Houston Preservationists Stand Up to Save 10 Historic Homes in Sam Houston Park

What: Houston Heritage Luncheon

Where: A private club

PC Moment: A crowd of more than 100 preservation-minded supporters gathered to hear author and journalist Joe Holley share some of his favorite stories about Houston. Attendees enjoyed a classic three-course lunch headlined by cheese soufflé and seven-layer chocolate cake with a side of peppermint ice cream, all merely a side to the main serving – the engaging speaker.

Holley hails from Texas and has contributed to The Washington Post, the Houston Chronicle, the Texas Observer and Texas Monthly. He was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for a series of pieces he wrote on gun culture in Texas.

The silent auction raised a record $10,000 for the group, with Holley’s book, Hurricane Season: the Unforgettable Story of the 2017 Houston Astros and the Resilience of a City, one of the most coveted items among the lots. The funds from the afternoon support The Heritage Society’s mission to tell the stories of Houston and its people through exhibits, collections, and educational programs, and of course its famous historic homes, 10 houses in Sam Houston Park, beautifully preserved and miraculously saved from the wrecking ball.

Who: Co-chairs Catherine Campbell Brock and Nita Vandiver Jackson; Frank Vandiver; Janice McNair; Joanie Haley; Melissa McNair; Ruth McNair Smith; Jo and Jim Furr; Minnette Boesel; board president Rodney Nathan; Phoebe Tudor; former Lt. Governor Bill Hobby; Bayou Bend’s great patron Jeanie Kilroy Wilson; Harriet and Truett Latimer; Welcome Wilson Sr.; Lisa Pennington; David Furlow; Regina Deadrick; Sallie Alcorn; mid-century preservationist Anna Mod; Jazz Houston’s Belinda Munro-Gardner; and The Heritage Society’s recently minted director Alison Ayres Bell with husband, former Congressman Chris Bell.