Water is by far the most precious commodity a community can own. From its earliest days, fresh water was critical for the area known today as Long Beach to prosper and to grow.
On December 10, 1911, Calbraith (“Cal”) Perry Rodgers completed the first U.S. transcontinental flight from Sheepshead Bay, New York, in the surf off Long Beach. William Randolph Hearst offered a $50,000 prize to the first aviator completing a flight coast-to-coast within 30 days.
While the first patent issued by the US Patent Office on July 31, 1790 was given to Samuel Hopkins for the process of making potash into fertilizer, a check of national newspaper archives reveals that Long Beach residents from its earliest days were also most inventive.
I was born in the original Long Beach Naval Hospital located on 7th Street in 1950. Actually, I was one of the last babies born there before the U.S. Navy left and turned over the hospital to the Veterans Administration.
It may surprise readers that each year, libraries across America observe “Banned Book Week.” This year the week was observed on Sept. 24-30 under the theme: “Our Right to Read.”
By 1907, more than 2300 children were enrolled in Long Beach schools. For years, parents had been ordered to vaccinate their children. This year, several parents and Dr. W. L. Woodruff fought the order.
Long Beach certainly doesn’t come to mind during a discussion of the “war between the states,” but it should, because the Civil War was responsible for a great deal of the immigration to the city.
A heated discussion is taking place about whether or not the Long Beach Municipal Band should perform in all of the nine council districts. This isn’t the first time, the Long Beach Municipal Band has been a focus of controversy in the city.
