HOME MOVIES: PORT ARTHUR TEXAS 1936-37

Genre: home movie

Year Published: 1930s

Format: 16mm

Description: Shot by an unknown amateur filmmaker, this silent 16mm home movie shows a trip to Port Arthur, Texas in the late 1930s or early 1940s, but most likely around Spring, 1937 (see below). It includes rare footage shot at a football game at a segregated, African American high school, probably Port Arthur Lincoln High School. The film begins with images in an oil field (1:20), with oil derricks, pumpjacks and towers visible. Next at 2:20, the Masonic Temple Lodge on Lakeshore Drive. At 3:07 is Eddington Court on Proctor Street. Its iconic wall is made of conch shells and designed by Dionicio Rodriguez, a Mexican-born sculptor. At 3:28, Rosehill Manor on Woodworth Blvd and Lakeshore Drive is shown, and at 3:39 Beau Reve` on Atlantic Road. At 4:11, a big fire engulfs a portion of the oil field, possibly a well fire or burst pipeline. At 6:06 the submarine P-2 is seen; this is the USS Pike, later known as SS-173. This is a Porpoise class submarine, built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s, and holds a distinction as the first all-welded sub. In 1937, Pike departed Newport, R.I. on 10 February 1937, and proceeded via the Panama Canal to Naval Station San Diego, and it remained in the Pacific during WWII -- so this helps date our film to about 1937. (It could also be 1936 as the boat conducted a shakedown cruise of the Atlantic in that year.) At 6:57, men are seen hauling in fishing nets on the beach. They appear to be full of jellyfish as seen at 7:21. At 7:25 are more scenes of oil infrastructure including a tank farm at 8:11. (Port Arthur remains a key city in the production of petroleum products to this day.) At 8:30 a dog poses for the camera. Starting at 8:33 are shots of what is likely the Abraham Lincoln High School football team, the Bumblebees. This was a public high school in western Port Arthur, part of the Port Arthur Independent School District, established in 1904. Prior to 1965 schools were segregated by race and black students attended Lincoln. White students did not choose to attend the school in significant numbers after desegregation even though the district had initial plans for a more racially balanced student body. In 2002, Lincoln merged with Memorial High School. At 8:58 a drum majorette gets ready to enter the field. At 9:22 the cheer squad is seen. At 9:39 the crowd celebrates a score by the Bumblebees. At 10:11, halftime show with a large Lincoln pep squad and a band. At 11:14, a brilliant dance performance hypes up the crowd.

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