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Single men made their own fun in early 1940s
Published October 26, 2009
Roads were in poor shape and Freeport could be reached by only one that led from Angleton and one from West Columbia when Dow arrived in Brazoria County.
Rain turned the whole area into a quagmire during the height of the company’s construction.
On one occasion, Dow’s Dr. A.P. Beutel called millionaire Jesse Jones in Houston and asked for $100,000 to shell or gravel the road along the railroad tracks as an approved road.
He emphasized the number of trucks and passenger cars that were coming into the area and the dearth of roads on which they could travel.
In response, Jones sent an engineer to Angleton to meet with Dr. Beutel. After the man drove around on a quick inspection, he returned to Houston to report to Jones. Two or three days later, the road was being shelled.
Dr. Beutel then contacted DeWitt Greer of the Texas Highway Department, repeating his tale of woe regarding the roads. Soon afterward, the Texas Highway Department began construction of South Highway 288 and its bridges.
In a Facts newspaper column called “Bill o’ Fare,” the late Bill Colegrove wrote in the late spring of 1942 a number of single men formed what they called the “20 and 5 Club.”
This group of 25 was composed of the residents of a barracks at Dow’s Plant A, along with some other single men who worked for the Freeport Sulphur Company.
They found “very little organized social activities in the Freeport area,” Colegrove said, so they started to make their own entertainment.
Among the members of the group he listed were Bill Weddell, A.C. Burkholder, Don Watzke, Maury Havlik and Clyde Boyd of Dow and Speedy Nelson of the Sulphur Company.
For their noon meal, the men generally carried sack lunches that had been prepared at a Freeport café the previous night.
Their entertainment varied widely, ranging from playing duck pins at an outdoor alley on Broad Street in Freeport to movies at the Port Theater to pool games at the Brown Room on Park Avenue, where beer and snacks were available.
The Oaks, located on Highway 36 east of Jones Creek, was another favorite place for parties, with music for dancing made available by the nickelodeon, with a nickel being sufficient to finance one song or a quarter paying for six.
This was during the time before air conditioning, when the building was cooled — or at least the air was stirred — by huge exhaust fans.
In the summer, the group would picnic at Surfside Beach — which then was wide and uncrowded, Colegrove said. He noted, however, mosquitoes “came in droves like coils of smoke.”
In winter, the group went horseback riding, hiring horses from the Lake Jackson Stables, then returning to the picnic grounds in Lake Jackson for lunch.
Because of gas rationing, Colegrove said, the men would pool their gas stamps for their nights out.
The club was more organized than might be expected, with members having approved bylaws and the collection of dues to finance their activities. At regular business meetings, they made plans for their activities during the coming month.
Of course, many of their outings involved girls — primarily daughters of older Dow or Sulphur Company employees or of businessmen they knew in the Freeport or Velasco area.
Their big nights out were generally planned for the huge Plantation Ballroom on Houston’s South Main at Old Spanish Trail.
Name bands played there for Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties. The night began with a touch of luxury, Colegrove said. A porch extended from the ballroom over the driveway. A couple could drive up and get out, with valet parking provided.
This was the first time some of the “20 and 5 Club” members had seen valet parking, and they took pride in showing this luxury to their dates, Colegrove said.
Next door to the ballroom was “Playland Park,” a giant amusement park with a big roller coaster and many other rides that gave a carnival atmosphere to the area.
“In 1944 a number of the group went to Military Service and the Club was hard put to keep up its membership to 25,” Colegrove said. “Then in 1946 when the fellows came back from the Service, wedding bells began to break up the old gang still further.”
He noted numerous bachelor parties were hosted for members of the group, with many of them taking place in the Palms Inn at Velasco.
George Kramig, who was working at Dow and managing the Palms, “would always provide a good steak dinner for these parties,” Colegrove said.
Next week: Ways around “dry” conditions
Marie Beth Jones, a published author and freelance writer based in Angleton, is chairwoman of the Brazoria County Historical Commission.
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