*** This is the second in an occasional series ***
By Susan Avera Holt
Columbia Historical Museum
Dr. William M. Greenwood took office as the third mayor of West Columbia on April 7, 1942. Although his name doesn’t appear much in the newspapers, the good doctor was certainly a busy man. He took office four months into World War II when headlines exhorted patriots to save scrap paper, tin cans and buy war bonds.
As Dr. Greenwood was being sworn in, a $15 million aviation fuel plant, named Plancor 880, was being built 8 miles outside of West Columbia. The plant was located “on the second turn-off of the highway to Bay City,” according to The Freeport Facts.
The defense plant was owned by the U.S. government and operated by J.S. Abercrombie and Co. By July, work was underway on the field office, warehouse, field shop, office building, paint, welding and carpenter shops. Pritchard Bros. of Kansas City was the contractor and employed about 2,500 men during construction. A housing camp, similar to Camp Chemical in Velasco, was erected for workers and contained a commissary and cafeteria.
In June, J.S. Williams was named West Columbia’s first city manager. Before being promoted to the new job, Williams served for almost a year as the director of the city’s water system. The position alleviated some of the work from Dr. Greenwood and the two councilmen – W.H. “Boss” Pierce and Roy Wright.
In July, West Columbia Postmaster S.M. Gupton announced that the post office was being promoted to a second class operation.
“The promotion was a reward for the large increase in the sale of stamps, envelopes, etc.” according to The Freeport Facts. “Under the new system, one of the three windows will remain open all day from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., instead of closing about two hours at noon to put up the second mail. During this time, War Stamps and Bonds, money orders, packages, etc., may be received by those who cannot be at the Post Office any other time during the day.”
In addition to the postmaster, two regular clerks and a substitute were employed. Regular daily mail arrived at 7:39 and left at 10 a.m. A second batch of mail arrived at 12:40 and left town at 5 p.m. “Mr. Gupton urges that all patrons get their mail in the office at least thirty minutes before the dispatching time.”
Also in July, the “West Columbia Light” reported that a lower key rate for fire insurance was announced at the West Columbia Junior Chamber of Commerce at Wright’s Banquet Hall. Insurance agent Robert R. Farmer said the new rate would lower insurance costs about $2 on dwellings and $4 on businesses per $1,000. Chamber president Jack Phillips said an Army man was in town recently trying to locate land to build an airport for the Army.
The chamber formed many new committees related to the war effort. Chairmen appointed included: Charles M. Kelso, civilian defense; E.A. Bell, naval enlistment; T.W. Lytle, Army and Air Corp enlistment; W.L. Nash, agriculture; Hall Griggs, state director. A public health committee of J.S. Williams, Griggs and Dr. Greenwood was named to work on improving health conditions in town.
The busy chamber committees included H.R. Beal, Edgar McGaughey and W.C. Autry who endeavored to bring about night mail service. The trio contacted postmaster Gupton and a hole was made in the post office front door so that letters may be posted 24 hours a day!
In August, County Commissioner E.H. Mays, of West Columbia, directed a road project in town which included trimming the shoulders on most streets and cleaning out ditches. Without materials such as asphalt and shell, workers were unable to do much more.
The chamber committees in aid of the war effort were busy. Charles Kelso reported in November that three observation posts for planes had been established in the city.
In December, Army planes flew over the city to judge the success of West Columbia’s black out drill. I had to smile when I saw my great-grandfather, H.M. Paul, volunteered to be the chief air raid warden for that drill, set on the first anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Hand bills were given out reminding townspeople what was expected of them. Does anyone have one of those hand bills tucked away in a box in their attic? I would love to see one.
The next mention I could find of any city work was in July 1943. Rock asphalt had been obtained in Uvalde to repave the main street, and cutback asphalt was trucked from Baytown to be used as the primer for the project.
January 1944 – Help was given to West Columbia toward the approval of their sewerage system application from the Federal Works Agency.
In February, the Ellington trailer caravan toured Brazoria County and arrived in West Columbia to stimulate bond sales. The trailer transported a display of aerial war items including rubber boats, parachutes, flying togs, 20-millimeter guns and more.
In April, the council basically played musical chairs when Pierce became the mayor and Dr. Greenwood and Roy Wright made up the city council.
Inside the Vault of Texas History, formerly Mondays with the Museum, has been a weekly feature of the Columbia Historical Museum Association, Inc.’s Facebook page since Aug. 23, 2021. Look for it every week now in West Brazos Weekly. To see past posts, visit the museum’s website: columbiahistoricalmuseum.org.
YEARS NAME
1938-1940 C.A. Seabourne
1940-1942 O.W. “Pat” Pond
1942-1944 Dr. W.M. Greenwood
1944-1948 W.H. “Boss” Pierce
1948-1950 Vincent Rehmet
1950-1952 Tom Covert
1952-1954 Bubba Simmons, Jr.
1954-1956 Winston Avera, Sr.
1956-1958 Jim G. Scott (resigned Sept. 1958) O.W. Pond succeeded him in November.
1958-1962 O. W. Pond
1962-1964 Ralph Farmer
1964-1970 W. G. Hill
1970-1976 C. B. Gilbert
1976-1978 George Lincecum
1978-1986 Mickey Brooks
1986-1988 Richard D. Gutzman
1988-1990 Mickey Brooks
1990-1996 Robert Dixon
1996-1998 Mickey Brooks
1998-2008 David Foster
2008-present Laurie Kincannon