Renowned harmonica player looks back on past Gonzales

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Mary Bea Arnold sits smiling in the lobby of the Texan Nursing & Rehab Center, where she cradles her diatonic harmonica like a newborn kitten. In between informative and funny bursts of conversation, she churns out old dandies like “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” “The Shiner Song,” and “Amazing Grace.”

A musical double threat — she plays several types of harmonicas as well as the accordion — Arnold augments her melodic prowess with a charming personality that can disarm even the crankiest of people.

Arnold is happy to call the Texan her home, where she has resided for the past several months. Not only is she a celebrated resident, she is also there to lend a helping hand to anyone who might need it.

Born on the outskirts of La Grange, Arnold graduated from Eagle Lake High School in 1953, right alongside her future husband, Travis H. Arnold. She then went to Wharton County Junior College, where she obtained her associate of arts degree in business.

“After that, I worked for a CPA in Eagle Lake,” she said.

A chance meeting with a woman from Gonzales led to the Arnold’s move from Eagle Lake to the birthplace of Texas Independence, where they set up a jewelry store of their own.

“My mother and father had a jewelry store in Eagle Lake, and there was a lady from Gonzales who came in one day and said there would be use for Travis there,” she said. “He would have any type of timepiece, and also would carry quality watches and diamonds. That’s how we ended up in Gonzales. Travis and I were married for over 50 years before he passed.”

After her arrival in Gonzales, Arnold went to work for the old KCTI radio station, where she would meet the iconic local radio personality John Zavadil and — years later — Egon Barthels.

“I was just listening to Egon on his new station before you got here,” she said. “Actually at KCTI I used to work as a volunteer where I did the logs — typing stuff. My husband and I were also involved in the Gonzales Little Theatre, before the Crystal Theatre, where I performed in productions in the small area in front of the screen.”

After that she was the curator of the Gonzales City Museum Department, where she worked for 22 years.

Arnold is also a charter member of the Gonzales Pilot Club, which is where she met the late Dorothy Ploeger — who was its charter president.

“And thanks to The Texan, I’m able to get to the Pilot Club meetings which are held at the Riverside Community Center,” she said. “We took on the job of saving that place; totally restoring the building. I had to scrape paint off the walls, along with other pilot members. One of our major projects continues to be Project Graduation.”

Those who attended last year’s Come & Take It parade may remember when Egon Barthels stopped the procession and introduced Arnold, who was on the Texan float, to the crowd.

“That brought tears to my eyes,” she said.

At the end of the visit, Arnold retrieved an old black-and-white photo of her playing the accordion during a Come & Take It festival from the mid-1970s. The precious snapshot, finally freed after 40-plus years of being sandwiched between cardboard and glass, reveals a young Arnold squeezing tunes out of the valves of the groanbox. Is she up for a jam right now?

“Not today,” she said with a chuckle. “I don’t want to get in trouble with the other residents!”

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