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.

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.

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.

News & Updates

I have one item of regrettable news to pass along. Judy Bunting Goodson (DHS '77) passed away on August 3rd. She was the younger sister of Nan Bunting Middlebrooks (DHS '63), Mike Bunting (DHS '66), and Richard Bunting (DHS '67). I never knew Judy, but offer my sincere condolences to her family. Click here to view an obituary.

News & Updates

Sugar Land Heritage Foundation

As I've mentioned in the past, the Sugar Land Heritage Museum and Visitor Center is under construction. I can't give you a firm date on the opening, but it should be around the first of next year. I'll report more when I hear it. For now, you can read a recent newsletter from the SLHF board by clicking on this link.

Fort Bend County Historical Commission

The Fort Bend County Historical Commission will have its 3rd quarter meeting on Tuesday, August 15th. It's free and open to the public. Our speaker will be a good one. He's Dan Worrall, local historian and author. He will talk about Pleasant Bend and The San Felipe Trail.  Here's a blurb on his presentation:

The story of Upper Buffalo Bayou and the San Felipe Trail as they existed west of Houston in the 19th Century will be the program topic for the Tuesday, Aug. 15 full membership meeting of the Fort Bend County Historical Commission.

The meeting, which is open to the public free of charge, is booked at the Gus George Law Enforcement Academy, 1521 Eugene Heimann Circle in Richmond, beginning at 3 p.m.

Presenter is historical preservationist Dr. Dan Worrall of Fulshear, an active member of the Harris County HC. Worrall, a retired exploration geologist, is currently searching out prospective historical marker sites in west Harris County. He was instrumental in rescuing the 19th-century Morse-Bragg Cemetery, near Post Oak Boulevard in Houston, from loss to development.

Worrall extensively researched what he called "nearly forgotten" rural areas where pioneers settled and lived a century and a half prior to the sprawling westward growth of Houston. In describing the content of his recently published book, "Pleasant Bend," Worrall wrote:

"One such area is that of Upper Buffalo Bayou, extending from downtown Houston to Katy. In this area, European settlement began at Piney Point in 1824, over a decade before Houston was founded. Ox wagons full of cotton traveled across a seemingly endless tallgrass prairie from the Brazos River east to Harrisburg along the San Felipe Trail, built in 1830.

"Also here, Texan families fled eastward during the Runaway Scrape of 1836, immigrant German settlers trekked westward to new farms along the north bank of the bayou in the 1840s, and newly freed African-American families walked east toward Houston from Brazos plantations after Emancipation."

Fort Bend CHC Chairman Chuck Kelly, who helped secure Worrall as program presenter, noted that while Pleasant Bend lay beyond the Fort Bend County line, "its history and that of our county are contemporaneous in time and contiguous in location, and our ancestors were doubtless familiar with the story we will hear from Dr. Worrall in August."

Sons of the Republic of Texas

The Lamar Chapter of the Sons of the Republic of Texas (SRT) has been inactive for several years, although it was the first chapter of the SRT. Fort Bend County resident F. M. O. Fenn was the driving force to start the organization. It's important that we make a determined effort to restart the chapter.

Tom Green of the SRT has told me he found a copy of a letter from John R. Fenn's son, Frances Marion Otis Fenn, a lawyer in Richmond, Texas, who started the SRT in his legal office there in Richmond on April 11, 1893.  As far as we know, F. M. O. Fenn became the first member of the SRT on April 21, 1893, and a copy of his membership certificate is in the San Jacinto Monument archives.

There are no annual fees. The organization's mission is to promote local history, particularly in schools and educational organizations. The only qualification for joining is documented evidence of an ancestor living in the Republic of Texas (1836 - 1845).

Members of neighboring chapters have graciously volunteered to help this effort. If you want to become a member of the Lamar Chapter of the SRT, respond to this this message. An SRT member will contact you.

If you want to join the local chapter of Daughters of the Republic of Texas, please respond to this message, and we'll put you in touch with the chapter in Richmond. They are a very active group.

Old Timer News

I'm very thankful I have no deaths to report, but I do want to mention Steve Shelton. Some of you know he suffered a stroke a few months back.  He's at home in Hillje. I saw his sister Nancy and brother Lee a few days ago, and they said Rose (Steve's wife) and Steve would appreciate your prayers and good wishes. I'm not certain Steve is ready for visitors just yet, but I'll report on his progress when I hear it.

Wild Fish Tales

I had a recent conversation with an old high school classmate about fishing. I don't recall the details, but alligator gars came up. I have posted the following photo in the past, but I don't think he's ever seen it. It shows a gar caught in the Sugar Land area, I'm not sure where, and I don't know who the man is. Maybe someone will recognize him. Visual clues suggest the date is sometime around 1952. That's an impressive fish.

Alligator gar, 1952.

We also talked about noodling, or catching fish my hand, particularly cat fish. He knew I wasn't the type to wade a creek or river bank and stick my hand in a hole, pulling out a big fish (or something else!) hiding in there. However, I told him a branch of my mother's family (the Rachuigs) were big noodlers up in Bosque County northwest of Waco.  I have visual evidence to prove it. Click the image view an album of photos.
 

Noodlers in training about 1935. (My mother is the noodler second from the right.)

News & Updates

I got an update from Jackie James regarding the photo of her father and I.H. Kempner, Sr. taken when the shopping center opened in 1952. When her father retired, the Kempner family gave him a plaque of appreciation.  (I didn't realize he retired in 1972. I guess that means Sugarland Industries ceased operation that year.) Note the same photo is in the lower right-hand corner.

Kempner appreciation plaque for Tom James.
 

Here's another news item about the Sugar Land Heritage Museum & Visitor Center. Click the image below to read the article in the Sugar Land Sun.

 

Sketch of Sugar Land Heritage Museum exhibit space.

  

Finally, a piece of shameless self-promotion. (However, congratulations to the Fort Bend County Historical Commission.)

  

County Judge Bob Hebert presents the Fort Bend County Historical Commission the THC's Distinguished Service Award for 2016.

News & Updates

I regret that, once again, I have bad news to pass along. My thanks go to Ella Patterson who relayed news of Charles Allison's death she received from Beverly Wharton. Charles and Beverly graduated from Dulles in 1973. I searched for an obituary, but could not find one. God bless Charles and the Allison family.

Charles Allision, DHS '73.

Ella also notified me that Margaret Lindsay, long-time resident of Mayfield Park, died in early May. I know her son, Eddie, who graduated from Dulles in 1969. Here's a brief obituary. My deepest condolences to Eddie, his brother Carl, and sisters, Dianne and Sharon.

Just a few days ago, Roger Howard notified me that Mary Amaro de la Cruz passed away. Mary graduated with Roger in the Class of '63 at Dulles. George Morales (DHS '63) sent this obituary, which included many things I never knew about Mary. (I remember when she worked at the post office in Sugar Land.) I hope Mary's extended family finds genuine comfort after the loss of their loved one.

My final bit of news concerns Steve Shelton, also in the Class of '63 at Dulles. He suffered a stroke a few weeks ago and was hospitalized here in Sugar Land. I mistakenly thought he was on his way to recovery, but I understand that he's back in the hospital. I thought his friends would want to know he needs their prayers and kind wishes for a strong recovery. I'll pass along any new when I hear it.

I have one update from Ronald Miller (SLHS '51). After reading about B. I. Webb's recent death, he sent me this comment:

Charles, thank you for BI's obituary.  Our days of hunting together is now over, but I know that I'll bump into him again.  He was a great class mate, storyteller and friend.  I have been missing his phone calls and thought of him yesterday, not knowing what was going on. Ron

Here's a good photo of B. I. enjoying life.
  

 

 George 'B. I.' Webb in the 1950s.

News & Updates

I have more bad news, which saddens me personally quite a bit. B. I. Webb passed away a few weeks ago. I thought something must be wrong because I hadn't heard from him for a while. I always enjoyed our phone calls and always learned quite lot from them.  (As you'll read in this obituary, B. I. lived in Salley, South Carolina. He left Sugar Land in 1955, but he was a fount of knowledge when it came to old Sugar Land.)

 

B. I. Webb in 1947

 

God bless Charlotte and the extended Webb family. I'll certainly miss B.I. (My thanks to Norm Prasatik and Jerry Cooper for notifying me.)

Greg Ordeneaux (DHS '68) lost his father Elmo recently. His mother died not long ago, so I'm sure this is difficult. Click here to read an obituary. My sincerest condolences to Greg, Paula, and the extended Ordeneaux family.  God bless them as they grieve this loss.
   

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Sugar Land has been in the news recently. Click this link to view an article about its recent award as Best City for Tourism. Mayfield Park is in the news, too.  Click here to read about the big plans for this part of old Sugar Land.

And last but not least, the City of Sugar Land declared May as historic preservation month. It's not possible to save everything, but the city is well aware of his historic assets and their value to the community.

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Can anyone help identify the people in this photo? I got a note from Carolyn Ellis LeMaster. She's identified some of the children shown in this 1959 photo of an M. R. Wood group touring the refinery. They are elementary and junior high students. Recognize anyone? Can you confirm Carolyn's guesses? Post a comment to this blog if you can help.

 

News & Updates

I regret to say I have another death to report. Alfred Smallwood (DHS '67) passed away a couple of days ago. I don't have an obituary yet, but I'll post one when it is available.  My best to his wife Gloria, brother Roy, and all the extended Smallwood family. (Thank you Ella and Fred for notifying me of Al's death.)

(from the 1967 Dulles Viking yearbook)

News & Updates

I have three regrettable pieces of news to pass along.  I forgot to include this first one in the last batch of posts, but Mr. Pat Gibbons died a few weeks ago.  Many of us who attended Dulles High School and many who had some connection with FBISD knew Mr. Gibbons. He was a wonderful teacher and an admirable man. My sincerest condolences and prayers go to his family. It was always a treat to see him at our later class reunions. Click here to read an obituary.

(from the '68 Viking yearbook)

I also want to note the passing of Nancy Krachala Landry, who grew up on The Hill in Sugar Land, but moved to Richmond where she graduated from Lamar Consolidated. Here's some background her cousin Dorothy Syblik (DHS '68) sent me:

My cousin Nancy Krachala Landry died in March.  She was the daughter of Millie and Frank Krachala and sister of Emmett Krachala and Ida Krachala Porter.  Frank worked for Imperial Sugar until he retired.  Both Emmett and Ida graduated from Sugar Land High School.  Nancy went to school in Sugar Land until high school when the family moved from 'the hill' to Richmond.  She was forced to graduate from our rival, Lamar High School.  She is survived by her husband, three children and five grand children. 

Click this link to view an obituary. My condolences go to the Landry family as they grieve their loss.

One last item before moving to happier things, Harold Sollock, friend of the DHS Class of '67 passed away recently. (Thank you, Tommy Laird, for bringing this to my attention.) It's ironic that a photo of Harold appears in the Dulles Rodeo album. (See the post below.) He's the boy on the far right in the photo from the '63 Viking yearbook.
  
On a happier note, I'd like to congratulate my first grade teacher, Maxene Gary, on her recent birthday. It was her 90th. Here's a photo from her 'golden era' followed by a recent photo (also golden).

1st grade Sugar Land Elementary 1957.

Standing behind Maxene are daughter Sheryl, sister Beverly, grandson Jonathan, & son-in-law David Lambert.

 

I want to mention something I missed when I wished her a happy birthday last November. Shirley Laird celebrated her 95th back then and is well on her way to her 96th!

News & Updates

Unfortunately, I have several deaths to report. The first is Symbol Ordeneaux, mother of Roddy (DHS '63), Greg (DHS '68), and Paula (DHS '72). Click here to view an obituary. Roddy predeceased his mother, but my condolences go to Mr. Elmo Ordeneaux, Greg, Paula, and the extended Ordeneaux family.

I do not know the Kocich family, but someone alerted me to Martha's death a couple of months ago. As you'll see from her obituary, the whole family has close ties to Sugar Land. Click here to read an obituary. My prayers and best wishes to the Kocich family.

Gayle Alaminsky Maresh

I didn't learn of Gayle Alaminsky Maresh's (DHS '71) death until weeks after it happened. I hope the extended Alaminsky-Maresh family is coping well with this loss. Click here to read an obituary.

LaWanna Pamplin Hemphil (from the '71 Viking yearbook)

More recently, LaWanna Pamplin Hemphill (DHS '73) passed away. Some of you may know here from her connection to Lakeview Elementary. She worked in the school office for many years. Others will remember the Pamplin family as long-time residents of The Hill. Click here to read an obituary. My prayers go out to the Hemphill-Pamplin family.

Bill Gremillion

Last, my classmate, Bill Gremillion (DHS '68) passed away a few days ago. My prayers and best wishes go to his extended family. I know they will have a memorial services at River Pointe Church on Friday, March 31 at 1 o'clock at the River Pointe Church. The address is 5000 Ransom Road, Richmond, 77469. Click here for an obituary. My sincerest condolences to the Gremillion family.

I have some good news to report, too. Fort Bend ISD recently named a new school after James Patterson. He and I go back far enough that I'll always think of him as 'Coach Patterson.' Congratulations, Coach. Click here for a look at the school's Web site, which shows photos of the school now being constructed.

The Fort Bend County Historical Commission will dedicate a state marker commemorating the Randon-Pennington League on Wednesday, March 29th at 10:00 am near Fulshear. See the notice below for details.

I have one more news item relating to Fulshear. The second annual Fulshear Farm & Vineyard Faire will happen on the afternoon of Sunday, April 30th. Beneficiary of this year's event are the Friends of the Fort Bend County Historical Commission. Join us if you can; it's a good cause. Click the image below for more details.

Jamie Farrell Wood (DHS '66) plus a few other people helped me with ids in the following photograph. That's not Carl Batten, but John Dullahan on the far left. She said the photo was taken at a Christmas or New Year's Eve Party at her parents' home (Verna & J. T.) on Oyster Creek Drive. Thanks to everyone for the help. 

Here is the caption I put on the photo originally: Jamie Farrell Wood posted this on Facebook last year.  I recognize most people in this photo, so I'll take a stab at identifying them starting on the left: Carl Batten, Joy Bartolo, Al Bartolo, & Tuggie Krehmeier. I'm not sure about the next couple - are they the Louvieres? Then there's Gloria Hall, Linda Appelt and Barbara Batten on the right. Kneeling are Bill Krehmeier, Ken Hall, and Bill Appelt.  Not sure when or where this was taken.

Pam Helmcamp Clark (DHS '60) told me the painting below by Blondie Moses hung in the Helmcamp deer cabin for years. I mistakenly guessed it may have hung in her father's office. Thanks, Pam.

Last but not lease, I want everyone to know I submitted 150 reels of 16mm film, 39 reels of Super 8mm film, 34 VHS cassettes, and 2 Umatic cassettes to the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) last week. They held a Round Up event here in Fort Bend County, which I've mentioned in the past. All of these films were donated to the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation (SLHF).

TAMI will digitize them free of charge as long as they receive a copy for their collection of Texan moving images. It is a very good deal, and I can't wait to see the hidden treasures on  those spools of film. TAMI will need several months to complete the process, but once they do, we'll begin looking at what we've got.

Thank you to all the people who donated film to the SLHF. I will contact you to see if you want digitized copies of the film you donated.

News & Updates

I have been busy over the past few months and haven't had time to update the blog regularly. I hope to get back on schedule.  Several items in my backlog, which I'll get to in a week or so. 

I want to mention just one thing because it's coming up soon.  You have a chance to have your home movies digitized free of charge by The Texas Archive of the Moving Image. They will be in various locations in Fort Bend County (including Sugar Land) from March 16 to 26. This is a terrific opportunity if you have film and VCR video you want digitized.

Click the image to view a newspaper article with more details.
  

News & Updates

I was swamped with other duties over the last two months, so items have piled up. I'll eventually get to them, but for now I want to mention just a couple of items. First, Mark Voss (DHS '71) died suddenly last week. Click here to view an obituary. I had no idea he had worked in Afghanistan. I have recent photos of Mark in the More People of Old Sugar Land posting immediately below.

Mark Voss.

My classmate (DHS '68) and good friend, Sam McJunkin, lost his wife Hilda suddenly last month. Click here to read an obituary. Some of you will remember Sam's father was a druggist at the Sugar Land (Rouse's) drug store. Sam's mother Hazel was the City of Sugar Land's first Secretary. Sam's sister Olive is a Dulles alum (Class of '63).

My sincerest condolences go to the Voss and McJunkin families. 

On a brighter note, I want to wish Shirley Laird a very belated, but happy birthday. The big day was November 15th. I don't want to make a mistake, so I'll say she's either 93, 94, or 95-years old.  But, who's counting?  Happy birthday!

I will have more on this later, but I wanted to congratulate the City of Sugar Land and Pat Pollicoff, Director of Communications, on the new state historical marker at the Imperial Prison Farm Cemetery in Telfair. I participated in the dedication ceremony and thought it was well done.

News & Updates

Congratulations to the First Presbyterian Church of Sugar Land, which celebrated its 100th anniversary on Sunday, October 9th! I had the pleasure of attending the service and took some video, which I hoped to have done by now, but time grew short. I'll have it done next time.

I also attended a recent groundbreaking ceremony at San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site near Sealy. They will begin constructing a new museum soon. It was a grand event, which I enjoyed. I and everyone else in the audience were particularly enthused by 4th graders from Austin Elementary School in Lamar CISD.

 

Click this link for a news video of the event.

You still have time to get tickets and sponsorships for the Speakeasy Fundraiser for the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation. Click the image below for ticket information.

If you prefer to see their Facebook page, click this link. 
 
If you can handle even more fun, you might try this fundraiser for the Fort Bend County Historical Commission on Tuesday evening, November 15th in Fulshear.
 

News & Updates

As is too often the case, I have sad news to report. I want to thank Ike Hestrie for notifying me that Lee Foy passed away recently. Here is a link to his obituary. I know several members of the Foy family; in fact, Freddie was in my class at Dulles ('68). I'll try to determine how Lee was related to them.

Some of you may remember Robert 'Bo' Harrison who taught at Dulles in the late '60s. (He was Coach Dugan Hightower's nephew.) He too passed away recently.  Click here to view an obituary.

(from the 1968 Dulles Viking yearbook)

A few real old timers (like me) may remember Frank White, a founder of Parker Music Co. in Houston. He sometimes substituted for A. C. Hart, Sugar Land Junior High Band Director, and James Gary, Dulles High Band Director. He passed away recently. I didn't realize he was a Sugar Land resident for so many years. Click here to read an obituary.

Bettye Anhaiser noted the recent death of 93-year old Lillie Sontag, a 30-year resident of Sugar Land. I'm not certain how she's related to the Sontag's I know, but I presume she is related to them. Click here to read her obituary.

My sincerest condolences to the Foy, Harrison, White and Sontag families for the loss of their loved ones. God bless them all.

 

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I want to highlight a Kempner High School student's project to honor my old school, now known as Lakeview Elementary. Vianca Jiminez (KHS '16) has created a garden to celebrate the campus's 100th anniversary in 2018, and as a result, she's won a Girl Scout Gold Award. Congratulations to her! Click here to read a Houston Chronicle article on her project.

I also want to mention a correction Charles Farrugia (Clements '90) sent me about the item I posted on his great uncle Alvin Kadlecek. I mistakenly said Gloria was his sister, but actually, she's his mother (formerly Gloria Solomon). I'm sure I know some of Charles's aunts and uncles, but I can't place his mother. Anyway, I want to thank them both for that information. It's a great story.

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Finally, I have a few announcements. The first is an invitation to the next meeting of the Fort Bend Archeological Society. (Sorry to give such short notice.) It's on Tuesday, October 18th at 7:00 pm in the Gus George Academy in Richmond.) The guest speakers are Linda Gorski and Louis Aulback of the Houston Archeological Society. Their presentation is "Along the Aurelian Wall - Rome in Ruins - A Self-Guided Walk." If you are interested in archeology, let me know, and I'll give you details on their regular meetings.  

Click the image below to view the latest FBAS monthly newsletter.

 

Linda Gorski & Louis Aulbach.

 

Last but not least, the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation is having a speakeasy-themed fundraiser on Thursday, November 10th. Click the image below to get all the details. I'll have more on this in the future.

 

A scene from the 2015 SLHF Speakeasy Fundraiser.