Category Archives: Religion

December 18, 1947: Jacobowicz Brothers, Orphaned in Holocaust, Arrive in L.A. (Also Turkey Stuffing With Fritos)

Posted on December 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 18, 1947: Orphaned in the Holocaust, the Jacobowicz brothers—Karl, 16, Joseph, 13, and Rudolph, 10—arrive in Los Angeles on the final leg of their journey from Vienna. Continue reading →

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December 14, 1907: L.A. Schools Ban Mention of Christ at Christmas (Uh-Oh)

Posted on December 14, 2025 by lmharnisch

Dec. 14, 1907: Los Angeles residents are furious after the school superintendent bans the mention of Christ at Christmas. Continue reading →

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December 13, 1907: The Annual Rite of ‘Messiah’ at Cold, Drafty Shrine Auditorium

Posted on December 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 13, 1907: An unidentified Times critic attends a performance of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ at Shrine Auditorium. An exercise in decrypting a music review of another era. Continue reading →

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December 8, 1907: Jewish Refugees, Fleeing Russian Persecution, Come to L.A.

Posted on December 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 8, 1907: Three members of the Schiffman family who are Jewish refugees from Baku, Russia: Sigmund, the father; Benjamin, 15; and Emella [or Emelia], 10. They have been brought to Los Angeles as part of the Galveston Plan, in which Jews were taken to Galveston, Texas, for dispersal throughout the West because New York was overcrowded. Continue reading →

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December 1, 1938: California prepares to execute two killers at San Quentin

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 1, 1938: California prepares to use the new gas chamber for two executions rather than the previous method of hanging. Continue reading →

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Black L.A. November 13, 1947: Little Miss Cornshucks; St. Paul Baptist Church Plans a New Building

Posted on November 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1947: Little Miss Cornshucks is at the Last Word, 4206 Central Ave. Continue reading →

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November 12, 1947: Pasadena Girl Recovers From Mystery Illness

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 12, 1947: Andrea Brodine, 6, for whose life many have prayed since she was stricken by a deadly paralysis two weeks ago, walked again at the Huntington Memorial Hospital yesterday—supported by a mechanical carrier device but strongly on the road to full recovery. Continue reading →

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November 9, 1941: Roosevelt Declares Early Thanksgiving

Posted on November 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 9, 1941: President Roosevelt moves up the date of Thanksgiving to add an extra week of Christmas shopping. Continue reading →

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November 7, 2008: Jews celebrate survival of Holocaust Torah

Posted on November 7, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 7, 2008: Nearing the somber 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Los Angeles Jews celebrate the story of a Torah that was pieced together from scattered texts smuggled into a Nazi labor camp. Continue reading →

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November 3, 1958: 44 shopping days until Christmas

Posted on November 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 3, 1958: Only 44 shopping days until Christmas. And check out those aluminum trees! Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory: Hollywood Heights – ‘Auction of Souls’

Posted on October 29, 2025 by lmharnisch

Mary Mallory looks at the life of Aurora Mardiganian and the film ‘Auction of Souls’ Continue reading →

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October 28, 1956: Charlton Heston on the ‘Ten Commandments’

Posted on October 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 28, 1956: Religion writer Dan Thrapp interviews Charlton Heston about his role as Moses in “The Ten Commandments.” 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 19, 1938: Mystic vision

Posted on October 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 19, 1938: Meet the Rev. Violet Greener “The Ghost of Hollywood,” a psychic who was consulted by many people in the industry. Continue reading →

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October 1947: Lebanese, Syrian, Egyptian Armies Gather at Palestine Border for Possible Invasion

Posted on October 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 9, 1947: (U.P.)—The Lebanese and Syrian governments have ordered various units of their armies to mass along the Palestine borders for a possible invasion of the Holy Land, and the first units already have started marching, it was announced tonight. Continue reading →

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October 6, 1965: Koufax chooses faith over Dodgers

Posted on October 6, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 6, 1965: Sandy Koufax sits out Game 1 of the World Series because it falls on Yom Kippur. 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 23, 1907: Rev. J.L. Griffin Baptizes 5 in Echo Park Lake

Posted on September 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 23, 1907: The Rev. J.L. Griffin baptizes five believers in Echo Park Lake as 2,000 watch. 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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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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