Scope and Contents interviewer : Daniel AltProject : University of HoustonDaniel Alt interviews Rick Ferguson who discusses the Houston Film Commission, the film industry in Houston, and some of the films that have been shot in the city. Ferguson explains the economics of the film industry in Texas, including the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, which currently offers filmmakers an incentive rate of 5-20% plus a grant for filming within the state. This includes a mention...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: When UH’s Center for Public History and the University Libraries collaborated to create the Houston History Archives (UH-HHA), part of their mission included a repository for oral histories that tell stories of the growth and development of the Gulf Coast region from multiple points of view. To that end, the Houston Oral History Project in the Center for Public History trains history graduate students to research and interview Houstonians with recollections of the city’s civil rights,...

Scope and Contents Interviewer : Ben LuedersProject : University of HoustonTom Lambert, the CEO of Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County discusses the history of transit in Houston, including popular modes of travel and the reasons for their popularity. The interview focuses on the period immediately preceding and since the creation of METRO in 1979 to reorganize public transit in Houston and the surrounding areas. The company quickly made a large impact on Houston’s...

Scope and Contents Interviewer : Johnny ZapataProject : University of HoustonA student at the University of Houston interviews Domenick Molinaro on his life and Houston’s history after his arrival in 1960. Born in Germany, the interviewee describes his rough upbringing alongside the backdrop of World War II and his life in service. He then details his coming to America, his assimilation, and serving in the Army and the National Guard during the occupation of West Berlin, where he was...

Scope and Contents From the Collection: When UH’s Center for Public History and the University Libraries collaborated to create the Houston History Archives (UH-HHA), part of their mission included a repository for oral histories that tell stories of the growth and development of the Gulf Coast region from multiple points of view. To that end, the Houston Oral History Project in the Center for Public History trains history graduate students to research and interview Houstonians with recollections of the city’s civil rights,...

Scope and Contents interviewer : Jessica ChewProject : University of HoustonVietnam War immigrant Suzanne Chew briefly describes her passage from Vietnam to the United States, the traditions she has kept from her homeland, and America’s influence on her and her family. She starts off with her journey from Vietnam to Paris and then to the United States. Her first home in America was in California, and she describes the big Asian community in Los Angeles.Continuing, Suzanne talks about...

Scope and Contents Interviewer : Ernesto ValdesProject : University of HoustonDr. Luis R. Cano reflects on his career as a teacher and an activist in Houston. Dr. Cano started a school funded by grants. With only $35,000 he employed two others, and taught drop outs from HISD. Because of sharp criticism aimed at HISD, the district moved to adopt the school, but Dr. Cano refused the offer. Simultaneously, he was a part of the Chicano Communications Council. While working for the council...

Scope and Contents Interviewer : Natalie GarzaProject : University of HoustonSince graduating from South Texas College of Law, Roland Garcia has practiced law and discusses the evolution of his career from his first job at Vinson & Elkins to the formation of Greenburg Traurig. In his work at the Supreme Court of Texas, Roland was assigned to the first Hispanic elected to a state-wise Texas office, Raul Gonzales, as a briefing attorney, and describes his work under Gonzales. He...

Scope and Contents Interviewer : Natalie GarzaProject : University of HoustonHaving lived on N St. Charles for sixty two years, Petra Guillen has seen her neighborhood change through her association with Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. She discusses why and how her family migrated from Mexico to Texas and the story of how she obtained citizenship. Petra discusses the limitations for Mexican communities seeking a Catholic Church, either not allowed in the churches or forced to sit in the...

Scope and Contents Interviewer : Natalie GarzaProject : University of HoustonMaria Jimenez details her family’s history of crossing the Mexican and United States border both legally and illegally for job opportunities, and then her own migration in 1958. She begins with her life as a school-aged child in Houston, with memories of segregation from whites, Mexican discrimination, and oppression against all aspects of Mexican culture, especially language. Maria recalls interactions with...

Scope and Contents Interviewer : Leigh CutlerProject : University of HoustonRolando Romo traces his personal history, upbringing and education and how these factors led to his interest in Houston history and historical organizations, and found his own, the Tejano Association for Historical Preservation, in 1989. Of all the buildings the Tejano Association fought for only the Salon Juarez, now known as Magnolia Hall, was successfully preserved. Rolando discusses the driving forces behind...

Scope and Contents Interviewer : Ernesto ValdesProject : University of HoustonCarmen Salinas, a native of San Antonio, recounts her family history in the United States, Mexico, and Texas. She has both Spanish and Native American ancestry, both of which are well-documented. Salinas discusses her family history: occupations of her various relatives, their marriages and relationships with one another, where they are buried, both in Mexico and Texas. One of the major themes Salinas focuses...

Scope and Contents Interviewer: Natalie GarzaProject: University of HoustonMarie Southern begins by discussing her education at the various schools she attended, growing up in Corpus Christi, and then coming to Houston, where she attended St. Nicholas School. Moving to Houston, Southern tells about the change she experienced from leaving her boarding school at St. Peter and coming to St. Nicholas. Southern recalls her experience as a widow at age 22, after her first husband passed and...

Scope and Contents Interviewer : Natalie GarzaProject : University of HoustonLucy Jackson begins with her early education at St. Nicholas School, her family’s background information, and her parent’s decision to send her to Catholic school. Walking every day to mass and then school, she describes the curriculum, extracurricular activities and teachers, a mixtures of laypeople and clergy. Lucy compares the use of punishment then to present-day, saying that whippings were common by...

Scope and Contents Interviewer: Preetam PrakashAffiliation: University of ArizonaPreetam had first met Matthew Shelley when he had travelled to Philadelphia, MS to speak with some instructors and other individuals involved in a workforce development program associated with East Mississippi Community College located on the Choctaw reservation. Matthew was working as an electrical instructor at the program at the time. Matthew grew up in Scott County, MS when it was still heavily rural...