And our hat’s off to ‘em: The...

And our hat’s off to ‘em: The Elysium Fields nudist camp in Topanga will hold a benefit for riot victims July 11-12. A clothing drive.

No need to roll up the sleeves: This isn’t Elysium’s first public service, by the way. The club also holds a yearly nude blood drive.

Just call it SC: One week after we were forced to give Only in L.A. the Dan Quayle Spelling Bee Award, John Moser of La Mirada and Ellen Rainier of South Gate each tried to comfort us by sending along the solemn note in our accompanying photo. It was signed by reps of KUSC and the University of Southern California.

Miss Rebuild L.A. (the sequel): Speaking of charity events, you’ll recall that a Van Nuys strip joint called Oddball Cabaret staged a Miss Rebuild L.A. contest for riot victims last week. Afterward, Oddball called on other clubs to hold similar contests, and Elyse Verse of West L.A. came up with another potential beauty title.

Pointing out that we live in an era of “breast implants, injected lips, liposuction” and so forth, Verse suggested a competition for a “Miss Rebuilt L.A.”

Gun-fighting trio: Our item about Wild West characters Wyatt Earp and Emmett Dalton (of the Dalton Gang) dying peacefully in L.A. reminded Eddie Cress that this was the final home of train robber Al Jennings.

A member of a family of outlaws, Al (1863-1961) was “anything but awe inspiring: comic would be more like it,” wrote Jay Robert Nash in “Bloodletters and Bad Men.” In fact, Jennings’ misadventures merit a . . .

. . . List of the Day: Stumble along with us, now, as we return to those stirring days of yesteryear and recall the time that Jennings . . .

--Stood on the tracks and tried to flag down a train so he could rob it. He was nearly run over when the engineer ignored him.

--Rode alongside a train firing his pistol in the air to signal the engineer to halt. The engineer, Nash wrote, “merely waved a friendly hello and kept going.”

--Was captured, along with one brother, by a lawman who didn’t have to fire a shot. The Jennings brothers were ordered “to throw down their guns and tie themselves up,” Nash wrote. “They did.”

--Grabbed his six-shooter, at the age of 94, and pursued a chicken thief at his ranch in Tarzana. In the excitement, he accidentally gunned down one of his own roosters.

miscelLAny:

Before we go--Happy Fiscal New Year!