Author: annsepstein@att.net

Frank Detra, an Italian-born gambling entrepreneur, arrived in Las Vegas in 1927. He was sent there by Al Capone, who, anticipating the repeal of Prohibition, urged Detra to head west. Detra operated the Pair-O-Dice roadhouse on Highway 91 — really a speakeasy — which did not open to the public until Prohibition was repealed in 1933, when it was granted a license to sell beer. The club served excellent Italian food and wine, and diners could play roulette, craps, and blackjack. Despite its illegal activities, the club was never raided. By then, the Mafia was well entrenched in the city. The club was later bought by Guy McAfee, the former Police Captain and Vice Squad Commander of Los Angeles. Read more about how the Mafia first infiltrated Las Vegas 100 years ago in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).

During the 1930s, Hitler delivered bombastic patriotic speeches to bolster the buildup to WWII. Examples “Behind every murder … stands the hate-filled power of our Jewish foe, a foe to whom we had done no harm, but who none the less sought to subjugate our German people and make of it its slave.” // “Our fundamental economic principles are, first, to unite all the forces existing, and secondly, to educate our people better in their use. This Labor Front is the greatest element in such education.” // “Bolshevism turns flourishing country sides into sinister wastes of ruins; National Socialism transforms a Reich of destruction and misery into a healthy State and a flourishing economic life.” Read more about Germany in the lead-up to WWII in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).

Of the 13 black parents who were plaintiffs in the 1954 Brown v. Topeka Board of Education desegregation case, 12 were mothers and one was a father. The case is named for the one father (Oliver Brown) because the NAACP legal team felt that having a man at the head of the roster would be better received by the all-male U.S. Supreme Court Justices. Read more about race relations in Topeka 100 years ago in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).

London’s gentlemen’s clubs were established for the English upper class in the 18th century. Members had generally attended college, served in the military, and/or were professionals. Entertainment was not a feature. Rather, the clubs were second homes for the men to eat, drink, and play parlor games such as cards and billiards. The fanciest ones, boasting posh interiors, were designed by the same prominent architects who built country houses for the wealthy. Some provided for overnight stays, and young men who had recently graduated and moved to London might live at their clubs for two or three years before renting a house or flat. Some clubs centered on shared interests, such as the arts, literature, or politics. The exclusive — and exclusionary — membership of Boodles, one of the oldest (founded in 1762) was aristocratic Tories. Read more about old London in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).

The life of San Diego’s tuna canners in the 1920s and 1930s was grueling. Primarily Italian and Portuguese immigrants, they worked long days with one short break at rates as low as 33 cents an hour. Each cannery had a wharf jutting out into the sea where boats would unload their haul. Because there was no telling when a fresh load would arrive, workers had to be “on call” 24 hours a day. Read more about how the tuna industry exploited its workers in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).

Hailstones damage vehicles, aircraft, buildings, crops, and livestock. Roofs take the worst hit. A direct hit on the head (a rare event) can cause a concussion. Hailstones cover the ground and can knock out electricity. The storms can also create flash floods, down trees, and cause mud slides. They typically last 5-10 minutes, just long enough to wreak havoc. Read about a destructive Kansas hailstorm 100 years ago in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).

British music halls were popular in WWI but declined before WWII as the prevalence of radios, gramophones, and the cinema grew. Bawdy songs did manage to survive, although many singers refrained from cursing on stage. They preferred double entendres or leaving out the last word of a poem such as “When roses are red they’re ready for plucking; when girls are sixteen they’re ready for _,” then chiding audiences for their dirty minds. Sentimental favorites also lived on, including “Nellie Dean,” a heartbroken singer’s recollection of dreaming by the old mill stream with his long-lost love. Read more about music history in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).

When firemen arrived at the site of the tragic 1911 Triangle Waist Company fire, the steel exit doors were locked, a common management practice to prevent unauthorized breaks and theft by workers. After the locks were finally broken, responders still could not enter the factory floor. The doors opened inward but the frantic employees were pushing them outward. In the end, it took half an hour to put out the fire, but by then it was too late for the 146 victims. Read more about the fire and one survivor in Tazia and Gemma (see NOVELS).