Sunday, June 30, 2013

Red Devils Return to Pacifica #7 -- June 30, 2013

Pacifica is one of the two cities on the San Francisco peninsula that allow the sale of fireworks. The stands arrived last week and they were open today. This is the stand at the Ace Hardware in Pedro Point. Sales here benefit CYO. Coincidentally, we went to Tanforan today, which is in San Bruno, the other city which allows fireworks sales. There was a string of booths in a section of the parking lot.

I took the photo on 26-June-2013.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Speed Kings Who Look Death in the Face -- June 29, 2013

The 03-June-1915 edition of Motography promoted movies of the opening 500 mile race at Chicago's Speedway Park on 19-June-1915.  Dario Resta won the race driving a Peugeot.  Click on the image to see a larger version. 

Friday, June 28, 2013

The Lone Ranger -- June 28, 2013

Last night my wife came downtown to meet me after work.  Traffic was terrible as I walked up Market.  Officers were directing traffic at every corner.  At First, one was operating the traffic signals manually.  I met her at Fourth and we went to the San Francisco Center.  We had panini for dinner downstairs.  Then we walked around a bit before we went up to the movie theater. 

Visa was sponsoring a preview showing of The Lone Ranger.  The people at the podium got tired of being asked where to go.  After a while, they set up a line.  We were first.  The Visa people were late, so the theater manager gave us our tickets.  A security guy announced that they had to collect our cell phones.  We checked the phones going in, then a security guy scanned us for other electronic devices. 

I enjoyed the movie, but I thought it was a little long.  My wife thought they could have left out the framing story, which was set in San Francisco in 1933.  The background that showed the Golden Gate bridge seemed to show the deck too far along for 1933.  At the end, I thought the deck looked complete. 

Johnny Depp as Tonto and Silver the horse stole the show.  Armie Hammer was a big, good-looking Ranger, but he didn't have an authoritative voice. 

I liked the locations, but my wife thought everything was composed too much in the center of the frame, not using the whole vista that was available.  Perhaps it was framed for people who watch movies on smart phones. 

For the railroad scenes, Disney built a big loop in the desert and two reproduction locomotives, which were pushed by GPs at the ends of the trains.  Some of the passenger cars were obviously modeled on Virginia and Truckee cars.  I was disappointed that the first locomotive was a 4-6-0 rather than a 4-4-0.  The movie was set in 1869, but the trains had Janney couplers and air brakes.  Neither was in use in 1869.  The line being built was the TCRR (Transcontinental Railroad) through Texas, heading for Promontory Point.  Ugh. 

I couldn't figure out why they wanted to run the locomotive into the mine. 

My wife and I were laughing more than most of the audience, especially Johnny Depp performed Keaton-like bits. 

We took BART back to Daly City and drove home from there.

The BART unions gave 72-hour notice that they may strike on Monday. 

Yacht Ramona -- June 28, 2013

From the 05-September-1895 San Francisco Call. William A Coulter did many maritime drawings for the newspaper. Click on the image for a larger view. 

With the America's Cup and preliminary races coming to San Francisco Bay this year, I thought I would post pictures of some yachts on San Francisco Bay.  

CRUISING AMONG MEXICAN PORTS

Eugene McCarthy Has Started on the Yacht Ramona.

TO BE GONE TWO MONTHS

He Expects to Have Lots of Fun in Fishing and Hunting.


The fast yacht Ramona sailed for a cruise along the coast of Mexico last Thursday evening. Eugene McCarthy, brother of the owner, went out on her and as the craft is well supplied with guns and fishing tackle, he evidently intends having a good time. The Ramona is provisioned for a two months' cruise, but should her commander decide upon a longer voyage, fresh supplies will be taken aboard at some Central American port. Captain Fred Nelson and a crew of four men will man the yacht.

There was a lively scene at Sausalito when the Ramona weighed anchor. Quite a number of the Pacific and San Francisco yacht clubs' boats were at anchor in Richardsons Bay and every one of them fired a salute as the trim little schooner disappeared around the head of the bay. The unusual display drew quite a crowd to the waterfront, but when the news was given out everybody was satisfied that there was no fears of a foreign invasion.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Propelled By Cable -- June 27, 2013

A plaque dedicated to Andrew Hallidie and the Clay Street Hill Railroad. It was moved to the lower terrace of Portsmouth Square when the Square was remodeled in 2001. I took the photo in April 2002.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

1929 Stutz Model M Town Car -- June 26, 2013


San Francisco's Academy of Art University has a fine collection of classic cars available for study by its design students. They shared the collection at the 2010 San Francisco International Auto Show.

The 8 cylinder 1929 Stutz Model M Town Car has a custom body by Le Baron.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Bobby Bland RIP -- June 24, 2013

I was sad to learn that Bobby Bland has passed on.  There was some controversy about the truth of the initial reports, but now it has been reported by major news sources.  I have to dig out my album.  I didn't know much about him till I read a Newsweek story about a comeback album in the 1970s.  Then I learned about the good stuff like "Further on Up the Road" and "I Pity the Fool." 

Six Years -- June 24, 2013

I launched this blog on 24-June-2007, after a false start on Geocities earlier that month. 1,772 entries later, I can say I've met many nice people and learned some interesting things.  A special thanks to those of you who have taken the time to comment.

I took the opportunity to review the topics I have covered so far. I still see some personal interests that I have missed and will have to be sure to cover in the next year. I went back to older posts and retrofitted some of the labels to reflect my more recent practices.  I count 1,263 labels.  This year I finally added a label starting with "X."  Now I have covered all the letters of the alphabet. 


09/11 - 6
1000 - 1
1906 - 15
2007 Summary - 1
2008 Summary - 1
2009 Summary - 1
2010 Summary - 1
2011 Summary - 1
2012 Summary - 1
3-D - 1
4 Star - 1

Abbey Lincoln - 1
Abbott and Costello - 3
Abraham Lincoln - 12
AC Transit - 6
Ace G-Man Stories [pulp] - 1
Aces [pulp] - 3
Addams Family - 1
Admiral Daniel J Callaghan - 2
Admission Day - 3
Adolph Sutro - 2
Adolph Zukor - 1
Adrienne Ames - 1
Advent - 4
AEA - 1
aerial tramway - 1
Afghan War - 2
Air Adventures [pulp] - 1
Air Trails [pulp] - 1
airmail - 1
Airplane Stories [pulp] - 1
Al Christie - 1
Al Jennings - 1
Alan Ladd - 1
Alan Turing - 1
Alaska - 13
Alaska Pacific Steamship Company - 1
Alcatraz - 4
ALCO - 1
Alexander Graham Bell - 2
Alexander Solzhenitsyn - 1
Alexandria - 1
Alexis Smith - 1
Alfa Romeo - 1
Alice Faye - 1
Alice Guy-Blaché - 1
Alice Howell - 1
All Star Game - 1
Allard - 1
alley - 35
Alma Spreckels - 1
Ambrose Bierce - 2
Ambrose Burnside - 1
America's Cup - 1
Amos Rusie - 1
Amtrak - 6
Andrew Furuseth - 1
Andrews Sisters - 1
Andy Griffith - 1
Angels Flight - 4
animation - 2
Anita Page - 2
Ann Arbor Railroad - 1
Ann Miller - 1
Anne Cornwall - 1
Annette Funicello - 1
anniversary - 5
Antietem - 2
Apperson - 1
apple - 3
April Fools' Day - 6
Arch Hoxsey - 2
architecture - 3
Ardenwood - 16
Argosy - 1
Arizona - 3
Armistice Day - 1
Art Clokey - 1
art deco - 2
Arthur Guy Empey - 2
Arthur Norris - 1
Arthur Wontner - 1
Ash Wednesday - 3
Auburn - 4
Audrey Ferris - 1
autogyro - 1
Automotive history - 59
Avenger - 1
aviation history - 78
Avitor Hermes Jr - 1
Ayala - 1

Balboa Theater - 2
Balclutha - 1
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad - 1
Bangladesh - 1
Barack Obama - 12
Barbara Kent - 2
Barbary Coast - 1
Barney Oldfield - 7
barnstorming - 1
barry bonds - 7
Barry Zito - 3
BART - 20
baseball - 147
baseball card - 5
Baseball Stories [pulp] - 2
Basil Rathbone - 1
Basque - 1
Bastille Day - 3
Batman - 7
Battle of Gettysburg - 1
Battle Stories [pulp] - 2
Bay Books - 1
Bay Bridge - 12
Bay to Breakers - 1
Beach Chalet - 2
Beadle's Half Dime Library - 1
Bebe Daniels - 2
Bechtel - 2
Ben Turpin - 1
Benicia - 1
Benjamin Franklin - 1
Benny Bufano - 15
Benny Goodman - 1
berlin wall - 1
Bert Williams - 1
Bessie Love - 7
Bette Davis - 1
Betty Grable - 1
Big Four - 2
Bill Clinton - 1
Bill Terry - 1
Bill Tilghman - 1
Bill's Place - 5
Billie Ritchie - 2
Billy Bevan - 1
Billy Dooley - 1
Billy Mitchell - 1
Billy Ruge - 1
Bing Crosby - 1
Biograph - 3
Black Bart - 1
Black Mask - 7
Blackhawk - 2
Blackhawk Auto Museum - 3
Blake Edwards - 1
Bleriot - 3
blimp - 3
Bliss and Faville - 1
blogathon - 21
blood bank - 1
Blue Angels - 2
blues - 1
Bob Feller - 1
Bob Ferguson - 1
Bob Fitzsimmons - 1
Bobby Thomson - 2
Bobby Vernon - 1
Boeing - 1
book - 19
Booker T Washington - 1
bookstore - 2
boxing - 10
Boxing Day - 2
Brendan Crawford - 1
Bret Harte - 1
bricks - 2
bridge - 11
Bridge Theater - 1
bridge unit - 1
British Columbia - 1
Broncho Billy - 1
Bruce Dern - 1
Buck Jones - 1
Buck O'Neil - 1
Buddy Holly - 1
Buena Vista Winery - 2
Bunsen burner - 1
buster keaton - 8
Buster Posey - 7
Buzz Aldrin - 1

Cable Car Clothiers - 2
cable cars - 39
Caesar's Italian Restaurant - 1
California Academy of Science - 1
california historical society - 8
California history - 1
California poppies - 1
California Tourist Guide and Handbook - 1
California Western Railroad - 4
calliope - 4
CalTrain - 1
Camanche - 1
Canada - 2
Cantinflas - 1
Caproni - 1
Captain America - 2
Captain Future - 1
Captain Marvel - 2
Carl Herz - 1
Carl Nolte - 4
Carole Lombard - 1
Carroll John Daly - 1
Carson City - 5
Carter B Smith - 1
Cartoon Art Museum - 3
Carville - 2
Casey at the Bat - 2
Castles of Steel - 1
cat - 73
catching up - 4
Catholic Schools Week - 6
Central County Fire Department - 1
Central Pacific - 4
Central Subway - 1
Charles Addams - 1
Charles Carter - 2
Charles Dickens - 1
Charles Durning - 1
Charles Lindbergh - 2
Charles Smallwood - 1
Charlie Chaplin - 16
Charlie Hickman - 1
Chesapeake and Ohio - 1
Chessie - 1
Chester Conklin - 1
Chesty Puller - 1
Chevrolet - 1
Chevy - 1
Chicago Burlington and Quincy - 1
Chicago Great Western Railway - 1
child labor - 1
China Clipper - 1
chinatown - 6
Chinese New Year - 7
Ching Ling Foo - 2
Christina Empedocles - 4
Christmas - 33
Christmas tree - 4
Christy Mathewson - 2
Chronicle - 10
Chutes - 2
Cinco de Mayo - 5
Cinematograph - 1
circus - 1
City of Paris - 2
City on Film - 4
civil rights - 3
Civil War - 15
Clara Bow - 9
Claude Choules - 1
Clement Street - 2
Cliff Edwards - 1
Cliff House - 9
Clint Eastwood - 1
Clover Milk - 1
Coast Artillery - 1
Coast Guard - 2
Coastside Fire Protection District - 3
Colleen Moore - 2
Colma - 3
Colorado River - 1
Columbus Day - 6
comic book - 27
comics - 10
communism - 1
Count Basie - 1
Coyle and Sharpe - 1
crab - 5
crane - 1
Crazy Crab - 1
Creature Features - 2
cruise - 11
CSRM - 16
curtiss - 7

D W Griffith - 1
D-Day - 1
Daly City - 1
Daniel Rasmussen - 1
Danny Kaye - 1
DARPA Challenge - 1
Darren McGavin - 1
Dashiell Hammett - 14
Dave Brubeck - 1
David Belasco - 1
David Putnam - 1
DCA - 5
Deanna Durbin - 1
deer - 1
Delage - 1
department store - 2
Detroit and Lima Northern Railway - 1
Devil's Slide - 4
DeWolf Hopper - 1
Dick Powell - 1
Dimaggio - 2
dime novel - 4
dirigible - 1
Dirty Harry - 1
Disney Family Museum - 1
Disney Museum - 1
Disneyland - 29
Dizzy Gillespie - 1
Doc Savage - 2
Doctor P. H. Van der Weyde - 55
Doctor Who - 1
Dodgers - 3
Donald Byrd - 1
door - 26
Doris Lessing - 1
Double Detective [pulp] - 1
Douglas Fairbanks - 2
Douglas Tilden - 5
dreadnaught - 1
duck - 5
Duesenberg - 1
Duke Ellington - 2
Dunninger - 1
DVD - 18
DW Griffith - 6
Dwight Eisenhower - 1

E Clampus Vitus - 2
E-M-F - 2
Earl Hines - 1
Earl Weaver - 1
Earth Day - 1
Eartha Kitt - 1
earthquake - 24
East Bay Terminal - 23
Easter - 8
EC - 1
Eddie Cline - 1
Eddie Colla - 2
Edgar Allan Poe - 1
Edward Kennedy - 1
Egypt - 2
El Granada - 3
election - 14
Elizabeth Taylor - 1
Elizabeth Warren - 1
Ella Raines - 1
Emancipation Proclamation - 3
Empire Builder - 1
Emporium - 2
Ernest Borgnine - 1
Ernest Lawrence Thayer - 2
Ernst Haeckel - 1
Ernst Udet - 1
escapology - 8
Essanay - 2
Esther Ralston - 1
Esther Williams - 1
ethics - 1
Etta James - 1
Eugene Ely - 2
evolution - 1

F Scott Fitzgerald - 6
F-4 Phantom - 1
Fairbanks - 2
Famous Monsters of Filmland - 2
Fantastic Adventures - 1
Farley Granger - 1
Farnum Fish - 2
Father Damien - 1
Fathers' Day - 7
Fay Wray - 1
FDR - 1
Felix the Cat - 1
ferry - 23
Ferry Building - 11
Fight Stories [pulp] - 1
Fighting Joe Hooker - 1
Film Fun - 2
film noir - 1
Fior d'Italia - 1
fire - 11
fire truck - 1
fireboat - 3
firehouse - 68
fireworks - 9
fishing - 3
Fitchburg Railroad - 1
Flag Day - 6
fleet week - 2
Florine McKinney - 1
flying - 3
fog - 2
Fokker - 1
food - 1
football - 2
Ford - 5
Ford Sterling - 1
Ford Trimotor - 1
Forrest J Ackerman - 1
Fort Bragg - 1
Fort Point - 1
Fort Sumter - 1
Frances Lee - 1
Francis Ford Coppola - 1
Frank Buckles - 1
Frank Lloyd Wright - 1
Frank Merriwell - 1
Frank Norris - 2
Fred Karno - 2
Fred Mace - 1
Fred Rogers - 1
Frederick H Meyer - 1
Frederick Marriott - 1
free speech - 1
Fresno - 1
Friday the 13th - 7
funicular - 3

G8 and His Battle Aces - 1
Gaumont - 2
Gaylord Perry - 5
geese - 1
Gelett Burgess - 3
Gene Autry - 1
Gene Kelly - 1
Geoffrey de Havilland - 1
George McClellan - 1
George Foreman - 1
George Lucas - 1
George M Cohan - 1
George McGovern - 1
George Mestach - 1
George Washington - 5
Georges Méliès - 4
Gertrude Stein - 1
Gettysburg Address - 1
GGIE - 1
Ghirardelli Square - 1
ghost sign - 21
Giants - 156
Gil Evans - 1
Gil Scott-Heron - 1
Ginger Rogers - 1
Giuseppe Verdi - 1
Glenn Martin - 1
Gloria Swanson - 1
Gold Dust Lounge - 2
Gold Hill - 1
Gold Rush - 1
Golden Gate - 1
Golden Gate Bridge - 8
Golden Gate Express Railway - 4
Golden Gate National Recreation Area - 1
Golden Gate Park - 15
Golden Gate Theatre - 1
Golden State Limited - 2
Good Friday - 6
Good Shepherd - 66
Gore Vidal - 1
graffitti - 2
Grand Canyon - 1
Grand Central Terminal - 1
Grand Prix - 1
Grauman's Chinese - 27
Great Gatsby - 5
Great Northern - 2
green energy - 1
Green Lama - 1
Gregory Peck - 1
Groundhog Day - 4
Guadalcanal - 1
Guest Blogger - 2
Guiseppe Garibaldi - 1
Gumby - 1
Gundlach Bundschu Winery - 1
guns - 2
Gunsmoke - 1
Gustave Whitehead - 1

H Bedford-Jones - 1
Half Moon Bay - 21
Hall Brothers - 1
Halloween - 11
Hangman - 1
Hank Aaron - 1
Hap Arnold - 1
Hardeen - 2
Harlem Hellfighters - 1
Harold Geissenheimer - 1
Harold Lloyd - 8
Harold Pinter - 1
Harry Blackstone - 1
Harry Carey Jr - 1
Harry Faulkner Van der Weyden - 1
Harry Langdon - 7
Harry Lundeberg - 1
Harry Morgan - 1
Harry Potter - 1
Harvard [Steamer] - 7
Harvey Kurtzman - 1
hats - 5
Heald - 2
health care reform - 1
Hearst - 3
Henri Salmet - 1
Henry Casebolt - 1
Henry Van Der Weyde - 7
herald - 14
Herb Caen - 2
Herrmann the Great - 1
Hetch Hetchy - 1
Hiller Aviation Museum - 1
historical marker - 1
Hitchcock - 12
holiday - 90
Hollywood - 21
Hollywood Walk of Fame - 1
Holy Saturday - 2
Home Run Baker - 1
homeless - 2
Hoosac Tunnell - 1
Hoot Gibson - 1
Horace Goldin - 1
horse car - 6
horsecar - 6
Houdini - 6
Howard Thurston - 1
Howard Zinn - 1
Huckleberry Finn - 2
Huell Howser - 1
Humphrey Bogart - 1
Hyde Street Pier - 5

Imro Fox - 1
Inauguration Day - 1
Independence Day - 7
Indianapolis 500 - 2
Ingmar Bergman - 1
International Jazz Day - 1
interurbans - 1
IOOF - 1
iPad - 1
ipod - 4
Iraq War - 1
Irish Bank - 4
Itala - 1
Italy - 7
Ivy Baldwin - 1
IWW - 3

Jack Benny - 1
Jack Dempsey - 1
Jack Duffy - 1
Jack Kirby - 1
Jack Klugman - 1
Jack Lalane - 1
Jack Lemmon - 1
Jack London - 2
Jacques Tati - 2
Jaime Escalante - 1
James Arness - 1
James C Mars - 2
James Garfield - 1
James J Corbett - 1
James Moody - 1
James Norman Hall - 1
Jane Russell - 1
Janis Paige - 1
Japantown - 1
Jason Schmidt - 1
Jasper Fforde - 1
jazz - 17
Jazzbeaux - 1
JD Salinger - 1
Jean Arthur - 1
Jean Harlow - 2
Jeanette MacDonald - 3
Jeannette W Van der Weyde - 2
Jejune Institute - 3
Jerry Flamm - 1
Jesse L Lasky - 1
Jim Carroll - 1
Jim Thorpe - 5
Jimmy Adams - 2
Jimmy Durante - 1
Jimmy Parrott - 1
Joan Blondell - 2
Joan Fontaine - 1
Joan Leslie - 1
Joaquin Miller - 1
Jobyna Ralston - 1
Joe - 4
Joe Choynski - 1
Joe Frazier - 2
Joe Hooker - 1
Joe Kubert - 1
Joe Louis - 1
Joe Palooka - 1
Joe Venuti - 1
Joe Zawinul - 1
Joe's Cable Car - 1
John Barrymore - 1
John Brown - 1
John Bunny - 1
John C Frémont - 1
John Ford - 1
John Garfield - 1
John Glenn - 1
John Held Jr - 1
John J Pershing - 2
John Lennon - 3
John McGraw - 3
John Moisant - 1
John Steinbeck - 1
John Stephenson - 1
John Updike - 1
Johnny Griffin - 1
Johnny Otis - 1
Jonathan Winters - 1
Juan Marichal - 3
Juana Briones - 1
Judy Garland - 1
Julia Morgan - 1
June Haver - 1
juneau - 1
jury duty - 1

Kalem - 1
Kansas City Southern - 1
KARC - 2
KCBS - 4
KCSM - 1
KDFC - 1
Kellar - 4
Ketchikan - 1
Kevin Brownlow - 1
Key System - 7
Keystone - 9
KFRC - 3
Kim Jong-Il - 1
Kino - 1
KJAZ - 3
Klondike Gold Rush - 1
KLSI - 6
KNBR - 2
Knights of Labor - 1
Knox - 22
KNX - 1
Korean War - 4
KPIX - 1
KPO - 2
KRE - 2
KSFO - 4
KUSF - 2
KYA - 1

L Frank Baum - 10
labor - 4
Labor Day - 6
Lafayette Escadrille - 2
Lagonda - 1
LAMWD - 1
Land's End - 11
Lansing - 1
Larry Gelbart - 1
Larry Semon - 3
LASSCO - 7
Laurel and Hardy - 2
Lawrence Halprin - 1
Lawrence Strike - 1
Lefty O'Doul's - 2
Lehigh Valley Railroad - 1
Leila Hyams - 1
Leland Stanford - 1
Lena Horne - 1
Lent - 2
Leon Errol - 1
Leonce Perret - 1
Les Blank - 1
Les Marco Belli - 1
Leslie Nielsen - 1
Libya - 1
Life Magazine - 2
Life on Mars - 2
Lige Conley - 1
lighthouse - 1
Lillian Roth - 1
Lilly Langtry - 1
Lincecum - 19
Lincoln [automobile] - 1
Lincoln Beachey - 1
Livy - 1
llama - 1
Lloyd Hamilton - 2
locks - 1
Locomobile - 1
locomotive - 8
Loening - 1
Lois Moran - 1
Lon Chaney - 2
Loretta Young - 1
Los Angeles - 5
Lotta Crabtree - 1
Lottas Fountain - 2
Louis Armstrong - 1
Louis Feuillade - 1
Louis Franchet d'Espèrey - 1
Louise Fazenda - 1
Louise M Davies - 1
Lu Watters - 2
Luciano Pavarotti - 1
Lucille Ball - 1
Luis Bunuel - 1
Luisa Tettrazini - 2
Lurline Baths - 1

Mabel Hite - 1
Mabel Normand - 9
Mack Sennett - 7
macworld - 1
Mad Magazine - 2
Madge Evans - 1
Madison Bumgarner - 3
magic - 32
Maiden Lane - 1
Mal Sharpe - 1
Maltese Falcon - 2
Manufacturer and Builder Magazine - 21
Mardi Gras - 2
Mare Island - 3
Margaret Thatcher - 1
Marie McDonald - 1
Marin - 1
Marion Davies - 1
Mark Twain - 3
Market Street Railway - 3
Marmon - 1
Mars - 1
Martha Vickers - 2
Marvin Benard - 1
Marx Brothers - 2
Mary Anderson - 1
Mary Brian - 1
Mary Ellen Pleasant - 1
Mary Pickford - 2
Matson Navigation Company - 1
Matt Cain - 7
Matthew B Sellers - 1
Matty Alou - 1
Maurice Chevalier - 4
Maurice Raymond - 1
Maurice Sendak - 1
Max Roach - 1
Max Schmeling - 1
May Day - 4
Mazzetti's Bakery - 5
MBTA - 1
Melky Cabrera - 3
Memorial Day - 6
menko - 1
mentalism - 1
Mexico - 6
MG - 1
Mia Farrow - 2
Michael Chabon - 1
Michael Jackson - 1
Michelangelo Antonioni - 1
Mickey Rooney - 1
Midwinter Fair - 2
Mike Donlin - 1
Mile Rock lighthouse - 1
mission - 1
MLK - 7
Monadnock - 1
monitor - 2
Mono Lake - 1
monorail - 5
Monte Collins - 1
Monte Irvin - 3
Monticello Steamship Company - 4
Monty Wooley - 1
moon - 2
moon landing - 2
Moose - 1
Morton Street - 1
Moss Beach - 1
Mother Jones - 1
mothers' day - 6
Motion Picture Studio and Trade Annual - 1
Mount Tamalpais - 1
movie theater - 4
movies - 100
msr - 1
Muhammed Ali - 1
muni - 33
Musee Mecanique - 2
Museum of Flight - 1
music - 15
musicals - 1
mutoscope - 5
Myrna Loy - 2

Nancy Carroll - 1
NASA - 6
Nate Leipzig - 1
National Train Day - 4
Navy - 11
Navy Stories [pulp] - 1
Neal Burns - 2
Negro Leagues - 2
Neil Armstrong - 2
Nestor - 1
Nevada - 13
Nevada State Railroad Museum - 3
New Deal - 2
New Orleans - 3
new year - 12
New York Central - 2
New York to Paris Race - 1
New Zealand - 1
newspaper - 2
Nicholas J Vander Weyde - 1
Nick Carter - 3
Nick's - 2
nickname - 27
Nigel Bruce - 1
Niles Canyon Railroad - 1
nitrate film - 5
Nonpareil Jack Dempsey - 1
Norma Talmadge - 1
Norman Corwin - 1
Norman Mailer - 1
Norman Rockwell - 1
North Beach - 3
North Coast County Fire Authority - 4
Northwestern Pacific - 11
Norton Buffalo - 1
Nuova Porziuncola - 2
Nut Tree - 4

O. Henry - 1
Oakland - 9
obsolete technology - 11
occupy movement - 5
Occupy Oakland - 1
Occupy SF - 7
Ocean Shore Railroad - 15
octopus - 1
Ogden Nash - 1
Okito - 1
Old Clam House - 1
Old Mint - 3
Old Sourdough - 1
Oliver Hardy - 2
Olivia De Havilland - 1
Olympic Club - 2
olympics - 5
Once Upon a Time - 6
opera - 4
oracle - 8
Original Joe's - 1
Orlando Cepeda - 6
Ormer Locklear - 2
Oscar Peterson - 1
Osha - 1
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit - 2
otr - 12
Otto Messmer - 1
Overland Limited - 1
Owen Smith - 7
Oz Film Manufacturing Company - 7

P H McCarthy - 2
P-38 Lightning - 1
P-39 Airacobra - 1
P-52 Mustang - 1
P-80 Shooting Star - 1
Pablo Sandoval - 5
Pacific Coast Steamship Company - 2
Pacific Electric - 2
Pacific Mail Steamship Company - 1
Pacific Navigation Company - 5
Pacifica - 92
Packard - 1
Palace Hotel - 5
Palm Sunday - 4
Pan Am Railways - 1
Pancho Villa - 1
parade - 1
Paramount - 1
Parking Day - 3
parkmobile - 1
Parseval - 1
Patricia Neal - 1
Patrick McGoohan - 1
Patton - 2
Paul Revere - 1
Pearl Harbor Day - 5
Peggy Shannon - 2
Pentecost - 2
Pescadero - 2
Peter Cushing - 5
Peter Cushing blogathon - 5
pge - 2
Phantom Detective - 1
Phantom Lady - 1
Phil Frank - 1
Phil Harris - 1
Phil Silvers - 1
Phillip Parmalee - 1
Phillips W Page - 1
phonoautograph - 1
photography - 5
photophone - 1
Photoplay - 1
Phyllis Haver - 2
Pier 39 - 2
Pike Place Market - 1
PIPA - 1
pirate - 2
plaque - 1
playing tourist - 1
Playland-at-the-Beach - 4
Pluck and Luck - 1
podcast - 1
poetry - 1
Point Richmond - 1
Pony Express - 2
Poodle Dog - 1
Pope Benedict XVI - 2
Pope Francis I - 2
Pope John XXIII - 2
Port Costa - 1
Port of San Francisco - 1
Portola - 1
Powell Street Promenade - 2
PPIE - 10
Presidents' Day - 5
Presidio - 9
Prizmacolor - 1
pulp - 44
pumpkin - 2

Q-FM - 3

Race Williams - 1
racing car - 29
racism - 6
radio - 24
ragtime - 1
Railroad history - 117
Railroad Stories [pulp] - 1
Ralph DePalma - 2
Raoul Walsh - 1
Ravenswood Winery - 2
Ray Bradbury - 1
Ray Harryhausen - 1
Raymond Chandler - 2
Red's Java House - 2
Regia Marina - 1
Reminiscences of an Active Life - 23
Reno - 7
restaurant - 24
Revolutionary War - 2
RFK - 1
Rialto Building - 1
Rich Aurilia - 1
Richard Dix - 1
Richard Nixon - 1
Rincon Hill - 2
Rita Hayworth - 1
Roald Amundsen - 2
Robert Burns - 1
Robert E Lee - 1
Robert Falcon Scott - 1
Robert Heller - 1
Robert K Massie - 1
Robert Louis Stevenson - 1
Robert Redford - 1
Robert-Houdin - 1
Rock Island - 2
rock'n'roll - 2
Rockaway Beach - 3
Rod Beck - 1
Rogert Ebert - 1
Rogier van der Weyden - 2
Rolls Royce - 1
Roman Missal - 1
Rome - 2
Ronald Reagan - 2
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Roscoe Arbuckle - 3
Roy Knabenshue - 1
Roy Rogers - 3
Rube Goldberg - 3
Rube Marquard - 1
Ruth Elder - 1
Ruth Hall - 1
Ryan Vogelsong - 2

Sacramento - 13
Sacramento Northern - 3
Sailors' Union of the Pacific - 2
Saint Francis of Assisi - 6
Saint Igantius - 2
Saint Joseph's Day - 7
Saint Monicas - 5
Saint Patrick's Day - 7
Saint Peter's Pacifica - 1
Saint Valentine's Day - 6
Sally Phipps - 1
Sam Spade - 5
samtrans - 20
Samuel Goldwyn - 1
San Bruno - 1
San Bruno Fire Department - 1
San Francisco Call - 3
San Francisco history - 266
San Francisco History Expo - 3
San Francisco International Auto Show - 15
San Francisco Model Yacht Club - 1
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - 1
San Francisco State University - 6
San Gregorio - 1
San Juan Bautista - 4
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San Mateo County Fair - 1
San Pedro Valley Park - 1
San Rafael - 1
Sandman - 1
Santa Fe Railroad - 5
Santa Rosa - 3
Sarah Palin - 1
Schell-Vista Volunteer Fire Department - 1
scramjet - 1
sculpture - 19
Seabiscuit - 1
seagull - 1
Seals - 2
Seattle - 16
Secret Agent X - 1
Secret San Francisco - 1
See's - 1
Selig Polyscope - 3
Sergio Romo - 4
serials - 6
Servais Le Roy - 1
Sgt Fury and His Howling Commandos - 1
Sgt Rock - 1
Shadow - 4
Shakespeare - 2
shanghai - 1
Shawn Estes - 1
Sherlock Holmes - 8
Shield - 1
ships - 43
Shirley MacLaine - 1
Shirley Temple - 1
sidewalk art - 2
Sidney Bechet - 1
Sidney Lumet - 1
Signor Blitz - 1
signs - 45
Silas Christofferson - 1
silent movies - 74
six degrees of separation - 3
Skagway - 3
Skunk Train - 4
slapstick - 54
slavery - 1
SMART - 2
snake - 2
Snub Pollard - 2
Solar Impulse - 1
solar power - 1
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Sonoma County Fair - 1
SOPA - 1
Sopwith - 1
sound recording - 1
South Park - 2
South Pole - 1
Southern Pacific - 23
space shuttle - 2
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Spanish-American War - 3
Sparky Watts - 1
speaking - 5
Spectre - 1
Spicy Adventure - 1
Spicy Detective - 1
Spicy Mystery - 1
Spicy Western - 1
Spider - 1
spring - 4
SPUR - 2
Spy Smasher - 2
Stan Laurel - 2
Stan Lee - 1
Stan Musial - 1
Standard Aircraft Corporation - 1
stanford - 9
Stanley Steamer - 1
State Fair - 1
statue - 19
Steve Jobs - 1
storm - 45
streamline moderne - 2
Street and Smith Sampler - 1
strike - 1
submarine - 1
Sue Carol - 1
Suicide Squad - 1
Sunny Jim Rolph - 1
Superman - 5
Supermarine Spitfire - 1
Sutro Baths - 4
Sydney Chaplin - 1

Tanforan - 6
tanks - 1
tapeworm - 2
tax - 1
tcm - 2
tea baggers - 1
telephone - 2
Tennessee Williams - 1
Tennyson - 1
Terry Moore - 1
Thanksgiving - 7
The Fatal Glass of Beer - 1
The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion - 6
The Prisoner - 1
theater - 4
Thelma Todd - 2
Thelonious Monk - 1
Theodore Roosevelt - 4
Thin Man - 2
Thomas Flyer - 3
Thomas H Ince - 1
Thomas Jefferson - 1
Thomas-Morse - 1
Thursday Next - 1
THX 1138 - 1
Timothy Pflueger - 3
Tip Top Weekly - 1
Tippi Hedren - 1
Titanic - 5
Tito Falconi - 1
Tom Baldwin - 1
Tom Lantos - 1
Tom Mix - 10
Tommys Mexican Restaurant - 1
Tracy Arm Fjord - 1
train ad - 21
train station - 62
Transbay Terminal - 1
transit - 75
Travis Jackson - 1
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory - 1
triplane - 1
TST - 1
tsunami - 1
Turk Murphy - 1
Turner Classic Movies - 2

Ub Iwerks - 1
UMW - 1
Underground Railroad - 1
union - 3
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United Railroads of San Francisco - 1
US Army Corps of Engineers - 1
US Open - 2
USMC - 1
USRC Bear - 2
USRC Rush - 1
USS Enterprise - 1
USS Oklahoma - 1
USS Oregon - 1
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Vallejo - 2
vandalism - 1
Vanderweyde - 68
Vatican II - 2
vaudeville - 22
Vera Steadman - 1
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vigilantes - 1
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Virginia and Truckee - 8
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Václav Havel - 1

W. A. Coulter - 41
Wachovia - 1
walking tour - 10
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Walter Brookins - 1
Walter Christie - 1
Walter Rice - 1
Walter Wellman - 1
Wapama - 1
war - 7
War of 1812 - 1
Warner Baxter - 3
Warner Brothers - 1
Warren Hellmann - 1
Watchmen - 1
water wars - 1
Wax Museum - 5
WC Fields - 5
wedding - 3
Wells Fargo - 8
West [Texas] - 1
Western Neighborhoods Project - 5
Western Pacific - 3
Western Railway Museum - 3
westerns - 17
Westlake Joe's - 2
whales - 1
whaling - 1
what is this - 2
What's Up Doc - 1
Whipple S Hall - 1
Whisperer [pulp] - 1
White Motor Car - 2
White Pass and Yukon - 2
Whiz Comics - 1
why - 11
Wicked - 1
Wide Awake Library - 1
Will Rogers - 1
Willaim Wellman - 1
William Beaudine - 1
William Gaines - 1
William H Seward - 1
William Manley Vander Weyde - 7
William Powell - 2
William S Hart - 1
William Taft - 1
Willie Howard - 1
Willie Mays - 13
Willie McCovey - 8
Willis K Polk - 1
Willits - 1
windmill - 2
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Winston Churchill - 1
Winton - 1
Wizard of Oz - 13
Woodward's Garden - 1
Woody Allen - 1
Woody Guthrie - 1
Woody Herman - 1
World Baseball Classic - 2
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Worst of Hollywood - 1
WPA - 2
Wright Brothers - 3
WWI - 30
WWII - 34

X-51a Waverider - 1

yakyu - 2
Yale [Steamer] - 8
Yerba Buena Gardens - 12

Zeppelin - 2
Ziegfeld Follies - 4

Sunday, June 23, 2013

It's Ten Times the Terror in Technicolor! -- June 23, 2013

Peter Cushing was the first actor to play Sherlock Holmes in a color movie, in the 1959 version of Hound of the Baskervilles.  I first saw it on Creature Features, a Saturday night horror movie show.  In 1965, Cushing played Holmes in a British television series. 

26-May-2013 was Peter Cushing's 100th birthday.  In his honor, Pierre Fournier of Frankensteinia hosted the Peter Cushing Centennial Blogathon


Saturday, June 22, 2013

Dancing and Nachos -- June 22, 2013

Today I went to a dance show in Burlingame.  I walked down Trousdale to the Safeway to buy flowers.  The show was good.  The little ones danced around a line of chairs and argued with each other when they had to sit down. 

After we went to 5 o'clock mass at Good Shepherd.  None of the regulars were there to take the collection, so I scrambled. 

We had dinner at Guerrero's Taqueria.  We had super nachos with chicken.  Very good. 

Ghost Sign #20 -- June 22, 2013

I spotted a slice of a ghost sign on Market near 8th on 10-May-2013. 

Friday, June 21, 2013

Comic Book #24 -- June 21, 2013

MLJ Comics published Pep, which introduced The Shield - G-Man Extraordinary and The Hangman. Here we see them fighting some really evil-looking Nazis. Later, Pep carried the adventures of permanent teenager Archie Andrews. 

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Grauman's Chinese #27 -- June 20, 2013

In July, 2012 we paid a return visit to Hollywood and Grauman's Chinese Theater.  Sid Grauman was a San Francisco showman who came to Los Angeles and built three major houses, the Million Dollar, the Egyptian, and the Chinese. The theater has hosted many film premieres, but is most famous for the hand and footprints (and hoofprints and nose prints and other types of prints) in the forecourt.

Shirley MacLaine left her hand and  foot prints in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese on 29-June-1963. I don't know the meaning of "Mean Time" below her signature.  Her next door neighbor is Jack Lemmon, so I assume they were promoting Irma La Douce.  It says "MAGIC-TIME" on his square.  I always enjoy seeing Shirley MacLaine.   

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Skunk Train Rescued -- June 19, 2013

The California Western Railroad suffered a setback in May when Tunnel Number One collapsed.  Skunk Trains can only operate a short distance from Fort Bragg.  This has hurt the economy of Fort Bragg and all of Mendocino County.  The railroad tried to raise $300,000 to fix the tunnel, but had little luck.  The Save the Redwoods League of San Francisco has now stepped forward and offered to put up the money in return for an easement and protection of the redwood trees along the line.  Repairs should start right away. 

I took the photo of California Western Mikado 45 at Fort Bragg during our visit in July, 2006.  Read about it on my Park Trains and Tourist Trains page. 

Pulp #44 -- June 19, 2013

The Spicy pulps from Culture Publications, Spicy Mystery , Spicy Detective, Spicy Adventure and Spicy Western, were too intellectual for some people, but they remained popular for several years. 

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Flivvers Are All Right, Too, But It's Tramp-Tramp-Tramp For Mine -- June 18, 2013

After he left Mack Sennett, Harry Langdon's first feature on a lucrative First National contract was Tramp Tramp Tramp, the story of cross-country walking race.  This ad is from the 05-March-1926 Film Daily. It is the third of a series of cross-country ads to parallel the race. Yesterday he was in Pittsburgh and today he is in Detroit.  Naturally, he mentions the mass production of the Model T Ford.  Next stop, Indianapolis. Unfortunately, I couldn't find that edition, so we'll skip to Saint Louis. 

Monday, June 17, 2013

Nickname #26 -- June 17, 2013

Black Bart robbed 28 Wells Fargo stagecoaches in northern California.  He was always polite, never fired his shotgun, which later turned out to have been unloaded, and hid his face with a mask made from a flour sack.  Bart got his name from the signature he left on poems at two of the robbery sites.  Wells Fargo got tired of being robbed and its detective Jim Hume tracked down elderly, respectable British-born Charles Bolles.  Bolles went to San Quentin Prison, and disappeared a month after he was released in 1888.  This story, from the 06-June-1900 San Francisco Call, tells of a bartender who bore a startling resemblance to the bandit.  I don't see it in the photos. 

"BLACK BART" HAS A DOUBLE IN THIS CITY

 TO be mistaken day after day for a convicted stage robber— no less personage than "Black Bart," is the unhappy fate of  W. T., better known as "Dick" Richardson, an employe of the Baldwin Annex saloon.

Richardson applied for a position at the saloon a few days ago, stating that he was willing to try his hand at anything.  "Jim" Orndorff, .the proprietor of the Annex, put the old man to work as an extra bartender and billiard-room attendant.

The following day John T. Dare, the States Customs Appraiser, visited the Annex, and after ordering a drink, called up Orndorff and informed him that the barkeeper who had just served him was "Black Bart."

"There is no chance for a mistake on my part." said Dare, "for during 'Black Bart's' trial my business brought. me in contact with him daily and I am sure it is the man."

Mr. Orndorff became interested in the officer's tale, and while admitting the resemblance, said that the man had identified himself satisfactorily to him.

During the day Captain Jules Callunden of Morse's Patrol, who was an important factor in the capture of the noted stage robber, had occasion to visit the Annex and as he stepped to the bar a look of surprise showed plainly on his face. It was some little time before he realized that he was mistaken in the. man and a few minutes' conversation satisfied him of the fact. In speaking of it later Callunden said:

"I confess that at first glance I thought that I was being served by the noted stage robber, Black Bart, and it would be an easy task to get any number of men who are not accustomed to studying faces to positively swear that Richardson is the man. "He is indeed a 'dead ringer.'"

Of himself Richardson has but little to say except that he had been a cattle man in Arizona for twenty years and had failed for a large sum.

"This is the first time in my life that I have worked for wages," he said. "I have seen Black Bart, but do not know him. Since I came to work here I have been accosted by many men who have been in San Quentin, who claim to have met me there and will not be convinced that I am other than Black Bart. It is at times annoying, but I can content myself with the knowledge that there is nothing in my record of which I need be ashamed except perhaps that I am broke."

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Happy Fathers' Day #6 -- May 16, 2013


Happy Mothers' Day, everyone. I'm grateful for my mother and my wife and my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law and cousins and friends. All excellent mothers.

Radio Days is one of my favorite Woody Allen movies.  Michael Tucker as the dad was not much like my father except that he loved his family and was always there for them.  I don't know why he wouldn't tell his kids that he drove a cab, but I have read that Woody Allen's father did the same thing.  Mia Farrow is wonderful as the ambitious actress.

I borrowed the photo from EveryWoodyAllenMovie (http://www.everywoodyallenmovie.com/). 

Saturday, June 15, 2013

1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III -- June 15, 2013

Today we took a pre-Father's Day drive across the bay and over to Livermore to visit the new outlets.  We bought some socks for me and some other items and then had lunch.  We got in the car and drove up to the Blackhawk Museum.  There were some nice early Thunderbirds parked out front.  There was a nice variety of older cars upstairs and newer ones downstairs.


This 1937 Rolls Royce Phantom III has a body that was created after World War II, with wicker on the passenger doors. It is a little subtle for my taste. My wife wants to know if I can find one of the Ferraris for her next birthday.

The Children Laughed to Their Hearts' Delight -- June 15, 2013

The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, located in Los Angeles, was formed in 1914 to produce movies based on stories by L Frank Baum, the creator of The Wizard of Oz.  The company made some movies, but was not a financial success. The ad is from the 29-August-1914 edition of Moving Picture World.  It talks about apreview of their first movie, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.  "The children laughed to their hearts' content and the grown-ups became children again." 

Friday, June 14, 2013

BART Adventures #2 -- June 14, 2013

Yesterday the BART board approved a 2014 budget that includes funding for the process of replacing the current fleet with the Fleet of the Future starting in 2017.  The new cars will be built by Bombardier Transit Corporation. The image is from the BART website (www.bart.gov). 

This afternoon I was on a conference call dealing with a production problem at work when my cell phone rang.  My wife wanted to let me know that BART was having big problems on this side of the bay.  I checked www.511.org and found a report of delays but no details.  The KCBS website said that this morning grass caught fire by the line between Balboa Park and Daly City and damaged the interlocking plant. 

After I got off the call, I left the office early.  I had to get home so I could work tonight.  The platform at Embarcadero station was crowded.  There were announcements about service delays, but I caught a 10-car Airport train seven minutes later and got a seat.  The train went to 24th and Mission and stopped.  The operator explained that we would be there for a while because they were single tracking ahead.  We stayed there and saw two trains go by the wrong way on the other track, then went on to Glen Park.  We had a shorter wait there, then we went on to Balboa Park, Daly City and Colma with no further delays.  I couldn't see the burned area. 

Madison Bumgarner and the Giants just shut out the Braves 6-0.  Last night Matt Cain shut out the Pirates. 

Happy Flag Day #6 -- June 14, 2013

Dancer Ann Miller poses with a flag, in a red white and blue outfit.  

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Muni Birthday Festival #4 -- June 13, 2013

As part of the celebration of its 100th birthday, the San Francisco Municipal Railway ran a number of special vehicles on two weekends in November, 2012.  I took this photo of 1941 Saint Louis Car Company trolley coach 506 and General Motors fishbowl 3237, in proper maroon and gold paint, on the plaza near the Market Street Railway Museum. 

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Ferry Kaleetan -- June 12, 2013

Washington State Ferries Kaleetan has just left Seattle's Colman Dock.  I took the photo during our visit in July, 2010. 

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Through the Grand Canyon of the Feather River -- June 11, 2013

The Western Pacific Railroad was created in 1903 in an effort to break the Southern Pacific's monopoly on service to the San Francisco Bay Area.  The Western Pacific went through the Feather River Canyon, which involved lower grades than the Overland Route. This ad is from the 30-September-1913 San Francisco Call.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Bridge Theater -- June 10, 2013

I took the photo on 18-February-2013, soon after the Bridge Theater had closed.  It was built in 1939 in the streamline moderne style and named after all the new bridges.  It closed this year.  I saw most of the Hitchcock movies that had been unavailable for years there.  These included Vertigo, Rope and The Trouble With Harry.  I remember seeing The Man Who Fell to Earth there. 

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Tom Mix #6 -- June 9, 2013


During Tom Mix's time with the Selig Polyscope Company, they shot some of their westerns in Arizona.  Tom Mix "famous fancy rider and bulldogger," presented "the best program of Western stunts, flat and harness racing, and automobile and motorcycle races ever pulled off in Northern Arizona..." at the First Northern Arizona Fair in Prescott. Tom had won rodeo events at Prescott in 1909. 

"The Selig Polyscope Company stars will present BIG VAUDEVILLE PROGRAM at Elks' Theater..."

The ad is from the 23-October-1913 Saint Johns Herald and Apache News. Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

San Gregorio -- June 8, 2013

The weather was beautiful today so we took a drive down the coast.  Between San Gregorio and Pescadero on Highway One, one lane was closed and there was a light letting alternate sides use the remaining lane.  Two guys towing a boat with a pickup managed to get stuck right at the beginning of the single lane.  It looked as if there may have been a slide on the landward side.  By the time we got to Pescadero, there was no parking.  We gave up and took Stage Road to San Gregorio.  There was more traffic than usual because of the work on Highway One.  We stopped at the general store and bought sandwiches, ginger snaps and sodas.  While we waited in line, someone ran in and asked the clerk to call 911.  A motorcyclist had fallen dodging an auto on the road from Woodside.  We sat in the store and listened to some musicians who were taking a break.  Sheriff's deputies came fairly soon, then the CalFire truck from Pescadero, then finally an ambulance.  I don't know how the motorcyclist was doing.  We drove on up Stage Road and Highway One to Half Moon Bay, where we stopped at the pharmacy to pick up some items. 

Good Shepherd was having Confirmation at 5 o'clock mass, so we went to Saint Peter's at 4:30.  Then we had dinner at Guerrero's. 

I took the photo of the San Gregorio General Store on 27-June-2011. The sky was sunnier and the store was busier today. 

Friday, June 7, 2013

Esther Williams RIP -- June 7, 2013

I was sad to learn that Esther Williams had died.  We are running out of MGM stars.  In this image, from the wonderful site LucyWho (http://www.lucywho.com/), she poses with Mickey Rooney.  Esther Williams was an athlete who planned to swim in the 1940 Tokyo Olympics, but they got cancelled because of other matters.  She performed with Billy Rose's Acquacade along with Johnny Weissmuller at the 1939 and 1940 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island.  She made a series of popular Technicolor musicals at MGM.  She tried to branch out into more serious roles, but audiences weren't prepared.  She wrote an excellent autobiography where she shared difficult details of her life.  She did a lot to promote swimming. 

Train Station #60 -- June 7, 2013

The Ocean Shore Railroad has been gone since 1921, but Pacifica's Vallemar Station has housed many restaurants since then. The current eatery is a sports bar with good food. It has a nice selection of railroad photos.  I took the photo on 13-April-2013. 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Casey at the Bat 125 #2 -- June 6, 2013

June 3 was the 125th anniversary of the publication of Ernest Lawrence Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat" in the San Francisco Examiner on 03-June-1888. The poem was published under the pseudonym Phin, so the issue of who wrote it was debated for years. The poem was constantly reprinted in newspapers. This illustrated version is from the 20-April-1902 Saint Paul Globe.  Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version. 

Bessie Love #6 -- June 6, 2013

I have always been fascinated by the career of actress Bessie Love.  She was born in Texas.  Her name was Juanita Horton.  Her family moved to Los Angeles and she went to Los Angeles High School.  Looking for work, she met director  DW Griffith and got a small part in Intolerance.  She appeared in movies with William S Hart and Douglas Fairbanks.  She was a 1922 WAMPAS (Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers) Baby Star.  She played many leading roles, most famously in The Lost World, but never broke through until the talkies came, when she starred in The Broadway Melody.  Her career was hot for a few years, but then tailed off.  She continued to appear in small parts in movies until the early 1980s.

This item, from the 1916 Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual, mentions some of the movies she did for the Fine Arts studio.  DW Griffith was the 1916 equivalent of an executive producer.  The Flying Torpedo predicted guided missiles.  Reggie Mixes In starred Douglas Fairbanks. 

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Casey at the Bat 125 -- June 5, 2013

June 3 was the 125th anniversary of the publication of Ernest Lawrence Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat" in the San Francisco Examiner on 03-June-1888. The poem was published under the pseudonym Phin, so the issue of who wrote it was debated for years.

Actor DeWolf Hopper made a long vaudeville career out of reciting the poem, starting on 14-August-1888.  Hopper estimated that he performed it 10,000 times. In 1916, Hopper appeared in a feature film called Casey at the Bat.  The ad and the story below are from the 06-July-1916 Seattle Star. In 1923, Hopper appeared in a DeForest PhonoFilm that recorded him reciting the poem. 


MYSTERY IS SOLVED

Film Shows Why "Casey" Fanned

CLEARS UP MYSTERY


"Casey at the Bat," the De Wolf Hopper comedy at the Liberty until Saturday night, tells in picture form the story of the famous baseball poem which Hopper recited from countless stages and at innumerable social gatherings since it first appeared more than a quarter of a century ago. It will be recalled that Casey, the invincible slugger of the Mudvllle baseball team came to bat one afternoon in the ninth inning of a close game with a rival nine and, when a hit was needed to win, ingloriously struck out. leaving the entire populace of Mudvllle gasping with amazement and drenched in gloom.  The poem does not reveal what untoward circumstance it was that caused Casey to fall down so grievously at the crucial moment. This mystery the picture promises to clear up Marguerite Marsh is De Wolf Hopper's leading woman in this picturization.

Firehouse #68 -- June 5, 2013

On May 13, I took a lunchtime walk by Third and Howard, where I used to work.  I found that former Station One, which had been the busiest station in the city, had been torn down.  The white building to the right of the hole will also be torn down to make way for an extension of the Museum of Modern Art, which looms in the background.  The Museum closed yesterday for two years.  I'm sad to see the station gone since I worked across the street for nearly twenty years and often had a window overlooking Howard Street.  . 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Get Rid of Your Wife Instantly -- June 4, 2013

Harry Kellar was one of the great American magicians of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. Here he is featured at the Columbia Theatre in San Francisco. The ad is from the 07-November-1898 San Francisco Call.  Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version. 

An article on the same page said:

The Columbia.

Kellar, the magician, appears at the Columbia this week. The following is said to be a simple statement of what he did at Daly's Theater in New York every night during his four months' run there last season:
The stage is open and clear from all obstructions. There is one chair in the middle of the stage and directly above it depends a big electric arc light. Aside from these, there isn't a scrap of furniture or ornamentation of any kind. The stage is brilliantly lighted all the time, yet, in the full glare of the big light.  Mr. Kellar takes his seat in the chair, makes a few passes and commands his body to dissolve into thin air. It gradually and slowly fades until the back of the chair is seen through his form. Finally it disappears altogether, much as a cloud of mist would be dissipated by the morning sun. He doesn't walk off the stage at all; he simply sits still and slowly vanishes. Then he sits in the same chair and turns himself Into Mrs. Kellar, who steps to the footlights and speaks to the audience.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Pope John XXIII 50 Years -- June 3, 2013

Pope John XXIII was Time magazine's Man of the Year in the 04-January-1963 edition.  Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, the man who convened Vatican II, died 50 years ago today.  I don't remember the event, but I have an early memory of reading an old Life or Look magazine story about his death.

"We were all made in God's image, and thus, we are all Godly alike."

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Thomas-Morse M.B.-7 -- June 2, 2013

The Thomas-Morse M.B.-7 was a racing monoplane built for the United States Navy.  One participated in the 1921 Pulitzer Trophy race but crashed and burned.  The other participated in the 1922 Pulitzer Trophy racebut withdrew because of engine troubles.  It was a clean-lined, fast airplane.

The images are from the 1922 Aircraft Yearbook.  



Friday night we went to the graduation dinner dance for Good Shepherd school.  I have spoken to the graduates four times for the Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest.  The video presentation was excellent.

This evening we went to mass at Good Shepherd.  It was the monthly young peoples' mass.  The collection went well, with five kids volunteering.  My wife and I were eucharistic ministers. 

On display by the altar was a trophy that the Good Shepherd council of the Knights of Columbus won at the state convention.  

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Joe's Cable Car -- June 1, 2013

Today was bright and sunny.  We drove over to Mission and Silver to visit Joe's Cable Car, which is famous for its hamburgers.  We got there early, and it filled up rapidly.  My wife ordered a mushroom burger with onion rings and I ordered an avocado burger with French fries.  We admired the eclectic decor while we waited for our food.  The cooks ring a cable car bell when orders are up. 

The burgers were both very good.  My bun held together till the last couple of bites.  The mushrooms were good.  The avocado was a little firmer than I liked, but everything tasted good.  My wife said the onion rings were excellent.  I tried an one and it was light, not greasy.  The fries were nice, but I like the ones at Bill's better.  Both hamburgers came with a slice of cantaloupe.  I was full before I finished my fries.  We agreed we would come back. 

A waitress brought our bill and picked up the money, saying she would bring back our change.  We waited a while and another waitress brought us another bill for the same amount and went to another table.  I caught her on her way back and said we had already paid and were waiting for our change.  She apologized and went back to look for our change.  She brought it soon after. 

I'll post some more photos on my cable car site in July.