Archive for October, 2011

Sister Aimee, ca. 1920

When Aimee dived into the Pacific Ocean and emerged on the Mexican desert, thus performing a feat which will not be duplicated until babies grow on walnut trees, she reckoned that the rest of the world was as foolish as she. –San Diego Herald, July 29, 1926

The apparent drowning death of famed evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson off the coast of Santa Monica in 1926 shocked the world. Even more stunning was her reappearance weeks later in the Sonora desert. The sensational story she told of her kidnapping and miraculous escape spawned front-page news coverage that lasted for months. But for a fearless San Diego newspaper editor, the reporting of Aimee’s “ten days in a love shack,” meant Federal indictment and a lurid court trial.

The story of The Evangelist and the Muckraker.

Between two and four o’clock yesterday morning a woman named Maggie McCutcheon, whose sporting title is Maggie Bangs, was killed by pistol shot under circumstances that leave it somewhat of a mystery . . . –San Diego Union, June 19, 1881.

British “Bulldog” revolver

The story of death in San Diego’s notorious “Stingaree” district: Maggie Bangs.

The Way We Were in San Diego, published by The History Press, will be released on October 18.  This is a compilation of 38 articles that I’ve written for the Union-Tribune.  Here’s an image of the Contents page.

You can pre-order the book now from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/dp/1609494415  Or just wait two or three weeks.  We should see it in San Diego by the end of the month.