Nov. 22, 1963

House Committee to Investigate Payola

Nov. 7, 1959: A U.N. group finds no proof that Laos had been invaded by communist troops from North Viet-Nam but discovers that Laotian rebels were supplied by Viet-Nam Reds. You may hear more about Viet-Nam in the days ahead -- much more.   A House committee investigating rigged TV quiz shows turns its attention to payola. Here's a clip from a wonderful satire by Stan Freberg (with Jesse White). Stan Freberg, Payola Blues

Students swarm Vice President Richard Nixon during an appearance at Los Angeles City College, The Times says. A little more than a week later, Vincent Stones' father, Kenneth, was killed in a car accident. In March 1960, Joanne Elizabeth Selby was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the drowning of her nephew.

Girls go bad in two foreign films, "Night Girls" and "Flesh and the Woman."

Carving a turkey is more difficult than it looks for Ferd'nand.

"Powell 47-Sec. Kayo Victim" and "Indians 4-Point Pick to Scalp Bruins Today." Now there's two headlines you won't see anymore ... and "Cuppers?"

University of Wisconsin Bans Flirting!

“Do you think that an American woman ever will be president?” ”That is the most extraordinary question that I have ever had put to me,” says Emmeline Pankhurst.   History students in a class at Brown University cannot name the U.S. presidents, and none can give the full name of even one Supreme Court justice. And there’s no blaming texting!

Nov. 6, 1909: The University of Wisconsin faculty bans flirting. “No student of the university shall pay marked attention to any person of the opposite sex.”

Council OKs Raises for Police, Firefighters; Union Effort Collapses

Successful businessmen use the Dictaphone. Great lettering, no?

Nov. 5, 1919: The City Council gives police officers and firefighters a raise and the attempts to unionize the Police Department collapse.

Police Officers May Unionize

Some aspects of being a parent haven’t changed!

Nov. 4, 1919: An attempt is made to organize the Los Angeles Police Department under one of the railway workers’ unions. Over the years, there were several attempts to unionize the LAPD (the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which now represents officers, was originally established in 1922 in cooperation with firefighters to protect a new retirement system). As late as March 8, 1946, Mayor Fletcher Bowron strongly opposed efforts to unionize the department.

Nixon and Kennedy Visit L.A.

Vice President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat, arrive in Arcadia.   Nixon voices confidence the Republican Party ... And the MTA is increasing fares on buses and streetcars from 17 cents to compensate for raises granted to union workers. Sen. John F. Kennedy (D-Mass.) says Americans have it too easy … Former Mayor Frank Shaw is back in the news ... And the last Civil War veteran is in failing health, The Times says.  "What has happened to us as a nation?" Kennedy asks. "Profits are up, our standard of living is up, but so is our crime rate. So is the rate of divorce and juvenile delinquency and mental illness. So are the sales of tranquilizers and the number of children dropping out of school." Look who’s traveling with Nixon: Herbert Klein and Rosemary Woods. And he plays the piano!   Coming soon: “A Summer Place.”   The Dodgers name Bobby Bragan as coach, replacing Charlie Dressen, who went to the Braves.

Nov. 3, 1959: Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy are both evasive in answering questions about the 1960 presidential race. It’s interesting to contrast the idealism of Kennedy’s speeches, in terms of banning nuclear weapons tests, with Nixon’s comments assessing his political career to date. Kennedy seems to be looking forward while Nixon is looking back. Of course, Nixon is meeting with his earliest supporters so his retrospective makes sense. But it's still interesting.

Black Soldier Refuses to Pass as White

“You don’t have to pass as a Negro in California. If you aren’t black you can pass for anything.”

Oct. 31, 1919: A fascinating glimpse of African American life in Los Angeles surfaces in divorce proceedings. A black soldier says he sent his wife money to buy a home in Los Angeles, which was segregated at that time. Instead of locating in an African American area, she bought a house in a white neighborhood, passing as white and telling her husband that he could pass as a Mexican or some other ethnicity. He said: “I don't desire to pass for other than I am.” A Senate committee endorses a bill that would deport about 500 men and four women held as enemy aliens during World War I.  People in custody include spies, anarchists, revolutionary radicals and convicted criminals, The Times says.

Fidel Castro Survives Assassination Attempt

Oct. 23, 1959: The courts refuse to halt the steel strike ... And Shostakovich is coming. Farah Dibah, on a shopping trip to Paris, refuses to confirm reports that she is engaged to marry the shah of Iran. Harper Poulson, an "unsuccessful writer but a fairly successful machinist," describes his disillusionment with the Communist Party. Paul Zimmerman writes about the problems Rome faces in preparing for the 1960 Olympics.

A Gallup Poll finds that most Republican county chairmen prefer Vice President Richard Nixon over New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater and U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge in the 1960 presidential race.

Hula Dance Craze Sweeps New York

Clare Briggs, “When a Feller Needs a Friend.”

Oct. 23, 1919: Harry Carr, one of The Times' best-known writers, files a series of vignettes from New York. He says that prohibition is lightly enforced and that it’s still easy to get a drink … and learning the hula is the latest dance craze. Carr writes about the riot over "Die Meistersinger" and says: "Life is never monotonous in a town filled with Irish."

Delay for Caryl Chessman

Oct. 22, 1959: President Eisenhower transfers German rocket scientists led by Wernher von Braun from Army jurisdiction to NASA.

Luau anyone? The Dodgers submitted a map for their Chavez Ravine ballpark and some of the features were downright headline grabbers. Proposed were a sit-down restaurant, a quick service restaurant, a carwash and automotive center. And a group-luau restaurant. The City Council quickly moved to delay the whole matter for further study. The city attorney said the automotive center was at the request of traffic and police officials who wanted something nearby to handle stalled cars and overheated engines. "We know that the confusion about the map is very definitely our responsibility," Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley said in The Times Oct. 24. "The baseball stadium will be set in a tastefully landscaped park and of course will be completely without any shoddy atmosphere or commercialism. This is what we have pledged and what we have always intended to build." Personally, I would have loved the luau. But the gas station certainly is part of the Dodger Stadium landscape and without it, there never would have been this classic commercial with Tom Lasorda taking Vin Scully out of the game. --Keith Thursby