May 8th, 2012

Melville Jacoby's Lasting Radio Drama

The first page of Melville Jacoby's Life Magazine article "The Battle of Bataan." Actors play Melville and Annalee Jacoby in a 1943 dramatization for NBC of Clark Lee’s “They Call it Pacific.” Read the full post to learn more and to find what where you can listen to the show in full.

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April 28th, 2012

Studying Melville Jacoby in Eugene

Many of you have heard about Melville Jacoby by now. Those who haven’t can read more about him there, and elsewhere on my blog. Now that the seventieth anniversary of his death is upon us, I’m renewing my work writing the book Mel never got to write. Later today I’m headed down to Eugene, OR, to visit the special collections at the University of Oregon library. There, I’ll peruse the manuscripts of the Charles E. Stuart Collection. Stuart, you’ll recall, was the dentist and amateur radio enthusiast in Ventura, Calif. who received radio broadcasts Mel set up from XGOY, the official Republic of China radio station in wartime Chungking, China (now known as Chongqing).

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April 27th, 2012

Seventy Years Ago

Seventy years ago, Sunday, a plane landed at a secret airfield near Darwin, Australia. Three men disembarked. One was a young second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Another was a general, a former ace pilot who’d shot down five German planes

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March 29th, 2012

Escaping From Bataan

Seventy years ago, yesterday, a small freighter, the Dona Nati, arrived at the Port of Brisbane. Aboard were a handful of Americans, mostly journalists, who’d just spent four often harrowing, often tense months at sea. Most of those months were spent aboard an even smaller vessel. Sailing at night and hiding, they’d dodged Japanese

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March 20th, 2012

Melville's Story on the Radio

I was interviewed by KCLU’s Lance Orozco for a story about Melville Jacoby that aired today for that station’s broadcast of “Morning Edition.” You should now be able to hear that story at the following link:

http://www.kclu.org/2012/03/20/ventura-journalist-writing-book-about-almost-forgotten-war-correspondent/

Thanks for listening. Please share this with anyone who might be interested.

Speaking of radio, don’t

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March 16th, 2012

A Letter From Melville Jacoby's Best Friend

UPDATE:This post was originally written for a Kickstarter campaign that is now over. You can continue to support this project directly through this website. Learn more and donate by clicking here.

I was digging through the collection of materials I have at my place related to Melville Jacoby (most are at my Grandmother’s

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March 13th, 2012

The Wreck of the Dominator

UPDATE:This post was originally written for a Kickstarter campaign that is now over. You can continue to support this project directly through this website. Learn more and donate by clicking here.

What does a shipwreck off the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the 1960s have to do with Melville Jacoby’s death across the Pacific

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March 9th, 2012

Getting Going

UPDATE:The Kickstarter campaign is now over. You can continue to support this project directly through this website. Learn more and donate by clicking here.

WOW!!!

This is exciting. Two and a half days of fundraising down and I’ve already raised more than $1800 here on Kickstarter. Woohoo. I’m expecting a few hundred more from

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July 26th, 2010

Northland

Searching for Sherby Paradise, I discover the Northland. I discover strong friendships and traditions in a wilderness on the verge of destruction. I discover hospitality in a town bracing itself against outsiders. Jackman doesn’t fear foreign terrorists. It fears domestic tourists. The same influx that breathes life into the town will be the force that changes it forever. For now, life goes on much as it always has.

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November 2nd, 2009

The eyesore, history and the untold story

The Ventura County Star reported Oct. 30 that Ventura County Superior Court Judge Glen Reiser halted the demoliton of the Wagon Wheel hotel. The stay came after what seemed like the end of a long fight between developer Vince Daly and the San Buenaventura Conservancy.

Many comments

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