July 7, 1908

e have a bounty of news today. Above, Mexican troops put down an insurrection in the state of Coahuila. And turmoil in the Mideast. At left, Mayor Harper urges Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan to accept Capt. Eugene Merrick of Los Angeles as his running mate. Merrick says he is a war veteran, having fought with the Union Army at the age of 12. He is also a temperance supporter. An inquest is scheduled in the crash of a wagon and a streetcar that killed six people ... C.M. Pierre hopes to extend his Balloon Route trips ... View Larger Map Mrs. Marie Heider returns to her home at 1623 Court St. and bumps into the body of her husband, Herman, who had driven a spike into the casing above a door and hanged himself. His box factory had been failing and he had been drinking heavily, The Times says.  His suicide note is in German. And perhaps the most interesting little item: a one-inch ad for the newly published book "The Bridal Night of Ronald and Thusnelda," by Hulda von Liebetraut.  I might need a copy of that. Above left, safety tips on the streetcar system's electric cables, which carry 500 or 1,000 volts.  Email me

May 27, 1908

Above, time to start planning summer getaways to Tahoe ... At left, fruit peddler Leonardo Vett, accused, along with his wife, of stealing diamonds from local jewelry shops. "Vett looks like a Jew but says he is an Italian," The Times says in one of those stunning details that fill early 20th century newspapers, adding: "His wife, a pretty little woman with soft, dark eyes and a wealth of dark hair, cannot speak a word of English."    Also, Police Sgt. Sebastian (I wonder if this is future Police Chief Charles Sebastian) is blockading stores in Chinatown suspected of running opium dens on the side--at least to white customers. White men are willing to pay more for drugs than Chinese American customers and blocking the whites has forced several stores to close, The Times says. What about Chinese American opium addicts? Apparently that's not considered a problem. Email me

 

March 24, 1908

Above, the daily horoscope as it existed a century ago. Below, the plight of hobos who are running afoul of a tough constable around Burbank. In an interview, a homeless man complains of being sentenced to the chain gang ... The district attorney accuses liquor and saloon interests of election fraud in trying to force the disincorporation of Ocean Park ... Officials say there has been no illegal immigration by Asian men in eight weeks. 

Email me

Tourism sociology

Sociology professor Gwen Sharp, who writes the "Super Happy Funtime Blog," takes a scientific approach to sightseeing in Los Angeles. She graphed her hypothesis--"The richer the person who owned the home, the more awesome it would be to gawk at their house"--this way:

 

However, a field trip to Bel-Air shattered her expectations because the most expensive homes are gated or concealed behind fences or hedges. "Beyond a certain point homeowners become so rich that awesomeness of sightseeing tapers off significantly, due primarily to the impossibility of seeing any sights."

Feb. 22, 1908

Estelle Corwell swoons as she is found not guilty in the killing of George T. Bennett ... Los Angeles prepares for a huge influx of Eastern tourists, due in part to discounted railroad fares and a severe winter ...  And I had no idea the term "chalk talk" was a century old.

 

Email me

Feb. 9, 1908

 

It's Sunday, but instead of featuring a home of the week, The Times real estate pages highlight the new Pacific Coast Soda Co. in Santa Ana, and the images are barely visible. However, there's a nice ad for a book on bungalows. Note the stone chimney in the illustration. Guess what happens in the first major earthquake.

 

Isn't this a great ad? $500 is $10,993.52 USD 2007.

Things to come

Nov. 25, 1957
Los Angeles

The designers display a painting of the proposed Theme Building at LAX:

 

 

Nov. 1, 1957
Los Angeles

This is a DC-7 coming in for a landing at Los Angeles International Airport and if you look carefully, you'll notice that the wheels are up. This is bad.

Although it's a relief that it landed safely and that no one was hurt, the real story is buried in the back of the paper.  And that's what's relevant today.

The City of Hollywood, United Air Lines direct flight from New York, circled the airport for more than two hours to burn off fuel and came in on a foamed runway after one of the landing gear got stuck and couldn't be shaken loose. Writer Walter Ames noted that the remote news van of KTTV Channel 11 arrived at LAX and was able to cover much of the incident despite heavy traffic "caused by curious motorists who immobilized streets for miles."

In what was apparently a record in the Stone Age of TV news coverage, the van was hooked up in 9 minutes and began transmitting pictures to Los Angeles viewers.

Although the TV crew apparently didn't get pictures of the landing, they arrived in time to photograph relieved passengers getting off the plane and a station engineer did a live interview with the plane's pilot, Capt. Charles Dent, when KTTV reporter Bill Welsh was stuck in traffic.

"Usually it takes from a half-hour to an hour to go through the intricate electronic maneuvers necessary to tune a remote truck into the transmitting towers," Ames wrote.

Email me

Remedy for road rage

Aug. 29, 1957
Los Angeles

So that's why we have platinum spark plugs....

Champagne flight

 

July 25, 1957
Las Vegas

There was no room for retired jeweler Saul F. Binstock, 62, on the chartered flight to Las Vegas, so he boarded a Western Air Lines plane at Burbank. As always, he bought insurance naming his wife, Eva, as the beneficiary.

In addition to the round-trip flight, his getaway package included limousine service from the airport to the Hacienda Hotel, dinner, champagne and $5 in gambling chips. Although Binstock called Eva to tell her he was looking at some watch shops, he remained at McCarran Field and gave his coupon booklet to one of the agents, saying: "Maybe you can use this."

At 2:50 a.m., Binstock got on Western Air Lines Flight 39 after turning down a seat on a plane chartered by the Hacienda. Witnesses said he tore up a few pieces of paper just before boarding. As soon as the Convair CV-240 took off, Binstock went to the lavatory in the rear of the aircraft.

 

Maybe he thought of his wife over the next 47 minutes. Perhaps it was his son, Sydney, a dentist; or his daughters Muriel and Joyce (or Joyann). Maybe he thought of the Canoga Park jewelry store he recently sold or the family home at 5739 Rhodes Ave. Mostly, I imagine, he thought about the explosives in his left hand--blasting caps according to the Civil Aeronautics Board and dynamite according to other sources--and how he planned to set them off.

Several passengers became worried about Binstock's extended absence and asked the flight attendant to check on him. As she walked to the back of the aircraft, there was what one passenger called: "A hell of a blast." At 3:33 a.m., Saul F. Binstock, who had spent his life repairing small, precious  mechanisms, blew a car-sized hole in the airplane, which was flying at 10,000 feet. He was the only victim.

Capt. Milton L. Shirk, 37, and co-pilot Seth Oberg, 25,  landed the plane safely at George Air Force Base after radioing that they had an emergency.

Binstock's body was found in the Ord Mountains after an intense search. Three fingers of his left hand were blown away. One of the two $62,500 insurance policies he purchased in Burbank had a suicide clause that voided any payments and the insurance company said it would not pay a benefit on any claim submitted for his death. A private investigator for the family said Binstock "was in good health and financially OK."

Rabbi Aaron Wise of the Valley Jewish Community Center conducted the funeral at Groman Mortuary Chapel. Binstock was buried in Pittsburgh.

Convair N8406H was repaired and continued flying.

Here's a photo from 1959.  And here's one from 1961.

Email me

Safe driving

Happy Fourth of July from the staff of the Daily Mirror!