Houston: City of Bayous + Huge Book Give Away 

by Martha Rogers

By the turn of the century had grown into a city that sat mainly on Buffalo Bayou, but it had spread out to include other bayous in its city limits. Those bayous gave a diverse landscape to the the city and it soon became known as Bayou City.

Allen's Landing, situated on the Buffalo Bayou became a hubbub of activity. This is the landing in the early years of the 20th century.  

Along with it being a port city now, Houston also built ships to provide shipping companies with larger and better vessels to transport goods. Below is the launching of one such ship.

The discovery of oil at Spindletop changed the entire face of Houston economy. Now, oil companies vied for space to build refineries along the ship channel. There would be safe from the hurricanes coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. One such storm in 1900 had all but demolished Galveston, and Houston became determined to keep that from happening and made sure these new refineries had as much protection as possible. Sinclair Oil built the first major refinery in 1918.

After that, more and more oil companies came, and by 1929, at least forty oil companies located offices here in Houston. Iincluded in those were Texas Company (now Texaco), Humble Oil and Refining (now Exxon) and Gulf Oil Corporation along with Sinclair. These oil fields and refineries changed the face of Houston. Below is a typical oil field in the early 20th century. This one is along Goose Creek in 1919.

By 1930, Houston had become the largest city in Texas with a population of around 292,000. Three newspapers had been established. The Houston Post, founded in 1880, Houston Chronicle in 1901 and the Houston Press in 1911 gave the citizens of Houston news from around the nation and kept people informed of things happening in the city. 

Four radio stations were also established to help bring news and entertainment to Houston. The first four were: KPRC in 1925, KTRH in 1930, and KXYZ in 1930. Urban living had already expanded to suburban Houston to include Pasadena in 1892, Houston Heights !892, Deer Park in 1892, Bellaire in 1911, and West University Pace in 1919. One of the most famous became so because of the wealth of those who lived there. Mike and William Clifford Hogg and Hugh Potter started River Oaks in 1922. Architect John F. Staub designed beautiful homes of mansion size on curved streets with large green lawns and trees. Even more have sprung up in the second half of the century and on into the 21st century. Here is one of the signs advertising River Oaks with a picture of a typical River Oaks home.

Automobiles caught on fast in the city and by 1911, 1,031 had been registered but that multiplied rapidly so that by 1930, 97,902 cars had been registered. Speed limits were fifteen miles per hour in 1907, one-way streets added in 1920, and traffic signals in 1921. Of course the growth of automobiles led to air pollution, urban sprawl, and traffic jams leading to the massive growth of freeways that never ceases to stop expanding and growing more complicated.

As the city grew, so did its diversity. The Houston Medical Center, NASA, and universities came into the mix with Rice, University of Houston, and Texas Southern University being the larges and most prominent. Houston became home to one of the largest rodeos in Texas with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo as well as the center for sports with the baseball team the Houston Buffs around mid-century. That's expanded to include profession football (the Texans), and soccer (The Dynamo) as well as a major league baseball team the Astros. College and high school sports are well represented as well.

Skyscrapers changed the profile of the downtown area with more being added later in the century with shopping malls and business centers located all over the city. People new to the area sometimes have a difficult time figuring out exactly where the "downtown" portion of Houston is.

These two pictures show the difference between the first two skyscrapers and later in the century. 

Houston in 1927

      Later in the century:                   

Houston continues to grow both in area and population so that what once were towns near Houston abut the city limits and crossover into neighboring counties such as Fort Bend and Montgomery. 

I've lived in large cities all of my life, first in Dallas and then in Houston. I've heard good things about small towns, but I'm not sure I'd be able to live in one. How about you? City living or small town country living?

Great News for Readers:

To celebrate reaching 3 Million views, HHH is hosting a HUGE giveaway of over 60 books in 17 prizes, so there are many chances to win! One grand prize will consist of 10 books, two readers will win a second prize containing 5 books, and there will be 14 winners of a third prize containing 2 books each. There are several ways to earn entries, such as following, or commenting on the HHH blog each day. Thank you for being part of the HHH community, and best wishes in the giveaway!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/ce16d9c612/?

My Give-Away Book for the contest.

After a life-threatening accident causes Joshua Thornton to rethink his life as a riverboat gambler, he has a chance encounter with the one man, a minister in is home town, whose unforgiving spirit chased Joshua away from his home after a foolish prank injured the minister and damaged the church. With the reverend is his daughter, Alicia, the one girl who captured Joshua’s heart years ago and has never left it. When Joshua learns his father’s shipping company may be in financial trouble, he decides to return to Havens Port in hopes of helping his father save the business. Alicia, who has always loved Joshua, is forbidden to have anything to do with Joshua because of his sinful past life. When tragedy strikes the town, Joshua proves himself to be a hero, but is it enough to transform the heart of the man Joshua scarred for life and allow two young people to follow their hearts.

Martha Rogers is a multi-published author and writes a weekly devotional for ACFW. Martha and her husband Rex live in Houston, Texas where they are active members of First Baptist Church. They are the parents of three sons and grandparents to eleven grandchildren and great-grandparents to six. Martha is a retired teacher with twenty-eight years teaching Home Economics and English at the secondary level and eight years teaching Freshman English at the college level. She is a member of ACFW, ACFW WOTS chapter in Houston, and serves as President of the writers’ group, Inspirational Writers Alive. 

Make Money at Home in the 1880s

By Suzanne Norquist

I found the following work-from-home ad in several Colorado newspapers from the 1880s. I’m sure publications from all around the country carried similar ads.

It reminded me of the scams we avoid today. “No risk.” “Many are making fortunes.” I don’t believe it for a minute. “Ladies make as much as men, and boys and girls make great pay.” Sounds sketchy to me. The ad doesn’t say anything about how one will get rich. It piqued my curiosity, so I investigated.

Similar adds boasted catchy titles like,

“BEST business you can engage in”

“WIN more money than anything else”

“HELP for working people”

“AN AWEFUL DOOM of any nature is usually avoided by those who have foresight”

“$200,000 In presents given away”

“GOLD A great chance to make money.”

Some ads mentioned “agency.” Others mentioned books. One difference between these ads and today’s is that the company making the offer can’t hide behind the anonymous internet. Most were based in Portland, Maine. Inquiries could be sent to H. Hallett & Co. or George Stinson & Co.

These were not fly-by-night operations. Both were printers of books and color lithographs.

In the November 5, 1881 edition of the Mountain Mail in Salida, Colorado, an article sings the praises of the art available through these new publishing companies, George Stinson & Co. in particular. Art that used to only be available to the rich could now grace the homes of ordinary people. The size of the company was described by the $120,000 they spent on postage.

The Hallett Book Company was recruiting salespeople—I mean agents—for books like The Lives of All the Presidents of the U.S.

With the Industrial Revolution and new printing technology, manufacturers needed a way to distribute their products. These weren’t basic commodities like dry goods and fabric. Mass-manufactured lithographs were relatively unique and many different pictures were available.

George Stinson & Co. offered to send a copy of Home and Fireside, one of the largest and best-illustrated publications, for free to those interested in making money. I assume this was a catalog of available art.

Although the companies and goods were legitimate, the claims of wealth ring false. ? I write about small mining communities and can’t imagine one of my characters trying to make a living selling artwork and high-end books to their friends.

Perhaps nothing has changed. A few people can earn a living through direct sales. Most can’t. But manufacturers, then and now, are always looking for ways to pedal their wares.

***

”Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection

Four historical romances celebrating the arts of sewing and quilting.

Mending Sarah’s Heart by Suzanne Norquist

Rockledge, Colorado, 1884

Sarah seeks a quiet life as a seamstress. She doesn’t need anyone, especially her dead husband’s partner. If only the Emporium of Fashion would stop stealing her customers, and the local hoodlums would leave her sons alone. When she rejects her husband’s share of the mine, his partner Jack seeks to serve her through other means. But will his efforts only push her further away?

For a Free Preview, click here: http://a.co/1ZtSRkK

 

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas, “A Song for Rose” in A Bouquet of Brides Collection and “Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.

She authors a blog entitled, Ponderings of a BBQ Ph.D.

How the Invention of the Telegraph Changed the News, Part II & Surprise--A Giveaway!

By Kathleen Rouser

Edward Willis Scripps was the youngest and fifth child of James Mogg Scripps from England and Julia Osborn from New York. He was born in Rushville, Illinois on June 18, 1854. James Scripps already had seven children combined from his first two marriages. Because of the investments of his older half-brothers, George and James, and also of his half-sister, Ellen, along with hard work, E. W. became a success in the newspaper industry. 

E.W. Scripps, 1912, {PD}

When E.W.’s half-brother, James, started up The Detroit News in 1873, E.W. began his career as an office boy at the newspaper. Ellen also worked with James. Then, in 1878, with half-brothers George and James financing his efforts, E.W. founded The Penny Press in Cleveland, later called The Cleveland Press. The bristly, cigar-smoking entrepreneur went on to be instrumental in financing or founding 25 more newspapers across the Midwest with Ellen’s monetary support.

His method of acquiring newspapers consisted of lending money to enterprising young publishers so that he owned more than half of the paper. He then bought up the most successful ones, often grooming local editors, believing they would be best at ferreting out the local news. However, they also needed a way to receive news beyond local sources.

External of United Press International building in Washington D.C.,
2005, Creative Commons, Wikipedia.

In last month’s article I wrote that ten New York papers banded together, but in another it recorded six newspapers to form the Associated Press. The articles do concur that it was formed in 1848. The association sought to send news westward by telegraph, beyond Washington and New York in a consolidated fashion. Eventually they sent news only to their franchise papers. International news came across the Atlantic by steamship and they sent reporters to Nova Scotia to relay news by telegraph, all before the cables were laid across the ocean. 

The Associated Press wouldn’t sell news stories to E.W. Scripps chain of newspapers, but that didn’t stop Scripps. He sought to break up the AP’s monopoly by bringing together three smaller news syndicates in 1907, the Publishers Press Association, the Scripps-McRae Press Association, and the Scripps News Association which then formed the United Press Associations. The main headquarters were located in New York City. His goal was to sell news stories from distant geographic locations to any paper that wanted to buy them, even his competitors. 

United Press office, 1922, New York, {PD}

The United Press Associations at some point began training their reporters, expecting them to write an accurate story and to hopefully be the first one there to get the scoop. Scripps regarded his forming of the United Press Associations to be his greatest service to the people of the United States. The UP continued well beyond his death in 1926. The UP sold news stories to the up and coming medium of radio broadcast news before the AP, beginning in 1935. In 1958 the UP was joined with the International News Service, which had been founded by William Randolph Hearst in 1909. Together they formed the United Press International or UPI and still exist today. Interestingly, the UPI was bought by Sun Myung Moon in 2000, founder of the Unification Church cult.

By John Schanlaub from Lafayette,IN, USA - Wallace Study-Telegraph, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8979307

The legacy E.W. Scripps news service to small town papers has reached beyond the age of news transmitted by telegraph. The last telegram in the United States was sent in 2006 and the last official telegram in the world was sent from India in 2013. Before newspaper owners and editors learned to harness the helpfulness of telegraphy, they saw the new technology as a disruptor, much as the internet is for them today. One thing is for sure, the telegraph made up-to-date news available to the masses unlike it had ever been before.

Please leave a comment below for a chance to win a signed copy of Rumors and Promises (continental US entrants only, please) or a Kindle copy of Rumors and Promises (available to any entrant) by Friday, August 23, 2019, along with your email address where you can be reached. Thank you!

Kathleen Rouser is the multi-published author of the 2017 Bookvana Award winner, Rumors and Promises, her first novel about the people of fictional Stone Creek, Michigan, and its sequel, Secrets and Wishes. She is a longtime member in good standing of American Christian Fiction Writers. Kathleen wanted to be a writer before she could even read. She longs to create characters who resonate with readers and realize the need for a transforming Savior in their everyday lives. She lives in Michigan with her hero and husband of thirty-some years, and continues on the elusive quest to brew the perfect cup of coffee to enjoy while she is writing. Connect with Kathleen on her website at kathleenrouser.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/kathleenerouser/, and on Twitter @KathleenRouser.

Bookvana Awards Winner

Rumors and Promises

Sophie Biddle, an heiress on the run with a child in tow, considers herself abandoned by her family and God. Wary, self-reliant Sophie is caught off guard when meeting a kind, but meddling and handsome minister at the local mercantile.

In 1900, Reverend Ian McCormick is determined to start anew in Stone Creek, Michigan, believing he has failed God and his former flock. He works harder than ever to forget his mistake, hoping to prove himself a most pleasing servant to his new congregation and once again to God.

While Sophie seeks acceptance for the child and a measure of respect for herself, the rumors swirl about her sordid past. Should Ian show concern for Sophie's plight, he could risk everything - including his position as pastor of Stone Creek.

Now the pair must choose to trust God and forgive those who slander and gossip, or run. Will the scandals of their pasts bind them together forever, or drive both deeper into despair?

Bess Whitehead Scott

News Reporter and so much more

By Martha Rogers

 

As a journalism student serving as reporter on our high school newspaper, I learned about Bess Whitehead Scott, but never thought much about again until recently when I read an article about a Baylor girl being awarded a scholarship named for Bess Whitehead. I did some research and learned more about her fascinating life. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I could find of her. 

Bess Whitehead was born near Blanket, Texas on a farm in 1890.  After her father’s death, her widowed mother managed the farm and Bess’ eight brothers and sisters. Although facing enormous obstacles, Beth studied hard. She wrote her first poem at age six and the love of writing buried itself deep in her heart. Later she won literary awards for her poetry and essays.

Despite poverty and her hearing impairment, Bess graduated from high school in 1908 and went to Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She graduated from there in 1912 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. After graduation, she taught English and Latin at a high school in Center, Texas.

She moved to Houston and began teaching English and Latin in a Houston high school, but her sights were set on the world of journalism. In 1915, the world faced a great challenge with World War I in Europe and the later involvement of the United States. She wanted to write for the Houston Post, which hired only male reporters.

Not to be thwarted of her ambition, Bess talked her way into a trial run position because she reasoned that men were going to be going off to war for the next few years. That two week trial position at $6 a week marked the beginning of her 77-years of journalism. It also made her the first female reporter ever to be hired by the newspaper.

According to William P. Hobby Jr., who ran the post in the 1960’s, “Bess made it because she understood one of the basic principles of the newspaper business—everyone has story. You have only to discover it and tell it well.”

In her days as a journalist, she covered major events such as disastrous floods and storms as well as the Democratic Convention in 1928. She also interviewed such well-known persons as Eleanor Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson and Clark Gable.

In 1917, at the age of twenty-seven, she spent time in Hollywood writing publicity tear sheets for the silent movies of the day and even tried her hand at writing scripts several of which were produced starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.

She also married and had two sons, but the marriage ended in divorce and she had to supplement her small income with what she could earn as a reporter.  The wonderful opportunities afforded to women, the handicapped, and single mothers were non-existent. She used her talent and stamina to fight hardships.

During her years in journalism she served various positions such as amusement editor, school editor, religious editor, news reporter for city hall and a columnist. While working as a reporter from 1931 to 1942, she also taught high school journalism in Houston at Milby High School as well as adult night classes in journalism and creative writing. The high school newspaper earned top honors in the state for excellence in journalism when she taught at Milby.

Despite the fact that she never achieved fame or fortune, Bess left an imprint on the world of journalism. She wrote three communication textbooks as well as her autobiography, You Meet Such Interesting People. Bess wrote that book at the age of 98.

Among her awards is the Bess Whitehead Scott Journalism Scholarship set up by the Writers’ League of Texas in honor of her 100^th birthday. At the age of 102, she was recognized as a Distinguished Alumna of Baylor University and two years later inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame. She remained active with her writing until her death in 1997 at the age of 107, which is a major accomplishment in itself.

Bess Whitehead Scott is a great example of how determination, courage and hard work along with caring friends, can carry a person past enormous obstacles in life.

Martha's latest release, A House That Love Built is now available on Amazon. A Christmas story to warm the heart.  http://amzn.to/2cOcLMY

Callie Armistead has long dreamed of going away to school and studying medicine. She’s read medical journals and textbooks for several years with that goal in mind and has helped care for the citizens of Pine Grove since the death of their town doctor. When Dr. Penelope Carmichael arrives and settles in as the new doctor, she gives Callie the opportunity to work with her and learn more about medicine. Micah Sellers has been in love with Callie since their school days and is now building a house for her on his farm in hopes she’ll marry him. Callie is touched by Micah’s love, but her love for her work in the infirmary conflicts with her feelings for him. The miracle of a birth at Christmas opens Callie’s eyes and heart to true love. With her heart full of joy and hope she steps into the future God has planned for her with the man she loves.



Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and multi-published author from Realms Fiction of Charisma Media and Winged Publications. She was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009. She is a member of ACFW and writes the weekly Verse of the Week for the ACFW Loop. ACFW awarded her the Volunteer of the Year in 2014. Her first electronic series from Winged Publications, Love in the Bayou City of Texas, debuted in the spring of 2015.  Martha is a frequent speaker for writing workshops and the Texas Christian Writers Conference. She is a retired teacher and lives in Houston with her husband, Rex. Their favorite pastime is spending time with their eleven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren