William H. Louviere

1893 - 1975

A True Pioneer of the Cane Sugar Industry 

From L to R:  A. H. Weth, W. H. Louviere &  B. H. Varnau

A colorful international figure in the sugar business, William H. Louviere was born in 1893 in Houma, Louisiana.  He began his career on a Puerto Rican sugar plantation after receiving a degree in Sugar Technology from Louisiana State University in 1915.  During World War I he served overseas as an officer with the American Expeditionary Forces.

After the war he worked with several major sugar companies as a chemical engineer and in administrative positions.  Louviere joined Imperial Sugar Company as Assistant Vice President in 1946.  In 1949 he was made Vice President of Imperial, and was elected to the Board of Directors in 1950.  During this time his executive duties included not only directing the refinery's operations, but supervision of the company's $4 million dollar expansion and improvement program.

He was named President of Imperial Sugar Company in 1953 and remained in that position until his retirement in 1963.  At that time he was made Vice Chairman of the Board and Special Consultant to the Company, a title he held until 1973.  It is noteworthy that he was the first president of Imperial who was not a member of the Kempner Family.

In an impressive retirement speech, Louviere gave credit for the company's achievements during his presidency to the employees.  "The most important thing about this company is its personnel," he said.  "I have never worked with as fine a group as we have at Imperial, and anything I have accomplished is due to you all".

Bill Louviere's distinguished career brought him recognition as one of the nation's outstanding sugar engineers and technologists.  Some of his honors include: serving as U.S. Advisor Member of a World Sugar Conference at Tangier, Morocco in 1959; was appointed by President Eisenhower to the White House Conference on Industrial Safety in 1960; was the only representative of the sugar industry to be invited to address the 51st Annual Meeting of The American Institute of Chemical Engineers in San Juan, Puerto Rico; was awarded Alumnus of the year in 1965 at Louisiana State University, his alma mater; in 1966 the Sugar Industry Technologists selected him for the Honorary Award of the Year and in the same year he was recipient of the Dyer Memorial Award as Sugar Man of the Year.

Bill and his wife, Betty, had two children, William, Jr. and Yvonne, who both reside in Sugar Land.  There are  five grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.  At this time there are three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren living in Fort Bend Country.   

SUGAR LAND CHAUTAUQUA TALKS

Chautauqua Talk One

"Sugar, the Essential Building Block of  Sugar  Land"   

Leon Anhaiser, Speaker                  

Harvesting sugar cane.

The first of the Chautauqua Lecture Series presented by the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation in association with the Sugar Land Cultural Arts Foundation on November 13, 2012, was held in the Sugar Land Auditorium on the Lakeview Elementary School Campus.  

Susan and Cliff Wagner sent us a wonderful review of the lecture.  We had to edit it for lack of space in the newsletter so if you would like to read the entire article please see it on our website 

Following is a much shorter version of their review:

Sugar Land History is all about sugar.  And who would be more qualified to talk about sugar and its history than Sugar Land's very own Leon Anhaiser, former Imperial Sugar Company Vice President of Refinery Operations?

Mr. Anhaiser guided the audience through the discovery of sugar thousands of years ago, through the development of various sugar growing techniques, raw sugar processing methods and refining processes, ending his lecture with the production of sugar in Sugar Land and the history of two companies which had become synonymous with Sugar Land, Imperial Sugar Company and Sugarland Industries.  He explained with the help of some "light chemistry" how Imperial made and distributed sugar, the importance of the Sugar Land Railway and the growth of the company town we now call home.  Mr. Anhaiser's lecture was rich with photographs and other visuals which made his lecture more like a nostalgic walk through history rather than an academic presentation.

Sugar is in Sugar Land's roots and it provided the infrastructure and was the "building block" of Sugar Land.  It's been said the only thing certain is change, but there is one thing that cannot change and that is history.  Our city's roots were bathed in sugar and Sugar Land's tree is now fruitful.  And for all those who will no longer be able to "taste sugar in the air" there are presentations such as the Chautauqua Series to show us our roots and the "Sugar Land Then and Now" exhibit at the Heritage Foundation's museum to explain the heritage of which we are now a part.  It is our city's history and the legacy of those who have come before us.

HERITAGE HIKE

Join us for a walk through some of Sugar Land's history!  Docent-led walks are held the 2nd Saturday of each month and are $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for 12 - 18, and under 12 are FREE!  Our walks take about 1-1/2 hours and we stroll about 1-1/2 miles, part in sun and part in shade, so we recommend you bring your own water.  We make a stop at the historic Sugar Land Auditorium where a docent from the Cultural Arts Foundation will tell us about the auditorium and give us a tour of the interior.  Our next three walk dates are January 12th, February 9th, and March 9th.  We start the tour at the Heritage Foundation office, promptly at 10:00.  If you have a group that would like to take the walk during the week, please contact Marsha Smith, msmith@slheritage.org, to schedule a week-day walk.