Betsy J. Green

Way Back When: Odd Occurrences Before the Quake
A Sign from Above?

Three days before the earth shuddered violently on June 29, 1925, there was an odd apparition in the early morning sky in Santa Barbara. Was it a sign of things to come?

"Yesterday morning ... the heavens over the city were sprayed with streamers of lights believed by many to be the aurora borealis or northern lights ... The phenomenon is said to have been visible for more than 20 minutes before beginning shortly after 5:00.
"Local scientists explained the display with the statement that a sandstorm passing over the city simultaneous with the rising of the first sun rays over the mountains produced an effect that has not been witnessed here for several years." – Santa Barbara Morning Press, June 27, 1925

I shared stories told by the survivors of Santa Barbara's big 1925 earthquake at the Santa Barbara Public Library yesterday (6-1-2025) with a large crowd of folks. This is the first of many events this month for me and other historians/experts. The 100th anniversary of the earthquake is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us, eh?

Here's a little sample: "The quake was perfectly awful. The noise of things falling in my house was enough to scare one to death, without the terrible noise of the quake. The big chimney went, and upstairs a bookcase and contents fell over. The refrigerator contents were one big combination salad. Broken glass everywhere."

More about my other Quake Month talks here: https://www.betsyjgreen.com/events.htm

And other Quake Month events: eq25.org

Fast Action at the "Flying A" Studio

Dateline: May 1925

There seemed to be a lot of activity at this location at the old "Flying A" movie studio, but it wasn't movie making. "A team of six players from the Fairbanks-Pickford studios in Hollywood defeated the Montecito team seven matches to one in a game of Doug at the Flying A Studios yesterday afternoon.

"The game, evolved by Douglas Fairbanks, more for training than anything else, is a cross between tennis, volleyball and badminton, an old English game. Its purpose is to give the greatest amount of exercise in the least possible time."

The Latest Buzz in SB

Dateline: May 1925
A Hollywood movie studio was in Santa Barbara this month filming scenes for a movie called "The Keeper of the Bees." The filming, as you might expect, involved those little critters. "A unique property being used is a consignment of 60 hives of bees, with an expert apiarist in charge of them. [The director] claims the bees are trained so they will not sting the actors, and added guardedly that he hoped the man was correct. (There were no further stories about the filming, so apparently the bees bee-haved.)
[Spoiler alert – this was the last movie filmed in Santa Barbara before the June 29 earthquake.]

An Eye-Catching Headline

Dateline: May 1925

It's hard to read past an article with a headline like this: "Sea Captain Finds Bones of Monster … The skeleton of a giant prehistoric animal believed to be a mastodon has been unearthed … on San Miguel Island, according to Captain Bob Ord who yesterday brought three pieces of petrified [bones] to Santa Barbara which he asserts are only a small portion of the 12-foot tusks … He plans to remove the jawbone and teeth on his next trip to the island."

[Pygmy Mammoth remains have been found on the islands of Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel.]

Two months and counting to the 100th anniversary of Santa Barbara's big earthquake - June 29, 1925. There will be lots of earthquake-related events coming soon.

More info on my events page.

Thanks to the Carpinteria Arts Center for the April book festival!

Grab That Snake!

Dateline: March 1925
If you run across any snakes, pick them up please – the Museum of Natural History wants them. "Our aim is to make casts of all the game fish and snakes of this vicinity," said a museum employee. "But we are busily engaged in casting [wax models] and can't get out to hunt or fish … A number of wax casts naturally colored already have been finished for the fish section of the museum."

NIMBY in 1925

Dateline: March 1925

A notice in the Santa Barbara newspaper detailed the restrictions on life in one of the newest neighborhoods called Samarkand Hills. "No living in garages; no chickens, horses, or goats allowed – "we don't want manure … we do want peace and quiet unbroken by the crowing and cackling of poultry"; no poles for electric wires or telephone lines (all wires underground), private residences only – no boarding houses, hotels, apartments, or bungalow courts; home must cost $5,000 or more; no eucalyptus or pepper trees; no drilling for oil."

Samarkand Hills is roughly east of Las Positas Road, West of Mission Creek, south of Stanley Drive, and north of Tallant Road. Basically, it is the northern part of what is called the Samarkand neighborhood today.

The Circus on Chapala & Cota

Dateline: March 1925

In the past, visiting circuses would often pitch their tents in the area known today as the Funk Zone. Since in 1925, that area was used for airplanes to land and take off, this circus set up on the west side at Cota and Chapala. As expected, the kids of Santa Barbara were majorly excited to watch the unloading of the circus train.

"Who has not been tempted to carry water for the elephants? Who is not entranced by the huge curtained wagons, wondering what they contain." The circus would offer performances all week.