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Tag: Seals

  • July 3rd in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1917, the Topeka Daily Capital in Kansas ran the following photo.

    July_3_1917_Baby_Seal_Lions_as_pets-3

    The full story reads as follows:

    Making pets of baby sea lions is the great fad at Seal Beach, Cal., this year. Miss Vera Teel is here shown giving “Toots” his daily ration of milk from the bottle. “Toots is about 30 days old. “Sea lion cubs are just like little puppies,” says Miss Teel. “When they are young they have all the instincts of the dog and are just as fond of humans as they are of their own sleek mothers. If the cubs are well fed and kept near people they become quite domestic when grown. They grow fat and lazy and seldom go into the water, even to fish.” ‘Toots” enjoys immensely taking his dinner from the bottle, just as any other baby might. He is now covered with many brown spots, but as he grows older these will leave, just as the fawn’s spots disappear.

    We respect Miss Teel for correctly identifying “Toots” as a sea lion (a feat of amateur marine biology that Seal Beach’s founders never mastered since they constantly mislabeled sea lions in photos as seals in early Seal Beach publicity). However, we don’t have to contact our professional marine biologist friend to know that domesticating a baby seal, er, sea lion is not a good idea. Kids, friends, neighbors, Topekans, do not use Miss Vera Teel as a role model for good pet ownership choices.

    A little digging at Ancestry.com unearthed some interesting tidbits about Vera Teel. Although this can’t be verified 100%, it seems likely that she was born Vera Louisa Teague in Illinois in 1896 and moved with her mother and father to Long Beach by the 1910 census. By 1916, she had married James Elford Teel, also of Long Beach and remained married to him until at least 1924, so Vera was not a “Miss” when this photo was taken. (I know! A newspaper misreporting facts. I’m as surprised as you.)

    By 1925, Vera had to change all her monogrammed towels because she was now married to Frank Luke Rogers, a man eight years younger than her (Hubba-hubba, Vera!). This marriage seems to stick because she remained Vera Rogers for the rest of her life.  In the 1940 census, Vera is listed impressively as being an attorney with her own practice, so one hopes her amateur sea lion expert days were over by then.

    Vera passed away on January 3rd, 1983, and Frank followed her a few months later on April 7, 1983.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • May 27th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1926, the Santa Ana Register published this gushingly enthusiastic profile of Seal Beach with a photo spread.

    In my Seal Beach research over the years, I’ve come across some wild feats of hyperbole, but I think the first three paragraphs in this article have all other beat.

    In spite of its manic lack of restraint, this article provides a solid snapshot of what Seal Beach was in 1926 and what it was trying to present itself as to the world. (This does not include the whopper about the single drowning or the claims of safety. Whoof, such mendacity!)

    So I’m going to quote the entire article and include the photos with commentary after the article.

    SEAL BEACH’S NO UNDERTOW CLAIM BRINGS MANY VISITORS

    ———————–

    Safety Factor Is Stressed By Residents of Town; Commerce Body Active

    ———————–

    BIG POWER PLANT TO BE ENLARGED

    ———————–

    Vehicular Bridge Across Outer Channel of Bay Backed by Community

    ———————–

    When Mother Nature chiseled the coast line of what was destined to Southern California, she gave particular attention to one favored spot, saying: “Here I will create a beach that will provide safe bathing for mankind, especially the women and little children.”

    With this end in view, she formed two Inland bays with entrances from the Pacific ocean nearly a mile apart, and between these she made a gradually sloping sandy beach free from dangerous riptides and strong undertow.

    Neither time nor tides have changed this condition, and since the early days of civilization in Southern California, what is now known as the city of Seal Beach has been recognized as one beach where surf bathing is safe.

    Surf Bathing Safe.

    The greatest degree of safety in the surf is between two bays, Anaheim and Alamitos. Although thousands go into the surf there every season, so far as known there has been but one drowning, and that near the Alamitos bay channel, when a man who could not swim attempted to negotiate the breakers on a hastily constructed raft.

    The safe condition of safety exists in Anaheim bay inside the bridge, but bathers are warned to keep away from the outer channel with its deep water and treacherous currents.

    For these reasons, many inland people spend their summer vacations at Seal Beach and Anaheim Landing, which is a part of the city, and it is believed the greatest number of summer visitors will be accommodated this year, because there are many cottages and tents available for summer use.

    Arrange Housing Facilities

    The chamber of commerce has taken up the matter of providing housing facilities for summer visitors and complete details may be had by writing to Harry H. Newton, the secretary.

    Besides safe bathing, Seal Beach offers many other attractions, such as boating on the bay, excellent fishing and various amusements, one of these being a large dancing pavilion. There is also a roller coaster and other concessions in the amusement zone.

    Seal Beach derives its name from the large herds of seal that have made their home here since the memory of man. They can be seen at the mouth of Alamitos bay, near the big power plant, in their natural habitat, being an attraction for tourists from all over the world. Plans are forming for a seal park, this being a part of the scheme for a vehicular bridge across the outer cannel of Alamitos bay.

    History of Town

    In 1903 P. A. Stanton and I. A. Lothian purchased 200 acres of land on the ocean front between Anaheim and Alamitos bays. The land was platted and the new town given the name of Bay City. In 1915, It was incorporated as a city of the sixth class under the name of Seal Beach, in honor of the large herd of seals.

    Seal Beach has a municipal water system, sewers, electricity, gas and many miles of permanently paved streets.

    Although the incorporated limits of Seal Beach include approximately 800 acres, only 200 acres are in the platted portion, the balance being a part of the Hellman ranch. This ranch land will not be available for homesites until after the question of oil is determined. Drilling operations are being conducted on the property by the Associated Oil company, but so far without any favorable showings. Executors of the Hellman estate say if prospecting operations prove the land is barren of oil in paying quantities, they will subdivide the portion in Seal Beach and put it on the market for homesites. The Hellman hill is declared to be one of the most desirable places in Southern California for this purpose.

    Seal Beach is located on the South Coast highway. Within 15-mile radius of Seal Beach, there are 25 towns that, with intervening territory, have a combined population of more than a quarter of a million people.

    Bridge Project

    A project is under way for building a vehicular bridge across the outer channel of Alamitos bay that will connect Ocean boulevard in Long Beach with Ocean avenue in Seal Beach. Preliminary plans for the structure will soon be completed.

    Will Enlarge Plant

    On the point overlooking the entrance to Alamitos bay is located the Seal Beach electric generating station of the Los Angeles Gas and Electric corporation. The first unit of the plant was placed in operation last July. When completed the plant will consist of three units of 48,000 horsepower each and the total cost will be approximately $15,000,000. The second unit will be started next year.

    The three boilers of the first unit have a capacity of 175,000 pounds of steam each, and the giant smokestack stands 275 feet high, a landmark seen from many miles distant.

    Electric energy is generated here and distributed in Los Angeles over a high-power transmission line.

    Chamber Is Active

    Seal Beach has an active chamber of commerce, of which W. D. Miller, president of the California State bank, is president, and Harry H. Newton, secretary. The organization has accomplished much in the way of civic development and is taking a leading part in the project of a vehicular bridge across the Alamitos bay channel.

    Mrs. E. W. Reed is president of the Woman’s Improvement club and Mrs. Merle Armstrong is secretary. There is a Business Men’s club, of which A. W. Armstrong is president and Harry H. Newton, secretary.

    Seal Beach Is proud of its public school system. It has a fine group of buildings with a competent corps of teachers. The district at present has only a grammar school, being affiliated with the Huntington Beach high school district.

    Two churches, Methodist and Catholic, provide places of worship, and there is a growing Masonic lodge.

    R. E. Dolley is president of the board of trustees. Other members of the board are J. P. Transue, A. E. Walker,  J. R. John and C. O. Wheat. Mrs. Ollie B. Padrick is city clerk and Ira E. Patterson is treasurer.

    Altogether, Seal Beach offers unusual attractions for either the home seeker or the vacationist.

    Here are enlarged versions of the photos from the Santa Ana Register spread.

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • May 17th in Seal Beach History

    On this date in 1924, the Santa Ana Register cited an unnamed report that claimed that the colony of 300 seals residing in Alamitos Bay were consuming “some twelve tons of fish a day” and would soon deplete the bay. Local fishermen reported that they were still catching “extra fine specimens” of “the finny tribe.”

    The article concluded with the observation that the seal colony, oblivious to the human dispute over fish supply, watched with wonder the construction of the Los Angeles Gas and Electric steam plant on the shore of the bay, “undisturbed by rumor or roar of machinery.”

    – Michael Dobkins

    Have you enjoyed this and other This Date in Seal Beach History posts?

    If so, please consider making a small donation of a dollar or more to help defray the online subscriptions and other research costs that make this blog possible.

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  • March 14th in Seal Beach History

    On this date, the Los Angeles Times ran a story on eighteen year old John L. Scott and the baby seal he adopted.

    Earlier in March, John had been working in his hot dog stand when he noticed a shimmering shape in the surf. Assuming it was a fish, John, apparently an intrepid soul, charged into the surf to capture it. When he swam closer and heard plaintive bleats, John realized he was not tracking a fish, but was after a baby seal. He took the baby seal home and began nursing it by feeding it milk every two to three hours. John’s theory was that Pat’s mother had been shot by fishermen.

    In the days that followed, “Pat” as John named him, would follow and play with his rescuer both on land and in the sea. Their antics attracted local attention and word-of-mouth publicity, and the Santa Ana Register sent a reporter to cover the the unlikely pair on March 5th. That story mentioned that Pat and John would swim together three times a day off Dolphin Avenue between 9 and 10 am, again between 1 and 3 pm, and finally between 4 and 5 pm before retiring to John’s home for the night.

    Not to be outdone and knowing a good human (and marine mammal) interest story when they saw it, the editors sent a reporter and a photographer to Seal Beach. Neither the Register or Times saw fit to ask John’s mother or the rest of the family what they thought about his new pet.

    It’s hard to tell from the photo, but it appears that Pat didn’t have ear flaps, which would make him a seal and not a pet seal lion as featured in this 1917 post.

    There was also never a follow up story covering Pat’s eventual fate, but any marine biologist worth his or her salt water will tell you that adopting a seal or seal lion as a pet is not a good idea and will likely not end well for the critter. We can only hope that at some stage Pat moved on to have a full normal life in the ocean.

    (Incidentally, John seemed to be prone to car accidents. When he was fourteen, John broke his leg in Naples when he was thrown from a reckless friend’s car when it overturned while passing another car. In 1933, John was behind the driver’s seat this time and narrowly escaped when the delivery truck he was driving was clipped by a Pacific Electric train at Electric Avenue and Seventeenth Street in Seal Beach. The truck spun around and was knocked 50 feet down the road.)

    – Michael Dobkins

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  • January 31st In Seal Beach History

    sealsOn this date in 1924, the Santa Ana Register reported under the headline of “SEAL BEACH REGRETS WAR ON PACIFIC SEALS” that a war against seals was advocated by fishermen due to the seals destroying too many nets and feasting “too liberally upon fish meant for human consumption.”

    This annihilation of the seals was opposed in Seal Beach. The Santa Ana Register added that the “tourists and residents of Seal Beach would deeply regret to lose their companionship and the added attraction of their presence on the sand spit which they chose long years ago as the finest sun parlor on the Pacific.”

    – Michael Dobkins

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