This reel of advertisements made by Orris D. Brown showcases several Houston businesses circa 1936 that acted as sponsors for a program put on by a Sunday School class, the Darcas Class, at Houston's North Side Methodist Church. An advertisement for W.E. Woodruff company captures scenes of the construction workers laying bricks for an elementary school in the Southgate neighborhood of Houston, likely what is now Oran M. Roberts Elementary which still operates in the building built in 1936. Other business sponsors include W.T. Matthews Meat Market, O.S. Brown Service Station, B.A. Passmore Groceries, American Marketing Co.'s Regal Gasoline and Motor Oil, Morse Funeral Church, Fonville's Drug Store, Sunshine Laundry, and Spencer-Sauer Lumber Co., all located in the downtown district of Houston. Scenes of employees and daily operations are included. The digital preservation of this film 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.

Orris Dorr Brown was born in 1890 in Henderson, Texas. He married Edna Myra Webb in 1923, and together they traveled domestically and abroad teaching cake decorating techniques using edible sugar. Brown became interested in filmmaking in the early 1930s and began filming scenery and sites as he traveled. Texas became the focus of many of his films, and he traveled extensively throughout the state to document historical figures and locations, most notably scenes of Uncle Jeff Hamilton, Sam Houston's personal slave (watch this film in the TAMI library). In 1936, Brown filed for a U.S. patent for a Moving Picture Machine through which to view films. He moved into professional filmmaking as an employee of Empire and Superior Studios in the 1940s and 50s to film full-length pictures. Orris D. Brown was a Shriner and a Free Mason. He passed away in 1965.

Harris County Houston

advertise advertisement advertisements advertiser advertisers sponsor sponsors sponsored W.E. Woodruff Co. job jobs Miss Sims duty office field offices offices field office type typing secretary secretarial southwest elemementary school Southgate neighborhood Houston Houston, TX Harris County Oran M. Roberts Elementary Roberts Elementary construction worker workers build building brick lay laying bricklayer

bricklayers blueprint blueprints floorplan floorplans cement mortar masonry brickwork Darcas Class Sunday School W.T. Matthews Meat Market Lyons Ave. Lyons Avenue meat market butcher Norfleet Hill sheriff shop customer customers scale deliver delivery alphanumeric telephone number acknowledgement acknowledgements O.S. Brown Service Station service station gas station automobile automobiles car cars hood tire

tires gasoline oil oils accessories wash washing grease greasing repair repairs credit attendant pump pumps gallon gallons family convenient Lockwood Dr. Lockwood Drive bus B.A. Passmore Groceries grocery groceries feed meats produce scale weight child children kid kids order service American Marketing Co. Regal Gasoline and Motor Oil Palmer St. Palmer Street

Frank Snyder manager American Eagle Gasoline Regal Motor Oil sales Morse Funeral Church Milam Street Milam St. Lawrence A. Morse funeral funerals funeral home undertaker ambulance hearse church Fonville's Drug Store Hardy Street Hardy St. drugstore drug store pharmacy pharmacist prescription prescriptions licensed Fonville's storefront E. Dee Smith Sunshine Laundry dry cleaning dry clean dryclean dry cleaners cleaners Main Street Main St. fleet truck trucks

Sunshine Laundry Dry Cleaning cash and carry Spencer-Sauer Lumber Company Spencer-Sauer Lumber Co. McKinney Street McKinney St. lumber materials timber wood audience patronize patron patrons 1936 1930s