2/5/76 The South Belt Press hits the stands

The local paper began its life on 38 years ago this month, hitting the stands for the first time on February 5, 1976.

The first photo to ever run in the paper was young Chris Alan Robberts, the 1000th sign up for baseball season that year. A companion piece on the front page says main registration closed with 1005 registrants, including 150 girls playing softball in the second year it was offered. There was also late registration being set up since more kids were wanting to get in on the fun. 

In fact, it appeared most of that first paper was concerned with the emerging Little League baseball program and the community effort involved in creating a new place for the kids to play. 

I think my favorite parts was "The turning point came on March 15 of last year, when, with the aid of Seabees and over 120 local men, 54 light poles were set between sun up and sun set. While the  men labored, women kept them fed. Even coffee proved to be a problem as there was no electricity." The horror.

The photo on the second page in full:

(Gulf Freeway signs visible in back)

And the second photo that ran on the front page of that edition:

The Pasadena Police 'Copter lands in the Frazier parking lot

And the final scan I grabbed from the first issue is the note from co-creators Bobby & Marie:

Note the pledge to do all they could to make this paper "our community's own special publication."

I think I can safely say, nearly 40 years later, they most certainly did. 

Spending two days at the Leader offices, I was amazed at how this little paper-that-could is still information central, both past and present, for the community. 

It is because of them that we have such a great a start on our South Belt History Digital History Archive. 

Our little corner of Houston was largely ignored by the big boys, the Houston Post and the Houston Chronicle, although they would sometimes run small stories, typically without photos, from time to time. (Blog posts about those are in the works, too.) 

But our stories, of course, are ours to tell. I'm so thankful that these two ladies felt the need to chronicle roads, and sports, and crime, and events, and school awards week after week, as generations grew up and had their own babies.

My little dream is that this blog, as I can get photos and stories uploaded and shared, will spark a community-wide movement to pull out those old photos and home movies you, the readers, still have hidden away, perhaps even forgotten in attic corners or back closets, and be willing to share them and add them to our attempt to save the bits of history we can find. 

Until then, enjoy, and please share!