The South Bay’s three major beach cities, Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan, all incorporated within 20 years of each other. Redondo came first in 1892, followed by Hermosa in 1907, and Manhattan in 1912. Hermosa’s earliest beginnings as a city actually go back to 1900, when Los Angeles businessmen A.L. Burbank and Eugene Baker purchased 1500Continue reading “Hermosa Beach’s early boom town days included a Redondo annexation offer”
Author Archives: Sam Gnerre
Actress Jeanne Crain went from Inglewood High to Hollywood stardom
Jeanne Crain’s ascent to movie stardom in the 1940s had all the earmarks of the classic local-girl-becomes-Hollywood-star story. Her parents, George Crain and Loretta Carr, met while he was a small-town high school principal in Ray, North Dakota in the early 1920s. They married in 1924 and decided to move west in search of aContinue reading “Actress Jeanne Crain went from Inglewood High to Hollywood stardom”
Glenn Anderson held a variety of public offices, including 12 terms in Congress
Judging by the number of public works named for him, it’s readily apparent that former South Bay Congressman Glenn Anderson knew how to get things done. A large park in Redondo Beach, a giant federal building in Long Beach, the last major freeway to be built in the South Bay, heck, even part of theContinue reading “Glenn Anderson held a variety of public offices, including 12 terms in Congress”
How pioneer automaker Henry Ford ended up having a street named for him in Wilmington
Henry Ford’s Model T revolutionized automobile production when it became the first auto produced using the moving assembly line in 1913. The innovation streamlined the production process at his factory in Highland Park, Michigan. During the 1920s, Ford looked to expand production greatly, planning for six new factories employing the assembly line process to beContinue reading “How pioneer automaker Henry Ford ended up having a street named for him in Wilmington”
The Banning mansion showcased the lifestyle of Wilmington’s most prominent citizen
It’s hard to imagine the Banning Mansion, for years a stunning Wilmington landmark, as anything less than a gleaming historical showplace set in a pristine park. But its future was clouded by uncertainty following the death of the last family member living there, Hancock Banning, in 1925. Family patriarch Phineas Banning built the structure inContinue reading “The Banning mansion showcased the lifestyle of Wilmington’s most prominent citizen”
Celebrated pilot Bob Hoover’s famous World War II flight tells only part of his story
Robert Anderson “Bob” Hoover piloted more than 300 different planes during a lifetime dedicated to aviation, but perhaps his most unusual flight took place in a German Focke-Wulf Fw190 airplane in the waning days of World War II in 1945. On Feb. 9, 1944, the 22-year-old U.S. Army Air Forces pilot was flying a SpitfireContinue reading “Celebrated pilot Bob Hoover’s famous World War II flight tells only part of his story”
Love affair ended tragically for Japanese American couple in the 1930s
The death of three-year-old Molly Kanda on Dec. 13, 1931, can only be perceived as a ruthlessly senseless killing when viewed from the Western perspective. But a further examination of the circumstances surrounding her demise only make it more tragic. Molly was born to married couple Rinzaburo Kanda, a businessman, and his wife, born AyakoContinue reading “Love affair ended tragically for Japanese American couple in the 1930s”
Aircraft firm based at Torrance Airport created an innovative crop duster in the 1950s
Until I heard from Carlos Gomez, I hadn’t given much thought to agricultural aviation, more commonly known as crop dusting, and its relation to the South Bay. Gomez mentioned that his father Antulio once worked as an engineer for Transland, a company based at the Torrance Airport that built the AG-2, one of the firstContinue reading “Aircraft firm based at Torrance Airport created an innovative crop duster in the 1950s”
Albert Halfhill: The man who transformed once-lowly tuna into the “Chicken of the Sea”
This may sound hard to believe, but before 1903, no Americans wanted anything to do with eating tuna. Anglers loved to catch the feisty sportfish, but its flesh tasted gamey and unpleasant. Alfred Powers Halfhill turned that all around. He was born in Morrow County, Ohio, near Columbus, on Nov. 25, 1847. He worked asContinue reading “Albert Halfhill: The man who transformed once-lowly tuna into the “Chicken of the Sea””
A radical rebranding helped save Westchester High School from closure
The Los Angeles Unified School District, then operating as the Los Angeles City School District, knew it was headed for a crisis as soldiers began returning from World War II and settling down in housing tracts that were rapidly being built to accommodate their families. The crisis: the district had nowhere near enough schools andContinue reading “A radical rebranding helped save Westchester High School from closure”
