Found on EBay -- J.W. Robinson's

This vintage hat from J.W. Robinson's has been listed on EBay. Bidding starts at $9.99.

Matt Weinstock, June 20, 1959

Summer Sadness Yesterday was the last day of school and the big thing with the youngsters normally would have been report cards and autographs in the school annual and parties and gay farewells to teachers and friends. It wasn't. It was the despairing outlook at the beaches for the summer. Those who had looked forward to swimming and surfing and skin diving have changed their plans, or had them changed by their parents. The incidents at LaJolla and elsewhere have instilled in everyone's consciousness a violent fear of sharks. The youngsters will still go to the beaches but they won't go too near the water. Looks like a big summer for lounging in the sand and listening to portable radios. But it won't be quite the same. :: A VETERAN ACTOR got a call for an interview for a role in a TV drama and at the appointed time appeared in a Hollywood office and was introduced to two young men, Madison Ave. types. Right off one of them, barely 25, threw the insulting question at him, "And what have you done lately?" The actor glared at him and retorted, "I've been counting my residuals. Who are you and what have you done lately?" He didn't get the job, only a little satisfaction. he says, "It's bad enough to take guff from people you work for but you don't have to take it from some jerk you might work for." These are the conditions which prevail in TV. :: TO FATHER We love the way you gaily laugh Dear Dad, each time you pay the bills. So once again our gift will be A jar of tranquilizing pills. --PEARL ROWE :: THE WAY Walt Hackett tells it, a certain college had on its football team a pair of famous halfbacks. One was from a wealthy family and had no problems. The other was a poor orphan who lived in a shabby section of town. To keep up his morale the coach occasionally visited him. One day college authorities summoned the coach and demanded that he explain his visits to Skid Row. He said, "I just wanted to see how the other half lives." :: WHEN NEWS OF the Miami tornado came over the wire the city desk put in a call for Nelson Tiffany, attending the press photographers convention there, for possible eyewitness material, but couldn't get him. Turned out he'd been attending a theater a few miles from the disaster scene and didn't even know it had been raining. :: ONLY IN HOLLYWOOD -- A man went into a restaurant alone. It was dark in there but it was still obvious that he was alone. Nevertheless the maitre d', a slave to a formula, greeted him with, "How do you do. One in your party?" :: AROUND TOWN -- You know the billboards showing several men with a batch of freshly caught fish and some cans of beer? The one in the 8000 block on West 3rd Street, JohnnyEccleston reports, now states, "It's Lucky when you live in California -- unless you're a fish"... Speaking of which, Melissa Caron overheard a man say, "The trouble with her is that she went from beer to champagne without stepping up to Schlitz" ... The Highland Meat Packing Co. in Vernon advertises, "We would like to meat you." :: FOOTNOTES -- The newsreels have a sequence in which Robert McCarthy, explaining the DMV crackdown on careless motorists, says, "It's better to lose licenses than lives" ... Morse bakery on San Vicente Blvd. had a cake on display with "Happy Father's Day" in icing on one side, a miniature bottle of whisky on the other ... KatyGraydon became so enthusiastic about the Disneyland TV show that she could hardly wait to take the submarine ride and see all the sea "servants" ... Mrs. G.O.M., who hasn't had a citation in 25 years of driving, thought she'd had it when aCHP officer stopped her on Atlantic Blvd. and said she thought she'd made it on the yellow. No ticket, just a friendly warning, so she's still 100%.

John Wayne in 'Horse Soldiers'

June 20, 1959: John Wayne as interpreted by Al Hirschfeld. Pretty great, no?

Paul V. Coates -- Confidential File, June 20, 1959

Confidential File Mash Notes and Comments (Press Release) "Although 40 foreign nations and 46 states in the Union will send candidates to the 1959 Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, to be held in Long Beach, Cal, July 16 to 26, lovelies from the Philippines, Ireland, Spain and Portugal will be absent. "In the Philippines, a college coed already had won the national crown but was forced to withdraw from the international competition in Long Beach. her university and church pressured her, revealed Oscar Meinhardt, executive producer of the pageant. "The objection: her wearing a bathing suit... "Meinhardt said that similar incidents had arisen in the past history of the pageant, and admitted that even this year he hadn't been too certain at first that Miss Indonesia would show up. "Seems that the London Times, Indonesia's leading newspaper, decided to blast the selection of a native beauty for Miss Universe competition. "Said the Times editorially: "'The very idea of a beauty being manhandled and ogled at should be taboo to us ... How can we glibly talk about sending an Indonesian girl to be stared at and measured in tight-fitting trunks before thousands of onlookers?" (signed) Sparky Saldana & Hank Levy, Publicity Directors, Miss Universe Pageant. --All right. All right. If she doesn't want to wear just trunks, she can wear a whole bathing suit. :: "Dear Sir: "This is a form letter, because my secretary is pregnant!..." (signed: J.A. Small, Publisher, Western Publications, P.O. Box 5008, Austin, Tex. --Big mouth! :: "Dear Mr. Coates, "Dropping by the post office, I found a postcard from Parkey Arnold Sharkey, in which he gave me a message to pass along to you. He no longer wishes to contact you directly. "I read the message he desires me to give you. "He has got a tax refund through aid of Gov. Brown and again owns his automobile such as the thing is with need of repairs. "He is no longer interested in the taxi business and now works as a custodian in a Menlo Park bar, and he brags about having eight brands of beer for guzzling when he has a hang-over. "Well, I've given you the message, but if you both would behave as grown adults, he shouldn't have to use the devious method of writing to me to contact you. "He should write to you directly again, "Sir, why don't you patch up your differences with Parkey?" (signed) Memphis Harry Lee Ward, P.O. Box 1963, Hollywood. --I've tried, Memphis. God knows I've tried. :: (Press Release) "Philadelphia plans to embark on an advertising campaign to promote the sale of one of nature's finest ingredients -- water -- reveals Engineering Record, McGraw-Hill publication. "The city's water supply is in such good shape that residents will probably be asked to take more baths." (signed) Publicity Dept., McGraw-Hill Publications, New York City. --Don't ask 'em. Tell 'em!

A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept: Your Faith

June 20, 1960: At a crusade in Washington, D.C., Billy Graham says that Americans are letting their souls "go to seed."

GOP Unbeatable, Nixon Says!

June 20, 1959: This Isn't Any Laughing Matter, Ted."

The newspapers of the 1950s are full of stories about callous police officers (usually the LAPD, sometimes Beverly Hills) handing out traffic tickets. It must have been quite a phenomenon. Richard Nixon says the GOP will be unbeatable in 1960. Oregon blackberry ice cream at Baskin-Robbins. Our favorite Pasadena gun shop has a special on a do-it-yourself .30-06. The Dodgers win against Cincinnati, 6-2.

The Times follows the Mirror story on the resignation of Police Commissioner Herbert Greenwood. A Lutheran leader says the purported upsurge of religion in America is a myth and that membership isn't keeping pace with population growth. "We are living in a post-Christian era," another official says.

An update on the Hollywood Legion Stadium and boxing promoter Jackie Leonard.

Drunks and Small Boys in Trouble!

Officer Rescues Girl From Streetcar Tracks!

Siegel the Hatter at 1st and Spring.

June 20, 1889: Police Officer Church saves a life.

Found on EBay -- Great White Fleet

A vendor has listed what appears to be an original photo of the Kentucky taken when the Great White Fleet visited Los Angeles. Bidding starts at $5.50.

Matt Weinstock, June 19, 1959

Los dos Refritos When I read the AP story stating people who eat a lot of tortillas apparently absorb less strontium 90 from nuclear explosions than other persons, I knew right off here was a matter crying out for immediate attention. After all, Los Angeleans possibly consume as many tortillas in one form or another as Mexico City, where Dr. Carlos Graef Fernandez, nuclear scientist, made the statement. Fortunately, I happen to have friends behind the tortilla curtain. I checked Alberto Diaz, self-appointed mayor of Belvedere, who has been campaigning vigorously for a National Tortilla Week. "I have suspected all along that what Dr. Fernandez said was true," he said. "The only fallout we get in Belvedere is when the chili colorado drips out of our tacos." After a reminicent moment he added irrelevantly, ""And after all, what is an enchilada but a bloodshot blintz?" NEXT I alerted Paul Fierro, fresh from a role in "Never So Few" with Sinatra and Lollobridida. Paul, known as El Bandido because he has played so many gad guys in TV westerns, was an Indian Indian in this one: that is, a Hindu with turban. He is also a connoisseur of Mexican cookery and was not surprised at Senor Fernandez's statement either. Recognizing the need for action we jumped into his Volkswagen and made a run for the Nayarit restaurant on North Spring Street, barely ahead of a lynch mob. There we prevailed upon the waitress to hustle us a double order of tortillas, along with somelengua en mole, our favorite, and refritos con queso. Not only was our concern over radioactivity gone but when we got outside we noticed that even the smog had disappeared. Of course, it could have been the beer. :: AT ONE TIME or another, coincidence catches up with all of us. Thus, as LaVonne Wood slowed because of an accident at Rosemead and Beverly Blvds., she noticed that one of the damaged cars had inscribed on its rear fender, as is the fad among young drivers, the succinct phrase, "I've Had It." :: HIGH NEIGHBOR They picked out the man to send to the moon, Then wined him and dined him as one honored alone Till he took on the shape of a banquet balloon And floated up to the moon on his own. --MATTIE RAE :: THE WAY Bill Larkin tells it a parent became concerned about his young son, an undersize problem child, and when the boy failed to gain any stature for about a year, a series of stretching treatments was recommended. The boy was stretched out on a table and his arms and legs pulled. Some weeks later a friend inquired if the treatments were doing any good. "He hasn't grown any," the father said sadly, "but he has confessed to more than 100 crimes." :: A HOLLYWOOD hillside couple named George and Marian left yesterday for a tour of Europe, particularly Italy. In anticipation they took a course in Italian at UCLA. At departure time, however, it was a moot question whether they could deal with the natives. What Marian and even the prof don't know is that George, a sneaky one, has been taking intense  private instruction and can speak fluently. At departure time he could hardly wait to get to Rome to confound his wife with hissavoir faire. :: AT RANDOM -- Between innings at the Dodger game the other night a girl of about 10, sitting with her father, did her school homework ... The VanNuys egg ranch with the driveway signs "Entrance and "Eggsit" missed a bet, argues Tom Cameron. Why not. "Hentrance" ... The credit card frenzy has reached the point that when Martin Ragaway tried to pay cash for a purchase the other day the man wouldn't take it until he identified himself. Martin is a comedy writer ... From AdamTruty: "Horse players at least don't die in the gutter like drunkards -- they die clean."

Paul V. Coates -- Confidential File, June 19, 1959

Confidential File A Quiet Man Made Noisy Headlines Herbert Greenwood, the quiet man, made loud headlines yesterday. He announced his resignation from the Los Angeles Police Commission, and in the same breath, accused this city's police department and its chief, William Parker, of some very unbecoming attitudes and behavior. It was a big story. But a story with equal impact is the one behind why Greenwood did it. It was as out of character for him to sound off as it would be for George Jessel to turn down an offer to serve as toastmaster. For a lot of years, Greenwood's been connected in one way or another with public service. No matter what the assignment, he did it the best way he knew how: by working hard with an undramatic diligence and an unsensational dedication. He disliked public controversy and shunned publicity. He almost made a career of staying in the background, of being an uncontroversial figure. He did it, plus the jobs he undertook to do, with high record of success. This, undoubtedly, was an important factor in Mayor Poulson's choice of Greenwood as a police commissioner six years ago. Greenwood, being a Negro, would give the board "balance." And he had the kind of personality to smooth over, rather than fire up, any problems between the Negro community and the police. This, I'm told, he accomplished very well for quite a while. He considered it strictly a secondary duty -- his main job being to represent all of the people of Los Angeles. Eventually, however, the Negro press began playing up incidents of alleged police brutality and prejudice. They screamed for action. And when no action came, one of the papers in particular aimed its guns at Greenwood. In vicious attacks, he was called practically every name in the book. Badly neglecting his private law practice, the commissioner set out to investigate the charges against the police. But here, he ran into one problem after another. He wasn't satisfied himself with the way the police were investigating the allegations. Some of the police reports, he felt, were deliberately slanted to protect the involved officers. Sometimes, he said, he was just plain refused access to certain information. And other times, he had reason to believe, files were "thinned out" before he got them. There was a situation a few months ago where colored office girls were being accosted regularly by Caucasian Don Juans. His own daughter was among the victims. But when some Negro community leaders met with the police to request action, they were reportedly politely informed, "We're not going around rousting anybody." Greenwood was conscientious in checking out many complaints against the police, not all of them involving Negroes. His conclusion was that it's just impossible to expect a police officer to do an unbiased job investigating another police officer. Apparently, Greenwood worked his way into the position of being the police commission "rebel" -- the man who wasn't willing to back Chief Parker on every issue solely because Parker was chief. He wanted answers, explanations -- but he didn't get them. Herbert Greenwood Spoke So he decided to get out. He could go gracefully, he knew. Resign without a reason. That way, he would save embarrassment for himself, his friends, his family. He could keep his reputation as the quiet man. But instead, Herbert Greenwood spoke. Already under attack in his own community for "doing nothing," he added to his woes by firing the indignation of the police department for "doing something." Herbert Greenwood, today is a disenchanted man.

Cooking With the Junior League, Atlanta

In this week's Cooking With the Junior League, Mary McCoy takes a look at historic recipes from Atlanta. Published in 1995, True Grits:  Tall Tales and Recipes from the New South is no spiral-bound, home-spun project.  It is fancy pants, and proud to admit it:  “Make no mistake about it,” the authors lead off.  “Though True Grits includes recipes as traditionally ‘Southern’ as Fried Chicken and Buttermilk Biscuits, this is New South fare all the way.” Read more >>>