Grandpa & the Oleanders

I was quite surprised to read about my grandfather George Buest in the Houston Chronicle this weekend. He passed away over 15 years ago. My cousin Brenda Beust Smith told a story about him and her father in her column The Lazy Gardener on Saturday April 25,2008.

"When I look at an oleander, I think of my father, Walter Beust, who grew up in Galveston. He loved to tell us how he and his brother George would whip around the isle in their Model T Ford. As with everything metal along the Gulf Coast, the brakes quickly rusted in the salt air. When they wanted to stop, they'd look for the biggest oleander they could find and head right into it."

Brenda aslo wrote of the historical bond between the flowers and Galveston.

"Or I think about those incredibly strong women who, after the 1900 storm, saw in oleanders a way not only to restore the beauty of the island and raise spirits, but to put hundreds of islanders back to work, propagating plants from the few remaining specimens."

I miss my grandfather. He taught me so much about this island and about life. Many places here remind me of him. I cannot pass the 61st St. Pier without thinking of him fishing. Now I will think of him when I see the oleanders. The oleander bushes in my yard are full of pink and white flowers.

I am glad that I am still able to learn something new about him and about this island's history.