Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Person, Place, and Thing: July 1 - 7

 



Person.

Angela Trimble was born on July 1, 1945 in Miami Florida. As an infant, she was adopted by Richard and Catherine Harry of Hawthorne New Jersey and was renamed Deborah Ann Harry.

She moved to New York City in the late 60s, supporting herself as a secretary, waitress, go-go dancer, and Playboy bunny before becoming a backup singer for a folk group called The Wind in the Willows. In 1973, she joined the Stilletos, where she met her longtime partner and musical collaborator, Chris Stein. In 1974, she and Stein formed a new band called eventually Blondie. The band almost immediately became a hit in the city, regulars at Max's Kansas City, and CBGB, venues known as epicenters of the American punk movement, and Harry became a local punk icon.

The band's third album, Parallel Lines, was released in 1978 and became a worldwide hit. A string of #1s in the US followed, "Heart of Glass," "Call me," "Atomic," and "Rapture," the first rap-oriented song to top the charts in the US, thanks to the appearance of Grandmaster Flash.

The band had its ups and downs, breaks and reunions throughout the 80s and 90s, and Harry released solo albums and acted here and there. Blondie's 11th album, Pollinator, debuted at number 4 in the UK in 2017.

In 2019, Harry released her autobiography, Face It. Honestly, it's not the most frank, forthcoming, and riveting autobiography you'll ever read. She admits to not remembering a lot, and she doesn't reveal as much as other celebrities have, but it's a decent snapshot of the New York punk scene.

Place.

Angela Trimble was born on July 1, 1945 in Miami Florida. As an infant, she was adopted by Richard and Catherine Harry of Hawthorne New Jersey and was renamed Deborah Ann Harry.

CBGB, standing for Country, Bluegrass, and Blues, was a music club opened in 1973 in Manhattan's East Village. Contrary to its name, the club became one of the most famous venues in the country for the Amery punk movement, playing a huge role in the careers of the Ramones, the Talking Heads, Blondie, Television, and Patti Smith. From the early 1980s forward, it hosted acts like Elvis Costello, Joan Jett, the B-52s, REM, Bad Brains, and Beastie Boys, to name a few. The music club shut down in October 2006, and the building has houses various clothing stores since.

In 2019, Harry released her autobiography, Face It. Honestly, it's not the most frank, forthcoming, and riveting autobiography you'll ever read. She admits to not remembering a lot, and she doesn't reveal as much as other celebrities have, but it's a decent snapshot of the New York punk scene.

Thing.

Angela Trimble was born on July 1, 1945 in Miami Florida. As an infant, she was adopted by Richard and Catherine Harry of Hawthorne New Jersey and was renamed Deborah Ann Harry.

Debbie Harry and Blondie became punk icons in the late 70s. What is punk? Basically a rejection of everything that is mainstream, traditional, and middle class, kind of like Hippies rejecting their parents ' version of America (or the UK or whatever country). It became the expression of rebellion through music, clothing, and attitude, emerging from garage bands in the mid-1970s.

Musically, punk music is aggressive, minimalist, loud, nasal, blunt, and confrontational.

In 2019, Harry released her autobiography, Face It. Honestly, it's not the most frank, forthcoming, and riveting autobiography you'll ever read. She admits to not remembering a lot, and she doesn't reveal as much as other celebrities have, but it's a decent snapshot of the New York punk scene.



Persons.

July 2, 1863 was the second day of battle between Union and Confederate forces at Gettysburg Pennsylvania. The three day battle generated the most casualties of the war and is considered the turning point of the war because Lee's plan to invade the North was halted, and the decisive Union victory meant the end of any hopes of foreign involvement on the Confederate behalf or negotiated peace.

Michael Shaara's Killer Angels is the iconic historical fiction novel of the battle, and was brought to the screen as "Gettysburg" in 1993.

Two of the leading officers in the book were Joshua Chamberlain (1828-1914) and James Longstreet (1821-1904).

Chamberlain was a college professor when the war started. He volunteered as a lieutenant colonel for the Union, reaching the rank of Brigadier General. On July 2, he and his men held the left of the Union lines at Little Round Top, withstanding numerous charges before driving the Alabama infantry away with a downhill bayonet charge. Following the war, he entered politics, served as Governor of Maine, and returned to his alma mater, Bowdoin College, as President.

James Longstreet was called "Old War Horse" by Robert E. Lee and was Lee's chief subordinate for much of the war. At Gettysburg, however, Lee, for whatever reasons, pretty much ignored Longstreet's suggestions. As the "Lost Cause" mentality engulfed the South after the war, Longstreet was often blamed by southerners for losing the battle. - and even the war. His service to the US government as diplomat, civil servant, and administrator, his friendship with U.S. Grant, his acceptance of defeat and Reconstruction, and his criticisms of Lee all made him anathema to most southerners, and he was held in disdain well into the 20th century. In the second half of the 20th century, historians have rehabbed his reputation into one of the most accomplished officers in the war and an important forward-thinking leader during Reconstruction.

Place.

July 2, 1863 was the second day of battle between Union and Confederate forces at Gettysburg Pennsylvania. The three day battle generated the most casualties of the war and is considered the turning point of the war because Lee's plan to invade the North was halted, and the decisive Union victory meant the end of any hopes of foreign involvement on the Confederate behalf or negotiated peace.

Michael Shaara's Killer Angels is the iconic historical fiction novel of the battle, and was brought to the screen as "Gettysburg" in 1993.

Why did the little sleepy town of Gettysburg become the site of the Civil War's turning point battle? Robert E. Lee devised a bold plan. If he could strike deep into Union territory and win a major victory there, he could deliver a major blow to Union morale, perhaps even enough of a blow to stoke the anti-war sentiment that was growing in the North. As the war dragged on, there was a growing public cry to end hostilities, even if it meant legitimizing the secession.

While the story about Gettysburg being home to a shoe factory and Lee making a detour to raid the factory has often been repeated over the years, there was no shoe factory. However, Lee did hope to take some northern produce back to struggling Virginia.

Gettysburg was also a railroad junction town, making it attractive to both sides. Unfortunately, Lee's cavalry scouts failed to let him know in time that the Union forces were already in Gettysburg.


Thing.

July 2, 1863 was the second day of battle between Union and Confederate forces at Gettysburg Pennsylvania. The three day battle generated the most casualties of the war and is considered the turning point of the war because Lee's plan to invade the North was halted, and the decisive Union victory meant the end of any hopes of foreign involvement on the Confederate behalf or negotiated peace.

Michael Shaara's Killer Angels is the iconic historical fiction novel of the battle, and was brought to the screen as "Gettysburg" in 1993.

On November 19, Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg for the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery. His short remarks, only a couple of minutes long, were thought by many at the time to be rather underwhelming. Most people were there to see Edward Everett, known as one of the great living orators of the day. Everett spoke for two hours. You know the rest of the story.

These photos are very interesting. There are two known photos of Lincoln that day, discovered relatively recently. Photos 1-3 are the same photo, blown up and cropped to identify Lincoln.


Persons.

From June 29 to July 4, 1913, over 53,000 Union and Confederate veterans from 46 of the 48 states gathered for a 50th anniversary reunion at Gettysburg. In 1938, a 75th anniversary reunion was held, with about 1800 of the living 8000 Civil War veterans in attendance, average age 94.

In the late 1950s the country was preparing for the centennial of the Civil War. Incredibly, two men, one Union and one Confederate, still lived. Albert Woolson in Duluth Minnesota, age 109, was a Yankee drummer boy. Walter Williams, age 117, lived with his daughter in Houston, Texas. Although the men had passed the ability of speaking about their service, they had been celebrated for decades in their communities. However, one was a total fraud.

Richard Serrano wrote The Last of the Blue and Gray, a great story of the two men and how the history of the Civil War was told for a century.

Place.

From June 29 to July 4, 1913, over 53,000 Union and Confederate veterans from 46 of the 48 states gathered for a 50th anniversary reunion at Gettysburg. In 1938, a 75th anniversary reunion was held, with about 1800 of the living 8000 Civil War veterans in attendance, average age 94.

The 1913 reunion took five years of planning. The sleepy little village of Gettysburg, population about 4,300 (just over 7,000 in 2020), had to prepare for not only 50,000 veterans, but also for 50,000 or more family members and guests, including the President Woodrow Wilson. Wells had to be dug, latrines were built, and a tent city was erected to house over 50,000 veterans and active soldiers and boy scouts brought in to assist. A field hospital and a temporary morgue were also built, just in case.

Richard Serrano wrote The Last of the Blue and Gray, a great story of the last Civil War veterans and how the history of the Civil War was told for a century.

Thing.

While the last Civil War veterans died in the late 1950s, there were widows and children of Civil War veterans with us until 2020. Yes. 2020.

Helen Viola Jackson died December 16, 2020 at age 101. At 17, she had married 93-year old James Bolin. It was during the Depression, and her father volunteered her to look after the older Bolin. They decided to marry, since she could continue collecting a widow's pension after his death. She actually continued living with her parents and kept her maiden name. Four other widows lived past 2000, all married between 17 and 21, and their husbands were 81 to 93, but Jackson was the last.

Children of veterans also collected pensions (a whopping $30 a month for widows). The last living child of a veteran was Irene Triplett, born in 1930, when her father was 80 +. She actually collected $73 a month due to cognitive impairment. Irene died on May 31, 2020 at age 90.


Persons.

On July 5, 1852, abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered his "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July ?" speech to the Ladies' Anti-slavery Society in Rochester, New York, condemning the hypocrisy of the celebration in a slave-holding country.

David W. Blight's 2019 biography of Douglass is an extremely thorough and well done biography of the man who went from enslavement to become one of the most famous men in America and Europe in the 19th century. He is definitely the most photographed man of the century, as he realized early on the power of imagery.

Douglass had two wives, Anna Murray was a free black woman in Baltimore who assisted his escape by procuring false papers, a sailor's uniform, and cash to get him from Maryland to Philadelphia. They were married for 44 years, until her death in 1882. For much of that time, they were separated, as he traveled around the US and the UK.

In 1884, Douglass married Helen Pitts who had come from a family of abolitionists and suffragists, and had become an activist herself. Her formerly abolitionist parents opposed the marriage because of Douglass ' race, and their marriage met with much opposition within the community. She assisted with his writing, and published her own material, as well as lectured. They were married for 11 years until Douglass' death.


Place.

On July 5, 1852, abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered his "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July ?" speech to the Ladies' Anti-slavery Society in Rochester, New York, condemning the hypocrisy of the celebration in a slave-holding country.

David W. Blight's 2019 biography of Douglass is an extremely thorough and well done biography of the man who went from enslavement to become one of the most famous men in America and Europe in the 19th century. He is definitely the most photographed man of the century, as he realized early on the power of imagery.

Douglass purchased Cedar Hill, a home and almost ten acres of land in Uniontown, a section of the District of Columbia now known as Anacostia, in 1877, paying $6700. He added almost six acres in 1878, when he and Anna moved in. Following Anna's death and his marriage to Helen, he lived there until his death in 1895.

By 1895, he had made a series of additions to the house, making it a 21-room mansion. In 1903, it became the property of the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association. In 1962, it became part of the National Park Service. According to the NPS website, it is now closed for renovations until 2023.


Thing.

On July 5, 1852, abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered his "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July ?" speech to the Ladies' Anti-slavery Society in Rochester, New York, condemning the hypocrisy of the celebration in a slave-holding country.

Douglass was invited to speak on July 4th but opted to speak on the 5th instead to a crowded hall containing about 600 people. While he acknowledged that the Declaration of Independence was written by "brave" and "great" men, Douglass said there was still much work to be done. To a slave, he said, July 4th celebrations were "bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy." To resolve the disparity, he argued that the nation needs "the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake," foreshadowing the Civil War.

The speech was a hit in abolitionist circles, as Douglass had hoped. He was in dire financial straits at the time and needed cash to continue publishing his North Star newspaper. He continued revising, making, and selling the speech for years.

David W. Blight's 2019 biography of Douglass is an extremely thorough and well done biography of the man who went from enslavement to become one of the most famous men in America and Europe in the 19th century. He is definitely the most photographed man of the century, as he realized early on the power of imagery.


Person. Err.... Sharks.

On July 6, 1916, as Americans were absorbed in the news of the Great War in Europe and hoping that President Wilson kept his word to keep the US out of it, they found themselves gripped in another media panic: the Jersey Shore Shark Attack (oh, if it had only taken place between 2009 and 2012).

Between July 1 and July 12, five people were attacked along the coast of New Jersey, four fatally. The first was on July 1 off the town of Beach Haven, just north of Atlantic City. The second was on July 6 at Spring Lake, 45 miles north of Beach Haven. Strangest of all were the deaths of an 11-year old boy and his adult would-be rescuer, inland, on Matawan Creek on July 12. A half mile away and thirty minutes later, the final victim, a 14-year old, lost his leg as his brother and friends pulled him out of the shark's mouth, but he survived.

A shark panic ensued. Shark attacks along the shore were unknown in America, simply because very few Americans went into the water at beaches before 1916. Recreational swimming was unusual. Also, almost nothing was known about the lives and habits of sharks. Local New Jersey officials attempted to assure beachgoers that they were safe while creating netted swimming areas, motorboat patrols, and armed posses to hunt sharks. Congress appropriated funds, and the President's cabinet debated an action plan.

Hundreds of sharks were killed (none in Matawan Creek), including a young Great White on July 14 whose stomach contained what was identified as human remains. However, ichthyologists still debate whether it was a Great White or a Bull shark, one or several sharks. Both species have been known to attack people, but it would be extremely rare and unusual for Great Whites to be inland in a creek. On the other hand, Bulls frequent brackish and freshwater bodies. Freshwater Lake Nicaragua is home to Bulls.

Read Close to the Shore for more of the story.


Place.

On July 6, 1916, as Americans were absorbed in the news of the Great War in Europe and hoping that President Wilson kept his word to keep the US out of it, they found themselves gripped in another media panic: the Jersey Shore Shark Attack (oh, if it had only taken place between 2009 and 2012).

Between July 1 and July 12, five people were attacked along the coast of New Jersey, four fatally. The first was on July 1 off the town of Beach Haven, just north of Atlantic City. The second was on July 6 at Spring Lake, 45 miles north of Beach Haven. Strangest of all were the deaths of an 11-year old boy and his adult would-be rescuer, inland, on Matawan Creek on July 12. A half mile away and thirty minutes later, the final victim, a 14-year old, lost his leg as his brother and friends pulled him out of the shark's mouth, but he survived.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Jersey Shore had become a major resort area, and towns developed boardwalks, hotels and amusement parks to take in tourist dollars, but swimming in the ocean was only beginning to become popular in the early 1900s

Read Close to the Shore for more of the story of the shark attacks.

Thing.

On July 6, 1916, as Americans were absorbed in the news of the Great War in Europe and hoping that President Wilson kept his word to keep the US out of it, they found themselves gripped in another media panic: the Jersey Shore Shark Attack (oh, if it had only taken place between 2009 and 2012).

Between July 1 and July 12, five people were attacked along the coast of New Jersey, four fatally. The first was on July 1 off the town of Beach Haven, just north of Atlantic City. The second was on July 6 at Spring Lake, 45 miles north of Beach Haven. Strangest of all were the deaths of an 11-year old boy and his adult would-be rescuer, inland, on Matawan Creek on July 12. A half mile away and thirty minutes later, the final victim, a 14-year old, lost his leg as his brother and friends pulled him out of the shark's mouth, but he survived.

Enjoy a selection of pictures showing what the fashionable set would have been wearing on the Jersey Shore in 1916.



Person.

Charlie Hill was born on July 6, 1951 (died 2013), and yesterday's Google doodle honored him. Who was Charlie Hill? Hill, a member of the Oneida Nation, was the first Native American TV stand-up star. Praised by comedians like Robin Williams, David Letterman, and Richard Pryor as a comedian's comedian during the 1970s when they worked the comedy club circuit together, he performed on "The Richard Pryor Show" ( yes, that was a thing for a minute, if you can believe it), "The Tonight Show" (with Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, and "Late Nigh With David Letterman," and he became a staff writer on "Roseanne." He also acted in numerous shows during the 1970s.

Native American comedians? Most people have the mistaken image that Native Americans are always stone-faced, stoic, grim, and without humor. Nothing could be further from the truth, and Charlie Hill inspired and supported many Native Americans to follow him. In most cases, they're still struggling, but there is a strong thread of Native American comedy out there.

Kliph Nesteroff, leading comedy historian, wrote We Had A little Real Estate Problem, the history of Indian comedians from before Will Rogers to today. It was probably my favorite book of 2021.

Place.

Two of the Native American comedians/comedy writers who were inspired by Charlie Hill and are discussed in We Had a Little Real Estate Problem, Sierra Ornelas and Sterling Harjo, are now co-creators of shows featuring indigenous writers and actors and telling present day indigenous stories, Rutherford Falls (Peacock/NBC) and Reservation Dogs (FX/HULU) respectively.

Both series have been renewed for second seasons. I haven't seen Rutherford Falls, but I highly recommend Reservation Dogs.

Kliph Nesteroff, leading comedy historian, wrote We Had A little Real Estate Problem, the history of Indian comedians from before Will Rogers to today. It was probably my favorite book of 2021.


Thing.

Will Rogers, a member of the Cherokee nation, became one of America's most famous and highest paid entertainers of the 1920s and 1930s, making personal appearances, writing newspaper and magazine columns, and starring in 71 films. He was known for his political commentary and satire.

However, he first got into show business doing rope tricks on vaudeville stages across the country. He learned the rope tricks from Cherokee cowboys in Oklahoma.

Kliph Nesteroff, leading comedy historian, wrote We Had A little Real Estate Problem, the history of Indian comedians from before Will Rogers to today. It was probably my favorite book of 2021.


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