City Stumped by Seized Slot Machines – Today's News in 1943

A recent Patch visit to the Shadi Historical Room at El Cerrito City Hall found a tattered and torn copy of the weekly El Cerrito Journal for today, July 1, from 1943, as the 26-year-old city continued with civic affairs in the midst of World War II. Here are some of the actual headlines from the paper's front page, followed by our brief summaries of the articles:

City Wonders
What to Do With
Slot Machines

The City Council appears to be at a loss over what to do with four slot machines confiscated by Chief of Police R.R. Cheek. He brought the machines in from various establishments when making a check under instructions from the council. No one has been charged, and when Councilman Moore asked the council what the city should do with the machines, no one had an answer. The city attorney said he believed that warrants would need to be issued before they could be destroyed.

El Cerrito City Council Passes Business License Law 

On a 4-1 vote, the El Cerrito City Council Monday night approved a business license fee of $10 for all types of businesses, plus an additional $1 for each employee. Newly appointed Councilman Steve Moore was the sole dissenting vote, largely because of an excluded paragraph on closing laws for poker clubs. Moore said that liquor establishments are required to close at a set hour and that poker clubs located inside such establishments should be required to adhere to the same restriction.

Blake and San Pablo
Site of New Theatre
for City of El Cerrito

The manager of the Cerrito Theatre, Henry Goldenberg, announced today that negotiations have been completed on establishing a new theatre in El Cerrito to serve residents in the northern portion of the city. The Cerrito Theatre people on Tuesday bought the home of the future theatre, a very large steel and brick structure on the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Blake Street, and contractors and architects have already begun work on converting it to a theatre. 

Married Couples
Join War Effort

The University of California is offering a free California War Training course for husbands and wives who wish to help the war effort. A Marine Drafting course, to be offered beginning Tuesday night, July 6, will enable married couples to be employed in the drafting rooms of local shipyards working on Liberty ships and other critically needed vessels. The course, open to any high school graduate, will meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the Berkeley campus for 16 weeks.

El Cerrito Soldier
Killed In Aleutians

The War Department today announced that two soldiers from West Contra Costa County, including one from El Cerrito and one from Crockett, were killed in action in the Aleutians area. The slain soldiers are Sgt. Douglas F.C. Miner, son of Mrs. Elizabeth Miner of 111 San Carlos Avenue, El Cerrito, and Donald R. Van Wagenen, of 423 Alhambra Avenue, Crockett.

Click  for other vignettes we've published about El Cerrito history. Click the Keep the Keep me posted button below for alerts to future articles in this series. You can find some back issues of the El Cerrito Journal at the Shadi Historical Room at City Hall, open to the public on the third Thursday of each month, 4:30-6 p.m.