Thursday, April 24, 1997

West Texas 'grows on you,' Springer says

By BOB BRUCE

Senior Staff Writer

Bob Springer's generation grew up with an ingrained work ethic - you knew you were expected to work, with no excuses.

That's why, when you ask the longtime Abilene insurance agent to identify the key to success in business, he thinks for a moment and says, "I'm not sure I know. I haven't really spent any time trying to figure it out."

Springer, 77, who's been in insurance here for 51 years, mentioned the customary qualities - integrity, being forthright and getting to know the folks in your community.

But, with the world righting itself in the wake of World War II, you didn't give it a lot of thought.

"We didn't have time to 'find ourselves,' " Springer said with a smile. "I'm still baffled by what that means. You get involved. You don't take off on a fishing trip to find yourself."

Springer, who is with First Southwest Insurance Agency, 4400 Buffalo Gap Road, is a native of Detroit who grew up in Rochester N.Y. His first exposure to Abilene came as an Army officer at Camp Barkeley from March 1942 to November 1945.

For most of that time, he and his wife, Bev, lived in an apartment in the 1300 block of Cedar, across the street from the old St. Ann Hospital.

Springer agrees that West Texas "grows on you" because, in April 1946, he and Bev rode the train back to Abilene, and he took a job with Cox-Hunter-Hall Insurance.

During the war, they had seen Abilene under less than ideal circumstances - and they still liked it, Bob said.

And while Rochester was a great place to grow up, Bob had no illusions about the New York winters. Playing in the snow as a youngster was one thing - going to work in it as an adult for a lifetime was another matter.

"My hobby was golf. West Texas accommodated that lifestyle a whole lot better than Rochester, New York," he said.

In 1951, Bob left Cox-Hunter-Hall, along with W. Willis Cox, and formed the W. Willis Cox Agency. In 1987 he merged the W. Willis Cox Agency with First Southwest, where he remains an active agent, working fulltime.

He still plays golf, too, shooting in the high 70s. He calls himself a compulsive golfer, usually grabbing four irons and striding the back nine alone at the Abilene Country Club.

"I use it to get my exercise. It's a goofy arrangement but I love it," he said.

He was an athlete in high school and college.

"I was a sports jock. I played 'en all," he said.

In 1941 he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a centerfielder. But the war years put baseball on hold - along with Bob's plans to become a physician. After the war, his career turned in another direction.

He has no regrets, however, over his career choice or where he chose to live.

"No, never," he said emphatically.

His love for baseball has endured.

"I love baseball, I still follow major league baseball," he said.

And, "for some reason," he said he still has an attachment for the Cardinals.

He still has an attachment for work, too.

"I come to work with a smile on my face," Bob said. "I guess the fact that I deal with people has got to be my first love. And the freedom. I get out of the office. I get to play golf when I want to - and I am not working as hard as I used to."

Bob is a former city councilman whose list of civic honors fills a couple of typewritten pages but the one which imparts the greatest sense of pride is being named Outstanding Citizen of the Year in 1979 by the Abilene Chamber of Commerce.

"It was a big surprise and the one I covet," he said.

Early on, Bob's sense of involvement became apparent. In 1952, six years after returning here, Bob was named Outstanding Young Man by the Abilene Jaycees.

He's also proud, and was happily surprised in 1995, when he was named to the Athletic Hall of Fame at the University of Rochester, where he earned 13 varsity letters in four years.

Asked for insurance advice, Bob offered this suggestion: "Pick your insurance agent like you pick your physician - and totally rely on him."