DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says, right here where the road bends through Chambers County. Now settle in, because this one's about a man who learned everything he needed to know with a hoe in his hands. Ross Shaw Sterling was born in 1875, right here on this family farm.
And if you want to understand the man, you have to picture him as a boy, out in these very fields, under a Texas sun that didn't negotiate. The marker tells us he learned to stay ahead by taking three or four licks with that hoe while the others around him took two. That's not a boast.
That's a philosophy. And he carried it every single day that followed. In 1898 he married Maud Abbie Gage, and together they raised five children.
Then in 1910 he bought two oil wells. Two. And he worked those wells into something called the Humble Oil and Refining Company, which he developed in 1917.
From there he moved into real estate development in Houston, and by 1925 he had bought the Houston Dispatch and the Post, which the marker calls the forerunners of the present Houston Post. The man did not slow down. From 1927 to 1930 he served as head of the Texas Highway Commission, where he achieved what the marker plainly calls great reforms in roads programs.
Then came the governorship, 1931 to 1933, right in the teeth of the Depression. Now those were not easy years to be governor of Texas, and Ross Sterling did not treat them like easy years. He called a special session of the Legislature to deal with over-production in agriculture.
He put teeth into measures to control oil production. And when violations of conservation rules pushed things past the breaking point, he placed four counties under martial law. Four counties.
That is not a man who took two licks when the job needed four. But here is where the story turns, and turns hard. When Sterling left the governorship and returned to private life, his fortune was gone.
Lost. The marker doesn't soften it. And yet, the very next word it uses is undaunted.
He launched the Sterling Oil and Refining Company. He went on to head other major businesses. And somewhere in all of that, he gave away his La Porte estate as a boys' home, founded a boys' camp, and made donations to Texas Christian University.
Ross Shaw Sterling died in 1949. Born on this farm, hoe in hand, three or four licks to everyone else's two. The marker's standing right where he started, and I'd say he covered some ground.
What the marker says
(1875-1949) Governor of Texas 1931-33, during critical years of the Depression. Born and reared on family farm here. As a youth hoeing these fields, learned to stay ahead by taking "3 or 4 licks" while others took 2. followed this vigorous philosophy throughout life. In 1898 he married Maud Abbie Gage; had 5 children. In 1910 bought 2 wells which he developed into the Humble Oil & Refining Company in 1917. Then entered real estate development in Houston, 1925: bought the Houston "Dispatch" and "Post," forerunners of present Houston "Post." As head of Texas Highway Commission, 1927-30, achieved great reforms in roads programs. His term as governor saw forceful handling of crises of the times. He called a special session of the Legislature to deal with over-production in agriculture. Also put teeth into measures to control oil production by placing 4 counties under martial law following violations of conservation rules. When he returned to private life, his fortune had been lost. Undaunted, he launched the Sterling Oil & Refining Company and eventually was head of other major businesses. Philanthropies included gift of his La Porte estate as a boys' home, founding of boys' camp and donations to Texas Christian University.