Fran Baker's Blog, page 5

Saturday, September 8, 1934

Straighted up the house a bit. Was going to go to town but didn't go. Kind of cool today.

Long Island Tropical Storm of September 8, 1934 (Hurricane #6)

On September 8, 1934 a tropical storm first reported over the eastern Bahamas passed over Long Island after brushing by Cape Hatteras on its journey north. The storm attained hurricane strength with the lowest pressure point received from a ship at sea being 28.56 inches (967 millibars).

The New York City area was on the western side of the storm as it crossed Long Island, but still reported near hurricane force winds and very heavy rain that caused roads to become impassible. The 4.86 inches of rain that fell in Central Park on September 8, 1934 stands to this day as the 8th greatest single day precipitation total. At the time it was the 4th greatest single day total.


In the New Haven, CT area electric lines were reported down and transportation impaired by the storm, including in Milford where trolley cars were reported to have been inundated. Near Atlantic City, NJ, 3 men on a fishing trip drowned when their 35 foot power boat capsized 2 ½ miles off shore. Cape Hatteras reported 7.72 inches of rain in 24 hours and a peak wind gust to 65 mph in the wake of the storm as it moved away to the north, but no property damage or loss of life.

Friday, September 7, 1934

Went to the Murray Show and saw Little Miss Marker again with Nadine and Pauline. Saw Freckles in person.

[image error]Freckles and his Friends - 1934

Freckles and his Friends was a popular American comic strip set in the peaceful small town of Shadyside where young Freckles McGoosey and his friends live. Although the long-run strip, created by Merrill Blosser, is remembered for its continuing storyline involving a group of teenagers, it originally featured a child at the age of six or seven in gag-a-day situations.

Illustrated by Blosser and later by Henry Formhals (1908-1981), Freckles and His Friends was ghostwritten by Fred Fox (1903-1981). A gagwriter for Groucho Marx and Judy Canova, Fox scripted for radio, television and films. Widely syndicated by Newspaper Enterprise Association, Freckles and His Friends had a long run through much of the 20th Century.

Thursday, September 6, 1934

Went to school with the kids. My teachers are Shorthand - Cornell, Typing - Cornell, English - Kite, Latin - Wynne, History - Deeson.

A bolide (an especially bright meteor)

Shortly after 8:00 p.m. on September 6, 1934, a large meteor was witnessed by people in all quarters of the State of Kansas, from many parts of Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma, and the Panhandle of Texas.


Wednesday, September 5, 1934

Daddy took us to school. I'm taking Shorthand, 2nd year Latin, English, Typing and History. Walked home with the girls.

Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl
(22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003)

A German film director, actress and dancer widely noted for her aesthetics and innovations as a filmmaker, Riefenstahl's most famous film was Triumph of the Will, a documentary film made at the 1934 Nuremberg congress of the National Socialist Party.

Riefenstahl's prominence in the Third Reich, along with her personal association with Adolf Hitler, destroyed her film career following Germany's defeat in World War II, after which she was arrested but released without any charges.


Tuesday, September 4, 1934

Went to school today. Walked home with the girls. Didn't get books. Went to the library downtown.

Central High School
3611 East Linwood Boulevard
Kansas City, Missouri

The school was termed the first million dollar school. It was founded in 1924 and cost about $900,000 to build, a considerable sum of money then. The architect was Charles A. Smith who designed it in the Neo-Classical style. A reconstruction took place in 1984.

It is the only school building in the Kansas City, Missouri School District to have a ramp that winds back and forth from the first floor to the third floor. It includes two gymnasiums and an auditorium that seats 1700. There is a swimming pool which has now fallen into disuse.

The school closed in 2010.

Monday, September 3, 1934

Today is Labor Day. Mother got up out of bed today. Pauline was down tonight.

Residence of Henry A. Auerbach, co-founder, Palace Clothing Co., after 1934 drought, 4500 Warwick Blvd.

The hottest Kansas City summer on record was 1934, with an average temperature of 84.9 degrees.






Sunday, September 2, 1934

Didn't go to Sunday school today. Mother is still sick in bed. Aunt Kate and Uncle Laten came by and took me to the magazine shop.

Clara Shortridge Foltz (July 16, 1849 – September 2, 1934)

Foltz was the first female lawyer on the West Coast. She was the sister of U.S. Senator Samuel M. Shortridge. The Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles was renamed after her in 2002, and is now known as the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Saturday, September 1, 1934

Had pancakes for breakfast. Mother was sick in bed today. Ollie and Mrs. Raifert were over. Uncle Laten came by for a bit.


September 1, 1934 - U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt talks about the artist's special place in society.

Friday, August 31, 1934

I fixed breakfast. Went down to Crown Drug Store. I got a new book.

Crown Drug Store
39th and Main
Kansas City, Missouri


Thursday, August 30, 1934

Went to Clay. Came home. Got watermelon. Mother sure sick. Ate supper ar Aunt Katie's. Got a book.

"Sensation Hunters"
Released August 30, 1934
Starring Marion Burns, Arline Judge, Preston Foster, Kenneth MacKenna
Directed by Charles Vidor
Written by Whitman Chambers

Plot Summary:

Dale Jordan (Burns) is a cabaret star who hob-nobs with the wealthy on her way to a performance in Panama.