Sammy Gilbert
Sammy Gilbert was born in Dublin, and grew up on a farm halfway to Stephenville. “My dad raised cattle out there -- cattle and kids,” he said. “There were six children in the family.”
Gilbert has great memories of growing up in Dublin in the 40s and 50s. “We would roller skate down the sidewalks and on Main Street, and our folks never had to worry about us,” he said. “It was just an ideal town, like in Leave it to Beaver.”
Gilbert helped out on the farm as he was growing up, and then in high school took on a side job at the feed mill in town. When he graduated in 1959, Gilbert got married, and was hired on full time at the feed mill to drive the bulk delivery truck, bringing feed to local dairies.
The job was a good learning experience for Gilbert. “I was a complete teenager back then,” he said. “I had a very forgiving boss and I appreciate him more and more as I grow older.”
After six years working full-time at the feed mill, Gilbert and his wife began to contemplate living in the city. Gilbert found a job at Mrs. Baird’s Bakery where he could earn a little more money, and he and his wife made the move to Fort Worth.
At Mrs. Baird’s, Gilbert started out at the simplest job, putting the bread pans on the bread line. “I went on to assistant supervisor in the bun wrapping room, and from there to the dough room mixing the dough,” he said.
He worked there for two years before taking a job at General Dynamics, helping to build F-111 fighter planes. Gilbert, who has his pilot’s license, enjoyed the chance to be involved in building the aircraft. “I’ve always enjoyed vehicles, driving trucks, working on cars and airplanes,” he said.
Two years later, he had the opportunity to work as a mechanic for the trucking company, Central Freight Lines. “It was wonderful; that was my ideal job,” he said. “I worked there for about five years, and then decided I wanted to move back to Dublin. You know how it is in your hometown; you want to move to the big city, but once you get to the big city you want to move back.”
In 1980 he did move back, and once he arrived Gilbert bought and ran the Sunset Service Station for two years. During the time he ran the station, Gilbert and two of his brothers, Larry and James, began discussing going into business together.
“We opened a muffler and radiator shop, which was kind of a general mechanic shop,” he said. “That was after I’d been a mechanic for Central, so I was kind of experienced and had all my tools.”
After working in the shop for a while, Gilbert expanded the business to sell used cars as well as repairing them.
“Selling used cars was kind of a family deal,” he said. “My granddad was a used car salesman. He started off as a horse trader and a mule trader, and he got into selling used cars, and that’s what he did for all the time that I knew him. And then my dad, he was a used car salesman too. It was just kind of a natural evolution.”
Gilbert’s favorite part was buying the cars for the business. “We’d go to auctions in Dallas, Abilene and all these places that had all the cars for sale,” he said. “It was a lot of fun.
Gilbert kept selling cars for more than a decade. “At that point I decided I was getting pretty old and I needed to start thinking about my retirement, so I went to work for Norton Company [now St. Gobain] in Stephenville.“
Norton was an abrasives company, specializing in sandpaper. Gilbert started at the bottom of the line, and worked his way up to dispatcher, supervising 30 drivers and 15 trucks to help bring in supplies and take out products.
Gilbert retired from Norton in 2002. “My wife and I bought a farm, and I’ve just been living the great life of farming and raising cattle and enjoying the simple things,” Gilbert said. “I kind of just take it easy now. I read a lot and take care of the cattle.”
The Gilberts’ farm is 100 acres of land between Dublin and Stephenville, right next to the farm where he grew up. Gilbert and his wife, Pat, a retired hairdresser, built a house there, and two of Gilbert’s grandchildren live on the farm as well.
Gilbert has two daughters with his first wife. His oldest, Leanne, is 53, and Janice is 50. He also has a step-son, Darrell, who is 51. The Gilberts have four grandchildren and five great grandchildren, all of whom live in Texas.
Throughout his life, Gilbert has found strength through his faith. “Jesus Christ is my best inspiration,” he said. He’s also been inspired by his bosses throughout the years, from his first supervisor at the feed mill to his boss at Central Freight Lines.
Gilbert doesn’t have much advice for Dublin graduates. “They are growing up so much different than what I grew up with, and they have so many more challenges than I did,” he said. “I would just say, listen to your parents, they know best.”
Editor’s Note: This column chronicles what Dublin graduates have done since high school. If you have any suggestions for other graduates, email publisher@dublincitizen. com.