G.W. Bailey takes home a piece of Port Arthur

After the Red Hussars posed with photos, I had my moment with G.W. Bailey. I offered him a little chip of the pink granite that makes up the Port Arthur sea wall, and the actor with plenty to say got quiet.

“If those rocks could talk,” Bailey said. He recalled his youth and good times on the waterfront.

Bailey caught up with classmates at the recent Thomas Jefferson’s Class of ’62 high school reunion dinner at Holiday Inn Park Central. Red Hussars, from the school’s famous drum and bugle corp., also enhanced the weekend that included a sock hop and visit to see Bailey’s exhibit at Museum of the Gulf Coast.

The actor has had roles in the “Police Academy” movie series and TV series “M*A*S*H,” “The Closer” and “Major Crimes.” He said he’d keep his “Port Arthur rock” next to the piece of the Berlin Wall a friend had given him.

Port Arthur Convention & Visitors Bureau supported the Class of ’62 in preparing for its reunion. Family and class reunions and convention groups with bookings at Port Arthur hotels are encouraged to work with the bureau for amenities including “goody bags,” tourism brochures, name tags, welcome banners and more.

For great positive news and images of what’s going on in Port Arthur, LIKE the Port Arthur Texas Visitors Bureau Facebook page. Call at (409) 985-7822 or contact the Bureau at www.visitportarthurtx.com.

Tom Dunlap of Port Arthur has two reports:

Gulf Coast Gala featuring Frankie Avalon was “tremendous,” he said. He attended with a packed house and was thrilled to support Lamar State College-Port Arthur, as well as Museum of the Gulf Coast, where he volunteers, he said.

Dunlop is also rightfully boasting about his spring garden, in which four little rows of “Contender” string beans has so far yielded 25 pounds of “beanage.”

A must-see museum

Tools and toys of daily living in the early 1900s are displayed with precision at the Orangefield Cormier museum. Two vast “warehouses” of memorabilia, from household kitchen ware to a typewriter the bank used to own, tell the Orangefiled story. A drug store, jail, bank and other areas have been recreated, some with lumber from old area buildings. Dolls, games, Texaco tankers and photos from days of old help keep younger visitors entertained and informed. Look for a bit of Port Arthur’s oil history, too. For hours and more, visit www.orangefieldisd.com or call 1-409-735-2285.

ddoiron@panews.com