bjgreen
May 5, 2018, 8:06 am
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7 Comments
(Image: New York Public Library)
By Betsy J. Green
What was causing the flames out on the Channel in May 1918? “The belief was still so strong late at night that a ship was on fire, that a government tug started out to investigate … by daylight, the fire and smoke could plainly be seen on [Santa Cruz] island.” The fire burned for a week and a half.
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The picture shows what looks to be a burnt forest and the background mountains seem to have snow in the canyons. Hmm, Santa Cruz Island ?
The photo is just a photo of a smoky fire that I used to illustrate the story. If it were an actual photo of a local event, I would indicate that in the description. There were very few local photos in the newspapers here in the 19-teens, unfortunately.
Good Grief…Give renown historian BJ Green a break…
She is known for sharing stories and photos of historical
import…We are lucky she posts here…
I went to the link to find out more but it just appeared to be a site where she sells her books. I didn’t see more on this story. Is this an ad. If so shouldn’t it state that?
Nah. Sorry, the inclusion of this photo is just bad journalism. You cannot ethically write a story with a photo showing an event other than the one you are actually reporting.
What difference does it make where the smoke is coming from? The point is Santa Cruz had a fire 100 years ago and another this year. That’s the point for me, history repeating. Thanks, Betsy, for all the research you do to keep us historically informed.
Hard to give a “well known historian” a break when she intentionally conflates facts. No serious trained historian would post a photo of a nonevent related item and let the reader sort out whether it was a picture of the event or not.