Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Texas, A-J Remembers column
Those who have seen the gently curving streets of the
He says he's retired now, but semi-retired might be a better description of his active lifestyle.
Across the 65 years since 1953, Kastman has seen mountain tops with the inevitable valleys in between while living life in
After taking a scholarship to
In his last year at Tech, he dropped his involvement in Air Force ROTC.
"They drafted me immediately," Kastman said.
He was sent to
"My first subdivision was called
Kastman, at age 33, was for a time the youngest man to have served on the
After his first subdivision, Kastman began developing the Caraway farm. "It went from
The next one was the most popular:
A
"
Kastman donated land from
In recent years,
Kastman remembers developing additional land toward
"We sold it after we got it platted -- it was the
He remembers that a family disagreement threatened the development of another subdivision that he and Elmore and another partner wanted to do:
"There were six heirs to that estate, and all signed except one of the Farrers, who was living on the land and farming it. We went out there to talk to him to try to change his mind, and go on with it.
"I will never forget, Leroy said, 'You know, we're going to name this
"We hadn't even talked about that. He said, 'OK, I will sign for that.'
"Tears were running down from his eyes. We named it
Kastman was at the height of his business career, but he had a continuing side interest through the years also. And that side interest was
"My first job was in 1958 -- I was chairman of the
In 1961, he was appointed to the
"I had some duplexes out in northeast
Then, disaster struck his business.
"I was developing too fast. I got into northeast
He had moved from
According to Kastman, he suffered the same fate that
Citizens suddenly called his notes. "I had to sell everything I had," Kastman said.
He remembers, "I went to work for
After five years, Kastman went into the insurance business on his own. "I had my own agency for over 30 years, and I built a real good agency."
He renewed his interest in community, also.
Kastman worked with the
Kastman married
In recent years, he has served as ombudsman to three retirement homes --
He now lives in
He is known as
His actual birth name is
Kastman isn't even thinking about moving away from
"Gerry and I have been married for 26 years. I want to stay right here. Gerry and I, we're going to
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