brucesw

I am remembering the Chevrolet dealership being on the outside feeder near Queen of Peace Catholic Church. A Ford dealership was on the inbound side at Telephone. (And I'm thinking it wasn't Robertson Cheverolet, for wasn't Robertson on the SW Freeway at Hilcroft? The Ford dealer was Jim Sander's, I think?

The Chevy dealership on 59 @ Hillcroft was Richardson, later Cal Worthington.

I have noticed this in the past around a Fiesta near me and when I've seen them being collected the guy is driving a truck with a Fiesta logo. It seems to be less of a problem now; maybe the Fiesta employee is coming around more often or maybe the big apartment complexes have taken steps? Most of the carts in that store are in pretty wretched shape - maybe that discourages pushing them a couple of blocks.

On the positive side, the people using the carts this way aren't driving a gas guzzling SUV a block and a half to pick u a half gallon of milk or a fume-belching older car they can't afford to keep tuned up and they're getting some exercise out of it.

That Fiesta is the closest grocery store to me but it's a small store with poor produce so I seldom shop there but when my car is in the shop and I need some things, I borrow my neighbor's Little Red Wagon (she used to take care of kids in her home occasionally), take my re-usable shopping bags from WF and make the trek. I don't even use one of their shopping carts in the store.

Maybe the purchase of a reusable grocery cart should be covered by the Lone Star card

Thx. Yeah, B4-u-eat are generally pretty quick - recently updated their listing for Cafe Montrose, for example, I noticed. Maybe Java Java is in limbo like Cafe Montrose was for a while.

b4 can be quite tardy about new openings and closings. I've found several that were way out of date and even one where they had 2 restaurants that had used the same space still listed, both long gone. They don't have a staff to track openings and closings and not all restaurants have publicity people to get the word out so they depend on the public's help. I've added numerous restaurants - you don't have to be the owner to add one, just use the form on the site to submit the relevant information. They'll call the restaurant to verify the information.

The best way to notify them of a closing is to post a review like 'Unfortunately, Restaurant X is closed.' They'll check it out by calling the phone number.

I'm not from the Heights but I go up to El Bolillo on Airline across from Canino's sometimes. I was up there this morning. I always go for what's freshest out of the ovens; today it was the sausage-cheese-jalapeno kolaches, bigger than Shipley's and with a lot of jalapeno in there, and some oversized yellow cake cupcakes! Cake for breakfast - Yea! If the churros are hot, I'll definitely go for those. Later in the day, fresh bolillos and teleras (the ovens were in operation but the only ones in the bins were probably from yesterday) and if the tortilla lady is there, the fresh, hot hand-made corn tortillas. There's coffee, juice, milk, sodas but no place to eat on premises, although some do. I tend toward the pastries and cookies over the pan dulce.

If I was in the Heights I'd be there every week or so, grab some fresh hot bakery items and head for home.

Somewhere around here I have a clipping from ca. 1967 on their tenth anniversary but I haven't been able to find it. Bob Byron had been on Houston radio since the 30s on KTRH and had been a top forty jock on KLBS, the predecessor of KILT, in the mid-50s and hosted a KPRC-TV dance show on Saturday afternoons. Tim Nolan came over to KPRC from KXYZ the same week that KLBS flipped to KILT in May, 1957, but I don't know if Byron was already there or when they were first teamed up.

I was away from Houston most of the 60s and heard them only occasionally but I always thought of them as Houston's own Bob and Ray team. I never met either of them but I've been told they were both very fond of the bottle.

KPRC was a very classy station in the early 60s, playing jazzy stuff like Kenton, Brubeck, Hirt, Fountain, Zentner, Winding and the like. Actually, I guess the jocks still had a lot of freedom in their music choices because some of the jocks tended more toward crooners like Goulet, Jones, Steve Lawrence, etc.

I think they started and I know they sponsored for a long time a St. Patrick's Day parade.

I don't recall if Tim and Bob were still on the air when I got to Houston in 1970 but I never would have listened to them at that time as I worked nights and slept late.

Yes KPRC TV is still an NBC affiliate. KPRC Radio has no network affiliation.

As for what the call letters stand for, KPRC stands for "K-Port-Rail-Cotton". The "C" didn't stand for "Channel," although it

could have, I concede.

KTRH's original home was the Rice Hotel, where it lived until the early 70s, when it moved to that godawful building at 510

Lovett in Montrose. KTRH stands for "Kome To the Rice Hotel." In the 90s, when the Jones family sold it to a big

company that later became Clear Channel, those in the newsroom, me included, started calling it "Keep The Resume Handy."

And we all did. Handy and updated.

KPRC announced on the air on it's very first evening that the calls had been chosen to stand for Kotton Port, Rail Center and that phrase led off the Post-Dispatch's story on the paper's new station the next day. The phrase was used on the air to identify the station and in promotional pieces for years.

The Chronicle announced in December, 1929, that Jesse Jones had purchased KUT, Austin, and would be moving it to Houston and taking the call letters KTRH which were to stand for K-The Rice Hotel. The hotel was actually the licensee. KTRH commenced broadcasting in Houston in March, 1930. All other meanings associated with the calls came later.

KPRC

KTRH

Handy Andy, how was that different from Handy Dan? Was it a grocery store?

Yes, based in San Antonio and a somewhat more upscale store than HEB was back then. There was a store at Voss at San Felipe, where the Randall's Flagship is now.

Article

Or for that matter India House Community Center about a half mile further east.

I am still hoping either/both will spur restaurant development or maybe have a food court.

There are usually a couple of cars at Raindrop but only once have I seen any activity at India House, but I only go by during the day, never in the evening.

Raindrop Turkish House

India House

I received the following email at my blog and thought I would post it here in case any of the older HAIFers have anything to share. Elvis made some early appearances in the Houston area I think.

Dear Bruce,

My name is Fabris G.Luca,42 years old,Italy.I'm an Elvis Presley researcher expecially on the early days.

At the mo all my researches are in relation to a book/CD project for the Elvis fan club network. It's a 3/4 CD 200 pages book about Elvis stay at SUN

records done by Ernst Jorgensen(BMG chief on Elvis music catalogue) which I'm now helping detailing the period from July of 1954 through the end of 1955.

The book will consist of more than 400 early photos - half of them previously unpublished. It's not an attempt of once again write the story of

Elvis Presley, but more a collection of information, photos, memorabilia and stories shared by fans who

where there at the time. The book will not deal in gossip or other unpleasant material,it's all about the innocence of the time and the impact of Elvis'

music.We are trying to document every single show Elvis did, and we have come fairly close.

So I'm looking for photos,recordings from Louisiana Hayride (KWKH program transmitted also by KTHS) or Opry,or any live radio gigor interview ....

ANYTHING IS WELCOME FROM THE 50s!!

Any personal memories?

Your help,anyone's help is welcome!

Write soon

I hope this is not too much of an intrusion.

Sincerely yours

Fabris G.Luca

Elvis Researcher

Ps I'm looking for info also on any DJ working at KWEM West Memphis (I'm corresponding with TB Strenght family already) ansd try to locate a DJ working in New Orleans at WBOK in 1955 by the name of Red Smith and then going to WCKY in Cincinnati Ohio during the 60s....

The TB Strenght (sic) was Texas Bill Strength, a teenager 'discovered' at a talent show at one of the big movie houses downtown by KTHT who became a DJ on KTHT and went on to be a songwriter and recording artist and is in the Country Radio Hall of Fame.

I know nothing of this researcher and his bonafides so you're on your own.

His email is plcptATtin.it. Make the obvious correction.

Of course for the benefit of HAIFers post your memories here, too.

I like that idea. I'm going to look into that too. Here's one that I found but probably some of the restaurant supply places like Ace Mart have used furniture, maybe in this economy, a new one at a good price.

Thanks for mentioning this Ed; there have been book signings all over the area since it was released but I missed this completely. Signed copies are available directly from the Galveston Historical Foundation for $26.99 with 'all publisher profits' going to GHF.

I was down on the Island a week ago and very saddened by what I saw. I was without power so long I had not seen much of the destruction and I was surprised by what lingers - still piles of debris, shattered boats piled up, etc. It's really strange to see the inside of a 30 footer because it's been split completely in two. It looked to me like all the oleanders along Broadway were dead - a result of the salt water? I don't think I've ever seen Galveston so brown.

95% of the Strand was boarded up, one place just being hosed out on the interior. Many restaurants are still closed. The eeriest thing was the island was bathed in sunshine until I got to the Seawall; rounding the curve after coming off of Broadway I was enveloped in dense fog, so dense I couldn't see the water. There were drifts of sand along the roadway; I could see the pilings where the Balinese Room stood just barely. A car is perched on the deck of the Flagship, unable to exit because the ramp was collapsed; it's a wonder it wasn't blown or washed away. I could not see the hotel itself because of the fog.

It was very depressing and I didn't stay long. I had wanted to take some photos to document it just for myself but it would have been too much like pulling up on the scene of a traffic accident and instead of getting out and helping, pulling out a camera and taking pictures of the maimed and injured.

All of this contrasted with the liveliness of much of the city - traffic on Broadway was as heavy as I've ever seen it, Shrimp 'n Stuff was packed as was La Estacion.

Galveston will be back but not for a long time.

I'm ordering a copy of the book.

My favs would be Christian's (Washington location only), Lankford, Sparkle's, Someburger, Blake's on Jeanetta and Little Bitty Burger Barn on Pinemont.

LBBB has a kids eat free Wednesday deal and there is a ramp; they're super friendly but it's tiny (it's a doublewide) so not good for a large group.

Blake's website seems to have been taken down; besides good burgers and chili there's great homemade cakes and Hank's Ice Cream, but the bbq is mediocre. There's no ramp but I don't think one would be necessary.

Plus there was this story in the Chron today about Black churches but no mention of Reedy Chapel AME which I think is the oldest Black congregation in Texas.

Must've been other denominations affected too.

I don't know how many teams there have been that have used the names (Mack) Hudson and (Irv) Harrigan; some of the pairings didn't last long. The current team has been together since 1981 at least, however, and both worked as solo jocks on the station before teaming up. They probably hold some sort of record for longevity as a morning team on Houston radio.

The original duo to use the name probably followed James Bond 008 who I think didn't last long. One of their real names was Mack Hudson, the other was Paul Menard. They left to do a morning show in San Diego but one died a few years later.

CBS just cut H&H's long-time newsman, R. B. McEntire, who was with the station since the late 60s also, and Traffic Reporter, T.J. Callahan.

Correct on Rennie. Arness was The Thing, a different movie.

7'7" Lock Martin was Gort. IMDB says he was one of the tallest actors ever, also had a children's show on LA TV as the Gentle Giant.

Showings Thursday and Friday on AMC of TDTESS.

IMDB

Hot showers help. The steam helps to soften the wax and will make it easier to wash it out. I have a pulsating shower head (low flow) which I direct at the side of the face around the ear but not trying to direct the pulsating stream up into the ear. The vibration and splashing action helps to wash out the softened wax.

According to my doc I have very narrow and crooked ear canals. I had troubles for years, had to make several visits to clinics to get my ears flushed, occasional earaches of both the bacterial and fungal variety but I almost never have problems any more.

Occasionally, maybe once a year, I have to use an ear syringe, available at any drug store in several sizes. Never use hot or cold water, only lukewarm. Either extreme can upset your equilibrium and you could fall, not generally a good idea in the bathroom.

Debrox, olive oil and hydrogen peroxide never did squat for me. Also, the tip of the small finger is more effective than a Q-tip and safer, since it

Then neither of you have had the Collin Street Bakery version. It's very rich and hard to eat a lot of, but not because it's bad. It is actually very very tasty.

http://www.collinstreet.com/pages/deluxe_fruitcake

Agreed. I could never stand fruitcake until, in a fit of nostalgia for things my Mother loved, I ordered one one year. The key is the ingredients, especially those pecans, and how many of them they are. They're good enough by themselves to make you ignore all the candied fruit, which I still don't care for very much.

TDTESS is one of my favorite movies of all time (hasn't it already been remade once?) and it's unlikely I'll ever watch this one until it makes it on free TV.

Why don't these money-grubbing Hollywood copy-cat artists do something useful like rewrite the plays of Shakespeare or the Works of Plato?

Harrumph.

I went a few times a few years back on the rec of a friend who is a good cook but I wasn't very impressed. I'm a sausage-aholic and tried a number of their sausages without finding anything very impressive (I bring back coolers-full when I go to Central Texas). I tried a venison summer sausage; it's not unusual to have small bits of bone in summer sausage but the bits of bone were larger than any I'd ever encountered and there was gristle, too, which I've never found in any other summer sausage.

The only crawfish I've seen there are the frozen, imported (i.e., Chinese and tasteless) tails instead of the Louisiana variety. The boudin they sell is DJs from Beaumont, availble at supermarkets all over town (it's a very good supermarket boudin).

I never saw any prime beef. I had a Sam's card and Sam's carries very good choice beef at very good prices so I didn't even look at that.

First visit, no one was taking numbers but I was ignored until someone told me to get a number. On another visit a young Black butcher or helper wrapped up one purchase and walked away. I had to call out to him I wanted some other stuff. He walked away again after the second package. Thankfully I only had 3 things I wanted. The cashiers however have always been very pleasant to deal with.

I don't have a Sam's card anymore but if I want something better than what I can get at Kroger, I'll go to Guy's on OST or Pete's on Richmond or even Central Markup.

From a Houston Post nostalgia piece on the Rice Roof Garden, citing late County Commissioner Squatty Lyons, it was

You're right. James Bond was not his real name. And he wasn't English either. He was born in San Francisco with the name Bennett Gordon Schwartzmann, but he's better known in radio circles as Alex Bennett.

Yes, THAT Alex Bennett, the legendary New York DJ and cable TV porn meister who is still spinning them out on satellite radio.

Here's a link to his story on the WikiPedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Bennett

Check out how he looks today on his personal website http://www.radiofreejack.com/

Thanks Filio. I wasn't here then and was never sure. I think I heard him once with the English accent but had forgotten about it. I also thought he had morphed into Alex Bennet even before leaving KILT but wasn't sure. Never thought to look him up in Wiki - duh.

Bill Young went on to be long time program director of KILT-AM/FM and since leaving has run nationally known Bill Young Productions. Most HAIFers would probably recognize his voice even if they never listened to him on the radio as a DJ.

A reader of my blog sent me this flyer and I thought some people here would get a kick out of it.

He was 12 at the time and attended the show; he knew singer/songwriter Terri Sharp who is still alive in Kerrville.

Yes, there really was a KILT DJ named James Bond 008.

The Smashburger Wagon visits the Press.

Restaurant opens 12/23.

I like Galveston Bay oysters. ...a lot.

...but something isn't adding up, here. This isn't our first hurricane and yet we're a highly productive oyster habitat. They say that some areas hit 30 years ago still aren't producing, but then they go on to say that the oyster beds prevent erosion, which begs the question as to whether erosion by itself might just take care a fair bit of the problem.

Either the reporting is poor or someone just wants to get their hands in the FEMA cookie jar. Possibly both.

You have a point. rbs320 there was debris in the power lines leading to Surfside 4 months after Carla so the surge was close to being as bad then, if in a more limited area. But there aren't any oyster beds off Surfside, I guess.

I was expecting Robb Walsh in the Press to provide an update and maybe he will have a report in a few days. He wrote a series on the Galveston Bay oyster industry a few years back which he has since turned into a book (Sex, Death and Oysters) and I think he has good sources.

If somebody hears of them being served on the halfshell at a decent price, speak up. I could use a dozen or two and some ice cold beer right now.

I was told by a manager of a Capt. Benny's years ago that they get their oysters from Matagorda Bay, presumably much less affected. That's been pretty much my go to place for oysters on the half shell for years.

JJ's Seafood Market, just off Stella Link just inside the Loop has carried Jeri's oysters from Smith Point, I think the best from Galveston Bay, in the shell and jarred, in the past; that's where I've gone for oysters for home cooking and serving. Don't know what they've got these days.

I don't remember a roommate either but I haven't read any of the books on this.

There was a man who claimed to be Corll's lover and had visited the house in Pasadena and may have stayed overnight but never lived there. As I recall he claimed he had been warned by Corll to stay out of one bedroom.

This guy was discovered by one of the newsmen at KAUM, two of whom were gay though not out at the time. He was up at the station for an interview but I never saw him or met him and don't recall his name. I believe the romantic couple had met in a T-room at a Weingarten's in the Heights only recently.

I haven't read the books so don't know if he was ever mentioned but I had my doubts about the claims; I thought it was possible he was just a publicity seeker.

Does anybody know if he was ever mentioned in the books on this subject? There was never much about him, but then there was never anywhere near as much focus on Brooks as there was on Henley.

60 % of this years crop lost, oysters dying under the muck.

Long term recovery will take costly intervention.

Not good news for oyster lovers or for the ecology of the bay.

The Chronicle story.