The Return of Drive-In Theaters-- Part 3: The Problem With Netflix and Digital Distribution

These days, movie venues must contend with the rise of Netflix and other streaming sites.  And, of course, those who people who say they'll wait until the film comes out and they can watch it on their 75-inch HDTV.  (But I say there is absolutely no comparison between a 75-inch screen and the BIG SCREEN in the theater.)

But, nearly a decade ago, they also had to deal with anothern technological upheaval -- the switch from film to digital distribution.  To show new releases, owners had to switch to digital projection systems.  And, that was a pricer upgrade.

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The article listed several well-known drive-ins across the country:

WELLFLEET DRIVE-IN on Massachusetts' Cape Cod.  Carries on the early tradition of being a comperehensive entertainment center.  In addition to its outdoor screen, the 1957 venue has an 18-hole miniature golf course that dates from 1961, an ice cream bar and even a four-screen indoor movie theater.

It is one of the few drive-ins that still offer sound through traditional stereo speakers that attach to the inside of the car window.  (They do, however, also sound via the FM radio.)

--CootGital

This Month in the American Revolution: France Becomes Ally, Treaty of Paris Ends French and Indian War

From the American Battlefield Trust.

FEBRUARY 6, 1778

**  The United  States and France become allies.

FEBRUARY 10, 1763

**  The Treaty of Paris ends the French and Indian War.  The English drive the French from North America and the English national debt soars.  This led to the unpopular taxes in the colonies.

FEBRUARY 11, 1768

**  The Massachusetts Assembly  issues the Massachusetts Circular Letter, denouncing the Townsend Acts.

FEBRUARY 14, 1779

**  Battle of Turtle Creek, Georgia.

FEBRUARY 27, 1776

**  The Battle of  Moore's Creek, North Carolina.

--Cooter

February Events in the American Revolution: Port Royal Island, Allies, Circular Letter, Kettle Creek and Moore's Creek

From the American Battlefield Trust.

FEBRUARY 3, 1779

**  Battle of Port Royal Island, South Carolina.

FEBRUARY 6, 1778

**  The United States and France become allies.

FEBRUARY 7, 1778

**  British General Howe replaced by Henry Clinton.

FEBRUARY 11, 1768

**  Massachusetts Assembly issues Massachusetts Circular Letter, denouncing the Townsend Acts.

FEBRUARY 14, 1779

**  The Battle of Kettle Creek, Georgia.

FEBRUARY 27, 1776

**  Battle of Moore's Creek, North Carolina.

--Cooter

The Truth About Plymouth Rock-- Part 2: Did They or Didn't They? Doesn't Matter

Soon, though, the rock began taking on symbolic meaning more compelling than any fact attached to it.  In 1774, with revolutionary fervor boiling in New England, some zealots in Plymouth decided to move the rock to a spot in town, where they hoped, it would stir up patriotic passions.

They accidentally cracked the rock in two, and while the lower half remained at the beach, the upper half found its way to a number of sites in Plymouth over the years.

The two halves were later mended and enshrined under a beachside temple, though the rock was trimmed to fit.  Over the years it has been carved up so often that it is estimated to be only a third of its original size.

But it remains an outsize American icon -- important not for who did or didn't step on it, but, as National Museum of American History curator Larry Bird has noted, "because of what people have turned it into."

--Cooter

400 Years Ago, This Mayflower Ship Arrived-- Part 1: Going to the New World

I saw one of those neat collector book/magazines in the local Jewel about the Mayflower and Pilgrims and then remembered those cancel culture folks want this gone because of what happened to the Indians afterwards.  I don't much like cancel culture folk anyway, so instead of burning it or protesting out in front of the store, I bought it.

I like these magazines and have been amassing a whole bunch of them.  They are generally just 100 pages long, with lots and lots of pictures, so it doesn't take too long to go through one.  These are the new coffee table books of this age I guess.

Sadly, the price of them keeps going up every year.  Now one will cost you between $13 and $15.

Anyway, since this year and month marks the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim arrival in the New World, I will be writing segments of the "Mayflower: Birth of America" book/magazine for the rest of the month.

The book magazine started off with a Pilgrim Timeline.

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1620

SEPTEMBER 6--  The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England

NOVEMBER 9--  The Mayflower's passengers spot Cape Cod, considerably north of their intended Hudson River.

NOVEMBER 11--  The Mayflower rounds the tip of Cape Cod, drops anchor near present-day Provincetown, Massachusetts and the Mayflower Compact is signed.  The people spend the next few weeks exploring Cape Cod.

DECEMBER 16--  The Mayflower arrives at Plymouth Harbor

A Bit Late in the Year to Be Starting a Colony in My Books.  --CootPil

Major Charles White Whittlesey, Cmdr. of the "Lost Batallion"-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Jan. 20, 1884--  Presumed dead Nov. 26, 1921.

United States Army officer and recipient of the Medal of Honor.  Led the "Lost Battalion" during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in World War I.

Born in Florence, Wisconsin.  Grew up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  Law degree from Harvard Law School.  Established a law firm.

One month after the U.S. entered World War I, he took leave from his partnership and entered the Army as a captain in the 308th Infantry Regiment.  Promoted to major by September 1917.

On the morning of October 2, 1918, his division, the 77th, ordered to move forward against heavily fortified German lines as part of the massive Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

--Cooter

10 Forgotten Americans-- Part 1: Slavery in New York and Massachusetts

From the March 26, 2015, ListVerse  "10 Forgotten Americans Who Made American History" by Ardelia Lee.

Remember.  More information and pictures at the site.

10.  ELIZABETH JENNINGS GRAHAM--  A black woman in New York City, who in 1854 got on a horse-drawn carriage designated for white people.

9.  JAMES ARMISTEAD LAFAYETTE--  A Virginia slave who was an American spy during the Revolutionary War.

8.  ELIZABETH FREEMAN--  Born a slave in New York.  Brought a case against her owners when they moved to Massachusetts.  Set precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts.

That's Right.  There Was Slavery in New York and Massachusetts At One  Time.  --Cooter

Salem Witch Trial Hanging Site Confirmed-- Part 2

Twenty people suspected of witchcraft were killed in Salem in 1692 during a frenzy stoked by superstition, fear of disease and strangers and petty jealousies.

Nineteen were hanged and one was crushed to death by rocks.

The top of nearby Gallows Hill had long been thought to be the site of the hangings, but there was no evidence to support that.  Proctor's Ledge is at the base of Gallows Hill.

The investigation team also determined that there was probably never a gallows at the site.  More than likely a rope was tossed over a tree branch.

Also, it is not likely that none of them were buried at Proctor's Ledge as it is too rocky and there is only shallow soil.

--DaCoot

Salem Witch Trial Hanging Site Confirmed-- Part 1

From the January 17, 2016, Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel "Researchers Confirm site of hangings for Salem witch trials" by Mark Pratt and Rodrique Ngowi, AP.

19 innocent people were slain there during 1692 hysteria.

Salem, Massachusetts.

A team of researchers using historical documents and 21st century archaeological techniques has confirmed the exact spot where 19 innocent people were hanged during the Salem Witch trials.

The site is known as  Proctor's Ledge and is in a small, city-owned plot of woods between two residential streets and behind a Walgreens pharmacy.

Historian Sidney Perley had determined Proctor's Ledge as the site nearly a century ago by using historical documents, but his findings were lost to time.

The current research, known as the Gallows Hill project set out to locate the site for sure.

--Cooter

Looking for John Belushi-- Part 4: Where Is He Buried?

"On Martha's Vineyard, off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, where Belushi has a home, there are two gravesites, a small stone that reads 'Belushi' (where he is said to be buried) and a newer, less solemn stone with a questionable epitaph: 'I may be gone but rock and roll lives on.'

"The last time I visited, this second stone, a kind of tourist decoy, was complemented by whiskey bottles, dark sunglasses and an 'Animal House' photo with an illegible thank-you note.

"At the Elmwood  Cemetery in River grove, where Belushi's parents are buried, the scene is far classier, an honorary tombstone to their son reads 'He Made Us Laugh.'"

He Sure Did Make Us Laugh.  --Cooter

Catherine Buckley: Titanic Victim-- Part 2

Her body was recovered on April 28, 1912, 13 days after the Titanic sank.  by the recovery ship Mackay-Bennett and then taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia and forwarded to Boston on May 3rd.

Information from the recovery:  "Body No. 299.  Female. Est. age 18.  False teeth, top.  Hair, dark.  Clothing: long blue overcoat; blue serge jacket & skirt, blue corset; white blouse; grey knickers; 10 s in siler; 1 pound in gold; $5 note in purse; satchel; Third Class Ticket No. 329944.  Name Catherine Buckley."

The wake was held at her cousin Nellie Buckley's house on Baker Street in West Roxbury.  The funeral was at St. Theresa Church.

Catherine Buckley: Titanic Victim-- Part 1

From Find-A-Grave site.

On April 28th, I wrote about the author of the article I was using for information had been given the name of Catherine Buckley when she boarded the Titanic Experience.  I did some more research on Catherine Buckley.

Catherine Buckley was born on June 3, 1889 in Ovens, County Cork, Ireland and is buried at Saint Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.  She was the only Irish victim of the sinking to be buried by her relatives.  She died at age 22.

Catherine was originally booked to cross the Atlantic on the White Line ship Cymric, but service on that ship was withdrawn.  She was journeying to America to stay with her sister Margaret at 71 Mount View Street, Roxbury, Massachusetts.  This became a bone in family relations as her parents had wanted her to stay in Ireland to take care of them in their old age.  After her death, her parents never forgave Margaret.

Ten Things About Harvard-- Part 1: Established 1636

From the September 4, 2013, Washingtime Times "The List: Top Ten facts about Harvard University" by John Sopko.

You know me and lists. I "gotta have 'em."

10. Established in 1636 and named for John Harvard, two years later after a very generous donation.

9. Harvard's University Library System is the third largest in the United Staes with 17 million volumes. Behind only the Library of Conress and Boston Public Library in size.

8. Member of the Elite Eight, the Ivy League, along with Yale, Brown, Columbia, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Dartmouth and Cornell.

--Cooter

The Search On for HMS Diana from the Revolutionary War

July 19, 2009, AP.

The search is on for the HMS Diana, whose wreckage is believed to be in Chelsea Creek which separates the city of Chelsea and the East Boston neighborhoods of Boston.

The ship was involved in the first naval engagement of the American Revolution. It was part of a two day battle, May 27-28, 1775. British forces were attempting to reach friendly farmers and the Diana sailed upriver to support the ground forces. It ran aground.

The State of Massachusetts has received a $48,300 grant for the Chelsea Creek Battlefield from the National Park Service to preserve it. This money is earmarked to fill in the gaps of this largely unknown battle (I'd never heard of it) and to find the Diana.

After running aground, the ship was attacked by Continental forces and the 120 ton schooner became the first British vessel to be captured or destroyed. It was built in 1774 in Massachusetts and was an unarmed private fishing boat before being purchased by the British Navy for 750 pounds.

They mounted four six-pounders and twelve swivel guns on it.

The Diana ran into unfavorable wind while engaging Colonial forces and ran aground. They refused an offer to surrender. The crew escaped and Americans boarded and removed its armament.

I Wonder If They Found It? --Cooter

Shot Heard Round the World-- Part 2

By the time Sudbury's citizens reached Concord, the fight at Lexington, "The Shot Heard Round the World" had already taken place. Eight colonists were dead. The British continued their march on Concord.

At North Bridge, they clashed with the Sudbury men and others, about 450 in all. Two Sudbury men died, but the British were forced to withdraw. On their way back to Boston, close to 4,000 patriots attacked and sniped at them.

Every year, on April 19th, men from Sudbury re-enact the march to Concord after first going to the cemetery where 15 slain townspeople are buried. Five hours later, they re-enact the shots fired at North Bridge.


LONGFELLOW'S WAYSIDE INN

Afterwards, they return to Sudbury and convene at Longfellow's Wayside Inn, the oldest operating inn in America and hoist brews in pewter mugs. The inn has been offering hospitality to travelers along the Boston Post Road since 1716.

Most likely, in 1775, it was called How's Tavern when innkeeper Ezekiel How was among the militia leaders who led the force to Concord. After visiting the place in 1862, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote Tales of a Wayside Inn.

Later, Henry Ford owned it and relocated on its property a one-room schoolhouse associated with the 18th-century nursery-rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Great History in Sudbury. --Cooter

One of the Last Massachusetts Pearl Harbor Survivors Dies

From the July 26th Patriot (Mass) Ledger.

Earl Kuja, 94, of Quincy, Massachusetts was at Pearl harbor on that fateful day. With his passing, only 12 men who were there remain alive in the state.

He joined the Army July 8, 1941, and was stationed in Hawaii when the attack took place. He later recalled, "They blew reveille and we got in trucks and we went down to Hickam Field to protect it. We were down there within an hour and a half, and we started to shoot at some planes. We could look right at Pearl Harbor and the planes flew so low we could see the pilots."

He was not injured and sent a telegram home afterwards that only said, "I'm safe."

The Greatest Generation.