Port Hueneme Historical Society Museum

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force. You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months.... The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 1944! The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory! Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. ~ Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, 6 June 1944.

A grandson of slaves, a boy was born in a poor neighborhood of New Orleans known as the "Back of Town." His father abandoned the family when the child was an in...fant. His mother became a prostitute and the boy and his sister had to live with their grandmother. Early in life he proved to be gifted for music and with three other kids he sang in the streets of New Orleans. His first gains were coins that were thrown to them. A Jewish family, Karnofsky, who had emigrated from Lithuania to the USA, had pity for the 7-year-old boy and brought him into their home. Initially giving 'work' in the house, to feed this hungry child. There he remained and slept in this Jewish family's home where, for one of the first times in his life, he was treated with kindness and tenderness. When he went to bed, Mrs. Karnovsky sang him a Russian lullaby that he would sing with her. Later, he learned to sing and play several Russian and Jewish songs. Over time, this boy became like an adopted son of this family. The Karnofskys gave him money to buy his first musical instrument, as was the custom in the Jewish families. They sincerely admired his musical talent. Later, when he became a professional musician and composer, he used Jewish melodies in some of his compositions. The young black boy grew up and wrote a book about this Jewish family who had adopted him in 1907. In memory of this family, and until the end of his life, he wore a Star of David and said that in this family he had learned "how to live real life and determination." You might recognize his name. This little boy was called Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong. Louis Armstrong proudly spoke fluent Yiddish and "Satchmo" is Yiddish for "big cheeks, a nickname some say was given to him by Mrs. Karnofsky! I was listening to What a Wonderful World Song by Louis Armstrong and wanted to share the story. See more

Tom Stevens was working last week on a remodel inside the historic Majestic Ventura Theater, and during the renovations he had to climb down into a crawl space littered with old candy bar wrappers, ticket stubs, soda cans and bottles. There, he found a wallet. It had no cash, but contained clues to its age and owner: old photos, a ticket stub to a 1973 Grateful Dead concert and a California driver's license that expired in 1976. Stevens' boss suggested he post the find on t...he theater's Facebook page. That set off a lot of chatter in the community, which eventually got around to the wallet's long-lost owner, Colleen Distin. On Friday, Distin went to the theater to reunite with her red wallet, now brownish with age. Distin said she lost the wallet in 1975. She was in her early 20s on a movie date. She can't recall the show she watched but remembers placing her purse on the theater floor. She later discovered her purse had a hole large enough to lose her wallet that had a $200 check and family photos inside. "It's very emotional," said Distin, who had tears in her eyes after getting her wallet back. "It kind of caught me off guard. I was excited but then all of the sudden you start seeing things and you go back into your past. It's like a time capsule." See more

Books for all ages at bargain prices on patio of Prueter Library. Saturday June 19, 2021. 11-3 Stock up for your summer reading.

The volunteers at your Port Hueneme Museum wish you a Happy Memorial Day.

Thought this was kinda cute

Who misses the simplicity of rotary phones? We have heard people say that it was more fun to slam down the receiver back then...just can't do that with smart phones today. Any of our fans still have a rotary phone? Does it still work with modern communication platforms today?

Tom and Dick Smothers came to CBS in 1967 not really intending to lead or support a revolution. They just got caught up in it and they happened to have a netw...ork program, with some 30 million viewers, on which they criticized the war in Vietnam, celebrated rock ‘n’ roll music and satirized politicians and popular culture. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour got its message out slowly and sometimes sneakily at first. A lot of it came through the music and the amazing new acts booked to perform on air. Over the run of the show, it was like a series of anthems from the counterculture from Buffalo Springfield singing For What It’s Worth to the Beatles singing Revolution with the explosive American TV debut of The Who, and the West Coast cast of Hair, and Dion singing a song about assassinated heroes in between. The Beatles didn’t appear live to sing Hey Jude and Revolution. They’d gotten disinterested in touring by 1968, so they made these new things called videos, and gave them to only one TV program in the United States. Not to The Ed Sullivan Show, which had helped launch Beatlemania and the British invasion four years before but to the Smothers Brothers. That same year, George Harrison of the Beatles showed up unannounced not to sing, but to support Tom and Dick in their fight against the CBS censors. By then, the fights had become almost legendary. Tom confessed to Harrison that on American television, they didn’t always get the chance to say what they wanted to say, and Harrison advised, Whether you can say it or not, keep trying to say it. At first, the censored bits were silly, like an Elaine May sketch about, ironically, censorship. But quickly, the jokes became political, and battle lines were drawn. CBS was like a stern parent, placing more and more restrictions on a rebellious teenager and Tom, especially, got more rebellious. He and brother Dick and the rest, including head writer Mason Williams (who unveiled his hit instrumental Classical Gas on the show), put more meat and meaning into the program or tried to. Other legendary writers on the show included Steve Martin and Bob Einstein. A skit poking fun at LBJ got the president to call CBS Chairman William Paley in the middle of the night to complain which, in turn, led to Paley asking the show to ease up on its presidential satire. In return, Paley agreed to break the 17-year blacklist on folksinger Pete Seeger, who appeared in 1967 to sing, as part of an anti-war medley, a new song he’d written called Waist Deep in the Big Muddy, an obvious allegory about the Vietnam War and Johnson himself. CBS cut the song, Tom went to the press to complain and the following year, in a triumphant performance, Seeger was asked back. It was during this appearance that he was allowed to sing his song about soldiers trying to ford an unexpectedly deep river. Other segments produced for the show never saw the light of day or, at least, the prime time of night. For its first show after the violence-filled 1968 Democratic National Convention, Comedy Hour had Harry Belafonte sing a medley of calypso songs, with reworked lyrics to reflect the disarray and dissent in America while news footage of police brutality and student protests was projected behind him. That never made it to air. Nor did a comic sermonette by comedian David Steinberg, whose mortal sin, to CBS, was making fun of religion at all. His first sermon got more negative mail than anything in the history of TV up to that point. When Tom asked him back, CBS ordered there be no sermon. Steinberg delivered one anyway about Jonah and the whale. Not only was that sketch cut, but the entire show was pulled from the air and shortly thereafter, the Smothers Brothers were fired. They took CBS to court for breach of contract and eventually won a settlement close to $1 million, but they lost their platform. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour influenced all satirical political shows that followed, from Saturday Night Live to Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, John Oliver and Samantha Bee. Comedy Hour also contributed one of the best political satires ever a literal running gag in which series regular Pat Paulsen ran for the presidency. The Comedy Hour lasted into the early months of the Nixon administration, which were prefaced by the brothers’ on-air promise, in a tongue-in-cheek manner, to lay off the jokes toward the president-elect at least for a while. On their final show, Dick read a letter he and Tom had gotten from former President Johnson. These days, President Trump responds to Saturday Night Live skits with angry tweets. Back then, Johnson, reflecting on his treatment by the Smothers Brothers, responded by writing: It is part of the price of leadership of this great and free nation to be the target of clever satirists. You have given the gift of laughter to our people. May we never grow so somber or self-important that we fail to appreciate the humor in our lives. When Nixon's "Enemies" list was leaked to the press, the Smothers Brothers were included...Tom Smothers wryly commented..."well he was on mine before I was on his". As we watch the convergence of the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn that will culminate on the eve of the winter solstice this year, I can't help but to marvel at another convergence. The right people with the right voice, and the the right platform at precisely the right time. Thanks to the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour; the revolution WAS televised ...at least a little.

This is believed to be the first aerial photo of Los Angeles. Captured in 1887, it's credited to Edwin Husher, who rose high above the city of roughly 20,000 residents in a hot air balloon. The voyage was orchestrated by the newsman William Randolph Hearst, who published the photo in the San Francisco Examiner. For the first time, Californians saw the broad contours of what would become one of the world's most vibrant megacities. KCET

A view from the stage at the "Christmas Happening" in Laguna Canyon in 1970. Photo Credit: Mark Chamberlain Laguna Beach began the 1960s as a sleepy arts colony. As the hippie counterculture arose, the city’s gorgeous setting and dirt-cheap beach living made it a natural hub for the movement. Hare Krishnas moved into town. Gay people found sanctuary. Art and drugs abounded. Then, 50 years ago on Christmas Day, the city hosted what was billed as Southern California’s answer to... Woodstock. Originally planned for the beach, the "Christmas Happening" was moved to a canyon just beyond the edge of town after officials grew alarmed by the potential for chaos. Be a witness to the birth of the New Age, a poster read. Rumors spread that Jimi Hendrix and The Grateful Dead would show. (They didn’t).

Dave Brubeck, at piano, and Eugene Wright, on the bass, played with the quartet in Copenhagen in 1961. Photo Credit: Lennart Steen/JP Jazz Archive/Getty Images Dave Brubeck was born in the Bay Area 100 years ago this week. The jazz pianist was wildly popular in the 1950s and 60s, best known for his jaunty, oddly-metered song Take Five, included on the first jazz album to ever sell a million copies.

In 2008, Chris Willson responded to an unusual Craigslist ad offering up a cruise ship. Today, he lives with his girlfriend, cat, and dog aboard a 293-foot luxury liner in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. From S.F. Chronicle https://californiasun.us16.list-manage.com/track/click

Humboldt County was named for an 18th-century Prussian naturalist. Calaveras County got its name from the bones of Native Americans found along a river. Here's a fascinating map depicting the name origins of California counties. https://californiasun.us16.list-manage.com/track/click

:D Two Drunk Ladies :D Ah yes...the good ole days! :D

Eddie Van Halen in 1975. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada Archives In the early 1970s, singer David Lee Roth and guitarist Eddie Van Halen were high school kids in Pasadena. They were a perfect pairing, Roth said years later: desperate people seeking desperate fortune with a smile. Their band thrived in Pasadena's backyard party scene, drawing thousands of kids on weekends. Here's a great read on how Van Halen, the son of blue-collar immigrants, and Roth, the son of a doctor, joined forces and remade rock. https://www.latimes.com//2/eddie-van-halen-guitar-dies-65

Today we remember Buffalo Bob Smith on his heavenly birthday (1917-1998). Did you ever watch his tv show, Howdy Doody??

St. George Reef Lighthouse still stands off the coast of Del Norte County Photo Credit: Anita Ritenour/CC BY 2.0 In 1865, the steamer Brother Jonathan was carrying a shipment of gold from San Francisco to Portland when it slammed into the rocks off the coast of Crescent City. Of 244 people aboard, just 19 survived. It was the worst shipwreck the Pacific Coast had ever seen and gave rise to perhaps California's most foreboding and desolate lighthouse.... Built in the 1880s on volcanic rock 8 miles from shore, the lighthouse at St. George Reef was a lighthouse keeper's most dreaded assignment. Over the years, the swirling seas pulled several of them under the water. Others suffered mental breakdowns. The lighthouse was finally decommissioned in 1975, replaced by an illuminated buoy. But the old tower still stands, a sort of gravestone for the lives lost below.

There are many pictures of Griffith J. Griffith, the benefactor of Griffith Park and Observatory. But few images exist of his wife, a daughter of aristocracy named Mary Agnes Christina Mesmer, from whom much of Griffith's wealth and prestige sprang. That's in large measure because Griffith was a violent alcoholic who permanently disfigured her face. One summer afternoon in 1903, Griffith ordered his wife to kneel and swear that she had been faithful to him. Darling, you know... I have, she replied. She begged for her life. Unmoved, he shot her through the left eye. Griffith went to jail for 20 months, and later died of liver disease. Mary Agnes Christina Mesmer spent the rest of her life in seclusion, hiding her face behind a veil. Pictured below is one of the only photos of her, captured before she was shot. Some historians think she ought to be a more recognizable figure of Los Angeles's story. From KCET.

This October 18, 2020, the Friends of the Port Hueneme Library would be celebrating the 19th Victorian High Tea but then Covid-19 happened and everything closed... down. This was especially critical for the Friends because the Victorian High Tea is the biggest source of funding for children’s, teens’, and adult programs at the Prueter Library. Since we cannot invite you to join us for tea, we decided to hold a non-event event. From now until the end of October, please sit down, put up your feet, and write out a generous check to the Friends. You don’t even have to get out of your jammies or sweatpants. Then on October 17, 2021, when we invite you to the official 19th Victorian High Tea, you will know that you helped out when we needed you most. The Friends of the Ray D. Prueter Library Federal Tax ID is #77-0084572. Make out your check to Friends of the Library and send it to F O L, PO Box 532, Port Hueneme, CA 93044-0532 If you also wish to become or renew a membership, indicate that as well. Memberships are $10 Individual, $15 Family, $25-$49 Friend, $50-$99 Patron and $100 or more Sponsor See more

Photo Credit: Thomas Hawk/CC BY-NC 2.0 It's sometimes claimed that San Francisco's Coit Tower was designed to look like a firehose. Built in the early 1930s, the Art Deco structure was added atop Telegraph Hill as a tribute to firefighters at a time when memories of the 1906 earthquake and fires were still fresh. It quickly became one of San Francisco's most recognizable symbols. But the firehose story, alas, is untrue. It was just designed to be pretty.

Did you know ? Maybe not everyone knows that Popeye really existed. Frank 'Rocky' Fiegel, inspired Popeye character. He was a Polish sailor, emigrated to Illino...is to the United States, who was always involved in fights and rides. Frank was also known for his strength out of the ordinary. He beaten opponents much bigger than him to the point that sometimes they didn't get off the ground when he hit them with a unppercut. He is also remembered for his good heart and affection towards children. The cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar was near Frank and created the character Popeye in 1919 for a New York Journal comic book inspired by his friend. Frank had one eye bigger than the other, so the cartoonist baptized the character Pop-Eye which in English is the name of a disease that hits some fish leaving them with one eye bigger than the other. The can of spinach that gives strength to the sailor also existed in real life and was Frank's snack during work break at the port. Olivia Oyl was inspired by a real woman named Dora Paskel, while Brutus was inspired by a very strong young man who arrived at the port where Franz 'Rocky' Fiegel was located and fought against him. Frank - Popeye, of course, won the fight! See more

Remember passing the time during the day by going through these?

A bronze plaque memorializes John Denver on the shores of Pacific Grove at Monterey Bay. Photo Credit: David Litman Colorado’s greatest champion is memorialized on a rocky shore at Monterey Bay. John Denver became a folk music hero in the early 1970s with earnest songs about the pleasures of nature at a time of war and rising cynicism. He lived for much of his life in Colorado, a state whose soaring wilderness became a theme in his music. But in the final year of his life, D...enver stayed on California’s Central Coast, where he kept a home in Carmel and indulged his love of aviation over the Pacific. John Denver, seen in 1979, made a home near Monterey Bay in 1996. Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns On this day in 1997, Denver played a morning round of golf with some friends, then headed to Monterey Peninsula Airport to take his new two-seater aircraft, a Rutan Long-EZ, for a spin over the bay. Roughly 15 minutes after takeoff, he was dead. An investigation concluded that Denver likely tilted a rudder inadvertently while trying to adjust a tricky fuel valve in the cockpit, causing him to lose control and veer into the sea. He was 53. From California Sun