The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 27, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 10, 2015 Page: 3 of 8
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Tuesday, February 10, 2015
The Baytown Sun 3
MCNAIR
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Joint, Lady Love, Burt Well,
Dorothy Jean, Leroy & John
Yates, Frank Sanders, Rosie
King-Green and the L & M
Silverado Lounge. There
were two nice nightclubs
located in McNair that were
owned and operated by Jes-
se McCleary and Dennis
Boyd. A third nightclub was
built south of McNair and it
was the L & L Club that was
owned and operated by Lee
Roy Singleton and Law-
rence LaDay.
We had a record shop in
McNair on Perry Street that
was owned and operated by
James Pretty.
McNair had several nice
places for teen-agers to
hang out. They were owned
and operated by Dud Allen,
Rev. Washington, Mandy
Jones, Lottie Ecby, Wal-
ter Goudeau, McKinley
Charles, Joseph Gillum and
others.
It is believed that Jesse
Bazilc was the first entre-
preneur in McNair to have
gas pumps'. Bazilc who had
business interests in both
McNair and Chicago usu-
ally purchased a new Cadil-
lac automobile every year.
He always ordered his new
Cadillac's directly from
the factory in Detroit and
paid cash for them. Bazile
installed two gas pumps at
his grocery store, next to his
icehouse.
There were sev eral other
gas stations,One was located
at the corner of Jones Road
and Harrison Street and was
owned and operated by Rev.
Washington. At one time or
another, this gas station also
included a mechanic shop,
post office, small store and
snow cone shop. After the
death of Rev. Washington,
Amos Williams later oper-
ated a mechanic shop at that
same location.
An Exxon gas station was
located on Broad Street and
was owned and operated by
Jim Williams, and later op-
erated by Luke Auzenne.
Another gas station was
located at the comer of
Broad Street and Harrison
Street and was owned and
operated by Bud Well.
The community of Mc-
Nair had several bail bonds-
men, Jerry & Almease
Pinehbaek and Allen Bow-
en. After the death of Bow-
en, his family took over the
Bowen Bonding Company
business that is currently lo-
cated on Ellis School Road.
. There were several nota-
ry publics - Ella Wells and
Clarence Burton Jr. who are
both deceased. We current-
ly have two still serving the
McNair community, Jimmy
Norris and Cameka Bowen.
McNair had one comput-
er store .1 & B Technology
Store - owned and operated
by Claude Jackson.
McNair also had a Car
Wash, Snow Cone Shop
and Fire Cracker Stand that
was located on Ellis School
Road and was owned and
operated by Allen Bowen.
We had a paint and body
shop on Richard Street that
was operated by Stuart
Arceneaux.
McNair has only had one
female Precinct Judge -
Edna Mae Washington and
three male Precinct Judges
Jefferson D. Walker, Fred
E. Adams and Roland Leno,
who is the current Precinct
Judge for Precinct 250.
The McNair Station Vol-
unteer Fire Department was
originally located on what
is now Harrison Street and
Broad Street.
• On March 21, 1958,
Clyde .1. .Messiah, Cephus
DeBose and Fred E. Ad-
ams formed a corporation
in the name of the McNair
Volunteer Fire Department,
which was chartered by the
state. The names of the orig-
inal directors were, Clyde .1.
Messiah, Cephus DeBose,
Melvin McGhee, Clarence
Paige and Fred E. Adams.
Other original members
of the McNair Volunteer
Fire Department were Joe
Frazier, Sherman Gray Sr.,
Melvin McGhee, Howard
Sampson Sr., Earl Sampson
and Curtis Thomas.
When Melvin McGhee
went to fire-fighting training
at the Harris County Fire
Department, he was able
to procure an old fire track
that needed much work. He
rebuilt the engine and w'as
able to get-the truck to.be-
come operational again for
the McNair community use.
Sometime later, the High-
lands VFD gave McNair an
old fire track, and McGhee
rebuilt the engine on that
truck too and made it oper-
ational. In 1962, he also de-
signed and helped build one
of McNair’s first fire pump
trucks.
On Feb. 18, 1964, Elmira
Mayes and her husband Pal
Mays sold some property to
the McNair Volunteer Fire
Department for $10. The
fire department purchased
this property to build the
new fire station that is cur-
rently located at the comer
of Waco Street and Harlem
Street. Through the years,
there have been many fire-
man and fire women who
have volunteered. Records
indicate that other members
of the McNair VFD were,
Cecil Riggings, Elray Neal
Sr., Robert Earl Malone Sr„
James Malone,, Brandon
Malone, Emanuel Elizondo,
Craig Morris, Carl McFar-
land, Franklin Stoelle, Mar-
cus LaCour, Kathy Neal,
Albert Garza, Earl Levvis Jr.
and others.
The most notable feature
of the Edna Mae Park is
the .1. D. Walker Commu-
nity Center on Wade Road.
Many recreational, social
and civic activities, such as
sports, teen dances, wed-
ding, birthday and anniver-
sary parties, organization
meetings and programs for,
the elderly are held at the
community center and park.
The center was built in 1977
and w'as named alter Jef-
ferson D. Walker. Walker
wmrkcd as a teacher for 40
years, 28 of them for the
Goose Creek CtSD. Walker
served as the election judge
for Precinct 250 in McNair
from its beginning in 1950
until his death in 1987. He
also provided the first scout
house for Boy Scouts and
Girl Scouts in McNair.
The Edna Mae Washing-
ton Park also on Wade Road
w as named in honor of Edna
Mae Washington who was
an astute community sup-
porter and. was the second
person in McNair to win a
bid to operate a post office.
Mr. .1. D. Walker was instru-
mental in getting the park
named after her. This 43-
acre park is equipped with
barbecue pits, picnic tables,
playground equipment, a
basketball pavilion, tennis
courts, walking, jogging
trails, baseball fields, riding
arena and other amenities.
McNair had an individ-
ual who was raised' in the
McNair community who
became a medical doctor.
Larry Bell was a graduate of
Sterling High School, who
practiced medicine in Ft.
Worth and Denison.
When the use of mid-
wives was popular, Ludy
Barrett was the first mid-
wife to catch the first set-
tler’s children in the 1930s.
She traveled from Barrett
Station by covered wagons
to McNair to deliver the
children. In 1941, Mary
Carrier, a mid-wife and her
family moved from Opelou-
sas, Louisiana to McNair.
Mary was born around 1906.
While in Opelousas, the
American Red Cross trained
her in becoming a mid-wife
for the Coloreds. During
that time she charged $ 5 to
deliver a child. Mrs. Carrier
delivered many babies. The
last child known that Mary
Carrier delivered was Veni-
da Carrier WheatfalFs baby
boy, Craig Whealfall.
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CITY PARKS
NEWS BRIEFS
Robbers sought
Masked gunmen escape with $900 Evergreen golf
BY MATT HOLLIS
matt.hollis@baytownsun.com
Baytown police are look-
ing for two suspects in a
robbery of a restaurant Fri-
day night in the 2100 block
of North Alexander Drive.
According to Lt. Eric
Freed, Baytown Police
spokesman, two men wear-
ing bandanas over their
faces entered Popeye’s
a little after 10 p.m. and
pointed handguns at the
employees while demand-
ing cash. One of the men
took the contents of a reg-
ister, while the other emp-
tied the safe.
“While several employ-
ees had guns pointed at
them, but they were-not
physically harmed,” Freed
said.
The suspects reportedly
took approximately $900
in cash.
Freed said the suspects
left in a silver four door
passenger car, possibly a
Nissan Altima. Detectives
are investigating a lead in
this case.
I he men were described
as black, approximately
5’ 10 tall, one with a thin
build, one with an athletic
build, both wearing gray
clothing and black and
white bandanas.
If anyone has infor-
mation regarding this
crime, they are urged to
call the Baytown Police’s
non-emergency number at
281-422-8371 or Baytown
Crimestoppers at 281-427-
TIPS(8477). People may
also submit anonymous
tips online by double click-
ing the Crimestoppers logo
on the Baytown Police
Department website http://
www.baytown.org/police
or text keyword Baytown
plus their tip to 274637
(CRIMES).
Alamo facade eroding
HOUSTON (AP) -— The iconic west facade of the Al-
amo in downtown San Antonio is slowly eroding, a study
by a team of Texas A&M-led architecture researchers us-
ing lasers and digital images shows.
The loss isn’t much: about 2 A inches over the past
half-century, at the base of a column at the historic mis-
sion’s main entrance.
“Some might say that doesn't sound like a whole lot.
but over time, it adds up to a significant amount, espe-
cially if that rate increases in the future,” Robert Warden,
director of the Texas A&M Center for Heritage Conserva-
tion, said in a web posting announcing the report.
The Alamo’s conservator, Pam Rosser, said Monday the
3-foot-thick limestone facadeisn’t in immediate danger.
The Alamo was established in 1718 by Franciscan
priests as Mission San Antonio de Valero, and the current
stone complex was built in 1744. In the 1800s, it was the*
site of a key battle in the Texas Revolution in which Texas
gained independence from Mexico.
ROCKET
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
struggle for opportunities
and advancement,” said
Kim Martin, director and
technical theatre instructor.
“We have assembled a fair-
ly large east of experienced
as well as new actors, and I
believe their performances
will reflect both their hard
work in rehearsals and
their commitment to those
ideals.”
Written by her son.
George, "Rocket Girl” ex-
plores Morgan's journey
from a harsh and difficult
childhood to her work at
North American Aviation
in the 1950s as the only
woman among 900 engi-
neers. She is credited with
developing Hydyne, the
fuel used to launch Amer-
ica’s first successful rocket
in 1957.
The play also pulls back
PITS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE i
of a cleanup alternative.
The San Jacinto Riv-
er Coalition is hosting
its monthly meeting at
6:30 tonight at Four Cor-
ners BBQ at 7735 Decker
Drive.
There they will have
release the latest develop-
the curtain on the tensions
surrounding the United
: States and former Soviet
Union as both countries
raced to be the first to
launch a rocket into orbit
around the Earth.
"lt presents a time of
great drama, arid passion
in recent American his-
tory, when the free world -
turned to the United States
to make strategic advance-
ments in the implementa-
tion of science and tech-
nology to make sure that
these advancements would
serve democratic goals of
space exploration," Martin
said.
Tickets for each perfor-
mance of “Rocket Girl”
are $15, and available to
purchase online at www.
lee.edu. pac. Discounted
tickets are available for
Students. For more infor-
mation about the produc-
tion, contact Martin at
hmartin/S iee.edu.
ments with their “Bring the
Money Back”' campaign
and inform attendees about
how they can help.
The coalition is also pre-
paring to a release new de-
velopments from the EPA.
For more information
about the public forum,
contact jevoungfa texans-
iogetber.org or uschi 1 laeilft
texanstogether.ora, or> call
713-782-8833.
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Parks and Rec Director
Scott Johnson updated
the parks board on recent
movement concerning
the Evergreen Point Golf
Course.
As city officials con-
sider hiring a consultant
to help decide whether to
purchase and operate the
golf course, parks board
member Billy Barnett
questioned if the city
would ask their input.
“We don’t have a say in
it,” Johnson said. “And
if the city did buy it, it
would be under the um-
brella of the parks depart-
ment.” Evergreen Point's
owner, Hazelwood En-
terprises, has asked the
city to rezone the proper-
ty to allow construction
of single-family homes.
Town Square
Parks board members
were shown an artistic
rendering of the Texas
Avenue Town Square.
City crews are currently
constructing a parking
lot on Pearce Street to,
replace the parking elim-
inated by Town Center
construction. Restrooms
will be located on the
w est portion of the prop-
erty; a ticket sales build-
ing will sit on the proper-
ty’s east side. A fountain,
in the middle, will be
transformed as a, stand
for a giant Christmas
tree during holidays and
a seasonal ice-skating
rink will be installed, A
small stage area on the
north side provides space
for outdoor concerts. The
$1.75 million full-block
city park is bounded by
Texas Avenue. Gailiard
Street. Pearce Avenue
and Ash be I Street. Much
of the block would be
left as open area, with
landscaping and lighting.
Roseland Park
splash pad
The splash deck at
Roseland Park, in its 13th
season, got an overall.
recently. Water features
received a new paint job.
mechanics replaced and
next week, the older deck
paint is being scraped off
so it can be repainted. "It
was worn out but now it
is going to be like a new
park," said Scott John-
son. director of parks.
Elementary
teachers camp
The Wetlands Center
was approached by Lee
College to participate
and partner with Texas
A&M University and
multiple school districts
to host a two-session
science camp during the
summer for elementa-
ry school teachers. One
week of camp will be
at The Wetlands Cen-
ter in Baytown and one
week will be held at the
Soltis Center, which is
Texas A&M's research
center in .Costa Rica,
Baytown’s Superinten-
dent of Natural Resource
Programs Tracey Prothro
was asked to help design
the curriculum and will
travel to Costa Rica late
this month. There will
be a competitive process
' for teachers to attend the
program.
r’ ’ " CTs
($ r 3010 Ferry Ktl, Baytown | (281)427-2123 | Lux: (281) 427-0542 | ivtvu.ccdarcrestcemctery.net (TO)
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Bloom, David. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 27, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 10, 2015, newspaper, February 10, 2015; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1066181/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.