Complaints about Speeding on Fairmount – in 1949

The now yellowed front page of the weekly El Cerrito Journal on this date, Jan. 27, in 1949 provides a snapshot of community issues and local organizations just before the 20th century reached its halfway mark. The lead story was about speeding on Fairmount and Barrett avenues. Here are some of the actual headlines from the Journal's front page, followed by our brief summaries of the articles:

Council Hears Complaints on School Hazard

A letter to the City Council from Mrs. K. Bachrach said she's witnessed motorists ignoring crosswalk markings and "slow" signs on Fairmount Avenue and that dogs have been killed near the intersection with Colusa Avenue. Mayor Millard E Bostock urged immediate action on the problem, concentrated on Fairmount between Colusa and Ramona Avenue. The superintendent of schools, W.T. Helms, also registered a complaint, saying drivers are violating traffic regulations on Barrett Avenue near Mira Vista school.

Consul General Regala Will Address C. of C.

Tickets are now available for the annual dinner of the El Cerrito Chamber of Commerce at the Six Bells restaurant, where the guest speaker will be the Honorable Roberto Regala, consul general of the Philippine Islands in San Francisco. He will talk about foreign trade with the islands with special reference to the Bay Area. The chamber's chairman, Judge Joe Martyn Turner, said Regala is a very interesting speaker.

Dancers Party To Be Staged on February 5

The Fairmont Folk Dancers will hold their monthly party on Saturday night at the Albany Y on Kains Avenue in Albany. Dancing begins at 8 p.m. and goes until midnight.

Robinson and Spaite Will Attend Session

Two people from El Cerrito will be among the 800 dentists attending the 53rd annual meeting of the Alumni Association of the College of Dentistry University of California, being held at the St. Francis Hotel. They are Mrs. Cherry Robinson, a dental hygenist, and Dr. Charles G. Spaite.

• Click for other vignettes of El Cerrito history. 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.