Ron Stone is back again, as all this week, mikemcguff.com celebrates recently uncovered videos from this iconic TV Houston newsman. Today, Stone brings us this classic documentary by KPRC 2 called 40 Years: A Houston Essay which covers the years 1949-1989.
The show proves Stone was more than just an anchor who read a teleprompter from behind a news desk, because he actually wrote and produced the whole thing with his son, Ron Stone Jr.
The documentary deftly intertwines KPRC's and Houston's history together, and as a native Houstonian, I even learned things from watching it!
Early on, the show addresses Houston haters and the Bayou City's early battles for respect that still linger today.
One of Stone's funniest lines is when talking about the construction of the Houston Ship Channel in the early 20th century. Some jealous Dallas folks were quoted as saying, "If those Houston people could suck as hard as they could blow, they wouldn't need a ditch, they could just pull the ocean in."
Stone also reminded us that an unnamed East Coast newspaper reminded its readers that, "Hell and Houston both start with an H." Even Pastor Billy Graham apparently said most Houstonians would spend eternity in Hell.
But, don't worry, along with the darker side of Houston's past, good things are spotlighted too. But these days, the good things about Houston are more prevalent in the news and that's one reason we might surpass Chicago in population eventually I guess. Although based on the reporting of that story, we have a ways to go with our image.
By the way, how Houston is this? I'm listening to ZZ Top's Tres Hombres as I write this post! Enjoy!
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