Hi folks! This week I took a detour from field note scanning to digitize a bound collection of 1938 newspaper clippings. Or, as it is concisely titled:
“Flood, March 1938 : newspaper clippings from Anaheim, Azusa, Brea, Chino, Claremont, Corona, El Monte, Glendora, Hollywood, North Hollywood, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monrovia, Ontario, Orange, Pasadena, Pomona, Redlands, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, Santa Monica, Torrance, Tujunga, Upland ; with photos. of San Antonio Creek and the Claremont area“
The volume contains articles detailing a flood that devastated the Inland Empire in March 1938. For the most part the stories are what you’d expect from newspapers reporting major natural disasters: government response, relief efforts, property damage, lives lost, rabbits…
The clippings touch on a striking variety of ways in which daily life was impacted by the flood. Pieces abound stressing the importance of boiling water so it’s safe to drink. There’s a lost and found notice about a heifer. Advice about caring for wet rugs…
…And grand pianos:
A report about a public library whose children’s department suffered “only” a fifth of its books being soaked:
The Denison library of Scripps College was less fortunate:
Scattered among the bigger stories are vignettes painting a vivid picture of the flood:
I’ll close by sharing a piece by Dorothy Doyle, because there’s really no other way to close this. See you next time!
