News & Updates

I regret I have several items of sad news to relay since I haven't posted to this blog for a couple of months. My first item is to say Mark Farrell, son of Verna and J. T. Farrell, passed away in recent months.  (I have not found an obituary.)

Reba Hall Nicosia (SLHS '43) died on July 30, 2018. Here is an obituary. (Thank you Betty Lubojasky for notifying me.)  

My classmate, Penny Morton Springer, died on August 15, 2018. (My thanks go to Louise Nichols Gau for notifying me.) Here is an obituary. 

Penny Morton Springer ('68 Viking)

I want to thank Pam Helmcamp Clark (DHS '60) for notifying me that Joe Rychlik passed away. Click here to view his obituary.

Many of you may have heard that William H. Louviere, Jr. passed away a few days ago. I don't have an obituary, but Marsha Krause Smith notified me that his service will be on Friday, August 31st, at 11:00 am at St. Theresa Church. (Thanks, Marsha.)

Bill Louviere, Jr.

Bill Louviere with son Buck.

My sincerest condolences to the Farrells, Halls/Nicosias, Springers, Rychliks, and Louvieres for the loss of their loved ones.

DHS Class of '68 to Celebrate Its 50th Anniversary

The Class of '68 at Dulles High School will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Saturday, October 13th, at The Swinging Door in Richmond. We will also host a mixer in Sugar Land's Town Center area on Friday night, October 12th. There will be more information soon. 

Click the image below to view a few images from the '68 Viking yearbook. (I'll post more class photos in the future.)

 

Cover of the '68 Viking - it was a groovy era.

More Images of Old Sugar Land

Click the image below to view images of old Sugar Land.

 

Audience at announcement of Kempner Scholarship for M. R. Wood High School graduates in 1957.

More People of Old Sugar Land

Click the image below to view an album showing more images of people of old Sugar Land.

 

Undated photo of Rosie Syblik Jansen, long-time resident of Sugar Land.

News & Updates

I regret to report that long-time Sugar Land resident, Shirley Phelps Laird, aged 96 passed away recently. My sincerest condolences to Tommy, Karen, and the extended Laird family. Lots of people will miss her.  Click here to view an obituary.

Mrs. Laird

Last time I posted a photo of Dr. E. E. "Dubbo" Jenkins. Pam Helmcamp Clark recently sent me a notice that his son, Bob Jenkins, died recently. Bob lived very briefly in Sugar Land, but he has lots of relatives still living in the area. My condolences to his extended family for their loss.  Click here to view an obituary.

My friend and classmate Marsha Smith noticed that Carrin Mauritz Patman died recently. Her mother was an early superintendent of Sugar Land ISD back in the 1920s. She too was named Carrin. She died giving birth to her daughter. I didn't know that Carrin (daughter) was married to Wright Patman's son. Those of you who know Texas political history will recognize Wright Patman as an influential figure in that part of our state history. Click here to read an obituary.

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Some of you may know that the City of Sugar Land has renamed the old Main Street bridge, the Annette Williamson Wise Bridge, in honor of her commitment and service to our local community. They will hold a celebration on Saturday, June 30. Click here for more information.

Finally, some of you have followed the story of a lost cemetery discovered in Telfair on land where FBISD is constructing a new technical training center. The site is at University Blvd. and Chatham Ave. There will be much more on this as the story develops. Click here to view a local newspaper article.

More People of old Sugar Land

Click the image to view an album of images of people of old Sugar Land. They come from photos Tommy Laird found among his recently deceased mother's collection of memorabilia. There is also a photo of her father Jamie Farrell Wood posted on Facebook. (Thanks, Tommy and Jamie.) Click the image to view the album.

 

Undated photo of J. T. Farrell (SLHS '46).

More Images of Old Sugar Land

Click the image to view an album of images of old Sugar Land. They come from postcards Tommy Laird found among his recently deceased mother's collection of memorabilia. Click the image to view the album.

 

Undated photo of the home economics building at old Sugar Land High School.

Coming Attractions at the Sugar Land Heritage Mueum

Click the image to magnify the flyer.

Friends of the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation will have a social at the museum on the evening of August 9th. The theme is the history of education in our town. Its title is Back to School: Then and Now. I'll have more information as we get closer to the date. Click this link to view info about the Friends organization on the SLHF's Web site.

Tommy Laird recently sent me an 'appetizer,' which I'll try to use in a talk at the event. He found it among his mother's collection of memorabilia. I have never seen a copy before, and it has some intriguing points in it. Retiring Superintendent of SLISD, E. K. Barden, sent this letter to local residents just before he died in 1950. Click the image to view the letter.

SLISD Superintendent, E. K. Barden's valedictory letter at his retirement in 1950.

Miscellaneous Items

Click the image to view an album of miscellaneous historical photos, including Imperial Sugar memorabilia, the Bolivar ferry, and a 1930 aerial photo of west Sugar Land.

 

Bolivar Ferry in 1960.

News & Updates

Ronald (age about 3 or 4) at lower left in the old Sugar Land dairy and as a high school senior in 1951.

I'm very sorry to report the recent death of Ronald Miller (SLHS '51). Click here to read an obituary. My sincerest condolences to Trinka and his children. I'll repost something Ronald sent me in my next updates.

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Although I'm late with this, I wanted to tell everyone that Dr. Raymond Chong is giving an encore performance of his presentation on Chinese laborers, working on the Transcontinental Railroad. Click the image above to read details. His presentation begins at 11:00 on Saturday, June 2nd at the Sugar Land Heritage Museum & Visitor Center. Admission is free.

Dr. Chong's presentation is part of a traveling exhibit sponsored by the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Houston-Austin Chapter. The exhibit is on display through next week.

John Pirtle's Oral History

John Pirtle was born in 1931 and graduated from Sugar Land High School in 1949. His family lived on "Rat Row" (old Imperial Blvd.), which is now covered by the expanded Nalco plant. Time has made sweeping changes to the town John grew up in, but his memories are still vivid and cherished. Read his interview to get a taste of Sugar Land back then.

Click the image below to read John Pirtle's account of his life in Sugar Land.
 

More People of Old Sugar Land

Click the image to view the album of photos.

 

T. C. Rozelle, Jr. in 1916 at home on Sartartia Plantation.

Fort Bend Star Articles About Sugar Land History.

The Fort Bend Star ran two articles about Sugar Land history in its recent issue. The first recounts Sugar Land's successful transition from a company town to a municipality.

The second article is about re-installation of a 1937 plaque on the renovated Central Unit building, which now is home to the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land.

Click the images below to view the articles.

Elected city officials at inauguration in 1959.

Plaque restored to former prison building. (Image courtesy of HMNS at SL.)

Expansion of the City Park in Mayfield Park

On Saturday, May 12th, the City of Sugar Land hosted an opening ceremony for the newly expanded city park in Mayfield Park.  I took a video camera with me and shot the following short video. It's a very pleasant setting. Click the image to view the 3-minute video.

News & Updates

Thank you, Mary Lee Brodecky Sebesta, for sending me a link to Mrs. Patsy Guerrero's obituary. (I mentioned her death in an earlier post, but didn't have a link to her funeral notice.) Click here to view the obituary. My sincerest condolences to the extended Guerrero family for the loss of their loved one.

Many of you know Lakeview Elementary celebrated the centennial of its campus (former site of Sugar Land School) last week. Click this link to view photos from the event, which was a big success.

Others of you may have heard that FBISD's current facilities plan includes an option of closing LVE and merging its student body with Meadows Sugar Mill Elementary. Click here to view the schedule of public meetings for community feedback on the facilities plan. Click here and go to page 11 of the plan and view the details regarding merging Meadows Sugar Mill and Lakeview Elementary Schools.

More Selections from the 1959 M. R. Wood Panther annual

Here is another selection from the 1959 Panther yearbook for M. R. Wood School in present-day Mayfield Park. This was the first annual the school produced.

Click the image below to view pages showing the school principal, Charles L. Jingles, and faculty.
 

1959 M. R. Wood School annual.

More People of Old Sugar Land: Sugar Land Elementary School in 1960

My thanks go to Tommy Laird (DHS '67) for sending me this scan of the 1960 Sugar Land Elementary School annual.

Click the image to view it.
 

SL Elementary School annual.

Aerial Images of Sugar Land

Click the image below to view a selection of aerial photos included in Images of America: Sugar Land, Texas. from Arcadia publishing company.

 

Industrial Park looking northwest from above Hwy. 90A.

More Historical Photos of Houston, the US, and the World

Click this link to view color photos of Houston in the 1950s and '60s. 

These next photos come from a Rice history blog that I follow. Look at the 2nd aerial, which gives a good view of the empty space between Houston and Stafford.

My thanks to the readers who sent me the following photo album. There are a few repeaters, but most are new (to me).

Click the image to view it.
 

 Construction of the Empire State Building, 1931.

News & Updates

I'm very sorry to report the death of 4 old Sugar Landers. 

Donald Brooks in 1947.

The first is Donald Brooks, who passed away on February 28th. Here is an obituary. Donald was a long-time employee at Imperial Sugar Company.

 Charlie Tise in 1947.

The second is Charlie Tise, who died last Friday (March 16th). He and his wife Frances retired to Wimberley, but their connections to Sugar Land were always close. Here is an obituary for Charlie. 

 

 Frankie McFadden in 1947.

  

The third is Frankie McFadden, who died on March 17th. I think  he lived in Spicewood near his daughter Kelly, who cared for him the past few years. His father was the third mayor of Sugar Land (1968-1972). Unfortunately, I don't have an obituary.

I don't have much on the fourth person, but she was Vickie and Patsy Guerrero's mother. Mrs. Guerrero was 97-years old/young and a long-time resident of Sugar Land. I will try to find more information and include it in a future post.

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I want to make one final reminder of the centennial celebration at Lakeview Elementary on Saturday, March 24th. 

(Click to enlarge the image.)

Here is a map to show parking & shuttle locations. (There will be no public parking at the school.)

(Click to enlarge the image.)

Here is a news item on development at old Central Unit 1 that appeared in the recent edition of the Sugar Land Sun.

And, here's another news item on a couple of notable old Sugar Landers: James and Mary Jo Patterson have been named honorees for the 2018 Fort Bend County Fair. Congratulations!