Created by: Xavier Bailey, Brenda Barraza, Hannah Dollinger, Kennedy Gauthreaux, David Jenkins, Kevin Penrice, and Simone Phillips
A Visit to Astroworld by Simone Phillips
It is a wonderful day, breezy, no humidity, not a cloud in the sky. I closed my eyes to enjoy the wind and the sweet air. My eyes slowly open and I am being thrusted around swiftly, screaming in excitement, full of adrenaline. The date was April 28, 2001, and it was my birthday celebration. I was riding “The Texas Cyclone” with a group of friends. We were celebrating my 13th birthday at Six Flags Astro World. I was so excited to ride the roller coasters because I was finally tall enough to ride alone. Just like any other theme park, there was food, games, and other calibers of roller coasters. My favorite roller coaster was called “Batman the Escape.” Astro World was the go-to place in Houston for all ages. People from all around Texas would take a visit to Houston just to visit Astro World.
Astro World first opened its doors in June 1968. Opening day’s attendance was over 23,000 visitors, finishing off the week with 50,000 attendees. Astro World’s first owner was the Hofheinz family, who also owned the world-renowned Houston Astros, and then it was later sold to the Six Flags corporation. The 57-acre theme park was designed by Randall Duell, plus a multitude of other designers, architects, engineers, and other executives. Some of the most popular rides that were featured were Greased Lightening, Texas Cyclone, Thunder River, Alpine Sleigh Ride, and Coney Island Cyclone. Astro World hosted many events around major holidays for families to enjoy. In 1983, Astro World was bought by Bally Manufacturing. They upgraded the park by adding an outdoor music venue called Southern Star Amphitheater. Another addition to Astro World happened in 2002, when the water park formerly known as Water world was built. Water world include swimming pools, lazy river, water slides and rides, and splash pad for the smaller children who couldn’t ride the adult rides. Water world was a 10-acre water park that contains over one million gallons of water. The decision to add on an addition was due to Astro World not generating promising revenue each year, so they figured adding a new addition to Astro World would suffice.
Unfortunately, Astro World was no longer able to keep up with the costs of rising property value. Also, the number of visitors that Astro World decreased. After 37 years of providing family fun for the city of Houston, after a total of over 2.2 million visitors, the property closed its operations in October of 2005. Majority of the rides were sold to other theme parks across the country. Some of the more popular rides were sold to other Six Flags companies and eventually demolished by the year 2016. The land was bought by a land developer for $77 million. It was used to be a parking lot for visitors at the Reliant Stadium. Although Astro World is no longer an operational theme park, it will be forever known by not only my family, but many other families that visited in Houston. Astro World was and is a true staple in Houston that I am glad I got to experience.
Glorious Memories and the Mirthless Woe: Daydreams of Yore by Brenda B.
Ah Yes, I keep forever at heart my tender joys I lived at this precious parkland. Weekend chicken barbecues, birthday parties, long bike rides and more. It was marvelous times, the 90’s at T.C Jester Boulevard, I should know, I was merely a child. Captions recorded and stored solely in my brain’s temporal lobe. Due to an unfortunate house fire that occurred when I was nine, I do not possess pictures of these happy family gatherings. As you are probably aware, digital cameras wouldn’t become a popular thing till the late 90s, or in my case, early 2000s.
I have made it a rule of mine to visit this park, I hold so dearly in heart every year, to reminisce about my childhood and create new fond stories with my own family. My husband, daughter and I love this place as you can see…
Sadly, not all T.C. Jester Park memories are good memories. Yes, there’s the 1993 ghastly murders of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, that shocked our sweet neighborhood.
On the same month Jurassic Park would hit theaters in the U.S, the residents of T.C. Jester Boulevard would acquire the following information. The bodies of two missing girls were found in the skirts of their peaceful T.C. Jester Park. Hiding amidst the clammy wooded area next to the White Oak Bayou railroad trestle. (Bear in mind, since the MKT trestle has been removed and replaced with a new bridge, made of concrete and steel. The rough and unwary mini woods were reduced to just a few trees. Furthermore, on the opposite side of the trees, now sits the woefully melancholy memorials to the young ladies.
Understandably, since that unfortunate night of June 24, 1993 the park was smirched. It had a very bad reputation, and now as you journey your way down the smooth bike rail, you will always be greeted at the end of the wood with this eerie site. Luckily, T.C. Jester Park has made a recent comeback, thanks to disk golf enthusiasts (out of all things.) Even-though I find disk golf excruciatingly boring, I applaud the endeavor, and salute the park revival, sure, flying frisbees and all.
The Houston Rodeo Experience: Xavier Bailey
Things that I experienced first hand like the Rodeo is probably the most memorable moment I've ever had that include the culture of the state of Texas. The rodeo itself substantially sparks the Texan cultures to greater heights and the multiple of events that is held there, even the carnival section has its sort of interesting features. The features to be mentioned includes ride such as rollercoaster, some spinning ride, and others that I can’t really name.
The food was a special kind of uniqueness I had never seen before such as Cheeto cheese pickles I labeled as peculiar and a decision to think about, especially with the bathroom that were required to use in the public area. The food was a special kind of uniqueness I had never seen before such as Cheeto cheese pickles I labeled as peculiar and a decision to think about, especially with the bathroom that were required to use in the public area. And also including large corndogs, corn on a cob cover by sprinkles, and a meat covered by an undescribed sauce.
But this is just the side event or park of the rodeo, the true show is what happens inside the stadium. The main event for the celebration is the competition between cowgirls, boys, and the inclusion of certain volunteers.
The Rodeo has its history as being an historic event where the focus is on the skills of cowboys and cowgirls displaying their talent to a target audience. This skill show of course came with great risk to the participants, but that risk automatically follows up with great entertainment to the viewers. The Rodeo has will always be known for that as long as time stands. It has been exclusively focused on competitiveness for the cowboys and girls showing what brought to the table. The biggest competition to always appear in the Rodeo is bull riding. The bull riding contest is the entertaining part of the event since the risk of it provides the most interests from the audience. Watching the bull riding contest does keep attention, mostly for the well-being of the riders; knowing the potential consequence that can happen with the bull full of rage. Seeing the riders as they try to make their escape is a heavily focused part of bull riding, since the attention is turned to if they can escape the bull’s ferocious charge.
But, besides the event of riding on bulls, their decision towards expansion progressively became generally well received as they started to take new approaches to the show. Over time, they started to build around their audience by involving a carnival for people to have their own fun instead of watching. The place coming with rides of different varieties, some calming or mild, while others can be more than extreme than the average Roller Coaster ride.
For my experience, I only went on a total of one ride throughout my two or three visits to the rodeo. To me, the fun wasn’t there at all, each ride felt the same but with risk factors being higher than any usual ride, it just doesn’t seem worth the experience. It’s not surprising to see Texas’ culture likes to go above or beyond with their takes on ride and others. All the while people may be enjoying their fun outside. The inside of the Stadium is the Rodeo’s main event coming with the evolution of the past rodeo's events in full picture with new competitive entries, insane rides that are baffling to even exist, and the food ideas that seem unearthly shows the Texan spark it continues to possess.
Growing Up On The Southside Of Houston by Kevin Penrice
As a kid growing up on the Southside of Houston, I’ve experienced many of things in life. Unfortunately, some good and some bad. My parents tried their best to shelter me from things that were transpiring in our neighborhood, but that was nearly impossible, especially when you are growing up in a household with family members involved in the same activities they tried to keep me away from. Typically, when you mention “The Southside of Houston” you think of culture and the history behind it. Some of these communities are Third Ward, South Park and Sunnyside just to name a few. Each of these played a big part in my life and made me who I am today.
Now that I’m older, I appreciate being raised on the Southside of Houston. It taught me how to survive and face adversity head on. Everything we are facing today in society is nothing that I haven’t faced before and overcame. The Southside is known as a troubling community, but I wouldn’t change anything nor deny my upbringing. The Southside is also a community where people come together in the time of need.
Growing up, I remember going to my first parade, family barbecue functions and hanging at the local park with friends. Even though we didn't have much, we made the best of it. These were exciting times in my life that i will cherish forever.
Now that I married with kids of my own and living in Pearland, I still go back to my old neighborhood where my roots started. I still have families in these communities, and I try to help them as much as possible. Growing up on the Southside can be difficult. Some people chose not to change and stay there, but I choose a different path for my life. I wanted change and I don’t regret it one bit. What community doesn’t have crime especially the way the world is today? There are also a lot of good things going on the Southside as well. I’m proud of where I’m from and my Southside family. We are still standing strong today.
Texas; Trauma and Triumph by Kennedy Gauthreaux
There has never been an exciting day in my life that the world could share as a whole, such as being a participant in the Astros parade on November 3rd 2017, or something even more grim. However, I have a lot of personal stories, many may not find it interesting, let alone related to Texas history, and some may find this a bit triggering but before I cover all the things, I’ve encountered in this state I want to preface by saying I still love this state. This state has been my home ever since I was born, I just wish I could go back and erase what the past has done.
March 5th 2003 I was born, I don’t remember much of my early years as my object permeance hadn’t set in for the long while, but I do remember everything that takes place happened right after my grandfather’s death in 2008. Lloyd Gauthreaux died of a heart attack on September 25 2008 and I remember the day it happened we had a long car drive to Louisiana, not in Texas I know but this is just the starting point, I remember a few times we had stopped and I had to witness my mother and father sitting outside the car, both upset and my mom sobbing as she mainly just wanted to help my father and his wild feelings. The night we had got there I was tackled into a hug by my grandmother, she sobbed into my shoulder “he’s dead.” was all shed sob into my ear. I wouldn’t recognize it till later but this was the beginning of my issues. I can’t recall when we got back to Texas, or much after that but my parents began to argue more and more some point after that. One night my father had returned home drunk, me and my mom were still up and of course there was fighting, they made me choose on who to sleep with and I chose my dad, I think it’s because I had missed him, he was usually absent from my life and still is.
As the years went on that arguing got worse to the point it was actually happening Infront of my face, I especially remember laying there on our green sofa waiting to go to the bus stop for school while they argued in the kitchen, I also remember hiding in my dual door closet as I slowly became scared of the loud noises that grew to a new height each day. Eventually they had gotten divorced and my mom won custody we moved in with my grandma at that point and things were slightly better however the arguing still persisted even when my mom was no separated from my father. Our walls in our katy home are thin like paper so back then id hear my mom and father yell over the phone especially when an issue pertaining to me rose up out of the blue. It had grown out of hand and soon I was finding myself with symptoms of anxiety especially when it came time for me to eat, I couldn’t swallow I felt like I was going to choke, eventually my mom took me to a child therapist. I honestly have no clue what my issue was as its been masked and I’ve dissociated many times which has caused me to not only forget most traumatic memories in my younger years but also effect memories around those years.
Middle school years were terrible I had met someone by the alias of Draven, he was manipulative, making me bend as he threatened to end his life if I wouldn’t stay in his life and driving other folk away from me even if I just wanted a platonic relationship with them. He worsened everything by tenfold, as he chose to yell slurs at me based on my sexuality and when I had officially tried to take a stand I was met with cusses and backlash that allowed an onslaught of tears to kiss my face and corrode my skin like acid. All I wanted was for someone to love me then, a male figure since my father was undoubtedly not really there for me. Where he is today I have no clue, I do know he’s still out there trying to hunt me, and I don’t ever think he will wake up to see the harm he has caused me and many others that were related to me at the time. Words like “I’m gonna kill myself if you__” strike fear into my heart even if they’re just in a joking tone, and despite all the mental and emotional abuse I still find myself empathetic to the point where I overexert myself for others.
Things died down the moment I left Jr. high, I still face my fair share of troubles and my anxiety has doubled since then but thanks to my knowledge, and crippling fear of death, I’m at least able to help keep my friends and younger family members from making the same mistakes I have. I will never feel true justice but I can help those I hold dear get a taste. Do I still wish to leave this state? Yes but while I’m here, and while people like abbot want to give abusers an upper hand stay here I will be here for those who are hurt. Because my calling in life is to give solace and safety to anyone I can.
From the Mountains to the Sea: The Physical and Emotional Migration of Tara Dollinger by Hannah Dollinger
Jane Tara Dawn Queen English Dollinger was born January 23, 1964; “the idiots birthday.” Her words, not mine! She was born on an isolated mountain top in the Appalachian Mountains in the little hamlet, Hayesville, North Carolina. Ever since I can remember, she has told me stories from her youth; apple stack up cakes baked by her aunt, canning green beans from the front yard, and seeing bears and wolves from your bedroom window. To a small child, my mother’s early life seemed teeming with danger, work, and fun. It wasn’t until more recently that she divulged information regarding her move down the east coast to the gulf. Why did she leave her mountain top? What happened in those lost years?
My mother (who goes by Tara professionally) never intended on living in Texas. In fact, her first move out of North Carolina was just a skip below to Atlanta, Georgia in the year 1988. She built a decent life for herself there, got a job teaching inner city kids English as Ms. English. What more could you want? Apparently, a man. One fateful Sunday in a church parking lot, my mom and dad meet. Steve Dollinger was a young attorney, his law degree hot off the presses from Dartmouth, with a certain Texan charm about him that drew Tara in. They started dating shortly after that and both of their lives changed dramatically. My dad gained 20 pounds from all the comfort food my mom would make while she abandoned her life and the majority of her family to move to Texas in 1993. But who could blame her? It was love, right?
On November 7, 1995, my sister Rebekah was born, marking the first addition to the new family. My dad worked as a lawyer while my mom stayed at home to raise my sister and, soon after in July 1998, my brother Ian. Things were going well for the little family of four in their Houston condo: Steve was making money, the kids were close (when not trying to kill one another), and Tara was content. The only thing that could make the situation better is another baby. That’s where I come in. With a third child on the way, my parents move out of the city and into the suburbs of Pearland. I come shortly after on September 6, 2000. My early memories include summer trips to Florida, being jealous of my siblings, and overheard arguments coming from my parents’ bedroom. I didn’t realize at first what was coming, or maybe I didn’t want to face it. My parents officially separated in 2009, but I didn’t learn what happened behind closed doors until much, much later.
My dad had begun cheating on my mom. Not once, not twice, not even thrice, but many times. He told my mother he no longer loved her and refused her pleas to go to marriage counseling; she knew firsthand what divorce can do to children. She tried desperately to keep us out of it, but we still got flung into the mess. One night, while Steve and Tara were arguing, Ian walked a little to close to the scuffle and was hoisted up by my dad and flung into a couch. My mother saw red (as she should) and knew right there and then that the marriage was over. They sat us all down and told us that they were separating, that they still loved us and that this didn’t change the fact that they were our parents, but little 8-year-old Hannah just knew that everything in her life was about to change. My dad moved out, leaving the four of us in the family home and my mom with three kids and a large employment gap.
Tara was left alone in a state uncomfortable to her (and not just because of the heat) with three whiny kids that are a constant handful, no support system other than friends made as a married woman, a church that turned their back on her, and a spiteful ex she must share custody with. With no other options, she turned to nursing school to start her career, now 12 years in the making, and support her family. Over the years as her kids grew up, she made plans to move back home to North Carolina, back to her old mountain top, but life had other plans. The family home, once a sign of a fruitful, promising future, is now needing repairs and is an anchor weighing her down, keeping her stuck in Texas. This past year in 2021, an unthinkable tragedy struck. My aunt Caroline was losing her mind to dementia back in Georgia while my mom was states away. Tara flew back and forth the next couple of months to care for her sister and, ultimately, go to her funeral. I think this was the moment that truly made her realize just how much she had missed out on in life with her family and how isolated she had become.
My mother said goodbye to her old life one day in 1993, not knowing she was saying goodbye to her nieces, nephews, siblings, aunts, and uncles. She left all she had known for a man she thought she loved and thought loved her, and while she may have gotten some positives out of it (named Rebekah, Ian, and Hannah), she lost more. Now, at 58 with three grown children, she feels lost in Texas and can’t come up with a good reason to stay other than love. Her love for her kids and for the life she built here. A failed, deceitful love may have brought her out here and left her to dry, but a new love that she created fuels her and keeps her strong, deep in the heart of Texas.
My mother was caught in an awful situation; torn between her ancestral family and her new one she built in Texas. She could have very easily hidden away or thrown in the towel, but she persevered with the help of her friends and family she made in the Lone Star State. That's what I think family is, coming together when those you love need it, and Texans always have each others back.
The Early child's experience: David Jenkins
Around the early 2000s, I had the fondest memories of my life as I had the most entertainment and fun, I would laugh and play with my family as we played together in a local park in our slightly impoverished area I spent a majority of my life in the. Alief area in Houston and the alief area started off as a rural area in the late 1890s and slowly began to develop over the years and it someday became home to the Alief community park where I would spend a lot of my time as a child. As a child I would spend most of my days At the Alief community park where would play and hang around the other children who were playing with me as most children do, sadly as I began to get older, the park became a more hostile environment: At the time the area was considered to be a dangerous area and according to my mother there were consistent murders around the Alief community Park so my family slowly stopped going. Sadly we did not take many pictures of these specific events during that time but the fond memories of the wind on my face on the swing, the warm feeling of laughter as I went down the slides, and the faint memories of the wonderful kids will always make my childhood experience in Houston wonderful.
In my adolescent and teenage years, my favorite place to enjoy in Texas to go was Pleasure pier, my favorite carnival/amusement park and in my opinion the best carnival/amusement park in Texas overall. The Pleasure Pier located in Texas was located in Galveston, Texas, and was created around the 1940s and was originally a recreational unit for the military during World War 2, after World War 2 it slowly turned into a carnival and became the main attraction for people visiting. My most favorite moments in during my time going to the carnival, I would have a favorite ride called “Rock n Roll”, which is basically a ride where you forward and backward in a circular motion. Although the ride itself is simple and nowhere near exciting, the feeling I get from the ride is like nothing else, the wind in your face as you move forward, the old 90’s music in the background making you feel a sense of nostalgia that I myself have never felt before and the view as you move around is breathtaking. The view of the ocean and the people on the beach gives me a feeling of peace and overall it is a wonderful place to ever go if you ever want to have some fun for a few hours. My time in Texas isn’t a long one, I've only been here for 19 years of my life and there is so much to experience but so far my experience has been full of laughter and a good time