The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.
The Local History Room of the Fullerton Public Library has microfilm from the Fullerton Daily News-Tribune newspaper stretching back to 1893. I am in the process of reading over the microfilm, year by year, to get a sense of what was happening in the town over the years, and creating a mini archive. Below are some news stories from 1929.
In 1929, the News-Tribune got a new editor/publisher named Walter Kee Maxwell, who took over from the paper’s founder and long time editor Edgar Johnson.
Fullerton’s population was estimated at 12,804. The Tribune called the City the “Garden Spot of Orange County”
National News
In national news, Herbert Hoover was inaugurated as President, and the infamous stock market crash occurred, sparking the Great Depression.
Water
Locally, there was a big political fight over a ballot measure to issue bonds for construction of a series of dams on the Santa Ana river, as a flood control measure.
For weeks leading up to the election, well-funded groups ran advertisements making their cases for and against the bonds.
Ultimately, the bonds were narrowly defeated. Major flood control measures would have to wait until another major flood made them seem more urgent.
Transportation
Downtown Fullerton boasted a number of automobile dealerships:
The Firestone building was built next to the Fox Theater for Roy J. Lyon’s tire and car service.
In those freewheeling days before there were many car safety laws, auto accidents tended to be more frequent and fatal.
The Fullerton Airport hosted a grand aviation celebration.
An airplane manufacturer set up shop here.
Culture and Entertainment
The Fox Theater (also called the Mission Theater) continued to host star-studded movie premieres. This was the early era of “talkies.”
Unfortunately, in 1929, a popular form of entertainment was the “minstrel show” which featured white actors in blackface, reinforcing harmful stereotypes of African Americans. Below are advertisements for a film at the Fox Theater featuring the Two Black Crows, popular blackface performers, as well as a big Minstrel show sponsored by the Anaheim Elks Club.
Sports
In sports news, local baseball star Willard Hershberger was drafted into major leagues by the Washington Senators.
Professional boxers like Paulino Uzcudun and Ace Hudkins trained on the Bastanchury Ranch.
New Construction
New construction continued, with new housing tracts, business buildings, and churches being planned and constructed.
The city annexed 40 acres of land called Lansdowne on the west side of town.
The iconic Dewella apartments were built.
Fire
Fullerton hosted an annual convention of fire fighters.
And a massive wildfire blazed across the hills of Olinda (now Brea).
Immigration
The majority of new immigrants to Fullerton were Mexican farm workers, who lived in segregated work camps or “colonias” and had a kind of second-class citizenship. Some of the reasons why Mexicans were the dominant labor force were laws that excluded Asians (like the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924), and political violence and instability in Mexico, with the Mexican Revolution–causing Mexicans to flee north to relative safety.
As part of a recurring pattern in American history, there were clamors to restrict and deport Mexican immigrants. The article below, from 1929, says that rumors of mass deportations were unfounded. This would change in the early 1930s, as the Great Depression worsened and already vulnerable immigrants became convenient scapegoats, sparking one of the largest mass deportations in American history.
Deaths
George Fullerton, whom the City of Fullerton was named after, died.
Other notable deaths included John F. Hiltscher and Jacob Yeager.
Miscellaneous
Below are a few clippings on miscellaneous topics of interest.
Stay tuned for top stories from 1930!
Fullerton History 