'Casablanca' Trivia-- Part 2: Lois Meredith? And, It Hit Home

**  A NEW NAME FOR A HEROINE

When "Casablanca" was being cast, the lead female role was to be an American named Lois Meredith.  But when Bergman got the role, the name of Rick's love interest was changed to Ilsa Lund; her nationality was switched to Norwegian.

Director Michael Curtiz came up with her name, taking it from a 19th-century travelogue called "The Harz Journey" by Heinrich Heine, which featured an enchantress named Princess Ilse.

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**  TEARS ON THE SET

Several extras and actors in the cast were from Europe, and the realities of war hit close to home.  While filming a flashback scene, Ilsa and Rick talked about how the Germans would soon storm Paris -- when a female extra burst into loud sobs, ruining the take.

Another extra walked over to the director to apologize.  "I am very sorry, sir, but that is my wife," he told Michael Curtiz of the crying woman.  "Please pardon her.  You see, our home was in Paris.  And we went through that awful day."

--Cooter

Deaths in Sept. 2022: Ehrenreich, Shaw, Lewis and Godard

BARBARA EHRENREICH, 81

Author, activist and self-described "myth buster" who is notable works as "Nickel and Dimed" and "Bait and Switch" challenged conventional thinking about class, religion and the very idea of an American Dream.  Died September 1.

BERNARD SHAW, 82

CNN's chief anchor for two decades and a pioneering black broadcast journalist best remembered for calmly reporting the beginning of the Gulf War in 1991 as missiles flew around him in Baghdad.  Died September 7.

I sure remember watching him report the war while at a bowling alley.

RAMSEY LEWIS, 87

A renowned jazz pianist whose music entertained fans over a more-than 60-year career that began with the Ramsey Lewis Trio and made him one of the country's most successful jazz musicians.  Died September 12.

JEAN-LUC GODARD, 91

The iconic "enfant terrible" of the French New Wave who revolutionized popular cinema in 1960 with his first feature "Breathless," and stood for years among the film world's most influential directors.  Died September 13.

Deaths in June-July 2022-- Part 7: Siragusa, Williams, Freeman and Caan

JUNE

TONY SIRAGUSA, 55

**  Charismatic defensive tackle who was part of one of the most celebrated defenses in the NFL history with the Baltimore Ravens.  Died June 22

HERSCHEL "WOODY" WILLIAMS, 98

**  The last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War II, whose heroics under fire over several crucial hours of the Battle of Iwo Jima made him a legend in his native West Virginia.  Died June 29.

The Greatest Generation.

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JULY

BRADFORD FREEMAN, 97

**  Last survivor of the famed American Army unit featured in the oral history book and miniseries "Band of Brothers."  Died July3.

The Greatest Generation.

JAMES CAAN, 82

**  The curly-haired tough guy known to movie fans as Sonny Corleone of "The Godfather" and to TV audiences as both the dying football player in "Brian's Song" and the casino boss in "Las Vegas."  Died July 8.

His death in "The Godfather" was a real bloody mess.

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871-- Part 3: A Real Building Mess

In the 50 rowdy years before the fire, the city grew from a remote Army post into the rail and shipping hub of America, a center of commerce and fast fortunes and deep poverty.

The area where the Catherine and Patrick O'Leary family lived was a densely populated section of the city.  It was, as one reporter described it, "a terra incognito to respectable Chicagoans," packed with "one-story frame dwellings, cow-stables, corncribs, sheds innumerable; every wretched building within four feet of its neighbor, and everything of wood."

Though there was an ordinance that forbade the use of uncovered lamps near hay or straw, Chicagoans paid it no heed, even though 90% of the city buildings were wooden.  Its sidewalks were wooden.  Its narrow streets were paved with wooden blocks.

"The officials of the city feared to enforce the law and therefore incur unpopularity with reckless moneyed interests which continued to build the city in dangerous fashion," wrote Edgar Lee Masters on his "The Tale of Chicago."  

"The menace of such buildings to the city was subordinated to the ambition to get richer."

--Cooter

A Chicago Christmas-- Part 2: About Rudolph the You-Know What

These are Christmas stories connected to Chicago.

Robert L. May wanted to be a novelist but worked as a catalog writer at Montgomery Ward in Chicago.  Staring out his office window at downtown Chicago on a foggy day, May experienced his own lightbulb moment.

"Suddenly I had it!  A nose!  A bright red nose that would shine through the fog like a spotlight."

May considered naming the tiny reindeer with the red nose "Rollo" or "Reginald" but eventually settled on "Rudolph."

The Chicago-based department store printed more than two million copies of May's book "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in 1939.

The ninth and youngest of Santa's reindeer flew straight into the hearts of children across America using his luminous red nose to light the way.

--CootDeer

Prohibition Hangover-- Part 2: Not All That It Was Cracked Up to Be

"Prohibition had a lot of unintended consequences which backfired on the people who worked so hard to establish the law,: said Lisa McGirr, whose 2015 book "The War on Alcohol" examines Prohibition's political and social repercussions.

"It helped to activate and enfranchise men and women who had not been a part of the political process earlier,: she said.  "That was not the intention of the Prohibition supporters."

Ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1919, which set the stage for Prohibition's launch a year later, culminated in a century of advocacy by the temperance movement.  Leading forces included the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Anti-Saloon League and many Protestant denominations.  

Prohibition supporters assailed the effect of booze on families and the prominent role that saloons played in immigrant communities.

Prohibition greatly expanded federal law enforcement powers and turned millions of Americans into scofflaws.  It provided a new revenue stream for organized crime.

--Cooter

McHenry (Illinois) Area Historical Society Meeting 4/9/22: Board Games

The meeting was held at the McHenry Savings Bank on Illinois Highway 31 south of McHenry.  There were 24 in attendance.  It is good to be back meeting again after all that you-know-what.  I just don't do Zoom.  

The last in-person meeting was held last June 11, 2021, at the Veterans Park Shelter in McHenry.

The next meeting will be at the bank on October 8 and the presentation will be about Women Pilots in World War II and the presenter will be Judy Porter from McHenry.

Attendance is down and the society will have a booth at the Thursday night concerts at Veterans Park this summer.

Membership is still $15 a year but will be going up.

There are two publications available from the society:  a 2022 calendar showing historical buildings and a McHenry  Illinois Sanborn Insurance Map Book showing the locations of every building in the city  from 1893 to 1933.

This morning's presentation was Board Games, given by Patrick Wirtz.

I was surprised to see good buddy Double D, fellow collect-too-much and NIU football superfan.

--Cooter

Last Night on the Titanic, The Popcorn Vendor

From History on the Net.

One  legendary fixture on the Titanic was a gregarious  popcorn vendor known as Popcorn Dan Coxon.  You could call him one of America's first food truck operators and was a highly successful purveyor of popcorn.

He was lost on the Titanic and his body never recovered, although a New York Times article claimed it was him when it wasn't.

Coxon lived an interesting life.  He lived in a Queen Anne house on the Wisconsin River, which people thought was haunted.  He dressed  in a fur-lined coat and loved to maintain a flashy appearance.  But he was still a working-class man.

This was by Veronica Hinke, who wrote the book "The Last Night on the Titanic."

--Cooter

What They Ate and Drank on the Titanic's Last Night-- Part 4: A Chicago Connection

Adolphe Saalfeld had boarded in Southampton and his letter was mailed before the Titanic headed across the Atlantic Ocean,  "It was pure joy for me to stitch together the tales told in letters home, to tell the story of these amazing people through the lens of drinking and dining," Veronica Hinke said.

Hinke's culinary narrative tells the stories behind the dishes, desserts and drinks that appeared, or likely appeared on Titanic menus, based on contemporary Edwardian dining trends no doubt embraced on board.  She also includes recipes, many of which were adapted to modern tastes by Chicago-area chefs.

Hinke now lives in the Chicago area, notes that there were many Chicago connections to the Titanic.  One of them was Anne Isham, one of only five female first-class passengers who did not survive. She refused to leave without her Great Dane.

First-class passengers Ida Hippach and her daughter Jean, of Evanston were survivors of both the 1903 Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago (at least 602 deaths) and the Titanic sinking.

--Cooter

What They Ate and Drank on the Titanic's Last Night-- Part 3: Dan Coxon and Adolphe Saalfeld

"Popcorn Dan" proved to be a real man.  His name was Dan Coxon and he was a one-armed popcorn vendor who had traveled to his native Britain to visit, but then delayed his return home so he could return aboard "a highly touted new steamer, the Titanic," according to Veronica Hinke.  

Traveling in steerage, Coxon boarded the Titanic in Southampton only to be lost forever in the disaster.  His body was never recovered.

"I was in awe of how this man was able to travel such a great distance from northern Wisconsin, and on board such a magnificent ship," said Hinke.  "Coxon's story led me to delve further into the story of the Titanic. to discover more about the on-board experiences of others like Cowon.

"What did they eat?   What did they drink?"  Hinke wanted to know.  "I found every piece of information I could about people who had tucked away menus or written letters home, like the splendid letter that passenger Adolphe Saalfeld wrote home to his wife, Gertrude telling in incredible detail, of the fabulous lunch that he ate on his first day aboard the Titanic."

--Cooter

What They Ate and Drank on the Titanic's Last Night-- Part 2: 'Popcorn Dan'?

On the evening before roughly 1,500 people would lose their lives in one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century, the first-class passengers aboard the Titanic sat down for an elaborate meal that included oysters, consomme Olga (a veal stock soup flavored with sturgeon marrow), filet mignon, poached salmon, chicken Lyonnaise, roast squab with cress, foie gras, roasted pigeon, lamb with mint sauce and punch romaine, a palate-cleansing granita flavored with oranges and drenched in Champagne.

If you've been wondering what they ate on the ship, author Veronica Hinke recreates the decadent meals, cocktails and dining protocol of history's most tragic voyage in "The Last Night on the Titanic: Unsinkable Drinking, Dining & Style."

Hinke's passion for the Titanic began back when she was a little girl growing up in the central Wisconsin town of Merrill.

She says she was haunted  by the local legend behind what turned out to be a real-life man, the so-called "Popcorn Dan."

--CooterDan

Separating Harry Caray Facts from Legend-- Part 1: How Old Was He?

From the May 5, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Phil Thompson.

Will the real Harry Caray please stand up.  Lots is known about the man, lots is possibly known about the man.  Everybody has their memories.

I sure enjoyed him but WOULD like to point out to Cub fans that he was the White Sox announcer for eleven years.  So we have our claim on him as well.

Author Don Zminda has written the new book "The Legendary Harry Caray:  Baseball's Greatest Salesman.

He also includes lots of anecdotes and stuff about his life that some Harry Caray fans might not know.

1.  WHEN IS HARRY'S BIRTHDAY?

It is difficult to know.  His birthdate has taken place at several different times according to him and according to whatever audience e was speaking to at the time.

Caray died February 18, 1998, and at that time, the Tribune cited "Who's Who in America" saying that he was born in 1919, making him 78.  But Cubs media has the year as 1920  Several other newspapers said he was born in 1919 and 1914.

Zminda wrote that it is fairly certain that he was born March 1, 1914, and that is the date listed according to St. Louis health records.

Always Loved Those Giant Glasses.  --DaCoot

Remembering 'Papa' Hemingway

From the March 28, 2021 Parade Magazine.

There was a three-part documentary on him on PBS directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.

Some things you may or may not know about him:

**  In Spain, in the 1920s and 1930s, he became fascinated with bullfighting and worked as a journalist covering the Spanish Civil War.  It was here that he picked up the nickname "Papa."

**  Hemingway survived two plane crashes in two days in 1954.  Newspapers reported his death, so he was able to read his own obituary.

**  An expert fisherman, in 1938 he set a world record by catching seven marlins in one day.

**  He was grandfather of two actress-models Margaux and Mariel Hemingway.

**  He wrote the last page of "A Farewell to Arms," based on his experiences in World War I, 39 times.

**  Hemingway loved polydactyl cats (cats having six or more toes on each foot).

One thing I had planned on doing after I retired from teaching was to read all Hemingway's books.  But then I got blogged in as it were.  So, the only one I have read was "The Old Man and the Sea: which I read for English class in high school.

He may or may not have written "The Old Man and the Sea" in Cubero, New Mexico, on Route 66.  See the May 8 post in my RoadDog's RoadLog Blog.

--CootHem

Six Interesting Coincidences in History-- Part 4: Mark Twain Came In and Went Out With Halley's Comet

The periodic  comet known as Halley's Comet returns to earth's vicinity about every 75 years, give or take a little due to gravitational pull of the planets as it passes by them.  Back in the 18th century, English astronomer Edmond Halley concluded that reports of a comet appearing in 1531, 1607 and 1682 actually referred to the very same comet returning at periodic intervals.

He then predicted it would return in  1758, though he died before it appeared again.  Halley's comet was in the skies again when celebrated author  Samuel Langhorne  Clemens, better known as Mark Twain was born November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri.

By 1909, 74 years had passed and Twain offered a prediction of when his life would end.  It would coincide with the comet's reappearance.  He was quoted as saying:  "It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet.  The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.' "

As it turned out, Mark Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910, the day after Halley's Comet emerged from the far side of the sun.

The comet's  appearance proved particularly  spectacular that year for other reasons as well:  It passed  only about 13.9 million miles from Earth, about 1/15th the distance between the Earth and the Sun.  So it was up real close.  And, for the first time, its flight was captured on camera.

Halley's Comet most recently appeared  in 1986, and is not expected back until  2061.

--Look Up Above!!   --Cooter

The Pilgrims 'Went Forth and Multiplied', They Really Did

Yesterday and in November, I wrote about some people who had Mayflower Pilgrim ancestors.  And, they are just a few of the most well-known people in U.S. history who are descendants.

Again, from the "Mayflower: Birth of America" booklet.

Only 51 of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower are known to have produced children.  But, to say that the old adage, "Go forth and multiply," applied to them would be an understatement.

It is estimated today that some ten million people in America can claim Pilgrim forebears.

And, it is getting easier to find out if you are one of them.

--CootNotOneOfThem, WellProbably Not

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.

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

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

Chicago's Mother of Black History, Vivian Harsh-- Part 2: 300 Essential Black Books

Using her $500 grant from Julius Rosenwald, Vivian Harsh visited libraries serving black communities in New York, Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Detroit and Newark, New Jersey.  From these, she drew up a list of 300 essential books for readers interested in black literature and history.

To acquire them for her Chicago library, she solicited donations and appealed to booksellers.  And, she continued adding volumes above that number.  When she retired in 1958, her library's Special Negro Collection had 2,000 books, plus newspaper clippings, pamphlets and manuscripts.  All this accomplished while she ran the library.

And, she was a neatness person.  En route to her desk each morning, she would stop and pick up even the smallest scrap of paper..  She was constantly telling her employees about the importance of keeping the premises neat and clean.

Sadly, she was extremely private about her personal life and never wrote anything about it.  That is why her archives are now being examined to piece together her life.

Happy 244th Birthday United States, Born on the 4th of July

Born today, 244 years ago.

From the June 28, 2020, Parade Magazine.

These people were also born on the 4th of July:

Neil Simon (1927), Playwright

Stephen Foster  (1826)  Composer

Eva Marie Saint  (1924)  Actress

Gina Lollobrigida  (1927)  Actress

Geraldo Rivera  (1943)  TV Personality

Bill Withers  (1938)  Singer-Songwriter

Nathaniel Hawthorne  (1804)  Author

Malia Obama  (1998)  Daughter of former President Obama.

Happy Birthday All.  --CootHap

What They Ate (and Drank) on Titanic's Last Night

From the October 16, 2019, Chicago Tribune by Amy Bizzarri.

Before it sank to the bottom of the ocean in the wee hours of the morning on April 15, 1912, the "floating mansion" that was the Titanic set the bar for luxurious dining.

Four city blocks long and as tall as an 11-story building, the mega-ship spoiled its first-class passengers with exquisite 10-plus course meals prepared by top chefs using state-of-the-art cooking equipment, including toaster and the electric sorbet maker, served in airy cafes and lavish dining halls that rivaled the finest restaurants in Paris.

More than 1,000 bottles of wine, 850 bottles of spirits and 20,000 bottles of beer were stocked in the ship's hold and the bartenders knew the latest and fanciest drinks.  That included the stirred, strained and bracing Manhattan and the gun and sparkling lemonade Tom Collins.

If you've always wanted to know what they ate and drank, author Veronica Hinke has a book to tell you just that, titles "The Last Night on the Titanic:  Unsinkable Drinking, Dining & Style."

--CootDrinker

Fox Lake/Grant Township Historical Society Meeting Nov. 16, 2019: The "Haunted?" Puppets

We elected four people to the Board of Directors.  Treasury reports receiving $120 from the sale of three Grant Township High School yearbooks.  We sell year extras for $40 apiece.  Buy a part of your history.

Local Stanton School will be bringing fifth graders over this upcoming week to tour the museum and will work in five-person groups at the end of the tour to answer questions.  Winning group gets ice cream.

There will also be a presentation at Leisure Village this week.

The Shadow Hunters who are a group of ghost hunters from Lake Villa, Illinois, will be coming to take a "look" around the museum.  They have previously been here twice.  They were especially interested in taking another go at the "puppets."  Those puppets are three that used to be at the popular Fox Lake tavern called Eagle Point Park, but more commonly known as the Puppet Bar.

I used to deejay there a lot during the 1980s and knew those puppets well.

Sadly, those puppets are no longer in the museum. They were loaned by the owners and now in California.

The Fox Lake mayor was there and said the historical association was getting a plaque for the great work we're doing pushing the history and heritage of Fox Lake.

Too Bad.  --Cooter