My Daddy Estel Franklin Lacy and my mother Ada Beautrice Couch Lacy built our home
in Denver and Harbor Addition in 1927. We lived on 6310 Gainesville Avenue. Sam Cloyd,
Jr. and his Mother and Father lived on Wallisville Road in 6400 block. He now lives
in Crosby, Texas. I knew Sam Cloyd, Jr. since 1927. Sam Cloyd and Jasper Bryan Lacy
got all the boys together and we made us a Ball Park off of Force Street and we played
our games there, We did not have any park in those early days. All us children went
to Eliot grade school on Kress St. Then all went to John Marshall Junior High in
Quitman St. in North Side.
I went to 8th grade in Beaumont, Texas in 1932 and half of 1933. My Aunt Stella Richardson
came after me in Houston, Texas in 1932 90 miles away. I came back home in June,
1933 and went to Jefferson Davis High School. Me and my two Sisters Avan Lacy and
Marian Lacy finished High School in Northside on Quitman Street at Jefferson Davis
High School. I was the 1 mile champion in track in 1936. I 1937 I graduated and was
most Popular Boy, the Bauvoir Favorite in High School. My Daddy and Mother ran the
Lacy Cafe on Wallisville Road and fed the Southern Pacific Rail Road men at lunch
time.
My Dad and me worked at Southern Pacific Railroad at Englewood Yards between Liberty
Road and Wallisville Road. I played Soft ball for lots of teams and was one of the
best catchers in ball. We had lots of Floods in Denver and Harbor addition as we
did not have good drainage. The Hollbrooks lived not far from us and they had a dairy.
Also Mr. Holbrook sold bananas and roasted peanuts. I worked for him a lot on weekends
selling peanuts and bananas.
I also helped deliver the Houston Chronicle on Sundays. I also worked for Mr. Linsey
on weekends delivering "The Shopping News". Sam Cloyd, Jr. ran his Daddy and Mother's
little trucks and they bought washing machines and they drove around and rented the
washing machines to people in Denver and Harbor addition for fifty cents for three
hours. Then they would go by and pick them up. Mr. and Mrs. Cloyd had two men that
delivered them to people, Roy Hammonds, and Leman Sterns. Mr. Cloyd had heart trouble.
They had Ford trucks. Sixty-nine years ago Sam Cloyd, Jr. and Jasper Bryan Lacy played
night softball with Mr. B. A. Passmore, We were the first night softball played in
Houston, Texas.
I will name some of the people in Denver Addition. The American Italians, Ventrescas,
the Cash's, The Saccos, the Majattas, the Koetters, the Roberts, the Taylors, the
Jones, the Handcocks, the Greens, the Boyds, the Jennings, the Lacys, the Cloyds,
the Evers, the Raineys, the Sanders, the Hollbrooks, the Mitchells, the Harts, the
Hayes, the Pitmans, the Lewis's, the Monteaus, the Lindseys, the Rutlands, the Greens,
the Shivels, the Snyders, the Holleys, the Durans, the Sullivans, the Weavers, Jack
Barnes, the Bolens, the Masseys, the Myers, the Mooneys, the Clays, the Brackens,
the Condrays, Helms Grocery Store, the Parkers, the Garners, the Bossets, the Walkers,
the Johnsons, the Hoodenpiles, the Tuttles, the Sterns.
Ralston Drug Store was all we had in those early days. These are some of the people
in Harbor Addition. Italian: Azzarello, the Haneys, the Wells, the Hotsons, the Harpers,
the Hartmans, the Elshicks, the McBrides, the Damons, the Anders, the Andersons.
The Damons used to deliver ice to people in Denver and Harbor addition. I also worked
for Weiners Dry Goods and Weingartens Grocery. The Christians, the Rices.
Sam Cloyd, Jr. and Jasper Bryan Lacy helped make the first ball diamond in Denver
Addition off Force Street and Gainesville Avenue. We had good ball games there. My
Daddy Estel Franklin lacy built his home at 6510 Gainesville Avenue in 1927. He had
lots of people helping him. He worked at Southern Pacific Railroad as an outside
clerk.
Later on my Dad was in charge of the cattle pens on Wallisville Road for Southern
Pacific Railroad. My Aunt Annie Couch Bartine got my Daddy a job for the Southern
Pacific Railroad. Ted Lacy lived in New Hope, Texas out on a farm. My Daddy was 34
years old when he went to work for Southern Pacific Railroad.
My Daddy was laid off of the railroad for a while and the man that owned the building
on Wallisville Road and Hoffman let my Daddy start a cafe there and the railroad
people came over and ate dinner every day at noon. When I started to Jefferson Davis
High School in North Side on 5th Ward I would trot to school in the morning and trot
home every evening. I was the mile champion in High School and also "The Beauvoit
Favorite", most popular boy in school. They called Denver and Harbor "Podunk".
My Dad and me had all kinds of Model Fords and my Dad had also a fine 1931 Model
A Ford. My wife Bertha Deane O'Quinn could drive my 1927 Model Ford good as me. Everyone
worked 16 hours a day when World War II started. My Dad and Mother had lots of boarders
who lived with us and worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad on Wallisville Road
and Liberty Road. My Dad and Mother did not have to pay rent on the building that
was the Lacy Cafe on Wallisville Road. My Dad also fixed places where the railroad
men could park their cars. Also my Dad was picked the "Best Clerk" the Southern Pacific
had.
My daddy, Estel Franklin Lacy, got his nickname at Southern Pacific R.R. He could not open a car door so he put a zone 1190 on it and put COD [meaning can't open door] and the empty boxcar got lined up in the cars going to California. When it got there they opened the doors and seen it was an empty boxcar. They called in from Ca. to Englewood Yard wanting to know who was Lacy and a card on the 1190 saying COD. Man they got a laugh out of that and from then on they called my Daddy, Cod Lacy.
My Mother and Daddy had lots of boarders who worked at Southern Pacific RR and they washed their clothes on our Maytag washing machine and hung their clothes out to dry on our clothes line at 6310 Gainesville Ave. and Kress St.
We watched my Daddy and the neighbors build our house on 6310 Gainesville in 1927.
Sgt. Jasper Bryan Lacy (age 86)
Many thanks are offered to Cherry Ventresca for these wonderful memories.
The Ventresca's came to Denver Harbor in 1915 from Rosharon, Texas near Angleton, and before then my mother and father, one sister and one brother came from Torre du Nolfi, Italy.
The neighborhood had few houses, dirt, sand and prairie streets, no grocery store and one doctor came later on.
The nearest grocery store was Passmore. It was located on Lyons Avenue beyond Gregg Street and near a bayou of water.
In earlier days there was a school called Harbor School in Denver Harbor. My older sister and brother went there. But when I was old enough to go to school there was an elementary school on Lyons between Sakowitz and Gregg Streets. The name was McGowan. I went to this school. We rode the street car to school. It has a motorman in front and a conductor in the back and the conductor would ring the bell so the motorman would know when to go. We boarded it on Lyons. Mr. Harper, the motorman, was very well liked by all the school kids.
We lived close to the railroad tracks so we often got people who hitched a ride on the train to go where they could find jobs. They would come to our house asking for food and water. We had our own garden, cows, pigs, and chickens, and Mother baked her own bread so we always had something to offer them. In those days they were called "hobos".
We didn't have the luxury of electric lights, gas stoves, or city water. We used lamps, wood stoves, and water from our own water well in the backyard. We found timber for the stove and bought kerosene for the lamps. We also used candles.
We did not get mail delivered to the house but at a mailbox on Lyons. We had to put up our own box.
We had one newspaper, The Houston Chronicle. The Ventresca's delivered the paper. A bundle was dropped off on the corner of Kress and Lyons. The Ventresca's would pick them up and deliver them to the homes.One brother had a house so delivered the ones far away while my sister and I delivered the ones close by on foot.
Eliot school opened in 1927.
We didn't have Frigidaire to keep things cool and make ice but we had a wooden box and a Mr. DuBoy delivered ice to your home and put it on the box for you. We had an ice house on Lyons between Kress and Henke Streets.
Persimmon trees were growing by the railroad track. We often went to pick the fruit. They were delicious.
The Ventresca's lived on Hillsboro and Kress Streets. There was a deep ditch across the street and when it rained it would overflow in the street to the other side.
Hillsboro Street was California Street when we moved there.
We also had one drug store across from McGowan School run by Mr. Ralston. In later years he put up one on Lyons and Henke which his son operated. It is no longer there.
My father was a machinist and worked out but he also had a shop in his own backyard. He made a tool called inside/outside casing cutler tools which was used to cut pipes in oil wells. He had the tool patented. Some of his jobs were close by and others far away.
Webmaster's comment:
The following is an unedited transcript of the recollections of a very remarkable individual, someone who lived in Denver Harbor for almost sixty years. The memories are presented in random order, just the way the writer put them to paper: Any attempt on my part to edit or critique would only detract from what is a priceless document.
I placed this material in the History section because I feel it is simply the most appropriate place for it. I hope you agree.
Many thanks are offered to Marilyn Sterns and Wayne Sterns, the writer's niece and nephew, who put me in touch with this individual and made this unique insight into Podunk's history possible.
T. H.
Reminiscences of Sergeant Jasper Lacy
Born January 8, 1917
Born in New Summerfield, Texas.
Webmaster's comment:
The following is a collection of memories of Podunk's early days from a special lady who still calls Denver Harbor home. It is possible she has lived there longer than anyone else.
T. H.
Reminiscences of Cherry Ventresca