Nicholas Shutters Museum!

Issue 16...........October 2021

The Lake Jackson Historical Association provides Education relative to the

History and Culture of Lake Jackson, Texas.

The History Museum and Plantation Site

continue to mix the OLD with the NEW

NEW....Jhonny Langer-Paint Sleuth

Whether you call him a paint archeologist or a coloration sleuth, Jhonny Langer is on a quest to determine the historic and first generation colors used in the Alden B. Dow Office Museum (ABDOM). Armed with a scalpel and hand held microscope having 10x normal sight magnification, Langer spent two days in September on site at the 80-year-old building, scraping away layers of paint on various architectural structures.

He made an important discovery while analyzing the exterior rafters on the porch. As they appear now, all sides of every rafter are painted a dark blue-green color. But during his excavation process, Langer noted that the underside of each rafter was initially painted PINK. The effect of Alden Dow’s pairing these two non-matching colors created visual prominence and excitement to the beholder’s eye. When viewed from the side or at angle, the pink undersides coalesced and produced a solid color field.

Dow used this technique, known as “color blocking,” throughout the interior of his office and abutting rooms, as well. His juxtaposition of near-opposite or clashing colors, according to Langer, added interest to otherwise flat, one-dimensional objects. For another example, Dow had the walls painted blue, trimmed them in yellow, and accented the doors in pink. In theory, these colors would work against each other rather than blend. But in practice, Dow achieved a look of boldness and excitement rather than subtlety.

The results of Langer’s analyses will inform the paint selection for the second phase of the ABDOM restoration, scheduled to begin in the next several weeks. Through his company SOURCE, located in Galveston, Langer has worked on a number of prestigious projects around Texas. One involved Galveston’s Bishop’s Palace, where removal of a basement false ceiling revealed a colorful mural. He also restored a stenciled ceiling in the Cushing Library at Texas A&M University. He analyzed the paint and finishes within Schulenburg’s Sengelmann Hall, for which he won a National Trust for Historic Preservation award.

Thank you, Jhonny, for showing the ABDOM's true colors.!!!!

OLD ITEM..........Curious Collection

Do you see the face depicted in this old clay smoking pipe?

During excavations of the Jackson Plantation in the 1990s it, referred to as a “figurehead pipe,” was unearthed along with other personal items: old bottles, dinnerware shards, children’s toys, and buttons. It is approximately 1 ½ inches long. Though the faces in figurehead pipes usually belonged to celebrities or characters from stories or mythology, this find has not been linked to any known personality of the Jackson Plantation era (1840s-1860s).

Clay pipes became popular in England during the late 16th century with the import of tobacco from Virginia. Sir Walter Raleigh, an English colonizer in the New World, promoted the habit. Over the objection to smoking by the Church and King James I, production of clay pipes soared. By 1680-1700, almost every town in England manufactured them for local use as well as for export. In the 1800’s, Holland France, and Germany joined the production race. During this time, clay pipes became an elevated art form. In addition to personalities, plants, animals, coats of arms, royal affairs, sporting events, and names of inns - you name it - were celebrated on clay pipes. By the 1930’s, however, they lost appeal due to world wars and the competition from cigarettes.

You are invited to visit the museum where this particular pipe and others like it are on display.

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Dairy Bar Celebration Postponed

Due to lack of air-conditioning and significant water damage sustained during Hurricane Nicholas, the Dairy Bar Celebration scheduled for September 18th was postponed. It will be rescheduled for a date yet to be determined in the spring. Stay tuned!

OLDIE, but Goodie...

Gators Softball Team

While working at Dow in the 1980’s, it was customary for everyone to bring a sack lunch and play a game of bridge or dominoes during our 30-minute lunch-break. I was very fortunate to have an expert bridge partner, a man by the name of Rusty Koenig. At Dow, Rusty was the legendary go-to-guy for all things to do with surveying, roads, bridges, and he had a wealth of knowledge of the history of both Plants A and B in Freeport. But – only after many bridge games, did the conversation turn to Rusty’s proudest claim to fame, and that was being a member of the Lake Jackson Gators men’s fast-pitch softball team!

In the mid-1940’s, as the new city of Lake Jackson was in its infancy, many of the young men living here had just returned from the service and were working for Dow. The only source of entertainment, other than the “picture show,” was fast-pitch softball. On March 26, 1946, several of the men decided to pull the best players from the existing Dow teams and form the Lake Jackson Allstars. “Speedy” Bullard, originally from Center, Texas, was the ace catcher and manager of the team. Top athletes from the area were scouted and signed onto the team. One example was W.T. “Dub” Holt, Jr. He was a University of Texas Letterman, who signed out of college with the Boston Red Sox – and played semi-pro ball in the Houston area. After coming to work for Dow, he joined the Gators and helped manage the team, even being awarded all-state shortstop one year.

In 1947, the team changed their name to the Lake Jackson Gators, as suggested to them by the owner of Lake Drug, Art Webb, who was also vice-president of the Texas State Softball Association.

The Gators had first-class pitchers, one of whom was Gene Faull. On July 5, 1947, in a game against Harlingen, the Gators battled for 26 innings until they finally prevailed 1-0. The game started at 6:00 p.m. and lasted until 4:00 a.m. with nearly all of the fans remaining the entire game. Following the game, Gene Faull was in “Ripley’s Believe It or Not” with 49 strikeouts, and Speedy had 52 other putouts, which easily could have been another record.

The Gators were Texas State Champions in 1946 (as the Allstars), 1950, 1951, 1953, 1955, and 1956. The games were so popular that close to 3,000 fans would show up to watch. Many antics and stories abound – one being they took along a small live alligator in a harness to the out-of-town games and put a suit on him with “The Gators” on the back!

In 1953, the world softball defending champions, the Dow A.C. Team of Midland, Michigan, came to Lake Jackson to play the Gators in a five game tournament. Lake Jackson beat the defending champs 3 out of 5 games, with large crowds cheering them on – a sweet victory!

In 1953, the Gators moved to Webb-Schmidt field, adjacent to Ney Elementary, named for Art Webb and Darwin Schmidt. This continued as their home field until they decided to hang things up in 1963. Many of the players were aging and wanted to leave the legacy of the Gators on a high note. And that they did. They truly are legendary in the world of men’s fast pitch softball, making our city proud as they established a winning tradition for the city of Lake Jackson.

I think Rusty would be honored to know the memory of the Gators lives on. I’m thankful to have been made aware of the story of the Gators which just happened to come up during a noon-time card game. I only wish I had asked him more about the Gators instead of how to win bridge tricks.

by Fran Hammond

Image: Group photo of Lake Jackson Gators.

Top Row (L-R) George Koenning, Joe Trussell, Barney Smith, Hershel Camp

Middle Row (L-R) Jim Ashley, Billie Mills, Ross Ivy, Lonnie Roberts

Bottom Row (L-R) Leftie Underwood, Jim Sheriden, Bill Collier, Weldon Johnston

Taken 1956

B'Wood Partnership

At the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, the History Museum resumed its partnership with Brazosport ISD’s Transition Program. This post-graduation program is designed for special needs students between the ages of 18-22 to help further develop their independent living and vocational skills. Ten students are participating in the program under the guidance of teacher Sara Evans and aide Mary Ann Autrey. Every Monday between 12:30-1:30 several students arrive at the museum by bus to perform helpful tasks. They sharpen pencils, organize and store Christmas décor, vacuum carpets, and sort various objects.

Buy A Brick

Members of Lake Jackson Troop 325 watch as new bricks are placed on the Jackson Plantation Historic Site pathway. One addition honors Julian Moreno who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in June, 2020. The other commemorates the life of Jayar Fausto and his work with the scouts.

Pave the walkway to the museum or the Jackson Plantation Historic Site with a personalized brick. Order a Brick here.

A Word from the Executive Director

I hope everyone is safe and back to normal after our visit from Hurricane Nicholas. While certainly not the strongest storm ever to hit Texas, it still brought its share of challenges to the area. LJHA was not immune from the effects. The power was out at the Museum along with the rest of the city. Unfortunately, that was not the worst of the storm for the Association. The museum’s many windows took a hard hit. The glass held up but the wind-driven rain found its way inside nonetheless. The museum took quite a bit of water in multiple locations. Some of the high up windows leaked into the ceiling, where the water then spread out and dripped through ceiling tiles or ran down into lower walls. The museum’s thick wall paper trapped the moisture and prevented it from drying. All of this meant that it was time for some renovations. The city called in Covarrubias Remodeling Services to tackle the job. The Covarrubias Crew brought dehumidifiers and fans to dry the building out and began removing wet wallpaper, treating moldy areas and pulling up wet carpet. The work is ongoing and the museum remains closed during the restoration process. The association is very appreciative of Covarrubias and the terrific job they are doing! Please stay tuned to the website and Facebook page for updates on the timetable for reopening.

David Thomas

LJHA Executive Director