Memories Of Aldine

[cowboybud]

At long last I've finished my history of the Aldine Mustangs football team. If you would like a pdf, PM me or send your request to aldinefootball@sbcglobal.net.

I have two versions available. The comprehensive version contains the scores and standings from 1936 to 2006, as well as a timeline of the history of the current Aldine High School/Airline Drive area. It's a large file (6.5 MB), so if you're on dialup and want this, you might want to consider using a file-sharing service such as yousendit.com.

There's also a 1 MB football-only version.

Either of these are free for the asking and I'm only too happy to share the fruits of my research with anyone interested.

I had a chance to go through some of the stuff today....wow. Excellent job, Mark. Brought back a lot of memories. I graduated in '85, so we've probably crossed paths a few times back in the day.

[Guest Marty]

If you are a local history buff, you will love this download

[Firebird65]

I had a chance to go through some of the stuff today....wow. Excellent job, Mark. Brought back a lot of memories. I graduated in '85, so we've probably crossed paths a few times back in the day.

Glad you enjoyed it. We probably did cross paths. However, I went to classmates.com and looked up my class and I swear, I had never heard of half the names that appeared as part of the Class of 84. I looked 'em up in my yearbook and apparently they did go to Aldine with me... maybe they are also wondering who the heck I was too.

[TheLastStandingKnight]

What does this mean when you're trying to post a picture on the board?

Sorry, dynamic pages in the tags are not allowed

I loaded a map on imagevenue then tried to download it here using the "Insert Image" button. I copied the url and when I hit "Add Reply" that's what I got.

What in the world is a "dynamic page"???

It will let me insert a link, but not an image:

AISD Map

It's a satellite image of the Aldine ISD. I photoshopped in the district boundaries and some other info.

KEY

Red Line - Current Aldine ISD boundary

Blue Line - Aldine High School area (the area covered in my history report)

White Line - Aldine Township

Green Line - Northline Terrace Subdivision (Sections 1-3)

AISD High Schools Past and Present

1 - Aldine High School (1956

[Firebird65]

Any ideas as to where the old Higgs township was located? I know where the rest are but have never heard of Higgs, Tx.

Higgs was located on Lee Road at Garners Bayou just south of FM 1960. Today it's part of Bush Intercontinental Airport.

At best, it was probably little more than a few houses. Maybe a store, although I've never heard of one.

An election was held in May 1935 to create Aldine ISD. The polling places were the Marrs School (NOT the future Aldine High, but what is now the Lane Center) in Aldine, Tautenheim's Store in Westfield and Lorino's Store in Brubaker. There was no polling place in Higgs. Not sure why, as I've seen maps from the 1910s and 1920s that show there was a school there. I know the Brubaker school was closed by 1935, so maybe the Higgs school was closed then too, and with no store, there was no place to hold the election.

[Vertigo58]

Was known for drag racing too right? In early 80's everyone used to always rant about races into late hours. Worth the drive too.

[chasegiddings]

Here's an update on your list Firebird. I have to say, this is some amazing stuff.

Incomplete list of Aldine ISD Superintendents

If anyone can complete the list, by all means...

S.F. Fenton - was superintendent in 1936 (start and end dates unknown)

J.S. "Johnnie" Elsik - was superintendent in 1954 (start and end dates unknown)

W.W. Thorne - 1958 to 1973

M.O. Campbell - 1973 to 1986

M.B. "Sonny" Donaldson - 1986 to 2001

Nadine Kujawa - 2001 to 2007

Dr. Wanda Bamberg - 2007 to present

If no one knows any other superintendents, I'd just settle for this: What's up with all the initials? LOL! Was that some kind of prerequisite for the job at one time?

Incomplete list of AISD Athletic Directors

If you know of others, please feel free to add...

Swede Lee - ? to 1979

Elliot Lansford - 1979 to 1990

Joe Young - 1990 to 2003

Darryl Wade - 2003 to 2007

Deon Samuel- 2007 to present

Incomplete list of Aldine H.S. principals

Same as above... if you can add to this, by all means have at it...

J.E. Borden - 1936 to ?

M.B. "Sonny" Donaldson - 1974 to 1978

Vernon Lewis - 1978 to 1986

Ralph Norman - 1986 to 1998

Ron Galindo - 1998 to 2003

Cecil Hutson - 2003 to present

Aldine Mustang Head Football Coaches

Arnold Orsak - 1936 to 1946

Bruce Kivell - 1947 to 1953

Billy Cooper - 1954 to 1961

Larry Rice - 1962 to 1965

Hugh Harkridger - 1966 to 1967

Barton Massey - 1968 to 1974

Bill Smith - 1975 to 2004

Bob Jones - 2004 to present

[cowboybud]

Here's an update on your list Firebird. I have to say, this is some amazing stuff.

Nadine Kujawa was my principal in elementary school. She and my mother butted heads about something, don't remember what, it's been 30+ years..

Anyone know what good ol' Mr Lewis is doing now? I heard he was an assistant superintendent at some point.

[hbcu]

real simple answer as for Acres Home getting split up....Klein ISD needed blacks for the district and Acres Homes was the closest area with the largest concentration of blacks at the time.....their boundaries look like a lollipop...

they were sent to Klein before Klein Forest was built....

still, the move made no sense as eventually, blacks have made their way way past the original boundaries and the same folks who authorized the move have tucked and ran away years ago...

as for Aldine football...it's been told to me that Aldine didn't become a power until a powerful zoning change on West Montgomery that sent alot of Acres Homes to the school in the late 70s or early 80s....I believe that to be true as I knew quite a few folks who lived closer to Booker T. Washington were zoned to Aldine...Greenspoint changed alot also and the apartments became football factories for Aldine as some major talent came out of there.....mix those two elements together you have success (Westfield High)

I can see that happening as Aldine grew into a power from the 80s to the late 90s before fizzling out to what they are now due to people moving to Spring ISD....Westfield's emergence in football has been due to families from AISD and HISD moving out there. Trace the names of alot of kids and they had success in those districts...

my beef with Bill Smith was that he ran that tired offense until he retired and never diversified it......when the demographics changed, he acquired more skill players with speed but he kept on running that damn offense that featured the run and he never passed the ball which hurt alot of kids playing receiver....coaches like that looked great when it works but when the talent declines and the offense fails to change, it looks horrible.

I saw his last game against Port Arthur Memorial.....he blew a 30-point lead

Edited November 12, 2007 by hbcu

[Firebird65]

as for Aldine football...it's been told to me that Aldine didn't become a power until a powerful zoning change on West Montgomery that sent alot of Acres Homes to the school in the late 70s or early 80s....I believe that to be true as I knew quite a few folks who lived closer to Booker T. Washington were zoned to Aldine...Greenspoint changed alot also and the apartments became football factories for Aldine as some major talent came out of there.....mix those two elements together you have success (Westfield High)

That's true, but only to a degree. Aldine had some decent teams in the mid to late 1950s (winning the district title in 1958 and coming close in 1960), but the opening of MacArthur in 1965 took away half their players and the addition of Eisenhower in 1972 took even more. When you look at Aldine's past, some of their worst seasons (1965 to 1968 and 1973 and 1974) came directly after AISD expansion.

Yes, the closing of Carver in 1978 did move several very good Panthers to Aldine, such as Robert Gibson and Charles Benson. Those two players were highly instrumental in Aldine's 1978 district title team. But don't forget, Aldine was one win away from the 1977 crown too, losing the title only in the last game of the season, and Carver was still open that year.

When you look at a map, all AISD high schools split the former Carver attendance zone, so it wasn't just Aldine that got players. Students fome Acres Homes also attend MacArthur and Nimitz as well as nearby Eisenhower.

As for the Greenspoint area, that's in Nimitz's attendance zone. I don't believe any of the people who live in the apartments along Greens Road ever went to Aldine as those apartments were all built after Nimitz opened in 1978. I stand to be corrected, however.

Edited November 13, 2007 by Firebird65

[cowboybud]

As for the Greenspoint area, that's in Nimitz's attendance zone. I don't believe any of the people who live in the apartments along Greens Road ever went to Aldine as those apartments were all built after Nimitz opened in 1978. I stand to be corrected, however.

He may have been referring to the apartments along Airline/Dyna/Goodson.

[hbcu]

Eric Gray, QB of the 1990 National Title team, lived back there...he got shot back there one night

How could Acres Home be zoned to MacArthur and Nimitz? That's a 20 minute ride......simply pitiful how they broke that area to fill a dang quota..

[J W]

He may have been referring to the apartments along Airline/Dyna/Goodson.

I taught school at Nimitz in the early eighties. Until around 86 it was pretty much a white suburban school. I remember the buses each morning pulling in with the kids from Acres Homes . The explosion of apartments in Greenspoint had altered the demographics by 1987 and the busing was stopped.

[Firebird65]

Eric Gray, QB of the 1990 National Title team, lived back there...he got shot back there one night

How could Acres Home be zoned to MacArthur and Nimitz? That's a 20 minute ride......simply pitiful how they broke that area to fill a dang quota..

According to the 7/11/91 edition of the Houston Chronicle:

"Saturday evening, Gray was riding his bicycle along Goodson Street when a small dark-colored pickup truck sped by.

Detective Anderson said the truck swerved and forced Gray off the street. Someone in the truck then fired several shots at Gray, who was struck in both legs and buttocks.

The truck, which reportedly was occupied by two black males, was last seen heading east on Goodson.

Witnesses told police they heard five or six shots and investigators found several spent 9mm cartridge shells at the scene."

As for Acres Homes students attending MacArthur and Nimitz, if you go to the AISD web site, there are finally attendence zone maps for each high school. And you will see that each has a non-contiguous section of Acres Homes zoned to them. It's absolutely bizarre. I have found stories that indicate it has always been that way since Carver closed in the spring of 1978. Either the Chronicle or rhe Post had a story of one former Carver student's adjustment at MacArthur.

I presume that all stemmed from the 1977 court case against AISD. I know my parents were quite upset my sister was going to have to be bused to a school in Acres Homes against their wishes. We ended up going a private school for three years until I reached senior high and she junior high.

[hbcu]

that's the trouble with the majority black areas....people always want to say we're problems but we're the areas that have been broken up to fill quotas....if left alone and provided the same resources such as other schools in the district, things would be way better...imagine if Carver never had to close and split up and was provided a brand new facility to foster school and neighborhood pride?

When it was all said and one...the bussing was never needed as blacks ended up moving North to Spring anyway and Aldine ISD is majority hispanic now.....

the model concept for blacks was Willowridge High as they were successsful across the board in Fort Bend ISD in the late 80s and early 90s once the area shifted to majority african american...they got too powerful in certain areas and FBISD started bussing kids two miles away to schools way across the district and broke it all up....

[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.

[PBAYS]

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

Edited December 13, 2007 by PBAYS

[Firebird65]

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

pbays, I've responded to the e-mail you sent me about the Aldine Band.

As for your post about Gulf Bank, oddly enough, at the same time you were posting this, I was at the Texas Room library looking up some of the very information you posted.

According to the Kriss Kross Directory of Harris County, the grocery store you mentioned was named the Airline Food Shop. Sometime around 1948 or 1949 it became Hilliards. In around 1956, according to the Harris County Appraisal District, that store was rebuilt and became the Fairview Food Market (Lucky 7), which it remained until the 1990s. The address today is 9000 Airline; however apparently in 1944 Airline was renumbered when it changed from U.S. 75 to L149. Prior to that the address was something like 8410 (sorry, don't have my notes in front of me as I'm writing this).

The gas station was Harvell's Service Station, located right next to the grocery. I believe it was a Texaco station, although the 1944 directory doesn't say (a later one does call it a Texaco).

There apparently were three gas stations in that imediate area at that time: Harvell's, Tony Lorino's and Sprads (a Humble station?). As best as I can determine, Sprads opened in 1939. I have no idea when Harvell's and Tony Lorino's opened as unfortunately the Kriss Kross directory doesn't give much info about areas outside of the Houston city limits during this period.

Because of that, I am also unsure of when two other business right in that area came into being and sure hope you or someone you know can enlighten me. There was a hotel or some sorts just north of the grocery store at 9020 Airline. In the late 1950s, it was called the Ranch Court Motel. In the early 1950s, it was called the Benoit Tourist Courts. It appears that prior to 1950, it might have had the name Faber, but the directory is kinda vague. It seems like its the same O B Faber who lived on Gulf Bank and for whom the Faber subdivision is named.

I was amazed to discover that in the late 1940s the Wind Swept Inn Restaurant was located right next to this hotel at 9010 Airline. Most people know it as being further down Airline next to the skating rink (today it's a Tacos del Julio). But according to the Kriss Kross directory, it was at 9010 Airline until about 1950, when it moved to 13000 Airline (today's North Freeway at Greens Road) and then moved to 10719 Airline in 1963.

Was the Memorial Baptist Church there when you lived in the area? I've heard it opened in 1932. What other business do you recall?

If you can add anything to this, please do so!

Edited December 17, 2007 by Firebird65

[azchows]

pbays, I've responded to the e-mail you sent me about the Aldine Band.

As for your post about Gulf Bank, oddly enough, at the same time you were posting this, I was at the Texas Room library looking up some of the very information you posted.

According to the Kriss Kross Directory of Harris County, the grocery store you mentioned was named the Airline Food Shop. Sometime around 1948 or 1949 it became Hilliards. In around 1956, according to the Harris County Appraisal District, that store was rebuilt and became the Fairview Food Market (Lucky 7), which it remained until the 1990s. The address today is 9000 Airline; however apparently in 1944 Airline was renumbered when it changed from U.S. 75 to L149. Prior to that the address was something like 8410 (sorry, don't have my notes in front of me as I'm writing this).

The gas station was Harvell's Service Station, located right next to the grocery. I believe it was a Texaco station, although the 1944 directory doesn't say (a later one does call it a Texaco).

There apparently were three gas stations in that imediate area at that time: Harvell's, Tony Lorino's and Sprads (a Humble station?). As best as I can determine, Sprads opened in 1939. I have no idea when Harvell's and Tony Lorino's opened as unfortunately the Kriss Kross directory doesn't give much info about areas outside of the Houston city limits during this period.

Because of that, I am also unsure of when two other business right in that area came into being and sure hope you or someone you know can enlighten me. There was a hotel or some sorts just north of the grocery store at 9020 Airline. In the late 1950s, it was called the Ranch Court Motel. In the early 1950s, it was called the Benoit Tourist Courts. It appears that prior to 1950, it might have had the name Faber, but the directory is kinda vague. It seems like its the same O B Faber who lived on Gulf Bank and for whom the Faber subdivision is named.

I was amazed to discover that in the late 1940s the Wind Swept Inn Restaurant was located right next to this hotel at 9010 Airline. Most people know it as being further down Airline next to the skating rink (today it's a Tacos del Julio). But according to the Kriss Kross directory, it was at 9010 Airline until about 1950, when it moved to 13000 Airline (today's North Freeway at Greens Road) and then moved to 10719 Airline in 1963.

Was the Memorial Baptist Church there when you lived in the area? I've heard it opened in 1932. What other business do you recall?

If you can add anything to this, please do so!

The only other thing I remember is the name of the family that ran the saw mill or lumber mill. It was Kenidine.(sp). Also as an aside, I was looking at a map of the Gulf Bank Road area and saw that there was a Walla road. That road is just about where the Walla's used to live. Just wondering if there was a connection. PBays

[azchows]

The only other thing I remember is the name of the family that ran the saw mill or lumber mill. It was Kenidine.(sp). Also as an aside, I was looking at a map of the Gulf Bank Road area and saw that there was a Walla road. That road is just about where the Walla's used to live. Just wondering if there was a connection. PBays

I remember a young girl, about 6 or 7 years of age whose father was the minister of a Baptist Church near where I lived on Gulf Bank Road. Her father was serving in WWII as a chaplain. I can't remember the name, but it is possible that her father was the minister of the church to which you are referring. PBays

[azchows]

I remember a young girl, about 6 or 7 years of age whose father was the minister of a Baptist Church near where I lived on Gulf Bank Road. Her father was serving in WWII as a chaplain. I can't remember the name, but it is possible that her father was the minister of the church to which you are referring. PBays

I also remember the Okabayski farm. It was the largest in the area. The reason that I remember it was because of their practice of protecting the young plants with little white paper hats. As a child, this intrigued me to see an entire field with little white paper hats. PBays

[Firebird65]

I also remember the Okabayski farm. It was the largest in the area.

Any idea of what they raised on the Okabayashi farm? The neighborhood I grew up in is made up of at least part of their land, including probably the land my parent's house sat on.

Edited December 18, 2007 by Firebird65

[calgofo]

The Lucky 7 Supermarket (aka the Fairview Supermarket) was at W Gulf Bank and Airline, just off the right of the pic. To my knowledge, it was the first supermarket in the area in question. Today it is some kind of auto repair shop and unless you knew it was a grocery store, you'd never be able to guess it now.

I looked it up in the old phone books in the Texas Room. Unfortunately, I can't now decipher my notes. On one page I have it being there (meaning having a phone number) in 1956. Yet on another page, I say it has a phone number in 1951. Oops! Which is right? For some reason I keep thinking it only became a Lucky 7 in 1956 and was simply called Fairview before that. But I somehow neglected to right that down. That was smart!

If you never went in there, count yourself as... pardon the pun... lucky. The neighbor who carpooled me to elementary school wold often stop there when she didn't have time to fix her kid lunch. I remember two things about the place. One was the cool sign the owner put on the courtesy booth that said the store was protected five days a week by Smith and Weston... you guess which days. LOL! Second was the gawdaful smell in the place. It was like they hadn't cleaned the place since the 1950s... be it 1951 or 1956!

As for the Kroger, I worked there in high school and college. My mom shopped there since it opened and a lady at our old church worked there from 1968 to the day it closed, including when I was there. She knows all about it. I remember the Piggly Wiggly not because we shopped there but because... don't laugh... I thought it was Porky Pig's store. LOL! What can I say... I was a kid.

As for W.W. Thorne... is the guy still alive? The Harris County Appraisal District still lists him as the owner of his house, but I figure the guy's gotta be close to 90.

I had totaly forgotten about this store. Your right the store did have the worst smell. A strange amalgom of oders. I remember the sign too lol.

My dad and uncle worked on the remodeling of the Krogers. My dad was the Superenintendant and my uncle was the carpenter foreman. Made for a quick commute...about 5 minutes but then my dad drove pretty slow. My mom shopped some at Krogers and Piggly Wiggly but she was more partial to Floreens, wich IIRC was up on airline. When I was in HS I worked at the Randall's.

[Firebird65]

I had totaly forgotten about this store. Your right the store did have the worst smell. A strange amalgom of oders. I remember the sign too lol.

My dad and uncle worked on the remodeling of the Krogers. My dad was the Superenintendant and my uncle was the carpenter foreman. Made for a quick commute...about 5 minutes but then my dad drove pretty slow. My mom shopped some at Krogers and Piggly Wiggly but she was more partial to Floreens, wich IIRC was up on airline. When I was in HS I worked at the Randall's.

Wow! Haven't had a post here in sometime!

I have found out more about the Fairview market. It took the place of another, older store that also stood on that site in the 1940s. It was called the Airline Food Store.

There was a lot going on at that site, as the 9000 block of Airline (at Gulf Bank) was also the home to the original Windswept Inn restaurant (next door at 9010, where a snowcone place is today) and the Ranch Court Motel (9020).

I am looking at a 1957 aerial photo of the area and I can clearly see the grocery store and restaurant, although the motel looks pretty small. The grocery store itself is also much smaller. I'm toggling back and forth between 1957 and 1973 and it appears the structure that's there today wasn't built until the late 1960s or early 1970s. The Memorial Baptist Church across the street is actually not at the corner as it is today, but a little further to the north on their property. That big steeple is not around in 1957. Wish I could post the photo, but the mods of this site get squeemish when you post copyrighted images. But you can find it for yourself at historicaerials.com.

[cosmic08]

Does anyone remember the name of that office supply company near the corner of Gulf Bank and Sweetwater? Is it still open? I remember it was like stepping back in time!

[Firebird65]

Does anyone remember the name of that office supply company near the corner of Gulf Bank and Sweetwater? Is it still open? I remember it was like stepping back in time!

That's Allen Office Supply and Printing. It's been at a few different locations in the area before settling in that spot in about 1972.

Not sure if it's still in business, but they are listed on CitySearch, so they probably are. I image that business is between 40 and 45 years old. A pretty good run.

[houwest]

According to Wikipedia, when Oak Forest subdivision was first developed by Frank Sharp in 1946-1947, it was in the Aldine ISD. The transition period from AISD to HISD is fairly vague.

From Wiki:

"When it was first established, Oak Forest was a golf course and a part of the Aldine Independent School District. The land was ceded to Houston ISD. The original Oak Forest Elementary was built in 1951,"

[cosmic08]

That's Allen Office Supply and Printing. It's been at a few different locations in the area before settling in that spot in about 1972.

Not sure if it's still in business, but they are listed on CitySearch, so they probably are. I image that business is between 40 and 45 years old. A pretty good run.

Thanks, Firebird65. I would go there in the 80s with my parents to buy school supplies. Honestly, I would be totally shocked if it were still open - it was always dead even back in the 80s. I hope it is, but would be shocked. This topic also made me think about Dow Park in Northline Terrace. I have many fond memories of that park...played softball there for years

[Firebird65]

Thanks, Firebird65. I would go there in the 80s with my parents to buy school supplies. Honestly, I would be totally shocked if it were still open - it was always dead even back in the 80s. I hope it is, but would be shocked. This topic also made me think about Dow Park in Northline Terrace. I have many fond memories of that park...played softball there for years

Yeah I played and coached baseball at Dow Park. My biggest Little League memory is hitting a foul ball in the last game of the 1974 pee wee season for my only contact of the year. I wasn't very good, to put it mildly.

Allen Office Supply always seemed dead to me too. Another place that you never had to worry about waiting in line was right down the street at the Gulf Bank Auto Supply (now long gone). There was never anyone in there.

Good to see this thread has been resurrected. Hopefully some more folks will post here.

What other businesses do you remember? Do you remember Springer Oil at Gulf Bank and I-45 (now underneath that Mobil station)? I always wondered what that place was. I never saw anyone in there either, but they had this big, nasty dog out front that was never chained up and would chase you if you came walking or riding a bike past the place. He'd even run across Gulf Bank. One day I threw a glass bottle in front of him (not to hurt him, but to scare him) and when that bottle busted, he yelped and ran off. He never bothered me again! LOL!

[Firebird65]

According to Wikipedia, when Oak Forest subdivision was first developed by Frank Sharp in 1946-1947, it was in the Aldine ISD. The transition period from AISD to HISD is fairly vague.

From Wiki:

"When it was first established, Oak Forest was a golf course and a part of the Aldine Independent School District. The land was ceded to Houston ISD. The original Oak Forest Elementary was built in 1951,"

Aldine had to cede Oak Forest to HISD when the city of Houston annexed the area. Apparently, at the time, there was a law or rule that said all the land in the city had to be HISD. Obviously that rule is no longer in effect. It must have gone away sometime in the 1960s, because Aldine didn't have to give Acres Homes to HISD when Houston annexed that neighborhood.