Houston

July 1, 1979

Haute as a Pistol

Houston welcomes a classy Paris fashion designer with a rootin', tootin', ripsnortin' wild West show.

By Michael Ennis

April 1, 1979

Super Medicine

At the Texas Medical Center the best hospitals, doctors, researchers, and medical technology anywhere in the world have combined to transform doctors from healers into superstars.

By Nicholas Lemann

March 1, 1979

Have Guns, Will Travel

Do you want a rare antique muzzle-loader or a holdup pistol that can’t be traced? You can find them both at a gun show.

By Jan Reid

February 1, 1979

“There are two things to remember about the ghetto that is Houston’s Fifth Ward. One, evil usually triumphs over good. Two, in spite of that, most of its residents retain a goodness that proves indestructible.”

By Richard West

October 1, 1978

I Can’t Do It!

Some kids may fail at school and it’s not their fault.

By Stephen Harrigan

October 1, 1978

The Last of the Great Ladies

Oveta Culp Hobby has gone from a country town to a position of power and wealth. What she hasn’t done will also be her legacy.

Being Texan|

September 1, 1978

The Deadliest Sin

Confessions of a bridge nut.

By Paul Burka

Energy|

August 1, 1978

Labor Pains

Second-generation refinery workers don’t believe in politicians or corporations and some of them don’t believe in unions. The question is, do they believe in strikes?

By Dick Reavis

Being Texan|

July 1, 1978

Brave New Vacancies

Give us your tired and freezing Yankees, your studious Arabs, your ambitious young hustlers just blown into town, and we will rent them one bedroom and a bath for $215.

Texas History|

June 30, 1978

On the Waterfront

It was Memorial Day weekend and the pickings were slim. Most of the ships that normally would have been in port lay anchored in Galveston Bay so they wouldn’t have to pay time and a half to longshoremen. The old longshoreman they called Goat made his rounds, cadging drinks and looking

By Gary Cartwright

May 1, 1978

Expensive People

At the top, a good family helps, clothes help, manners help, the right friends help, but nothing helps like money.

By A. J. Love

April 30, 1978

I Was a Bum

Hey, buddy, can you spare a dime?

By Dick Reavis

Texas History|

February 1, 1978

Houston is Better Than Dallas

It is boorish, cluttered, aggravating, rich, beautiful, explosive, titillating, cosmopolitan, endearing, and has a full head of steam.

January 1, 1978

The Good Old Girls

At the National Women’s Conference, the feminists changed their sandals for pumps and embraced mainstream America.

By Prudence Mackintosh

Being Texan|

December 1, 1977

They Found It!

Charismatics start by losing their heads and end up with a new kind of religion.

December 1, 1977

They’re Minding the Store

If you’re looking for Houston’s elite, forget the Petroleum Club; go to the produce center at Jamail’s.

By Tracy Lewis

Sports|

November 1, 1977

View From the Top

Inside the cushy private boxes at Texas’ top sports stadiums, far from the madding crowd.

By Cyndy Severson

November 1, 1977

Have Conscience, Will Travel

Leon Jaworski is cleaning up again.

Texas History|

September 30, 1977

What’s Red, White, and Blue . . . And Orange All Over?

The Orange Show’s 75-year-old creator, Jeff McKissack, still goes dancing and is sure he will live to be a hundred.Never heard of the Orange Show? Then you’ve missed a razzle-dazzle piece of American folk art—an amusement park/sideshow that looks like a topless castle designed by a committee

By William Martin

August 31, 1977

The House That Art Built

What do you do when you have more paintings than walls to hang them on?

By Cyndy Severson

August 31, 1977

Support Your Local Police

If you ever go to Houston, you’d better walk right. You’d better not gamble, and you’d better not fight.

By Tom Curtis

May 31, 1977

The Power

Burning a candle a day keeps the hexes away.

By John Davidson

April 1, 1977

The Lifesavers

Every night at Ben Taub Hospital’s emergency room is a night of the living dead.

By John Davidson

Libations|

January 1, 1977

Grape Nuts

Some Texans are going crazy over wine. Others are just going crazy.

By Sharon Churcher

January 1, 1977

Howard Hughes Lives!

In pursuit of the elusive billionaire’s final mystery: who’ll get his money?

September 30, 1976

The Making of Barbara Jordan

From poor black girl to presidential possibility, in ten not-so-easy lessons.

By William Broyles

May 31, 1976

The Voice from the Tower

The weirdest student demonstration ever.

Sports|

April 30, 1976

Learning the Ropes

Wrestling isn’t fixed; it was never broken.

July 31, 1975

The Hottest Place in the Whole U.S.A.

How the Texas heat can sap your energy, dull your intelligence, send you to an early grave, and make you sweat.

February 28, 1975

Pomp and Circumstance

The private life of a public high school.

Transportation|

July 31, 1974

Waiting for the Train

While you’re waiting at the depot, Amtrak bickers with Washington, railway moguls, and itself.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

June 30, 1974

Six West

Staying alive day by day . . . by day.

By Stephen Harrigan

May 31, 1974

Rating the Major Dailies

Choosing the best features of Texas newspapers is a thankless job, hard on the spirit, and difficult for all the wrong reasons.

By Texas Monthly

April 30, 1974

Houston TV Ratings War

Fade in, interior six p.m. news set, long shot. As the picture comes closer, the familiar anchormen are relaxed and exchanging easy glances, preparing to bring you the latest news, sports, and weather. If you are standing close to the producer, you can hear the purr of his ulcer as

By Richard West

April 30, 1974

The Avalon Drug Store

On a Saturday morning in January, 1971, three days before the inauguration of Governor Preston Smith and Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes, the then-Assistant US Attorney Theo Pinson strolled into Houston’s Avalon Drug Store after a toot on the town, a bit disheveled but still resplendent in his midnight blue tuxedo,

By Richard West

Food & Drink|

March 31, 1974

Out to Lunch

We visit restaurants in Houston where lunches are the specialty.

By Felicia Coates and Harriet Howle

February 28, 1974

Up Against the Barre

After an aggressive ad campaign, attendance was up at the Houston Ballet; the performances were also up... and down.

By Suzanne Shelton

Sports|

January 31, 1974

Go You Wildcats, Go!

Even though Wheatley High's last teamful of stars got snapped up by eager colleges, winning is such a habit there that they just might keep on doing it.

By Whit Canning

Travel & Outdoors|

January 1, 1974

Guide for Big-City Kids

Mothers and fathers in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston can explore an exciting concept with their children: the city as playground.

By Prudence Mackintosh

January 1, 1974

God Goes to the Astrodome

A fat 15-year-old inaugurated 1000 years of peace in Houston this fall. Don't look now, but the people you went to college with may be following him.

By Thorne Dreyer

November 1, 1973

Empires of Paper

A law firm of almost 200 attorneys becomes an institution with massive power and life of its own. Three such firms are in Texas, including two of the four largest in the U.S. We open them, for the first time, to the public.

By Griffin Smith Jr.

August 31, 1973

Galleria Gourmet

There are ten, count 'em, ten, places to eat in the Galleria. Some are good, others. . .

By Felicia Coates and Harriet Howle

True Crime|

July 31, 1973

The Best Private Eye in Texas

High-speed chases, murder investigations, and window-peeping are all in a day’s work.

By Al Reinert

May 31, 1973

Briar Patch

THE SIN OF AUSTININ AUSTIN RECENTLY, DURING A public hearing on skinnydipping in Lake Travis, local resident Louis Steinbach testified to attentive city councilmen: “God has the power to destroy this city for its sin…and officials had better realize it.” We do not want to appear soft on sin, but

By Gregory Curtis, Wendy Meyer and Allan Turner