Robert Earl McGee

Robert Earl “Bob” McGee, 79, of Port O’Connor passed away on Sunday, March 4, 2012. He was born October 29, 1932 in Jackson, Mississippi to the late Albert Earl and Florence A. McGee. He married Mary Nell Reeves McGee on June 13, 1954. They spent 57 years as loving partners devoted to friends and family.

He was a Retired Auditor for the USDA Milk Market Administration. Bob was an active member and Deacon of First Baptist Church in Port O’Connor. He was also an avid fisherman and hunter who dearly loved the outdoors. He was a member of the Bender Lane Hunting Club. He passed on his passion and wonder of God’s Nature to his family.

He is survived by his wife, Mary McGee of Port O’Connor; daughters, Phyllis Seymour of Houston, Theresa Overturf and husband, Larry of New Caney; son, Kyle McGee and wife, Lisa of Corpus Christi; brother, Richard McGee and wife, Joy of Austin; sister-in-law, Helen and husband, Roger Reeves; grandchildren, Chrystal, Ashley, Justin, Brian, Kimberly and Tyler and great-grandchild, Madalyn.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

The family would like to give special thanks to the Doctor’s and Staff at Memorial Medical Center in Port Lavaca and Hospice of South Texas for the special care and support you gave to our loved one.
Funeral Service was held March 8, 2012, at First Baptist Church in Port O’Connor. Interment followed in Port O’Connor Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Hospice of South Texas or donor’s choice.

Words of comfort may be shared with the family at:

www.richardsoncolonial.com.

One, and only one, of the interesting things to see in the Calhoun County Museum is the Lighthouse lens that was in the Matagorda Island light house. It is a huge thing and is full of rings and ridges. That type of lens is called a Fresnel Lens and was and still is popular in light houses after 1822 or so when a French engineer, Auguste Fresnel invented it. They were popular because the beam will be visible twenty or so miles out from the light.

Like all really popular inventions there is a little controversy about who did the actual invention. A Frenchman, Buffon, suggested it back in the 18th century. A Scotsman, David Brewster, worked on it early in the 19th century. Fresnel won the prize because he experimented, built and put it together. Personally, I think Brewster should get more credit but that is because he did invent one of my favorite toys, the Kaleidoscope. His best contribution to the lens deal was to convince England to use the Frenchman’s ideas in their lighthouses.

As big as the lens in the Museum is, it would be huge if it were a conventional lens. By some very clever mathematics with prisms and angles the designers can collapse a huge spherical lens into that thing that will shoot light from a electric, or in the case of this lens, a whale oil lamp, as a beam 20 some miles in the sea so ships can see the location the lighthouse is built to locate. I wonder who built the lens that lets me see a star that is lightyears away.

But that is only part of the wonder of the Fresnel invention. This almost 200 year old invention has thoroughly modern uses. The light house version has a lamp in its middle and through its rings shoots a beam out. With a little reverse engineering you can collect light from a solar source, concentrate it onto a solar panel and you have a really good way to make “green” power.

Another use is in tail lights of cars. You can stamp all those ridges in circles into the plastic of the tail light cover and it will take that little bulbs light shine that bright red beam back a long way. They once used them in headlights but invention marches on and the have a different way now to make the headlight shine brighter as well as further.

Some of you have flat little magnifying glasses slipped into your wallet or purse. They use the Fresnel effect. If you really want accuracy of detail the full spherical curvature, rather than the flattened groovy ones, are better.

In any case, I doubt that Mr. Fresnel had any idea back then just how useful what he invented would be. It is also one of the things to remember when one looks at exhibits in museums. There is often quite an interesting story behind the exhibit you are being shown.

The Main Street Theater In Port Lavaca held an Awards Gala and preview of their first production on the twenty-third of February. On hand for the event were many of the actors, behind the scenes workers and patrons that make the Main Street Theater one of the integral parts of Main Street Port Lavaca.

Guests were treated to a excellent selection of various cold and hot food, while enjoying  a wine tasting courtesy of Big Barn Wines. A silent auction was also held with various prizes donated by local businesses and services. The prizes, which included fine jewelry, a set of five CD’s by country artist Larry Joe Taylor, a hardback copy of the book Old Vengeance by C.W. Spencer, a package of 100 full color business cards from Strictly Business, a wooden cross of the highest quality and a getaway bundle including one fishing charter for one to five people and a one night stay at the Coastal Safari Lodge.

Besides getting to see the presentation of awards from last years productions, there was also a sneak peek of the play Noises Off, which featured many local thespians in action. Noises Off ended it’s run before this issue of Dolphin Talk went to press, but that play was only the first of this season’s line-up of excellent shows  at the Main Street Theater which will include:

The Velveteen Rabbit, with shows performed June eighth through the tenth of that month, then from the fourteenth till the seventeenth.

Ken Ludwig’s The For on the Fairway, performed August third through fifth, then again on the tenth through the twelfth of the same month.

The fourth play of the season will be the Fall Christmas Show, but the dates for this Holiday special have yet to be decided or announced.

Theater lovers and patrons are also encouraged to make donations to keep future productions coming.

There are several levels of sponsorship. Please check out Main Street Theatre’s web site for more information.

www.plmainstreet.org

Noises Off cast members:

From left to right seated: Joyce Scaeffer, Shannon Stumpner, Jody Weaver, Michelle McMullen

From left to right standing: David Griffin, Ronny Best, Patrick Ryan, Kyle Boyd-Robertson, Mark Howell

Back row (stage crew) L to R: David Howell, Shaughnessy Howell and Tyler Schultz

ATTENTION: LADIES IN PORT O’CONNOR!

There are only 5 – FIVE – 5 more weeks until the annual Spring Garage Sale as staged by the members of the Port O’Connor Service Club arrives! As that date is Saturday, April 14th, time is really growing shorter. And if you have decided that it is definitely time to start and finish that annual chore of Spring Cleaning, do remember to box your “GIVEAWAYS” and call either Lydia Strakos, Chairman of the Event at 983-2341 or her assistant, Debbie Busby at 512 914-9521 to arrange for storage of these items prior to the Sale! We are gratefully accepting clothing in good condition for men, women and children; toys; cd’s and dvd’s; ornaments and other decorative items; kitchen equipment of all types; bedding; and furniture
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Also DO NOT FORGET that during the Garage Sale on Saturday, April 14th, the Service Club members are also holding a Bake Sale. And we all know how very talented bakers these women are. So, plan to come early at 8:00 a.m.. at the opening of the Sale on Saturday, the 14th of April to get the first available choice of pastries, cookies, and wonderful cakes!

Sue Kubecka
361 798-0560; kubeckasue@yahoo.com

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012, was the day of the Jerry Nutt Benefit Dinner, and that day dawned with heavy and strong winds and more than a little chill in the air. As many of the residents of POC are aware, Jerry Nutt had died very unexpectedly in late January, leaving his widow Janice bereft.

Donnie Haynes, a leader of The Smokin’ Nuts BBQ Team, of which Jerry had previously been a member, became aware that Janice had been left without the necessary funds to handle these unexpected expenses.

So, taking matters into his own hands, Donnie asked Joyce Jordan, Vice President of the Lions Club, and a Director with Donnie of the Chamber of Commerce Board, to use her contacts and incredible organizational talent and skills to help rectify the matter. First on the agenda was a Bake Sale in which ladies of the Fisherman’s Chapel, which is Janice’s church, along with some members of the Service Club, generously donated baked goods. And thanks to our unique and caring community, immediate funds were raised to help purchase supplies needed for the Benefit. A substantial donation was given to Janice by the POC Service Club. The large event was to be the Benefit Dinner on the 3rd of March as well as two auctions to be staged, and a second Bake Sale.

The team of The Smokin’ Nuts had (as I had been told) worked throughout the Friday night preceding the Dinner seasoning and smoking and grilling the many briskets that had been purchased for the Event. Several women from the Service Club and their husbands arrived early on Friday morning to set up the Hall at the Community Center for the event; prepare and decorate tables; divide large sized 5 gallon containers of pickles and barbecue sauce into smaller workable trays; and stage the auction items. And early on Saturday morning these same women and husbands were there to divide gallons of potato salad into serviceable trays; and prepare for the serving of Josie’s Mexican Restaurant’s famous beans that had been donated for the Benefit. These “early birds” were able to do what became necessary to “get the show on the road” prior to the arrival of other women who had signed up to serve the food.

Performing for the Event, the musical group, Hiway 316 arrived and started playing foot tapping and very enjoyable songs from years past. This band under the leadership of Rick Smith is from Magnolia Beach and their music is quite good; one song in particular sent chills up my back when Stephanie Crawford sang “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”; remember it?

Later in the afternoon the Live Auction took place and the Auctioneer was none other than our very famous local citizen, Calvin Ragusin. Calvin with the assistance of Joyce Jordan got the bidding going and going and going. He never let it slow down and at times it became quite spirited when several bidders became strong competitors. All of the items in the Auction had been donated by the caring members of our Community; they ranged from guided fishing trips to paintings to all the necessary items for beauty treatments and large bbq grills as well.

Amongst the local celebrities present to enjoy an excellent bbq dinner as well as the music and to bid on the auction were our Commissioner, Kenny Finster, our Judge, Nancy Pomykal and the Editor of our paper, Joyce Rhyne. And Joyce was there to participate in the bidding for many items for her son’s new Saltwater Lodge.

Cleanup started after the departure of the guests and not only were members of the church working, but also members of the Service Club as well as their indispensable husbands. Closing the doors on a very successful event, all breathed a sigh of content and achievement.

I had said in the past that the Port O’Connor Community is very unique and understanding in its care for its residents. We are neither a large nor wealthy area, but we do have the concern for each other; this commitment is shown continuously by many to those in need.

The Smokin’ Nuts

Thanks to ALL the members of The Smokin’ Nuts: Donny Haynes, Tony Pool, Henry Pongratz, Marty Villarreal, & Mike Zacko! They worked tirelessly through the night on Friday and early Saturday morning to cook the BBQ for Jerry’s benefit. A new Smokin’ Nut pledge came early Saturday morning! Thank you, Julian Garcia! You did a great job.

When it started raining Friday night, the team just knew it was Jerry’s doing. Then when the norther came in, they blamed that one on Jerry, too. He used to call that the “Nutt Luck.” He gave us a little of the luck just to keep us hopping! We’re going to miss our friend… RIP Jerry Nutt! We’ll keep the pits smoking, and your memory alive in our hearts!

Thanks for Sidekicks!

My sincere thanks go out to Sue Kubecka who really helped me on our last project – the Jerry Nutt Benefit. She has helped out and is always there to do what is needed until the job is done. We have worked on quite a few projects and not only her talent for getting the publicity out has proven to be a blessing, but her photography talent really makes the difference. Even if she isn’t feeling well, she doesn’t let it be known and keeps going like the energizer bunny.

Thanks, Sue #1!!

Joyce Jordan

Photos by Sue Kubecka