From the Archives: Walking the plank

The one inch of rain was welcomed in drought-plagued Los Angeles. Although damage was light, the minor flooding stalled some cars, leading to these two photos of Helen Lawrence getting a little help.

The Feb. 12, 1936, Los Angeles Times caption reported in the photo above, “Helen Lawrence walked the plank yesterday on Florence Avenue near Compton when her car stalled in water that ran curb deep. Her escort commandeered a plank and without getting her feet wet, Miss Lawrence reached another car at the curb and searched for a mechanic.”

The original photo caption for the photo below reported, “When it came time for Miss Lawrence to get back to her stalled car she forsook her plank and picked out Officer Eugene Boydstun of the Seventy-seventh-street Station to assist her. He looks as if he enjoyed his chivalric task.”

The original print of the second image was not available, only a digital copy. The top photo was taken by George Strock, Los Angeles Times staff photographer. Water ripples in the lower left corner of the top image were enhanced by a Times staff artist.

This post was originally published on Oct. 14, 2011.

See more from the Los Angeles Times archives here