Woman Turns Informant in Jewel Robbery

July 13, 1889: A smash and grab robbery at 1st and Spring ... an old man robbed by a prostitute ... a forgetful woman ... and The Times finds fault with the new City Hall on Broadway, shown below left. Although City Hall is gone, the 1914-15 annex, known as the Hosfield Building or the Victor Clothing building, is still standing. View Larger Map

Cross-Country Trip Begins!

Emily Anderson begins her re-creation of Alice Ramsey's 1909 cross-country trip this morning. Follow her progress on her website. Or on Twitter.  Update: Emily Anderson has started -- in the pouring rain. The 1909 Maxwell gets a police escort out of New York and is being followed by a 1907 Spyker from the Netherlands. June 9, 7:30 PDT: The team reports a loud noise from the engine, as if one of the connecting rods broke a bolt. "Might be up all night fixing this," the team says. June 10: Day 2 - car in the 'hospital' - hurt but not broken. We are delayed this morning but resting to go later today or tomorrow morning. June 11: The Maxwell is alive and kicking. Tim and Rich dedicated 26 hours to fixing it. We are meeting in the hotel lobby at 8a.m. to continue on! June 11: 5pm ish 5 miles in the knocking noise starts to pick up again ... Super bummer. Car has to stay at the shop and get worked on fast and furiously we are done for the day ... really tired. lots of rain.poor car. sunburned wrists never thought to put sunscreen on wrists before June 12: Problem solved! oil was not reaching front cylinder and causing the babbit to run dry get hot & melt. totally fixed, car running! Relief. June 13: car runs beautifully - excited to hit the open road but will have to take it slower tomorrow. long afternoon nap and dinner in buffalo.  June 14: Emily Anderson and the Maxwell reach Ohio. 7 15pm we made it! After singing songs and climbing a few last hills we were greeted by cousins and friends. June 19: Had a wonderful lunch in Jefferson, IA. Stormy weather has returned so we had to eat and run. 120 miles left to go Omaha. June 20: Day to relax in Omaha. Excellent hosts. Maxwell on display sat/sun at Durham Museum for Railroad days! June 22: Made it to Grand Island, NE. Babbs finished up in style. June 24: Arrived in Cheyanne, WY @ 7 PM. So great to be driving and cross another state line! June 29: Lehi, UT for the night! July 2: wonderful evening bbq hosted by the mayor of ely and the amazing railway museum. got to visit the engine house and board an 09 steam engine July 3: Made it over 6 passes and a through a hail storm...Will lay our heads in Austin, NV. July 3: RENO, NV! July 8: Made it to San Rafael, CA. Awesome greeting by the Sagar family! Thanks guys! July 9: "From Hell's Gate to the Golden Gate" Alice Ramsey 1961 We made it!! July 12: 10am Babbs is hitting the road again - trailering to whidby island today and her final resting spot. i am having babbs driving withdrawls!

Found on EBay -- Batchelder Tile

This piece of Batchelder tile has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $4.99.

What's the Worst Baseball Movie (b/w) Ever Made?

Keith says: There's also a scene in which Babe Ruth goes into a bar and orders milk. So Larry and I were discussing the Mystery Photo one day and I commented on actor William Bendix, who was in a shot with the then-mysterious Noreen Nash. Bendix once played Babe Ruth in "The Babe Ruth Story" a film I said was without question the worst baseball movie of all time. Oh really, said Mr. Harnisch. And before I knew it, a survey was born, We'd like to know your pick for the worst baseball movie. Since this is The Daily Mirror, let's limit the field to black and white productions. Here are some suggestions: --"Angels in the Outfield,"  the 1951 version with Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh. Not the Disney remake with Danny Glover. --"The Jackie Robinson Story," starring Robinson in the title role. --"Fear Strikes Out," with Anthony Perkins as troubled Red Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall. There are tons of others--I'm not including some of my personal favorites. There's even another candidate with  Bendix called "Kill the Umpire." Here's a glimpse of Bendix playing Ruth the way Jackie Gleason might have played President Taft. --Keith Thursby

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept: Your Movies

July 12, 1935: "Becky Sharp" and "In Caliente."

Trouble for Autry and the Angels

July 12, 1969: Akron has hip-huggers ... guitars ... clock radio/desk lamps.

How wide was the gulf between the Angels and Dodgers? Consider this item from The Times' radio columnist, Don Page, discussing Gene Autry's troubles: "This should be a particularly depressing week for Autry, the Angels and Channel 5. By Sunday, Channel 5 will have dispensed five Angel telecasts into Southland parlors--all opposite Dodger radio games when Vin Scully is describing the hottest week of the L.A. team's season. Pity the Angel ratings." There was plenty of speculation that Autry was going to tap Channel 5 general manager Doug Finley to become president of the Angels. Finley's most recent claim to fame was boosting Channel 5 news ratings by hiring former LAPD Chief Tom Reddin. --Keith Thursby

Mayor Rebukes Police Chief for Insubordination

July 12, 1899: The mayor apologetically rebukes the police chief for talking back to a police commissioner.

Chef Joseph Goes on a Bender

July 12, 1889: Millionaire P. Beaudry's chef, Joseph Garson, is an artist in the kitchen but when he's been drinking he becomes "a rather disagreeable personage."

Found on EBay -- Enrico Caruso

Caruso in "I Pagliacci."

What appears to be a collection of ephemera given by Enrico Caruso to Rosa Ponselle has been listed on EBay. There is no strong tie to Los Angeles, although both of them performed here. For example, Caruso appeared in a Met production of "Lucia di Lammermoor" in 1905 at Hazard's Pavilion and Ponselle was at the Hollywood Bowl in 1923. I'm noting these items because there may be a few Caruso or Ponselle fans among the Daily Mirror readers who would enjoy knowing about them. Bidding starts at $429.99.

Matt Weinstock, July 11, 1959

Dear Friend It's too hot for indignation but maybe, with a cool drink, we can muster a little pique. I refer to a certain type of unsolicited direct mail pitch. A large envelope shows up in the mailbox. How the outfit got your name and address you don't know. Inside is a mimeographed letter addressed to "Dear Friend," stating you have been recommended for membership in a "new, exciting and convenient way of shopping." Superimposed in large type is the admonition, "Send no money." TO GET IN ON THIS excitement you will want the catalog and to get the catalog all you have to do is fill out the enclosed application and return it in the reply envelope. This is where the pique comes in. The application wants to know your name, address, age, whether single, married, separated or divorced, the name of your employer and how long you've worked there. So far, routine. But then it wants to know, "What are your present earnings?" And the name of the bank where you have an account. Remember, you didn't send for anything, you don't want anything -- only to be left alone. I say it's an impertinence and an invasion of privacy. :: A MAN NAMED EDDIE asked his wife to go deep-sea fishing with him over the week end and got this evasive and somewhat double-edged reply: "No, I don't think I will. I'm afraid I'd get seasick. Besides, there've been a lot of boat accidents and I don't want to get dumped in the water with all those sharks around. You go, though, but leave your wrist watch home." :: SAFETY FIRST To drink and drive is     treacherous For accidents are grim So he who drinks just     like a fish Should park his car and     swim.     -- PEARL ROWE :: DEATH OF retired Adm. Harry E. Yarnell in Newport, R.I., this week brought a grateful eulogy from George Krain of the SC photo department. Krain, a White Russian, was a newsreel cameraman in the Far East when the Japanese bombed the gunboat Panay in the Yangtze River in 1937. Because he photographed the pillage of Nanking he became a fugitive from the Japanese. Five of his countrymen were executed. He appealed for help and Adm. Yarnell, commander of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet, got visas for him and his wife to enter this country. "He saved our lives," Krain said. "We will never forget him." :: THE HEAT is getting to people. A man entering Spring St. building stopped, muttered something, then reached down and pulled a blue tie out of one pants leg. . . . And a painting publicist, returning from lunch, gasped to his companion, "I'll race you to the air conditioning!" :: EDWARD L. LASH, 3751 Bagley Ave., L.A., survivor of the Norway hotel fire in which 17 were killed, writes Nellie Byrne of the Byrne Travel Service from Edinburgh, "I think the 22nd of June was our lucky day. We arrived at the Stalheim Hotel and for the first time on our trip were given a room on the first floor. The fire broke out on the second floor and spread upwards. Three in our group were burned to death. Others were killed jumping from windows." :: FOOTNOTES -- A photog on another paper always puts his glasses and keys on a desk when he returns from an assignment and heads for his darkroom. If he wonders why his key ring has gotten so heavy lately, his colleagues have been adding a key a day. . . . Regarding supposedly unused watch pockets in men's trousers, R.R. Auerbach of La Jolla Sportswear says, "We don't try to figure out the whys -- all we know is people want them in, used or not". . . .A lady Mike Molony knows malapropped to her dog, "If you don't behave I'll pick you up by the scum of the neck and throw you out of the house!"