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Lomaland: Local Media Portrayals of the Occult

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Lomaland: Local Media Portrayals of the Occult LOMALAND: LOCAL MEDIA PORTRAYALS OF THE OCCULT _______________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of San Diego State University _______________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in History _______________ by George Iszac Thornton Fall 2010 iii Copyright © 2010 by George Iszac Thornton All Rights Reserved iv DEDICATION To apple pies, and tea with cream and sugar, and Molly Brooks… unless those are the same thing. v “There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another which states that this has already happened.” - Douglas Adams vi ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Lomaland: Local Media Portrayals of the Occult by George Iszac Thornton Master of Arts in History San Diego State University, 2010 This study examines the local media’s coverage of Universal Brotherhood and Theosophical Society (UBTS) at Lomaland in San Diego, California in the early to mid twentieth century. The San Diego coverage of Lomaland did not follow the same pattern of negative portrayals that previous studies of media representations have emphasized in their own conclusions, including studies that have cited Lomaland as an example of when negative media reactions to Alternative Religious Movements has occurred. The newspapers in San Diego highlighted the positive impacts that the UBTS brought to the community, and even defended the UBTS in times of legal controversy. This study is located at the crossroads of three important academic fields of study: the history of religious movements in North America, the history of media representations of alternative religious movements (ARM), and theoretical constructs for examining the impact and influence of the media. This paper draws from the field of media theory in order to consult a framework through which the content and impact of the media coverage of the UBTS can be viewed. Lomaland represents a case study through which we can understand not only the history and impact of ARMs in the United States, but also a history of the demonization of ARMs by mainstream media, and a deeper look into what shapes those experiences and interactions. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 2 LOMALAND IN CONTEXT ......................................................................................15 3 A WELCOME ARRIVAL AND A FITTING NEIGHBOR .......................................24 4 COVERAGE DURING TIMES OF CONTROVERSY .............................................43 5 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................58 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................61 viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe much gratitude to my advisors John Putman, Edward Blum, and Rebecca Moore for their patience and guidance. I also owe much to Elizabeth Pollard for her encouragement, enthusiasm, and inspiration; Tyson Zamora, Clint Disharoon, and Brandon Dow for the tunes; and my friends and family for their immense patience and love throughout the years. 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In February of 1897 thousands of San Diegan residents and tourists followed their curiosities to the scenic peaks of Point Loma, on the San Diego coast. They gathered at the locale of what is now Point Loma Nazarene University, to witness the laying of the cornerstone for Lomaland, a utopian experiment led by a faction of the Theosophical Society (TS). Lomaland was the brainchild of Katherine Tingley, the head of the United Brotherhood and Theosophical Society (UBTS), which separated itself from the TS in the same year it purchased the land at Point Loma. San Diegans at the time regarded the celebration as one of the most important events to occur in the short history of the city.1 However, the combination of curiosity, respect, and gratitude that existed among the spectators has been excluded from discussions involving the local media’s portrayal of Lomaland. The relationship between Lomaland and the major newspaper outlets in San Diego has remained unexplored. Yet the TS is repeatedly referenced as an example of when the local press portray Alternative Religious Movements (ARMs), like the TS, negatively.2 Those that have focused on the relationship of Lomaland and the local, or regional, press have done so primarily in light of the tumultuous relationship between Lomaland and The Los Angeles Times, which included a libel case filed by Lomaland founder, Katherine Tingley.3 This thesis examines how the San Diego newspapers portrayed Lomaland during times of normal operation, as well as during times when Lomaland was under legal attack from other various sources. I argue that the relationship between Lomaland and San Diego’s 1 “The Riddle Solved: Point Loma to have a School for Ancient Mysteries,” The San Diego Union, February 2, 1897. 2 Douglas E. Cowan and Jeffrey K. Hadden, “God, Guns, and Grist for the Media’s Mill: Constructing the Narratives of New Religious Movements and Violence,” Nova Religio 8 (September, 2004): 64-82. 3 W. Michael Ashcraft, Dawn of the New Cycle: Point Loma Theosophists and American Culture (Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2002); Emmett Greenwalt, California Utopia: Point Loma: 1897-1942 (San Diego: Point Loma Publications, Inc., 1955); Peter Washington, Madame Blavatsky’s Baboon (New York: Shocken Books, 1993). 2 most popular newspapers did not fit the profile that several scholars identify as the typical response by the media to ARMs. The newspapers in San Diego printed articles that highlighted the role of Lomaland as a contributing member of the San Diego community. In addition, the San Diego press maintained its respect for the Lomaland colony even while other news sources chastised the group for their non-conformity to mainstream ideals. This unique relationship was in large part due to convenience and reciprocity. Both Lomaland and the San Diego community had several benefits to offer the other. Lomaland enjoyed sanctuary, privacy, and respect on the one hand, and San Diego benefited from the cultural activity and tourism that Lomaland attracted. Newspaper articles from The San Diego Union, along with other newspapers in the county, are an excellent source for piecing this relationship together. Scholars from a variety of fields have acknowledged the research potential of local newspapers. Historians gather the scraps of print media as a means of piecing together the collective opinions and interpretations of key events and figures in our past.4 An entire subfield has emerged in sociology that examines trends within how certain segments of the population are portrayed in print, past and present, and whether or not certain biases shape the media landscape.5 These works demonstrate that forms of popular media, such as newspaper articles, provide insight into how ideals, values, and trends are formed, manipulated, and influenced via the intermingling of individual and institutionalized opinions. San Diego newspaper sources offer the clearest picture of how San Diegans viewed Lomaland because their audiences were specific to the city. Their opinions of, and attitudes towards, Lomaland closely reflected those of their San Diego audience. Furthermore, these local publications discussed the active support of the San Diego community, which often times spoke with its feet, as thousands of locals attended the several meetings, plays, speeches, and performances that the Lomaland community hosted or sponsored. This support remained until financial difficulties forced Lomaland officials to sell their land in 1942.6 4 Phillip Jenkins, “False Prophets and Deluded Subjects: The Nineteenth Century,” in Cults and Religious Movements: A Reader, ed. Lorne L. Dawson (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2003), 83-84. 5 Cowan, “God, Guns, and Grist for the Media’s Mill,” 64-66,68-69. 6 Greenwalt, California Utopia, 205-206. 3 The history of San Diego newspapers, before the founding of Lomaland, was a short one, and included several changes of hands. The city of San Diego was incorporated in 1850, yet it was not until 1868 that the local press as it is known today began to take shape.7 The initial efforts to establish a paper were in part an attempt to save Old Town from Alonzo Horton’s new additions to the south. In his history of San Diego, William E. Smythe comments that the residents of Old Town San Diego had been distracted by the developments of Horton’s new San Diego. Jeff Gatewood’s decision to move his publishing project at the San Andreas Register to Old Town San Diego was in part an act of philanthropy. Gatewood also wanted to be close to his sister who lived in Old Town San Diego at the time.8 The ownership of The San Diego Union switched hands several times during the company’s first few years before it moved to Horton’s addition.9 The decision to move the paper’s offices from Old Town into Horton’s Addition marked the end of Old Town’s hopes to remain the city center, and the beginning of The San Diego Union’s supremacy
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