I believe the outlawing of the atom bomb is the outlawing of wars... I think the time has come when humanity is intelligent enough to do away with war.
Dwight Eisenhower, on this day.
King George II of Greece returned to the throne,
NBC radio program National Barn Dance was broadcast for the last time.
Last edition:
Popular 1970s television series Alice premiered on CBS. Based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, it ran for nine seasons.
I was driving through northern Colorado yesterday and noticed that in a small town, Walden, a flag was at half mast.
I didn't think much of it. I had been pretty busy down there on work and I assumed that somebody important in Colorado had died, or perhaps nationally and I'd missed it as I had been so busy.
Nope, Dolly Parton.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
As a mark of respect for the memory of Dolly Parton, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, September 1, 2026. I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half‑staff for the same period at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fifty-first.
DONALD J. TRUMP
This has gotten completely stupid.
Now, I have nothing against Dolly Parton. I don't like country music and I wasn't a fan, but I wasn't an enemy of Parton's, if there is such a thing, either. She was certainly a well known figure in the culture.
But it's not as if she was some sort of important figure to the well being of the nation. She was an entertainer. Did they fly the flags half staff for Jimi Hendrix? Given his iconic Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock, there certainly would have been a reason to do so.
In Wyoming it seems like flags are at half mast constantly. There's the national orders put out by Presidents, some of which are due to tragedies, some due to well known figures dying. Then there's the local ones, often when an obscure politician from some point in the distant past dies. Half mast ought to be reserved for really important observations.
The death of entertainers isn't one of them.
Pope Pius XI promulgated the papal instruction Cadaverum cremationis, affirming the Catholic ban on cremation. The prohibition would be relaxed by Pope Paul VI on June 5, 1964, but at least with some Catholics, myself included, the practice is looked down upon. Subsequent popes have also written on the practice.
DeFord Bailey became the first African-American to be listed in newspaper radio schedules as a performer on the WSM Barn Dance (The Grand Ole Opry). He had performed on the show previously.
from the studio of the Nashville radio station WSM. As authors note in a biography of Bailey, "he had probably begun regular appearances before then.
It was a Saturday.
Last edition:
Introduced on this day in 1926, the cartoon emphasized, in its introduction, electrical appliances and how they made life easier. Power companies used the cartoon figure for decades. I well recall it from when I was a kid.
There'd been a jail brake in Casper.
A railway disaster in Costa Rica resulted in the deaths of 248 people.
One via Reddit's 100 Years Ago sub, 16 year old Maybelle Addington married 27-year old Ezra J. "Eck" Carter, brother of A.P. Carter, in Virginia giving rise to the "first family of country music".
Country music, we'd note, is a bit deceptive in this context. As we've discussed before, Country & Western were actually two categories of music identified by early record companies, as was Rhythm & Blues. Western ballads, associated with cowboys and ranching, was really its own distinct genre, as was "Country", which was sometimes referred to as "Hillbilly Music". The current categories of C&W, Folk, etc, really hadn't set in, in a hard and fast way, either. Folk and Country music were in fact very rapidly evolving. Blues, which of course also had a Southern rural origin, was frequently picked up by Country artists at the time, even while it was breaking out in new directions in the Midwest and East coast, where it has already given rise to Jazz.
Last edition:
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal) was created by proclamation of General Douglas MacArthur.
Bell Aircraft chief test pilot Jack Woolams fle the XS-1 (X-1) in a non powered flight. It was the first flight of the aircraft.
Country music singer Dolly Parton was born on this day.
Last edition:
It was a Saturday.
A real glimpse into how things have changed was provided by the denial of divorce story on the cover of the Tribune.
No fault divorce, as we've noted here before, did not exist at the time.
It shouldn't exist now.
The Saturday journals were out. Women seemed to be the theme.
Me: "Why is her album called Cowboy Carter?"
Long Suffering Spouse: "Because her last name is Carter.".
Me: "I had no idea".
Also, she's not country, and I don't even like country.
Apparently, the Bibles that Trump has been selling omit the deuterocanonical books. No surprise, as Trump claims to be a Protestant and his religion's backing is primarily from Evangelicals, who follow Luther's dislike of them, Luther's reasons for having omitted them now proven to be based on a misunderstanding though they may be.
However, the omission of all the amendments to the US Constitution following the Bill of Rights, which is included in the Bibles he's selling, is a bit harder to grasp.
Of course, why the US Constitution would be included with the Bible, along with The Pledge of Allegiance and the lyrics of God Bless The USA, is also hard to understand.
From "Uncle Mike":
Today in World War II History—May 4, 1944: In Exercise Fabius, a full-scale rehearsal for D-day, Allied troops who will land on Sword, Juno, Gold, and Omaha Beaches make landings on English beaches.
National Barn Dance, a direct precursor to the Grand Old Opry, premiered on Chicago's WLS, running a whopping four hours every Saturday night. It would run until 1968.
The Washington Post depicted Coolidge holding fast in a political cartoon.
The National Maximum Speed Law reduced the speed limit on the nation's highways to 55 mph.
While ultimately hated, the law had an immediate impact in reducing highway deaths, which of course was not its actual intent. Reducing the consumption of petroleum was.
The first Supplemental Security Income (SSI) checks were mailed in a program designed to address those disabled but unable to qualify for Social Security. The law allowing for this to occur had come into effect the prior day.
The People's Republic of China announced that eight senior military figures were being reassigned in an apparent attempt to disrupt their ability to form a base of power.
Early country music pioneer and actor Tex Ritter died at age 68 of what was believed to be a heart attack. His son, John Ritter, would die in 2003 at age 54 of aortic dissection and its likely that this was actually the cause of his father's death.
The Saxon government rejected the Müller ultimatum.
A fire in Wildcat Canyon spread to the town of Berkeley and destroyed much of the northern area of the town. No lives were lost, however.
When the area was built, masonry structures replaced the former wooden ones.
Hiram "Hank" Williams was born in Butler County, Alabma.
