Los Angeles Herald, April 14, 1902

JEWISH SYNAGOGUE IS DEDICATED

With rites and ceremonies, the new Jewish Synagogue, Beth Israel, on Olive Street near Temple, was dedicated yesterday.

The building was filled when the orchestra, in the gallery over the altar, commenced the Coronation March from [sic] Meyerbeer. Down the aisles the processions approached. The men at the head of each carried the treasures of the ark, the scrolls containing the five books of Moses.

The key of the temple was carried by Miss Annie Forer on a pink satin cushion. Following the men walked ten maidens clad in white, with white wreaths on their heads. Twice they passed around the church [sic] and then ascended the altar, Mayor Snyder marching with them.

A prayer by Rev. Alfred Arndt and the reading of the thirtieth psalm by Rabbi I. Myers, preceded the ark service.

Then followed the most interesting part of the service — the purpose of a plush curtain was revealed; it hung before the ark, where the sacred scrolls were to be placed, with the same rites that were practiced 2,000 years ago.

. . . The scrolls were solemnly brought forth from the ark, . . . to the pulpit desk, where they were unrolled by S.S. Federman and M.S. Kornblum before Abraham Shulman, who read them aloud.

. . . Mrs. Annie Mischkowsky, of Pasadena, lighted the flame that the faithful were exhorted never to allow to die out.

Rabbi Myers delivered a sermon . . .. He said in part:

. . . “The demon of race hatred that we thought buried has risen again to bring terror to the hearts of millions of our people in the old country. Being broken up into 1,000 fragments is he greatest curse the Jew can have.

“It was in the synagogue in the middle ages that the Jew was taught to be pure and chaste when all the rest of the world was full of corruption. Never allow that perpetual light to go out; do not lay sacrilegious hands on the great principles that have been the inspiration of the noblest of our race, to live through a fire of persecution and anguish of martyrdom that lasted throughout 2,000 years. . . .”

Mayor Snyder gave a short address of congratulation . . ..

A reception was given last night in the temple. Tonight he will deliver a lecture on modern Zionism in the same place. Victor Harris will preside and also speak on the same subject.

Congregation Beth Israel, a traditional Temple, has moved to 8056 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles 90048.

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From the Los Angeles Herald Illustrated Magazine, April 13, 1902

RURAL MAIL DELIVERY IN EAGLE ROCK VALLEY

The first system of rural mail delivery to emanate from the Los Angeles post office was inaugurated on the morning of April 1. It covers the country between Garvanza and Glendale.

[The carrier on the new route was a woman, but the story does not disclose her name. She was to be paid six hundred dollars a year, although the mounted carriers within Los Angeles — all men — were paid a thousand.]

Many residents of Los Angeles . . . do not suspect that hidden away among the hills . . . lies an emerald, “a gem of the purest ray serene” — the valley of Eagle Rock.

Nor is this emerald without a suspicion of gold in its setting, for back in a canyon at the head of the valley there is a deserted gold mine . . . all are free to look at the hole . . .. an eagle with outstretched wings hovers perpetually above them.

   . . . the valley was once a lake, thus accounting for the rich black soil and the fact that water can be found anywhere in the lowlands a few feet below the surface . . . one understands now why the eagle looks down upon homes surrounded by luxurious orchards and vineyards. It is a veritable garden spot . . . .

Some day this “sleepy hollow” will echo with the noise of the trollley car, and its inhabitants will awake to find themselves a part of Los Angeles. . . . May the coming of urban life not destroy their beautiful spirit of brotherhood.
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Notes

Modern Zionism. From encyclopedia.com:

The rise of the Zionist movement in the late 19th cent. was influenced by nationalist currents in Europe, as well as by the secularization of Jewish life in Eastern Europe, which led many assimilated Jewish intellectuals to seek a new basis for a Jewish national life. One such individual was Theodor Herzl, a Viennese journalist who wrote The Jewish State (1896), calling for the formation of a Jewish nation state as a solution to the Diaspora and to anti-Semitism. In 1897 Herzl called the first World Zionist Congress at Basel, which brought together diverse proto-Zionist groups into one movement. The meeting helped found Zionist organizations in most countries with large Jewish populations.

Eagle Rock Valley. Bob Taylor’s Web site says about early Eagle Rock:

Real estate promoters described it as “The Switzerland of Southern California,” at one point, to would be buyers.

The air was clean, and the ground gave up a plentiful supply of pure, clean water. Farming became a part of early day living in the Eagle Rock area, and numerous and extensive truck gardens and orchards flourished within, the produßcts therefrom finding a ready and viable market in nearby Glendale, Pasadena, and Los Angeles. Strawberries were a mainstay of this type of business.

The photo of the Eagle Rock in the story is from his site. He says it was taken about 1900.
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