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Culture / Newsy

Fighting To Preserve Houston’s History — The Heritage Society Celebrates 70 Years Of Championing the Value of the Bayou City’s Past

A Historic Restaurant Proves To Be the Perfect Setting For This Cause

BY Camryn Bacon // 01.21.25

In anticipation of its 70th Anniversary Platinum Jubilee, which will take place this February in Houston, The Heritage Society (THS) took over the storied Brennan’s restaurant for a night. This Evening For Heritage honored Houston’s history with speakers and discussions on The Heritage Society’s expansion over the years. Master of ceremonies Robert T. Sakowitz even shared his family’s own deep connections to the Bayou City.

It is all about highlighting the vital ongoing efforts to recognize Houston’s rich history and cultural legacy. Since the 1950s, The Heritage Society has played a significant role in preserving the city’s physical landmarks while collaborating with cultural programs throughout H-Town.

The celebration included a four-course dinner, featuring a rich gumbo du jour, the signature Brennan’s salad and a choice of entrées: Creole roasted chicken or pecan-crusted gulf fish. The selection of desserts — Brennan’s bananas foster or a Creole cream cheesecake — certainly left a sweet impression,

Heritage Society board president Jillian Jopling dove into the organization’s resilience throughout its expansion.

Heritage-103024-024_Michelle Smith, John Boles, Jillian Jopling
Michelle Smith, Dr. John Boles, THS president Jillian Jopling at The Heritage Society’s Evening of Heritage (Photo by Fulton Davenport)

“I am honored, privileged and excited to be standing up here at my first official, formal THS event as president,” Jopling said. “We had grit, and we are here. Not only are we going to make it — we are going to grow.”

Chairs Bill Stubbs and Kurt Grether, both Houstonians and passionate preservationists, gave acknowledgments to The Heritage Society’s dedication to restoring the city’s history. Stubbs, a Houston-based interior designer, public speaker and author, highlighted the importance of preserving Houston’s cultural heritage and the efforts being made to celebrate it. Grether, an accomplished IT professional, expressed his commitment to community involvement, noting the critical role The Heritage Society plays in protecting Houston’s very identity.

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Chairs Bill Stubbs & Kurt Grether at The Heritage Society’s Evening of Heritage (Photo by Fulton Davenport)

Dr. John Boles, the William Pettus Hobby Emeritus professor of history at Rice University and former editor of The Journal of Southern History, shared significant milestones from 1954 as a tribute to the 70th anniversary of The Heritage Society itself. 

“A confident, mature city takes its history and its cultural beginnings seriously, and The Heritage Society has been the premier preserver of Houston,” Boles said. “We meet here to celebrate and honor the role of The Heritage Society over the past seven decades in the city we love.”

Now the stage is set for the Platinum Jubilee celebrating 70 years of preserving Houston’s history with The Heritage Society. It is set to take place at The Junior League of Houston on Friday, February 21.

PC Seen: Heritage Society secretary Angela Cannady, THS board members Kirksey Gregg and Peter McGillivray, council member Stephen Fox, Ingrid Bond, Jo Furr, Harriet Latimer, Will Cannady, Kathy and John Davis, Carol Weaver, Joan and Dan Linebaugh, Joy and Stewart Morris, David Mincberg, Lainie Gordon, Peter Martino, Cindi and Larry Burns, Marguerite Swartz, Mary Sage, Kirk Kveton, Daniel Irion, Susie Peake, Roxanne and Tim Neumann, Penny Remick, Lindsey Hughes, honorable Frank Rynd, Shay Calhoun, Houston City Council member Sallie Alcorn.

The Heritage Society will hold its Platinum Jubilee 2025 at the Junior League of Houston on Friday, February 21 at 6:30 pm. For more information and tickets, go here.

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