Category Archives: Books and Authors

May 27, 1907: Prospector Rescued in Desert Tells Motorist: ‘This Is the Kind of a Horse’

Posted on May 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 27, 1907 Death Valley, Calif. George Freeman and his wife of Pasadena, accompanied by Charles Fuller Gates of Los Angeles, were motoring out to Death Valley in a Pierce-Arrow along the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | 1 Comment

May 26, 1907: Inventor of Miracle ‘Hot Air Engine’ Lives Lavishly, Then Vanishes

Posted on May 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Only a few months before, William R. Leroy of Pennsylvania was a struggling inventor, moonlighting as a stevedore in Santa Monica and in the Fullerton oilfields. Walking to work because even the lowly streetcar fare was a luxury, Leroy labored … Continue reading →

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May 25, 1947: ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ and ‘Human Destiny’ Lead L.A. Bestsellers

Posted on May 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. .

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May 25, 1907: From the Recording Horn

Posted on May 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 25, 1907 Los Angeles Sold on the installment plan, $1 a week with the purchase of six records at 60 cents each, the Victor Talking Machines offered performances by Caruso, Melba … Continue reading →

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May 23, 1947: Lloyd Osbourne Dies; Inspired Stepfather Robert Louis Stevenson to Write ‘Treasure Island’

Posted on May 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 that originally appeared on the 1947project. The May 23-24 papers are full of great, crazy stories. It’s hard to choose just one: Is it Britain about to partition India, which got buried … Continue reading →

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Trash

Posted on May 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

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May 21, 1907: J.G. Fleenor ‘Barefoot Burglar’ Talks!

Posted on May 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. In a jailhouse interview before he was taken to San Quentin, James G. Fleenor, the barefoot burglar, set the record straight on his escapes, his relationship with a white woman and how … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Real Estate, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

May 20, 1907: James G. Fleenor, L.A.’s ‘Barefoot Burglar,’ Recaptured!

Posted on May 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 20, 1907 Los Angeles Night jailer O.L. Gilpin thought the man in the drunk tank looked familiar—and indeed he was. Despite passing himself off as George Thompson, it was our old … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD, Streetcars | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: A Note to Fans of Piu Eatwell’s ‘Black Dahlia, Red Rose’

Posted on May 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

Dear fans of Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, Red Rose” (I know there’s at least a few of you because you write to me): Leslie Dillon was absolutely, positively in San Francisco when Elizabeth Short was killed. Nothing else matters. Not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

May 17, 1907: Wife-Beating, Speeding Drivers and a Slashed Burro

Posted on May 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

May 17, 1907 Los Angeles Note: This is an encore post from 2006. The Le Canns continued their spat in court after Mrs. Le Cann showed Judge Chambers a piece of skin she said was torn from her lip when … Continue reading →

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Mason Opera House

Posted on May 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.

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May 10, 1907: A Murderous Sweep

Posted on May 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. All K. Tanimura wanted to do was clean the carpets at the Hotel Angelus at 407-411 S. Spring St. The sweeper, however, was broken so he sought help from the hotel’s carpenter, … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars | 3 Comments

May 7, 1907: A Poem for La Fiesta de los Flores

Posted on May 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. John Steven McGroarty, The Times columnist and staff poet, offered this tribute to the annual La Fiesta de los Flores, which coincided with the national Shriners convention. The fiesta featured four parades … Continue reading →

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May 5, 1907: The Shriners Ban Water Except for Bathing

Posted on May 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Singing loud praises to Allah that strike a curious note in 2006, the special train of Shriners is flying across the Nevada desert brimming with Freemasons and their families pondering the ancient … Continue reading →

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May 4, 1907: Author’s Hardest Sentence — 4 Months in Jail Over ‘Research’

Posted on May 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. In grappling with a novel about life in prison, writer Ernest Filer of Chicago decided that he should experience imprisonment for himself , thus he hatched the idea of breaking a window … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Black L.A., 1947: ‘Behold a Cry’ and an Exploration of the ‘Estate of James Crow’

Posted on May 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

May 1, 1947: The Sentinel publishes an ad for Alden Bland’s “Behold a Cry.” (Available on 14-day loan from Archive.org). The New York Times said: ALDEN BLAND, the Negro author of this short novel, has none of the power of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Books and Authors | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Time Clock

Posted on May 1, 2018 by lmharnisch
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May 1, 1907: Runaway Horses and a Fleeing Motorcyclist on the Dangerous Streets of L.A.

Posted on May 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Motorcycle Hits Her Miss Gertrude Young, who lives at No. 525 Wall St., was knocked down by a motorcycle yesterday as she stepped from a streetcar at 7th and Hope streets. The rider of the machine hastened away. Miss Young … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Blogging ‘Black Dahlia Files’ Part 89 — The Two-Minute Executive Summary

Posted on April 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. From Feb. 3, 2006, to April 28, 2006, I devoted a daily blog to Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2006, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

April 29, 1907: Blanche Hall Draws Crowds to Burbank Theater in ‘When Knighthood Was in Flower’

Posted on April 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Los Angeles theatergoers are transfixed by the new production of “When Knighthood Was in Flower,” Paul Kester’s adaptation of Charles Major’s 1898 novel, forming a mile-long line to buy tickets at Morosco’s … Continue reading →

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