Thanksgiving is coming up and like many people, I am most grateful for my family. When I was appointed official city historian by the city council of Culver City in 1996, little did I realize that I would be privy to some great sources of information and stories that flesh out the city’s history to make it interesting and fun. This is just one example of an early publication that offers added perspective from and about the early residents. My comments, to offer added perspective, are in italics.
On the day prior to Thanksgiving, 1926, the Culver City Call’s “We Give Thanks” column quoted some of the locals on their reasons to be thankful. They included:
- “That turkey dinner appetites are well filled” – Dr. Foster M. Hull (Hull, one of the early health officers in Culver City, built the first hospital in town, which is now Akasha restaurant. The building is a local landmark.)
- “That there has been a scarcity of Los Angeles newswriters in the city recently” – Chief of Police Bill Coombs
- “That holidays bring crowds” – Miss Pearl Merrill (retired Vaudeville performers Pearl Merrill and Laura Peralta established the Meralta Theatre in Culver City, which was opened in the 1920s by Will Rogers.)
- “That auditors don’t come in bigger crowds” – Nellie Brown Haus, city clerk
- “That they are still hunting a hair restorer” Charles Lindblade (Lindblade, apparently “follicly challenged,” was one of Harry Culver’s business partners and the owner/builder of the Washington Building, the triangular landmark structure across from the Culver Hotel.)
- “That Mrs. Machado misses a meeting of the council now and then” – city trustee Milton Gardener
- “That Milt Gardner is on the council” – Mrs. Machado (Mrs. Machado was the wife of Jose de la Luz Machado, the youngest of Agustin Machado’s children. She was well-known for speaking her mind at council meetings. The Machados and Talamantes families were founders of Rancho La Ballona.)
- “That Putnam Avenue has been renamed” Harry H. Culver (the new street name: Culver Boulevard)
- “That visitors still ‘Hunt’ good hotels” – J. B. Miller (the first name of the Culver Hotel was the Hunt Hotel.)
- “That expositions need queens” – Miss Helen Stotts (local beauty Miss Stotts was the successful entry of the Culver City Call newspaper in a Culver City exposition. She later became Helen Wright.)
- “That it takes good teeth to eat some of the Thanksgiving turkey” – Dr. John Connelly
- “That all houses are not brick” – Ed Betts (Betts’ family business was lumber)
- “That the city council adheres strictly to my legal rulings” – Judge Henry King, city attorney
- “That Main Street real estate brings fancy prices” – Carl A. Jensen