pictures from our past- our world-
A summer at the beach (Part 1)
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The Breakers Hotel, North Beach
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1913 North Beach, Corpus Christi, Texas One of the summer family get-a-ways was the 150 mile trip to Corpus Christi, This port city is on the large bay formed at the mouth of the Nueces river. It is protected from the Gulf Of Mexico by Mustang Island a low sand barrier island that was not easily accessible during the period. The near 10 mile open water bay made crossing dangerous, and there is no indication that the family ever crossed to the gulf. Because of its relatively large size and the prevailing wind patterns the bay might vary from near glassy smooth to substantial waves and a white-capped surf breaking at the shore. Typically there was a morning calm followed by rougher afternoon, Already during the early years of the album Corpus Christy was becoming a tourist Mecca an attractive destination for vacationers from all over Texas There are a few album pictures dated in the summer of 1911 showing a family vacation presence at North Beach, and in 1913 there are about a dozen pictures showing the presence of about 20 members of the extended family. By that year the Breakers Hotel (the first picture) with its bay view rooms and large recreational pavilion was a popular public resort. This 1913 vacation is the principal subject of these pages. Several hundred feet north of the hotel was a large three unit frame summer vacation house. The album picture carries the hand written title, "Zirkle Summer Home- North Beach" The design of this structure with roofed breeze-ways between the three housing units is on the model of the dog-trot cabin of earlier days. The design also suggests the yet to come "tourist courts" of the 1930, with roofed car parking facilities between the units. There are no indication that the breeze ways here were used for automobiles. In fact based on my childhood recollection of my father's comments, I think the family members traveled from San Antonio to Corpus Christi by train. The third picture is from the 1911 vacation. In this year the family had stayed at another north beach site, different from the three unit house shown in the second picture. I wanted to include this picture because I think it illustrates the yet unavailability of some basic utilities in the area. I do believe this picture shows how drinking water was delivered to at least some of the tourist facilities in the area. Yes, I do suspect the occupation of the rather elderly gentleman, was that of "Water Boy" selling drinking water to tourists from the tank on the horse drawn wagon. Presumably the new modern Breakers Hotel had some form of tap water available to its guests and since the Zirkel house was a scant 400 feet away perhaps it too had piped water from a public system?
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Fishing Based on the custom followed in the late 1930's the vacation day began early maybe 5:00 AM. In my day it might have begun even earlier since by the 30's the fishing prospects off North Beach were poor and we were probably planning to drive 20 or 30 miles to where the prospects were more favorable. But in 1913 there was still good fishing within easy rowing distance of the beach. They appear to have used the small skiff row boats They would row out from several hundred to several thousand feet to oyster reefs where speckled sea trout and red fish were likely to congregate. I find it hard to believe that they took more than two fisherpersons in the little skiff that is pictured, but yet I am almost sure they did. As a child I remember my father rowing out in a similar boat in the 1939-40 period with him .my mother, my brother and I. Then, while we still stayed at a place on North Beach, we travel by automobile at least 20 miles around the bay to a place called the "Oasis" in the south suburbs. There we rented a similar wooden boat that my father rowed out where we could catch sand and speckled trout with long cane poles like the ones in the second picture. The second picture shows the return of the fishing party after a successful trip. While I don't believe they crammed all eight of the people in the picture, I do think it quite likely that it did include the two ladies. They are certainly dressed for it, i.e., well covered from the sun. Judging from dress, the other fishermen might have been the guy at the right and the guy at the extreme left almost concealed by the arm and elbow of the man holding the string. The fish that they caught were most likely speckled sea trout or sand trout. Perhaps there are also one or two small red fish on the string. The truth is these would seem to be pretty respectable strings. generally equal to or better than my 1960's efforts, that involved expensive power boats and a 40 mile trek down the inter-costal canal to one of the remaining fishing sites; The picture below shows Harold Henry Arnold on the left end next to his father, Ed Arnold. the others are unidentified. The last picture on the right shows the dirty work. the cleaning of the catch. .Note that this task was performed by the men at the shore where the offal was conveniently tossed into the water where it was quickly consumed by bird and fish scavengers. I think the man on the left is Ed Arnold.
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Continue: A Summer At the Beach (Part 2) |
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