News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Today’s meal by Chef Bill was a Memorial Day barbecue featuring marinated chicken breast and bratwurst, the latter of which was served on a Lusitania roll and smothered in grilled green peppers and onions.
The side was crispy grilled potato skins and the wine was a homemade Valpolicella — thank you Joan at Wine and Beer Emporium out on Route 202.
Dessert was a strawberry rhubarb pie by Mrs. Chef Bill.
6 From Devil’s Brigrade Live In Pa. — Sen. Pat Toomey notes that six veterans of World War II’s legendary 1st Special Service Force, also known as the “Devil’s Brigade” live in Pennsylvania, the most of any state.
Origin Of Memorial Day Courtesy of Patricia Keevil from here
On May 5, 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic
established Memorial Day or Decoration Day as the national day to
decorate the graves of the Civil War soldiers with flowers. Major
General John A. Logan appointed May 30 as the day to be observed.
Arlington National Cemetery had the first observance of the day on a
grand scale. The place was appropriate as it already housed graves of
over 20,000 Union dead and several hundred Confederate dead. Gen. and
Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant presided the meeting and the center point of these
Memorial Day ceremonies was the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington
mansion. Speeches were followed by a march of soldiers’ children and
orphans and members of the GAR through the cemetery strewing flowers on
both Union and Confederate graves. They also recited prayers and sang
hymns for the dead.
Even before this declaration, local observances for these war dead were
being held at various places. In Columbus, Miss., a group of women
visited a cemetery on April 25 1866, to decorate the graves of
Confederate soldiers and the Union soldiers whop fell at the battle of
Siloh. Many cities in the North and the South claim to be the first to
celebrate Memorial Day in 1866 but Congress and President Lyndon Johnson
officially declared Waterloo in New York as the ‘birthplace’ of Memorial
Day in 1966. It was said that on May 5, 1866, a ceremony was held here
to honor local soldiers and sailors who fought in the Civil War,
businesses were closed for the day and residents furled flags at
half-mast. It was said to be the first formal, community-wide and
regular event.
In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by the Congress,
who designated the last Monday in May as the day for its observance.
Many states observe separate Confederate Memorial Days. Mississippi
observes it on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of
April, Georgia on April 26, North and South Carolina on May 10 and
Louisiana and Tennessee on June 3. In Tennessee, the day is named as
‘Confederate Decorations Day’ while Texas observes ‘Confederate Heroes
Day’ on January 19. In Virginia, Memorial Day is better known as ‘May
Confederate Memorial Day.’
Today’s meal by Chef Bill was a simple Sunday brunch of shrimp scampi and a fresh garden salad.
The wine was a delicious 2012 Sauvignon Blanc from the De Martino Estate in Maipo Valley, Chile.
About 35 percent of moms use a tablet or mobile phone daily in making shopping decisions.
Dr. Anthony Levatino performed over 1,200 abortions in the 1980s as OBGYN in New York State, many of which were late term.
He testified before Congress in favor of a bill sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks that would ban abortions nationwide aft 20 weeks of pregnancy
Here is a link to his testimony.
Jesus Vs Muhammad — The video below was produced by comedian Steven Crowder, who is already reportedly receiving death threats. From who you ask? Hint: they are not from people who are objecting to his portrayal of Jesus.
The upside is that the Obama administration has yet to throw him in jail albeit they may simply be waiting for the next non-terrorist attack so they can blame it on him.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will hold the first of two annual Fish-for-Free Days on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, reports State Rep. Jim Cox (R-129).
Fish-for-Free Days allow anyone (resident or non-resident) to legally fish without a fishing license on all of Pennsylvania’s waterways. All other fishing regulations still apply. A second Fish-for-Free Day is scheduled for July 4.
Gertrude Louise Wooten Donnelly, of Springfield PA, who, long before the Mad Men years, helped perfect the execution of radio and early television advertising campaigns, died on Monday May 20th at the VITAS Hospice at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital in Darby, PA.
Born in Philadelphia on April 22, 1922, Ms. Donnelly was the second of six children of Harry and Helen Wooten. She grew up in East Lansdowne and graduated with the first Marple Newtown High School Class in 1940.
After a brief stint as a telephone operator at Bell of PA, Ms. Donnelly joined the Al Paul Lefton Company in 1941 as Executive Secretary to its eponymous CEO/President and founder. Ms. Donnelly handled contracts and logistics for a number of key clients including RCA and Schmidt’s Beer. The days of live television brought special challenges. On a given day she might serve as engineer and psychologist, prying open a stuck refrigerator door while calming the nerves of the celebrity attempting to demonstrate the appliance. Managing contractual obligations sometimes involved real time emergency schedule shuffling to avoid adjacent scheduling of competing beer vendors’ ads.
The lone Irish woman in the firm at the time, she was known as Mickey. In an early manifestation of “taking it back” she chose to interpret the name as a reference to her love for baseball and Mickey Mantle. She kept it; friends and neighbors were often surprised to hear her called Gertrude .
By 1957 she was growing bored and considering a move to a larger NY agency. Fate intervened when she broke her tooth on a stale Chicklet. She visited a handsome young dentist, a WW II veteran and Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve, Francis Donnelly. They were married and at 38 she had her first child, Kim; a second, Lynn, followed 6 years later.
She reared her children and completed her Associate’s Degree. She became a teacher’s aide at St. Francis of Assisi. When her beloved Fran died at 60, in 1983, she returned to advertising, this time at the Springfield Press where she coordinated advertising and classifieds. She remained a key resource at the Press for 27 years until her position was finally eliminated as a result of mergers and downsizings.
Forced into retirement at 88 she kept busy with her favorite hobbies. She was a voracious reader and an avid gardener.
She is survived by her daughters Kim (Kurt Gluck) of Piscataway, NJ and Lynn of Springfield, PA, by grandchildren Jonathan and Joshua Gluck and Kristina Brotzman, by her brother Rick (Tory) Wooten, and by numerous nieces and nephews. She was a powerful influence on generations of children, particularly stressing education. To the end her strength and independence was a marvel.
A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Francis of Assisi in Springfield on May 29th at 11am. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be directed to the Springfield Township Library, 70 Powell Road, Springfield PA 19064 or to VITAS Community Connection, 225 E. 5th St., Suite 2600, Cincinnati, OH 45202.
Military Sexual Assault Epidemic — The Pentagon’s report showing that sexual assaults are up 30 percent since 2010 under the Obama administration has the Washington establishment upset and confused.
What isn’t being much talked about is that 14,000 of the sexual assaults were committed on men by other men.
Expect more of that.