Way Back When in January 1918

By Betsy J. Green

Happy New Year to all my Edhat readers! This month marks the beginning of my fifth year writing this column. Every month I peruse the local newspapers of 100 years ago — “The Daily News & Independent,” “The Morning Press,” and “The Carpinteria Valley News” — to bring you the most interesting stories about everyday life in our area. It’s a lot of fun, well, except for the fact that I have to spend quality time with the microfilm machine in the library for about 10 hours a month. All quotes are from these three papers, unless I tell you otherwise. Enjoy!

“Flying A” Actor Flying High

A former “Flying A” actor, who was now a pilot, stopped by to take the leading man for a spin in the great blue yonder. Image: Film Fun Magazine, January 1918

Edward Wales, a one-time actor at the American Film Company here in Santa Barbara, was now a volunteer in the U.S. Armed Forces. Wales completed an aviation course at North Island, San Diego where he set a student altitude record of 10,800 feet. Now Lieutenant Wales, he stopped by Santa Barbara to show off his new skill to fellow actor William Russell.

A movie magazine named “Motography” described how Wales took Russell up with him for some flights around Santa Barbara. “Mr. Russell took a few trial flights … but you could tell that he sort of wanted to hang around as near the ground as possible.”

Wales tried to allay his friend’s fears by telling him that aviators whose planes were shot down were usually dead before they reached the ground. (That was supposed to make him feel better?) “‘I guess it must be time for me to go home for dinner,’ protested Russell.” But once back on terra firma, Russell was happy to pose for publicity pix.

Watching for the New Year

SB residents were quietly hopeful that 1918 would be a better year than 1917 had been. Image: Santa Barbara Morning Press, January 1, 1918

New Year’s Eve celebrations were generally muted this year because of the war in Europe, and 1918 was quietly welcomed in with several “watch parties” or “watch services.” At the Congregational Church, the entertainment consisted of readings, recitations, and songs by members of the congregation. “At the close of the evening, chocolate and cookies were served, and the new year was greeted with enthusiastic welcome.”

A “Terror of the Deep” is Tamed

It wasn’t a shark or a stingray this time. It was just a fish — a very large and elusive fish. “For weeks, fishers just outside the kelp line off Castle Rock [the Mesa] have been returning to the wharf minus their fishing tackle, and telling strange stories of encountering a sea monster.”

One fisherman excitedly told how an unseen giant tried to eat a fish he had on the line. “I had not been fishing more than 10 minutes when I hooked a fish, and while pulling my catch, the monster appeared. He grabbed my fish … and started to sea … and away we went. But suddenly the unseen creature, way down in the green sea” managed to break the line and swim away with the hooked fish.

A second fisherman “got an earful of this account, and he determined he would solve the mystery, so [he set out] … rigged out with a steel lead, armed with the finest shark hooks, and … a gaff.” He caught a fish and, as expected, the mystery monster tried to swim off with the fish on the line. “The hidden motive power sent his skiff scudding through the water at express train speed. For two miles at least, the mad race continued, and then the prize began to slacken up, and finally the boat stopped its progress.” The fisherman got the large fish close enough to whack it with the gaff, and he rowed back with his prize. “The big fellow [the fish, that is] tipped the scales at 148 pounds.”

That sounded mighty fishy to me, so I turned to my marine expert, Dr. Milton Love, author of “Certainly More Than You Want to Know About the Fishes of the Pacific Coast.” I asked him what fish this might have been. He told me it was probably a giant sea bass (Stereolepis gigas). Dr. Love added, “That is only a medium-sized one.”

A youngster on Stearns Wharf marvels at a giant sea bass. Image: courtesy of John Woodward

I discovered a 1910 book, “The Channel Islands of California,” by Charles Frederick Holder, that states, “Nearly all the [giant sea bass] fishes taken run from 150 pounds to 300 pounds; the record rod catch … is 436 pounds.”

But as all fishermen will tell you, the problem with catching a giant fish is that it can’t grow any larger, unlike the one that got away which can get bigger and bigger each time you tell the tale!

Animal Tales

The big fires around Ojai in June and November in 1917 affected animal life here as well as people’s lives. (There are four pages of articles about the Ojai fires in my 1917 “Way Back When” book.) As a result of the fire, an orphan fawn adopted, or was adopted by, a family in Wheeler Springs, north of Ojai.

An orphaned fawn made herself at home at a home in Ojai. Image: New York Public Library

“Fawn Mothering Two Pet Kittens. Dolly, the fawn of Webb Wilcox, proprietor of Wheeler’s Springs … is mothering a pair of pretty kittens, taking good care of the little animals, which show a great fondness for her. The fawn is one of two which were driven into the springs by the big forest fire last June. One of the animals died of burns, but Dolly has become a pet of the resort. During a recent illness of Mrs. Wilcox, the fawn slept by her bedside, and would only leave the room when carried out.”

A Storm to Remember

Our current drought is not the first, nor the last. In fact, Santa Barbara folks in January 1918 were beginning to request divine intervention. “People Want Prayer in Churches for Rain,” read the headline in the local paper. “It has been over 11 months since Santa Barbara County was visited by a worthwhile rain, and the need of it is urgent, both in the city and in the agricultural districts.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The paper published a list of the annual rainfall amounts for the years between 1869 and 1917 which showed that some years had fewer than five inches of precipitation.

But the list also showed that we’ve had too much of a good thing in other years. “Fourth Anniversary of Historic Storm,” was another weather-related headline this month that reminisced, “Today is the fourth anniversary of the greatest storm recorded in the history of Santa Barbara. The date occurred on a Sunday in 1914.” Nearly 10 inches of rain fell in one night! Witnesses said that Mission Creek roared like a freight train. There are several articles about that historic storm in my “Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1914” book.

Read more about the 1914 flood in my 1914 book.

It’s Still Here!

I discovered a home that was built in 1918 and is still with us today. The home behind the tall hedge and shrubbery at 403 Loma Alta Drive on the Mesa was designed by its first resident, Swedish-American artist Carl Oscar Borg, and is a Designated City Landmark. According to the SB City records, the home’s original cost was $5,000. “Carl Oscar Borg, noted artist, is to make Santa Barbara his home,” announced the local paper. “Mr. Borg has for many years made a specialty of Indian and desert paintings. The greater portion of his time for over 35 years past having been spent among the Yuma Indians, a tribe made famous through his brush. He has just returned from a residence of several months among the Indians in Arizona.” (Please do not disturb the current residents.)

This unusual Mission-Pueblo Revival style home was recently featured in an article in “Montecito Magazine” (fall 2015-winter 2016 issue). Some of Borg’s work was on display at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum in 2012-2013.

Borg was the art director for a couple of Douglas Fairbank’s silent movies in the 1920s. Here he works on a scene for the movie “The Gaucho.” Image: Exhibitors Herald Magazine, July 30, 1927

Santa Barbara’s First Botanic Garden

There was a huge amount of press coverage and support this month given to a man who proposed establishing a “World Botanical Garden” in Santa Barbara that would feature plants from all over the world. He began by planting the first of his 15,000 rose bushes. (This rose garden was not related to the one we presently have in front of the Mission.) This botanical garden was on Milpas Street about where the 101 overpass is now.

The man was Father George M.A. Schoener. He was described as a “scholar, philosopher, architect, botanical scientist, plant breeder, and self-sacrificing servant” as well as “highly learned.” His nickname was “Padre of the Roses.”

Shoener had grand plans for a world-class garden in Santa Barbara. Image: Wikimedia

The botanical garden here was to be the jewel in the crown of the West Coast, according to the local paper. “The plan conceives a further wide development to ultimately make of the proposed Pacific Coast Highway, extending from the Mexican border throughout California and the other Pacific coast states, to the borders of Canada, one great botanical panorama, having its center in the ‘world famous’ botanical gardens at Santa Barbara.”

Schoener’s garden was on lower Milpas Street for 20 years. Photo by Dwight & Etta Faulding, courtesy of John Woodward

“As scientific as it is comprehensive, as practical as it is colossal,” wrote the local paper of the grand plan. Plenty of big names in Santa Barbara backed the endeavor, as well as the Chamber of Commerce, the Commercial Club, the Rotary Club, the Women’s Club, and the Garden Club. [Spoiler alert — although this idea took root, it only flourished here until 1938 when the padre moved his roses to Santa Clara. Our present Botanic Garden opened in 1926.]

Highlighting Animals’ Battlefield Contributions

Millions of horses, dogs, and pigeons helped the U.S. military win the war in Europe. Horses hauled artillery, dogs delivered medicine to wounded soldiers in the battlefield, and pigeons carried messages. To help provide veterinary medicine and care for the animals, the American Humane Society created the Red Star Animal Relief organization. And just as people in Santa Barbara contributed money and spent time knitting for soldiers, they also raised money for the Red Star’s activities.

Both men and horses needed gas masks to protect against poison gas. Image: The Army Behind the Army, by Major E. Alexander Powell, 1919

This month, a benefit performance was held to raise money for the Red Star organization. “Close to 1,000 people gathered at the Montecito polo field Sunday afternoon to witness the horse and dog entertainment … and the proceeds, all which go to the organization to assist in caring for the wounded and sick war horses and dogs of France, were very satisfactory.” The paper added, “The Red Star, which is doing for the horses and dogs what the Red Cross does for the humans, estimates that there are 4,500,000 horses engaged in the war, and this will be increased to over 5,000,000 when the American forces get in action.”

The Red Star organization helped care for animals on the battlefields. Image: National Humane Review, February 1918

Among the equines at the performance was Uhlan, the prize race horse belonging to Montecito’s C.K.G. Billings. “Uhlan’s quick stepping across the green turf of the polo field brought applause.” A couple of other horses performed a trick that was popular at the time — doing a typical Teddy Roosevelt grin.

There’s more info about Uhlan in my “Way Back When: Santa Barbara in 1917” book.

But there was someone who was probably not at the benefit performance. Or, if he was there, he was probably not sitting down. One night, a few weeks earlier, the homeowner at 1123 East Ortega Street heard someone trying to raid his chicken coop. The homeowner turned on a light, and as the chicken thief fled over the fence, the homeowner fired a round of birdshot into his, um, anatomy. The punishment really fit the crime that time, eh?

The Agony of the Feet

Shoe prices skyrocketed during the war. Image: Boot & Shoe Recorder, March 2, 1918

There were shortages of many items during the war as the U.S. Government struggled to feed and clothe the men in the armed forces. An editorial in the local paper complained loud and long about the steep price of footgear. “Twelve dollars for a pair of shoes! Holy smokes! … you are haunted with the thought that every step carries you nearer to another turning out of your pockets to purchase another pair of shoes … Buying a pair of shoes has become worse than an operation to remove the appendix or the adenoids. Oh, the agony of it!”

To Knit — or Not

The women of Santa Barbara were spending every spare minute they had knitting socks, sweaters, and gloves for soldiers fighting in the war “over there.” But when it was suggested that the city’s men also contribute to the war effort, the men knit their brows in response.

“Knitting Firemen are Urged for Local Station. … ‘Have the firemen knit,’ is the slogan of the War Relief Committees, who declare that in this way, the men who watch and wait for the burning buildings will efficiently fill in the long hours and days of waiting by doing something needed for the boys in the trenches.” But when it was put to a vote, the firefighters decided they were not hot for the idea.

So simple even a man can do it! Image: Library of Congress

But the boys in the telegraph office here got the message. “The patriotic knitting bee has stung the Western Union messengers, and the entire force has the fever. A bench filled with eager youngsters in blue uniforms, actively knitting sweaters is the unusual sight which greets patrons of the office today.” The young men who normally sat idly in the office until asked to hand deliver a telegram were given knitting lessons, and were soon working up a sweat by knitting sweaters.

Nuts to the War

No, this was not an expression of disinterest in the war in Europe. Back in 1918, walnut shells were ground up to be used in the manufacture of explosives. Walnut-processing factories in Goleta were saving the shells after the nutmeats had been removed.

Walnut growers in Goleta were “doing their bit” in helping to win the war by using this walnut-hulling machine that was patented by G.F. Maiers of Goleta in 1903. Image: courtesy of John Woodward

The local paper reported, “The coarser shells are to be shipped away to a munition factory as a filler in the making of ammunition.”

Looking Back at SB in 1877

An artist’s conception of what a bird flying past Santa Barbara in 1877 would have seen. Painting by Eli Sheldon Glover, 1877

Just as we look back at the past today, the people way back when were doing likewise. A local paper wrote that a Santa Barbara banker had “resurrected a unique old sketch of Santa Barbara, had it framed, and hung in the County National Bank. According to the inscription, this was drawn by E.S. Glover and published in 1877. It is a birds-eye view … It takes in all that can be seen between the mountains, showing the Old Mission to the west, and a little beyond Sycamore Canyon to the east.”

Bird’s-eye view artists did not actually go up in an airplane or hot-air balloon. They surveyed and sketched a city as they walked around the streets, and then imagined how it would look to a bird flying by. Bird’s-eye views have been produced for hundreds of years — long before humankind took to the air.

That’s all the news for January 1918, folks. Watch for my future “Way Back When” columns on Edhat the first Saturday of every month. My books are available at Chaucers’, the Historical Museum, the Maritime Museum, the Goleta Historical Museum, Santa Barbara Arts, the Santa Barbara Company, and Amazon.com.