Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

November 14, 1909: Nude Man Prances on Bunker Hill

Posted on November 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 14, 1909: Women call police to report a nude man prancing on Bunker Hill — around Angels Flight. But none of them got a good look at him (ahem) and can’t identify him. Continue reading →

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Nov. 13, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1959: Paul Coates talks to three men in their 20s who are doing well, live in good neighborhoods and are respected by neighbors and the police. The catch? They’re heroin dealers. Continue reading →

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November 13, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1959: As the city suffers under a heavy layer of smog, the copy desk wonders if L.A. will be abandoned by 1975, Matt Weinstock says. Continue reading →

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November 13, 1957: Paul Coates — confidential file

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1957: Joseph Szabo tells Paul Coates about being tortured in Hungary before coming to America. Continue reading →

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Black L.A. November 13, 1947: Little Miss Cornshucks; St. Paul Baptist Church Plans a New Building

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1947: Little Miss Cornshucks is at the Last Word, 4206 Central Ave. Continue reading →

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November 13, 1941: U.S. Prepares to Round Up Japanese in Event of War

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1941: Atty. Gen. Francis Biddle “confirms reports that the government has plans for the segregation of Nipponese alien groups for a ‘temporary period’ if relations between the U.S. and Japan are broken off.” Continue reading →

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Rediscovering Los Angeles: Pennies Arrive in L.A., 1881

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

As some (perhaps only collectors) mourn the passing of the penny, here’s a story about the introduction of the 1-cent coin in 1881. From the Los Angeles Examiner’s ‘Rediscovering Los Angeles,” November 13, 1924, Continue reading →

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November 13, 1907: Revolutionary Defense Fund

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1907: An uproarious meeting is held at Simpson Auditorium to raise money for four Mexican revolutionaries held in the county jail. Antonio Rodriguez, who spoke in Spanish, Job Harriman and defense attorney A.R. Holston attacked the Mexican government, U.S. officials and the police. Continue reading →

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November 12, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 12, 1958: It has become a kind of game for the young men who pilot the jungle boats at Disneyland to invent bright new lines for their spiels during the voyage, Matt Weinstock says. Continue reading →

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Voices — Christine Collins, November 12, 1930

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

“Changeling” letters, November 12, 1930: Mrs. James Borton writes to the prison board, seeking leniency for Walter Collins. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Changeling, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Comments Off on Voices — Christine Collins, November 12, 1930

November 12, 1958: Teenage hitchhiker killed

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 12, 1958: Daryle Kelch, 17, was kidnapped and killed while hitchhiking. His murder was never solved. Continue reading →

Posted in Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD, Obituaries | 2 Comments

November 12, 1947: Pasadena Girl Recovers From Mystery Illness

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 12, 1947: Andrea Brodine, 6, for whose life many have prayed since she was stricken by a deadly paralysis two weeks ago, walked again at the Huntington Memorial Hospital yesterday—supported by a mechanical carrier device but strongly on the road to full recovery. Continue reading →

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November 12, 1941: Crowds Line Broadway for Armistice Day Parade

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 12, 1941: Crowds line Broadway in downtown Los Angeles for the annual Armistice Day parade, which marked the end of what used to be called the Great War or the World War – until we had another one. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, A Kinder, Simpler Time, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Streetcars, Theaters, Tom Treanor, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on November 12, 1941: Crowds Line Broadway for Armistice Day Parade

‘Ask Me Anything’ on George Hodel – November 18

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

Reminder: I will do an Ask Me Anything on George Hodel and Steve Hodel next Tuesday, November 18, at 10 a.m. Pacific time on YouTube. Have questions? Leave them in the comments. Continue reading →

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November 12, 1907: A Bad Way With Horses

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 12, 1907: John P. Shumway Jr. is badly injured when the carriage he was driving collided with the 11th Street trolley. Shumway was thrown about 20 feet, striking the pavement head-first, and the horse ran for the stable, pulling what was left of the smashed carriage, witnesses said. Continue reading →

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November 11, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on November 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 11, 1959: A Palm Springs getaway to cure a dog’s cough? Matt Weinstock tells the tale. Continue reading →

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Nov. 11, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on November 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 11, 1959: The LAPD raids the wrong place and refuses to pay for damage, Paul Coates says. Continue reading →

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November 11, 1907: Cad Told the Truth Only Once — He Wasn’t Worthy of Her

Posted on November 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 11, 1907: On a trip to Topeka, Kans., to visit relatives, Lena River Packard of Los Angeles met Edgar (or Edwin) Campbell Arnold, a wealthy wholesale druggist who quickly became her constant companion and ardent suitor. Love soon blossomed and in a few months, Edgar arrived in Los Angeles to claim his bride. Continue reading →

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November 10, 1947: Remains of Kidnapped Girl Found in Orange County Ravine

Posted on November 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 10, 1947: The remains of 6-year-old Rochelle Gluskoter, kidnapped February 15, 1946, are found in a small ravine in Orange County. Her case was never solved. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – ‘Letty Lynton’

Posted on November 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory looks at the history of the 1932 MGM film “Letty Lynton” and why it keeps vanishing from sight. Continue reading →

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