About That Las Vegas Town-- Part 5: Bigger and Grander

In the 1990s, Vegas developers began thinking even bigger, and the arrival of the great pyramid of the Luxur Hotel and Casino in 1993 began an ostentatious decade of international icons arriving in reduced size along the Strip as new casinos sought to become the next big thing.

Where else can you find the Eiffel Tower, Venetian canals and New York skyscrapers all within walking distance?

Yet perhaps nothing catches the eye quite like the show-stopping, cutting-edge tech of the Sphere, the largest spherical structure on the planet, which opened as a concert venue in Vegas last year.  Such grandeur, often with a touch of gaudiness, defines the Strip. 

--DaCoot

USS Winslow (TB-5)-- Part 3: One Battered Ship

Badly damaged, the Winslow was towed clear of the action.  Her commanding officer and a number of other in the crew were wounded.  

Lt. Bernadou saw to it that the wounded and dead were transferred to the Hudson and then left the ship himself, turning command over to Chief Gunner's Mate  George F. Brady, who, along with Chief Gunner's Mate  Hans Johnsen and Chief Machinist  Thomas C. Cooney-- later received Medals of Honor and was promoted to warrant officer.

The day following the engagement, the Winslow arrived at Key West for temporary repairs there and in Mobile, Alabama.  She returned to Key West for ten days before sailing  noth on 16 August.  After brief stops at Port Royal, S.C., and Norfolk, the Winslow reached NewYork on 27 August.  She was placed out of commission at the New York Navy Yard on 7 September 1898 to begin more extensive repairs.  This was one battered ship.

Except for a brief trip to Philadelphia in mid-October, the Winslow remained inactive until early 1901.  She then was in a decommissioned status in New York and later at Norfolk Navy Yard where she was listed as in reserve.

--Cooter

This Month in the American Revolution

From the American Battlefield Trust 2022 calendar.

NOVEMBER 13, 1775

**  Americans take Montreal

NOVEMBER 16, 1776

**  Battle of Fort Washington, New York.

NOVEMBER 16, 1777

**  British capture Fort Mifflin, Pennsylvania.

NOVEMBER 19-21, 1775

**  Siege of Ninety Six, South Carolina.

NOVEMBER 20, 1776

**  British capture Fort Lee, New Jersey.

NOVEMBER 25, 1783

**  British evacuate New York City.

--Cooter

Prohibition Hangover- Part 6: Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

Michael Lerner, in his book "Dry Manhattan:  Prohibition in New York City," says courtrooms and jails were so overcrowded that judges began accepting plea bargains, "making it a common practice in American jurisprudence for the first time."

Anti-immigrant sentiment was a factor behind Prohibition, partly because of record-high immigration in the preceding decades.

Saloons in immigrant neighborhoods were prime targets because middle-class white Protestants viewed them as political and social danger zones.

"Often the political machines run by the bosses were based in these saloons, or used them for extending favors," Aaron Cowan said.  "So there was a concern about political corruption, changing social values, immigrants learning radical politics."

Prohibition's start in 1920 coincided with a major expansion of the Ku Klux Klan, which supported the ban on alcohol as it waged its anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic and racist activities.

The Volstead Act "provided a way for the Klan to legitimize its 100% Americanist mission -- it could target the drinking of those they perceived to be their enemies," McGirr said.

--CootDrinking

50 Things About 'The Godfather'-- Part 2: 'Leave the Gun, Take the ...'

8.  The studio wanted "The Godfather" to be set in modern times (the 70s back then) and perhaps Kansas City to save in the budget, but Coppola insisted on keeping it in New York from 1945 to 1955.  Aren't we glad he did.

9.  Actor Richard Castellano, playing Clemenza, improvised one of the most memorable lines in the film:  "Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

10.  Francis For Coppola's good friend, George Lucas was in charge of the montage of newspaper headlines and crime scene photos depicting the bloody war between the five families.

11.  Lucas' contributions was his way of saying thanks to his friend Francis, who helped raise funds for his "American Graffiti."

12.  Coppola's father Carmine is the piano player in the aforementioned montage.

13.  The combined salaries of Al Pacino, James Caan and Diane Keaton was $105,000.  They were each paid $35,000.

14.  Robert Duval was paid $36,000 for his two months of work.  He must have had a better agent.

--Cooter

Twelve More Revolution Cannons Found in Savannah River-- Part 3:

The HMS Rose was a brig that carried 160 men and twenty 9-pounder cannons.  Earlier, it had worked to control smuggling in Rhode Island and fought and patrolled waters off New York City and up the Hudson River.  Later, it switched operations to the south as the British were hoping they could get the support of many Loyalists there and the ship ended up in Savannah, Georgia, after the British captured it.

But with French ships closing in on the city, the Rose was scuttled on September  19, 1779, to block the Savannah River.

It is possible that the cannons also may have belonged to the  HMS Venus or HMS Savannah which were also scuttled.  The French did not capture the city and kept control of it until almost the war's end.  (I could not find any records on these two ships as British Navy ones, but likely were troopships.  I have seen a couple places where it was mentioned that ships by these names were sunk in the river.)

The cannons appear to date from about the mid 1700s, which would put them  closely aligned to the Rose's history.

The ones found last February were about five feet long.

An interesting story.

--DaCootRose

Colonel John Boyd, Tory Commander

From American Battlefield Trust.

He commanded the Tories at the Battle of Kettle Creek, Georgia.

Information about John Boys id unfortunately extremely sparse.  It is also possible that his name might have even been James.

In any event, he was probably a landowner in South Carolina.  After the British capture of New York City, Boyd traveled north  and met with Sir Henry Clinton, receiving a commission and orders to form a Loyalist regiment in the South.

In November 1778, Boyd accompanied British Colonel Archibald Campbell's expedition to Savannah, Georgia, which was captured by British forces on December 29, 1778.  After Campbell followed up his victory by moving inland and capturing  Augusta, Georgia, Boyd was dispatched north to raise a force of Loyalists in the Carolinas.

He was attacked at Kettle Creek on his return journey after completing his recruitment expedition.  Boyd was buried in an unmarked grave on the Battle of Kettle Creek site.

It has not been located.

--Brock-Perry

Ten World Engineering Marvels-- Part 4: Netherlands and Da Subways

9.  NETHERLANDS NORTH SEA PROTECTION WORKS

With parts of their country below sea level, a system of floodgates, storm surge barriers and dams to prevent flooding and claim land from the sea, Netherlands constructed this.

The project began in 1927 with the construction of a 19-mile long dike, decades of land reclamation followed.

10.  NEW YORK AND BOSTON SUBWAYS

Horse-drawn carriages clogged the streets (and left behind certain droppings) and then there were the elevated trains with their soot, so leaders in Boston and New York took another way to solve the problem.  And that was to go underground.

Boston opened its subway in 1897 and New York City  seven years later.

--CootSubs

Ten World Engineering Marvels-- Part 3: The Chunnel, Railroad and Liberty

6.  CHANNEL TUNNEL

Opened in 1994 after six years of construction connecting Great Britain with the rest of Europe.  Known as the "Chunnel"  Thirty-one miles long.  Since they built it from both ends don't you know they were kind of hoping they'd come together at the same spot.

7.  TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD

Work on it began even as the Civil War was being fought.  Went eastward from Sacramento, California and west from Omaha, Nebraska.  Completed with the Golden Spike in 1869.

Cross-country travel in the United States  was cut from months to under a week.

8.  STATUE OF LIBERTY

A symbol of friendship between France and the United States.  It was dedicated in New York Harbor in 1886.

--CootTun

9/11 Timeline-- Part 5: Flight 93, Collapse of the North Tower and the Seven World Trade Center Building

All times are Eastern.

**  10:07 am:  After passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked Flight 93 contact friends and family and learn about the attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., they mount an attempt to retake the plane.  In response, the hijackers deliberately crash the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania., killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard.

**  10:28 am:  The World Trade Center's North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

**  11 am:  New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani calls for the evacuation of Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street, including more than one million residents,  workers and tourists, as efforts continue throughout the afternoon to search for survivors.

**  1 pm;  At Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, President Bush announces that U.S. forces are on high alert throughout the world.

**  2:51 pm:  The U.S. Navy dispatches missile destroyers to New York and Washington, D.C.

**  5:20 pm:  The 47-story Seven World Trade Center building collapses after burning for hours; the building had been evacuated in the morning, and there are no casualties., though the collapse forces rescue workers to flee for their lives.

A Sad Day in U.S. history.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 4: Flight 77 Crashes Into the Pentagon and South Tower Collapses

Times are Eastern.

**  9:21 am:  The New York Port Authority closes all bridges and tunnels in the New York City area.

**  9:24 The FAA notifies NEADS of the suspected  hijacking of Flight  77 after some passengers and crew aboard the aircraft are able to contact family members on the ground.

**  9:31:  Speaking from Florida, President Bush calls the events in New York City an "apparent terrorist attack on our country."

9:37:  Terrorists aboard Flight 77 crash the plane into the western facade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 civilian and military personnel inside the building.

9:42:  For the first time in history, the FAA grounds  all flights over the continental United States.  Over the next two and a half hours, some 3,300 commercial flights and 1,200 private planes are guided to land in airports in Canada and the United States.

9:45:  Among escalating rumors of other attacks, the White House and U.S. Capitol building are evacuated along with numerous other high-profile buildings, landmarks and public spaces.

9:59:  The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

I conducted my regular class schedule for first period.  It ended at 8:45 am (9:45 Eastern) and that is when I learned about what was going on from another teacher.  I went back inside the room (we had to watch the halls during passing time) and tried to get reception on my 12-inch black and white TV, but couldn't, so turned on the radio.

Second period started at 8:50.  We listened to that radio and talked about what had happened the rest of the day in my next four classes.

A Timeline of 9/11-- Part 3: The Second Crash

**  8:47 am:  Within seconds after the first crash, NYPD and NYFD dispatch units to the World Trade Center, while Port Authority officers on the site begin immediate evacuation of the North Tower.

**  8:50:   White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card alerts  President George W. Bush that a plane has hit the World Trade Center; the president is visiting a m elementary school in Sarasota, Florida, at the time.

**  9:02:  After initially telling occupants of the WTC's South Tower to remain in the building, Port Authority officials broadcast orders to evacuate both towers via the public address system; an estimated  10,000 to 14,000 are already in the process of evacuating.

**  9:03 am:  Hijackers crash United Airlines175 into floors 75-85 of the WTC's South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds in the tower.

**  9:08 am:  The FAA Bans all takeoffs of flights going to New York City or through airspace around the city.

At 7:50 am I was outside my room supervising the arrival of students.  By 7:55 they were in the room and working on the Daily Challenge questions on the board while I took attendance.  Completely oblivious about what was going on.

This Date in History, August 5: Sir William Wallace, Chicago and Cleveland's Lights

From the August 5, 2021 Chicago tribune "On August 5..."

Some very interesting things happening this date in history.

1305:  Sir William Wallace who unsuccessfully led Scottish resistance to the English in 1298, was captured near Glasgow by the English; he was executed for treason on August 23, 1305.  (From the movie "Braveheart.")

1833:  Chicago was incorporated as a village with population of 200.  (And, they weren't killing each other back then.)

1861:  The U.S. government levied an income tax for the first time.  Incomes of more than $800 were taxed at the rate of 3 percent.  (Funds needed to fight the Civil War.)

1884:  The cornerstone of the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe's (now Liberty) Island near the entrance of New York Harbor.

1914:  The first electric traffic lights were installed in Cleveland, Ohio.

--Cooter

May 1, 1931: New York City's Empire State Building Officially Opens, The 'Empty State Building'

Just over 90 years ago.

In its first year, only 23% of the available space was sold.  The lack of tenants led New Yorkers to dismiss the building as the "Empty State Building."  Why, even King Kong had not yet climbed it.

On its first year, the Observation Deck pulled in approximately $2 million in revenue, equal to what the owners collected in rent.

Perhaps that little ol' Great Depression had something to do with it?

The building first turned a profit in the 1950s.

Where was the Donald when he was needed?

--CooterState

Some More 2020 Deaths, October-December: Gibson, Morgan, Dinkins, Maradona, Prowse, and Johnson

DEATHS IN OCTOBER

BOB GIBSON, 84

Baseball Hall of Famer and dominating St. Louis Cardinals pitcher.  Died October 2.

JOE MORGAN, 77

Hall of Fame second baseman became the sparkplug of the dominant Cincinnati teams of the mid-1970s.  Died October 11.

*********************************

DEATHS IN NOVEMBER

DAVID DINKINS, 93

Broke barriers as New York City's first black mayor.  Died November 23.

DIEGO MARADONA, 60

Argentine soccer great who scored the "Hand of God" goal in 1986 and led his country to that year's World Cup title.  Died November 25.

DAVE PROWSE, 85

British weight lifter-turned-actor who was the body of arch-villain Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" trilogy.  Died November 28.

********************************

DECEMBER

RAFER JOHNSON, 86

Won the decathlon at the 1960 Rome Olympics and helped subdue Robert F. Kennedy's assassin in 1968.  Died December 2.

William J. Worth, U.S. Soldier in Three Wars

I have been writing about William J. Worth in my Not So Forgotten:  War of 1812 blog.

He was an officer in the War of 1812, Second Seminole War and the Mexican War and at one time, a close friend of Winfield Scott.

After the Mexican War he was almost involved in a plot to kick the Spanish out of Cuba.

He is buried under the Worth Memorial in New York City.

Interesting Reading.  --Cooter

We Spent the Next Week in Class Studying About 9-11 and Events As They Unfolded

I not only stopped my lesson plans for September 1, but continued doing so for the next week.  I told my students this was going to be their Pearl Harbor or JFK assassination.

We located Israel, the Arab countries of the Middle East as well as Washington, D.C., New York City and Pennsylvania, all major parts of 9-11.

I then started talking about world events that led up to what happened.

My seventh graders then began writing a 500-word essay on their own experience on 9-11.  You can't get any closer to history than when you write about something you have actually experienced.

I retired in 2006, but every one of my classes after 2001 had to write a 500-word essay on their experiences from that day.  They could also include what happened to the rest of their relatives on that day.

Death of Olivia Hooker in 2018-- Part 5: One of First Women in Coast Guard and a PH.D.

She was stationed in Boston and performed administrative duties before the SPARs program was disbanded in 1946.  She was discharged as a petty officer 2nd class, according to a Coast Guard report, then went on to complete her doctorate.

She became a senior clinical lecturer at Fordham in 1963 and retired from the university in 1985.

Thirty years later, the Coast Guard named a building on Staten Island after her, breaking a tradition of ship- and building-christening in honor only of those who have died.  The service said it was making an exception because of her "distinguished service to the Coast Guard and her wonderful efforts in serving and helping others."

Death of McSorley's Matty Maher-- Part 3: About Those Chicken Wings and Women

In the last post, I mentioned that there was a collection of chicken wings in New York City's McSorley's.  It would seem that this would be something a bit out of the ordinary in a bar.  And it is.

Matty Maher would explain that they dated to World War I, when departing doughboys, after finishing their last full meal stateside, would hang the bones above the bar as a good luck wish that they would return safely.

In 1970, Mayor John V. Lindsay signed legislation barring discrimination in public places because of gender.  Altercations erupted at McSorley's between longtime customers and the female newcomers.

"I'm afraid it will be this way for a few days," Maher said.    If anything, he continued, it helped business.  But it took until 1986 before McSorley's added a female bathroom

Death of Matty Maher of McSorley's, a NYC Icon-- Part 2: A Chance Meeting, a Job, and Those Chicken Wings

In 1936, the McSorley famiky sold the bar to Daniel O'Connell, a patron and police officer, who left it to his daughter Dorothy Kirwin.  In 1964, while vacationing in Kilkenny, Ireland, Kirwin's husband, Harry, was stranded with a flat tire when who should come along but 25-year-old Matty Maher.

Harry Kirwin promised Matty a job at McSorley's if he ever moved to New York.  Matty accepted, got the job and in 1977 bought the bar and the building it occupies at 15 East Seventh St.

McSorley's is noted for a sawdust -sprinkled floor and various memorabilia, including a pair of Harry Houdini's escape-proof handcuffs, a wanted poster for "the Murderer" John Wilkes Booth and an icky accumulation of wishbones that hang from a gas lamp over the bar.

There is a story behind those chicken bones.

Next.  --Cooter