The Liberty County Historical Commission will host a presentation on the rich history of The Valley Players during its meeting on Monday, July 20, at 6 p.m. in the A.J. “Jack” Hartel Building, 318 San Jacinto St. in Liberty.
Following a brief business meeting, longtime educator and Valley Players member Jackie Hartel Smith will share the story of Liberty’s beloved community theater, from its humble beginnings to its enduring role in the county’s cultural life.
The Valley Players was co-founded in 1953 by Broadway veterans Kalita Humphreys Burson and her husband, Joe Burson. Kalita, a Galveston native, had performed with the Galveston Little Theatre and the Dallas Theater, while Joe worked as both an actor and director. After marrying, the couple moved to Liberty in 1951 to be closer to Kalita’s mother, Geraldine Davis Humphreys.
Joined by a small group of dedicated volunteers, the Bursons established a community theater they named The Valley Players. Although the organization lacked a permanent home, members were determined to bring live theater to Liberty.
Productions were staged wherever space could be found, including the auditorium at Sam Houston Elementary School, Liberty High School, City Hall, an empty building on Main Street and even an abandoned poultry and rabbit barn at the Liberty County Fairgrounds. Volunteers built and dismantled sets after each production, overcoming numerous challenges to keep the performances alive.
Tragedy struck just one year after the theater’s founding when Joe and Kalita Burson were killed in a small plane crash near Lenhartsville, Penn., while traveling to New York. Kalita was 38 years old. Despite the devastating loss, the organization endured and continued to flourish through the dedication of its members and supporters.
The Valley Players eventually found a permanent home thanks to the generosity of Geraldine Davis Humphreys. Before her death, Humphreys left portions of her estate to both Theatre Under The Stars in Houston and the creation of the Humphreys Cultural Center in Liberty. Today, the center houses the Liberty Municipal Library and The Valley Players theater on the site once known as Seven Pines, the Humphreys family home.
More than seven decades after its founding, The Valley Players remains a cornerstone of Liberty County’s arts community, preserving the tradition of live theater while entertaining generations of audiences.
The public is invited to attend the July 20 meeting to learn more about the organization’s remarkable history, its perseverance through adversity and its vision for the future.
Co-founded, not founded. Facts matter.
Neither Kalita Humphreys nor her husband Joe Burson attended the founding meeting. John Gordon, a new teacher in Liberty and former professional actor, organized the meeting which was attended by 11 ladies and one gentleman. This is from a newspaper article from October 1953, collected by Mrs. Norma Alford a founder who was at the next meeting which was the official beginning of The Valley Players. Mrs. Alford donated her treasured scrapbooks from those first days in 2022, which corrected the myths. Please attend the meeting of the Liberty County Historical Commission to learn more.