A little bit of history

    1964

    Each day, through Dec. 31, the Odessa American will count down the last 100 years, from 1900 through 1999, with a brief summary of some of the news and events that affected residents of Odessa. (Mathematically, the 21st Century does not begin until Jan. 1, 2001, so this series does not correspond to the literal end of the 20th Century).

    Compiled by Katelin Trowbridge

    Election news: Little-known El Paso lawyer Richard White defeated incumbent Republican Ed Foreman for the 16th Congressional District seat, as Democrats posted a strong showing in 1964 elections. Republicans failed to oust any Democrats from the Ector County Courthouse. And Barry Goldwater, who spoke to 15,000 people at W.T. Bartlett Stadium during an overnight stay in September, barely carried the county against Lyndon Johnson. On April 4, Preston Parker was re-elected Odessa Mayor and Ben Barron, E. P. Rainosek and Urbane Childers won City Council seats.

    News of the year: On March 1, Mrs. Thomas D. Murphy Jr., wife of a prominent Odessa businessman, died of asphyxiation when a fire engulfed the family home at 1712 West Crescent.  A Texas and Pacific freight train derailed Oct. 6 after crashing into a water tank truck west of Penwell. Though property damage totaled nearly a million dollars, miraculously, only two people sustained minor injuries when four locomotives and 35 cars left the tracks.  On April 22, Lewis Blake, a 25-year-old musician, pulled off the largest robbery in Odessa history. Blake absconded with $8,500 in a holdup of Furr's Supermarket at 1218 East Eighth Street. He was apprehended less than two hours later, however.  June 3, two young "shotgun snipers" went on a rampage, inflicting extensive property damage and wounding a 90 year old man, Raymond C. Rumbaugh, of Blossom Lane.

    Construction: Construction on the new $1.5 million Ector County Courthouse finally was completed during 1964. The courthouse officially was dedicated April 12 during a program attended by Gov. John Connally. Meanwhile in the industrial developments, plans were announced in June for the long range expansion of Odessa's petrochemical complex. Epna Products and Beaunit Corp. of New York revealed plans to build five new plants in the already thriving complex. The multi-million dollar facilities eventually would produce 40 million pounds of nylon per year. Earlier in the year, on Jan. 19, W. D. "Bill" Noel, president of El Paso Natural Gas Products, was named Odessa's outstanding citizen of 1963.

    School daze: On Oct. 17, voters passed a $2.4 million bond issue for construction of a new junior high school and to fund extensive school improvements. A $750,000 bond issue was approved for improvements and additions at Odessa College on Dec. 8. The Ector County school board aroused what may have been the year's hardest local dispute when it stubbornly held off an outspoken group backing a federal lunch program for schools.