Howard E. Dorsey
Howard E. Dorsey | |
---|---|
9th District | |
In office July 1, 1937 – August 7, 1937 | |
Preceded by | Parley P. Christensen |
Succeeded by | Winfred J. Sanborn |
Personal details | |
Born | Eastside Los Angeles | June 10, 1904
Died | August 7, 1937 Angeles National Forest | (aged 33)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Edith Irene Wallin (m. 1930) |
Children | 2 |
Howard Edward Dorsey (July 10, 1904 – August 7, 1937) was a hydraulic engineer who was a member of the Los Angeles City Council in 1937. He was the only council member since at least 1925 to die in office from accidental death and the member to have served the fewest days in office.
Biography
Dorsey was born July 10, 1904, in
For 18 months he was "in charge of investigation" on the
He was married in 1930 to Edith Irene Wallin of Minnesota. They had two sons, Howard Edward Jr. and Leroy.[1]
He was a member of the
Dorsey developed a "pre-delinquent detail program" used by the Los Angeles Police Department and involving "elimination from police records of first offences [sic] of a minor nature, voluntary probation and a cooperative remedial and adjustment program with a social agency." It was said that police officers from other cities were sent to Los Angeles to study its application.[1]
Death
Dorsey, 33, was killed in a "flaming automobile plunge" on August 7, 1937, when the car he was driving went over a 1,600-foot cliff at the edge of Rim of the World Highway in the Angeles National Forest on the way to Big Bear Valley. "Forty-foot skid marks . . . indicated that Dorsey apparently lost control of his machine." It went over a seven-foot embankment and into "one of the steepest canyons in the mountain area." The councilman's body was "flung out approximately 1,000 feet down the canyon wall." Trees were set alight by the burning gasoline, attracting the attention of motorists who notified authorities, who relied on a squad of California Conservation Corps youths to fight the blaze.[2]
Dorsey was accompanied by Marion Gertrude Lonabaugh, 37, secretary to Councilman John W. Baumgartner; she died two hours after the accident.[2]
A funeral service at Calvary Baptist Church conducted by H. M. S. Richards of the radio Voice of Prophecy attracted some thousand mourners. Burial followed in Evergreen Cemetery.[3]
City Council
In 1933, Dorsey was the manager of the unsuccessful campaign by
In the mid-1930s, the 9th District was generally bounded on the north by Alhambra Avenue; south, 25th Street; east, Indiana Avenue; and west, Figueroa Street.[4]
Dorsey was considered a liberal and a progressive.[5] In his few weeks on the council, he was able to speak once at a gathering of property owners and businessmen on the need for a junior college in East Los Angeles "to save students' transportation time and to lessen the traffic accident toll."[6]
References
Access to the Los Angeles Times links requires the use of a library card.
- ^ a b c d e Los Angeles Public Library reference file This file was compiled in 1937 by Works Progress Administration worker Clare Wallace from an interview with Dorsey on June 23 of that year and from newspaper articles.
- ^ a b c d e "Councilman and Woman Die in Crash", Los Angeles Times, August 8, 1937, pages 1 and 5.
- ^ "Final Honor Paid Dorsey", Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1937, page A-2.
- ^ "District Lines Get Approval", Los Angeles Times, December 24, 1932, page 2.
- ^ "The Watchman", Los Angeles Times, April 29, 1937, page 7.
- ^ "Junior College Sought in Drive", Los Angeles Times, June 4, 1937, page A-24.