the US Coast Guard for a
four-year stint in 1976.
After boot camp in New
Jersey, he was assigned to a
180-foot US Coast Guard
cutter Evergreen, with 70 crew,
stationed at St. Johns,
Newfoundland on Inter-
national Ice Patrol. It was
considered hardship duty but
Walter relished it. It was the
start of a varied, fulfilling 20-
year career. In the following
years he had a variety of post-
ings and different jobs, reen-
listing regularly and attaining
the rank of Chief Officer.
In the 1990s Walter’s
duties involved the War on
Drugs. In a two-year period
he was at sea for 600 days,
working on US Navy ships
intercepting drug shipments.
His final assignment was
located at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. The work involved
intercepting boat loads of
desperate Haitians fleeing the
horrors of their country.
“Not a pleasant job,” Walter
recalls, “taking people back
to nothing.”
In 1996 Walter retired
from the US Coast Guard,
collecting a pension of 50%
of salary. He now wanted to
go back to college, and nur-
ture his love of history.
Between assignments in
California and New Orleans
he had driven through Alpine
and had been impressed by
Sul Ross State University. He
connected the wide open
rangeland of Big Bend with
the distant horizons of the
open sea.
Enrolling at SRSU in July
1997, Walter gained a BA
(History) in 2000, followed by
a MA (History). His thesis
was on Mapping the
US/Mexico Borderland. He
started teaching part-time
almost immediately on grad-
uation. In 2003, the job of
Curator of Collections at the
Museum of the Big Bend
came open, and he took it.
For a man with long expe-
rience at sea, life in the desert
has been rewarding. Walter
acts as a skilled interpreter of
the Big Bend region to
groups visiting the museum.
Off duty, he jumps on his
Harley Davidson and tastes
the freedom of the open
road. He also enjoys fly fish-
ing. The transition from sea
to desert has been successful.
BRIT WEBB
With two separate 30-year
careers behind him, a man
could be excused for settling
down and taking it easy. Not
so with Brit Webb of Marfa,
who recently turned 89. He is
a substitute teacher at Marfa
ISD and also sits on the
Marfa City Council. For
relaxation he goes to DQ to
catch up on local news and
has also been seen on the
dance floor of a Marfa night
spot.
Webb was born on July
21, 1928 in Clyde, TX to
Stella South and Samuel
Edmund Webb, the 10th of
14 children. The family farm
of 120 acres was mainly for
raising cotton, and he
learned early how to pick by
hand. His schooling, initially
in a three-room country
school, was interrupted at 7th
grade when his father suf-
fered a heat stroke. Webb
took over the farm.
In 1944, he joined three of
his brothers in Marfa where
they ran an auto repair shop.
His brother Bascome sug-
gested he start high school in
Marfa. At his age catching up
with younger kids was diffi-
cult but he persevered,
including learning how to
type.
In 1949 Webb finished
high school and a year later
he volunteered for the US Air
Force. He was assigned to
Cheyenne,
WY
to
Communication
School.
Here he had a blind date
with a young lady, nothing
serious. Six months later,
while at Mathis Air Force
Base in California he called
her and proposed marriage.
“Come soon,” she replied.
This was Laurel Alexander.
The couple married in
Sacramento, CA on July 18,
1951 and the marriage lasted
58 years.
After an 18-month separa-
tion while he was posted to
Japan, Webb was discharged
from the US Air Force in
1954. He enrolled at
Sacramento State while
Laurel taught school. Laurel
had graduated from the
University of Colorado in
Homemaking. “I ate well for
58 years.” He chuckled –
which he does often.
In 1960 Webb obtained a
business degree at SRSU.
The couple lived in Marfa
and adopted four children:
Diane, James, Robert and
Krista. The Marfa ISD
Superintendent asked Webb
to teach a class of 24 kids and
to coach girls’ volleyball.
With no experience, he
agreed.
He subsequently obtained
a degree in education and
went on to become Principal
of Marfa Jr. High, then the
High School. In 1965 he
started work in Valentine
High
School
as
Superintendent a job that
lasted 11 years - a richly satis-
fying experience. Further
appointments were to Van
Horn and later to Imperial,
finally to Talpa Centennial in
Colman
County,
near
Ballinger, TX. By now his 30
years of teaching were up.
By 1985, he was back in
Marfa and about to transition
back to the auto business. It
was difficult getting accus-
tomed to the physical work
but he managed it, and ran
the Texaco station in Marfa
until 2015.
Clues as to what motivates
this witty and spritely octoge-
narian, despite the loss of his
wife and daughter, can be
found in his comment: “I was
deeply humbled,” he says of
the reception he received as
school substitute in Marfa.
Taste & See
Bakery
Ancient grains milled onsite
& tasty foods
Fine art by Fran Rowe
Thursday 8am - 8pm
Fri. & Sat. 8am - 2pm
432-386-3772
116 N. 5th Street
tasteandseebakery.org
Quilts
Etc.
by
Marguerite
Made in the Big Bend
HWY 118 • Terlingua
1/4 mi S of Hwy 170
432.371.2292
Escape
Massage & Bodywork
432-386-2284
Evenings and weekends only • Text for appointment
Gift certificates available
Elizabeth Malloy, Licensed Massage Therapist
906 E. Ave. B (Coggins Chiropractic) • Alpine
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2017
15