Heritage

The Golden Triangle is no stranger to fencing and its residents have made their contributions to the art here and elsewhere. Below are selected excerpts from Campeche Steel, an informal history of fencing along the Texas Coast, showing brief snapshots of fencing leading up to the creation of the Spindletop Cavaliers...

 1926

Another news item, dated February 15, noted, "Omega Delta, honorary fencing fraternity at the University of Texas, has announced the election of five new members, according to Melvin Williamson of San Antonio, president. They are Earl B. Craig of San Antonio, E. P. McKinney of Nacogdoches, George W. Nibling of San Angelo, Trueman Edgar O’Quinn of Beaumont and W. S. Stone of Taft. On the day of their initiation the new members of the organization are required to wear short swords to their classes and challenge and fight any other pledges they meet, Williamson said."

An interesting aside regarding Mr. O’Quinn is that his family did not hail from the Emerald Isle. In point of the fact they were of French descent via Louisiana and East Texas. The Celtic surname O’Quinn being a mutation of the French family name, Aucoin.

On May 4, 1926, the Omega Delta fraternity conducted what the press described as "the first ever open fencing tournament ever held in the South." W. K. Smith of Austin captured first place and Trueman O’Quinn of Beaumont came in second. The other competitors listed were Frederick Thompson of Galveston, Alex Murphree of Houston, Melvin Cohen of Houston, W. D. Thorning of Houston, Russell Augell of Houston, and Edgar P. McKinney of Nacogdoches.

1927

The Omega Delta fencing fraternity was active in the spring of 1927. Their president was Earl B. Craig of San Antonio. L. G. Sewall of Marlin, Texas was recorder general. The captain general was Beaumont native Trueman O’Quinn. They had already held a tournament the previous year. Now they were also getting out of state requests. One such request received came from the University of Chicago, which applied for membership. A charter was sent for ratification.

1928

At the University of Texas, Beaumont native Trueman O’Quinn was "subsidized away by the women’s P. T. department." Fencing immediately took off in Austin. At about the same time, Col. Sigurd N. Ekdahl of Sweden, known as skilled sabreur, took over the fencing instruction of the UT men. Among Col. Ekdahl’s pupils would be a young man from Galveston named Clement D’Albergo.

1941

On September 20, 1941 the ANICO fencers began their season, without their team-mate, by traveling to Beaumont. The Galveston team consisted of W. A. Franks, Lawrence McMillan and Owen Holzheuser. They fenced against the Beaumont YMCA team, composed of six naval officers.

1946

When the weekend arrived, the first competitors began to show up. Competitors came from Houston, Beaumont and Dallas. While it drew nowhere near the 50-75 entrants Baird had publicly stated he thought might show up, he did get eight women and 22 men. With so many young men lost or still in the service, this was probably the best one could realistically hope for. The growth would come later. Right now it was time to plant the seeds.

The first event fenced was women’s individual foil. Betty Allen of Houston captured first place. Second place went to Laurette Eckstein of Dallas. Naomia Abbott of Houston was third.

In men’s individual foil, Jack Baird captured first place for himself. Clem D’Albergo, Galveston’s pre-war fencing coach came in second. Third place fell to W. A. Waitkus of Beaumont.

1972

Fencing along the Texas Coast continued to be, largely, a product of the colleges and universities at the beginning of the 1970s. In Beaumont, a local boy, Bill Worsham, joined the staff of Lamar College in 1972 as a Physical Education and secondary education instructor and assistant track coach. He later served as director of intramurals for men and coordinator of Lamar's soccer, swimming, sailing, rifle and fencing teams.

1974

Far from the national championships and politics, a pair of veteran fencing hands had settled into semi-retirement. Everett and Naomia Abbott had established themselves in the small community of Sour Lake, some distance east of Houston, between that city and Beaumont. They were, however, only semi-retired. In 1974 the Abbotts could be found frequently presenting a fencing program for the Beaumont School Volunteer Program.

"We felt that fencing was something that most young people don’t come in contact with," Naomia told the local features reporter. "And we felt that a proper introduction to the sport would benefit them. We never demonstrate anything without a mask."

After giving the audience an explanation of fencing, the Abbott would stage a 5-touch bout. The school children would be instructed to raise their hands if they saw a touch. "This way they become really involved and learn something."

On October 11, in the small town of Winnie, just east of Houston on the way to Beaumont, a program and demonstration of fencing was given by Everett and Naomia Abbott, who has since retired to Sour Lake, Texas. It was a harbinger of the future movement in "veterans fencing." The program and demonstration was given for the East Chambers County chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). All persons 55 years of age and older were invited to participate.

1975

1977

At about this time, another young man discovered an opportunity of his own. Sinclair Oubre, originally from the Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange, Texas region called the "Golden Triangle," was studying in Houston. "I began fencing in September of 1977. At that time I was a student at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Seminary in Houston, and the University of St. Thomas in Houston. A high school classmate attending Rice University told me that there was a fencing club at the university. I had wanted to learn to fence from the time that I was a small child."

He jumped in with both feet. On any given night, if he was not at fencing practice, he was in a gym perfecting his footwork. "After attending classes at UST, I drove over to Rice on Tuesdays and Thursdays to take part in the Rice club. At that time, Master Arnold Mercado was the fencing coach. I really value the lessons that he gave me. He stressed solid classic form. This was a challenge, but I look back on it now, and appreciate the fact that he taught me right, and I did not have to break any bad habits."

At about the same time, back in Oubre’s native Beaumont area, a young Glenn Weathington began taking fencing at Lamar University. A native of Rome, Georgia, who had lived in eight states, he was about to make this region his home. It is interesting that he was starting to take fencing in Beaumont just as the local boy, Sinclair Oubre, was away in Houston, also just taking up the art. Their paths would inevitably cross in later years.

1978

1979

A Gulf Coast Divisional tournament was held November 17-18 at Lamar University in Beaumont.

1980

At about the same time, one of Arnold Mercado’s former pupils was returning to the Texas Coast. Sinclair Oubre recalled, "I graduated in 1980, and returned to Port Arthur for one year. I did a little fencing at home, but it was a lot of self training, and attending the Van Buskirk in Houston."

In nearby Beaumont, Glenn Weathington had fenced at Lamar University since 1977. Now out of school, "I started working full time, but my wife was still there and I stayed active with the small, young club there." He also observed, "Lamar went [NCAA] Division 1 sports and fencing was included as one of the twelve sports needed, but only for the first year. So I was the first and last Division 1 coach for Lamar University fencing. After my wife, Gloria, graduated we moved away from the fencing and did not really do much again until the mid-1980s."

1981

1985

The year 1985 also saw one local fencer coming back. Sinclair Oubre returned to his native Jefferson County, Texas. "In 1985, I finished my studies, and returned to the U.S. as an ordained deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. On my return, I wanted to continue my fencing, but for an SCA club [Bordermarch], there was no organized fencing in the Jefferson County area."

"There had been some fencing in the past. A couple had taught fencing at the West End YMCA in years past. Also, Lamar University had a club that was sponsored by the University. However, they had pulled out their support shortly before I came home. What I was told was that the university found out that to maintain their NCAA Division one status, they had to have a certain number of minor sports. At that time they had both a university sponsored fencing club and ROTC. Since ROTC had their own guns and bullets, the University substituted ROTC marksmanship for fencing, and saved money."

"There was also a fencing program at Woodrow Wilson Junior High School in Port Arthur. Steve Popielski (sp.?) was the life sports teacher, and fencing was part of that program."

In October of that year Father Sinclair Oubre and Lamar fencer Glenn Weathington organized the Spindletop Cavaliers. The club initially drew fencers from St. Jude Catholic Church in Beaumont, where Oubre was a deacon, and Woodrow Wilson Middle School.

"After asking around, I got in contact with Glenn Weathington. Glenn had been one of the leaders in the Lamar program. We began fencing each other at St. Jude Catholic Church. Hazel Power saw Glenn and I fencing, and asked if I could teach her son Conor. At the same time, Glenn's brother Bart also was interested in fencing. While teaching these two, other people expressed interest. We held a couple of beginner tournaments in Beaumont at St. Jude's and St. Anne Catholic School Gym. Steve Popielski also held a number of tournaments at Woodrow Wilson."

"After I was transferred from St. Jude to St. Pius, we changed our fencing location to St. Pius' Church hall, then we moved to the Beaumont Community Center on Louisiana Street. When the city no longer wanted to give us space, we moved to our present site in Port Arthur. The facility had been a
carpenter's shop owned by my family. It had a tongue and groove oak floor built on piers. Though it was not much to look at, the floor was perfect for fencing, and cut down on the knee, hip and ankle problems that some of our club members suffered while fencing on linoleum over concrete floors."

Hazel Power’s husband, Peter, also joined the Spindletop Cavaliers. At the time, he suffered from arthritis to a degree he could barely grip his weapon. The Power Family, Peter and Hazel, their son Conor and their daughter became a core part of the club. Over the ensuing years, Peter Power would continue as a club mainstay, fencing in competitions into the 21^st century. Hazel Power, affectionately known as "den mother of the club," would often serve as the club’s official contact. Their daughter took up the sport. The son, Conor, would excel at the sport, ultimately going on to the fencing team at Notre Dame.

Oubre also recalled taking some small advantage from the loss of collegiate fencing at Lamar University. "(As a side note, the Spindletop Cavaliers were able to permanently borrow the stored fencing equipment, and it is still in use at the club today.)"

Glenn Weathington also recalled the beginnings of the club. "After my wife, Gloria, graduated, we moved away from the fencing until the mid-1980s when Sinclair called me one day to start up a new club here in Beaumont. We started with Sinclair, Peter Power and his kids, and me and Gloria and my younger brother Bart."