Part XVI
HISTORY On the Hill
Written by Julie Bendzick-Sin.
This is a reprint 16 of 24 articles first published in the Star Tribune 1990-1991.
Digitally Preserved by the Signal Hill Historical Society for future generations
Signal Hill Weathers the Great Depression
On "Black Tuesday" in late October, l929, the New York Stock Exchange suffered a sudden and devastating collapse in stock prices. This event marked the advent of the crippling Great Depression of the l93Os. The dat following Black Tuesday, K. R Kingsbury, president of Standard Oil Company, tried to calm, the fears of his stock- holders and the oil industry-at-large by stating: "l know of nothing in the present condition or the future of the oil industry that justifies the extraordinary depreciation of prices of oil stocks today.
On the contrary, the prospect for effective conservation which will result in balancing production with demand, is brighter today than it has been at any time.”
Nevertheless, oil stock prices continued to decline and the symptoms of a deepening depression worsened. Following a sharp drop in building permits, oil refineries cut back to a six-day work week to hold down their inventories (in response to a dropping product demand.) Drilling rig crews were cut back to six-hour work days, so that a maximum number of men could keep working, even if each man earned less. Oil field operators took advantage of this shortened work day by denying their men time off to eat, whereas they had been required to provide a meal break during die eight-hour work shift.
By July l93l, Standard Oil Company and the other major producers agreed upon a plan to hold down production activity in Signal Hill and other California oil fields. The object of this plan was, according to Standard Oil, “to eliminate the over-production which has featured the industry for some months.” But independent producers, of which
there were many in Signal Hill, were neither consulted nor represented in the decision making that went into this production curtailment.
Meanwhile, the depression deepened. By December 1931, more than 6 million Americans were jobless. Throughout 1923 this number doubled. Over 32,000 businesses went bankrupt, while more than 5,000 banks failed.
Although the oil industry suffered losses and cutbacks during this period, it did not come to a standstill. California’s division of Oil and Gas took advantage of these hard times to push for reforms that would strengthen the industry. The Gas Act of 1929, for instance, was actively enforced. This Act was designed to regulate and prevent gas wastage and the occurrence of blowouts. lt stated: “The unreasonable waste of natural gas, whether before or after the removal of gasoline from such natural gas, is hereby declared to be opposed to the public interest and is hereby prohibited. The blowing . . . of natural gas into the air shall be prima facie evidence of unreasonable waste.”
Blowout prevention, as mandated by die Gas Act. required that Signal Hill’s producers install special blowout prevention equipment on all wells. In the early 30’s the Division of Oil and Gas determined that l00 million cubic feet of gas per day was being wasted in Long Beach and Signal Hill oil fields, in violation of the Gas Act.
After a suit was filed against the oil producers responsible, the Superior Court set a trial date. The Division of Oil and Gas dropped the suit however, when gas wastage was reduced, (in part due to the decline in production induced by a depressed economy.)
Another problem that concerned the Division of Oil and Gas during the depression was spacing requirements. In 193l, a spacing statute was passed to curtail haphazard town lot drilling, like the kind of over drilling that was rampant on Signal Hill. The statute restricted all future drilling to parcels of no less than one acre in size. Also, wells on leaseholds greater than 250 feet in width had to be located I50 feet apart and 100 feet from property lines. Engineers, enthusiastically supported these new spacing regulations, because they would lead to the recovery of more oil and longer life for producing fields.
ln September I933, the Federal Government took control of the regulation of oil production rates. That year, California crude production sank to a post-crash low of 471,000 barrels per day. Ironically, by the time the Federal Government stepped in to regulate production, the worst effects of the Great Depression on the oil industry had passed. From 1934 to 1938 the demand and production of oil would gradually climb as the American economy slowly recovered.
To be continued...
Part XVII
HISTORY On the Hill
Written by Julie Bendzick-Sin.
This is a reprint 17 of 24 articles first published in the Star Tribune 1990-1991.
Digitally Preserved by the Signal Hill Historical Society for future generations
Signal Hill During the 1940’s
In May of 1941, President Roosevelt declared an unlimited national emergency and created, by executive order, the Petroleum Administration for Defense. This "emergency" was out nation's impending involvement in World War ll. The new Petroleum Administration's duties would be to determine how much more petroleum this country would need for rearmament. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, in December 1941, the new federal agency was renamed the Petroleum Administration for War, and it enlisted the cooperation of the oil industry in supplying the Allied forces with petroleum products.
ln Signal Hill, oil production soared in the early 1940's to meet the heightened wartime demand. The city thrived during this period, contributing its share to the one billion barrels of oil that the State of California supplied to the Allied forces throughout the war.
Wartime oilfield prosperity in Signal Hill also meant military success for the Allies. As the Army-Navy Petroleum board Verified in November, 1945, "At no time did the Services lack for oil in the proper quantities, in the proper kinds, and at the proper places. Not a single operation was delayed or impeded because of the lack of petroleum products …no branch of American industry achieved a prouder war record."
With the end of World War Il and the return to a peacetime economy, Signal llill entered one of its more colorful eras. ln 1946, gamblers from Gardena and elsewhere sought to establish "legal" casinos and card clubs within Signal Hill by buying the favor of city officials. Mayor E.K. Graeber reportedly told the Long Beach Independent, "One group offered me 25 percent interest in a 40-table card room to swing my vote in favor of ‘opening‘ the city . . . l told them to take their dirty money back to their bosses and never talk; to me again.”
On April 1, 1946, Signal Hill Councilmen unanimously approved an antigambling ordinance. Presented by Councilman Harry J. Toms, the law prohibited "gambling with cards, dice, or other ‘devices’ for money, checks, chips, credit, pennants, cigars, candy, merchandise or other things representative of value." Signal Hill’s good government league sponsored the ordinance and introduced a petition of 462 Signal Hill voters asking for its passage. Judge Oscar Houston also spoke in favor of the law and informed the council that "a prominent gambler has purchased property in Signal Hill and intends to use it for gambling purposes.”
The "prominent gambler" that Judge Houston was referring to was an ex-boxer named Tod ("Kid Mexico”) Faulkner. Soon thereafter, Kid moved into a 14-room home on Cerritos Avenue, across the street from a commercial complex he would build to provide entertainment to Signal Hill. By 1948, Kid Mexico had established a cafe and bar, a bowling alley, a taxi-dance palace and a bingo parlor on this site. He also ran a keno game.
In June of 1948 legal proceeding were brought by the State of California to close down Kid Mexico's Signal Hill keno game. Kid and eight assistants were charged with four counts of operating a lottery and four counts of running a banking and percentage game.
Yet, by this time, Kid Mexico counted as his friends several influential people from the local political arena. He also began throwing free parties for Signal Hill's youngsters on Saturday mornings and for their folks on Saturday nights, inviting celebrities like Hopalong Casidy, Jack Dempsey and Mack Brown to entertain the crowds.
Not surprisingly, it wouldn't be until the 1950s that Signal Hill well-liked "Bingo Baron" could be shut down by police enforcement of the city's antigambling law.
to be continued...
Part XVIII a continuing series about
HISTORY On the Hill
Written by Julie Bendzick-Sin.
This is a reprint 16 of 24 articles first published in the Star Tribune 1990-1991.
Digitally Preserved by the Signal Hill Historical Society for future generations
Signal Hill as “Kid Mexico City”
From 1948 to 1952 the community of Signal Hill was wooed and entertained by a colorful ex~boxer gambler known as Tod "KID Mexico‘ Faulkner. Due to the tenacity of a few civic groups and leaders who were able to rally the voters of Signal Hill against the spread of legalized gambling, Kid Mexico never had his way in this town. He never realized his dream that Signal Hill would become a card casino town like Gardena, a town he sought to re-name “Kid Mexico City,“ and make a killing off of.
What follows here is an abbreviated chronology of the many political maneuvers and counter-maneuvers that Kid Mexico and his Signal Hill civic-minded opponents launched against each other in their struggle over gambling rights in this town from 1949-1952:
April 1949: City Council passes ordinance which would open Signal Hill to all kinds of gaming, such as keno, lotto, bridge and skill bill. Only two such licenses per year would be granted at an annual fee of $2,500.
May 1949: Hundreds of Signal Hill residents sign objection petitions to the April 1949 gaming ordinance.
June 1949: Judge Ford rules that the operation of Kid Mexico's keno game is in violation of the penal code of the State of California. Says Judge Ford, “Keno IS gambling."
July 1949: 500 Signal Hill voters file a recall petition against four members of City Council who supported the April 1949 pro-gaming ordinance.
July 1949: Kid Mexico closes his keno game as a result of Judge Ford’: court findings.
September 1949: Effort to recall council members soft on gambling fails. A ballot proposition to allow keno games in Signal Hill carries.
February 1950: Kid Mexico announces his candidacy for Signal Hill City Councilman position.
April 1950: Kid Mexico defeated in his bid for a council seat.
November 1950: An ordinance is passed in Signal Hill which would allow card playing, with the exception of draw poker. A subsequent public referendum was passed which would once again bar gambling in Signal Hill.
May 1951: Another ordinance to legalize gambling was drawn up and the light to pass it was spearheaded by Kid Mexico, who secured nearly 1400 backers‘ signatures. Opposition to the ordinance was organized by the Signal Hill improvement association, the PTA, and Councilwoman Combellack. The ordinance was defeated 2-1 in a special citywide ballot.
November I951: Kid Mexico's Line-0-Lite game is raided and l4 are arrested, including the Kid himself.
December 1951: An all-woman jury acquits Kid Mexico of illegal gambling stating, “the issue is one which could be decided by Signal Hill officials.”
November 1952: Signal Hill voters pass Proposition "Q", a measure to outlaw all gambling in Signal Hill, by a margin of 2-1. At the same time Kid Mexico is discovered to have falsely registered 26 persons at his own residence as voters.
December 1952: Los Angeles County grand jury indicts Kid Mexico and his partner on felony charges of falsely registering voters for the Signal Hill Proposition Q election. Kid Mcxico‘s gaming operations are subsequently shutdown.
December 1952: The Federal Government claims Kid Mexico owes $262,034 in back taxes and slaps liens on all of Kid’s Property.
Early 1953: Kid Mexico sells his mansions in Palm Springs and Laguna, uses rents from other properties to pay off assessments, and pleads guilty to a misdemeanor and pays a $500 fine.
Finally, at the age of 53, and with his games closed down once and for all, Kid Mexico gave up trying to make a living off of Signal Hill’s gamblers.
Part XIV a
HISTORY On the Hill
Written by Julie Bendzick-Sin.
This is a reprint 16 of 24 articles first published in the Star Tribune 1990-1991.
Digitally Preserved by the Signal Hill Historical Society for future generations
The Tragedy of ‘54
There is a playing field in Signal Hill, known as "Spud" Field, that lies on the open property adjacent to the Community Center. Probably, most of the boys and girls who run its bases are unaware of the tragic story behind the dedication of this field to an11-year-old boy named Steven Louie "Spud" Shoup.
It all began one rainy Tuesday afternoon on January 12, 1954. Major Robert A. Blair of Omaha, Nebraska was bringing his F-86 Sabrejet in for a landing at what was then known as Long Beach Air Force base. According to Air Force officers, visibility was poor, but Major Blair’s conversation with the control tower seeking landing clearance was “normal".
What occurred next to cause the jet to overshoot the airport is undocumented, but most eyewitnesses reported that the aircraft came out of the north over the top of Signal Hill and dived into ground in a steep bank.
Marine Pfc. Gary Pickens, then 21, saw the jet plummet as he sat in a parked car on Raymond Street several doors away.
"lt seemed to be rolling. It hit the trees first and tore through the houses and blew up on the other side of 19th street”, said Pickens.
Another witness. James A. Suthard, then 25, saw the crash while sipping coffee in a small house next to 1891 Raymond Avenue.
"My first reaction was that a bolt of lightening had hit. Then I heard a woman run into the street screaming. She had a child in her arms and a man was running behind her. He was on fire", said Suthard.
The screaming woman and her child did not survive. She was Mrs. Shirley Ledbetter, 25, of 1891 Raymond Avenue. Her dead son, Edward Lynn Ledbetter, was only 4 months old. Several days later, the man on fire joined his young wife and son in their graves, unable to survive his extensive burns. He was E.L. Ledbetter, age 24.
In all, the jet crashed through four homes, demolishing them completely. The death toll, including the pilot, was 9. Mrs. Shirley Roberts, 20, and her son Douglas, 18 months old, struck down in their duplex at 1909 Raymond Avenue. Also killed Roberts’ landlady, Miss Grace Miller, 72, of 1911 Raymond Avenue.
Two spectators suffered fatal injuries from the jet's crash. Enest Bailey, 72, of Long Beach was dead on arrival from a heart attack he suffered while witnessing the tragedy. Spud Shoup, was apparently outside playing near the comer of 19th Street, at the point of impact. His house remained untouched.
The horror and the indelible shock of this tragedy still remains in the memories of Signal Hill residents who were here in 1954. Spud Shoup, an innocent boy of 11, has not been forgotten. His memory is kept alive, unknowingly, by the living and breathing children who swing their bats today in Spud's Field.
To be continued…
Part XV
HISTORY On the Hill
Written by Julie Bendzick-Sin.
This is a reprint 16 of 24 articles first published in the Star Tribune 1990-1991.
Digitally Preserved by the Signal Hill Historical Society for future generations
The Hancock Oil Refinery Fire
The May 22, 1958 Hancock Oil Company refinery fire was, to date, the most devastating oil industry calamity to threaten the City of Signal Hill. This inferno, and its huge billowing black smoke columns, raged 52 hours and involved up to 600 firefighters from Signal Hill, Long Beach, Los Angeles County, the U.S. Air Force, and surrounding communities as far away as Vernon.
Reportedly, the fire was caused by the boiling over of an oil storage tank, which caught fire and spread to seven nearby and the refinery itself. The eight tanks that were burned out held several million gallons of crude oil as well as refined petroleum products.
The worst threat posed by the fire was the possibility of a nearby tank of extremely toxic Tetra Ethyl igniting. Burning Tetra Ethyl would have mandated an evacuation of everyone within the surrounding community as well as those living downwind from the fire. Consequently, the firefighters worked urgently to keep the Tetra Ethyl tank cool enough to prevent it from exploding.
To the relief of Signal Hill and west Long Beach residents, the firefighters were successful.
Two men were killed in the fire, and several firefighters suffered injuries. Huge clouds of oil fallout were carried over the western portion of Long Beach, resulting oil smut damage to over 8,000 homes. Insurance claims by these homeowners totaled close to $3 million.
Damage to the plant itself was reported to be at least $8 million. The Hancock Oil Refinery was only three years old when it caught fire. The plant's most extensive damage was its tanks. Damage to its TCC (thermofor catalytic converter), the major processing unit in the refinery, was estimated at 30%. Other fire damage included processing machinery such as pumps, motors, turbines, blowers and exchangers. Structural steel and piping were also incinerated beyond salvage.
Within a week alter the fire, wild rumors began to circulate in Signal Hill that Hancock Oil would be selling its operations in the area. Public outcry pleaded for the company to reconsider. The Hancock Company had customarily paid $40,000 annually in property tax to the City, in addition to even larger sums of petroleum products’ sales tax. Monetary considerations aside, Hancock Oil had been an integral part of the life of the city since the birth of Signal Hill and many residents felt warmly toward to company.
As the rumor of Hancock's impending sale spread, stock in the oil company rose from $27.50 to $58 per share. When John W. Hancock, president of the corporation, announced June 26, 1958. that the company would be remaining in Signal Hill and rebuilding the refinery, stock prices leveled off at $44.50 per share.
John W. Hancock also voluntarily presented the Signal Hill Fire Department with a check for $4,000 in gratitude for the unselfish determination this city’s firefighters had displayed in rescuing the Hancock Oil Refinery from total incineration.