| Name: | Charles Raymond Bright |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | White |
| Age: | 18 |
| Relationship to Draftee: | Self (Head) |
| Birth Date: | 22 Mar 1927 |
| Birth Place: | Nacogdoches, Texas, USA |
| Residence Place: | Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches, Texas, USA |
| Registration Date: | 22 Mar 1945 |
| Registration Place: | Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches, Texas, USA |
| Employer: | Student |
| Height: | 5 7 |
| Weight: | 140 |
| Complexion: | Ruddy |
| Hair Color: | Brown |
| Eye Color: | Blue |
| Next of Kin: | Novel Bright |
| Name: | Charles R Bright |
|---|---|
| Race: | White |
| Marital status: | Single, without dependents (Single) |
| Rank: | Private |
| Birth Year: | 1927 |
| Nativity State or Country: | Texas |
| Citizenship: | Citizen |
| Residence: | Nacogdoches, Texas |
| Education: | 1 year of college |
| Enlistment Date: | 26 Oct 1945 |
| Enlistment Place: | Fort Sam Houston, Texas |
| Service Number: | 38753268 |
| Branch: | No branch assignment |
| Component: | Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men) |
| Source: | Enlisted Man, Philippine Scout or recall to AD of an enlisted man who had been transferred to the ERC |
| Height: | 00 |
| Weight: | 000 |
| Name: | Charles Raymond Bright |
|---|---|
| Birth Date: | 22 Mar 1927 |
| Gender: | Male |
| Birth Place: | Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches, Texas, USA |
| Father: | George Norvel Bright |
| Father Birth Place: | Longview |
| Mother: | Dovie Mae Bailey |
| Mother Birth Place: | San Augustine |
| Mother Residence: | Nacogdoches |
| Name: | Charles Bright |
|---|---|
| Birth Year: | abt 1927[abt 1926] |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | White |
| Age in 1930: | 3[3 9/12] |
| Birthplace: | Texas |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Relation to Head of House: | Son |
| Home in 1930: | Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches, Texas, USA |
| Map of Home: | |
| House Number: | 208 |
| Dwelling Number: | 315 |
| Family Number: | 316 |
| Attended School: | No |
| Father's Birthplace: | Texas |
| Mother's Birthplace: | Texas |
| Name: | Charles R Bright | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Estimated Birth Year: | abt 1927 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | White | ||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Marital Status: | Single | ||||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Son | ||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1940: | Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Map of Home in 1940: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Street: | South Fredonia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Inferred Residence in 1935: | Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| Residence in 1935: | Nacogdoches | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 19A | ||||||||||||||||||
| House Owned or Rented: | Owned | ||||||||||||||||||
| Value of Home or Monthly Rental if Rented: | 2500 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attended School or College: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Highest Grade Completed: | Elementary school, 5th grade | ||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
 |
| Advertisement for Novel Bright's Grocery Store in 1937. This grocery store suffered immensely because of World War II. Due to food rationing and a shortage of man power. Novel Bright had 22 employees that went off to war. |
Bright Coop had its humble beginnings in 1951 when brothers Charles and N.G. Bright built their first building and started manufacturing wooden chairs that sold for $14.00 per dozen. It wasn’t long before the Bright’s were approached by a couple of local “chicken haulers” who were in need of coops to transport live chickens to market. With an abundance of hardwood timber in the area and the East Texas broiler industry starting to grow, the brothers decided to go into the business of building wooden chicken coops. After approximately 30 days of hard work and the addition of one employee, they completed a “bobtail” truck load of the coops which were purchased locally by Smith and Todd Poultry. Their auspicious beginnings, with limited capital and a “fly by the seat of your pants and learn as you go” attitude, enabled them to produce a coop that was custom-engineered to suit the local market.
 |
| Lois Marie Gibbs 1947 |
| Name: | Charles Raymond Bright |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Age: | 40 |
| Birth Date: | abt 1927 |
| Marriage Date: | 1 Apr 1967 |
| Marriage Place: | Nacogdoches, Texas, USA |
| Spouse: | Lois Marie Gibbs Dover |
| Case Number: | 4011967029736 |
| Name: | Carolyn Muckleroy Price |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Marriage Date: | 15 Aug 2009 |
| Marriage Place: | Nacogdoches, Texas, USA |
| Spouse: | Charles Raymond Bright |
Mrs. Carolyn Muckleroy Price Bright passed away May 23, 2015. Born November 25, 1926, in Nacogdoches to Eugene and Mary Ethel Yates Muckleroy. Both parents and a brother, Wilson Muckleroy, and a sister, Mary Greene, preceded her in death. One June 8, 1947, she married Travis Noel Price of Bryan who preceded her in death on October 7, 1997. On August 15, 2009, she married Charles Raymond Bright. She graduated from Nacogdoches High School and received both bachelor and master's degrees from Stephen F. Austin State University. Additional graduate work was completed at the University of Texas at Austin and North Texas State University at Denton. In 1954, she joined the faculty of SFA and served as a tenured assistant professor in the General Business Department in the College of Business until full retirement in 1990. After retirement from SFA, she was the office manager for Miller & Price Real Estate. She was active in community and religious activities and was affiliated with local, state, and national professional organizations having published articles and services bulletins in the field of business education. Mrs. Bright had been a member of the SOS Sunday School Class, the Glory-land Singers, and a Prayer Warrior at First Baptist Church. She was a member of the Women's Faculty Club and served on the Board of Friends of Music of SFA. She was a past president of the Lady Lions. She held life memberships in the SFA Alumni Association, the Nacogdoches High School Alumni Association, and the Delta Pi Epsilon Honorary Business Education Fraternity. Surviving are son and daughter-in-law, Randy and Kathy Price, grand-daughter and husband Jennifer and Dirk DeKerlegand, granddaughter Heather Price, and great granddaughters, Kendall Nicole, Grace Elizabeth, and Emma Kathryn DeKerlegand. Also, three nieces.
Nacogdoches business owner, philanthropist Charles Bright dies
Published: Aug. 26, 2013 at 3:01 PM CDT|Updated: Aug. 26, 2013 at 9:44 PM CDT
NACOGDOCHES, TX (KTRE) - Beloved Nacogdoches business owner, community leader, and philanthropist Charles Bright died Saturday at the age of 86. Bright and his brother, N.G., founded Nacogdoches' Bright Coop Company, which manufactures poultry transportation equipment.
Services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday at the First Christian Church in Nacogdoches. Rev. Rex Humphreys, Rev. Terry Hodge, and Dr. Allen Reed will officiate.
A Nacogdoches native, Bright was born on March 22, 1927, to George Novel and Dovie Bailey Bright. After he graduated from Nacogdoches High School in 1945, Bright went to work full-time in his father's grocery business.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army in September 1945, and he served as a military policeman until he was honorably discharged. While he was serving in the military, he served as the driver and typist for William F. Buckley Jr.
Following his stint in the military, Bright started up an outboard motor and boat business. According to his obituary, he was instrumental in developing and patenting the Loco Lure.
However, Bright is probably most well known for founding the Bright Coop Company and his leadership in the community. The company's chicken cage unloading system became the predominant one of its type in the United States, according to his obituary.
He served on the Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital Board for 16 years.
"He was chairman for many years and helped develop Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital into one of the outstanding hospitals in East Texas," his obituary stated. "He authored a book about his famous Kalouse goose who saved the Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital a considerable amount of money."
On April 1, 1967, Bright married Lois Mari Gibbs Dover, who preceded him in death on March 21, 2006. He married his childhood friend, Carolyn Muckleroy Price, on Aug. 15, 2009.
The Bright Pavilion at Nacogdoches Memorial was named in Bright's honor.
According to Bright's obituary, two of his favorite projects were the "Plaza Principal" project on the downtown square and the restoration of the Ingraham Building, which was originally home to his father's grocery business. He was also involved in downtown projects like the placement of antique street lights, planters, statues, and historical markers.
In December 2010, Bright and the other board members of the Charles and Lois Marie Bright Foundation met with Nacogdoches Mayor Roger Van Horn and set things in motion for the "Gateway Statue" that was erected on the north east corner of Nacogdoches' Plaza Principal on Feb. 12, 2013, the obituary stated.
On Aug. 8, the Nacogdoches City Council voted unanimously to name the visitors center the Charles Bright Historic Town Center in honor of his contributions to the town's downtown area. It was officially named on March 22, 2013, his 86th birthday.
A lifelong member of Nacogdoches' First Christian Church, Bright served as a Sunday School teacher, deacon, elder, chairman of the board, and trustee. He was also given the honor of Elder Emeritus by the church's members. He donated the Bright House to the church, and it is part of the church's current youth center.
Bright also volunteered with the Cub Scouts for years.
Bright's many awards and accolades include the Deep East Texas Development Association's Silver Bucket Award for Regional Service (1996), the Nacogdoches Chapter of DAR's "Medal of Honor" for his "contributions of service to his country, community, church, and fellow man" (2006), the Nacogdoches Chamber of Commerce's "Large Business of the Year Award" (2007), the Nacogdoches Police Department's "Chief's Award as Citizen of the Year" (2010), and the "Agribusiness of the Year" (2012). In April 2012, he was honored with the "Nacogdoches Life Hero Award" for his contributions to the improvement of Nacogdoches' downtown area and his other many services to the community.
The obituary said in lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to First Christian Church Building Fund, 792 North Mound Street, 75961; Friends of Historic Nacogdoches, Inc., PO Box 630411, 75963; to the ALS Fund in care of 803 W. Seale Street, 75964, or to a charity of choice.
February was the last time Charles Bright was in the news. The statue he always wanted for downtown Nacogdoches was dedicated. Everyone knew the tribute was really for Bright.
"Charles Bright is pointing the way with his vision of a beautiful, livable Downtown Nacogdoches," said historian Ab Abernethy.
Today employees at Bright Coop Company, an international poultry cage unloading manufacturer, were busy at work. The company founder has been away for a while. Alzheimer's robbed him of all the memories he carefully preserved on every available office wall space.
"He's the only man that I know of that could stand in the square and go north, south, east and west and tell you who lived where," said Clem Russell, the vice president of Bright Coop. "He knew and loved Nacogdoches. He's never lived more than two miles from the center of Nacogdoches."
Bright cherished his products and his employees. He didn't have children, but he had his employees.
"The employees of Bright Coop he considered to be his children," Russell said.
A business deal was the start to a longtime friendship with Bo Pilgrim.
"I picked up the Coops up off the ground and handed them to him and he stacked them on that truck," Bright said in 2008. "And he has been a friend and our customer ever since."
Bright's accomplishments and service to individuals and the community are too numerous to list. Those who knew bright will always remember. Those who didn't will be taught.
"They will think about a man who cared about his hometown, cared about downtown. How important it is to be called 'The Oldest Town In Texas'?" said Bright's sister, Joyce Swearingen in a February interview.
Copyright 2013 KTRE. All rights reserved.
