Tag Archives: #SETX

Thoughts and Ramblings: Beaumont’s wasn’t just whistling Dixie, Podcasts, KOLE 1340, Gordon Baxter, the Rainbow Family, Hoarding with my friend Bitsy, and Sibbie Van Wormer Holmes Kelley Mills.

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This week I’ve had some fascinating conversations on a potpourri of Beaumont history; some are even printable. From a speakeasy across the street from the courthouse to the Dixie Hotel, which wasn’t the only, umm, working hotel downtown. Hopefully, this information will be shared on a Sunday rambling soon. Someone mentioned that we should do a podcast of our exciting discussions, and I agree, but with a face for radio and a voice for silent film, I don’t see it happening anytime soon. Southeast Texas had a few good podcasts, but it takes a lot of time and money to produce a quality program. Shout-out to Tyler Troutman for creating the Tyler Knows Everything podcast for a couple of years. Of course, the “Knows” was crossed out because he wanted to learn more. The content was excellent.

For those who have never heard of a podcast, it’s an on-demand radio show or video. I mostly listen to audio podcasts when working, but I also watch a few. Growing up, I listened to the radio constantly, whether it was music, sports, or the hunting/fishing programs. I will say that I don’t hunt and haven’t fished in 35 years, but I listened. I remember listening to KOLE 1340 AM sports on Friday nights or Saturday mornings. They would broadcast the Lincoln High School games. This was after Little Joe Washington showed us his greatness, then showed the world. In the 1990s, the team wasn’t doing well. I always counted on Trudy and Sharon to tell it like it was. Unfortunately, this Saturday morning wasn’t going well for the team, and the professional team within a 500-mile perimeter, named the West Orange-Stark Mustangs, was in town doing what those teams do—run up the score. They even went for two after their touchdown before the half to make it 50-0. The team lost 84-0, but Trudy and Sharon had different views on the game. Trudy was trying to make sense of what was going on and optimistically thought that at 21-0 in the first quarter they could come back, but Sharon always told it like it was. “Nope, they just don’t have their head in it.” I loved these two! This is why I listened. I don’t know where they are today, but they will always be my favorite sports commentators.

Gordon Baxter. Photo credit Portal to Texas

I also remember listening to Gordon Baxter’s radio show after an event that happened on what I think was a recorded segment on one of the local channels. It could have been live, and that would have made more sense in terms of the mistake they made. I can’t remember if it was on KJAC, KFDM, or KBMT, but one of the news sources reported on the Rainbow Family gathering up at the lakes. The reporter was interviewing a member of the family, showing them only from the chest up. But the cameraman forgot to notice the nudist guy in the background behind the reporter. I saw this live on the news, but hearing about it on Gordon’s show was priceless.

I’m finally making headway organizing and digitizing all those files that are destined for greatness someday. If I don’t, my family will probably throw them out because they’re not so gung-ho for history, and being a researcher involves a pack rat level of hoarding. We are a different breed. Just ask Beaumont History Bits, or Bitsy, as I refer to BHB.

We’ve presented some of the stories of Magnolia Cemetery many times, but I’ve never put to pen Sibbie Van Wormer Holmes Kelley Mills. She was born in 1869 to Jacob and Catherine Van Wormer. Compared to many other women of her time, Sibbie was strong-willed and independent.

In 1884, at the age of 15, Sibbie married John W. Holmes, who was 28. Together they had three children: Archie, Sadie, and Max. We don’t know what happened to Sibbie’s husband; I can’t find any record of his death. We do know that Sibbie was married to Samuel P. Kelley by 1910.

Sam P. Kelley

Samuel worked as a grain broker/buyer in Beaumont after moving here from Galveston. Later, he became head of the Standard Warehouse Company. Unfortunately, in February 1917, Samuel took his life with a shotgun. The obituary from the Beaumont Enterprise stated that he had been “feeling badly” before the incident, but no more details surfaced in the following days as to the possible reasons for the suicide.

As a mother, Sibbie seemed to be very protective of her children. According to one story from her descendant Mary Oxford Englander, which is found in the 1991 Texas Gulf Historical & Biographical Record, when Max joined the US Army, his first detail was along the Texas-Mexico border, “fighting Pancho Villa.” Of course, Sibbie did what any other mother would do—she “rented a room in a hotel at the border for the duration of the conflict.” I’ve found a few articles that mention a lady on the border feeding information to reporters covering the conflict, but helicopter moms will do what helicopter moms do.

With the United States’ involvement in World War I, Max was inevitably sent to France. Away from his mother’s protection, he became ill (possibly with Spanish flu) and died in St. Nazaire, France. His remains were brought back to Beaumont by his mother and laid to rest at Magnolia Cemetery.

Eventually, Sibbie married a third time to John B. Mills. He would die of a heart attack in 1931. He is also buried in the Kelley plot, along with Sibbie, who passed away in 1937.

Well, that’s it for this week. Until next time, if any of you know Trudy and Sharon, tell them they are appreciated. Ciao

Thoughts and Ramblings: Gladys City, Blind Willie flying through Interstellar Space, Ye Olde Block Farm, Friendliest City by a Lake, and a Bridge that Beaumont Hates. Happy Father’s Day.

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Has anyone been to Gladys City lately? There is sure a lot of restoration going on. The old wildcatter city is getting a facelift, and it’s been long overdue. Gladys City was built as a Bicentennial project of the Lucas Gusher Monument Commission for the 75th anniversary of the Spindletop. Lamar University dedicated it in 1976. It was intended to be a temporary structure, but they are still holding their own. I will give a massive shout-out to Troy Gray for doing a fantastic job of keeping this gem running.

It reminds me of a book signing I went to at the McFaddin-Ward visitors center during which Jo Ann Stiles talked about her chapter in the book Just Between Us. In it, Stiles talks about her interview with Miss Alice, who lived in the real Glady’s City as a child. Miss Alice reveals both the good and the bad of how things were. This is what you want as a researcher, but the lore and Hollywood often get in the way of historical reality. It is a great book, and there’s a link to it at the bottom of the page.

Big Thicket Outlaws

As I mention Gladys City, I also need to say that the Big Thicket Outlaws have been entertaining folks for years at events in Gladys City and other places. The Big Thicket Outlaws have taken several losses during the past few years. The latest was Earl Keith (Tejano). He passed away in September 2021. He was a treasure that everyone will miss. The Outlaws have done a great job of bringing history to young folks and to us not-so-young folk. Below I’ve added links to past events that the Big Thicket Outlaws participated in at Glady’s City, which I photographed.

Blind Willie Johnson

Straight from the NASA files and Voyager 2, all is well, but the computers in Voyager 1 are troubled by a mysterious glitch. I guess that’s what you get with 1970s technology that’s lasted for 45 years. One thing to add is that both space probes are still working and traveling in interstellar space. To me, this means Blind Willie Johnson’s music has made it out of the solar system and is currently in uncharted territory, along with Beethoven, Bach, and Stravinsky. I’d say this is still a big deal. Blind Willie was a Beaumont preacher who had a music contract with a major label, Columbia Records. Yet he died poor. I have his story below.

Martin Block homestead

Things here on Ye Olde Block Farm are going well after the F-0 tornado decided to attack a few businesses on Nederland Avenue, then move into our area, a few weeks back. It sure seemed to hate water Oaks and some roofs, but it didn’t last long unless you were in its path, in which case it was Hurricane Rita all over again. I’m sure this isn’t the first time this has happened. Martin Block owned and cultivated this old farmland from the 1900s to the 1940s. You might recognize the last name. He was W. T. Block’s uncle. I have a couple of articles from the Beaumont Enterprise from 1927 and 1930 where journalist Dean Tevis spotlighted him in his weekly articles. Back then, old Dean wrote about these farmers like rock stars. It is fascinating to go back and read what things were like in the 1920s and 30s. Those Boll weevils caused many headaches. Dean wrote that Martin had the first truck in Port Neches to deliver his goods to Beaumont. He also had a sugar mill about a block away from his home.

I know that the live oaks were planted by the Block family before 1908, and they are my treasures. On Google Earth, there is a history tab that you can click on to get an aerial view of Jefferson County from 1938. I can see my trees in their blurry magnificence all those years ago. An added tidbit is that the Rowleys also lived not too far from here.

Something that’s been irking me for years involves only Port Arthurans. Why has Port Arthur been known as the friendliest city by the sea for years? You’re next to a lake. I won’t even mention when some committee gave the go-ahead to paint waves on the concrete barrier in the middle of Highway 69, 96, 287, leading into the heart of Port Arthur, then painted over them a few months later because TxDOT can’t even paint waves properly. Oh well, we’re not perfect, but at least some of us know the difference between a lake and a sea. Rant done! I guess we can go back to being friendly unless the powers over that project see this, then my work is done.

This week, the Saharan dust was a sight over the Rainbow Bridge. It was almost like fog. I know this bridge caused a lot of hell before it was built. Beaumont fought hard for this bridge not to be built because that would mean the people traveling from Port Arthur/Groves wouldn’t have to drive thru Beaumont to Orange County. There was a ferry before the bridge, but there were long waits. Beaumont lost and the bridge was built, making all of Mid and South County happy. I should do an in-depth research project on how much mud-slinging went on. I guess it’s water under the bridge. Of course, it is because it’s too darn high. A shout-out to everyone who took their driver’s ed road test over this rainbow because you deserved that license. Also, to the truckers who slapped rearview mirrors when it was a two-way bridge.

I just noticed it’s Father’s Day, so I’ll leave you a Susie Spindletop Weekly Letter entry from June 16, 1929.

MARY AUTRY HIGGINS came along with the epitaph she found somewhere:

Here lyeth the body of WILLIAM STRATTON

buried May 18, 1734

Age 97

Who had by his first wife 28 children

By his second, 17

Own father to 45,

Grandfather to 86,

Great-grandfather to 97,

great great- grandfather to 23…in all 251

***

Happy Fathers Day

Just Between Us : https://www.amazon.com/Just-Between-Us-Stories-Memories/dp/1936205785

Big Thicket Outlaws: https://www.flickr.com/photos/25032584@N05/albums/72157635129081778#:~:text=https%3A//flic.kr/s/aHsjHA9m2G

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25032584@N05/albums/72157639674774734#:~:text=https%3A//flic.kr/s/aHsjQvQdbb

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25032584@N05/albums/72157678910933385#:~:text=https%3A//flic.kr/s/aHskShZMba

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25032584@N05/albums/72157692218171835#:~:text=https%3A//flic.kr/s/aHsmdyURxR

Blind Willie Johnson: https://www.rediscoveringsetx.com/2012/08/23/blind-willie-johnson/

Thoughts and Ramblings: Too fat to put on booties, Pie Face, Seven Oaks, Berthe DeBretagne, Old Sparks Cemetery, moved in the 50s, and thanks to Albert.

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Well, I’ve been dieting again. The main reason is that I couldn’t bend down and put on the booties during the Historic Homes Tour in Galveston. Actually, this makes me think of all the food I grew up eating. There were many good places in Port Arthur, but I stand by my Hartmans, Monceauxs, and Fish Net picks. I also want to mention Pie Face. Her jambalaya was not of this world in the 1990s. This was when she was cooking in the Jefferson City Shopping Center. It was the old Ted’s Record Shop. I know that she was previously located near Church’s Chicken on Bluebonnet. Pork Jambalaya that only an angel from Heaven could have cooked, and sweet tea for $5.

As a kid, my family didn’t travel much. As I stated a few weeks ago, we were the poor sods who ate sandy hotdogs on McFaddin Beach, so I don’t know the appetite of North Jefferson County or even the other counties in SETX. Except for Tyler County, we all know that your Pickett House is almost a religious experience. Our Boondocks was too. What was your favorite dining spot in the counties that make up SETX, and is it still around?

When traveling along Twin-city Hwy, just before the point where Hwy 366 connects to it, you will see seven Oak trees planted back in the 1980s in a circle near the train bridge. TxDOT did not do this landscaping. The tribute to the seven astronauts who perished in the Challenger explosion in January 1986 was made by the Nederland Historical Society. I’ll give a shout-out to William D. Quick for this. When I first heard about the disaster, I was on the same porch where I saw a formation of T-6 Texans all dressed up to look like Mitsubishi A6M Zeros for the Tora, Tora, Tora airshow at the Jefferson County Airport. I also saw Air Force One in 1980. The president was here doing what politicians do. I’m still in awe of the planes but don’t care for politicians unless it’s Winston Churchill. I will go on record to say that I’m pro-peanuts, though.

Last weekend I used my time wisely. It had been a while since I updated my files–what a weekend of filing! Nine months of files uploaded and sent to the database for humanity. You’re welcome. There were many interesting things waiting to be uploaded, such as several Port Arthur News clips of Mrs. Hugo DeBretagne. She was quite a patriot, I believe. If you have followed this blog, you’ve seen me mention Hugo J. DeBretagne. She was his mother. Although I haven’t done an in-depth article on H.J., it remains an ongoing project. Below I offer a storyline for this family and hope to expand it in the future.

The father, Hugo S. DeBretagne, fought in WWI and found a bride in Belgium, named Berthe. After the war, they lived in Port Arthur and had two sons, Hugo J. and James. Throughout the 1920s and 30s, there are many mentions of Berthe DeBretagne giving public speeches or heading the Women’s Auxiliary. Since she was mentioned more than her children and husband, I can only assume that she was a go-getter.

In the 1940s, both sons enlisted and were sent to fight in the Pacific. This is where it gets fuzzy for me as a researcher. I do know that James fought at Guadalcanal, but there is no mention of Hugo. The only information I could find is for the Battle of Tarawa. Hugo J. DeBretagne was killed in action on the third and last day of the battle (November 23, 1943). His brother James survived the war. He died in 2008, but I am yet to find his story. Mrs. DeBretagne continued to be in the spotlight with the Women’s Auxiliary in the newspapers, but in 1946 she divorced her husband and went her own way. I will not attempt to explain this decision because I can’t. It is what it is. Berthe eventually remarried an immigrant from Australia named William George Hay. She is buried near her son’s memorial stone in Greenlawn in Groves, Texas. This is one story I will continue to research.

Sparks Cemetery

Another group of files I uploaded was on the Sparks Cemetery and how it was moved in the 1950s. The cemetery was located on Dupont land between Nederland and Beaumont on TwinCity Highway. The McFaddins owned the ground at the time, and both they and Dupont moved all 30 residents of the cemetery to Forest Lawn in Beaumont. I will give the McFaddins and Dupont kudos for actually moving the bodies to their new resting place. There are many accounts of Beaumont cemeteries simply left underneath sites of urban expansion. I will get into that in the future.

Well, that’s it for this week. I’ll mention that I was surprised to make it in the Out and About with Albert section of The Examiner newspaper for the Memorial Service at Magnolia Cemetery. It’s better than the police beat. Au revoir.

Food for Thought in Port Arthur Texas (70s -80s)

https://www.rediscoveringsetx.com/2013/01/23/food-for-thought-in-port-arthur-texas-70s-80s/

Thoughts and Ramblings: Scary Trees, Kishi Colony, Lucian Adams, and a Rant

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I believe we’ve lost a few friends. If you’ve ever traveled down Highway FM 105, west of FM 1442 in Orange County, you might have seen some odd old trees. They looked like they would be perfectly at home on Almira Gulch’s land in Kansas/Oz, ready to grab Dorothy and her little dog “too.” I love Margaret Hamilton. They were Camphor trees planted by Toraichi Kishi, brother of Kichimatsu Kishi, who immigrated from Japan to farm rice. These trees were registered with the Texas Forest Service at some point, and according to the TAMU website, one of them was on the Texas Big Tree Registry. Now, only one colossal tree is left. The others sadly succumbed to the freeze of February 2021. These trees were apparently planted in the 1910s.

Growing up, we had a Camphor tree. When I was 7 years old, the plant was my link to traveling the seas on a boat called the Westwind. Thinking back, I have little knowledge of the TV show, but I do know that my Camphor tree smelled better than that yacht from the 1970s.

Speaking of the Kishis, a few years back, I came across a scrapbook filled with newspaper articles from the 1940s at an estate sale in Port Neches. Its owner, Miss Davis, kept many articles leading up to and during the war. One was a Beaumont Enterprise article about a young man named Taro Kishi, an American born into a family of Japanese descendants (a Nisei). His words in the article spoke of patriotism and wanting to fight against the aggressors of the United States. Still, the U.S. military was not recruiting Japanese Americans at this point. Eventually, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was formed with Japanese Americans and fought in the Italy campaign.

As I mention the history of WWII and the Italy campaign, I have to bring up Lucian Adams from Port Arthur. He was one of twelve siblings: nine boys and three girls. Eight of the boys served during the war, and fortunately, all of them returned home. Lucian carried out many heroic acts. The first one was during the landing at Anzio, where he knocked out an enemy machine-gun position, leading his unit to advance. Lucian earned a Bronze Star for this. During another campaign in France, he knocked out three machine-gun nests all by himself, two using grenades and the other one with his Browning Automatic Rifle. For this, he received the Medal of Honor. There go a couple of tales from my “Greatest Generation file”—because they were our greatest generation!

I’ve volunteered for many organizations and will continue to do so in the future, but I am a bit irked at a few non-profits in our area. In the past, I’ve had a couple of bad experiences with these Wine and Cheese factories that communicate nice messages about supporting “our history” but treat their volunteers like cannon fodder. Admittedly, the organizations I refer to have gotten rid of the people in charge at the time, but I still have no desire to become one of their winos. I will not mention the organizations here, but if you ever see me out on the street, I would love to tell you about the dark side of this history.

My real gripe here is that someone takes time out of their life to help your non-profit, and you, as the organizer, are being well compensated. I do believe these people should be paid, but please treat your (unpaid) volunteers with respect, and know that if it weren’t for them, your organization would cease to exist. Treat us right, and we will come; treat us wrong, and you will die a horrible death.

Well, I had a whole other rant about volunteers being given a 3×5 card of historical information, but low and behold, I was just emailed three pages of facts about the house I’ll be volunteering at. I like whoever is the powers that be currently. Things are looking up. Hope to see you in Galveston this week and next. Even you, Wanda. Just wear comfy shoes. No heels!

Marine Scout Bomber Squadron 931 (VMSB-931)

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I’ve written a few blurbs about SETX during World War II, and I plan on writing a few more in the future. This era of our country and the generation to which we owe much inspires me greatly. Since childhood, I have absorbed the history told in theaters, books, and legends, but a walk through a cemetery certainly adds a human factor to the endless tales of sacrifice. Especially when the headstone in front of you is not a headstone at all, but a memorial to a fallen son or daughter who has been lost forever. As time passes and there is no one left to speak or remember their name, the life that was lived is forgotten. There are a few of these stories here in SETX, and I hope to honor these individuals in future blogs by sharing their stories. But before I delve into some of our SETX locals, I would like to bring attention to a few lost heroes who deserve to be remembered in SETX history.

It was fall 1944, and the war was still raging on both fronts. Like most periodicals across our nation, local SETX newspapers centered on the liberation of Belgium and the European theatre. The heavy fighting on Peleliu and throughout the Pacific were occasionally mentioned, but these events seemed to take a back seat to the success in Europe. It would be at this theatre that Marine Aircraft Group 93 (MAG-93) would train its pilots for battle. MAG-93 began in April 1944 at Cherry Point, North Carolina. Its first squadron was commissioned on April 15th under the command of Major John L. Dexter and was known as Marine Scout Bomber Squadron 931. Other squadrons, such as VMSB-932, would also be commissioned into MAG-93 and would spend countless hours (round the clock, for a brief time) in training centered at Jefferson County Airport. However, the Marine Scout Bombing Squadron (VMSB-931) will be our main focus in this article.

In May, VMSB-931 was transferred to Eagle Mountain Lake, Texas (near Ft. Worth) to begin their operational training. It also became attached to Marine Aircraft Group 33 (MAG-33). The squadron consisted of 18 SBD-5 (Dauntless)-type aircraft with 37 commissioned officers and 160 enlisted men. Records show that only one operational accident occurred during this period, which resulted in the damage and loss of an SBD-5. Fortunately, there was no loss of life, and the squadron continued their training through July, attaining a 43.1% readiness for combat rating by their superior.

Dauntless

By August, it was time for the squadron to begin the second phase of their training; thus, the VMSB-931 were temporarily detached to the U.S. Naval Section Base in Sabine Pass, Texas “for duty in connection with the basing of tactical squadrons of Marine Aircraft Group 33 at Jefferson County Airport, Beaumont, Texas. This duty includes gunnery, dive-bombing, and overwater navigation training,” wrote Commander John L. Dexter in the squadron’s war diary on the first of August. The next week would consist of setting up operations at their new location and finally beginning their overwater flight training on August 8th.

As most of us know, the Gulf can be very unpredictable in September, and 1944 was no exception. On September 9th, a tropical storm formed about 170 miles southeast of Matamoros, Mexico, and began to move north. All planes were evacuated out of the area to where I would assume was back to Eagle Mountain Lake. Their absence would not last long, however, because Tropical Storm Six would move northeast and make landfall at the Mississippi River Delta on the 10th with top winds of 65 mph. Needless to say, all planes were back on September 11th. Training resumed the next day, and here is where our story takes a deadly turn.

During overwater flight training off the coast of the Sabine Pass, 2nd Lieutenant Marion M. Puliz attempted to rendezvous from below the lead plane flown by 2nd Lieutenant Richard L. Savoie, resulting in a mid-air collision. Both planes crashed into the Gulf and sank in 35 feet of water. Both pilots and the two gunners, Corporal Richard R. Stoddard and Private First Class William C. Bathurst, were killed. 2nd Lieutenant Puliz’s body was the only one recovered out of the four.

More tragedy hit 931 eight days later when 2nd Lieutenant William G. Duvall “attempted a slow roll at low altitude. He lost control and went into a progressive stall, hitting the water on the left wing. Plane was observed to explode and sink immediately upon striking the water,” wrote Commander Dexter. Both the pilot and the gunner, Private First Class Albert W. Bitner, perished in the crash, and neither body was recovered.

Amazingly, there are a few newspaper accounts of these tragedies; however, with few of them offer details of the actual crashes. For instance, the Port Arthur News reports consisted of the identities of the victims and, oddly enough, a few mentions of sightings of a body a few weeks later off the coast of High Island. A search for the bodies after each accident occurred was conducted by the Coast Guard, but no remains were found.

An article dated September 27 reported that a swimmer informed the Coast Guard that he had brushed against a body while swimming just off the coast of High Island. A search ensued that lasted until 2 a.m. but was deemed “fruitless” by Coast Guard officials who, in their statement, said that the swimmer “had been mistaken.”

The following day, the Port Arthur News reported, “Louis Welch of Sabine Pass, county commissioner of Precinct 3, also reported seeing the body to Coast Guard officials. According to Welch, he sighted the body floating in the Gulf water about one mile east of the Chambers and Jefferson Counties boundary line.” Welch tried to “tow it ashore,” but a wave swept the body away. The search for the body was resumed, but it was never recovered.

Jefferson County Airport 1945

Operational training ended September 21st for the VMSB-931, and the squadron returned to Eagle Mountain Lake a few days later. But this was not the end of the Marine Aircraft Group’s training facilities here in Jefferson County, as the 932 (VMSB-932) would arrive at Jefferson County Airport on September 26th to begin their operational training as well. I am unsure where these brave young men ended up after their training, but I can only guess that a few would have participated in ending this long, drawn-out war. I researched further, but there are thousands upon thousands of war diary documents to sift through and many more rabbit holes that I find myself not capable of going down in a relatively short amount of time. One day, if time permits, I would like to continue on the trail of the 931, but plenty more tales are coming soon.

 

Sources:

Jefferson County Historical Commission archives

Fold 3

Port Arthur News archives

 

 

 

 

Tales from Hallowed Ground: Tom The Tramp

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tom

Still inspired by the Liberty County Historical Commission’s “Whispers of the Past,” I find myself wanting to bring a few stories from my own county’s cemeteries to light. This is why I want to start a new topic about the inhabitants of cemeteries, which will hopefully feature on this blog once a month. There are many stories out there, hidden away in our hallowed grounds, and I for one am interested in bringing these stories, legends, and tales to the fore. I would also love your input, so please leave your suggestions, stories, and comments on the Rediscovering SETX Facebook page or email me at rediscoveringsetx@gmail.com.

Roaming through the hilly terrain of one of Beaumont’s oldest cemeteries, I passed many obelisks, mausoleums, and other monuments dedicated to the “who was who” of Beaumont’s 175-year existence—each edifice undoubtedly clutching a story that’s waiting to be told. However, let us sidestep our SETX citizens at this time in favor of a hero who became a permanent resident of the Magnolia Cemetery too soon.

Because the Great Storm of 1900 took many lives and devastated Galveston’s shore, most forget that the residents of Bolivar Peninsula also shared the same fate, and this is where our story begins.

Alice and Frank Keith were two prominent names in old Beaumont, not least because Frank owned the Keith Lumber Company. On September 8th of 1900, Alice and Frank were in New York while their two daughters, Alice and Olga, stayed with relatives at a hotel in Patton Beach (now named Crystal Beach). As the storm worsened, Mrs. Irwin, the hotel manager, and an employee, Tom, nicknamed “Tom the Tramp,” thought it would be safer for the Keith’s daughters to ride the storm out in another house near the hotel.

Unfortunately the severity of the storm proved too much for the structure, and the house began to break up. Mrs. Irwin picked up Alice, and taking Olga’s hand to hers, headed for another house. As they departed, a large wave knocked Alice out. Mrs. Irwin managed to hold onto the girl, but Olga was separated from her. As if by fate, Tom swiftly retrieved Olga from the water and gave her back to Mrs. Irwin. He then took Alice and began to roll her back and forth over his shoulder, which revived her. As the storm raged on, the four again sought shelter in the house. Luckily, they all survived.

Both Frank and Alice were unaware of their daughters’ struggle for survival, but I’m sure they were devastated when they read a story in a New York newspaper that reported that their daughters had perished. However, as we already know, the newspaper was fortunately wrong, and the Keith’s were able to hold their daughters once again and hear the tale of heroism of the girls’ two saviors. Indeed, the Keith’s were so grateful to the two that they offered them each a house, which Tom accepted.

This would have made for a happy ending to a great story, but sadly in 1909, Tom kicked over an oil lamp while having a seizure and burned to death in his house. Ever grateful for his heroism, Frank and Alice laid him to rest in their family plot at Magnolia Cemetery with the name they knew him by and a tribute befitting of their hero:

Tom

The Tramp

Died December 5, 1909

“He alone is great, who by an act heroic, renders a real service.”

 

Source: Judy Linsley