Thursday, July 31, 2014

The Dike


The Dike
Unless you grew up in Galveston County, you would think this post had something to do with Hans Brinker.  But in Galveston County....everyone knew about The Dike.   It is a long pier-like road that goes five or so miles into Galveston Bay.

When my parents first married and moved to Texas City from Oklahoma, being close to the water was an incredible novelty.  Their first house was four houses down from the original seawall.  Mom said she would take me, as a small child, for walks along the seawall.  She found the water to be wonderful and calming.  It was not unsual for us to get in the car in the evening and drive to the end of the dike and back just for fun.  I learned about the birds, watching seagulls and pelicans fish in the bay.  I still feel nostalgic going out there.

My dad had been in “304 days of Combat” during World War II.  That also was rephrased to say, “I went on a picnic  for 304 days”, “I went camping for 304 days,” and so on, all meaning that he would never do those things again.  So I was pleasantly surprised when Mom announced that we were going on a picnic on the Dike with our friends the Faulks.

 Mr. Faulk had been in WWII as well, but in the Navy. According to my dad, sailors always had a bed, and meals. Dad made WWII in the Navy, with bombs blowing up ships and sinking them in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, seem generally very comfortable.  
Dad had agreed to go on the picnic at the Dike because the Faulks had chairs and a table from camping.  And for the first time we packed up the picnic basket Mom had gotten when they first got married.   My next door neighbor, Jimmy, was going with us too.  Dressed in our swimsuits, slathered with smelly suntan lotion, we packed the car. Jimmy had blown up his air mattress float before he came over.  Dad made him press the air back out, to fit it in the car.  As we drove over the seawall, Dad told us to be on the lookout for the Faulk’s 1959 red chevy stationwagon.

When we spotted them, Mr. Faulk had already set up a tent, a table, chairs and had the grill going ready for hot dogs.  Their son, Butch, had gone further down the beach with some friends from school.  Their daughter, Judi, was three years older than me, and was stuck with us two little kids.  Grudgingly she helped us blow up the float.  We pushed it on the water as we walked away from the beach.  I wore a life vest since I couldn’t swim, while, Judi and Jimmy held on to the sides of the float.  We had been playing for 30 minutes or so in the water, when Jimmy realized if he let go of the float, he could no longer touch the bottom, Judi told him not to be afraid, it was just because he was short.  Judi tried to touch the bottom and discovered that she couldn’t touch the bottom either.  

 Jimmy could swim, but not for very long.  Judi could swim but she didn’t swim in water over her head.  At first I started to cry, but Judi quickly told me, “You’re the one with the life jacket, it is Jimmy and me that will drown!”  We started waving our arms and yelling but our parents couldn’t hear us.  They were busy talking, never dreaming that the water was over our heads.  Judi started talking about how if we floated out to sea, a boat might pick us up.  That was it for me, and I started crying again.  Judi then decided that if we all yelled at the same time someone would hear us so we started to yell together.   

About that time we noticed several men wade fishing just to the side of us and they were standing on the bottom.  Judi once again tried to reach the bottom to no avail.  The fisherman saw us and yelled for us to paddle towards them. By this time, Dad and Mr. Faulk had seen us.  As they ran through the water to us, it was like they stepped off a cliff and disappeared under water, bobbing up, having to start swimming.  As we paddled over to the fisherman, suddenly our feet were once again touching the bottom.  Feeling sort of silly for making so much commotion, we walked the float back to the beach.

 As it turned out  the city had dredged out the area where we had been floating to add sand to the beach, leaving a deep hole that you couldn’t see in the water.  We got back to our camp where hamburgers and hot dogs were waiting.  We were starved, and spent the whole meal talking about our adventure of Being Adrift at Sea. I commented I couldn’t wait to tell my friends what had happened, when Judi quickly reminded me, “You are the one that shouldn’t have been afraid, because you had the life jacket.”

 Most days of my childhood days ended with my Daddy saying to my mother,  “Honey (or Dear), you wanna go for a little drive?” to which my mother would reply, 
“Let me get my purse.”  

 Then, we would get in the Buick and head down Palmer Highway, make a little jog to the right at Bay Street, over the seawall and on to the bumpy road of The Dike.  With my back window down I could feel the salt air on my face, hear the ever scoffing calls of the gulls and the lapping of the water as it hit the big, square, granite ballast rocks, that lined the road. We would make the loop around at the end, where the pelicans floated lazily, after a long day of fishing, and experience it all again as we headed home.

I can still feel the comfort of climbing into bed, with those soothing sounds and smells lulling me to sleep.

 *If you want to share your memories or comments about "The Dike" please scroll down to the “comments” section at the bottom of the blog.  They will be included for everyone to enjoy!

Reference for the following information:www.texascity-library.org/history/growth/dike.php
The Texas City Dike juts out into Galveston Bay on the easternmost end of Texas City. The dike is parallel to and north of the 50-foot deep, 600-foot wide Texas City Channel, which allows shipping traffic to access the Port of Texas City. The dike's structure consists of a 28,200-foot-long (approximately 5.34 miles) pile dike paired with a rubble-mound dike that runs along the south edge of the pile dike (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2007). The Texas City Dike was built to protect the Texas City Channel from cross currents and excessive silting, although the channel must still be dredged frequently to prevent shoaling in the waterway.
Originally authorized by the River and Harbor Act of 1913, construction of the dike was sponsored by Texas City but was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District. The first version of the dike was timber pile construction, built for a cost of $1.4 million and completed in 1915. After construction, material collected from dredging the Texas City Channel was repeatedly deposited on top of the timber pile dike, but it eventually washed back out into the water; to prevent this problem, the Corps added a rubble-mound formation to the supplement the existing dike in 1931-1932.
Col. Hugh Moore and other Texas City leaders continued to try to convince the Corps of Engineers to build permanent bulkheads that would prevent washout and allow the dike to be used as a public beach and recreation area. The Corps of Engineers was not amenable to his requests, so Moore's wife, Helen Moore, who was a member of the Texas House of Representatives, took up the issue with the Texas Legislature. In 1931, she gained passage of a state bill that patented a 1,000-foot-wide strip of land with the old U.S. Corps of Engineers timber pile dike at its center to the City of Texas City. The patent included all submerged lands and tidal flats located within the 1,000 foot strip.
In the late 1930s the Works Progress Administration paid for some dike maintenance and built a roadway on the dike. Colonel Moore continued to lobby the Army Corps of Engineers to improve the dike so that the city could use it for recreational activities, without much success. The City of Texas City and the Works Progress Administration continued to patch the dike, at times filling in eroded areas with scrap automobile bodies, rock, broken brick, and waste from the city dump in an attempt to break wave action and prevent further erosion to the dike, but their efforts were only temporarily successful.
An application to build a new retaining wall and dike was submitted for review in September 1945 because of the continual erosion on the north side of the dike (Texas City Board of Trade, personal communication, September 1, 1945).
In 1957, the City of Texas City leased approximately 13 acres of land on the eastern tip of the dike to Clyde Ragsdale, who formed the Texas City Dike Corp. for the purpose of developing the area. A lighted fishing pier, a bait camp, a warehouse and a refreshment stand were eventually built in the area. In 1963, the Texas City Dike Corp. was sold to the Texas City Dike and Marina, Inc., when Mr. Ragsdale died.
There were continual renovations made to the dike over the next three decades, including patenting an additional strip of land at the eastern point of the Dike in 1963. In 1977 a plan was put forth to widen the channel from 100 feet to 1,200 feet; deepen it from 34 feet to 40 feet; and widen the entrance from 250 feet to 400 feet (Vander Bosch, 1977, p.2). By 1995 there was a 600-feet lighted fishing pier that offered "some of the deepest water pier fishing on the Texas coast" (Acker, 1995, p. 21). Many tourist advertisements claim the Texas City Dike as the world's largest fishing pier. The Texas City-La Marque Hurricane Flood Protection System, an interconnected system of levees, pump stations, dike and seawall sections, was dedicated in 1987. On March 25, 1995, a historical marker was dedicated at Anchor Park for the Dike.
On Sept. 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike made landfall at Galveston (Drye, 2008, n.p.). The storm travelled up Galveston Bay with 110-mph winds and a 25-foot storm surge. Although the Texas City Dike remained structurally intact and was cleared of debris immediately after the storm, the recreation and business facilities were washed away by the storm surge. The pilings for the dike remained, but much of the road and shoulders were washed away. Texas City and Galveston County worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to obtain federal funding to repair and renovate the Dike and surrounding areas (Tompkins, 2008, n.p.). The Dike was closed to the public for two years after the storm while the structure was repaired.
On Sept. 11, 2010, the Texas City Dike re-opened to the public. A $5 entry fee for non-city residents was instituted to assist in defraying the cost of maintenance and future improvements to the Dike. The cost of the effort to clean up storm debris after Hurricane Ike totaled $1.5 million. City staff restored many of the boat ramps and picnic shelters at an estimated cost of $250,000, while the $4.1 million cost of repairing the dike road was covered jointly by FEMA, Galveston County and the City of Texas City. Subsequent to the storm, Galveston County signed over all rights and ownership of any easements and rights to the road to the City of Texas City.

The dike currently boasts four boat ramps, ten concrete picnic shelters and one wheelchair accessible pier. The city installed solar-powered lights and performed additional repairs on piers and ramps with the assistance of a grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Prior to its closure after Hurricane Ike, the Dike's Samson-Yarbrough ramp was the busiest on Galveston Bay (Aulds, 2010), and the dike as a whole was the second-busiest boat launch site in the state.

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Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Galveston County before WalMart....

In Galveston County, and more specifically Texas City and LaMarque,  before the WalMart days there were all these great little shops.  As a child I don’t remember going into any store where we were not greeted by name.  

Busby’s Appliance store.  When my parents got married they had an ice box.  Their first arguement was over whose turn it was to empty the water pan beneath it.  Dad drilled a hole in the floor in the kitchen, and put a hose in it, so that it could drain on its own, but my mother still wanted a refrigerator.

Mom had taught school but they married and came to Texas City the June after the explosion. She had not been able to find a teaching job, but she did find a job working at American Oil as librarian, setting up the engineering library.  

Once she had a paycheck, she started saving to buy a refrigerator.  Busby’s Appliance Store could order them.  Mr. Busby told her she would have to pay for it before he would order it. He told her how much, and she presented him the money.  But then, he said he could not take the money or order the refrigerator without her husband’s permission.  She was incenced.  She told him that it was her money that she had earned and that she didn’t need to get permission to buy anything....but he still refused to sell it to her.  

My father was down at that store like a flash.  He told Mr. Busby that from this day forward if his wife wanted to buy something, it was her money and he was to sell it to her no questions asked!!  In later years it became a joke.  Mr. Busby told her that had he known how independent she was he would have never questioned her.

Phelp’s Men’s Shop.  This was where my father got his suits.  He got a new one every year.  It was a family affair (Only 3 of us of course).  He got the suit, a couple of new dress shirts, new belt, socks and new shoes.  I remember thinking how handsome he was.   I always encouraged him to buy those two tone wing tips but my mother said, “One pair of those was enough!”

Roger’s Shoe Store. This was where I got my new shoes.  Getting new shoes was always a highlight for me.  I dearly loved new shoes and remember standing on the yard stick regularly to see if my foot had grown so I could get new shoes.  Generally I only got them for back to school. Sandals for Easter, and “Tennis” shoes for summer.  Mr. Rogers always had you stand on that cold metal measuring thingy for feet.  I always made sure he pushed the little button as close to my toe as it would go so I had as little growing room as possible so the wait for new shoes wouldn't be as long.

Gibby’s Photography.  We have a picture at every stage of our family’s life done by Mr. Gibby.  He even did the first portaits of both of my children.

Chamber’s Dress Shop.  My mom bought her clothes at Chambers...... until she bought the green dress.  She had always shopped there for her professional wardrobe for school.  To school she wore only suits and stilletto heels...all bought at Chambers.  She had to be unquestionably one of his best customers.  She bought the green dress for Easter.  It was almost a solid but had a tiny print of pink roses that almost seemed like dots.  The zipper was the first she had ever gotten that was plastic and not metal.  She asked Mrs. Chambers if it would last and Mrs. Chambers said, “Of course it will!”. Well after sitting in church, Mom stood up and the zipper had opened in the middle showing her slip. It was still zipped at the top and closed at the bottom. The dress was not tight.  Monday morning she took the dress back and told Mr. Chambers what had happened.  He refused to take the dress back because she had worn it.  She told him it was defective, or she wouldn’t have bought it.....and she had asked if a plastic zipper would work hold up.  He stood firm and would not take the dress back. He said, “I will not take back clothes that have already been worn, because people do that to take advantage of me.”   Mother was furious.  She told him she would never do business with him again.....and she didn’t.

Hetherington’s Jewelers.  The Hetheringtons were the first couple that my father met when he came to Texas City.  He bought my mother’s engagement ring there.  Mr. Hetherington picked out the stones indiviually to put in her ring, as he did 31 years later for my engagement ring.   

It was old world with large glass and mahogany display cases. As you stepped into the store the cases lined the walls from the front all the way to the back of the store. Across the back of the store was the jewelers office, which was more like a little booth. Behind the glass window were all the magnifying glasses and all of the jewelers tools. In the back right hand side of the store were all the different patterns of china and crystal, on glass shelves, with lights above that made them sparkle.  As a child I would stand and watch the brides pick out their treasures and dream about when it would be my turn to be a bride.  I knew always I would pick out my ring and all my china at Hetherington’s when I got engaged.

When we went to pick out my ring it was the first time Jim had ever been on time anywhere.  By the time we left the store Mrs. Hetherington had alerted the entire town that I was engaged......

My parents and the Hetherington’s remained dear friends until the Hetherington’s died.  I dearly loved going in their shop. 

Meredith’s Shoe Store.  I went to daycare at Mrs. Hudnalls as did the Meredith’s son, Kelsey.  Mom started shopping there for shoes after the “Chamber’s Incident”.

Benjamin Franklin’s.  This was where Sally Hudnall and I went to buy our pet turtles.  The one she picked out had orange back legs and they were paralyzed....(how safe was that and what strange malady did that turtle have???)  Both turtles lived many years and we had a lot of fun playing with them.

Rocks
I think this was the right name. The thing that stands out in my mind was that the store had wooden floors. When you walked in....even a little kid made “clomp, clomp, clomp” sound with each step.  It was one of those places you didn’t think about but it was just always there.  After graduating from college, my first job was as a merchandise manager trainee at JCPenney in Baytown, Texas.  My store manager called to me from the office one day to tell me that part of downtown Texas City was on fire.  When I came home the next time, I saw that the old Rocks store had burned down.

Tots to Teen...I remember my mother shopped there for me, but more importantly the dreaded Dr. JoAnn’s office was above that place.

Show Boat Theater.  When we lived on 13th Avenue North, Judi Faulk and I would walk down to the ShowBoat to see Elvis Presley Movies.  When I was about 4 and Judi was 9,  we had walked down to the show.  We didn’t return for 4 hours.  Our mothers were heading down the street to find us when they met us coming home.  It turns out that afternoon it had not been an Elvis Presely movie but rather WAR AND PEACE....

JCPenney.  The only thing we ever bought there was dad’s work clothes, underwear, fabrics.  My mom made most of my clothes and Penney’s always had a great selection of pretty fabrics to choose from.  I got a summer job there when I was in college.  My bachelor’s degree is in merchadising so I was able to do my internship in marketing there the summer before my senior year in college.  When I graduated from college my first job was as a management Trainee for JCPenney in Baytown, Texas.  My starting salary was $7,600. a year.  My apartment cost $150 a month, gasoline was 37 cents a gallon, and my ’73 Mach I Mustang got 9 miles to the gallon.....fortunately I ate very little and had no bills.

Fuller’s Pharmacy.  We only had one car until I got my driver’s license.  So after school, Mom and I would stop by Fullers to get a coke and wait for dad’s car pool to drop him off there.  Oh the debates and arguements we witnessed! Bonnie Joslin, Thelma Kirby and later Pam Ryman worked at the counter.  I always noticed the cute guys that worked there as delivery boys, Danny Anderson and John E. Mac most notabley.

Floyd’s Pharmacy.  This was in Texas City.  I remember going here since I was a small child.  The name was different originally.  It opened when I was two so we always called it “The New Drug Store” as opposed to the old one, Mainland Drug, on 6th Street.  When my parents retired that became their “go to” place for morning coffee. My kids loved going there to get milkshakes from Mrs. Kirby, and being able to pick out a bag of candy for the change my parents and Mrs. Kirby gave them.

Bradshaw’s Florist
Was there another florist in town?  If there was, my mother certainly didn’t know about it, or had no interest in using it.  It was next to Floyd’s Pharmacy.

The Pelican Club
I dearly  loved going there.  The waters wore waist coats and memorized your order, and got it right even if you changed it.  That is where Jim and I went on one of our first dates (we only dated for two weeks before we got engaged).  It was also the first fancy place we took our daughter to dinner when she was three years old.  We rehearsed for several days on how to act grown up at a fancy restaurant.  When we got ready to leave she asked the Maitre ‘d if he had been impressed....

The Stahl.  We bought my clothes in LaMarque when I got older.  The first thing I ever put on lay-a-way was there.  It was a black pleated skirt that cost $8.  I paid $1 down and 50 cents a week forevvvveeeeerrr.

Eibands.  This had to be my favorite old store.  It was in downtown Galveston in a very old, probably turn of the (20th) century building.  It had several floors and an elevator operator.  The  floors were wooden so that when you walked it made a clomp  clomp.  There were conversation seating areas throughout the store, sofa coffee table, end tables and chairs.  Also there were ash trays where my dad usually sat and smoked while my mother shopped.  When I got engaged, Mom and I went there to buy my wedding dress.  They took us into a separate room, away from the public shopping.  It was huge.  Along the walls were wedding dresses hanging in nooks like closets and in between the nooks were mirrors.  The carpet was a pale blue.  I felt like a princess in wonderland.  Mom and I were the only ones in the room and three different ladies took turns bringing out wedding dresses for me to try one.  It was truly one of the most memorable days I ever spent with my mom....I had dreamed of having just such a day with my daughter......

Sears, Galveson.
Sears is just....well Sears. Back then it was on the boulevard going into Galveston. The reason I remember this one so well though is because it was the first time I had ever seen or ridden on an escalator.  I was totally amazed.  I must have been about 5 years old.  To this day every time I pass by that building (no longer Sears of course), I still wonder if that escalator is still there.

Bosticks  It was around the corner from Oak Park, where we lived.  I dont’ remember anything particularly noteable about it except that it was the first place I ever ate shrimp.

Wish I remembered the name but In the same strip center with Bosticks around the corner was a bakery owned by a Dutch man,  As I remember it he made sugar cookie that were huge (they seemed to me at 6 years old, the size of a dinner plate, but am sure they were smaller). The baker would always say, “Why do you name such a pretty little girl “
Yan” a boy’s name?”

Balinese Room  The night Club over the water where my dad played trombone as an extra when the bands needed a trombone player.  Mom and I would stand in the foyer to listen to the music because she did not go into night clubs       (drinking you know....) I dearly loved the music and still feel so nostalgic when I hear a swing band.  One of my last memories of my dad was walking into his house and seeing him sitting in his wing chair playing “air trombone."

It’s hard to believe those stores are all gone, and the people of our childhood are gone as well.







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