Guest column Winnie Gordy celebrates 99th birthday By BILL CHERRY While no one is keeping count, I believe I have written about 700 columns for The Daily News about the people of Galveston — most of them from days gone by, but also a significant number about some of those who today comprise the living island’s rich fabric. It’s common knowledge among islanders that Sarah Bernhardt, Anna Pavlova, the Great Houdini and Enrico Caruso played Galveston’s The Grand 1894 Opera House. But the notoriety of one star-studded performance has, in time, fallen through the cracks. In the Nov. 26, 1904, edition of the Galveston Tribune, readers learned that Theodora Howell was to star in a traveling vaudeville review that would open that night at The Grand. She and her husband, Edward, were well known in show business back then. Theodora had a wonderful operatic voice. Then, as so often happens, Edward and Theodora decided to get out of show business and to make Galveston home. If you move time forward just shy of 20 years, Edward is now a boat captain, and he and his crew, under governmental orders, are to sail one of the famous concrete ships, the Selma, on its last voyage. It was to be brought to Galveston Bay from Tampico, Mexico, because it had a cracked hull and no one could be certain that the subsequent repair would make the vessel adequately seaworthy. Capt. Howell’s specific orders were to sail it into Galveston Bay, where it would be sunk in waters adjacent to Pelican Island. For almost 90 years, it has been seen by millions of ferry riders, fished from by thousands and was even the home of a hermit for a decade or two, beginning about 1946. In case you’re ever asked, the hermit’s name was Clesmey N. LeBlanc, but everyone called him Frenchy. Christie “The Beachcomber” Mitchell couldn’t resist wagging, “Frenchy changed his shirt as often as he changed his tattoos.” So, while Capt. Howell was sailing ships, Theodora was teaching voice lessons and raising their daughter, Winnie, whose real name is Winifred. Miss Winnie married Albert Gordy, who worked at Black Hardware for 30 years before he passed away. Miss Winnie went to work at the United States National Bank and retired from there after 25 years. She was also a prolific artist whose works are well respected. About 30 years ago, Miss Winnie painted an acrylic of the historic home my wife and I lived in on Ball. It hangs in my Dallas home today. Today, Winnie Gordy and her family will celebrate her 99th birthday on this planet, and it will be at Miss Winnie’s home, the West End brick home where Edward and Theodora lived for decades before they both passed away. Bill Cherry is the author of ”Bill Cherry’s Galveston Memories.”
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 11:58:02 +0000
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