Demolition Begins on Imperial Refinery & Adjacent Buildings

Demolition crews have begun work on parts of the Imperial plant and nearby buildings. I think they started about a week ago. My niece, Lauren Kelly Arnold, is taking pictures of the demolition. I put together a short video album of her photos to date.

Demolition of Imperial Refinery & Adjacent Buildings

Before & After Pictures of 6 Sugar Land Landmarks

My nephew, Ryan Kelly, created these videos in 2003. Things have changed a lot since then, so maybe an update is due.

I may have gone overboard, but I entered text explaining what you'll see. The whole video is just over 2-minutes long, so it's fairly brief.

Before & After Video Album of 6 Sugar Land Landmarks

"Womanless Wedding"

There's no year on this, but I've talked with several people. Their best guess is sometime in the mid-1940s. I'm sure the Presbyterian Church Auxiliary raised a lot of money with that cast.

I think the Presbyterian Auxiliary published the birthday calendar. (It was a year-long calendar listing Sugar Landers whose birthdays fell on each day of the year.) We always had one.

Sugar Land ISD Starts 1954 School Year on September 7th

Chuzzy Jenkins saved this clipping from The Texas Coaster.

1938 Bi-District Game: Sugar Land vs. Alvin

Chuzzy Jenkins had these clippings in his scrapbook. The pre-game article covers the Bi-District Championship Game Sugar Land played against Alvin at the end of the 1938 football season.

You'll see that Chuzzy was an integral part of the team, as was Herb Shelton. You'll also note that the team was undefeated and unscored on over the whole season. In fact, no team got within their 30-yard line.

I have post-game accounts of several games played that season, but not one for this game. The Gators lost, so maybe Chuzzy and his teammates weren't really interested in keeping mementos of the game. Regardless, they were the first Sugar Land High team to win a district title.

Old Ink Blotters

T. C. Rozelle saved these old ink blotters. I like this kind of stuff because it's rare. People usually throw it away.

Vietnam Veterans Virtual Memorial Wall - Arthur Medina, DHS '69

Donna Christopher Baker (DHS '63) sent me a link to the Virtual Vietnam Memorial Wall. I looked up Arthur Medina who was in the '69 senior class at Dulles High School. I knew Arthur as a manager on the football team. He was a quiet, likable boy. I'd always heard he died in Vietnam, but never confirmed it. Well, he's listed on the Wall. Apparently, he didn't die in combat. It must have been some sort of accident.

There is another boy, Pedro Moreno Ortiz, from Stafford in the list, but I can't find him in the Dulles yearbooks I have.

CPL Arthur Medina, Stafford, TX

Felix's & Alfred's

Here are two Houston restaurants that were popular with my family. Some of my friends will recall stopping at Alfred's on Stella Link for Antonio y Cleopatra cigars on the way to Stadium Bowl to shoot pool.

Felix's Mexican Restaurant

Alfred's Delicatessen

Aerial Photo of Sugar Land, mid-1950s

I got this photo from the Laird family. I've seen many aerial photos of Sugar Land, but not this one. I can't give a precise date, but it must be around 1956. (There's a well-known aerial photo that became a color postcard. The photographer, Bob Bailey, may have taken this one on the same flight.)

Notice the Humble service station sits at an angle to the corner. The Humble-Esso-Exxon station that sat on that corner changed several times, but this photo shows the first one I remember. Also notice there's a Texaco station on the opposite corner. The Marshall Canning Plant sits on the northwest corner of Main and (what is now) Kempner Street. You also have a good view of the old Salvage Building. Our old house and neighborhood are clearly visible toward the bottom of the picture. Good stuff.

I just noticed the refinery is pumping some effluent into the Creek. (ROTFL!)

Postcards From Texas Television Program on Sugar Land

I know some of you have seen this, but I missed it when it was first aired, and I could never find it on Channel 55's Web site. Well, I found it. Here's the short video if you haven't seen it.

Imperial Sugar: A Company Builds A Town.

Texas Commercial News, August 15, 1925

The Texas Commercial News was a newspaper printed in Sugar Land during the 1920s. The Rozelle family archive included 3 copies. (I've already posted the first two.) The big story was Sugar Land's cotton gin was in full swing.

Note the humorous (and politically incorrect) article about why women can't be Masons.

Alligator Splash, December, 1956

I visited with Dot Hightower and her daughter Scotty this week. I scanned a few things they had in their family scrapbook. This first item is an Alligator Splash, published on December 21, 1956. Notice the lead article covers the victory over Barbers Hill in the Regional Championship Game. A short film clip from the game appears below.

Dulles Junior High School Cheerleaders, 1971/72

Here's a photo I got from Dot. It shows Dugan with a group of Sugar Land Middle School cheerleaders. I don't know the exact year. I can't identify any of the girls, but I think it was taken in the mid-to-late 1970s, and I have to believe the girl on Dugan's right is a Babineaux.

(Update) I got some good info from Mark Schumann. He was in the 8th grade when this photo was taken and could identify the year and some of the girls. He corrected me on the school name - it was Dulles Junior High at that time. I can never keep all that straight. I'll post more as we learn who the girls are. Thanks to Mark.

Here are names I've received so far: (back row left-to-right) Rachel Butts, Susie Little, Dugan Hightower, unidentified, Sylvia Villaloboz, Velasco Jenkins. (front row) Gina Vaccaro, Mary Casarez, Dee Ann Scott, Kaye Krc, Debbie Biggerstaff.

Dulles Junior High School Administration, 1970s

Here's another scan I got from Dot Hightower. I don't know the precise date, but I think it shows Dulles Junior High School's administrators in the 1970s. (The School's name was later changed to Sugar Land Middle School, which remains to the present day.) From left to right you see Bill Moore, Chuzzy Jenkins, Dugan Hightower and Corky Madden.

(Update) I corrected the school name based on Mark Schumann's info. I was never sure of the dates on which the school's name changed.