Being a historical editor usually requires a lot of research. Sometimes the assignments are a lot of fun, as was the case with Welcome Wilson.
I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Welcome for a cover article published in a suite of Lifestyles & Homes magazines. I was a contributing editor at the time and could not wait to meet with such an iconic and beloved Houstonian.
Welcome Wilson is best known as a real estate developer and a long-time Chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of Houston, my alma mater. It wasn’t until after our interview, however, that I realized he had signed my diploma years prior!
Adventures as a Historical Editor
My article, titled 50 (or More) Things You May Not Know About Welcome Wilson, Sr., turned out to be a six-page spread and took readers through history, from his witnessing the hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific in 1956, to his meeting with Jackie and John F. Kennedy the night before the tragic assassination, to a civil rights meeting with LBJ at Jack Valenti’s house in 1963 — and forty-seven additional snippets of an extraordinary life.
Oh, and he explained how he got his unusual moniker (being nameless for nearly three weeks before his parents finally chose “Welcome” in 1928). His birth announcement had pink ribbon because the doctor said he would be a girl.
Archaeological & Historical Commission
This popular article was cited in the Archaeological & Historical Commission of the City of Houston Planning and Development Department in 2015, regarding the Landmark Designation Report for a special home — the Judge and Mrs. J.A. Platt House (later owned by Welcome).
SITE INFORMATION: Tract 10, Block 8, River Oaks Country Club Estates, City of Houston, Harris County, Texas. The site contains a historic two-story French Renaissance style house on a prominent location facing north on Del Monte Drive at River Oaks Boulevard.
https://www.houstontx.gov/planning/HistoricPres/landmarks/15L309_3311_Del_Monte.pdf
This was quite a notable portfolio piece in my role as a historical editor. Check out a few more blog posts about my interviews and book editing projects having to do with historical figures.
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