Duke is a member of the LA Historical Society and the LA Conservancy. His first book: Beach of the King-The Early History of Westchester/Playa Del Rey, California, is available at yudu.com.
Mark Twain wrote; “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe...
Recently I had the pleasure of driving from Saint Louis, Missouri to Des Moines, Iowa. Having heard about the number of deer that cross the highways in those parts, I rented a new and very sturdy Jeep wagon. Some...
One of my favorite subjects is the history of “Big Ball” Football at Loyola University; now called Loyola Marymount University. The fact that LMU was once a West Coast football powerhouse has all but been lost in the...
The oft remembered prolific builder, whose rise, fall, and resurrection catapulted him to the heights of construction prominence, had lost it all on the shores of the Del Rey Lagoon in 1929. After recovering from his losses, and along with...
Spring is in the air, and all over the Southland, high school teams will be donning their "pad-less" uniforms for football spring training.In Playa Del Rey, the "little school that can," the Saint Bernard...
I finished this January 13, 2011 work day at a business dinner in Manhattan Beach. It is approximately a six mile drive between Westchester and Manhattan Beach; about 10,500 yards. I drove the coast route home; past...
Once upon a time, and beginning in 1921, Fritz Bernard Burns almost single handedly developed the area we know today as Playa Del Rey. He even donated the land where Saint Bernard High School is located, and the school is...
from westchesterparents.org Neighborhood News & ChatterEdited by David Coffin
October 24, 2010Two Books That Connect Westchester/Playa With Our PastPosted on October 23rd, 2010 by westchester dadLooking for a truly unique holiday gift for a friend or...
It’s rant and rave time folks. Somewhere out there someone will answer this riddle for me. Why is it, that even when there is a sprinkling of rain, the great minds at CALTRANS close the 105...
In bookstores now…..A NEW book on the history of our town! Westchester, California (and its’ alternative title; LAX California, tells the story of the early development of the area, from the beginnings through about 1960. It...