Bear_P_I

My Dad worked for Texaco for 37 years. He was transfered from the Canal Street office in New Orleans to the Rusk Building in Houston when I was 4 years old. That was 1964. He worked in that building until he retired in '87, with only a brief stint at the Bellaire Texaco Building.

I also worked in the Rusk Texaco Building in the summers of '78 through '81 while I was at A&M. One year I worked in the file storage department with a bunch of other guys my age. That was the best summer I ever had.

My Dad watched out his window as Cassius Clay was taken into the Post Office building across the street to be inducted into the service. I remember there used to be a Roy Roger's sandwich shop across the street that my Dad used to take us to eat at whenever we'd go downtown to visit him on Christmas or summer break.

I now work for a company in Dallas that fabricates and installs lightweight precast concrete panels. Somewhere around 8 or 9 years ago, I was pricing some facade renovations to the Fannin Building. It's the one behind the Texaco Building. However, both buildings are connected . Anyway, it was an Architect in Baton Rouge and they were going to update the Fannin Building with Cornices and ornate columns to match the Texaco Building. The whole project was going to be a Ritz Carlton Hotel, but it fizzled out after a few years.

Wow, great memories. Wish I could've gotten in sooner. Probably know some of the previous posters or at least some of their family members.

We moved to S'town in'64, when I was 4 years old. My parents still live in the same house on Barberton Dr., and their back yard now has a 20' tall concrete wall between them and the SW Frwy. When we moved in, our back yard had no fence for the first few years, but that was ok because the freeway wasn't completed for a while.

I went to Neff from K'garten through 5th grade, St. Francis from 6th-8th and then on to Strake Jesuit. Class of '78.

My first job was in the BUDGET SHOE DEPT!!! @ Foleys. Wow, that was a trip. Here's some of the things I remember about Sharpstown and the surrounding area.

1) I also remember the flags in the middle of the mall. Thanks to whoever posted those pictures.

2) I remember every year on the Friday night after Thanksgiving, we would go to Sharpstown mall and play in the man made snow, waiting for Santa Claus to come and "land" on the roof in his sleigh. He'd walk to the edge of the roof and wave to the crowd, then go inside and start talking to kids.

3) My brother worked at Gaylyn Theater in the mid-70's. My Dad and I would go pick him up at 10:00 before he had his license. He then got a job at Foley's.

4) I remember playing on the football team at St. Francis in 72 & 73, and our home field was Jesuit Stadium. To this day, my favorite coach is my St. Francis Coach Jim Hyland. I consider him a friend, and I love to run into him at church when we go back home to visit my parents.

5) I remember playing on the basketball team at St. Francis during those same years, and we didin't have a gym. Every game was a road game. We practiced on the old goals in the parking lot, and we actually won a few games every year.

6) I played baseball in the Sharpstown Little League for 10 years. A huge treat was when we would get to go eat at the old "Monterrey House" that used to be across the street from Bayland Park, after one of our baseball games. The treat of all treats was going to Shakey's Pizza with the whole team after our last game.

7) I remember the old EATON Car Parts and repair place when it went up near the corner of Gessner and Beechnut. I thought, "wow, what a cool building". I think we all know the building. I think it's been 10 different businesses since then. Next door to it was "Steak and Shake", but only for a little while. Then it went away. We now have them up here in Dallas. It's just not the same.

8) I remember the bowling alley on Gessner between Beechnut and the freeway. Wow, we spent almost every friday night there.

9) I remember Alfie's Fish & Chips on Fondren between the Freeway and Bellaire. Man, that was some awesome stuff. Being Catholic, we ate there quite a bit during lent.

10) I remember when Sharpstown middle school was the junior AND senior high school campus.

11) I remember rdiding my bike to the 7-11 across the street from SHS and getting an ICEE. One summer, they had collector's cups with major league baseball players on them, and we usually went twice a day.

12) I remember walking across the street with my parents after church to check out the progress of the Landsdale pool when they were building it.

13) I remember when Westwood Mall opened up in the mid '70's. I was so amazed with the store Athlete's Foot. I had never seen a shoe store before that only sold sneakers.

14) I remember when the HBU Gym was open all the time. Nobody really knew about it, and we'd go over there every Sunday afternoon for hours and hours. It was our little secret.

15) I remember when they built the Music Theater at the corner of the freeway and Fondren. They built a huge perfect pile of dirt and poured a slab of concrete over it. That was the roof. I saw Peter Pan there when I was 8.

Sorry, hope I didn't bore anyone.