Showing 3 results

Name
Graham, Henry Joseph
Person · 1913-1997

Henry Joseph Graham was born September 7, 1913 in Boerne, Texas. His parents were Joseph H. Graham, a lawyer, and Elizabeth Orynski Graham, a prominent preservationist in San Antonio. Henry had one sister, Wanda Graham, who married architect O'Neil Ford. Graham married Carolyn Hoon (1914-1976) in 1938; they had two children, William Henry (1942-1960) and Carolee Graham.

In 1936 Henry and Carolyn Graham purchased and renovated the Weyrich Building, the oldest extent commercial building in Boerne, before selling it to Elizabeth Graham in 1944. Henry worked as an editor for the Time-Life Corporation. In the 1960s, Henry was a central figure alongside his sister Wanda Ford in the opposition movement against the construction of the 281 freeway in San Antonio. As part of these efforts, he formed the Save Our City Organization.

Henry Graham died on September 21, 1997.

Sinkin, Fay (1918-2009)
Person · 1918-2009

Fay Sinkin was born on March 24, 1918 in New York. She earned a bachelors degree from Syracuse University. Sinkin was devoted to community activism; she was elected President of the San Antonio League of Women Voters in 1947, organized the Visiting Nurse Association in the 1950s, and was the first woman to serve on the San Antonio Board of Health. She was named the Express/News Woman of the Year in 1953.

In the 1970s Sinkin led the efforts to protect the Edwards Aquifer, organizing the Aquifer Protection Association. In 1983 she was the first woman elected to the board of directors of the Edwards Underground Water District. In 1989 she formed the Edwards Aquifer Preservation Trust, which worked to protect the recharge zone from over-development. She was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame in 1985, and was listed in the Who's Who of American Women.

Sinkin married banker and community activist William R. "Bill" Sinkin in 1942, and had two sons, Richard and Lanny. She passed away in 2009.

Person · 1874-1954

Colonel William Buckhout Tuttle was born in 1874 in Ohio. After attending the University of Virginia, he joined the First Virginia Cavalry. During World War I Tuttle was an officer in the Army's construction division, retiring as commander of the 315th Engineers. Tuttle came to San Antonio in 1906 to take a position as Vice-President and General Manager of the gas, electric, and traction utilities in the city. He is credited with bringing natural gas supplies to San Antonio, as well as supervising the shift from streetcars to bus transportation. During World War I he served as consultant to the War Production Board. Tuttle served as chairman of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Military Affairs Committee, playing an important role in the development of Randolph Field. In his retirement, Tuttle pursued his interests in flood-control and conservation, serving as chairman of the San Antonio River Authority. He is credited with obtaining the city's first federal grant for the much needed flood-control program. Tuttle supported the Boy Scouts, YMCA, and other civic enterprises. He passed away in September 1954 at the age of 80.