Harold A. Henry
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Harold Harby
, Los Angeles City Council member 1943–57.
Harold A. Henry (1895–1966) was a community newspaper publisher who was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1945 and was its president for four terms from 1947 to 1962.
, and went to school in Reno
and at the University of Nevada
. After being discharged from service in World War I, he became a reporter on the Los Angeles Examiner, and in 1925 he established a community newspaper
, the Wilshire Press, which he edited and published until 1941. During this time he helped reorganize the Western Avenue Business Association into the Wilshire Chamber of Commerce in 1937 and was its secretary-manager until 1950.
He died on February 27, 1966, after a lengthy illness. He was survived by his wife, June, whom he had married in 1965. His first wife, Marie, died in 1963. He was also survived by a daughter, Mary Uglow. He lived at 112 S. Lucerne Avenue in Windsor Square at West First Street
. Funeral services were conducted at Wilshire Methodist Church, and interment was at Rose Hills Memorial Park
, Whittier.
He bequeathed $50,000 and all his personal effects to his wife June and stated that "prior provisions" had been made for her. He gave $5,000 to his housekeeper and $10,000 to his secretary. Two nephews of his first wife were left $5,000 each. Real property was left to his daughter, and the remainder of the estate was placed in trust, to be paid to his daughter at $1,000 a month.
appointed him to the city's Playground and Recreation Commission. He served until 1945 and was commission president for four years. He was later a member of the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission.
Henry ran for the Los Angeles City Council District 4
seat of retiring Councilman Robert L. Burns
in 1945 and was elected in the final vote. In every contest thereafter through 1959 he was reelected in the primary election.
In 1955 the district included much of the Wilshire district and in general was bounded by Fountain Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard
, Fairfax Avenue
and Catalina Street.
Henry also ran unsuccessfully for Los Angeles County supervisor
in 1958.
for four two-year terms, beginning 1947, 1949, 1951 and 1961. As such he was acting mayor when the mayor was out of the state. His first term resulted from a closed meeting by the City Council at the Jonathan Club
, when nine of fifteen council members voted to seat him in place of the then-president, George H. Moore
.
As acting mayor he was responsible for issuing many special declarations, including:
Henry was also responsible for ordering the temporary cessation of monthly air raid alarm
testing during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis
at the request of the California Disaster Council, to avoid public panic.
, Earle D.Baker and J. Win Austin
attended a dinner meeting in South Gate
to honor the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Timberlake, 1953. Henry was in dispute with Council Member L.E. Timberlake over many issues, including a controversial $1 million plan to build public housing
in Los Angeles (Timberlake favoring and Henry opposing), with Timberlake disputing many of Henry's rulings from the chair
. One of them upset Henry so much that in January 1953 he was led to exclaim, "Mr. Timberlake, if you persist in this intolerable situation, there will be ways devised to prevent you!"
West Hollywood, 1957. He was instrumental in assuring that the city of Los Angeles remained neutral in a 1957 proposal by West Hollywood residents to incorporate as a city.
Dodgers, 1958. Henry was one of the three council members—Patrick D. McGee
and John C. Holland
being the others—who voted in 1958 against a proposal to turn Chavez Ravine
over to the Los Angeles Dodgers
for use as a baseball stadium.
Teachers, 1959. He was active in work of the Senior League, sponsor of the annual Teachers Remembrance Day.
Sanitation, 1961. He had a separate, $100-a-month position as city representative on the County Sanitation District, to which he reappointed himself in July 1961. That pay was in addition to his salary of $12,000 as a council member.
Human relations, 1964. After a heated City Council debate, Henry voted with the prevailing side in rejecting calls for the establishment of a separate city Human Relations Commission. The majority decided instead to maintain city membership on a similar county agency.
and the Miracle Mile. After Henry's death, Mayor Samuel W. Yorty said of the Wilshire District, "Perhaps no man in the past quarter of a century contributed as much to its growth and development as Hal Henry, [who] devoted all of his energies to still more projects to enhance the beauty and economic posture of one of the nation's most magnificent thoroughfares."
Council President L.E. Timberlake burst into tears as he began an eulogy of Henry at a council session and could not continue. Erwin Baker, a Los Angeles Times City Hall reporter, recalled that Henry was a "quiet debater on the council floor" who "could cut to the heart of an issue with his dry humor and intimate knowledge of parliamentary procedure."
In January 1967, a six-story office building at 500 Shatto Place was dedicated to Henry's memory, with a plaque calling him a "servant of the people, Wilshire Center District." He is memorialized with a city park bearing his name at 890 South Lucerne Avenue, with a children's play area and a picnic area.
Harold Harby
Not to be confused with Harold A. Henry, Los Angeles City Council member 1945–66.Harold Harby was elected to the Los Angeles, California, City Council in 1939, but he had to leave office in 1942 when he was convicted of using a city car for a trip out of the state. He was reelected in 1943 and...
, Los Angeles City Council member 1943–57.
Harold A. Henry (1895–1966) was a community newspaper publisher who was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1945 and was its president for four terms from 1947 to 1962.
Biography
Henry was born in Virginia City, NevadaVirginia City, Nevada
Virginia City is a census-designated place that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 855 at the 2010 Census.- History :...
, and went to school in Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
and at the University of Nevada
University of Nevada, Reno
The University of Nevada, Reno , is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA...
. After being discharged from service in World War I, he became a reporter on the Los Angeles Examiner, and in 1925 he established a community newspaper
Community journalism
Community journalism is locally oriented, professional news coverage that typically focuses on city neighborhoods, individual suburbs or small towns, rather than metropolitan, state, national or world news....
, the Wilshire Press, which he edited and published until 1941. During this time he helped reorganize the Western Avenue Business Association into the Wilshire Chamber of Commerce in 1937 and was its secretary-manager until 1950.
He died on February 27, 1966, after a lengthy illness. He was survived by his wife, June, whom he had married in 1965. His first wife, Marie, died in 1963. He was also survived by a daughter, Mary Uglow. He lived at 112 S. Lucerne Avenue in Windsor Square at West First Street
1st Street (Los Angeles)
1st Street is an east-west thoroughfare in Los Angeles and East Los Angeles, California. It serves as a postal divider between north and south and is one of a few streets to run from West Los Angeles to East Los Angeles...
. Funeral services were conducted at Wilshire Methodist Church, and interment was at Rose Hills Memorial Park
Rose Hills Memorial Park
Rose Hills Memorial Park is the largest cemetery in the United States and is located in Whittier, California. It is owned and operated by Service Corporation International .-Mausoleums and Chapels:...
, Whittier.
He bequeathed $50,000 and all his personal effects to his wife June and stated that "prior provisions" had been made for her. He gave $5,000 to his housekeeper and $10,000 to his secretary. Two nephews of his first wife were left $5,000 each. Real property was left to his daughter, and the remainder of the estate was placed in trust, to be paid to his daughter at $1,000 a month.
Commissions
In 1938 Mayor Fletcher BowronFletcher Bowron
Fletcher Bowron was the 35th Mayor of Los Angeles, California from September 26, 1938 until June 30, 1953. Until Thomas Bradley passed his length of service during the 1980s, Bowron held the distinction of having the longest tenure in that position in city history.Bowron was born in Poway,...
appointed him to the city's Playground and Recreation Commission. He served until 1945 and was commission president for four years. He was later a member of the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission.
Elections
See also List of Los Angeles municipal election returns, 1945–59Henry ran for the Los Angeles City Council District 4
Los Angeles City Council District 4
Los Angeles City Council District 4 is one of the 15 districts of the Los Angeles City Council, situated in the center of the city. It is represented by Tom Labonge....
seat of retiring Councilman Robert L. Burns
Robert L. Burns
Robert L. Burns was a Los Angeles school board member between 1923 and 1929 and Los Angeles City Council member between 1929 and 1945. He previously was on the school board in Hutchinson, Kansas. At his death in 1955, he was described as Los Angeles's "elder statesman."Robert L...
in 1945 and was elected in the final vote. In every contest thereafter through 1959 he was reelected in the primary election.
In 1955 the district included much of the Wilshire district and in general was bounded by Fountain Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
, Fairfax Avenue
Fairfax Avenue
Fairfax Avenue is a street on north central Los Angeles, California. It runs from La Cienega Boulevard with Culver City at its southern end to Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood on its northern end.Fairfax Avenue forms the western boundary of Hancock Park as well as Park La Brea, an 160 acre ,...
and Catalina Street.
Henry also ran unsuccessfully for Los Angeles County supervisor
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five-member nonpartisan governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district. They were as of December 2, 2008:*District 1: Gloria Molina...
in 1958.
Presidency
Henry was president of the City CouncilLos Angeles City Council president
This is an incomplete list of presidents of the Los Angeles City Council. Not only does the officer preside over meetings of the council, but he or she also makes assignments to City Council committees and handles parliamentary duties like ruling motions in or out of order...
for four two-year terms, beginning 1947, 1949, 1951 and 1961. As such he was acting mayor when the mayor was out of the state. His first term resulted from a closed meeting by the City Council at the Jonathan Club
Jonathan Club
The Jonathan Club is a private social club in Los Angeles, California, U.S. It maintains two clubhouses, one in downtown Los Angeles at 545 South Figueroa Street and one on the beach in Santa Monica. The Los Angeles headquarters has dining and residential facilities, ballrooms, a health club, a...
, when nine of fifteen council members voted to seat him in place of the then-president, George H. Moore
George H. Moore
George H. Moore , an attorney and a judge who was active in civic affairs of the Los Angeles Harbor region, was district attorney of San Benito County and a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1943 to 1951.-Biography:...
.
As acting mayor he was responsible for issuing many special declarations, including:
- Brotherhood WeekNational Conference for Community and JusticeThe National Conference for Community and Justice is a national, human relations, non-profit organization in the United States. Its mission is to fight bias, bigotry, and racism and promote understanding and respect through advocacy, conflict resolution, and education.The NCCJ was founded in 1927...
. "The cornerstone of American democracy rests on brotherhood and understanding among the Protestants, Catholics and Jews of our nation," he said in February 1950.
- Free Football for Kids Week, when he posed for a photo with children of Los Angeles Rams coaches in October 1951.
- My L.A. Week. In honor of the opening of a new musical based upon the popular newspaper columns of Matt WeinstockMatt WeinstockMatt Weinstock was a managing editor of the Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News and a columnist for three Los Angeles, California, newspapers for 33 years....
, December 1951.
- Hungarian Freedom Fighters Day. Memorializing October 23, 1956, when Hungarians began "a short-lived revolt against their Communist overlords."
Henry was also responsible for ordering the temporary cessation of monthly air raid alarm
Civil defense siren
A civil defense siren is a mechanical or electronic device for generating sound to...
testing during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
at the request of the California Disaster Council, to avoid public panic.
Positions
Un-American, 1952. Henry and Council Members Kenneth HahnKenneth Hahn
Kenneth "Kenny" Hahn was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter of civil rights throughout the 1960s, and met Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1961.-Biography:Hahn...
, Earle D.Baker and J. Win Austin
J. Win Austin
J. Win Austin was a retired businessman who became a Los Angeles, California, City Council member from 1941 to 1953. He was earlier on the Police and Health commissions.-Biography:...
attended a dinner meeting in South Gate
South Gate, California
South Gate is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The sixteenth largest city in Los Angeles County, it encompasses . South Gate is located just southeast of downtown Los Angeles It is part of the Gateway Cities region of southeastern Los Angeles County...
to honor the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
Timberlake, 1953. Henry was in dispute with Council Member L.E. Timberlake over many issues, including a controversial $1 million plan to build public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
in Los Angeles (Timberlake favoring and Henry opposing), with Timberlake disputing many of Henry's rulings from the chair
Appeal (motion)
In parliamentary procedure, an appeal from the decision of the chair is used to challenge a ruling of the chair.-Explanation and Use:George Demeter notes that it "protects the assembly against the arbitrary control of the meeting by its presiding officer." The most common occasions for the motion...
. One of them upset Henry so much that in January 1953 he was led to exclaim, "Mr. Timberlake, if you persist in this intolerable situation, there will be ways devised to prevent you!"
West Hollywood, 1957. He was instrumental in assuring that the city of Los Angeles remained neutral in a 1957 proposal by West Hollywood residents to incorporate as a city.
Dodgers, 1958. Henry was one of the three council members—Patrick D. McGee
Patrick D. McGee
Patrick D. McGee was a Republican member of the California State Assembly from 1950 to 1957 and from 1966 until his death in 1970. He was a Los Angeles City Council member from 1957 to 1961, when he opposed the city's agreement to bring the Dodgers baseball team to a new stadium in Chavez...
and John C. Holland
John C. Holland
John C. Holland was one of the longest-serving Los Angeles City Council members, for 24 years from 1943 to 1967, and was known for his losing fight against bringing the Los Angeles Dodgers to Chavez Ravine and for his reputation as a watchdog over the city treasury.-Biography:Holland was born...
being the others—who voted in 1958 against a proposal to turn Chavez Ravine
Chávez Ravine
Chavez Ravine is an area in Sulfir Canyon that is the current site of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.It was named after Julian Chavez, a Los Angeles Councilman in the 19th century.-History:...
over to the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
for use as a baseball stadium.
Teachers, 1959. He was active in work of the Senior League, sponsor of the annual Teachers Remembrance Day.
Sanitation, 1961. He had a separate, $100-a-month position as city representative on the County Sanitation District, to which he reappointed himself in July 1961. That pay was in addition to his salary of $12,000 as a council member.
Human relations, 1964. After a heated City Council debate, Henry voted with the prevailing side in rejecting calls for the establishment of a separate city Human Relations Commission. The majority decided instead to maintain city membership on a similar county agency.
Legacy
Henry was active in the development and beautification of Wilshire BoulevardWilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
and the Miracle Mile. After Henry's death, Mayor Samuel W. Yorty said of the Wilshire District, "Perhaps no man in the past quarter of a century contributed as much to its growth and development as Hal Henry, [who] devoted all of his energies to still more projects to enhance the beauty and economic posture of one of the nation's most magnificent thoroughfares."
Council President L.E. Timberlake burst into tears as he began an eulogy of Henry at a council session and could not continue. Erwin Baker, a Los Angeles Times City Hall reporter, recalled that Henry was a "quiet debater on the council floor" who "could cut to the heart of an issue with his dry humor and intimate knowledge of parliamentary procedure."
In January 1967, a six-story office building at 500 Shatto Place was dedicated to Henry's memory, with a plaque calling him a "servant of the people, Wilshire Center District." He is memorialized with a city park bearing his name at 890 South Lucerne Avenue, with a children's play area and a picnic area.