Community Retirement Home

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Back in 1944, a group of citizens in Port Arthur sat down together and started talking. Just talking, at first.

But the subject on the table was something that mattered: a retirement home for their community. Now, that kind of conversation could've gone nowhere, as plenty of good intentions do. This one didn't.

Members of the Federated Mission Society, drawn from several churches, stepped up and took seats on the board of directors. And on August 28, 1944, the thing became real. Incorporated.

Official. The Community Retirement Home. The board moved quickly after that, purchasing a model apartment building on Procter Street to house its first residents.

Not a converted warehouse. Not a makeshift arrangement. A proper place to call home.

Then, in 1970, they looked at what they had and decided it wasn't enough. Work began to replace the main service building and add a kitchen, dining and administrative facilities, and more living areas. They were building for the long haul.

And here's the detail that'll stay with you. In December of 1988, a man named Dr. John White donated his former office building, sitting right there on the adjacent lot.

Just gave it. Now the operation has never taken a dime of state or federal funding. Not one dime.

It runs on resident fees, donations, memorials, and fund drives. Citizens talking in 1944, and still going. That's Port Arthur for you.

What the marker says

In 1944, a group of citizens discussed establishment of a retirement home in Port Arthur. Federated Mission Society members from several churches served on the board of directors. Incorporated as the Community Retirement Home on August 28, 1944, the board purchased the model apartment building on Procter Street for residents. Work began in 1970 to replace the main service building and add a kitchen, dining and administrative facilities and living areas. In December 1988, Dr. John White donated his former office building on the adjacent lot. The Community Retirement Home is a nonprofit residence, receiving no state or federal funding but operating by resident fees, donations, memorials and fund drives. (2012)