By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum
The frail old man, known to everyone in Simi as “Grandpa Stones,” practically had to be carried over…
Source: Museum of Ventura County
The Water Witch of Simi (via Museum of Ventura County)
Leading the LA Marathon
The best space photos of 2021: Sparkling starfields to majestic nebula (via New Atlas)
The endless expanse of space is a beautiful and fascinating subject for photography. From the dramatic births and deaths of stars, to galactic glamor shots and planetary close-ups, here are some of the most breathtaking space photos of 2021.
Source: New Atlas
Bootleggers, Rumrunners, and Blind-Piggers: Prohibition in Ventura County (via Museum of Ventura County)
By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum
It was the opening day of duck season in October 1925. The last thing the hunters expected to bag along the shore east of Hueneme was dozens of 50-gallon barrels of pure alcohol…
Source: Museum of Ventura County
Remember 9/11
“Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11.”The House of the Angel (via Museum of Ventura County)
By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum
When two pirate ships appeared off the California coast in November 1818, it was a moment the governor of the Royal Presidio of Monterey had been dreading for six weeks…
Source: Museum of Ventura County
On Air with the Greatest Radio Station in the World (via The New Yorker)
WPKN-FM—on which you can hear a Stevie Wonder song performed by an all-women jazz septet or twenty minutes of Tuvan throat singing—moves to a new location in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Source: The New Yorker
Mosaic Side Table
This is my latest mosaic project. My wife Rodi found this cast iron table at a garden sale. It had plenty of patina (aka rust) which we didn’t want to touch. It was missing a top. I used thin-set mortar to adhere Morjo™ marble mosaic cutting strips to a 9 1/4″ acetate disk. These 6mm strips are what professional mosaic artists in Europe use to make ancient reproductions and fine art murals. The sides of the strips have a honed finish and are not polished. The colors become more intense when it is sealed. The end result gives the piece an almost cork-like look.
Stolen Liberty (via Museum of Ventura County)
By Library Volunteer Andy Ludlum
The Sunday, December 7, 1941 edition of the Oxnard Press Courier ran a banner headline “FIRST WAR EXTRA” and described the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Wartime hysteria and long-simmering racial prejudice would lead to 120,000 people of Japanese descent losing their homes, farms, jobs, and businesses as they were forced to spend the next several years in desolate concentration camps….
Source: Museum of Ventura County
Radio’s Moving Day
Americans woke up on March 29, 1941 to find many of their favorite radio stations had changed positions on the dial. The newspaper article above shows how it the change was explained to the public in Southern California.
Source: Radio World