DEL MAR — There are a raft of designated lanes in the village such as Corousel, Heather, Maiden, Parish and Shippey. Each one has its own significance no doubt.
Shippey Lane was named for humble and popular Los Angeles Times columnist, Lee Shippey. His homey writings, “Lee Side O’ L.A”, appeared regularly in the 1930s and 1940s.
Shippey and his wife Madeleine lived in a modest home off Stratford Court just south of Ninth Street. A dirt road (now Shippey Lane) led to their home that had a majestic view of the ocean.
The Shippeys arrived in the village in 1922 from the East where Lee Shippey had been employed by daily newspapers.
While still young, he lost almost all of his eyesight from a toxic fumes accident. Shippey became a familiar figure in the village as he made his daily trek to the grocery and drug stores stopping along the way to palaver with residents.
He gave credit to the eyesight accident for giving him the opportunity to write about the good things in life. In October 1959, the city honored him with a “Lee Shippey Day” and dedicated Shippey Lane. The day marked the publication of his biography by Westernor Press that covered his career as a journalist that began as a reporter with the Kansas City Star, then as a foreign correspondent in Paris during World War 1, and in Mexico before he joined the Times as a folksy columnist.
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