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Dickie Colburn: Fishing See Page 6B Cooking With Katherine See Page 8A

High School Football See Page 1B

County Record The Community Newspaper of Orange, Texas

Vol. 51 No. 31

Week of Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Vergie Scales turns 100, honored by county Commissioners Owen Burton, Precinct 2 and Jody Crump, Precinct 4 were absent from Monday’s meeting. The court voted on a policy change in the way sick hours

are calculated to work with the new Incode X software the county has implemented. It does not change the amount of sick hours, only the way they are calculated said personnel

director Jill Shores. The current method has to be done manually and can’t be reflected correctly on employee pay stubs. The change in calculation will not only give employ-

ees a more accurate accounting of sick hours, but it will also free up man-hours required to manually make the COUNTY BUSINESS PAGE 2A

Little Cypress ‘Hope For Health 5K Run’ Junior Finishers

Vergie Scales (seated) was honored for her 100th birthday by Orange County Commissioners’ Court Monday. Pictured with Scales (left to right) are: David Dubose, Precinct 1 commissioner. Orange County Judge Carl Thibodeaux and John Dubose, commissioner Precinct 3. RECORD PHOTO: Penny LeLeux

Penny Leleux

For The Record

Vergie Mansfield Scales turned 100 years young on Halloween. A proclamation was made Monday at Orange County Commissioners Court honoring Scales. She was raised in the Duncan Woods area of Orangefield and married Grover Scales at the age of 16. The couple had six chil-

dren with one of them dying in childbirth. Still living are her son Roy Scales, and two daughters, Wanda Scales Sanders and Pam Scales Crew. Vergie was a reporter for the Orangefield-Bridge City area until 1985. “I sure hope I live 80 percent of your life span, I’ll be tremendously thrilled,” said Orange County Judge Carl Thibodeaux.

OC veteran helped rebuild Japan Mike Louviere For The Record

Jim Brewer was 13 years old when he decided it was time to leave home and take care of himself. His first job was working for a timber estimator in his home town of Lufkin. The pay was 50 cents per day with room and board. His next job paid 75 cents a day. Then he found a better paying job; he delivered for a drug store and earned $1, plus a sandwich each day. Brewer decided to see what the big town of Beaumont held for him so he moved there and worked as a dishwasher and soda jerk until he heard about the shipyard work available in Orange. To work in a shipyard in Orange, one had to be at least 16

Inside The Record • SHERLOCK BREAUX Page..................... 4A • Obituaries Page......................7A •Dicky Colburn Fishing..................6B • Kaz’s Forecast Joe Kazmar...........4B • CHURCH NEWS Page......................9A • CLASSIFIED ADS Page....................10B

With over 120 runners, Brooke Manuel finished 6th, Lauren Cox finished 8th, and Meagan Brzezinski finished 10th overall. In the 1019 year old division, Brooke Manuel finished in 1st place, Lauren Cox in 2nd place, and Meagan Brzezinski was 3rd place. According to Coach Willis all of the Junior High girls did a fantastic job and were some of the top finishers. Above from left to right: Lauren Cox, Brooke Manuel and Meagan Brzezinski. RECORD PHOTO

Clark: Korean vet guarded gold Mike Louviere For The Record

Jim Brewer in Japan, 1945.

years old. Brewer was not old enough, but he found a way to get some paperwork that said he was 16 so he went to work; he was hired as an electrical helper and worked at that until he lost his wallet with all his money. “The shipyard held back two days pay. I needed money so I quit so that they would have to pay my back pay,” Brewer said. “Then I got hired again. This time they hired me as a welder-tacker at 75 cents an hour. That was a good deal. Then I got a raise to $1 an hour. In addition, I learned to weld. I stayed with that job until my dad talked me into moving to Galveston. I moved, but did not like Galveston. I decided to join the Army.” Brewer enlisted in 1944 and did his basic training at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas. After basic training he was sent to the Philippines. He was first assigned to an infantry unit, but because he was not yet 19 he could not go into combat. He was reassigned to a construction battalion. “By the time we got to the Philippines most of the fighting was over,” he said. “My unit VETERAN REBUILDS PAGE 3A

John Clark joined the U. S. Marine Corps to serve his country in the years after World War II. He also joined to get an education. In those times the G.I. Bill was in effect. The Bill would pay for one year of college for one year of military service. Many young men were able to get a college education paid for by joining the military. Clark was sent to Korea as a member of the 1st Marine Division about six months after the cease fire that stopped the fighting. Clark’s outfit was stationed near Inchon, the site of the amphibious invasion that helped turn the tide of the conflict. “Right after I got in the Division, they started rotating the Division back to the United States,” Clark said. “I spent some time in the 1st and then rotated to the 24th Division. I ended up having to stay in Korea three months longer than the other guys.” Clark was assigned to the Headquarters Company as a Message Man and a Teletype Operator. One of his jobs was t guard gold. “They paid us in script and with the U.S. being on a gold standard we had to have enough gold in the country to back up the script,” he said. “We had little safes that held the gold and we had to guard them around the clock. We also had safes with top secret files and medicinal drugs that we guarded. We always wore our sidearms, 45 caliber pistols.”

John and wife, Jeanette Clark have been active in the Veteran of Foreign Wars and Ladies Auxiliary for many years.

One thing that is well known about Korea is that the winters are brutally cold. It snowed in November and the snow never melted. It just kept building up all winter until it finally started to thaw in the spring. Clark’s friend Roy B. Marshall was in the Army in Korea about the same period. Marshall was a member of the U.S. Army 2nd Division and was stationed in an area called “Little Chicago,” near the 38th Parallel. Marshall agreed with Clark about the cold. “I was in the motor pool and one day and officer asked me if I could cook,” he said. “I told him I could cook a little and he asked me if I wanted to replace a cook that had rotated home. Of course I took it. The motor pool was cold and the mess hall was warm.” KOREAN VETERAN PAGE 3A

Veterans homeless shelter Mike Louviere For The Record

Ever since Burt Stigen bought the old Shady Rest Motel property and opened the City of Refuge as a shelter for homeless veterans, there has been a constant worry about funding to keep the shelter operating. The shelter is wholly dependent on donations for operating costs. The main building containing the chapel, office, kitchen, and dining area is in dire need of replacement. A fundraising

effort is under way to raise the cost of a new building. There have been donations from the private sector, from the Stark 64 Veterans Association, and from the American Legion. Now the community as a whole has an opportunity to help the City of Refuge. On Saturday, Nov. 12, there will be a day long benefit for the COR. The event is sponsored by The Fraternal Order of Eagles, Sabine Aerie 2523. American Legion Post 49 is hosting the benefit at the Post home on Green Avenue.

Scheduled to start at 11 a.m. and last until 6:00 p.m., there will be live music, raffles, auctions, a 50-50 raffle and the main attraction, B B Que plates. The events are scheduled to rotate and run throughout the day. It will be an “in and out” function. There will be the opportunity to go to the benefit and stay as long as you care to to take advantage of all the action. For information on the benefit, call Yvonne at 409-7453842 or 409-988-4154


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