“I’ve had a lot of jobs. But I’d have to say my most favorite job ever was secretary for the detective division at the Baytown Police Department.

“You remember those old detective shows on TV back in the ‘70s? It was like that, only I was living it.

“They would bring in somebody who had done something bad, like a murder suspect, and start asking questions. It was my job to take down the statements in shorthand, and then type it all up on the IBM machine for them to read and sign.

“It wasn’t unusual for it to be the middle of the night, since that’s when a lot of crimes happen. They would send a patrol car to my house and bring me in. I was in my early 30s and single, with a young daughter. Until she was old enough to stay by herself, I would take her to my mother’s house. After they brought me home, I’d have trouble falling back asleep, just thinking about it all.

“It was a great job. I loved it from day one. With the different cases, there was something going on all the time.

“I got to know three or four of the detectives very well. I got to know their families. Those guys were just wonderful to me and my daughter. I was divorced and raising her by myself. It’s like they took us in and kind of looked after us.

“I also got to know Judge R.L. Smith, who would give the Miranda warning to the prisoners. He ended up stealing me to come work as his chief clerk. I did that until I moved to Colorado, where I worked for a district attorney.

“I’ve been a realtor now for 25 years in Aurora, right outside of Denver. After working in the criminal justice system so long, and being exposed to the criminal element, I figured I needed a change.

“Those jobs definitely helped make me a stronger person. They showed I can deal with the worst of society. But I was ready to do something where I made people happy. Selling homes, especially to first-time buyers, they’re very happy.”

— Nellie Harris-Cassel

She was known as Nelda Page when she worked at Baytown Police Department.

The post Supporting detective squad ‘favorite job ever’ appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I played volleyball in middle school and high school. Then I got a full ride to play at Lee College. It was my first year there, and we were at a tournament in the El Paso area when I landed wrong from blocking. I tore my ACL, meniscus and everything. I knew instantly.

“So I did the surgery. I did the rehab. I tried everything to get back into it. But I just knew it wasn’t going to be the same. I didn’t trust my knee enough to do the physical movements. I knew the sport was done for me.

“It was definitely upsetting. Being so young at the time, I thought my life was over. I wanted to eventually go into a four-year college program like my friends from our high school team. I really wanted to do volleyball as a full-time thing. But after blowing out my knee, I had to pick a different career.

“Right out of high school, I started working as a medical assistant at an OB-GYN office in Baytown. It’s the reason I decided to go into nursing. That and the fact that my mom has been a nurse for years. At the time of my injury, she was studying to become a nurse practitioner. She was constantly a role model to pursue a career in the medical field, and always encouraging me to do something big.

“I’m in nursing school at UTMB Galveston. It’s online right now, but hopefully we’ll go back to in-person soon. I’m still at the OB-GYN office, and I work alongside my mom. That’s been pretty cool.

“We really are best friends, so we work really well together. We mesh well. It’s like I know what she wants before she even wants it. Of course, we are mother-daughter, so sometimes we do butt heads. But for the most part, it’s been really nice.”

— Delany Boyd

The post Injury leads her from volleyball to nursing appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“My parents were immigrants from the tiny island of Saint Lucia. They came to Baytown in the late ‘70s. We were very poor. We lived in a trailer park. I was the last of three kids. My mom had a home birth, so I was born in our trailer.

“When I was growing up, materialism and your place in society — like how much money your parents made — was very important to some people. And if you didn’t measure up, they truly didn’t care to get to know you. Not because of anything you did, but they just didn’t want to be associated with you.

“I was being made fun of really bad, mostly in middle school and high school. No matter what I tried, nothing worked. They were not shy in telling me, ‘Oh, you’re always going to be poor. You’re never going to end up doing anything in life.’ And I would think, at that young age, how could you possibly know? The audacity of it all. I just couldn’t imagine.

“I was angry a lot. But I knew that once I was older and able to get away from that environment, things would get better. I thought, if I could just get to college, things would be different. And they were.

“I had a great college experience. I found folks who were interested in who I was as a person, and not how much money I made, what kind of clothes I wore, or how my hair looked.

“I earned my undergraduate degree and master’s degree in vocal performance. I started working and living in Houston. I created a path for myself as a professional singer. I didn’t forget about my past. But I did not let it weigh me down, because there weren’t people constantly in my life reminding me about it.

“It’s a shame that there are people who seem to thrive on feeling like they’re better than you. I don’t know if that’s something taught at home or what. I just wish the people who bully were a little more understanding. I wish they made an effort to know someone for who they are and not for what they may be lacking.”

— Julie Jackson

One of the people Julie met in college was her husband, Ali, a professional tuba player and teacher. Learn more about Julie, the singer.

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The post She overcomes bullying to prove others wrong appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“When one of the older barbers retired, I inherited Mr. Charlie as a customer. I’ve been cutting his hair for at least 20 years. He lives in Anahuac, but he’s been coming to Baytown all this time.

“More recently, he was doing good just to make it in. The next thing you know, his wife was bringing him. When she was unable to, a grandchild was doing it. Finally, it got to the point where it’s easier for me to just go to his house for a haircut and shave. I’ve done it about four times. I think he has Parkinson’s disease. He has around-the-clock care, and his wife is there with him. He’s a true gentleman and a super nice guy. I’m happy to drive out there for him.

“I turned 50 on March 12, and I’ve been cutting hair since I was 21. So I have a lot of longtime customers. If I’ve been cutting their hair for years, and if they followed me from the Trophy Barber Shop to my Baker Road location, and now to my new shop, that means something. These are not just customers. They’re friends, and I care about them. So when they call, or their wives call, and tell me they can no longer make it in, and ask if I can cut hair at their house — of course. I don’t mind at all.

“I’ve also cut hair at the Baytown hospital countless times. I’ve been to the medical center many times. I’ve been to every nursing home here in town. And I’ve even been to the funeral home twice. The wives will call and say, ‘He passed. Do you mind cutting his hair? Only you know how to do it.’

“The way I’ve always looked at it is, if I was laid up in the hospital or at a nursing home for a long time, I would want somebody to give me a haircut. To be able to make a person look better, feel better, and to have some pride in their appearance, it’s just a very meaningful thing.”

— Robert Gresham

He opened Baytown Barber Shop, at 4810 N. Main, a few months before the pandemic.

The post Yes, this barber makes house calls appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’d say I was a curious kid. My mom would say destructive. When she was in my room cleaning, I only allowed her to touch my bed or chest of drawers. I had piles all over the room. I had a pile for an old, dead radio that I took apart. I had a pile for an old, dead clock that I took apart. I had a pile for an old TV that I was taking apart. I would take them all apart and try to put them back together. I just wanted to see how stuff worked.

“It paid off in the long run. When I got to graduate school and beyond in my career, some of the equipment we used could be pretty complicated mechanically. So it was nice to be able to take apart the guts of your own electron microscope, for example, and swap out a stage without having to call a service guy. I also kind of built machines that were computer controlled, writing codes for the device drivers and things like that. I definitely knew all the basics.

“When I was asked if I was interested in being an industrial sponsor for the Goose Creek school district’s robotics team, I said, sure. The kids had a great time. They learned all about computers and gears and motors, all that good stuff. There were competitions where you’d build a robot, and it was supposed to do tasks better than the other robots. It was fabulous.

“During my career at Exxon, I always enjoyed being a mentor. When it came to the kids on the robotics team, it was the same thing. I really enjoyed watching the transformation of the smart, geeky kids. Some kids who are really smart and make good grades can be kind of loners. They spend a lot of time playing on their computers and stuff, and they don’t have much in the way of social interactions. So to see them make friends and learn how to come together to be part of a team, that was pretty cool.

“It helps their skills, too, especially since robotics is becoming so important in manufacturing. Robotics is really changing the scheme of production, as far as how things will be done in the future. It’s neat to think about some of these kids being a part of that.”

— Jeff Butler

A physicist, Jeff built “the laboratory of my dreams” at Exxon Mobil (formerly Exxon) in Baytown. He spent his entire 34-year career there.

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The post Robotics team mentor helps other ‘curious’ kids appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’ve always had people say, ‘You’re so easy to talk to. I feel like I can tell you anything.’ It’s something that has kind of happened organically.

“Becoming a counselor is definitely something that’s been in the back of my mind. During the quarantine I had a lot of time for self-reflection. I kind of took inventory of what I needed in my life. And I’ve decided that I need a little bit more. That the opportunities teaching has given me have not filled me up the way that I feel like I need to be filled up. Let’s just say I got hungrier.

“I looked back across my teaching career, and I decided to make a list of my top accomplishments. When I examined them, only two out of 10 were in regard to actually teaching English. The rest were from interactions that I’ve had with students, in which I had helped them personally. Whether I had helped somebody come back from thinking about suicide, helped somebody deal with the death of a parent, or encouraged someone to come out of their shell and become something that they previously were not. It’s these kinds of experiences that make me feel like I have more to offer these kids.

“Being an English teacher has been a really great experience. But I think that becoming a counselor can give me a larger platform to help people in this way. Instead of just having access to 150 students a year, I could help a great many more as a counselor. I really feel like this is my calling, this is my duty, this is my purpose.”

— Jeff Derrickson

Jeff teaches English at North Shore High School. He recently began taking graduate school courses to become a counselor.

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“I have a job offer with a digital marketing company. But it’s kind of up in the air right now. I’m just waiting patiently to see where this pandemic leads us.

“The plan was for me to attend a boot camp in Denver with all the other entry-level analysts to get the foundational knowledge we’ll need to start working. They let me know the only thing that could keep me from being able to start with them in August is if Denver is still in a shelter-in-place. So I’m doing a lot of hoping and praying that the pandemic kind of eases up on us and gives us all a break.

“When all this started happening, I was fearful for sure. I thought, I’ve worked so hard to get this college education and this job, I don’t want to have to go through the process again of possibly finding a job.

“But then I got on LinkedIn, and I saw all these other 2020 graduates saying how they’ve been affected and how they’re just going to do what they can to make their lives work. There are thousands of other graduates going through the same thing as me. And there are thousands of employers who understand what’s happening to the class of 2020.

“So I just thought, you know, the worst thing that can happen is I have to move back home and move in with my parents until I can get on my feet. A lot of graduates are having to do that because their job offer was rescinded or they don’t have anything lined up, and they can’t afford to continue where they’re living.

“I’m hopeful that everything will work out. It always does. If my job does get rescinded, I will do everything I can to stay where I’m at and find another job. But if not, I’ll be able to move home and spend some quality time with my parents, who I haven’t lived with in seven years.

“So I’m just taking things day by day, and realizing that the worst thing that could happen is not even that bad at all. It’s not the end of the world. For me, it’s very comforting to take that approach.”

— Emily Brown

After her freshman year at Brigham Young University, Emily took four semesters off to serve a religious mission in Mexico. She just graduated with a bachelor’s degree in geography: global studies and a minor in statistics. While waiting to start her new job, she continues working as center director at Mathnasium in Provo, Utah.

The post Coronavirus may impact first post-college job appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I’ve been a hair stylist for over 35 years. My mother was a hair stylist, so I grew up in the salons. When I started, we worked together for a long period of time. Then I decided to move on and do my own thing. I opened my first salon back in 1996. Now I have two.

“Through the years, we’ve seen our share of ups and downs with the economy. We’ve always had slowdowns, but not a complete stop like this. I’ve been working one job or another since I was 12 years old. I’m 52 now, and this is the first time in all those years that I’m not working. Some of me says, you know what, this is pretty great. If I could do this and still make money, it would be pretty nice. But that’s not realistic right now. It’s scary. I don’t know what the future’s going to hold.

“A lot of hair stylists are in the same boat. Lots of people in the service industry are getting hit hard. Some people in corporate America are still able to work from home and continue to collect a paycheck. But if this goes on for a couple more months, fewer companies are going to be able to continue supporting their employees.

“I try to look on the bright side, though. When all this is over, which I’m hoping will be fairly soon, I think our industry will do well. People will want to come back in the salons. They’ll want to get their hair cut, their color done, their highlights, and feel good about themselves again.

“I was watching a friend try to buzz his head with a pair of clippers, and I was like, oh my gosh. Seriously, people are really going to appreciate us when this thing is over. For many years, some people dogged the beauty industry. They were like, oh, you’re just a bunch of flunky hairdressers. But without hair stylists, makeup artists and nail technicians, could you imagine what you would look like today?

“We’re a vital part of society. We help make people look good and feel good. And we can’t wait to get back to doing that again.”

— Anthony Skoog

Anthony owns the Green Apple Salons in Baytown and Montrose. During this time of social distancing, he says, “I’m just letting my hair grow.”

The post Hair salons impacted by coronavirus appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I was obsessed with music and collecting records from an early age. For some reason, I gravitated toward music of the 60s and early 70s. My mother listened to The Beatles, The Moody Blues, Neil Diamond and some Rolling Stones. But all the rest of it, I got into myself. I used to sit for hours looking at album covers and reading everything on them. I tend to like music that emphasizes melody, and that was very much a thing at that time.

“I’ve always had original projects, writing my own stuff. I started playing solo cover shows in 2004, and I’ve been doing that ever since. I was doing it full-time, before the coronavirus hit.

“I actually have a really large database of songs in my head from that era. When I get requests, the songs I can’t play are few and far between. I was listening to and learning songs at the same time I was learning my colors and how to read and write. I have a very intact long-term memory. My short-term memory is terrible. I can’t remember what I did yesterday. But I can remember all these song lyrics.

“Often when I’m at a show and playing a song, it’s literally just coming out of my body while I’m thinking about what I have to do tomorrow or something. I get to the end of the song and I’ll be like, did I just do that? It’s like driving a car after a while. It’s on auto-pilot.”

— Ryan Guidry

In addition to solo shows Ryan plays in several groups, including Picture Book and The Brunson Theater. He also plays with The Fab 40, which recreates and performs classic albums with a full orchestra. Follow him on Facebook or at ryanguidry.com.

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The post Covers singer relies on long-term memory appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“Before all this happened, I was starting to gain momentum. I was getting more shows and playing more often. I was booked well through July. Then, sadly, everything kind of hit a wall. The last public show I played was at Chelsea Wine Bar on March 14. Now, no telling what’s going to happen.

“I’ve been a full-time musician since June 2013. It’s worked out pretty well. But now I’m wondering, how am I going to make money? Basically, how am I going to feed my family? There was a place I had just started playing in Galveston. I talked to the owner on Facebook the other day, and he said, ‘I’m not even sure we’re still going to be open when all this is over.’ I wonder how many places are going to tell me that. That’s a very scary thought.

“I saw a couple people do Facebook Live performances. Some friends would text or call me and say, ‘You really ought to do this.’ I’ve always felt a need to perform and to entertain an audience. So while I’m not able to do that right now in person, I decided to give it a try.

“The nicest thing about my first show was how much it felt like a real performance with an audience. Even though it was electronic and everybody was responding through their phone or computer, it still had that energy that you could feed off from people.

“I had planned to play about two hours, but I ended up playing three. It was the first time ever that I played three hours straight with no break.

“I was getting flooded with song requests. My girlfriend started writing them down and holding them up so I could see them all.

“People said it was a nice break from all the doom and gloom of what everybody’s going through. I think the unspoken goal for any performer is to make people feel good and feel better if possible. If I can do that, then I’m doing my job. It’s a very gratifying experience.”

— Ryan Guidry

Ryan specializes in covers of 60s and 70s songs. During the coronavirus pandemic, he plans to continue playing Facebook Live shows Sundays at 4 p.m.

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The post Facebook Live provides outlet for singer appeared first on The Baytown Project.