For many people who lived in Houston in the early 1970s, trick or treat brings up memories of "The Candy Man," serial killer
Dean Corll. He, along with accomplices David Brooks and
Wayne Henley (YouTube), kidnapped, raped, and tortured to death 27 boys between the ages of thirteen and eighteen between 1970 and 1973. Thirty-seven years after the bodies of their victims were discovered in mass graves in southwest Houston and the Bolivar Peninsula, three still were unidentified until recently when the efforts of forensic anthropologist
Sharon Derrick identified victim ML73-3349, now known to be
Randall Lee Harvey.
posted by WolfDaddy
on Oct 31, 2008 -
32 comments
"Girl, he died a hero with tons of people loving him." A jack-of-all-trades worker from Florida came to Houston to help clean up in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, and was
killed while trying to save three dogs on a freeway. At first, it seemed the man, while praised as a
local hero, and receiving tons of support in death from animal lovers, would remain an unknown
loner in death as he had been in life. Then a Google search and an exchange of e-mails led one Houston woman to the man's daughter, living in Pittsburgh. The young woman had been searching for her father for thirteen years.
posted by WolfDaddy
on Oct 8, 2008 -
37 comments
So long, and thanks for all the thrills. This weekend, Astroworld (I refuse to prepend "Six Flags") will close its doors. Envisioned in 1968 by
Judge Roy Hofheinz (who also brought us Houstonians a
major league baseball team, and a
stadium in which they could play), the amusement park was where I spent a lot of my childhood in the 70s.
Grass roots movements to save the park have
failed, and thus it's time to say goodbye to the place that played host to one of the
best rollercoasters in the world, a ride that
scared the crap out of me, a
double ferris wheel with a twist, as well as the
Boogie Fog Disco, where I learned how to do The Hustle. All's not lost, as at least I can download the
Texas Cyclone, but I still feel a little misty-eyed for the boy who spent most of his weekends in this magical and wondrous place. Farewell.
posted by WolfDaddy
on Oct 24, 2005 -
58 comments
Fireflies in Houston. As a kid growing up in Houston, I remember going out into the front yard every evening and seeing hundreds and hundreds of fireflies dancing through the air, one of the most magical memories of childhood. As I grew older, their numbers declined, slowly but surely (in fact, at one point as a kid, I thought I was partially responsible as I'd caught so many of 'em in Flintstones jelly jars). Now back in Houston as an adult, I haven't seen a one, and am wondering,
where have all the fireflies gone? This site aims to tell you, and it's not just for Houstonians.
posted by WolfDaddy
on Aug 3, 2004 -
41 comments
After 25 years away, I've recently moved back to the metropolis of my birth, Houston, Texas, and have been reminded that a lot of my favorite buildings here are from the
Modern Movement in architecture. However, many of these buildings--much less than a century old!--are now giving way to newer ones, and many
unique residences fast being replaced with
McMansions. Even the
Astrodome's fate is in the air.
HoustonMod is trying to preserve these buildings and their place in history. More power to 'em.
posted by WolfDaddy
on Apr 23, 2004 -
21 comments
