Dairy Bar Celebration!

Issue 20...........March 2022

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

Dairy Bar Celebration!

The Dairy Bar Celebration, in recognition of its 70 years of doing business in Lake Jackson, is back on track!! The event, postponed in September due to Hurricane Nicholas, will take place on SATURDAY, APRIL 9 from 11:00-2:00 p.m. on the grounds of the Lake Jackson Historical Museum.

Activities reminiscent of the 1950s when the Dairy Bar first opened will be ongoing outside. Inside the museum will showcase an exhibit tracing the restaurant’s history through the various decades. Mary Harnden, daughter of long-time owners Dorothy and Slim Harnden, will present an oral history in the museum rotunda at 1:15. DJ Bino G will be “spinning discs.”

Complimentary hotdogs and lemonade will be served from 11:00-1:00. Door prizes will be given about every 15 minutes. Don your period clothing and gather at the Lake Jackson Historical Museum for a few hours of fun on April 9. As Slim would often say, “Come make a memory,” and share some others, too.

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

Did you know that March is recognized as Women’s History Month? It has been observed annually in the United States since 1987. Did you know also that in March 1943, Lake Jackson’s first women’s club was formed? It was simply known as the Lake Jackson Women’s Club. Among numerous other activities, the

group sponsored a Fourth of July Fun Festival. Members also published a cookbook called Appetite Delights in 1946. Included within were such delectable recipes as: “Angel Goo,” “Porcupine Salad,” and “Noodle Ring.” Pictured here is a copy donated to the Lake Jackson Historical Museum by Imogene Suggs Beakley in 1983. Also pictured is a cooking utensil popularly used in the same time period (1936-1946).

Do you know its function?

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OLDIE, but Goodie...

A. P. Beutel-A True Legend

“Give a cheer for Beutel, the school for you and me…!!” Those of us who attended A. P. Beutel Elementary in the 1960s and 1970s may remember that as the opening line of our elementary school fight song. Dr. A. P. “Dutch” Beutel has been honored locally for a good reason; he is essentially the reason Lake Jackson was created!

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 13, 1892, Albert Phillip Beutel (“BOY tuhl”) studied at Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, OH, and graduated in Mining and Metallurgical Engineering. Case awarded him with an honorary doctorate in 1942.

Joining the Dow Chemical Company in 1916 in Midland, Michigan, as an engineering draftsman, he worked his way up to general manager by 1932.

In 1939, Dow Chemical was looking to build an expansion plant on the Gulf Coast in order to use its process of mining magnesium out of salt water to support the war effort. Dow officials, including Dr. Beutel and Willard Dow, president of Dow at the time, studied locales from New Orleans, Louisiana, down to Brownsville, Texas. As the coastal tour came to a close, Freeport, Texas, would be their chosen site.

Construction of the Texas Division of Dow began in 1940 and grew at a rapid pace. As a result, it became difficult for the massive influx of workers who were building and operating the plants to find living quarters. Therefore, Dr. Beutel, the site’s general manager, organized the construction of “Camp Chemical,” a temporary housing area around Freeport. At its pinnacle, “Camp Chemical” was the largest city in Brazoria County and home to more than 12,000 people.

Facing a basic decision as to what could be done to provide permanent living accommodations for the thousands of Dow employees already here and the thousands more to come, Dr. Beutel took some of the Dow leaders to explore nearby areas on horseback. They became intrigued with land not far from Freeport that was once the Abner Jackson plantation. Dr. Beutel decided this was the perfect spot to establish a completely new city. He appropriately chose the name of Lake Jackson, the name of the freshwater lake on the property. Among the group of “explorers” was Alden B. Dow, the architect brother of Willard Dow. Beutel assigned him the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of designing an entire city from the ground up.

Beutel continued to be general manager of Dow’s Texas Operations. According to an interview in 1953, he was responsible for directing the operations of a $200,000,000 plant producing 65 basic chemicals with 5,800 employees. As busy and fast paced as his job was, he enjoyed his after-work hours at his home on the lake in Lake Jackson. His hobbies included woodworking, ceramics, photography, stone cutting, the study of rocks and minerals, as well as tending to his cattle.

For more of the A.P Beutel story click here.

ABDOM Update

Window being reinstalled.

Finished product.

During Phase 2 restoration, much rotten wood was discovered in the framework supporting the large picture window complex on the north façade of Alden Dow’s architectural office. As a result, the three window panels were removed. Kipp Biggs and his crew from Noble Building and Development crafted new framing out of African mahogany, a rot resistant hardwood. The structure was repainted with first generation colors as determined by paint analyst, Jhonny Langer of Galveston.

JPHS Digger Returns

Former archaeologist “wanna be” Kenny Starr recently revisited the Jackson Plantation Historic Site where he participated in a dig back in 1994. In the summer of that year, Starr, then a student at SMU, and his parents helped excavate the sugar mill ruins. In the photo, he is pointing to the structure he uncovered while digging in the 3’ x 3’ square assigned to him. As Starr reminisced, he recounted that the project engaged a diver who explored the neighboring waters of Lake Jackson. The diver retrieved a large quantity of bricks. These bricks were part of the Jackson Plantation mansion destroyed by the 1900 hurricane which devastated Galveston.

Facelift for JPHS

Sixty-three volunteers of all ages from Brazos Pointe Fellowship converged on the Jackson Plantation Historic Site the last Sunday in February. They were participating in “SERVOLUTION,” the church’s annual day of service to the community. In just a few hours, they gave the site a spring cleaning. Under the leadership of church members Schelli and Jim Martin, they cleared lakeside brush, spread weed killer, picked up hundreds of sticks as well as litter, pruned and mulched beds adjoining the red brick pathway. David Landsborough and a crew crafted platform handrails and new stands to hold informational placards. THANK YOU, Brazos Pointe Fellowship!!!

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

What a whirlwind this past month has been! Everyone, from our amazing staff, board, and volunteers to members of the community, has been so welcoming that I already feel at home. But in reality, I've only been in my position as Executive Director for just four short weeks! While I may not have been here long, we have been working hard on building a very exciting calendar for 2022! Don't miss our Dairy Bar celebration here at the museum on April 9th. Games, contests, free chili dogs and lemonade, plus a pop-up exhibit on Lake Jackson's oldest hamburger restaurant and a presentation by co-owner Mary Harnden- it'll be the living end! Don't forget to wear your favorite 50s-style outfit. You may just win some prizes. While you're here, be sure to head upstairs and check out our new exhibit all about model railroading, opening on March 29th. And for any of you fans of the Bard, our Shakespeare exhibit will open in the museum rotunda on April 19th. We have some locally related surprises to go along with this exhibit, so watch our website and social media for details!

So many of you told us how much you missed Breakfast with Santa last year, so we're excited to announce its 2022 return! Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 19th. Tickets will go on sale in the late summer/early fall. We have many more events in the works over the summer, so stay tuned for announcements!

Another great bit of progress we've made recently happened right here inside the museum. Our gift shop, which was forced behind acrylic barriers due to Covid, is once again open to our visitors! Come see the new layout and discover our amazing selection of books, children's toys, patches, keychains, and so much more. As you know, admission to the museum is free, so shopping at our gift shop is a great way to support us!

Thank you to all of you that have stopped by or called and made me feel so welcome! I'm looking forward to meeting even more of you at our upcoming events. See you then!