Memories from Morris Cranmer, Sept. 26, 2024

Notice of a reunion initiated my thinking about my days in Pt. Lavaca. The following is the product of those thoughts.

I started first grade at Pt. Lavaca in 1945, a long time ago. Pt. Lavaca was much smaller (less than 2,500 residents). It was neither better nor worse than now, just different.

Things changed a lot between 1945 and 1961. In 1945, social life was church-oriented. The economy went from fishing to row agriculture to industry. The town grew threefold over the decades. The school system was consolidated. Pollution raised its ugly head.

As I reflect on the Pt. Lavaca of my youth, my memories tend to focus on work, place, cars, music, or adventures with male friends. Girls have been omitted since they had little time for me.

Here goes.

I remember with fondness oyster shell streets, flooded ditches, craw dads, bare feet, d-d-t sprays, fun with the nearby kids (Erickson family, Danny Qualls, Eloy Garcia, Skippy Maden), 6-mile highway being paved, walking to school, packing lunches, recess, fishing, the bay, harbor + Coast Gard station, shrimp boats, freezing plant, train (cargo only), cotton bales and a generally good life in a very small town. Sounds like Mayberry, doesn’t it?

Businesses remembered include the Lavaca movie theater, Marshal Chevrolet- lumber co., Western Auto, the Wave  Newspaper, Sammy Lovern’s filling station, Mr. Qualls at the Humble station next to the movie theater, Floyd’s tackle shop, the Shellfish Café, the old post office, cotton-gen – railroad siding – train station on Rail Road Street, Sterling Drug close to the theater and across the street from the First State Bank, Stellman’s Welding, Vela’s and Bordosky’s Grocery Stores, Cole’s and Regan’s Clothing, and many more.

I was in Austin, Texas, when Hurricane Carla took out the causeway and damaged my family’s home beyond repair. Let’s skip this part.

Cotton, rice, and seafood were kings in the 40s. Dredging emerged after WWII. Alcoa, Du Pont, and Union Carbide came along in the 50s, and Formosa Plastics in the 70s. All these industries brought new people, new ideas, and a reliable tax base. The 40s and early to mid-50s were a time of the “downtown” and owner-based businesses before bypasses and strip malls.

Of course, along the way, there were distractions. There was the Kamey Army/Navy store on the Victoria highway where boys could dream of exploits and purchase authentic GI gear.

A drive-in movie, a Dairy Queen, and located across the highway from the Dairy Queen was the Sands Motel “with a swimming pool and AC.” These were new in the mid-50s and provided something for pre-teens to talk about. Sounds like a movie, doesn’t it? American Graffiti comes to mind.

My first Pt. Lavaca school was located off Main Street. It was multistory and built in the style of the old courthouse. The grounds flooded in the rain, and it had bats.

Housing was hard to find in the mid-40s. I remember Keyville, near the freezing plant, and at best shared rental houses.

Other thoughts drift to new (first, the new high school) and better schools and a football stadium.

More modern houses (the DeShazer and Lynnhaven additions) come to mind, preceded by more contemporary additions to the post-70s.

There was a new (taller and longer) seawall, freshwater wells, sewage treatment, water tower, and, after Carla, a new causeway. I almost forgot about dredging the Matagorda-Port Lavaca-Point Comfort Channel and an airport.

Bauer and Smith, Kingfisher prospered.

Alcoa, Point Comfort, and Union Carbide arrived in the 50s-60s.

Along the way, train trips to football games, baseball, track, sports in general, band, and, of course, cruising helped us pass the time in the 50s as we got older.

So much has happened over the years. We need to stop and take time to reflect, add perspective, share experiences, and appreciate how our classmates and Pt. Lavaca have contributed to our lives.

I will always remember many good times with Jerry Wallace, Johnny Rogers, Clyde Dabbs, Danny Qualls (all passed), and Joe Ed Saunders (still with us). All these guys were different, but they had/have a place of special importance to me.

Also fondly remembered are Charles Barkley, John Burns, Jon Gear, Neil Carlton, Wilbert Treybig, Tommy Cornet, Tommy DeShazer, Tommy Hines, Albert Erickson, Bubba Johnson, Archi Dworaczyk, Charles Matson, Victor Holy, Emil Kurtz, Eddie Lewis, Walter Rabke, Franklin Schoener, Dickie Thayer, Gene Garner, Joel Tanner, Glen Stansbury, Donald Wehmeyer, and the “most stalwart male attendee of the Class of 57 reunions”, Beal Wehmeyer.

If I overlooked someone/any guy since the ladies were excluded, I have an excuse. I am old.

Fortunately, a few other old timers, like Rowland Harvey, Joe Ed Saunders, Ed Regan, and Bobby Joe Paul, are still with us.

Reunions, like old friends, are great. Let’s not stop attending reunions. Don’t follow my example. I will try harder next time.

For balance, I hope this nostalgic trip has prompted a lady (or ladies) member of the class of ‘57 to pen a female-slanted response.

Enough said.

Best Wishes to all. Have a good time. Don’t exaggerate.

Classmate Morris