Who says you can’t go back in time?
As part of a lengthy archival project, Pepperdine University has scanned and digitized the first five years of The Malibu Times print publication and made it available online, providing a snapshot of 1940s Malibu.
The project has been in the works for some time, according to Mark Roosa, Dean of Libraries at Pepperdine University.
“When we started our Malibu history collection, [Publishers Arnold and Karen York] kindly offered to donate a complete run of the paper to us,” Roosa said. “The Malibu Times has really been the chronicle for tracking local activity for so many years.”
The first issue dates back to May 2, 1946, with a headline introducing the paper to the community followed by an editor’s note on the paradise known as Malibu and notices of drunk driving charges.
Then-Editor-in-Chief Reeves Templeman and Publisher William Macfadyen stated in their first issue, “This shall be our aim, that we serve the people of the Malibu well, making their interests our interest, their problems our problems, serving them with dignity, sincerity and integrity of purpose. It shall be our aim to make this newspaper the voice OF ALL the people and FOR ALL the people of Malibu Township, ever striving to keep our columns free of prejudice and partiality.”
A special section, “Reserved for the Ladies,” was managed by the women’s editor Marian Macfadyen. In the section, Macfadyen gave fashion advice and recipes to impress any guests stopping by for a dinner party. A simple hair trim for shorter hair was the craze in 1946. The section also contained “Household hints,” including how to perfectly press tablecloths or get the most out of bacon grease (use it in your pie crusts, of course).
In-depth people features included prominent architects, businessmen and local Malibu contractors responsible for designing the Malibu we know today.
In 1946, classified ads were sold for 15 cents per line with a 75-cent minimum and “a card of thanks” would set interested parties back $1.00.
A two-bedroom beach house with a large porch and garage between Las Tunas and Las Flores was being sold for $9,500. In 1947, an unfurnished 2-bedroom beach house one mile west of Malibu Inn rented for a $150 per month. Horses were for sale for minimum of $300.
Business ads touted local markets, optometrists and contractors, ready to assist with any local needs. Milk companies and clothing cleaning services were ready to deliver to anyone’s door.
The amusements page featured a wide array of cinematic attractions being filmed around down, with “Dick Tracy vs. The Claw” being shot at RKO Studios.
“This [archive] is going to be great for folks who live in Malibu who have an interest in life in the early years, in the post-war era,” Roosa said. “It was such an interesting time. It was when Malibu really started to grow. That period is fascinating and it’s really told through the newspaper.”
Unique features in the online archives include the choice to do full text, headline or keyword searches to maximize searching options.
After the archives were donated, an endowment was created to bring the collection out of the archives and into an online forum.
“The gift pays out a certain amount of money each year to be used on Malibu collection-related work and this is the first year it has paid out enough money for us to do something,” Roosa said. “We had been waiting to do this project.”
To read through the first five years of The Malibu Times, visit: http://pepperdine.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/PDNP01