Category Archives: Immigration

Mexican Workers Sought to Fill California’s Farm Labor Shortage

Posted on June 15, 2012 by lmharnisch

June 15, 1942:  The Japanese who operated farms have been evacuated to internment camps, many farm workers have taken defense jobs and still more have been drafted. So to get farm labor, California turns to …  guess where: Mexico! Times … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Immigration, World War II | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Pearl Harbor Survivor Kills Himself

Posted on January 10, 2012 by lmharnisch

Can’t draw? You too can be a famous cartoonist.   Jan. 10, 1942:  Pearl Harbor survivor William Parks kills himself in San Francisco after going AWOL. “His note to his wife indicated that the bombardment he underwent had upset him,” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, Religion, Tom Treanor | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. County Pays Immigrants on Welfare to Go Back to Mexico

Posted on December 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 3, 1941: Here’s how Los Angeles County once handled immigration. Officials paid families on welfare $100 ($1,464.25 USD 2010) over 10 months to go back to Mexico. Since 1930-31, more than 4,000 families had gone back to Mexico under … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, Jimmie Fidler, Tom Treanor, World War II, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on L.A. County Pays Immigrants on Welfare to Go Back to Mexico

Women Reporters

Posted on November 17, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 17, 1941: Reporter Mary Shaw Leader is honored posthumously for her work in covering Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Leader, a reporter for the Hanover Spectator, walked 15 miles to Gettysburg, Pa., to cover the Lincoln’s talk. “She carried his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , | Comments Off on Women Reporters

British Library Digitizes Lewis Carroll’s Original ‘Alice’

Posted on September 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Page 37 of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground,” digitized by the British Library. Henry Chu writes a nondupe in the Los Angeles Times about unsuccessful attempts to gain access to Scotland Yard’s records in the Jack the Ripper … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Immigration, Libraries, Museums | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

#architecture, #books, #history, #museums, 7|23|2011 [Updated]

Posted on July 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photos: Josef Mengele’s notebooks. Credit: Alexander Autographs. RECOMMENDED Randy Kennedy of the New York Times catches up with famous/notorious graffiti artist/tagger TAKI 183 at a book signing for “The History of American Graffiti.” Rex Huppke’s ‘I Just Work Here’ Column … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Books and Authors, History, Immigration, Museums, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on #architecture, #books, #history, #museums, 7|23|2011 [Updated]

Coming Attractions: Genealogy Research at the L.A. Public Library

Posted on July 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

The Los Angeles Public Library will present a program on getting started in genealogical research. The free presentation will be from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2011. Folks should gather at the reference desk in the … Continue reading →

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Immigrants Overwhelm San Diego!

Posted on June 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

San Diego has everything a family might want: A moderate climate and jobs in the expanding defense industries. But there’s no place to live.  Rep. John H. Tolan (D-Oakland) is holding hearings in San Diego on the plight of migrants … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Environment, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Immigration, LAPD, San Diego, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 20, 1941

Posted on May 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

           May 20, 1941: International playboy Baldwin M. Baldwin (d. 1970), the son of Anita Baldwin and the grandson of E.J. “Lucky” Baldwin (the despot of Arcadia, according to The Times) gets married for the fifth … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, art and artists, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 20, 1941

Paul Coates, March 27, 1961

Posted on March 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

    March 27, 1961: Paul Coates has the story of two students who went on vacation to Mexico and came back with a 12-year-old orphan.   And Mirror reader Jerry Feldner sends a letter about the artistry of bullfighting.

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Strike Threatens Imperial Valley Lettuce Crop, 1961

Posted on February 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

            Feb. 20, 1961: Chester Gould really likes the idea of vehicles driving on frozen lakes and rivers, doesn’t he? And here’s an update on the lettuce strike in the Imperial Valley: In December 1960, … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock, Jan. 16, 1961

Posted on January 16, 2011 by lmharnisch

        Jan. 16, 1961: More Mexicans are expected to cross the border for farm work this year, the Labor Department says. Matt Weinstock has an amusing item about a pool player and his wife … and an … Continue reading →

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L.A. County Cuts Welfare Costs, Pays Immigrants to Go Back to Mexico — Updated

Posted on December 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

December 3, 1941: I have been reading old newspapers for years and very little about Los Angeles history surprises me anymore, but this one amazed me. To reduce the welfare rolls, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approves paying … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, Comics, Immigration | 2 Comments

Labor Secretary Calls for Immigration Crackdown

Posted on December 1, 2010 by lmharnisch

        Dec. 1, 1930: Editorial cartooning from the pen of a younger Bruce Russell, in the days when newspapers ran them on the front page. And no, Russell’s concepts didn’t get any clearer over the years. Compare … Continue reading →

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Immigrants’ Home Burned in Apparent Hate Crime

Posted on October 24, 2010 by lmharnisch

        Oct. 24, 1960: Vandals set fire to the Baldwin Park home of the Jaskolsky family and paint a swastika and the words “Notzi Rat” on a cinder-block wall in the backyard. German immigrants Ewald Jaskolsky, 25, … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration | 1 Comment

Russia Expels Thousands of Jews From Kiev

Posted on April 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 26, 1910:  “Heartless cruelty marked the ejection of the Jews. Young and old, well and ill, the strong and the weak, mothers with babes only a few days old, were driven out at the word of command. Many … Continue reading →

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Screen Actors Guild Goes on Strike

Posted on March 7, 2010 by lmharnisch

   March 7, 1960: The Screen Actors Guild goes on strike over residuals on movies made after 1948 that are broadcast on TV.  “The Magnificent Seven” and “Ocean’s Eleven” are unaffected.

Posted in broadcasting, Caryl Chessman, Comics, Dodgers, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Immigration, Sports, Television | Comments Off on Screen Actors Guild Goes on Strike

A Letter of Defense

Posted on March 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Remember the editorial about the Japanese stranglehold on farmland? Here’s a response. More on the jump, plus Clare Briggs.

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Times Advocates Importing Chinese Workers for Menial Jobs

Posted on March 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

  “It Happens in the Best-Regulated Families,” by Clare Briggs.   March 2, 1920: People – especially women – are drawn by a live model who stands perfectly still in a display window at Harris & Frank’s shop on Spring … Continue reading →

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Ultimate Baby Einstein? Sperm Bank Specializes in Nobel Winners

Posted on March 1, 2010 by lmharnisch

Look! It’s a Trash 80 with 64K RAM and an 8-inch floppy drive for only $3,450 [$8,902.02 USD 2008]. Feb. 29, 1980: Let’s see … a sperm bank of Nobel-winning scientists. These children should be at least 30 now.Wonder what … Continue reading →

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