Time Capsule
By urbanhoustonian at August 11, 2008 | 12:01 AM | Print
I spent part of the weekend in Sugar Land because my older sister is visiting with her three kids. My older brother and his wife were also visiting. All in all, it was the first time my immediate family has been in the same place in quite a few years. Like most matriarchs, my mother has boxes and boxes of old documents, art work, report cards, pictures and all the other emphamera that we amass throughout our lives. Whenever I have gotten a letter published in the Chronicle, I am quick to forward these small achievements to my family. Well, it turns out that my older sister wrote a letter to the Chronicle that was published on Saturday, July 12 1980; eight days after her 12th birthday. Yes, I wasn’t the first child in my family to find their way to the pages of the Houston Chronicle.
When my mother pulled out the paper that she saved from that day. I knew right away that there was going to be something of interest to me in this paper. I was quite intrigued to flip through the paper. This post is going to be a chronicle (pun intended) of what I found in the Leisure section of a 1980′s Houston Chronicle.
The Heading
What’s doin’ — Mini Page — Amusements — Life style
What’s doin’? While this newspaper is only from 1980, long before the 80′s we’ve come to know and love hadn’t really emerged. But what’s doin’ ain’t a bad indication of things to come.
Mini Page. If you don’t know about the Mini Page, I’m not sure you can call yourself a true child of the Chronicle. Every Saturday morning, my sister and I would spend the first part of our days going through the Mini Page. Our favorite part was the puzzle where you had to find a list of hidden items in some kind of illustration. The word MINI was always one of the items to find. There were Jokes of the Week, Connect-the-Dots and Word Search. Oh, and then some nice educational material that I rarely gave a second thought.
Amusements
We’ll get to these in a second.
Life style
I’m not sure when the OED decided that lifestyle was a single word instead of two.
History Repeating Itself?
This issue of the newspaper could have been written today. Take these two stories . .
“Trying to iron out your finances? Consider the newest wrinkle in inflation-fighting: Do-it-yourself home building.”
Solving the housing crisis by building your own homes? Maybe we should float this idea to the fine folks at Freddiemac and Fannie Mae. Gary Quinlan, the star of the story, netted $30,000 in savings by building his new home all by himself. While they don’t give the address, the house could still be standing today somewhere in the Northwest side of town.
Here’s another headline,
“Olympic games seem to be labeled as a political target”
Hmm, doesn’t that sound familiar? The article appears to be a wire piece (again, I get this sense of deja vu!) by Bruce Jenner. The article begins discussing the United States’ decision to boycott the 1980 Olympics because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. It goes on to give a very extensive list of various times throughout the history of the Olympics where different countries and individuals have used the Olympic stage for their own political needs. Through the lense of the 28 years between this story and today’s Olympiad, I am simply fascinated by the parallels.
But Mr. Jenner puts it best, “So, in retrospect, it should not seem astonishing that the Olympics once again are involved as an instrument of national policy this summer.”
Summer Blockbusters
How’s this for a movie line-up? Airplane, Empire Strikes Back, Urban Cowboy, The Shining, Fame and Blues Brothers. Not only that, but Cheech & Chongs Next Movie! Funny enough, an article later in the paper declares, “Hollywood and the economy having one of the worst summers in memory.” Wow, maybe we should consider keeping stoner movies out of theaters when the economy isn’t doing so hot.
Theater District
Because this is something I look at, Society for the Performing Arts was presenting Joffrey Ballet: Lights Up the 80′s. There is also an review about a Beethoven program (the Houston Symphony’s eighth concert of its Miller Outdoor season) at Hermann Park by none other than Charles Ward; a current performing arts critic for the Houston Chronicle.
Rated NC-17
Houston has long had a reputation for its adult entertainment industry. If the 1980′s Chronicle is any indication, it is well earned. I was perusing the addresses of the inordinate amount of adult ads, trying to see if there were any locations that stood out. The one business that stands out is Sugar’s. Apparently it had four locations: 2637 Winrock, 5130 Richmond (Currently Cheetah’s, ROWR!), 8321 Broadway 6447 Richmond (Currently Deja Vu). Does anyone know if this was the precursor to Rick’s Cabaret?
There is the adult theater ad with such stimulating fare as Tangerines, Oh Fanny, The Candy Stripers, Sweetcakes, Getting Off (Winner of the Subtlety Award), Intimate Illusions, Sleepyhead, Seduction, Baby Face and, my favorite, Jail Bait. If you feel dirty, it’s okay. I felt the same way.
And we end with the ad for Boobie Rock, “Houston’s most unique adult club.” You should know that Boobie Rock is now Chances, Houston’s most unique lesbian bar.
Who says Houston doesn’t appreciate history?
