SIDEWALK SURPRISE
Howard Thomas Keltie, City Inspector

We know that Long Beach’s sidewalks contain impressed “signatures” of many construction companies and contractors who plied their trade here; and, a recent Sunday stroll in the Belmont Heights neighborhood revealed a surprise: our City inspectors sometimes added their names to cement projects as well!

photo: QHGS

Howard Thomas “H. T.” Keltie was a Long Beach City Inspector. In the 1914-1915 Long Beach City Directory he was listed like this: “Keltie Howard T city insp h 1738 E 4th.” In 1922 his wife May was included with him in the directory, and he was described as “insp public service dept”; and, his 1935 entry shows that he and May had moved to 3614 E 3rd Street. Howard and May also appear in the 1910, 1920, and 1930 censuses in Long Beach. The California Death Index says Howart [sic] T Keltie died on 6 July 1935, and you can see a photograph of Howard and May posted on the Howard Thomas Keltie public family tree at Ancestry.com.

RESEARCH NOTE: Sources consulted for this post: Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, and the Long Beach Public Library.