November 21 in San Antonio history…

(photo from JB-Randolph AFB, San Antonio, Texas)

1963
President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy are in San Antonio to dedicate the Aerospace Medical Health Center at Brooks Air Force Base. He is assassinated in Dallas the following day.

1982
James Whitcomb Riley Middle School is officially renamed Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in ceremonies taking place 25 years and two days after its original dedication.

1985
A city ordinance bans BASE jumping from the Tower of the Americas.  Skydivers who carry parachutes into the observation deck area and jump or attempt to jump will be subject to a $200 fine in Municipal Court.

November 9 in San Antonio history…

1948
The Centeno family opens their first supermarket at 1802 W. Commerce St.

1963
Bexar County voters registered 18,372 to 15,664 in favor of a statewide amendment to repeal Texas’s 61-year-old poll tax.  Unfortunately, the rest of the state was much less progressive and the poll tax remains in place.

2015
The new Hotel Emma, located in the brewhouse of the former Pearl Brewery, holds its grand opening.

August 9 in San Antonio history…

1963
Mike Nesmith is the featured performer at a hootenanny held in La Villita Assembly Hall to raise money for the March of Dimes.  He will later find fame as one of The Monkees.

1970
Roddy Stinson, 29, editor of two magazines published by the Southern Baptist Brotherhood Commission in Memphis, Tennessee, has been named editor of the San Antonio magazine published monthly by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

1977
San Antonio River Authority Manager Fred Pfeiffer reports that modifications to strengthen Olmos Dam will reduce the flow of the San Antonio River and preclude construction of a downtown bypass channel to prevent future downtown flooding.

July 3 in San Antonio history…

1873
The old front of San Fernando Cathedral is torn down for renovations.

1963
Formal announcement of a 130-acre downtown site for the proposed HemisFair was made by James M. Gaines, chairman of the site selection committee.

1964
Natural Bridge Caverns opens to the public.

June 27 in San Antonio history…

1963
San Antonio moved again toward complete desegregation today after 173 restaurants, 23 motels and 9 hotels quietly opened their doors to African-Americans.

1976
A double train wreck and derailment of Brackenridge Eagle trains injures 15 passengers.  A car collides with the first train causing a derailment.  When the first train is put back on the rails, a second train that had been waiting loses its brakes and runs into the rear of the first train.  Passengers were injured when they jumped from the train cars.

1980
The thermometer reaches 105 degrees in San Antonio, which would end up being the hottest day of the year.  Still the record for the date, although we hit 103 in 2009.

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.

June 2 in San Antonio history…

1963
The Westfall branch library opens.

1966
The proposal of the Aerial Transportation Company to install and operate a skyride in Hemisfair and the downtown area is approved by the City Council.  Approval of the council was necessary since the ride, following the six-month fair, will become the property of the city. The contract gives the Aerial Transportation Company, comprised of Randy Clay, Austin Hemphill and B.J. “Red” McCombs, a 15-year concession on the ride following the fair.  During that period, the company will pay the city 28 percent of the gross revenues.

1981
The San Antonio Express reports that new Mayor Henry Cisneros will meet with President Ronald Reagan tomorrow in Washington D. C. and Jose Lopez Portillo, President of Mexico, the next day.

May 24 in San Antonio history…

1963
Tonight is the grand opening of the Roaring 20’s Teen Club (formerly Shadowlands), three miles north of Loop 410 on Blanco Road.  Along with Gene Thomas, headliners will be The Missiles band and vocal group along with San Antonio’s own Denny Ezba.  This will mark the first time that a Teen Nite Spot has been put into operation and we’re betting everybody will dig the idea.

1979
Spurs coach Doug Moe is fined $3,000 by the NBA for the inflammatory comments he made after the Spurs loss to the Washington Bullets six days ago.  This is the highest fine ever levied against an NBA coach.  Radio station KTSA has organized a “Dough for Moe” fundraiser, requesting 300,000 pennies to be sent to the league to pay the fine.

1980
Hipp’s Bubble Room at 1411 McCullough closes.

May 3 in San Antonio history…

1963
Tony Bennett signs autographs in Platter Palace on the lower level of Wonderland Shopping City for fans, and then performs his concert,  “A Swingin’ Evening with Tony Bennett” at Municipal Auditorium at 8:30  p.m.  One lucky fan, and a guest of her choice, gets to have lunch with Tony in the Mr. Checkers restaurant before the show.

1980
Singer/actor David Naughton (right), the “Pied Pepper” of the Dr Pepper commercials, appears at South Park, Ingram and Windsor Park Malls signing autographs and giving away Dr Pepper.

1997
Howard Peak wins the San Antonio mayoral election over incumbent Bill Thornton.

April 14 in San Antonio history…

1880
Anthony Dominic Pellicer, the first bishop of the Catholic Diocese of San Antonio, dies.

1936
A thief steals a federal government car parked near the post office downtown.  The car, belonging to L. C. Whitehead of the U.S. Biological Survey, contains an assortment of rat poisons.

2007
Museo Alameda, the first affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, opens at the corner of Market and Santa Rosa streets.