Blog Obispo

There was little that was temperate about the temperance movement. Anti-Saloon League members wanted to get the drink out of a barfly’s hands and replace it with a hymnal. Women might be allowed drink at home but at that time were not welcome in bars. Often medicines advertised as specifics for ...

Strangely, it wasn’t founded to be a general interest newspaper. The early days of the Telegram consisted less of inspired journalism and more evangelical fervor. When the first edition published February 24, 1905 the Telegram was a semi-weekly, scolding readers and holding them to a righteous moral standard. I somehow doubt  there ...

In 1966 the Mid-State Fair was still called the San Luis Obispo County Fair and the entertainment was, well, not very entertaining. The event lasted 5 days, admission was cheap, and you got what you paid for. Admission to the fair was $1, according to the US Inflation Calculator $6.73 in ...

Fearless, flamboyant and famous Harriet Quimby was the first American woman to be licensed as a pilot. True. She was the first person to be licensed to fly a monoplane and the first woman to fly across the English Channel. True. Her daring aerial feats inspired a young Amelia Earhart, and both would later ...

Born Leslie Towns Hope in Eltham, England May 29, 1903, his stonemason father moved the family to Cleveland, Ohio when the boy was four. When he became a naturalized citizen of the United States he became known as Bob. Perhaps his mother, an aspiring concert singer, was an inspiration. Perhaps a ...

Today Americans eat more sugar than ever so what happened to sugar beets? Once a major local commodity, sugar beets are no longer listed in the 2009 San Luis Obispo County Annual Crop Report. Beets are a footnote and sugar beets, nada. It is not that we are eating less sugar. ...

How do you explain it? Dutch tulips, beanie babies, pet rocks, mood rings, yo-yos, internet stocks. Stop me if any of these fads sound familiar. You have a good memory if you recall tulip mania of the 1600s. According to the website BadFads, POGs began in the flapper era on the island of ...

The Tribune had big holiday plans outlined in the edition published June 27, 1890. The right hand column had a series of drawings to go with the article. In the era before radio, movies and TV it was up to a community to provide their own entertainment. Committees were formed ...

“If flying interferes with your love-making, swear off flying.” Theater goers with 15 cents in their pocket could head to the Elmo Theater. The advertisement in the Daily Telegram on January 4, 1924 featured veteran silent movie actor Douglas MacLean in the movie, “Going Up”. The ad touts the movie as “Eclipsing ...

Children of the 60s and 70s saw chimpanzees as friendly critters. They were dressed up in clothes, given a banana and portrayed as our funny cousins. The 1966 television show Daktari told the story of an African veterinarian and often episodes would feature Judy the chimp, this show didn’t play ...