College Station, Texas

 After waking up to a clear, calm, warm day in Waco, we hit the road southeast to Bryan, Texas, just north of College Station, where we expect to visit the George H W Bush Presidential Library. On the way, we stopped for lunch at Cow Rest picnic area alongside highway 6.

 

This area was used by cattlemen driving herds of Longhorns back in the day. It’s still a great place for cattle!

The humidity and “feels like” temp began to rise as the day continued, so as we pulled into Hardy’s RV Resort, we vowed to set up the trailer, turn on the ac and enjoy an afternoon inside. We were directed to site 219 of what appeared to be a nice but sparsely populated park. We soon realized that the weather reports about rain in the area that we saw yesterday were true. Site 219 is at the lowest point in the park and the reported 5” of rain were still lurking under a nice green carpet, as first one wheel and then another disappeared in the black, sticky mud!

Somehow the park general manager got wind of the situation and brought a shovel for me to repair the grass. Not gonna happen. Sorry. So as I write this, we will have to deal with park maintenance on the morrow. 

And the fix happened! Alfonso came by at about 9 and filled the holes in, checked the irrigation and hosed off the concrete. “Just like it never even happened.”

George H.W. Bush. 41st President of the United States.

The library and museum of President George H. W. Bush is located on the campus of Texas A&M University, on the main campus in College Station, Texas. On the way to visit it, we passed Kyle Field, the largest football stadium in Texas and the largest in the SEC football conference.

Around the corner and tucked into a beautiful corner of the campus, we found the library.

The 41st president was not a flamboyant man, but he was a determined person. This library is a tribute to a  patriotic, dedicated, moral father whose commitment to giving back to his country drove him from the time of his military service during World War II to his presidency.

The first thing we noticed on entering the library was a sign indicating that next month a pavilion will open showcasing Marine One used by George HW, and the train locomotive, number 4141, that was used on the presidents last journey. Just our luck. Again.

In a nutshell:

George HW’s service in WWII was as a Navy pilot. He knew he wanted to fly as a child, and was commissioned an ensign after flight training, then sent to the South Pacific.

After WWII ended, George HW carried with him a small plaque with an aviators wish:

“Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited”. He felt it described his own life as it had been over the years.

George knew that he had to make his way in the world, so after the war he enrolled in Yale University, the same university that his father had attended, and graduated only two and a half years later with a bachelor’s degree. At the time, the Texas “oil patch” was a “gold rush”, so George and Barbara headed west to Midland, Texas, to make their fortune. They had been given a new Studebaker sedan by Georges father, Preston, and it remained their car for several years.

George and Barbara had married while he was still in the Navy, and their son George W (no H, they didn’t want a junior) was, of course, along when they went to Midland. George HW had a position with Ideco waiting for him in the oil industry.

Ideco was part of Dresser, Inc, and they sent George HW to California for a year, where they moved from Ventura to Bakersfield to Compton before returning to Midland. Those areas were also hot oil boom areas at the time.

Not everything went well for the family.

George had built a successful oil exploration company in Midland and needed to expand. He formed Zapata Offshore with RG LeTourneau, the inventor of the offshore drilling platform, and the company successfully established a whole new industry.

With his family’s future secure, George knew what his future held.

Congressman, senator, ambassador to China, CIA director, and Vice President. And 41st President.

George shared some things with me in a private conversation.

George did run for president in 1980, rising from an asterisk candidate (not enough delegates to count as a percentage) to having the second highest delegate count behind Ronald Reagan.

Reagan chose George H.W. Bush as his Vice President and the ticket was resoundingly accepted by the country. Eight years later, George wanted to continue the work that had begun with President Reagan.

His run for President was successful, and he again began serving his country.

The official White House portraits:

During our private conversation, George HW had given me permission to practice my presidential skills behind his Partner desk, where each side is identical, allowing a close working relationship with an associate. Being President, even for a short time, wasn’t very exciting, so I declined further offers.

This defines President Bush’s approach to public service.

In the Middle East, a war and subsequent victory brought President Bush to his highest approval rating of his term, over 90%, and the grateful people of Kuwait presented him with this gift.

A sketchy economy and a contentious campaign resulted in George HW’s defeat in the 1992 presidential election. Accepting with grace, he and Barbara opened a new chapter.

The Bush family was very much a dog family, with Millie helping run the White House, but in later years, President George H.W. Bush sought help from a loyal service dog named Sully.

President and Mrs. Bush and their daughter Robin are buried in a quiet corner of The Garden. Texas A&M grounds are impeccable and kept in order by a fleet of groundskeepers. Just outside the Library, on the way to the gravesite, we passed an inspiring work representing triumph over adversity and hope for the future.

A path leads around a small lake with gorgeous flower beds and manicured lawn. American Painted Lady butterflies were everywhere!

A place of remembrance for an All-American family and a man who did his best at whatever task he faced.

Not known for his love of ice cream, George HW may not have approved, but we had to visit the home of Blue Bell ice cream in Brenham, Texas. Can you believe that this delicious treat is still packaged in 1/2 gallon containers!

This is the original creamery, formed to use milk produced in the area. There are others scattered throughout the south now, but this is Numero Uno. 

The first thing that strikes a visitor is the immense storage tank area. These things are huge!

I guess a lot of milk must be used in the making of ice cream! Butter was made here initially, with ice cream sort of being an afterthought. However, during WWII, ice cream production was halted in favor of making butter for the armed forces. Today, ice cream and ice cream bars are made here.

The second thing a visitor sees is the Century Tree. Grown from an acorn from the Century Tree on the campus of Texas A&M which is an impressive and beautiful landmark there.

The entrance to the museum is in a cool, tree shaded patio, with an original Blue Bell delivery truck on display.

Also in the patio is a plaque telling the history of Blue Bell.

Inside, the history of the company is depicted in pictures.

Photography is prohibited in the plant observation area, but it is an efficient plant, bringing containers, lids, ice cream, and boxes together, along with some 40-50 employees, and sending them off to the -40f freezer.

Back outside, a sculpture of the Blue Bell girl and her Jersey cow on the way to the milking stand add a touch of whimsy.

A great day!

It’s three days after our visit to Blue Bell as I write this entry. It has been raining almost continuously, and nearby creeks and rivers are flooding. The Navasota River a few miles east, has reached a height of 25 feet, where flood stage is normally 15 feet. It is, at this time, over two miles wide! Just south of B/CS, closer to Houston, the town of Livingston, TX, has been mostly evacuated, with one homeowner watching his house fill with floodwater on his security cameras! We are scheduled to leave B/CS (Bryan/College Station) tomorrow, but with more severe weather forecast, we expect to stay put one more day, and maybe more if the creeks keep rising! Our next stop revolves around a favorite restaurant, so if necessary, we could skip….no, can’t do that…