CORRECTION:

It has been brought to our attention that in the last issue of Dolphin Talk, in the letter from Calvin and Sally Ragusin, a thank you was given to “Brad’s” Cooking Team from Seadrift.
The cooking team is actually named “Brae’s” after Christopher Ragusin’s son Braeden.

The name “Brae”, as written by the Ragusins, was mistakenly typed as “Brad”. We sincerely apologize for this error.

Joyce Rhyne, Dolphin Talk

Family and Friends:

A BIG THANK YOU for all your concerns, prayers, and phone calls. We are sure that’s one of the reasons for Joey’s speedy recovery after surgery.

He is doing well – especially with The Man Upstairs helping out, too.

Thinking of you,

Joey and Sandra Lane

Re: Important Bad News (Dolphin Talk, Nov. 11 issue)

Very shocking.

Lately I have been reading “wild west” books. All of these books tell about “brothels” – other words: “w—-houses”. back in that day and time big money makers, but! Today Houston, TX Sin City is far, far worse. Houston has kids as young as 5-7 years of age in “w—-houses”. It just is unbelievable. These houses are being helped by corrupt lawyers, doctors and judges.

I think God will step in and he will not spare the “whip”.

Dorothy Wilson
Seadrift

Subject: Federal Spending

It’s a crying shame that this country with all of it’s Wealth has to pay the Russians to take our astronauts to and from the space station. JFK is probably turning over in his grave..

We have 500 billionaires and no telling the number of millionaires. The top one % of the population only pay about 13% income tax if any while the working class pay 27% tax mostly even before they get their pay.

The result is that our country is broke.

To quote an article in Mother Jones: “while you may endorse government spending or you may not it is the only kind of spending that can be pumped into the economy when business investments dries up.”

It’s also what keeps paychecks coming to the 20 million Americans who work for federal state and local governments, and over 300,000 business who depend on Government contracts.

I say keep on giving tax breaks to the super rich and big companies and the wealthy will keep on keeping their money and the government will keep on getting in debt.

Soon our class rooms in public schools will have over 40 kids per class instead of the 20 or twenty five as it should be.. This doesn’t happen in Germany or Japan. And we wonder why we are falling behind other countries.

G.B. Robertson

Letter to the Editor:

I want to thank all of the cookers, judges, silent auction donors, and spectators for another successful Chili/Gumbo Cook-off at the Hurricane Junction. It was great fun, great weather and none of the judges were injured!! Josie’s Girls won Gumbo, Lynn Turner won Chili, and The Sandy Bottoms won Showmanship!! With the entry fees, silent auction donations, and cash donations we raised a lot of money for the POC library! Great job by everybody.

Thanks,
Hoop

Also,…Hurricane Junction is still looking for bartenders and a weekend cook!!

Subject: Golf

I wish to thank Hatch Bend Country Club for the donation of the flag and stick for our driving range. Also thanks to someone for leaving a set of clubs out there. I hope someone will get some use of them.

G.B. Robertson

ATTENTION:
Anyone who would like to see a HEB Pantry Store in Port O’Connor, please call Customer Relations Dept., 1-800-432-3113, and tell them why you think we need HEB in our town.

I was told the more requests, the better the chance.

Marie Hawes

Thanks from the Port O’Connor PTO

Port O’Connor Elementary PTO would like to thank the following for their support and participation toward our 2011 Halloween carnival:

Donna Maguire, Connie Barrientes & Speedy Stop, the most profitable cafeteria menu to date!; Port O’Connor Volunteer Fire Department, the best funnel cakes!; Curtis Gosnell & POC Grand Slam, yet another supply of awesome brisket; Port O’Connor Service Club, for all around help!; Sally Ragusin, raffle expert; Judges: Shirley Gordon, Sue Kubeka, Jenny Lichak & Peggy Elliot, not an easy job; Mr. Branch & the Haunted House crew, spooky well done; Bill Tigrett, pictures; James, Shirley & Jamie Harper, way to walk the cakes!; Megan Sandy & Joanna Giessel, concessions, Teachers, game booths; Carol Rosenboom & Mary Covarrubias, tickets; Roxie Stringo, expert Prize booth coordinator!

Thank you for volunteering your time and effort to our students! Because of your involvement, this has been our most profitable carnival yet and we had fun doing it!

We would also like to thank the following for their generous donations: Mike & Anne Monnig, Ronnie & Marilyn Luster, Frances Haden Alexander, Coastal Properties, Jerry & Carol Salley, Sam & Stephanie Smolik, June Branch, H & H RV & Boat Storage, LLC, Roger & Anna Brown, First National Bank, Mr. James Vass, Marvin & Lydia Strakos, Killibrew, Inc., Mrs. Barbara Briggs, Vasquez Construction, PJ Wehmeyer & Wehmeyer Services, Michael & Rachel Gilbert, Texas Saltwater Fishing magazine, Tony & Sye Bruce, Juanita Battenfield & Stephanie Cool, Mark & Holly McNeill, Blackberry Island, LP, Jane Lane, Vantage Marine, Nancy Pomykal, Calvin & Mildred Clark, Hustler Marine Service, Michael & Jolanta Diclemente, The Green Iguana Café, Monterrey Café, Subway, Domino’s Pizza, Barkett’s Restaurant, Boathouse Bait, Action Welding, Port O’Connor Rods, Bubba’s The Boiling Spot, HEB, Shirley’s Small Fry’s Daycare, Beacon 44 Seafood Market, Dick’s Food Store, Jeremy Helms, Pop-A-Top Guide Service, Josie’s Mexican Food, Cathy’s Restaurant, Anthony, Denise & Robyn Stringo, Custom Rods & Repair, Clips & Dips Dog Grooming, ICE FOR YOU, Jeremy & Holly Dyes, Alvin’s Liquor Store, Announcements Plus Too, Guarantee Shoe Store, IBC Bank, Ondreas Jewelry, POC Hardware & Supply, Martin & Sylvia Martinez, Texas Tackle Factory, The Treasure Chest, Saltwater Cowgirl, Radio Shack, Ultimate Wade Fishing Caddie, Cavenders, Brenda Carter, Coastal Boat Services, Coastline Trailers, Sylvia’s Salon, Teresa’s Salon, Tackle Barn, The Jennifer Reed Family, Nathan & Jenny O’Neill, Terence Munsch, Calvin & Sally Ragusin, Coral Reef Shell Shop, Allen & Laurie Junek, & Beverly Clifton.

And thanks to all who came out to be a part of the festivities!

We are looking forward to our next fundraiser, as our students will be selling a variety of cookbooks and stationery that will make great gifts, just in time for the Christmas holiday!
And don’t forget that our annual Christmas Store is right around the corner. This is where our students shop for gifts for their family and friends. Students proudly take their beautifully wrapped gifts home to place under their tree. The donated items cost .25 up to $2. If you are interested in helping with the gift wrapping or if you have some new or gently used items (no clothing) to donate, please call the school @ 983-2341, or you can drop them off in the school auditorium.

We appreciate your support!

Dawn Ragusin, Vice President

The Dolphin welcomes letters from our readers on any subject that is of general interest to our audience. Letters should be 300 words or less (with exceptions at the Dolphin’s discretion). Letters reflect the opinion of the writer, and not that of Dolphin Talk staff, and we retain the right to determine suitability for publication. It is the policy of this newspaper to promote area interests: therefore, complaints against local businesses should be directed elsewhere. Letters must be signed and include day and evening phone numbers, which will not be published. Your name will be withheld upon request, but anonymous material will not be considered for publication.

Letters to the Dolphin:

Dolphin Talk

P.O. Box 777, Port O’Connor, TX 77982

dolphin1@tisd.net

Those were the words of the late Leonard E. Waldrop, an officer and naval aviator hero of World War II. When queries were made about Waldrop’s heroism while flying the famed Navy Avenger TBF (torpedo-bomber-fighter) while engaged with the enemy, he would just say, “It was the thing to do.” It was almost as if he was saying he was going to town for his wife. If asked if he had been shot at many times, his general reply was only, “I was lucky.”

I think this writer was honored to be among few persons that sat with Waldrop, sometimes for hours, when he relived those terrible events. His description of incredible circumstances of danger was too often astonishingly modest. Maybe he wanted to get it off his chest. But at times when he really felt like talking about what happened, his detailed account was frank, factual, and quite often the drama of war was accented with tears running down his face.

Not the least of his extremely close calls with death was, what many believe, to be the turning point in the naval engagements with the Japanese Navy with the U. S. victory in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Task Force Three (Taffy 3, as it was called) was comprised of a few destroyers and other smaller war ships with their largest guns which hurled only six inch shells. There were three small aircraft carriers upon which Waldrop flew from so many times.

The sounds of battle stations brought the tiny fighting group to full alert. The major portion of the Japanese Navy was approaching our troop landing on Leyte (Philippines). Admiral Sprague knew they had no chance against such a formidable foe. His brilliance paid off as he signaled the destroyers to circle Taffy 3 with all the smoke screen they could muster. He did not want the Japs to see what they were up against. Then he ordered all planes in the air to attack some of the largest warships in the world. “Fire everything you have, drop every explosive weapons even if could only be WP (white phosphorus used mainly for marking but lethal if burning phosphorous touches your skin). Keep diving on them even if you have no ammunition left.” They did! The Japs turned and ran!

His ordinance officer named Black told me the last time “Tex” landed that TBF he had a hole in the wing you could pass a refrigerator through. Then a large explosion hit the St. Lo as the first suicide Kamikaze crashed into the carrier. The ship sank within an hour. Both Waldrop and Black survived many hours in the shark infested waters. Waldrop will always be remembered because he was awarded the Navy Cross. The next highest decoration is the Congressional Medal of Honor.

“Oh, I was told I would be decorated by the Marines one time. I was on submarine patrol off one of the islands when I saw the Marines were pinned down by terrific gun fire by the Japanese. I just flew over and dropped whatever I had, which was only a depth charge. It blew apart a lot of the jungle where the Japs were, but the Marines got away”.

When I returned to the carrier all pilots were called before the captain of the ship. “Who the hell dropped that depth charge on the Japs instead of doing your duty to protect these ships? The damn Marines want him decorated.” Waldrop had returned without his depth charge so he had to answer to the captain or face a court martial. “Captain Sir, I saw this shadow in the water and thought it might be a sub so I dropped my ordinance on it.” It was not discussed again but some believe they saw a smirk or two on the face of the pilots or maybe even the ship’s captain.
“Another time I was returning from a submarine patrol and my final approach to landing on the carrier was directly over a navy battleship. Suddenly, I saw two tell-tale wakes of torpedoes headed straight for the battle ship. I just dropped my nose, set my sights on the first one and let go with my fifties (50 Cal.) and it blew up. Did the same with the other one and it blew up too. The battleship captain wanted to decorate me but I never heard anymore about it. It was just the thing to do.”

The author says, thank a Vet! They signed a blank check to all of us for their all, including their lives.

jbobalong@yahoo.com

Kay Hessong and one of her four children, Sandra Burton

Kay Hessong (resident of Edna, and whose family has had a bay house in Port O’Connor for over 50 years) was given a “surprise” birthday party, at the Edna Chamber of Commerce building on Saturday, October 29, 2011. Her actual 75th birthday was Wednesday, October 26, and she was under the impression that the family would be getting together on Sunday to help her celebrate such a momentous occasion, but with a little less fanfare than what she found Saturday afternoon!

All four of her children were instrumental in pulling off the surprise and must have done a good job, because she was utterly speechless, when walking into the building, for what she thought was one of her daughter’s vendor shows for Willow House. That was just one of the many “little white lies” we had to tell over the course of that week, so she wouldn’t know what was going on. In fact, it ALMOST didn’t happen like we wanted, when she told us she was going to have to go to POC to meet a man from Austin about renting one of the boat stalls she has by our bay house near the front beach. But that meeting got changed to Sunday, so everything went fine from then on. Man, that was a close call!

The party was hosted by Kay’s children: son, Mike and his wife Patti, daughters, Sandra and her husband Jeff, and Ann Marie and her husband Darrell. Kay’s oldest daughter, Janet and her husband Gary, were unable to make the party, but were involved with all of the planning and making the party the success it was.

Lots of family and old friends from Edna, Victoria, and surrounding cities came in to help Kay celebrate her birthday and talk about old times. A catered lunch was served, with plenty of desserts, especially Kay’s favorite birthday cake, German Chocolate. And after all of the partying, she made her way to Port O’Connor to rent the boat stall that was almost our undoing.

The Class of 1956 and their spouses

The Calhoun Class of 1956 celebrated it’s 55th Class Reunion on Saturday, October 29, at the Port Lavaca First United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. Out of a class of 89, twenty-nine classmates were in attendance.

We were sadden to hear that 27 of our classmates were deceased, but what a great time we had sharing memories and meeting with those we had not seen in years. I must say, in my eyes, we all looked great and had not changed much in the past 55 years!

We started our get-together with our great Masters of Ceremonies, Tommy Stellman and Richard Barton. We recognized deceased classmates, those ailing, and gave recognition to all our visitors. We also discussed the two $500 Scholarships our 1956 Class gives to two deserving Calhoun High Seniors in honor of our 1956 Athletic Director, Guy B. Hayes and Principal John T. Camp.

Invocation was given by Rev. Marcos Gohlke before we enjoyed a delicious lunch together.

It was great fun to remember some of the events that occurred in 1956. I will list a few of them and you might also enjoy remembering some of them:

1. We were the first class to graduate from the new Calhoun High School, that was known previously as Port Lavaca High.

2. Elvis first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show (only above his waist) and his hits that year were “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Don’t Be Cruel”.

3. “I Love Lucy” was the most popular TV show.

4. The top movie was “Around the World in Eighty Days”.

5. Yankees won the World Series and New York Giants were NFL Champions.

6. General Eisenhower was the President and Nixon was Vice President.

7. Mothers for the first time could buy disposable diapers and non-stick pans.

8. Calhoun High played its first football game with Aransas Pass and won 40-0!

9. Average cost of a new house was $11,700; monthly rent $88; average yearly wage was $4,450; gas 22 cents a gallon, and a pound of coffee was 85 cents!

The Committee that worked so hard to put our Reunion together were Tommy Stellman, Mary Jean Kasper, Vera Ruth Hahn, Lola Smith, Henry Bonorden, Raymond Leonard, Joe Lerma, and Richard Barton.

We can’t wait to attend our next 1956 Class Renuion! The following are those 1956 class members (and spouses) who were in attendance: Vera Williams Hahn (Leroy); Lola Pape Chaka (Charles); Jimmy Leigh (Janice); Joe Machacek (Franceal); Mary Ethyl Neill Willoughby (Charles); Richard Barton (Sandra); Raymond Leonard; Tommy Stellman (Mary Lou); Huey Smith; Charlie Watkins (Mary); Buck Hawes (Alma); Sherry Amsler Shaw; Patty Marek Harrell; Joy Lewis Fryou (Charles); Ronnie Sikes (Lucy); Lee Buchanan (Ellen); Harry Stellman (Carolyn); Marcos Gohlke (Sue); Joe Lerma; Barbara Clay Gibson (Thomas); Mary Jean Maeker Casper; Thurman Neill; Jerry Wallace (Peggy); Henry Perez (Emily); Herman Morris; Thomas Kurtz (Bernice); Henry Bonorden (Dee); Robert Sanders.

Those who read closely know that the Calhoun County Museum has a Civil War exhibition. This one will run till May. This 2011 year is a big anniversary year for things that happened in the middle and late 1800’s.We had a most successful 125 year commemoration of Indianola in August. And of course the Civil war started 150 years ago.

Most of the headlines of the Civil war relate all those battles North and East of here. Many know of the battles at places like Bull Run, Gettysburg, Vicksburg and countless other similar battles. Quite a few of those were won by the Confederates. Even when they lost many historians, Abe also, will tell you that the Union generals didn’t follow up the Rebs like they could have.

The Union had many other problems up in the north. A few know about the “Copperhead” movement. There was a concerted effort on several groups to press for peace, rather than fight. Some even wanted to secede and form some other nation like the Confederates had. It is a little reported thorn in the side of the Union.

There were several clashes about “the draft” which was one of the options the Union used in the Civil War. Those of us who have lived through the unrest and arguments about draft and war in the days of Vietnam might have a good idea of the kinds of things that were going on those 150 years ago.

The display at the Museum focuses on the things that happened here in Calhoun County. We had both Rebel and Union soldiers stationed here. We had a Union naval Bombardment of Indianola and Port Lavaca. That led to one of our own, Mr. Singer, to develop mines that were instrumental in helping the Rebels to fight the Union blockade.

That is another aspect of the Civil War that is little publicized. It was important for the Union to keep the South from being able to ship cotton to Britain and other European countries. Britain wanted the cotton for their mills. The south wanted the money to help fight the war. Now, since getting the cotton out was smuggling there are few reports of its success However, it is easy to postulate that a lot of cotton left Texas and helped the Southern war effort. My goodness, the Texas rebels even used cotton bales as armor in their boats. Steel armor plate wasn’t available. The cotton was instrumental in the battles of Galveston and Sabine Pass. We even hid the big Fresnel lens for the Matagorda light house so it would be easier to smuggle cotton in the dark.

You can find these aspects of the Civil War by visiting the museum while the display is open. Just for grins you might remember that the war didn’t end at Appomattox. The Battle of Palmito Ranch, about 12 miles east of Brownsville, took place well after the surrender and that was in Texas.