Kenneth and Billie Ruth Wooldridge will celebrate 61 years of marriage on April 14, 2011.

As the happy couple sat across from me, all I could do was smile in admiration. “I had a brand new car,” Kenneth Wooldridge chuckled when I asked how he and his wife, Billie Ruth met.  Billie Ruth explained,  “I worked at the local drug store, Carpenters’s, and he came in one day. That was the beginning. We dated for about nine months and married on April 14, 1950 at the parsonage of First Baptist Church in Port Lavaca.” The young couple lived on the outskirts of Port Lavaca for several years before settling in Seadrift where they have remained for over 50 years. Kenneth was born in Long Mott, to the late Everett and Alma May Coleman Wooldridge. Billie Ruth was born in Edinburg to William Leonard and Mary Ann Ezell O’Briant.

When I asked the couple what led to their successful marriage of over 60 years, Billie replied, “You have to work at a marriage; it doesn’t come easy. For us, I think it’s been having God in our lives all these years.”

“No one is perfect; no marriage is perfect,” Kenneth said, “but we do a pretty good job of it.”

As the couple reflected on special moments in their life, Billie remembered when they were a part of the Volunteer Christian Builders. They would move to different locations, such as San Francisco, in a motor home every two weeks, and volunteered to build churches for several years.

“We did a lot of camping and traveling in the RV,” Kenneth said when I asked what their favorite pastimes were. “Mountain View, Arkansas was one of our favorite places to which we traveled.” Aside from camping, Kenneth also enjoyed fishing. Kenneth remembers, “On one fishing trip, Billie had a bunch of fish on a stringer; she went to lift the stringer up and a shark had gotten to them.”

“I didn’t want to go out after that,” Billie commented, “but where you see one of us, you see the other. One never goes without the other.”

One thing I learned quickly – their family is very much apart of their lives. Daughter, Kathy Smith and husband Kenneth live with the happy couple. Kathy and Kenneth have two sons, Shawn and Brad. Shawn and wife, Janet, have five children, while Brad and wife, Pam, have three children. Kenneth and Billie Ruth’s son Gregory and wife, Grace, help them and live right next door. They have two children, Zachary and Stephanie, plus two foster children, Brianna and Joey. Stephanie has since married Zachary Martinez, “It’s funny, we have two Kenneth’s and two Zachary’s,” Billie said. “We get good care from all of them. We are lucky because you come to a time in your life you’re going to have to lean on somebody.”

Kenneth is also related to Dorothy Geraldine (Williams) Wilson; they are cousins. I interviewed Dorothy about a year ago and really enjoyed her family stories. Dorothy’s father, Dave Williams, was the town’s “milk cow herder.” Kenneth smiled and said, “They were real cowboys back then!”

This lovely pair deserves nothing but happiness. Their lasting vow to each other should inspire us all to take Billie’s advice, “Try to think of the other person’s feelings.” Kenneth nodded as Billie spoke, “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

To all of the Dolphin’s readers, we wish you a Happy Valentine’s day filled with all the best! To Kenneth and Billie, Happy Early 61st Anniversary! Till next time…

The Seadrift Lions Club will be hosting a blood drive Thursday, March 3 from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at Dick’s Food Store. One lucky donor will win dinner for two from Bubba’s Cajun Style Seafood! Thanks to Bubba for donating this prize. This prize will be given away following the blood drive (need not be present to win). Please stop by the Lions Club table and register when you come to donate! You must register with the Lions to be entered in the drawing!


All presenting donors in 2011 will be entered to win a 2012 Toyota Tundra from South Texas Blood and Tissue Center!


Come roll up your sleeve to help save a life, and maybe win a great prize!

The Seadrift Chamber of Commerce would like to announce a new contest scheduled for the 31st annual Shrimpfest, Battle of the Bands! Seven bands will compete for the ultimate title of “Best Band” and of course, bragging rights!


Get ready to rock the bay front and see talented musicians perform! The battle begins… Saturday, June 11, 2011. The results of Battle of the Bands and door prize giveaways will be announced Saturday evening at 10:00 p.m. A tentative schedule plus updates will be posted on www.SeadriftChamber.com. 

Battle of the Bands Rules:
•  No Entry Fee
•  Must send demo and Shrimpfest Committee will select top 7 bands to perform. Seadrift Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 3, Seadrift, Texas 77983.
•  Schedule will be posted online once the top 7 bands are selected.
•  All band members and their guests must pay gate admission, beer, etc.
•  Bands will have 40 minutes to perform. The first band will begin at 1:00 p.m.
•  All performances must be appropriate for a Family Audience.
• Production equipment will be provided; you just bring your instruments.
•  Votes will be calculated by tickets purchased for $1 per vote and dropped in the bands bucket.
•  1 ticket is included with gate admission and these tickets will also be used to raffle valuable door prizes.


Battle of the Bands Prizes:    

1st Place $2000.00;
2nd Place $1000.00; 3rd Place $500.00.
Contact: Chamber president, Jason Jones at 361.237.0406 or Jason@seadriftchamber.com

Seadrift Centennial
When will the Seadrift Centennial be? What year?

The depot was here in 1910 as were other buildings.

“The Seadrift Success” newspaper was entered at the Post Office as second class matter under the Act of March, 1989 on September 16, 1911; Editor: George L. Rhea. I do have one of these newspapers.
Just wondering!

Geraldine Wilson
Seadrift

Dear Geraldine,
The City of Seadrift was incorporated Dec 12, 1912; the centennial is just around the corner! I actually read about the incorporation at City Hall in the first minute book which was kept by the city council.
Excerpt from the Discovering Seadrift article I wrote for the April 23, 2010 issue of the Dolphin Talk:

“So last week there I was—engulfed in the pages of Seadrift’s first City Council Minute Book. I could almost see these gentlemen in my mind, calling the meeting to order, secretary with fountain pen in hand gingerly note-taking. The first entry was dated, December 27th 1912, the city council met the day Seadrift, Texas was incorporated. In attendance were W.G. Stewart; mayor, Geo L. Rhea; secretary, J.H. McIntire, D.D. Brian, R.A. Armstrong Jr., and J.L. Knight. That Friday evening “a motion was carried to erect a calaboose on the lot on Houston St., east of the (Seadrift) Success office with permission from A.D. Powers, president of American Townsite Co. and owner of said lot.” The jailhouse stands to this day on the corner of Houston and Rose Street. It is decorated with a mural created by Carolyn Millspaw and Kathleen Lambright appropriately entitled, “Jailbreak.” Seadrift Success was at that time the local newspaper, Geo L. Rhea was the editor. The paper’s headline boasted, “Located on the beautiful San Antonio Bay, the home of fish and oysters. Where the balmy breezes blow and life is like a summer dream.” Not only was Geo L. Rhea the editor of The Success and secretary of the city council, he was also secretary of the Seadrift Commercial Club. J.L. Knight was president of the Seadrift Commercial Club.”

Thank you for the inquiry, it’s always a pleasure to hear from you. We welcome any other questions you or other Dolphin readers may have. I’d love to meet up with you soon to see the copy of Seadrift Success!

Jasmine Gordon,
Dolpin Talk
Seadrift correspondent

State of the Union
Over the last few years, I have become increasingly concerned with runaway federal spending and the spiraling national debt, now estimated to hit $15 trillion this year.  So, as much as I knew Tuesday night’s spectacle was going to be painful to watch, I wanted to tune in and see if there was any chance of progress toward reducing the deficit.  Well, I suppose it’s no surprise that its business as usual in the Obama administration.  In one regard, I was relieved to see Obama stick with his liberal roots, so we know who he is, as opposed to shifting to the center as many people had predicted.

The President was crystal-clear on one of his targets for raising taxes – the oil business.  Obama said “I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies”.  This is simply not true.  Taxpayer dollars are not given to oil companies.  In fact, the oil business is allowed tax deductions for the money it spends, like almost any other business in America.

Now, I’m in the oil business, so this may seem a little self-serving, but I think before people make a judgment on anything they should get their facts straight (and they’re not going to get the facts from the President).  In the past, the Democrats have tried to characterize their proposals as closing tax loopholes for “Big Oil”, but eliminating these tax deductions would have a far greater impact on America’s independent producers.  According to the Independent Petroleum Association of America, www.ipaa.org, independent companies drill 90 percent of new domestic wells, and produce over 80 percent of the nation’s clean-burning natural gas.  Most independent producers are small businesses with fewer than 20 employees, and they typically reinvest over 100 percent of their cash flow back into new American production.

I don’t have a problem with “investing” in alternative energy.  Believe me; someday we’re going to need it.  But how does it make sense to place new taxes on American oil and gas production at a time when we need it most?  For now, domestic production needs to be the fuel for America’s growth, prosperity and energy security.

After Tuesday night’s speech, I was just going to leave it at that – just more Washington spin.  I think most people, especially here in Texas, recognize that.  But as I read over Wednesday’s media reviews, it was interesting to see almost no coverage on this issue.  Maybe this was because the Democrats had tried raising taxes on the oil companies before, and failed, and this was seen as just another attempt and therefore not newsworthy.  However, it’s the manner in which he said it that is disturbing.

When the President considers tax deductions identical to government spending, that is socialism!  He is implying that all the income in the nation belongs to the government, and that if we let working people keep any of it, that is the same as a government expenditure.  This is the opposite of our nation’s founding principles.  In fact, the income belongs to the people, and the people should be the ones that determine how much the government is allowed to keep.

Thank you for your consideration.
King Tomlinson, PE
President
Coastal Plains Exploration, LLC
Port Lavaca, Texas

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.

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” is probably the best remembered phrase ever spoken by the late President Ronald Reagan. But, there are many more profound, and often amusing, quotes attributed to him. On this anniversary of his birth 100-years ago, here are some others to ponder:

• My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose – somehow we win out.
• Recession is when a neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.
• It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.
• Man is not free unless government is limited.
• One way to make sure crime doesn’t pay is to let the government run it.
• Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.
• The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.
• There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.
• We are never defeated unless we give up on God.
• We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.
• We must reject the idea that every time a law’s broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.
• Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.
• There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.

Ronald Reagan – February 6, 1911 — June 5, 2004