PBAYS

The origin of the name was from the founder Philip Battelstein, a Russian Jew, who immigrated to the United States in 1884 at the age of 15. He first settled in St Louis Missouri. In approximately 1899, Mr. Battelstein and his wife, Annie moved to Houston with their two daughters, Molly and Mistoby. Shortly after they moved to Houston, their third child, a son, Abe was born. They later had two other sons, Harry and Ben David.

Most times we saw Battlestein's, we just kept walking. It seemed to "adult or square" to us teens. All we would see were like matronly dames or ladies that appeared very high brow, enter & exit.

Anyone have any idea of the origins of that name ? I mean like what part of the world it originated from? German perhaps?

This could not be true. Battelsteins pre dated Sakowitz and there was at least one elevator in the Battelstein's store on Main Street, Houston in 1939.

I don't know if this is true, and please correct if wrong, but didn't Sakowitz have the first elevator in Texas at the downtown location?

Most times we saw Battlestein's, we just kept walking. It seemed to "adult or square" to us teens. All we would see were like matronly dames or ladies that appeared very high brow, enter & exit.

Anyone have any idea of the origins of that name ? I mean like what part of the world it originated from? German perhaps?

Mr. Phillip Battlestein immigrated to the US from Russia in 1884 when he was 15 years old. He was a Russian Jew. Phillip was a tailor.

The family settled in Missouri. His wife's name was Annie. They had two daughters, Maly and Toby that were born in Missouri. Prior to 1899, they relocated to Houston. In 1899 their son, Abe Battlestein was born. Abe Battlestein is the child that operated the "Battlestein's " store in Houston along with his brothers, Harry and Bennie.

Mr. Phillip Battlestein was an enderly, portly gentleman in 1939 when I was about 4 years old and would go shopping with my mother at Battlesteins. He would stand at the front door with a pocket full of dimes and hand them out to the children who came shopping with their parents. As you walked into the front door there was the cosmetics department. To the left on the main level were men's shirts, hats and shoes. To the right, I believe were the women's shoes. The upper floors were for ladies and children's fashions.

Battelsteins was the most exclusive aparell store in Houston during the late 1930's and 1940's Later Sackowitz opened their stores and gave Batelsteins competition.

Abe Battlestein was the son of Russian immigrants. His father, Phillip, a taylor, settled in Houston with his wife and 5 children in the 1920's.

By 1930, Abe Battlestein had opened a men's clothing store in downtown Houston. By the 1940's the store sold exclusive lines of both women, men's and children's clothing. There was also a cosmetic section and shoe section.

In the 1940 "Pap Battlestein" would stand by the front door of his store and hand out dimes to the children of the customers who frequented the establishment. I was one of the luck little girls that was able to pocket a dime given to me by Pap Battlestein.

I barely remember Battlestein's. Most of my memories of it are from after they were bought out by Frost and the stores were renamed under the Frost name for a few years before Frost finally went under.

While we're on the topic, remember Joske's? They were acquired by Dillard's about 1987, giving Dillard's an instant presence in cities like Houston and San Antonio where they hadn't really expanded yet. Some of the old Joske's stores that converted to Dillard's are closed now (Northline, Westwood) but some are sitll around like Post Oak and Greenspoint.

Does anyone remember going to the Nicosia Beauty Salon in the 1930's? Mr. Nicosia's salon was in downtown Houston, but I cannot remember where. He also had a turkish bth at the same location. The Center for American History has some interior shots of the salon posted on their internet site.

I visited Mr. Nicosia's salon as a child with my mother. Supposedly he invented the first cream cold wave - a permanent wave technique.

Patricia

Does anyone remember the Friday night wrestling at the Forum in about 1940? I remember Lou Theis, Danny McShane, the Masked Marvel for some. What a treat to go to town with my Dad on Friday nights to the wrestling matches. Does anyone know if the Forum is still there. What was the address? Patricia

Battelstein's was a wonderful clothing store that catered to high end clothing for men women and children in the late 1930's and early 1940's. In 1940, "Pap" Battelstein was still living. He was a rather short, portly man with kind eyes who stood near the entrance of the store and handed dimes which he carried in his coat pocket to the young children who came to the store shopping with their parents. Another fond memory of this wonderful store was hat shopping with my father. In the men's department, which at that time was on the ground floor and to the left of the front door, there were large display cases on top of which were miniature hats sitting on top of their miniature hat boxes. After my father made his selection of a new hat for the season, I would be presented with an exact replica of my father's new hat in my own little hat box. I no longer have these small treasures and have often wondered what could have happened to my collection.

To the person that furnished the inside picture of the Old Mexico Restaurant on West Gray, THANK YOU! It really brought back some wonderful times that I had with my family going there for dinner in the 1940's . As to the mention of a parrot when you entered the restaurant, there was one. He sat on a parrot stand in the little entry garden just before you got to the main door. He had several phrases that he would utter as you entered. It was such a treat to go there to see the parrot and to taste the wonderful enchilladas with the dark mole sauce. Again, thank you for the photo. Patricia

Does anyone remember the Old Mexico Inn on West Gray? It was one of my favorite places to eat in the 40's. They had a large parott on a perch on the front court as you entered the restaurant. Great Food.

If anyone does decide to take a picture of the mansion, could they please also take a picture of 1013 Gulf Bank road, my c. 1942 childhood home? Love to have a picture of it. Thanks. PBays

Does anyone out there live on Gulf Bank Road? I would like to have a photograph of the property at 1013 Gulf Bank Road. In 1942, this was my family home. Thanks PBays

Does anyone have a year book for c. 1941 1942? I was the 4 year old mascot for the Aldine High School band in those years. I believe that there was a photograph of me in the year book. I would pay for a copy of a Aldine High School year book with my photo. My sister, Florene Roberts was a member of the band for the same year. Patricia

Since you are writing about Aldine History-- I lived on Gulf Bank Road in about 1938 to 1942. I can't remember the address, but it was a buff brick house with a 4 car garage with living quarters above. There was a pond in the rear and was situated on 10 acres of land. Our neighbors were named: Zycheck(sp), Martinka, Wallers, Minor (these are the names I remember) There was a lumber mill across the street and up the road a piece. There was a grocery store and gas station on the corner of Gulf Bank Road and Airline Drive.

When I was about 4 years old, in about 1939 or 1940, I was selected as the mascot to the Aldine High School marching band. I wore a white satin short skit and a long sleeved top with blue epellets and braid. I also wore a tall feathery white hat with a blue plume.

Our name was Roberts. We rented the apartment above the garage to a couple named Jane and Arnold Orsak. He was the coach for Aldine High School from 1936 - 1946 Does anyone remember Gulf Bank Road during this era? pbays

Northline Terrace Primer

The Northline Terrace neighborhood sits on land that was at least partially owned by Tommy Okabayashi. Okabayashi established a farm in either 1932 or 1945 at 351 West Gulf Bank Road. (Still need to find exact date - haven't made it to the Harris County Tax Office yet!)

In 1962, a bridge over Halls Bayou was built, extending W Mount Houston Road from U.S. 75 (the North Freeway was under construction) to Airline Drive, taking over portions of the already existing Mosher Lane. In 1964, another bridge was built over Halls Bayou, joining segments of Hacker Road from West Road to Canino. The Road was renamed Sweetwater Lane.

Sometime in the early 1960s (probably 1962 or 1963), Okabayashi sold part of his land. In 1964, the Oak Glen Building Company started development of Northline Terrace Section 1 on 111 acres of land stretching basically from 1-45 east to Cheswick and from W Gulf Bank Road north to Halls Bayou. The 66-acre Section 2 and 9-acre Section 3 were developed in 1965. Section 2 stretches from Cheswick east to Rockcliff and from W Gulf Bank Road to Halls Bayou, save for the 9100 block of Rockcliff. Section 3 is the 9100 of Rockcliff.

Suburban Homes built most of the homes in Section 1 east of Sweetwater (formerly Hacker) and all of the homes in Section 2. Other companies built the homes west of Sweetwater and several of the homes in Section 3 on Rockcliff (which is why they are different from the others).

Sections 1-3 closed out in 1966 at a total of 186 acres.

Northline Terrace Section 4 started development in 1966 south of W Gulf Bank on 42 acres stretching from W Gulf Bank south to Arrowdale. The 26-acre Section 5 opened in 1968 and went from Arrowdale south to Canino.

Most of the homes in Northline Terrace range in size from roughly 900 square foot to about 1100 square foot. All homes were originally single story homes of ranch style construction. Several have been expanded over the years to up to 1400 square feet and many have added multi-story additions. Homes in Sections 1-3 had open ditches in their front yards and asphalt streets. Over the years, many have had these filled in. Homes in Sections 4-5 have covered drainage and concrete, curbed streets.

All students in Sections 1-3 and those in Section 4 north of W Hartwick attend Aldine ISD schools and Aldine Senior High. Those living south of W Hartwick attend Houston ISD schools and are zoned for Sam Houston High.

While once almost exclusively white lower middle class, the area is now overwhelmingly Hispanic. Many of the original businesses and churches in the area have closed and have become something else, generally supporting a Spanish-speaking clientele.

Only the portion west of Sweetwater is in the city of Houston limits, having been annexed in 1978. The remaining portion is in unincorporated Harris County and falls under the recently formed Airline Improvement District. The neighborhood therfore is not served by city of Houston water, sewer or garbage collection and must rely on private companies for these. Water and sewer is provided by the Sunbelt Freshwater Supply District.

The Airline Improvement District, formed in 2005, supposedly aims to improve basic services such as water, serwer and public safety as these areas have proved a challenge as the neighborhood and surrounding community's demographics have changed.

Another challenge has been increased flooding along Halls Bayou, despite several drainage "improvements" in the area. In 2001, Tropical Storm Allison innundated Northline Terrace, causing many homes along Halls Bayou to flood from Beaver Bend to Rainy River. Even today, each time it rains, the intersections of I-45 at W Gulf Bank and W Mount Houston flood with increased regularity, even ending up in recent national news stories as photos of people wading through these flooded street appeared on CNN.com.

Please feel free to expand this should you have additional information.

I'm not familiar with either Sister Agustine or Sister Camillus, but Sister Mary Anne Holoman at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Hitchcock was at Incarnate Word Convent for a long time. She is of the age that may remember these two. Her current role is visiting the elderly around Galveston County. She may know the status of these two individuals. If I see her tomorrow at church I'll ask her.

Thanks for your offer to ask Sister Mary Anne Holoman about Sister Agustine and Sister Camillus. Did you visit with her on November 11?

Thanks again.