Employee of the Month

January 3, 1947
Echo Park

The two robbers, one tall, one short, both shabby-looking, entered the California Bank branch and Sunset and Alvarado during the afternoon rush. At first they waited for a turn at LaVonne Quigley’s window, then made a sudden switch to Edward G. Miske’s teller station.

It was a bad choice. For when the tall man slid the note reading “This is a stickup. Give the alarm and we’ll kill you. We want your money.” across the counter, Miske looked right down the barrel of an automatic pistol and snapped “You’ll not get any money!” Then he reached for the alarm and was promptly shot in the arm, severing an artery.

The two men rushed out of the bank, up Alvarado, to Reservoir and into a waiting Yellow Cab. But their bad luck wasn’t over. Gerald Hough had just parked behind the cab, and reported the license to police. By nightfall, hundreds of officers were searching the city for the men, while brave, foolish Edward Miske celebrated his 26th birthday at Georgia Street Receiving Hospital. Despite losing a lot of blood, he is expected to recover.

Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper is the creator of 1947project, the crime-a-day time travel blog that spawned Esotouric’s popular crime bus tours, including The Real Black Dahlia. She is the author of The Kept Girl, the acclaimed historical mystery starring the young Raymond Chandler and the real-life Philip Marlowe, and of The Raymond Chandler Map of Los Angeles. With husband Richard Schave, Kim curates the Salons and forensic science seminars of LAVA- The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. When the third generation Angeleno isn’t combing old newspapers for forgotten scandals, she is a passionate advocate for historic preservation of signage, vernacular architecture and writer’s homes. Kim was for many years the editrix of Scram, a journal of unpopular culture. Her books include Fall in Love For Life, Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Lost in the Grooves and an oral history of Neutral Milk Hotel.

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Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper is the creator of 1947project, the crime-a-day time travel blog that spawned Esotouric’s popular crime bus tours, including The Real Black Dahlia. She is the author of The Kept Girl, the acclaimed historical mystery starring the young Raymond Chandler and the real-life Philip Marlowe, and of The Raymond Chandler Map of Los Angeles. With husband Richard Schave, Kim curates the Salons and forensic science seminars of LAVA- The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. When the third generation Angeleno isn’t combing old newspapers for forgotten scandals, she is a passionate advocate for historic preservation of signage, vernacular architecture and writer’s homes. Kim was for many years the editrix of Scram, a journal of unpopular culture. Her books include Fall in Love For Life, Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Lost in the Grooves and an oral history of Neutral Milk Hotel.

One thought on “Employee of the Month”

  1. This is one of those days where there’s too much to choose from:

    A streetcar at the junction of Sunset, Santa Monica and Sanborn west of Silver Lake Reservoir drags a pedestrian 160 feet, only stopping when other streetcar operators blow their whistles and people on the street begin yelling . . . an underground explosion at 9th Street and Grand blows tons of concrete, asphalt and overhead trolley cables into the street and sends manhole covers shooting into the air . . . at the inquest for his dead son, Jacob J. Satton tries to attack his estranged wife’s boyfriend, an 19-year-old AWOL soldier who is charged with beating the baby to death while Viola Satton was at work.

    But then there’s Artie Shaw: Three convictions for speeding in 1944, three convictions for speeding in 1945, five traffic convictions—and a warning—in 1946. Now the DMV wants to take Shaw’s license.

    Bonus factoid: Gov. Earl Warren declares Jan. 5 as George Washington Carver Day.

    Quote of the day: “We cannot negotiate when Viet Nam snipers are firing at French officials.”
    An unidentified French spokesman rejecting peace overtures from Ho Chi Minh.

    https://www.lmharnisch.com

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