Author Archives: lmharnisch

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times

October 26, 1907: Women Clean Clothes With Gasoline, Die After Explosion and Fire

Posted on October 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 26, 1907: Two women in the West Adams District were badly burned and expected to die after a bowl of gasoline they were using to clean a soiled dress exploded, engulfing their apartment at 42 St. James Park in flames. Continue reading →

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October 25, 1982: Millennial Moment: Iranian Exiles Find a Bit of Home in Santa Monica Park

Posted on October 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 25, 1982: Times staff writer Bill Overend profiles Iranian exiles who gather in Santa Monica’s Palisades Park on Sunday afternoons, hundreds of people — mostly Jews and some Muslims — who came to the U.S. because of the Iranian revolution. Continue reading →

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October 25, 1947: Toyoda of Japan Sells First Postwar Sedan for $5,000

Posted on October 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 25, 1947: Toyoda Automobile Co. unveils its first postwar car, a small, four-passenger sedan with 27 horsepower. The company has produced five cars so far, reserved for doctors. Continue reading →

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October 25, 1943: Restaurant Manager Turns Tables on Robbers

Posted on October 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 25, 1943: Three bandits who hit a handful of businesses met their match at a cafe at 1306 S. Main St. when they tried to hold up assistant manager Joe D. Poindexter. As one man leaned across the counter to get the cash, Poindexter grabbed his gun, chased them as they fled and shot one of them. Continue reading →

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October 25, 1907: L.A. Bids Adieu to the Boys of Summer as Pacific Coast League Ends Season

Posted on October 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 25, 1907: A farewell to baseball season, “deservedly the most popular pastime of the American public.” Continue reading →

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October 24, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 24, 1959: A driver with a long, majestic beard stopping in Paso Robles during a beard-growing contest for Pioneer Day is the envy of every man, Matt Weinstock says. Continue reading →

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October 24, 1907: Sanitarium Doctor Tells Patients to ‘Live on Love’ and Forget About Food

Posted on October 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 24, 1907: Upon the suicide of Dr. H. Russell Burner, advocate of the “radium milk” cure, his sanitarium was taken over by Dr. F.S. Kurpiers, who is now in trouble with the Health Department. Kurpiers didn’t have a medical license, so he obtained the certificate of Dr. C.H. King, a dying physician who wept as he told authorities that the only way he could support a few relatives was to rent out his license. Continue reading →

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The Chinese Massacre: October 24, 1871 — Part 4

Posted on October 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 24, 1871: Part 4 of a series on the Chinese Massacre. Continue reading →

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The Chinese Massacre: October 24, 1871 — Part 3

Posted on October 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 24, 1871: Part 3 of a series on the Chinese Massacre. Continue reading →

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The Chinese Massacre: October 24, 1871 – Part 2

Posted on October 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 24, 1871: Part 2 of a series on the Chinese Massacre. Continue reading →

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The Chinese Massacre: October 24, 1871 — Part 1

Posted on October 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 24, 1871: Part 1 of a series on the Chinese Massacre. Continue reading →

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October 23, 1957: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 23, 1957: An intoxicated woman hails a police car, which provides a ride to jail. She’s freed, but then arrested for a warrant on a traffic ticket on a 1956 car — only she says she never owned a 1956 model, just a 1926 that she sold a year ago. Continue reading →

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October 23, 1947: Hollywood Fashion Designer, Partner Die Within Hours; Family Sues Over Estate of Men With ‘Strange Attachment’

Posted on October 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 23, 1947: Robert and Joseph were close — even in death. They shared a home filled with antiques, their bank accounts and were beneficiaries of each other’s wills. In fact, the families sued over their estates, charging that they were too close and had a “strange attachment.” Continue reading →

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October 22, 1957: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 22, 1957: Yelling “Boy!” for a copy boy has nearly disappeared from the newsroom, Matt Weinstock says. Continue reading →

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October 22, 1958: Mob suspected in bookie’s killing

Posted on October 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 22, 1958: Clifford Rue was a man who was ahead of his time when it came to sports results and behind on the payments to his bookie. Continue reading →

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October 22, 1957: Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Posted on October 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 22, 1957: Paul Coates follows up on a series of articles he wrote about the “mordida” suffered by American tourists in Mexico. Continue reading →

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October 22, 1907: Mayor’s Son Gives a Lesson in Identifying L.A. County Sheriff’s Badges

Posted on October 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 22, 1907: Mayor’s son gives a lesson on L.A. County sheriff’s badges. Continue reading →

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October 21, 1957: Matt Weinstock

Posted on October 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 21, 1957: Matt Weinstock writes about a disgruntled car owner who discovers it’s no longer possible to rent a car battery for a few days. Continue reading →

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October 21, 1957: Paul V. Coates–Confidential File

Posted on October 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 21, 1957: Comedy writer Sy Miller writes a serious song, throws it in a drawer, but his daughters want to sing it at camp, so he agrees. The song: “Let there be peace on Earth,” Paul Coates says. Continue reading →

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October 21, 1947: Firefighter Sits Through Movie With Dead Friend to Avoid Audience Panic

Posted on October 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 21, 1947: Walter Saul and his wife had just settled in for a movie with his friend Aloysius Bollin when he felt Bollin’s head on his shoulder. Saul, a firefighter, realized that Bollin had no pulse. He was dead. But rather than created a disturbance, he waited until the double feature was over. Then told Bollin’s son Joseph to go get his mother because his father was sick. Continue reading →

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