Gilbert S. Marshall Obituary

Gilbert Stivers Marshall, 82, of Dayton, Texas, known as Gil and better known by his close friends and family as “Fishy”, because of his love of the water and fishing, passed away silently and painlessly September 24, 2010 after a lengthy illness, surrounded by his wife and loving family.

Gilbert was born 24 August 1928 in Irvine, Kentucky at home to Thomas and Nell Marshall.  Gil from early childhood dreamed of travel and lived the life of a pathfinder throughout much of his life.  Serving honorably in the US Navy as a Machinist Mate and during and following WWII he traveled across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe and was a walking encyclopedia of information on geography and many other subjects.

Always the pioneer visionary, he shunned commercialized amusement and instead took his family on adventures like panning for gold in the Rockies, hiking the trails of the American ranges and forests, hunting and fishing the choicest of lakes, ponds, and streams, searching rock quarries for fossils, roaming Americas deserts for exotic wildlife, and venturing from the Pacific Ocean to the Great Salt lake, the Texas Gulf coast and the waters of the Great lakes.

Gilbert spent much of his life as an expert Tool and Die maker in machine shops across the country.  He was heavily involved in the development of the Lockheed C5A project in Marietta, Georgia and the F4E project at McDonnell-Douglass in St. Louis, Mo. and in later years a “Gold Hat” for Brown & Root in the Middle East as a Pipe Superintendent.

Gilbert is preceded in death by his parents and grandson Sgt. Nick Marshall.  He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Marian, his daughter, Connie Byrd (Michael), sons, Bert Marshall (Sandra), Gordon Marshall (Cindy), Terry Marshall (Debbie) and Bruce Marshall (Linda), his brother Harry Marshall (Mary) and sister Jean Koglman (Johnny), along with many loving grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Never the one to be selfish with his life, Gilbert asked to have his body donated to science and then cremated.  A memorial service will be held at Christmas for friends and family.  The family would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and love in this difficult time and celebration of his life.  Bubba, you did good.

For those desiring, memorial donations may be made to Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA).

The Bayland Guards Historical Marker project

I finally had time to put all of this together!  If anyone has photos of the event, please send them my way and I'll add them to the pages.  In this photo, the Bayland Honor Guard - Living history actors salute the marker with an old cannon.

One American is Evidently Worth 8 Iranians!

.Ahmadinejad Wants Release of Iranians Held in U.S.
By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: September 19, 2010
"One of the three American hikers held in Iran for 13 months on spying charges arrived in the United States on Sunday as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the United States, as "a humanitarian gesture," should now release eight Iranians whom he said were illegally arrested."
 
Here's my take and you can call it Redneck Texan, if you want: Now that is some fancy math, President Ahmadinejad.  When I saw this headline, I couldn't see how many he wanted us to release for it to be considered a fair exchange, but somehow, I already knew the answer... it would be ridiculous. 

I'll answer for President Obama "Okay, here's one Iranian.  Got any more Americans, cause I got more Iranians"?
 
Evidently, one American has the same value as eight of his own countrymen.  Don't call me a hater - he said it, I didn't.
.

Bayland Guards Marker Installed Today!

This in from Larry Houston:  Bert was instrumental in arranging funding for a new historical marker in Baytown, commemorating the Bayland Guards. The unveiling was this morning. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7daSXQ7TN4 
Top 2 photos by Larry Houston.  The man in the red shirt is Darrell Bailey - Total Petrochemicals Manager.  The lady in the aqua blouse is Harris County Historical Commission's Trevia Wooster Beverly.

The marker on the right is one of Bert's earlier efforts.

Wybra Wooster Holland sent these 2 photos in:

Bayland Guards Historical Marker - Baytown, Texas

The Harris County Historical Commission,

Baytown Historical Preservation Association, and

Total Petrochemicals, La Porte Polypropylene Plant

cordially invite you to attend the

dedication of an Official Texas Historical Marker
honoring the 

Bayland Guards Saturday,

September 18, 2010, at 10 a.m.

at Bayland Park

2641 SH 146 Business, Baytown, Texas

Reception Follows
Lawn chairs welcomed for seating will be limited
For additional information, call 713.864.6862

The Bayland Guards were organized by

Dr. Ashbel Smith of San Jacinto fame,

with men from eastern Harris County  and Chambers County. 

 It later became Company C, 2nd Texas Infantry. 

The Bayland Guards, with no previous military experience, under the command of Dr. Ashbel Smith, scholar, statesman, and skilled physician, registered their original Muster Roll at the Harris County Courthouse in Houston on April 29, 1861. Mustered into Confederate service on July 31, 1861 as Company C of the Galveston Infantry Regiment, in Galveston.

The Galveston Regiment was redesignated on October 12, 1861 as the Second Texas Infantry Regiment. Seeing battle at Shiloh, Corinth, and Hatchie Bridge, with the Second Texas Infantry, the Guards served bravely and distinguished itself for the defense of a crescent-shaped fortification at Vicksburg.

They faced “forty-seven days and nights of daily shelling and nightly bombardment in a narrow ditch, exposed to the scorching heat during the day and the often chilly air and dews of night” from two Union assaults. The Bayland Guards, as part of the Second Texas Infantry, was surrendered at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 and was paroled within the week. They were exchanged September 12, 1863, reorganized in Texas during the fall of 1863, and surrendered May 26, 1865.

Three sons of Republic of Texas presidents Sam Houston and Anson Jones served in this unit: Samuel Houston, Jr., Charles Elliott Jones, and Samuel Edward Jones.

As part of the Second Texas Regiment, the Bayland Guards served with distinction and honor, and upon returning home from the war, shaped by their wartime experiences, helped to shape the future of the communities they represented. They continued to distinguish themselves as the bay area began to rebuild itself and go through Reconstruction. They were the farmers and ranchers, teachers, doctors and dentists, business owners, and several served in elected offices.



Pelly Park Pump-Jack Revisited

I wish I knew who to thank for making this pump-jack safe again, but I was there today and the fence, albeit old and rusty for the most part, is back up and secured.  Thank you!

Letter to City Manager Garry Brumback

.
Hello, Mr. Brumback! I'm trying to find the plan for the development of a trail system in and around Baytown, but can't seem to find it. While geocaching (and you may have heard me comment in my videos) I am continually impressed with the large scale development of trails along Fairmont Parkway, Red Bluff Road, and now along McCabe Road in La Porte.

McCabe Road and Fairmont Parkway trails are cement and very wide and this has to have cost a fortune, but where and how are they getting funding? I think it is imperitive if Baytown is to attract higher income families, we push the trail system forward asap.

Baytown native, Larry Houston and I have now successfully placed a large number of geocaches (23) along Goose Creek trail to attract out-of-towners and hopefully they will stop in for a bite to eat while here and as a side benefit, use our trail making it inherently safer. It took the Jenkins Park (Cary Bayou Trail) a long time before it felt safe, but now there are a lot of people using it. Incidentally, there are also 12 geocaches hidden in Jenkins Park/JC Holloway.

Rumors are Lee College wants to become a 4 year college and this further pushes the need for an extensive bike/hike trail system, especially along Goose Creek and its tributaries. Our city's streets and lack of shoulders are literally dangerous to bicyclists and desperately needs better biking trails of distance.

Next is the Jenkins Park trail expansion and the continued development of the Bark Park. The trail expansion should be carefully planned so a 5K distance is achieved, instead of an arbitrary plus or minus that amount. This will allow runners to know their exact distance, making it a perfect place to train for 10k races, etc. The sooner the overall plan is developed, the sooner trees can be planted.

What is the plan concerning the 3 bridges across Cary Bayou? I believe I heard Scott Johnson say they would be replaced.

Concerning the Bark Park: The city should light this park. Next, a flea and tick spray schedule should be placed outside the park and updated monthly.

It’s 9-11 All Over Again

We are on the doorstep of the September 11th, 2001 anniversary and once again our country is under attack by Islam. There, I said it. Our leaders are jumping through hoops to accommodate the world’s most radical and intolerant religion and the egregious kowtowing to the bombardment of Islam’s threats makes my skin crawl.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Quran burning would be a "disrespectful, disgraceful act."

Granted, a small congregation of fifty “Christians” is to blame for inflaming the angst of 1.5 billion Muslims (as implied by the world Press), and even though I think this is an unchristian act, I support their right as Americans to burn the Quran, the Bible, the American flag, or an effigy of Lindsey Lohan.

Where is the multitude of American Muslims who should be screaming out in support of Reverend Jones to practice freedom of speech, something they demand when they see anti-Muslim activity? Where are they when anti-Christian activities in Muslim controlled countries desecrate Christian Bibles?

The religion Islam is intolerant of every other religion, regardless of how it is sugar-coated otherwise. It is not a religion that exemplifies ”submission to God’s will” in the Christian sense at all, but a violent and inflexible religion which demands punishment for anyone who doesn’t practice it and then further boils down into radicalism which is intolerant of every other version of the same religion.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniya called Jones a "religious criminal" and a "retard that expresses a Western-retarded mentality" that targets the Quran, Islam, and Muslims. Speaking in Gaza at the start of the Eid holiday, Haniya said, "I call upon God the merciful, if they want to rip the Quran, for God to rip them apart and their state and make them an example for the believers."

When one of the many forms of this religion raises its violent hand, the other versions sit quietly by and do not speak out against it, for fear that they too will become a victim. That’s the best case scenario. The worst case scenario and one that more and more Americans are beginning to believe is, the silent majority of Muslims are complicit and deep in their hearts believe God’s will is being carried out.

A spokesman for the Taliban in Afghanistan told CNN, "If in Florida they were to burn the Quran, we will target any Christians, even if they are innocent, because the Quran is our holy book and we do not want someone to burn our holy book."

America, the once great and powerful benefactor and granted, protector of freedom and democracy has been effectively brought to its knees by a loving and peaceful religion, if you believe what you hear and read.

The foolish idea that we should accomodate a violence condoning and prone religion and “let a mean dog lay” is both blatantly stupid and ostrich with its head in the ground optimistic. Let's use fascism and the way many leaders viewed Adolf Hitler as an example. 

The more control we give them, the more they control us.  It's so simple, even a caveman could see it.

A senior Iranian Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi Golpayegani, condemned the plan to burn the Quran and called for the arrest of Jones, head of the Dove World Outreach Center, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. Should such an "inhumane incident take place in America, the U.S. government and President Obama will be held responsible," he said, according to the report.

Maybe it’s time we elect Michael Bloomberg as President. He appears to be the only one with enough guts to stand up for our country and the Bill of Rights.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has defended the right of the Rev. Terry Jones to go ahead with the plan, even though he condemns the idea as "distasteful." "The First Amendment protects everybody, and you can't say that we are going to apply the First Amendment to only those cases where we are in agreement," Bloomberg said this week, citing the section of the Constitution that promises freedom of speech.

Quoted source

Camera, adventurer combine to make a local super hero

Posted: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 8:11 pm

By Jane Howard Lee

I need to find a Superman cape and give it to Bert Marshal.

Baytown Bert seems to be making a difference around his dear city, and I want to thank him for that. And I think he’d look good in a super hero cape. I doubt he’d wear tights with it though but that’s OK. Tights wouldn’t be practical to wear on his wanderings.

Bert, who maintains several websites dedicated primarily to Baytown’s sights and history, is fond of wandering around solo with a camera in hand. He calls himself a lone wolf, but I don’t think he is quite that. He’s got lots of friends and admirers, and on his blogs he talks a lot about going off on adventures with a couple of friends, their kids and, well, enough folks to make it more like a wolf pack than a lone wolf.

Bert loves photography, photojournalism, geocaching and wandering. His wanderings sometimes lead him to see things that not too many people see.

His ability to really look at and really see things makes him more likely to notice problems and unpleasant things. Bert, being Bert, isn’t one to just say, “Well, darn, that was an unpleasant thing to see.”

No, Bert, being Bert, spreads the word and works on getting the unpleasantness removed. He has learned how best to spread the word and how to get a reaction from spreading the word and how to politely approach officials and usually follows the philosophy of getting more bees with honey.

Here are a couple of examples.

Bert has been sending me some photos and information about some problem areas in Baytown. They are areas that he wandered around or through on his wanderings or places that someone told him about, perhaps mentioning problems there and Bert made it a point to wander that way. Bert probably hoped that I would write something about these problems spots and maybe get something done about them and I would have, I swear, but Bert tends to get the job done before I can find time to get on it.

One of the most recent locations to earn Bert’s attention is a spot on Wismer Road.

Bert sent me some e-mails that were copies of missives he sent to appropriate city officials. He sent photos, information, documentation and, having these well-read blogs on his websites and by sending copies of the e-mails to people whose names were then listed on the e-mails as having received copies, let it be known to whoever was interested that they (the city officials) were not the only ones aware of the problem. Of course, that means people knew their reactions would be observed.

City officials jumped in and investigated though I am sure they would have done so even if they hadn’t had that overwhelming sense of being watched.

They said the nasty site looked a lot worse than it was ... no chemicals, no leaky stuff, no health hazards other than a mosquito-breeding murky ugly, somewhat trashy bit of land and water.

A beaver dam created part of the problem, they said, and that was quickly removed and the beavers urged to relocate. The water flowed again.

Well, that nasty, nasty looking spot out on Wismer Road has now been cleaned up. Bert sent round an e-mail applauding the city’s quick action to accomplish that and posted before and after photos.

He applauds the city, but I’ve got to throw in some clapping for Bert.

Friend Bert also has tackled what appeared to be some very poor drainage at the Baytown Bark Park and a situation in Pelly Park on Main Street where a rusty, dilapidated pump jack poses a hazard (once fenced to keep kids out, that fence is down and just made for more metal for someone to trip on or get hurt on) and is an eyesore to say the least.

With Bert on the case, that situation is bound to change.

So thanks to Bert, who is a great community watch dog, and I think he should add that term to that list he uses to describe himself (I had to look up philomath, Bert) on his web pages and blogs.

Good job, Bert, from your fellow philomath friend.

You can visit Baytown Bert’s websites at http://BaytownBert.us, http://OurBaytown.com and at http://baytownbert.blogspot.com.

 Jane Howard Lee is a reporter at the Baytown Sun.

* Giant Superman compliments of Barbara Pugh (friend of BB and uber-trickster)

Pelly Park on Main Street Pump Jack updater 8-17-2010

This old pump jack sets right in Pelly Park and is a safety hazard to children.  I've asked the city to take action to have it fenced off properly, secured and/or removed as soon as possible.

Wisner Road update- The Dead Zone - 8-17-2010

Baytown Bark Park watch - updater

Hiya -- I ran across your GeoCache blog when searching for some GPS info. That led me to your Blog where I came across your notes about the Baytown Bark Park. Which led me to stopping for a few minutes while at work to write this note--

Quick thanks for taking time to fiddle wihth our City officials about the Bark Park. We get out there several times a week with our Boxer pup, Jaxon when weather and water levels permit.

Ron & Robin
-------
I am not finished yet with this park and others. Although Scott Johnson does a great job overseeing the parks, our city has a sad history of not keeping improvements up to the initial standards. Plus, each season brings new challenges and commitments for the city and those things take up resources.  I understand all of this and am patient.

I want to see for myself the spray schedule for fleas and I want it posted outside the park at least quarterly.  I also want the trails raised so they do not flood and some sort of irrigation system to make sure the trees grow.

I am hoping and praying lighting will be installed inside the dog park.  Wouldn't that be awesome?


I would appreciate it if you and yours send me email when you see anything of interest.

Wismer Drive update!

From: Mike Lester via Garry Brumback


Garry just a quick update; as indicated, the beaver dam was removed last Friday and the Public Works crews are working today to ‘shore up’ the retaining wall of the pond on the west side along the road side ditch where it failed and flooded the ditch. After this is complete they (PW’s) plan to improve the drainage slope within the main ditch and install a small ‘swale’ from the east side dead zone to the drainage ditch along Hwy 146. I have to commend Darryl’s crews for their quick action and solid work to address this issue.

Pelly Park on Main Street Pump Jack

I was in Pelly Park on Main Street the other day and there is a derelict pump jack in this park that I suspect is a safety hazard. It is partially dismantled, the fence is down and I am assuming it would be a magnet for an accident. What can be done to get this thing removed and who is the responsible party?

I have no idea how this pump jack could have missed the attention of our city councilman and staff.  I have appealed to City Councilman Scott Sheley and the city officials for rectification.

First reply:
Bert, Thanks for raising the concern. This oil field equipment which is on private property falls under primary regulation by the Texas Railroad Commission. Oil field regulations are coordinated by Fire Marshal Bernard Olive. We have asked Chief Olive to check the site and coordinate with the RRC to get it properly secured or preferably removed and cleaned up. We have also involved our Health Department from a care-of-premises/safety perspective. We will keep you apprised of our progress.  Thanks again.

Bob Leiper
Deputy City Manager
City of Baytown, TX

Second reply:
Bert thanks for reporting this to us, citizens like yourself help us catch things like this. I take pride in my district and OUR wonderful community. It's people like you who care though that report things that make it happen that much faster. Your closing line is harsh Bert and I want you to know that I can't see and do all things but when citizens help me I welcome their help and usually get it reported immediately, thanks for the concern about the safety issue.
Scott Sheley
Councilman District 2