It’s been ten years since I began my research journey into learning about some of SETX’s history, and boy, have I been down many rabbit holes! I’ve met many interesting people and seen many interesting things. I’ve cherished the opportunity to visit so many houses and museums and to witness people open up about their own reflections on the past. Joining the Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) and visiting the other county historical commissions has also provided me with a wealth of knowledge. In fact, if you enjoyed the past cemetery tours at Magnolia, you can thank the Liberty County Historical Commission for being the inspiration for them. The two cemetery tours they performed were nothing short of brilliant. I really hope that they’ll one day bring back Whispers from the Past.
I’ve always enjoyed volunteering. Taking photographs for the Beaumont Heritage Society was invariably interesting, especially when they started running the Heritage Happy Hour event. There were a lot of lovely places, but I always preferred the Chambers House Museum events. Why? Because it was like visiting your grandma’s house. (Well, unless your grandma had millions of dollars—then maybe it wouldn’t be up to standards. But Papa Homer was thrifty and taught his girls well.) Truth be told, my grandmother lived in a single-story, two-bedroom house in Port Arthur with a husband, five sons, and one daughter, and I believe she wouldn’t have been happy living at the Chambers House simply because it wasn’t within one mile of her church. I can’t comment on the rest of the occupants would have felt.
Speaking of the Chambers House Museum, I’d like to give a special mention to Virginia Bowman who worked at museum. It was Ginny who set me off on my journey to research Florence Stratton, and after ten years of studying Florence’s life, I’m indebted to her. Much of my time has been spent on researching Florence, as it should be. I don’t know if I’ll be the one to write her autobiography, but at least the facts of her life and shenanigans have been discovered and are available in my archives (and I have a lot of them!).
Getting back to the topic of volunteering, it’s no secret that I love the Historic Homes Tour in Galveston. I’ve taken the tour for years, and it’s an annual part of this blog. I love taking the tour on the first Saturday, but I also love volunteering with Bev Davis, a member of the Liberty County Historical Commission. She’s the reason I check you through the gate into the cover house on Sunday.
Other subjects I’ve researched have taken up much of my time. One of them is the Interurban. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, this was the pinnacle of the conversations I had with Jerry Burnett. Something about an electric train running from Port Arthur to Beaumont from 1913 to 1932 seemed unique to me.
Another topic was Catherina Stengele. After hearing the story of a lowly seamstress who saved her money solely to buy a mausoleum, I knew it was something I had to look into. As usual, the facts were much more fascinating than the story. Much like my research on Florence researching Catherina is still ongoing.
What was probably one of my most incredible rabbit hole moments happened in Greenlawn Cemetery, where I saw a porcelain photo of a young girl attached to a flat headstone with this poem beneath:
If I must die then die I must and when the coffin round me rusts my bones will go whence they came and all that’s left is my name. To shield that name I’ll do my best; that’s all that’s left when I’m at rest. I’ll do no harm and bring no shame upon my dad and mother’s name.

For weeks, I researched the origins of Virginia Lee “Gene” Rowley’s poem and her short life. What I found went beyond her life and told the story of a family filled with both tragedy and impressive accomplishments. After my original research hit a dead end, I was still unaware of what had happened to Gene’s siblings Jerry and Vera. But a family member saw my original blogs and introduced me to the Rowley Trio. I spent many late nights going through newspaper archives and even YouTube videos of their musical journeys.
The Rowley Trio was KFDM radio’s backup band and was also a part of the Louisiana Hayride circuit. They even got a mention in George Jones’ autobiography. Apparently, George didn’t like waking up early to perform at 5:30 in the morning.
In my office, I have a photo of the Rowley Trio—Jerry, Vera (Dido), and Evelyn (Jerry’s wife)—with Johnny Horton. It’s an excellent conversation starter and a reminder that there are more stories like this.
Another story I’d like to know more about is that of Hugo J. DeBretagne. Hugo was killed on the 3rd day of the Battle of Tarawa and buried at sea. A memorial stone was placed in Greenlawn Cemetery with the following inscription:
In memory of Hugo J. DeBretagne, CO D 1^st Bat. 2^nd Marines Killed at Tarawa Buried at sea.  Oct. 13, 1923 – Nov. 23, 1943

World War II—and especially the Pacific War—has been my greatest research project. You could say that the movie Tora Tora Tora has a lot to do with that. Still, there’re no words to describe the feeling of being a kid and seeing a formation of T-6 Texans modified to look like Japanese Zeros flying over Nederland, Texas, headed for Jefferson County Airport to participate in the Confederate Airshow.

Until next week, keep looking back.
Sayonara さようなら