Category: Research

Current topics of interest

Recorded Music in Public Domain

Beginning January 1, 2022, recorded music and other sound recordings in years 1923 and before entered the public domain. The collection is now available free of charge through the National Jukebox of the Library of Congress.

Any sound recording in the public domain, as with print public domain, can be used as your own. The National Jukebox is a 410,000 collection of some of the earliest sound recordings from opera, classical music, early blues, jazz, vaudeville, ragtime, popular songs, and spoken comedy. It is an incredible resource for lovers of music of all stripes, historians, and writers.

As you peruse the recordings, you may save selections into the web site’s “My Playlist.” I find no way to download a selection; so have your audio recorder ready if you want a personal copy. I use Applian Technologies’ Replay Media Catcher 4, a video and audio downloader. Recordings of the earliest years are “scratchy.” Some background scratchy sounds can be cleaned up with Audacity, a free, open source software for working with audio recordings.

If you are unfamiliar with the Library of Congress, you will be amazed at what it offers–free of charge. Take time to look it over. I suggest starting with the Digital Collection. Also, notice on the home page that you may “Ask a Librarian,” which proves quite helpful at times.

Houston Post

For years, Houston had three newspapers: The Houston Chronicle, The Houston Press, and The Houston Post. Each had its own personality and news slant. Today, The Houston Chronicle is the last standing newspaper in Houston.

The eldest of the three, The Houston Post, which dated its founding back 111 years to 1884, unceremoniously closed its doors suddenly on April 18, 1995. On the tenth anniversary of its closing, 2005, Lynn Ashby, a long time columnist for the Post, described that closing. I recently found his article and some identified pictures of “posties” as they called themselves. Ashby’s description reminds me of the sudden closing of Enron in 2007 and the devastation to its employees, unceremoniously escorted from the building.

I do not know now how to use this information, but it seems important that it be preserved and accessible. Posties counted for something important. We roll on day to day listening only to the Now with breathless announcements: “The sky is falling! Be afraid!” Yet, if we keep just a sideways glance on history, we know that clouds drift in and out, but the sky does not fall. Tragedies happen, good people get hurt, but the collective We recover with a chance to make it right.

Paddy Wagon

I need a picture of the type of Harris County police vehicle used to transport a person to the courthouse jail to await a hearing in late 1927. I got a good idea of what I might be looking for on a general Google search; however, none of the images were in Texas or Houston area.

In the process, I found a link to the Houston Police Department Museum, HPD.Museum@houstonpolice.org . Museum and Library People are my favorite people. They always know how to find stuff, and they always respond to requests. I received this photo labeled simply 1920s. I am unsure now whether a horse drawn paddy wagon was still being used in Houston in 1927 and have not identified the building. However, the photo is awesome.

1920s label. from Houston Police Department Museum.

The paddy wagon appears to be the same as this New York photo from Google search:

I suspect strongly that the horse drawn paddy wagon was no longer used in 1927 New York or Houston. Downtown Houston was very crowded with cars and street cars, although horses were still being used in rural areas.

The Houston police transport vehicle in 1927, I think, would be more like the following, but I still need verification:

Houston Roughnecks

A few days ago, announcements came from all the sports commentators: The new XFL Houston team has chosen its name–The Houston Roughnecks. What a great name, I thought. How appropriate for Houston. Alas, the commentator that I heard added, “I don’t know why they would choose ‘roughneck’ for a name, but it sounds good.” Perhaps he came from out of state and is still learning our history. Roughnecks, like trail riders in the past and like football players today, were highly respected for their toughness and skill in getting the job done.

In January 1901 the great world game changer, the Spindletop, blew its top and spewed black gold–oil–into the air. The oil fields around Beaumont had been searching for the vein for a few years. The guys who worked the oil field and its oil derricks were called “roughnecks” because it was rough work. Here is a picture of the Spindletop roughnecks:

Learn more about Spindletop and the beginning of the oil industry here: Handbook of Texas Online, Robert Wooster and Christine Moor Sanders, “SPINDLETOP OILFIELD,” http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dos03.