By CATHERINE
DONNELLEY
Special to the PRESS
On Friday, June 2, one of the most well known people around Port Isabel turns 100 years old, or young, for anyone who knows Bobby Wells. To mark the occasion, Wells has invited all of Port Isabel and South Padre Island to celebrate with her at “The View,” which is at 201 S. Garcia Street in Port Isabel, next to Pelican Station, from 4-7 p.m.
The only request is that to not bring gifts. This shindig is for Well’s acquaintances, friends and family to come together and visit, sharing stories and histories. There will be snacks provided and a cash bar.
While Wells was born in South Bend, Indiana, her earliest recollections are from Rochester, Minnesota where her father was a mechanic by trade and an avid weekend fisherman on the many lakes in the area. Wells and her brother and sister were frequently out on a boat or canoe in those days learning about the sport which laid the foundation for her passion for fishing.
During the Great Depression, most people couldn’t afford to buy cars, and when they broke down, they couldn’t afford to pay a mechanic to fix them, so her father packed up his young family and moved to Port Isabel, Texas, when she was merely seven years old. He was in search of opportunities and a way to provide for his family.
At first, they hit Brownsville, but someone told them about a dirt road that would bring them further south to the bay. There was no bridge to the barrier island that we know as South Padre Island at that time. Back then, all the roads were dirt and they spread oil from the local refinery to help stop the wind from whipping the dirt into the air. Wells recalls when Maxan Street was the first street to be paved and North Shore Drive was the main drag.
When her family first found Port Isabel, Wells says that her father took the engine out of the car and put it on a boat and that was the end of their search. They put down roots as she was enrolled in first grade in Port Isabel schools and later graduated with mostly the same people she started out with and a few more that were added along the way.
Recollecting those early times, she imagines it was rough but she didn’t know that her family was poor and struggling. Everything was like an adventure from living on the beach in tents to living on that boat. They fished for food, and local people had fresh milk and eggs and things to trade around. It was just what everyone did.
When the 1933 hurricane hit, they were ordered to dock the boat by the coast guard and seek shelter. Once the storm passed, they found their boat had sunk and they lost everything. Port Isabel was wiped out, but they survived it and slowly rebuilt. They found a house for eight dollars a month, but eventually fell behind in the rent because that was a lot of money in those days and nobody had it.
She became great friends with a local boy by the name of Doyle and they were almost inseparable, walking to and from school together. They even played “wingman” for each other, getting each other dates with other people because they almost considered themselves family, but when the U.S.’s involvement in World War II began, Doyle had a moment of clarity and asked Wells if she would wait for him until he could come back home to her.
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