This film from KHOU-TV Channel 11 in Houston contains a series of short news segments that would have aired as highlights to news stories. Many are silent and would have been voiced over by the anchorperson during a live broadcast. The titles for each segment are the originals created by KHOU-TV. The clips on this reel all date from December 1964. This series includes news segments about meetings of the Houston City Council and the University of Houston Board of Regents as well as future plans for the USS Texas.
The digital preservation of this collection was made possible by a grant to the Texas Archive of the Moving Image and the Houston Public Library from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Politician Louie Welch was born in Lockney, Texas on December 9, 1918. He received a degree in history from Abilene Christian College, now Abilene Christian University.
Welch began his political career in 1950, serving four terms on the Houston City Council. He unsuccessfully sought the Houston mayoral office three times before being elected to the position in 1963. Houston grew immensely during Welch’s five terms as mayor, from the population topping one million people to the opening of the Astrodome in 1965 and the Houston Intercontinental Airport in 1969.
His tenure, however, was not without its controversy. A 1967 conflict between police and Texas Southern University students created a rift between the local administration and many of Houston’s African Americans. Welch’s reputation also came under fire during his last term over his relationship with well-known crime leaders, leading to suspicions about how his second mayoral bid was financed.
In 1985, Welch ran for mayor again, campaigning in opposition to the extension of job protection rights to homosexuals employed by the city government. He lost to incumbent Kathy Whitmore.
Welch died from lung cancer on January 27, 2008 in his Harris County residence. He was 89.
Called “perhaps the most popular and revered news anchor the city [of Houston] has ever known” by the Houston Chronicle, Ron Stone was born in Hannah, Oklahoma on April 6, 1936. He began his career as a broadcaster in Ada, Oklahoma in the 1950s, working as a radio disc jockey and television news anchor. In 1961, Stone caught the attention of Houston newsman Dan Rather, who hired Stone as an anchor and reporter for KHOU-TV. In 1973, Stone moved to Houston’s KPRC-TV, where he worked as a news anchor for 20 years.
After retiring from television news in 1992, Stone formed his own production company, Stonefilms, Inc., with his son. In 1999, he took over hosting the regional television series The Eyes of Texas, which focused on unique people, places, and events across the state. Stone also authored several books on Texas history, including The Book of Texas Days, Disaster at Texas City, and Houston: Simply Spectacular.
Stone died of cancer on May 13, 2008.
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