There was always a joint celebration of Christmas and Easter by the Stones, the Lairs and the sisters' families. They were formal affairs; even the boys and girls were expected to dress in their Sunday finest (unless still in diapers).
Easter would be a pot-luck barbecue in the back yard of one of the family homes. All families brought meats for the pit, drinks and side dishes. It was a casual affair (the coats and ties were soon removed and the women would discard their high heels) which would begin shortly after Easter Sunday church services and end around sunset. Leftovers were divided between the families.
Christmas had a more formal protocol. In late afternoon, the families would gather at the Stones' house for cocktails. Mr. Stone would serve as bar-tender and prepare two batches of egg-nog (one non-alcoholic for the children). He was a surprisingly cordial host, growling only if someone dared to look over his shoulder as he was preparing his secret formula nog. Louise would produce several trays of appetizers.
The families would then drive to the next house (usually the Salibas') for soup and salad. Next they would drive to Conrings' (they had a very large dining room) for the traditional turkey dinner. For desert, they would motor to the Durhams' to enjoy an array of pies and cakes. Then it was back to the Stones' for a final drink or two along with pecans from Louise's own pecan tree. There were brief gift exchanges at each stop on this circuit. Each host family underwrote the expense for their portion of the repast.
So when Sonny's promotion was announced, it was not a surprise then the families arranged a celebratory feast and party at the Conring home. The sisters were proud of their baby brother, as was Mary of her husband, as were the Stones of their son-in-law and as was Walter Conring, who had originally brought Sonny into the company.
The company was opening a new store and warehouse in Corpus Christi to be closer to the clients there and in the Rio Grande valley. Sonny was to direct a staff of two salesmen, a delivery driver, a mechanic, some warehouse men and a small clerical staff.
Sonny and Mary moved to Corpus, and bought a modest three bedroom home on Dinn Street. The new store, once opened, prospered immediately. Mary would paint pictures for Sonny's growing number of clients. He joined civic clubs and in a very short time had a web of contacts. Many of these contacts would become very good friends.
Mary was relegated to the role of a home-maker (albeit with a full-time maid) which she found tedious and boring. But there were friendly neighbors and frequent week-end trips (even back then it was only a two hour drive) back to San Antonio to ease her ennui.
Of course, Sonny's good fortune could not last. While the Corpus store was a great success, the San Antonio operation was foundering. The company would ship questionable equipment which it was unable to sell, to Corpus expecting Sonny to pander it to his clients. Sonny balked, arguing that business ethics would be violated by selling clients overpriced or low quality equipment. The company, now under more financial pressure, could care less about ethics. They wanted...they needed... profitable revenue.
So after a little more than two years of opening his store, Sonny resigned. He would open an employment agency with Walter Koepsel as his partner in an office on Chapparell Street. The company was called "South Texas Employment Agency." Before agreeing to the partnership, Sonny called (of all people) Bubba Whitley, who owned an employment agency in San Antonio. A surprisingly cordial Bubba advised Sonny that the two most important facets of the agency business were securing job listings and advertising.
Sonny had more than enough contacts to obtain job listings, but he found Koepsel to be of little value as a partner. Within a few months, Sonny bought Koepsel out of the agency with a "gentleman's agreement" that Koepsel would not open a rival agency. In less than six months time, Koepsel violated the agreement, opening "Koepsel Emplyment Agency." Sonny would laugh, noting that the last year had taught him much about "honor" in business.
At about the same time, Mary while attempting to light the pilot light in her gas oven, conceived to cause a small explosion. She suffered some singed hair and some light burns to her face. She vowed that this was the end of her career a domestic engineer.
South Texas Employment Agency moved into a suite of offices on the fifth floor of the Wilson Building in uptown Corpus Christi. Mary, now the office manager, hired a secretary. Sonny would continue to procure job listings from his contacts. The business was brisk, but only modestly profitable.
Leaving Mary to run the employment agency, Sonny rejoined the company assuming his old position. But the company was still in trouble and Walter Conring, displaying the first symptoms of mental illness, was being forced out. Sonny was approached by one of his clients, Dick Robbins.
Dick Robbins was the owner, along with his wife, of the Mustang Club which was located in the basement of the Wilson Tower, immediately adjacent to the Wilson Building. Dick's wife's prior name was Mary Wilson and yes, there was a connection. Dick had been a pro golfer as well as on pro bowling circuit, but he looked more like a retired wrestler. He had a massive frame and head; his cheeks had the red veins of a heavy drinker He had steel-gray hair and walked with a pronounced limp-a degenerative hip disorder caused by his years on the bowling tour-which would soon cause him to use canes to walk. Sonny became Dick's partner; it was a good partnership which lasted over fifteen years.
Sadie appeared suddenly, with her divorce final and tired of Mr. Stone's scrutiny, she vowed to make a new beginning in Corpus. She took up residence in the vacant bedroom in the house on Dinn Street. Sonny acted quickly; he called some contacts and arranged a job interview for Sadie. All she had to do was walk in the door and smile and she had the job. Mary made her a small loan so she could move into an apartment and the Sadie problem was solved...for a while.
Sonny and Dick expanded quickly. They moved the Mustang Club to the Vaughn Plaza, a new uptown office tower. In the same building they opened the Derrick Restaurant which catered to the uptown secretarial trade. The Mustang Club's business came from oilmen, attorneys and bankers with expense accounts.
Sonny and Dick opened the Surf Club and the Sandy Shores Restaurant. They were located in the Master Host Inn on the north beach area of Corpus. The clubs had live bands nightly and became popular with the city's cafe society for many years.
They opened the Marine Room, a private pub on north Shoreline. They acquired two new partners: Ernest Setliff, a local gambler of excellent repute, who would manage the Marine Room and Herb Clogston, a chef from Oklahoma who would oversee all the kitchens. Dick would manage the Mustang Club and Derrick Restaurant. Sonny ran the Surf Club and Sandy Shores Restaurant. Mary quickly sold the employment agency and became Sonny's office manager. Mary Wilson Robbins held the same position at the Mustang Club. Mary (Lair) hired a book-keeper and two clerk-secretaries...one of the secretaries was Sadie.
Herb Clogston would enter the walk-in freezer at the Surf Club with two blocks of ice, each weighing several hundred pounds; he would carry in a hammer, chisel and a bottle of brandy. Several hours later he would emerge from the freezer with two huge ice-sculptures...and the brandy bottle would be empty. The sculptures would be placed on the buffet table for the Surf Club's Sunday evening feast. The club would be full with people waiting in line for a vacated table.
The clubs were also filled for the floor shows. Sonny would book singers, solo musicians and bands who would put on two floor shows an evening. The patrons also came for the food; the club's kitchens producing cuisine which is now called "fine-dining."
So it was in 1964, as I was preparing to go to Austin and become a fraternity boy, it appeared that the the future was very, very bright.
That outlook would darken over the next seven years...
(continued...)
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