Harley Gandy’s Timeless Legacy
by Robin Montgomery
The legacy of the late William Harley Gandy is timeless. Since 1952, the foundation he laid has been the launching pad from which all studies of our county’s history have sprung and will continue to be so. Truly, Harley Gandy is the Father of Montgomery County Historical Studies.
Nineteen fifty two was the year Harley wrote his classic Master’s Degree Thesis at the University of Houston. The thesis title was simply, “A History of Montgomery County, Texas.” But the content, the overview of the whole breadth and depth of our county’s past, was profound. The Abstract introducing the thesis says it all:
The purpose of this thesis . . . has been to present a story of the history of Montgomery County for the first
time, showing in that story the importance of the county as related to the history of Texas. Since no
continuous history of the important events of the county has ever been compiled chronologically, this study
attempts to give to the reader a panoramic view, integrating the available information concerning the origin and progress of the county.
Harley was a historian’s historian as well as a man of the people. Among those he influenced was my Dad, once principal of a school at which Harley taught. And Harley’s impact on my own studies was substantial. This story is repeated, in its essentials, with others, multiple times.
Harley was meticulous in his methodology. When he took a position on an issue or event, one could rest assured that he reflected the best available data on the topic coupled to quality time in reflection on the meaning of the data. Besides teaching positions in Conroe, Sam Houston State University and service as a principal in the Montgomery school system, Harley played a key role in such endeavors as securing markers for historic sites. Possessed of restless energy and an unrivaled intellect was Harley Gandy.
But best of all, Harley was a model husband to his lovely wife, Martha, and devoted father to two marvelous children. Scholar of the highest order, family man supreme and loyal friend to all who were privileged to enter his circle, the footprints which Harley Gandy planted in Montgomery County will ever be revered as hallowed ground.
The legacy of the late William Harley Gandy is timeless. Since 1952, the foundation he laid has been the launching pad from which all studies of our county’s history have sprung and will continue to be so. Truly, Harley Gandy is the Father of Montgomery County Historical Studies.
Nineteen fifty two was the year Harley wrote his classic Master’s Degree Thesis at the University of Houston. The thesis title was simply, “A History of Montgomery County, Texas.” But the content, the overview of the whole breadth and depth of our county’s past, was profound. The Abstract introducing the thesis says it all:
The purpose of this thesis . . . has been to present a story of the history of Montgomery County for the first
time, showing in that story the importance of the county as related to the history of Texas. Since no
continuous history of the important events of the county has ever been compiled chronologically, this study
attempts to give to the reader a panoramic view, integrating the available information concerning the origin and progress of the county.
Harley was a historian’s historian as well as a man of the people. Among those he influenced was my Dad, once principal of a school at which Harley taught. And Harley’s impact on my own studies was substantial. This story is repeated, in its essentials, with others, multiple times.
Harley was meticulous in his methodology. When he took a position on an issue or event, one could rest assured that he reflected the best available data on the topic coupled to quality time in reflection on the meaning of the data. Besides teaching positions in Conroe, Sam Houston State University and service as a principal in the Montgomery school system, Harley played a key role in such endeavors as securing markers for historic sites. Possessed of restless energy and an unrivaled intellect was Harley Gandy.
But best of all, Harley was a model husband to his lovely wife, Martha, and devoted father to two marvelous children. Scholar of the highest order, family man supreme and loyal friend to all who were privileged to enter his circle, the footprints which Harley Gandy planted in Montgomery County will ever be revered as hallowed ground.