October 7 in San Antonio history…

1942
As gallant under tractor guidance as when horses pranced at its head, San Antonio’s famous horse-drawn pumper said farewell to the city fire department and landed on the scrap pile at Auditorium Plaza today.

1944
The Randolph Field Ramblers, a football team shaped from former college stars stationed at the base, give the Texas Longhorns their worst home defeat in history (up to that time), winning 42-6.

2003
Trustees of the San Antonio Water System approve the purchase of the former Playland Park amusement park site and the Butter Krust Bakery building for a new headquarters lcoation.  The cost is approximately $7 million.

September 4 in San Antonio history…

1918
The San Antonio Evening News publishes its first issue.

1944
The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act, better known as the G. I. Bill of Rights, goes into effect today.  According to M. R. Gill, supervisor for the San Antonio district of the Texas Unemployment Compensation Commission, the agency which is to administer the law, an initial claim load of 1,000 is anticipated in San Antonio.

1967
HM3 Armando Leal, Jr., a graduate of Harlandale High School, is killed at Loc Quang Tin, one day before his father, a civilian employee at Kelly AFB, arrives in Vietnam for a surprise visit.

July 31 in San Antonio history…

1944
Weatherman J. Henry Jarboe reported this was the first July in San Antonio weather history without a measureable drop of rain.

1978
Tropical Storm Amelia stalls over South Texas, beginning three days of continuous rain over the Guadalupe River basin leading to widespread flooding and evacuations. Medina receives 48″ of rain, a record not only for Texas but any tropical cyclone impacting the continental United States.

1982
A “We Want Pro Ball” rally, the brainchild of KSAT sportscaster Joe Fowler, is held before a San Antonio Bulls football game at Alamo Stadium.  Shreveport beats the Bulls anyway, 32-23.

July 2 in San Antonio history…

1731
The site for the Church of San Fernando is selected when Juan Antonio Pérez de Almazán, captain of the Presidio of San Antonio, lays out a central square for the villa of San Fernando de Béxar, as San Antonio was first called. The church is to be located on the west side of the square. After Almazan selects the site of the doorway of the church, Main Plaza is laid out from the doorway.

1963
A total of 61 percent of all business establishments signed pledges that they would voluntarily desegregate, according to a report of the City Council’s committee on desegregation.

1971
The Aztec Theater promises “a new concept in entertainment” with the transformation into a multiplex, called the Aztec-3.

June 12 in San Antonio history…

1938
After a decade of construction, the Sunken Garden Theater, one of San Antonio’s beauty spots, today stood completed.  The project was started in 1928 with erection of a 30×40 foot stage.

(photo from mariolanzatenor.com)

1939
Max Reiter (right), noted orchestra conductor who recently fled Europe to escape fascism, holds a demonstration concert in the Sunken Garden Theater with an 80-piece orchestra and noted Metropolitan Opera tenor, Charles Kullman.  This leads to Reiter being named musical director of the San Antonio Symphony.

1944
Marine SSgt. William J. Bordelon Jr. of San Antonio was announced as posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. He died at Tarawa.

June 6 in San Antonio history…

1944
Seventy-eight years ago today, the long-anticipated Allied invasion of the European continent begins.  Today is D-Day!  The invasion force of 156,000 Allied troops, along with 5,000 ships and landing craft and 11,000 planes fight the German defenders along the beaches of Normandy, France.

1963
Plans to construct a heliport atop the Children’s Hospital of Santa Rosa Medical Center – reportedly the first hospital heliport in the Southwest – were announced today by Sister Mary Vincent, adminstrator.

2000
The Brackenridge Eagle derails for the second time this year. Owner Phil Sheridan spent $40,000 on repairs after the first derailment and hopes to have the train back in operation by July 4.

August 1 in San Antonio history…

1895
The San Antonio division of the Southern Pacific Railroad is disbanded.

1944
The first international flight arrives at San Antonio Municipal Airport from Mexico on American Airlines.

1945
The Catholic church has purchased the old Southern Hotel block between the city hall and the courthouse for $75,000, owner Martin Wright announced today.  Father J. L. Manning, chancellor of the archdiocese of San Antonio, confirmed the sale and suggested that the property might be considered as the site of a proposed rectory for San Fernando Cathedral in a postwar expansion program. A year ago the church purchased the two-story Witte building on the western side of the parking lot at a reported price of $40,000 from Joe Olivares of West Commerce Street.

July 7 in San Antonio history…

1944
The San Antonio Light reports that a “well-known Major General” has been demoted to Lt. Colonel for stating at a cocktail party in London, “On my honor, the invasion will begin no later than June 15.”  This former General, Henry J. F. Miller, had commanded the San Antonio Air Depot at Duncan Field until 1941. He was demoted by General Eisenhower, a former classmate at West Point.

1969
WOAI radio places this ad in San Antonio newspapers (right).

1977
City Council passes a resolution expressing the city’s intention to cooperate in a 911 emergency system if one is established.    If all other Bexar County cities in the county adopt the system, a person will be able to obtain help for any emergency by dialing 911, instead of having to know the number for different fire and police departments.  The cost of the program is proportional to a city’s population.  San Antonio would pay $53,799.52 per year.

June 6 in San Antonio history…

1932
Future astronaut, David Scott (right), is the first boy born to an officer stationed at Randolph AFB and is given Randolph as a middle name.

1944
Seventy-seven years ago today, the long-anticipated Allied invasion of the European continent begins.  Today is D-Day!  The invasion force of 156,000 Allied troops, along with 5,000 ships and landing craft and 11,000 planes fight the German defenders along the beaches of Normandy, France.

1987
The Bangles, with opening act Cutting Crew, play a show in Sunken Garden Theater.

October 7 in San Antonio history…

1915
Baseball fans flocked to the Grand Opera House and the Empire Theater to “watch” the games take place on their respective electric baseball boards.

1942
As gallant under tractor guidance as when horses pranced at its head, San Antonio’s famous horse-drawn pumper (right) said farewell to the city fire department and landed on the scrap pile at Auditorium Plaza today.  (photo courtesy of UTSA Digital Archives)

1944
The Randolph Field Ramblers, a football team shaped from former college stars stationed at the base,  gave the Texas Longhorns their worst home defeat in history (up to that point), winning 42-6.