Table of Contents Editor’s Page…………………………………………………………………………………….2 California Noir: Dashiel Hammett’s San Francisco – Out of the Fog………………………….3
Novembermania………………………………………………………………………………...5 Remember When……………………………………………………………………………….8
November……………………………………………………………………………………..10
Cover photograph, William S. Dean, 7th Annual Cruisin’ for a Cure car show, Orange County Fairgrounds, Costa Mesa
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Editor’s Page Welcome back! A sincere “Thank you!” to the readers and supporters of California Times. We are pleased you enjoyed our first edition. We know that a few mistakes or formatting problems may still arise, but we will try to correct them before the editions “go to press”. These early mornings in November are starting to display the chill of winter. The jacket hoods are starting to go up and the autumnal leaves are swirling in eddies on the ground. And yet, sometimes – like when the sweet California sunshine blooms in the sky or after a light rain -- the scent of summer pine still lingers in the air and makes one pause and smile. This month, we continue our feature California Noir with a profile of Dashiel Hammett, creator of Sam Spade. Novembermania is filled with upcoming events including the Los Angeles Car Show, the Indio Pow Wow, and the kickoff (toward the end of the month) of the Great Dickens Christmas Fair at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. There’s always something happening somewhere in California! In future, we will be trying to increase the size of California Times a little bit to include more information and entertainment, partly to compete with our new larger sister-publication, California Reader, though our focus is somewhat different. November is a month for art & craft festivals when artisans and the creative bring out their inspired wares in time for early Christmas shoppers who suddenly know just the right person that ceramic or hand-made present. November is a harvest month, as I’m well-reminded by my chili peppers (planted in late spring). The peppers Fall colors of yellow, brown, orange, and red echo the colors of seasonal tree leaves. November, the harvest month, is a good time to shake off the residue of lazy days of summer and get out to your local farmer’s market or foodie festival for some freshly picked autumn squash, pumpkin, cauliflower, broccoli, garlic, grapefruit, pears, persimmons, and sweet potatoes. I pause again…to take in that aromatic scent of pine, with their cones hanging heavy on the trees and note that Christmas is right around the proverbial corner…
William S Dean Editor-Publisher
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California Noir
DASHIEL HAMMETT’S SAN FRANCISCO – OUT OF THE FOG "You got to look on the bright side, even if there ain't one.” Dashiell Hammett
Dashiel Hammett was already a very sick man when he arrived in San Francisco. A long and cruel bout with Spanish influenza had evolved into tuberculosis and the wet fog off Frisco bay didn’t help. Still, he immediately contacted the local office of Pinkerton’s and went back to work as a detective. He was a veteran, both of the Army and the detective business. “Sam” as he was known – Samuel Dashiel Hammett, his full name – had gone to work for Pinkerton’s when he was twenty-one, then, like many others who would become famous authors, enlisted in the Motor Ambulance Corps in World War I. It was then that the flu hit him hard and he spent most of his enlistment as a patient at Cushman Hospital, Tacoma, Washington. It was a fateful recovery and there he met the nurse, Josephine Dolan, whom he would marry. After the birth of their second child, Josephine was told that she and the children really shouldn’t be exposed frequently to Hammett’s tuberculosis (not to mention his drinking and smoking habits). Although Josephine rented a house in San Francisco to be nearby, the marriage broke apart and Hammett’s drinking grew heavier. He was still working for Pinkerton’s and gaining inspiration from his criminal investigation cases. Page 3
Gradually, the Pinkerton’s work of strike busting and anti-Union activities grew too much for Hammett’s conscience and he quit the agency to devote himself full-time to writing. Despite the ever-changing landscape of California’s cities, there are a few remnants of Hammett’s San Francisco still around. Most imposing is the old Flood Building at Fifth and Market Streets. It was here that Pinkerton’s San Francisco branch had their offices and where Hammett often would have “dropped in” to pick up his cases and make reports. The apartment house at 891 Post Street can still be seen as well. It was at this address that Hammett rented space and wrote his three most famous novels, The Maltese Falcon, The Dain Curse, and Red Harvest. Not surprisingly, it’s also where Hammett caused his most famous character, Sam Spade, to live and where many of the scenes of The Maltese Falcon take place. Down by Union Square, visitors can grab a bite to eat at John’s Grill, 85 Ellis Street. Like Spade, you can order the chops, baked potato, and sliced tomatoes even today. Other scenic spots – where events of The Maltese Falcon are played out – include the intersection of Geary and Leavenworth where Floyd Thursby was shot down and the appropriately dead-end of Burritt Street where Spade’s partner, Miles Archer, was killed – his body Rolling down the slope to the Stockton Tunnel. Dashiel Hammett’s last years were spent frequently in the company of author Lillian Hellman, whose memoir of him includes a line that seems to sum up the investigations and mysteries of his life and his writing succinctly: “…the questions and answers became one in the end…”
The Flood Building
John’s Grill
891 Post Street
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NOVEMBERMANIA:
Arts & Crafts Where to get your culture and crafts on: Sacramento Arts Festival November 4 - 6 Sacramento Convention Center - Sacramento Contemporary Crafts Market Santa Monica November 4 - 6 Santa Monica Civic Auditorium - Santa Monica Downtown Burbank Fine Arts Festival November 5 – 6 200 San Fernando Boulevard - Burbank Weaving and Spinning Festival November 6 Torrance Cultural Arts Center – Torrance The Village Art Fair November 6 Avenida Del Mar - San Clemente Camino Real Artwalk November 7 – 28 Camino Real Marketplace - Goleta Sugar Plum Arts and Crafts Festival November 10 – 12 Orange County Fair Grounds Bldg.10 - Costa Mesa Women's Building Celebration of Craftswomen November 11 – 13 Festival Pavilion – Fort Mason - San Francisco Santa Clarita Fine Craft Show November 12 – 13 Old Orchard Park - Santa Clarita Homecrafter's Marketplace November 19 Sunset Center parking lots – Carmel Desert Arts Festival November 25 – 27 Frances Stevens Park - Palm Springs Page 5
Car Shows LA Auto Show November 18 – 27 1201 S. Figueroa Street Los Angeles Route 66 Museum Classic Car Show Birthday Party November 5 - Victorville Surf City Beach Cruise November 12 – Huntington Beach San Jose Classic Chevy Clubs Car Show November 19 – San Jose Bob's Big Boy's "3rd Annual Christmas Cruise"; At Bobs, 3521 Hamner Ave. – Norco
Gathering of the Tribes American Indian Arts Marketplace November 5 -6. 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles Indio PowWow November 25 - 27 Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino 84-245 Indio Springs Dr. - Indio
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Foodie Fests
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Long Beach City Place Farmers Market November 4 – 25 City Place Long Beach Covina Farmers Market and Family Night November 4 – 25 in front of Covina City Hall - Covina 5th Annual Los Angeles International Tamale Festival November 4-6 Exposition Park - Parking Lot 6 - Los Angeles
Acorn Festival November 5 Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden - Claremont International Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Show November 5 Taglyan Cultural Complex - Hollywood The Wedge Cheese Festival November 5 Downtown Escondido – Escondido Hayward Farmers Market November 5 – 26 Downtown – Hayward Carlsbad Village Street Faire November 6 Downtown – Carlsbad San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival November 16 – 20 Embarcadero Park North - San Diego
The Fair! Kearney Park Renaissance Faire November 12 – 13 Kearney Park – Fresno The Sacramento Antique Faire November 13 21st Street between W and X Streets - Sacramento Great Dickens Christmas Fair November 25 to December 18 Cow Palace - San Francisco Page 7
REMEMBER WHEN… November 1981 – Twenty Years Ago November 1 - On Sunday news shows, Treasury Secretary Donald Regan and Senator Bob Dole concede that tax increases might be necessary to reduce future budget deficit - Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from Britain. November 4 - Demonstration occurs outside U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran November 5 - Administration drops requirement of ingredient labels on alcoholic beverages . November 12 - Space shuttle Columbia launched successfully on second mission. Astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly. November 21 - Increased security noticed around president and other leaders due to alleged assassination plots orchestrated by Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi November 23 - President Reagan vetoes a stopgap spending bill, thus forcing the federal government - for the first time in history - to temporarily shut down. Says House Speaker Tip O'Neill, "He knows less about the budget than any president in my lifetime. He can't even carry on a conversation about the budget. It's an absolute and utter disgrace." November 27 - American retailers concerned over impact of recession on holiday spending
ON THE CHARTS - MUSIC "Physical" by Olivia Newton-John "Don’t You Want Me (Baby)" by Human League "I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts "Living Eyes" by The BeeGees Page 8
Celebrity News – November 1981
November 4 – Dr George Nichopoulas is acquitted of overprescribing addictive drugs for Elvis Presley November 16 – Oscar-winning actor William Holden dies after a career that includes Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Network, and The Wild Bunch November 29 – Actress Natalie Wood dies after falling off a boat at Catalina Island NOVEMBER 1991 – Ten Years Ago November 7 - Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson announces that he has HIV, effectively ending his NBA career. November 15 - Dow Jones average drops 120.31 points (5th largest dive to date) November 23 - Evander Holyfield TKOs Bert Cooper in 7 for heavyweight boxing title - A day before he dies, lead vocalist of the rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury, 45, confirms he has AIDS
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" Ah! on Thanksgiving day....
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more, And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before. What moistens the lips and what brightens the eye? What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie?”
~John Greenleaf Whittier T. S. Eliot famously wrote that “April is the cruelest month.” My vote, facetiously, goes to November. You spend most of November thinking about – mouth-watering for – that lone third Thursday when you cram in roast turkey, potatoes, cranberries, gravy, delicious fresh vegetables, and top it all off with a wedge of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top. If the time between November 1 st and November 24th is not cruelty, I don’t know what to call it. November is the neither/nor month. It’s not yet quite Christmas nor New Year’s Eve. Wacky Halloween is past.. There’s nothing for it but to hunker down into the jackets and coats of winter and dream of the holidays to come with that wistful child-like smile of one who knows a secret: that Santa is not only real, but he surfs the curl from Malibu to Doheny and Solano Beach. “Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.” ~Native American Saying Page 10