Rev-vin' Up for Drive-In Movies-- Part 1

From the July/August 2013 DAR American Spirit Magazine by Jamie Roberts.

Yes, we have a drive-in theater near us in Spring Grove, Illinois, but open only during the summer and fall and the first show not starting until 9 or 9:30 and that's too late for these old bones.

Richard M. Hollinshead opened the first drive-in movie theater in Camden, New Jersey in the summer of 1933. He figured to marry two American loves-- automobiles and movies.

His first effort essentially was just a 1928 Kodak projector showing a picture on a bedsheet nailed to two trees. He then experimented with projection techniques, sound amplification and ramps for cars until he figured he'd had enough to go full-scale.

He drew a huge crowd for the grand opening of his Park-in Theater on June 6, 1933, charging 25 cents per car and 25 cents per person to see the British comedy "Wife Beware."

It took off and by the mid-1960s, there were more than 4,000 in the country.

Seeing A Movie At A Drive-In Is Still Too Late for Me. I Really Need My Beauty Sleep.  --Cooter

My Recollections on JFK's Assassination

I'll be on the road this Friday, November 22nd, and not sure if I'll have internet access. I do hope to be at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, northeast of Dayton, Ohio, where I hope to see and go in to Kennedy's Air Force One, which was very much a part of that day.

But, back to my memories of the day and days afterwards. I was a seventh grader in Mrs. Banie's social studies class when the principal came in and told us. Some of the girls started crying, but I just sat there, along with most of the boys, with no expression.

Mrs. Banie talked about it some then went on with our lesson. I know we were quite excited when we were told there would be no school for some of next week (I think three days).

Once home, all you saw on our five TV stations was news about the assassination. I was kind of disappointed that nothing else was on. But, watched a lot of it.

The only thing that really got me was the funeral procession and those muffled drums and that cadence they beat out. Even today, when I hear it, I tear up.

Thirty Years After "The Day After"

Looking back into my journal from 1983, I see that Sunday, November 20th was the showing of the much talked about "The Day After" on TV. There was a lot of hype and how people would be affected by it. We were even told at school that it was to be policy not to discuss orhave anything to do with it before it was shown.

Here is what I wrote: "I watched 'The Day After' the movie about nuclear holocaust. I did not find it nearly as shocking as the psychiatrists and psychologists would have us believe."

-- Cooter

"I Could Stay Here Forever:" JFK Picked His Final Resting Place

From Yahoo! News.

A half-century ago "grief and hope were made tangible in the glow of a flame" lighted by Jackie Kennedy in her final official act as First Lady. The Eternal Flame was her idea.

Section 45 is on a steep hillside leading up to Robert E. Lee's Arlington House and not the spot you'd necessarily think would be right for a president to be buried. But, just eight months before the sad event in Dallas, President Kennedy visited Arlington National Cemetery, one of his favorite spots, and taking in the view from the house said, "I could stay here forever." His wife remembered his words and decided to have him buried there so he can belong to the people.

Just 24-hours before the burial, Jackie Kennedy decided she wanted an eternal flame. Most didn't even know what she was talking about at the time, but making one was turned over to Army Col. Clayton Lyle and Lt. Col. Bernard Carroll, who decided to model it after a Hawaiian tiki torch. To light it, they had a piece of wire with a big wad of cloth dipped in kerosene. It worked on the day of the funeral and burial on November 25th.

Those assigned to stand by the grave also had to always have a book of matches on them as the wind often extinguished the flame as did a nun once while blessing it with too much Holy Water.

Huge crowds attended the burial ceremony that day.

The Flame underwent its first major renovation just a few years ago and still operates on the same principle. I always thought they had put in a gas pipe to the grave.

There Sure Is a Lot of Stuff Out About the JFK Assassination Anniversary

There are plenty of those special $10-$12 magazines in the racks at stores (I bought one) and plenty of articles in the papers about different aspects...and rightfully so. This was my generation's Pearl Harbor and later generations 9-11.

I wish that my teachers back then had made us write a report about how it affected us. The last five years I taught, my seventh graders had to write a report about them, their families and 9-11. And, I taught seventh graders every year for 33 years and I was in seventh grade when it happened. I even had my kids that day, write about it in class as we listened to the radio. It is so important to write these things down, especially while it is happening or as soon as possible afterwards.

Fifty Years Ago, That's Half a Century. Has It Been That Long?

Follow Up on Jennie Truncale, a Rosie the Riveter

Back on Nov. 8, 2013, I wrote about this woman turning 105 in my World War II blog, Tattooed On Your Soul, and that she worked at the Scuvill Manufacturing Company in Waterbury, Ct., during the war. I'd never heard of this company so some more research was in order.

From the Women, Enterprise & Society Collection at Harvard University.

This company produced brass objects like buttons, screws and tools in Waterbury, Ct., from 1802-1956. Its payroll records from 1862-1916 indicate that about half of the workers were women.

From Wikipedia.

Waterbury is known by the nickname "Brass City," and is 77 miles northeast of New York City. During World War II, some 10,000 worked at Scuvill Manufacturing which was sold to Century Brass in 1956.

Just a Follow Up. --Cooter

Ten Facts You Didn't Know About the JFK Assassination-- Part 4

3. Were there really "MYSTERIOUS DEATHS?" The rumor went around that many witnesses died under mysterious circumstances. Perhaps there was a secret "hit squad" silencing people. However, many died long after their ceremony, most of heart disease which is the #1 killer anyway.

2. There was no "FOURTH SHOT" from the grassy knoll. The Warren Commission ruled that there were only three shots. Several years later, the House Select Committee on Assassination indicated a possible fourth shot coming from the knoll, but 12 acoustic experts have ruled that out. And, the "fourth shot," if it happened at all, came a minute after Oswald's shots and by then the motorcade was well on its way to the hospital.

1. The REAL KILLER of JFK, depends on the decade. In the 1960s, it was the Soviets. In the 1970s it was the CIA and in the 80s, The Mob. It would seem that JFK's killer is whomever we are the most afraid of at the time.

Ten Facts You Don't Know About JFK's Assassination-- Part 3

5. KENNEDY'S FAMILY chose to keep secrets as well. They kept his hospital and autopsy records under wraps which gave the perception that the family had something to hide.

4. The government isn't keeping very many JFK secrets and won't keep any at all for much longer. Oliver Stone's "JFK" film did lead to declassification of 97% of the documents. The other 3% will be declassified in 2017 unless the then-serving president decides to continue them under wraps.

A Really Sad Time.

Ten Facts That You Don't Know About JFK's Assassination-- Part 2

8. OLIVER STONE'S "JFK" mixed fact and fiction.

7. There was no 'MAGIC BULLET." This idea holds that a single bullet changed direction twice in JFK's body then hit Texas Governor John Connally and emerged pristine. It couldn't have happened and a bullet was flat on one side.

6. The U.S. ERRED in keeping its investigation secret. It was held behind closed doors which is a major problem of all the speculation.

Ten Facts You Didn't Know About the JFK Assassination-- Part 1

From the Nov. 10, 2013, Yahoo! News by Jay Busbee.

The 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination is this Friday, November 22nd. Jay Busbee interviewed author Brad Meltzer for this list:

10. The WINDOW from which Kennedy was shot in the Texas Book Depository Building went missing six years later. Gen. D. Harold Byrd, owner of the building had it removed, framed and hung in his mansion. Another story has it that Aubry Mayhew, who later owned the building, said Byrd had removed the wrong window. He removed the correct window and did the same thing. Both windows ended up for sale on e-Bay, but Mayhew's is the real one.

9. PLENTY OF SHOOTERS HAVE RECREATED OSWALD'S SHOTS. At the time of the shooting, it was believed that no other shooters could fire off three shots from that type of rifle in less than 6.75 seconds. But, according to the Warren Commission, one shooter fired off three shots in 4.6 seconds and eleven averaged three shots in 5.6 seconds. Plus, military marksmen are trained to hit targets at between 200-500 yards away. Oswald's first shot was at 59 yards and the last at 89 yards.

American Artifacts

From the Nov. 10, 2013, Parade Magazine.

The Smithsonian has a new book "History of America in 101 Objects" which looks to give fresh facts about our national treasures. Here are four of them:

1. LOUIS ARMSTRONG called his trumpet by his own nickname: "Satchmo." In case you're wondering, "Satchmo" is shortened from "Satchel Mouth."

2. Black and red stitches on the baseball signed by BABE RUTH means that the ball was used in the National League.

3. Restoring the flag that inspired "THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER" cost the Smithsonian a whopping $58 million. Money well-worth spending.

4. The HOPE DIAMOND was once rumored to carry a curse. Find out why at www.parade.com/diamond.
I May Have to Get a Copy of This Book. --Cooter

Ten Things You Might Not Know About the Irish-- Part 3

This is from a want ad, possibly in the Chicago Tribune (the article didn't say, but State Street is a famous Chicago street, you know, as Frank said, "State Street that great street.

"WANTED-- A GOOD GIRL TO COOK, WASH, and iron in a family of two. No Irish need apply. at No. 463 State-st."

No Irish Need Apply signs were frequent back in the 1800s, especially with all the Irish coming over to the U.S. because of the Irish Potato Famine. It kind of reminds me of some of the problems today with all the Mexicans coming to the country.

--DaCoot

Ten Things You Might Not Know About the Irish-- Part 2

3. In  1845, 1 in 50 Bostonians were IRISH-BORN. Ten years later, 1 in 5 were.

4. Friends of a young Dublin musician named PAUL HEWSON started calling him Steinvic von Huyseman, then, just Huyseman, then Houseman. Later they named him after a hearing-aid store, Bonovox of O'Connell Street. Bona Vox is Latin for "good voice." Ultimately, he went with just BONO. He fronted a band called Feedback, then The Hype and finally U2. The rest, as they say, is history.

--Celebrating St. Palladius Day. --Cooter

A Big Piece of the JFK Assassination: Air Force One

From the November 10, 2013, Chicago Tribune "JFK's plane at museum"

With a photo of the plane and people coming out of it so evidently you can go inside which makes it even better. "As we approach the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, solemn observances obviously will be many in Washington and Dallas, where he was shot.

But for those looking for a relic integral to that day in Dallas, Nov. 22, 1963, visit the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, six miles northeast of Dayton, Ohio.

There in the museum gallery is the Air Force One that carried Kennedy to Dallas that day, then carried his body back to Washington that night.

It's also where Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson took the oath of office in the presence of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, her clothes still stained with her husband's blood.

More at www.nationalmuseum.af.mil."

That oath of office is a very famous photograph. This is also where the Final Toast of the Doolittle Raiders took place last Saturday.

I am thinking of visiting the museum this coming Friday which not only is November 22nd, but also occurs on the same day of the week as the assassination fifty years ago. It will be a connection with that long-ago event.

Ten Things You Might Not Know About the Irish-- Part 1

From the March 17, 2013, Chicago Tribune by Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer, two really great researchers. How do they come up with all this good stuff? According to the paper's date, it was St. Patrick's Day, even though St. Patrick was not Irish and he did not banish snales from Ireland. In fact, some of St. Patrick's exploits actually belong to Palladius, a Christian leader who preceded St. Patrick.

"But let's celebrate anyway by sharing these 10 malarkey-free facts."

1. In 1901, Chicago's top cop was FRANCIS O'NEILL who was arguably the world's pre-eminent expert on Irish folk music, collecting and preserving thousands of pieces of music, many of which would have been lost forever.

2. While the origins of NOTRE DAME's nickname are lost in history, the name Fighting Irish was first used regularly around the turn of the last century. According to one account, university officials finally gave it their blessing in 1927 figuring it was better than other names used for the teams: Ramblers, Rovers and Nomads. The name Nomads came from the school traveling far and wide to find opponents.

Better Than Celebrating St. Palladius Day. --DaCoot

As We Lose Chicago's Dominick's Stores: A History

From the October 13, 2013, Chicago Tribune.

By the end of next month, the very last Dominick's grocery store will close in the Chicagoland area. Always sad to lose something that has been around that long, even if I rarely went to one.

HISTORY

Dominick's started in 1925 as a small corner market on Chicago's West Side by Italian immigrant Dominick DiMatteo, and his store eventually grew into Chicago's second-largest grocery chain behind Jewel. Between these two chains, they eventually chased other national chains, like Kroger, out by the 1970s and 1980s.

After a succession of owners, California-based Safeway bought Dominick's for $1.2 billion in 1998 and Dominick's became part of the nation's second-largest grocery chain.

In the first nine months of this year, Dominick's lost $13.7 million and has been losing market share for years to Wal-Mart, Costco and specialty markets until the store accounted for just 9% of local grocery dollars.

Sorry to See It Go. --Cooter

The Assassination of JFK-- Part 8: Fifty Things

41. Jackie Kennedy requested an eternal flame be put by the grave.

42. Although she would remarry, today she is buried next to the president.

43. Two of the Kennedy's children, an infant son and daughter, are also buried with their parents.

44. The funeral day, Nov. 25, was also John Jr.'s third birthday.

45. Caroline would turn 6 two days later.

46. A taxi cab driver reported that the funeral crowds were oddly quiet: "...you could hear a pin drop."

47. An Irish military guard paid its respects at graveside, following commands shouted in Gaelic.

48. After the funeral, Jackie Kennedy met privately with three heads of state: Charles de Gaulle of France, Eamon de Valera of Ireland and Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.

49. Near midnight that night, Jackie and Bobby Kennedy paid an unplanned visit to Kennedy's grave.

The first two letters that Lyndon Johnson wrote as president were to Caroline and John Jr.

Of all that happened that week, the funeral procession is what got to me the most. I still can't hear muffled drums without tearing up.

It Was Quite a Time.

The Assassination of JFK-- Part 7: Fifty Things

35. The New York Times reported that JFK's 98-year-old grandmother, Mary Josephine Fitzgerald, was not told of the assassination.

36. In Washington, dignitaries from more than 100 countries arrived for Kennedy's funeral. At the time, it was the largest-ever gathering of its kind on American soil.

37. An unexpected 250,000 people paid their respects to the former president as he lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda.

38. Tens of thousands were turned away, some having waited throughout a near-freezing night in a line that stretched for more than two miles.

39. Jackie Kennedy modeled her husband's funeral ceremony after that of Abraham Lincoln.

40. With help from Bobby Kennedy and Robert McNamara, Jackie chose the burial site at Arlington National Cemetery.

The Assassination of JFK-- Part 6: Fifty Things

28. Dallas businessman Abraham Zapruder caught the assassination on his 8 mm home movie camera.

29. His secretary had urged him to go home and get it for the presidential parade.

30. Zader's film was later bought by Life Magazine for $150,000.

31. Oswald's murder by Jack Ruby on Nov. 24 was the first homicide caught on live television.

32. A police detective at the shooting called out, "Jack, you son of a bitch!"

33. When wrestled to the ground by police, Ruby cried out, "I'm Jack Ruby, you all know me!"

34. Oswald died at the same hospital as Kennedy, two days and seven minutes after the president.

The Assassination of JFK-- Part 5

22. Attorney General and presidential brother Robert F. Kennedy met Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base upon its return.

23. The Texas School Book Depository's sixth floor, where assassin Lee Harvey Oswald had positioned himself for the shooting, is today a museum dedicated to JFK's assassination.

24. Oswald was a self-described Marxist.

25. He had tried to defect to the Soviet Union in 1959.

26. At the time, assassination of a president was not a federal offense; Oswald would have been tried in Texas.

27. The murder weapon was a 6.5 mm Italian carbine rifle that Oswald had bought for $19.95.

The Assassination of JFK-- Part 4

15. Kennedy's body was also on Air Force One while it was flying back to Washington, DC, and LBJ was being sworn in as the new president.

16. Judge Sarah Hufghes wept as she administered the oath of office.

17. Jackie Kennedy refused to take off her pink Chanel suit, stained with her husband's blood. She told Lady Bird Johnson, "I want them to see what they have done to Jack."

18. Jackie did, however, remove her wedding ring and put it on her husband's finger to be buried with him.

19. Later, she had an aide retrieve it.

20. Jackie's suit has never been cleaned and lies in the National Archives.

21. It will not be seen in public until at least 2013, according to Kennedy family wishes.

More to Come.

The Assassination of JFK-- Part 3

Almost everytime I go by the old, soon-to-be-gone magazine rack at most any store, I see more and more of those great little history magazines on JFK, his life, presidency and assassination sprouting in profusion.

I broke down today and bought one at Wal-Mart. His assassination was essentially the Pearl Harbor of my generation, something everyone old enough to remember knows exactly what they were doing on November 22, 1963.

I'll write about my memories on that date.

--Cooter

Veterans Day 2013: Armistice With Germany

From Wikipedia.

Also known as Armistice of Compiegne after location where it was signed. Went into effect at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918. Victory for Allies and total defeat for Germany, even though they never surrendered.

Included cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of German troops to their own borders, promise of reparations, disposition of German warships and submarines and other conditions.

Largely written by Allied Supreme Commander Ferdinand Foch of France. It ended the actual fighting but the war not officially over until six months later, when, after much negotiation, the Paris Peace Conference concluded with the Treaty of Versailles.

--Cooter

The Assassination of JFK-- Part 2

8. Texas Governor John Connally Jr. received multiple gunshot wounds.

9. A priest administered the last rites to the first Roman Catholic U.S. president.

10. This was the fourth presidential assassination in a nation that was less than 200 years old.

11. It was the first since the Secret Service began protecting presidents.

12. The Service scuffled with Dallas police for control of the president's casket.

13. Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office aboard Air Force One.

14. He became president 99 minutes after Kennedy's death.

I have to wonder if Johnson had gone along with the trip or flew to Dallas to be sworn in?

Fifty Years Ago.

The Assassination of JFK-- Part 1

From the November 2013 AARP Bulletin "Power of 50" by Betsy Towner.

Fifty things you may or may nor have known about the assassination. Of course, Friday Nov. 22nd will mark the 50th anniversary of the event.

1. On November 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy laid a Veterans Day wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

2. He would be buried at the cemetery exactly two weeks later.

3. Jackie Kennedy rarely traveled with her husband on political trips but decided to fly with him to Texas on Nov. 21.

4. On Nov. 22, the Kennedys were celebrated at a breakfast at Fort Worth.

5. Their presidential open-top limousine had been flown in from D.C. for the trip.

6. A 14-year-old boy reported watching JFK's face go blank at around 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 12.

7. The boy also said he heard Jackie Kennedy shout, "God, oh God, No."

Many More to Come.

238 Years Ago USMC Founded in 1775

That's a lot of years. That's a lot of honor and glory.

Thanks, Marines. --Cooter

Final Standings of the APFA for the 1921 Season

From Wikipedia.

Chicago Staleys 9-1-1
Buffalo All-Americans 9-1
Akron Pros 8-3-1

Canton Bulldogs 5-2-3
Rock Island Independents 4-2-1;
Evansville Crimson Giants 3-2-0

Green Bay Packers 3-2-1
Dayton Triangles 4-4-1
Racine Cardinals 3-3-2

Rochester Jeffersons 2-3-0
Cleveland Indians 3-5-0
Washington Senators 1-2-0

Cincinnati Celts 1-3-0
Hammond Pros 1-3-1
Minneapolis Marines 1-3-0

Detroit Tigers 1-5-1
Columbus Panhandles 1-8-0
Tonawanda Kardex 0-1-0

Muncie Flyers 0-2-0
Louisville Brecks 0-2-0
New York Brickley Giants 0-2-0

Thought This Would Be of Interest to You NFL Nuts. --DaCoot

The 1921 APFA Season (That Would Be NFL)

From Wikipedia.

While doing research on the Evansville Crimson Giants who belonged to the APFA (American Professional Football Association), the forerunner of the NFL, I got interested in the 1921 season.

The season lasted from 9-25-21 to 12-18-21 and the Champions were this little old team called the Chicago Staleys led by George Halas. And, we all know what team this group became.

The league's headquarters was moved to Columbus, Ohio, and it was decided that the rules of play would be the same as college football.

A number of teams, however, had financial difficulties. The number of teams was increased to 21, but four didn't even finish the season: Brickley's New York Giants, the Cincinnati Celts, Tonawanda Kardex and Washington Senators. The Muncie Flyers and Cleveland Tigers (who changed their name to Indians) folded after the season.

Other new teams were the Evansville Crimson Giants, Green Bay Packers, Minneapolis Marines and Louisville Brecks. The Detroit Heralds folded midseason and were absorbed by the Buffalo All-Americans.

The Staleys moved from Decatur to Chicago and beat the Buffalo All-Americans for the league championship. They were renamed Da Bears after the season and were led by wide receiver George Halas.

Da Bears, Even Back Then. --Cooter

Pirate Blackbeard's Cannons

From the Oct. 31, 2013, Straits Times "Archaeologists find booty from pirate Blackbeard's ship."

Five large cannons were brought up from the wreck of Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge (QAR) off the North Carolina coast this past week. Four of them weighed between 900 and 1,3000 kg. The largest is believed to have been made in Sweden.

They also hope to recover two large secretions in the wreck which are believed to hold cannonballs, barrel hoops and other items.

The QAR was discovered in 1996 and was intentionally run aground in 1718. Blackbeard was killed in battle later that year.

Captain Jack Would be So Proud. --DaCoot

The NFL's Evansville Crimson Giants-- Part 2

Continued from Nov. 4th.

In 1921, the same businessmen decided to form their own team. They got two Ex-Collegians to form the new team and established the American Football Association and named the team the Crimson Giants. Eventually the Ex-Collegians and Crimson Giants merged.

On August 27, 1921, they got an American Professional Football Association (forerunner of the NFL, renamed NFL in 1922) franchise. In 1921, the team won five of their first season games. They defeated the Louisville Brecks, then the Muncie Flyers and then lost to the Hammond Pros.

Biggest problems for the team were money and scheduling. In early November, the team traveled to play the Green Bay Packers at Hagenmeister Park and lost 43-6. They had two other games, one in Chicago against the Decatur Staleys and one against the Cincinnati Celts that was cancelled because of weather.

The year resulted in a big financial loss.

The Crimson Giants played only three games in 1922 and lost all three to the Toledo Maroons, Rock Island Independents and Louisville Brecks. That was the end of the team.

Early NFL. Tough Going.  --Cooter

Why Dana Barron Wasn't the Daughter on "European Vacation"

It was a surprise when the second "Vacation" movie was made and the original son and daughter weren't in it. Dana Barron, who played the original, was not in the follow up because Anthony Michael Hall was working on the film "Weird Science." The producers decided to go with two new kids.

Too bad. The new ones weren't as good. Maybe the "European Vacation" would have done better with the original kids.

Of interest, Dana Barron said she got motion sickness on the rollercoaster in the first movie and that she had been up to be the sister of Matthew Broderick on "Ferris Buuehler's Day Off" but hadn't gotten the role.

It's a Movie Thing, I Guess --DaCoot

Top Ten Greatest Pixar Films

From the March 19, 2011, Listverse.

I really enjoy animated films and this company can really make good ones. I've seen a lot of them, either at the theater or on TV:

10. A Bug's Life
9. Monsters Inc
8. Up

7. The Incredibles
6. Toy Story 3
5. Wall-E
4. Ratatouille

3. Toy Story 2
2. Finding Nemo
1. Toy Story.

I must admit I was REALLY surprised that Cars was not on the list. The creator of it said the movie was too "bland and predictable."  I would have rated in #1.

Oh Well. Good Movies, Anyway. --Cooter

Seven Things You Didn't Know About Peeps-- Part 3

5. THE JUST BORN COMPANY NOT JUST ABOUT PEEPS:

 They also make some of my favorites like Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales and boast that they are the number one cinnamon-flavored candy-maker in the world.

6. JUST BORN OWNERS DO NOT, HOWEVER, CELEBRATE EASTER:

Even though Peeps are much a part of Easter, Sam Born and his descendants are Jewish.

7. YOU CAN GET PEEPS YEAR-ROUND:

Now you can also get them at Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day.

BONUS: Here are some great company slogans: ""A Great Candy Isn't Made...It's Just Born." and "Peeps...Always In Season."

Peep You.  --Cooter

Seven Things You Didn't Know About Peeps-- Part 2

2. FOUNDER SAM BORN WAS A CANDY INNOVATOR:

Sam Born is credited with creating a machine that put sticks into hard candy (lollipops) and creating "jimmies" which are chocolate sprinkles used on ice cream. He named them after a factory worker of his named Jimmy. He also changed chocolate's makeup so it could last through a summer without melting. (M&Ms?)

3. PEEPS HAVE A BOBLICAL HOMETOWN:

The company moved from Brooklyn to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression. They took over a vacant building which is still there, though expanded to 100,000 square feet.

4. ORIGINAL PEEPS TOOK 27 HOURS TO MAKE:

In 1972, Sam Born's son, Bob, discovered Amish women making marshmallow peeps by hand using pastry tubes, but the process took 27 hours. Innovative like his father, Bob Born created a machine which could make them in six minutes. Peeps used to even have little wings on them, but that was discontinued in the late 50s.

So, the Little Guys Used to Be Able to Fly? --DaCoot

Seven Things You Didn't Know About Peeps-- Part 1

From the March 28, 2013, Fox Business by Gabrielle Karol.

And, I saw Walgreens had Halloween peeps and no doubt will have some out for Christmas now that those items are being stocked (well, since September). I wrote about their 60th anniversary back on Oct. 30th.

MEET THE COMPANY BEHIND PEEPS:

The company is Just Born (the founder' name was Sam Born) and sell one billion a year. Some 30% of them are bought for reasons other than eating. Peep fights? (Personally, I don't like them.)

1. IT'S FAMILY-OWNED AND OPERATED: They opened shop in 1923 in Brooklyn where they sold chocolate and fudge. It was built up by brothers-in-law Irv and Jack Shaffer and is now run by cousins and co-CEOs Ross Born and David Shaffer, the 3rd generation.

They're Everywhere! They're Everywhere!! --Cooter

Wilmington's Robert Taylor Homes-- Part 3

From the Wilmington (NC) Housing Authority Site.

The Robert R. Taylor Senior Homes are located today at 1308 N. 5th Street and are for seniors 55 and older. It is an apartment building and consists of 96 one-and-two bedroom units from 716 to 980 square feet. It is located less than one mile north of downtown Wilmington and has income restrictions to live there.

The Wilmington Housing Authority also has the New Brooklyn Homes at Taylor Estates located by the senior homes at 1205 N. 5th Street. This consists of 48 two-to-four bedroom units from 1021-1498 square feet. These are also low income.

I was unable to find out if any of these housing projects are the original one from before World War II, but imagine they are either original or on the site of those.

The New Brooklyn Homes built in the 1930s had 241 units back then before the name was changed to the Robert R. Taylor Homes after the death of Robert Robinson Taylor in 1942.

--Cooter

Wilmington's Robert Taylor Housing-- Part 2: Robert Robinson Taylor

From Wikipedia.

Robert Robinson Taylor (1868-1942) was the first accredited black architect in the United States. He was born June 8, 1868, in Wilmington, North Carolina, and enrolled at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the first black in 1888.

As an architect, he designed most of the pre-1932 buildings at Alabama's Tuskegee University and was the second in charge of the institution behind its founder Booker T. Washington. The two men modeled Tuskegee on MIT.

The 241 units of the New Brooklyn Houses, built in Wilmington in 1938 for blacks, were renamed for him, probably after his death in 1942.

Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes were named after his son, Robert Rachon Taylor (1899-1957) who, like his father, was an architect, and a graduate of the University of Illinois in Champaign and early housing activist in Chicago.

His great granddaughter Valerie Jarrett is a senior advisor to President Obama. Dr. Taylor is buried along with his wife, Nellie Chesnutt Taylor at Wilmington, NC's Pine Forest Cemetery.

A Very Important Family. --DaCoot

Wilmington's Robert Taylor Housing-- Part 1

Back on October 8th, in my Tattooed On Your Soul World War II blog, I wrote about the Robert Taylor housing units being built in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1938. The housing was built for blacks during that segregated period and in anticipation of a critical World War II housing shortage as workers and militarty personnel swarmed into the city.

The name Robert Taylor made me think of Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes which were built for low-income people originally and eventually became most all blacks and developed a myriad of problems. I saw them many times as I drove to Comiskey Park to watch the White Sox play. I thought it to be quite a coincidence that two housing projects were built with the same name, so had to do some research.

It turned out to be quite interesting and introdiced me to two significant men.

Two Robert Taylor Homes? --Cooter

The NFL's Evansville Crimson Giants-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

As I said in my posts last week, I had never heard of an NFL team called the Evansville Crimson Giants. I found out about them when writing about Evansville, Indiana's Bosse Field, where the Crimson Giants played.

The city's first significant semi-pro football team was the Evansville Ex-Collegians which began play in 1920. They were all local players who got paid based on gate receipts on a game-by-game basis. There was no real management and the players themselves were in charge of scheduling and all finances.

In 1920, a group of local businessmen tried to purchase the team but that fell through.

After two initial wins over modest opponents, the Ex-Collegians began bragging about their playing a game against the most-celebrated football team in America, the Canton (Ohio) Bulldogs on Christmas Day 1920. Chances of that happening, however, were slim and it turned out to be more of a marketing scheme. Attendance increased and the Ex-Collegians finished the 1920 year with a 7-1 record.

Go You Crimson Giants!! --DaCoot

Evansville's Bosse Field-- Part 2

Ten teams have played at Evansville, Indiana's Bosse Field. From 1921 to 1922, it was used as the home of Evansville Crimson Giants of the NFL (I will write about them later this week, I'd never heard of them.)

Baseball Hall of Famers Hank Greenberg, Chuck Klein, Ed Roush and Warren Spahn played there as well as the wonderful Bob Uecker. I saw the Chicago White Sox had their AA team, the Evansville White Sox, of the Southern league there from 1966-1968.

From the Evansville Otters site:

Original construction costs: $10,000 for 10 acres on the southeast corner of Garvin Park; $50,000 for materials and labor and $5000 for city fees. It was built as a school board project (the first municipally-owned athletic facility in the U.S.).

Seating capacity is 7,180. A crowd of 8,082 was on hand for opening day 1915. Bcak then, box seats were 75 cents, grandstand 50 cents and bleachers 25 cents.

Dimensions are 315 feet down the left and right field lines and 415 to center. In 1931, the first night game was played at the field and 1971 was when beer sales were allowed.

A Beer and a Ball Game. Sounds Like An Idea. --Cooter

Hunt for Emelia Earhart's Plane Back On

Renewed attempt to begin in 2014 and will center on the Pacific island of Nikumarora, even though there have already been several expeditions there.

Amelia Earhart, her navigator Fred Noonan and the plane disappeared in 1937. They were last seen a Lae, New Guinea. It is thought that they did not die in a crash or drown.

The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery plans a 30-day, $3 million expedition to the island where they think the plane crash landed off the reef and then slipped down a plunging cliff into deep water.

That would really be something if they find the plane.

Perhaps a Piece of "Found" History. --Cooter

Evansville's Bosse Field-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

In the last post I mentioned Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana, as being the baseball diamond used in the film "A League of Their Own" about women's professional baseball during World War II. I'd never heard of it, even though I've been through Evansille many times. I guess I'll have to check it out the next time through.

It was built in 1915 and is the third oldest ball field in the United States (Fenway Park in 1912 and Wrigley Field in 1914, with centennial next year). Since 1995, it has been the home of the Evansville Otters of the Independent Frontier League.

It was named for Evansville Mayor Benjamin Bosse who served 1914-1922. "A League of Their Own" was filmed there in 1991. Of interest, the movie "Hoosiers" also used an athletic facility in Indiana at Knightsville for the high school games.

Never Heard of It. --DaCoot

Roseanne's House-- Part 3: Producer and "A League of Their Own"

From NancyCarol.squid.com.

"Roseanne"'s creator and producer Matt Williams, is a native of Evansville.

Evansville also has the third oldest ballfield in the United States (behind Boston's Fenway Park #1 and Chicago's Wrigley Field).

The game scenes of "A League of Their Own" were all filmed there and it served as the homefield of the Racine Belles. Something else from the screen to see in Evansville.

--Cooter

Roseanne's House-- Part 2

Continued from Oct. 25th.

From the Bons Bons & Martini Blog. Roseanne's hangout, the Lobo Lounge, is a pizza restaurant and one source says it is called the Talk of the Town Pizza in Evansville. They visited, but the place didn't open until 4 PM and they didn't go inside as they were early and a bit afraid of the neighborhood.

The Sentimental Journey Blog says that supposedly one of the show's producers was from Evansville, Indiana.

"Roseanne's" fictional Lanford, Illinois, is believed to have been located about where Dekalb, Illinois, (Home of Northern Illinois University) is. I always thought it was somewhere in Chicago's far south suburbs, perhaps by US-30.

Sister Jackie's driving school was located in Elgin, Illinois. There is a 3rd and Delaware sign in Evansville.

And, I Sure Loved the Halloween Episodes. --Cooter