During the Great Depression, the US automobile market faced challenges, especially luxury car manufacturers. However, Edsel Ford was determined to steer the Ford Motor Company through the economic storm by supporting the upscale Lincoln brand. Lincoln Motor Company boldly introduced its prestigious model, the Lincoln K Convertible Roadster, targeting sophisticated motorists who already owned multiple Lincolns. This new model, featuring a lightweight design based on a shortened 135-inch wheelbase, emphasizing its spaciousness, ease of handling, and swift acceleration. The K Convertible Roadst ..read more

Dubbed “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996) was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. She could sing sultry ballads, sweet jazz and imitate every instrument in an orchestra. She worked with all the jazz greats, from Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Nat King Cole, to Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman. (Or rather, some might say all the jazz greats had the pleas ..read more

Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain (1835–1910), age 15 holding metal type in a composing stick that spells out his first name. He understood that the photographic printing process reversed the contents of an image in the same way backwards moveable type was reversed in printing to give clear copy. Portrait of Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain as a young man holding a printer’s composing stick with letters SAM, 1850 ..read more

Alfredo James Pacino was born in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on April 25, 1940, the only child of Sicilian Italian-American parents Rose (née Gerardi) and Salvatore Pacino.  His parents divorced when he was two years old.  He then moved with his mother to the South Bronx to live with her parents, Kate and James Gerardi, who were Italian emigrants from Corleone. In his teenage years, Pacino was known as “Sonny” to his friends.  He had ambitions to become a baseball player and was also nicknamed “The Actor.”  He attended Herman Ridder Junior High School, but soon ..read more

Born 1885 in Clay County, Missouri, near Smithville, American actor Wallace Beery is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in Grand Hotel (1932), as Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1934), as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa! (1934), and his title role in The Champ (1931), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Beery appeared in some 250 films during a 36-year career. His contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer stipulated in 1932 that he would be paid $1 more than any other contract player at the studio. This ma ..read more

Tijuana is the largest city in the state of Baja California located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality and the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area. It has a close proximity to the Mexico–United States border, which is part of the San Diego-Tijuana metro area. Tijuana in the 1980s was a vibrant and dynamic city known for its border culture, nightlife, and tourism. It experienced rapid growth during this time, becoming a popular destination for visitors from both Mexico and the United States. The city’s proximity to the US bo ..read more

Born on April 24, 1934, in Richmond, Virginia, Shirley MacLaine has enjoyed an impressive career in film, television and the theater for more than six decades. She was originally named Shirley MacLean Beaty. Her first name was reportedly inspired by the famed child actress Shirley Temple. She later adapted her mother’s maiden name, “MacLean,” into her stage name of “MacLaine.” In the mid-1960s, Twentieth Century-Fox offered her a salary of $750,000 on a “pay or play” basis to appear in a movie adaptation of the musical Bloomer Girl, a fee equivalent to the paydays enjoyed by top box office s ..read more

Barbra Streisand was born on April 24, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York City. Her mother had been a soprano in her youth and considered a career in music, but later became a school secretary. Her father was a high school teacher at the same school, where they first met. According to Streisand, childhood was an unhappy, even traumatic, period of her life. Her father Emanuel died unexpectedly when she was only 15 months old. She describes her mother Diana as self-absorbed and emotionally distant. For example, instead of empathizing with Streisand’s dream to be an actress and supporting her, Diana ..read more

In the 19th century, rural Americans’ clothing reflected the practicalities of their daily lives. Men typically wore trousers, often made of denim or sturdy cotton, paired with button-up shirts and suspenders. Vests were common, providing additional warmth and pockets for small tools or personal items. Boots or sturdy shoes were essential for farm work. Women’s clothing consisted of long dresses or skirts, often made from homemade calico or other durable fabrics. These dresses were usually accessorized with aprons for practicality and protection. Bonnets or wide-brimmed hats were worn to sh ..read more

With the silly season upon us again a group Laudra Vista Junior High students from Fullerton, California, try to set a new record in car packing; they managed to put in 31, 13 and 14 year-olds into this Volkswagen Beetle on May 12, 1964. Pictures show 31 teenagers (10 boys and 21 girls, average weight 100 lbs., height 5 feet) who have stuffed themselves into the tiny car, claiming a new record. The kids practiced with one of their families’ cars but stopped at 25 (they say was the old record) and borrowed one from a dealer for the record attempt ..read more