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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarker Application 101003College $~tion Histo NAME, ADDRESS & : L THIS If Owner's Name & Is the College Station Historical Marker Application Page 2 O:/pamela/h laq/newcriterfa, doc 308 PERSH~G AVENUE, COLLEGE STATION, TEX~S Figure lB. Patio between the duplex and garage, December 15, 1997, 308-PERSHING, COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS February 2002 I. PRESENT O ASPECT Station in Brazos County, Texas. The include atwo-story mhd a 1 apartment over a three-car e, hereafter called the 1A). The sare situated in the third blockof the in (40 fi) of Lot 15, adjoining all of Lot 16, and 25ff of Lot 17 in Block5 Addition. II. VEGETATION OF THE AREA The area is located in the Post Oak Savannah Resource Area of Texas. The tree vegetation consisted originally of post oak and water oak with some gum bumelia, eastern were planted along Pershing Avenue. ~er the had been , other tree species were planted consisting mostly of live oak, water oak, and bur oak. III HISTORY OF OWNERSHIP The land area off at least, this part of the Oakwood Addition was by Mr. J.I Richey in April 1936. Mr. Richey borrowed$3000.00 on November 17, 1936, from Bryan Mr. lat increased the loan in 1939, an& subs paid the On February 2, 1959, Mr. Richey, then living in San Diego C , sold the for $10.00 to Florence R. County, Texas. The property, then as rental 1963. On September 21, 1963, R. B. and Florence R. Eads, then of Cameron County, Texas, sold the property to Dr. Robert E. Meyer and his wife, Wanda L. who are the present owners. IV. AND S OF ~ Pershing Avenue was originally . Later~ were installed~ and the street was with gravel base in 1995. Outside surfaces of both b s were of wood wall ~two- story duplex is 33 fiby 40 fi, and the threeicaris a living room about t3by 10by 14 a back bedroom 11 by 15 R,a kitchen 11 ft. The one-bedroom apartment, over the garages, consists ora 1Mng room 12 by 14ft, an dining room 8 by 10 fi, a bedroom 11 by 13 fi, a kitchen consist of shiplap wood surfaces. These wood surfaces were All living space walls and apartments were additional heat. Later, window air conditioners were installed in all apartments. The original sewer system consisted ora septic tank connectedwith rg pipe in the back yard. Later system was connected directly to a city system in the alley. About 1980, the orangeburg pipe finally cOllapsed and was replaced with cast iron pipe. City water was supplied bY piping in the alley. Later~ in 1995~ because ora city code change and detefiating pipe, pavement top-coated ~th asphalt. Water property, system-was replaced The on the north side drive, front walk paved with concrete in about 1968. Because alteredin 1978. The and the front of the gravel. The and front walk was most of the exterior was Siding. Aluminum Windows and storm doors were installed. The eaves were covered with sheet aluminum. Fiberglass doors were installed in the Only the back stairway and outside doors wood. The vinyl and aluminum outside materials remain good to present. The area the duplex and wasalt dusty or depending on the weather. About 1975 a brick patio was constructed (Figure lB). The patiois more,or-less key hole shaped. It is 48 ti long with south end about 22 f~ wide and the north end Alabama, and Oklahoma as well as from Various places in the Bryan-College Station area. The brick base has minimized the dust-mud situation in the area. For most of the year, it is an enjoyable place to sit especially shaded bythe large water oak tree. In 1985. the mesh and wallpaper on all inside walls were removed from all apartments. The shiplap wood walls were covered with sheet rock and vinyl wall covering. About 1:30 a.m. September 15, 1992~ afire started in the kitchen pantry from the gas water heater . The two upstairs s, Miss Lasca Arnold and Miss Kimberly Phillips, were and the fire nt called~ The owner entered the kitchen and sequest fire with a garden hose until ent arrived 5 to 10 minutes later, le, Police Officer Greg Leeth, of the College Station Police Department~ a~ved and led the women outside to safety. Officer Leeth was subsequently appropriately awarded the Medal of Honor by the City of College Station for entering the burning building and saving the young women. The first floorkitchen was s burned. Smoke d the first floor apartment~ and some damage occurred in the inside hall leading All wall surfaces in both duplex apartments were replaced with vinyl wall c . Birch installed in the repaired, or replaced~ At that time, and units were installed in both duplex apartments. Wall heater and c units continued to be maintained in the garage apartment. lawn in 1963. However, over the yearsthree of the largest post oaks died, probably because of rerouting gas and water lines. Three replacement live oaks were planted in the front yard about 1995 and are now about 15 fi tall. Anoriginal large water oak still graces the patio between the duplex and the garage. Two water oak trees were planted about 1970 on the south lawn next to the duplex, and they are now about 30 ft tall. A bur oak was planted about 1970 in the back yard through the years. An automatic lawn sprinkler system was installed in 1987 and has saved much effort in dragging hoses. III. PEOPLE The land was and the building were erected by Mr. J. J. Richey about 1936. He worked at Texas A&M College (now sity). In 1959, he sold the property to his daughter, Mrs Florence Eads~ Sub Mrs. and Mr. Eads owned the property. During their ownership, the property was byMr. Allen Madeley. The Eads, in turn, sold the property in 1963 to Dr. Robert E. and Wanda L Meyer who own the property to the present time. Dr. Meyer was born in Chicago and raised in Griffith, Indiana. He Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin before joining the Agricultural Service of the USDA at College Station in July 1961. His work consisted of laboratory and field research in developing better methods for controlling undesirable n on stern rangelands. He had research facilities on campus atCollege Station and cooperated with members of the Plaint Sciences, Engineering, and the Rangeland Ecology and Management D of Texas He then worked 6 months for the Dep of Iogy and about 4 years on Mrs. Wanda L_ ( Meyer was raised near , Oklahoma. She from Iowa State University with an M.S. Degree in Home Management. She joined the Texas Agricultural Extension Service at College Station in 1958 as a Home Management Specialist, in money ~ Mrs, Meyer t widelythroughout Texas. She retired in 1969 after almost 12 years employment in Texas. Dr. and Mrs. Meyer were married at the All Faiths Chapel on the Texas A&M campus on December 15, 1962. They lived in the upstairs apartment of the until downstairs in September 1963 where theylive today~ This property was one of the early major rental properties inCollege Station. Many wonderful people have lived in these apartments the years. Most tenants have been students at Texas A&M University. Not much has been documented about the tenants befbre 1959. The names and dates of renter tenancy from that time on are shown in Appendix I, Several special people are documented here in more detail as follows: Downstairs Apartment (A) 1. The family of Mr. Jan~es D. lived in the apartment from 1939 to 1941. A son, Hugh W. who now isalawyer in College St was bom at that time. 2. Miss Lu¢ille Moore livedin the apartment several years until October 1963., She served on the staffas a Specialist for the Texa ural Extension Service. 3. Dr. and Mrs Meyer have lived in the apartment from October 1963 to the present. Upstairs Apartment (B) 1. Wanda (Meyer) lived in the apartment from August 1962 until she and Dr. Meyer married and sub moved airs in October 1963. 2. Dr. Gilbert and Sue Engdahl lived in the from October 1967 to November 1976. He entered T~ as a freshman and graduated with a Ph.D. in the Department of Animal Science. ~ TAMU Research and Extension Texas. 3. Miss Tamara Franks lived in the apartment from June 1988to April 1991. After graduation she spent a year or so workfng in Texas andC . She returned 6 to College and is by Texas A&M in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, 4 Aggie ~ MissLascaAmold the duplex. 5. Miss Tonya Johnson lived with ~ss Lasca Arnold from 1993 to May 1994. 10_ Miss Mr. They lived in the here. Austin, Texas. 1999 until they a permanent home. Mr. Kelly employed as Administrator for the Station Dr. to January 2000 when they p a home. He p is employed by Texas A&M as aProfessor dlife and Science. MS Melissa has lived in the apartment fi-om March 2000 to the present and is e by Texas A&M in the office of President for Research & Associate Provost. Miss. Cyndi Prince lived in the from July 2000 to October 2001. She Garage 1. Except 1962, 2. MS. Elaine Weir lived in the 1980 to July 1982 with her Miss Lawhon later employed by the served as a tour 7 IV. school work. 5. Miss July 1998 tothe present. Besides being a student, she the title of'All with the Texas A&M Women's Archery Team. APPENDIX I. I959IN T~ Downstairs in ex (A) 59-Aug 60 Whiteside--Sep 61 Lucille n 61-Oct 63 Robert and Shanks--Sep 59-May 60 Nowlin~-Jun 60-July 62 Wanda Barkly--Aug 62-Dec 62 W Klaus and Mrs. L -Sep 66 James - Jun 67 Gilbert and Sue -Oct 67-'Nov 76 Rita Danor Lou C -Jan 78 62 to Oct 63 64 Frank and 81 Tom Mary Kay Kirby and Kristi Fesler and Tamara Franks--Jun 88-Aug 90 TamaraFranks and Rhonda .Sep 90-Apr 91 Steven and Wendy Christianson--May 91-Feb 92 Phillips--May 92-Jul 93 Marlis 95 Garage Thomas and Sharon Kelly--Oct 98-Jan 99 Duane and Judith Sc 99-Jan 00 Melissa Taylor and Cyndi Prince--Mm 00-Jan 02 Melissa Taylor and Xue Wrong--Jan 02 to present Apm~ment © Wanda Barkley--Jan 62-Jul 62 Jm~nes Bethel--Sep 62-Aug 63 James Harfis--Sep 64 -Mar 64-Sept 64 Richard Yegger--Oct 64-Aug 65 Jack Grimes--Sep 65-Jul 68 Randy L --Sep 68-Dec 68 Clyde Wi 69-Sep 69 J. D. Condit--Oct 69-May 70 Sharon Dregne--Jun 70-Sep 70 Patrick Davis--Oct 70-Jan 71 Jesse Chinski--Mar 71-Jul 72 Sandra Wensien--Aug 72-Oct 72 Karl P. Kuchnow--Nov.. 72-May 73 Sidney N. Lenoir--Aug 73-Dec 74 Beverly Hotard--Jan 75-Jun 75 Shirley K. Hendrix--July 75-Jun 76 Mark Await--Aug 76-Jan 77 Gus Moncivais--Jan 77-Jun 77 Mort and Cassandra -July 77-Nov. 77 Mary Hirsch--Jan 78-May 78 Mark July 78-Apr 79 Don Anderson--Aug 79-Jan 80 Joe and Michele -Feb 80-Jun 80 Dean Watkins--Jul 80-Sep 80 Elaine Weir--Nov. 80-Jul 82 Bonnie Dickson--Aug 82-Nov. 82 Daniel Covington-4an 83-May 85 Kevin de Maret--Nov. 85-Jul 86 Paul -Sep 86-May 87 David Bond--May 87-Apr 89 Pamela Dake--May 89-Dec 90 James McCourt--Jan 91-May 93 Elizabeth Lawhon--Jun 93-Dec 93 Tamara Franks--Jan 94~May 94 Kelly Spain-Jun 94-May 95 Desmond -Jun 95-Jun 98 Erin Chastain--Jul 98-present 10