HEDY LAMARR, a plan for mixing beauty with brains, in 1938.

Maybelline model and Hollywood star Hedy Lamarr helped develop the technology that would someday, make cellphones, Wi-Fi and GPS possible.

Chet and Mabel Hewes wth Ches and Eva Haines, California, 1938.

Chet and Mabel flew to California with Ches and Eva to visit Tom Lyle at the Villa Valentino in 1938. It was a pleasure trip, with some very important business to discuss. “What to do about an IRS suit, looming over the Maybelline Co.” The issue, was the amount of money being paid to family members who were also executives at the company.

Tom Lyle, Mabel and Chet, with Ches and Eva at the Villa Valentino, 1938.

In 1938, following a number of years of success with the US economy, a recession hit, causing unemployment to rise back up to 19%. While the average wage was $1,730, Maybelline executives, were pulling in over $16,000 a year. So, before Tom Lyle, Chet Hewes and Noel Williams headed to Washington DC to face an IRS audit.

Tom Lyle, Eva Haines, Chet and Mabel Hewes and Ches Haines in Palm Springs California.

 Besides Maybelline, here are some other big names making news in 1938.


Howard Hughes sets a new record by completing a 91 hour airplane flight around the world.




Du Pont announces a name for its new synthetic yarn: “nylon”.




Orson Welles’ radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds is broadcast, causing panic in various parts of the United States.



Horse Racing: Seabiscuit defeats War Admiral by four lengths in their famous match race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.




Adolf Hitler is Time magazine’s “Man of the Year”, as the most influential person of the year.




Read the whole story in:


 The Maybelline Story and the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It.


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