nm5k

#1 When the dino's roamed the earth, that was the site of Mel's Bar B Q. It burned down if I remember right, and was the plant store a few years later. #2 I worked as a caddie there 2-3 times in the early 70's.

Not sure how I got it in my head that there was an indoor pool.. Maybe I was confused to the location being as it was so overgrown at the time. I can see from the older pictures that you could loop around the driveway without stopping even in the old days. So I guess what I thought were carved out driving trails in the overgrown grass, were actually tracings of the original drive that looped around the garden area, or whatever it was, east of the house. I think it was the summer of 1974 when we went there. I remember I was driving the first car I had back in those days, and I'm pretty sure I was 17 at the time as I remember that summer pretty well. In the 1973 archive image, it doesn't look as overgrown from the air as it actually was that next summer we were there. I vaquely remember we went there one night late that summer, and the police came and ran everyone off. I think that was the last time I went there. And I guess it was 2 years later when it burned down. At that time, I didn't have any real clue as to it's history. But even in it's run down shape, I could tell it must have been a pretty fancy place in it's day. The grass and weeds must have been 3 ft tall when we were there. It was pretty thick as I recall. Hard to believe it's been 40+ years since then.. Where did all the time go...

Used to go to a place called the "Diamondhead" club?? I believe it was.. Back in the mid-late 70's.. I think that was in the village or nearby.. We used to go there on cheap pitcher night and drink mass quantities of golden beverage while watching bands like Allan Haynes, and such.. Didn't really spend much time in the village area other than that.. I do recall seeing Eric Johnson at the old Tower theater back in the mid-late 80's or thereabouts.

Best I can tell from the various sources, they seem to think the oak has been there since around the beginning of the cemetery founding. Which was the 1870-1880 range. So... if it's from 1870, I suppose around 143 years.. That's a pretty long time for a typical oak tree. It's getting so heavy on the ends of the branches that they have a few cables, supports and such to hold it up in spots.

Noticed another had posted some images from Glenwood. I have a few I took around the beginning of last year.. I'd like to take some more if I ever get around to it. A few notable graves I haven't got to yet. That monster tree is something else. I don't think I ever posted these here, but if I did and forgot about it, sorry about the dupe.. http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem1.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem13.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem14.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem15.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem16.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem17.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem18.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem19.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem20.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem21.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem22.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem23.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~disk200/cem24.jpg

It probably is.. But the original is a higher resolution. Which is this one.. You should be able to click on this one to see full res. Well, maybe not after posting it.. This is the full res link.. http://home.comcast.net/~disk300/westbury.jpg

Good pictures.. Some of those are real good for looking through an aircraft window. I notice Southwest Maryland One parked in that "taking off for Austin" picture. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6kGMYtkdVg I snap a few of them when I'm in the neighborhood. I'll usually sit behind the fence near Telephone and catch them going into 12R. Shamu.. Spirit of Kittyhawk Regular ole 737-700

Yep, that was him.. According to what I found when I did the search to verify the date, that happened not long before the 10 PM news was to come on. One source said he was out in the hallway.. They said Ron Stone came on to give the announcement, and then they cut to a three stooges cartoon.. I'm not sure if that's right or not... Seems to be a weird choice of programming to put on right after announcing something like that. But maybe that's all they had ready to go at that moment to fill the air.. ?? I also ran across another obit about his wife. She died just this year. I think Feb 2011, or thereabouts.

Sid Lasher.. I'd forgot all about that guy. Been so long.. I still remember the night he died right before the newscast was about to start. I was thinking it was probably about 1970-71, and a quick search showed it to be in 1971.. 40 years ago.. Note how primitive the weather map was back then.

What is now the dollar store at W.Bellfort and Chimney Rock was a Weingartens in the 60's and 70's. I think it started that way. Also remember the drug store in the same center was a "Dugans" drug store if I have the name right.

Some good ones in there. Some of those are the oldest decent pictures I've ever seen of Houston.. IE: 1850's-60's..

Dang.. Hunter Chapman and Paul Findley.. I knew those two..

The speedway is the now dirt oval on the rectangle of darker colored dirt west of the stadium. And just east of W. Airport which is the N/S road in the center of the picture. Butler Stadium was there a good amount of time before the speedway closed. I'm not sure when the stadium was built, "I seem to recall it says when on the entrance sign" but seems it was like about 1966 or so.. ?? I marched at football games there when I was in the band at Westbury, and that was the 73-74-75 range. Edit.. And now that I think about it I ran track and cross country meets at Butler when I went to Johnston Jr. High. That was the 71-72+ range.. So Butler has been there a while. The baseball diamond was not there yet at that time. Or at least I don't recall it..

I went to all those places. Also don't forget "Ernies" on Chimney Rock.. Was in the center across Gasmer from Westbury H.S. I remember that was the summer of 1975 when they were open, and I lived across the street in the Madison Apt's. That was a wild summer.. :/ I remember we pretty much partied non stop the whole summer. I remember one night this guy from Atlanta Ga. came by, I guess with someone else we knew. He had been hitchhiking across the country and was passing through Houston on his way to CA. I remember we all spent the night inhaling adult beverages and by daylight he had talked me into going with him. At 8 AM, I was on the road to CA. We left out on 90a, and hit 36 to I-10.. The first night I ended up out near Junction TX. The next night I was in Tucson AZ.. Two days later I was in Barstow CA.. We made pretty good time for hitchhiking.. :/ We also ran into some girl from N.C. and she traveled with us most the rest of the way. We toured around CA. for a while, camped in Yosemite for a week. Yosemite was a non stop party in the mid 70's. Kind of like Memorial Park on a Sunday Afternoon except much bigger trees. I even ran into other people from Houston when I was there. I remember being in the bay area for a few days. Stayed in Berkeley. Went to the U.S.C there to check out the seismic recorder in the hallway.. :/ Noted that all the taxicabs and most of the houses were painted psychedelic colors. Stayed at one house for about three days, until one day we were sitting around and one of the guys that lived there asked me if he could massage my feet I decided Berkeley was not my type of place and promptly hit the road again that very night. Went across Nevada and Utah on I-80, which was like traveling on the moon. Camped on the Bonneville Salt Flats one night. Into CO. and Steamboat Springs. etc, back down I-25 into N.M. and down to El Paso. Back to Houston on I-10.. I remember I left El Paso at 6 AM, and got a ride in an old Willys Jeep.. It must have held about 8 gallons of gas because we had to stop several times. Also, I think it's top speed must have been about 52 mph.. I didn't get back to Houston until 1:30 AM where they dropped me off at the McKee Street bridge. I was gone a total of two weeks. Went back to the pad at Madison Apt's, and partied for a few more days. Then 4th of July, 1975... We went to the hill at Westbury Square to watch the fireworks show. During the show, a fire developed at the Madison Apt's.. We could see it from the hill. Betcha can't guess who's apartment it was.. :/ yep, it was ours.. This guy we knew fell asleep in the arm chair that was in my bedroom with a cigarette, and caught the chair on fire. Almost burned that whole section of townhouses down.. I forgot where I went after that.. Yep, the summer of 75.. Not for the timid or faint of heart.. BTW, I think the first place I really got into foosball was at the Sir Pizza next to 7-11 on Burdine and Chimney rock.