May 22, 1908

Above left, looks like the sailors of the Great White Fleet left with a 19-year-old souvenir of Los Angeles. Her name is Olga Isle and she's being sent back home after her cruise. Above, L.K. Lessley of Sierra Madre is accused of poisoning four horses belonging to Kay Takeoka in an attempt to get a contract for hauling hay. Lessley denies the charges, but admits buying strychnine. The horses nearly destroyed the barn in their death agonies from strychnine and the barn is surrounded by dead mice that ate the poisoned feed, The Times says. At a meeting of the state Audubon Society, members call for the eradication of the English sparrow and starling, which are driving out songbirds. Email me

Wanda Hendrix revisited

Los Angeles Times file photo
Wanda Hendrix and Keith Larson look over items of Marion Davies being sold at auction, in a photo dated Jan. 13, 1953.*

*Thanks to Chris Morales for pointing out that Davies was still alive in 1953. The 250 items came from Davies' homes in Bel-Air and Beverly Hills, The Times said. A King George III and Queen Victoria sterling silver tea and coffee service sold for $1,950 ($15,077.76 USD 2007), The Times said.

Diana Lynn revisited

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times

Diana Lynn in a very beat-up print dated March 28, 1954

May 21, 1958

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At left, Nicholas Aloysius Adamshock changes his name to Nick Adams ... Makeup man Percival "Perc" Westmore attempts suicide ...  Kim Novak bids a private farewell to the Dominican Republic's Gen. Rafael Trujillo Jr. during a goodbye bash in his chartered railroad car ... An excavation crew at Olympic Boulevard and Alvira find mammoth tusks 25 feet underground ... Yma Sumac's divorce is final ... And teenage fans supposedly swipe Sal Mineo's pants. Note the picture: A publicity shot from "Tonka." We sure used to shill for the studios in the old days. Below left: Olympic and Alvira, where mammoths once walked the Earth. Email me

May 21, 1938

It's a slow day in the trial of Police Capt. Earle Kynette in the Harry Raymond bombing. The defense is trying to present its case, but almost nothing is happening because of continual objections from the prosecution. Instead, here's some glimpses from the trial.

Photograph by the Los Angeles Times Police Capt. Earle Kynette in a photograph dated Jan. 20, 1938, refusing to answer questions about the Harry Raymond bombing during an interview in the office of Dist. Atty. Buron Fitts.

Photograph by the Los Angeles Times Police Capt. Earle Kynette, left, D.M. Draper, center, accused of wiretapping in the Harry Raymond bombing, and attorney John Oliver in a photograph dated Jan. 21, 1938.

Photograph by Calvert / Los Angeles Times Police Capt. Earle Kynette jokes with newsmen while he is booked in the Harry Raymond bombing. Penciled on the back of this photo, dated Jan. 28, 1938: "In up to his neck."

Photograph by Andrew H. Arnott / Los Angeles Times Police Capt. Earle Kynette after altering his appearance for his trial in the Harry Raymond bombing in a photograph dated April 15, 1938.

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May 20, 1958

Photograph by Ed Gamer / Los Angeles Times

Times columnist Jack Smith pays a farewell visit to the Amestoy Building at the northeast*   corner of  Market and Main (shown in 1945 map) across from City Hall. Built in 1887 by Domingo Amestoy, the structure was Los Angeles' first brick office building and the first to have an elevator. Amestoy died Jan. 11, 1892, at the age of 60. Note that the photo also shows a lounge  called the Stake Out. This was a favorite hangout for police officers as it was across from headquarters, which was then located in City Hall. * Shoutout to Nathan Marsak for pointing out my error on saying the Amestoy Building was the northwest corner ... Thanks, crime buddy. Email me

Mystery photos

Los Angeles Times file photos Well? This has been interesting. Some people correctly guessed Diana Lynn (Alexa Foreman, Howard Decker and Arye Michael Bender) others guessed Margaret O'Brien, Gloria Jean and Lana Turner (alas, no). A few assumed that both pictures were of the same young woman (alas, no). Dan Dixon provided the correct answer to the photo on the right: Wanda Hendrix.  Email me

May 19, 1958

Alas, The Times never followed up on this story, so we don't know what became of Elroy E. Pena. But telling a man with a gun "Why don't you get the hell out of here?" as you're sitting in a bar with his wife is probably not a good idea.

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Mystery photo countdown

May 19, 1938

Above, Sigmund Freud prepares to leave Vienna for London, where he died the next year ... At left, the owner of a foundry testifies that Police Capt. Earle Kynette came to his business about a week before the Harry Raymond bombing looking for thin-walled pipe that would break easily ... Email me

May 19, 1908

The Irish giant of jujitsu, Leo McLaglen, is accused of vanishing with the proceeds of a match at Chutes Park--but not to worry. He'll be back in 1933 to help train the LAPD in the martial art (see photo above). He's a captain in the international police, The Times says in a May 23, 1933 story. Email me

Times backs Dodgers

May 18, 1958 By Keith Thursby Times staff writer Baseball stadium or zoo? OK, that wasn’t quite the choice for Los Angeles voters when they went to the polls June 3 to vote on Proposition B. But both were mentioned in a Times editorial endorsing the Dodgers’ contract with the city. The editorial was timely, coming on the heels of a two-day legislative session on the Dodger deal. And as for the zoo reference, here’s part of a paragraph deep in the unsigned editorial. You’ll notice the voter is referred to as "he," another reminder that this is from 1958: “He can vote for Proposition B with a much clearer fiscal conscience than he could vote for a zoo, because the zoo would continue to be a charge on all taxpayers, including those in the outlying districts. A zoo is a good thing to have — and we shall have one — but a baseball yard is just as good in its own way and it will never cost the taxpayers anything for maintenance.” According to the Los Angeles Zoo’s website, the city’s first zoo opened in 1885. The current zoo opened in 1966. keith.thursby@latimes.com