isuredid

Yes...serious cooling and three very large diesel generators capable of powering the building for a week without refueling. There are diesel tanks buried nearby. There were very large banks of UPS batteries in the basement.  

Here is an example of best laid plans finding their Achilles heel.  The generators were installed to prevent any power outage and were especially designed to work through a hurricane.  The water in the cooling towers were also used to cool the diesel generators. When hurricane Alicia struck in August of 1983 the wind caused the water in the cooling towers to blow out and away. Somehow, during the storm,  Shell contracted with a company to bring pumper trucks to go down to Brays bayou...suck up water and come back and pump it back  into the cooling towers reservoir, but they could not keep up with the volume that was blowing away. 

So in the middle of the hurricane, around the time the eye came through the generators had to be shut down because they were overheating. This meant there was around 2 hours of battery life on the UPS system. So during that two hour window and in the eye of the hurricane people were called in to help power down devices before the power dropped. Hard power downs were fatal at times for large rapidly spinning drums and disks. 

This effort was not entirely successful.  Many many "head crashes" and disk and drums ruined. (The disk looked like very large CDS in multiple layers). As soon as the AC dropped the temperature in the computer room rose quickly to the mid 90s and the humidity also rose sharply. 

Now in the photo  you can see wind baffles  around the cooling towers, but they were not there before Alicia.

In the early 1970s Shell had regional data centers all over the US. They decided to centralize these data centers into one location and this building was that location. This was in the mainframe days of computing and it was considered a state-of-the-art data center for that time. The first two floors of the building were the actual data center with typical raised floors. There was a large tape library  on the first floor along with all the mainframes.  The tape library was  eventually expanded to the warehouse type building next to the parking lot..The seconf floor was a mixture of some offices, mini-mainframes, and a printer area. Shell also bought the Charolais Cattle Association building on the corner and turned that into a training center building. 

If you've ever seen the film "The Thief Who Came to Dinner" (Ryan O'Neil , Jacqueline  Bisset, Jill Clayburgh, Warren Oates) there is a scene that shows that building under construction. 

The data center equipment was moved a few years back  to a leased space in two more modern data centers and the offices (the upper 7 floors) were abandoned.  Shell used to have the building regularly power washed and  it did not look that bad when it was all cleaned up.  It was always well maintained  until it was abandoned. 

The only area I have heard referred to as five points is where Main-Cavalcade-Studewood-20th streets come together, but I have seen an article from one of the Houston newspapers in the 1870s where the editor was railing against several crime ridden areas of town that he called "The Five Points".

Wasn't Shepard's Dam named after the guy who owned the actual property around the bayou, at that location?

A good write-up on Shepherd's Dam

http://users.hal-pc.org/~lfa/BB25.html

There was another boat restaurant on South Main not far from the Shamrock. It was mainly seafood, of course.

/quote]

Yes, that was the old Captain Benney's which used to sit across the street from The Stables Restaurant off of S. Main at Greenbriar. I think there is a sports medicine hospital there now.

The boat was back from the road towards Bray's Bayou. It looked like a real boat, but I'm not sure if it was or not. The new building, further up S. Main by Target is just shaped like a boat. Many of the Oilers along with Bum Phillips used to be regulars at the old Captain Benny's.

Sgt. Garnett was a hero of mine when I was a wee one. I remember him on TV during the 1960's, especially on Kitirik. He and Sgt. Tiny Romound were always what I thought Police Officers were supposed to be. I have seen info on the late Sgt. Romound on line, but not Sgt/Lt Garnett. Is there anyone that can point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

Ken Garnett was seriously injured during a traffic stop around 1967 and had some brain damage. After recovering I believe he returned to HPD. I think he died about 10 years after that and may have commited suicide.

very interesting, thanks for that information.

Westheimer in that area was called Hathaway back then. My guess is that the house was at 120 Hathaway.

I grew up in the 50s in Houston and I would love to see an old photo or postcard image of Valian's Pizza Restaurant. It was located on South Main. Does anyone have any? Thanks!

There is an old house on the corner of Bagby and Elgin, it was built in 1905 The addresse is 3015 Bagby, I think they are going to demolish this house. Does any one know the history of this house?

Looking at old Sanborn Fire Insurance maps tells me that whenever that house was built, it was not original to that lot, but was moved onto that lot sometime after the 1920s. The old maps of that property show a one story house on that lot prior to that time.

The city directories lead me to believe the original house on that lot may have been the parsonage for the First Unitarian Church.

I also checked historicaerials.com. It appears that was an empty lot for many years up to at least 1981 prior to that house being moved onto the lot some time after that.

Jubilee Hall at the corner of Bagby and McGowen. Introduced us to Josephus and ZZ Top and Many other Local Bands in 1968-1970. Johnny Casey was the Owner/ Manager. Lots of us were able to see/ hear a lot of fantastic groups back then. The Family Hand Restaurant served 'soul food' for a reasonable price, and you could enter without shoes, no dress code. Jubilee Hall was a leased out old church, where All were Welcome to enjoy good music without any hassles. Also had a place to 'crash' if needed. Those were the Days! Johnny Casey brought in some great bands. Cover charge was at a minimal fee. I remember seeing Z Z Top and Josephus there, as well as a bunch of other Houston Musicians, who were given a good place to start. That was around 1968-1970. Then some Church folks came in and eventually outbid Mr Casey on the Lease. Too bad for all of us, who enjoyed the Freedom of Jubilee Hall. The Folks from the Family Hand Restaurant were just around the corner and they were Great Down Home Folks, who served the Soul Food, at a very reasonable price. At least we had two or so Good Years of Entertainment and Fun. Thank You Johnny Casey (Turner), And all the others who made that Time in Our Lives so Wonderful and Enjoyable.

I've never heard the name Johnny Casey associated with Jubilee Hall. As far as I know Jubilee Hall, The Family Hand, and Liberty Hall all had one common founder, Mike Condray. Mike aslo had various partners in these enterprises, Lynda Herrera, George Banks, and Ryan Trimble.

there was a small Valian's on Shepherd, just north of Alabama, right about where Pappas Seafood is now.

Pappas Seafood is exactly where that Valian's on Shepherd was located. They used part of the old Valian's building for that restaurant. When the builders of the Pappas Seafood restaurant were removing the facade of the other establishments that had been there after Valian's, they uncovered the old Valian's sign. I wish I had taken a photo.

They're putting in a Spec's where the Linens 'N' Things went under at Weslayan and Bissonnet. This article says when they were doing the reno work they found a whole street under the floor complete with curbs. I don't know how something like that can happen because I can't imagine that building was built without grading and a slab. Anyone have any ideas? Whatever the explanation is I decided to pull some old maps and check out Historic Aerials to see what the street might be.

By HistoricAerials I see that that building was built somewhere between 1964 and 1973 but in the 1957 shot you can see a road running parallel to Law Street but it isn't so well defined. It terminates at the north end in what looks like an incomplete intersection at Weslayan. This map from 1955 shows that Albans used to run parallel to Law all the way across Weslayan to curving down to Bissonnet. I guess Albans was cut off east of Academy sometime between 1955 and 1957 when they started clearing for the shopping center that now houses Randall's and Petco.

That area was the County Poor Farm at one time, so maybe the road is left over from that era

My Father stated that he also remembered my Grandfather talking about A.C. Martindale being there - man, he was every where in the city. He drove a big car with several big antennaes, and lots of guns in it. **Sidebar : My Father stated that A.C. Martindale hung out with Houston oil man, "Silver Dollar" Jim West. West used to ride with Martindale with several of his guns on, and while showing off a new pistol, accidentally shot Martindale in the foot !

Bryan Burrough wrote about "Silver Dollar" Jim West and A.C. Martindale in "The Big Rich." A.C. Martindale was a police Lietenant and West rode with him often apparently. West and Martindale were cruising one night when they spotted a burglar breaking the window of a sporting goods store on Dowling and stealing a shotgun. They got out of the car and yelled "Halt" The thief opened fire with the shotgun and Martindale (and apparently West) shot back. The thief was hit, but so was Martindale in the shoulder and ankle. Ballistics showed the wounds did not come from the burglar. The book implied that it was West that shot Martindale, but Martindale claimed to have shot himself to cover for his friend.

The last three lines:

"The body was to be accompanied by Adjutant General K.L. Berry.The body will lie in state from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. tomorrow in the Senate Chamber at the capitol. Brief funeral services will be held

at 2 p.m. and the body then will be taken to Corsicana where services will be held on Wednesday."

Gen. K.L. Berry is my other grandfather!

The two men were in First Officers' Training Camp in WWI and had been friends for years when Berry was head of the National Guard in Jester's term.

I can't remember which suggested it, but the two men set up their kids (my mom and dad) on their date.

And it worked

Alice Jester Berry

I was going to ask that question...you beat me to it..thanks!

Here is the Houston Press account:

Body Undetected For More Than Two Hours in S.P. Rail Station

The Southern Pacific's Austin-to-Houston train roared through the night on an apparently routine trip. Aboard it was

Gov. Beauford H. Jester--dead.

Sometine around 3:30 a.m. today Gov. Jester died in his sleep of coronary occlusion--in layman's language, a blood clot

in the heart.

At that time the train was going through Washington County.

Not until a Negro porter tried to wake up the governor at 7:30 a.m., two hours after the train pulled into Houston's

Grand Central Terminal, was the governor's death discovered.

Gov. Jester's death, attributed to natural causes by Justice of the Peace Tom Maes and Dr. Howard L. Evans, automatically

made Lt. Gov. Allan Shriver chief executive of the state.

Burial will be in Corsicana Wednesday. The body was to be flown back to Austin this afternoon aboard a National Guard

plane, with some 25 other state planes providing aerial escort. Governor Jester will lie in state in the Senate Chamber

for four hours Tuesday.

No One Knew He Was Coming

The governor made the trip alone.

Not even his most intimate friends, including Cotton Man Bob Henderson, his boyhood friend in Corsicana and his Harris

County campaign manager, knew he was coming to Houston.

A State Highway patrolman had been notified to meet the 56-year-old chief exectutive of Texas at the Houston station.

"It was a secret trip--we knew nothing of the governor's plans" said Capt. Glen Rose of the Houston area of the Texas

Highway Patrol.

From what police gathered, the governor, worn by the recently concluded session of the Legislature, plannd to meet an

unidentified Houston friend and the two were to spend a few days resting at Galveston Bay. It was later ascertained that the

Governor's Houston friend who knew about his plans to get away for a few days rest was Lumberman Jim Rockwell.

Mr. Rockwell had engaged a fishing boat and place for the governor to stay on Galveston Bay. State Highway Patrolman

W.B. Hawkins was to meet the governor and either he or Capt. rose was to have driven him to Galveston Bay were, away from

telephone, the governor planned to relax,rest and fish.

Verdict Was Natural Causes

Capt. Rose was called to the depot by Patrolman Hawkins, who was the officer assigned to meet the governor.

E.A. Craft, Southern Pacific executive vice-president, rode from Austin on the same Pullman with the Governor, but didn't

know Gov. Jester had died until after he reached the station in Houston.

Word of the governor's death, broadcast by newspaper extras and the radio, brought a number of the governor's friends to

the railroad station. Among them were Mr. Henderson, who notified Mrs. Jester and went to Houston Funeral Home to view

the body. Rep. Jimmy Pattison of Fort Bend County, Mayor Holcombe and City Attorney Will Sears.

The mayor immediately ordered all public flags at half-staff.

"I've known Beauford since we were boys together at Corsicana" said Mr. Henderson. "I never knew he suffered from heart

trouble." He was always a hard rugged hard-working individual who didn't spare himself.

"The strain of the session killed him" said Rep. Pattison.

The governor got on the train alone at Austin at 11:25 and went directly to Lower Berth Five on the Pullman "Berkeley"

He donned light blue pajamas and retired immediately after leaving word to be aroused at 7:30 a.m. in Houston.

Porter Tried to Wake Him Up

At 5:30 a.m. the train arrived at the Grand Central Station on Washington and was switched from track 1 to tract 2.

At 7:30 a.m., Pullman Porter Charles Jimerson, 66, of 1202 Ruthven, went to wake up the governor.

"It's time to get up" he said softly.

He repeated this several times.

Then Jimerson shook the governor by the shoulders.

"I knew something had happened and called the conductor." related the porter.

Pullman Conductor C.D. Pierce and Patrolman Hawkins went to the lower berth, which was directly in the center of the

car facing north.

"I turned on the light and pulled the curtains apart." said Patrolman Hawkins. "The governor's expression was calm, but

it was apparent he had been dead for some time. There was no pulse. I opened his eyelids and remarked, "Gov. Jester is

dead."

As Patrolman Hawkins notified Captain Rose, Conductor Pierce told the news to D.R. Kirk Jr. 7016 Texarkana, assistant

train master, and S.R. Hay, assitant special agent for Southern Pacific. They in turn notified Station Master C.M. Blackburn

of 2612 Greenleaf, whose dispatcher put in a call to police.

The time of the notification was 7:45 a.m.

Justice of the Peace Maes and Dr. Evens made their medical examination at 8:19 at which time Dr. Evens said Gov. Jester had

been dead four or five hours. The justice of peace concurred.

Railroad officials barred everyone but the doctor and the justice of the peace from the train.

The body was taken to the Houston Funeral Home, where Mr. Henderson and Rep. Pattison got in touch with the governor's family

in Austin.

Mr. Henderson was at home when he heard a radio broadcast, and Mr. Pattison was 15 miles from Houston, driving when he heard

the newscast.

City Detectives L.C. Watts, Lloyd Barrett,John Irwin, and Frank Murray investigated the death.

Mr. Henderson said the governor told him he was tired physically from the strain of the legislative session in two conversations

one six weeks ago and the other just two ago.

"He Was a Good Governor"

"But none of us knew he had any heart trouble." said Mr. Henderson. "We knew he had colon trouble. What a shock this is. You know,

Beauford Jester always wanted to be governor. He was a good governor, and a good man. He never wanted to hurt anybody's feelings."

Rep. Pattison said in recent weeks, Gov. and Mrs. Jester and he and his wife had started taking square dance lessons.

"The governor was a square shooter." said the Fort Bend County representative, who with the aid of the governor suceeded in getting

legislation through that will greatly assist the state's eleemosynary institutions.

In Austin, Mrs. Jester was described as "too stunned yet to know anything." She is at the governor's mansion and remained in her

upstairs room after being notified of her husband's death. With her were two of the three children, Beauford Jr, and Joan. A third,

Barbara (Mrs. Howard Burris) was in New York.

Had Boat Ride Yesterday

The governor took a boat ride on Lake Austin yesterday with his family and staff, the United Press reported. At that time Gov. Jester

complained of being tired.

Just a week ago, Gov. Jester suffered an attack of food poisoning and was confined to the mansion for most of the day.

He worked last Saturday on legislation piled up on his desk as a result of the 51st Legislature's final adjournment.

The flag of Texas was lowered to half-mast at the capitol.

Governor Jester's funeral procession began today in Houston. His body will go from Houston Funeral Home to Ellington Field, escorted

by members of Headquarters Battalion, 41st Artillery of the Texas National Guard. commanded by Brig. Gen. Lewis Thompson of Houston.

The arrival at Ellington is set for 4 p.m.

The governor's body will be taken aboard his favorite plane, a craft named in honor of his beloved state's flower, The "Blue Bonnet" is

a National Guard C-47, flown in from Austin today shortly after the tragic news was released. It is from the 181st Fighter Squadron of

San Antonio. The pilot will be Brig. Gen Harry Crutcher of Dallas, commanding officer of the 63rd Fighter wing. Texas Air National Guard,

and the co-pilot, Lt. Col John B. (Bill) Nottingham of Houston.

A flying escort of 25 F-51 fighter planes will go from Ellington to Austin, their numbers drawn from the 111th Fighter Squadron in Houston,

the 181st of San Antonio, the 182nd of Dallas--All Texas Air National Guard squadrons.

The body was to be accompanied by Adjutant General K.L. Berry.

The body will lie in state from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. tomorrow in the Senate Chamber at the capitol. Brief funeral services will be held

at 2 p.m. and the body then will be taken to Corsicana where services will be held on Wednesday.

I noticed that one of the detectives assigned to go to the train station was also named Barrett - Lloyd Barrett. Do you know if he was a relative?

I still have the Houston Press account to type up. It doesn't add much, but it contains a few additional details.

I figured the Houston newspapers would have the most thorough coverage since Govenor Jester's death was discoverd here. I went to look at the articles from that day and the next. One of the articles actually mentions L.M. Barrett so I can verify that he was indeed on that train. The funeral home was the Houston Funeral Home. I don't think the Ray Duval Funeral home existed yet in 1949. No mention in any of the articles of C.V "Buster" Kern. There was one photo of "large crowds" of friends of the Governor and reporters in the Southern Pacific Station, but they appeared to be clustered in groups and milling about talking. Here is the most pertinent Chronicle article from July 11, 1949. The day the Governor died.

Porter Discovers Governor Dead in Pullman Berth

Maes Says He Believes Executive Died About 3 a.m.;

Shriver Gets Word on Farm Near Woodville

Beauford Halbert Jester, who had been governor

of the State of Texas since Janurary, 1947 died of

an apparent heart attack early Monday morning in his

berth aboard a Southern Pacific train en route to

Houston.

An Inquest verdict of death due to natural causes

was returned by Justice Tom Maes, who with Southern

Pacific Hospital doctors conducted the medical

investigation.

Justice Maes placed the time of death at about 3 or 4

a.m. Mondy while the governor slept in his berth.

Governor Jester was lying on his back when his body was

discovered, and death apparaently came peacefully.

His hands were folded across his stomach, police said.

The governor was dressed in pajamas.

He was the first Texas governor to die while in office.

While two state highway patrolmen formed an honor guard over the governor's body in the Houston Funeral Home, funeral

arrangements were being drawn up in Austin.

With the governor's death, Lieutenant Governor Allan Shrivers immediately assumed the state's top executive position.

Shrivers received word of the governor's death while on his farm near Woodville.

The body of the 56-year-old governor was discovered by Charlie Jimmerson of 1202 Ruthven, negro porter in Governor Jester's

Pullman. Jimmerson had gone to awaken him about 7:30 a.m.

First word of the governor's death was received when railroad officials at the station telephoned Homicide Lt. W.P. Brown

of the Houston police department about 7:55 a.m. Monday.

The lieutenant immediately dispatched three homicide detectives, Lloyd Barrett, L.L. Watts, and Frank Murray, to the station to begin

an investigation.

The governor occupied a lower berth on the Pullman "Berkley", part of the Southern Pacific night train from Austin.

The train left there at 11:30 p.m. Sunday and arrived here at 5:15 a.m. Monday.

Travelling alone, the governor was en route to Houston where he was to be met by state highway patrolmen who were to escort him to

Galveston friends said.

He had planned to remain in Galveston for a few days to rest up and fish. The governor decided on the short vacation because of a

"strenuous legistative session" the friends added.

According to the porter, Governor Jester boarded the train about 11:15 p.m Sunday in Austin, and began to retire for the night about five minutes later.

The porter summoned the train conductor, C.D. Pierce of 451 Dubarry Lane, after efforts to awaken the governor at 7:30 a.m. failed.

Jimerson pointed out that the governor had left a call for 7:30 a.m. When the effors of the conductor and the porter failed to awaken Governor Jester,

State Highway Patrolman W.B. Hawkins, who had been waiting at the station since 7:05 a.m. to pick the governor up, was summoned.

The patrolman went into the berth and called to the governor, at the same time shaking the mattress to try and rouse him.Governor, Governor, this is

Hawkins. Don't you know me? the patrolman called.

Hawkins, when the governor did not respond to the call, pushed open Governor Jester's eyelids, then said:

"The governor is dead."

C.M. Blackburn of 2612 Greenleaf, the station master notified the Houston police department of the governor's death.

The Austin Train comes into the station on Track 1 and remains there about 15 minutes before it is shunted to Track 2. There the train stays until the

Pullmans are cleared.

However, when the governor's death was discovered the rest of the train was pulled away and the governor's Pullman remained on Track 2.

Justice Maes, after an examination of the body with Dr. H.L. Evans, a surgeon on the staff of the Southern Pacific Hospital here, expressed belief that

the governor, at about 8:19 a.m. had been dead about "four or five hours"

The doctor, who prounounced the governor dead at 8:18 a.m., refused to talk to reporters about the possible cause is believed to be coronary occlusion.

Robert W. Henderson, who served as the governor's campaign manager in Harris County, contacted Mrs. Jester in Austin to make funeral arrangements.

Mrs. Jester instructed Henderson to tell the funeral home attendants to embalm her husband's body and hold it at the funeral home pending further disposition.

"Don't let anyone see the body" she told Henderson to tell the attendants.

"I don't know why Governor Jester came to Houston" Henderson told reporters. "I knew nothing of his plans or of any illness from which he might be suffering."

Mayor Oscar Holcombe, who was called to the station by E.A. Craft, executive vice-president of the Southern Pacific Lines in Texas and Louisiana. arrived at

the depot after the body had been removed from the Pullman berth.

Mr. Craft had been a passenger in the Pullman but left the train before learning about the Governor Jester's death.

This is from the Houston Post on July 12, 1949. This is just a portion of this article:

The last man to see Governor Jester alive was Pullman Porter Charlie Jimmerson, 66, of 1202 Ruthvan, the porter on

duty in the Pullman which the governor boarded at 11:15 PM Sunday night.

The governor was alone. Jimmerson took the governor's bags while the governor went back to the station and exchanged

his reservation slip.

Jimmerson last saw Governor Jester at 11:25 PM when the governor was sitting on the edge of Lower 5 taking off his shoes.

Governor Jester instructed Jimmerson to call him at 7:30 AM. The train pulled into the Southern Pacific station here

at 5:15 AM.

A state highway patrolman, W.B. Hawkins of 7330 Dixie Drive, who was instructed by Capt. Glenn Rose to meet the governor

at 7:30 AM, came in the car about 7 AM and checked with the conductor. C.D. Pierce of 4515 Dewberry Lane. At 7:30 AM

sharp Porter Jimmerson shook the curtains of Lower 5 several times then called to the governor. Getting no response

Jimmerson called Conductor Pierce and Patrolman Hawkins.

Patrolman Hawkins parted the curtains and called to the governor a number of times. Then he shook him and found that

the governor's body was cold. A Pullman employee. L.M. Barrett, went to call the police and met Homicide Detective

L.L. Watts, who was at the station to meet a friend. Detective Watts went immediately to the governor's berth, verified

the fact that the governor was dead, and telephoned Homicide Lieutenant W.P. Brown, his superior. Lieutenant Brown

assigned Detectives Frank Murray, J.G. Irwin, and Lloyd Barrett to the case.

A physician, Dr. Howard L. Evans of 302 Hermann Professional Building was called. He pronounced Governor Jester dead

at 8:18 AM. Doctor Evans said Governor Jester had been dead at least four hours, which would place his death at about

3:30 AM.

Detectives Murray and Irwin stripped the governor's body, under the supervision of Justice of the Peace Thomans M. Maes,

and examined it thoroughly. There were absolutely no marks of violence, and the unrumpled condition of the berth indicated

the governor died peacefully in his sleep. The body in pajamas was on its back the hands folded over the stomach. The body

was taken to the Houston Funeral Home.

A Houston attorney, Roy I. Arterbury of 1612 North Boulevard occupied the berth directly across from that of Governor

Jester.

Mr. Arterbury was in his berth before Governor Jester got on the train and didn't know the governor was across from him

until morning, when the porter told him.

Mr. Arterbury said he was awake several times during the night and heard nothing from Governor Jester's berth.

"When I left the car Governor Jester's berth was still curtained." Mr. Arterbury said. "and I thought to myself that he

was sleeping rather late."

Mr. Arterbury and Governor Jester were classmates at the University of Texas.

Actually, the governor at the time of his death was on his way to Galveston for an appointment at 10 AM Monday with two

heart specialists, where he had Dr. Edward H. Schwab and Dr. William L. Marr. But from what the doctors said, there had

been no cause for alarm. The checkup was routine for a man of the governor's age after months of strenuous work.

Dr. Schwab and Marr talked to the governor by telephone Sunday night just before Governor Jester left the capital.

"I'm feeling fine" the governor told his doctors.

Dr. Schwab said that previous examinations had shown the governor had no heart ailment

Sunday the governor spent a busy day or rather a strenuous day. He gave an outing for members of his executive staff

and his son Beauford Jr. He swam for an hour in the middle of the afternoon, went for a motorboat ride, and then played

softball for about an hour.

The group ate a picnic supper about 8 PM. After the supper, the governor led a sing-song. By 9:30 PM the governor admitted

he was tired and called it a day.

Governor Jester was a tireless traveller--by whatever means of transportation were at hand. Probably no other Texas governor

has travelled so much during his term of office as Governor Jester.

The passenger miles he had flown in planes must be in the hundreds of thousands. And he traveled without serious mishap, although

within the past year he and Mrs. Jester had some anxious minutes when a private place in which they were flying had to

make an emergency landing with its wheels up at the Austin Airport. Governor and Mrs. Jester were returning at the time from a

barbeque Which Lieutenant Governor Shriver had given at Mission.

Mayor Oscar Holcombe learned of the governor's death shortly after the body was found. The mayor went to the railroad station

shortly after 8 AM, but the body had been removed from the Pullman and taken to the funeral home.

I remember Ray Hay's Broiler Burger. I used to go in there after school occasionally. Ray Hay was a big round guy and was a friend of my next door neighbor's family. In 1973 or 1974 he opened Ray Hay's Cajun Po-boy on Richmond, which is now the Ragin' Cajun. I believe Ray Hay himself was of Cajun ancestry. Ninfa Laurenzo used the kitchen at Ray Hay's Broiler Burger to perfect her recipes before she opened Ninfa's on Navigation.

As far as Lennox BBQ:

Historic Houston BBQ restaurant demolished

03:42 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 11, 2009

khou.com staff report

HOUSTON—An historic Houston barbecue joint was reduced to rubble Tuesday.

It took several hours to demolish Lenox Barbecue and Catering, located in Houston’s east end. The owner, Eric Mrok, said that his restaurant, which has served residents for decades, was torn down to make way for the new Harrisburg light rail line.

“This is so wrong. Sixty-three years in business for a rail line I don’t think anybody’s going to use. Metro doesn’t sit well with me right now I’ll put it that way,” said Eric Mrok.

Lenox barbecue will continue to run as a catering and delivery business, said Mrok. He says that he’s also working on setting up a new restaurant at a different location.

You know, my father died in his sleep after having not felt well (flu-like symptoms) for a day or two. It appears to have been a heart attack.

I wonder if in retrospect Beauford's "food poisoning" was actually an oncoming heart attack?

Purely conjecture, of course.

isuredid, that news service sounds like a [nerdy] gold mine!!

I could lose myself for days in something like that.

COMING TO ISLE

The governor, gray and worn from days and nights of work, had

been en route to Galveston for a routine medical check-up and a

few days of rest and quiet. His noticeable fatigue had been

a cause of growing alarm among members of his immediate staff.

However, he was believed to. be in reasonably good health.

Dr. Howard L. Evans of Houston, summoned to the railroad

coach, said the governor died of a coronary occlusion.

The doctor explained that a blood clot apparently reached the governor's

heart, probably while he slept. Death, he said, apparently came instantly.

Went on Picnic

The governer, despite his evident fatigue, shook off his weariness yesterday to join

his family and some 20 members of his staff on a Sunday afternoon outing.

With his 10-year-old son Beauford Jr, the governor swam, played softball and capped

the afternoon by leading a sing-song as the party returned by boat across Lake Travis.

Bill Youngblood, a member of the governer's staff, said that he "apparently felt fine."

However, it was noticed that he ate little of the evening picnic meal, and later complained

of being "very tired."

The governor accompanied by Mrs. Jester and his family, returned to the mansion shortly

before 10 p.m. He was there long enough to pack his back for the trip to Galveston.

Less than an hour later he left for his last trip.

I recall Dr. Hill's death having occurred on a Sunday night; we always said that our German shepherd, who regularly stuck his head through our fence's bars on Chilton, saw the murderer toss items into the bushes across the street (on Chilton still). But we were at church! (Maybe it was a Wednesday night? Church on Wednesdays too, in the South, darlin'!)

It was a Sunday night. Specifically it was Sunday, September 24, 1972

Thanks, isuredid.

I wondered about several of Patterson's bits. Granddad was indeed not in his 40's, nor living a bachelor life! Mom says she remembers already being in bed upstairs at the governor's mansion when her father was saying goodbye to her mother downstairs that fateful night. She decided not to get out of bed to say goodbye, because she'd be seeing him soon. I'll have to ask her about the food poisoning; she's never mentioned that to me.

And he was in fact 55 or 56, not late 40's.

People love a scandal, don't they?

(Of course, I'm guilty there too.....)

I have a subscription to www.newspaperarchive.com and I was using that service to read several of the stories from around the state on the day of his death. Several of them mentioned that he had been suffering the effects of food poisoning during the closing days of the legislative session, but seemed to have recovered. Who knows if that was a contributing factor to his death. The fact that he was going to see a heart specialist in Galveston tells me that he must have suspected something. The doctor was to have met him at the train and then from there staight to the doctors office for a complete physical. The doctor's name was Dr. Edward H. Schwab and he claimed that he had examined the Governor previously and found no heart ailments.

Jan 12, 1893 - July 11, 1949

1949

-1893

------

= 56

my 1957 phonebook shows the Mc Donalds drive inns at 2302 wayside (right by the 69th st bridge) and at 6339 South Park which would be almost next door to the later Golden Arches above that opened in '72

My cousins lived down the street from the McDonald's at 6339 South Park in the early 60s. Our family ate at that McDonalds a few times. In my memory those McDonald's burgers were more like a Prince's hamburger than they were like the national chain burger.

Doubt you'll find much in the press of the time. It would not have been widely published in Texas.

I found one reference that mentions the incident (in the first long paragraph by Mr.Patterson):

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/txp_media/pr/speaker_series_files/transcripts/200810_patterson.html

I doubt you will find anything in any press to substantite this because it simply isn't true. Mr. Patterson claims that the Governor lived like a bachelor in Austin while his family lived in Corsicana. This is not true. His family was living in Austin and Governor spent the previous day with his family and staff on Lake Austin. Governor Jester had been ill for several days prior to this trip with food poisoning and had been convalescing. Governor Jester was on his way to Galveston to visit a heart specialist for a check-up before spending several days fishing. The article claimed he was in his late 40s. He was 56. The story is full of inaccuracies that could have easily been checked.

Very well made video and the most factual of any record I have seen on Frost Town. I was happy to see that the video dispelled some old myths

Myth 1. Frost Town was originally settled by Germans

Myth 2. Frost Town was also known as Germantown

Germantown was the northeast 1/4 league of the John Austin survey just above Houston. Germantown, like Frost Town, was not originally settled by Germans despite the name.

the rail car i am thinking of was on n. braeswood off of main. i remember it had different compartments to sit in. it was like walking through a maze. it was slightly upscale,

i also remember the one on kirby that i believe was an antones, and they were two different places.

I believe that those rail cars were orginally Victoria's Station and then later became Antone's. It was on that triangular strip of land where Main and OST come together.