Oral History Interview

Mr. W. W. Mears

By Russell Crump

Agent Winnie, Texas 1948-1958 and Sealy 1958

Mears:I went from Pitkin to Winnie in 1948 for 10 years

Russell: On the old G&I

Mears: I was there during Glen Mcarthyâs hay day he was building a refinery he had a refinery in operation and was building another along with a chemical plant and Winnie was a pretty busy spot time I went their in 1948 a few months latter Glen Mcarthyâs credit ran out and it was down hill run from their.

Russell: You were there then from 1948 to 1958.

Mears: Yes to 58.

What type of traffic base did we have at Winnie at the time you were there.

Mears: Mostly petroleum products of one kind or another out of the Mcarthy plant and a lot of rice grown in that area cattle and in bound petroleum and pipe for pipe lines.

Russell: Did we have any passenger service at this point?

Mears: No the only passenger service we had, We still had a doodlebug operation at Pitkin while I was there but their was no passenger service on the G&I at Winnie.

Russell: Did they still have the ferry over to Galveston.

Mears: The rail ferry, That had ceased. I think that wound up in 1940 or 1941 when they abandoned the line High Island to Port Bolivar and stopped the ferry.

Russell: After your tour at Winnie where did you go.

Agent Sealy , Texas

Mears: I went from Winnie to Sealy. I was agent at Sealy for a year. Their was not a howl lot of traffic at Sealy as such but it was the terminal point of the Matagorda district and that made it pretty busy spot generally.

Russell: This period and early period were you taking train orders by telegraphy or was it Telephone.

Mears: Telegraphy at Pitkin, Telephone at Winnie, Telephone and Telegraph at Sealy.

Russell: Still a lot of old timers using the telegraph?

Mears: yes

Russell: did you prefer the telegraph.

Mears: Well after I got use to it I enjoyed it, I never good at it but I enjoyed it you could pass a lot of traffic by telegraph if you had a good wire to operate on.

Russell: the last time I saw a telegraph operator was at Vaughn very late in the period. After Sealy where did you go?