By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Ernie Deats is old, but not as old as dirt. Just how old is he? Well he is old enough to speak about the time in the 50’s when Texas went through a 6-7-year drought.
Deats is old enough to remember the wealthy land owners of property along the Dickinson Bayou who planted pine tree seedlings prior to the drought in a beautification effort. No one thought those seedlings had made it through the drought.
Sure, as the sun rises in in the east and sets in the west, those seedlings came along a couple years after the drought. Not only did they shoot up where they had been planted, their seeds spread like wildfire throughout the area. Those first seedlings propagated, creating a beautiful growth of pine trees along Highway 3 near the Dickinson Bayou.
He can also tell you about the day he ran several miles from his family home down to the city cemetery to climb in one of the live oaks and watch as Douglas MacArthur was passing through from Galveston to Houston along the old road to Houston.
“I sat there waiting in that tree till General MacArthur came by,” said Deats “That was the year (1952) he was going to run for President of the United States, but he didn’t get nominated,” Deats added.
His life passion, aside from livestock and family, has been caring for the Dickinson City Cemetery. “My great granddaddy bought the land to build the Methodist church and the first school. Then they started using the property behind the church to bury city residents,” said Deats.
“After the 1900 storm, the church was moved but the cemetery remained in its original location.” Deats explained.
He knows the history of almost every family in the city cemetery and he knows the stories behind the ones without headstones. In some cases, those were people buried in family plots, but the family had an issue with the deceased person and elected not to honor their lives with a marker.
Time has been rushing by and Deats’ passion for the city cemetery wasn’t shared by any of the other living Deats family members. That left Ernie Deats with a decision to make: Who would take care of the cemetery when he is no longer able to perform the task?
He elected to gift the cemetery to the Dickinson Historic Society, of which he is a member.
The caretaker of the cemetery will now be Rose Gardner. “There is so much history here. I think it is so cool to be the one who will be overseeing the care of the cemetery,” said Gardner, who is also a member of the Dickinson Historic Society.
“I’m really looking forward to my work because no one in my office will ever complain,” Gardner added with a grin.
The first deceased human known to have been buried in the cemetery was the circuit pastor who died in the mid 1880’s. From there it grew to be the burying place for local citizens. A family could purchase a family burial plot. Standard family plot sizes held six bodies but larger plots were also sold.
Though the cemetery seems to be only a stroll through the past, it is currently a place where residents lay their loved ones to rest. Space remains available for others to purchase for themselves or their loved ones as a final resting place.
The sign Deats posted at the entry to the cemetery is coming down, and a new sign without his name and phone number will be put in its place. But if you want a personal tour of the cemetery fully narrated by Ernie Deats, check in with the Dickinson Historic Society. He is considering working on details to keep history alive with personal tours.
