Counting Down the Decades of 60th Anniversary

Posted on May 16, 2012

This year is the 60^th anniversary of Spring Branch Presbyterian Church. 
Each month we will be posting “fun facts” that happened
in the United States and in our church throughout the decades.

Do you know what was happening in the early 1950s?

1. Per the 1950 Census, the U.S. population is 151,325,798, a 14.5% increase since 1940.
2. Houston is the 14^th largest U.S. city.
3. Cost of a gallon of gas in 1950 was 18 cents.
4. Charles Schulz’s Peanuts appeared for the first time on October 2, 1950 in seven US newspapers.
5. Popular music and Country music in the early 1950s featured vocalists like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Frankie Lane, Patti Page, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline,
   Judy Garland, Eddy Arnold, Perry Como, Bing Crosby Dean Martin, Rosemary Clooney, Gene Autry, Tex Ritter, Jimmy Durante, Eddie Fisher, Pearl Bailey, Dinah Shore, Sammy Davis, Jr., Tennessee Ernie Ford, Loretta Lynn, Nat King Cole, and vocal groups like The Mills Brothers, The Ink Spots, The Four Lads, The Four Aces, The Chordettes, and The Ames Brothers.
6. The Korean War lasted from June 25, 1950 until July 27, 1953.  The war started as a civil war between North Korea and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).
7. Harry Truman was President through 1952 followed by Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 through the rest of the decade.
8. In the course of the anti-communist investigations in the early 1950s, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were charged in relation to the passing of information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union, and they were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
9. Mr. Potato Head, a toy of plastic face parts that could be stuck into a potato, was the first toy to be advertised on network television, and in its first year of production in 1952 made over $4 million.
10. Albert Schweitzer was given the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize.

And, in the Spring Branch Houston area…

1. Rev. Dr. M. L. Purcell, who was responsible for missions in Brazos Presbytery, held the first church service of a new church on March 23, 1952, at the Dad’s Club on Voss Road.  An enthusiastic and dedicated group of 87 people came to the service and sang from hymnals borrowed from St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church.
2. By July 13, 1952, 55 charter members were enrolled to begin a new church that was meeting in the Dad’s Club.
3. The Charter Roll closed September 14, 1952 with 72 members.
4. In August 1952, the newly appointed 9-member Session chose the name of Spring Branch Presbyterian Church as the name of their new church.
5. The Pastor Nominating Committee presented the name of Rev. Lamar Hicks on November 3, 1952 as the first pastor of SBPC.
6. The Site Committee proposed the purchase of land in Campbell Place, which was financed with the assistance of Presbytery. The 3.8 acres including easements was purchased for $7,000 in November 1952.
7. A Building Committee was selected with John Robinson as the chairman of the committee.  They recommended the new building would include 12 classrooms, a fellowship hall seating 250 to be the temporary sanctuary, a kitchen and 2 restrooms.
8. The Session authorized the sponsorship of Boy Scout Troop 478 with 9 charter members and the construction of the Boy Scout building on November 10, 1952.
9. Frank Williams succeeded in getting Brown & Root to donate used form lumber and plywood to construct the Scout building.
10. Spring Branch Presbyterian Church was commissioned on November 18,  1952.

In the mid 1950s…

1. The first color television sets go on sale in 1953 for about $1,175.
2. U.S. Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager sets speed record in X-1 rocket plane in 1953.
3. First children receive Dr. Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine in 1954.
4. Elvis Presley cut his first commercial record and begins his music career in 1954.
5. “In God We Trust” is added to all U.S. paper currency in  1955.
6. The Mickey Mouse Club debuts on ABC in 1955.
7. Crest toothpaste was introduced in 1955.
8. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refuses to vacate her seat aboard a Montgomery,  AL, bus.
9. The first transatlantic telephone cable goes  into operation in 1956.
10. In 1956, the Federal Highway Act is signed, marking  the beginning of work on the interstate highway system.

And, in the mid 1950s at  Spring Branch Presbyterian Church (SBPC)…

1. January 1, 1953, a board of 6 deacons was elected to join in the work of the church.
2. Rev. Hicks preached his first sermon the first Sunday of 1953.  His installation was January 11, 1953.  He and his wife, Jeanette, moved into the  manse at 8317 Highcrest, and the Session began to meet there regularly.
3. Membership had grown to 160 with Church School enrollment of 221.
4. The Men of the Church began meeting on February 25, 1953 at a local restaurant, Chapman’s Corner.
5. In July of 1953 Harry D. Payne was selected as architect to prepare a comprehensive plan for the projected building, which the congregation approved in October 1954.
6. The ground-breaking service was held on November 28, 1954 and completed by the following summer.
7. In 1954 W.E. (Boots) Allen and M.M. (Matt) Dikeman Sr. got the church’s bell, which Matt Sr. donated to SBPC.
8. By the end of 1955 the membership had grown to 398 with 477 enrolled in Church School.
9. In 1956 the Pres-Press was printed monthly with H.J. Wilbourn as the editor.  The Pres-Press has been the church newsletter since that time.
10. Our mission benevolences to Presbytery were designated for the Garland Goodrums, who were in the mission field in Africa.  When the Goodrums completed their mission work, they became active members of SBPC.

And, in the late 1950s…

1. CBS debuts Leave It to Beaver on October 4, 1957.
2. Explorer 1 became America’s first satellite on January 31, 1958.
3. Barbie doll was first introduced by Mattel in 1958 and becomes an instant success.
4. Boeing rolled out the first operational 707, and on October 26, 1958, amid much fanfare, Pan American inaugurated its New York-London route.  On the very first flight, which made a stopover in Newfoundland, there were 111 passengers, the largest number ever to board a single regularly scheduled flight.  Coach fares were $272.
5. Alaska and Hawaii become the 49th and 50th states, respectively, in 1959.
6. In 1959 NASA introduces America’s first astronauts to the world including John H. Glenn Jr, and Alan Shepard Jr.
7. In early 1959 Fidel Castro overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba, establishing a communist government in the country.
8. A plane crashed on February 3, 1959 killing Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper.  The day becomes known as “The Day the Music Died”.
9. The Vietnam War’s first official large unit military action was on September 26, 1959, when the Vietcong ambushed two ARVN companies.
10. NORAD signed in 1959 by Canada and the United States creating a unified North American aerial defense system.

In the late 1950s at SBPC…

1. Because of the rapid growth of the membership, additional classroom space was needed.  Congregation approved plans for the south wing of the church in March of 1957 and work began.
2. The new building wing was completed on October 13, 1957, with the Rev. Tom Currie as speaker.
3. At the end of 1957 the church’s membership had grown to 555 with 558 enrolled in Church School.
4. In September 1958 the Session and the Minister conducted an evaluation of their work and formulated goals for the future.  The church members were divided into small groups for suggestions to improve the overall program of the church.
5. The number of elders increased from 9 to 15 and the deacons from 6 to 24.
6. Margaret McCune was hired as part-time secretary.
7. At the end of 1958, membership was 546 with 750 enrolled in Church School.
8. On March 14, 1959, Mr. Hicks informed the Session that he had received from and accepted a call to the Alexander Memorial Presbyterian Church at
   Decatur, Georgia.  He and Mrs. Hicks moved early in April, and the church put the manse up for sell.
9. In the summer of 1959, the Men of the Church from Spring Branch and Memorial Drive volunteered to assist Presbytery by surveying the surrounding area residents to aid in establishing the new church, which became John Knox Presbyterian Church.
10. On October 25 the SBPC congregation approved the report of the Pastor Nominating Committee, and a call was issued to Rev. H. Harold Wells, Jr.  Mr. Wells preached his first sermon on December 13, 1959.  A manse was purchased for Mr. Wells, his wife, Charlotte, and their four children at 9768 Cedardale.