9. The 1948 election saw Strom Thurmond, the States Rights Party candidate, spit virulent racism at every turn, but it was the Progressive Party's HENRY WALLACE who walked into the buzz saw of public disfavor. In the midst of a Red Scare, Wallace made the mistake of suggesting there was more than one way to deal with the Soviet Union
The blow-back was staggering. The Pittsburgh Press published the names, addresses and workplaces of Wallace's supporters. Other supporters were arrested, beaten and even killed. And in new York, a judge said support for Wallace could weigh against a parent in a child-custody case.
10. BOB DOLE lost several bids for the presidency, but he never lost his sense of humor. After his defeats, he said, "I slept like a baby. Every two hours I woke up and cried."
Wonder What Wallace Said About the Soviet Union? --Cooter
Showing posts with label Ten Things You Might Not Know About. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ten Things You Might Not Know About. Show all posts
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Presidential Also-Rans-- Part 4: Catholic and Wet and the Nine-Vote Question
7. New York Gov. Al Smith. the Democratic candidate in 1928, faced nasty campaign tactics targeting his Catholicism. One example: A photo of the Holland Tunnel linking New York and New Jersey with a caption saying it secretly led to the Vatican.
If that weren't enough, Smith also strongly opposed Prohibition, which put him in the wet camp. Naturally, his campaign buttons read: "Vote for Al Smith and Make Your Wet Dreams Come true." He lost in a landslide to Herbert Hoover. Well, at least he didn't get tagged with the Great Depression like Hoover.
8. MARTIN VAN BUREN's Free Soil candidacy in 1848 was America's first serious third-party movement, but its Abolitionist stance didn't get it anywhere in the South.
Still, when Van Buren was credited with just nine votes in the whole state of Virginia out of 92,000 cast, his campaign called foul. A Virginia wit responded, "Yes, fraud, and we're still looking for the son-of-a-bitch who voted nine times."
And I Thought That Only Happened in Chicago. --DaCoot
If that weren't enough, Smith also strongly opposed Prohibition, which put him in the wet camp. Naturally, his campaign buttons read: "Vote for Al Smith and Make Your Wet Dreams Come true." He lost in a landslide to Herbert Hoover. Well, at least he didn't get tagged with the Great Depression like Hoover.
8. MARTIN VAN BUREN's Free Soil candidacy in 1848 was America's first serious third-party movement, but its Abolitionist stance didn't get it anywhere in the South.
Still, when Van Buren was credited with just nine votes in the whole state of Virginia out of 92,000 cast, his campaign called foul. A Virginia wit responded, "Yes, fraud, and we're still looking for the son-of-a-bitch who voted nine times."
And I Thought That Only Happened in Chicago. --DaCoot
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Presidential Also-Rans-- Part 3 Harold Stassen and Grover Cleveland
5. HAROLD STASSEN started out as a prodigy, becoming the youngest governor of Minnesota at age 31. He ended up as a joke, running for the Republican presidential nomination nine times and coming up empty.
Even so, he chalked up some impressive accomplishments, including appointing the first black officer in his state's National Guard and signing the United Nations Charter, one of eight Americans to do so.
6. Just one man, Franklin D. Roosevelt, has been American voters' choice for president more than once according to history books. But GROVER CLEVELAND did capture the most votes in three consecutive elections: 1884, 1888 and 1892.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, Republican Benjamin Harrison grabbed more electoral votes and the presidency in 1888. Cleveland had to settle for being the only president to serve nonconsecutive terms.
--Cooter
Even so, he chalked up some impressive accomplishments, including appointing the first black officer in his state's National Guard and signing the United Nations Charter, one of eight Americans to do so.
6. Just one man, Franklin D. Roosevelt, has been American voters' choice for president more than once according to history books. But GROVER CLEVELAND did capture the most votes in three consecutive elections: 1884, 1888 and 1892.
Unfortunately for Cleveland, Republican Benjamin Harrison grabbed more electoral votes and the presidency in 1888. Cleveland had to settle for being the only president to serve nonconsecutive terms.
--Cooter
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Presidential Also-Rans-- Part 2: A Hog Named Pigasus and Samuel Tilden
I understand that the Chicago tribune now has a book on these Ten-Things You Might Not Know pages. Well worth buying.
3. The anti-war protesters who descended on Chicago for the democratic National Convention in 1968 were adept at publicity. near the Picasso sculpture downtown, they appeared with a hog named PIGASUS and announced him as their candidate for president.
Seven protesters were arrested on charges of disturbing the peace and Pigasus was taken to the Anti-Cruelty Society, later to be adopted by a farmer in Grayslake. At the jail, a police officer told the suspects: "I've got bad news for you, boys. The pig squealed."
No way to treat a presidential candidate.
4. SAMUEL TILDEN infamously lost the hotly contested 1876 election by one electoral vote to Rutherford B. Hayes, but that didn't stop Wichita Falls, Texas, from including him when it named streets after presidents, slipping Tilden Street between Grant and Hayes streets. (In case you're wondering if you ever visit there.)
--Cooter
3. The anti-war protesters who descended on Chicago for the democratic National Convention in 1968 were adept at publicity. near the Picasso sculpture downtown, they appeared with a hog named PIGASUS and announced him as their candidate for president.
Seven protesters were arrested on charges of disturbing the peace and Pigasus was taken to the Anti-Cruelty Society, later to be adopted by a farmer in Grayslake. At the jail, a police officer told the suspects: "I've got bad news for you, boys. The pig squealed."
No way to treat a presidential candidate.
4. SAMUEL TILDEN infamously lost the hotly contested 1876 election by one electoral vote to Rutherford B. Hayes, but that didn't stop Wichita Falls, Texas, from including him when it named streets after presidents, slipping Tilden Street between Grant and Hayes streets. (In case you're wondering if you ever visit there.)
--Cooter
Monday, February 15, 2016
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Presidential Also-Rans-- Part 1: "Live Forever" Jones and Victoria Woodhull
From the Aug. 2, 2015, Chicago Tribune by Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer, researchers par excellence.
I don't know about you, but I haven't picked a candidate yet. I don't like any of them, but regardless, someone is going to end up as an also-ran.
The two did this one because of the upcoming Republican presidential debate back then.
1. Back in the mid-19th century, LEONARD "LIVE FOREVER" JONES of Kentucky believed that if people lived a sinless life, they would never die. He envisioned a world of immortals where cemeteries would be unnecessary. he ran for the High Moral Party, but never made much headway in elections. He must have sinned because he died in 1868.
2. VICTORIA WOODHULL of Ohio is considered the first female candidate for president. She was quite an amazing public figure, advocating women's sexual freedom, a Wall street broker, spiritual healer and the first American publisher of "The Communist Manifesto."
Ran for the equal Rights Party for president in 1872, even though women did not yet have the right to vote and she wasn't the minimum age of 35. She spent election day in jail on charge of sending obscene materials through the mail. If she received any votes, they weren't counted.
She left for England in 1977 and became one of the first women there to own a car.
--Cooter
I don't know about you, but I haven't picked a candidate yet. I don't like any of them, but regardless, someone is going to end up as an also-ran.
The two did this one because of the upcoming Republican presidential debate back then.
1. Back in the mid-19th century, LEONARD "LIVE FOREVER" JONES of Kentucky believed that if people lived a sinless life, they would never die. He envisioned a world of immortals where cemeteries would be unnecessary. he ran for the High Moral Party, but never made much headway in elections. He must have sinned because he died in 1868.
2. VICTORIA WOODHULL of Ohio is considered the first female candidate for president. She was quite an amazing public figure, advocating women's sexual freedom, a Wall street broker, spiritual healer and the first American publisher of "The Communist Manifesto."
Ran for the equal Rights Party for president in 1872, even though women did not yet have the right to vote and she wasn't the minimum age of 35. She spent election day in jail on charge of sending obscene materials through the mail. If she received any votes, they weren't counted.
She left for England in 1977 and became one of the first women there to own a car.
--Cooter
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Ten Things You Didn't Know About Sweaters-- Part 4: Wall Street's Sweater Girl and Ugly Christmas Sweaters
9. For a short time in late 1968, Francine Gottfried was famous. Dubbed "WALL STREET'S SWEATER GIRL," the 21-year-old bank data processing worker took the same route to work every day, and large crowds of men began gathering near the New York Stock Exchange to ogle her tight sweaters.
Before the furor subsided, 10,000 gawkers showed up one day. "These people in Wall Street have the responsibility of handling millions of dollars and they act like they are out of their minds," said Gottfried, who moved on to work somewhere else. Her treatment inspired feminists to stage an "Ogle-In" on June 9, 1970, leering at male passers-by and commenting loudly about their body parts.
10. UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS used to be what made your grandmother special. Now they are a thing, a meme, a point of (ironic) hipster pride-- and big business. There are a 21-event 5K charity race series and numerous pub crawls, and the so-called National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day is the second Friday of September.
People hold ugly-sweater-themed parties, and if you can't figure out how to do it by yourself, there's a book. Major retailers claim to have have THE ugliest sweater.
I feel that I Missed Out in 1968. --Cootleer
Before the furor subsided, 10,000 gawkers showed up one day. "These people in Wall Street have the responsibility of handling millions of dollars and they act like they are out of their minds," said Gottfried, who moved on to work somewhere else. Her treatment inspired feminists to stage an "Ogle-In" on June 9, 1970, leering at male passers-by and commenting loudly about their body parts.
10. UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS used to be what made your grandmother special. Now they are a thing, a meme, a point of (ironic) hipster pride-- and big business. There are a 21-event 5K charity race series and numerous pub crawls, and the so-called National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day is the second Friday of September.
People hold ugly-sweater-themed parties, and if you can't figure out how to do it by yourself, there's a book. Major retailers claim to have have THE ugliest sweater.
I feel that I Missed Out in 1968. --Cootleer
Monday, February 1, 2016
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Sweaters-- Part 3: Hockey Jerseys?, Turtlenecks and TV
6. HOCKEY PLAYERS don't wear jerseys; they wear sweaters. Or, at least they are called sweaters, harking back to the days when games were often played outdoors.
7. English playwright Noel Coward popularized the TURTLENECK SWEATER in the 1920s, giving men the courage to come out of their shells and flout the shirt-and-tie status quo. But it was 1967 that was declared "Year of the Turtle" by a fashion magazine. Popular with beatniks and artists, the fad was powered by the likes of Johnny Carson, Sammy Davis Jr., Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Steve McQueen.
8. In October 2013, Norway's NRK television network broadcast "National Knitting Evening," a show lasting about 12 hours-- that covered the complete sweater-making process from lamb shearing to the knitting of the garment. More than 1.2 million people watched the program.
Winder how many fell asleep.
Must-See TV Indeed. --Cooter
7. English playwright Noel Coward popularized the TURTLENECK SWEATER in the 1920s, giving men the courage to come out of their shells and flout the shirt-and-tie status quo. But it was 1967 that was declared "Year of the Turtle" by a fashion magazine. Popular with beatniks and artists, the fad was powered by the likes of Johnny Carson, Sammy Davis Jr., Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Steve McQueen.
8. In October 2013, Norway's NRK television network broadcast "National Knitting Evening," a show lasting about 12 hours-- that covered the complete sweater-making process from lamb shearing to the knitting of the garment. More than 1.2 million people watched the program.
Winder how many fell asleep.
Must-See TV Indeed. --Cooter
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Sweaters-- Part 2: Good Old Charlie Brown, Mandigans and Dust Storms
3. Some people describe "Peanuts" character CHARLIE BROWN'S's zigzag garment as a sweater and others call it a shirt. In any case that's not what he was wearing when the comic strip debuted in 1950. "For the first two weeks of the strip, he wore a plain white T-shirt," cartoonist Charles Schulz recalled. "But then I realized the strip needed more color, so i drew a sweater."
4. A cardigan worn by a man is sometimes called a MANDIGAN.
5. The inexpensive cashmere sweater you get for a steal cost more than you think. The world's insatiable appetite for the famously soft garments led to overgrazing on the Alashan grasslands in China which in turn was a major factor in the increase of DUST STORMS so vast they crossed the Pacific Ocean and polluted the air in the United States.
--GreGen
4. A cardigan worn by a man is sometimes called a MANDIGAN.
5. The inexpensive cashmere sweater you get for a steal cost more than you think. The world's insatiable appetite for the famously soft garments led to overgrazing on the Alashan grasslands in China which in turn was a major factor in the increase of DUST STORMS so vast they crossed the Pacific Ocean and polluted the air in the United States.
--GreGen
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Sweaters-- Part 1: Assassination Attempts and Cardigans
From the December 25, 2015, Chicago Tribune by Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer.
In this time of Ugliest Christmas Sweaters.
1. Sweaters keep out the cold, but also might save your life. In 1978, during the COLD WAR, an assassination attempt on Bulgarian defector Vladimir Kostov, a former state radio editor who lived in Paris was thwarted when a poison dart failed to penetrate his thick woolen sweater.
2. JAMES THOMAS BRUDENELL was the British officer who led the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. he is also remembered as the man whose subordinates wore a distinctive type of knitted clothing to ward off Crimea's chilly weather. The garment was ultimately named for Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan.
Warm Me Up. --Cootsweater
In this time of Ugliest Christmas Sweaters.
1. Sweaters keep out the cold, but also might save your life. In 1978, during the COLD WAR, an assassination attempt on Bulgarian defector Vladimir Kostov, a former state radio editor who lived in Paris was thwarted when a poison dart failed to penetrate his thick woolen sweater.
2. JAMES THOMAS BRUDENELL was the British officer who led the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. he is also remembered as the man whose subordinates wore a distinctive type of knitted clothing to ward off Crimea's chilly weather. The garment was ultimately named for Brudenell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan.
Warm Me Up. --Cootsweater
Monday, January 11, 2016
Ten Things You Might Not Know About December Holidays-- Part 4: Nativity Scene, Mayor Daley on Mistletoe, "The Night Before Christmas"
8. The Christmas tradition of kissing someone under the mistletoe took on a decidedly Chicagp bent in 1975. The first Mayor Richard Daley was fiercely protective of his family.
Responding to criticism that he funneled city business to a company that employed his son, he responded, "There's a mistletoe hanging from my coattail."
9. St. Francis of Assisi is credited with making the nativity scene part of the Christmas tradition. In 1223, he organized a live creche to emphasize Jesus' humble beginnings.
10. We were all told that the poem "The Night before Christmas" was written by Clement Clarke Moore, a Manhattan scholar. But the facts are squishier. For starters, the poem was first published as "A Visit From St. Nicholas."
For another thing, Moore may not have written it. Literary sleuth Donald Foster investigated the poem and concluded that Moore was lying. Foster thinks the author was amateur poet Henry Livingston, Jr. of Poughkeepsie, N.Y..
Foster says the poem bears the style, outlook and cultural references of Livinsgton, not Moore. Moore didn't claim ownership until 1844, nineteen years after the poem's anonymous appearance in a Troy, N.Y., newspaper.
By that time, Livinston was dead. Before coming forward as the author, Moore wrote to that paper and asked whether anyone remembered the poem's author. The answer came back that anyone who might have known was dead or gone. Moore claimed it.
Twas the Night before Christmas and Who Did It? --DaCoot
Responding to criticism that he funneled city business to a company that employed his son, he responded, "There's a mistletoe hanging from my coattail."
9. St. Francis of Assisi is credited with making the nativity scene part of the Christmas tradition. In 1223, he organized a live creche to emphasize Jesus' humble beginnings.
10. We were all told that the poem "The Night before Christmas" was written by Clement Clarke Moore, a Manhattan scholar. But the facts are squishier. For starters, the poem was first published as "A Visit From St. Nicholas."
For another thing, Moore may not have written it. Literary sleuth Donald Foster investigated the poem and concluded that Moore was lying. Foster thinks the author was amateur poet Henry Livingston, Jr. of Poughkeepsie, N.Y..
Foster says the poem bears the style, outlook and cultural references of Livinsgton, not Moore. Moore didn't claim ownership until 1844, nineteen years after the poem's anonymous appearance in a Troy, N.Y., newspaper.
By that time, Livinston was dead. Before coming forward as the author, Moore wrote to that paper and asked whether anyone remembered the poem's author. The answer came back that anyone who might have known was dead or gone. Moore claimed it.
Twas the Night before Christmas and Who Did It? --DaCoot
Ten Things You Might Not Know About December Holidays-- Part 2: On the Outs and Boxing Day
6. Among the holiday traditions on the decline are tinsel and spray cans of fake snow. Already declared dead are aluminum trees, which became uncool when they were denounced on TV's "A Charlie Brown Christmas." I used to hate putting tinsel on the tree and, even worse, taking it off.
7. Boxing Day is a weird holiday. No one is sure when it got started or why it got its name. Celebrated in many British-influenced lands, Boxing Day is traditionally the day after Christmas.
It may be an offshoot of St. Stephen's, which is what the Irish call it.
In Canada and England, it has turned into a shopping frenzy like America's Black Friday.
The "box" in Boxing Day may be the donation bins of the Anglican Church that were opened for the poor on Dec. 26. Or, the name may come from the boxed presents that British aristocrats gave to the help the day after Christmas.
--OutoftheBoxCoot
7. Boxing Day is a weird holiday. No one is sure when it got started or why it got its name. Celebrated in many British-influenced lands, Boxing Day is traditionally the day after Christmas.
It may be an offshoot of St. Stephen's, which is what the Irish call it.
In Canada and England, it has turned into a shopping frenzy like America's Black Friday.
The "box" in Boxing Day may be the donation bins of the Anglican Church that were opened for the poor on Dec. 26. Or, the name may come from the boxed presents that British aristocrats gave to the help the day after Christmas.
--OutoftheBoxCoot
Friday, January 8, 2016
Ten Things You May Not Know About December Holidays-- Part 2: Kwanzaa, Abraham Lincoln
4. Kwanzaa, which is observed Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, is a nonreligious holiday that celebrates black culture. The weeklong event highlights seven principles, including Nia, which is Swahili for "purpose." That's how actress Nia Long got her name.
5. Abraham Lincoln's youngest son, Thomas, nicknamed Tad, was known as a sensitive youngster. On Christmas 1864, Tad, then ten, took the spirit of the season to heart and invited some street urchins into the White House for a meal.
The cooks refused to feed them until Tad took the issue to the president, who ordered that the children be fed.
--Cooter
5. Abraham Lincoln's youngest son, Thomas, nicknamed Tad, was known as a sensitive youngster. On Christmas 1864, Tad, then ten, took the spirit of the season to heart and invited some street urchins into the White House for a meal.
The cooks refused to feed them until Tad took the issue to the president, who ordered that the children be fed.
--Cooter
Ten Things You Might Not Know About December Holidays-- Part 1: Poinsettias, Hanukkah, Rudolph
December 25,2015, Chicago Tribune by Mark Jacobs and Stephan Benzkofer.
Master researchers in anybody's book.
1. The traditional Christmas plant we call the poinsettia was known to the Aztecs as cuetlaxochitl. It's current name came from the first U.S. envoy to Mexico, Joel R. Poinsett, who noticed the plant being used for holiday celebrations and sent a few north to the United States in the 1820s.
2. Hanukkah, based on the Jewish calendar, is a wandering holiday. This year the eight-day celebration begins at sunset Dec. 20. It 2016, it starts on Christmas Eve. In 2013, it was Thanksgiving eve, Nov. 27.
3. Rudolph, who now resides at the North Pole, was born in 1939. The Montgomery Ward department store chain assigned ad copywriter Robert May to compose a Christmas poem that could be distributed to customers nationwide.
He wrote "Rollo the Red-Nosed Reindeer," but execs didn't like the name. May's third name, Rudolph, was accepted, and the poem was shared with millions of customers.
--DaCootdeer
Master researchers in anybody's book.
1. The traditional Christmas plant we call the poinsettia was known to the Aztecs as cuetlaxochitl. It's current name came from the first U.S. envoy to Mexico, Joel R. Poinsett, who noticed the plant being used for holiday celebrations and sent a few north to the United States in the 1820s.
2. Hanukkah, based on the Jewish calendar, is a wandering holiday. This year the eight-day celebration begins at sunset Dec. 20. It 2016, it starts on Christmas Eve. In 2013, it was Thanksgiving eve, Nov. 27.
3. Rudolph, who now resides at the North Pole, was born in 1939. The Montgomery Ward department store chain assigned ad copywriter Robert May to compose a Christmas poem that could be distributed to customers nationwide.
He wrote "Rollo the Red-Nosed Reindeer," but execs didn't like the name. May's third name, Rudolph, was accepted, and the poem was shared with millions of customers.
--DaCootdeer
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Ten Things You Didn't Know About "Miracle on 34th Street"-- Part 1: A Real Parade
From Country Living. Has pictures and more information.
This past Monday, we watched the remake and colorized versions of the movie. It is my fourth favorite Christmas movie.
1. Co-stars were good friends off screen: Maureen O'har (Doris), Edmund Gwenn (Santa) and John Payne (Fred)
2. The Thanksgiving Day Parade scene was actually completely real.
3. Edmund Gwenn's cousin, Cecil Kellaway, almost played the role og Kris Kringle.
4. The film's writer dreamed up the idea for the movie while waiting in line at a department store.
5. John Payne really wanted to do a sequel.
Little Girl gets House and Father. --DaChristmasCoot
This past Monday, we watched the remake and colorized versions of the movie. It is my fourth favorite Christmas movie.
1. Co-stars were good friends off screen: Maureen O'har (Doris), Edmund Gwenn (Santa) and John Payne (Fred)
2. The Thanksgiving Day Parade scene was actually completely real.
3. Edmund Gwenn's cousin, Cecil Kellaway, almost played the role og Kris Kringle.
4. The film's writer dreamed up the idea for the movie while waiting in line at a department store.
5. John Payne really wanted to do a sequel.
Little Girl gets House and Father. --DaChristmasCoot
Saturday, October 10, 2015
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Chicago Taverns-- Part 5: Drunkard Haters and "The Blind Pig"
9. After bloody clashes between police and labor activists in 1877, a new group decided tat saloons were partly to blame. Its activists began monitoring bars to see if youths and already intoxicated customers were being served, then filed complaints with police and urged the patrons' families to sue.
The group's name was sobering all by itself. They were called The Citizens League of Chicago for the Suppression of the Sale of Liquor to Minors and Drunkards.
10. Unlicensed bars in Chicago were once known as "BLIND PIGS." The origin of the term is unclear, though there is a story about police raiding an illegal one which had a sign reading "APG." A cop described it as "a pig with its I knocked out." In other words, a blind pig.
Oink, Oink. --Cooter
The group's name was sobering all by itself. They were called The Citizens League of Chicago for the Suppression of the Sale of Liquor to Minors and Drunkards.
10. Unlicensed bars in Chicago were once known as "BLIND PIGS." The origin of the term is unclear, though there is a story about police raiding an illegal one which had a sign reading "APG." A cop described it as "a pig with its I knocked out." In other words, a blind pig.
Oink, Oink. --Cooter
Friday, October 9, 2015
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Chicago Taverns-- Part 4: Of Bad Behavior and Hats
7. Plenty of BAD BEHAVIOR has taken place at Chicago bars. Al Capone shot and killed rival "Ragtime Joe" Howard at Hymie Jacobs' bar on South Wabash in 1924. Attorney W.W. O'Brien, who helped inspire the character Billy Flynn in the play and movie "Chicago," was shot in 1921 at Ryan & Novak's saloon on South State but refused to name his attacker. He won plenty of business from mobsters after that.
In 1903, a saloon owner allowed his establishment at Dearborn and Randolph streets to be used as a temporary morgue after the Iroquois Theater fire. The barkeep was caught stealing about $200 from a body.
8. In 1941, the Ratcliffe family threw a party at its Rogers Park bar, the Ranger Inn, for a relative who was going into the Army. That GI left his civilian HAT at the bar, saying he would reclaim it when he was out of the service.
For the next four years, more than 400 people hung their hats there as they went off to war. When peace came, the bar held a hat-reclaiming party. Those that went unclaimed were disposed of at a bonfire. The American Legion held a memorial service for three hat owners who never returned from the fighting.
--DaCooy
In 1903, a saloon owner allowed his establishment at Dearborn and Randolph streets to be used as a temporary morgue after the Iroquois Theater fire. The barkeep was caught stealing about $200 from a body.
8. In 1941, the Ratcliffe family threw a party at its Rogers Park bar, the Ranger Inn, for a relative who was going into the Army. That GI left his civilian HAT at the bar, saying he would reclaim it when he was out of the service.
For the next four years, more than 400 people hung their hats there as they went off to war. When peace came, the bar held a hat-reclaiming party. Those that went unclaimed were disposed of at a bonfire. The American Legion held a memorial service for three hat owners who never returned from the fighting.
--DaCooy
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Chicago's Taverns-- Part 3: Mike Royko and Rush Street
5. Famed Tribune columnist (also the Chicago Daily News) MIKE ROYKO grew up in an apartment over his parents' tavern, the Blue Sky Lounge at 2122 N. Milwaukee Avenue. Later, he offered advice on barroom demeanor: "Don't sit next to someone who leans over at more than 1 45-degree angle. ...Never call a bartender with an 18-inch neck 'my good man' or 'fellow.' ...In a strange bar, never use the phone more than once or they'll think you're planning a stickup."
Mike Royko was one of my all-time favorite columnists.
6. Chicago's famous RUSH STREET bar district, which sports many taverns and clubs on Rush and Division and neighboring streets, got its start in the early 1950s and flourished in the 1960s and 1970s, when it became a big tourist destination. By 1985, some folks would say the area was past its peak, a typical weekend night would see 60,000 people flocking to the area to party.
--Cooter
Mike Royko was one of my all-time favorite columnists.
6. Chicago's famous RUSH STREET bar district, which sports many taverns and clubs on Rush and Division and neighboring streets, got its start in the early 1950s and flourished in the 1960s and 1970s, when it became a big tourist destination. By 1985, some folks would say the area was past its peak, a typical weekend night would see 60,000 people flocking to the area to party.
--Cooter
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Chicago Taverns-- Part 2: "Two-Gun Pete" and Prohibition
3. When infamous Chicago police officer SYLVERSTER "TWO-GUN PETE" WASHINGTON retired from the force in the 1950s, he opened a bar in the Oakland neighborhood called the Hill Top Lounge. as a cop, he had shot many suspects, including at least nine fatally. As a barkeep, he saved a reminder of those days in a cigar box with bullet fragments pulled from his victims.
4. The definition of Chicago tavern expanded a bit during PROHIBITION. Thirsty patrons turned to the local pharmacy (with a doctor's prescription, residents could buy whiskey), the soda fountain counter (a risky yet common venture for many in the business) and, of course, the unnamed hole-in-the-wall speakeasy.
And, in October 1923, police cracked down on liquor sales of a fishmonger (the herring delivered a kick), a shoe shine (moonshine) and even a candy store which sold rye on the side.
--CooterShine
4. The definition of Chicago tavern expanded a bit during PROHIBITION. Thirsty patrons turned to the local pharmacy (with a doctor's prescription, residents could buy whiskey), the soda fountain counter (a risky yet common venture for many in the business) and, of course, the unnamed hole-in-the-wall speakeasy.
And, in October 1923, police cracked down on liquor sales of a fishmonger (the herring delivered a kick), a shoe shine (moonshine) and even a candy store which sold rye on the side.
--CooterShine
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Chicago Taverns-- Part 1: Lincoln's Body and Mickey Finns
From the August 16, 2015, Chicago Tribune by Mark Jacob and Stephan Benzkofer.
Alright, we have some more interesting factoids from these two.
This article appeared because Illinois once again has Happy Hour. That's nice, but a bunch of the places that now have it, dropped their daily drink specials.
1. A depraved plot took place in 1876 in a Near West Side saloon called The Hub when a crime ring decided to steal ABRAHAM LINCOLN's corpse from a Springfield cemetery and demand a $200,000 ransom and the release of an imprisoned comrade.
Their big problem was that one of their members was a mole for the U.S. secret Service. When they opened Lincoln's sarcophagus, the feds moved in, but they escaped but were later arrested in Chicago.
2. The expression "TO SLIP SOMEONE A MICKEY" comes from a South Loop bar called the Lone Star Saloon and Palm Garden, circa 1900.
The proprietor was known for doctoring drinks and stealing customer valuables when they passed out. His name was Michael Finn, aka Mickey Finn.
One, Two, Three, Floor. --Cooter
Alright, we have some more interesting factoids from these two.
This article appeared because Illinois once again has Happy Hour. That's nice, but a bunch of the places that now have it, dropped their daily drink specials.
1. A depraved plot took place in 1876 in a Near West Side saloon called The Hub when a crime ring decided to steal ABRAHAM LINCOLN's corpse from a Springfield cemetery and demand a $200,000 ransom and the release of an imprisoned comrade.
Their big problem was that one of their members was a mole for the U.S. secret Service. When they opened Lincoln's sarcophagus, the feds moved in, but they escaped but were later arrested in Chicago.
2. The expression "TO SLIP SOMEONE A MICKEY" comes from a South Loop bar called the Lone Star Saloon and Palm Garden, circa 1900.
The proprietor was known for doctoring drinks and stealing customer valuables when they passed out. His name was Michael Finn, aka Mickey Finn.
One, Two, Three, Floor. --Cooter
Friday, September 18, 2015
Ten Things You Might Not Know About College-- Part 5: North Carolina A&T and the LSD Prof
9. A year before four students were killed at Kent State University in Ohio, a young man at NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY in Greensboro was shot and killed on campus during a Civil Rights protest at the historically black college.
It was never determined who pulled the trigger to kill Willie Grimes in May 1969, but protesters insisted it was the police.
But, what happened next, though, is undisputed. National Guard soldiers, backed up by a tank and several armored personnel carries, invaded the campus in a pre-dawn assault. They enjoyed air superiority with a plane and a helicopter dropping tear gas and "nausea gas" as they rounded up hundreds of students, most of whom were rousted from their beds after the locks on their dorm room doors were shot away.
This is horrible.
10. The UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO has boasted many distinguished graduates and must have thought it had another one when professor John Buettner-Janush became chairman of New York University's anthropology department in 1973.
But, he was convicted of using his NYU lab to manufacture LSD and methaqualone. After he was paroled, he sent poisoned Valentine's Day chocolates to the judge, whose wife ate the candy and fell ill but survived. The disgraced prof was convicted again and died in federal custody.
Nothing to be proud of Here. --DaCoot
It was never determined who pulled the trigger to kill Willie Grimes in May 1969, but protesters insisted it was the police.
But, what happened next, though, is undisputed. National Guard soldiers, backed up by a tank and several armored personnel carries, invaded the campus in a pre-dawn assault. They enjoyed air superiority with a plane and a helicopter dropping tear gas and "nausea gas" as they rounded up hundreds of students, most of whom were rousted from their beds after the locks on their dorm room doors were shot away.
This is horrible.
10. The UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO has boasted many distinguished graduates and must have thought it had another one when professor John Buettner-Janush became chairman of New York University's anthropology department in 1973.
But, he was convicted of using his NYU lab to manufacture LSD and methaqualone. After he was paroled, he sent poisoned Valentine's Day chocolates to the judge, whose wife ate the candy and fell ill but survived. The disgraced prof was convicted again and died in federal custody.
Nothing to be proud of Here. --DaCoot
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