so, how did it time travel to 1942? I have no idea, but since I brought it up, maybe the ancient astronaut theorists will run with this new possible finding. Hell, it’s at least worth an episode.

No more History Channel for a while. All this talk of Ellwood, California, makes me want to rewatch that classic 1941 movie, which is loosely based on the events above. John Belushi was an ace in this movie, but Slim Pickens was the best.

Until next time, Aliens or モスラ Mothra?