Author Archive | Houston History Magazine

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Pillar of Refuge, Maria Ramirez

By Joseph Castillo In the forty years that she has been with the San José Clinic, Maria has watched the clinic grow and maintain its family-like community. Her devotion and ability to connect with patients in both Spanish and English make her a beloved member of the San José Clinic community. Photo courtesy of the San José […]

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“A Magical Time”: Christmas at San José Clinic

By Celine Pineda Just five years after the San José Clinic was established in 1922, the National Council of Catholic Women (now the Charity Guild of Catholic Women) began hosting a Christmas celebration for patients and community members, many of whom went without during the holidays. Approximately 300 children attended the first gathering, with infants receiving clothing and toiletries and other children visiting Santa Claus, who gave them toys and bags filled with candy, […]

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The Women Behind the San José Clinic

By Sarah Chikhani In the early 1990s, Sister Annette McDonagh and Sister Pauline Troncale carpooled to work at San José Clinic in Houston’s Second Ward. Every morning, Sister Annette, a pharmacist in her seventies, would bless the clinic with a splash of holy water and pray that she would not make any mistakes. Recalling the story with a laugh, Sister Pauline, who was CEO of the clinic at […]

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Fundraising with Heart

By Grace Conroy Over 300 people attended the Art with Heart event in 2018, which raised $215,000 from the sale of artwork, some of which is shown here. Photo courtesy of the San José Clinic. People have come together to discuss important ideas and shared interests since the ancient Greeks and Romans. While these original assemblies centered […]

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Looking to the Next 100 Years

By Alondra Torres The San José Clinic opened its facility at 2615 Fannin in 2010. The state-of-the-art facility accommodated 27,940 patient visits in 2019 and in 2020, during the pandemic, provided 18,662 visits, including drive-through services. Photo courtesy of Wes Jackson, Ph.D. In a U.S. healthcare system trying to service hundreds of millions of people, many find themselves living without access to proper healthcare. Yet, […]

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From Dumpster Diving to Dallas Buyers Club: Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of GLBT History

A conversation with Judy Reeves, Vince Lee, and Leandra Zarnow Judy Reeves, Vince Lee, and Leandra Zarnow discuss the history of GCAM’s origins. Judy Reeves—the lead curator who cofounded the Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender History (GCAM) in 1999—is a longtime Houston activist. Retired from the medical and banking […]

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Preserving Black LGBTQ+ History

By Erika Thompson On a brisk December morning, over flaky croissants and Parisian tea in dainty, porcelain cups, the answer was yes. Overwhelmingly, emphatically, unequivocally YES. There was no need to finish either the pitch or the ask; we were already completely on board. Houston LGBTQ activist Charles Law addresses a crowd during the 1979National March on Washington for Lesbianand Gay Rights.Photo courtesy of Botts Collection of LGBT History. It is a […]

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The Life and Times of Diana

By Christian Kelleher Tom “Ava” Osborn, David Moncrief, Charles Hebert, and the statue of Diana in the earliest known photograph of the Diana Awards, 1969, at the Windmill Theater. This photograph was scanned by Brandon Wolf from Tom Osborn’s collection, but the location of the original copy is currently unknown. Digital scan courtesy of The […]

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The Pam Francis Portraits

By Christine Starkman Pam Francis was born in Houston, Texas, in 1954 and passed away in 2020. She received her BFA in graphic design and photography from the College of Fine Arts at The Universityof Texas at Austin. Pam Francis Photographs will be the first retrospective exhibition organized at the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston on the work of Pam Francis (1954 – 2020). On display September 29 to October 6, 2021, the exhibition will feature iconic artworks depicting her technical mastery of luminous lighting and […]

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