May 13, 1958

Posted on May 13, 2008 by lmharnisch

1958_0513_rights

Above, President Eisenhower tells African Americans to be patient about gaining civil rights … Below, Dr. Lawrence Michael Dillon, formerly Dr. Laura Maude Dillon, who was apparently the world’s first trangendered man, is interviewed in Philadelphia. In 1945, Dillon began a series of operations to change his sex, The Times said. Dillon was a member of the British nobility and his change was noticed by readers of books on British peerage. According to the Gender Centre website, Dillon fled after his operation was revealed and eventually became a Tibetan monk in Bengal, taking the name Lobzang Jivaka.

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May 13, 1938

Posted on May 13, 2008 by lmharnisch

1938_0513_boxers_2

Above, Albert "Baby" Arizmendi vs. Wally Hally at the Olympic. Arizmendi died in 1963 at the age of 48 after a long illness … Below, George Sakalis, a key witness in the trial of Police Capt. Earle Kynette, is cleared of charges that were trumped up in Arizona in an attempt to keep him from testifying in the Harry Raymond bombing … The city of Los Angeles prepares for summer by opening the swimming pool at the Exposition playground and the "Griffith plunge" … A vice crackdown continues with 11 men arrested at 4104 Long Beach Blvd. for shooting dice and two investigations of the gambling ship Rex, anchored three miles off Santa Monica. 

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May 13, 1908: Work to Begin on Streetcar Tunnel to Ease Traffic

Posted on May 13, 2008 by lmharnisch

May 13, 1908: Men held in attempted holdup at streetcar stop.

May 13, 1908: Above, two suspects are arrested on charges of trying to rob a man at a streetcar stop in Santa Monica … Below, pay careful attention to the story about renewed efforts to excavate a tunnel on Hill Street. This is important because the hill–like the one on Broadway–no longer exists and because the account is further proof that traffic problems are nothing new: Los Angeles has been struggling with its congested streets for more than a century …

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Paul Coates

Posted on May 12, 2008 by lmharnisch


May 12, 1958


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Matt Weinstock

Posted on May 12, 2008 by lmharnisch


May 12, 1958

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Mystery photo

Posted on May 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

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Los Angeles Times file photo

OK, who are they?

2008_0512_mystery_detail Notice Reagan’s clenched right hand as he puts his arm around Mystery Woman No. 1 — no fooling around with this boy.
  • Everybody recognizes Ronald Reagan. The two women are more problematic.
  • Lucille Barkley and Diana Lynn (not Wanda Hendrix)?  (Michael Goosman). Excellent guess. Mystery woman No. 1 is Lucille "Arizona Manhunt" Barkley. The photo, dated June 27, 1950, was taken of a parade for the Pasadena premiere of an unidentified movie. According to caption information on the back of the photo, the woman on the right is Wanda Hendrix.

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May 12, 1958

Posted on May 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

1958_0512_angels_flight

Above, a landmark we actually saved — sort of. I’m still waiting for the Sinai and Olivet to be reinstalled … Below, celebrity journalism, 1950s style: Peter Lawford gets clipped by a hit-and-run driver and Gen. Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic is mighty generous with the ladies: A car and a chinchilla coat to Zsa Zsa and an $8,400 ($61,216.70 USD 2007) Mercedes for Kim Novak …  And Red Skelton’s son Richard dies of leukemia in the heartbreaking conclusion of a tragic story.

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Mystery photo countdown

Posted on May 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

TargetDate = “05/12/2008 9:00 AM”;
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CountActive = true;
CountStepper = -1;
LeadingZero = true;
DisplayFormat = “%%D%% Days, %%H%% Hours, %%M%% Minutes, %%S%% Seconds.”;
FinishMessage = “Here’s this week’s mystery photo!”;

http://scripts.hashemian.com/js/countdown.js

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May 12, 1938

Posted on May 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

1938_0512_robin_hood

It’s fun to imagine the first crowds going into the movie palaces for the premiere of "Robin Hood" with nobody to say "Oh, I saw that on TV as a kid" or "Isn’t Basil Rathbone a great villain"?" and no CD compilation of Erich Korngold’s film scores. I suppose it’s a bit like those of us who are old enough to remember the opening day of "Star Wars" when it was all new and undiscovered. Below, in the trial of Police Capt. Earle Kynette, another expert testifies about the pipe bomb that nearly killed Harry Raymond. William Harper says detonator wire found at the crime scene was cut from a roll found in Kynette’s garage … A woman hitchhiking from New York to California is found strangled next to a road in Lawrence, Kan. Her diary gives her name as Marlene O’Brien …

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May 12, 1908: Stanford Officials Open Unmarked Graves

Posted on May 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

May 12, 1908: Graves are opened in an unmarked cemetery near the Stanford campus.

Above, a gruesome story from Stanford is Page 1 news … Below, a cross-section of what The Times often called “Life’s Seamy Side” … Continue reading →

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May 11, 1958

Posted on May 11, 2008 by lmharnisch

1958_0511_jarvis

Above, a look back at Anna Jarvis, who died in seclusion after inaugurating an annual tribute to mothers (especially her own) only to have it turned into a commercialized holiday hijacked by merchants. Below, one woman’s view of Mother’s Day … Robert G. Neumann’s thoughts on Algeria and the Mideast, especially the role of Muslim women … And every last word of the contract for Dodger Stadium, as a present to all the moms who are Dodger fans.

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May 11, 1938

Posted on May 11, 2008 by lmharnisch

1938_0511_jews_2

Above, a scenario that sounds tragically familiar … Below, George Sakalis, a prosecution witness in the trial of Police Capt. Earle Kynette in the Harry Raymond bombing, is wanted in Arizona–or is he? Dist. Atty. Buron Fitts says the arrest warrant is a trumped-up charge to intimidate Sakalis, noting that the witness wasn’t even in Phoenix at the time. On the jump, the defense spends hours arguing with explosives expert John W. "Jack" Parsons about a pipe bomb he built based on fragments recovered from Raymond’s garage … Mrs. Billy Baker is elected mayor of Disney, Okla., on the "whoopee" platform–for 30 days. Then Mrs. Vera Silar, an advocate of blue laws, will be mayor for 30 days. At the end of two months, Disney residents will vote again on a mayor … [Note: In 1939, Disney elected Alice Stephens as mayor on the "let your conscience be your guide" platform. Her inauguration featured the "dance of dictators" with two men dressed as Hitler and Mussolini who wore long underwear and military jackets.]  … And 17 slot machines are seized in a series of raids across L.A. County.

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May 11, 1908

Posted on May 11, 2008 by lmharnisch

1908_0511_autos_2

Above, note the speed limit in downtown Los Angeles: 4 mph at an intersection. Below, everybody is engaged in reading the help wanted ads except a young lad who doesn’t appear to be too pleased. And what exactly does The Times mean by "the way of the world" in Los Angeles? ($5 a week is $109.94 USD 2007). 

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The Chicago Daily Tribune? This is a syndicated ad, but do you think it says that?

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May 10, 1958

Posted on May 10, 2008 by lmharnisch

1958_0509_jackie

Above, the initial Jackie Robinson story, May 9, 1958. Below, the next day, when Robinson modified his remarks… Unfortunately, the Urban League’s award to the Dodgers apparently wasn’t considered newsworthy, so The Times didn’t cover it and we don’t know precisely what was said. 

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May 10, 1938

Posted on May 10, 2008 by lmharnisch

1938_0510_crash

Above, a little mishap on the city’s sainted streetcar system is blamed on "man failure." I think they might have done well to come up with another term. The motorman on the westbound "J" car on Jefferson Boulevard ran a stoplight because he was "overcome by nausea" and broadsided the "U" car heading north on McClintock Avenue, The Times says.   

Below, a police official refuses to give a written statement in the trial of Police Capt. Earle Kynette in the Harry Raymond bombing … Meet the other Adolf Hitler, a Jewish watchmaker in Dzeidzice, Poland, whose shop was shop was vandalized.

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May 10, 1908

Posted on May 10, 2008 by lmharnisch

1908_0510_corset

Above, I’ll leave it to someone else to comment on women’s concepts of body image in the early 20th century. Below, interesting coverage of the Laporte, Ind., "death farm." The Times reported yesterday that Belle Gunness had been captured. Today’s story speculates on whether she died in a fire at the farm. Meanwhile, a separate story explains that police arrested the wrong woman. Oops.

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Building of the Week

Posted on May 10, 2008 by lmharnisch


May 10, 1908

1908_0510_church

A century later, the church is still standing, as shown in Google’s street view feature. The building was designed by Franklin P. Burnham. The article notes that a speaker can be easily heard anywhere in the auditorium (recall that this was before microphones) because of the carefully designed acoustics.


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May 9, 1958

Posted on May 9, 2008 by lmharnisch

1958_0509_suicide_3

Above, a mother who claimed she strangled her 2-year-old son when he actually died of pneumonia drives up to Mulholland and kills herself … Below, a Peruvian mob blocks Vice President Nixon as he tries to enter the gates of San Marcos University. Students spit on Nixon and pelted him with rocks, The Times said. Nixon didn’t lose his temper until he learned that students tore an American flag from a wreath he left at the statue of San Martin, the paper says. The vice president also visited a Catholic university where he found students more receptive but also encountered further protests charging that America supported Latin American dictatorships.

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Commies

Posted on May 9, 2008 by lmharnisch


May 9, 1958
Los Angeles

 

1958_0509_chavez_2

1958_0509_dodgers_2By Keith Thursby
Times staff writer

Opponents of the deal to build the Dodgers a baseball stadium in Chavez Ravine apparently tried to paint the proposal in a 1950s shade of red.

According to a story in The Times, a group called the Committee for Public Morality distributed literature claiming the contract was "a plan for collectivizing city and nation" and that "we are at war at our very doorsteps with a totalitarian clique."

The story quoted E. Talbot Callister, vice chairman of the Taxpayers Committee for Yes on Baseball, as denouncing the literature as "the all-time low" in the campaign. Los Angeles voters would have their say on the city’s contract with the Dodgers on June 3. The story listed Robert M. Angier as chairman of the public morality committee but didn’t provide much else about the opponents. Readers didn’t learn where the literature was circulating or anything about the group. Angier wasn’t quoted in the story and it wasn’t clear if there had been any attempt to reach him.

Callister did get a few swings in, however. He noted all the money the Dodgers planned to spend as part of the deal and said if Angier thinks that’s communism, "He hasn’t read the baseball contract or the communist manifesto."

keith.thursby@latimes.com

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May 9, 1938

Posted on May 9, 2008 by lmharnisch

1938_0509_pepsi

Above, a bottle of Pepsi costs a nickel (71 cents USD 2007) and is worth a dime ($1.43 USD 2007) … Below,  unemployed actor and author Charles E. Royal finds another career telling tourists about City Hall in staggering detail. Royal, City Hall information clerk from 1936 to 1951, wrote more than 2,300 songs, The Times said. His wife, the former Olga Shuey, was a "child adagio dancer" …  Geraldine "Gerry" Humason is chosen as a "typical outdoor coed" at UCLA … And the government is encouraging foreign-born World War I veterans who served with U.S. forces or left the country to serve with the Allies to apply for citizenship.

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