Tenneco Retiree Club NewsletterVolume XXXVII, No. 3, July 2015

Newsletter Contents

1. Editor’s Note2. Summer Edition Info3. Past President’s Meeting4. Spring Barbecue Report5. Door Prize Winners6. 2016 Nominating Committee7. Membership News8. From The Past9. Who’s Where Doing What

a. A Fishing Tripb. Panama Canal Visit

10. Next Board Meeting11. Explorer Day Trips - Status Update12. Explorer Day Trip Reports13. Future Trips14. In Memoriam 15. Newsletter News 16. Club Notes

Editor's Note: We have come to a crossroads regarding our Explorer Day Trips as well as our continuing quest to identify adequate leadership volunteers to help keep our Club viable and functioning to serve all our members. This newsletter contains several articles addressing these concerns. You are urged to read each of them and provide any input you may have to any board or committee member.

It’s Time For A Summer Edition Newsletter - by Mike Kees

s you undoubtedly know, there’s no upcoming luncheon reservation form enclosed with this newsletter simply because there’s no upcoming luncheon. This edition has been put together to help keep all our members up to speed on Club news. We, of course, will host a BBQ in the

fall (on Wednesday, October 7th) but that reservation form will be a part of our next newsletter to be mailed in very early September. Now’s a good time to mark that date on your calendar. By the way, we are always on the lookout for any news from any member who worked for ANY Tenneco company. Please step up to the plate and submit your news. It’s easy! Details are outlined followingWho’s Where Doing What .

A

Report of the Past President’s Meeting May 13, 2015 @ Bear Creek Park

- by Sam Stacy and Gary Cheatham

welve of the Tenneco Retiree Club's past presidents plus our current president (PPs) met prior to the May 13, 2015 BBQ luncheon and discussed the future of the organization. This report represents a summary of the day’s events. We discussed the Club’s failure to enlist a Vice T

1

President to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of our 2014 VP, Dan Carter, prior to last year end, our declining membership and the dramatic decrease in both trip and luncheon attendance.

The PPs discussed three options for going forward which are listed as follows: (1) Conduct business as usual and make no changes in the Club’s activities [the "kick the can down the road" option], (2) scale back the Club's activities and (3) shut down the Club at year-end (2015) and dissolve the organization after providing each member with a CD containing the complete history of the Club, Newsletters and numerous photographs currently housed on our website. The PPs concluded that we should seek direction from the eighty or so members expected to attend the noon BBQ and get their reaction, rather than conducting a time consuming poll of the entire membership.

After the meal Gary Cheatham acted as the PP’s representative and presented the above three options stressing the urgency of adopting one as soon as practical. There was a small group that supported "business as usual", but a large majority supported the "scaling back" approach. There were about 50 votes cast supporting "scaling back" and a very small group, perhaps two or three, supporting the dissolution option. As we were concluding the VP dilemma discussion, Bill Fortney stepped forward and volunteered to serve as Vice President for the remainder of 2015 putting him in line to be our 2016 president. He was elected unanimously to fill the vacant position. His positive response to assuming the VP job immediately and the group’s desire to continue the Tenneco Retiree Club operations are very encouraging.

A number of suggestions for implementing Option 2 were expressed at the PP meeting, during the general business meeting and in discussions thereafter. These are summarized as follows:

1. Reduce the number of lunches from four to three per year: two BBQs and the Christmas Luncheon. Give consideration to replacing one BBQ with a luncheon at a buffet restaurant where attendees can occupy a private room or with a luncheon in a less formal restaurant's private room where members might order individual meals to meet their dietary needs.

2. Reduce the number of bus trips to one per quarter and delay the start times by one hour or more to avoid the morning rush hour traffic. Eliminate long bus trips to allow for a drive home prior to the late afternoon traffic increase.

3. Consider eliminating one Newsletter per year.

4. Split-up the Vice President's responsibilities among the Board of Directors and other officers.

5. Retain the existing Outreach Committee's work in conveying obituary notices to the membership.

This information will be on the agenda and discussed at the next TRC Board Meeting which is set for Wednesday, August 12th. Any action taken at that time will be announced to the membership shortly thereafter.

2

Spring BBQ Report May 13, 2015 – Bear Creek Park

- by Sam Stacy

t had been raining for several days, but 81 hardy Tenneco Retiree Club members and guests gathered to enjoy another Club event. Beginning at 11 AM, folks began to gather. Old acquaintances were renewed, and some introductions were necessary. As folks began to line up

for lunch to be provided, once again, by Spring Creek BBQ, Bill Fortney gave the blessing.IAround 12:45, when most of the attendees had finished eating, I announced that Mary Frances Lilley would be 91 later that week. Then, I asked Allyn Stott, our Bus Trip Coordinator, to come up and tell us about our past and upcoming bus trips, and to invite everyone to sign up for one or more of these upcoming outings. Next, I asked Mary McClanahan, who provided name tags and door prize tickets in the absence of our Treasurer, Jeff Stagg, to do the drawing. The winners are shown below.

Then, sadly, I announced that we needed to talk about the future, or perhaps the demise, of the Club. I asked Gary Cheatham, Past President (2002), to come forward and tell the members about what was discussed in a meeting of past presidents that was held just prior to the start of the BBQ.

Gary proceeded to explain that, because of several reasons, members are showing very little interest in helping run the Club, or even in participating in the activities of the Club. He stated that the membership is shrinking, members are getting older, and many of them have health issues that limit their activity. He also mentioned that no one has stepped forward or accepted my requests for them to be our Vice President, so I have had to handle the duties of that position, in addition to my own responsibilities, and now, I am helping my wife with her health problems that started earlier this year.

After several questions and comments from themembership, Bill Fortney stepped forward andvolunteered to serve as Vice President. Bill wasimmediately nominated, seconded and dulyelected to be our Vice President – Thank you verymuch, Bill!

This is exactly what we need and will continue toneed from our membership, if our Club is to lastmuch longer. If not, we will be forced to proceedwith shutting it down. So, if you don’t want this tohappen, now is the time to step up and help!Remember, those running it now, can’t and won’t TRC President Sam Stacy & newdo it forever! TRC Vice President Bill Fortney

Also, please consider attending at least one of the bus trips if possible! If something is holding you back, let us know! Maybe we can fix it!

Door Prize Winners

The following Spring BBQ attendees were door prize winners based on the drawings held near the conclusion of our luncheon. Each of these folks will receive a free meal at our Fall BBQ to be held on Wednesday, October 7th at Bear Creek Park.

Leah Fortney Paul Mattern Rita Spencer

3

Group photo of everyone enjoying their BBQ lunch

Looking down the road a bit, you’ll probably agree there’s nothing like a free meal – especially at Christmas! So be sure and attend our Fall BBQ (on October 7th) so your name will be in the hat for a free meal at that always special luncheon at the Junior League to be held this year on December 7th starting at 11 AM.

Nominating Committee 2016 – by Mike Kees

t’s already that time of year again - time to consider your involvement with your Retiree Club! A Nominating Committee for 2016 is in the process of being formed. It will be headed by former president Jim Spencer - and he needs you to step up and be a part of the leadership structure that

keeps things running. (Please see the lead article in this newsletter reporting on the recent Past Presidents’ Meeting.) It’s not a lot of work but it is essential work. Only 4 or 5 board meetings a year and a few hours scattered over 365 days is not a lot of commitment. So please consider this volunteer opportunity. You may contact Jim at 713-461-6049 or at spencerduo@aol.com. Also feel free to contact any board member. WE NEED YOUR HELP!

I

Membership News - by Jeff Stagg & Mike Kees

e are pleased to welcome James E. Goode (TGP) and Shirley A. Goode as new members! Thanks for joining! Our current membership now stands at 645.W

All members are listed on our website (www.tennecoretiree.com). Please let us know of any necessary corrections via an email to our webmaster at tenclubwebmaster@tennecoretiree.com or directly to Tina Allely (see below). Please keep your eyes and ears open for any former associates and invite them to join our Club! Remember, anyone - and their spouse - who worked for any Tenneco company for just one year (or more), is eligible to join our ranks! Inquiries regarding membership in the Retiree Club should be referred to Membership Chair Tina Allely at 281-343-7504 or at tallely@comcast.net. You – or anyone - may visit the Club’s website at any time at www.tennecoretiree.com for a downloadable application form.

4

Here’s a Picture From The Past That Many Will Enjoy

(Editor’s Note: The following picture was provided to us by Club Member and former TGT attorney Lilyan Rogers, widow of the late Bill Rogers, former Vice President of Planning for TGT. Lilyan says she found this photo among Bill’s personal files following his passing but she had no knowledge of its origin. I reached out to Gary Cheatham who was gracious enough to provide the storyline that follows. Thanks to both Lilyan and Gary for providing us with this glimpse of history of our once great company!)

Standing - Ed Harris; Seated middle - Tom Carter; Seated right - John Manry III

This photo was taken in the Commerce Building Annex in the late 1950s or possibly, as late as 1960. The Gas Control room had a giant schematic showing the entire TGP system from the Rio Grande valley to the very end of the line in New England. Both ETNG and MGT had simple boards in Knoxville and Joliet, respectively, at that time. Every mainline and crossover valve on the system was shown on the boards, either in the open or closed position. The Gas Control pit was manned on a 24/7 basis, with two employees working the second and third shifts. They collected data from each compressor station on an hourly basis and from both the larger purchase and sales meter stations on a daily basis using two leased telephone lines. Shortly after 7 AM each morning Gas Control began preparing the Daily Thruput Report for the previous day. After hundreds of manual computations by three or four people using hourly values, the total daily system thruput was found. Copies of the report were circulated to the relevant departments.

5

When compressor stations became automated and were operated by remote control, along with real time data collection from meter stations and computer modeling, the mission of Gas Control changed dramatically.

Tom Carter was a Senior Dispatcher while Ed Harris and John Manry (aka JT3) were Engineers from the Planning Department working on improving pipeline flow efficiency. Since no large spread sheets and no Assistant Dispatchers are shown in the photo, you can assume the characters posed for the photo in the afternoon.

When I joined the Company in August, 1961, my first 3 month Gas Cadet assignment was in Gas Control. I was working as Assistant Dispatcher on the second shift the night before Hurricane Carla came ashore the next day. It was an exciting and educational time.

As construction of the Tennessee Building began in 1961 the "Cold War" was well underway. An underground bunker at Tennwood was designed to be the new home for Gas Control. Then, as departments moved into the new Tennessee Building from about a dozen locations around the city in 1963, Gas Control relocated to Tennwood.

(Tenneco History Trivia: The 1952 Tennwood donation agreement contained a provision that the property would only be used for recreational purposes. When Gas Control moved to Tennwood in 1963 an offsetting payment was made to the TGT officers who originally donated the property to the TGT Houston Employee's Club.)

Who’s Where Doing What? – by Larry Loyd & Mike Kees

e all like to hear what our fellow Tenneco folks are doing, what activities you’re involved in, what trips you’ve taken, the volunteer work you’re doing, and simply what’s going on in your life. And we love to hear you tell us about your grandkids!W

We know some of you out there have been on a trip, welcomed a grandchild or 2 or have some memory they’d like to share so let us hear from you!

Here are 2 trip reports provided by Club Member/Treasurer Jeff Stagg.

My Fishing Trips - By Jeff Stagg

Trip to Panama - June 2015

left Saturday, June 6, on a trip with Pesca Panama (www.pescapanama.com). Pesca Panama runs a fishing operation around the Coiba Island Archipelagos, which includes the world famous “Hannibal Bank,” all located on the Pacific Ocean side of Panama. The operation is different in that

it is not land based. They operate from a barge that leaves from David, Panama and then cruses out to the islands. The barge has 5 bedrooms (2 bunk beds in each), 2 bathrooms, living room and outside, a bar and dining room. They have 5 motor boats that are used for the clients’ use.

I

6

I flew to Panama City. I was going to fish for four full days and two half days. At the Panama City Airport, I met five friends that flew in from Chicago and Florida. We were met by a representative from Pesca Panama at the Airport, and taken to a hotel for the night. The next day, Sunday, we flew to David, Panama; met again by another Pesca Panama representative and taken to boats to take us out to the barge which had left the dock cruising out to Coiba Island (it takes the barge 2 days). We caught up to the barge an hour or so later and unloaded our luggage, put our fishing equipment in the boats and started a few hours of fishing. My boat

had Don Thompson and Pete Pairitz. All 5 boats were used as there were more groups already on the barge.

Almost immediately, we ran across a huge school of tuna.There were pods of porpoise everywhere, I have not everseen so many. The porpoise follow schools of tuna to eat thefish parts left by the tuna. There were around 20 commercialtuna boats in the area. Fairly quickly, Pete hooked up with an80-100 pound tuna. It took him about 20 minutes to land it. Wefished for another couple of hours and unbelievably, did notcatch any more.

We then went on out to Coiba Island, an additional 2-3 hourboat ride. We fished around for a couple of hours and caught a few fish. We then went to where the barge had anchored for the remainder of the trip. Each day, we went to different areas to fish.

On Monday, the first full day, after catching very little all day, about three in the afternoon, we pulled in a small bay and caught around 30 fish over the next three and one-half hours. The interesting thing was we caught 16 different species. This was our most productive day.

On Wednesday, after fishing all morning and catching very little, we were going back to the bay we fished Monday. However, the Captain got a radio call that about 20 minutes away, some of the other Captains were into schools of 20-30 pound tuna. Our Captain asked if we wanted to try tuna again. We decided yes and made the run. Again, there were porpoise everywhere for miles. Quickly, Don and Pete were hooked up on a double. Don’s turned out to be in the 20 pound range and Pete’s was a little bigger. I have video, but no still shots. Again, unbelievably, we fished around for a couple of hours and did not get another strike. So, I did not catch a tuna.

On day three, we were trolling live bait when a fish took the bait and.Pete took the rod and the fish made a couple of very fast long runs.As Pete got the fish close to the boat, we saw it was a Whaoo but itgot off. The Captain and Mate quickly changed to trolling lures. A fewminutes later, a Whaoo took one of the lures and I got on the rod.After a good fight, I landed the Whaoo weighing 52 pounds. TheCaptain turned the boat around and trolled the same area. This timewhen we had a strike, Don got on the rod and landed another Whaooweighing 45 pounds. We trolled the same area for some time, but gotno more strikes.

7

Don and I both went to Panama especially for one species, Roosterfish. While trolling live bait on Friday, I finally caught a small one. Saturday when we fished only the morning before heading back to David, again trolling live bait, Don and Pete caught one each, but somehow, I did not get a picture of Pete’s.

Other than Monday afternoon, we maybe averaged a total of 12 fish between the 3 of us per day. In our boat, we caught 25 different species. Some of the other boats caught a few species we did not. So, there were probably over 30 species caught during the trip.

Overall, I felt that the fishing was very slow. We were expecting topwater lures to be very productive, but the topwater bite was practically non-existent. In our boat, in a few minutes the first day, we caught a half a dozen or so small fish. Although we cast topwater lures some each day, none were caught the remainder of the trip. The other boats experienced similar results. We mostly trolled live bait or lures, more than I thought we would. However, that was the way we caught most of our fish, only a few caught casting lures.

Below are some of the other species we caught.

Blue Trevally Cubra Snapper Jack Crevalle

Needlefish Rainbow Runner Rock Snapper

Snook Pompano Yellow Snapper

8

Panama Canal - June 2015

ollowing my fishing trip with Pesca Panama, our group stayed over a day to get a tour of the Panama Canal. The existing Canal is shown on the map below. F

The Canal has three locks both on the Atlantic and the Pacific sides. There is also one lock at Pedro Miguel between the Pacific locks and Gatun Lake. When the US constructed the Canal (completed in 1914), they created Gatun Lake to handle the ship traffic between the two sets of locks. Over the years, the ships have been getting larger. Some of the existing ships are now too large to go through the Canal. Starting in 2007, Panama began construction of a new wider Canal. The construction is to be finished by the end of this year. The Tour Guide said the Pacific Locks are completed while work continues on the Atlantic side.

We toured the Atlantic side of the Canal. There are a series of three locks which raise or lower the ships some 80 feet, the difference between the lower level of the Atlantic to the higher level of Gatun Lake. As the

ships enter the locks, they are attached to land based tugs called “Mules”. There are 4 Mules, two on each side, one set at the front and the other set at the back of the ship. The Mules run on rails like a train, except in the center of the Mules, they have a slotted track that allows them to have traction to pull the ship.

Lock Gates Mule Center Track

The new Canal also will have 3 locks on the Atlantic and Pacific side, but not one at Pedro Miguel. The new construction will widen and deepen the entry points on the Atlantic and Pacific, widen and deepen the Gatun Lake navigation channels, raise the level of Gatun Lake and cut a new channel between Gatun Lake and the Pacific locks; thereby eliminating the need of a lock at Pedro Miguel. The new locks will have 3 chambered water-savings basins to fill and drain the locks. Below are a couple photos of the new locks. Notice that they have changed the doors of the locks. Where the old lock gates opened from the center, the new locks will have rolling gates.

9

Rolling Gates

If you have a story about what you’re volunteering, where you’ve been traveling, your time in the military, experiences with the company, etc., feel free to either email or postal mail your remembrances to Mike Kees, (mrk1807@comcast.net or 1807 Rustic Oak Lane, Seabrook, Texas 77586). We'll be more than happy to help you with a little editing if you so desire. Once your stories are submitted and published in our newsletter they will also be made available online under the Retiree’s Profile tab on our website. If you choose, you may also submit your story to Larry Loyd for this “Who’s Where Doing What” segment. Larry’s contact information is, via email, to LARMARLOYD@AOL.COM or via postal mail to Larry L. Loyd at 5518 Judalon, Houston, Texas 77056.

Next TRC Board Meeting Notice – by Mike Kees

ur next Tenneco Retiree Club Board meeting is set for 10 AM on Wednesday, August 12th at the Tracy Gee Community Center at 3599 Westcenter between Westpark and Richmond, just east of Beltway 8. Any and all Club members are more than welcome to attend. (The

future direction of your Club will be on the agenda. Come take part!)O

Tenneco Retiree Club Day Trips - by Allyn Stott

n recent months, our Explorer Bus Trips have suffered a drop in riders and consequently we have had to cancel trips. The issue is what should the Retiree Club do for the future of the Bus Trip Program? From my prospective, we have three options which are:I

1. Make every effort to boost member participation

2. Merge our shrinking bus participation with another organization

3. Cancel the Retiree Club Bus Trip Program completely

10

Our 2015 Bus trip schedule is recapped here:

• January – Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Print Museum – 16 riders including two guests.

• February – Port Arthur Gulf Coast Museum and Beaumont Energy Museum – Trip cancelled due to insufficient riders.

• March - Hill Country I Trip – Trip changed to Port Arthur and Beaumont trip due to County Guide for Hill Country Trip was on medical leave. Consequently, we substituted the earlier planned trip to Port Arthur and Beaumont – 15 riders including three guests.

• April – Bluebonnet and Hemi Hideout trip. 15 riders including 3 guests.

• May – Shangri La Gardens in Orange Texas trip – 15 riders including four guests.

• June – Transtar and Houston Art Car Museum – trip cancelled -.only 11 riders including two guests signed up.

• July – 07/16/15 Trip will be cancelled – only 10 members and 1 guest signed up for trip as of this writing.

• August – 08/6/15 Trip will be cancelled

• September – 09/17/15 - Reschedule of March trip – No one has signed up yet! Notification of this trip is elsewhere in this newsletter.

• October – Date and destination not yet defined.

• November – County Setup to Galveston - Date not yet defined.

• December – Christmas lights tour – Date not yet determined.

In order to have the County provide a bus, we must have a minimum of 15 riders. In recent months, we are experiencing between 25% and 50% loss of participants who have signed up for a trip and subsequently cancelled.

The County Bus Trip Program is a really great special benefit for groups of seniors. Where else could we receive the use of a bus including driver and fuel for free?

We plan to reserve busses for the fourth quarter of 2015 in early July. However, the future of the Tenneco Retiree Club Bus Trip Program depends upon member participation. Should we have difficulty in meeting the minimum requirements for the County Program, we plan to research the possibility of merging with another senior group to continue this member benefit. Do any readers of this newsletter have any suggestions?

There are two related topics that should be considered which are:

➢ We are all getting older and having more medical issues that reduce our ridership in the Bus Trips Program. Consequently, if we don’t merge with another group or increase Club participation, the program will certainly end in the near future.

➢ We have received criticism about early departure times and late return times for some trips. If we were to limit the departure time to 9:00 AM or later and the return time to 4:30 PM, the maximum distance from Houston we could visit would be Galveston or other destinations of under 100 miles. Ridership does not seem to depend upon departure and return times. However, it is relatively easy to vary departure times to accommodate trips with longer or shorter travel distances.

11

Our plans for the next six months:

1. July 2 – cancel July 16 trip due to insufficient trip sign up. (We are required to give the County two weeks notice of the trip destination, itinerary, and number of riders.)

2. July 7 – this is the County’s sign up for bus reservations for three trips in the fourth quarter of this year. The October trip will necessarily be very late in the month in order to give members the opportunity to sign up at the Fall BBQ. The November trip will be a mid month trip. The December Christmas lights trip will be in early December.

3. July 23 – cancel date for our August 6 trip – there’s simply not sufficient time to have members sign up for this trip.

4. August 10 – August 31 – members wanting to go on the Hill Country I Trip should call Allyn Stott 713-462-8530 to sign up. From September 1 to September 13 call Bill Ledbetter 281-890-3129. If there is sufficient participation prior to September 1, we will schedule the trip. Without sufficient sign ups, we will cancel this trip.

5. October 6 – we will sign up for trip dates in first quarter 2016 if there is sufficient interest.

6. October 7 – at the Fall BBQ we will post sign up sheets for October, November, and December. If there are insufficient signups for the fourth quarter trips, we will be forced to cancel these because of the County’s prior notification policy.

7. In December we will review the Bus Trips Program. Should there be insufficient riders, we will probably attempt to merge with another group.

The future of our Retiree Club Explorer Bus Trip program is up to you, our membership. Your participation and suggestions to improve the program are greatly appreciated. Additional comments and suggestions should be directed to Allyn Stott at 713-462-8530.

Please note that we all pay taxes. The County Bus Trip Program, funded by our tax dollars, is one way for you to directly benefit from your involuntary taxes!

If you would like to sign up for any upcoming trips, just get in touch with Allyn at 713-462-8530 or allynstott61@gmail.com . There’s definitely no need to wait till the next BBQ! Do it now! And we know it’s a little disconcerting to sign up for a trip that’s “to be determined” but it’s gotten to be sort of a chicken and egg situation. Contacting Allyn direct will give you the absolute latest information. Thanks!

TENNECO RETIREE CLUB DAY TRIP REPORTS

Annual Bluebonnet Trip With a Mystery StopThursday, April 16, 2015 - by Allyn Stott

he April 16th Tenneco Retiree Club trip was somewhat unusual in that we had a mystery stop while out looking for Bluebonnets in the Brenham area. It is always a fun trip looking for wild flowers. Unfortunately, our timing this year was several days too late to see large fields of the

Texas State Flower. However there were a few fields with Bluebonnets in the Brenham, Independence, and Chappell Hill areas.

T12

Any disappointment in our Bluebonnet searching was offset with our mystery stop. We stopped at a facility west of Brookshire called The Hemi Hideout. The Hemi Hideout is a collection of automotive vehicles from the early 1900s to about 1980. The Hemi name refers to a muscle engine on many Dodge vehicles. In addition to the vehicles, there were many oil company neon signs, antique gas pumps, engines, race cars, tractors, and many “one of a kind” items, many unrelated to the automobile. It is an opportunity to relive many nostalgic memories. Most of the vehicles have been restored to near new and all are in operating condition.

The building used to display the Hideout vehicles and related items is over 22,000 square feet in size and was built using the design of a Swiss farm barn. The wooden beam structure was assembled using wooden pegs to tie the beams together. The wooden frame structure does not have any nails. The building floor is concrete with a special paint and gloss finish. Part of the heating and air conditioning systems include use of thermal energy from one of the adjoining ponds.

Other components of the Hideout include a large lounge area with several very comfortable recliners, a very large fireplace, an ice cream restaurant straight out of the fifties (serving free ice cream!), an outside patio, and near the entrance is a waterfall and pond. Our group picture was taken in front of the waterfall.

Mr. John Hovas, the owner of this unusual “museum”, had a staff of about ten people that were placed around the Hideout to explain the origin and restoration of each item. For example, they found a showpiece purple car in the bottom of a lake and had it restored. Their entire staff were very friendly and answered our questions about the items in the Hideout. One final unexpected event was the entire staff went out the back door and stood in a line and waved bye to us as the bus departed. The mystery stop was about 90 minutes long and was the topic of conversation for the entire trip.

After the Hemi Hideout stop we went through Bellville and Brenham looking for the very few Bluebonnets left in the area. In Brenham, we stopped for lunch at the Sea Land Seafood and Steak Restaurant. After lunch our tour went to Independence and then back through Chappell Hill. The weather for the trip was overcast with possible rain developing in the afternoon. Fortunately, we returned to Dillard’s parking lot with only minor light rain on the return trip. Next year we will plan the trip for a week of two earlier.

Rita & Jim Spencer and Martin Grady Rodger Garrison - "just his kind of car”

13

Group picture at Hemi Hideout

Be sure and check out many, many more pictures taken of this event on our website!

Trip to Shangri La GardensThursday, May 14, 2015 - by Allyn Stott

he May 15th Tenneco Retiree Club trip was a return visit to the Shangri La Gardens in Orange Texas. The previous trip to the botanical gardens was March of 2011, which was too early for many of the flowers to be blooming. This year our trip occurred when most of the flowers were

in full bloom except for the Azalea plants. However, since this trip was in mid May, the air temperature was in the 80’s which implied that we should not come here in mid summer. Prior to our previous trip, Hurricane Rita destroyed about 1500 trees. On this year’s trip most of the destroyed trees have been replaced and there were no holes in the foliage in the gardens. Even with the heat, the Shangri La Gardens is a very interesting destination for our Club.

T

We left Dillard’s parking lot five minutes early, had a rest stop at Buc-ee’s in Mont Belvieu, and arrived at Shangri La in Orange, Texas at the exact time we were scheduled. Our coordinator from the Gardens said that was a first for bus trips to arrive as scheduled.

Our first tour was the six acre Botanical Garden walking tour. We had a guide who was very knowledgeable of the gardens and pointed out a wide variety of trees and plants as well as the history of Shangri La. Some of the highlights of the first tour included:

- a quiet meditation room,- an eight minute movie in the museum theater about Lutcher Stark’s life,- his interest in the Garden was a culmination of his interest in natural science,

14

- his development of the Gardens as a permanent facility for Orange,- several outdoor planting areas with many unusual plants,- a greenhouse of exotic orchids,- three large ponds including many turtles and fish,- a bird sanctuary,- a large brick wall with falling water to drown out road noise, and- about a mile of paved walk on the tour.

The first tour took just over 90 minutes which concluded at the café at lunch time. Fortunately the café was air conditioned. The food was very good and reasonably priced.After lunch, we went to the boat dock for the second and final tour of the day. The second tour was a view of the Gardens from a pontoon boat on Adams Bayou. The tour guide pointed out several interesting facts about the Gardens including:

- the property on the other side of the bayou is now a nature preserve and cannot be developed beyond existing homes,

- The Shangri La Gardens includes 252 acres, most of which is undisturbed land.- we saw several types of birds, fish, turtles, and one alligator (from a good distance),- a very old tree measured to be 1200 years old- swallow bird nests under a road bridge, and- lots of water as the bayou was very high.

After the Outback Boat Tour, everyone was ready for a return trip to Houston. We left the Gardens about 2:45 and should have been back at Dillard’s before 4:30. Unfortunately, we were delayed in terrible traffic inside the 610 loop for about 2 hours.

One interesting aspect of the trip was that Mr. Monte Valka at the Harris County Precinct Three Transportation Office cancelled all trips on May 15th and recalled trips in progress on May 14th due to extreme weather conditions. Later, on the 14th, Monte reviewed the trips for May 15th and weather forecasts and allowed our trip and two others to Houston area destinations to be put back on the schedule. We were able to start the trip and continue until the weather became too bad. Fortunately for us, the bad weather was west of Houston and did not affect our trip. If anyone should see Mr. Monte Valka, be sure to thank him for allowing our trip to go.

Joe & Barbara Keen, Jim & Rita Spencer, Blue bottle tree, a Mexican tradition for good fortuneJeff Stagg, Margaret Overgoner on boat tour

15

Be sure and check out many, many more pictures taken of this event on our website!

(This is a repeat but is timely. Please remember the need to sign up for all our trips if you possibly can. Scrambling for participants at the last minute is tough duty. We need a GUARANTEED minimum of 15 passengers to obtain the use of a County bus.)

Future trips in the works include the following:

➢ September Trip – 09/17/15 - This is a reschedule of the canceled March 2015 trip. We need you to sign up! See other information about trips elsewhere in this newsletter.

➢ October – Date and destination not yet determined

➢ November – Harris County Designed Trip to Galveston - Date not yet determined

➢ December – Christmas lights tour – Date not yet determined

In Memoriam

The following deaths were reported since the publication of our last newsletter:

Name Passed Away On

Otis Korn April 29Howard Hunter May 22Cheryl Anderlla May 25

Were offer our sincere condolences to the surviving families of each of these members of our Tenneco family.

Newsletter News - by Mike Kees

Remember, you have the option of receiving your newsletter online. If you’re not already doing so and you would like to receive your newsletter copy electronically, please send a note to our Webmaster at tenclubwebmaster@tennecoretiree.com or contact any board member stating your preference. Feel free to print out a copy on your home PC or simply view it online - your choice. Of course, you are free to revert back to a printed copy at any time. Those who elect the online option will receive an email announcing the newsletter’s availability. That message will include a clickable link that will take you direct to the current newsletter and luncheon reservation form if applicable.

Club Notes

Changes of Address

hanges of postal mailing addresses or telephone numbers should to be given to Tina Allely at tallely@comcast.net or at 281-343-7504 When you provide Tina with a change of address, please be sure that you include your new telephone number and email address, if applicable.C

16

Deaths & Illnesses

ews of the death or serious illness of a member should be provided directly to Mary McClanahan at 713-466-7874 - or her cell – 281-287-9726 or to Wanda Schaffner at 713-266-6244 as soon as possible and please include as many details as possible. N

Email

lease send any e-mail address changes directly to our Tenneco Retiree Club Webmaster at tenclubwebmaster@tennecoretiree.com or, if you so choose, directly to either Tina Allely at tallely@comcast.net or Mike Kees at mrk1807@comcast.net. This will allow you to be placed

on our emailing list so that you may quickly receive important messages regarding member deaths and other events of note.

PEmail Reminder - just in case

lease double check to make sure the email address we have on file for you is current. If you have not been receiving email notifications about various events, milestones, etc., we may have an incorrect address for you. We certainly don’t want you to be ‘out of the loop’ because

of some simple typo. Also, if you change email addresses for any reason, please send us an update! P The Newsletter

ews items for the newsletter or corrections should be referred to Mike Kees at mrk1807@comcast.net or 281-474-1225. Postal mail should be directed to Mike at 1807 Rustic Oak Lane, Seabrook, Texas 77586. Your input is strongly solicited!N

(This newsletter is compiled and edited by Mike Kees. It is formatted for printing by Angie Crowe. It is assembled, collated and mailed under the direction of Sandra Grimes.)

17