Updates on Recent Posts

I've mentioned recently that Haroldetta Robertson has a piece of the 1927 Richmond Bridge demolished in 1987.  She has graciously provided the following photos of that big event.
    

View looking east toward bridge.

View looking east toward bridge.

View looking east toward bridge.

Many thanks to Jackie James (SLHS '57) for sending me this obituary for Bruce Edwards, Jr.

Bruce Franklin Edwards, Jr. passed away after battling three kinds of cancer for over 10 years on Sunday, August 3, 2014 in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas where he had lived for the past 5 years after retiring. Bruce was born on March 27, 1947 in Bryan, Texas. He is the son of Dorothy Louise Bynum and Bruce Franklin Edwards, Sr.

The Edwards, Sr. family moved to Sugar Land, Texas in 1949 where Bruce grew up. He graduated from Dulles High School, Sugar Land, Texas in 1965 and from Texas A & M University in College Station, Texas in 1969 with a degree in architectural construction. Throughout his career he worked for several construction companies in Houston, Texas, retiring from Tellepsen Builders after 25 years in 2010 as a Vice President.

He married Carmen Thompson Edwards In 1969. They resided in Sugar Land, Texas until moving to Arkansas. Throughout his life, Bruce enjoyed many different hobbies including golf, sailing, hunting, fishing, and stained glass making.
He was preceded in death by his father Bruce Franklin Edwards, Sr., his mother Dorothy and his grandson, Dustin Tyler Edwards.

He is survived by his wife Carmen, his son, Chris and family of Beebe, Arkansas and his daughter, Traci Lockwood and her husband Jason and family of Sugar Land, Texas, his brother Randy and his wife Jan of Sugar Land, Texas and Rick and his wife Karry of Sandy, UT, four grandchildren, Kaylyn and Bryson Edwards and Tyler and Emma Lockwood and numerous nephews and nieces plus great and great great nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held August 16th, 2014 at 10:00 AM at Village United Methodist Church, 200 Carmona Road, Hot Springs Village, AR 71909.  In lieu of flowers, there will be a memorial established in Bruce's name at Village United Methodist Church where he was a member.

Finally, I want to thank Tommy Laird (DHS '67) for sending me information on Morris Hite, President of TracyLocke and good friend of the Laird family.
 

Click this link to view a short article at the Advertizing Hall of Fame.
 

Click this link to view a sketch of Morris Hite written by Dean Rieck.
 

Click this link to view an Amazon page for a 1988 biography of Morris Hite written by Russ Pate.

More People of Old Sugar Land

Many of you will have heard that Fred Mora, Sr. (SLHS '59) passed away last weekend.  Here is an obituary in case you missed it.  My sincerest condolences go to Modesta, their children, and the extended Mora family.

 

I want to thank Bill Fisher (DHS '71) for letting me use these images he posted on Facebook.

The first two show some of his classmates when they were in the 8th grade at Dulles Junior High.

L-to-R: Emily Neal, Sara Butts, Michelle Jons, & Tuta Hightower.

L-to-R: Larry ?, Jimmy Payne (back), Kenneth Meyer (bottom), & Buster Corrick.

This last one shows his 5th grade class at E. O. Jones Elementary in Missouri City.  They had participated in a project to raise money for improvements at the San Jacinto Monument.  Notice the banner in front.

Top Row: Tommy Clifton, Vincent Medina, Johnny Joe Arias, Tony Guerrera, Joe Arriaga, Tom Jacobi. Fourth Row: Ms. Kaough, Mr. Robb, Rose Medrano, Marcella Padilla, Marsha Ferguson (?), Ms. Tucker. Third Row: James Wosnitzky, Linda Cortz, Sally Rodriguez, Joseph DuBois, Vincent Morales, Rebecca Chahin, Linda Hitt. Second Row: Cecilia Court, Lee Elkins, Beth Baxter, Dolores Durdin, Sarah Butts, Michelle Jons, Bernadette Harriman, Debbie Craven. Bottom Row: Carl James, Kenneth Meyer, Grady Hernandez, Bill Fisher, Weldon Sheard, John Guilen.

This final photo comes courtesy of Linda Kruse Wilson (DHS '65).  It shows members of her class when they were in junior high way back when.

 

L-to-R: Stephanie Youngblood, Pat Sanders, Edith Lafferty, Joan Davis, Helen Pausewang, Linda Kruse, & Susan Kuykendal.

Odds & Ends

I recently received a copy of the Hall Lake HOA newsletter, which included an article about bobcats sighted in the area.  Many of you know that Hall Lake is on the east side of Brooks Street not far from its intersection with Highway 6.

You may ask yourself, "Bobcats?!"  The answer is yes.  My nephew, Ryan Kelly, shot this photo of a bobcat in 2011 near Faith Lutheran Church, which is roughly across from Camilia Street in Brookside (just north of Hall Lake).

He said the cat was chasing a squirrel, which scrambled up a telephone pole and got away.  He was sitting in his truck as he took this photo with his cell phone.

The Sugar Land Heritage Foundation has items for sale on its Web site.  Click here to go to their Store page.

A new item is their 2014 Christmas ornament commemorating the Palms Theater.  

 

They also have a new supply of coasters depicting colorful, historic scenes of old Sugar Land.  You can find them on the Store page, too.

Richmond Reenacts The Jaybird - Woodpecker Battle

On August 16th Richmond reenacted the Jaybird - Woodpecker Battle, which occurred exactly 125-years earlier. If you want more background on the original event, click this link to an article in the Handbook of Texas.  

If you'd like to read an excellent book on the battle and the aftermath, you can read Pauline Yelderman's definitive history, "Jaybird-Woodpecker War," which the Fort Bend County Historical Commission has recently reprinted.  Copies are available at the Fort Bend County Museum, the Rosenberg Railroad Museum, the Old Foster Community Museum, and the Sugar Land Heritage Society.

I made a short video of the reenactment, which you can view by clicking this link.

Old Stuff

My thanks go to Richard Bunting (DHS '67) for sending me an email message with these images.  I can honestly say I remember all of this old stuff, except item #4.  I'm not sure what that thing is.  It wasn't part of my childhood.

We had a Veg-o-Matic, which I took to Mrs. Frierson's English class when I was in the 8th grade.  If done in an elementary school setting, you'd call it 'show and tell.'  We were too sophisticated for that, so Mrs. Frierson told us it was a chance to polish our presentational skills.  My presentation went well ("it slices, it dices") until I cut my finger, and Mrs. Frierson made me wind it up quickly so I could go to the nurse's office.

Click on the image below to view the album.
 

A Couple of Items from the Portal to Texas History

I found two more interesting items from the Portal to Texas History.  They come from a copy of The Texas Sun, published in Richmond on October 20, 1855.

The first item is a notice announcing the sale of land owned by Mirabeau B. Lamar, 2nd President of the Republic of Texas.  This land was formerly owned by Jane Long.  It is now the location of Lamar Homestead Park between the county office complex and the Brazos River just south of Richmond.

(From the Portal to Texas History)

The second item is an announcement of the new railroad being extended from Stafford to Richmond.  The work wasn't complete, but it was nearly so.  Notice Benjamin Franklin Terry and William Kyle of Sugar Land are the contractors.

(From the Portal to Texas History)

 

Of course, this railroad was the Buffalo Bayou-Brazos-Colorado RR, precursor of today's Southern Pacific line that runs through the middle of Fort Bend County.

Sugar Land Elementary 1960 Annual

I want to thank Tommy Laird (DHS '67) for letting my use his scan of the 1960 Sugar Land Elementary Annual.  Lots of knuckleheads in there.  Click here to view the annual.

Rice whips Santa Clara 27 - 7 in New Rice Stadium on Sept 30, 1950

Nearly 64 years ago to the day Rice University (then Institute) played its first game in Rice Stadium.  The Owls defeated Santa Clara 27 - 7.  Click this link to read a brief account of the game.

It was Rice's homecoming game, and since it was a special occasion they had a celebratory parade down Main St.  Click this link to view a few photos.  Click this link to read a special edition of The Thresher, Rice's student newspaper, which gives more details on the big event.  Notice page 4 has a short article about A&M's new Memorial Student Center, which had opened, but was not quite finished.  Also notice the abundance of cigarette ads.

Galveston: Hawkins Cottages & Manuel's Cafe

My brother Bruce has done some research on Galveston and found two relics from our personal history.  Our paternal grandparents took us to Galveston for a week's vacation every summer from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s.  Each year we stayed at Hawkins Cottages on the Seawall Boulevard at 14th St.  

It was very basic, which was exactly what our grandmother wanted.  She didn't want to worry about messing up a room with tracked-in sand or wet swim suits on the floor.  She also wanted a kitchen so we could cook gumbo, fry fish, or boil crabs -- whatever.  The rooms had linoleum tile floors which were easy to sweep clean.  We brought our own water because Sugar Land water was the best in the world, and Galveston's was pretty bad.  No maid service and no air conditioning.  Since we were there for the bracing Gulf breeze, who wanted air conditioning?

Bruce found an old postcard depicting this relic from our childhood, which you can see by clicking this link.

Our favorite dining spot was a restaurant called Manuel's Cafe on the Seawall Boulevard at 61st Street.  It was famous for its stuffed flounder, definitely my favorite.  Bruce found the following postcard, a miniature menu, on eBay and bought it for me.  I think it comes from the 1950s, but I don't have a precise date.  It's a treasured blast from the past.

More People of Old Sugar Land

I have some sad news to report since my last post in August.  First, long-time Sugar Land resident Lawrence Alaminsky passed away.  Here is an obituary.  Several years ago I posted this short interview with him and Eileen.  It came from a Brookside Subdivision newsletter.

Luther Jordy (SLHS '58) also died recently.  Click here to view an obituary.

My classmate, Cheryl Bailey Hansen (DHS '68), died in mid August.  Thanks to John Frierson (DHS '68) and Marsha Bauman Shaw (DHS '68) for sending information.  Click here for an obituary.  Some of you may remember her brother Johnny (deceased) was in the Class of '64 at Dulles.  Her younger brother James was in the Class of '70.)  I've included a couple of photos.

Class of '68

Cheryl with John Frierson at the '67 Dulles Prom

Finally, some of you may know that Bruce Edwards, Jr. (DHS '65) died in early August.  He and his wife Carmen retired to Arkansas several years ago.

Class of '65

At an Interscholatic League Contest in 1965

My sincerest condolences to Carmen, their children, Randy, Rick, and the extended Edwards family.  Also, my best wishes to Tom Hansen, James, Cheryl's children and her extended family, plus the Jordy and Alaminsky families in their time of grief.

Sugar Land Heritage Foundation Announces the Location of the Sugar Land Museum

In case you missed it, the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation announced the permanent location of the Sugar Land Museum on September 17th.  It will be located on the 2nd floor of the Container Warehouse on the old Imperial refinery site.  The Container Warehouse is the two-story, red-brick building directly behind the sugar silos.  

They'll have more news about the Museum in coming months, but here's a short video I made of the ceremony.

Click this link to view the video.

Catching Up After A Long Hiatus

I took some time off and then was swamped with work, so I have some catching up to do.  First, I want to thank Marsha Krause Smith (DHS '68), Tommy Laird (DHS '67), and especially Wayne Boehm (SLHS '55) for help in identifying people in the following Imperial Awards Banquet photo from 1962.

L to R: W. H. Louviere, Sr., Dorothy Jean Kruse Boehm, Curt Schwalbe, Jim Skiles, Julius Johec, W. H. Louviere, Jr., Donald Hoke, Billy C. Smith, and Domingo Garcia.

They celebrated their 5th anniversary with Imperial Sugar that night in 1962.

Travis Gandy (DHS '64) pointed out James Boyd in the photos of Harold Willey's retirement party.

Harold Willey with James Boyd

Wayne also pointed out E. J. Gaiennie in the following photograph.  He's on the far left.  he began working in the Char House when it opened in 1925 and served as a supervisor until his retirement in the 1960s.

And finally, I need to correct a story I posted a few months ago.  I said Haroldetta Robertson's brother-in-law, Henry Robertson (SLHS '51), gave her a relic from the old Richmond bridge built in 1925.  It was a different b-i-l: Herman Klawitter.  But as I said, she still has the relic in her backyard.

More Images of Old Sugar Land

I've received inquiries recently about the silos on the Imperial Refinery site.  I was living out of the country when they were built, so my facts about them were fairly vague.

While researching a completely different topic, I found definitive information in Imperial Holly's monthly newsletter.  Below the article is a current photo of the silos.

Here are a couple of undated photos showing the generator room in the Power Plant (whose chimneys still stand today) and a tanker truck being filled at the liquid sugar station, which was just a few steps from the Power Plant.

Richmond Showcased on San Antonio Television

Our friends in Richmond were spotlighted as a tourist destination on San Antonio television.  It's a short segment covering Richmond as an attractive and pleasant town.  Click the link below to view the video.

Link to San Antonio Channel 4 travel segment.

Richmond Academy, 1855

I've been researching old newspapers and found the following article in The Texas Sun, published in Richmond, Texas on July 28, 1855.  (Click here to read the complete newspaper at The Portal to Texas History, an excellent Web site by the way.)

The Handbook of Texas says the academy was in operation in 1850, but closed due to bankruptcy in 1858.  At its peak it had 3 instructors teaching 70 white students.  You can see from the newspaper ad the subjects they studied.  Prices seem reasonable at first glance, but people didn't make much money back in those days.

 

TracyLocke & Imperial Sugar Company

Raymond Locke was the founder of TracyLocke, a Dallas-based agency which handled Imperial Sugar's advertizing and public relations for many, many years.  While doing some research, I found the following Web pages that detailed his story and gave a perspective on the early history of Texas advertizing.  You'll see that TracyLocke was an important agency which worked for high-profile clients and developed memorable campaigns.

Link to a brief article on TracyLocke's 100th anniversary in 2013.

Link to a brief article on Raymond Locke.

Link to a brief article on Shelley Tracy. 

Some of you have seen these before, but click the link below to view a selection of old Imperial television commercials.

Link to Imperial tv commercials on the TAMI Web site.