ÿþ<TITLE>Consolidation Joe</TITLE> <BODY TEXT="#000000" LINK="#6000c0" VLINK="#000080" ALINK="#008080" BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> <center><img src=burbank_la_consolidation_small.jpg></center> <p> <center><h1>Consolidation Joe</h1></font></center> <center><h2>by Wes Clark</h2></font></center> <P> <HR> <p> <FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> <B> In 2011 Burbank, California will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its incorporation of a city. But if it were up to one prominent and energetic early Burbanker, that action would have been reversed and the city would have been annexed to Los Angeles. <p> Joseph Wesley (J.W.) Fawkes - known primarily for his monorail the "<a href=fawkes_folly.html target='_blank'>aerial swallow</a>" - and his family were <a href=fawkes_family_follies.html target='_blank'>no strangers to publicity</a>. One of his strongly held beliefs was that Burbank should be annexed to Los Angeles; he gives his reasons below in one of the excepts I have included below from the <i>Los Angeles Times</i>. He campaigned for annexation during the early half of the 1920's; I believe that is Fawkes himself in the photo above, waving the flag (note his name under the "office" sign). <p> His effort to annex Burbank to Los Angeles failed in a vote, however, and a gleeful mob of Burbank hooligans celebrated by holding a bonfire on San Fernando Road and burning "Consolidation Joe" in effigy. A couple of teenagers made the mistake of throwing flares onto Fawkes' lawn and received some shotgun pellets in return. Was it Fawkes' finger on the trigger? No one knows for sure. <p> Was Fawkes right? Would Burbank have fared better annexed as a part of Los Angeles? Looking at the city now, it's hard to believe that this would have been the case. Only the most most jaded cynic would claim that the City of Burbank is a failure. And the <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Fernando_Valley#Valley_independence_and_secession target='_blank'>San Fernando Valley Secession movement</a> suggests that the citizens of Burbank made the right decision to remain incorporated as a city apart from Los Angeles. <p> Were he able to look around at things today, perhaps even Consolidation Joe might agree. <p> </B> <p> <hr> <p> <center> <B>Below: From 16 September 1920. The first article I find on the topic of annexation; J.W. Fawkes gives his reasons and cites overwhelming support. </b> <P> <img src=consolidation_joe_09_16_1920.jpg> <p> <B>Below: From 24 October 1920. Fawkes takes to the courts - <a href=fawkes_family_follies.html target='_blank'>a place he was very well familiar with</a>.</B> <P> <img src=consolidation_joe_10_24_1920.jpg> <p> <B>Below: From 10 March 1922. Fawkes is described as one of the soldiers in what the paper calls "Burbank's Bloodiest Battle." At <a href=turkey_crossing.html target='_blank'>Turkey Crossing</a>. The whole thing must have amused the reporter...</B> <P> <center><img src=turkey_10_3_1922.jpg></center> <p> <B>Below: From 29 May 1922. In this letter to the editor of the <i>Los Angeles Times</i>, Fawkes cites his reasons why annexation makes sense. </B> <P> <img src=consolidation_joe_05_29_1922.jpg> <p> <B>Below: From 4 August 1924. Two years later and Fawkes is still on the trail.</B> <P> <img src=consolidation_joe_08_04_1924.jpg> <p> <B>Below: From 25 September 1924. Fawkes winds up in court on a charge of desecrating the flag. Could this have anything to do with his flag-bedecked outdoor stand, pictured above? </B> <P> <img src=consolidation_joe_09_25_1924.jpg> <p> <B>Below: From 19 June 1925. The time for a vote on the weighty issue arrives, and Burbank is at a fever pitch. Fawkes is called the father of the annexation movement.</B> <P> <img src=consolidation_joe_06_19_1925.jpg> <p> <B>Below: From 3 July 1925. The people have spoken and the annexation movement fails. Burbank remains an incorporated city. Fawkes is burned in effigy on San Fernando Road and a pair of incautious teens find that tossing flares on Fawkes' property results in being peppered with shotgun pellets.</B> <P> <img src=consolidation_joe_07_03_1925.jpg> <p> </CENTER> </FONT> <p> <hr> <p> <a href=index.html>Return to Burbankia</a> </BODY> </html>