Chautauqua

“Chautauqua is the most American thing in America.” Theodore Roosevelt

Riis photo

For more than a half century beginning in the 1870s Chautauqua summer programs brought culture, information, and entertainment to millions. Founded on the shore of Lake Chautauqua in southwestern New York, Chautauqua began as a Methodist camp dedicated to training Sunday School teachers, yet almost from the beginning prided itself on being nondenominational. A successor to the Lyceum Movement that stressed adult education as essential to democracy, Chautauqua lectures were not only religious but reformist, motivational, informational, and instructive.  In July of 1891, for example, urban progressive Jacob A. Riis, author of the 1890 expose of New York City tenement house conditions, “How the Other Half Lives,” spoke on “The Children of the Poor.”  Other celebrities at Chautauqua that summer were Social Darwinist philosopher John Fiske, the Reverend Edward Everett Hale, and the feminist Julia Ward Howe.  Riis returned to Chautauqua often, as did other distinguished personages at the turn of the century.  Other communities emulated the Chautauqua example.

brochures from 1906 and 1920

In 1904 the movement expanded with the beginnings of “Tent Chautauqua.”  Enterprising booking agents put together a Chautauqua Circuit, providing local communities with an impressive lineup of speakers.  Within a decade over 10,000 communities hosted programs ranging from a few days to weeks. In addition to Jacob Riis, the financial rewards attracted such popular speakers as Mark Twain, William Jennings Bryan, Robert La Follette, and Frances Willard.  Free thinker Robert Ingersoll could speak knowledgeably about topics as varied as William Shakespeare, Postwar Reconstruction, and Agnosticism. Baptist preacher Russell Conwell was in such demand for his “Acres of Diamonds” oration that the founder of Temple University ultimately gave the speech over 6,000 times, all over the world.

left, Russell Conwell; below, Robert Ingersoll

By the 1920s lecturers began to share equal billing with entertainers, as singers, magicians, yodelers, and theatrical groups joined the traveling caravans.  In 1925, for instance, a cast performing Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Mikado” began an extended tour in Abbeville, Louisiana, that concluded in Sidney, Montana. By this time, vaudeville tours were the rage, held in movie emporiums sprouting up all over the country.  The days of the Chautauqua Circuit were numbered; summer programs near Lake Chautauqua, however, still attract tens of thousands of registrants each year.

 

Kevin Nevers found this nugget for Chesterton Tribune’s “Echoes of the Past” column:

    100 Years Ago, the Red Grenadiers Bank band and male chorus, great lectures on timely topics: these are the notable attractions which will appear here on the 1920 Redpath Chautauqua.  The entire program is replete with features of compelling interest and timeliness.  Featured guests will include Dr. George Park, who will lecture on “The Man of the New Age;” Earl H. Hipple, “Wizard of the Xylophone<” and Judge Manford Schoonover, who will give his great lecture, “Unseen Forces.”

 

IU Northwest’s summer adult education series, Senior College, was cancelled due to the pandemic.  I was scheduled to speak on the state of Rock and Roll music in 1960.  I’d given the talk to Munster seniors and was looking forward to interacting with students, including jazz pianist Billy Foster.  I’m on the Munster Center for the Arts schedule for next year that may or may not go forward, given the current uncertainty. Topic: the underrated early 1960s in popular music: from Chubby Checker to the Beatles: surf sounds, soul music, and the girl groups.  And more.

This month Ron Cohen was to have spoken to the Merrillville History Book Club on Glenn Frankel’s “High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic.” On the surface a traditional western starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly, shot on a shoestring budget in less than five weeks, “High Noon” won four Oscars in 1953 and achieved box office success.  Debuting at the height of the Red Scare, the film celebrated moral courage and loyalty. Screenwriter Carl Foreman had increasingly regarded the script as an allegory for the Hollywood witch hunt taking place as he wrote.  Hauled before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in the midst of the production, Foreman, a Communist Party member in the 1930s, refused to name names of fellow members and was blacklisted as a result.  He subsequently co-authored “The Bridge on the River Kwai” screenplay, uncredited.

 

After sending federal troops in marked uniforms to Portland, allegedly to protect federal property in defiance of the Mayor and Oregon’s governor, which escalated the confrontation (moms and the Mayor himself have been tear-gassed, Now Trump is sending others (purportedly from ICE, Homeland Security, AFT, Border Petrol, and other agencies) wants to send other units to Chicago and Albuquerque, again not invited and over threats of legal action, in order to fight combat gun violence.  Ray Smock wrote:

    12,000 Chicago Police Officers do not need help from 3 or 4 hundred members of Trump's Goon Squad, assembled to cause disruptions in major cities with Democratic mayors. This is what fascism looks like. Don't pretend this is normal. State and local officials have not asked for federal help. If Trump wants the pandemic to be run by the states, why does he feel it takes federal officers in battle gear to handle mostly peaceful protests?

    Trump has enablers in some cities that will help him make this seem legitimate. It's ironic that the state's rights Republicans are willing to tolerate federal incursions into state authority. They will only argue it is unconstitutional when Democrats do the same to Republican strongholds.

Chesterton High School was all set to have an outdoor graduation when one of Becca’s classmates who’d been with several others recently tested positive for Covid-19.  School officials cancelled the ceremony and substituted a parade of cars procession for the immediate family only.

Summer of '87

"Born in secrecy during the summer of ’87, the child of lofty idealism and rough political bargains, the Constitution is a story that will continue as long as the nation does,” David O. Stewart

At Monday’s History book club meeting Joy Anderson gave away books, including “Maria’s Journey,” which Ray and Lorenzo Arredondo gave a report on last year. Handing it to Barbara Wisdom, there with her sister and friend Rock Ferrer, I told her of having edited it and written the afterword. I took home David O. Stewart’s “The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution” and started it while getting an oil change and 30,000 check-up at Lake Shore Toyota.  Stewart introduces George Washington, eulogized in Nathaniel Philbrick’s “Valiant Ambition,” in this manner, describing a 1784 meeting at his Mount Vernon plantation with fellow Virginian George Mason:

  Known to crack walnuts with a single large hand, the strongly built Washington had thrived on outdoor living and battlefield dangers.  At 53, he retained the grace and power of a splendid horseman and dancer, but it was something from the inside that made him the master of every room he entered. Certainly, he was a Virginia gentleman of courtesy and integrity, but so were others. Equally, he had his flaws, including being “addicted to gambling . . . avid in the pursuit of wealth, . . . a most horrid swearer and blasphemer ,” and unrelentingly ambitious.

  Washington’s force came from the antagonistic qualities he blended.  His “gift of taciturnity” radiated dignity and calm, yet he simultaneously implied, in the words of one admirer, “passions almost too mighty for man.”  No one who saw Washington’s rage ever forgot it. The combination of steely discipline and powerful drive generated a charisma so compelling that, by one account, every king in Europe “would look like a valet de chamber by his side.

end-of-summer party; Phil and Dave on both ends: below, Dave and Toni at IU

During the summer of 1987 the Lane nest was emptying, as son Dave prepared to join his older brother at IU Bloomington, where Phil participated in celebrations touched off by the Hoosiers winning the NCAA championship.  It was a memorable summer at Maple Place, with visits from friends and relatives and a lively end-of-the-summer party featuring friends of our college-bound sons.  I was 45, Toni 43, and our lone home companion was Marvin, a cat inherited from Suzanne Migoski, also off to school. I don’t recall suffering from “empty nest syndrome,” then or since. Nine months later, granddaughter Alissa came into our lives.  In the news: President Ronald Reagan accepted responsibility for the Iran-Contra scandal, and the Senate rejected reactionary Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork.

At Chesterton YMCA Alan Yngve’s lesson dealt with being overly aggressive when your hand doesn’t justify a game bid.  On the hand he demionstrated from last week, I went down one in 4 Hearts, but others get set two and three tricks.  Against Carol Miller and Barbara Larson, I was dealt 7 Clubs, Ace, King, Queen, 4 Spades, a doubleton in Hearts, and a void in Diamonds.  Carol, on my left opened 3 Diamonds, Alan bid 3 Spades, and Barbara bid 5 Diamonds.  In short, to bid Clubs, I’d have had to go to the 6 level.  Instead, aware of going against Alan’s lesson but convinced it was a good sacrifice, I bid 5 Spades, and Alan went down one.  Another couple bid and made 5 Spades doubled, the double allowing the declarer to correctly guess whom to finesse.  Our worst score, against Kris Prohl and Barbara Mort, began when Alan opened one Diamond.  With 17 high card points, I jump-shifted to 3 Clubs and, much to my chagrin, he passed. All other pairs bid and made game, either 5 Clubs or 3 No-Trump.  Alan suggested I should have said 2 Clubs, evidently a demand bid. I’ll have to learn that  system, known as New Minor Forcing.  We finished right around 50%, fifth out of 11 couples, with Chuck Tomes and Tom Rea the winners.

Dee Van Bebber and Chuck Tomes achieved a 75.66% at Charley Halberstadt’s Valparaiso game, Barb Walczak’s Newsletterreported.  Chuck recalled: “Not only is Dee a lovely lady but also a solid, experienced player from whom I’ve learned a lot, especially about bidding. We plussed 18 of 27 boards with 9 tops and 3 tied for top.  We made no major mistakes and got a lot of good breaks.”  Dee added: “Chuck is one of my favorite players, never critical and always complimentary.  We were in sync all afternoon.  Of course, we had our share of good luck – making for a memorable day.”

AM 670 (The Score)sports jocks Dan Bernstein and Connor McKnight claimed that Dodger pitcher Clay Kershaw’s great-uncle was on the team of astronomers that in 1930 discovered Pluto, the so-called dwarf planet. Located in the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune, Pluto’s solar orbit takes 248 years.  Tom Wade has a t-shirt defending Pluto against detractors who in 2016 argued that it wasn’t a real planet.  One thing about Dan Bernstein, dating back to his afternoon show with Terry Boers, he often abruptly hangs up on obnoxious callers.

Weather has remained summery, sunny with highs in the 80s, but the daylight hours are markedly shorter. At lunch with Mike Olszanski, I discovered the veggies I had packed were missing. Later I found them on the ground near the Corolla.  On a library elevator a half-dozen students were peering at someone’s phone.  I asked what interested them; Apple was unveiling new products. 

Nicki Minaj and Cardi B got into a shoving match at a New York Fashion Week event after Cardi had called Nicki a bitch.  In retaliation, Minaj evidently stepped on Cardi’s dress, causing it to rip in the back.  After security teams separated the two rap divas, Cardi threw a shoe at Nicki, who kept it as a souvenir. The New Yorker’s Carrie Battan believes that Minaj epitomizes rappers’ tendency toward self-mythologizing and braggadocio:

 It feels cheap to draw a parallel between Minaj and President Trump, but the attitudinal similarities – the obsession with winning, the instinct to dismiss critics as losers or liars, the paranoia, the rabid fixation on the initial    victory rather than the ensuing work – are too obvious to ignore.

East Chicago Central grad and friend of the family Denzel Smith wrote: “I remember when I had a speech impediment. Now I’m doing speeches in front of Presidents. Honored to have been asked to lead the invocation for the Bethune Cookman Annual President’s Assembly at the Mary McLeod Bethune Performing Arts Center.”  Son Dave was one of his mentors.

below, former coach and AD Earl Smith praising Rod Fisher

Both the Post-Triband The Timescovered protests at a Gary school board meeting regarding the unjust termination of longtime West Side girls basketball coach Rod Fisher. Supporters of Fisher plan to present a petition (I’ve signed it) to the Indiana Distressed Unit Appeal Board. West Side principal Marcus Muhammad praised Fisher’s extraordinary career but claimed a woman could relate to “the young ladies we have today”better than a man.  Former athletic director Earl Smith called Muhammad’s statement “asinine”and predicted that this would have a negative effect on the community. Smith said, “He dedicated his life to the West Side Cougar family and former players love Coach Fisher.”  Smith added that during the 14 years he was AD, Fisher “never asked the athletic program for anything.  What he couldn't do raising (money) with the parents, he took out of his pocket. You find me another coach that's any more dedicated than that.”  Fisher’s wife Linda told supporters, “They didn’t just tale away his job, they took his life” and asked, “Is he too old, too successful, too white?”  My Facebook coverage generated numerous emoji responses, including sad and angry. 

Times photos by Ed Bierschenk (above) and Jonathan Miano

The third edition of Ron Cohen and my “Gary: A Pictorial History” arrived, looking great. The photos covering the past 15 years are in color and more vivid than I’d hoped for.  In ones by Timesphotographers Ed Bierschenk and Jonathan Miano of protestors at City Hall opposing efforts to open an immigrant detention center near Gary Airport I recognize Miller activists Ruth Needleman and Tom Eaton and possibly Jim Spicer and Carolyn McCrady. Cohen’s updated bibliography even includes Leonard Moore’s 2018 book on the 1972 National Black Political Convention at West Side High School. At my suggestion chapter 8, “Looking Ahead, 2004-2018” begins:

     On the evening of July 14, 2005, Gary’s Centennial Committee held a gala at the Genesis Center.  Waiters on loan from Dean White’s Star Plaza served hors d’oevres. The Roosevelt High School band marched through the crowd playing “76 Trombones” from “Music Man.”  Emerson students put on a moving skit.  The musical group Stormy Weather, whose members were self-proclaimed “region rats,” entertained with doo wop hits and a stirring, a capella version of the national anthem.  Not since Mayor Hatcher’s “Evenings to Remember “was there such a glittering party. More important, U.S. Steel pledged $400,000 toward a “Fusion” statue and other efforts.  President of the Centennial Committee, appropriately, was First Lady Irene Scott-King, who stated: “It’s important to understand where you’re come from in order to see where you are going and move ahead in the future.  It’s critical to enlighten and give young people the foundation they need to one day take over the reins of the city.”

I also added this final peroration to Cohen's draft:

 Though a tough environment, especially for those struggling to find work and raise families, Gary in the past has afforded opportunities for a host of athletes, actors, musicians, entrepreneurs, and other notables who have achieved success elsewhere.  Even more impressive are those who stayed or returned and became community pillars. While some lament what Gary has lost, there is potential for a bright future, not only in the development of the lakefront but in commercial possibilities associated with airport expansion, an academic corridor along Thirty-Fifth Avenue (anchored by IU Northwest and IVY Tech’s new building on Broadway), and downtown revitalization (exemplified by the newly refurbished main library).

Fascinating Rhythm

“Got a little rhythm that pitter-pats through my brain

So darn persistent, the day isn’t distant

When it’ll drive me insane”

         “Fascinating Rhythm,” George and Ira Gershwin (below)

It’s annoying when you can’t get a certain tune out of your head, especially one especially inane such as “Who Let the Dogs Out?” by Baha Men.  Published in 1925, “Fascinating Rhythm” was recorded by countless by vocalists such as Fred Astaire, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, and Judy Garland, as well as Big Bands led by Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, and Percy Faith. There are Latin versions (i.e., by Xavier Cugat), country-flavored recordings (Cliff “Ukulele Ike” Edwards), a mellow one by Hawaiian steel guitarist Sol Ho‘opi‘I, and a snappy Motown release by The Four Tops.

Charleston Gazette editor James A. Haught characterized “Fascinating West Virginia” as containing “wild, wonderful episodes – and some not so wonderful.”  “Institute rose from epic love story” traced the antecedents of West Virginia State to the antebellum Samuel I. Cabell plantation located nine miles southwest of Charlestown.  Cabell took slave Mary Barnes as his lifetime mate and eventually freed their 13 children, provided for their education in Ohio, and took elaborate steps to insure they’d have full legal rights and inherit his 900 acres of property along the Kanawha River.  In July 1865, seven neighbors fatally shot Cabell, in all likelihood because, in Haught’s words, “of white resentment toward his integrated family life.” A jury acquitted the perpetrators within minutes.In the 1890s daughter Marina and other Cabell heirs sold 80 acres of land to the state for the creation of West Virginia Colored Institute, forerunner of the present university. In 1970, when Haught published the column about Samuel Cabell and Mary Barnes, he wrote: “Strangely, this story isn’t recorded in any West Virginia history book, even though it was a minor sensation at the end of the Civil War.”

 Belle Boyd, "the Cleopatra of the Confederacy"

Haught wrote that  Civil War Charles Town changed hands four times.  In 1863, the western counties broke off from Virginia, and until 1870 the capital of West Virginia was Wheeling.  Haught mentioned that Shepherd University’s Center for the Study of the Civil War contains information on Martin Delaney, a free black who fled Charles Town and recruited volunteers for a famed Massachusetts colored regiment and that 17-year-old beauty Belle Boyd served as a Confederate spy for fellow West Virginian Stonewall Jackson.  World War II general George S. Patton’s grandfather, a native Mountaineer, was a Confederate colonel under Jackson’s command killed during the Battle of Winchester.

 Wirt bust by Emory Seidel, photo by Steve McShane; below, Jack Tonk, P-T photo by Carole Carlson

Among the 78 William A. Wirt High School items auctioned off on orders from Gary Emergency Manager Peggy Hinckley was a 21-inch bronze bust of the city’s first School Superintendent and school’s namesake by Chicago artist Emory Pius Seidel.  Ron Cohen bought it for $6,800 and has donated the impressive work to IUN’s Calumet Regional Archives.  Post-Tribunecorrespondent Carole Carlson noted that former guidance counselor Jack Tonk paid $75 for a student painting he had purchased 30 years before for his office.  He told Carlson, “I bought it twice.”

 Coach Fisher in 2016 with Brianna Joiner; P-T photo by Jim Karczewski

“Fisher firing fishy” pronounced Post-Tribune columnist Mike Hutton, lamenting the sudden dismissal of legendary Gary West Side girls basketball coach Rod Fisher, 68, who notched 674 wins during a 41-year career, second in the state to Scottsburg’s Donna Cheatham with 699.  Two years ago, administrators tried to terminate Fisher but at that time needed school board approval, and former players rushed to his aid.  Now with the state having emasculated the board’s authority, petty academic officers carried out the dirty deed.  I recall Coach Fisher was a gym teacher at Marquette School during the early 1970s when sons Phil and Dave were in first and second grade (one taught by Linda Bonner, now Fisher’s wife).  He was a hardnose, but Jackie Gipson, who played for Fisher, asserted that he really cared for the players, often buying them meals out of his own pocket. His replacement, Shanee’ Butler, has no head coaching experience, Fisher’s wife claimed.  Envy and nepotism are possible explanations.  Former West Side star Dana Evans, now playing for Louisville, told reporter John O’Malley: 

  It's really horrible. I’m surprised and I’m really upset. It’s just so unfair and it’s not right. He’s one of the best coaches in the area and around the state. He was always willing to work hard and put extra time in with the kids to help make them better.  After everything coach had done, they just should have let him decide when he wanted to give up coaching and retire. It’s really not right. Gary can never have anything good. They try to destroy anything positive in the city, or anything that’s something, that really helps Gary. They (school officials) have been wanting coach Fisher out for years. I saw it, and I never understood that. It makes no sense. Why would you want a person like him out?

Roosevelt athletic director said the decision was a terrible way to end something so special for so many people. Unfortunately, this continues a trend, following shabby treatment of other Gary coaches, including Marvin Rea, Ted Karras, Jr., and Renaldo Thomas

In “Rabbit Remembered” Harry Angstrom’s son Nelson met half-sister Annabelle for lunch at the upscale (for Brewer, PA) Greenery (Salads, Soups and Sandwiches)and described their Dad as a narcissist who never grew up, nor did he seek to, and, like many men of his generation, was scared of his homoerotic side. He was better with grandchildren than his own son, though Nelson recalls them playing catch in the back yard and going to a Flyers ice hockey game in Philadelphia. The son claimed the only job he ever cared about was working the linotype at The Blast, next to his Old Man, Earl Angstrom (1905-1976).  When the family brought Rabbit’s ashes back from Florida in a square urn and stopped at a Comfort Inn, 9-year-old granddaughter Judy insisted that they bring it in from the trunk and had wanted to open it and look inside.  Next morning, Nelson drove off without the urn until Judy remembered it two exits up the road. Author John Updike wrote: “Afterwards, with schooled hindsight, Nelson saw that there had  been a certain unconscious vengeance in their leaving Dad behind, as he had more than once left them behind.”  Nelson’s Aunt Min, upon hearing she had a niece, replied, “Life is wild.  When it isn’t, a total bore.”

above, Jamrose Band; below, Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum

Over the weekend, Jamrose Band rocked out at Miller Pizza and Soul Asylum at Valpo Popcorn Festival.  Ron Cohen met Soul Asylum frontman Dave Pirner at a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame conference and concert honoring Woody Guthrie.   The Cubs sat through ten hours of rain delays.  The Friday game lasted a mere inning, wasting a start by ace Jon Lester.  Saturday they lost a twin bill, with rain interrupting a performance by pitcher Cole Hamels.  Sunday they cooled their heels at the D.C. ball park for over 4 hours before it was cancelled. That night, the Bears blew a 20-point lead against Green Bay in the final 18 minutes with QB Aaron Rodgers directing the comeback on a gimpy knee and girlfriend Danica Patrick in the family box.  Old friend Terry Jenkins attended last week’s Phillies game when the Cubbies beat Aaron Nola on Home Runs by Baez, Rizzo, and Murphy. We’re both huge Eagles fans, and I mentioned that when Falcons QB Matt Ryan threw into the end zone on the final play of Thursday’s contest, I wanted it to be incomplete but if caught, by Julio Jones, who’s on my Fantasy team.  It was an incompletion, but Jones still got me 17 points, enough, combined with 19 by Todd Gurley, to allow Jimbo Jammers, to easily beat Pittsburgh Dave’s Bruisers.  

At bridge on Saturday Toni finished first, 90 points ahead of Brian and Connie Barnes, who tied for second.  Beforehand, I had a burger at Bulldog Restaurant in Ogden Dunes, which I couldn’t finish after eating a salad and rolls.  I wish that, like Toni, I’d just ordered the bacon-wrapped scallops appetizer. Monday night, Connie and Brian attended the Gino’s book club talk on “Valiant Ambition.” Beforehand, on the bar stool next to me, Bill Walton was discussing IU professor Peter Guardino’s new book, “The Dead March: A History of the Mexican-American War.”  Centering on the experiences of ordinary Mexicans and American soldiers, this social and cultural study claims that the United States underestimated the strength of Mexican nationalism and ferocity of their resistance to being conquered, resulting in thousands of American casualties and at least twice as many Mexican combatants and civilians. Evidently, young Irish recruits endured buggery and rape and witnessed atrocities inflicted by U.S. troops on Mexican civilians. (Guardino below)

Nostalgia

“You don’t know where you’re going

Who says when you arrive

Some people will destroy you

In order to survive”

         Robyn Hitchcock, “Time Coast”

I can see why Robert Baszkiewicz called “Time Coast” by 64-year-old Englishman Robyn Hitchcock his favorite song of 2017.  The chorus goes, “I made it to the Time Coast, I made it just in time.”  In the Eighties Hitchcock found success with his band the Egyptians, and he’s been recording ever since, albeit, under the radar for the most part.  Robert also highly recommended the Replacements’ “For Sale: Live at Maxwell’s 1986,” which he called a nostalgia romp.  In a recent email Ray Smock compared nostalgia to a fine bourbon, a good thing so long as you don’t drink too much.  He was responding to my comments upon hearing that David Goldfield had cited our grad school days at Maryland on the acknowledgements page of his new book, “The Gifted Generation: When Government Was Good.” Goldfield wrote:

I have been fortunate through the years to have a group of wonderful friends who are not afraid to tell me what they think of me and my work at any given time. They have kept me grounded, but have also elevated me.  Although I attended the University of Maryland a while ago—my son tells me Lord Baltimore was governor at the time—my close friendship with Pete Daniel, Jimbo Lane, and Ray Smock has never wavered.

My sentiments exactly.  Reading “The Gifted Generation,” Smock said, “David was always a fine historian but over the years has become an excellent story teller, too.”  Conservative columnist George Will wrote about Goldfield’s book in the Washington Post, labeling him a “cheerful liberal” overly nostalgic about the postwar years. On the other hand, George Will is overly nostalgic about the Ronald Reagan presidency.

I frequently wax nostalgia about my Maryland days between 1966 and 1970.  Phil and Dave came into this world, and I not only made lasting friendships but it was my good fortune to have progressive historian Horace Samuel “Sam” Merrill as my PhD adviser.  I was best man at David Goldfield’s wedding on Long Island and still recall the seafood feast at East Hampton near Montauk Point.  David met my son Dave on a bus taking us from a history conference in Washington, DC, to College Park for the dedication of the Samuel Merrill seminar room. I attended a talk Goldfield delivered at an Urban History roundtable in Chicago, and in his opening remarks noted that the two of us were teammates on the Wobblies, our grad school softball team.

Three weeks ago, the Electrical Engineers were tied for first place.  Since then, we’ve gone 4-17 and are back in the middle of the pack.  Ironically, I’ve had my two best series, 506 and 514, winning our team’s 4-dollar pot for most pins above average and causing Dick Maloney to remark, “If you keep this up, I’ll have to report you to the IRS.”

The hyperbolic subtitle of Robert W. Merry’s “President McKinley: Architect of the American Century” indicates the author’s attempt to elevate the amiable Ohioan to the ranks of near-great chief executives, making the inflated claim that he was a transformative leader and America’s first modern president. The Civil War veteran was an able administrator, crafty politician, and willing agent of big business, who presided over the dubious acquisition of an overseas empire that proved more an albatross than steppingstone to foreign markets.  McKinley came to regret his most important decision, choosing Teddy Roosevelt as his 1900 running mate, who, after an assassin’s bullet elevated him to power, ushered in the Progressive Movement on a national level.

Richard Gordon Hatcher in 1963 and 2016

I completed volume 47 of Steel Shavings, which consists of blog entries for 2017 and features octogenarian Richard Hatcher on the cover, looking battle-scarred but unbroken after more than a half-century of political combat.  On the back cover: a photo of Hatcher at age 29, running successfully for Gary councilman-at-large.

Doug Ross of the NWI Times wrote about the Gary schools under William A. Wirt, superintendent from 1907 until his death in 1938.  Ron Cohen told Ross: “He was the boss. Nobody questioned him until the 1930s, when the Democrats came into power.  He was a tyrant, very conservative and very religious.”  Wirt’s educational philosophy of learning through doing included such activities as public speaking, animal care, and using tools to repair shoes and make furniture. Archives volunteer Maurice Yancy, a Gary Roosevelt grad, told Ross that at the time, he didn’t realize that his city's schools were admired all over the world and much different from most educational facilities.

above, Miller sunset; photo by Jim Spicer; below, Ronald Cohen, NWI Times photo by Doug Ross

I stopped off to see Cohen after dropping off Shavings issues at Robin Rich’s house in Miller for next week’s silent auction at Temple Israel during Trivia Night. Ron loaned me Glenn Frankel’s “High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic.” A parable about courage in the face of overwhelming odds, “High Noon” (1952) was also an allegory about the Red Scare repression of dissenters.  Frankel employs this quote from The Sopronos where Tony tells his shrink: “Whatever happened to Gary Cooper?  The strong silent type?  That was an American.  He wasn’t in touch with his feelings.  He just did what he had to do.”  During the 1920s, Montanan Frank Cooper was trying to break into the movie industry.  Nan Collins, casting director for United Studios, who doubled as his agent, told him there were already two actors with his exact name and convinced him to substitute the name of her hometown, Gary, Indiana.

Our neighbor Joan Gucciardo, 89 (above), passed away.  A 1944 Gary Tolleston graduate, she enjoyed a 44-year career as a Gary elementary school teacher and librarian, most of the time at Nobel School in Miller.  Her husband Frank was a Gary police officer.  The obit stated that Joan “loved gardening, crossword puzzles, and her fuzzy (feline) companion Razzle Dazzle.

The Sandpipers, Chesterton’s show choir, competed against 32 other high schools and finished fourth runner-up.  Becka, unbelievably, won the solo competition, singing “Fly, Fly Away” from the musical “Catch Me If You Can,” a 2002 film and subsequent stage production that opened on Broadway nine years later.  The song is about a person scorned by society who taught the singer how to feel.

 Dr, J, my all-time favorite basketball player

After the Philadelphia Eagles fell behind Minnesota 7-0, they scored 38 consecutive points and are on their way to the Superbowl.  My shouts of joy rang through the house as Patrick Robinson intercepted a pass and rumbled 50 yards for a “pick-six” touchdown.  At the game were celebrities Charles Barkley, Mike Trout, and Bradley Cooper.  Memories came flooding back of past Philadelphia championships: of Eagles Norm Van Brocklin and Chuck Bednarik in 1960, Flyers Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent in 1974, Phillies Tug McGraw and Pete Rose in 1980, 76ers Moses Malone and Julius “Dr. J” Erving in 1983, and Phillies Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in 2008.  I recall exactly where I was during those triumphs.

 Tom Petty

The Los Angeles medical examiner has ruled singer Tom Petty’s death the result of an accidental overdose of numerous medications, including Fentanyl and generic Xanax, Restoril, and Celexa.  Petty’s family hoped that the death would lead to necessary action on the nation’s opioid crisis.

Taylor Beckman and Emily Res benefitted from talking about bridge with John and Karen Fieldhouse and playing several hands with Taylor’s grandparents. They wrote:

Assigned to interview John and Karen Fieldhouse, we decided to first ask them about their lives and then hopefully observe them at a bridge tournament.  Meanwhile, we created a cheat sheet of sorts for us to carry with us concerning basic bridge bidding rules.  After establishing contact with the Fieldhouses, we made plans to get together at the Bakers Square in Merrillville off of U.S. 30 to get to know one another.  And just like that, we were off to Bakers Square for our first meeting with the Fieldhouses.

We met with them, ordered some pie, and learned that John and Karen were actually high school sweethearts but then went to different colleges, John in Indianapolis, Karen in Michigan, and ended up marrying other people. After many years, they both divorced and John decided to reconnect with Karen. They wrote to each other for some time and then started dating long distance. Eventually, Karen moved back to Indiana, and they were married 18 years ago.  In high school John had an inspirational chemistry teacher and that, along with an interest in Sputnik, motivated him to seek a career in that field. He received a Ph.D. and is currently an industrial chemist, doing research in chemical plants trying to create new products. He has several patents for products he has created.  Karen was an Elementary Education major and eventually became a teacher in Grand Rapids, Michigan. While working, she received her Master’s in Reading and Language Arts. She expressed her regret in not ever learning Spanish, as many of her students spoke the language and had to translate for other students. She also worked with students with dyslexia and says that teaching was an amazing experience. When she and John married, she obtained an Indiana teaching license.

John had played bridge since college and believes that it is important to have a hobby, which is why he continues to play today. He also loves the challenge and the math aspect that comes with bridge. Karen plays because John plays and had not played before marrying John. At first, she found it extremely demanding, but she had John to help her and she also took a bridge playing class. They both play as partners in Chesterton and Valparaiso. They also have a home in Naples, Florida where they play bridge together as well.   Karen loves the fact that each hand is a surprise; John added that you will never get the same hand twice. They also love how social bridge can be, especially now that they are both older. While the game can be tricky and exacting, they also find it fun.  They even partake in a “Sunday Social Bridge Club.”  Overall, it was a great first meeting.

  A few days later, we emailed a few questions to John and Karen and received this reply from John “We moved to Valparaiso because of the cooler, less humid weather in the summer and our families, which are nearby I Valparaiso or in Michigan and Ohio.  Karen and I travel in Florida some to play in tournaments.  We have played in maybe 6-8 different places, but mostly in the Naples and Bonita Springs area.  I think Karen has about 75-100 points and I have about 475 points.”

above, Taylor and Emily with Fieldhouses; below, with Les and Betty Beckman

  Because we never had the chance to observe John and Karen play bridge, we decided to get together my (Taylor’s) grandparents, Les and Betty Beckman, who promised to give us some practical experience. They both grew up in South Chicago and went to the same high school but did not know each other. They both worked for U.S. Steel in Chicago but on different floors. They met on the commuter train on the way to work, dated briefly, and were married a few months later. They lived in Riverdale for 32 years and moved to Crown Point when Les had started working in Gary. He was a salesman for U.S. Steel selling plates of steel until he retired after more than 30 years. Betty stopped working at U.S. Steel after she had her first child and worked odd jobs such as a crossing guard and in retail. Both retired, they enjoy gardening and hanging out with grandchildren. Les spends some Saturdays volunteering at a train museum.

We played a few rounds of bridge with Les and Betty, and they showed us how to bid and play.  Taylor was partnered with Les while Emily was partnered with Betty. We each won two rounds and ended our games with a tie. We then enjoyed homemade pizza and apple dessert. Overall, it was a very fun meeting and Taylor got to learn about things she never knew about her grandparents.

 Viktoria Voller, photo by Airel Otero

In Steve McShane’s Fall class Airel Otero interviewed Viktoria Voller, an A+ student of mine four decades ago, about her bridge experiences. Voller has served as President of IU’s Alumni Association and head of the Gala Committee, so I plan to videotape her for the university’s bicentennial oral history project.  This is what Otero wrote:

    Starting out this assignment, I learned that Bridge is played with four people using a standard deck of 52 cards (no jokers). The couples sitting across from each other are partners. Each hand consists of three parts: the auction, where the players bid in a clockwise rotation describing their hands, indicating a number and a suit; the play, where the person who wins the bid (the declarer) tries to take the tricks necessary to fulfill the contract. The person to the left of the declarer makes the opening lead, and the declarer’s partner becomes the “dummy,” place his hand face up on the table and becoming an observer while the “declarer” plays cards from both their hands; the scoring, which I do not understand well enough to explain.

    On October 3, 2017, Viktoria Voller and I made contact. She had been playing bridge since college, first at the University of California and then at the University of North Dakota. She joked “I started then but haven’t seemed to have gotten any better.” She invited me to meet her at the Innsbrook Country Club in Merrillville at 1:30, when she’d be playing bridge with three friends.   When I got to Innsbrook, formerly the Gary Country Club, I had absolute no idea where I was going. There were like six different buildings. I asked a worker outside where to go, and he said his best guess was a building he pointed to, so I just went in that one, and an employee took me right to the bridge game.  Viktoria seemed happy to see me and her companions kept on telling me that I looked like one of their granddaughters. They were all so cute and it was cool seeing them play their game!

above, Helen, Barbara, Donna, and Airel 

    Viktoria told me that they’d play 24 hands, switching partners after eight hands, so they’d end up partnering with all three others. She tried to explain what happened after every hand and made sure I could see what was going on.   The group meets the last Thursday of each month and has been playing together for almost five years. They formerly met at each other’s homes, but Innsbrook has more room and serves good food.  They each pay a small sum so the winners get a little reward and there’s also a booby prize.

  Viktoria believes one needs a sense of humor when playing the game and if you take things too seriously, bridge is not for you.  She said, “Some bridge players are there for the kill, and some are there for the fun. I am there for the fun.” She told me that she came from a card playing family and that she been playing cards since she was little!

  Helen, Viktoria’s first partner, also grew up in a card playing family. She learned bridge when taking a night class in Miller. Donna’s father played cards and she learned bridge in college. Her husband was super good at bridge and taught her some finer points. Barbara’s mother played cards, and she learned when she taught in Merrillville. Unlike the others, she winters in Florida and plays bridge there.

 All four women were in their 60’s and lamented that, as Viktoria told me, “mostly old people play bridge.” I think it would probably be a fun game, but it takes a really hard effort to even try and learn it in the first place.  When asked why they still play today, they mentioned the social connection with spouses and friends, to meet new people, and to keep their brains active.  Viktoria also plays duplicate bridge at several locations.

  On November 29, I emailed Viktoria and asked if she had won any interesting bridge stories. She responded: “Bridge is about winning and losing, some days are better than others. It is a rule in bridge to lead back what your partner bid or first led. The contract against us was three no trump. I bid spades and had seven spade tricks in my hand. My partner led a diamond; I never played with her again.” She may have been pulling my leg or maybe she’s more competitive than she let on.  I asked her the meaning of the saying, “Love is a four-legged word” that was at the bottom of her emails. She said it refers to the unconditional love that animals give us.