On Sunday July 15 1956 the following article appeared in a Texas newspaper, in
which one is not known, however the article is exactly as written.
" By combining a prolific imagination with an artistic eye, Mrs. Walter Barnes,
operator of Weber's tourist courts at Gilchrist, has turned a pleasant pasttime
into a profitable hobby. She loves nothing better than picking up interesting
sea shells while leisurely strolling down the nearby beach and fashioning them
into delicate, imaginative articles.
Her lamps, ash trays, wishing wells, napkin holders, flower pots and smaller
articles such as ornamental animals and fowls are popular sellers. So popular,
in fact, that she can't keep enough of them in stock in order to display them.
It does't take much inspiration to get the former practical nurse from Beaumont
started on a project either. Her well trained eye, aided by a hand full of
shells, a dash of water color, squirt of airplane glue and a dash of plaster of
paris, can transform an ugly vinegar bottle into a graceful lamp. In her hands
an ordinary half shell and a piece of coat hangar evolves into a pleasing,
modernistic ashtray.
Pulling a couple of bushels of cleaned shells out from under her bed Mrs.
Barnes confided that shell hunting on the beach is best during the winter
months or early spring. March winds and tides throw up some particularly
delicate shells
During the summer, naturally, unusual shells become scarce because many
visitors to the beach also love to collect them.
But, there are plenty to go around and in the near future, if everything goes
right, Mrs. Barnes plans to open her own hobby shop to sell her ware.
This article in the possession of her daughter Melba Crouch, who was kind
enough to furnish me a copy.