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. 

Shipbuilding in the 1880s in America By Donna Schlachter

Shipbuilding and design hasn’t changed much throughout history. From the time of the first large water craft until now, a ship must be stable in the water, able to carry cargo, and cost-efficient to build and operate.

Earliest designs of flat-bottomed boats, suitable for calm waters and short trips on inland lakes,

Essex Ship yard

soon proved unstable on the ocean. Thus began the search for the best wood—surprisingly, the sturdy oak is too heavy and can’t bear sufficient cargo weight or endure rough oceans.

Perhaps not surprisingly, at least to those who study and follow Biblical teaching, is that cypress or gopher wood is much stronger and more flexible for open waters and heavy loads.

Next, realizing the need for stability on the ocean, keels were developed and redesigned according to the purpose of the ship. For those transporting passengers and perishable cargo, speed was of the essence, so sleek deep-v hulls for a faster and more smooth ride and large coal-fired engines were included in the new designs. With the advent of increased international trade, larger cargo ships had broader hulls, while racing schooners continued to employ sail power, medium-v hulls for more stability in open waters, augmented by backup gasoline motors.

USS Suzanne

Massachusetts was a well-known shipbuilding area for several reasons, including its protected harbors and bays, as well as the trees required to build the ships. Not only were shipbuilders and designers employed, but also those other trades such as sail makers, rope makers, and suppliers known as chandlers.

Although not strictly a ship, the quintessential dory was first designed and built in Massachusetts. The renowned Gloucester fishing fleet also supplied and empowered the merchant and naval fleets that made the United States a world power.

By the late 1880s, an experienced shipbuilder would make use of his time and effort by employing his ship during the summer fishing season, then he would sell his boat in the fall. This served two purposes: he earned income then sold a seasoned ship with “the bugs worked out” to another fisherman, who would use the downtime of the winter season to get the boat into tip-top shape for the coming year.

Often, a captain in need of a ship would travel to the town of Essex and contract for a new

Captain's Chair

vessel, because the Essex shipbuilders were famous for unsurpassed skill and craftsmanship. Most shipbuilders learned how to build a boat through on-the-job training, including fishing and transport. However, by the late 1880s, universities were training in naval architecture, including theory, which enabled new ideas to flourish. However, many shipbuilders came from a long line of builders, and learned through apprenticeship.

While racing, passenger, and transport schooners were the mainstay of the economy, other types of everyday boats were also required, including tugboats and lightships.

The Navy was also a marketplace for ships, and by the 1880s, were placing orders not only for iron-enforced hulls, but also for steel hulled ships. In 1883, the US Congress approved $1.3 million to build three cruisers and a dispatch ship steel-hulled ships. This group of ships was called the ABCD ships—cruisers Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago, and the dispatch ship Dolphin—and were the beginnings of a steel Navy. The building of these ships proved that steel was easier to work with than iron, making it the material of choice for future Naval orders.

While my most recent release, Kate, doesn’t take place on the ocean, she does travel westward in a Prairie Schooner—a covered wagon so called because of its rounded sides which reminded folks of a ship.

About Kate:

A prostitute’s daughter, an outlaw’s brother, and a stagecoach robbery—can anything good come out of Deadwood?

Kate Benton, daughter of a saloon floozy, runs away, straight into the arms of Tom McBride, fleeing from his outlaw brother’s past. Can these two, damaged by life experiences, tear down the walls that separate them with God’s help? Or are they destined to remain alone forever?

Kate  is available at https://www.amazon.com/Kate-Prairie-Roses-Collection-Book-ebook/dp/B084VTBGF2 in print and digital, and at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1016576 in digital

About Donna:

Donna lives in Denver with husband Patrick. As a hybrid author, she writes historical suspense under Donna is represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management.

her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts, and has been published more than 30 times in novellas and full-length novels. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Writers on the Rock, Sisters In Crime, Pikes Peak Writers, and Christian Authors Network; facilitates a critique group; and teaches writing classes online and in person. Donna also ghostwrites, edits, and judges in writing contests. She loves history and research, and travels extensively for both.

 www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com Stay connected so you learn about new releases, preorders, and presales, as well as check out featured authors, book reviews, and a little corner of peace. Plus: Receive a free ebook simply for signing up for our free newsletter!

www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com

Bonanza Books-in-a-Flash: order autographed print copies of books that are shipped directly from the author. Perfect for times when other online order services are slow.

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DonnaschlachterAuthor

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/DonnaSchlachter

Books: Amazon: http://amzn.to/2ci5Xqq and Smashwords: http://bit.ly/2gZATjm

What Can Be Online University: online courses on the craft of writing: https://what-can-be-online-institute.teachable.com/

Etsy online shop of original artwork, book folding art, and gift items : https://www.etsy.com/shop/Dare2DreamUS?ref=search_shop_redirect

History of tourism and lobster fishing in Maine

by Kathleen L. Maher

For the kickoff of vacation season, I thought I would tell about my favorite destination. Maine has been my family's happy place since before I was born. My people are New Yorkers, Irish folk who settled in and near New York City from the mid 1800's. I come from farmers, music teachers, hatters, soldiers,  railroad workers, carpet factory workers, landscapers, and building superintendants... and it took several generations before vacation was even an option to my hardscrabble clan. But in the 60's my parents moved to Maine to follow my dad's work as a chemist. That spawned my mother's and sibling's love for Vacationland, with its rugged granite boulder-strewn beaches and crystal lakes, its glorious summers and world-famous seafood. 

Downeast Maine is a term coined by city folk from Boston and New York who had to sail downwind and east to arrive at this ready-made escape from urban life. Because of its relative proximity to major metropolitan populations, Maine's attraction as a tourist and artist colony came relatively early in the state's history. "Foreshadowing the development of Maine’s tourism industry, Henry David Thoreau left Concord, Massachusetts in 1846 for “Bangor and the backwoods” to explore and write about his observations. In 1848 Mount Kineo House, a tourist hotel in Greenville, was completed, beginning a century long resort tradition." (https://maineanencyclopedia.com/brief-history-of-maine/)


Early industries in Maine involved the abundant natural resources in white pine, limestone, slate, granite, supplying housing materials all over the east coast and as far west as Colorado. Papermaking sprang up in the latter half of the 1800's from the lumber and mill industries' abundant wood pulp. Maine's plentiful and deep harbors and river systems encouraged a centuries old maritime tradition, foraying into world class shipbuilding and trade with an international market. Cod, mackerel, herring, and menhaden fishing exploded with canneries and the expansion of rail, carrying a ready food supply to the westward push in the mid 19th century. 


But it was the wealthy city folk who populated coastal towns in summers, bringing tourist dollars and driving a demand for real estate in places like Kennebunk, York, and Old Orchard Beach. Artists flocked to places like Ogunquit and Monhegan Island for its picturesque scenery from mid century, colonizing by 1890. 

Modern day Maine is famous for the best lobster fishing in the country, and exporting the premium seafood all over the world.  But this iconic product of Maine wasn't always a delicacy. In colonial times and beyond, lobsters were so plentiful that one could walk out onto the tidal pools and collect their pick of giant specimens, if they were desperate enough to do so. In fact, residents of the Massachusetts Bay Colony reported two-foot high piles of the the creatures washed up on shore. They were like seaweed, ocean trash, the cockroaches of the shore. No one in good standing would admit to eating them--they were considered the food of convicts, indentured servants and those very low on the socio-economic scale. 

Change came slowly, beginning as early as 1820 when lobster was recognized as a ready source of protein for nearby city populations. Canneries started in 1836 such as Burnham and Morrill (B&M) which made lobster meat easy to send long distances, and cheaply. Lobster traps replaced the early method of scooping the crustaceans off the shore by 1850, and boats called smacks which held tanks for transporting live lobsters brought "smackmen" trawling the coast to sell to burgeoning markets. 

Lobster was introduced to the railroads as something new, a delicacy. Passenger rail chefs took advantage of the fact that since people far away were unaware of its early stigma, it was easier to re-brand the rich tasting meat, which could still be procured relatively inexpensively. Restaurants started to carry lobster meat in their salad section--as a side, not quite entree-worthy--by the late 1800's. The government considered lobster a delicacy during WWII so it was exempt from rationing, when the average family had exposure to its tasty charms. Losing its stigma entirely by 1950's, lobster served in fine dining restaurants in the big cities such as New York, Chicago and San Franscisco  brought the demand to a premium. 

In the 60's Maine started marketed itself to the middle class family as an accessible vacationing destination, and that's where my story comes full circle. My parents moved to Sanford following a growing and changing job market, during the development of plastics, in which my father held patents for his chemical company. Living inland, my mom found braving their first Maine winter rather rough, but oh, those glorious summers! 

Family legend still tells of the early clam shacks and lobster pounds and inexpensive beach rentals, long walks along the pristine coast before major tourism kicked in... and we were hooked. Though my family moved back down the east coast before I was born, eventually settling in upstate NY, we never lost our love for this rugged land of pine and beach, sand and stone, and we make our annual migration to whale watch and sunbathe religiously. 

What about you? Have you been to Maine or eaten Maine lobster? Or visited New York or Boston and noted the beautiful Maine granite used in the old buildings? Perhaps seen paintings from the beautiful coast or been impressed with the schooners, whalers and ships built in Maine shipyards of the 18th and 19th century? Maybe you've read Thoreau and been drawn to your own personal woodland experience? Thank the hardy people of Maine for the many contributions to our country's history and culture. 


Kathleen L. Maher

"Where every underdog has his day."
Kathleen L. Maher’s first crush was Peter Rabbit, and she’s loved conflicted heroes ever since. She has two novellas in BARBOUR BOOKS' collections: Victorian Christmas Brides and Lessons on Love. Winner ACFW Genesis Award. Author of Sons of the Shenandoah Series: The Abolitionist's Daughter and The Chaplain's Daughter.
Kathleen and her husband live in an old farmhouse in upstate NY with their children and a small zoo.
Follow me at:
amazon.com/author/kathleenlmaher
https://www.facebook.com/KLMaherAuthor/
http://www.pinterest.com/kathleenlmaher/boards/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2531698-kathleen-l
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kathleen-l-maher