Tuesday's Tip - Riverside and San Diego Newspapers Online

The following Riverside and San Diego newspapers have been added to the historical newspapers collection available, by subscription, at GenealogyBank:

• Riverside Daily Press, 5/20/1938-10/1/1942
• (San Diego) Evening Tribune, 7/1/1925-1/25/1935
• San Diego Union, 3/1/1908-7/8/1934

Newspapers are a wonderful source of information about our ancestors' lives. I was excited to find references to my grandfather's employment as a watchmaker for J. Jessop & Sons and an advertisement for his watch-making school in the San Diego papers.

By Lewis Hine [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Disclaimer: I have a paid subscription to GenealogyBank. I also have an affiliate agreement. If you click on the GenealogyBank link above and subscribe to their service, I receive a small commission. You pay the same price for a subscription as if you had visited the site on your own.




© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Happy New Year from the SoCal Genie!

Pasadena Schools Float in 1922 Rose Bowl Parade.
Public domain image via Wikimedia  Commons.

The Rose Parade is tomorrow (January 2), so it doesn't feel like New Year's Day to me! But I offer the following poem to wish you all the best in 2012!

A New Year’s Wish.

May each day bring thee something

Fair to hold in memory—

Some true light to shine

Upon thee in the after days.

May each night bring thee peace,

As when the dove broods o’er

The young she love; may day

And night the circle of

A rich experience weave

About thy life, and make

It rich with knowledge, but radiant

With Love, whose blossoms shall be

Tender deeds.

—Helen Van Anderson Gordon

Source:

George Wharton James, editor, The California birthday book: prose and poetical selections from the writings of living California authors, with a brief biographical sketch of each (Los Angeles : Arroyo Guild Press 1909), 12.

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Japanese-American Relocation Resources

Today we remember those who were killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which resulted in the United States entering into World War II. It is right that we should honor our fallen heroes.

But we should not forget the other Americans whose lives were also changed—those of Japanese ancestry. War causes nations to take actions that seem, to those in charge at the time, to be necessary. Such is the case of the relocation of Japanese-Americans to internment camps during World War II.

National Archives photo. In the public domain.
Original caption: Hayward, California. Members of the Mochida family awaiting evacuation bus. Identification tags are used to aid in keeping the family unit intact during all phases of evacuation. Mochida operated a nursery and five greenhouses on a two-acre site in Eden Township. He raised snapdragons and sweet peas. Evacuees of Japanese ancestry will be housed in War Relocation Authority centers for the duration.
Date: 8 May 1942.

Descendants of those who were interned in camps may wish to know more about what life was like during those times. Much material about the Japanese-American experience is available at institutions in Southern California. Following are links to descriptions of several collections (an * indicates items are available online):

• Japanese American Research Project (Yuji Ichioka papers), 1893-1973 – University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• Constantine Panunzio Collection of Material on Japanese American Internment, ca. 1853-1945 – UCLA
• Estes (Donald H.) Papers 1887-2005 – Japanese American Historical Society of San Diego
• Japanese American Internment Collection 1929-1956 – UCLA
• Japanese American Relocation Collection* – Occidental College
• Asian Pacific Studies Collection 1920-1993 – California State University, Dominguez Hills
• Okubo (Miné) papers, 1932-2009 – University of California, Riverside
• Murphy (Mollie Wilson) Papers 1942-1945 – Japanese American National Museum
• Manzanar Collection, 1942-1994 (bulk 1942-1946) – California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo
• Anderson (Hugh) Collection 1921-1959 – Pasadena Museum of History
• Yamada (Mitsuye) Papers 1940-2005 – University of California, Irvine
• Japanese American Relocation Photograph Collection 1930-1958 (bulk 1941-1946)* – University of Southern California (USC)

 © 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Lomita Veterans Memorial

In November 1997 the City of Lomita dedicated its Veterans Memorial. A second memorial was added later to include those who lost their lives in the Global War on Terrorism. On this Veterans Day, it is my honor to present the names of those who gave their lives in service to our Nation.

Digital image. Copyright Denise Spurlock 2011.

LOMITA VETERANS MEMORIAL

"Today we honor these brave men and women from our community who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. History has shown us that freedom is not free. We pay for it with the lives of our neighbors, family members and loved ones. May the spirit of these brave soldiers live in our hearts, so they will never be forgotten. Councilman Dave Albert, November 11, 1997"

World War I

CLYDE CHESTER BLAIN,  USN

World War II

JERRY ANGELICH, USA

GEORGE REYNOLDS BAKER, USNR

ROBERT BARKER, USAAF

RAYMOND BARRA, USN

THOMAS WALTER BEECHAM, USN

RAYMOND BODAM, USMC

ROBERT BRUMPTON, USN

JACK CHEEK, USN

RICHARD COX, USA

MARTIN DEVRIES, USN

JOHN LOGAN EGNEW, USN

ROBERT FENTON, USA

LORY GARCIA, USA

BILL GLOVER, USN

CHELSEA HAMILTON, USA

GEORGE HENDERSON, USN

PAT HERNANDEZ, USA

GORDON JACOBS, USN

RICHARD JOHNSON, USN**

ALVAH DON JOHNSON, JR., USA

WILLIAM LUEDKE, USA

MELVIN MARTIN, USN

CLYDE MAXWELL, USN

JAMES MEADOWS, USMC

JOHN MULKERN, USN

MANUEL MURO, USN

CHARLES RICHARD O'BRIEN, USA

WALTER OWENS, USAAF

KRISTI PALICA, USA

JAMES PEIGHTAL, USNR

FLOYD RAMSEY, USA

ALBERT READING, USCG

ALLEN RIDER, USN

DICK RIDER, USA

PEARL T. ROOMSBURG, USA*

MARCUS ROWIN, USA

WAYNE SAMMON, USN

JIM SANDERS, USN

ROBERT SCHREIB, USMC

GEORGE STAMBAUGH, USNR

MILES STUBBLEFIELD, USN

MALCOLM G. TADLOCK, JR., USN

EDDIE TAPIE, USN

JESS TAYLOR, USA

LEONARD VORHIS, USN

NORMAN E. WILSON, USN

BOB WOLVERTON, USN

Korea

STUART CLARK, USA

DONALD DANA, USA

CHARLES DUNCAN, USA

JOE HOOKER, USA

DUANE PARSONS, USA

BOBBY SPRATT,USA

WILLIAM TEUCHERT, USA****

GEORGE WASHBURN, USA

Vietnam

JERRY D. ATKINSON, USMC

RICHARD A. BAGLIO, USA

ROBERT R. BOHLER, USA

PERRY BOZEMAN, USA

CURTIS BROCKINGTON, USA

JOHN T. CARROLL, USA

DENNIS RAY CARTER, USMC**

MICHAEL B. CARTER, USMC

MICHAEL F. COOK, USMC

LEON T. CULVERHOUSE, USMC

SAMUEL R. DURHAM, USA

ALAN R. GUYMON, USA

RICHARD W. HASTINGS, USN

DON RAY HEIMARK, USA

FREDERICK R. HORRIDGE, USMC

RICHARD L. KEELER, USN

JOHN LORTZ, USA

RAYMOND D. McGLOTHIN, USA

STEVEN W. MUSGROVE, USA

GLEN A. MUSGUIRE, USMC

CHESTER O'BRIEN, USMC

ALAN P. SANDOVAL, USMC

JOHN ROY TIGHE, USA

JOHN G. TURK, USMC

LESLIE JAMES WATSON, USA

*Female

**Missing in Action

***Died as Prisoner of War

****Died when missing in action

Digital image. Copyright Denise Spurlock 2011.

...ALWAYS REMEMBERED

Global War on Terrorism

JOSE GUTIERREZ, USMC

SERGIO RAFAEL DIAZ-VARELA, USA

Should you wish to visit, the Lomita Veterans Memorial is located next to the Post Office at 25131 Narbonne Ave.

© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Costs for California Vital Records to Rise

On October 2, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1053 into the law. Sponsored by Gordon, this new statute increases the base fees for certified copies of birth and death certificates by $9 over the next three calendar years—$5 on January 1, 2012, and $2 in each of the two subsequent years.

The full text of the bill can be found at http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/billtrack/text.html?bvid=20110AB105392CHP

© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Shades of L.A.: Oral Family History Interviews

Twenty years ago, the Los Angeles Public Library, in cooperation with Photo Friends, undertook a project to document the ethnic diversity of Los Angeles by copying family photographs. "Shades of L.A.: A Search for Visual Ethnic History" took six years to complete and contains more than 7,000 photographs.

During the project, oral family history interviews were conducted with twelve individuals representing eight ethnic backgrounds. Recordings and transcripts of these interviews are now available online at Shades of L.A. Information on how to search the photo collection is also available on the page.

By unknown Los Angeles Daily News staff photographer
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Don't Miss the 6th Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar

Free and open to the public, the 6th Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar is being held on Saturday, October 22, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Doheny Memorial Library on the USC campus.

A joint effort of USC Libraries and LAasSubject, the bazaar will include exhibits representing over 80 participating institutions, including the Autry National Center of the American West, the California African American Museum, and the Japanese American National Museum. In addition to the institutional exhibits, there are educational sessions, documentary film screenings, and panel discussions.

What a great opportunity to learn about some of the special collections available here in the Los Angeles area! Click here for more information.

Be sure to download and view "Preservation 101: Basic Tips for the Household Archivist," a presentation given by Michelle Light, head of special collections and archives at UC Irvine, given at the 4th Annual Bazaar. Her speaking notes are included in the PowerPoint presentation.


© 2011 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research