The Olympic Torch Relay Comes to Southeast Texas

Lisa Meisch, Sam Houston Center Archivist/Curator

Color photo of ceremony with torchbearer Mable McKnight at the lectern holding the torch. The flaming cauldron is to the right of the McKnight and other torchbearers are lined up behind the lectern. — Torchbearer Mable McKnight addresses the crowd at the Liberty Relay Event, with Mayor Paul Henry (left) and other Liberty County and Southeast Texas torchbearers behind her. Olympic Torch Relay Collection, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, TSLAC.

The Olympic Torch Relay begins at a ceremony in the city of Olympia, Greece, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, at the ruins of the temple of the goddess Hera. An actress playing the temple’s high priestess lights the flame using a parabolic mirror that concentrates the sun’s rays. She then passes it to the first torchbearer, and the relay begins, carrying the flame to its final destination, the Olympic stadium in the host city of the Games. When the flame arrives, the final torchbearer lights the Olympic cauldron, which remains lit for the duration of the Games and is extinguished at the closing ceremony.

In 1996, the city of Atlanta, Georgia, hosted the Summer Olympics. The Olympic flame arrived in Los Angeles, California (site of the 1932 and 1984 Summer Games) from Athens, Greece, on April 27. During its journey across the continental United States, the relay passed for the first time through Southeast Texas, on May 22. In Liberty, a ceremony was held on the grounds of the Geraldine D. Humphreys Cultural Center, and the city provided lunch to all the relay participants. Liberty was one of only five cities in Texas where the relay stopped for such an event.

image of map depicting day 26 of 1996 olympic torch relay route from Houston to Lake Charles, Louisiana. — Map of Olympic Torch Relay route through Southeast Texas on May 22, 1996. Olympic Torch Relay Collection, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, TSLAC.

The Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center’s Olympic Torch Relay Collection documents the Olympic Torch Relay event in Liberty and the relay’s passage through Southeast Texas. The collection includes photographs of the Liberty event and local relay participants, clippings from various Southeast Texas newspapers pertaining to the relay as it passed through the area, event maps, meeting minutes and notes documenting the planning and organizing of the Liberty event by a local committee, posters and other publicity materials, and the torch carried by torchbearer Don Kelly of Beaumont in the Liberty area.

image of flyer advertising 1996 olympic torch relayreads: A once in a lifetime opportunity to see the 1996 olympic torch relay; olympic torch relay celebration day, liberty, texas, may 22, 1996; humphreys cultural center 11:00a.m. -2:00p.m. — Liberty Relay Event Poster. Olympic Torch Relay Collection, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, TSLAC.

Image of event map for the liberty relay event. Map of square blocks and streets and arrows depicting route. — Event map for the Liberty Relay Event. Arrows show the torch route into and out of the event. Olympic Torch Relay Collection, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, TSLAC.

At the Liberty ceremony, a small Olympic cauldron was lit by incoming torchbearer Sharon Davis, a message from the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games was read, and the four Liberty County torchbearers (Larry Wadzeck, Mable McKnight, Sharon Davis, and Timothy Daniel) were introduced and spoke to the crowd. Combined bands from Liberty, Barbers Hill, and Huffman-Hargraves high schools provided Olympic-themed music, including “Olympic Fanfare” and “Bugler’s Dream.” The flame resumed its journey when torchbearer Tim Daniel lit his torch from the cauldron and carried it out of the Humphreys Cultural Center and back to its U.S. Highway 90 route. The city’s Liberty Bell replica was rung during the arrival and departure of the flame.

color photo of ceremony featuring cauldron with gold olympic rings. Torchbearer Sharon Davis lights the cauldron while spectators cheer. — Torchbearer Sharon Davis lights the cauldron at the Liberty Relay Event. Olympic Torch Relay Collection, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, TSLAC.

Color photo of torchbearer Tim Daniel running down the street with the torch and flanked by a motorcycle and other runners in white shirts and shorts. Spectators line the street. — Torchbearer Tim Daniel and his escort runner (unidentified). Olympic Torch Relay Collection, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, TSLAC.

From Liberty the relay passed through the communities of Ames, Raywood, Devers, Nome, China, Beaumont, Vidor, and Orange before continuing into Louisiana.

Many of the torchbearers had been nominated as “community heroes.” Criteria included volunteer work and service as a community leader, role model, or mentor. The Olympic Organizing Committee selected 5,500 community heroes out of 40,000 candidates. Thirty-eight were from Southeast Texas, representing Dayton, Liberty, Devers, Orange, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Port Neches, Bridge City, and Vidor.

color commemorative photo of torchbearer don kelly running down the street with the torch held high. Behind Kelly are motorcycles, cars and a bus. The top of the photo reads, Share the Spirit: the 1996 olympic torch relay/summer 1996. Sponsored by Coca-Cola. — Commemorative photo of torchbearer Don Kelly of Beaumont, who ran his leg of the Relay in Liberty. Olympic Torch Relay Collection, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, TSLAC.

Color photo of artifact: olympic torch carried by Don Kelly during the olympic torch relay in Liberty on May 22, 1996. The wood baton is covered with a lavender and gold handle and lavender and gold upper portion. — Torch carried by Don Kelly during the Olympic Torch Relay in Liberty on May 22, 1996. Made of aluminum reeds and Georgia pecan wood. Wide gold-plated band on lower half is engraved with the host city names and years of all the Olympic Games, commemorating the 100thanniversary of the modern Olympics. Olympic Torch Relay Collection, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, TSLAC.

The Olympic Torch Relay is a major event for every community through which it passes en route to the Olympics host city, and May 22, 1996, was undoubtedly a memorable and exciting day for the residents of Southeast Texas. As Brendan Harris, director of the relay event for sponsor Coca-Cola, told the Baytown Sun, “These people are the reason we do this. It gives people from these small towns a chance to share in the Olympic experience. And it gives a town like Liberty the chance to be the host city of the Olympics for a day.”

Visitors may view the Olympic Torch Relay Collection at the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center during business hours, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The finding aid is on Texas Archival Resources Online (TARO): Olympic Torch Relay Collection.

Sources:

Olympic Torch Relay Collection, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center

The Olympic Flame
https://olympics.com/en/news/the-amazing-story-of-the-olympic-flame

The Olympic Torch and the Flame Relay
https://stillmed.olympic.org/media/Document%20Library/OlympicOrg/Documents/Document-Set-Teachers-The-Main-Olympic-Topics/The-Olympic-Flame-and-Torch-Relay.pdf

Atlanta 1996: The Torch
https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/atlanta-1996/torch-relay