BACK IN THE DAY 27

JAPANESE CHILDREN PLEDGING ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG - 1942

AFTERMATH USA

Aftermath: U.S.A. #10

Original Caption:

Washington -- National Service Life Insurance is to be paid to some 16,000,000 present and former policy holders. Hundreds of employees work staggered shifts to produce and process millions of punched cards from which later will be computed the amount of dividend to which each veteran is entitled. This special dividend will amount to $2,800,000,000. (1949)

May 30, 2009

Aftermath: U.S.A. #9

Original Caption:

Washington -- This fiberglass-reinforced plastic portable shelter was unveiled here today. Designed for both military personnel and equipment, it is composed of 12 separated sections, each interchangeable with any other. It can be erected or dismantled by 3 men in 30 to 45 minutes. Each 20-foot shelter can comfortably accommodate 12 men barracks-style, or 20 in field conditions. Here Lola Council, of Cruger, MS, a Secretary in the Adjutant General's office, uses a mallet to test strength. (1950)

April 24, 2009

Aftermath: U.S.A. #8

Original Caption:

New York -- Candidates for the title of "Miss New York State" beam a half dozen ivory smiles at you from the top of a Jaguar D at the International Automobile Show in New York's Coliseum. Even the exotic car itself seems pop-eyed with admiration. From left to right the gals are Alice Heft, Long Island; Suzanne Schuster, Schenectady, N.Y.; Lael Jackson, N.Y.C.; Rita Hayes, N.Y.C.; Carol Ann Farrel, Albany, N.Y., and Carol Ann Westordorf, Long Island. (1956)

April 20, 2009

Aftermath: U.S.A. #7

Original Caption:

Well Guarded

New York -- Sgt. Barney Arluck holds two bags containing $50,000, which he won on NBC-TV's Big Surprise program tonight, under the watchful eyes of three policemen assigned to protect him in an armored car. Sgt. Arluck who is a policeman-lawyer, missed his chance to win $100,000 when he was stumped by a question prepared by U. S. Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. (1955)

February 12, 2009

Aftermath: U.S.A. #6

Original Caption:

Bronx -- Mme. Chiang Kai-Shek, wife of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, and one of the outstanding women of China, joyfully looks over the victory headlines upon the surrender of Japan, at her home in Riverdale, where she is almost fully recovered from a recent illness. Mme. Chiang, who has fought for victory from the fields of China to the Halls of Congress, broadcast a message of Thanksgiving and appealed for true and lasting peace. She expects to return to China soon and join Generalissimo in the great task of facing post-war China. (1945)

January 22, 2009

Aftermath: U.S.A. #5
The City: Philadelphia #6

Original Caption:

Philadelphia -- Thousands of workers stream down Benjamin Franklin Parkway after evacuating their offices and factories following an air raid alert during a practice atomic raid in Philadelphia November 23rd. Ther mock Air Raid, called Scream, was a public participation drill. (1954)

November 24, 2008

Aftermath: U.S.A. #4

Original Caption:

Levittown -- With warm weather just around the corner, Levittown children "supervise" the complettion of one of the two giant swimming pools that are now being built. Sixteen bowling alleys and two athletic fields are also available for sports and recreation-minded residents. (1949)

October 22, 2008

Aftermath: U.S.A. #3

Original Caption:

Dianne Daniggelis, Miss Illinois of 1955, displays the new concept of portable televisions. The 45-pound Zenith televisions, which use a shorter television tube than prior models, have a 17-inch screen with side grips to store the antenna and power cord while in transport. (1955)

September 13, 2008

Aftermath: U.S.A. #2

Original Caption:

Levittown -- Loaded down with premiums, a happy mother and daughter leave the King Korn Redemption Center (at 2841, Hempstead Turnpike) in Levittown, Long Island, after exchanging their trading stamps for a variety of goods. Stamp savers can walk out of these stores with anything from baseballs to electric broilers. The firm has found that the average family fills one stamps-saver book of 1500 stamps a month. (1957)

August 31, 2008

Aftermath: U.S.A. #1

Original Caption:

New York -- After sleeping for three weeks in the subway, the family of arthritis-ridden army veteran Robert Lipsky has taken up quarters in the lobby of the New York Housing Authority on Park Row. Lipsky himself is shown at left sleeping in a chair, while two children sleep on a desk. Mrs. Lipsky and another son, Joel, sleep in telephone booth. Lipsky says he doesn't want charity, "I only want a place so my children can live normally." (1950)

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PHILADELPHIA BACK IN THE DAY

The City: Philadelphia #11

Original Caption:

For That Smoke-Filled Room?????

Philadelphia -- With the opening of the Republican National Convention less than a week off, the final touches are being put to Convention Hall to accommodate the flood of delegates who will nominate the Republican Party's Presidential hope. Here Patrolman Richard Baker relaxes with a cigar amid a collection of ashtrays provided for use of the delegates. (1948)

June 07, 2009

The City: Philadelphia #10

Original Caption:

Pickets Relief Headquarters with Perambulator.

Philadelphia -- Mrs. Anna Paulussen, mother of three children, pickets the headquarters of the Department of Public Assistance with two of her children, Franklin, four, and Harry, 15 months. She claims that she cannot get relief for herself and her children although deserving of it. (1940)

May 23, 2009

The City: Philadelphia #9

Original Caption:

Philadelphia -- Once an exclusively male province, the profession of healing is being invaded by increasing numbers of women. "Lady Doctors" are no longer a novelty and some women already have become outstanding medicos. Here you see advanced students at the Women's Medical College lining the operating room and balcony to watch Dr. Chloe Fry, resident surgeon in Gynecology perform an operation. Enrollment at the college has risen 33% in the past few years, showing an increase by women in medicine throughout the country. (1946)

April 11, 2009

The City: Philadelphia #8

Original Caption:

Woman Priest Performing Ceremony

Philadelphia -- After being ordained as an Episcopal priest, Merrill Bittner of Rochester, New York, and Emily Hewitt of Baltimore, Maryland, give the bread and wine to the members of The Church of the Advocate here. Eleven women were ordained despite the possible dismissal of the priest who performed the ceremonies. (1974)

April 02, 2009

The City: Philadelphia #7

Original Caption:

Philadelphia -- Thousands of young people stretched out over a mile walking along a closed river drive during a Philadelphia Earth Walk. The youths walked some three miles to a park where Earth Day festivities were taking place. (1970)

January 22, 2009

Aftermath: U.S.A. #5
The City: Philadelphia #6

Original Caption:

Philadelphia -- Thousands of workers stream down Benjamin Franklin Parkway after evacuating their offices and factories following an air raid alert during a practice atomic raid in Philadelphia November 23rd. Ther mock Air Raid, called Scream, was a public participation drill. (1954)

January 15, 2009

The City: Philadelphia #5

Original Caption:

Puts Numbers to Work.

Philadelphia -- A magical mechanical brain, the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC) goes to work for Uncle Sam at the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation in Philadelphia, while scientists and government officials look on. The eight-foot-tall electronic wizard, which will be used by the Census Bureau, can calculate in 28 minutes work that formerly took a battery of employees three or more days to compute. Looking on while inventor J. Prespee Eckert operates the equipment, are Dr. Roy V. Peel, director of the US Census; Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer; and Albert Greenfield, president of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. (1951)

November 23, 2008

The City: Philadelphia #4

Original Caption:

When North Meets South -- On the Edge of a Roof!

Philadelphia -- Miss Helen Knott, New York Society girl, and Mr. Chester Towne, member of a prominent southern family of Jacksonville, Florida, execute their spectacular "cocktail" dance on the edge of the roof of the Bellevue Stratford Hotel, where they are featured dance artists. In addition to the 'cocktail' dance, the young couple originated the 'Danzon,' a dance done to the Cuban Rhumba rhythm. (1932)

October 04, 2008

The City: Philadelphia #3

Original Caption:

Philadelphia -- The Rev. Leon Sullivan, first Black man to become director of General Motors, talks to a group of preschool children who use his church as their kindergarten. This is only one of the programs Rev. Sullivan sponsors in his Black self-help programs. The Baptist minister is also director of Girard Trust of Philadelphia, one of the country's biggest banks. (1971)

September 18, 2008

The City: Philadelphia #2

Original Caption:

Socialist Nominee Speaks in Philadelphia

Philadelphia -- Surrounded by thousands of well-wishers, Norman Thomas, Socialist candidate for the Presidency, is seen here after speaking in Reyburn Plaza, following a refusal by authorities to allow him to speak in City Hall. Scores of police stood by during the address, but no interference was made (1932)

September 09, 2008

The City: Philadelphia #1

Philadelphia -- Merle Africa, the first member of the radical back-to-nature group MOVE, surrenders to police in Philadelphia, after the city and MOVE reached an agreement on ending the blockade of MOVE headquarters. With her is MOVE attorney Oscar Gaskins and Walter Palmer, a member of the city-wide Black Community Coalition. MOVE members in the background watch them leave. (1978)

This was posted by Tom Sutpen

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PLUM PICKERS

THE TRAMWAYS OF SAN JUAN PR

The Tramways of
SAN JUAN
PUERTO RICO

BY
Allen Morrison

[ Ver versión en español ]

The island of Puerto Rico was one of four territories surrendered by Spain after the Spanish-American War of 1898. Cuba gained its independence, but Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines became possessions of the United States. The U.S. renamed the island Porto Rico – even though the word porto does not exist in Spanish! (Yankee imperialism at its most arrogant.) The correct spelling was officially restored in 1932. Puerto Rico's first railways were built under Spanish rule and generally used European equipment and track gauges. Its main line, the 300 mi/475 km Ferrocarriles de Puerto Rico, which opened in 1891 and circled the island, was built to meter gauge, which was unknown in North America and rare in the Caribbean. The new owners renamed it American Railroad and marked the locomotives "A.R.R." The first railway in the San Juan area was the 7 mi/12 km Tranvía (Tramway) de Ubarri. It opened in 1880, was powered by small steam locomotives, used 29.5 in/750 mm gauge and was later called Tranvía de la Capital. The line ran from Old San Juan along Av. Ponce de León to Río Piedras [see map]. The area's second railway was the 4 mi/7 km Línea Férrea del Oeste (Western Rail Line), which opened in 1883 and connected Cataño with Bayamón across the bay. It was operated by the Compañía Férrea del Oeste and used meter gauge. No suitable illustration of the Ubarri line – the Tranvía de la Capital – could be found. But here is an extremely rare, very old, never before published photograph of the Línea Férrea del Oeste. The picture was probably taken in the 1880s. The origin of the trams is unknown [col. Dave Deyo; reproduced with his permission]:

The colorized postcard view below shows another Línea Férrea del Oeste train, this time on Calle del Tren (Train Street) in Cataño [see map]. It is believed that this scene typifies what both of the area's tranvías looked like in the last years of the 19th century. The locomotive was built in 1882 by Black, Hawthorn & Co. in England [col. AM]: The two San Juan steam lines ran along wagon roads and were called tranvías (tramways), but could just as well have been called suburban railways. San Juan never had horsedrawn trams on its streets. In 1900 San Juan Light & Transit Co., registered in Canada, purchased the San Juan - Río Piedras steam line and ordered 17 double-truck, double-end (bi-directional) electric passenger trams from the United States: ten cars from American Car Co. in St. Louis, and seven from John Stephenson Co. in New York. Here is a picture of one of the American cars, which were numbered 1-10 [col. AM]: J. G. White Engineering Co. of New York laid new 70-pound standard gauge track and strung overhead wire along Av. Ponce de León, exactly duplicating the steam line, from San Juan to Río Piedras [see map]. In the historic district called Old San Juan the electric cars looped through the narrow streets. San Juan Light & Transit inaugurated its new 8 mi/13 km electric line to Río Piedras on 1 January 1901 [Street Railway Journal, 23 IX 1905, p. 446: see BIBLIOGRAPHY]. Note flags: The stops or paradas along the avenue were numbered, from 1 in Old San Juan to 40 in Río Piedras [see map]. The numbers became so identified with the locations that some street maps still show them today – 60 years after the trams disappeared! The following illustration appeared in the Street Railway Journal of 22 February 1908 [see BIBLIOGRAPHY]: About 1903 SJL&T built a branch from stop/parada 23 north to a park that it built on the Atlantic Ocean [see map]. Trams going to Borinquen Park were signed "AL PARQUE" or "PARK". In 1906 San Juan Transit was absorbed by a new Canadian organization, Porto Rico Railways Co., which formed a subsidiary, Porto Rico Railway, Light & Power Co., to operate the tramway and other utilities. The Stephenson tram in the picture below shows its new owner [col. AM[: Tram 4 in this photograph, taken on Calle San José in Old San Juan [see map], is apparently from the original American Car Co. fleet of 1900 [col. Joaquín Flores]: In their first two decades of operation the electric trams traveled clockwise around the circuit in Old San Juan, as shown in this postcard view: the car extreme right is coming forward, traveling east on Calle San Francisco [see map]. After about 1915 and through the 1940s, however, trams followed a counterclockwise loop, went the other way [col. AM]:

In 1907 Porto Rico Railways formed another subsidiary, Caguas Tramway, and hired J. G. White Engineering Co. to build a 17-mile/28-km extension of its electric line from Río Piedras to Caguas [see map]. It ordered eight passenger cars from J. G. Brill in Philadelphia, which it numbered 101-108 [Brill's Magazine, X 1907, p. 192: see BIBLIOGRAPHY]: J. G. White graded the extension and began laying standard gauge track, but Caguas Tramway changed its mind and decided to build a meter-gauge steam line instead, in order to provide interchange with the meter-gauge American Railroad, which it intersected in Río Piedras [see map]. The rails were moved over. Overhead wires were never installed. The new Brill cars never ran to Caguas but were instead renumbered 18-25 and used in San Juan. PRRL&P's Río Piedras - Caguas steam railroad opened in 1908. Despite the name on the Brill cars, which has misled historians, the city of Caguas never had a tramway, nor did trams ever run between Río Piedras and Caguas. The steam railroad was never electrified and closed in 1928 [see below]. In 1910 Porto Rico RL&P placed an order with Brill for 10 quasi-open trams with screened sides and center aisles which were similar to cars that ran in summers in New York and other U.S. cities. They were numbered 26-35 and called "jaulas" (cages) by San Juan residents [Brill Magazine, V 1911, p. 141: see BIBLIOGRAPHY]: Interior view [Brill Magazine, V 1911, p. 144: see BIBLIOGRAPHY]: The jaula in this postcard view is descending the grade between Plaza Colón and Paseo de Covadonga, alongside Fort San Cristóbal, part of the ancient ramparts around Old San Juan [see map]. The tram is traveling outbound toward Borinquen Park [col. AM]: In 1911 PRRL&P built a new line through Condado which connected with the Park line and formed a large loop [see map]. Track was single, but there were sidings on each leg of the loop so that trams could go around it in both directions. This new track completed the San Juan tramway system. It never expanded further. The entire network was, and always remained, single track with sidings. Cars ran in both directions on the single track, such as that shown below on the causeway that connected San Juan with Condado (in the distance). Tram 25, signed "CONDADO", is presumably a reconstruction of one of the "Caguas Tramway" cars shown above [col. AM]: Here is a jaula signed "CONDADO" – full view and closeup – in front of the ARR station on Paseo de Covadonga [see map]. It is traveling west toward the old city, on the clockwise loop [postcard, col. AM]:

A line-up of trams headed west on Calle Recinto Sur in Old San Juan [see map]. Destination signs were the same on both ends of the cars. The third tram is signed "STOP 15". Fleet numbers and operator names were rarely visible on San Juan streetcars. Note that the schoolgirls are oblivious to the trams, but are very conscious of the photographer [postcard, col. AM]:

The two trams shown on the postcard below are in the same spot on Calle Recinto Sur as those in the preceding view, but they are going the other way, toward the ARR station whose tower is visible in the distance [see map]. Until that station was completed, ARR trains terminated at the building on the right, which was originally the terminus of Ubarri's steam tramway. By 1917, when this picture was taken, all rails had disappeared from the yard beyond [col. AM]

The Tranvía de Ubarri had been replaced by PRRL&P's electric line in 1901. But the area's other steam tramway, Línea Férrea del Oeste, which is shown in the first two pictures on this page, continued to operate with locomotives from Cataño to Bayamón across the bay [see map]. It added several gasoline-powered railcars to its fleet in the 1920s. Their builder is unknown [col. Dave Deyo]: The trolley shown in the postcard view below has arrived at the end of Av. Ponce de León in Miramar and is turning north onto the approach to San Antonio bridge [see map]. Trams ran in both directions on this track [col. AM]: In Santurce the line was on the south side of Av. Ponce de León [see map], so this view is west. The tram has just passed another car on the siding and is going toward Old San Juan [postcard, col. AM] A passing siding on the private right-of-way section in Condado [see map]. The grass in the foreground nearly hides the other rail that will be used in a minute by the tram in the distance [postcard, col. AM]: Another postcard view near Borinquen Park [see map] [col. AM]:

The intriguing view below was published in 1903, in the early days of operation – or perhaps before operation began, on the branch to Borinquen Park [see map]. The tram crew has gathered at the rear of the car, probably so that the sign could be included in the photograph. "Military Road" and "Carretera" were alternate names of Av. Ponce de León [col. AM]:

The McGraw Electric Railway Directory of 1924 reported 35 electric passenger trams running on 14.5 mi/23.3 km of standard gauge track in San Juan. The cars numbered 1-10 were the Americans built in 1900, numbers 11-17 were the Stephensons of 1901, cars numbered 18-25 were the "Caguas" trams and 26-35 were the screened-in jaulas (the latter two groups built by Brill between 1907 and 1910). All vehicles were beginning to show their age. In 1926 PRRL&P began a program of modernization, reconstructed some of its old rolling stock, and ordered six large new double-truck, single-end, two-man steel trams from Perley A. Thomas Car Works in High Point, North Carolina. Each was 46 ft/14 m long, sat 65 passengers and had front and center doors on both sides for loading on both sides of narrow streets. The new trams arrived in March 1927, were numbered 37-42, and placed in service in April. The photograph below shows number 37 in Old San Juan [see map] [col. AM]:

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On 13 September 1928 San Juan was ravaged by Hurricane Okeechobee (called Huracán San Felipe in Puerto Rico), the only category 5 storm ever to hit the island. Because Puerto Rico had sufficient warning (thousands had perished in Guadalupe), there were relatively few fatalities in San Juan, but the Río Piedras tram line and depot were damaged beyond repair and were abandoned. The steam railway to Caguas and the Línea Férrea del Oeste, which ran from Cataño to Bayamón across the bay, also closed at that time. After September 1928 PRRL&P parked its trams in a yard at Borinquen Park and buses ran along Av. Ponce de León to Río Piedras [see map]. The new Perley Thomas cars had been spared, but many other trams were lost. The World Survey of Foreign Railways of 1933 [see BIBLIOGRAPHY] reported only 11 passenger trams in operation in San Juan – the six Perley Thomas cars and five older cars. The following two illustrations were copied from an album of photographs taken by an American professor who taught at University of Puerto Rico in 1937-1939. The Perley Thomas trams had a new paint scheme. Number 40 is crossing the trestle next to the San Antonio railroad bridge [Robert A. Hall]: The reason for the extra trolley poles on the cars in these pictures is unknown, since the vehicles were single-end and ran in only one direction. The center doors are sealed since the trams had been rebuilt for one-man operation [Robert A. Hall]: The following magnificent photograph of car 37 was taken by an American visitor in 1940 or 1941 [William Voyd, col. Joaquín Flores]:

On 20 July 1942 the tramway company was nationalized and became a subsidiary of the Puerto Rico Water Resources Authority = Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales. Some of the trams had the inscription "SAN JUAN SANTURCE STREET RAILWAY SERVICE" on their sides. The Perley Thomas cars were renumbered 1-6 and the rebuilt cars 7-11. The photograph below, taken in 1944, shows Perley Thomas tram 4 on the trestle over San Antonio Channel between San Juan and Santurce [see map]. The meter-gauge track in the foreground belonged to the American Railroad [col. Dave Deyo]:

The next photograph, also taken in 1944, shows one of the five cars from the beginning of the century that had been remodeled and reconstructed single-end. Tram 7 is crossing the causeway between San Juan and Condado [see map], which was also shown in a postcard view above [col. Dave Deyo]: Some of the Perley Thomas trams were also streamlined [col. AM]: The Water Resources Authority/Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales ran the last tram in San Juan (and Puerto Rico) on Monday night 30 September 1946. (Actually, according to newspapers, the last car, Perley Thomas number 4, pulled into Borinquen yards at 0:45 am 1 October [see map].) A rich chapter in Puerto Rican transport history had come to an end. The photograph below, taken in 1947, after the system had closed, shows two of the four Birney trams that WRA/AFF had purchased in the United States in 1942, and which it planned to splice together to make two double-truck cars. Three of them, including the two shown here, came from the Third Avenue Railway in New York. The fourth, which came from the abandoned tramway in New Castle, Pennsylvania, was lengthened and rebuilt as a 4-axle tram. It was numbered 12 and ran for a short time in San Juan, but derailed frequently so was withdrawn. Nothing was ever done with the New York cars [col. Dave Deyo]: The American Railroad ran its last train in Puerto Rico in 1957. Construction began forty years later, in 1997, on the first stage of a heavy-rail metro in San Juan, called Tren Urbano. The initial 10.5 mile line, between Sagrado Corazón station in Santurce and Bayamón, began free rides for the public in December 2004 and finally inaugurated full commercial operation on 6 June 2005. Most of the line is elevated, but has a mile of tunnel, with two underground stations, in Río Piedras. BIBLIOGRAPHY (in order of publication) "Trolley Road in Porto Rico" in Street Railway Review (Chicago), 15 January 1899, pp. 14-15. Good short article about the reconstruction of the San Juan & Río Piedras Railroad as an electric line. Eleven unlabeled photographs of the steam line (but not of its vehicles). "Tranvía Eléctrico" in La Correspondencia de Puerto Rico (San Juan), 4 February 1901. A short article announces the operation of the first electric tram in the city – but doesn't indicate the date. "Electric Railways" in Electrical Review (New York), 16 February 1901, p. 233. A news item announces the inauguration of San Juan's "new trolley system" on 1 January 1901. "The Electric Railway at San Juan, Porto Rico" in Street Railway Journal (New York), 23 September 1905, pp. 446-448. Good, long article about the new electric tramway. Six illustrations, including a view of a horsecar in Mayagüez (incorrectly identified). "Brill Semi-Convertible Cars for Porto Rico" in Brill's Magazine (Philadelphia), October 1907, pp. 192-195. Nice article about the eight trams that J. G. Brill built for the "Caguas Tramway Company". Good description of the vehicles and also of the line under construction between Río Piedras and Caguas. Five pictures. "Baggage Car with Steel Underframe for Porto Rico" in Brill's Magazine (Philadelphia), February 1908, pp. 41-44. Long article about construction of the Caguas line and the rolling stock built for it. Four pictures. "Trolley and Power Developments in Porto Rico" in Street Railway Journal (New York), 22 February 1908, pp. 274-277. Construction of the San Juan tramway, the Caguas extension and the dam and power plant at Comerio Falls. Map and 10 photographs. "Brill cars for Steam Railway Service in Porto Rico" in Brill's Magazine (Philadelphia), August 1908, pp. 185-187. Description and picture of passenger car 106 built for the Caguas railway. "Interesting Cars for Porto Rico" in Brill Magazine (Philadelphia), May 1911, pp. 141-145. Description and four illustrations of the jaulas (screened cars) shown on this webpage. McGraw Electric Railway Directory (New York), 1918 and 1924 editions consulted. Corporate data, technical descriptions, inventory of rolling stock, track length, etc., of the San Juan tramway. "Tranvía de San Juan" in Informe del Comisionado del Interior al Gobernador de Puerto Rico, 1919. San Juan, 1919. Nice system history, from steam through the early electric days. Eugenio Fernández y García. El Libro de Puerto Rico/The Book of Porto Rico. San Juan, 1923. Photograph of the gasoline-powered car of the Línea Férrea del Oeste on p. 703 of the English-language edition. "Porto Rico Railway Gets Six New Two-Man Cars" in Electric Railway Journal (New York), 23 April 1927, p. 761. Specifications, drawing and two photographs of new Perley Thomas vehicles. "Revenue Doubled by Modernization of Porto Rico Railway" in Electric Railway Journal (New York), 31 December 1927, pp. 1193-1195. Acquisition of new Perley Thomas cars, reconstruction of old cars. System map (!) and four excellent large photographs. United States. Bureau of Foreign & Domestic Commerce. World Survey of Foreign Railways: Supplement #50. Washington, 1938. Supplement to the original 1933 survey reports 19 standard gauge vehicles for the electric line: 11 passenger cars, 5 tank cars (?), 1 locomotive, 1 work car and 1 line car; and 91 meter gauge vehicles for the steam line, including 2 locomotives and 18 passenger cars. [Anonymous, untitled article] in ERA Headlights (Hoboken, NJ), August 1946, p. 3. Track map and history of the San Juan Santurce Street Railway. Article states that "all of the street cars are second hand", which is untrue, but otherwise provides a nice description of the system's last days. The author was unaware how very few remained. "Un ruidoso pasaje llegó hasta la última parada" in El Mundo (San Juan), 2 October 1946, p. 7. Feature article on the end of tramway service in San Juan. Large photographs. Adolfo de Hostos. Historia de San Juan, Ciudad Murada. San Juan, 1966. This 590-page history has chapters on "El Tranvía de Ubarri", pp. 89-92; and "El Tranvía de Cataño a Bayamón", pp. 149-150. Latter chapter doesn't say when the line closed. Emilio E. Huyke. Historia de la Transportación en Puerto Rico. San Juan, 1973. The chapter on "El Tranvía" provides a nice general history of tramways on the island, with emphasis on San Juan. Robert A. Hall. Trolley-Car Memories, 1915-1960. Ithaca (NY), 1982. Professor Hall's recollections, photographs and maps from his residence in San Juan between 1937 and 1939. Two of his snapshots appear on this webpage "Clang Clang Clang Went the Trolley: The Ultimate Trolley" in San Juan Star, Sunday Magazine (San Juan), 24 July 1983. Memories and testimonies from old motormen and conductors about streetcar operation in San Juan. Aníbal Sepúlveda Rivera. San Juan: Historia ilustrada de su desarrollo urbano, 1508-1898. San Juan, 1989. Impressive, large format, 336-page survey of the city's development during its first 400 years. Hundreds of photographs and diagrams. Drawings of Ubarri's tramway terminal on pp. 210-211. Maps showing railways on pp. 238-239, 314-315 and 332-335. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of trains or trams. Moody's Manuals (New York). Annual editions provide historical background, information on finances, data on rolling stock, system length, etc., of the various tramway companies that existed in San Juan in the early 20th century. In addition to the authors and photographers noted above, the author would like to thank Dave Deyo of Somerset, Massachusetts, for the valuable information and illustrations that he provided. They have greatly enriched this page. [ Ver versión en español ] See my index of ELECTRIC TRANSPORT IN LATIN AMERICA

SACCO AND VANZETTI

Chronology	Famous American Trials The Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti 1921
Maps
The Red Scare
Biographies of Trial Participants
Excerpts from Trial Transcript	Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Nicola Sacco (Dedham courthouse, 1923)
Summary of Evidence
Statements at Sentencing
Appellate Court & Clemency Decisions
Letters from Prison	The Sacco-Vanzetti Case: An Account by Douglas Linder (c) 2000 "If it had not been for these things, I might have lived out my life talking at street corners to scorning men. I might have died, unmarked, unknown, a failure. Now we are not a failure. This is our career and our triumph. Never in our full life could we hope to do such work for tolerance, for justice, for man's understanding of man as now we do by accident. Our words--our lives--our pains--nothing! The taking of our lives--lives of a good shoemaker and a poor fish-peddler--all! That last moment belongs to us--that agony is our triumph." [Statement attributed to Bartolomeo Vanzetti by Philip D. Stong, a reporter for the North American Newspaper Alliance who visited Vanzetti in prison in May of 1927 shortly before he and Sacco were executed.] Famous Trials Homepage
Images
S & V Case: The FBI Files
Bibliography & Links

AMERICA 100 YEARS AGO

20 VINTAGE ADVERTS

20 Vintage Medical Ads, Vintage Newspaper Ads, Vintages Magazine Ads, Retro Ads

1 Vintage Firefighter Gasoline Ads

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Can you believe that they actually tried to brand a commodity like gasoline, oil is oil , especially if the price goes up. I do not know why Texaco and the other ” seven sisters” advertise given that they are one company?

2 Vintage Magazine Ads Drawing

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Well, there are a millon and one other things you can be in demand for with women, but drawing?

3 Vintage Medical Newspaper Ads

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This is so funny because the medical gum massage never really tok off. I love these ventage medical ads.

4 Vintage 70s Car Ads

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How can they compare this to a spirited woman who needs to be tamed? Was there still sexism in the seventies?

5 Vintage Cereal Newspaper Ads

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Well do you need a movie to buy? well in those days people might had time to watch

6 Vintage Ads for cigarattes

I laugh that the fact that they thought people had time to read the advert at all. They gave you reasons why it was costlier, well since you will pay more to die.

7 Retro Magazine Meat ads

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The illustrator tried very hard to show that the girl was looking forward to a plate of meat.

8 Vintage Fashion Magazine Ads- Men’s shirts

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It is funny that they claim to think about these men when they are designing these shirts but that sounds daft given how awflul they look by today’s standards.

9 Vintage Ads Do Not Be Bald

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It promises a cure for baldness but I guess it is not that good given that it is not available today. It sounds like a novel Idea.

10 Vintage Magazine ads For Stokings

I thinks this works on female insecurites really, now women have to worry about whether their husbands do not like runs on their stockings.

11 Vintage Beer Ads

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This a post prohibition ad saying that beer belongs, well they would not have had to advertise is there was no threat to beer.

11 Vintage Ads about Television making Children Smarter

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This a very ironic ad because people have not really been made smarter by television, instead they have been made much slower, people do not read these days but watch the box.

13 Vintage Drug Education Ads

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It is amazing that they believed that there were authoutity figures the kids could talk to, this must have been pre 1960s because kids do not want to listen to any of these people today.

14 Vintage 70s Ads- Blaxploitaion

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Well if you want to see w=how bad the blaxploitation era film making was just look at this film and ask yourself what is going on? A racist bigot and a soul brother being one being? This was still advertised in the late eighties.

15 Vintage Salt Ad

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Is there even a connection between goiters and salt? Medical ads are some of the funniest ones

16 Vintage ads claming men do not beat their wives these days

I do not know about you but was beating wives a tradition in the past? well females do not bore your husbands at meal times, just because you are not getting the beats.

17 Vintage Fashionads- one peice suit

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This is n early eighties ad, but why is this man standing next to a pole, maybe this sort of trouser may come back to fashion in the future. You can imagine this guy getting into Studio 54 or any other nightclub in New York City.

18 Vintage MC Hammer Ads

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If this fashion ever comes back just call me. People will never wear late 1980s fashion again.

19 Vintage Medical- Malaria Ads

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Is this a sexiest ad, why is mrs mosquito distributing malaria?

20 Vintage Pillow ads

c

GROWING UP IN AMERICA PART ONE

GROWING UP IN AMERICA PART TWO

GROWING UP IN AMERICA PART THREE

THE LOST NEW YORK

The lost New York

Popularity: 1% [?]

AMERICAN ODYSSEY 122

“May slavery be banished forever together with the distinction between castes...so Americans may only be distinguished by vice or virtue." José Morelos

From wikipedia:
José María Teclo Morelos y Pavón (September 30, 1765, Valladolid, now Morelia, Michoacán – December 22, 1815, San Cristóbal Ecatepec, State of México) was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary rebel leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming its leadership after the execution of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in 1811. He was later captured by the Spanish colonial authorities and executed for treason in 1815.

Read more about Jose Morelos and other heroes of the Mexican independence movement, free from Texas A&M University

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Posted by Courier at 06:27 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Monday, September 29, 2008

"I wasn't alone. I didn't have to take all the race-baiting and heat on my shoulders like Jackie Robinson." Chuck Cooper

From wikipedia:
Charles Harrison Cooper (September 29, 1926 - February 5, 1984), better known as Chuck Cooper, was one of three players with legitimate claims to be the first African American basketball player in the NBA. Each satisfied a different condition of being "first":

* Cooper was the first black player to be drafted by an NBA team, in 1950.
* Shortly afterwards, Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton was the first black player to sign a contract with an NBA team.
* Finally, at the start of the 1950-51 season, Earl Lloyd was the first black to play in an NBA game, as his team started its season one day before Cooper's and four days before Clifton's.


Read more about Chuck Cooper, free from jrank.org.

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Posted by Courier at 07:17 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Sunday, September 28, 2008

"Each time some member of the cast would draw the color line and I just had to bear my disappointment." Richard Harrison

From wikipedia:
Richard Berry Harrison (September 28, 1864 - March 14, 1935) was a renowned actor, teacher, dramatic reader and lecturer. He was featured on the cover of TIME magazine on March 4, 1935. The son of fugitive slaves, Harrison was born in London, Ontario, Canada, on September 28, 1864, the eldest of five siblings.

Harrison's parents had escaped slavery through the Underground Railroad. His mother named him Richard after seeing a performance of Shakespeare's Richard III. Her interest in theatre placed Harrison on the way to becoming an actor. In his youth, he worked selling newspapers, and managed to work near a local London theatre where he would try to get to know the actors. Whenever he saved enough money he would attend the plays. His talents were recognized early in recitations that he would give at school and in church.

Read "When the Lord was a Black Man, a Fresh Look at the Life of Richard Berry Harrison, by Andrea J. Nouryeh, free from the Mollie Huston Lee Collection of the Richard B. Harrison Library in Wake County.

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Posted by Courier at 06:12 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Saturday, September 27, 2008

"I’m going to cut the weed of temptation, before it entangles me." Bud Powell

From wikipedia:
Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966 in New York City) was an American Jazz pianist, usually considered one of the most influential in the history of the music. Along with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie he was instrumental in the development of bebop, and his virtuosity as a pianist led many to call him "the Charlie Parker of the piano".

Powell's grandfather was a flamenco guitarist, and his father was a stride pianist. The family lived in New York City. His older brother William played the trumpet, and by the age of fifteen Powell was playing in his brother's band. Powell had learned classical piano from an early age, but by the age of eight was interested in jazz, playing his own transcriptions of Art Tatum and stride pianists Fats Waller and James P. Johnson. His younger brother Richie and schoolfriend Elmo Hope were also accomplished pianists who had significant careers. Thelonious Monk was an important early teacher and mentor, and a close friend throughout Powell's life, dedicating the composition "In Walked Bud" to him.

Watch Bud Powell play in Paris in 1959, free from YouTube.

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Friday, September 26, 2008

"My father said, 'If you don't want to be a laborer all your life, stay in school.' It took." Meredith Gourdine

From wikipedia:
Meredith Charles "Flash" Gourdine (Sept. 26, 1929, Newark, New Jersey - Nov. 20, 1998, Houston) was an American athlete, engineer and physicist.

Gourdine studied at Cornell University, where he competed in the sprints, hurdles and long jump, and was selected for membership in the Quill and Dagger society. At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki he won a silver medal in the long jump, one and a half inch short of Jerome Biffle's golden medal jump.

Learn more about Meredith Gourdine, free from the University at Buffalo Mathematics Department.

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Posted by Courier at 06:45 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Thursday, September 25, 2008

"Democracy, finally, rests on a higher power than Parliament. It rests on an informed and cultivated and alert public opinion." Eric Eustace Williams

From wikipedia:
Eric Eustace Williams (September 25, 1911 – March 29, 1981) was the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. He served from 1956 until his death in 1981. He was also a noted Caribbean historian.

Williams was born the son of minor civil servant, but his mother was a descendant of the French Creole elite. He was educated at Queen's Royal College in Port of Spain, where he excelled at academics and football. He won an island scholarship in 1932 which allowed him to attend Oxford University where he received his doctorate in 1938. Williams was in part inspired by C.L.R. James and his doctoral thesis, titled The Economic Aspect of the West Indian Slave Trade and Slavery, owed much to the influence of James's The Black Jacobins (1938)

Visit the Eric Eustace Williams Collection, free from the University of the West Indies.

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Posted by Courier at 12:48 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

"Education in the past has been too much inspiration and too little information." E. Franklin Frazier

From wikipedia:
Edward Franklin Frazier (September 24, 1894 - May 17, 1962), was an American sociologist. His 1932 Ph.D. dissertation The Negro Family in Chicago, later released as a book The Negro Family in the United States in 1939, analyzed the cultural and historical forces that influenced the development of the African American family from the time of slavery. The book was awarded the 1939 Anisfield Award for the most significant work in the field of race relations. This book was among the first sociological works on blacks researched and written by a black person. He helped draft the UNESCO statement The Race Question in 1950.

Read excerpts of E. Franklin Frazier and the Black Bourgeoisie, by James Teele, free from googlebooks.com.

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Posted by Courier at 06:53 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

“Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it's cowardice." George Jackson

From wikipedia:
George Jackson (September 23, 1941 – August 21, 1971) was a Black American militant who became a member of the Black Panther Party while in prison, where he spent the last 12 years of his life. He was one of the Soledad Brothers and achieved fame due to a book of published letters.

Born in Chicago Illinois, Jackson spent time in the Youth Authority Corrections facility in Paso Robles because of several convictions. He was convicted of armed robbery, a felony, for robbing a gas station at gunpoint and at age 18 was sentenced to serve one year to life in prison.

Read excerpts from George Jackson's book, Blood in My Eye, free from googlebooks.com.

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Posted by Courier at 12:39 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Monday, September 22, 2008

"Little dabs of color that spread out very free…that's how it all began." Alma Woodsey Thomas

From the Smithsonian Institution:
Alma Woodsey Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia on September 22, 1894, the eldest of the four daughters of John Harris Thomas and Amelia Cantey Thomas. The family moved to Washington, D.C. in 1906. Alma Thomas graduated in 1911 from Armstrong Technical High School where she was first introduced to art classes. From 1911 to 1913, she took a course in kindergarten teaching at the Miner Normal School, Washington, D.C. Because of the lack of permanent positions in the D.C. public school system, she accepted substitute work until early 1914 when she received a teaching position on the Eastern shore of Maryland. Then, from 1916 to 1923, she taught kindergarten at Thomas Garrett Settlement House in Wilmington, Delaware.

See examples of Alma Thomas' art, free from artcyclopedia.com.

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Posted by Courier at 06:40 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Sunday, September 21, 2008

"I thought, I can play baseball later. After I go to college." Sandy Stephens

From wikipedia:
Sanford Emory Stephens II (September 21, 1940 - June 6, 2000) was an African-American football player and civic leader. Stephens was born and raised in the Pittsburgh area city of Uniontown, Pennsylvania and is best known for his career as a college football quarterback at the University of Minnesota. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.

Stephens was the first black man to play quarterback at the University of Minnesota and remains the only quarterback to take the Gophers to the Rose Bowl (1960 and 1961). In 1960, he led the University of Minnesota to an 8-2 record and the national championship. Stephens became the first African-American major-college All-American quarterback and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting. In 1961, Stephens received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Most Valuable Player of the Big Ten Conference.


Learn more about Sandy Stephens, free from thinkwebworks.com.

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Posted by Courier at 12:56 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Saturday, September 20, 2008

``I think my paintings have to do with an invisible life--a reality on a different level.'' Hughie Lee-Smith

Photo:African-American registry

Adapted from wikipedia:
Hughie Lee-Smith was born in Eustis, Florida on Sept. 20, 1915. He went to school in Cleveland, Ohion and graduated from the Cleveland School of Arts in 1938. He went to work for the Ohio Works Progress Administration, and the Ford factory in River Rouge, and taught art at the Karamu House in Cleveland during the 1930s and 1940s. He served in the Navy during World War II. At the Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois, he completed a series of paintings called “The History of the Negro in the United States Navy.”

He began exhibited his works in 1945 in Chicago. Soon after he began winning awards for his art such as, Detroit Institute Founders Prize (1953), National Academy of Design (four times), the Emily Lowe Award (1957), and the award from the American Society of African Culture (1960). In 1967, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Design.

Learn more about Hughie Lee-Smith, free from answers.com.

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Posted by Courier at 12:37 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Friday, September 19, 2008

"Trouble, trouble, I've had it all my days." Lovie Austin

From wikipedia:
Lovie Austin (September 19, 1887 – July 10, 1972) was an American popular Chicago bandleader, session musician, composer, and arranger during the 1920s classic blues era. She and Lil Hardin Armstrong are often ranked as two of the best female jazz blues piano players of the period. Mary Lou Williams cites Lovie Austin as her greatest influence.

Born Cora Calhoun in Chattanooga, Tennessee, she studied music theory at Roger Williams University and Knoxville College in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1923, Lovie Austin decided to make Chicago her home, and she lived and worked there for the rest of her life. A fancy dresser and a well-liked person, she was often seen racing around town in her Stutz Bearcat with leopard skin upholstery, dressed to the teeth. Her early career was in vaudeville where she played piano and performed in variety acts.

Learn more about Lovie Austin and hear some of her songs, free from redhotjazz.com.

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Posted by Courier at 04:46 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Thursday, September 18, 2008

"But, boss, we don't do that any more!" Eddie Anderson

Eddie Anderson, right, with
fellow comedian Red Skelton

Eddie Anderson (September 18, 1905 - February 28, 1977), often known as Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, was an African American comic actor who became famous playing "Rochester van Jones" (usually known simply as "Rochester"), the valet to Jack Benny's eponymous title character on the long-running radio and television series The Jack Benny Program.

Born in Oakland, California into a family of performers, Anderson began his show business career at age 14 in a song-and-dance act with his brother Cornelius and another performer. They billed themselves as the Three Black Aces. At a young age, Anderson permanently damaged his vocal cords (he had to yell loudly for his job selling newspapers), leading to his trademark "raspy" voice.


Listen to Eddie Anderson with his comedy partner Jack Benny perform on a classic radio show, free from radiohhof.org

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Posted by Courier at 12:01 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Wednesday, September 17, 2008

"The greatness of nations is shown by their strict regard for human rights, rigid enforcement of the law without bias." Mary Burnett Talbert

From wikipedia:
Mary Burnett Talbert (September 17, 1866 – October 15, 1923) was an American orator, activist, suffragist and reformer. Called "The best known Colored Woman in the United States," Talbert was among the most prominent African Americans of her time.

Mary Burnett Talbert was born and raised in Oberlin, Ohio in 1866. As the only African-American woman in her graduating class from Oberlin College in 1886, Burnett received a Bachelor of Arts degree, then called an S.P. degree. She entered the field of education, becoming assistant principal of the Union High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1887, the highest position held by an African-American woman in the state. In 1891 she married William H. Talbert, moved to Buffalo, New York, and joined Buffalo's historic Michigan Avenue Baptist Church.

Learn more about Mary Burnett Talbert, free from "Uncrowned Queens: African American Community Builders," from the University of Buffalo.

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Posted by Courier at 12:09 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

"America, when it became known to Europeans, was, as it had long been, a scene of wide-spread revolution." Francis Parkman

From wikipedia:
Francis Parkman (September 16, 1823 – November 8, 1893) was an American historian, best known as author of The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life and his monumental seven volume France and England in North America. These works are still valued as history and especially as literature, although the biases of his work have met with criticism. He was also a leading horticulturist, briefly a Professor of Horticulture at Harvard University and the first leader of the Arnold Arboretum, and author of several books on the topic.

Read The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life, by Francis Parkman, free from the University of Virginia.

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Posted by Courier at 12:07 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Monday, September 15, 2008

"There is every prospect that teaching will be my life-work." Edward Bouchet

From wikipedia:
Edward Alexander Bouchet (15 September 1852 – 28 October 1918) was an African American physicist who is most notable for having been the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from an American university. He graduated from Yale University in 1874 as the first black person to graduate from Yale. He completed his dissertation in Yale's Ph.D. program in 1876.

Edward Bouchet was born in New Haven, Connecticut to parents William and Susan Cooley Bouchet. At that time there were only three schools in New Haven open to black children. Bouchet was enrolled in the Artisan Street Colored School with only one teacher (who nurtured Bouchet's academic abilities). He attended the New Haven High School from 1866-1868 and then Hopkins School from 1868-1870 where he graduated first in his class.

Read excerpts of Edward Bouchet: The First African-American Doctorate, edited by Ronald E Mickens and free from googlebooks.com.

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Posted by Courier at 06:39 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Sunday, September 14, 2008

"There appears to be no limit as to how far the women's revolution will take us." Constance Baker Motley

From wikipedia:
Constance Baker Motley (14 September 1921–28 September 2005) was an African American civil rights activist, lawyer, judge, and state senator.

She was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the ninth of twelve children. Her parents had immigrated from Nevis, in the Caribbean; her mother was the founder of the New Haven chapter of the NAACP. With financial help from a local philanthropist, Clarence Blakeslee, she initially attended Fisk University, a historically black college in Tennessee, before deciding to move to an integrated university. Motley graduated from New York University in 1943, then received her law degree from Columbia Law School in 1946. Her legal career began as a law clerk in the fledgling NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), where she worked with Thurgood Marshall, Jack Greenberg, and others. The LDF's first female attorney, she became Associate Counsel to the LDF, making her the NAACP's lead trial attorney.

Read a speech to the NAACP by Constance Baker Motley, part of The Agents of Social Change exhibit of the Sophia Smith Collection online at the Smith College library.

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Posted by Courier at 06:31 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Saturday, September 13, 2008

"I dare not fail." Maria Louise Baldwin

From wikipedia:
Maria Louise Baldwin (September 13, 1856 – January 9, 1922) was an African American educator and civic leader born in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Baldwin was born to Peter L. and Mary E. Baldwin, and received all of her education in Cambridge’s schools. In 1874, Baldwin graduated from Cambridge High School, and a year later she graduated from the Cambridge training school for teachers.

Learn more about Maria L. Baldwin, at the website of the Maria L. Baldwin School.

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Posted by Courier at 12:05 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Friday, September 12, 2008

"In order to be rated as good as a good man in the field of her earnings, she must show herself better than he." Florence Kelley

Florence Kelley (September 12, 1859 – February 17, 1932) was a social and political reformer from Philadelphia. Her work with children's rights is widely regarded today.

She was the daughter of Congressman William Darrah "Pig Iron" Kelley, a self-made man who renounced his business activities to become an abolitionist, a founder of the Republican party and a judge, and worked for numerous political and social reforms, including the NAACP.

Read "Women in the Trade Unions, by Florence Kelley, free from Harvard University.

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Posted by Courier at 07:31 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Thursday, September 11, 2008

"You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty."

From wikipedia:
The Hon. Jessica Lucy Freeman-Mitford (September 11, 1917 – July 22, 1996), British-born writer long resident in the United States, was one of the noted Mitford sisters, a member of the Communist Party for some years, and best-known for her book attacking the funeral industry, The American Way of Death.

Mitford, one of seven children, was the daughter of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale and his wife Sydney (daughter of politician and publisher Thomas Bowles), and grew up in a series of her father's country houses. She had little formal education, since her mother did not believe in sending girls to school, but was nevertheless widely read. Though her sisters Unity and Diana were well-known British supporters of Hitler and her father was described as being "one of nature's fascists," Jessica (always known as "Decca") renounced her privileged background at an early age and became an adherent of communism. She was known as the "red sheep" of the family.

Learn more about Jessica Mitford, free from www.mitford.org.

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Posted by Courier at 06:45 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Wednesday, September 10, 2008

"I always wanted to reflect honor on my family...I heard their story again and again as a boy." Jesse E. Moorland

From wikipedia:
Jesse Edward Moorland (September 10, 1863 - 1939) was a black minister, community executive, and civic leader.

Born in Coldwater, Ohio, he was the only child of a farming family. Moorland attended Northwestern Normal University in Ada, Ohio. Then he moved to Washington, DC, where he attended the Theological department of Howard University and earned his masters degree in 1891. He was ordained a Congressional minister. That same year he was hired as secretary of the Washington D. C. branch of the YMCA.

Read more about Jesse Moorland, in Light in the Darkness, by Nina Mjagkij, free from googlebooks.com.

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Posted by Courier at 12:09 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Tuesday, September 09, 2008

"I always, always, always like mathematics." Marjorie Lee Browne.

From wikipedia:
Marjorie Lee Browne (9 Sept 1914-19 Oct 1979) was a notable mathematics educator, the second African-American woman to receive a doctoral degree in the U.S., and one of the first black women to receive a doctorate in mathematics in the U.S.

Browne was born in Tennessee in 1914. Her mother died when she was only two years old, and she was raised by her stepmother, Mary Taylor Lee, and her father, Lawrence Johnson Lee. Her father, a railway postal clerk, was also a "math whiz" who shared his passion for mathematics with his children. She attended LeMoyne High School, a private Methodist school started after the Civil War to offer education for African-Americans.

Read more about Marjorie Lee Browne in Notable Women of Mathematics by By Charlene Morrow and Teri Perl , free from Googlebooks.com.

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Posted by Courier at 12:25 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Monday, September 08, 2008

"I would like to be remembered for playing the game, and playing it clean and hard." Buck Leonard

From wikipedia:
Walter Fenner "Buck" Leonard (September 8, 1907 – November 27, 1997) was an American first baseman in Negro League baseball.

Born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Leonard left school at the age of 14 because no high school education was available for blacks in his hometown. He worked in a textile mill and as a shoeshine boy at a railroad station, the latter being typical of the economic situation for many African Americans at that time.

He began his Negro League career in 1933 with the Brooklyn Royal Giants, then moved to the legendary Homestead Grays in 1934, the team he played for until his retirement in 1950. The Grays of the late 1930s through the mid-1940s are considered one of the greatest teams of any race ever assembled. Leonard batted fourth in their lineup behind Josh Gibson. Since Gibson was known as the "Black Babe Ruth" and Leonard was a first baseman, Buck Leonard was inevitably called the "Black Lou Gehrig", an apt comparison in terms of their hitting numbers, although some consider Leonard superior to Gehrig as a fielder. From 1937 to 1945 the Grays won 9 consecutive Negro National League championships. Leonard led the Negro Leagues in batting average in 1948 with a mark of .395, and usually either led the league in home runs or finished second in homers to teammate Gibson.

Learn more about Buck Leonard. Visit the Buck Leonard Association For Sports & Human Enrichment, Inc. at buckleonard.org.

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Posted by Courier at 12:42 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Sunday, September 07, 2008

"When the subject is strong, simplicity is the only way to treat it." Jacob Lawrence

Self-Portrait by Jacob Lawrence

From wikipedia:
Jacob Lawrence (September 7, 1917 - June 9, 2000) was an African American painter; he was married to fellow artist Gwendolyn Knight. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", though by his own account the primary influence was not so much French art as the shapes and colors of Harlem.

Lawrence is among the best-known twentieth century African American painters, a distinction shared with Romare Bearden. Lawrence was only in his twenties when his "Migration Series" made him nationally famous. The series of paintings was featured in a 1941 issue of Fortune Magazine. The series depicted the epic Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North.

Visit the Jacob and Gwen Knight Lawrence Visual Resource Center for more information and to see examples of their work.

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Posted by Courier at 05:31 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Saturday, September 06, 2008

"He who has a message, but no propaganda, will not get very far." Joel Augustus Rogers

From wikipedia:
Joel Augustus Rogers (September 6, 1880 (some sources say 1883) — March 26, 1966) author, journalist, historian was born in Negril, Jamaica.

Although Rogers was the son of a minister and a schoolteacher, his parents were not able to afford to give Rogers, or his ten siblings, more than a rudimentary education. Rogers immigrated to the United States in 1906. Rogers lived most of his life in Harlem, but also lived in Chicago for some time. While Rogers was in Chicago he worked as a Pullman porter. The job of Pullman Porter allowed Rogers to travel and observe people. Through this travel Rogers was able to increase his appetite for knowledge, utilizing various libraries in the cities that he visited. This appetite for knowledge would eventually be expressed in Rogers' numerous self-published writings.

Learn more about Joel Augustus Rogers, free from africawithin.com

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Posted by Courier at 05:29 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Friday, September 05, 2008

"I have drunk deep of the waters of my ancestors. " Larry Neal

From wikipedia:
Larry Neal or Lawerence Neal (September 5, 1937 – January 1981) was a scholar of African-American theatre. He is well known for his contributions to the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

Neal was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Lincoln University in 1961 and received a master's degree in 1963 from the University of Pennsylvania. From 1968 to 1969, Neal taught at the City College of New York. The following year he taught at Wesleyan University. He taught at Yale University from 1970 to 1975. Neal is known for working with Amiri Baraka to open the Black Arts Repertory Theatre/School. His early writings—including "The Negro in the Theatre" (1964), "Cultural Front" (1965), and "The Black Arts Movement" (1968)—were influential in defining and describing the role of the arts in the Black Power era. His essays and poems appeared in publications such as Liberator, Drama Critque, Black Theatre, Negro Digest, Performance, and Black World. He also uncovered Ed Bullins's plagiarism of Albert Camus's play The Just Assassins. Neal died from a heart attack in 1981.

Learn more about Larry Neal and his work, free from the African American Literature Book Club.

Posted by Courier at 08:11 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Thursday, September 04, 2008

"You will find that people in the jazz world are good people. You've got to be a good person to play jazz.” Gerald Wilson

From wikipedia:
Gerald Stanley Wilson is an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, and educator. He has been based in Los Angeles since the early 1940s.

Wilson was born in Shelby, Mississippi on September 4, 1918. He graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit. Wilson joined the Jimmie Lunceford orchestra in 1939, replacing its star trumpeter and arranger Sy Oliver. While with Lunceford, he contributed numbers to the band's book, including "Hi Spook" and "Yard-dog Mazurka," the latter being a big influence on Stan Kenton's recording "Intermission Riff."

The Dozens: Essential Gerald Wilson, by Jeff Sultanof, free from jazz.com.

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Posted by Courier at 06:44 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Wednesday, September 03, 2008

"If this school is crushed by inhuman laws another I suppose cannot be obtained" Prudence Crandall

From wikipedia:
Prudence Crandall, (Sept. 3, 1803-Jan. 28, 1890) a schoolteacher raised as a Quaker, stirred controversy with her education of black girls in Canterbury, Connecticut. Her private school opened in January 1832, was boycotted when she admitted a 20-year old black female student in the autumn of 1833, creating what is generally regarded as the first integrated classroom in the United States. Parents of the white children mostly withdrew their daughters, leading Crandall to found a school for "Young ladies and Misses of colour".

Read Report of the Arguments of Counsel in the Case of Prudence Crandall, free from googlebooks.com.

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Posted by Courier at 12:13 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Tuesday, September 02, 2008

"What to do with a mistake-recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it. ... that's why they put erasers on pencils." Adolph Rupp

From wikipedia:
Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was one of the most successful coaches in the history of American college basketball. Rupp ranks third (behind Bobby Knight and Dean Smith), in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching. He set a remarkable standard of excellence at Kentucky that exists to this day. Rupp is also second among all coaches in all-time winning percentage (.822), trailing only Clair Bee. Adolph F. Rupp was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on April 13, 1969.

Read more about Adolph Rupp, free from bigbluehistory.net.

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Posted by Courier at 04:47 AM. Filed under: In Quotes

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Monday, September 01, 2008

"I write to escape...to escape poverty." Edgar Rice Burroughs

From wikipedia:
Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.

Burroughs was born on September 1, 1875 in Chicago, Illinois (although he later lived for many years in the neighboring suburb of Oak Park), the son of a businessman. He was educated at a number of local schools, and during the Chicago influenza epidemic in 1891 spent a half year on his brothers' ranch on the Raft River in Idaho. He then attended the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts and then the Michigan Military Academy. Graduating in 1895, and failing the entrance exam for West Point, he ended up as an enlisted soldier with the 7th U.S. Cavalry in Fort Grant, Arizona Territory. After being diagnosed with a heart problem and thus found ineligible for a commission, he was discharged in 1897.

Read Edgar Rice Burrough's At Earth's Core, free from Project Gutenberg.

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WENDEL WILLKIE

Wendell Willkie Audio Clip

Posted: 21 Jul 2009 03:23 PM PDT

Audio Clip: 1941-07-23 Wendell Willkie Calls For End Of US Isolationism

Wendell Willkie (February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was a corporate lawyer in the United States and was the Republican Party nominee for the 1940 presidential election, although he had never previously had an elected political office.

Although Willkie won more votes in the 1940 presidential election (22.3 million votes) than any previous Republican candidate, he lost the popular vote 27 million to 22 million and the Electoral College vote to Franklin D. Roosevelt by an extremely wide margin: 449 to 82, carrying ten states.

Wendell Willkie Campaign Poster

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

NICOLAS ZUNIGA y MIRANDA

Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda

Zúñiga y Miranda played by Max Langler in the 1943 movie Mexico de mis recuerdos

Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda (Zacatecas, Zac., 1865 - Mexico City, 1925) was a Mexican eccentric who was famous for being a perennial candidate in his country's presidential elections. Although he never managed to win a significant share of the votes, he considered himself to be the victor every time.

Zúñiga y Miranda was born in Zacatecas into a family of old Spanish nobility. He went to Mexico City to study law and became a lawyer, but first gained fame in 1887 when he claimed to have invented a machine that could predict earthquakes. He managed to successfully predict an earthquake that struck the capital that year. After this success, he predicted that on August 10 of the same year Mexico City would be completely destroyed by simultaneous eruptions of the Cerro del Peñon and the Popocatépetl, which caused several inhabitants to leave the capital at that date. Fortunately, this prediction proved to be false. He founded several ephemeral magazines in which he attempted to predict natural disasters or other events, including the end of time, without much success.

He had almost disappeared from public attention when he announced his candidacy as the 'candidate of the people' for the 1892 presidential elections. Zúñiga's opponent was dictator Porfirio Díaz, who had ruled the country since 1876 and turned elections into a mere formality. Zúñiga claimed to have been victorious in the elections and protested against the alleged election fraud. Díaz had him arrested and he was sentenced to 25 days of solitary confinement. After being released Zúñiga made himself a presidential sash, declared himself to be the 'legitimate president' and called Díaz a usurper. In 1896, 1900, 1904 and 1910 he again participated in the presidential elections, every time with the same result: he received only a small number of votes, claimed fraud and declared himself to be president. It was said that Zúñiga honestly believed he was elected by the people, and turned into a popular figure in Mexico City. He was often invited for parties, in restaurants or for other public events, in which the population treated him as if he really were the president. The Díaz government considered him to be a madman who was amusing rather than dangerous and decided not to take action against him any more, while for the Mexican population he served as a way to laugh about the lack of democracy in the country. Zúñiga always dressed as an English gentleman, wearing a cylinder hat, gloves and a monocle and smoking a pipe.

In 1910, after Francisco I. Madero launched the Mexican Revolution against Díaz, Zúñiga offered to mediate between Díaz and Madero. After the overthrow and murder of Madero by Victoriano Huerta, he complained about the fact that Huerta had annulled the elections for the Congress of Mexico, since he had just planned to be a candidate in that election.

After the revolution Zúñiga continued to participate in elections: in 1917 against Venustiano Carranza and in 1920 against Álvaro Obregón. Although he never got more than a few thousand votes he remained popular and reminded Mexicans of the fact that Mexico had not yet become a full democracy after the revolution. In 1920 a small republican party requested to declare the votes for winner Obregón and runner up Alfredo Robles Domínguez void for their participation in the overthrow in president Carranza, which would have led Zúñiga, who came third in the election result, to be declared the winner. This request was however rejected, and Zúñiga tried to become federal deputy in 1922, again without success. Zúñiga last participated in elections in 1924, during which he received death threats from supporters of the 'official' candidate Plutarco Elías Calles. He died a year later.

Zúñiga's proclamations as 'legitimate president' would later be imitated by José Vasconcelos (1929), Juan Andrew Almazán (1940), Manuel Clouthier (1988). Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2006) and as 'legitimate governor' Salvador Nava (1991), all of them being candidated considering themselves to have been victim of election fraud. Zúñiga y Miranda has a prominent spot in Diego Rivera's painting Dream on a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda and made an appearance in the movie Mexico de mis recuerdos in 1943, in which he was played by Max Langler. Rodrigo Borja Torres wrote a book about Zúñiga's life in 1999.

References

• (Spanish)Mellado, Guillermo; Don Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda. Vida, aventuras y episodos del caballero andante de don Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda, El Gráfico, Mexic City, 1931.
• (Spanish)Torres, Rodrigo Borja; Don Nicolás Zúñiga y Miranda o el candidato perpetuo, Editorial Miguel Ángel Porrúa, Mexico City, 1999.

Emperor Norton

Joshua Abraham Norton
Joshua Abraham Norton (a.k.a. Norton I)
Born	c. 1819 England[1]
Died	January 8, 1880 San Francisco, California, U.S.

Joshua Abraham Norton (c. 1819^[2] – January 8, 1880), the self-proclaimed His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I, was a celebrated citizen of San Francisco, California, who in 1859 proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States"^[3] and "Protector of Mexico."^[4] Born in London, Norton spent most of his early life in South Africa. He emigrated to San Francisco in 1849 after receiving a bequest of $40,000 from his father's estate. Norton initially made a living as a businessman, but he lost his fortune investing in Peruvian rice.^[5]

After losing a lawsuit in which he tried to void his rice contract, Norton left San Francisco. He returned a few years later, apparently mentally unbalanced, claiming to be the emperor of the United States.^[6] Although he had no political power, and his influence extended only so far as he was humored by those around him, he was treated deferentially in San Francisco, and currency issued in his name was honored in the establishments he frequented.

Though he was considered insane, or at least highly eccentric,^[7] the citizens of San Francisco celebrated his regal presence and his proclamations, most famously, his "order" that the United States Congress be dissolved by force (which Congress and the U.S. Army ignored) and his numerous decrees calling for a bridge and a tunnel to be built across San Francisco Bay.^[8] On January 8, 1880, Norton collapsed at a street corner, and died before he could be given medical treatment. The following day, nearly 30,000 people packed the streets of San Francisco to pay homage to Norton.^[9] Norton's legacy has been immortalized in the literature of writers Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson, who based characters on him. In December 2004, a resolution was made to name the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge in honor of Norton, but the idea did not progress further.^[10]

Early life

Norton was born in England, but scholarly works disagree as to the date and exact town of his birth. His obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle, "following the best information obtainable," cited the silver plate on his coffin which said he was "aged about 65",^[11] suggesting that 1814 could be the year of his birth. Other sources claim that he was born on February 4, 1819 in London.^[12] Immigration records indicate that he was two years old in 1820 when his parents moved to South Africa.^[13] South African genealogies suggest that his parents were John Norton (d. August 1848) and Sarah Norden.^[14] Sarah was a daughter of Abraham Norden and a sister of Benjamin Norden, a successful Jewish merchant.^[12]

Norton emigrated from South Africa to San Francisco in 1849 after receiving a bequest of $40,000 from his father's estate.^[9] He enjoyed a good deal of success in the real estate market and accumulated a fortune of $250,000 by 1852.^[12] Norton thought he saw a business opportunity when China, facing a severe famine, placed a ban on the export of rice, causing the price of rice in San Francisco to skyrocket from four cents per pound to thirty-six cents per pound (9 cents/kg to 79 cents/kg).^[9] When he heard that the Glyde, which was returning from Peru, was carrying 200,000 pounds (100 net tons) of rice, he bought all of the rice for $25,000, hoping to corner the rice market.^[9] On December 22, 1852, he put down two thousand dollars and signed a contract to pay the remainder of the $25,000 within thirty days.^[9]

One day later, several shiploads of rice from Peru came into San Francisco harbor. As a result, the price of rice plummeted to three cents a pound. Norton tried to void the contract, stating that the dealer had misled him as to the quality of rice to expect.^[9] From 1853 to 1857, Norton and the rice dealers were involved in a protracted litigation. Although Norton prevailed in the lower courts, the case reached the Supreme Court of California, which ruled against Norton.^[15] Later on, the Lucas Turner and Company Bank foreclosed on his real estate holdings in North Beach to pay Norton's debt.^[9] Norton's mental state was severely affected by these financial setbacks. He declared bankruptcy in 1858 and left the city for a time. There are no known documents noting that Norton had an eccentric personality prior to the loss of his fortune, so it is not known whether his pronounced eccentricity was a permanent aspect of his character or arose as a result of the stressful financial straits he found himself in during the 1850s. Nonetheless, after his sudden loss of financial stability, Norton became (in the absence of a proper diagnosis) somewhat "odd", exhibiting the symptoms often referred to as "delusions of grandeur".^[8]

Declares himself "Emperor"

Norton in full regalia

When Norton returned to San Francisco from his self-imposed exile, he had become completely disgruntled with what he considered the vicissitudes and inadequacies of the legal and political structures of the United States. On September 17, 1859, he took matters into his own hands and distributed letters to the various newspapers in the city, proclaiming himself "Emperor of these United States":

“

At the peremptory request and desire of a large majority of the citizens of these United States, I, Joshua Norton, formerly of Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and now for the last 9 years and 10 months past of S. F., Cal., declare and proclaim myself Emperor of these U. S.; and in virtue of the authority thereby in me vested, do hereby order and direct the representatives of the different States of the Union to assemble in Musical Hall, of this city, on the 1st day of Feb. next, then and there to make such alterations in the existing laws of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which the country is laboring, and thereby cause confidence to exist, both at home and abroad, in our stability and integrity. NORTON I, Emperor of the United States.[12][16]

”

Norton would later add "Protector of Mexico" to this title. Thus commenced his unprecedented and whimsical twenty-one-year "reign" over America.

One of Norton's undated proclamations.

In accordance with his self-appointed role of emperor, Norton issued numerous decrees on matters of the state. After assuming absolute control over the country, he saw no further need for a legislature, and on October 12, 1859, he issued a decree that formally "dissolved" the United States Congress. In the decree, Norton observed:

“

...fraud and corruption prevent a fair and proper expression of the public voice; that open violation of the laws are constantly occurring, caused by mobs, parties, factions and undue influence of political sects; that the citizen has not that protection of person and property which he is entitled.[17]

”

As a result, Norton ordered that all interested parties gather at Platt's Music Hall in San Francisco in February 1860 so as to "remedy the evil complained of".^[18]

In another imperial decree a month later, Norton summoned the army to depose the elected officials of the U.S. Congress:

“

WHEREAS, a body of men calling themselves the National Congress are now in session in Washington City, in violation of our Imperial edict of the 12th of October last, declaring the said Congress abolished; WHEREAS, it is necessary for the repose of our Empire that the said decree should be strictly complied with; NOW, THEREFORE, we do hereby Order and Direct Major-General Scott, the Command-in-Chief of our Armies, immediately upon receipt of this, our Decree, to proceed with a suitable force and clear the Halls of Congress.[19]

”

Norton's orders obviously had no effect on the army, and the Congress likewise continued in its activities unperturbed. Norton issued further decrees in 1860 that purported to dissolve the republic and to forbid the assembly of any members of the Congress.^[18] Norton's battle against the elected leaders of America was to persist throughout what he considered his reign, though it appears that Norton eventually, if somewhat grudgingly, accepted that Congress would continue to exist without his permission, although this did not change his feelings on the matter. In the hopes of resolving the many disputes between citizens of the United States during the Civil War, Norton issued a mandate in 1862 ordering both the Roman Catholic Church and Protestant churches to publicly ordain him as "Emperor".^[12]

His attempts to overthrow the elected government of America by force having been utterly ignored, Norton turned his attention and his proclamations to other matters, both political and social. On August 12, 1869, "being desirous of allaying the dissensions of party strife now existing within our realm", he abolished both the Democratic and Republican parties.^[4] The failure to refer to Norton's adopted home city with appropriate respect was the subject of a particularly stern edict in 1872:

“

Whoever after due and proper warning shall be heard to utter the abominable word "Frisco", which has no linguistic or other warrant, shall be deemed guilty of a High Misdemeanor, and shall pay into the Imperial Treasury as penalty the sum of twenty-five dollars.[20]

”

For all of his quirks and regardless of the precise nature of his psychological condition, Norton was on some occasions a visionary, and a number of his "Imperial Decrees" exhibited a profound foresight. Among his many edicts were instructions to form a League of Nations,^[21] and he explicitly forbade any form of discord or conflict between religions or their sects. Norton also saw fit on a number of occasions to decree the construction of a suspension bridge or tunnel connecting Oakland and San Francisco, his later decrees becoming increasingly irritated at the lack of prompt obedience being exhibited by the authorities:

“

WHEREAS, we issued our decree ordering the citizens of San Francisco and Oakland to appropriate funds for the survey of a suspension bridge from Oakland Point via Goat Island; also for a tunnel; and to ascertain which is the best project; and whereas the said citizens have hitherto neglected to notice our said decree; and whereas we are determined our authority shall be fully respected; now, therefore, we do hereby command the arrest by the army of both the Boards of City Fathers if they persist in neglecting our decrees. Given under our royal hand and seal at San Francisco, this 17th day of September, 1872.[22]

”

This suggestion, unlike Norton's others, actually came to fruition, but not because of him; construction of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge began on July 9, 1933 and was completed on November 12, 1936.^[23] The Bay Area Rapid Transit's Transbay Tube was completed in 1969 and opened in 1972.^[24]

Eccentric "Imperial" behavior

A fanciful depiction of Norton dressed as the Pope at the funeral of the itinerant dog Lazarus.^[25]

Norton spent his days as emperor inspecting the streets of San Francisco in an elaborate blue uniform with tarnished gold-plated epaulets, given to him by officers of the United States Army post at the Presidio of San Francisco. He also wore a beaver hat decorated with a peacock feather and a rosette.^[26] He frequently enhanced this regal posture with a cane or an umbrella. During his inspections, Norton would examine the condition of the sidewalks and cable cars, the state of repair of public property, and the appearance of police officers.^[27] Norton would also frequently give lengthy philosophical expositions on a variety of topics to anyone within earshot at the time.

It was during one of his inspections that Norton is reputed to have performed one of his most famous acts of "diplomacy." During the 1860s and 1870s, there were a number of anti-Chinese demonstrations in the poorer districts of San Francisco. Ugly riots, some resulting in fatalities, broke out on several occasions. During one such incident, Norton allegedly positioned himself between the rioters and their Chinese targets, and with a bowed head started reciting the Lord's Prayer repeatedly until the rioters dispersed without incident.^[27]

Norton was much loved and revered by the citizens of San Francisco. Although penniless, he regularly ate at the finest restaurants in San Francisco; these restaurateurs then took it upon themselves to add brass plaques in their entrances declaring "[b]y Appointment to his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Norton I of the United States."^[28] By all accounts, such "Imperial seals of approval" were much prized and a substantial boost to trade. Supposedly, no play or musical performance in San Francisco would dare to open without reserving balcony seats for Norton.^[9]

A popular rumor started by the devoted Norton caricaturist Ed Jump holds that he had two dogs, Bummer and Lazarus, who were themselves notable San Francisco celebrities at the time.^[29] Although he did not own the dogs, Norton ate at free lunch counters where he provided the dogs with a few morsels of food.^[5] The royal dogs were not considered dogs in Norton's eyes and in the eyes of his "subjects". The canines were treated as their own autonomous beings.

A ten dollar note issued by the Imperial Government of Norton I.

In 1867, a police officer named Armand Barbier arrested Norton for the purpose of committing him to involuntary treatment for a mental disorder.^[3] The arrest outraged the citizens of San Francisco and sparked a number of scathing editorials in the newspapers. Police Chief Patrick Crowley speedily rectified matters by ordering Norton released and issuing a formal apology on behalf of the police force.^[9] Chief Crowley observed of the self-styled monarch "that he had shed no blood; robbed no one; and despoiled no country; which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line."^[12] Norton was magnanimous enough to grant an "Imperial Pardon" to the errant young police officer. Possibly as a result of this scandal, all police officers of San Francisco thereafter saluted Norton as he passed in the street.^[27]

Norton did receive some small tokens of formal recognition for his self-claimed position: the 1870 U.S. census records Joshua Norton as 50 years old and residing at 624 Commercial Street; his occupation is given as "Emporer" (sic).^[4][30] Norton would also issue his own money on occasion in order to pay for certain debts, and this became an accepted local currency in San Francisco. Typically these notes came in denominations ranging anywhere from fifty cents to ten dollars; the few notes still extant are collector's items. The city of San Francisco also honored Norton. When his uniform began to look shabby, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, with a great deal of ceremony, bought him a suitably regal replacement. In return, Norton sent them a gracious note of thanks and issued a "patent of nobility in perpetuity" for each supervisor.^[31]

[edit] Later years and death

During the later years of Norton's "reign", he was the subject of considerable rumor and speculation. One popular story suggested that he was the son of Emperor Louis Napoleon and that his claim of coming from South Africa was a ruse to prevent persecution.^[11][32] Another popular story suggested that Norton was planning to marry Queen Victoria.^[3] While this claim is unsupported, Norton did write to the Queen on several occasions and he is reported to have met Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.^[12] Rumors also circulated that Norton was supremely wealthy—only affecting poverty because he was miserly.

A number of decrees that were probably fraudulent were submitted and duly printed in local newspapers, and it is believed that in at least a few cases, newspaper editors themselves drafted fictitious edicts to suit their own agendas.^[9] The Museum of the City of San Francisco maintains a list of the decrees believed to be genuine.^[4]

On the evening of January 8, 1880, Norton collapsed on the corner of California Street and Dupont Street (now Grant Avenue) in front of Old St. Mary's Church while on his way to a lecture at the California Academy of Sciences.^[9] His collapse was immediately noticed and "the police officer on the beat hastened for a carriage to convey him to the City Receiving Hospital."^[33] Norton died before a carriage could arrive. The following day the San Francisco Chronicle published his obituary on its front page under the headline "Le Roi est Mort" ("The King is Dead").^[33] In a tone tinged with sadness, the article respectfully reported that, "[o]n the reeking pavement, in the darkness of a moon-less night under the dripping rain..., Norton I, by the grace of God, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life".^[33] The Morning Call, another leading San Francisco newspaper, published a front-page article using an almost identical sentence as a headline: "Norton the First, by the grace of God Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico, departed this life."^[4]

It quickly became evident that, contrary to the rumors, Norton had died in complete poverty. Five or six dollars in small change had been found on his person, and a search of his room at the boarding house on Commercial Street turned up a single sovereign, worth around $2.50; his collection of walking sticks; his rather battered saber; a variety of hats (including a stovepipe, a derby, a red-laced Army cap, and another cap suited to a martial band-master); an 1828 French franc; and a handful of the Imperial bonds he sold to tourists at a fictitious 7% interest.^[9][34] There were fake telegrams purporting to be from Emperor Alexander II of Russia, congratulating Norton on his forthcoming marriage to Queen Victoria, and from the President of France, predicting that such a union would be disastrous to world peace. Also found were his letters to Queen Victoria and 98 shares of stock in a defunct gold mine.^[35]

Initial funeral arrangements included a pauper's coffin of simple redwood. However, members of the Pacific Club (a San Franciscan businessman's association) established a funeral fund that paid for a handsome rosewood casket and arranged a suitably dignified farewell.^[12] Norton's funeral on Sunday, January 10th, was a solemn, mournful, and large affair. Respects were paid "...by all classes from capitalists to the pauper, the clergyman to the pickpocket, well-dressed ladies and those whose garb and bearing hinted of the social outcast."^[11] Some accounts report that as many as 30,000 people lined the streets to pay homage, and that the funeral cortege was two miles (3 km) long. He was buried at the Masonic Cemetery, at the expense of the City of San Francisco.^[9]

In 1934, Norton's remains were transferred, as were all graves in the city, at the expense of the City of San Francisco to a grave site of moderate splendor at Woodlawn Cemetery, in Colma. The site is marked by a large stone inscribed "Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico" ^[36].^[37]

Posthumous fame

See also: Emperor Norton in popular culture

Artist's concept of the replacement span of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge; a proposal to name it after Norton I was rejected by Oakland City Council.

Although details of Norton's life story may have been forgotten, he was immortalized in literature. Mark Twain, who was resident in San Francisco during part of Emperor Norton's "reign", modeled the character of the King in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn after Norton.^[7]

Robert Louis Stevenson made Norton a character in his 1892 novel, The Wrecker. Stevenson's stepdaughter, Isobel Field, wrote about Norton in her autobiography entitled This Life I've Loved. She wrote that Norton "was a gentle and kindly man, and fortunately found himself in the friendliest and most sentimental city in the world, the idea being 'let him be emperor if he wants to.' San Francisco played the game with him."^[9]

Over the years Norton's eccentricity has been a continuing source of inspiration: he appears as a patron saint in the religion of Discordianism,^[38] and makes numerous appearances in popular culture.

In January 1980, numerous ceremonies were conducted in San Francisco to honor the 100th anniversary of the passing of the one and only "Emperor of the United States."^[4] Norton's proclamations promoting a bridge between San Francisco and Oakland were commemorated on December 14, 2004, when the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a resolution calling for the new span of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge to be named after Norton. The proposal, however, needed the approval of the City of Oakland and then state authorities before it could be ratified. The members of the Oakland City Council expressed disapproval of the proposal, and no progress was made on the resolution afterwards.^[39]