Imperial Sugar Items from 1950 and 1981

My thanks go to Tommy Laird (DHS '67) who sent me these items.  The first is an original print of a photograph taken at a trade convention in 1950.  It shows members of Imperial's sales staff, including his father Ken Laird.

Front from left: R. M. Armstrong, O. R. Armstrong, & I. H. 'Herbert' Kempner, Jr. (Imperial Pres.) Standing: Ken Laird.

This next item is The Imperial Crown published in September 1981.  The front-page article is about the new distribution warehouse opened in Arlington, Texas.

More Baseball Lore

Earlier this year I found a piece of major league baseball history which had just been made available to the public. It was newly digitized home movies taken by Helen (Mrs. Jimmie) Foxx during a trip to Japan in 1934.  She accompanied her husband and other major leaguers on a 10-day goodwill tour.  It's an interesting story, even if you aren't a big baseball fan.  Click here to access the video.

I sent the link to several friends who are big baseball fans, and Johnny Harris (DHS '64) sent me this comment about his father, Luman Harris, who many may remember as a coach and manager of the Colt .45s and Houston Astros.  Here's what Johnny said:

Those are great ... Foxx hit a home run off my dad when he pitched for Connie Mack and the old Philadelphia A's.  The way my dad told me the story was Mr. Mack told him not to throw him a high inside fastball ... Well, my dad, being a control-type pitcher, got the fast ball sign from his catcher and thought "Hmm, I can keep it down on him" ... Well, of course the ball flew high and inside and Foxx hit it so far you would need two bus tokens to go get it ... The worst part came as he went back to the dugout to face Mr. Mack ... No one ever called him 'Connie.'

 

Sugar Land resident Luman Harris was the newly appointed manager of the Colt .45s (September 1964)

The 2015 Fort Bend County Historical Commission

Fort Bend County appointed 60 Historical Commissioners in January.  The photo below shows the 14 commissioners, who were appointed for the first time.

Back row from the left: Patsey McKnight, Bryan McAuley, Dennis Parmer, Ronald Drachenberg, Shereen Sampson, & Roger Beeler. Front row from the left: Chris Bohannan, Katie Newly, Cecil Jones, Daniel Sample, Wayne, Kelley, Vernon Hunt, & Ratha Liladrie.

The Commission's Quarterly Meetings are open to the public.  The location is the Gus George Law Enforcement Academy at 1521 Heimann Circle in Richmond.  The next meeting is on May 19th at 3:00.  Our speaker is Jane Goodsill, who will present "WWII Warriors of Fort Bend County."  She will recount the experiences of Joe Clyde Wessendorff, Mason Briscoe, Ernest Kubosh, Bill Krehmeier, and Robert Schumann.  Her material comes from oral histories collected from and about these 5 men.

Eagle Lake Sees Its First Air Plane in 1917

I want to thank Julius Baumann for sending me this clipping from The Eagle Lake Headlight.  It's an article from 2012 about the first airplane to touch down in Eagle Lake in 1917.  It reminded me of this article about a similar event in Sugar Land in 1919.

Eagle Lake and Sugar Land have a connection in William T. Eldridge, Sr., who learned the sugar business in the former before moving to the later in 1906.  I look forward to visiting the Prairie Edge Museum and Eagle Lake Depot Museum soon.

Photos of Rice Institute (University) in 1931 & 1950

I saw the following aerial photos on Melissa Kean's blog about the history of Rice University.  (Melissa is Rice's resident historian.)  The first was taken in 1931 and shows West University before it was developed.  I've added annotations to help with orientation.

This next photo was taken 19-years later (winter of 1950), when Brown & Root built today's Rice Stadium in 9 months.  It opened in time for Rice's first home game of the season against Santa Clara in late September.

The area around the campus has started to look more like it does today, although the block along Greenbriar is fairly empty.  Christ The King Lutheran Church is now in that spot.

A Correction

I want to thank Betty Jean Parker Prasatik (SLHS '53) for pointing out my misidentification of her mother, Frankie Park, in the following photo.

I have no excuse.  Mack & Frankie Parker were my grandmother's (Mamie Rachuig's) backyard neighbors on Belknap Ct.  I knew Mr. & Mrs. Parker fairly well.  I've included a couple more photos of Mrs. Parker below.  They come from the '53 Gator yearbook.

News You Can Use

I understand the lone surviving interviewee, Earnest Kubosh who is 100-years old, will attend the event.

 *******************

*******************

An Online Exhibit at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Forever Free: 19th Century African-American Legislators & Constitutional Convention Delegates of Texas

Click here to view the exhibit.

SLHS Campus Chatter - February 15, 1929

Sugar Land High School published a student newspaper for all of Sugar Land ISD back in the 1920s.  It was called Campus Chatter.  (I've posted copies in the past.)

Here are a couple of short article from the issue circulated on February 15, 1929.  The front page story was the County Basketball Tournament, which was coming up later in the week.  The Sugar Land boys team lost to Richmond earlier in the week, but the paper was confident Sugar Land would do well in the tournament.  (Unfortunately, I don't have any photos from the '28/'29 school year to associate with names in the box score.)

A column on events at the colored school, eventually named M. R. Wood School, featured a fund drive to buy a new piano.  (I don't recognize any of the names.)

Click here to view all four pages of the paper, but note that a small section of the front page has been cut out.  (This copy comes from the Rozelle Collection at the Sugar Land Museum.)

Flights

My thanks go to Lou Payton (SLHS '46) for sending me this link.  It accesses a video of Charles A. Lindbergh's historic flight across the Atlantic in 1927.  The author, Win Perkins, assembled all the existing newsreel footage into a chronological whole to give a comprehensive recounting of the story.  Click here to access the Web site.

I want to thank T. V. Abercrombie, Jr. (DHS '64) for this next video.  An American pilot, who flew a Spitfire on photo reconnaissance over Germany in WWII, sees a film of himself crash landing his plane decades later.  It's a great story and won an award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.  Click here to access the video.

More People of old Sugar Land

An undated photo showing (l-to-r) Emily Neal, Tuta Hightower, Marsha Ferguson, Betty Ann Jenkins, Pam Barolo, and Gail Hull.  Jack Neal took this photo in the family backyard.  (Thanks, Emily.)

A photo showing Mark Schumann's 6th birthday party in 1964.  The location is the Schumann home on Lakeview.  (Thanks, Mark.)

Another photo of Mark Schumann's 6th birthday party as they cut the cake.  (Thanks, Mark.)

This isn't a photo of Sugar Land residents.  As the caption says it was taken in May 1913 and shows Texas legislators and staff on the front porch of the Imperial Sugar Company General Offices.  They were in Sugar Land to investigate prison system finances and reform.

A Little More on Brazoria County History

I want to thank John Walker for letting me link to a couple of Brazosport Archeological Society monographs he has posted to his Web site, "Life On The Brazos River."

This first paper is on the Durazno Plantation, which was located on land Stephen F. Austin owned south of present-day Angleton.  Click here to view the paper.  Austin's nephew, William Joel Bryan, inherited the land through his mother (Austin's sister Emily) and eventually established a plantation there with a sugar mill.  The monograph goes into great detail about this site and includes numerous photos.

The next paper is also from the Brazosport Archeological Society.  Its topic is the Osceola Plantation up-river of Columbia.  This property is connected to the Austin family through James Austin, Stephen's brother.  Click here to view the paper.  The Archeological Society has done extensive research on the plantation - note the modern photos of its ruins included the paper.

A Little Texas History

We are getting close to the 'High Holy Days,' or 'Advent Season' of Texas History.  I thought I'd begin posting items relating to the battle for independence. 

This first item is a photo of William B. Travis's home in Alabama.  It is now located in Claiborne but was originally constructed in Perdue Hill.  I wonder how many people know Travis was 26-years old when he died at the Alamo?

Click here to view a short video about the Alamo on the History Channel's Web site.

Of course, I'm jumping the gun a little bit.  Ben Milam led the capture of San Antonio in November 1835, which resulted in the Texians' occupation of the Alamo.  Click here to read a rather lengthy account of the Battle of Bexar, but worth reading if you have the time.  It was written in 1843 by Herman Ehrenberg, a participant in the conflict.

Photos of old Houston

 
I want to thank Jerry Cooper (SLHS '56) for sending me a link to these photos.  Great stuff. 

Click on the image below to view the album.  I've borrowed captions from Tana's site, but added my own comments in parentheses.
 

If you'd like to view more images from the site, click here.

If you're intrigued by the old photo of Marvin Zindler as a newsman, I've posted some of his early radio programs. Click here to listen to some.  They're a hoot.

News You Can Use

SLHF Chautauqua Talk - February 17th - Free Event

Attention All Budding Archeologists

Seminar in Columbus, Texas

March 27-29, 2015

East Texas Historical Association

Spring Meeting

Huntsville - February 26-28, 2015

Click here to view Association Web Site.

Click here to view meeting program.

Texas Historical Commission Web Sites

Travel Information

Click here for the Explore Texas Travel Guide.

Click here for the Texas Time Travel trip planner.

Click here for the Texas Travel Mobile App.

More People of Old Sugar Land

 

Barbara Stead Batten with daughters, Donna and Debbie sometime in the early 1960s.  (Thanks, Debbie.)

Chuck McDaniel, DHS '70.  (Thanks, Robert.)

Louis Bourg at a vacuum pan boiling sugar in the early 1960s.  (Sorry, but I can't identify his helper.)

Members of DHS's Class of '76 as 8th graders, including Mark Schumann.  (Thanks, Mark.)

Senior photos of DHS's Class of '76, including Mark Schumann.  (Thanks, Mark.)

Thompson's Ferry Marker

I want to thank John Walker, member of the Fort Bend County Historical Commission, for sending me these items.  He scanned photos of the site where a corps of Santa Anna's army crossed the Brazos River in April 1836 and headed east to San Jacinto.  

What's ironic is they crossed the river heading west at a spot just a bit north of the cotton seed plant on Highway 90A between Richmond and Rosenberg.  In effect, they headed toward Rosenberg to get across the river!  Once they reached the west bank, they made an immediate right turn and headed north towards Fulshear, but turned east after crossing Jones Creek. They stayed north of Oyster Creek never crossing it.

The State of Texas put a granite monument near the east (Richmond) side of the ferry crossing, but the land it sits on is now private property.  Fort Bend County is in the process of relocating the marker by a public road, so it can be viewed by the public.

John's scans come from an Eye's of Texas Guide, published by Cordovan Publishers in 1977.  Click here to view a scan of the complete guide on John's Web site, "Life on the Brazos."

Historic Photos of the Texas Capitols

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission has posted historic photos of various Texas capitol buildings over the years.  If you have a Facebook account, you should take a look at them when you have some time.  

The image you see below shows the 2nd capitol in Austin, built in 1856, as it burns in 1881.  The current state capitol began construction soon after and was completed in 1888.  Click here to view a short article on the first Republic of Texas capitol in Brazoria County.

Click on the image below to view the album.
 

Random Photos of Fort Bend County

The Fort Bend County Historical Commission collected these photos a couple of years ago as it was preparing a brochure. 

Click on the image below to view the album.
 

Unusual Photos from the Past

I think my nephew sent me this album of random historic photos.  Each photo is interesting in its own way.

Click on the image below to view the album.
 

News You Can Use and A Correction

 

  
**********

Celebrate M. B. Lamar on January 26th

 

On Monday, January 26, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon, the Sons & Daughters of the Republic of Texas will hold the 5^th annual memorial ceremony honoring the 2^nd President of the Republic of Texas, Mirabeau Bonaparte Lamar. On this very day, 176 years ago, President Lamar signed an Act reserving three (3) Leagues of land in each county to be used to pay for a public school system in Texas. The event will also celebrate his signing the legislative acts creating the State's Homestead Act (the world's first) and its state flag.

The ceremony will be at the grave of President Mirabeau B. Lamar in the Morton Cemetery, located just north of downtown Richmond, Texas. This is a historic cemetery with Jane Long also buried just to the south of President Lamar’s grave, and the first Masonic Burial Monument located just to the east of President Lamar’s grave. 

The public is welcome to join this celebration.

   

**********

I want to thank Debbie Schumann Brooks, Robert Schumann's daughter, for a correction on the photo of two Schumann brothers with a family friend in 1941.  That wasn't her father in the photo but his brother Max Schumann, Jr.

Max Schumann, Jr., Babe Fischer, and Herbert Schumann at the Max Schumann, Sr. home on 4th Street in 1941.