In the early part of the 20th century, the Riverside Enterprise newspaper gathered snippets of announcements under the heading “News and Business.” Here is the news and business the Enterprise had to report 112 years ago, on July 5, 1912.
The Riverside County Socialist convention was to be held the following day, July 6, in Mechanics Hall. The county central committee for the Socialist Party had called the meeting.
The Y.M.C.A. pool announced that its pool was open every day. Swimming for junior members began at 3:30 p.m., the intermediates were scheduled to swim at 4:15 p.m., while the “employed boys” as they were called got possession of the pool at 7:30 in the evening.
The County Superintendent of Schools announced the mailing of 233 diplomas to the eighth graders of schools in Riverside County outside of the city of Riverside. These were all students who passed their eighth-grade exams. These diplomas allowed them to enter high school if they so desired. It was the largest number of graduates from the county grammar schools in one year.
Stewart Drug Co., at Eighth and Main, announced its new sanitary fountain, where they suggested you could try a marshmallow sundae.
It was mentioned that 15,000 people participated in the Fourth of July parade and festivities in Riverside the day before, with few incidents. One man was arrested “who had on board too much vino,” and two watches went missing, whether by pickpockets or just being lost was unknown.
Perhaps related to the previous story, it was reported that no questions would be asked for the return of a gold watch, open faced, with the initials “D.J.M.” on the back.
A party of 16 people on a Thos. Cook excursion had arrived at the Mission Inn on the afternoon of July 4. They were planning on spending a couple of days in Riverside.
P.S. Castleman and Co., which was apparently an insurance carrier, advertised that they could insure baggage against loss of any kind for people planning on traveling east that summer. The same company suggested one could insure one’s home against burglars while away on summer vacation. Either policy would cost very little, it was reported.
The Enterprise itself suggested you could forward your newspaper by mail to your vacation spot. It would be like “a letter from home every day.”
The Ark, which was a store in Riverside at that time, said the first person to make a $5 cash purchase at that store would receive five dollars’ worth of amusements at the Pike in Long Beach, a sightseeing auto trip about that city, a fishing trip, and an excursion to Portuguese Bend, located where Rancho Palos Verdes is today.
If you have an idea for a future Back in the Day column about a local historic person, place or event, contact Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson at [email protected].
