NOTE: 2013 marks the City of College Station’s 75th year as an incorporated city. In recognition, we’ve highlighted some interesting moments from our past.
This blog was authored by Henry Mayo, a surveyor and long-time resident of the Bryan-College Station area. As a surveyor and historian, Henry retrieves information from local, state and national resources to assemble history-themed messages for email subscribers in a series titled “This Week in Brazos County History.” To subscribe to Henry’s email series, click here.
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BRYAN SCHOOLS ORDERED TO INTEGRATE (July 30, 1963)
This article from the front page of the The Eagle 50 years ago is self-explanatory. The stair-step method mentioned allowed the integration process to be phased in by grade levels to allow the school district to make facility, staff and acceptance adjustments more gradually. In College Station, the stair-step method had started but after a few years, Lincoln School burned and the remainder of the integration process was implemented immediately.
Just a few days earlier, on July 28, 1963, the Eagle published this ad featuring $4 tickets to Aggie football games!
TTA BEGINS DAILY FLIGHTS THROUGH EASTERWOOD (July 31, 1953)
Trans-Texas Airways (TTA), often referred to as “Tree Top Airways,” was based out of Houston Hobby airport. It became Texas International Airlines in 1969 and was merged into Continental Airlines in 1982. As far as I know, this announcement in the summer of 1953 was the beginning of regular commercial connections out of College Station. The plane in this photo appears to be a DC-3:
About 15 years ago, Continental offered rides on a restored DC-3 “tail-dragger” at Easterwood Airport. I was on one of the flights, which had period-dressed stewardesses and pilots. You entered near the rear and as you walked up the steep incline toward your seat, time rolled back 40 years. The thing I remember most was watching the plane approach while waiting at the terminal. It floated along so slow that it was unbelievable it didn’t just fall straight down.
Have a great week,
