Archive for April, 2012

26th April
2012
written by Richard

The library at San Diego State University has unveiled an invaluable tool for researching local history: a digitized database of the San Diego Union and Evening Tribune. This product by NewsBank Inc. is keyword searchable and provides pdf images of the original newspaper copy.

For decades local researchers have relied on the microfiche index to the Union produced by city librarians years ago. As important as this index as always been, it was never completed by the Public Library and was limited by the infamous “gap”—the years between 1904 and 1930 that were left un-indexed. The NewsBank database bridges that gap and also covers the historic Tribune, a separate newspaper until its merger with the Union in 1992. The digitizing is not yet complete and some years are not available.

I would encourage anyone looking for historical information in San Diego newspapers to make a trip to the SDSU library. Parking is a minor hassle but there are several lots on the campus perimeter that cost $1 per hour. The best way to go is on the San Diego Trolley, which takes you close to the library from a station in the center of campus.

24th April
2012
written by Richard

San Diego Union, June 27, 1926

San Diego, San Pedro and Santa Barbara have become the focal point of the rum runners operating on the Pacific coast . . . It is believed that the bulk of the rum fleet will arrive in southern California waters, literally flooding this part of the state with booze of all descriptions. –San Diego Union, May 12, 1925.

The “noble experiment” of Prohibition, which outlawed most manufacture, sales, and transportation of intoxicating liquor, began in 1920 with the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment.  An assortment of unintended consequences accompanied Prohibition, including a stunning rise in organized crime, such as the lucrative  “rum running” trade from America’s “Wet” neighbors—Canada and Mexico.

The story of The Rum Runners.

20th April
2012
written by Richard

I’m not particularly a fan of e-readers but some people swear by their Kindle or Nook.  And now The Way We Were in San Diego is available as an ebook for $9.95.  Here’s a link for the Kindle version: http://www.amazon.com/The-Way-Were-Diego-ebook/dp/B007T9D41C/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

And here’s the Nook version from Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1105947483?ean=2940014474238

1st April
2012
written by Richard

Babe Ruth in 1921. From Library of Congress.

George Herman Ruth, world’s greatest baseball player, came into our midst on the noon train today slanting one eye at his traveling bag and the other at the overcast sky. “Low visibility,” quoth the Babe. “But if the raindrops will stay away for a short time I guess I can get the range and park a few baseballs on the far side of your famous stadium.”
–San Diego Tribune, October 29, 1924.

The story of a barnstorming Babe Ruth when he hit homers in City Stadium: Babe Ruth in San Diego.