Tooting Our Own Horn in 1917: DeKalb County, Illinois

From the March 22, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"As one travels over beautiful DeKalb County and notes the prosperity everywhere, the thrifty cities and villages with their luxurious homes, fine schools, churches and other public buildings, and sees the rich, highly improved farms, he is assured that here, in this county, the people have advanced far beyond the primitive conditions which confronted the residents of the county when there was a wild country to subdue and the people were poor, and that the people here are now able to occupy themselves with the finer things that go to make life still more worth living."

We've Come A Long Way, Baby.  --Cooter

National Vietnam War Veterans Day: Its Formation

In 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act, authorizing the secretary of defense to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War (or American War a the Vietnamese call it).

President Barack Obama specified the March 29 date in the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017.  This would be the official date of recognition.

They have a website at www.vietnamwar50th.com.

White Sox Announcers-- Part 4: Harry Caray Arrives

Then came Harry.  He was on the rebound as he had been immensely popular in St. Louis doing Cardinals games, but had been fired abruptly after the 1969 season.  he had then spent a year in Oakland before being signed by the Sox in 1971

His outgoing personality soon made him the Sox's greatest attraction.  He took Chicago by storm.  With a beer can in hand, he also became the "Mayor of Rush Street."

Caray became a fan favorite and Sox players and managers, much to their dismay, often became targets of his harsh and biting criticism.  Calling one game where the White Sox shortstop Lee "Bee Bee" Richard had made three errors, Caray cracked:  "Richard just picked up a hot-dog wrapper at shortstop.  It's the first thing he has picked up all night."

And Many Cubs Fans Don't Know That We Had Him First.  --CootHolyCow

White Sox Announcers Over the Years-- Part 3: Bob Elson

Three people, each with his own distinct personalities, have defined the history of White Sox announcers:  Bob Elson, Harry Caray and the "Hawk" Harrelson.

Beginning in 1929, Bob Elson became the team's signature play-by-play radio man and had a 40-year run that stretched from the careers of Babe Ruth to Mickey Mantle.  Known as "The Commander" for his World War II service in the Navy, Elson had a dignified, if not laid-back, style of calling a game.

His voice was the sound of many summer nights in Chicago during those years.

But, after the 1970 season his style of play calling was going out of style and something was done to liven up the calls.

A guy by the name of Harry Caray was brought in.

Yep, That Harry, Holy Cow.  --DaCoot

White Sox Announcers Over the Years-- Part 2: Ken "Hawk" Harrelson

Ken Harrelson returned to the White Sox booth in 1990, this time as the lead play-by-play voice with Tom Paciorek doing the color.  

The Hawk proved quite unconventional in his play calling.  He is credited with giving Hall of Famer Frank Thomas his "Big Hurt" nickname.  He also created his own lingo with such words as "duck snort" meaning a bloop hit and "grab some bench" when a Sox pitcher strikes out an opposing player.

Few announcers are more passionate about their team than Harrelson.

Due to age and distance, Ken Harrelson cut back his announcing in 2016 and Jason Bennett was brought in to help.

--CootSnort

White Sox Announcers Over the Years-- Part 1: Ken Harrelson

From the March 23, 2018, Chicago Tribune  "33 seasons: You can put it on the board" by Ed Sherman.

"Bob Elson was a study in coolness and restraint.  Harry Caray was a crowd-pleasing provocateur.  Ken Harrelson mixes passion with playfulness."

Ken "Hawk" Harrelson will be returning for his 33rd year and is scheduled to call 20 Sox games this year before becoming a White Sox ambassador.  This will include Sunday afternoon home games, the Sox home opener on April 5 and the September 21-23 Cubs-White Sox series at Comiskey Park.

Harrelson started with the Sox in 1981, when Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn purchased the team and put Don Drysdale (play-by-play) and the "Hawk" (analyst) in the broadcast booth for their  SportsVision cable network.  Harrelson then went to the Yankees for a short time and returned to the Sox in 1990 wher he was lead play-by-play and paired with Tom Paciorek.

--CootSnort

Top Ten Misconceptions About St. Patrick's Day-- Part 2: That's Bishop Patrick to You

Of course, I am just listing them.  Go to the site for details.

7.  Symbolic shamrock

6.  Wearin' O' the Orange

5.  That's Bishop Patrick

4.  Snakes

3.  Parades or politics

2.  Guinness & Jameson

1.  Irish Coffee & Shamrock Shakes

Too Green for Me.  --CootSham

Ten Misconceptions About St. Patrick's Day-- Part 1: Leprechauns

From the March 15, 2018, ListVerse.by Joseph Duprey.

As we recover from last weekend (see my RoadDog's RoadLog Blog for this week), this was a very timely account of what you think St. Patrick's Day is all about.  I am just listing them.  Go to the site to read about it.

10.  The Diaspora (potato famine)

9.  The Corned Beef Conundrum

8.  Larcenous Leprechauns

Corned beef & Cabbage.  Something We Should Have All Year Round.  --CootGreen

I'd Like To Add These Two Battle Cries: Haka and Zulu Chant

As good as the other eight are, and of course, that "Rebel Yell," here are two others I'd like to add to the list.

9.  Maori Haka, New Zealand.  If that one doesn't scare you and demoralize you, I don't know what will.  Go to You Tube and look up haka.  A good one is on Huffington Post where a boys' school in New Zealand does it for a teacher who died.  Also, any of the New Zealand All blacks rugby team's Hakas.

10.  Zulu War Chant. on You Tube.  From the movie "Zulu."  You can also see this on You Tube.

Either Stand or Get the Hell Outta There?  --CootScared

Eight Legendary Battle Cries-- Part 2: "Remember the Alamo"

5.  "Remember the Alamo"  Texans in the War for Independence against Mexico after the Alamo.  Vengeance.

6.  The Roman Barritus.    The Legions would usually marshal in silence, but once the enemy was encountered they launched a sound like stampeding elephants.  The late Roman Army's Barritus was a guttural sound borrowed from the Germanic tribes.  A harsh roar that built in volume.

7.  "Daus Hoc Vult"  "God Wills It."  The Crusaders used it.

8.  "Liberty or Death"--  American Revolution

--DaCoot

Eight Legendary Battle Cries-- Part 1: The Rebel Yell

From the May 21, 2015, History Channel.

1.  "Tenno Heika Banzai"--  Japanese Banzai charges during World War II.

2.  The Rebel Yell--  Writer Ambrose Bierce described it, "It was the ugliest sound that any mortal ever heard."  A banshee scream shrill yelp like a coyote would make.

3.  Greek "Alala" and "Eleleu"  They would yell this while banging their weapons on their shields.

4.  "There is no land for us beyond the Volga."  --  Soviet defenders of Stalingrad during World War II.

--CootYell

You Can Buy Unclaimed Items, Just Not the Teeth-- Part 2

Among the 252 items at auction:  a signed 1983 Ryne Sandberg baseball card, coins from a  1622 shipwreck, Chicago World's Fair souvenirs and a six-sided "paddle wheel" harmonica.  Never heard of that last one.

But for those of a ghoulish bent, they don't auction ff hair or teeth.

The state is sitting on about $2 billion in unclaimed funds despite sending out about $220 million to companies and families over the last several years.  Among these beneficiaries were the children of a family that had left $1 million worth of Walgreen stock for over sixty years.

The safe deposit box items, worth an estimated $113,500, have been sitting in the state treasurers vault for a decade and will be sold to make room for more items.  Any items sold will help fix some of the state's budgetary problems.

A paddlewheel harmonica is one where three or more harmonicas are arrangedlike the paddle wheel of a steamboat where you can quickly switch from one harmonica to another.  E-Bay has several for sale.

No Teeth, Though.  --CooTeeth

You Can Buy Unclaimed Items, Just Not the Teeth-- Part 1

From the July 28, 2017, Chicago Tribune by Kim Janssen.

Lots of weird stuff gets stored in Illinois safe deposit boxes according to State Treasurer Michael Frerichs.  One of his lesser-known duties is the safe-keeping of privately-owned unclaimed cash, bonds and sticks  and safe deposit boxes that are typically lost or forgotten after Illinoisans pass on.

And some of those items are rare baseball cards such as Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider, collectible coins and jewelry.  Also unclaimed are such as swords, sneakers, human hair and teeth.

Some of the unclaimed items will be put up for auction at the Illinois State Fair on August 19.

No teeth for Me.  --CootTeeth

1886 Message In a Bottle Found

From the March 11, 2018, Chicago Tribune  "1886 message in a bottle found in Australia" by Theresa Vargas, Washington Post.

Before computers and FPS, ocean currents were tracked by little slips of paper in bottles, the proverbial "Message in a Bottle."

The world's oldest "Message in a Bottle" was found recently on a beach in Australia, 132 years after it was tossed into the Indian Ocean as part of an experiment on ocean shift patterns.  Experts call it "an exceedingly rare find."

The bottle is less than 9 inches long and 3 inches wide and was found in January north of Perth by Tonya Illman.  Was it a hoax, though?

Experts found two significant details on the message inside the bottle.  The date June 12, 1886, and the name of the ship, "Paula."  This links the bottle to German scientist George von Neumayer who was running the experiment. from 1964 to 1933 which involved throwing thousands of bottles overboard with pre-printed messages inside.

Only 662 message slips were returned with information as to where it was found.  The last one before this one was in January 1934.

What Was that Old Police Song?  --CootBot

No Kissing the Soldiers at Savannah's St. Patrick's Parade

From the March 11, 2017, Chicago Tribune  "Army:  No kissing parading soldiers on St. Patrick's Day" by Russ Bynum, AP.

Well, the Army says that makes the soldiers look unprofessional.  So,  not sure how they will stop it.  "Duck and cover?"  No word from them as to what they will do if a gal gets in close for a kiss.

Anyway, Savannah, Georgia,'s  St. Patrick's parade and celebration is legendary, right up there after Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  Roughly 200 soldiers from nearby Fort Stewart will be taking part in the parade this Saturday.

Organizers say that as many as 500,000 revelers will be downtown this weekend in Georgia's oldest city.

Irish immigrants (they didn't all go to New York City and Boston) and their descendants have marched in the St. Patrick's parade since 1824.

And, It's a Real Big Parade.  OK, Girls, Put Away the Lipstick.  --CootRish

How About a Kosciuszko Day-- Part 5: Pronounced Kosh-Choosh-Ko

And, even though not as well known as Pulaski, there are places in the United States where he is remembered.

There are places named for him all over the world, including a bridge in Brooklyn, a county in Indiana, an island in Alaska and a park on Chicago's Northwest Side.  There is a statue of him near the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciuszko, Mississippi, and there is a Kosciuszko, Texas.  An exhibit about him opened at the Polish Museum of America.

But, the author believes the main problem with recognition is spelling and saying his name.  I have Kosciuszko down pretty well now.  But, the name is pronounced Kosh-choosh-ko.  And, I was pronouncing his name Koz-Cio-sko.  Need to brush up on my Polish.

--DaCootKo

How About a Kosciuszko Day-- Part 4: Captured By Russians, Returned to U.S.

After the war, Kosciuszko returned to Poland and fought for his own country.  He also advocated for full citizenship of peasants and Jews.  Eventually wounded in battle, he was captured by the Russians.  After the death of Catherine the Great, Czar Paul I pardoned him and set him free.

Kosciuszko returned to the United States for a time and became a friend of Thomas Jefferson.  Jefferson became both the executor and beneficiary of Kosciuszko's will.  He left Jefferson his wartime pay as compensation for freeing and the education of Jefferson's slaves.

--Cooter

How About a Kosciuszko Day?-- Part 3: Military Engineer

Kosciuszko made his reputation as a military engineer and architect, overseeing the building of fortifications and selecting sites to fight the British.  This protected the small Continental Army and delayed British forces.  He was promoted to brigadier general.

George Washington was a great admirer of the young Polish officer, but  is said to have trouble spelling his name.  One account said that  he spelled Kosciuszko's name eleven different ways.

During his time with the American Army, his orderly was the dedicated and intelligent Agrippa Hull, a free black man.  As the two bonded, Kosciuszko became increasingly dismayed that white Americans were fighting for universal principles that it denied to half a million enslaved blacks.

--Cooter

How About a Kosciuszko Day?-- Part 2: Early Leader of Universal Human Rights

The write, Mary Wisniewski, of Polish descent herself, says that Tadeusz Kosciuszki was also an American Revolution hero, but his name was much harder to pronounce (I am still having to look at the spelling when typing it).

However, he is more than just a symbol to pride and heroism.  He opposed the oppression of Jews and peasants in Poland and slavery in America.    He was an early leader for universal human rights.

Born in 1746 and a graduate of the Corps of Cadets in Warsaw, he studied in France and then worked as a tutor in Poland.  He fell in love with his employer's daughter and was severely beaten by her father's servants when they tried to elope..

Kosciuszko then went to France and eventually to North America where he joined the Continental Army.

--DaCoot

How About a Kosciuszko Day?-- Part 1: Another Polish Fighter in the American Revolution

From the March 4, 2018, Chicago Tribune "Kosciuszko hard to say, but just as heroic as Pulaski" by Mary Wisniewski.

Monday, March 5 was Pulaski Day to honor hero of the American Revolution, Casimir Pulaski, father of American cavalry and who gave his life in the cause of freedom.  He is honored with his day and here in Chicago with Pulaski Road.

Chicago was once the home of the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw.  There is still a lot of them living along Milwaukee Avenue in one area of Chicago.  Polish immigrants have contributed greatly to the United States.

--Cooter

Kishwaukee College Comes To Be

From the March 15, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1967, 50 Years Ago.

"Kishwaukee College was the name officially adopted by the newly elected board of Junior College District No. 523 at the organization meeting of the board.

Named after the Kishwaukee River which flows through Northeast Illinois.

--DaCoot

World War I Chronology, March 1918-- Part 2: The Somme Defensive

MARCH 11--  U.S. forces occupy trenches at Toul.

MARCH--  17--  U.S. Marine units enter the front line for the first time.

MARCH 21-APRIL 6--  Somme Defensive.  Elements of the U.S. 6th Engineers (3rd Infantry Division) and the 14th and 212th Engineers (Railway) participate.  Also the 22nd, 28th and 17th Aero squadrons fly missions.

MARCH 28--  In a formal Franco-American agreement, all U.S. forces ready for service are offered to be used as needed, rather than forming an independent American front.

--Cooter

DeKalb High School Cornerstone Dedicated in 1967

From the March 15, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1967, 50 Years Ago.

"  It might have been a bit delayed but the cornerstone of the new DeKalb High School became official in brief ceremonies at the school.

--DaCoot

National Museum of African American History-- Part 5: Bills of Sale, Rosa Parks and Shackles

Some of the other items displayed:

**  1835 bill of sale for a 16-year-old "Negro girl"

**  Dress worn by Rosa Parks

**  Desk from a segregated Depression-Era school

**  Ankle shackles of the type used on slave ships

--Cooter

How Did We Get 8 1/2 by 11 Inches Paper?

From the June 2017 Smithsonian Magazine.

Question:  "How did we get 8 1/2 by 11 inches as the standard size for letter paper?"  James Cloonan, Rochesterm New York.

Answer by Helena E. Wright, curator of the division of culture at the National Museum of American History:

Early paper sizes were limited to what a vatman -- the worker who dipped a paper mold into a vat of pulp -- could handle.  Sizes varied within certain ranges.

In the late 1600s, papermakers invented molds that produced sheets that could be quartered into leaves of about 8 1/2 and 11, and businesses gradually adopted variations on that size.  By the 1920s -- despite efforts of a government-appointed Committee for the Simplification of Paper Sizes --  most private firms were doing business on 8 1/2 by 11, and federal employees on 8 by 10 1/2.

That disparity persisted until 1980, when the government adopted 8 1/2 by 11 as its standard as well.

Paper Me.  --Cootpaper

Chicken Pox at Northern Illinois Normal School in 1917

From the March 15, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"Because one case of chicken pox developed at Williston Hall, several young women who were exposed to the disease have been sent to their homes for a few days.

"They will return to their school Monday unless something develops."

Serious Stuff.  --GreGen

National Museum of African American History-- Part 4: Tuskegee Airmen, Chuck Berry and Althea Gibson

The black story is not just the story of oppression and struggle.  It is about achievement, heroism and a vibrant culture.

A PT-13D biplane, used by the Tuskegee Institute to train black pilots for World War II duty hangs from the ceiling.  Louis Armstrong's trumpet is there as well as a parking space for Chuck Berry's red Cadillac convertible.  There is also a tennis racket used by Althea Gibson, the first black woman to compete in (and win) Wimbledon in the 1950s.

--DaCoot

National Museum African American History-- Part 3: Emmett Rill's Coffin and Lunch Counter Stools

Visitors to the museum will see a 19th century slave cabin and the glass-topped coffin in which the body of 14-year-old Emmett Till was placed after his brutal murder in Mississippi in 1955.  His death became a catalyst for the modern civil rights movement.

There is also a 77-ton Pullman Palace passenger car from the Jim Crow era and  Woolworth's lunch counter stools from Greensboro, N.C. where four black students carried out the 1960 sit-in that helped topple segregation.

Pullman porters were black men and was a big step up to middle class status.

A Lot of History.  --Cooter

World War I Chronology, March 1918-- Part 1: "Rainbow" Division Sees Action

From the April 2017 VFW Magazine

MARCH 4--  German forces unsuccessfully attack U.S. 42nd "Rainbow" Division positions near Badonvilliers in the Lorraine Sector.

MARCH 6--  Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal and War service Chevron are authorized by the War Department.

MARCH 8--  U.S. forces join the line in the Verdun Sector.

--Cooter

National Museum of African American History-- Part 2: Newest Museum on the National Mall

And, a good place for the museum to be.  In 1963, a quarter million came together for the pivotal March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  And, of course, the Lincoln memorial, site of Dr. martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

The vast array of artifacts include several of Harriet Tubman's life.  An escaped slave who brought hundreds through the Underground Railroad.

Other items:

**  1830s Bible owned by Nat Turner

**  Fedora worn by Michael Jackson, 1984

**  Headgear worn by Muhammad Ali, 1973

**  Stereoscope image of Booker T. Washington, 1899

--Cooter

The National Museum of African American History and Culture-- Part 1

From the September 2016 AARP Bulletin  "A Dream Realized" by David Frank.

"I, too, am America."  This is a line from Langston Hughes' 1925 poem "I, Too."  It is prominently displayed at this new museum, slated to open in October 2016, in Washington, D.C..

This museum has been a hundred years in the making.  In 1915, a group of black Civil War veterans attended a reunion in Washington, D.C., and called for the creation of a memorial there to recognize black achievements.

But, it wasn't until 2003 that the museum was established by Congress as part of the Smithsonian Institution and groundbreaking did not take place until 2012.

--Cooter

Marble Wars in DeKalb in 1917

From the February 15, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"The kids have made raids on various stores of the city of DeKalb the past few days, and the marble stock has taken a jump.

"Nearly every kid seen on the street has a pocket full of nibs, and after school hours can be seen several aggregations of youngsters on bended knee endeavoring to get the connies of the other fellows."

--Cooter

Leather Garnents for World War I Aviators

From the September 6, 2017, MidWeek "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"In response to a notice that appeared in The Chronicle for several days, a well-known DeKalb citizen came to the office with about 50 pounds of leather, to be given to Miss Geneve Lewis, and later made into garments for army aviators."

--DaCoot

Chicago World's Fair's "House of Tomorrow" Still Stands-- Part 2

There are four other houses from the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair in the Beverly Shores area:  the Florida Tropical House, which has a flamingo peak exterior; the Cypress Log Cabin which, of course is woodsy; the Armco-Ferro House with its glistening steel facade and the Art Deco Wieboldt-Rostone House.

By barge and truck, Chicago developer Robert Bartlett brought the Century of Progress houses to Beverly Shores to promote his plan to turn the area into a vacation destination.  But that dream died with the economic hardships of the Great Depression.

The houses all deteriorated until the early 2000s when the Indiana Landmarks began leasing them from the National Park Service, which controls the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Always Great To have Preservation.  --Cooter

Chicago World's Fair "House of Tomorrow" Still Stands in Beverly Shores, Indiana

From the October 19, 2016, Chicago Tribune "Group eyes future for '30s-era House of Tomorrow" by Blair Kamin.

It was one of the wonders of Chicago's 1933-34 World's Fair, the 12-sided, three-story House of Tomorrow.  It had huge plate glass windows, one of General Electric's first dishwashers, central air-conditioning and an attached garage.  Developed by Chicago architect George Fred Keck.

But, today, it is in sad shape in the Beverly Shores section of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.  It is covered in protective wrap.  Plans are to restore it after it is stripped down to its original steel core with some modern updates.

--CooTom

Waterman to Get Electricity in 1917

From the February 15, 2017, MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"The men of Waterman are now at work in the village building lines, etc. for the electric light system.

"They will set no date when Waterman will get power as they are so frequently delayed from lack of material."

Charging Into the 20th Century.  --Cooter

Spilling the Milk and Ink in 1917

From the February 15, 2017,  MidWeek  "Looking Back."

1917, 100 Years Ago.

"Passengers waiting waiting at the depot in DeKalb this morning had the pleasure of seeing one commodity used daily take a drop -- but  not in price.

"The 9:05 train arrived at the station and unloaded a couple cans of milk, some ink and other articles.

"The truck man started to turn around and the truck tipped over, spilling one can of milk, and also breaking a bottle of ink.  The boys up and around the depot were having considerable sport with the truck man as a result of the accident."

And Quite a Mess to Boot.  --Cooter