DECEMBER 7th 1941 - A DAY TO REMEMBER

Larry Kent was a swing band leader in 1941. He and his orchestra were the first band whose music was transmitted on a trans-oceanic broadcast that year. Larry's hot band played the night away in the penthouse of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu.
Typical of traveling orchestras, the band wrapped up its performance just before dawn and headed down for breakfast before a warm day's sleep on the magical island of Oahu. The boys in the band wouldn't get much sleep that day!
Just before dawn, Larry told me years later in a high rise office in Woodland Hills, weird noises began to happen. Distant popping sounds screamed into roaring blasts. The American territory of Hawaii had been attacked, by the Empire of Japan.
Horrific booms, siren cries and car horns blasted into the first light of that Sunday morning.
After the war, and returning from his military service, Larry Kent found work in Hollywood as a theatrical agent. Later, he became a master of licensing and marketing. He helped invent the NFL Properties, gave the Super Bowl its Roman numerals and licensed images of the famous cowboy Roy Rogers.
Larry Kent is long gone. Let us hope that the lives of our American servicemen and women, and the civilians who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 won't be soon forgotten.
Jerry Fecht

THE GODDESS JULE' VISITS LOS ANGELES FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Folk musicians at the Swedish Fair weave melodies for dancers. Photo for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gerald Fecht - December 2009.
Jul or Jule' is the magical wheel that closely resembles the Indo-European concept of karma. The wheel of Frigga (the Mother Goddess) comes alive as the Wheel of the year, or New Year.

I couldn't resist putting three more photographs on this blog from the Swedish Christmas Fair this weekend. If one pays attention at such ethnic events, amazing things show up. In the case of the Swedish Fair, the ancient Nordic Goddess Jule' was there in all her harvest glory. The Goddess is represented, as is Ceres in Southern Europe, by woven straw ornaments for Christmas trees or wall decorations with pretty ribbons. Woven, Viking designs showed up all over the event including the in and out patterns of the folk dancers shown in these photographs.

HOLIDAY ADVENTURES IN LOS ANGELES

Greeters at the Swedish Fair at the Shrine Auditorium
Each year when our friends Mary and Linda plan with us for our Southern California adventures, the idea of going to the Swedish Fair comes up, along with a Christmas lunch at the Tam O Shanter Inn on Los Feliz Boulevard as it heads towards Glendale. This year, we did them both.
The Fair was great fun, and a lady even gave me a pepper-cookie. (In the good old USA, we call these ginger snaps. Little kids in Goteborg Sweden sing the cutest Christmas song about pepper cookies.)
At the Tam O Shater Inn, we all got to taste our pal Linda's winter mushroom soup - sooooo good, it was worth planning an invasion of Scotland for.
Kirsten of Copenhagen - Photo by Gerald Fecht for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley - December 2009
Kirsten Carr (Kristen of Copenhagen) once had a jewel of a shop in Tarzana. Then the great Northridge Earthquake of 1994 devastated her business. Can you imagine the damage done to a store full of crystal and china from Sweden and Denmark? My wife Janne and I went to her store to replace our Royal Copenhagen Christmas plates and have been friends and customers of Kirsten ever since. How much fun it was to see her with Jule' treasures today at the Chistmas Fair (Everybody calls it the Swedish Fair). Today Kirsten lives in Woodland Hills.

On the way home from the Fair, we stopped at Peter Shire's amazing art studio in Echo Park to watch neighborhood dogs having their pictures taken with Santa Claus. There was stunning pottery and of course Peter's world class sculptures. I hope you have seen Peter's NoHo Arch in North Hollywood on Lankershim Boulevard.

In the early evening, Janne and I returned into the city to stop by the Christmas Party of the AIDS Lifcycle organization. It was held at the Gay and Lesbian Center in Hollywood. There, aside from visiting with friends that we have made over the years as volunteers for Ride, we saw a fine show called Boxes Exposed by Dwora Fried. The exhibit of box sculptures runs through January 30. 1125 North McCadden Place in Hollywood.

MUSEUM BEGINS ITS FOCUS ON THE HISTORIC IDLE HOUR CAFE

2010 - The Year of Valley History
Most recently called La Cana, the original Idle Hour Cafe is an important San Fernando Valley landmark. Photos for the Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley by Gerald Fecht November 2009.
For sometime, we at The Museum of the San Fernando Valley have been worrying about the historic Idle Hour Cafe on Vineland Avenue in North Hollywood. As you can see from these snapshots, that I took the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the building is in pretty bad shape. Like all such structures; a fire, vandalism or wrecking ball can't be far away.
As more and more of you join The Museum Community, we are able to add important issues such as preserving and restoring the Idle Hour to our list of interests and activities.
To our good fortune, Sheilah Kodimer of North Hollywood has stepped forward to discover and report to The Museum about the status of the Cafe, the efforts of the Los Angeles Conservancy and historical preservation possibilities for the structure.

If you have information about the Idle Hour (photos, documents etc) and are interested in providing Sheilah with information, contact your Museum today. 1 (818) 347-9665

CORVALLIS HIGH SCHOOL ARTIFACTS BEGIN TO ARRIVE

2009 - The Year of Valley History
Our Lady of Corvallis High School Commencement Program - gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Bronwyn Ralph - November 2009.
Corvallis High School 1981 -82 - Photograph Gift to The Museum of the San Fernando Valley from Bronwyn Ralph November 2009
Wallet photos, a leatherette diploma case, a yearbook and commencement program - artifacts and supportive information is beginning to come in for the Our Lady of Corvallis High School Project.
If you, a friend or relative attended Corvallis High School, your Museum invites you to become part of the exciting project to save the school's history, relate the lives and achievements of its alumnae and tell the story of this Studio City school's impact on our community and nation.
Contact The Museum at 1 (818) 347-9665
Donations to The Museum, including artifacts, are tax deductible.