I moved to this county in 2006; never had I such a curiosity for a particular location. I’d always been surrounded by history and I was quite astute to history in the places I had lived, traveled or hoped to one day visit. However once you find yourself surrounded by history — down the rabbit hole you go.

Years later I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing numerous locals, historians and people such as myself, simply in search of knowing more about the people that walked the very same soil hundreds of years ago. Recently I’ve taken a fondness to reading books which can tell me more about the coast as it was a century ago. Often times these are reference books I can’t take out of the confines of the library. However my luck was about to change…

There I was buried behind a pile of new (to me) reference books. I skimmed their pages, reading about the Texas coast and then came to a section about the first (Calhoun) county government meeting held on September 22, 1846. That was all it took for the rest of the noise in the library to cease and other tasks I should have completed that day to be quickly forgotten by the tidbit of history I had just unearthed.

I read on for several pages and no other mention was said of our county or any establishments thereof. Disappointed I turned back to the section about the meeting and noticed a footnote. I scribbled the reference on a piece of paper I had tore off of my notepad and searched the library system for the book. It took me a bit, but I found the book they were referring to, Reminiscences of Fifty Years in Texas by John Joseph Linn. The book was published and copyrighted in 1883 and reproduced in 1935. It covers Linn’s memoirs from the early 1800s. AND it wasn’t a reference book; I could check it out and take it home with me!

John Linn was born on June 19, 1798 in Antrim, Ireland however immigrated to New York City two years later with his family. It took them two months to arrive in NYC and their family resided in the area for numerous years. It was not until July of 1829 that Linn aboard a friend’s schooner arrived via Corpus Christi Bay to sell tobacco to Mexico. While that journey did not go well for him; he did find his new home — Texas.

Following the unpleasant first journey to Mexico, he returned to Texas and fell in love with it’s rich, green countryside which was abundant with wildflowers. Nice to see that hasn’t changed! At the time, Linn exported goods from Louisiana and sold them to Mexican soldiers. He traveled all over Mexico, setting up stores and traveling to and fro Texas and Louisiana.
I greatly admire his tenacity to ensure that his book is known to be “recollections” of the past and does not claim them as “history.” There are many instances when he can, and in fact does, make note of past authors who have not written the history according to actual fact.

Linn became a resident of Victoria and would sail from Louisiana into Corpus Christi Bay, Matagorda Bay, Aransas Pass, Pass Cavallo and traveled via the Lavaca River. He was familiar with Victoria, Linnville, Long Mott, San Antonio and most of the Texas coast before many cities or counties were born.

At this time in the early 1800s, a cow and a calf were worth $10, a bull or heifer $5 and the main crops were cotton and corn. Soldiers carried shields made of dried rawhide, some of which could be dated back to 1734 AD.

This is a great read because it’s immersed in conversations with influential people from two centuries ago; I’m sure you will recognize many of the Colonels. In addition much of our spectrum is talked about. For instance, Major Kerr was surveying the land in our area in the fall of 1834. He along with six or seven others were camped out at Long Mott but prior surveying, they were informed that Carankua Indians were steadily approaching. The story tells that the Indians were told there were soldiers in the mott with a cannon and came to confirm the story. The men took warlike measures and the Indians retreated.

Once they stood down, Don Fernando de Leon invited one of the Carankua Indians for a parley. He was then able to form a petition with the Indians. They were to immediately cross to the west side of the bay where no colonists occupied the land and remain there in exchange for tobacco. The Carankuas agreed and retreated leaving Major Kerr able to survey Long Mott, the bay all the way to where Indianola is present day.

In many ways, I felt fifteen again, reading a book assigned as a project during Texas History. As I continued to read the pages of this 369-page book, I want to escape to these familiar touristy places; Washington-on-the-Brazos and the Alamo. I want to stand there and read the words there were published so long ago. Times were vastly different, difficult, strenuous and in the end I hope we can make those pioneers happy and proud about what has turned out thus far.

John Linn went onto be a very famous entrepreneur in our area. I’d like to tell you about that in the next edition of The Dolphin Talk. If you can’t wait until then you can read ahead, Reminiscences of Fifty Years in Texas, is available for purchase online at: http://www.amazon.com/Reminiscences-Fifty-Years-Texas-John/dp/0938349007. Till next time! Happy Thanksgiving!

Annual Thanksgiving Service held November 16 at St. Joseph Church

Clara Paulk (r) greets Kenneth and Grady Jean Clark at the Port O’Connor Community Thanksgiving Service on November 16.

Joe Wiatt, Suzanne Eberhard, Petra Hockey, Vera Wiatt

Shelly Hill, David Vasquez, Anthony Luna

An abundance of great refreshments, thanks to St. Joseph ladies.

Thanksgiving- A Very American Eclectic Holiday

I conducted an unofficial and non scientific survey of how POC-ites celebrate Thanksgiving. The names have been deleted to protect the crazy, but local lunatics, fanatics and other opinionated persons have shared with us the traditional, nontraditional and downright goofy ways they celebrate thanksgiving.

One family remembers the corn of the first thanksgiving by putting candy corn on each plate and family members share one thing they are thankful for each time they eat a piece. An elderly lady said she taught her family to write thank you notes by having everyone write a thank you note telling what he or she is thankful for, and they are not permitted to write health, family or money. The notes are thrown into a bowl. Each person then picks and unfolds one paper and must guess who wrote it. A kindergarten grandson wrote to the chickens thanking them for eggs because that was all he knew how to spell, and a homesick college student wrote to ‘JetBlue’ grateful for cheap tickets home. A local family of German descent picks a different ethnic cuisine to try each year and everyone picks a dish to bring and share from that culture. Some have been a great success, but a few have been epic failures. The young lady said her granddad really hated Chinese cuisine for Thanksgiving, but thought the year they did Cuban food was great.

A man made me promise not to name his family, because people would now know they were all crazy. They hold a contest to see who can get a spoon to balance on their nose the longest. “I have no recollection of how that tradition began,” John says. “It’s a contest we’ve been doing for the past couple years and my mom is usually the winner, either because she cheats, or because her nose is distinctly shaped. Several fairly normal people act like crazy children and have a great time with a bunch of spoons.”

A young mother told me that her grandmother started the tradition of keeping last year’s wishbone to pull for wishes or dreams at this year’s family meal. They have done it for years. Her preteens asked if they would still get to draw names for the wishbone even though Memee went to heaven this year. She assured them they would. The tradition continues. A school boy told of a new tradition they are planning. They are making a ‘thankful tree.’ They will each write what they are thankful for on colored paper and decorate a small tree with the paper curls. They plan to keep it up through the holidays.

Quite a few families intend to usher in Christmas just as soon as the turkey is eaten. They are putting up lights, decorating trees and shopping, shopping, shopping. ‘Black Friday’ plans were mentioned by women while some men had hunting trips scheduled or fishing outings planned. Lots of women are going power shopping; almost everyone is planning to watch some football. Pies and cakes and cookies were anticipated, and surprisingly several people mentioned eating olives. One group of sisters has been sticking them on their fingers and eating them off one by one since they were children. The oldest sister said ‘I don’t think that is very unusual, but we ALWAYS picked out ten olives each, stuck them on our fingers, and somehow found that to be the funniest thing ever. We would laugh while we ate them off our fingertips. This quirky tradition found its way back every year, and it’s one of my fondest memories of Thanksgiving. I’m embarrassed to say that at least one of us still does it each year, now with the grandchildren…”

A blended large family draws secret Santa names for gift exchange at the Thanksgiving meal because they know that everyone will be there. A couple mentioned they like to play cards and board games together after they eat. It seemed like everyone had something that made the day special just for them.

While the tradition of the holiday may be old, it continues to adjust and transform as people observe and celebrate. John F. Kennedy said in one of his holiday speeches that our nation reflected the nature of its people and our holidays reflect the changes of our nation. More than fifty years after the death of President John F. Kennedy, many in our communities exemplify his Thanksgiving message, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter thankful words, but to live by them.” Happy Thanksgiving!

Congratulations to Robbie and Marie Hawes on their retirement. After many years of running Boathouse Bait, they are hanging up their fishing nets, selling their beautiful Pusservin Shrimp Boat, and planning for more travel, extra time with family and lots of doing things together.

It will not be the same on the ICW without them there. We will miss them at the bait stand; miss their shrimp and bait, their sunny outlook and consistent community support and sponsorship. While we are all a little sad to see them go, we are happy for them and excited for the next step in their lovingly shared adventure.

Don’t worry, they’re not going anywhere. They will be right here backing POC, pitching in and helping out just like they always have in their community. You couldn’t find a couple more community connected.

We love you Robbie and Marie, and Happy Retirement!

Shoppers found bargains galore at the Annual Fall Garage Sale on November 8th.

Thanks, Gracias, Danke, Hohua, Obrigadu, Merci beaucoup, Mahalo, and Siyabonga is ‘Thank You’ in many languages because I simply do not have the words to adequately express my sincere gratitude to the many people who helped make our biannual garage sale a huge success. Club members, their hard working husbands, kids, moms and friends; the Coast Guard Members from our local station; and numerous local volunteers offered muscles, trailers, lifting assistance, ice, food and other help to make it all possible. The service club gained several new members who found our garage sale so much fun they joined our ranks. A special shout out to Logan, Steve, Jim Butler and his crew Jeremy and Holly Dyes, several of our second miler husbands; Evelyn Williams along with her Seadrift House of Prayer squad and all those folks who worked so hard before and during the sale and long after. The assortment of trinkets, treasures and things was vast and varied. We sold enough baked goods to make a generous contribution to Past President Janet Johnson’s medical expenses and shoppers bought their share which will go towards funding our scholarship program for 2015 POC graduates.

There is no time to rest because the calendar is full and the jobs are plentiful as the service club members cook and bake and decorate for the annual Senior Christmas Luncheon on Friday, December 5th at the POC Community Center. The Coastal Christmas Celebration will begin at 11 AM and Luncheon Chairman Becky Carville and her talented committee have outdone themselves in the planning and preparation for this extra special event. Delicious food, special friends, zany fun, angelic music and several surprises will combine to make it a memorable holiday event. Make plans now to attend.
Did you know that the service club funded and established the community announcement board in front of the post office? This board is available to the public for business announcements, buy/sale/trade/barter notices, business card sharing, and club announcements. It is not intended to be used for personal or political agendas or representations. Our monthly publication of The Dolphin Talk Newspaper has an area for letters and opinion pieces where those items can be shared. Please use our announcement board respectfully and appropriately. If you have announcements posted now, please be aware the board will be emptied and cleaned thoroughly the last week of the year, and all announcements will be disposed of that time. January 1 will be the time to repost or update your contribution to the community announcement board after its annual clean up. Thanks so much for your contributions and cooperation.

The POC Women’s Community Service Club invites interested women to join us in the back room at the community center the first and third Thursday of each month at 10:00 AM. All are welcome. We remain active in all areas of our community, and are excited to be a part of the upcoming holiday food basket distributions for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the annual Toy Run and Lighted Boat Parade, Angel Tree Christmas Shopping, the local lighting and decoration competition, the Christmas store at the school and other holiday happenings. Don’t forget to check The Dolphin Talk for details, dates and times. You won’t want to miss out on the festivities.

Believe it or not, the county barn is empty and we are accepting quality donations for our spring garage sale, so keep us in mind if you do any major holiday housekeeping.

So, until next time, be safe, live simply, love openly, forgive generously and remember what the great insurance entrepreneur and philanthropist W. Clement Stone said, “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.”  What are you sharing today?

Service Club members (l to r) Helen Hardcastle, Pat Ekstrom, and Ginnie Lichac manned the Bake Sale. You too can enjoy the Service Club members’ delicious desserts at the upcoming Christmas Luncheon on December 5. -Photos by Evelyn Williams, House of Prayer