Kathryn Johns Halbower Collection

Tarrant County Archives > Holdings > Named Collections > H > Halbower, Kathryn Johns

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Kathryn Johns Halbower (1923-2012) was a stewardess for American Airlines and an active member of the Fort Worth community. Born in Ohio, she became a stewardess for American Airlines based out of Fort Worth, where she met her husband, R. David Halbower, Jr. Within the community, Kathryn was a member of the Kiwi Club and served as a docent at the Amon Carter Museum for over 30 years. She also volunteered with Prevent Blindness Texas and Fort Worth's Pioneers Rest Cemetery Association. 

Ralph David Halbower, Jr. (1923-2017) was the son of Ralph and Edna (Umbenhour) Halbower and grandson of Eliza and Ulysses Umbenhour. He earned a degree in meteorology in California and served in the U. S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Later he became president of his family's business, the Texas Drug Company, and joined the board of the National Wholesale Druggists' Association. 

Eliza (Evans) and Ulysses Julian Umbenhour (1845-1903) were early residents of Fort Worth. They had eight children: Julian, Charles, R. Lee, Grace, Jessica, Harry, Edna (Halbower), and Maude (Parker). Ulysses and his sons worked for various companies in Fort Worth and founded their own pharmaceutical company called Retail Druggist Selling System (R.D.S.S.). The name was changed to the Texas Drug Company in 1952. The Liquor Supply Company, later called Independent Liquor Company, developed out of the family's pharmaceutical company.

Julian Umbenhour was born in 1874 to Eliza and Ulysses. Julian was a stage manager at the Majestic Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas and spent his entire career in the early theatre scene in Fort Worth. He began as a stagehand at Greenwall's Opera House in the late 1890s, then he became stage manager at the Majestic Theatre around 1911, and later worked as stage manager of the Hollywood Theatre. He taught music lessons and was a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E.), a union representing employees of the entertainment industry. He also served as financial secretary of I.A.T.S.E. Local 126. Along with his theatre career, Julian and his business partner, M. H. Forsyth, owned the Texas Box and Label Company in the 1930s. Julian died in Fort Worth in 1970.

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The Kathryn Johns Halbower Collection consists of personal papers and business records of the Umbenhour-Halbower family. The business records include account books, oil and gas leases, and documents for the companies the Umbenhour-Halbower family worked for and owned. The records are dated from 1870 to 1965.

The family's personal papers consist of programs, posters, sheet music, audio records, documents, advertisements, clippings, correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, magazines, and maps compiled by Julian Umbenhour. The papers are dated from the 1870s to the 1970s.

A selection of materials from this collection have been digitized and are available to view on The Portal to Texas History.

 

Monochromatic photograph of a group of men, women and children outside of the Majestic Theatre on Jennings Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas dated circa 1900

Group of people outside the Majestic Theatre on Jennings Avenue in Fort Worth, circa 1900

 

 

An image of the cover of a Fort Worth Cats baseball official program and scorecard dated 1964

Fort Worth Cats baseball official program and scorecard, 1964

 

PROVENANCE

The materials in this collection were compiled by Julian Umbenhour and donated by Kathryn Johns Halbower in 1986.

 

The materials have been arranged in the seven series listed below.

Series I: Performing Arts, 1887-1979

This series contains materials related to the performing arts, including theatre programs, vinyl and cylinder music records, sheet music, music teaching material, advertisements, newspaper clippings, magazines, and correspondence. Of note are programs from performances by Fred and Adele Astaire, Will Rogers, Harry Houdini, The Marx Brothers, and the Keatons. Included in this series are materials from the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, and Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States. Most materials relate to Fort Worth theaters: Greenwall’s Opera House, Byers’ Opera House, and the Majestic Theatre comprise a large portion of this series. Circus programs and route books are included as well.

Series II: Entertainment, 1893-1968

This series includes event programs, clippings, magazines and booklets relating to various entertainment areas such as baseball, the World’s Fair, wrestling, and ice skating. Of note is an 1894 program from the Texas Cotton Palace, and materials from the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 (World’s Columbian Exposition) and 1933.

Series III: Travel, 1893-1969

This series includes city maps, travel brochures and timetables for railways and ships throughout the United States. 

Series IV: Assorted Materials, 1888-1970

This series contains family records as well as materials related to fraternal and professional organizations, businesses, churches, and events in Fort Worth, Texas. The materials consist of publications, event programs, documents, and ephemera. This series also contains many lifestyle and religious magazines from various U. S. publishers. Of note are a Texas Spring Palace Exposition booklet from 1889 and a Hotel Texas souvenir program from 1921.

Series V: Photographs, 1870s-1970s

This series consists of portraits and photographs of individuals and groups of people, traveling circuses, theaters and actors, movie stills, Fort Worth baseball, the 1922 Fort Worth flood, and Fort Worth firefighters and police officers. There are additional photographs of subjects that are not located in Tarrant County. Panoramic photographs are included in the Oversize Materials series. View Kathryn Halbower Johns image gallery to see a selection of digitized photographs.

Series VI: Scrapbooks, 1886-1968

This series includes 29 scrapbooks that contain clippings, photographs, programs, advertisements, and correspondence. The materials mostly relate to performing arts and entertainment in Fort Worth.  Some smaller scrapbooks may be found in the Performing Arts series as well as those that have been disbound due to preservation issues. Most scrapbooks were labeled, but some were assigned titles based on their contents.  Some scrapbooks have also been scanned and made available on our website.

Series VII: Books, 1885-1951

This series includes books for the National Vaudeville Artists Benefit Fund, atlases, and books on Texas League baseball history.

Series VIII: Oversize Materials, 1893-1976

This series includes theatre production blueprints, architectural drawings, posters, magazines, maps, event programs, artistic prints, and newspaper clippings. The series also contains oversize and panoramic photographs.

 

SUBJECT TERMS

The following subject terms lists represent the majority, but not the entirety, of the topics within the Kathryn Johns Halbower Collection. The collection contains many rare, nationally published magazines that are listed in their own category. 

Businesses and Organizations

  • Benjamin J. Falk (Photographer, New York)
  • Byers Opera House
  • Cable Piano Company
  • Caddo Oil Association
  • Casa Mañana Theatre
  • Dallas Wholesale Drug Company
  • First Baptist Church of Fort Worth
  • Fort Worth Cats (Fort Worth Panthers, Fort Worth Spurs)
  • Fort Worth Fire Department 
  • Fort Worth Masonic Lodge No. 148 AF and AM
  • Fort Worth Opera House
  • Fort Worth Police Department 
  • G. L. Gause Funeral Home
  • Greenwall Opera House
  • Hotel Texas
  • Independent Liquor Company, Inc. (Liquor Supply Company)
  • Interstate Amusement Corporation
  • International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States
  • J. E. Daniel (Photographer, Fort Worth)
  • Kimzey's RCA Victor
  • Kiwi Club, The (American Airlines flight attendants)
  • Knights of Columbus
  • Knights of Pythias
  • Lucore and Ward Photographers (Lucore and Ward Opera Studio)
  • Mabel Sykes (Photographer, Chicago)
  • Magnolia Avenue Christian Church (Third Christian Church, Christian Tabernacle)
  • Majestic Theatre/Theater (Fort Worth, Texas)
  • Moslah Shrine (Shriners)
  • Nichols Studio (Photography, Tyler, Texas)
  • Polytechnic High School
  • Retail Druggists Selling System (Texas Drug Company)
  • Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
  • Southern Baptist Convention
  • Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show (Southwestern Livestock Exposition)
  • Strauss Studio (New York)
  • Texas and Pacific Railway
  • Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association
  • Texas Box and Label Company
  • Texas League (Minor League baseball)

Magazines

Magazines with one or two issues list the individual date of those magazines. All other titles have date ranges. All issues within a date range may not be represented within the collection, so please contact the Archives to see if a specific issue is present.

  • Baseball Magazine, The Baseball Magazine Company, New York, August 1916
  • The Billboard, Billboard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1905-1941
  • C. G. Conn’s Truth, C. G. Conn, Elkhart, Indiana, December 1893
  • Collier’s, Peter Fenelon Collier, New York, October 1899, September 1901, July 1905
  • The Cosmopolitan, The Cosmopolitan Publishing Company, New York, September 1904
  • Harper’s Weekly, Harper and Brothers, New York, October 1899, June and July 1902
  • Julius Cahn's Official Theatrical Guide, March 1906
  • Ladies’ Home Journal, Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1898-1903
  • Leslie’s Weekly, Judge Company, New York, 1900-1918
  • Life, Life Publishing Company, New York, December 1913, March 1914
  • LIFE, Time, Inc., New York, 1940-1941, 1968-1970
  • Literary Digest, Funk and Wagnalls Company, New York, February and April 1922
  • The Mirror, The Mirror Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas, April 1921
  • Munsey's Magazine, March 1918
  • Motion Picture Herald, Quigley Publishing Company, New York, January 1933
  • New York Clipper, 1905-1919
  • New York Dramatic Mirror, 1895-1918
  • New York Dramatic News, April and July 1896
  • New York Star, 1913-1926
  • The Player, 1910-1912
  • Puck, Keppler and Schwarzmann, New York, February 8, 1899
  • Pure Words, Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1885-1889
  • Rossiter's Magazine, November 1901
  • Roxy Theatre Weekly Review, August 1927
  • The Saturday Evening Post, December 1966
  • The Show World, December 1907
  • The Standard and Vanity Fair, The American Standard Publishing Company, New York, February 9, 1906
  • The Strand, July 1904
  • The Theatre, The Theatre Magazine Company, New York, 1908-1909
  • Variety, 1908-1969
  • The Vaudeville News, The National Vaudeville Artists, Inc., 1920-1923, 1925-1927
  • The World Today, September 1904
  • The World's Work, August 1901

Persons

  • Forsyth, M. H.
  • Greenwall, Henry
  • Greenwall, Phillip
  • Halbower, Kathryn Johns
  • Hoblitzelle, Carl
  • Hope, Bob
  • Kennedy, John Fitzgerald "Jack," "JFK" (President)
  • Lanham, Fritz
  • O'Daniel, Wilbert Lee, "Pappy"
  • Parker, Maude
  • Riddle, John
  • Rogers, Will
  • Umbenhour, H. E.
  • Umbenhour, Jessie
  • Umbenhour, Julian
  • Umbenhour, R. Lee
  • Umbenhour, Ulysses J.
  • Yellow Stone Kit

Places

  • 1896 Fort Worth Federal and Post Office building (Jennings Avenue)
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Fort Worth, Texas 
  • New York, NY
  • Texas Counties: Archer, Dallas, Fannin, Montague, Panola, Reeves, Tarrant, Throckmorton, Titus, Wichita, Wise

Subjects

  • Agriculture Industry
  • Baseball
  • Circuses
  • Entertainment
  • Film / Movies
  • Fort Worth Flood of 1922
  • Fort Worth Frontier Fiesta (1937)
  • Fraternal Organizations
  • Horse Racing
  • Ice Capades
  • Land Records / Abstracts of Title
  • Liquor Distributors
  • Music
  • Oil and Gas Leases
  • Oil Industry
  • Performing Arts
  • Pharmaceutical Companies
  • State Fair of Texas
  • Texas Centennial (1936)
  • Texas Spring Palace Exposition
  • Theatre / Theater
  • Travel
  • Vaudeville
  • World's Fair
  • Wrestling

Monochromatic panorama of people on the stage of Casa Manana Theatre in Fort Worth dated July 29, 1936

Photograph by United Photo Service of the Casa Mañana Theatre in Fort Worth, July 29, 1936