Category Archives: 1947

October 5, 1947: Santa Monica Police Link Killing of Teenage Girl to Earlier Stabbing of Teenage Girl

Posted on October 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 5, 1947: Police link the stabbings of Barbara Jean Morse and Lillian Dominguez, as well as a third attack. Continue reading →

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October 3, 1947: Full House – Burglar Slips In on Mystery Writer’s Poker Game

Posted on October 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 3, 1947: Reddest face in town yesterday belonged to Charles Bennett, writer of screen mysteries in which the brilliant detective always catches the crook. While he had a few friends in for a card game, a burglar crawled through a window and stole his wife’s purse and a pair of earrings. Continue reading →

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October 2, 1947: On Skid Row, Homeless Children Mourn Their Beloved Sister Ollie

Posted on October 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 2, 1947: Sister Ollie (though she was famous under another name) died happy, according to her mother, Sister Sibbie, the superintendent at Sunshine Mission, 558 S. Wall St., a shelter for homeless women and children on skid row. Continue reading →

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October 1, 1947: Meet Matt Weinstock, Author of ‘My L.A.’

Posted on October 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 1, 1947: Meet Matt Weinstock, author of “My L.A.” Everybody’s parents or grandparents seem to have purchased this little red-bound book with the blue title on the spine. There was a time when you could find a copy in just about any secondhand store or used bookshop in the Southwest next to “Inside U.S.A.” or one of the WPA guides. Continue reading →

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Reminder – My Next ‘Ask Me Anything’ on the Black Dahlia Case Is October 7

Posted on September 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

Reminder: I will be doing a live Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case on YouTube next Tuesday, October 7, at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Have questions? Leave them in the comments. Continue reading →

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September 28, 1947: City Librarian Althea Warren Announces Retirement

Posted on September 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 28, 1947: City librarian Althea Warren is retiring after 14 years. She entered the profession despite the comment from an uncle who said: “A librarian leads a terrible life. She has to wear plain dresses and flat heels and the salary is ridiculous.” Continue reading →

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September 26, 1947: Remingtons, Winchesters, Colts and Smith & Wessons

Posted on September 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 26, 1947: You can buy a new Colt semiauto for $65 ($712.59 USD 2018) in .38 Super or .45, or a Smith and Wesson (presumably a Model 10) in .38 Special for $56.50 ($619.40) USD 2018. Continue reading →

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September 25, 1947: It Was a Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.

Posted on September 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 25, 1947: Five Japanese war criminals are hanged in Guam for practicing cannibalism on American POWs. Continue reading →

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September 24, 1947: Young Men Say ‘I Love You’ With a Buick Hood Ornament

Posted on September 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 24, 1947: There’s no better way to a woman’s heart than with the hood ornament from a 1946 or 1947 Buick. Continue reading →

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September 23, 1947: Janet Flanner, The New Yorker’s ‘Genet,’ Visits L.A .

Posted on September 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 23, 1947: Janet Flanner, European correspondent for the New Yorker, says: “The carpetbagging of our American soldiers went on for two years until the Army stopped it. It made cigarettes legal tender. American money still rates high, but our morality rates low….Just now we Americans are trying to run a checkbook empire. It can’t be done.” Continue reading →

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September 22, 1947: Avak the Healer Comes to Los Angeles

Posted on September 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 22, 1947: Hundreds of people throw themselves at his feet to kiss the hem of his robes or simply to occupy the chair where he had been sitting. And then Avak the Healer was gone; nothing but a memory. Continue reading →

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Sept. 21, 1947: Los Angeles Leads U.S. in Burglaries, Ranks 3rd in Killings After New York, Chicago

Posted on September 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 21, 1947: Los Angeles leads American cities in burglaries in the first half of 1947. For the first half of 1947, Los Angeles ranked third in the U.S. in homicide at 63, following Chicago (95) and New York (168). Continue reading →

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September 20, 1947: Marie ‘The Body’ McDonald Marries Karl the Shoe Man

Posted on September 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 20, 1947: The clip file of Marie “The Body” McDonald is like a Russian novel of nightclub brawls, Reno divorces, Las Vegas elopements, car crashes, run-ins with the police for drinking and drugs, lawsuits over broken contracts, suicide attempts, unexplained hospitalizations and every once in a while, a movie. And then there’s the kidnapping. Continue reading →

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September 19, 1947: L.A. OKs Right Turn on Red Light!

Posted on September 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 19, 1947: A deep dive to Californians’ ability to make a right turn on a red light, taken for granted now, but controversial once upon a time. Continue reading →

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September 18, 1947: Navajo Teenagers Arrive at Sherman Institute

Posted on September 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 18, 1947: A contingent of 369 Navajo Indian boys and girls from New Mexico and Arizona has arrived at Riverside’s famed Sherman Institute. Continue reading →

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September 16, 1947: Stanley Beltz, Colorful Lockheed Test Pilot

Posted on September 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 16, 1947: Colorful Lockheed test pilot Stanley Beltz is in trouble again. Beltz died in 1955 testing a F-94B Starfire and his despondent fiancee killed herself less than two weeks later. Continue reading →

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September 15, 1947: On Rosh Hashanah, a Call to Mobilize for Peace

Posted on September 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 15, 1947: For Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Ernest Trattner tells the congregation that “New beginnings come, not in new seasons, but in new attitudes. Solutions of life’s problems come, not in the passing of time, but in self-discipline and self-dedication.” Continue reading →

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September 14, 1947: How Many HR Violations Can You Spot in One Ad?

Posted on September 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 14, 1947: Union Pacific posts a “help wanted” ad. How many violations can you spot? Continue reading →

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September 13, 1947: The Light Rail That Failed — Transit Plan Calls for Trains on Freeway Medians

Posted on September 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 13, 1947: A committee studying Los Angeles’ transportation issues recommends high-speed rail arteries, including tracks down the medians of express highways. Continue reading →

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September 11, 1947: Al Jarvis Replies to L.A. Sentinel’s Charges of Racism

Posted on September 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 11, 1947: KLAC disc jockey Al Jarvis replies to Earl Griffin’s criticisms in last week’s Sentinel. “To knowingly plug a sponsor who discriminates against the Negro race is contrary to every belief I have ever had or ever will have.” Continue reading →

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