Yesterday’s Newsreel was a series of films produced by the Ziv TV network using the archive of the General News Co. newsreels and modern narration. Topics covered include fashion of the day, news from war fronts as well as advances in industry. This episode begins with a feature on millionarie John D. Rockefeller in a segment called ‘Sourcing for Oil’. Rockefeller and his family controlled nearly almost all oil production, processing and marketing in the US beginning in 1863. Oil rigs open the scene (1:13). Early automobiles run down a dirt road (1:18). Rockefeller appears in his 80’s. His sprawling Florida home; known as the Casements Mansion in Ormond Beach, stands on the Halifax River (1:37). Rockefeller plays golf with a longtime friend Dr. Cornelius Wilkin (2:02). Workers tap the earth for oil (1:01). Adelbert Ames (2:10); a 92 year old survivor from the Civil War, was Rockefeller’s neighbor. The oil giant swings a club; his start in the industry (2:28) and philanthropic endeavors are discussed. John D. Rockefeller Jr. toes down Capitol steps during the investigation of the Teapot Dome scandal in February of 1928 (2:43). During the scandal; petroleum deposits were leased to private companies without competitive bidding. Rockefeller tours Williamsburg, Virginia; newly purchased lands (3:06). Rockefeller sank 5 million into restoration (3:08). He stands amid the site where Lafayette and Washington held a fateful meeting near the college presidents house (3:12). W. A. R. Goodwin (3:23) encouraged the oil monarch to help preserve Williamsburg. Riverside Church’s gothic architecture is captured in New York (3:43). He and his family step from the church; black top hats and police escorts (3:52). Rockefeller Plaza; also known as the Comcast Building was completed in 1933 at 66 stories high (3:59). In 1947, Nelson Rockefeller accepts a check for 8 million (4:12). The check is pictured at (4:14). The strange stringed zither instrument gets a feature in 1936 Philadelphia (4:44). Instruments are zoomed in on (4:51); players pluck while others strum a bow (4:51). It was a popular instrument of the Swiss (5:04). Celebrity personalities in the 1920s begins with the coach of University of Maryland Wolverines; Fielding Yost (5:24). Yost later took a desk job as Director of Athletics (5:39) another highly prominent position. Alva Belmont (5:49) follows, a well-known women’s suffragette (5:47). Alva is Oliver hazard Perry Belmont’s wife. A cowboy called Edward Gibson (6:06) trots by under a straw hat. He played the lively screen character ‘Hoot Gibson’ (6:15). Floods ravage streets of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1913 (6:51). Rivers touch tips of roofs on March 27th (7:00). Fleeing civilians cart belongings (7:08). Buildings appear in ruins (7:24). In Dayton, a tributary floods (7:28). Militia fire at civilians looting through the rubble (7:32). 1928 ‘Measure for Love’ (7:47) presets Dr. Marsons’ strange love meter (7:56) at Colombia University. A machine tracks the girls; blondes or brunettes, reaction to love scenes in a film (8:15). Aviation highlights (8:30) in 1930 include a Crater Lake crossing (8:39). The plane zooms around Wizard Island (9:11). Fashions of 1919 (9:35) show a French woman readying herself in the mirror (9:54) flapping a fashionable hand fan. She sets aside her needle point bag (10:13). Two girls show off head wraps, skirts and long hoes on the beach (10:25). Sports highlights of 1916 to 1932 (10:51) feature a NYC police cop (11:00) Captain Matt McGrath (11:01). He tosses a hammer throw (11:05). Slow motion footage follows (11:16). A horse race runs down the track at (11:47) the Epsom Downs racecourse (11:49). Horses move for the starting line for the metropolitan handicap (11:54). Horse and jockey take off (11:58). Alacrity takes the win (12:20).

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