Today we celebrate the first landing on the moon. I was camping with friends in the Black Hills of South Dakota that day. Where were you?

I read the first page of "THE BOHEMIANS" and was hooked.

This is great fun in a great city that just ain't never gonna be like any other city in the world!

CHICAGO CAB: 1940

Yellow Cab with a rumble seat introduced in Chicago in 1940...the year I was born.



MINNESOTA ANNIVERSARY TODAY

Minnesota became the 32nd state on May 11, 1858 and was originally settled by a lost tribe of Swedes seeking refuge from the searing heat of Wisconsin 's winters.

BIG BAND HISTORY MADE: MAY 7, 1941

I'm a year older than "Chattanooga Choo Choo"!  That's right, folks.  You might think Chattanooga Choo Choo has been around forever but, let it be known....I'VE BEEN AROUND EVEN LONGER!!

It was May 7, 1941 that the Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded that classic song.

MUSIC TRIVIA I DIDN'T KNOW

Original title was "Hey Jules," and it was intended to comfort Julian Lennon from the stress of his parents' divorce. http://t.co/wPvzCFUMgq
— We love 50's60's70's (@welove50s60s70s) May 6, 2014

I GUESS TV IS JUST NOT MY THING

It was on May 6, 2004 that the final episode of "FRIENDS" was broadcast on NBC.  I know it was one of the biggest sit-coms, ever, on TV.  It made unknown actors huge stars and NBC gazillions of dollars.....and I never saw a single episode.  Still have not seen a single episode and have no idea what the show was about.  

 

I'm not sure but, I think, I may have totally missed 2004.

CAMERAS

HOW ABOUT THIS?

THE BROWNIE IS BACK!

It might be fun to have one of these!

 



Old School #photography #camera #pretoria #southafrica #meetsouthafrica pic.twitter.com/g3numzpL7U
— JD Andrews (@earthXplorer) May 5, 2014

REMEMBERING EDDIE COCHRAN

It's been a bitch of a winter but, very slowly, signs of summer are beginning to spring up.  I was thinking about that this morning and this song popped into my head.  It was released in 1958 when I was going to radio school in Minneapolis.

 

EDDIE COCHRAN was BORN IN MINNESOTA, raised in Los Angeles and DIED, MUCH TOO SOON, IN A CAR ACCIDENT, ON APRIL 16, 1960.

 

William Shakespeare walks into a bar and the bartender yells, "YOU'RE BARD"!

William Shakespeare was born

April 23 1564

 

Radio ain't what it used to be.

Bill Bryson is so good at writing great human interest stuff and in his latest book, "ONE SUMMER-AMERICA, 1927, he has plenty of it.

One story was about radio back in those days.  Of course, that caught my attention.

Radio was a new sensation back in the 20's and there weren't a lot of laws that covered broadcasting yet.  For instance, anyone could own a radio station.  All you had to do was buy the equipment and fire it up.  No license needed!  One of the first stations on the air was owned by Nushawg Poultry Farms of New Lebanon!  Oh, I would have loved to work there!

 

And, there were some hilarious ideas folks got into their heads about radio.  Lots of people complained about this "new evil" because they were convinced that the dead birds they happened to find had met their demise after being hit by radio waves!!

Here's a bit of Wisconsin history.

The territory of Wisconsin was established by Congress, on April 20, in 1836.  After the bill was passed, one congressman got up and said, "Who's hungry for cheese?"

REMEMBERING DICK CLARK

Dick Clark died 2 years ago today.

 

JOE FOSS

If you've ever lived in South Dakota, you'll want to remember that JOE FOSS WAS BORN 99 YEARS AGO TODAY.

Foss was a real South Dakota hero.  The Sioux Falls airport code is FSD which stands for "Foss Field".

As a World War II hero, Joe shot down 26 enemy planes during the battle for Guadalcanal.  He went on to become the Governor of South Dakota and the first commissioner of the American Football League.

 

R.I.P.

JOE FOSS

REMEMBERING MICKEY MANTLE

MICKEY MANTLE PLAYED HIS FIRST GAME WITH THE YANKEES ON APRIL 17, 1951.

BLOWIN' IN THE WIND

I was one year and one day old, the day one of the country's all-time greatest musical treasures was born in Duluth, Minnesota.  And, it was on this day, in 1962, in New York that Bob Dylan introduced this classic to the world.

DONNIE'S RESOLUTION

Donnie wrote this on New Years Eve, 2011.  As far as I can tell, we're still waiting.

DONNIE'S NEW YEARS RESOLUTION

"After a lifetime of cynicism, I am going to imagine that we are not living in a decline but a global renaissance leading to better times for all.  This will require great courage and imagination but it's worth a try".

(He must be sipping that rum again)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOBBY VINTON

There are still a few rockers around that are older than me.  Bobby Vinton is 79 today.

Bobby performed at his own theater in Branson until 2002.  He and his wife, Dolores, live in Englewood, Florida.

LATE 1927 SNOWSTORM

Reading the Bryson book on the summer of 1927 I found out that Detroit was scheduled to host the New York Yankees for a baseball game which had to be cancelled on May 14, 1927 because of heavy snow in Detroit.

NO GAZING ALLOWED

In 1927 there was a law on the books in Oshkosh that made it illegal for a man and woman to "gaze into each others eyes" while dancing!