College campus struggles to reopen; Rams win over Vikings, December 2, 1968

Here's a 1968 interview with S.I. Hayakawa that aired on ABC. It's nice to see the late Frank Reynolds, one of my favorite TV news anchors, once again. For all his gifts with language, Hayakawa was not a man given to speaking in sound bites.--lrh

Several Rams went into their game at Minnesota sick with the flu but they left with a healthy victory over the Vikings, 31-3. The Times' Mal Florence noted that it marked the first time all season that the offense and defense had performed at a high level in the same game. Deacon Jones was the sickest Ram--he had a 102-degree fever but it didn't slow him down. "Jones merely played one of the most flawless, intimidating games of his All-Pro career," Florence wrote. "When I got up Saturday I had such a bad headache that I felt my head was going to come off," Jones said. "I felt lousy this morning too. But nothing was going to keep me out of that game. I'd have gotten out of my deathbed to play in it." The victory put the Rams in position to face Baltimore on Dec. 15 for the division title, as long as they took care of the Chicago Bears in their next game. "We had begun to doubt ourselves before this game but we don't anymore," Greg Schumacher said. "This team has found itself. We're going to rewrite the record books." --Keith Thursby

90 die in Chicago school fire, December 2, 1958

Anybody like me who grew up in the 1950s in Chicago remembers the Our Lady of the Angels fire, and as terrible as it seemed when I was a kid, it's even worse now that I'm a parent. I well remember the Chicago Tribune's coverage of the blaze. Here's the Tribune's look back at the tragedy. And here's the video.

Speeding train crushes school bus; UCLA gets new football coach, December 2, 1938

A truck carrying Christmas trees crashes into a streetcar ... and a man is charged with buying a cougar cub at a pet store and killing it for the $75 bounty. Robert L. Cannon and Albert Kessel, sentenced to die in an aborted prison break in which the warden, a guard and two convicts were killed, are about to become the first two men to be executed in California's new gas chamber ... a Sacramento legislator says that if lethal gas is truly inhumane he would advocate shooting the condemned. A small Utah town grieves for its children after an accident in a snowstorm in which a train plowed into a bus that stopped at the crossing and then went onto the tracks. And Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 and Schubert's Symphony No. 5 get their Los Angeles premieres, The Times says.    Wilbur Kurtz is brought in as technical advisor on "Gone With the Wind." Edwin C. "Babe" Horrell is named UCLA head football coach.

Found on EBay --Harvey Milk

The new movie about San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk has brought a bit a ephemera to EBay. Here's the extra the San Francisco Examiner brought out the day of the shooting. Bidding started at $9.99 and rose quickly.

       

Rams win over Cards, December 1, 1958

The Rams survived the cold of Chicago to edge the Cardinals, 20-14. The statistic that stood out in Cal Whorton's story was the attendance--only 13,041 watched the game at what Whorton called Comisky Ball Park. Whorton said temperature at game time was 16 degrees. Rams quarterback Bill Wade got closer to a couple of Ram season milestones. He tied Norm Van Blocklin with 156 completions and moved closer to Bob Waterfield's record for passes thrown. --Keith Thursby

California prepares to execute two killers at San Quentin, December 1, 1938

The secret of Babe Ruth's happy marriage: White Owl cigars.

The state's new gas chamber, 1937, "said to be the most painless method of capital punishment," The Times says. Below left, San Quentin uses two guards to prepare for the first executions in the state's gas chamber. California continued hangings, however, for inmates convicted when that method of execution was still in force. Below, in Germany, rabbis work overtime conducting funerals for waves of Jews who have commited suicide in the face of new Nazi restrictions. In Los Angeles, a Northrop employee is arrested on charges of selling plans and photos of combat planes to the Japanese.  Henry Ford says that accepting an award from Germany doesn't make him a Nazi sympathizer. Worker stole plans of experimental bomber

"A week without Jews" in Warsaw. Notre Dame favored over USC.

Found on EBay -- Bullocks Wilshire

Here's an Irene Lentz outfit from Bullocks Wilshire, listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $99.99 with buy it now at $200. Another Irene Lentz dress from Bullocks Wilshire was listed earlier at $349. As with all EBay items, check the description carefully before bidding.

Found on EBay -- Mullen and Bluett

Here's a postcard showing Mullen and Bluett, one of the high-end clothing stories in the early days of Los Angeles, Broadway and 6th Street. On EBay starting at $7.99.

A. Victor Segno -- "How to Live 100 Years"

"It is best to have two sets of underwear and alternate them, wearing them one day at a time, allowing the other set to air for 24 hours. If possible hang them in the sunshine for it will purify them by destroying all disease germs." --A. Victor Segno, "How to Live 100 Years," Los Angeles, 1903

           

Former deputy strangles wife, kills himself as police close in, November 30, 1958

This is one of those stories where I wouldn't change a word. We can only speculate as to who the anonymous rewrite man was, but he did a first-class job. All I can say is the obvious, which is that it's tragic for everyone involved.

Nuestro Pueblo -- Whittier Boulevard

Nuestro Pueblo visits Whittier Boulevard, although it's unclear exactly where this giant pepper tree was located on Rancho de Bartolo. I can't locate anything about the tree's ultimate demise, but I did find this 1930 story about what I assume to be the same tree. Here's a virtual tour of Pio Pico State Historic Park, located on the former Rancho de Bartolo.