Above and at left, I'm not sure which is more remarkable, the story about Kate Welsh, the sister of prizefighter Fred Welsh, or the byline: Louise M. George.
As late as the 1950s, reporters rarely got bylines, so it's impossible to tell who wrote a story, making it especially difficult to determine how many women writers were working in a newsroom in the early 20th century. The usual assumption is that they were rare and relegated to the women's pages.
But Louise M. George is not only remarkable for being a newswoman, even more noteworthy: she wrote about boxing. Not just this story, but a few others as well. Don't get me wrong, she also wrote a fair number of society stories, but she made occasional ventures into sports.
Here's a sample of her writing about Kate Welsh: "... the boxers (I believe that is the polite name) had on shockingly few clothes but every man straightened himself and forgot the coarse jest on the tip of his tongue when this slip of a girl drew near."
Larry Harnisch. The leading Black Dahlia expert and a collaborator in the 1947project, Harnisch has been a copy editor at The Times since 1988. He has appeared on many TV shows discussing the Dahlia case, notably "James Ellroy's Feast of Death."
Join him for a spin through old Los Angeles in the Mirror's radio car. Keep your eyes open for Mickey Cohen and Tempest Storm. It's quite a ride.
The reporter's badge belonged to Sid Hughes (1908-1958), legendary reporter who worked at nearly every newspaper in Los Angeles.
Keith Thursby. Keith has been an editor at The Times in news, sports and design since 1986. The Rams moved to St. Louis on his first day as assistant sports editor of the paper's Orange County edition. He grew up in Norwalk and lives in Irvine.
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Posted by: kendal | May 28, 2008 at 08:52 AM