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National
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Jack was born in Fort Payne, AL on May 26, 1944 to Albert Pickney Findley and Rosie Josie Loree (Pointer) Findley and he passed away after a long battle with cancer on June 18, 2020 with his family and friends by his side. Jack, the youngest in his large family of six brothers and three sisters, lived on a farm during his early days and later moved to Fort Payne, AL where he graduated high school. During high school, Jack discovered that he had a natural talent and love for dancing. After graduation, Jack joined the U. S. Navy and was placed in one of the USN’s bands. He played tuba and trombone serving stateside and one tour in the Pacific where his band played at many venues, completing his service in Boston, MA. Near his de-enlistment date, he used his natural talent as a good dancer to get a part-time job as a dance instructor in Boston. After he left the Navy, he pursued this career for many years teaching ballroom and many other forms of dancing. He was gifted with a tall lean body, graceful movements, and a pleasing personality which made him a popular instructor. In the early 1990’s, Jack met Claire Joy (Luther) Dilworth daughter of Charles and Elsie Luther of Palacios, TX and owners of the Luther Hotel. Jack and Claire Joy married in 1993. Claire Joy had inherited the historic Luther Hotel on Matagorda Bay in Palacios, TX when her parents passed away in the late eighties. This distinctive and historic hotel became one of their homes and they jointly took care of the hotel until Claire’s passing in 2005. Jack took over ownership and management of the hotel to carry on the legacy. The community and the Luther Hotel guests discovered that Jack was a gracious and engaging host, always making time for small talk, a lesson on the hotel’s history, or discussion of the Palacios area. Jack loved the hotel and made it his life’s work to restore the hotel to its former glory and at the same time ensure that the guests were treated kindly and professionally. Jack cherished the history of The Luther and acquired national and state historical recognition for the hotel. Photos of Luther family members and prominent guests remind guests of the importance of The Luther throughout history. Jack sponsored many annual events for the guests and residents of Palacios. He was recognized by the Palacios Chamber of Commerce several times—most recently in 2017 as Outstanding local business. The Luther Hotel will not be the same without Jack, but his presence will always be felt. We love you, Jack. A portion of his remains will be buried alongside Claire Joy Findley in the Palacios Cemetery in Palacios, where a celebration of life here at the Luther Hotel will be announced at a later date. He was preceded in death by his brothers and two sisters. Jack is survived by his sister, Annie Ruth Jones of Scottsboro, AL and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Palacios Beacon, July 15, 2020
Harold Jack Findley
Mr. Harold Jack Findley, age 76 of Palacios, Texas,
(formerly of Fort Payne), passed away on Thursday, June 18, 2020 at his
residence. Memorial service will be Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 3:00 pm
in Rainsville Funeral Home Chapel. Rainsville Funeral Home, Inc.
directing. Family will receive friends Saturday from 10:00 am until 3:00
pm. In lieu of flowers, please make donation in Jack Findley's name to
your local hospice or to your favorite organization.
Rainsville Funeral Home, Rainsville, Alabama |
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The Luther Hotel is a Palacios institution that has its roots in the early development of the town. With the arrival of the railroad, the first decade of the 20th century was a time of new settlements across Matagorda County. Between 1901 and 1905, the small towns of Blessing, Buckeye, Markham, Van Vleck, Big Hill, Midfield, Cortes and Palacios sprang up on the prairie. The Texas Rice Development Company reserved Block C, located between Cary and Duson Avenues, on East Trespalacios Bay for a hotel. The Palacios Townsite Company, a subsidiary of the TRDC, commissioned Victoria architect Jules Leffland to design the hotel, and D. D. Rittenhouse was the contractor/builder. The building materials were shipped from Louisiana via the Southern Pacific Railroad that came to Palacios in 1903. Longleaf yellow pine was used for the framing and cypress for the siding. The roof was covered with 18-inch shingles. The Rittenhouse family and construction workers lived in tents while the hotel was being constructed. The new structure was named the Bay View Hotel, and was described in a 1903 Palacios news column as having sixteen rooms. In August 1904, Charles A. Gonder was the manager and the hotel was reported to have the capacity of 100. By that time, the boom was on and the hotel was too small to accommodate the many visitors to Palacios. Prospective settlers traveled by rail to Palacios, being lured by “Excursion” rates offered by the Townsite Company, where they were housed in the new hotel. Several of the managers were from northern states and they advertised the hotel as a “Winter Resort,” because of the milder winters on the Gulf Coast, further enticing visitors with the economical rates. A new hotel was being planned. The Palacios Townsite Company decided to move the hotel one-half mile from its East Bay location to South Bay Boulevard to be near the new pavilion, which was under construction. Leffland also designed the Palacios Pavilion. Maj. J. J. Wheadon of Galveston was the manager of the Bay View in May, 1905. The original hotel was what is now the center section of The Luther Hotel. During the complicated relocation, the original chimney and porches were removed. The building was sectioned into three parts and pulled by mule teams to the new site, where the sections were rejoined. The three-story east and west wings were added to the original building and a 300-foot long porch known as the “Longest Front Porch in Texas” was added. The porch spanned the entire length of the south side as well as the east and west ends. A dining room, measuring about 70 x 20 feet, was added on the north side of the lobby with a separate kitchen and a laundry building. The new hotel was renamed Hotel Palacios.
The Hotel Palacios was advertised as having the finest bathing, splendid weather, best fishing, boating, lawn tennis, dancing on the pavilion and NO mosquitoes. The artesian well behind the hotel provided water to the rooms by forcing the water through the pipes by its own energy. The hotel was lighted from end to end with gas generated on the premises. The fact that the hotel had only outside rooms was a big selling point. The south rooms with a view of the bay commanded a higher price. During the summer of 1906, manager G. H. Crandall advertised rates as $2 per day, $10 per week for persons over 13 years of age and $5 for 12 years and under. The lobby had a wide stairway with parlors on either side. The halls were carpeted, and the rooms were furnished with new iron bedsteads, hair mattresses and dressers, and washstands of mahogany, oak or Birdseye maple.
The “American Plan” included “elegant” meals with the room. The dining room had new tables and chairs, with silver, glass and Haviland china. A permanent orchestra was retained by the hotel and provided music for both lunch and dinner, as well as Sunday afternoon concerts. The Palacios Marine band often played on the porch of the hotel for the enjoyment of the guests. By the end of 1910, the hotel had served the purpose for which the Palacios Townsite had constructed it. On January 1, 1911, the company leased it to an individual [possibly Lillian Belle Parkins] for two years at $50 per month. The operation during the next two years was unsatisfactory to the company and by January 6, 1913, C. M. Rebou had taken charge and was having “a grand clean up.” During Rebou’s management, the ads included information about a free Box Ball Alley on the grounds. The alley was located on the northeast corner of the hotel property and provided entertainment for hotel guests who preferred not to participate in pavilion activities, especially during the winter months. The alley was a long building on a lot 65 feet long x 20 feet wide. It contained at least one alley (probably two) which had five pins and a ball smaller than those currently used by bowlers. In 1914, the building was turned over to the Palacios Library Association which occupied it until it was destroyed by Hurricane Carla in 1961.
By March 1913, W. W. Nichols took over management, and the American Townsite Company in San Antonio paid the hotel taxes for 1914 and 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Rebou returned in February 1915 and leased the hotel. Joseph Reynolds was the proprietor in December 1917.
J. F. Barnett purchased the Hotel Palacios and various other Palacios Townsite Company properties in a sheriff’s sale for one thousand dollars on April 2, 1918. The hotel was then sold to Charles W. Hess on April 3, 1918 for five thousand dollars. In a deed dated November 22, 1919, Mr. Hess conveyed the hotel to Ben and Mina Ehlers for ten thousand dollars. Ehlers deeded the northeast corner of the property to the Palacios Library Association on August 20, 1920. A June 22, 1922 Palacios Beacon ad announced the Palacios Hotel was under the new management of Mrs. J. L. Phillips. The big news in July of 1924 was the purchase of the hotel by a party of Illinois men—Dr. W. W. Van Wormer, E. J. Seward and F. O. Jennings.
The Hotel Palacios was center of social life. It hosted countless banquets, dances and parties. The dining room at one time had even served as a dancing studio for Miss Alvey Wakefield. On December 12, 1927, F. O. Jennings, Mrs. Mary E. Jennings, E. J. Seward and Minnie May Van Wormer formed the Hotel Palacios Company. Mr. and Mrs. Jennings moved to Palacios to manage the operation of the hotel. This description of the Hotel Palacios was in the company’s charter. “The said hotel consists of a main building 230 feet long by 36 feet wide, two [three] stories high, a dining room, 71 feet long and 20 feet wide, and a kitchen 39 feet long and 30 feet wide. There are 32 rooms and three dormitories in the hotel. The buildings are frame construction.”
By the late 1930s the Hotel Palacios had fallen into disrepair and the hotel was purchased by Charles and Elsie Luther in 1936. Mr. Luther was quoted as saying, “The title was a mess by this time. It took four years and a trip to visit owners in every state in the nation except Washington and Oregon to get it straight according to Texas law.”
The Luthers began a massive renovation of the hotel. The old dining room and kitchen were torn down. The “Longest Front Porch in Texas” was also removed and the cypress lumber was saved. The entire building was refinished inside and out. Work on the hotel included basic structural strengthening, rewiring, new plumbing and private bathrooms which were added to each room. The breeze-ways between the central building and the wings were enclosed. Some rooms were turned into two and three room apartments to provide living quarters for families of soldiers at Camp Hulen. The cypress saved from the long front porch went into the foundation for an eleven-room tourist court which was built on the west side of the grounds. The renovation was finally completed in 1941 and Mr. and Mrs. Luther formally opened The Luther Hotel with an open house on April 20, 1941--their 20th wedding anniversary. The newly-renovated hotel weathered its first hurricane as the Luther on August 20, 1942.
A fire on February 27, 1944 destroyed the upper floors of the middle section and the east wing of the hotel. It was the worst fire in the town’s history and required both the Palacios and Camp Hulen fire departments to extinguish the blaze. Mr. Luther immediately began plans which repaired the hotel to a better condition than before the fire. The Luther was host to several famous entertainers during the WWII era including Rita Hayworth, Carole Landis, Artie Shaw and “Harry” James. Lyndon Baines Johnson, a family friend of Elsie Callaway Luther, was also a guest at The Luther. Mr. and Mrs. Luther employed several different managers to run the hotel for them. Nellie Jane Luther, Mr. Luther’s sister, ran the hotel for many years until her death in 1961. Elsie Luther’s sister, Jo Milam, served as manager for about 16 years. Later managers included Mable “Bobbie” Anthis, Lenora (Hendrix) Martin, Eileen Lewis, Betty Rusk, Mickey Crenshaw, and Billy and Dolly Hamlin. In 1965, the State Historical Survey Committee (now the Texas Historical Commission) designated The Luther Hotel as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. During the 1970’s and 80’s, Mrs. Luther often had to hang out the “No Vacancy” sign because the hotel was filled with guests. The hotel was the winter home for several Canadian guests and some from Minnesota who wintered there for 20 years. The Luthers treated their guests as family and had a sign posted at the desk that read, “He who enters here is a stranger but once.” After Elsie and Charles Luther died in 1987 and 1988, ownership of the hotel passed to their daughter, Claire Joy Dilworth, whose husband, James Colwell Dilworth III, died in 1989. Claire Joy remarried to Jack Findley in 1993 and they owned and operated the hotel until Claire Joy’s death in 2005. Jack moved to Palacios in 2011 to assume management of the hotel, and is today the welcoming face behind the desk. The United States Department of the Interior placed The Luther Hotel on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. A marker dedication was held Saturday, July 21st, at 4:00 p. m. Activities included the dedication program, a slide show, a tour of the hotel and refreshments. Anyone who has memories, photos or information relating to The Luther Hotel are encouraged to share them by e-mailing them to lutherhotel@warpspeed1.net . The Luther Hotel is the premier historic icon of the Palacios area. As the Bay View Hotel, she welcomed guests of the Palacios Townsite Company, who became some of Palacios’ first residents in 1903. After her move and expansion on the present site, as Hotel Palacios, and in tandem with the Palacios Pavilion, she epitomized the “City by the Sea,” welcoming thousands of guests, investors and residents. There is no doubt that the most significant period in the hotel’s history began with the ownership of the Luther family, who refurbished the hotel and operated during the Camp Hulen years of WWII and the post war era. Then, in the years when the nuclear age came to Matagorda County, The Luther provided lodging for workers during this time of industrial development. Today, wintering guests still find welcome here, as do birders, sportsmen, travelers and all who appreciate a down-home, family atmosphere. Since the demise of the pavilion, The Luther Hotel stands alone as a testament to the rich heritage of the Palacios area, and remains true to Charles Luther’s motto: “He who enters here is a stranger but once.”
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Mr. J. B. Ortman, the able manager of the Palacios hotel for the past year, signed a lease yesterday for the building for the next three years. It is the contention of Mr. Ortman to conduct the hotel on the European plan instead of the American plan, as the hotel has been run heretofore. The hotel is being remodeled and when it is finished and running under the able management of Mr. Ortman, it will undoubtedly be one of the finest hotels in the gulf country of Texas.
Matagorda County Tribune, December 30, 1910 |
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The Hotel Palacios is now under new management, Mr. C. M. Rebou having been succeeded by Mr. W. W. Nichols, the transfer having been made last week. Mr. Claude Newton, of San Antonio Townsite Co., was here and attended to all the details incident to the change. Mr. Nichols is a hotel man of sixteen years experience, and comes to Palacios from the Gunter, the newest and most magnificent hotel in San Antonio, where he has been for the past two and a half years. While the house was gaining a most enviable reputation under the management of Mr. Rebou, it is a great pleasure for us to say with entire confidence that our hotel will gain still larger renown and add greatly to its popularity under Mr. Nichols' skilled management. We are glad to have Mr. Nichols as a citizen of Palacios and we can assure our readers that aside from making the hotel one of the most popular on the coast, he will be an active helper in anything that promises for the prosperity and upbuilding of Palacios. The popular Sunday dinners will continue to be a feature of the service of the hotel, and elsewhere will be found the printed menu for the coming Sunday.
Palacios Beacon, May 23, 1913 |
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The Puddle Jumping Five will have a Carnival Dance at the Palacios Hotel Friday night, April 6th and will supply plenty of confetti, paper hats and the usual fun. The main feature of the evening will be at the 11 o'clock intermission when a beautiful white gold bar pin will be raffled off. This pin is on display in the Boyd Jewelry Store window.
Palacios Beacon, March 29, 1928 |
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Funeral services for Harold Jack Findley, 76, of
Palacios, will be held at 3 p. m. on Saturday (July 18) at the
Rainsville Funeral Home in Rainsville, Alabama.
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Officer Promoted Lamesa, Mar. 29.--Philip Yonge, county judge of Dawson county, and adjutant of the Allen-Houston Post of the American Legion in Lamesa was notified this week of his promotion from a lieutenant to captain in the Judge Advocate General's department of the reserve corps. Abilene Reporter, March 30, 1930 Promotion To S'water Lawyer Sweetwater, Aug. 19--Promotion of Philip Yonge, former Sweetwater attorney, to the rank of lieutenant colonel on the judge advocate staff at Camp Hood was announced recently. Colonel Yonge was a member of the law firm of Beall, Beall & Yonge here for more than five years before he went into service in December, 1942. He came to Sweetwater from Lamesa in 1937, and was county judge of Dawson county from 1930 until 1937. He was reared at Post, and served two years in the Army during World War one. He had held a reserve commission since 1926. Colonel Yonge and his wife have an apartment in Temple, but she is spending the summer at a cabin in Taos, N. M. His niece, Jane Moore of Sweetwater, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dalton Moore, is with her there. Colonel Yonge has been spending a 15-day leave with them. Yonge has been at Camp Hood since the fall of 1943. He was first stationed at Camp Hulen. Abilene Reporter, August 20, 1945 Colonel Returns to Law Practice Sweetwater--After three years' service as a judge advocate in the army. Lt. Col. Philip Yonge, has returned to his law practice in Sweetwater following his discharge Thanksgiving day. He is a member of the law firm of Beall & Yonge. Colonel Yonge served two years in World War I and went into service in World War II as a reserve captain on Dec. 3, 1942. He was first assigned to the judge advocate's office of the Eighth service command in Dallas, and later was transferred to Camp Hulen at Palacios as staff judge advocate. He was transferred in Oct. 1943, to the Tank Destroyer Center at Camp Hood as staff judge advocate and remained there until his discharge He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July. Mrs. Yonge has been living in Temple to be near him. Before coming to Sweetwater as a member of the Beall law firm in 1937, Colonel and Mrs. Yonge lived in Lamesa and he was county judge of Dawson county from 1930 to 1937. He was reared in Post. He had held the reserve commission since 1926. Colonel and Mrs. Yonge have already reoccupied their home at 1008 Woodruff Lane. Col. Wm. Cummings, commanding officer at Avenger Field and his wife have been living there. Abilene Reporter, December 2, 1945 Sweetwater Jurist, Philip Yonge, Dies Sweetwater, Nov. 13. (RNS)--Funeral for Philip Yonge, 60, Sweetwater attorney and former Dawson County judge, will be held at 10 a. m. Monday in St. Stephens Episcopal Church here. Mr. Yonge died at 1:15 a. m. Friday in the Veterans Hospital at Big Spring where he had been a patient four months. He was a veteran of both World Wars. Mr. Yonge was a brother of Jack Yonge, Abilene automobile dealer. He had been a member of the law firm of Beall, Beall and Yonge here since 1937. During two years of service in World War I he was stationed at Fort Sam Houston and on being released from service practiced law with his father at Post. In 1924 he became associated with the firm of Garland and McGuire of Lamesa. Mr. Young was married to the former Miss Alice Hudson of Farmersville, a teacher in Post, May 10, 1924 and they established their home in Lamesa. In January, 1930, he was appointed Dawson County judge, a post he held until 1937 when he moved to Sweetwater. Having held an Army reserve officer's commission since 1924, he was recalled to military duty in December, 1942, as a captain in the judge advocate general's department of the Army. First assigned to the Eighth Service Command at Dallas, he was later transferred to Camp Hulen at Palacios as camp judge and in October, 1943 was transferred to Camp Hood as staff judge. He remained there until his discharge from service as a lieutenant colonel in November, 1945. Survivors include his wife; his mother, Mrs. Arthur Yonge, Sr., of Baird; three brothers, Jack of Abilene; Arthur, Jr., of Lubbock and Charles of Longview; four sisters, Mrs. Dalton Mocre of Sweetwater; Mrs. Frank Myers of Waco, Mrs. H. W. Arnett of Hugo, Okla., and Mrs. Mable German of Lubbock. The Rev. H. G. Purrington, Episcopal church rector, will conduct final rites here and burial will be in Elmwood Memorial Park in Abilene. Pallbearers will be Carlos Mortis, H. S. Biggerstaff, Dent Beall, Leland Glass, Willis Davis, Bill Carson, John Miner and Charles Griggs.
Abilene Reporter, November 14, 1953 |
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