Bess Collector

The year it opened at the filed next to Austin H.S.,I played my last year on Little League there in 1960. It was the old CYO field before that. There were 3 fields there at the time. The year before that my 2nd year in East End we played over at the old Ripley House on Lovejoy. The year before that My 1st year we played at the old Canada Dry Field behind Canada Dry Bottling Company across the Gulf Fwy. The Canada Dry field was by far the best of the 3. It had a green wooden fence (higher in center field). We thought it was like a miniature pro field. They had major and minor league teams. The minors got T-shirts and wool pants, while all of us on the majors got a full uniform. I don't think the minor league teams played on the Canada Dry field? I played on the White Sox, it was a great time to be a kid. The old Buff Stadium was just a few blocks towards town. If you joined their Knot Hole Gang you could get in for a cheap price maybe 10 cents, I can not remember for sure, but it was really cheap! Only problem your seats was way out at left field, but we didn't care it was only for kids, out parents sat in the regular seats.

If you are interested I have posted on youtube 4 video/slideshows of the old area. One is on Settegast Park and shows some old and new pics. Three are along the Buffalo Bayou with new pics and some history of the area. I don not know how to put a link in here or I would, this is all confusing to me along those lines! If you go to youtube and search (rnjamos channel) all 4 of them I think will appear.

I lived near there across from Settegast Park until 1958. That used to be Trinity Portland Cement Co. on Navigation Blvd. York and Sampson streets used to dead end at Navigation. You had to use either the Jensen or Lockwood bridges to get over Buffalo Bayou. On page 42 of the 1953 Bracy's Block Book of Houston it shows Trinity at this location. By the late 50's or early 60's there was a trailer manufacturing company there, I think they were called Croft Trailers. The cement pillars were remnants of the Cement Co. Just to the west of them was the old Houston Packing Co(meat), then west of them the City of Houston Incinerators (all that remains are the 2 smoke stacks. Prior to the meat packing plant it was used by the German society Volksfest for their fairgrounds park and festivals. Next to the city waste site on their west was at one time circa1870- 1890, the repair yards for the San Antonio & Aransas Pass R R. Around the late 1890's there was in use city mills a compress, with small cottages for the workers on tiny lots on the nearby streets (Bering, Fox, Fruend, Foley, etc. Continuing towards town there was the Dreadman (not sure of spelling) Mfg. Co. Then later on Houston Shell & Concrete had another plant next to Jensen Street Bridge. You can still see their 3 silos. Also at one time KNUZ radio had their antena somewhere along there near Pless St. It might have been near that metal quansant looking hut is, I can"t remember exactly. With the waste incinerators,the meat packing disposal incinerators, 2 cement plants belching out their smoke it could get kind of rank if the wind was coming from the North. It was much nicer when the South winds blew the Coffee smells from the old Maxwell House plant on Harrisburg. Sometimes if the East wind was just right you might get a good wiff of the Folgers Coffee plant on Navagation. All these properties bordered Buffalo Bayou. There is something I left out, but that is all I can think of at this time. Hope it is of some help.

Dickinson Gun Plant if it was still there would be on your right as you were going north over the I-610 Ship Channel Bridge. The entrance to it was were the Coast Guard gate was off ClintonDr. In the late 1960's and early 70's it was were I had to go for my monthly Reserve meetings. The Coast Guard used parts of the old facilities along with 2 different Reserve units. I have not been there since 1973, but there have been newer facilities built for the Coast Guard. To the west of the old building was open area that extended to the new 610 bridge. At the time I always thought of it as the Sea of Japan for all of the Jap vehicles parked there after unloading from the ships. Ironic that the gun plant was used to build weapons for WW II against Japan/Germany/Italy, then get invaded by the very same countries automobile factories!

Ah Panjo's Pizza - good one! Anyone mention Craig's Department Stores?

Two old membership groups: Globe and Fed-Mart