News from July 7th, 1907

With all the talk about today being July 7, 2007, I went back to July 7, 1907 to see some of the news stories from that era. One thing I didn't see was any articles about it being 7/7/07, in 1907.

Most of the following stories are from California. July 7, 1907 came on a Sunday.

I didn't find any big articles about films, for live stage productions were still king of entertainment in 1907. The top feature in the LA area was the live play 'Peter Pan'.

There was still unrest in the Philippines, as the US was involved with a war in that area for several years.

The heat was on everyones mind in Southern California, as Los Angeles hit the 100 degree mark on July 6, 1907. The fisherman were blaming the 'unprecedented heat and absence of trade winds' for the current 'red water' (an epidemic of Peredinium), that was killing the local fish and shell fish off the coast.

The heat also helped cause a 10,000 acre wildfire in the Las Cruces area in Santa Barbara County. It started the afternoon of July 6th and raged into the hills very quickly.

In Bakersfield, California an oil refinery was being repaired after fire nearly destroyed it. The property had no insurance and the article said:

"...it is being almost impossible to place any (insurance) on refineries like this. It can never be done except under the very exacting conditions, and than only at exorbitant rates."

Hollywood has 'quarter of a million dollars' spent on new buildings in the area, with $200,000 on 55 new homes and the rest for the new Mountain Inn ($22,000), The Penman building ($12,000) and Central Block ($9,000). Many of the homes were for sell in the $3500 to $15,000, with the bulk of the two-story homes in the $3500 to $5000 range.

Prices were soaring for navel oranges, lemons and grapefruit, as demand was exceeding supply.

A move was on to 'push' the push-cart salesmen off the city streets of New York. The city was starting a licensing fee for anyone to sell anything off the streets. The fee was high enough to place many out of business.

And as people talk about climate today, so were the people in Los Angeles in 1907.

SAVE THE CLIMATE! was the headline, as the State Medical Society and the board of Health started a campaign to stop the pollution of the air in the LA area.

"It cost more to make smoke than to burn fuel properly, but it is futile to attempt to arouse the owners of smoking stacks from their solid indifference to their own interest. The only way to pound sense into their head is to fine them for being stupid" , the LA Times reported.

And that is just a bit of news for July 7, 1907...