Animal Tales (Some a little fishy)

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Animal Tales (Some a little fishy)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Learn about:

  • An opossum who enjoyed X-rated movies.

  • A canine thief with an appetite for eggs.

  • A man who lost out on $38,000 in valuable pearls because he liked his oysters cooked instead of raw.

  • Strange events and creatures off the California coast.

  • A recipe for Pius IV’s favorite dish — frog livers.

  • A statewide event where California school children were asked to kill as many ground squirrels as possible, verifying their kills by bringing the tails to school!

These are but a few of the stories largely centered around Long Beach, California, which have appeared over the past 130 years. Most have remained forgotten, until now. How much is true and how much “tongue in cheek” I will leave up to the reader to decide. In any case, they are fun, humorous and sure to entertain.

Read Kate Karp’s review in the Long Beach Post. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

DOGS

Thievery
Loyalty
Rescuers
Mother Love
A “Taxing” Situation
Presidential Pet
Missing You
Biting and Barking
Memories

CATS

Dreaming of Cats
Regulating Cats
Home Sweet Home
Climbing Cats
Earthquake Cat

HORSES

Willmore City
Civil Servants
Suicidal Horse?
Rough Riders
Horse vs. Machine
Irish Sweepstakes

COWS AND CATTLE

Moo
Wandering Cows
Cattle Rustling

GOATS

Milk Business
Goat Rustling
Regulating Goats

BEARS

Pet Bears
Wrestling Bears

MONKEYS

Monkey Fits

Monkey Business

SKUNKS

Invading Skunks
Pet Skunks

RACCOONS

Member of the Family
Troublesome

OPOSSUMS

Intruders
Movie Lovers
Hitchhikers

RABBITS

Pesty Rabbits
Raising Rabbits
Pet Rabbits
Airport Hazards

BIRDS

Pigeons
Pelicans
Chickens
Turkeys
Ostriches
Ducks
Talkers and Singers

RODENTS

Rats
Gophers
Ground Squirrels
Grey Squirrels

AQUATIC MAMMALS

Sea Lions
Whales

FISHY TALES

A Bit Hard to Swallow
A Strange Event
Sea Serpents

FROGS and TOADS

An Invasion
Frog Farming
It’s Alive!

REPTILES

Turtles and Tortoises
Snakes
Alligators

HUNTING

Gun Clubs
Coyote Hunting
Jackrabbits
Pet Food

ZOOS

Nu-Pike
Zoo Cruise

EPILOGUE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

A
Airport, 2, 47, 85-87
Alamitos Bay, 116, 136-137, 150
Alamitos Townsite, 119
Alligators, 143, 145-147
Animal shelter, 14, 22, 25, 29, 31, 75, 79, 81,145, 146, 156, 157-158
ASPCA. See: Humane Society
Aviation, 46-47, 85, 100

B
Balboa Film Studio, 62
Bears, 62-66, 143, 156, 159, 160
Belmont Pier, 70
Bixby Park, 70, 119

C
Canaries, 103-104
Catalina Island, 116-117, 128, 129, 130
Cats, 7, 9-11, 12-15, 26-40, 76-79, 83, 91, 109, 153
Cattle, 50-56, 151
Chickens, 13-14, 59, 60-61, 71, 93-95, 96
Coyotes, 14, 87, 151-152

D
Dogs, 3-25, 28, 31-32, 36, 37, 86, 90, 105-106, 107, 113, 125, 151, 152

E
Eagles, 122, 145
Endangered Species Act, 89, 137

F
Fire Department, 35-37, 41-44, 134, 137-138
Fish, 69, 75, 91-92, 116, 125, 126-127, 150
Frogs and toads, 131-134

G
Get Out and Push railway, 39-40
Goats, 57-61
Gophers, 82, 107-110
Graves, Billy, 82-83, 126-127, 135-136
Ground squirrels, 110-113. See also: Squirrels
Gun clubs, 76. 148-150

H
Horses, 1, 2, 6-7, 39-49, 151, 152, 153
Humane Society, 7, 11
Hunting, 86, 92, 111-112, 140

L
Lakewood, 7, 86, 148-149
Libraries, 119-121, 122
Lincoln Park. See: Pacific Park
Lions, 143, 155, 156-157, 159, 160
Loop, John, 123-124

M
Mice, 30, 82, 105
Monkeys, 67-69, 138, 143, 156, 157-159

N
Nu-Pike. See: Pike Amusement Zone

O
Opossums, 76-81
Ostriches, 97-99, 159
Oysters, 126, 137

P
Pacific Park, 40, 105, 117-119, 121, 145, 146
Parrots, 100-102
Parakeets, 102-103
Peacocks, 122, 145
Pelicans, 89-93, 156
Pigeons, 88-89
Pike Amusement Zone, 17, 32, 95, 96, 144, 146, 155-159
Prehistoric animals, 1-2, 130

R
Rabbits, 60, 61, 82-87, 88, 152-153
Raccoons, 73-75, 152
Rancho Los Alamitos, 4-5, 62, 148, 151, 152-153
Rancho Los Cerritos, 11, 62, 148, 151
Rats, 17, 30, 82, 83, 99, 105-107, 120
Recreation Park, 155

S
San Clemente Island, 129-130, 153
Sea gulls, 91, 93
Sea serpents, 127-130
Seals and sea lions, 116-117, 153-154
Schools, 62, 85, 88, 101, 111-112, 141
Sharks, 125, 153
Signal Hill, 1, 19, 41, 53-54, 55, 57, 98
Skunks, 70-72
Snakes, 69, 82, 139-144
Squirrels, 82, 113-115

T
Turkeys, 95-96
Turtles and tortoises, 135-139, 142

V
Virginia Country Club, 11, 114-115

W
Whales, 116, 117-124, 128, 153
Willmore City, 39-41

Z
Zoos, 64, 138, 141, 142-144, 155-160

 

READ AN EXCERPT

Movie Lovers

Do you like going to movies? Did you know opossums do too? One of them had a plan to sneak into the Ocean Boulevard United Artists Theater. In April 1950, Mr. Opossum learned it was his last chance to see two daring, shocking films dealing with forbidden themes — Emile Zola’s “Passionnelle: a tale of illicit love” showing with the second big feature, “Torment: a study of sex and sadism.” He didn’t have enough cash for a ticket, and worried he wasn’t old enough to be allowed in to see these adult films anyway, so he made his entry early in the morning before the ticket takers arrived. He spotted an inviting chair, climbed up on it and waited. Unfortunately, the movies didn’t begin for some time and bored (but still wanting to see the films) he slumbered.

As fellow movie goers arrived, Mr. Opossum was spotted and police were called. At first Mr. Opossum thought it was because he had snuck in without a ticket, or because he was too young to know about sex and sadism, but then he decided he was being discriminated against because he was a marsupial. Didn’t they know his breed was the only marsupial species in the United States? But the police didn’t buy the “I am special” story and started to poke at him. He decided they must have seen the second feature, for their sadistic prodding dislodged him from his seat. He dropped to the floor, decided not to run and instead stiffened and started “possuming.”

It was a good act, but the police weren’t convinced. Cautiously, they picked him up, wary of sharp teeth and deposited him on the floor of their police car. They took him to the flood control channel where the ardent movie fan was placed on the ground. Sure enough, Mr. Opossum was still alive and ran off to seek welcoming friends. He had learned a lesson. At the theater he had settled in one of the more expensive loge seats, where he was discovered. Next time he would purloin a less desirable chair, but he didn’t know if he would be as interested in one of the new
films — “Nancy Goes to Rio” with Jane Powell and Ann Sothern, but the second feature starring Roddy McDowall, “Killer Shark,” sparked his interest. Perhaps he would sneak in again.

Raining Frogs

A bizarre occurrence happened in Long Beach on October 2, 1916, when thousands of frogs dropped with the rain from clouds above Long Beach. No one in town could identify the variety, which were brown, with white spots.

Today the description seems to match the Columbia spotted frog, an aquatic amphibian which is widespread from Alaska to
Washington. But how did they get to Long Beach? Were they picked up in a storm and transported hundreds of miles? All Long Beach folk knew was they had to watch their step since it was impossible to avoid the frogs on sidewalks without stepping on them.
For several nights the frogs’ croaking kept many residents awake. Their odor also became a bit much. Eventually the frogs were gathered up by cleaning crews and disposed of, but the mystery remained. How did this strange phenomenon get to Long Beach?

Next time you visit Long Beach’s Aquarium of the Pacific, ask them. Perhaps they can offer a more scientific answer, other than a UFO inadvertently picking them up and dumping them before landing at the alleged UFO base off our coast!

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Historical Society of Long Beach, 4260 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA. 90807