Don Yarborough was a lawyer and liberal politician known for his interest in civil rights and for his multiple unsuccessful runs for governor of Texas.    Yarborough was born in New Orleans on December 19, 1925, and had a humble upbringing in Louisiana and Mississippi at the height of the Great Depression. When he was 12, his parents, Don and Inez, moved the family to Houston. Following the end of World War II, Yarborough served in China with the US Marines and was impacted by the vast suffering he witnessed there, which may have influenced his interest in social justice that later drove his career. He graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1950 and briefly returned to the Marines as a judge advocate before starting his own law firm in Houston.   Yarborough's interest in civic matters led him to politics, and he soon gained exposure for being one of the first Southern politicians to publicly support the Civil Rights Movement. His first attempt at holding office was a run for lieutenant governor of Texas in 1960, which he lost. Two years later, Yarborough ran for governor. He narrowly lost the Democratic nomination in a runoff election to John Connally, who went on to win the general election. Yarborough attempted to unseat Connally in the 1964 and 1968 elections, but was unsuccessful.    After this last defeat, Yarborough returned to practicing law before becoming a Washington lobbyist. He turned his focus to funding medical research, especially for paraplegia, and he was also interested in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons with the Council for a Livable World.    Yarborough died of Parkinson's disease on September 23, 2009.

The 1968 HemisFair was a World's Fair held in San Antonio to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the city's founding. It was the first World's Fair to be held in the southwest, and its theme was "Confluence of Civilizations in the Americas." From April 6 to October 6, 1968, the HemisFair welcomed over 6 million visitors. Famous attendees included Bob Hope, Louis Armstrong, Princess Grace of Monaco, President Lyndon B. Johnson and his family, and Texas Governor John Connally. There were many attractions, including exhibits, a monorail, a lagoon, and a variety of performances. Perhaps the most controversial was a show called the "Flying Indians of Papantla," during which four men tied to ropes revolved down a 114-foot pole. The complaints stemmed from a mock sacrifice at the beginning of the show, which involved a chicken and a topless woman. This was swiftly edited out of the show.  The popular River Walk was extended in order to meet the site of the fair, and many new buildings were constructed in the downtown area to accommodate exhibitions from over thirty countries and fifteen organizations. Some of these buildings remain, most notably the Tower of the Americas, which was the main symbol of the fair. The area is now known as HemisFair Park.

Politician Louie Welch was born in Lockney, Texas, on December 9, 1918. He received a degree in history from Abilene Christian College, now Abilene Christian University.   Welch began his political career in 1950, serving four terms on the Houston City Council. He unsuccessfully sought the Houston mayoral office three times before being elected to the position in 1963. Houston grew immensely during Welch's five terms as mayor, from the population topping one million people to the opening of the Astrodome in 1965 and the Houston Intercontinental Airport in 1969.    His tenure, however, was not without its controversy. A 1967 conflict between police and Texas Southern University students created a rift between the local administration and many of Houston's African Americans. Welch's reputation also came under fire during his last term over his relationship with well-known crime leaders, leading to suspicions about how his second mayoral bid was financed.    In 1985, Welch ran for mayor again, campaigning in opposition to the extension of job protection rights to homosexuals employed by the city government. He lost to incumbent Kathy Whitmore.    Welch died from lung cancer on January 27, 2008, in his Harris County residence. He was 89. 

This film was donated to the Texas Archive of the Moving Image by the Houston Public Library and is a part of the Houston Area Digital Archives.  Many more films from the KHOU-TV Collection are available on the Houston Public Library Houston Area Digital Archives website.