Pvt. Dixon L. Coulbourn, AUS

PRIVATE DIXON LONG COULBOURN, Army of the United States

  

Young Private Coulbourn on bivouac with Co. E, 124^th Infantry Rgt., 1917

(In third tent on right.)

            My Dad, Dixon Long Coulbourn, was busy all his life, always in a hurry, and yet he lived to be 98 years old.

            He was born in a little Virginia town on Chesapeake Bay on January 27, 1899.  His dad ran an oyster business.  The employees were all African-Americans, and I am sure some of the older ones had been slaves at one time. 

            Watermen raked up tons of oysters and brought them back to Morattico to be processed.  Black oyster shuckers worked all day, filling barrels with fresh shucked oysters, which were iced down and rushed to customers all over the eastern United States.

It was hard work, and a typical shucker made $6 a week.  They piled up mountains of oyster shells. 

            America was going to war in France to fight the Germans in 1917, and young Dixon was in a hurry to join.  He enlisted in the 124^th Infantry Regiment (First Florida), and was shipped up to Camp Devens in Massachusetts, to join the Yankee Division.

            1,500,000 young men boarded troop transports and were soon fighting in France. Dixon was among them. The shells exploding near him permanently damaged his hearing, so he spent the rest of his life with very poor hearing.

            On November 11, 1918, Armistice was declared. People went from unit to unit, announcing the news.  Dixon remembered that vividly, especially because a cook wagon came to the front lines and started cooking pancakes for the soldiers.  “Man, that was the most wonderful thing!” Dixon used to say. 

            As it has done for most men, and now women as well, combat made a lasting impression on Dixon.  He was proud of his service.

            When the war was over, all the soldiers returned to America, and suddenly all those young men were looking for jobs at the same time.  Dixon and his brothers went to work in central Florida, packing strawberries and trying all kinds of schemes to make a living.   Texas was gaining notice all over the country because oil wells were popping up, new refineries were being built, and workers were needed. In 1927, Dixon got himself on a freight train headed for Texas.  He made his way to Port Arthur, in the southeastern corner of Texas.  Real estate developers financed with money from the Netherlands had begun building a town here to handle shipments of locally grown rice. They located the Kansas City Southern Railways terminus here, and Dutch settlers came to live, followed by Americans. Then a huge oil discovery at Spindletop, right where all the Dutchmen were living, led to creation of several refineries here. Texaco and Gulf Oil companies were created. Families began streaming here to make their fortune in this oil boom town. 

Gusher at Spindletop, Jan. 10, 1901

Courtesy of American Petroleum Institute

            For a young man, veteran of The Great War, looking for work, this looked to be the place, and Dixon landed here.  Dixon found a job as a bookkeeper at a local grocery store.  Dixon, who enlisted in the Army before he had graduated from high school, now enrolled in correspondence courses to learn to be an accountant.  He earned his certificate.

He met a young woman at a Methodist Church social event. Katherine was the daughter of a doctor and a strong supporter of the local Methodist Church and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.  Dixon and Katherine were soon married. 

            I was born a couple of years later, in 1934, and my brother Dixon Wall Coulbourn was born two years later, in 1936.

            Dixon then began taking the test to become a Certified Public Accountant, but didn’t make it.  He took it again.  All through World War II, every year he took the test, and finally, in about 1945, he earned the “CPA” designation. We were all so proud of him!

            In 1944 my sister, Martha Louise, was born, and our parents looked at the neighborhood where we lived, just over a mile from downtown, and decided that now, with a little girl, it was time to move to more idyllic surroundings. So, in 1945 we moved to Griffing Park.  Here we had a cow pasture beyond our back door. Dixon ordered a flock of Plymouth Rock chickens from a supplier in Massachusetts, and soon we were in the chicken business. 

Dixon’s family, 1946

L to R: Dixon, young Dixon, Martha, Sam, Katherine.

            We collected the eggs each morning, and cleaned all the chicken mess up, and fed the chickens.  Dixon started his own accounting firm, leaving for work after he had made sure that we were doing our chicken chores.

            Dixon was always in a hurry.  He hurried to work, and he hurried home.  He ate each meal like there’d not be another.  The only thing he slowed down for was church. We all went to the Methodist Temple downtown every Sunday, but as soon as the sermon started, Dad would turn off his hearing aid and drift off to sleep. 

            Dixon loved gadgets.  All during the war, Army surplus items were finding their way to market, and when war ended, there was a flood of interesting gadgets, and Dad wanted to buy as many as he could find. 

            He had a friend who owned a store that sold outboard motors for boats and all kinds of appliances, from washing machines to record players. 

            Dixon bought an electric deep freezer, and then one of the new Bendix washing machines, with the window, so you could see the clothes swirling around inside.  He bought my mother an electric ironing machine (mangle), which turned out to be a total waste of money.

            When a new voice recorder came out, that you could record on a paper disk, he brought one home to try out, and took it back.  Then a wire recorder came out that made a recording on a slim silver wire on a spool.  He brought that home, and then took it back. 

            However, we were one of the last families in the neighborhood to buy a television. 

            Even though he loved gadgets, Dad was no spendthrift!

            Dad kept his accounting business until he was 73 years old, then with all of us kids with families of our own, he and mother moved to Georgetown, Texas, where he opened up another accounting business, and wrote a book, “Control Your Finances”.

            All his adult life, Dad was a loyal member of the Kiwanis Club and the American Legion.  On his 90^th birthday the local newspaper ran a front-page story of this crusty old World War I veteran.  Dad wasn’t pleased about the publicity, because he thought the fact that he was 90 years old might turn away some of his accounting business.

            Happy Birthday, Dad!

The Personal Navigator offers these books and papers:

Our Army--and How to Know It and Our Navy and How to Know It edited by Albert A. Hopkins--Reversible book 1917. New York, NY: Munn & Co., Inc. Scientific American Office Little book describes modern World War I Army with 310 illustrations--maps, ranks, insignia, how to salute; Reverse the book at it describes modern Navy with 275 illustrations, insignia, uniforms, weapons, etc. 124 pp. 10 x 14 cm. Paper booklet bound with Army on one side, Navy on the other. Cover missing, pencil writing on Navy title page, thus poor. (6225) $30.00. World War I/Army/Navy

Portfolio of the World War-- Rotogravure Etchings Selected from the Mid-Week Pictorial of The New York Times. 1917. New York: New York Times Company. Excellent collection of photographs from World War I. 28 x 41 cm. Cloth on board, very nice cover. Sepia-toned, high-quality photos. Front hinge broken, but binding intact. Fair condition. (0392) $60.00. History.

Scientific American, August 25, 1917 New York, NY: Munn & Co., Inc. Publishers. Cover painting shows U.S. Army Motor-Truck Kitchen. Story p. 137 describes new vehicle, costing $7000, may find favor with the military authorities.  "Canning Tomatoes in California" by Arthur L. Dahl. "Gas Engine Drive for Submerged Submarines," with photos, by E.C. Crossman. Lead story: "The Neglected Water Power of New England."  "The War of the Specialists-- The Machine Gunner" with photos,  by Captain Louis Keene, C.E.F. Photo and story about Giant Bombing-Planes--Italy's Contribution to Aeronautical Progress. Triplane carries crew of three, and 2750 lbs. of explosives. Newly-invented trench weapon combines automatic pistol with bayonet in single instrument. Full-page Ad: Now women can drive  with pleasure, in Delco-equipped automobiles. Full-page color ad for Bulldog Mack trucks, from one to 7 1/2 tons capacity. Full-page ad for Pierce-Arrow Motor Trucks.  Week's Review of the war by our military experts, shows map of operations in Rumania. 24 pp. 27 x 39 cm. Paper periodical, minor wear and soiling, good. (7230) $24.00. World War I/History

Treat 'Em Square: The National Ex-Service Mens Magazine, May 1922 Haimes, Robert, Editor.  New York, NY: Treat 'Em Square, 33 Union Square. Cover shows soldier holding flag with Capitol in background. Lead story: "Politicians Tricking Soldiers on the Bonus--Declares Francis"--"the plain truth about the bonus is that the (Harding) Administration is afraid to pay it in the right way."  "Canadian Pension Board Makes Generous Provision for Disable War Veterans, Their Dependents, For Children Yet Unborn".  "Baseball booming, says Judge Landis".  Editorials: President proposes sales tax to pay for bonus.  Treat 'Em Square is distributed exclusively by ex-Servicemen. On Sporting Page is photo of Babe Ruth demonstrating his batting stance for Belgian General Baron Jacques. Ad for "Knights of the Ku Klux Klan" -- an institution of chivalry, humanity, justice and patriotism.   32 pp. 20 x 27.5 cm. Periodical, slight wear, very good. (7846) $45.00. World War I/Propaganda

World War I Postcard: Drafted Men receiving their first physical examination, Camp Devens, Mass.     1917 Camp Devens, MA: Postcard. 2 sides 14 x 9 cm.          B&W photo shows men milling about, still in civilian clothes, while Army medics check them out. On reverse is message from young soldier to his mother in Turner's Falls, MA. Postcard, good. (5687) $12.00. World War I/Postcards/ephemera    

    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

World War I Postcard: Arrival of the drafted men, Camp Devens, Ayer, Mass. 1917         Camp Devens, MA: Postcard. 2 sides           14 x 9 cm. B&W photo shows men standing in loose ranks, still in civilian clothes, most in suits and felt or straw hats, with soldier at their head. On reverse is message from young soldier to his sister in Turner's Falls, MA. Postcard, good.    (5690) $12.00. World War I/Postcards/ephemera                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

World War I Postcard: Soldiers under arms, running "double time." 1917  Camp Devens, MA: Postcard     2 sides  14 x 9 cm. Color photo shows soldiers with rifles at port arms and blankets over their shoulders, running double time. On reverse is message from young soldier to Mrs. Arthur Brodeur in Turner's Falls, MA, thanking her for the cigars which he received. Postcard, good. (5693) $12.00.  World War I/Postcards/ephemera          

Contact me at scoulbourn1@verizon.net