The Kettler Ranch acreage in present-day Southeast Torrance was built on a ranch that once belonged to German immigrant Emil Kettler. Born in 1847, the pioneering farmer and landowner and his wife, Amalie, originally had settled on farmland he bought in Wilmington in 1877. Two years later, he sold that land in order to purchaseContinue reading “Huge postwar Kettler Knolls development carpeted Southeast Torrance with homes”
Author Archives: Sam Gnerre
The U.S. Merchant Marine played a key role in Southern California during World War II
The United States Merchant Marine traces its origin back to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. In June 1775 in Machias, Maine (then part of Massachusetts), townspeople refused to provide the British with lumber to build barracks for their troops, resulting in the British bringing in the armed ship HMS Margaretta to retaliate. The settlersContinue reading “The U.S. Merchant Marine played a key role in Southern California during World War II”
Temple Menorah, the South Bay’s largest synagogue, started out small
The South Bay’s largest synagogue, Temple Menorah in Redondo Beach, can trace its origin back to an open letter written in early 1946 by Isaac H. Grancell of Hermosa Beach. Grancell and his wife, Anna, sent the letter out to selected local Jewish residents asking for their participation in the formation of a religious communityContinue reading “Temple Menorah, the South Bay’s largest synagogue, started out small”
The remarkable story of “Torrance’s own” champion skater Michelle Kwan
Quick, name for me the U.S. Ambassador to Belize from 2022-2025. Answer: Figure skating legend Michelle Kwan. But we’re getting ahead of our story. It begins with Kwan’s birth at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance (now owned by the Providence hospital chain) on July 7, 1980. Her parents, Danny and Estella Kwan, livedContinue reading “The remarkable story of “Torrance’s own” champion skater Michelle Kwan”
The Banning-Carson high school football rivalry flourished in the 1970s and 1980s
Imagine more than 14,000 fans at Long Beach Veterans Stadium rabidly cheering for a high school football game that didn’t even involve Long Beach-area schools! It happened regularly in the 1970s and 1980s when Banning High and Carson High’s teams – the Pilots and the Colts – squared off in their annual Marine League showdown.Continue reading “The Banning-Carson high school football rivalry flourished in the 1970s and 1980s”
Changing street names, fanciful road projects often reflected shifting civic ambitions
Enthusiasm was running high at the formation of the Redondo Beach Good Roads Association on Feb. 5, 1913, according to an account in the Redondo Reflex. The group of civic boosters were particularly excited about the plan to build a new highway, Redondo-Riverside Blvd., from Redondo Beach to the Riverside county line, some 50 milesContinue reading “Changing street names, fanciful road projects often reflected shifting civic ambitions”
Trailblazer LeRoy Grannis set high standards for surf photography
LeRoy Grannis fell in love with the ocean and surfing at a very young age, and at a time when the sport was also at a very young age. He was born at home, blocks from the ocean in Hermosa Beach on Aug. 12th,1917. The family made the most of living near the beach. Grannis’Continue reading “Trailblazer LeRoy Grannis set high standards for surf photography”
The Torrance-South Bay YMCA eventually outdid itself in its quest for a suitable headquarters
Discussions regarding the formation of a Torrance branch of the YMCA began in earnest in 1944, when the San Pedro YMCA appointed a committee tasked with creating it from scratch. At the time, the newly formed branch had no recreational facilities or even a meeting place of its own. In 1945, the Torrance YMCA wasContinue reading “The Torrance-South Bay YMCA eventually outdid itself in its quest for a suitable headquarters”
Tony Trutanich’s seafood restaurants became fixtures on the Redondo Beach pier
Tony Trutanich’s parents, Martin and Mary, were Croatian immigrants who settled in a house on 15th St. in San Pedro after originally coming to the port city of Tacoma, Washington in the early 1900s. Anthony Andrew Trutanich was born on Nov. 29, 1922. As a young man, he worked in the commercial fishing industry inContinue reading “Tony Trutanich’s seafood restaurants became fixtures on the Redondo Beach pier”
San Pedro’s public library keeps up with the times and its growing clientele
In 2011, I wrote a South Bay History blog post about the San Pedro public library building that opened in 1906. The distinctive domed building at 820 Beacon St. was funded by steel industry titan Andrew Carnegie, one of 1,689 libraries he funded during his lifetime. But that library, which closed in 1923, is onlyContinue reading “San Pedro’s public library keeps up with the times and its growing clientele”
