Category Archives: books

Injured Diver Dies After Falling From Rescue Helicopter

“Mary and Pete Are Reunited.”   Skin diver Harold B. Gavenman dies after a tragic series of accidents in which he was struck by a boat propeller and fell 100 feet while being lifted to a rescue helicopter. Nov. 23, … Continue reading

Posted in books, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Sports, Stage | 2 Comments

Nuestro Pueblo – Chavez Ravine

  Aug. 24, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens find evidence of an old brickyard in Chavez Ravine and touch on the Chinese Massacre.  Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo concluded in 1939. I’m going back and picking up … Continue reading

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Nuestro Pueblo

  Aug. 19, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens find a windmill on a farm at Garfield Avenue just north of Gage Street. Below, the area today, via Google maps’ street view.  It’s interesting to note that Seewerker refers to … Continue reading

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Plane Crash Kills 42

Nov. 17, 1959: Investigators speculate on whether a bomb exploded on a National Airlines DC-7B that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 42 people. Ultimately, no cause was ever determined. … And  Gene Sherman reports on border drug traffic. … Continue reading

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Nov. 16, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Search for Better Brand of Justice Erle Stanley Gardner, you either like or dislike. He’s easy to categorize. If you don’t like him, he’s a troublemaker, a rebel who gets his kicks by destroying the public’s illusions concerning the integrity … Continue reading

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Family Killed in Kansas Farm Town

  "The village of Holcomb stands on the high wheat plains of western Kansas, a lonesome area that other Kansans call 'out there.' Some seventy miles east of the Colorado border, the countryside, with its hard blue skies and desert-clear … Continue reading

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Beating Victim Identified

  A Senate subcommittee hears testimony about drug traffic from Mexico. Reading may become a lost art!   Nov. 11, 1959: Here’s a name that may sound familiar to people who follow the Black Dahlia case: Lillian Lenorak. You may … Continue reading

Posted in books, Front Pages, Homicide | 1 Comment

Found on EBay – 1883 L.A. Directory

    Here’s an unusual item: An 1883 Los Angeles city-county directory has been listed on EBay.  As the vendor notes, there is only one copy listed in online catalogs and that’s at UCLA. As the vendor also notes, a … Continue reading

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Cooking With the Junior League, Pasadena

 “It is a very special day in a young woman’s life when she makes her first ice box cake.  And as with the leg of lamb, I regret that they have declined in popularity, because it was delicious.”  This week … Continue reading

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Nuestro Pueblo

  Aug. 5, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens feature the Bethlehem Baths at Vignes and Ducommun, which closed in 1926. Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo concluded in 1939. I’m going back and picking up the entries that … Continue reading

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Found on EBay – Los Angeles Examiner

  This book of Los Angeles Examiner front pages from World War II has been listed on EBay. I’ve only seen these books on EBay so I’m not positive but judging by the vendors’ photos, the reproduction appears to be … Continue reading

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Found on EBay – ‘Quick, Watson, the Camera’

A copy of “Quick Watson, the Camera,” has been listed on EBay. Long out of print, “Quick Watson” is terrific survey of photographs by the Watson family and was edited by the late Delmar Watson, formerly of the Mirror-News. Bidding … Continue reading

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Catching Up With ‘Twilight Zone’

  Aug. 4, 1959: I almost didn’t post this Cecil Smith column because it’s not terribly well done and is mostly Smith rambling to great length about ghost stories.  But I reminded myself that at this point, very few people … Continue reading

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Nuestro Pueblo

  Aug. 1, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visit Griffith Park and discover an old lime kiln left from mission days. Note: I posted most of the Nuestro Pueblo features when I was going through 1938-39, but I’m picking … Continue reading

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A Warning About Smoking

“Industrial Independence” is a code phrase for “no unions.” Oct. 24, 1909: The Times recommends “The Tyrant in White,” promising: "There are no long rambling lectures or sermons in its pages. The characters do their own talking. They are boys … Continue reading

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A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

  William Bendix in “Kill the Umpire!” What? Not on Netflix? Oct. 22, 1949: “Pinky” gets a supportive review from Edwin Schallert. He calls the film a “fascinating, sometimes sentimental narrative with rare feeling.” It’s interesting how The Times indented … Continue reading

Posted in books, Film, Hollywood | 1 Comment

Nuestro Pueblo, Pasadena

  July 27, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visit Pasadena for Nuestro Pueblo. Here’s a map of Japanese-owned businesses in Pasadena before World War II.  Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo concluded in 1939. I’m going back and … Continue reading

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A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: Your Movies

  Oct. 20, 1947: “Forever Amber” is opening Oct. 29. With great music by David Raksin. March 21, 1945: Author Kathleen Winsor tells veteran Times columnist Timothy G. Turner that she’s tired of people asking whether “Forever Amber” is autobiographical.

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A Postscript on the Black Sox

 Aug. 13-14, 1969, catching up with the Black Sox.   Aug. 14, 1969, an interview with Gandil. "Chick Gandil was as tough as they come. He was 31 years old and stood 6 feet, 2 inches tall; a broad, powerful … Continue reading

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October 14, 1959: Matt Weinstock

Red Wine Man This is wine week and while I am not knocking the old fashioned (with plain water, without the fruit salad) or minimizing the fiery Martini (I’m crazy about big green olives, with pimiento) or even bourbon and … Continue reading

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