News & Updates

 

I enjoy doing this blog with one exception: relaying bad news.  I'm sorry to report that Lupe Rodriguez (DHS '63) died recently.  Click here to view an obituary. (Thank you, Roger Howard, for passing along the information.)

 

Lupe Rodriguez as an employee of Imperial Sugar Company in the mid 1960s.

I received news from Pam Helmcamp Clark (DHS '60), saying Mary Jo McFadden George (SLHS '51) also passed away recently.  Click here to view an obituary.

 

 

I'm also saddened to report the death of Patrick Gustin, Cindy and Mike's younger son.  He died in an auto accident in Florida.  Click here to view an obituary. 

I understand that losing a child is one of the hardest setbacks in life although losing a parent, sibling or spouse isn't easy either.  I hope the Gustin, George, and Rodriguez families are overcoming the loss of their loved ones.

  

A recent photo of Cindy Buehring Gustin and her mother.

On a brighter note, the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation has a fundraiser coming up in a week or so.  Here's the info -- leave your hip flask at home.

 

What's the pass word?

 

I nearly forgot a couple of things.  First, I want to thank Tommy Laird and Randy Edwards (both DHS '67) for identifying Billie and Bill Louviere, Jr. in the following photo taken at the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church in 1955.  They are sitting on the left side of the front pew in the background.

I also want to thank Donna Christopher Baker (DHS '63) for reminding me that her father's first name was Marshall.  Many locals and former employees of Imperial will remember him as Marshall Christopher.  He's the man on the left in this photo.

Missouri City High School

Thank you, Lee Elkins LeGrand (DHS '71), for letting me scan these photos from the Elkins family scrapbook.  Many of you know her father was Lawrence Elkins (MCHS '42), who worked for MCISD and Fort Bend ISD for many years.  In fact, Elkins High School is named after him.

The first photo shows the 1941 Mustang Band on the steps of the old auditorium, which I'm happy to say is still standing. 

The next photo shows the 1939-40 championship boys basketball team.  (I'm not sure what championship they won.  Most likely their Class A bi-district title - maybe higher titles, too.)  I've included the annotations on the back.  I recognized Mr. Elkins and Mr. Jerry Segers, Sr. right away.  I didn't realize the coach was Mr. E. O. Jones, Dulles High School's first principle.

The last photo shows the 1950 boys basketball team, which also won an unidentified championship.  I recognized Coach Bobby Williams (#21) right away.  As you can see, Mr. Elkins is their coach.  I don't recognize anyone else.  Any help with ids?

 

Analysis of Old Aerial Photo

The March 1957 issue of The Imperial Crown, Imperial Sugar Company's employee bulletin, included the following photo and asked its readers to guess the date it was taken.

I've clipped the answers from April's issue.  I thought this article was a good exercise in showing how the dates of old photos are determined if they are unknown.

I've annotated the photo to help identify the landmarks used to determine the date.

More People of Old Sugar Land

If I have posted the next 4 photos before, they are worth repeating because they show the citizens of Sugar Land getting their picture taken.  (The photos are sections of a very large panoramic print.  It would be impossible to show the unsegmented photo on this blog.)

'Photo Day' was probably a very rare event at the time.  I've looked as closely as possible, and I can't confirm there are any cars in the shot, so my guess is this photo was taken well before WWI.

 

Far left quarter of the panorama showing the 1903 train depot.

Left-middle quarter showing stores, cafe, barber/beauty shop and part of the General Mercantile Store.

Right-middle quarter showing the General Mercantile Store, Drug Store and Imperial Offices with the refinery in the background.

Far right quarter showing the Imperial Offices and more of the refinery.  (The camera appears to be located at the intersection of Brooks St. and Highway 90A.

I've forgotten who posted this photo on Facebook, but my thanks go to the anonymous sharer.  It shows a selection of Dulles High's Class of '73 when they were 4th graders at Sugar Land Elementary.

 

Joan Maresh Hansen (DHS '68) sent me the next photo.  Someone found it in a closet at Dulles High School recently, and wondered who the girls were.  I can't identify the younger girl, but the other is Debbie Duggan Gamble (DHS '69).

 

 

The following photo shows Frances Koon Tise (SLHS '48) posing on a concrete bridge on Oil Field Road.  I think this photo must date from around 1948.

 

The next photo shows children swimming in the pool at the Humble Camp, which was located on Oil Field Road just north of the levee.  I think the photo dates from around 1940.  That may be my mother in the pool with her feet sticking out of the water.  I think that's my aunt (Mayme Rachuig Haus, SLHS '48) behind the boy and girl on the right of the group.

 

And last but not least, we have Pam Bartolo Moody (DHS '71) riding a bronco at Kiddie Wonder Land on South Main.  Note the boots.  (Thanks, Pam.)

 

Hurricane Carla Revisited

I missed the 54th anniversary of Hurricane Carla last month, but I'll post this entry anyway.  I've posted a few items in the past about Carla's effects on Sugar Land.

Click here to view the Fort Bend Mirror's post-Carla edition.

Many local families took shelter in the refinery.  It was a safe haven for those who didn't want to weather the storm in their homes.  A couple of older buildings in the refinery complex suffered some damage, however. 

Click this link and scroll to the bottom of the entry to see photos of the damage.

Here are a few additional items I found when researching Carla a couple of months ago.

Click here to view the National Weather Service's history of the storm.

Click here to view a news documentary of the storm.

Here's another short video about Carla.