Coach Smalley Passes Life Lessons Along to Bobcats
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The Community Newspaper of Bridge City & Orangefield TheRecordLive.com The Penny Record Vol. 62 No. 12 Distributed FREE To The Citizens of Bridge City and Orangefield Week of Wednesday, September 1, 2021 H Labor Day Salute H Coach Smalley passes life Organized lessons along to Bobcats labor, the DAVE ROGERS For The Record Josh Smalley’s 10th season power that as Orangefield’s head foot- ball coach and athletic direc- tor opened with a bang last week. helped fuel His veteran Bobcats, com- ing off back-to-back postsea- son berths, walloped Ana- huac 46-13, with a veteran SE Texas line leading the way for three backs to surpass 100 yards each in rushing. CARL PARKER “We’ve got a lot of room to SPECIAL COLUMN improve,” Smalley said, eye- For The Record ing this week’s schedule. “Woodville will be a difficult From the 40s to the 60s challenge.” organized labor was the Preparing his team for dif- most potent political and ficult challenges has been economic force in South- Smalley’s challenge since he east Texas. earned his first college de- Jefferson and Orange gree at Lamar in 1999 and Counties had the highest began his coaching career. per capita income in the As the Bobcat head coach, state, wonderful school dis- he has led the team into the tricts and everyone seemed playoffs in seven of the pre- vious nine seasons – no to be prospering. At the Carl Parker has practiced time it was difficult, if not law in Port Arthur since 1958. small feat as Orangefield Nam re digenda pedi denim eaquo etur? Musant eate enimpos excest erionse ditatium acit, inusam impossible, for someone He is a 1958 graduate of the typically has had the small- eos et unt, ut eos sit quo beruptas ea nonseque ma perum audia experesto ipsum cum volupta dita- quid quam, odis con eos dolor accum reiusti ntempor epudiostis eium et quisque offictibus magnatu politically inclined to win University of Texas School of est enrollment among its Law. Elected to the Texas sdaeperfere vellend usdaeca borate nem qui dollene quia di optatem. Bit ex es coratquae v election without labor sup- district opponents. House of Representatives in “I always wanted to be a port. football coach, left the class- lives, pushed me in this di- man for BC’s baseball team 1962 and the Senate in 1976. football coach,” Smalley said. Even with the benefits, Parker spent 32 years in the room to be high school prin- rection,” Smalley said. as a sophomore, when the “I knew from my freshman Labor was not without its Legislature, and for over 60 cipal and district athletic di- Smalley was an all-district Cards were state runnersup. year in high school, when I crises at the time. Critical years, has practiced law on rector before retiring. quarterback and all-district “I wasn’t too good in base- had coach Richard Briggs in times in the area included local, state, national, and in- “He’s the reason I’m doing basketball player for Bridge ball,” he said, “but I got to ternational levels. Parker world geography, that’s what the Firestone strike in Or- what I’m doing – his passion City, but among his most suit up and practice in the continues to practice law I wanted to be.” ange in the 60s and the for sports, but more than cherished memories is suit- while writing and sponsoring Briggs, former basketball Texaco strike in Port Ar- hundreds of bills including that, his passion for kids’ ing up as a sophomore utility COACH SMALLEY Page 2A head coach and assistant thur in the 50s. The Texaco many regarding consumer dispute divided citizens of safety. Port Arthur and even to the extent of division within unfortunately for the strik- A Lifetime of Gator Hunting families. With almost ers, they knew little about PENNY LELEUX “Even with the benefits, Labor For The Record was not without its crises at the Allen Romero has hunted alligators, “since I was born.” time. Critical times in the area His earliest memories of go- ing on hunts with his father included the Firestone strike in and grandfather were at the Orange in the 60s and the Texaco age of 4. “My daddy and my grand- strike in Port Arthur in the 50s.” pa hunted alligators all their life.” Romero just celebrated his 5,000 workers idle pursu- how to manage explosives. 79th birthday last week and ant to the strike, the Port They placed a large supply currently lives in Bridge City. Arthur economy suffered. of dynamite under the That equates to a lifetime of Luckily, the strike was set- pipeline but neglected to hunting. tled and peace restored; enclose the explosion. Al- “My grandpa came over to Texaco went on to furnish though the dynamite did Johnson’s Bayou in 1924,” some of the better jobs explode with great force said Romero. “My daddy was throughout the state of and a lot of noise, it only about 8 years old. Daddy was Texas. managed to blow a large born in 1916. They lived In Orange, the Firestone hole in the ground under there till 1930-31, then they strike caused great concern the pipeline. moved here to Orange. It got Nonetheless, the papers bad over there, so they moved in the area. There were nu- Allen Romero posed with a picture of his family in front of his boat. Romero has hunted allegators all merous incidents through- opined that it could have to Orange and went to work for the Starks.” his life, but will pass this year due to unfavorable market conditions. out the county, but primar- blown up most of Orange RECORD PHOTO: Penny LeLeux ily at the Firestone gate. County. The Texas Rangers He said they lived at the The most memorable inci- discovered the suspects Hawk Club, a property be- world by Dr. Wayne Pierce in from a boat as seen on trails left by gators when the dent occurred when there were active union members longing to the Starks that Orange. “Swamp People.” marsh dried up and poke the was an attempt to blow up a on strike at Firestone. By had two houses in back. Romero is the oldest of Hunting was always done stick down holes. If they major pipeline crossing Or- capturing a girlfriend of “The Bergerons lived in nine children. Seven of the during warm weather. Alli- found an alligator, they ange County and leading to one of the strikers and one and we lived in the oth- children made it to adult- gators are cold-blooded rep- would hook and drag it out of chemical row. Some of the threatening to take away er.” hood. Romero has three sib- tiles and hibernate during the hole. Romero said the strikers obtained a supply custody of her children, Romero said his grand- lings still alive. His two the winter. holes were about a foot and a of dynamite and decided they received a confession mother died on the porch of brothers still live in John- Currently, hunting season half deep. that it would be a good idea from the young lady which the property. son’s Bayou, but his sister for alligators in southwest “To kill them, we had an to blow up the pipeline they included about four mem- The family moved from moved away. Louisiana is Sept. 1-30 each axe or a hatchet,” said Rome- thought supplied most of bers of the Firestone union. there back to Johnson’s Bay- ‘Gator hunting back then year. ro. “I can remember when I the chemicals for the plants They were arrested and in- ou in the spring of 1943, six was a tad different than to- Romero said in the early was about 10 to 12 years old, on chemical row. Fortu- months after Romero was day. It wasn’t regulated, there days, they used a 14’ pole me and daddy would go nately for the county, and LABOR Page 2A born. was no ‘season’, and they with a stainless-steel hook GATOR HUNTER Page 3A He was brought into this didn’t ‘fish’ for alligators on it. They would follow the CMYK 2A • The Record • Week of Wednesday, September 1, 2021 Covid-19 fears fuel run on feed store shelves DAVE ROGERS jectable form for cows and tors are speaking out against vomiting, diarrhea, confu- diseases seen in underdevel- FOR THE RECORD swine and in paste form for the risks associated with tak- sion, hallucination, seizures, oped countries. Lotions and horses, she said. Pill form is ing Ivermectin. even death. creams containing ivermec- Jo Harris says her family’s also available. Ivermectin overdose The drug is an anti-para- tin are also used to treat head Orange Mercantile store is Most people are after the symptoms include nauseau, sitic used to treat tropical lice and rosacea. having a run on horse, cattle injectable form, Harris says, and swine de-wormer. because it’s easier to use and “Normally, I’ll keep six or measure dosages. seven bottles on the shelf, Harris says people should and when I run out, I just or- avoid taking the cattle solu- der six more bottles and they tion labeled Ivermectin Plus come in a few days,” Harris or Ivermectin Gold. Those said. have extra ingredients not “I have ivermectin ordered suitable for humans, she since Aug. 9, and every week, said. I order some more. I’ve or- Jo Harris. “Plain ivermectin is safe,” Facebook Image. dered 36 bottles one size, 18 she said.