Pearland teacher to sign history book in League City

Pearland resident Burton Chapman will sign copies of his book Telephone Road, Texas on June 18 at Annette's Emporium in League City.

The book, originally released in 2008, digs into the historical landmarks of southeast Houston, centering around its titular road. Though he's busy as a father and a special-education teacher at Pearland ISD's Searcy Ninth Grade Center, Chapman says he's been "making slow progress" researching a second book that will focus on the southeast suburbs of Houston, including Pearland, Alvin and Friendswood.

His recent research has lead him to, among other things, to the Country Store Bar, which featured a live buffalo. "Customers would come in and try to out-drink the buffalo and buy it beer," Chapman says. "I guess that was kind of a local legend in the 60s and 70s."

His overall focus is to find "anything that's unique and different" in the area. "There's been so many things about Nolan Ryan that's related to Alvin," for example, he says, but he's hoping to find more obscure parts of the past and make sure they're not forgotten.

Chapman's signing takes place June 18 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Annette's, 501 E. Main St. in League City. For more information on his book, go here.