Happy Shahan; The founding Father of the Texas film industry and the surrogate Father to countless young people who worked each summer at Alamo Village.
He attracted both those seeking fame and fortune and those seeking love and guidance. Happy reached out to rich kids, poor kids, troubled kids, and talented kids bestowing on them all the same gift the ability to discover integrity in themselves.
No acting break or record deal could have been as valuable as the lessons learned during the summers at Alamo Village.
Remember being called to Happy's back room? Most of us can. When that request was made we knew we were in trouble. Shahan would sit us down in the chair next to his, lean in real close and commence to tell us how what we had done was an act of "stupidity."
Sometimes there would be a fine attached, sometimes a
handshake or a hug, but in all cases there were the words
"Hey... I'm not mad at you." A reprimand handed down by a man most of us placed on a pedestal, and all of us placed in our hearts.
It has been several years since many of us have walked the streets at Alamo Village, but just like a magic time machine one special memory can bring us back there again.
These pages are dedicated not only to our memories of Alamo Village, but to the man who made those memories possible.
Below, you will find a time line of buttons. Click on the year that you worked or visited at ALAMO VILLAGE and see pictures and stories of people from that year.
At this time, the buttons are working, but not every year has information on its pages.
If you have pictures and a list of the people who worked the same year as you did please email me and I will add it to the page. With your help this should be a fun project but I do need your help to make it a success.
Penny Campbell-Loewen
