08 March 2008

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

Morning all! Snowday here in Ohio. Sorta like this:



(1)

It's funny, but all the weather people and news all stress about the weather. It makes me think about years, ago, before radar and minute-by-minute updates about the "dangerous" weather. How did people ever survive? So, in the spirit of the blinding snow we are having here, I thought I would go over to the LOC and see what I could find:



(2)


(3)


(4)

While I was poking around their web site, I found a great story about the Blizzard of 1888. Here's a quote:

"..."The bell rang, calling us in to study and recite. The heavy snow kept falling all that day. By the middle of the afternoon, at the last recess, the snow was about two feet deep, and on the top it was almost as light as feathers. At a quarter to three, the school bell rang for the last time that day. We rushed for the brooms to sweep the wet snow from our boots. Just when we got settled down to our books as swiftly as lightning, the storm struck the north side of the house. The whole building shivered and quaked. With deafening whack the shutters were slammed shut by the terrific wind. In an instant the room became black as night, then for a moment there came a ray of light, I stood and said, "May my brothers and I go home?" The teacher said. "Those boys who live south may put on their coats and go, but the rest of you must stay here in this house."..."

(5)

I've put the links in below. If you have a moment, check 'em out. Have a great weekend and see you Monday!



Links:


Sources:


07 March 2008

From "Fatty" to York to Wrigley: The Chicago Daily News in the Depression Era

The Depression has always fascinated me from a historical point, because it seems to be a changing point in American history, almost a break with the past eras such as the Gilded Age or the Civil War. I was thinking about this when I stumbled across the Chicago Daily News section of the American Memory Project



(1)

There are some great resources here, including famous personalities. For example, here we have:









and many others!


I found out more about the paper as well, including the fact that it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize an astounding 13 times! An afternoon paper (I miss those), the Chicago Daily News was geared for the masses. This in contrast with the morning paper, the Chicago Tribune, which aimed for a higher class of readership and was the morning paper. Take a few minutes and explore some of the photographs. They are really neat and paint a picture, so to speak, of an America that no longer exists, for good or bad....you choose.

PS: Great photographs of Wrigley Field, just in case you are interested!!!

Have a great day, good weekend...and I've got to go shovel some snow now!


See you tomorrow!



Links:
Chicago Daily News (Wikipedia)
Chicago Daily News (LOC-American Memory Project)

Sources:
(1) DN-0009593, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society. (LOC)
(2)DN-0090082, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society. (LOC)
(3)DN-0072778, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society. (LOC)

06 March 2008

1939 World's Fair: A look back at "The World of Tomorrow"

The year was 1939. Batman first appeared in the comics. The Grapes of Wrath was published. World War II began in the fall. It was also the year of:


(1)

The World's Fair!

(2)

or

"The World of Tomorrow"

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Held in in New York's Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and themed "The World of Tomorrow," the event was open from April 1939 until the fall of 1940 and saw over 40 million visitors. Divided into various themes, technology, much like today, was emphasized as well as how life would change in the future. There was the electric farm and the biggie:


(4)

General Motors also included the Futurama exhibit, located in the Highways and Horizons Pavilion. Also included in this was the Westinghouse Time Capsule. More than just exhibits, there were things to do such as rides. One of the more famous ones was the Life Saver's Parachute Jump:



(5)

The links below are some of the best I have found for this resource. Take a few minutes and look them over. If you visit the archive.org site, please note the warning below for one of the films.

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!!!


Links:

World of Tomorrow

1939 World's Fair (Wikipedia)

Architecture and Interior Design for 20th Century America

Futurama (Wikipedia)

Futurama (Archive.org) movie

Archive.org (home movies* of World's Fair)
*Note, some parts of this movie I previewed had some NSFW or family scenes. Please watch your kids. It was all in context though of the fair...seemed to be anyway. As this is a family friendly blog, I wasn't sure about posting this, but the rest of the film has some good crowd scenes, etc. thanks...Tony

Sources:
(1) American Memory Project
(2)American Memory Project-LOC Photographs Division
(3)Archive.org
(4)Archive.org
(5)American Memory Project-LOC Photographs Division


05 March 2008

Let 'em Roar: Flying Tigers, Disney, Air America and the CIA.

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The 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) is better known by their more popular title, The Flying Tigers. Organized in the early years of World War II, this group of volunteers fought with the Chinese against the Japanese invasion with a considerable amount of success. Although their fighter, the Curtiss P-40, was outclassed in dogfighting with the very agile Mitsubishi Zero, a change in tactics and approach to air combat somewhat evened the odds.

(2)

What you might not know about this unit, however, is the hidden history of the squadron insignia...the fact that it was designed by the Disney studios. Says Toons at War:

"...One interesting item of note is the fact a squadron of P-40 Flying Tigers fighters, (piloted by a group of American volunteer pilots who fought alongside Chinese Nationalist forces), is shown coming to the aid of Chesty and his friends. In real life, the insignia for the Flying Tigers was created by Disney artist Hank Porter..."

Source: (Toons At War)



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FDR also played a primary role in the formation of the unit, personally stepping in and "borrowing" some P-40's that were bound for England, changing their destination to China under the lend-lease act. This unit also contained some famous volunteers. Included in this is Gregory "Pappy" Boyington of the famed VMF-214 fighter squadron, the "Black Sheep". In the later part of the war, the unit was gradually rolled into the regular United States forces and became part of the 14th Air Force.

Postwar, two interesting developments happened. The leader of the Flying Tigers, Chennault stayed in China and formed the Civil Air Transport, supporting the Chinese Nationalists in their struggle. Also known as the CAT, they became involved with the Central Intelligence Agency through the fifties and sixties, eventually becoming the unit known as Air America.

Another flying outfit organized from some of the pilots was the Flying Tigers Line, organized in 1946. Famous for flying the first commerical cargo route postwar, this airline flew into the 1980's before being taken over by Federal Express.

What a post...some great history today! Please take a few moments to check the links out as there is some really great information.

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!


Links:

Flying Tigers (Wikipedia)

04 March 2008

Easy On The Throttle Jake....A Look Back at the Mobil Gas (Mobil Economy) Run

Mileage per gallon is all the rage now. Economy is back! Reading about this tonight, I thought it would be a great idea to dig up some information on the Mobil (MobilGas) Economy Run. Held from the 1930's to the late 1960's, this annual event helped to determine gas mileage on current automobiles available to the consumer.


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Sponsored by Mobil, the United States Auto Club was the operator for the events. The vehicles were purchased from auto dealers and then the hoods, etc. were shut and special gas tanks to measure fuel used were installed.



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There were different classes in the competition and this event proved to be very popular....probably the most among the automobile manufacturers. Mileage actually wasn't too bad, considering the weight of the cars and the strictly mechanical setup of the drivetrains. Said Time:

"6-Cylindef: Chevrolet Biscayne, 22.3788 m.p.g.;
Chevrolet Biscayne, 21.9439 m.p.g.;
Ford Custom 300, 20.3288 m.p.g....:

(3)



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Try the links below, especially the Times article for more information. The screenshots above were also from a great film off of archive.org that was part of the Prelinger Collection. I've put the link in below.

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!


Links:


Mickey Thompson Economy Run Information

Time Magazine Archive-1959 contest

Prelinger Archive Film-On The Run

Wikipedia entry-Mobile Economy Run

New York Times Story: Coast to Coast....


Sources:

(1)(2)(4) Screen-grab from On The Run

(3) Time Magazine Archive: Rambler.....

03 March 2008

Shhh....don't say a word...remember, "loose lips sink ships..." There might be a spy!

I've always been intrigued by spy stuff. James Bond, OSS, real secret agent stuff. In doing some research this weekend about that, I stumbled across the FBI's FOIA site and found out about the Duquesne spy ring case during World War II.




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Huh?

Spies....in the good old USA. That's right, in fact, there were several well documented incidents of Axis spies in the United States during the Second World War.

Not the James Bond types, you know the suave, sophisticated type we've all come to know. Nope, these spies looked and acted just like you and me! The Duquesne Spy Ring consisted of over 30 active Axis spies working within the borders of the United States. Successfully investigated by the FBI, the members of the ring were captured with the help of a double agent, William Sebold (More on him in another post!).

Yet there were other events as well.


(2)

While German U-Boats were ravaging shipping in the early parts of the war, there were also plans by Hitler and his spy agencies to infiltrate the United States by other methods, such as landing by U-boat. Traveling over to the Naval Historical center, we see evidence of these in an event called by the center:

The Amagansett Incident:

"...Shortly after midnight on June 13th, four trained German saboteurs landed on the beach near the Coast Guard Station at Amagansett, Long Island. They had made the voyage across the Atlantic in a German submarine and had rowed ashore in a collapsible rubber boat containing clothing, explosives, and several thousand dollars in cash. On June 17th, four other saboteurs were similarly landed from a submarine at Ponte Vedra Beach, south of Jacksonville, Florida...." (3)


While the ring was eventually caught, perhaps there were others that were not. Some information, we may never know! Don't you enjoy a mystery? For a more complete picture, try the links below for in-depth details. Great stuff!

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!


Links: