History

   Where does a man in Belgium look to find information on a WWII soldier from Bay City, Texas?  
   The answer this day and time is, of course, the internet. Who does the man contact next if everything he needs isn’t on the internet?  
   The Bay City Public Library is the logical place to begin.  
   In January 2018, Samantha Denbow, director of the Bay City Public Library, received such a request from Arthur Coppée. 
   Arthur is the grandson of Evence Coppée who was once the owner of the Château de Roumont near the Belgian town of Libin. 
    Arthur was researching the role the château played in World War II as it was occupied by several U.S. hospitals during 1944-1945. 
   On July 10, 2016, Arthur and a friend, Olivier Gillard, who owns a museum in the Belgium town of Saint-Hubert, were excavating a pit on the château property.  
   They found a damaged dog tag which had been in a fire. It was the fourth of five dog tags found.  

   EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the secoond installment of a Bay City man’s account of being captured by the Germans in World War II.
   IsaacZepeda  was chosen as an Army scout to go behind enemy lines in Normandy after the D-Day Invasion.
   Born and reared in Bay City, Zepeda was captured by the Germans.
   His incredible story of survival as a POW, followed by a harrowing story about moving around in a devastated Germany at war’s end to find American forces.
   Not only is his story noteworthy because he’s from Matagorda County, Zepeda’s story - as told in his own words - is at once grim, but fascinating.
   We’ll be carrying his story in installments. A longtime employee of Rice Belt Co-op in Markham, Zepeda died in Bay City in 2014.
   Picking up from last week...

   Seventy-three years of continuous service in Bay City is the story of the Bay City Bank & Trust Company. Originally organized in 1898 by Frank Hawkins (President) and Henry Rugeley (Treasurer) and was called the Bay City Bank. 
   This bank changed names three times, occupied every corner of the square and had seven presidents in these 73 years. 
   These are important sidelights, but more important are those events, which surrounded the dedicated men working with this bank who had vision, courage and perseverance as they served the community through depression and prosperity and through periods of war and of peace. 
   In 1903, the Bay City Bank moved one block west from its first quarters on the northeast corner of Avenue G and Seventh Street to its impressive new building on the corner of Avenue F and Seventh Street. 

A memorial for William James Hodge, who died Feb. 25, was held at Hawley Cemetery under the direction of Philip H. Parker VFW Post 2438 Saturday, May 26. Above, Post members Kennth Thames and Gary Graham perform the correct folding of the U.S. flag. At right, Thames bends on one knee to present the flag to Hodge’s widow, Margaret Ann Holsworth Hodge. A Methodist minister, Hodge served as a Marine officer in the Pacific during World War II and was honored for his valor under heavy fighting. 

   EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the secoond installment of a Bay City man’s account of being captured by the Germans in World War II.
   IsaacZepeda  was chosen as an Army scout to go behind enemy lines in Normandy after the D-Day Invasion.
   Born and reared in Bay City, Zepeda was captured by the Germans.
   His incredible story of survival as a POW, followed by a harrowing story about moving around in a devastated Germany at war’s end to find American forces.
   Not only is his story noteworthy because he’s from Matagorda County, Zepeda’s story - as told in his own words - is at once grim, but fascinating.
   We’ll be carrying his story in installments. A longtime employee of Rice Belt Co-op in Markham, Zepeda died in Bay City in 2014.
   Picking up from last week...
as a piece of iron. Tears ran down my face. Up to that time war was something like I win you lose, you win I lose, not anymore. 

Dear friends of Collegeport,
   We cordially invite you and your family to join in celebrating Collegeport Day on Saturday, May 26, at the Mopac House. Our traditional BBQ dinner will begin at noon.  Please bring side dishes, salads and desserts to complete the meal. 
   Collegeport Day commemorates our community’s founding in 1908.  Each year, residents and friends gather to reminisce and enjoy great food and fellowship. The Collegeport Day homecoming is celebrated the LAST Saturday in May. 
   Barbecue preparations begin mid-afternoon on Friday and continue until dinnertime on Saturday.  Come join the BBQ Crew and experience this tradition as well!  Remaining barbecue will be sold at the pit after dinner.
   Volunteers to assist with set-up of tables and chairs on Saturday morning, and with clean-up after dinner, are greatly appreciated!

   Collegeport is on Farm Road 1095 and the eastern shore of Tres Palacios Bay, half a mile north of Pelican Slough and two miles northeast of Palacios in southwestern Matagorda County. It was organized by the Hurd Land Company in 1908 as a promotion for selling acreage in Jonathan E. Pierce’s ranch. 
   The company also established the Gulf Coast University of Industrial Arts. 
   The combination of a port and the college gave the settlement its name. 
   The community was organized in the early 1900s and secured a post office in 1909.
   It became a stop on the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway in 1911. By 1914 it had a bank, the college, a weekly newspaper called the Collegeport New Era, and a population of 450. 
   That year an agricultural crisis contributed to a decline in population. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the secoond installment of a Bay City man’s account of being captured by the Germans in World War II.
   IsaacZepeda  was chosen as an Army scout to go behind enemy lines in Normandy after the D-Day Invasion.
   Born and reared in Bay City, Zepeda was captured by the Germans.
   His incredible story of survival as a POW, followed by a harrowing story about moving around in a devastated Germany at war’s end to find American forces.
   Not only is his story noteworthy because he’s from Matagorda County, Zepeda’s story - as told in his own words - is at once grim, but fascinating.
   We’ll be carrying his story in installments. A longtime employee of Rice Belt Co-op in Markham, Zepeda died in Bay City in 2014.
   Picking up from last week...
he turned around and ordered two of his soldiers to take me prisoner behind their lines.