[Universal Newsreel: California Stories] c 1950s

who hasn't felt like giving women's hats the horse laugh well men hats off to the guy who got up the courage to do it the occasion the opening in Fairfield California of ui's new comedy Once Upon A Horse and Doin put on his best Bonnet for hobnobbin with the equestrian Elite and for the best hat of all of course there's a prize corny so what corn goes over big with horses some jackass crash the party it always happens but there was so much horsing around that no one said nay it was just kidding around and a good time was had by [Music] all in the Bay Region of San Francisco an addition is being made to the state and nation's geography clustered in the area are seven thriving and attractive communities each going its own separate Community [Music] Way each possesses its own charm but say the citizens in Union there is strength and the town of Pacifica comes into being over whose City Hall the flag is now being raised here 22,00 residents will have their own government and here their newspaper will be published Glad Tidings [Music] indeed Superior Court Judge Thomas bchi swears in members of the city council and pacifica's new mayor Mrs Jean [Music] fer Mrs fasler is congratulated by mayor Christopher of San Francisco as she Wheels the gavel to open her first council meeting State and Nation join the Applause for the birth of Pacifica city of Promise Patricia Smith of San Francisco looks at a poster advertising a new motion picture then she looks at her kids the youngsters won't want mama to have a hairdo but Mrs Smith goes through with it anyway the publicity May further her hopes for an acting career and also she gets $300 for parting with her strawberry blonde dresses in the movie a hair razor styen forces a girlfriend to have her head shaved and Pat finds out what it's like a wig will keep her warm till her hair grows back Pat wants to be an actress we hope she gets ahead big news in Santa Cruz California a doll fashion show at the colorful storybook Town Santa's Village living dolls that's what they are a bevy of young girls each holding a doll dressed exactly as she is it's probably the nation's unique fashion [Music] [Applause] show cowgirl and cowgirl doll and next is a cute Duo for a rainy [Music] day Brides bring to mind June but December is the big month at Santa's doll factory where living dolls and dress alike toy dolls are all set for Christmas Santa says it won't be long [Music] now come on kids let's go and the National Roller Skating championships get underway in the Oakland California Auditorium picking up the covered trophy is Queen margerie ch sonone a 17-year-old blonde from Long Island who gets a large Round of Applause from a thousand youngsters amateurs all on hand for the Big [Music] Show roller skating one of America's popular youthful pastimes is a real art has demonstrated by the competitors in the various [Applause] classes the biggest little trooper of all wins the hearts of the thousands watching the tournament she's cute she's talented and what a [Applause] smile last year's champions in the intermediate Pairs qul and dance their ways through an intricate routine that brings down the [Applause] house Champions through and [Music] through after 100 Years of operation the San Francisco mint is down to its last scent with the exhaustion of copper blanks the last batch of pennies rolls out of the Machines minting of silver coins had been suspended a week earlier cost of transporting the pennies East where they are mostly used was given as the reason for ing Penny coinage as the last lot whirls through the cter oldtime employees many with more than 20 years experience look on sadly remembering the Traditions which have surrounded the mint the very last scent from an institution which began in the Gold Rush days once capable of issuing a million and a half coins a day the mint Falls silent once again the threat of flood disaster hovers over Yuba City as the Feather River menaces the levies guard ing the town unceasing rains create the same conditions that a few short weeks ago submerged the community Engineers closely watch the rising Waters and foam the alarm as the crest Rises ever higher with the situation reaching the crisis stage weary residents prepared to evacuate for the third time in 6 weeks still Soden from the previous flood citizens who were trying to dry out from the inundation which cost 34 lives form a motorcade to take refuge on Higher Ground to date the floods have taken a toll of $179 million in damage and for storm battered Northwest the end is not in sight the story that sent us back to the Bible where it began when Charles Spurlock of Planada became fascinated by the passage describing the prophet ezekiel's wheel a devout student of scripture Mr Spurlock set two and began building this 50-ft High Ezekiel wheel it's Earthbound now thousands of pounds of steel and concrete but one of these days it will start turning by itself Mr Spurlock believes weighing in the middle of the air as the spiritual says fulfilling the prophet's Vision want to know more well just pick up your Bible Ezekiel 1: 156 and on and you can learn the whole [Music] story at California state house in Sacramento and appeal for support of the fun drive to Aid the variety clubs will Rogers Memorial Hospital is issued by Governor Goodwin Knight as the campaign gets underway the motion picture industry is in the middle of an allout campaign to raise money and funds to support the variety clubs Will Rogers Memorial Hospital in Lake saranak in New York we think it's highly commendable that the industry which has given so much of itself for charity and for benefits is now asking you to help them take care of their sick people the Will Roger Memorial Hospital is operated by and for the amusement industry for the Cure and the care of those suffering from tuberculosis they are also now operating fine Laboratories where research is carried on making new discoveries new battles new fights Against The Dread tuberculosis and any employe of the amusement industry regardless of race Creed or color or the kind of job he has or she has all of these people may be taken care of at this hospital with no cost to them and the campaign for money will go on until January the 15th 1954 we here in California where much of the amusement industry has its home are deeply interested in this campaign won't you help us get some funds 5,000 youngsters on Parade in a gigantic glowing tribute to Sacramento's official flower the chamia hundreds of thousands of the delicate blooms were used in parade decorations but there's nothing too good for this occasion and besides Sacramento the chamia capital of the world has plenty more where those came from the kids are having a ball a festive time for all the first camia Festival staged by the chamelea capital of the world and naturally the occasion calls for a chamelea queen wouldn't be complete otherwise she's crowned by mayor HH henin Mary Anne Smithson a Sacramento junior college student the CIA City hails the queen of the winter [Music] [Applause] blossoms the worst disaster since the San Francisco earthquake hits Northern California swollen Rivers rip along a Thousand Mile front of the western Watershed at Yuba City the water Rose 5 ft in as many minutes a second flood struck 4 days later ceaseless rain and snows from the high sieras brought the floods with such ferocity that when these pictures were made 49 were dead and another score missing and presumed dead property damage was estimated at 150 million and mounting [Music] helicopters which performed heroic rescue work also flew in Jimmy letterer Universal cameraman whose dramatic pictures you have seen the inevitable aftermath of disaster at Refugee centers here are some of the 50,000 homeless many of whom have been literally wiped out and dispossessed but the catastrophe leaves Pho here wet but seemingly philosophical debris and wreckage everywhere and communic completely disrupted the sheer force of the floods attack rips homes from their foundations and floats them away like Sans it will be years before this Pleasant Countryside recovers the California Highway Patrol enlists the aid of science to determine the relative merits of new cars radar and other devices test the acceleration the get up and go of various makes of vehicles considered for use in the patrol vro from 50 to 86 per and A4 of a mile next from 60 to a dead stop skting badly it took that one 265 ft to stop 200 is [Music] required a real stopper is this one look at the skid marks 172 ft tops and stops looks like trouble but no it's all just part of the tests if cars go fast motorcycles have to go faster still right now it's a draw as California's Highway Patrol draws national attention to Peak Performance in today's automobiles Pinch Me I'm Dreaming Double's most fabulous collections of jewels and art objects comes to light after 50 years as part of the estate of Walter Scott Hobart one of the partners in the legendary Comstock load Mrs Thomas lone and her sister Mrs mcglashan airs to the estate join Auctioneer Reich as the collection estimated to be worth millions goes under the hammer the heirlooms collected in the late 1800s by the mining magnet are being sold to provide an equal division between the two sisters appraised at $250,000 this necklace contains 240 diamonds buried in a bank vault for half a century Cy one of the 19th Century's great collections once again sees the light of [Music] day Dark Side ceremonies at the Treasure Island Navy base the transfer of two American Destroyer escorts to a foreign government part of the mutual defense assistance pack the warships will bolster the fighting forces of Spain where this country has bases for atom bombers the Spanish Ambassador the count of montrio signs for the two ships Spanish Crews take over and the Spanish flag is raised on the fanale mutual defense a potent weapon in a cold war Santa Cruz California is the latest address of Mr and Mrs Santa Claus who also have a home at the North Pole Santa himself welcomes visitors to his 140 acre Village in Redwood County south of San Francisco there's a real ice cold North Pole to tempt tongues along with real live animals making it a place where the world of today gives way to the world of childhood all aboard the magic train on its way to the Enchanted Forest here The Young and the young in heart can spend happy hours in a realm of Wonder and fantasy there's a lollipop house and a lollipop tree outside Santa's Village is open 364 days a year and is closed only one day Christmas of course he's too busy that day there's a lot of talk these days about what's wrong with the younger generation so here's an item on the credit side a group of five teenagers who have organized their own Telephone Company put it together from Surplus and junk equipment into a smoothly functioning Network that that serves 28 [Music] subscribers they string wires and install phones themselves too so far the service is free the young businessmen Engineers behind it all have put up the little cash they needed and the still growing system already has two exchanges in Kensington and El Cito think of those lucky homes with a private wire to handle those Marathon teenage phone calls there's community service for you limore is to Rodeo as the wild is to Wild West the historic California Town held its first Roundup over a 100 years ago back in the Gold Rush days times were rough then they're still rough on the Riders who get a bum [Music] steer these whirling dervishes Spin and cowboys reap a whirlwind of Cruisers [Music] this bull's name is marijuana but he's no dope the cowboy will tell you when he comes [Music] too facing the future with hope Los Banos looks back proudly at its past today they're celebrating the golden anniversary of the city one of the rich farming areas in California the youngsters of Los Banos stage a colorful birthday parade complete with fancy costumes and floats of all sizes big and small and what a stir they create 55,000 Spectators lie in the streets to applaud the great show put on by the kids and then everybody young and old whoop it up during the anniversary Rodeo boy that was [Applause] quick another Cowboy Bites the Dust beefy bulls and buck and Bronx filling the air with displaced persons namely Rodeo r [Music] ighs no punches were pulled to make this the biggest thing that's happened to Los Pana since it was first Incorporated back in 1907 get going there Cowboy there's a bron going to be in your [Applause] tail at Mills College in Oakland California a revolutionary idea is in the making students of the new instruments and composer and designer Harry parch create weird and unique music on cloud chamber bowls derived from Atomic research and a KRA of 72 strings the diam and marima this modern Orchestra produces music in 43 tones instead of the usual 12 [Music] [Music] this is one result of part's 30 years of search for the The elusive tones that exist between the notes on a regular piano in Woodland California the copper has gone mechanical the only thing he can't do is ball you out with City officials looking on the copper made of copper and some other things gets a workout it can be plugged in anywhere and moved anywhere the traffic controls are operated automatically and can be adjusted by a child no longer is the school problem a serious threat due to the shortage of human police when this robot rookie takes over everything comes under control rapidly the 8T 290 lb arm of the law can flash a wide variety of signals to the motorists the nice part about him he doesn't care what beat he has and he can halt traffic just as effectively as though he yelled hey you under his protection school kids can cross safely the next thing they'll have him handing out tickets just like the human ones who are watching with such [Music] interest