World to End on Jan. 5, 1885!

Dec. 23, 1884: Then again, maybe not.

U.S. Launches Astronaut Alan Shepard: 'Boy What a Ride!'

May 6, 1961: Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. was rocketed 115 miles above the Earth in a flawless suborbital flight and recovered safely 302 miles down the Atlantic Missile Range to become America's first man in space, Times space-aviation editor Marvin Miles writes.  Also on the jump: --Shepard’s 1998 obituary --W.C. Jones spends $4,500 trying to convert Mickey Cohen to Christianity.

Found on EBay – Louis Adamic

Louis Adamic’s “The Word of Satan in the Bible” has been listed on EBay in a lot of 40 Little Blue Books published by E. Haldeman-Julius. This is an intriguing item from Adamic, best known for “Dynamite,” which is frequently cited for its account of the 1910 bombing of The Times. Bidding on this lot starts at $23.99.

Minister Accused of Trying to Rape Danish Nanny

March 21-22, 1891: It has been far too long since I paid a visit to 1891, when The Times was a 12-page paper with offices at 1st and Broadway. The Rev. Samuel J. Fleming of South Pasadena has been accused of trying to rape the family’s Danish nanny. He has also been accused of misusing money from the Chautauqua association and the ensuing investigations reveal that the man of the cloth abandoned a previous wife and is an all-around cad!  In the briefs: Jim Lewis has only been out of jail a few days and is already in trouble for stealing Father McDonald's hat from the cathedral!

Austrians Plan Worldwide War Against Judaism, March 16, 1921

March 16, 1921: Edna Wallace Hopper, who about two wives ago was the wife of De Wolf Hopper, is in the city. She is reported as forming her own picture company and said yesterday that she will shortly have some plans to announce in that regard, Grace Kingsley says. I haven’t done much in the 1920s recently and thought I’d pay a visit. I had forgotten about the comics of Clare Briggs, and there’s one on the jump.

Faith and the Negro 'Question'

Feb. 25, 1911: Religion columnist William T. Ellis has a few things on his mind about the Negro “question,” but none of them involve defining what the “question” might be. Presumably it was so familiar to readers that he felt no need to explain it.   Ellis considers African Americans “brothers,” but they are, as far as he is concerned, younger brothers who need guidance from their wiser,  older white siblings: "A weaker brother, a deficient brother and perhaps an erring brother he may be, but the black man is still a brother," Ellis says. Patronizing, condescending white superiority masquerading as Christian compassion and acceptance. Ugh.

Matt Weinstock, Jan. 25, 1961

Jan. 25, 1961: In the 1920s, most movie stars lived in Hollywood, particularly the Whitley Heights area. Their agents had offices nearby. When the film people began moving to Beverly Hills their agents followed partway, settling along the long, narrow strip of unincorporated territory on Sunset Boulevard. There they could make themselves available to their clients and also avoid paying the city business license tax. And so what had been called Sunset Center, then the County Strip, then simply the Strip because known as the Sunset Strip. Around this nucleus of agents the so-called glamour nightclubs and restaurants grew, Matt Weinstock says. CONFIDENTIAL TO "READY TO GIVE UP": Yes, I can refer you to an excellent source of help. His name is God. And he is always available.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Los Angeles, 1968

L.A. Observed has an item about a 1961 recording of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Los Angeles. Here’s a March 1968 recording of him at a home in Beverly Hills from the Pacifica Radio Archives.  ALSO The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Daily Mirror

 

Paul Coates, Jan. 6, 1961

Jan. 6, 1961: Paul Coates dips into the mailbag and has an item on a jazz band and choir that perform “ ‘Peter Gunn’-type music” at church services.

Mrs. Eddy Will Rise Again, as Christ Did, Follower Says

Dec. 30, 1910: The death of Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy on Dec. 3, 1910, left followers predicting her return. Christian Science leader Augusta E. Stetson said that "she believed the millennium is at hand, that the end of the gospel age has arrived and that Mrs. Eddy will return in the semblance of human form and will continue to lead her followers," The Times said. The Oct. 17, 1910, death of Julia Ward Howe touched off a debate about where to hang a memorial portrait. Officials said Boston’s Faneuil Hall was already too crowded  with paintings and suggested that a bust of Howe, who wrote “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” to the tune “John Brown’s Body,”  should be placed in the local library.

Monks’ Dispute Delays Celebration of Jesus’ Birth

Dec. 26, 1960: An argument between Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox monks at the Grotto of the Manger delays a religious procession to celebrate the birth of Jesus. "The point at issue appeared trivial to laymen. It was whether the Latin (Roman Catholic) sacristan could stand during the rites on the step-side spot where, according to tradition, Jesus was born. The step is normally under the care of the Greek Orthodox Church in the multisect church," the AP story said.

Christmas and the Comics, 1960