Matt Weinstock, Nov. 27, 1959

Another panel you'll never see in the legacy sitcom version of "Peanuts." Dog's Day in the Sun     Inasmuch as the subject was brought up here, it's only fair that we have a final report on Glenn Shahan's miniature schnauzer, Henry.  It may be recalled that Henry developed a persistent hacking cough and  a veterinarian said the only thing was to send him to Palm Springs for a week in the dry sunshine.  The pooch, not Glenn -- he can't afford it.     While there Henry lounged around in a plush Doggie Dude ranch, presumably with swimming pool and chuck wagon chow.  As a result of mention here he received three hand-knit sweaters, a car coat, a parka, an Ivy League cap, several boxes of dog candy and a flock of get-well cards.  Furthermore, he flew back from Palm Springs, his health recovered.      He also acquired a furtive look and Glenn suspects he is secretly planning another cough so he can go to Acapulco next time.  Take Glenn's word for it, he's only going one place -- back to obscurity. ::     THE controversy over the Pasadena art find reminded Jeff Davis of a classic story heard in art circles.     Just before WWII a South American millionaire bought a Titian in Italy for a high price.  Fearing the broker would tip off government officials and he wouldn't be able to get it out of the country, he hired an artist to do a portrait of Mussolini over the Titian and he got it through without trouble.     When it arrived in South America the owner hired an expert to remove the Mussolini portrait.  He did so, then scraped off a little of the Titian preparatory to restoring it.  Underneath he found another portrait of Mussolini. ::     LIKES GIRLS Seven radiant maidens     vying for Rose Queen- Lovelier contestants seldom     have been seen. Good thing I'm not judging     or they all would ween!     --JUAN LIGHTHEART ::     A PUBLICIST who is on all sorts of mailing lists received an invitation the other day to a $100-a-plate dinner in January.  He happens to be unemployed at the moment and any thought of attending it is out of the question.  But he was fascinated by its note of urgency.  "Better hurry," it concluded, "first come, first served." ::     FURTHER PROOF that school teachers watch over their little ones in more ways than parents suspect was contained in this note, printed in huge letters, which Craig Atterbury, 6, brought home:  "Dear Mother: I was not a good citizen today at school.  I walked under the slide, I bothered four children and I ran through Miss Rattray's game circle." ::     THEN THERE WAS the letter Kimberly Clement, 5, brought home from her kindergarten teacher, Toni Criley, at Silver Spur school in Rolling Hills, titled "Teacher Observations": "Kimberly is a happy, well-adjusted girl who co-operates cheerfully with others.  She is a good worker, finishing every project she starts.  She speaks clearly and distinctly.  She learns easily and enjoys using the concepts and words which she has learned.  However, she sometimes seems to daydream during class and thus misses some of the things which are said." ::     ON THE EVE of another football week end let us unleash two inescapable thoughts which seem to permeate a topsy-turvy season:     1.  All football is dull when your team loses.     2.  Gloating is what the opposition does, never you. ::     AT RANDOM -- When a sporting postman on a Hollywood beat delivers a postage-due letter to recipients  with gambling instincts, they flip a coin -- double or nothing . . . Pictorially and dramatically the $15 million movie "Ben-Hur" is magnificent.  But it does get gory here and there.  In fact, after the press review one gal remarked, "No wonder the price of ketchup went up!" . . . A pleasant gentleman sat down at deputy registrar Bernard Wiener's table in front of a market at Sepulveda Blvd. and Devonshire and said he had changed his residence and wanted to re-register.  After he'd gone, a bell rang for Wiener.  It was Ken Maynard, his boyhood idol.  He regrets he didn't express his admiration.

Nuestro Pueblo

Aug. 29, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens visit the home of the late Times columnist Harry Carr, showing his view of Griffith Park. Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo concluded in 1939. I’m going back and picking up the entries that I missed the first time

Women Postpone Thanksgiving Dinner to Meet Militant Feminist!

Portraits of Chicago women who deserted their families on Thanksgiving.  Oh, the scandal!! "We will not stone our legislators. We will not horsewhip them in the streets. We will not break up their homes, nor drop stones through their roof to interrupt their banquets. We will do something more effective than that. We will see that they are defeated for renomination."   Agriculture, President Taft and the American eagle – all big!  Nov. 25, 1909: I don’t imagine many people will get all the way through The Times’ jingoistic editorial on Thanksgiving. Here are some nuggets: “The house of a thrifty artisan in Los Angeles has more luxuries than the palaces of kings had even less than 300 years ago. There are thousands of residences of wealthy people of Los Angeles today in every way superior to Kensington Palace in London, in which Queen Victoria was born less than a century ago.”  [By the way, Marie Antoinette’s bedroom at Versailles  is dinky—lrh]. Uh-oh: "Torture was restored to freely in order to wrench confessions from those charged with guilt, and these confessions were often the result of delirium or despair and did not state the truth."

Seniors Make Foolish Marriages, Judge Says

“A Pathetic Scene on the Nineteenth,” by Clare Briggs

Nov. 22, 1919: A judge trying a divorce case between a 55-year-old woman and her 67-year-old husband says: "I wish you would keep your old folks down in Long Beach from making foolish marriages." "It can't be done, your honor, as long as we have parks and the Pike," the attorney replies.

China Offers Great Market for U.S., Diplomat Says

Florence Newmark marries Sylvain Kauffman at 903 Beacon Ave. View Larger Map

Nov. 22, 1909: Former Judge J.C. McNally, the U.S. consul to Nanjing, "expressed optimistic views of the commercial future of China and said that the country would be a network of railway lines within a few years" … a tong war breaks out in Sacramento … and artist Edith Garrigues displays paintings she did in Reno while establishing residency for a divorce. "The snow-capped Sierra Nevada scenes along the beautiful Truckee River, as well as picturesque spots in town, are among her subjects. Several of her finest pictures were sold," The Times says.

Artist’s Notebook: Gustavo Dudamel

Gustavo Dudamel, by Marion Eisenmann, Nov. 12, 2009.

Marion Eisenmann and I have been looking at Los Angeles landmarks as a modern version of Nuestro Pueblo, but we realized that the debut of Gustavo Dudamel as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic is also part of local history.  Marion was fortunate in being able to attend a rehearsal and she sends her impressions of Dudamel. She says: His personality, playfulness and passion speak in this study.

Opera Tenor Confined to Mental Ward

Clare Briggs on “That Guiltiest Feeling.” Pietro Buzzi in 1905.

Nov. 19, 1919: Pietro Buzzi, operatic tenor, is take to the psychiatric ward  of county hospital after being removed from a Hollywood studio. According to a 1916 story in The Times, he portrayed Kaiser Wilhelm in an unidentified Universal film.

Beauty Queen Seeks Divorce From Dockworker

Nov. 18, 1959: Shirlee Garner Witty seeks a divorce, saying that her husband was always making snide remarks. Witty competed for the title of Miss Universe in 1956 even though she was a wife and mother, because at that time married women weren't banned from the beauty contest.

“The Sound of Music” opens with more than $2 million in advance ticket sales.

“You Know I Can’t Get Better.”

Hey, Keith, will the Bruins smite USC in their tilt?

Nuestro Pueblo

Aug. 19, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens find a windmill on a farm at Garfield Avenue just north of Gage Street. Below, the area today, via Google maps’ street view.  It’s interesting to note that Seewerker refers to Mayor Fred Eaton’s role in the aqueduct because he’s usually overshadowed by William Mulholland. View Larger Map Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo concluded in 1939. I’m going back and picking up the entries that I missed the first time.

Nuestro Pueblo – Chavez Ravine

Aug. 24, 1938: Joe Seewerker and Charles Owens find evidence of an old brickyard in Chavez Ravine and touch on the Chinese Massacre.  Note: The original run of Nuestro Pueblo concluded in 1939. I’m going back and picking up the entries that I missed the first time.