A jail riot with all the trimmings
Nov. 26, 1931: Thanksgiving was not a peaceful day in the Wilshire Division police station, The Times reported under the headline “Lack of Turkey Stirs Jail Riot.”
“Angered when lamb stew, macaroni and carrots were substituted for turkey and trimmings on their Thanksgiving menu, 43 prisoners in the misdemeanor tank ... threw their food in splotches about the room and, after being quelled by jail attaches, were forced to clean up the mess and retire without any dinner,” the newspaper said.
“The outbreak started immediately after the food had been taken to the tank and the prisoners noticed that lamb stew was the piece de resistance. ‘We get stew while the trusties eat turkey!’ howled a husky, bearded prisoner who forthwith grabbed a platter of the offending dish and hurled it against the wall. Pandemonium reigned as other prisoners followed his lead and within a few minutes the tank was a mass of food and wreckage.”
The prisoner’s complaint was based on a false premise, the jailer said. All prisoners were given the same food.
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