FRISCO—The Secret History
Join us on a cinematic journey through the last wild years when San Francisco was still wide-open. The cops ran the town in the Thirties and Bones Remmer ran the town in the Forties.
Battles raged between the factions of dark and light in the hidden realms of San Francisco’s power elite, behind the headlines, from the celestial dominions of Nob Hill eateries and private clubs down to the nether depths of the dive bars in the heart of the Tenderloin, up to the Barbary Coast and jazz joints of North Beach and over to the banks and brokerages in the Financial District …
FRISCO will bring alive that wild and bygone era of the Cool Grey City of Love that seduced the world.
FRISCO—The Secret History
La Cosa Nostra Gang War 1928-32 Bonus Episode Trailer
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We pick up alongside Episode Nine on Bones Remmer, zooming out to look at what was happening in San Francisco in 1928 as the La Cosa Nostra gang war intensified in North Beach. Along the way, we pause on the culture of the moment: the movies people packed theaters to see, the arrival of Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie, and the everyday stories that shared front-page space with organized crime.
Welcome to the Frisco the. Secret History Podcast. I’m your host, Knox Bronson.
This is a bonus episode for Patreon subscribers. It’s my first bonus episode for Patreon subscribers. You can find Frisco on Patreon at www.Patreon.com/Frisco. All main episodes of Frisco, The Secret History will always be free.
For the first months of creating the Frisco—The Secret History podcast this year, I’ve been focused on creating great content, full episodes, as well as gathering massive amounts of research material.
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you I have lots of great stories to share with you.
I must proactively warn you that I am not quite sure how bonus episodes work on BuzzSprout, where episodes are hosted, on Patreon, where you can become a member for bonus episodes and other perks, and the various places where the podcast is available, like Apple Podcasts.
Who knows, maybe it will go perfectly!
In any case, today’s bonus episode is an adjunct to Episode number nine on Bones Remmer. A little more about what was going on in the world in 1928 as the La Cosa Nostra gang war heated up in San Francisco’s North Beach. Also a story about a family living in a shack on the west side of Frisco determined to not eat all of the childrens’ pet rabbits and one about a mystery woman who was arrested for Jaywalking in downtown San Francisco, whom the paper tracked down to interview.
[intermezzo]
The big movies at the end of 1928 were The Singing Fool, starring Al Jolson. The Circus, a silent comedy film by Charlie Chaplin, and Street Angel, a silent romantic drama. All were among the top grossing films of the year.
It was the release of Walt Disney’s “Steamboat Willie,” introducing Mickey Mouse to the world, that really caught the public’s fancy. It was the first ever animated cartoon with a film score and sound effects synchronized to the on-screen action. And everybody loved Mickey Mouse.
The top headline on December 21, 1928 read, “DESTITUTE FAMILY FORCED TO EAT CHILDREN'S PETS
LAST RABBITS FACE DEATH IN STEW POT
No Matter What Happens They Won't Eat Cottontail That Belongs to Little Katie May
By SAM GOODHEART
No matter what happens, they won’t eat the little brush rabbit.
"Pinkie," the big white one that was Michael's pet, was killed last Sunday for dinner. *Fluffy' went into the stew pot a week before that, while a certain small boy sat silent at the table, his lip trembling.
"No, mother, I ain't hungry !"
Now the only two left in the rabbit hutch are the big black fellow that belongs to Jerry and the tiny cotton tail they caught over by Lake Merced, the one that Katie May treasures with all the love that is stored up in the heart of a tiny miss of three.
We found them yesterday morning. this family of eight children and their parents, living in a poor little shack that they have done their best to keep from fulling apart.
They were seated about an oilcloth covered table in the kitchen and their only food was coffee and bread. "Bread and coffee-coffee and bread." laughed the mother with a brave attempt at cheerfulness. "But we cannot bring ourselves to eat the guinea pigs, and one thing we will never do-we will never kill Katie May's cottontail."
Other stories on the front page that day was a history of the refineries on Contra Costa County’s Oil Coast, stretching from Richmond to Martinez, announcements of a live Yuletide concert on radio station KYA, tree lightings, Christmas charities, and the strange case where the paper tracked down the identity of a female jaywalker who had been arrested a couple days earlier and interviewed her.
The headline said, Jaywalking Blonde's Identity Established and the story read, “Still blonde, still indignant the mysterious jaywalker who would have no traffic with police officers was located yesterday by The Examiner."
Her name is Mrs. Laura Wallet and she lives at 755 O'Farrell street.
(Can you believe how the paper published her address? This was common practice in that era.)
And she still has very uncomplimentary opinions of Police Officer James Clooney, who put her in the ding-dang wagon Tuesday night because she refused to come back after ignoring a traffic signal.
To hear the rest of this bonus Frisco: The Secret History episode, please make your way to Patreon.com/Frisco and sign up for the $5 a month “Cooking With Gas” membership tier. Of course you may signup for more expensive tiers which offer more perks.