Thursday, August 31, 1933

We all (Daddy, Mother and I) and Rita Mae went up to Aunt Nellie's for dinner and supper. Went over to Marie's. Gladys stayed all night.

Carole Lombard (October 6, 1908 - January 16, 1942)
Born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne, Indiana
Spouses: William Powell (divorced); Clark Gable (widowed)

Queen of the 1930s screwball comedies

After her parents divorced, Lombard's mother took her three children
to Los Angeles. Lombard appeared in her first film at the age of 12,
when director Allen Dwan saw her playing baseball in the street and cast
her as a tomboy in A Perfect Crime. Lombard went on to appear in 60 movies
(including movies with both her husbands) and numerous shorts before her
death in a plane crash following a war bond rally in her home state of Indiana.

The Liberty ship SS Carole Lombard was named in her honor.
It launched on January 15, 1944 with a still-grieving Gable in attendance.

Wednesday, July 19, 1933

Pauline and I went swimming in the afternoon. In the evening we went down to the Water Carnival and went swimming again.

Miss America 1933 Whistle Stop Tour

The Whistle Stop Tour -- the seven MidWest contestants -- from left: Iowa, Missouri,
Kentucky, Kansas, Arkansas, Idaho and Illinois - photo taken July 19, 1933 in Chicago
- four were subsequently disqualified in Atlantic City: Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois and Iowa

For seven weeks prior to the September Atlantic City Pageant, the seven MidWest
contestants went on a "Whistle Stop Tour," billed as "The Pageant Beauties." Traveling
 by train to small towns and large cities throughout the MidWest, they were exhibited and
they performed at various small theatres on their way to Atlantic City, probably for
 publicity, but also to raise money for their expenses.

Miss Connecticut, Marian Bergeron, was ultimately crowned Miss America 1933.

Monday, July 10, 1933

Daddy gave me a quarter to put in my bell bank for my school books. I went swimming. Called Kate.

Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966)

Born in Piqua, Kansas, into a vaudeville family, Keaton spent his childhood on the road with
his family. Legend has it that he earned the nickname Buster after he fell down a flight of steps at a
theater, and a magician on the bill, Harry Houdini, said to the elder Keaton, "What a buster your
kid took!" Keaton's career took off when he met Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (see June 29 entry), who
invited him to play a small role in The Butcher Boy. The two went on to star in a string of comedies.
It was at this point that Keaton developed the deadpan expression that earned him yet another
nickname, "The Great Stone Face." He also began wearing his trademark porkpie hat, many of which
he made himself by cutting down a Stetson and stiffening the brim with concentrated sugar water.

While professionally successful, Keaton had a fairly miserable personal life. He was married three
times, had two sons that he didn't really get to know until they were older, and was an alcoholic. His
third wife helped him stop drinking and salvage his career. He went on to star in any number of movies
and television shows and worked until right before he died of lung cancer. Keaton has two stars on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame: 6619 Hollywood Boulevard (for motion pictures); and 6321 Hollywood
Boulevard (for television).

Sunday, July 9, 1933

Today sure was hot. I went out and played with Betty a little while. Pauline and Sugar and I bought some candy.

*Note: The Great Depression ushered in a golden age of candy bars. Back then, they were referred to as "nickel bars" and marketed as a cheap source of quick calories.

Consisting of a lump of cherry foundant covered by a chocolate-and-peanut hash
the Twin Bing has been manufactured by the Palmer Candy for five generations. 

Abba-Zaba are taffy candy bars with peanut butter centers have been around since 1922.
Originally manufactured by Colby & McDermott, today they're made by Annabelle Candy Company.




Friday, July 7, 1933

Pauline and Gweyn and Joyce and Edda May and I all went swimming. We swung in the swing up there, too. Concert was there.

Hold Your Man
Starring Clark Gable and Jean Harlow
Release Date (US wide): July 7, 1933
Screenplay by Anita Loos and Howard Emmett Rogers
Drama and Romance

In short, Ruby falls in love with small-time con man Eddie. During a botched blackmail scheme,
Eddie accidentally kills the man they were setting up. Eddie takes off and Ruby is sent to a
reformatory for two years. Then Eddie is caught and sent to prison, but not before he and
Ruby are secretly married.  When Eddie is released from prison, he and Ruby are reunited.

This was the third of six films that Gable and Harlow made together.





Wednesday, July 5, 1933

I went swimming today with Mrs. Mitchell and Edda Mae. In the evening Gweyn and Pauline and I went swimming.

Sally Rand
Sally Rand (1904–1979) was born Helen Harriet Beck in Hickory County, Missouri.
During the 1920s, she acted on stage and appeared in silent films. Cecil B. DeMille gave
her the name Sally Rand, inspired by a Rand McNally atlas. After the introduction of sound
she became a dancer, known for her ostrich feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance. She
also performed under the name Billie Beck.

In 1936, she purchased The Music Box burlesque hall in San Francisco, which would later
become the Great American Music Hall. She starred in "Sally Rand's Nude Ranch" at the Golden
Gate International Exposition in San Francisco in 1939 and 1940. She continued to appear on stage
doing her fan dance into the 1970s. Sally Rand died in Glendora, California from undisclosed causes.





Tuesday, July 4, 1933

Went to Swope Park today and ate our lunch. In the evening we came home and had some fireworks.

July 4, 1933: Fireworks at the Chicago World Fair

Happy 4th of July!

Sunday, July 2, 1933

As it was so hot today, Mother and I didn't go to church. I cut my foot again in the grass.

July 2, 1933: Randolph Scott and Vivian Gaye
Los Angeles National Air Races

Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose
career spanned from 1928 to 1962. He appeared in a variety of genres in over 100 movies,
but his most enduring image in 60 of those movies is that of a tall-in-the-saddle Western hero.

With all those Westerns under his belt, Scott was inducted into the Western Performers
Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, in 1975. He also received an In Memoriam Golden Boot Award for his work in
Westerns. Randolph Scott has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6243 Hollywood Blvd.

Friday, June 30, 1933

I was sure awfully hot today. I went out and played tennis with Pauline and Harold. Aunt Katie brought salad greens from her garden by so Mother made wilted lettuce and green onions.

Wilted Lettuce and Green Onions

Cut up enough fresh garden lettuce to fill a large bowl. Chop a handful of green onions, and mix with the lettuce. Salt to taste. Heat 2 Tablespoons bacon grease and add 1 Tablespoon vinegar. Pour hot grease and vinegar over lettuce and onions. Serve immediately.

*Note: You can cook a couple pieces of bacon until crisp and then crumble over the top of the salad.

Yum! Wilted Lettuce Salad

Wednesday, June 28, 1933

Marrilyn Beckwith was over here today. She and I went down to Mrs. Pendergast's to swing.

One of four 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth Baseball Cards

Some of the most recognizable Babe Ruth baseball cards are from the 1933 Goudey set.
This 240-card set produced by the Goudey Gum Company is one of the most popular baseball
card sets of all time (along with the T206 set). It has been the subject of numerous reprints.
Because no Babe Ruth cards were included in the 1934 set, the 1933 Ruth cards are even more
 valuable. Depending on card condition, the value of the Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey cards range from
a few hundred dollars to over $20,000.

Tuesday, June 27, 1933

It rained this morning. Went to town. I got me a new pair of pink pajamas, a bathing suit and a cap.

Ginger Rogers (1911 - 1995)

Born Virginia Katherine McMath in Independence, Missouri,
Rogers was an only child who spent most of her  youth in Kansas City.
Her nickname, "Ginger," came from a younger cousin who called her Jinja.
After her parents' divorce and her mother's remarriage, she took Rogers
(her stepfather's last name) as her own last name. She performed in vaudeville
and on Broadway. Her appearance in the play "Girl Crazy" made her an overnight
star at age 19 and earned her a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures.

Rogers went on to star in 73 movies. While she's probably best known for "dancing backwards
in high heels" with Fred Astaire, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1940 for
her performance in Kitty Foyle. Married five times, she had no children. Ginger Rogers's ashes
are interred in the Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Chatsworth, California
with her mother's, and just a short distance from the grave of Fred Astaire.

Saturday, June 24, 1933

Gweyn made Phyllis (Baby Doll) a swimsuit and hat out of some pink flowered material. They sure were cute.




June 24, 1933: Actor John Wayne (1907 - 1979) marries Josephine Saenz

Saenz was the first of Wayne's three wives. She was a Panamanian
diplomat's daughter. They had four children during their 12-year marriage.
Wayne went on to marry two more Latinas: Esperanza (Chata) Baur Diaz
and Pilar Weldy. He and Diaz had no children during their eight-year
marriage. During their 17-year union, Wayne and Weldy had three children.

Wayne's love of all things Latin was such that when he died, he was laid to
rest in an unmarked grave overlooking the Pacific Ocean - facing south. A memorial stone
 placed in the cemetery near his grave had the inscription he’d always wanted written on it.
It was in Spanish: “Feo, Fuerte, y Formal” (He was ugly, he was strong, he had dignity.).

 

Friday, June 23, 1933

Gweyn and I took Sonny and Baby Doll walking. We went over to Carmines'. We saw Pauline and Fay.

James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (1913 - 1980)

Born the seventh of eleven children in Oakville, Alabama, Jesse moved with
his family when he was nine to Cleveland, Ohio, as part of the Great Migration
of Negro families from the segregated South. His junior high coach, Charles Riley,
recognized his running talent and encouraged that talent by accommodating his practice
schedule. Owens first came to national attention in high school. He equaled the world
record of 9.4 seconds in the 100-yard (91m) dash and long-jumped 24 feet 9 1/2 inches
(7.56m) at the 1933 National High School Championship.

Known as the "Buckeye Bullet" at Ohio State University, Owens won eight
individual NCAA championships - this while going to school and working to pay
his tuition and living expenses. In 1936, Owens competed in the Olympics in Nazi
Germany and won four gold medals - blowing the Nazi propoganda about "Aryan
racial superiority" out of the water. On the first day a miffed Hitler shook hands only
with the German medalists and then left the Olympic stadium. After the Olympic
committee said he had to shake hands with all the medalists or none of them, Hitler
chose the latter.

Prohibited from amateur sporting appearances, Owens ran a dry-cleaning business
and worked as a gas-station attendant to support his family in still-segregated America
until he eventually filed for bankruptcy. He was later successfully prosecuted for tax
evasion. In 1966 he was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador by the government and
traveled the world speaking and making appearances. He died of lung cancer at his
home in Tuscon, Arizona. Jess Owens is buried in Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago.

Thursday, June 22, 1933

Lost my diary, but I found it lying in the victrola. Sure was hot today. I went down to Gweyn's.

Eugenia "Jeanne" Eagels (June 26, 1890 - October 3, 1929)

A former Ziegfeld Follies Girl who went on to greater fame on Broadway
and in the emerging medium of sound films, Jeanne Eagels was born in Kansas
City, Missouri. After appearing in a variety of small venues in Kansas City, she
left in search of fame and fortune in New York. She appeared in numerous plays, several
silent films and two "talkies" that were released in 1929. Jeanne married twice but had no
children. Just as she was preparing to appear in a new play, she died suddenly at the age
of 39. Doctors disagreed as to the exact cause, though three different autopsies pointed to
excessive alcohol possibly mixed with heroin or some other narcotic substance. She was
posthumously nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role
in the 1929 film, The Letter, but the Oscar went to Mary Pickford for the film Coquette.
Jeanne Eagels is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.
   

Wednesday, June 21, 1933

Had an auction down at the store today. They sold an old truck for 197 and 1/2 dollars. Sold some other goods, too.

1920 Ford Depot Hack

A 1920 Depot Hack is fitted with the demountable rims that became available on a broader
range of vehicles that year. The rims allowed for easier flat repair, as the outer rim -- which
held the tire -- could be separated from the wheel hub, which remained on the vehicle.

Blogger's Note: I have no clue as to what kind of truck was sold; Mom didn't say. But
I've driven Fords since ... well, since forever, so I just picked out a Ford and used it.




Tuesday, June 20, 1933

Mother ironed today while I washed more dishes. It was so hot today that we couldn't hardly do much. Laten was here for dinner.

10-year old Walt Disney (center right) at a gathering of Kansas City newsboys in 1912.

Walt Disney (December 5, 1901 - December 15, 1966) was born in Chicago but spent six
of his younger years in Kansas City, where he attended Benton Grammar School and worked
as a newsboy. His family returned to the Chicago area in time for Walt to attend high school
there. He dropped out of school at the age of sixteen to join the army but was rejected for being
underage and served as an ambulance driver after the armistice was signed. Walt then moved
back to Kansas City to begin his artistic career. After a number of fits and starts, including seeing
his popular "Laugh-O-Gram" cartoons screened at the local theaters, he went bankrupt and, with
his brother Roy, headed for California to start over. The rest, as they say, is history.