Old Houston landmarks for travel and work in 1945.
June 2, 2007 (Saturday) – When I see the Astro’s baseball field, Minute Maid Park, on T.V., I focus on the wall by the “Crawford Boxes,” depicting the old Union Station, which is now incorporated into the main entrance of the ball field. I rode trains out of that old train depot. Also the Southern Pacific Station, not very far away. It was an easy way to travel, and people liked it a lot. Too bad most of the passenger trains are gone, now, just a chapter in our history. But what a chapter. The rails brought the country together and made its development come about sooner than would have been possible without them. Trains today carry cargo and are still a vital part of our economy.
Anyway, back to the Union Station.* Every day, several trains made it from there to Galveston and back. My cousin and I would ride that train to Galveston, get off at the huge downtown station and easily walk to Stewart beach, quite a distance but it seemed like nothing to us. Recently, I drove that route in Galveston and could not believe we had walked it so easily. But we were young.
One day we stayed too long in the salt water and sand, absorbing the sun’s rays. We walked back to the train station, rode the train back to Union Station, then walked to our evening job at the Majestic Theatre in downtown Houston, where we were both ushers. It was beginning to dawn on me when we got to work that I was sunburned. Wearing my uniform was not going to be easy that night. Red as a beet, I dressed for the job by putting on my carboard collar and cuffs, with the carboard dickey, then donned my wool coat and trousers. I looked nice, but boy, was I suffering. My boss took pity on me and placed me at a door where cool air flowed and I would not have to move around much. I stood there five hours and finally was freed to ride the bus home. I was in pain. Oh, it hurts today when I think about it. Kids. They’ve always had a lot to learn.
My most exciting day at the theatre was the day a firebug started a fire behind the motion picture screen. When the patrons saw it, many panicked, and rushed up the aisles to get outside. The ushers and usherettes, all teenagers, stood regally at the exits and softly repeated instructions to remain calm and wait for the show to resume momentarily. They all behaved admirably. Looking back over 61 years, I have to say I’m proud of the way we performed.
So, kids today are like we were. They can do some dumb things one day, and on another can become heroes of the hour. They’re growing up, and that process ain’t easy. Be kind to teenagers; you were once one yourself.
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* If you take a peek at the “Union Station” link above, you will see at the lower right of the picture, the back of the old abandoned depot, where the people had boarded the trains. This photo is from 1961 and shows the construction of the freeway, but it also shows the location of the present-day Minute Maid Park. They play ball now where people used to board the trains.
