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May 26, 1960: Watch out for the bus home from Hollywood Park, which takes the long way to Glendale, Matt Weinstock says. CONFIDENTIAL TO JENNIE: Of course, the "circumstances" are important, but I would say that a man who has been married and divorced four times was a very, very, very, very poor risk for marriage, Abby says. |
U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. displays a passive listening device, concealed in the Great Seal that hung in the residential office of the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union from about 1945 to 1952. The National Cryptologic Museum has more information and a replica on display.
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May 26, 1960: Paul Coates looks at a survey of 500 American convicts conducted by the prisoners at Atlanta Penitentiary. |
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The Los Angeles County Hall of Records, which survived a 1910 bombing attempt, as it appeared during the realignment of Spring Street in 1929.
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In the months leading up to the bombing of the Los Angeles Times by union agitators on Oct. 1, 1910, the city had endured several overlapping strikes. The first one was against local breweries, which began on May 19, 1910, and was followed by another against local foundries and ironworks on June 1. Famous for its support of the open shop, The Times staunchly focused on companies’ efforts to continue operations rather than on labor’s demands, so there is far more information about employers than about what was being sought by unions. The Times reported May 20, 1910: "The bottlers are asking $2 [$45.48 USD 2009] a man a week," said Secretary Kraemer of the Southern California Brewers' and Bottlers' Assn. "They are now getting $17 to $18 [$386.56- $409.30] a week as against $12 and $13 [$272.87-$295.60] a week in Eastern breweries. The drivers demand a raise of $3 [$68.22] a week. They are receiving $18 to $20 a week, and the scale in Eastern breweries is $16 to $18 [$363.82-$409.30] a week." A June 2, 1910, story said that metalworkers wanted a minimum of $4 [$90.96 USD 2009] a day, an eight-hour day and double pay for working holidays. The average wage was 37 1/2 cents [$8.53] an hour and most employees worked a nine-hour day. The Times seems to have been premature in declaring the brewery strike over, although the strike seems to have dissipated in about a month. The strike against the foundries and metal shops was fought with far more determination, and on Sept. 10, 1910, The Times reported a plot to dynamite the Hall of Records, which was then under construction, because it was being built with non-union steel. |
We’re on an Oviatt’s streak with another item today: A tuxedo jacket from the famous Los Angeles menswear store. Bidding on this item starts at $124.99 or Buy It Now for $349.99. As with everything on EBay, an item and vendor should be evaluated thoroughly before submitting a bid. |
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May 25, 1960: That fellow who seemed to be listening intently to a speaker at an AA meeting was actually following a Dodger game on a transistor radio, Matt Weinstock says. And Abby has advice for a woman who’s thinking about going back to work so she doesn’t have to be a free babysitter for her grandchildren. |
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May 25, 1960: Paul Coates has a great story today – and I’m not going to spoil it with a summary. You’ll just have to read it for yourself. |
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May 25, 1940: On the jump, Jimmie Fidler explains Joan Crawford’s mysterious trips to New York. |
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May 25, 1960: The U.S. successfully launches a Midas satellite after a previous attempt failed. The Times editorialized that the satellites would make spy planes such as the U-2 obsolete. Which is why the Midas satellites became space junk and we’re still flying U-2s. And on the jump, burglars at the Queen's Arms get more than they bargained for. |
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May 25, 1950: Gilmore Stadium, a major link to the history of sports in Los Angeles, will be demolished to make room for the new home of CBS television. "Nobody knows how big this television industry is going to be," a CBS spokesman told The Times. "But we have to be prepared." There were few details about CBS' plans, but The Times' front-page story noted that the facility would produce "full color television." What was clear was the end of Gilmore Stadium. The facility was a busy and well-used site for decades, having been host to football, boxing, wrestling, rodeos, bicycle and motorcycle races and for a short time minor league baseball. Among the college football teams affected by the sale of Gilmore Stadium were Loyola University and Pepperdine College, as the schools were then called. The Times noted that the sale of Gilmore Stadium would not affect Gilmore Field, the home of the Pacific Coast League's Hollywood Stars. Of course, it would be only a matter of time before Gilmore Field and the Stars would be gone as well. — Keith Thursby |
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| May 25, 1910: Louis Rogers drank and cursed with other workmen and held her own at hard labor. Only in death was it revealed that Rogers was a woman. It would be interesting to know more about her, but I can’t find anything further in The Times. |
| Items from Oviatt’s men’s store don’t turn up terribly often on EBay and when they do, they tend to be pricey. Here’s a souvenir matchbook with bidding starting at 99 cents. |
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May 24, 1960: A junior high music teacher finds out why one of his students has been taking his trumpet home on Fridays…. And Abby has advice for the woman whose husband spends all of his time and lots of his money with his lodge buddies. |
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May 24, 1960: Paul Coates samples high school students’ opinions. One writer says: "A general apathy prevails, largely because America's two major political parties have failed to cast distinct, meaningful public images; their platforms and their records in the last decade have reflected two identical philosophies of government." |
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Times artist Charles Owens draws a map of fighting in Belgium and France. |
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May 24, 1940: “Hollywood After Dark: Patricia Ellis nursing a bandaged right hand at Cocoanut Grove while an escort gallantly carved her steak,” Jimmie Fidler says. |
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Devon McReynolds, who interned with the Daily Mirror last year, sends an update about plans to unveil a plaque at 11 a.m. on Tuesday at UCLA’s Campbell Hall in memory of Black Panther members John Huggins and Alprentice Carter, who were killed there on Jan. 17, 1969, at the conclusion of a meeting on establishing a black studies program. There’s more information about Tuesday’s ceremony on Facebook. Bob Pool wrote a story about the incident in 2008. |
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| May 24, 1980: Jerry Rubin (no, not the Chicago 7 Jerry Rubin) gets 20 days in jail for hitting Edward Teller in the face with a cream pie during a UCLA lecture.
On the jump, the Soaps column by the late Jon-Michael Reed (d. 1986) with the latest on GH and Y&R! |
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May 24, 1960: The next time you're in a traffic jam heading to Dodger Stadium, consider the public servants who debated the tract map submitted by the Dodgers for their Chavez Ravine stadium. "People attending such events have to come to expect certain inconveniences and make necessary allowances for them," said Samuel Leask Jr., the city's administrative officer. Much of the discussion over the tract map dealt with planning and building roads and Leask cautioned against trying to plan for big crowds. In a story the following day, an opponent of the Dodgers' plan read from a ballot argument in favor of the ballpark. Plans included a public recreation center, a city oil drilling site and land use for future freeways. But none of those features were on the tract map so C.A. Owen asked if this meant the public had been mislead in approving the stadium plans. "It's entirely possible," said Councilman Ransom Callicott. –Keith Thursby |
Sorry to be late this week! I got into the spirit of a new decade and started playing Pac-Man over on Google's homepage and, well, 16 hours later….
We veer almost too close to modern times for comfort this week! Larry has begun featuring content from 1980, so I am experimenting with watching films from that year… it's a little disconcerting, but not unpleasant. I saw all the "Superman" films as a tyke but had forgotten pretty much everything about them. I did remember one in which Superman gets rid of his powers to be with Lois Lane, and then there's an excruciating scene where he's beaten up — I just hated that. Turns out it's in this one. Doh!
I still hate that scene, but "Superman II" isn't bad; it's a cult classic and there are many excellent reasons why. You actually don't NEED any reasons beyond Terence Stamp, magnificently stone-faced as the villainous General Zod, standing around in a black ponytail with arms akimbo, shooting laser beams out of his eyes. But the movie also gives you lots of fantastically crackling repartee between Lois and Clark Kent, with lots of Margot Kidder rolling her eyes and Christopher Reeve mumbling "Aw, gee, Lois." They're hilarious. Despite her dated wardrobe and typewriter (and insistence on carrying her purse everywhere, even to the Fortress of Solitude), Lois the character feels very contemporary. She's fab.
And finally, famously, there's the Richard Donner factor behind the film's cult status. Donner directed the first "Superman" film, and had finished filming big chunks of this one when he was fired and replaced with Richard Lester. ("Hero Complex" blogger and staff geek Geoff can fill you in if you want more backstory.) "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut" was released on DVD in 2006, incorporating original footage and even screen tests to re-create Donner's vision. While this sounds pretty interesting, I figured I should start with the theatrical release, so that's what I watched.
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May 24, 1910: The Porosknit Union Suit – perfect for summer wear! On the jump, 52 motorists face a $2 fine or two days in jail for not having taillights on their autos. One man is insulted that the fine is so low and tells the judge he would rather pay $20 [$454.78 USD 2009]. |
| Deep thoughts on “Alley Oop.” |
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May 23, 1960: Woman discovers miracle gardening secret – tennis balls, Matt Weinstock says. Abby has advice for a woman over 40 whose son wants to dance with her at the senior prom – even though she will be five months’ pregnant by that time (the horror!). |
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