Hubler history W. R. Hubler, Jr., M. D

Vignettes of Lloyd Lincoln HUBLER

I knew my grandfather well when he lived with my family about 1958 (he was 72 and I was 13) and for years later; however, I could not attempt to describe him in a few paragraphs, so I am offering a few vignettes of a complex man.

A jovial, gentle man, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) always had a comely countenance, a placid demeanor, a frequent smile, an occasional laugh, a twinkle in his eyes, a warm-blue aura and an “I can do it” attitude. He was short, rather rotund and huggable rather that tall, slim and stern like his son. L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was always ready to go. He tolerated the occasional ranting of his son and the shanagins of his teenage grandchildren. He did not seem to become outwardly angry or allow frustration to control him, despite due cause, but instead embraced tolerance, the joy of life and the idea that hope was always in reach for those who grasp it. He was not the kind of sage who would espouse lessons designed to change a person’s life, but his philosophy was taught by example, and L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) left a memorable message. As a teen, I never resented including him in my plans, and that speaks volumes.

L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was a fastidious man. He prided himself on his appearance, and continued his careful coiffure long after his retirement. He always emerged immaculate in the morning after his sleep. He was always clean-shaven (most of his life, he lathered with a brush and beard soap, used a straight razor after sharpening it on a long, leather razor strop). L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) donned similar clothing everyday—a white, pressed shirt, tucked into belted pants (usually light in color and pressed with a crease visible) and polished shoes. In the “casual” days of retirement, he wore his shirt opened at the neck, but his collar was always crisp and pressed. His hair was brushed, neat, coated with hair oil and combed straight back (he had male-pattern baldness with very little on top). L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) always smelled Old Spice fresh and sweet (a combination of fragrances from his hair oil, after-shave, toothpaste and deodorants). He easily slipped into a light, stripped seersucker suit and lively tie for more “dressy’ events, like on church days. He never smelled nor looked old. Even during hunting trips with nights spent in tents, his woolen, red-plaid shirt looked ironed!

Every morning after breakfast, he would attend to his car. One of the passions of his life was the automobile (a trait and interest that he instilled in his son, also). Actually, the automobile in America came into being during his lifetime and changed American landscape and life forever. Almost all of the photographs that I have seen of L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) show him proudly posing beside a car. (In fact, many pictures just show the auto, without humans.) Anyway, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was very proud of his car—at that time a 1951 model Lincoln (that is still owned and maintained by L. David HUBLER). His son constructed a concrete driveway in front of his home just for the vehicle [later, W.R. HUBLER (1916-1993) needed the parking space for the overflow of the cars in his own collection]—and L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) would wash and chamois his car every day, including the motor and under the hood. L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) lovingly waxed his car at least every month with the best product available (usually Turtle Wax). He kept his vehicle as immaculate as he kept himself.

L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was a purveyor and connoisseur of beauty. When he lived with my family, he cultivated roses in a flowerbed allocated to him, just outside of his bedroom window. L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) cared for his rose bushes as meticulously as his car. He grew various varieties of roses, and our home was always filled with the aroma and beauty of fresh-cut flowers. L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) purchased a solid-wood, fine mahogany bedroom suite, which he pampered with frequent waxing, immaculate cleaning and daily Endust dusting. His bedroom floor was covered with muted, multicolored Oriental rugs. As a teenager, I visited his room with the same hushed, awe-aspired ambiance as found in a museum. Fresh roses from the yard always crowned the aura.

L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was hard of hearing. Probably, all the years of firing rifles and shotguns combined with age ruined his hearing. At first, he used a battery-powered hearing aide that was carried in his shirt pocket with a wire attached to a receptacle in his left ear. It helped, but it only “heard” whatever was in front of him, and it was unsightly and cumbersome. Then, he bought a behind-the-ear type, and that resolved the problems. Whenever his son “fussed” at L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972), he would subtlety scratch his pate, turn off his aide behind his ear and revel in the silence. It would frustrate his son but amuse everyone else.

Hunting and fishing were the ultimate passions of L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972). Everyday, after tending to his car, he would read every hunting or fishing magazine possible. Often, he would walk to the nearby grocery store to peruse and purchase the newest issues. He also cleaned and oiled his reel and guns. L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was always ready to go fishing or hunting. Since his son was a South Texas physician, he received many invitations to hunt deer, hogs and birds. In addition, his son had hunting leases and was a member of multiple hunting/fishing clubs. In short, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) had hunting trips weekly during the winter, and during the rest of the year, the fish beckoned him from the salt water in Laguna Made and fresh water in Lake Mathis. It must have seemed like heaven.

Just like everything else in his life, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) took care of his hunting and fishing gear. His rifles and shotguns were shiny clean inside and out, anointed with the heaviest gun grease and protected by the best rifle cases. L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) had several firearms displayed in a windowed gun cabinet beside his bed. Those were the good old days when things were made to last a lifetime and were not threatened by a factory-devised, one to three-year self-destruction period (such as with cars) or a one-year obsolescence (such as with computers). In fact, his vehicle and bedroom furniture are still used and maintained by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was a good outdoorsman, but his hearing deficient was a handicap. Whenever I took my granddad fishing in our small, metal boat, as he shifted to get his tackle box, to retrieve his rod and reel or to get in the best position for casting, he was so noisy that no fish would dare to venture into casting range. He was totally unaware of the cacophony. We tried a wooden boat, which although the boat was larger and more cumbersome, hopefully that might mute the sounds. However, the vibrations were lower in pitch and traveled better under water, so we still caught no fish. Finally, surf fishing from the beach or wade fishing in waist-deep water that tamped the noise was successful, and we caught many fish. Deer hunting offered similar obstacles. In South Texas sendera hunting was the norm, and that usually that entailed arising before dawn and silently hiding in an elevated deer blind on a sendera or clearing waiting for an unsuspecting buck to mosey into sight. With his hearing loss, Granddad was unaware of the noises that warned the skittish bucks of our presence, so the only shots that we had were very long distance. However, he became an excellent marksman at deer 300 yards away, and our larder was always chockablock with venison. Bird hunting was better. Wild ducks, geese, turkey, dove and quail filled our freezer.

When I was thirteen, I wanted to hunt just like my dad and granddad. Before I could begin, my Dad required that I complete a rifle course with the National Rifle Association. I dutifully completed the six-week course. For Christmas, my granddad gave me my first gun (a 20-gauge single-shot shotgun) from his personal collection. The strength of that gun always reminded me of my granddad.

When I knew him, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) did not smoke and rarely had a beer, and he never had the memory loss, confusion and violence that was typical of the horrible affliction, Alzheimer’s Disease, that felled his father, uncle, son and nieces; however, at the end of his life, L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) began the symptoms of dementia. L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) loved Friday fisticuffs on television. Our family had only one television set (T.V. was an upscale treasure at that time, and so we were lucky to have one black-and-white set), and it was reserved for Grandad each Friday night to view professional boxing matches. L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was not a gambler, but he just liked fights. L.L. HUBLER (1886-1972) was an early practitioner of power naps. He infrequently when to his room to lie down; however, he took catnaps during the day in his favorite lounge-chair, which seemed to refresh him. His son, W.R. HUBLER (1916-1996), liked to lie down on the couch every day for 45 minutes for an after lunch snooze, and his grandson, Lloyd David HUBLER (b 1946) could catch a few winks anywhere, anytime.

The Weber Family
For a discussion on the on the WEBERs in this line, see The Weber Way by W.R. HUBLER, Jr.