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Post by pegasus on Aug 28, 2011 14:43:57 GMT -7
UPS DAYIt isn’t often that entrepreneur teenagers develop small businesses into corporate giants. But that’s what happened on August 28th in 1907 in Seattle when 19-year-old Jim Casey borrowed $100 from his friend, Claude Ryan, and started a local delivery service. They called it the American Messenger Company. Jim’s slogan was, “Best service, and lowest rates.” The company did well because Jim and Claude stuck to their principles: round-the-clock customer service, courtesy, reliability and low rates. They took these concepts a few steps further, focusing on package delivery for local retail stores, merging in 1913 with Mac McCabe and forming Merchants Parcel Delivery. The company was the first to provide consolidated delivery, placing packages with similar street destinations on one delivery truck. The company’s growing fleet of trucks was then managed by Charlie Soderstrom. Charlie selected the dark brown color because of its professional appearance. By the 1920s, the company had grown large enough to expand to Oakland and Los Angeles, California. It wasn’t long before it became known as United Parcel Service; ‘united’ for the consolidated shipments and ‘service’ because that’s what they offered. Today, United Parcel Service “operates an international small package and document network in more than 200 countries and territories, spanning both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. With its international service, UPS can reach over four billion people.” So give that package to the UPS man in the Buster Brown truck. (Truck drivers refer to the UPS trucks as Buster Brown when chatting on the CB.)
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Post by pegasus on Aug 30, 2011 10:15:39 GMT -7
FRANKENSTEIN DAY What would we do without the legendary monster created by Dr. Frankenstein! Thanks to author Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, born on August 29th in 1797, we have been frighteningly entertained for almost two centuries. In 1818, Ms. Shelley wrote the Gothic horror novel about Dr. Henry Frankenstein, the scientist who created the terrifying, yet loveable, monster. (Mary Shelley was the wife of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, daughter of early feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and philosopher William Godwin.) Hollywood took over in 1931 with an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel directed by Great Britain’s James Whale. Boris Karloff was the monster, a role that led to a monster career for Karloff. From then on, Frankenstein lived in sequel after sequel and adaptation after adaptation. Karloff reprised his role in two such films -- The Bride of Frankenstein in 1935 and Son of Frankenstein in 1939. The opening scene in The Bride of Frankenstein features the author, Mary Shelley. Ms. Shelley is played by Elsa Lanchester. Lon Chaney picked up the monster role following in the difficult, huge footsteps of Karloff. Mary Shelley and Dr. Frankenstein really were on to something. The movie and TV industries continue to create Frankenstein spin-offs, thrilling ... or should we say, scaring the pants off new generations.
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Post by pegasus on Aug 31, 2011 8:41:16 GMT -7
DINNER, NEWS AND WALTER DAY Walter Cronkite started showing up in living rooms during the dinner hour, starting the night of August 31st in 1963 as anchor of the CBS Evening News (a job he took over from Douglas Edwards on April 16, 1962). Previous to this night, CBS Evening News had been shown from 7:30-7:45 p.m. and 7:15-7:30 p.m. A familiar face to TV audiences, Walter Cronkite had been the host of You Are There, a CBS Sunday night program that ran from 1953 through 1957. A CBS news correspondent, Walter Cronkite served as reporter, host, and anchorman as major events in history were reenacted. Those who were viewers of You Are There can probably still recite Walter’s closing lines: “What sort of a day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times ... and you were there.” Seven days after You Are There ended, the sincere face and friendly, yet authoritative voice of Walter Cronkite showed up in our living rooms again. This time he was narrator and host of The 20th Century, a program that presented filmed reports of major events and personalities that had shaped modern history. In January, 1967, the show changed its name and format. The 21st Century looked into the future rather than the past. Walter Cronkite remained at the helm. This was double duty for the consummate journalist as he continued to anchor the CBS Evening News. While Mr. Cronkite was busy narrating, and reporting and anchoring, he was also the moderator in 1951 for The Facts We Face (which became Open Hearing); for the interview show, Man of the Week (1952-53); of the quiz show, It’s News to Me in 1954; narrator of Air Power, a documentary series (1956-58); host of Pick the Winner, a series of political telecasts in 1952 and again in 1956; anchor of the 1960 presidential campaign conclusion, Presidential Countdown; the 1980 CBS wrap-up of political news, Campaign Countdown, and the CBS news analysis program, Eyewitness to History, from 1961 to 1962. Cronkite was also the anchor and chief correspondent for Universe, a CBS science magazine-type program, in the summers of 1980, 1981 and 1982. His CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite won a multitude of Emmy Awards. Walter, himself, took home several individual Emmys for Outstanding Achievement Within Regularly Scheduled News Programs; specifically, for The Watergate Affair and Coverage of the Shooting of Governor Wallace in 1972-1973; and Solzhenitsyn, a CBS News Special in 1974. When the Emmy Awards were presented on September 9, 1979, Walter Cronkite received the coveted ATAS Governor’s Award. Walter Cronkite, voted the ‘most trusted man in America’, left CBS Evening News on March 6, 1981. Throughout his retirement years, Cronkite continued to report special news events. On July 17, 2009, Walter Cronkite and news as we knew it died. "And that's the way it is...”
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Post by pegasus on Sept 7, 2011 9:24:06 GMT -7
] DAGWOOD & BLONDIE DAY] Dagwood and Blondie made their first appearance on Sept 7th in 1930, in the comic strips. The Blondie cartoon was created by Chic Young and over time, the characters were heard on the radio, seen in 28 movies, and on two TV series. The strip featured newspaper hero Dagwood Bumstead as the playboy son of a railroad tycoon. He dated Blondie Boopadoop, a flapper, or gold digger. They married in February, 1933 and had a nice family. Alexander (Baby Dumpling), their first child, was born in 1934. Cookie arrived later. The strip is still running. Since Chic Young’s death in March, 1973, Blondie has been written by Chic’s son, Dean. It was drawn, for a time, by Jim Raymond, then by Stan Drake and later by Denis Lebrun. The strip is now done by Dean Young and John Marshall. Dagwood continues to be the bungling husband who gets into petty arguments with his neighbor, Herb Woodley; the office worker abused by his boss, Mr. Dithers; and the sleep-in, miss the carpool, lazy friend, husband, employee. In the 1990s, Blondie Bumstead, whose children are no longer babies, became a working woman, joining up with Herb’s wife, Tootsie. They have a catering service.
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Post by pegasus on Sept 8, 2011 10:51:50 GMT -7
STAR TREK DAYNBC-TV headed into “Space: the final frontier” on this day in 1966. The first episode of Star Trek, titled, "The Man Trap," was seen on the network. Although Star Trek has become a cult phenomenon, with Trekkie (or the member preferred title, Trekker) conventions held annually, the NBC series did not do well. It was regularly beaten in its time slot, and it placed #52 among all series in 1966-1967, its best season. NBC canceled the show on September 2, 1969. Star Trek did return to NBC in 1973 -- as a cartoon. The original cast provided the voices: William Shatner played Captain Kirk; Leonard Nimoy was the Vulcan, Spock; DeForest Kelley was Dr. Leonard McCoy. George Takei played Sulu; Nichelle Nichols was Uhura, James Doohan was Scotty and Chekov was played by Walter Koenig. The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise has done very well in recent years, having made several motion pictures and several TV spin-offs. “Beam me up, Scotty” and, for gosh sakes, “live long and prosper.”
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Post by pegasus on Sept 9, 2011 10:58:30 GMT -7
COLONEL SANDERS DAYCelebrating his 6th birthday (he was born in 1890) on Sept 9th, Harland Sanders had no way of knowing that he was destined to become one of the most recognizable men in the world. A short time after his birthday, his father died, and a very young boy became his mother’s support system. He took care of his baby brother and sister and did the cooking while his mother went to work ... and he became quite an accomplished cook in quick order. After his mother remarried when he was 12, he went to work at a multitude of different jobs, ending up operating a gas station in Corbin, Ky. It was here, at the age of 40, that Harland started cooking seriously. Using recipes he had learned at the tender age of six, he would prepare meals for hungry travelers serving them in his gas-station living quarters. His food was so popular that he finally had to open a restaurant. Over the next decade, Sanders tried and tested, and again, tried and tested his fried chicken recipe until he perfected the 11 herbs and spices that made up his secret blend that is still tempting taste-buds in Kentucky, and now, throughout the world. Sanders’ cooking had such a following that, in 1935, he was made a Kentucky Colonel for his contributions to Kentucky cuisine. Four years later his restaurant was listed in Adventures in Good Eating by Duncan Hines. However, it wasn’t until 1955, when an interstate highway was to bypass Corbin, Ky, and Harland Sanders was living on only $105 a month from Social Security, that he took to the road to franchise his chicken recipe and restaurant concept. The first franchises were established by a handshake. Sanders traveled across the US, stopping at restaurants to fry up batches of his chicken. If the owner and employees liked the dish, they shook Sanders’ hand, and paid him a nickel for every chicken they sold. By 1964, there were over 600 of the Colonel’s franchises in the U.S. and Canada. The 74-year-old Sanders sold his interest that year for $2,000,000, remaining on as its spokesperson until his death in 1980. The image of the Kentucky Colonel still graces the signage at thousands of restaurants throughout the world. Harland Sanders would be pleased to know that we’re still enjoying his special flavors every time we order a bucket of original recipe, crispy crust or tender-roast chicken from KFC.
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Post by pegasus on Sept 10, 2011 11:02:48 GMT -7
GUNSMOKE DAYActor James Arness brought Marshall Matt Dillon to life on this night in 1955. Gunsmoke debuted on CBS-TV and went on to become the longest-running (20 years) series on television. The pioneer in adult westerns also starred Milburn Stone as Doc Adams, Amanda Blake as Miss Kitty Russell, and Dennis Weaver as Chester Goode. Other well-known performers joined the cast throughout the years -- Ken Curtis as Festus Hagan and Burt Reynolds as Quint Asper, the town blacksmith, were two favorites. Gunsmoke had enjoyed a radio run of three years with William Conrad ( Cannon) playing Marshall Dillon before the TV version went on the air. The two ran simultaneously for six more years. An interesting note: CBS’ first choice for the role of the resolute, determined Matt Dillon was John Wayne. Wayne did not want to become involved with a weekly TV show at the time and suggested his friend, James Arness. The suggestion was magic. Arness, the only cast member other than Milburn Stone to stay in the role for the full twenty years, became Matt Dillon. The casting couldn’t have been better. The show was saved from cancellation in the 1960s when its popularity had waned. CBS owner William S. Paley, a fan of Gunsmoke, demanded the the western be put on the fall schedule. Not only was Gunsmoke the longest-running series with a regular cast of characters; but when it finally did meet its demise, it was the last of the network Westerns to go. “Oh, Mister Dillon!” (Say it with a twang, please.)
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Post by pegasus on Sept 13, 2011 9:01:27 GMT -7
CANDY KISSES DAY Pull the little paper sticking out of the foil. That’s right. Now carefully unwrap the silver foil. Voila! A milk-chocolate delight; and just one of the many chocolate products produced by the Hershey Chocolate Company. Milton S. Hershey was born on Sept. 13th in 1857. By the time he was in his mid-30s he had developed the ’Great American Chocolate Bar’ -- or Hershey Bar as it is known throughout the world. This bar of solid milk chocolate became the foundation of his company and his fortune; and the foundation of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Milton Hershey would be proud to know that the sweet cocoa smell of chocolate still permeates his hometown and home of the Hershey Chocolate Factory. He would also find that some Hershey hotel guest rooms include cocoa butter soap as an amenity. And the street lights are in the shape of chocolate candy kisses.
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Post by pegasus on Sept 14, 2011 11:16:01 GMT -7
GOOD NIGHT, JOHN BOY DAYAs lights went out in bedrooms throughout America, voices were heard repeating the good-night routine performed on this, the first performance of The Waltons on CBS-TV in 1972. “Good night, John Boy”, “Good night, Jim-Bob”, “Good night, Elizabeth” and so on... Families tuned in every Thursday night to get a TV view of the life happenings of the Walton family. The Depression years (and later) story, narrated by its creator, Earl Hamner, Jr., was seen through the eyes of the oldest of 7 children, John Boy, portrayed by Emmy Award-winning actor Richard Thomas. Walton’s Mountain in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Jefferson County was the locale of all that happened to the Walton family. That family included other Emmy Award winners, Michael Learned as Olivia Walton (the brood’s mother) and Ellen Corby as Grandma Walton. Veteran performers Ralph Waite as John Walton and Will Geer as Grandpa Walton, along with the bright, young, rising stars -- Mary Ellen (Judy Norton-Taylor), Jim-Bob (David W. Harper), Elizabeth (Kami Cotler), Jason (Jon Walmsley), Erin (Mary Elizabeth McDonough), and Ben (Eric Scott), made the TV series a popular favorite. Executive producer Lee Rich and producer Robert L. Jacks picked up the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series-Continuing in the very first year of The Waltons. Nine years later, the children were grown up, going to college and getting married. Walton’s Mountain had changed and we all said “Good night, John Boy” for the last time (unless you’re still watching the show in syndication).
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Post by pegasus on Sept 15, 2011 12:46:14 GMT -7
] USA TODAY DAYUSA Today, a publication of the Gannett media empire, was published for the first time on Sept. 15th in 1982. The paper was called “The Nation’s Newspaper.” Critics called the satellite-transmitted, colorful, splashy, somewhat glitzy publication, “News McNugggets,” “The Nation’s Comic Book” and the winner of the “Pulitzer Prize for Best Investigative Paragraph.” Several books have been written about the newspaper that is now read by millions each day. Two such volumes chronicling the rise of USA Today are Gannett Chairman Al Neuharth’s Confessions of an S.O.B. and Peter S. Prichard’s The Making of McPaper. USA Today -- now with editions throughout the world -- has changed the shape of newspapers everywhere. Many have imitated the fast-reading format pioneered by USA Today in an attempt to revitalize the suffering newspaper industry.
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Post by pegasus on Sept 16, 2011 11:52:31 GMT -7
MAYFLOWER DAY Do you stick your nose up in the air and say that your ancestors came over on the Mayflower? If so, you of staunchly English pedigree should know that on Sept. 16th, in the year 1620, 102 passengers and crew set sail on the ocean blue from Plymouth, England. Their destination was the New World. And, although they encountered stormy weather and treacherous seas, this hearty group of 41 men, the rest, women and children; half religious dissenters and half entrepreneurs, made it to Provincetown, Massachusetts on November 21, 1620. A month later, the Plymouth Colony was founded by the passengers of the Mayflower. Better check that family tree .
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Post by pegasus on Sept 17, 2011 15:20:40 GMT -7
HOGAN'S HEROES DAY CBS-TV debuted an oxymoronic show this night in 1965. Hogan’s Heroes, a comedy, took place in a World War II Nazi POW camp. For six years the prisoners, under the lead of Col. Robert Hogan (played by former KNX radio air personality Bob Crane), managed to outwit the incompetent and inept Nazi Col. Wilhelm Klink (played very competently by Werner Klemperer [2-time Emmy-Award winner for his role]) and Nazi Sgt. Shultz (played quite deftly by John Banner). The prisoners finagled, cheated and tricked the Germans so they could feed classified information to the Allies, help fugitives escape from Germany, etc. They managed, through their conniving, to live in luxury. Robert Clary played the Frenchman Louis LeBeau, who prepared fine French cuisine for his fellow prisoners. A steam room, a barbershop and many other creature comforts added to the amusement of the viewers Those who watched the antics in Stalag 13 will remember the comedy and pathos brought to the small screen by POWs: Sgt. Andrew Carter (played by Larry Hovis); radioman Sgt. James Kinchloe (played by Ivan Dixon); and Peter Newkirk, the English corporal (played by Richard Dawson, later of Family Feud). Some thought it almost sacrilegious to make light of a POW camp. However, much can be learned through comedy. With tongue in cheek, Hogan’s Heroes educated and entertained. Now, a new generation, along with old fans, can be entertained by Hogan’s Heroes, through the book, Hogan’s Heroes; Behind the Scenes at Stalag 13, written by Werner Klemperer with Brenda Scott Royce.
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Post by pegasus on Sept 18, 2011 9:15:39 GMT -7
CBS DAYThe Columbia Broadcasting System was born on Sept 18th in 1927, although its rival, NBC, had been on the air for some time. The Tiffany Network, as CBS was called, broadcast an opera, The King’s Henchman, as its first program. William S. Paley put the network together, purchasing a chain of 16 failing radio stations. The controlling interest cost between $250,000 and $450,000. The following year, the 27-year-old Paley became President of CBS. It only took one more year for him to profit $2.35 million as the network grew to over 70 stations. In 1978 Paley received the First Annual ATAS (Academy of Television Arts and Sciences) Governor’s Award as Chairman of the Board of CBS.
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Post by pegasus on Sept 19, 2011 12:51:54 GMT -7
JUST PLAIN BILL DAY It was just an average day this day in 1935, when Just Plain Bill was first heard on CBS radio. It was “The real life story of people just like people we all know.” The 15-minute show (Monday through Friday at 7:15 p.m.) was all about (just plain) Bill Davidson and his daughter, Nancy, who lived in (just plain) Hartville. Since Bill was the town barber, everybody came to him with their problems -- and Bill helped them straighten things out. Instead of playing the usual organ, as a first, Hal Brown played harmonica and whistled the Just Plain Bill introduction music ("Darling Nellie Gray"). Hal also handled the closing theme ("Polly Wolly Doodle") in the same manner. The show, created by Frank and Anne Hummert, who also came up with Mr. Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons, Little Orphan Annie, Amanda of Honeymoon Hill, Front Page Farrell, John’s Other Wife, Mr. Chameleon, Our Gal Sunday and many other radio dramas, later moved to NBC radio. Just Plain Bill chalked up a total of 20 years on the air. A few of the Just Plain Bill sponsors over the years were Kolynos toothpaste, Clapp’s baby food, BiSoDol shaving cream and Anacin pain relief pills.
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Post by pegasus on Sept 20, 2011 11:59:07 GMT -7
UPTON DAY It was 1878 and the Sinclair family celebrated the birth of their son, Upton. Of course, they had no way to know that Upton would become a famous author whose books influenced social reform. Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle, published in 1906, was an expose of Chicago’s stockyards and the meat-packing industry, in general. The Jungle revealed unsanitary conditions and what was really in the meat that was being eaten, like rats being swept up and dumped into sausage-making machines. The book made such bold statements that no publisher would touch it. Sinclair published it himself and The Jungle became a best seller, resulting in laws being passed to ensure pure and safe food products. What became of Upton Sinclair? He became a vegetarian and used the profits from The Jungle to found a cooperative community in New Jersey. He also wrote about the Teapot Dome scandal in Oil, the Sacco and Vanzetti case in Boston and he penned a Pulitzer Prize-winner, Dragon’s Teeth, an anti-fascist novel, in 1943. Sometimes it pays to fight your way out of the jungle.
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