Television programs in the 1950s provide the
impression that this period was an age of innocence in America. With "Ozzie
and Harriet," "Leave It To Beaver," and countless other TV
series promoting Judeo-Christian values, it's difficult to think otherwise.
"The Roy Rogers Show" took a particularly bold stand for
righteousness, to the point of inserting scripture in most episodes. Even now,
I can hear in my mind Dale Evans Rogers quoting, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
(Romans 3:23). I would never have known such truths had it not been for that
dear saint. Nor would I have known the "Happy Trails" that such
wisdom can lead to.
Although God, country and family sat high in the
saddle in the 1950s, the decade certainly had its low points. Somehow
"equal rights" and "equal opportunity" didn't always make
the cut as traditionally accepted values. Not yet. Women weren't as privileged
as men, nor were blacks as privileged as whites.
So-called “God-fearing patriots” showed further
contempt for the Jewish community. These sentiments carried over from the 1940s
when Jews were wrongfully blamed for initiating wars for profit, dominating the
banking business, and jeopardizing the economy. Surprisingly, industrialist
Henry Ford during that time became one of the most influential voices spewing
this sort of poison.
Then came the Holocaust of World War II. The senseless
slaughter of countless innocents drew great sympathy for the Jewish people. The
alternative to sympathizing was to be labeled a Nazi, and few citizens wanted
that. Yet at the same time, there was little rejoicing when Jews laid hold of
the American Dream. Few Americans wanted that either. For this reason, many
Americans resented their Jewish neighbors.
Bigotry wasn't the sole of society’s ills. There
was also the Cold War. Communist dictators had spread great terror into many
parts of the world. Those persecuted under communist regimes compared what they
suffered to the Jewish suffering under the Nazis. In those lands, prison and
torture awaited anyone unwilling to conform to communist doctrine and rule. The
threat of communism advancing into America, the Land of the Free, created widespread
panic and paranoia.
Government watchdog groups were tasked to
investigate any suspicious activity on the home front. On the federal level
there was the House UnAmerican Activities Committee (HUAC). HUAC was initially
formed to uncover and expose citizens who had potential ties to the Nazis. In
the 1950s, the focus shifted to communist infiltrators. This was largely due to
the influence of Joseph McCarthy, whose name is often synonymous with
witch-hunting. Though communism was a genuine threat in his day, the broad
brush of McCarthyism deemed many Americans guilty by association.
Watchdog organizations also existed at the state
level. In the Golden State, the California Senate Factfinding Subcommittee on
Un-American Activities (SUAC) monitored anyone showing shades of communistic red.
And when a few red spots appeared in a sleepy, small, southern California town,
all eyes suddenly converged on Elsinore.
Communism wasn't Elsinore's only threat. Local
residents were worried about their water supply. Many feared losing their water
completely, resulting in an evaporation of tourism dollars. Others were
convinced that the water was turning toxic, largely due to its high fluoride
content, even though little was known about fluoride in the 1950s. In those
days it was mainly government agencies that warned of fluoride’s potential
dangers. Not all were convinced, however, and resident communists in Elsinore alleged
that the “fluoride hoax” was just a scare tactic used by an evil government to run
off the growing Jewish population.
During this turbulent time, my father Pat
Michaels worked as a reporter with KTLA television station in Los Angeles. He
not only covered the Elsinore story, but he also created and aired a controversial
television documentary about the events swirling around the city. The one-hour TV
program was called "City of Hate". Pat’s was not the only report.
SUAC investigators had their own version of the story.
Elsinore is based upon SUAC
findings, my father's broadcast, court records and newspaper articles. Elsinore
is the story of a small resort with enormous personalities and monster fears. Elsinore
is the story that history tried to bury.
