FilioScotia

Oops. My old memory is really failing me now. I withdraw everything I've written about TSU and the auditorium, and I'm going to my room for time-out.

Forgive me. I was talking about the auditorium TSU had in the 50s and 60s. The original Hannah Hall auditorium that was replaced not too many years ago. I went to some events in that old auditorium, and I remember the front of it looked something like the building in the screen capture.

I "believe" this is the auditorium at Texas Southern University. But I'm not betting the house on it.

You are right IHB2. That sure looks like the same place, except for the decorative bricks around the support poles. I stand corrected, but I DID say that I wasn't 100 percent sure.

This thread is dredging up old memories of that episode of Route 66 for me. I remember watching it because it got so much advance local publicity. I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think that screen shot was at that Holiday Inn on Memorial just outside downtown. I agree that it does resemble the front of the Beechnut Police Substation, but it also has the look of that Holiday Inn.

They filmed several episodes in and around Houston as I recall. The one we're talking about here -- I believe -- was the episode in which long time Houston City Councilman Johnny Goyen played a small role as a local police officer. The producers made a point of hiring locals for small roles wherever they went. It was one of the reasons for the show's popularity.

More interesting trivia: these Houston area episodes were done in the short period after George Maharis left the show. The Internet Movie Database says "A bout with hepatitis and his ongoing clashes with both producers and co-star Milner led to his leaving the hit series after three years. The show didn't survive long without him." IMDb also says there was a sex scandal, but Maharis's gay sex scandal didn't happen till the 1970s.

So there were several episodes in the 1963 season when Tod (Martin Milner) had the Vette all to himself, till Glenn Corbett was hired to replace Maharis. Here is the info from the IMDb.

Season 3, Episode 22: The Cage Around Maria

15 March 1963

Tod, still alone, is in Texas working as a tour guide at the Houston Zoo. He rescues a dazed young woman from the bear "pit". Later she explains to Tod that she made a spectacle of herself in order to find someone to help her. She suspects her penniless stepfather has attempted to kill her wealthy mother-and will try again.

Season 3, Episode 23: Fifty Miles from Home

22 March 1963

Tod, still alone, is in Houston working at SE Texas University as a gym manager. When much decorated Viet Nam vet Lincoln Case is "hoo-rahed" by members of the basketball team, the "ticking time bomb" violently retaliates. Tod seeks revenge and after a brutal fistfight both men come to an understanding. "Linc" vows to "search this country for a meaning to life".

Season 3, Episode 24: Narcissus on an Old Red Fire Engine

29 March 1963

Tod and new friend/traveling companion (Lincoln Case, played by Glenn Corbett) are in Galveston, Texas working as laborers at a cotton processing plant. Linc is "knocked out" by a kooky girl he meets in a seamy Greek fisherman's bar. Something in her past has scared and scarred her. What she wants out of life is unknown - even to herself.

So what is your question?

If you REALLY want to be taken back in time take a slow drive through the area south of I-10 between North Main and US 59. The very far northern edge of downtown. You'll find old buildings and houses that were built in the late 1800s. Some have been rehabbed and are in use, but others are in a sad state of decay.

There is also the neighborhood west of Houston Ave between Memorial and Washington Ave, and the neighborhood north of Washington Ave along and on both sides of Houston Ave. There are also a number of streets in the Woodland Heights area between Studewood and Beauchamp.

It's also worth remembering how common the name "Bear Creek" is. There's the one in west Harris County, and I know of at least two more "Bear Creeks" near where I live in East Texas. To say there was a battle at "Bear Creek" is a bit like saying there was a car accident on the Interstate. Which one?

I lived in Copperfield in the 1990s and drove past that old house countless times and wondered about it. One day in the late 90s, driving on W. Little York, I saw a couple of cars parked there, so I decided I would knock on the door and ask about the house.

It only took one knock to get a response. The door was opened by a scruffy looking guy with a police ID badge on his belt. When he opened the door I could see several other scruffy looking guys sitting at desks working on computers.

I told him I drove past that house every day and I was just curious to know something about it. The guy told me he didn't know anything about the house, and they were only there doing property research for a planned widening of W. Little York. Then he closed the door.

I went on my way more curious than ever, but I never went back. In any event, W. Little York WAS widened out to four lanes a few years after that.

I'm guessing that some undercover cops were using the house as a base of operations for some investigations in the Bear Creek and Copperfield area. At that time, it wasn't visible from Hwy 6, and just barely visible from W. Little York.

It's just a coincidence that Smith Street runs right through what was once a large parcel of land owned by Obedience Smith. The street is named for Erastus "Deaf" Smith, one of the heroes of the Texas Revolution. He was one of Sam Houston's scouts, and is credited with capturing Santa Anna after the battle of San Jacinto.

I have found some info on Thomas B.J. Hadley, for whom Hadley Street is named. Hadley came to Texas when it was a republic, and when Texas became a state he was active in furthering education and learning. He was in fact one of the founders of a debating society that played a role in developing the Houston Public Library.

The Historical Marker on the Julia Ideson Library building says:

Genesis of Houston Public Library system. Outgrowth of Houston Franklin Debating Society, founded 1837, the first Houston Lyceum was chartered by the State of Texas on March 20, 1848. Its founders were Thomas M. Bagby, Abner Cooke, Peter W. Gray, T. B. J. Hadley, E. A. Palmer, James Walker, and other citizens interested in debating and in a circulating library.

Meetings of this group lapsed, and a second Houston Lyceum was organized on May 27, 1854, by Andrew W. Daly, who became president. C. R. Smith was vice president; W. I. Brocket, recording secretary; S. C. West, corresponding secretary; T. H. Conklin, treasurer; and Thomas Pearce, librarian. Aim, similar to that of first Lyceum, was "to diffuse knowledge...by a library, by lectures..., and by discussion...."

Some $17.40 and 88 volumes were collected by Aug. 25, 1854. A bookcase was bought, and library was lodged in the county courthouse. Lyceum activities were curtailed in Civil War era (1861-65), but library and records were preserved until his death in 1868 by the faithful president, Andrew Daly.

The Lyceum was reactivated in 1874. Houston Public Library, inheritor of the Lyceum's books and ideals, is now a major resource center for one-fourth of the population of the State of Texas."

Here's a link to an item in the Texas State Historical Association website, about a woman named Obedience Smith. You might find it of interest.

http://www.tshaonlin.../articles/fsm79

Obedience Smith was one of Houston's earliest citizens, and her daughter Piety married Thomas Hadley. Piety Smith Hadley and her husband were among the founders and charter members of First Baptist Church in Houston. Between them, the Smiths and the Hadleys owned large parcels of land that are now downtown Houston. One particular parcel is now occupied by Houston City Hall, Jones Hall, Bayou Place and Tranquility Park. You'll notice that Smith Street runs right through the middle of that spot.

I haven't been able to find out what Thomas Hadley did for a living, but if he was like most of the successful men of those early days, he was probably a businessman of some sort.

You have probably already noticed that most of the streets in the immediate area of downtown are named for Houston's prominent citizens of those times.

Ah yes. That's better. Thanks.

Oops. I can't open that website. I clicked on it and this is what I got.

The item you have requested had an error:

Item cannot be found.

which prevents us from displaying this page.

If you would like to report this problem as an error report, you may do so here.

I don't think it will be a "county" library. Those are built outside the city in the unincorporated areas.

Dave Ward turned 73 this past May. I have to say he's the healthiest looking septuagenarian I've ever seen. That's why I'm convinced that he quit drinking and partying hard a long time ago. That kind of life-style makes you look old before your time and will kill you sooner than later.

Dave has sat in the anchor chair since 1968 -- 44 years. Think about that. An entire generation of Houstonians born in the late 60s and early 70s has grown up and matured into middle age with him in front of the camera at KTRK. If the Eyewitness News ratings hold up, and if he stays healthy, there's no reason to believe he won't continue anchoring and still be on the air at the 50 year mark and beyond.

***"Since you have chosen to elect a man with a timber toe to succeed me, You can all go to Hell, I'm going to Texas! Believe it was Travis who said that. Correct me if I'm wrong.***

I waited a couple of days for someone to correct you on that Nena, so I will. Actually, it was Davy Crockett who made that famous parting shot, after losing re-election to his seat in Congress in 1835.

The "timber toe" reference was aimed at the man who defeated him, Adam Huntsman, who had a wooden leg.

Thanks brijonmang. Most local news people are smart enough to keep their political opinions out of their reporting. I've observed that the few who do express opinions are at non-commercial outlets, like Pacifica and NPR.

The difference is that local commercial news outlets want the broadest audience demographics they can get, and they know a station loses half its hoped-for audience when it is clearly "taking sides." Over the years a fair number of radio and TV reporters have lost their jobs for being too "open" with their politics.

I remember a Hispanic reporter getting fired from KTRK for getting too involved in some Hispanic issues. In Dallas, a TV anchor was fired for introducing a political candidate at a campaign rally. Those are just two examples. There are others, but their experience proves that local media outlets are serious on the subject of political neutrality.

Come on now. I enjoy coming to this website and its message boards because we've always kept our conversations and even our disagreements on a reasonably high level -- over a period of many years Your comment contributes nothing to that effort.

Generally, they manage to keep their political and social proclivities out of public view, but the local ratio of Liberals to Conservatives is about the same as the national ratio.

In 2004, the highly regarded Pew Research Center surveyed a cross section of media people on this very subject. 34 percent identified themselves as Liberal, while only 7 percent identified themselves as conservative, A five to one ratio.

So, to answer your question, based on the 2004 Pew Survey and a similar survey done this year, it's safe to assume that a fairly big majority of Houston TV and Radio News people are Liberals and vote Democratic, and a small minority are Conservative and vote Republican or Libertarian. And that's just the way it is.

I recently retired after 45 years in Houston radio news, and I am personally acquainted with a great many of the people we hear on the radio and see on TV, and, honestly, I cannot tell you who is what. Wisely, they all do a pretty good job of keeping their opinions to themselves, and we almost never talked politics at our news parties and social gatherings at various watering holes around town.

There was a lengthy discussion of the old South Park and Griggs Rd area here on HAIF back in 2005.

Nobody had any old photos to share, but there are plenty of memories and lots of information.

Here's a link to it. http://www.houstonar...40-palm-center/

The biggest difference between old time millionaires and today's millionaires is that today's rich guys have their money tied up corporations. They can't spend their money the way guys like West, HL Hunt, Howard Hughes and others did. Their spending is now controlled by Boards of Directors. Bill Gates is a notable exception to that rule.

I found that old aerial photo in one of my old postings in another thread. Here's a link to it and I hope it works. I hope it's the pic you're talking about.

http://www.houstonar...&attach_id=2490

We feel your pain. Really. But as much as it may hurt to even think about, it's possible that Jeanna Claire's nephew tossed all that memorabilia in the trash just to get rid of it. You say he told you he didn't want to bother with it, so it had no value to him.

I have to wonder why anyone would want it enough to buy it. And if someone did buy it, what are they doing with it? People buy celebrity memorabilia because they hope to show it off in some way. That's why I suspect the nephew tossed it.

This memorabilia really has no monetary value beyond its sentimental value to you and other family members.

Thanks BorninHouston for correcting me about who Ann Kurth was married to. I had always thought she was married to a Houston lawyer named Kurth.

I just did a Google search on the name "Hulda" I found her website. Two websites in fact. And they still work.

[ur]http://www.myspace.com/huldasummit

You'll find four of her songs you can listen to. My favorite is Yellow Bird.

You'll find she has/had? a beautiful singing voice, and I love the odd hybrid accent you get when a woman from Iceland sings a song of the Caribbean islands in English. She does it beautifully.

There's also a link to another website.

http://www.aynart.com/hulda