Galveston, TX

The Galveston Children's Home was founded on October 20, 1878, by Galveston journalist George B. Dealey, who, with Mrs. E. M. Arnold, who served as first director, established the institution in a rented house as the Island City Protestant Orphans Asylum.

In 1879, with forty children in residence, the home was turned over by Dealey to a board of directors made up of representative Galveston citizens, with Judge Charles L. Cleveland as chairman of the board. After this it was known as the Island City Protestant-Israelite Orphans Home.

The Galveston hurricane of 1900 did considerable damage to the structure and, though none were injured, the children were subsequently moved to another location. On October 15, 1900, William Randolph Hearst of the New York Journal hosted a charity bazaar at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City to benefit the orphans of Galveston, and on January 10, 1901, it was resolved that the institution be renamed the Galveston Orphans' Home

In 1985 the Children’s Home closed and the building was sold and renovated into a single family primary residence by the current owner.

This fabulous building is on the market again and waiting for some new owner to re-open its majestic doors of beauty. The more than 15,000 square feet would allow for a wonderful Bed & Breakfast, or exquisite Spa Retreat for weary souls. The grand staircase and original hardwoods are fabulous. It has 5 bedrooms and 7 baths. The property is zoned both commercial and / or residential. The inner city lot sitting on a quiet Galveston street is over 1 acre and surrounded by large old oaks. The list price on this phenomenal property is $1.9 million and a true bargain.

For more information on this truely unique property, please contact me Deb@DebJamail.com or (832) 671-0998

(Pictures courtesy Carol Kappler, Coldwell Banker United & Galveston Souvenir Book)

TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH
Galveston, Texas
Founded 1841
The Gothic Church Building Completed in 1857

Recently the enormously wealthy Moody Foundation of Galveston, Texas chose to award a grant of $2.7 million to Trinity Episcopal Church’s parochial school rather than to the church itself.

It came with great thought as to how the church and the school could best be helped to grow. I wrote this piece for the Galveston paper.

******************

What Moody Foundations Grant to Trinity Really Means

A number of years ago, Houston’s St. Thomas Episcopal Church’s membership was diminishing. Many worried that at that rate, the parish could soon cease to exist.

My longtime friend, Robert Bennett, CPA and CLU, was a vestryman at the church. He was asked to come up with a plan that would likely save it from possible extinction, but would also significantly rebuild the membership.

Bennett’s advice? Funnel most of the parish’s resources – financial and mental – toward building the church’s parochial school. His corollary? Churches without schools are difficult to sustain, much less to grow.

Today, St. Thomas’ Episcopal School has all 12 grades. And its huge boys’ drum and bagpipe band, kilts and all, have brought it national acclaim.

Many have applied for enrollment in the school with the hopes they could try out for membership in the drum and bagpipe band.

With the growth of the school has come the growth of the church’s membership. Today, St. Thomas is a true feather in the miter of the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Houston.

Galveston’s Trinity Episcopal Church, for various reasons, has been limping along with declining membership for a number of years, even though since 1952 it has had under its wings founder Fr. John Caskey’s academically acclaimed Trinity Episcopal School.

The Rev. John F. Caskey ===>>

Like many of the old downtown Galveston churches experienced, Hurricane Ike did its best to sound Trinity’s death knoll.

All of the churches were left gasping for air, trying to figure out how to rebuild their buildings and save their memberships.

The Moody Foundation trustees’ extraordinary business judgment concluded the same solution for Trinity as Robert Bennett had advised for St. Thomas almost 30 years before.

Rather than devote a grant to Trinity Church, instead the foundation gave $2.7 million to Trinity School to build an activities center and gymnasium.

This huge injection of parochial oxygen guarantees the growth and validation of Trinity School, and that will give reason for the church to be able to rebuild its membership and continue ministering in Galveston to the glory of God.

Blessings to Robert and Ann Moody for whom the facility will be named. And blessings to the trustees of the Moody Foundation for exercising their wisdom. All of Galveston should be thankful.

BILL CHERRY, REAL ESTATE BROKER

Dallas – Park Cities
Since 1964
214 503-8563

The Story of Franny Kay’s Bout with Lew’s Piano

By Bill Cherry

The glow of sunset in the summer skies,
The golden flicker of the fire flies,
The gleam of love light in your loving eyes,
These are the things I love
--Words by Harold Barlow, Music by Lewis Harris

Galveston implant, Lew Harris, wrote the music to this song when, just out of Boston College, he was the pianist with the house orchestra at Manhattan’s famous Rainbow Room.

Over the years, Lew Harris’ song, “These Are the Things I Love,” has been recorded by Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Caterina Valente, Della Reese, even jazz trumpet player, Dizzy Gillespie.

But to Galvestonians, the most memorable version was sung by Robert Goulet, because it was the theme song for Lew Harris’ wife, Frances’ 54-consecutive year radio program for the Island’s KGBC-AM.

After University of Texas, Frances Kay Harris (the Kay was her maiden name) was trying her hand as a Broadway theater actress when she met Lew, who was in New York making his way as a composer of musical comedy.

Within what seemed to both of them like moments, they married.

It was the war years, and things were tight, especially for a couple who had two children, aspiring to make their way in the entertainment business

In 1947, with the almost constant encouragement from Frances’ dad, they gave up Broadway and moved to Galveston. Lew joined his father-in-law in the general insurance business; Frances took up daily broadcasting the women’s news. Tracy and Johnny enrolled in public schools.

Lew’s dream was to own a Baldwin grand piano. He had no trouble picturing it in their Harve Lafitte home’s living room. But, after all, he once confided in me, a grand piano is a rather selfish thing to buy when you’re the only one in the family who is serious about his music.

Nevertheless, for a number of years he saved a few bucks at a time until he had $10,000 in his “piano fund.” He called Joe Ginsberg at Ginsberg’s Music Center, and had him order the exact Baldwin model grand he had always wanted.

When Joe called him to let him know the instrument was in and ready to be delivered, Lew withdrew from his Moody National Bank special account, $10,000 in one hundred dollar bills. And he took them to Joe as a way of adding an emphasis to the accomplishment.

When it was delivered, Lew’s decorating eye was confirmed. It did look great in the living room, and the sound and tone displayed themselves magnificently as they bounced against the big floor to ceiling windows that overlooked their backyard pool.

Some years after Lew had died, Frances called me. “Bill, it’s Franny Kay.” I had always jokingly called her Franny Kay, and she had always made out like what she had heard me say was “Frances Kay.”

This was the first time she had ever referred to herself to me as Franny Kay; a milestone since at least 35 years had passed since I had first decided I’d call her that. It had always been our subtle joke.

“Tracy is coming home for the holidays, and she may want to play Lew’s piano. When can you come tune it?”

The day I arrived for the appointment, Franny Kay had her little manicure table-for-two set up next to the big windows that overlooked the pool. Her manicurist was on the way to attend to her nails and to gossip.

That afternoon, Franny Kay’s lifelong friend, Ruth Kempner, would stop by for their almost daily game of for-blood Scrabble.

Her maid, who had been with her for decades, had a small TV set sitting in front of herself at the breakfast table. The maid’s head was on the table in her arms; she was asleep. The TV chattered on and on as if she weren’t.

I sat down at Lew’s piano to begin to play. Nothing came out. The keys couldn’t be depressed. What in the world is wrong, I thought.

When I opened the lid of Lew’s $10,000 magnificent Baldwin grand piano, the strings were fully covered by at least an inch of cat hair!

“Franny Kay, what in the world? How do I tune a piano that doesn’t play? Why has the cat been sleeping inside of Lew’s piano?”

“Bill, you’ve got to learn to love animals more. Since Lew died, no one has been here to play or enjoy his piano but my cat. It brings her great pleasure. But I guess she’ll have to find another place to sleep. Can you fix it?”

“I can’t, but I use a piano restoration company that will be able to. I’ll pull out the action and take it there and get an estimate for you,” I promised. “But there’s no way Tracy will be able to play Lew’s piano this holiday season.”

“Franny Kay? It’s Bill Cherry. The restoration company said it will cost just shy of $5,000 to bring Lew’s piano back up to snuff.”

When I brought the action back, put it in place, then tuned Lew’s Baldwin grand, the first tune I played for Franny Kay was Lew’s song, “These Are the Things I Love.” She smiled throughout it all.

I thought of the friendship I had enjoyed with the remarkable Franny Kay and Lew Harris since I had been a child.

Then be darned if the manicurist didn’t ring the doorbell and break my spell. Franny Kay went to greet her, and I packed my tools and left.

About two years later, the phone rang. “Bill, it’s Frances. My computer is upstairs, and I think it’s time to move it downstairs. The only place I can think of where it will fit is where Lew’s piano is. What should we do with Lew’s piano?’

“That’s easy. Lew was rabid about raising money for the Moody House Retirement Home. What about putting it on permanent loan there?”

And that’s what she did.

Frances Kay Harris left us on January 22, 2012. She was 94.

Copyright 2012 – William S. Cherry

BILL CHERRY, REAL ESTATE BROKER

Dallas - Park Cities
Since 1964
214 503-8563

THE NIGHT OF JANUARY 16^TH

By Bill Cherry

Fifty-five years of January 16ths have come and gone since then, but the lesson taught on January 16, 1957 by Ball High School speech and drama teacher, Arthur Graham, at the old Galveston County Courthouse remain intact to this day with those who were there.

Graham had undergraduate degrees in speech and drama, physiology, and a master’s degree in psychology. He had planned to be a medical doctor, but lack of money had interfered with that.

So after a few years acting off-Broadway in minor legitimate theater productions, he returned to Galveston to teach. And he did that at Ball High for the next 33 years.

It troubled him that a lot of students and the public in general were convinced that popularity rather than achievement was almost always the deciding factor in which students reined as the chosen few.

Graham recalled seeing the unusual play that Ayn Rand had written in the late 1930s for the Broadway stage.

It was titled “The Night of January 16^th” and it had a clever gimmick, one that hadn’t been used before.

The story was a fictional murder trial. It was performed in a courtroom setting, and the outcome was determined by jury members randomly selected from the audience moments before the curtain rose for the first act.

Rand had written two conclusions, so that whichever verdict the jury turned in, the actors could segue to lines that embraced the proper outcome.

Graham’s version ran two successive nights. He chose co-captain of the Ball High Tors, Bobby Wilkins, to play the defense attorney.

And he picked ROTC Company “C” Guidon Bearer,Victor Damiani, to be the prosecutor.

Speculations ran high among Ball High students. How could Damiani be a match for Wilkins?

After all, the juries for both performances were sure to be picked from audiences of students.

That inferred that no matter which of the attorneys was the better prepared or was the most convincing in his part, the co-captain was certain to beat out the guidon barer.

The first performance, Friday evening, came and all of the actors --- Wilkins, Damiani, Peter Moore, John Rowland, Raleigh Garcia, Peggy Burton, Pat McInerney, Nancy Frederickson, Jean Moreland and Sandra Salinas -– gave credible performances.

The jury gave its verdict. They found the defendant was not guilty.

Damiani and his supporters said they knew that was what would happen. They thought it was pointless to have the second performance.

The defense would surely win the jury’s verdict again.

Graham, though, was betting that something else would happen. And it was the lesson he wanted to teach.

Sure enough, Saturday night’s jury’s verdict went to the prosecutor.

So now it was a tie; one for Wilkins, one for Damiani.

Graham had let students discover for themselves that Wilkins hadn’t won the first night’s verdict because he was the co-captain of the football team. He won because the jury felt he was the more convincing.

And, Damiani, despising his first-night defeat, had spent all day Saturday rehearsing his lines over and over again, with his Aunt Rena as his audience and critic.

When that night’s performance came, he was infinitely more prepared to win than he had been the night before.

As Damiani turned to walk out of the courtroom with his victory, he looked at the large portrait that was in the regal frame and hanging on the rear wall.

He grinned and said under his breath, “How’d you like that, Judge?”

The picture on the wall was that of his cousin, Judge Jules Damiani, Sr., who in years past had presided over many criminal trials in that same courtroom.

Copyright 2012 – William S. Cherry

If you remember what you learned in school, in general the circle is the strongest geometric form, followed by the triangle.

From a practical standpoint, though, most building frames and trusses are made strong by converting some of their naturally perpendicular rectangles into triangles through the addition of cross members.

Probably one of the major structural components with which everyone is familiar is the gable roof.

It, in itself, is a series of triangles that, when covered by the roof decking, becomes one large triangle.

The gable roof has two weak spots – the two ends. And that’s where strong winds, hurricanes and the like have a field day, and many breeches occur.

In years past, gable ends were strengthened with shiplap lumber, cut and nailed on the bias to the frame. Picture that in your mind. That then made each of the gable ends a series of triangles to which the siding was affixed; enormously strong.

Apparently to save money, builders began enclosing gable ends with ¾ inch plywood, veneered with the siding. While not as strong as the shiplap, nevertheless, plywood gave substantial strengh, too.

Today, gable ends on home after home are built with little thought given to shear stress. Instead of the end caps being made of shiplap on the bias or plywood, they are merely covered with fiber board underlayment which has very little shear or tensile strength.

The underlayment is then veneered with siding which also has very little shear and tensile strength.

If the strong wind blows-out either of the gable ends, the entire structure is seriously compromised – all the result of the builder’s putting first his own economy.

If you have a gable or a hip roof, you may want to go into the attic and investigate how the ends were strengthened, if at all. A structural engineer can advise you how to correct any weak spots. The "fix" will normally not cost more than an investment of a few hundred dollars.

It's a worthy exercise and investment. And your insurer should love you more as well.

Actually, far fewer homes on the gulf coast would suffer significant damage in hurricanes if their roofs were closed-end, square hips like the one on the garage in this illustration.

BILL CHERRY, REAL ESTATE BROKER

Dallas – Park Cities
Since 1964
214 503-8563