< PreviousFrom the EditorAlot of attention is paid to tourists who swarm the beaches, hotels and rental properties during the summer. But in this issue, we tip our hats to a flock of visitors who travel here each winter for extended stays. They begin arriving just after Christ-mas and continue through spring. They buy or rent houses or camp in RV parks. Winter Texans, trading the harsh winters of their hometowns for our mild climate, quietly fuel the economy here and in other coastal communities across the state. They visit by the hundreds, and in some communities by the thousands. As you’ll read in correspondent Marsha Canright’s article in this edition, these so-called snowbirds make themselves at home in Galveston, volunteering in organizations, at-tending local churches and dining in restaurants, to name a few activities. Many form strong bonds and lasting friendships.Also in this issue, we meet people with a knack for walking into resale shops and thrift stores, searching al-leys and auctions, and finding vintage and antique treasures. They’re called pickers, and their mission is to give new life to objects others cast away.This issue is chock-full of interest-ing people, from the Kemah couple who built a house that epitomizes the coastal lifestyle to a photographer who captures some of the best wildlife shots the area has to offer. Plus, look for drink and food recipes to keep you warm this winter.Happy New Year from all of us at Coast Monthly.Laura ELdEr Coast Monthly EditorWELcomE WintEr tExans10 coastmontHLY.com / JANUARY 2015Tues.-Fri.: 10 am - 5 pm; Sat.: 10 am - 1 pmwww.dickinsonjustcakes.comPersonalizeYour Order!Are a Pieceof CakeCakesCupcakesCookiesCake BallsWeddings Just CakessFriam5pmat281-337-34281107 FM 517 Rd. EDickinson, TX 77539 (409) 763-0555www.fullenjewelry.com2215 Postoffice, GalvestonFullenFullenFullenFullenFullenJewelryJewelryJewelryJewelryJewelryThe Original Galveston Story Bead CollectionThe perfect gift for all who love Galveston, be they Born on the Island or Islanders by Choice. There’s the BOI bead and the IBC bead. And the popular Galveston Island Beach Bead contains actual sand from local shores. They’re compatible with major bead collections.Welcome Homemarthaturner.com | 713.520.1981Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc.GALVESTONSchaper Drive | $90s±5,749 sf lotexceptional waterfront lot | lake vistasJim Rosenfeld | 713.854.1303GALVESTONPorch Street | $980s4/3.5 - ±3,942 sfgorgeous estate home | grand double gallery verandas | waterfront double lotJim Rosenfeld | 713.854.1303GALVESTONPalm Cove Court | $740s3/3.5 - ±3,669 sfMediterranean-style home with bay vistasJim Rosenfeld | 713.854.1303GALVESTONCaravelle Court | $180s±10,500 sf lotoutstanding waterfront homesite | double lotJim Rosenfeld | 713.854.1303LEAGUE CITYBlue Water Way | $1.6+mil4-5/5.5 - ±5,142 sffabulous home on south side of Clear Lakewine room | canal access | heated saltwater pool/spaKEMAHBay Avenue | $1.4+mil3-4/3.5+ - ±3,933 sf3-story home on corner lot with bay viewselevator | boat house | observation deck | pool/spaFeedbackWe asked on Facebook: What one New Year’s resolution were you most successful at keeping?To not let my cocktail get watered down. Cheers!– Roxanne GilmoreIncreasing my firearms collection and enjoying retirement a wee bit more.– Robert TaylorForty-four years ago, I quit smok-ing. Best thing I ever did.– Gene BindhammerDrinking more water.– Kevin D. SmithDrinking more Champagne. I did for a year and then went back to wine with the next. I stay committed.– Janet HoffmanThree years ago, mine was to be-come credit-card debt free. I’ve been credit card-debt free for more than two years now (always pay the bal-ance off each month) #knockonwood.– Gerald VimontEating and drinking more, exercis-ing less, and spending less quality time with my family.– Jeff Temple I will focus on happiness.– Catherine StroudKept up my running through heat, wind, rain and cold. I have completed three half marathons and have one left to go. This is major since I took up running at a later age. I’ve continued to reach my running goals, though I suffer from extreme allergies and asthma.– Belinda Reyes SandovalPhoto by JENNIFER REyNoLDSDownsizing home and life in gen-eral. Went from 3,000-square-foot Victorian to 1,200-square-foot condo and loving it. Life is better.– Wanda Smith GrunwellTo spend more time with my family and less time at work.– ChristyAnne Collins DicksonFinancial targets. At the first of every year, I do a financial review and draft a list of what I’d like to do with home maintenance, travel, service projects and enrichment activities. I’m retired, but I still do this exercise as a road map for the year. It keeps you focused on goals and gives you purpose even in retirement.– Linda Bell BurtonNot making a resolution.– Phil Newton None, my attention span is about 36 hours.– Jim NonusSobriety! I finally realized that God is doing for me what I could not do for myself.– Ruth Gonzalez I ran another half marathon. And, plan to run one or two in 2015. Run-ning has brought me great friend-ships, is great therapy and allows me to splurge occasionally. Galveston has an amazing running community and we’re lucky to have a beautiful view of the beach during our training runs.– Christine Ruiz HopkinsGetting rid of “stuff” that I do not need ... did well this year, but it is an ongoing project.– Catharine Conlon-TownsendWhat at your house is a dead giveaway you live on the coast? Send your comments to editor@coastmonthly.com or tell us on Facebook.12 CoAStMoNthLy.CoM / JANUARY 2015“Out of Sight, Out of Mind?”There is a side of life we don’t often see and therefore don’t think about until we are confronted with it. It is the side experienced by those who live a life of lack, neglect and invisibility. Some live it from the cradle to the grave and others from the pink slip they received at work until the fi nal interview that results in re-hire. These are the people whom St. Vincent’s Episcopal House on Galveston Island have served for the past 60 years. At St. Vincent’s House we provide the essential services, resources, and tools for individuals and families to sustain themselves; to build and become members of a community where each person is valued and lives in HOPE.Christ’s compassion compels us to offer the hope that changes lives one life at a time. It is a work monumental in its task and could not be done without the fi nancial commitment of those of us who serve and those who serve with us. Wouldn’t you like to join us?The Rev. Freda Marie S. Brown,Executive DirectorPlease Donate Today!Amma Freda Marie atFMBrown@stvhope.org409-8521- Ext. 116St. Vincent’s House Pledge FormMail: 2718 Alfreda Houston Place (Postoffi ce Street) Galveston, Texas 77550 Phone (409) 763-8521Name: Address: Email: Check Enclosed Contact Me – Bill Me QuarterlyPayPalGalveston resident Cheryl Proctor walks on the beach at 47th Street. Vintage suit-case from St. John Antiques, 2001 Postoffice St. Montana West Cowboy hat available at Head to Footsies, 2211 Strand in island’s downtown.Snowbirds make themselves at home on the Texas coastStory by Marsha Canright | Photos by Robert MihovilFifteen hundred miles away in northern Minnesota, with temperatures below zero and a foot of snow on the ground, Ivy Hanson is dreaming of Galveston.“I love the island’s warm temperatures and our family of friends,” Hanson said. “It’s the busiest place I live.”FeaturesRay Wybenga celebrates after sinking a long putt on the 16th hole at the Moody Gardens Golf Course, as his friend Carol Berridge holds the flag. Wybenga and Berridge are Winter Texans. Wybenga has been visiting Galveston Island for 19 years and Berridge for four years.Hanson, who is 72, and her hus-band, Herb, 75, are lifelong Minneso-tans who have been married 50 years. Each had a long teaching career and now relish a rich retirement.Minnesota is home, but in the dead of winter, around the first of every year, the Hansons pack up their Chrysler and head south to their oth-er home and a wide circle of friends at Casa del Mar, 6102 Seawall Blvd., an island condominium that caters to Winter Texans. “We thaw out on the drive down,” Ivy Hanson said. The Hansons bought a condomin-ium at Casa del Mar in 2005 after they took a cruise from Galveston. Ivy’s brother bought one, too. The Hansons aren’t alone in their pilgrimage south. About this time each year, hundreds of retirees living in Canada, the Midwest, and chilly parts of Texas and Oklahoma, stream across the Galveston Causeway just as their hometowns are entering the deep freeze of winter. They buy condo-miniums, rent vacation properties or live in their RVs at various parks on or near the island. As a group, Winter Texans have the energy to play and the means to pay. They begin arriv-ing in mass just after Christmas and “Coming to the island each year makes me feel alive, renewed and truly among friends.”– Carol Berridge16 COASTMONTHLY.COM / JANUARY 2015Featurescontinue all the way to spring. “Galveston may have a few cold days, but there’s no snow and I can play golf once a week,” Ray Wybenga, 86, said. Wybenga is a former aspara-gus and peach farmer from New Era, Mich. Like the Hansons, Wybenga is one of the informal leaders of the yearly gathering at Casa del Mar. He has called Galveston home for 19 win-ters.“I tried Florida first, but it was all newlyweds and nearly deads, so I started looking around and found Galveston,” he said. For Wybenga, the island was more appealing and more affordable than other places to which snowbirds flock.The Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau doesn’t track the number of Winter Texans who come here. But the bureau estimates hun-dreds of Winter Texans travel to the island each year for an extended stay.“Winter Texans significantly con-tribute to our yearly visitation and have a positive fiscal impact on the island’s economy,” Ivette Wilhelm, a spokeswoman for the visitors bureau, said.Certain places, such as Casa del Mar and The Victorian Condo-Hotel Resort, 6300 Seawall Blvd., among others, have made it their mission to attract and entertain Winter Texans. Anywhere from 50 to 60 couples and plenty of singles stay at Casa del Mar, Theresa Elliott, general man-ager of the property, said.“They are ideal guests and commu-nity members,” Elliott said. Casa del Mar staffers create a cal-endar of events for January, February and March for the guests. “But they manage the nuts and bolts,” Elliott said.The group selects the movies they want to see. They bring their own dishes to the potluck. In fact, Wyben-ga has directed the Tuesday night potluck dinners for seven years.“The men come an hour early to set up the tables, which takes about two minutes,” he said. “Then somebody breaks out a six pack.”Movies, yoga, crafts and attending shows at the The Grand 1894 Opera House, in the island’s downtown, are standard activities. Some guests are avid bird watchers and many are golfers. There is coffee every morning and cards every night. And they make their own fun.“Each year we have a howling at the moon party on the night of the full moon out by the pool,” Ivy Han-son said. “One year, it was too cloudy to see the moon, so someone cut out a paper moon and attached it to the elevator, which you can see from the pool. Every time the elevator went up, we all howled.”Many of the visitors connect with local churches and others volunteer for nonprofits on the island, Hanson said. The Empty Bowl event, which benefits The Jesse Tree, is a favorite project. Grant Varley from Ontario sings in the Moody Methodist choir.Ivy Hanson helps to organize a “Beyond Crafts” class for the women each Tuesday, and they work with the Galveston Arts Center on special projects.Some of the projects include mak-ing jewelry from sea glass and Mardi Gras masks.Most of Galveston’s Winter Texans come from Michigan, Minnesota, Wis-consin, Iowa and Canada. But there also are Texans who come to enjoy the camaraderie and society of the gregarious transplants.Carol Berridge, 76, lives in Killeen and began visiting Galveston when her children were little. Her husband died some years ago, and in 2009, she came with friends to vacation on “As a native Floridian, it seemed like a natu-ral transition when I moved to Galveston Island 15 years ago. Growing up in Ft. Lau-derdale, I gravitated to the beautiful beaches and the tropical cli-mate. I especially love island living in the winter. Of course, the Gulf Coast beaches are a popular attraction for visitors, but I really embrace the peace and tranquillity of walking on the beach during the winter months. It al-lows me time to reflect on why Galveston Is-land is such a wonder-ful place to live.”– Cheryl Proctor18 COASTMONTHLY.COM / JANUARY 201513450 FM 3005 | Galveston, Texas 77554409.737.5200www.GaryGreene.comMay your New Year be filled with peace and happiness!DAVY HERRINANGELA SANDERSKATHY MCANDREWSSHANE MCDERMOTTDEE RICHMONDTERRY RUGGLESRAMONA BOEKERTERESE BUTLERKAREE CAMPODAVID HERRINDIANA STEGNERSAMMY TAMBORELLOCYNTHIA WANDERLYNN WINGETJ ROY HALLGALVESTON OFFICE MANAGERREALTOR®from the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene Galveston Team.Next >