Tropical Storm Cindy

In 1963, I worked for Gulf Oil in the Electronic Data Processing (EDP) Department. Part of my job was as a courier, making trips to the Gulf Port Arthur Refinery on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. To reach Port Arthur today, you can drive most of the way on I-10 to Winnie and then take Highway 73 for the final 30 miles. At that time, I-10 was under construction, and the sections that were accessible differed significantly from its current state. I had to have the company car loaded and ready to leave by 5:00 a.m. to arrive at the Gulf office building at the refinery by 7:00 a.m.

I had various tasks during the day there, depending on the day of the week, with trips to area banks on paydays. There were no electronic funds transfers, only physical checks delivered to each bank in the cities. I could not load the car and leave to return to Houston before 4:00 p.m. Some days, one or more of the Engineers/programmers would ride with me back to Houston for weekend testing.

The three Houston TV stations back then only had a news program in the evening and only talked about the weather for a couple of minutes unless there was a major hurricane like Carla in the Gulf. Tropical Storm Cindy formed on September 16 in the Gulf and moved north toward the Texas coastline, reaching sustained winds of 65 mph. It went inland at High Island on the 17^th at peak strength. High Island is 17 miles south of Winnie. Much of the land between Winnie and Port Arthur was rice farmed, marshland, and there were not many buildings of any kind along the two-lane highway 73.

There were no issues on my Monday, September 16, trip, and the Tuesday trip was canceled. On Wednesday morning, there was a significant amount of water in areas between Winnie and Port Arthur, but the roads remained clear. When I got to the refinery, there was a lot of water on the roads in the refinery, so the deliveries were made there via a truck. There were reports of water rising in the area, so I started my trip back to Houston earlier than usual. The company car was a 1960 Chevrolet Biscayne 4-door sedan with a six-cylinder 3-speed manual transmission. So, it was a cheap full-size car.

After I had driven about five miles, I started seeing fields on each side of the road that were flooded, but none on the road. A few more miles, and there was water that covered the road, but only a few inches deep.  As I continued, the water got a little deeper and for longer areas. Then the water was so deep that I was guessing where the road was based on watching the tops of the fence posts on each side, hoping the road was in the middle of those posts. I could not stop, and there was no place to pull off or turn around. I kept the car in second gear and kept moving and praying.

I was the only fool on that road, and all I could see was water. I knew the area could have alligators, snakes, and other things I did not want to get close to. I think the only thing that would have been worse is if the water was flowing where it could have caused me to be swept off the road. It was not raining, but the water was splashing on the hood and keeping the windshield wet enough to keep the wipers going.

The road had no water a few miles before reaching Winnie, and I stopped at the first service station. It seemed like those 30 miles took me hours to drive, and most of it was at 10-15 mph. I did not kill the engine when I stopped because I was not sure it would start.

I was still living with my parents then, and I could not call my mom until I got to the Gulf Building in Houston to tell her why I was so late. I never told her the full story. At 20, you think as an adult, you are smart. If I had any idea of what I would be driving through, I would have driven the 20 miles to Beaumont and then to Houston to avoid Highway 73.

On Friday, I returned to Port Arthur. The road was clear, but the fields along 73 were flooded for months after that. The mosquitoes were thick as fleas and the size of hummingbirds. The ground on each side of the road was muddy, and the smell of the standing water was strong. Several weeks later, we received a new company vehicle for use.