Homeport was a big coup at a critical time

Not many days in Corpus Christi's history could have rivaled the significance of July 2, 1985.




For sure, the day that the Port of Corpus Christi was opened in 1926 had historical signficance; it established this area's economic security.

And the day when the gates of Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi were first opened in 1940 began the modern era of military presence in Corpus Christi.

But July 2, 1985, was the day that it was announced that Homeport would come to Corpus Christi.

That meant, at the time, that a naval surface fleet would be based at a new base, yet to be built, on the north shore of Corpus Christi Bay.

It was a great day for Corpus Christi and the area at a time when this city badly needed a boost.

But the announcement was also a reward for this community's resilience and ability to unite when the chips were down.

A memorable photo

In a memorable photo taken that day, copies of the Corpus Christi Times, the now-defunct afternoon newspaper, carrying the headline "City gets Homeport" were held up by a beaming County Judge Robert N. Barnes, Mayor Luther Jones, state Sen. Carlos Truan and state Rep. Hugo Berlanga.

That photo was a personal coup for me.

As city editor for an afternoon newspaper whose deadlines closed around noon, I didn't have much chances for breaking news. But we did that day.

The Times staff had been preparing for days ahead of the announcement, writing background material that would be ready for the final touches if it turned out that the announcement, long awaited, would come in our news cycle. Otherwise, the baton would be handed off to the morning Caller.

Sure enough, the morning of July 2, as civic leaders gathered, the word came from Washington: Corpus Christi had beat out five other cities for the Homeport designation.

The idea then was that the battleship Wisconsin, revived out of the mothball fleet, would be based at the future Ingleside base.

The Times staff turned out a first edition with the news and headline, the first copies going to the Chamber of Commerce building where dignitaries were still celebrating and Caller-Times photographer George Gongora took the photo that ran in the final edition.

Those who were part of that day can't fail to remember the euphoria.

Homeport was the payoff for an enormous gamble.

Just months before, on April 6, Nueces County voters went to polls to approve, by a margin of 3 to 1, $25 million in bonds to buy land for the yet-undesignated Navy base.

That's right: $25 million in voter money for a federal base that didn't exist, that we had no guarantee we'd get, on land in another county, for another group of taxpayers.

But it was a time for desperate measures.

The oil bust of the 1980s was still reverberating throughout the area. Scores of offices related to the oil industry had closed. The area was in the grip of a stagnating economy.

There was no Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi back then was not yet the home of a regional health-care and hospital complex.

It's amazing how priorities get straight when a crisis looms, or opportunity beckons.

In a space of three days, the Nueces County Commissioners Court, the Corpus Christi City Council and the Port of Corpus Christi all held meetings to approve the Homeport bond election.

The late Hayden Head Sr. organized the fund-raising for the campaign to pass the bonds.

Congressman Solomon Ortiz and Sen. Truan employed their formidable political forces to get out the vote.

All the friction, all the posturing, all the personal agendas seemed to melt away for a community effort.

Those moments of unity have been few and far between since then. We seem to find much more interest in pursuing personal agendas and nursing old wounds than in thinking outside of ourselves to the future.

But Friday's announcement has, I hope, clarified matters.

The loss of Naval Station Ingleside would be a terrific blow to the local economy.

The good thing is that we know we have the capability to mount a unified effort get the prize. Now it's just a matter of keeping it.

Nick Jimenez is editorial page editor of the Caller-Times. Phone: 886-3787; e-mail: jimenezn@caller.com.