Nixon, 01/20/68: Former Vice President Richard Nixon speaks at a political rally in Houston. According to United Press International, the appearance drew a crowd of 1,500 supporters. In his speech, Nixon criticized President Lyndon B. Johnson’s foreign policy approach, warning that the Soviet Union would match American nuclear capability within three years. “The only reason we have avoided a third world war,” he said, “is because of our superior nuclear strength.” The stop was part of a 16-hour tour of Texas, with Nixon speaking in San Antonio and Dallas before making his way to Houston. While Nixon had already decided to run for president by this time, he would not officially announce his candidacy until February 1.
Locke Announces, 01/20/68: At a press conference in Austin, Eugene M. Locke resigns from his post as deputy ambassador to South Vietnam and announces his candidacy for governor of Texas. “I have been in Vietnam nearly nine months. During that time we have made progress on every front—military, pacification, political, economic,” he reportedly remarked. “With this improved situation, I felt that I could appropriately leave Vietnam and the President has agreed.” The Dallas attorney ultimately came in fifth out of 10 candidates in the Democratic primary, with Preston Smith eventually winning the office.
Bush on Kitt, 01/20/68: Then Congressman George H. W. Bush comments on an incident involving singer Eartha Kitt. Kitt was one of 50 women invited to a January 18 White House luncheon by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson for a discussion about street crime. She directly challenged both the President and First Lady at the event, ascribing juvenile delinquency to unrest over the Vietnam War. “Youngsters are angry because their parents are angry,” she reportedly said, “and their parents are angry because they’re so highly taxed and because there is a war going on and we do not understand why.”
Cat Show, 01/20/68: Ribbons adorn the kennels of winning show cats
Gen Huste, 01/25/68
2-Alarm Fire, 01/25/68: Firefighters respond to a two-alarm fire at the All-American, Inc. warehouse
Flood Control, 01/35/68: KHOU reporter Judd McIlvain conducts a pair of interviews about flood control infrastructure
Funny Money, 01/25/68: An investigator displays counterfeit currency
Bums Rush, 01/35/68: Police place a suspect in a holding cell
Ship Channel, 01/25/68: A Houston City Councilman, possibly A. L. Miller, expresses his desire for two additional fire boats to protect the Houston Ship Channel from fire or explosion
Goyen on Posters, 01/25/68: Councilman Johnny Goyens his adopted proposal to raise the minimum fine for placing placards, including campaign signs, on public rights of way
Bush on Tax Raise, 01/34/68: Then Congressman Bush predicts there will be no tax legislation this congressional session
Laura II, 08/28/68: Making repairs to the inoperable Laura II, a riverboat on the Buffalo Bayou that offered daily cruises
The Merchants and Manufacturers Building (now known as the One Main Building) currently located on the University of Houston campus. Built in 1930, the building is recognized as part of the National Register of Historic Places and a Teas Historic Landmark.
Women Voters CA, 01/24/68: Special cakes instruct voters which way to cast their ballot during an upcoming election
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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 January 20-25, 1968. This series includes news segments about a political rally with former Vice President Richard Nixon, Eugene M. Locke’s announcement to run for governor, and then Congressman George H. W. Bush’s responses to a White House incident and a potential tax increase.
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.
Eugene M. Locke was born in Dallas, Texas, on January 6, 1918. He attended the University of Texas at Austin and Yale Law School, with his academic excellence earning him membership in both Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif. Following military service in the United States Navy during World War II, Locke returned to Dallas to work as a partner at his family’s law firm.
He got involved in politics in 1960, assisting both the Johnson and Kennedy presidential campaigns. Two years later, he acted as campaign manager for John Connally during his successful run for governor. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson named Locke ambassador to Pakistan. The following year, he became deputy ambassador to South Vietnam. For his service, Johnson awarded Locke the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1967. Locke resigned from his diplomatic post in January 1968 to run for governor of Texas. He placed fifth in the Democratic primary, with Preston Smith ultimately winning the office in the general election.
Locke died on April 28, 1972, due to brain cancer. He was 54 years old.
George Herbert Walker Bush is the 41st President of the United States and the father of George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States.
Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts, to Prescott Bush, a US senator from Connecticut, and Dorothy Walker Bush. He spent his youth in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Andover, Massachusetts, where he become involved in student government, sports, and the school newspaper. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he became an aviator for the US Navy.
Bush married Barbara Pierce in 1945, and they eventually had six children: George, Robin, John (called Jeb), Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. After earning a degree from Yale University, Bush moved to Midland, Texas, to work in the oil industry, eventually starting two companies. The family then moved to Houston, where Bush began to pursue a career in politics and served as chairman of the Republican Party in Harris County. After a failed campaign for US Senate, he won an election to the US House of Representatives in 1966 and served two terms for Texas. In 1970, he attempted to win a seat in the Senate, but lost again.
After this defeat, Bush was appointed by President Richard Nixon to be an ambassador to the United Nations. He then served as chairman of the Republican National Committee, chief of the US Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China, and director of the CIA. In 1980, Bush lost the Republican nomination for president, but was chosen as Ronald Reagan’s running mate. He was Vice President of the United States from 1981 to 1989.
Following Reagan’s second term, Bush was elected president. During his term, he secured a peaceful partnership with Russia at the end of the Cold War, and he led Operation Desert Storm to free Kuwait from Iraq. Despite these successes, Bush’s popularity suffered due to the weak economy, and he lost reelection for a second term to Bill Clinton. He and Barbara returned to Houston in 1992, where they continue to live.