U.S.S. Houston (CA-30) Survivors’ Association and Next Generations®

Day of Remembrance 2025

83rd Anniversary of the Loss of U.S.S. Houston (CA-30) and H.M.A.S. Perth (D-29)

The ceremony on March 8, at 1:30 PM at The Heritage Society is set to honor those who lost their lives during the Battle of Sunda Strait on March 1, 1942, including the Sailors from the Australian, British and Dutch nations who attempted to stop Japanese naval forces from landing in Java. This event is open to the public.

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📸 Board member Mister McKinney of Mister McKinney's Historic Houston has award winning documentary filmmaker 🎥 🎞️ Jim Bailey on the legacy of iconic Houston photographer Bob Bailey on “LIVE from The Heritage Society with Mister McKinney” on Wednesday, March 5, at 7:00 p.m. This is a free program on Facebook or Instagram Live.

Bob Bailey was a photographer who captured Houston life from 1929 until his death in 1971. His younger brother Marvin worked for him and carried on the business until the mid-1990s and died in 1998. Between them they left behind 500,000 glass negatives, the bulk being 8"x10" and 4" X 5" and a few larger formats (e.g. 16" x 20"). In 1998, an enterprising retired lawyer named James Lee saved the negatives from being tossed in the trash, and found a home for them at the [Dolph] Briscoe Center for American History, associated with the University of Texas at Austin. In the 14 years the negatives have rested there, about 5,000 of the 25,000 interesting (to Houstonians) photos have been digitized.

Jim Bailey of Sunset Productions of Houston, Texas, is an award-winning television and film producer who specializes in educational video programs and television documentaries focusing on Texas history, art and lifestyles.  As a 30-year veteran, he has written and produced more than one hundred television and video programs.

He has served as president of the board of Texas Foundation for the Arts, and is a member of Harris County Historical Commission, Rice Historical Society and Preservation Houston.  He is a third-generation Texan and graduate of Baylor University. He was co-producer on the recent PBS documentaries “The Golden Age of Texas Courthouses” and “Uncommon Law:  The Life and Times of Leon Jaworski.”  He recently produced and co-wrote a 60-minute documentary, “In Search of Houston’s History,” for the Friends of the Texas Room and the Houston Public Library.  Other recent documentaries include “The Art of Architecture—Houston,” which won a Telly Award, and “The 1910 Harris County Courthouse,” which won the Good Brick Award from Preservation Houston.Bailey was co-producer of the HoustonPBS program “Houston Arts Television.” Two other recent PBS documentaries were “Juneteenth:  A Celebration of Freedom,” produced in cooperation with the School of Architecture at Prairie View A&M University; and “Brushstrokes of South Texas,” an interesting profile of the life of Mexican-born artist Daniel Lechon and his murals that were installed in the Kennedy Ranch Museum of South Texas History. “Asia Society Texas Center,” the story of architect Yoshio Taniguchi’s new landmark building in Houston’s Museum District, was produced by Texas Foundation for the Arts and Houston Arts Alliance and aired on HoustonPBS in 2013.  Jim Bailey worked on the documentary as co-producer and writer.

Educated in the "Texas state of mind" she never questioned that she'd spend her life telling the stories about the state and the people who make its past, present, and future.

Meet Texas History and Houston History Author Lora-Marie Bernard at 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 4, 2024, when Mister McKinney of Mister McKinney's Historic Houston opens the fall season with enchanting stories about Texas. View the show on Facebook or Instagram on his free, online program that also highlights history happenings at The Heritage Society.

About the Author

Lora-Marie Bernard writes nonfiction books about Texas. She has been called one of the state's best storytellers by Texana Reads. 

She was the 2018 recipient of the Dan Parkinson Literary Award for her efforts to preserve Texas culture through literature. She is the 2020 recipient of the Catherine Munson Foster Memorial Award for Literature in recognition of her efforts to increase the public’s understanding of Texas and its people.

During her time as a Texas-based journalist and communicator, she won numerous Associated Press awards and national press honors for her public affairs and investigative reporting. Early in her career, she earned the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

As a Washington D.C. field correspondent, she served as an international radio commentator, journalist and photographer for the 2017 Trump presidential campaign, the 2018 Texas U.S. Senate Race, the Washington D.C. Women's March, and Hurricane Harvey.

She earned her master’s degree in liberal arts extension studies from Harvard University in 2018. She earned her undergraduate degree from the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas. She is the Vice President of the Southeast Texas Museum. She also serves as an international Corporate Board member for the Alumnae-i Network for Harvard Women. 

This Juneteenth event is free to the public, thanks to our sponsors Canine Companions.

9:30 a.m. - Juneteenth Freedmen’s Town Bike Riders ride by the Yates House for this photo opportunity tradition

9:45 a.m. - Teacake reception, red velvet coffee will be served

10:00 a.m. - Historian and Poet Dr. Don Williams reads General Order No. 3

10:05 a.m. - Martha Whiting-Goddard, great granddaughter of Reverend Jack Yates, shares family history and what it was like growing up in the Yates House that was moved to Sam Houston Park

10:10 a.m. - The National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses -Houston performs (Organization’s History)

10:40 a.m. - Harold Cash reminisces his experience as a black cowboy

11:10 a.m. - Larry Callies shares his inspiration behind the Black Cowboy Museum

11:40 a.m. - Executive Director Alison Bell introduces “From Plantation to Emancipation Tour” as featured and co-designed by Visit Houston, Houston’s tourism board

Noon - Celebration ends

12:30 - 2 p.m. - Optional Tour for $25: From Plantation to Emancipation Tour. Book HERE.

We are thankful for historic milestones and would like our guests to come learn about the 60th anniversary of The Kennedys visit to Houston and their speeches at The Rice Hotel in Downtown.  This special indoor exhibit portrays how November 21, 1963, was a celebration of Presidential recognition for Latinos as a voting bloc. Enjoy complimentary Mexican pan dulce and beverages.

Did you know that while the President was in Downtown Houston, he attended a dinner at The Houston Coliseum (the Hobby Center) honoring U.S. Rep. Albert Thomas and his work to bring the Manned Space Center to Houston? Now, you know, and you will learn other significant facts leading up to Kennedy’s visit and the day after his visit to Houston in Dallas when the world learned about his assassination.

Join us on Wednesday, 10/4 on Facebook or Instagram at 7 p.m. and learn about Mister McKinney of Mister McKinney's Historic Houston hosts Facebook Live with author JD Doyle in this free, online program.

JD Doyle, a Houston-based LGBTQ historian was awarded the Texas Digital Library’s (TDL) 2021 Trailblazer Award. The award honors the work of an individual or group that has used limited resources in innovative ways to create and maintain digital collections.   TDL’s mission of ensuring equitable access to and preservation of digital content of value [for research and teaching], cultural heritage, and institutional memory.

In his new book, Doyle shares a deeply personal story of his cross-country odyssey at age 34 through the burgeoning gay American subculture developing in cities large and small. Entitled 1981—My Gay American Road Trip: A Slice of Pre-AIDS Culture, the book is based on a journal that Doyle kept of his adventures as he traveled from the East Coast to the West Coast and back again.

LIVE! from The Heritage Society with Mister McKinney of Mister McKinney’s Historic Houston

Join us on Wednesday, 5/3, on Facebook or Instagram, at 7 PM and learn about the past architectural stories of buildings and homes that once bustled. Mister McKinney of Mister McKinney's Historic Houston hosts Facebook Live with Alfred Cervantes in this #free online program.

As the Executive Director of the Houston Film Commission and a native Houstonian, Alfred Cervantes has worked in the Texas film industry since 1992. As freelance crew, some of the movies he has worked on are Reality Bites, The Chase, Jason's Lyric, Powder, and Apollo 13. His role with the Houston Film Commission is to promote the greater City of Houston & Harris County area to film producers, production executives and independent filmmakers, to scout locations and facilitate any production's local filming experience.

Check out all of Houston’s film festivals here: https://www.houstonfilmcommission.com/news-and-events/texas-film-festivals/

The evening starts with information about THS from executive director Alison Ayres Bell.

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On Saturday, May 26, families will gather at The Heritage Society in Downtown Houston to learn about pioneering Texans in the 1800s through outdoor hands-on activities focused on German and African-American Texas history.  The children’s event is free and will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at 1100 Bagby Street.

“We tell everyone’s stories through the lens of archeology,” Archaeology Now Houston’s executive director, Rebecca Lao says.  “What’s more important than knowing where you came from is knowing where others came from because ultimately, we get a better understanding of who Texans all are.”

“Partnering with Archaeology Now Houston to teach kids about Texas’ multicultural identities for Texas History Month provides families constructive quality time together on our historical campus.” The Heritage Society’s executive director, Alison Bell says.  “Our Connally Plaza will be filled with hands-on activities that will make them feel like a time-traveler visiting a rustic colony and receive a free tour of 1823 Old Place and of our replica of the Duncan General Store built circa 1870s.”

“Our goal is to reach out to Houston with events about our many pasts.” says Lao.  The event is being hosted by Archaeology Now Houston, formed in 1967, by Dominique de Menil, and served as an academic organization centered at Rice University.