The long road back to Oakwood

photo by Melissa Missildine Oakwood’s Lucielle Smith At 83 years young, Mabel Lucielle Smith is a vibrant resident of the city of Oakwood. Lucielle was born and raised here. She went to school here and got married in her early 20’s to her high school sweetheart. Even though she loved her friends and family, she felt that she was missing something.

Shortly after getting married, she fullfilled a dream that a lot of young people living in a small town have. In 1958, she moved away to the city. Living in Galveston was all she had hoped it would be. She went to work for the University of Texas as a custodian at John Sealy hospital. Whenever someone would ask why she didn’t become a nurse, she was quick to reply, “Let those doctors deal with all that blood...not me!”. Between the gruesomeness and the heartbreak she saw in the ER, she knew she was just too big-hearted to handle that. She stuck with a job she knew she could do well, was of great value, and still allowed her to sleep without having nightmares. During this time she made a home, accumulated a large group of friends and a church family, and lived and loved life in the city.

Lucielle retired from UTMB in 1984. Not sure what to do with herself, she decided to move back home to Oakwood. She had purchased a small trailer house back in 1977, with her now ex-husband, and it had stayed behind at the old family homestead. It was parked right next to the old white wood frame house that she and the rest of her 11 brothers and sisters had grown up in. She thought that was as good a place as any to begin the next chapter of her life. Over the years she had helped friends and family raise their children and she loved every minute of it. She just didn’t find the time to have any children of her own. She wanted to get back in touch with her family; to feel close to them again.

It took less than a year for Lucielle to figure out that she had become a full blown “city girl”. She missed the sights and sounds that city life brings. She also couldn’t find a job in such a small town. With nothing to do and no money to do it with, Lucielle packed up and headed back to Galveston. She got a job as a caretaker of an elderly woman with glaucoma. She worked from 8 am to 12 pm everyday for five years. She not only cooked and cleaned for her employer but she also tended to her medical needs in the fashion of a home health nurse. Lucielle found this job to be rewarding and still left her plenty of time to socialize. It helped the elderly woman’s daughter so that she could work and not have to worry about her ailing mother. It was the perfect arrangement.

Lucielle decided that the end of her employment this time was the end of employment for her. She decided to retire for real this time. She also decided it was time to move. Lucielle moved into the first housing projects to be built in Galveston. The Oleander House became home to many single mothers and elderly women. Lucielle was happy there and Life went on. . . Continued next week!