Bøger af Paul McClure

Do you remember when Country was cool? Do you remember when Country Western dancing was hot? From the mid-eighties through the mid-nineties, Country culture trans- formed from a niche genre to a popular passion. City dwellers and suburbanites embraced the once rural art forms-the music, the dance, and the apparel.The Pablo Stories describe that Country Western dance craze with-Short stories, mostly about dancers at the Rusty Horn Saloon-Articles that focus on the world of dance festivals and competitions-Artifacts including photos, business cards, a dance festival program and a roster of Southern California honky tonks-Glossary of dance hall termsThe Pablo Stories identify and commemorate the Country Western Dance Era as a time when the historically rural Country culture melded into the social mainstream.

Irish immigrant William Mulholland (1855-1935) rose from ditch tender for the Los Angeles City Water Company to Chief Engineer & General Manger Los Angeles City Water Department (now the City of Los Angeles Department of Water & Power). He oversaw construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct that in 1913 brought water 233 miles from the Eastern Sierras to Los Angeles. Thanks to this reliable supply of water, Los Angeles could grow and prosper. He became a heroic figure. Mulholland supervised the design and construction of several other dams and reservoirs that provided water to Los Angeles, including the St. Francis Dam north of Los Angeles. In 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed causing immense damage and taking more the 400 lives. Mulholland took full responsibility for the dam disaster and endured a fall from grace of Shakespearean magnitude.

Okie migrant Spade Cooley (1910-1969) rose from street corner fiddle player to become the "King of Western Swing." His bands packed the Los Angeles ballrooms during World War II where his music and down-home manner attracted service members, defense workers, and locals. The charismatic Cooley appeared in more than 50 movies, made dozens of recordings, and hosted popular Los Angeles radio and televisions shows. In 1961, Cooley beat his wife Ella Mae to death. Cooley was sentenced to life in prison.In 1969, he received a prison furlough to play a benefit concert. During intermission, after a standing ovation, he suffered a heart attack and died.

San Dimas, Crown of the Citrus Belt, has been blessed with a convergence of topography, resources, weather, transportation, technology, and ground-breaking pioneers. Folk History: San Dimas in 2015 presents quizzes, social media posts, poetry, and photographs that document the town, the people, and the activities. Quiz topics include banks, business park signs, churches, city buildings, county buildings, credit unions, donut shops, drive-thru restaurants, freeway underpasses, gas stations, gated communities, grocery stores, medical buildings, mobile home parks, motels, office parks, pre-schools, public parks, public schools, retail centers, tallest buildings, tallest structures, and tallest trees. Social media posts have opened a new window through which life in San Dimas may be viewed. These Facebook "albums" show images of people, places, and activities. The goal is to provide more documentation and better understanding of life in San Dimas during that year. Pablo has also contributed poems with his take of San Dimas in 2015.

This Citrus Era in San Dimas began in 1879 when Crawford Teague reportedly planted the first citrus tree in Mud Springs and ended when the local orange and lemon packing plants ceased operation in 1953. San Dimas had ideal topography for citrus: gently sloping land facing south and west and adequate access to water that flowed from the San Gabriel Mountains through San Dimas Canyon into Walnut Creek, then into the San Gabriel River, finally emptying into the Pacific Ocean.The community had the good fortune to have Crawford and Amanda Teague's family settle in the area. An earlier book, Folk History of the San Gabriel and Inland Valleys, describes their lives. This book, Folk History: The Citrus Years, begins with their three sons: Jasper, David, and Robert. By 1912, one of them, Robert Teague, operated the largest citrus nursey in the world. San Dimas, the Crown of the Citrus Belt, was blessed with a convergence of topography, resources, weather, transportation, technology, and ground-breaking pioneers. Eras of San Dimas HistorySan Gabriel and Inland Valley history can be divided into three periods: Settlement Years of 1542 to 1878-the transition from hunter-gatherer subsistence to an agricultural economyCitrus Years of 1879 to 1953-the planting of groves, the development of the regional infrastructure, and the transition from an agricultural to an industrial economySubdivision Years from 1954 to the present-the community development and with a transition from an industrial to a technological economyThis book addresses the second of those three periods, the Citrus Years.Citrus Years of 1879 to 1953The Citrus Years have been subdivided into four sections: Citrus, Community, Institutions, and Infrastructure. CitrusThe Citrus Section of the book describes choosing the best crop, the packing houses, the workers' housing, and marketing that includes history of citrus labels in general and San Dimas labels in particular. Finally, the section ends with a description of the Great Decline citrus disease that, along with the housing boom, brought the Citrus Era to an end in San Dimas.CommunityThe Community section of this book describes business and community milestones, recreational activities such as camping in the San Gabriel Mountains, Depression and World War II public service programs, and communities that have grown out of the original 1837 Rancho San Jose. InstitutionsThe Institutions Section provides a brief history of the 16 colleges, currently with more than 125,000 students enrolled, that settled in the former Rancho San Jose. Stories of individuals at Spadra School and Pomona High School and histories of the McKinley Children's Center and the many lives of the Voorhis Boys School-Cal Poly, Pacific Coast Bible College, and Tzu Chi U.S. headquarters-are included.InfrastructureThe Infrastructure Section of the book examines the local history of water acquisition and distribution, railroad development, and the Brackett Field airport.Chapters are arranged chronologically within each of the four sections of the book.

Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944) grew from her Canadian Salvation Army roots to become a traveling Pentecostal evangelist and eventually founder of the Foursquare Church headquartered at the spectacular Angelus Temple in Los Angeles.She conducted revivals, faith healings, and regular services. During the In 1923, she opened the doors of the 5,300-seat Angelus Temple which she filled three times each Sunday. In 1926, she reported kidnapping brought her even more publicity, along with some credibility issues.After battling for control of the church, she effectively disappeared from public view from 1937 until 1944, when she died from an accidental overdose of barbiturates.No historical description of early twentieth-century Los Angeles would be complete without including the spectacular contributions and career of Aimee Semple McPherson.

Edward Doheny was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in 1856. He left home at age 15 and eventually spent 17 years as a prospector, mostly in New Mexico.In 1891, he arrived penniless in Los Angeles where he drilled the first successful oil well in the Los Angeles Oil Field. He then moved on to Mexico and drilled the first oil well there.Doheny became immensely wealthy, but got caught up in the Teapot Dome Scandal during which time his only son was murdered. After that he sold many of his assets, retired from public view, and with his wife Estelle became a generous philanthropist

This Citrus Era in San Dimas began in 1879 when Crawford Teague reportedly planted the first citrus tree in Mud Springs and ended when the local orange and lemon packing plants ceased operation in 1953. San Dimas had ideal topography for citrus: gently sloping land facing south and west and adequate access to water that flowed from the San Gabriel Mountains through San Dimas Canyon into Walnut Creek, then into the San Gabriel River, finally emptying into the Pacific Ocean.The community had the good fortune to have Crawford and Amanda Teague's family settle in the area. An earlier book, Folk History of the San Gabriel and Inland Valleys, describes their lives. This book, Folk History: The Citrus Years, begins with their three sons: Jasper, David, and Robert. By 1912, one of them, Robert Teague, operated the largest citrus nursey in the world. San Dimas, the Crown of the Citrus Belt, was blessed with a convergence of topography, resources, weather, transportation, technology, and ground-breaking pioneers. Eras of San Dimas HistorySan Gabriel and Inland Valley history can be divided into three periods: Settlement Years of 1542 to 1878-the transition from hunter-gatherer subsistence to an agricultural economyCitrus Years of 1879 to 1953-the planting of groves, the development of the regional infrastructure, and the transition from an agricultural to an industrial economySubdivision Years from 1954 to the present-the community development and with a transition from an industrial to a technological economyThis book addresses the second of those three periods, the Citrus Years.Citrus Years of 1879 to 1953The Citrus Years have been subdivided into four sections: Citrus, Community, Institutions, and Infrastructure. CitrusThe Citrus Section of the book describes choosing the best crop, the packing houses, the workers' housing, and marketing that includes history of citrus labels in general and San Dimas labels in particular. Finally, the section ends with a description of the Great Decline citrus disease that, along with the housing boom, brought the Citrus Era to an end in San Dimas.CommunityThe Community section of this book describes business and community milestones, recreational activities such as camping in the San Gabriel Mountains, Depression and World War II public service programs, and communities that have grown out of the original 1837 Rancho San Jose. InstitutionsThe Institutions Section provides a brief history of the 16 colleges, currently with more than 125,000 students enrolled, that settled in the former Rancho San Jose. Stories of individuals at Spadra School and Pomona High School and histories of the McKinley Children's Center and the many lives of the Voorhis Boys School-Cal Poly, Pacific Coast Bible College, and Tzu Chi U.S. headquarters-are included.InfrastructureThe Infrastructure Section of the book examines the local history of water acquisition and distribution, railroad development, and the Brackett Field airport.Chapters are arranged chronologically within each of the four sections of the book.

Griffith J. Griffith, born in South Wales in 1850, emigrated to America in 1866, moved to San Francisco in 1873, became a mining correspondent for the Alta California newspaper, accumulated a fortune, bought much of the former Rancho Los Feliz, married well, and donated 3,015 acres of his rancho land-Griffith Park-to the City of Los Angeles in 1896. In 1903, during a moment of "alcoholic insanity," he shot his wife and subsequently spent two years in San Quentin. After his release, Griffith sobered up, worked a redemption, and donated another 1,000 acres along the Los Angeles River to the City. Upon his death in 1919, he bequeathed the bulk of his $1.5 million estate to build the Greek Theater and the Griffith Observatory.