AMERICAN PATRIOT FEBRUARY 9, 2011
AMERICA’S CUPID REMEMBER THE MAINE THE SIMPSONS AMERICA’S LONGEST RUNNING SITCOM
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AMERICAN PATRIOT AMERICA’S CUPID
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6 RIDING THE
PONY EXPRESS
8 THE SIMPSONS AMERICA’S LONGING RUNNING SITCOM
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
THIS WEEK IN AMERICAN HISTORY
AMERICA’S CUPID One billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. So says the Greeting Card Association. In the United States, this phenomenon is not the result of Cupid but can be traced to a single female entrepreneur named Esther Allen Howland. Howland, who lived from 1828-1904, is known as the Mother of the American Valentine’s Day card. of nineteen, she received an intricate English Valentine from one of her fathers’ business acquaintances, and felt confident that she could make a better one. Howland persuaded her father to order paper and supplies, she whipped up a dozen samples, and her brother included them in a catalog for his next sales trip. Hoping to recoup their investment, the family was shocked when the brother returned with thousands of dollars in advance sales. To fulfill these sales, Howland hired four female friends to assist her, setting up shop in her parents house. An assembly line was set up: seated at a long table one person would cut out Here is the love story and a uniquely American
small colored lithographs of sentimental ob-
one at that. The Howland family operated a
jects, the next person in line would lay them
book and stationery store in Worcester MA. As
onto a glazed paper background, the third
a young student at Mount Holyoke seminary,
person assembled the layers of lace paper that
Esther had been exposed to the annual Valen-
framed the central design, and the fourth per-
tine celebrations. After graduating at the age
son pasted down a printed sentiment, normally
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inside the card or underneath a flap where only the recipient could see it. Howland was in charge of quality control and getting them to the store. By the end of 1849, Esther Howland was firmly launched in the valentine business. As the years passed, the business flourished. The valentines were beautiful — and successful. The work force kept increasing and had to move to larger quarters on the Howland’s third floor. Among her ingenious innovations are the “lift-up” design, which combined several layers of lace paper to give a sense of depth to the central picture, and the use of small pieces of folded paper that acted like an accordion pleat, lifting up the lace from the main body of the valentine and holding it there. This growing cottage industry touched a responsive chord in sentimental nineteenth-century Americans and became increasingly popular. In 1880, Howland sold out to the George C. Whitney Company, which became the largest valentine factory in the world. She lived until 1904 —unmarried, ironically — but with an enormous legacy of having spread the gospel of romance and Valentine’s Day to her countrymen. AMERICAN PATRIOT 5
RIDING THE
PONY EXPRESS 6 AMERICAN PATRIOT
It is hard to find a finer example of “American rugged individualism” than the Pony Express. The iconic, briefly-lived service allowed mail to be delivered from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 10 days, a huge improvement over the slow, unreliable stagecoach services with which it competed. Riders rode day and night, carrying only a revolver, a bible, water, and 20 pounds of mail. The service, despite operating for a mere 18 months and having lost 200,000 dollars, is part of the myth of the American West — both for its legendary riders and its aligning of California with the Union before the Civil War. Delivering mail on the Pony Express was
Service by shortening routes and eliminating
grueling for both man and horse, requiring
costly stagecoaches. It never happened.
10 to 20 straight hours of continuous riding
Competition from established stagecoach
(horses were switched every ten miles, the
services, the advent of the telegraph, and
limit for a sustained sprint, riders every 75-
the shutting down of key routes during the
100 miles). Riders earned 25 dollars a week,
Civil War led to its early demise. Its lasting
24 more than an unskilled worker. They had
legacy was to prove that a unified, year-
to be lean and energetic, not weighing more
round national mail system could operate.
than 125 pounds and able to withstand physical and natural extremes. The horses
Following the war, the assets were sold to
were the finest stock available in the west,
Wells Fargo, which would go on to use the
small and fast.
Pony Express logo continuously until 1990. Today, the Postal Service owns the trade-
The Pony Express route measured roughly
mark. Celebrating its 150th anniversary in
1900 miles, from St. Joseph MO to Sacra-
2010, the Pony Express still lives on in the
mento CA. The central route closely followed,
collective memory. Monuments and statues
in order, the Oregon, California, Mormon trails
have been dedicated in California, Nevada,
to Utah, then over the Central Nevada Route
Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and Missouri.
and through the Sierras to the California Coast,
The Pony Express National Historic Trail is
tracing a system of Pony Express Stations.
one of the most popular attractions of the National Parks Service.
The goal of the Pony Express was to win an exclusive mail contract from the Postal
FOLLOW THE PONY EXPRESS HISTORIC TRAIL
AMERICAN PATRIOT 7
HOW TO
LIVE UNITED: JOIN HANDS. OPEN YOUR HEART. LEND YOUR MUSCLE.
FIND YOUR VOICE. GIVE 10%. GIVE 100%.
GIVE 110%. GIVE AN HOUR. GIVE A SATURDAY. THINK OF WE BEFORE ME. REACH OUT A HAND TO ONE AND
INFLUENCE THE CONDITION OF ALL.
GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER.
LIVE UNITED
™
Want to make a difference? Help create opportunities for everyone in your community. United Way is creating real, lasting change where you live, by focusing on the building blocks of a better life– education, income and health. That’s what it means to Live United. For more, visit LIVEUNITED.ORG.
THE SIMPSONS AMERICA’S LONGEST RUNNING SITCOM
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“Don’t have a cow man!” The Simpsons have captured the American television audience with its subversive humor and wit, making fun of American family life and its idiosyncrasies while affirming an essential goodness. As the longest running show on the air, The Simpsons has won numerous Emmy Awards, People’s Choice Awards, and even has its own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1999, Time Magazine named it “the 20th century’s best television series.” Matt Groening created the animated series to
decides to buy a snowplow to cope with
parody the American working-class family in
Springfield’s long winter and ends up having to
1989. As most of you already know, the five
compete with his best friend, and town drunk,
person family lives in a quaint brown house in
Barney Gumble, for stakes in the town’s plow-
Springfield. It is the ideal setting for Bart’s
ing business. Linda Ronstadt sings Barney
mischief, Lisa’s smarts, and Maggie’s ability
Gumble’s commercial jingle defaming Homer.
never to grow old. Homer, the clueless dad,
Adam West also appears in the episode to sell
spends most of his time at the bar or strangling
Homer the plow. The episode won an Emmy
Bart, while his talented wife Marge is the self-
that year.
less stay-at-home mom who sublimates her needs to the rest of the family.
Speaking of guest stars, it has long been cool to be a guest on The Simpsons: a smattering
One running gag is that hometown Springfield
include Ringo Starr, Magic Johnson, Bob Hope,
remains in an unidentified state not far from
Hugh Hefner, Bette Midler, Elizabeth Taylor,
“Capitol City.” But is the epitome of an American
Gary Coleman, Kim Cattral, Kelsey Grammar,
town where, in one song, we discover it is “where
James Earl Jones, Danny DeVito, Larry King,
the schoolyard’s up and the shopping mall’s
Tony Bennett, Steven Hawking, Tito Puente,
down.” When The Simpsons Movie opened
and Alec Baldwin. Now that they are well into
cities called “Springfield” across America com-
their twenty-first year, the creators are thinking
peted to have the premiere in their hometown.
up new and innovative ideas for episodes for
Ultimately Springfield VT won the prize, but it is
another twenty seasons.
clear the Springfield inhabited by the Simpsons is somewhere in the heartland. Every episode created takes six to eight months to complete. Groening reports that the most
CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF GUEST STARS CREATOR MATT GROENING DRAWS HOMER SIMPSON
popular episode ever created was in season 4 episode 9: “Mr. Plow.” In the episode, Homer AMERICAN PATRIOT 9
GERALD FORD A BRIEF BUT HEALING PRESIDENCY
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Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. became the 38th president of the United States as a result of some of the most extraordinary events in U.S. history. Ford was the only occupant of the White House never elected either to the presidency or the vice presidency. A former Republican congressman from Grand Rapids MI, he always claimed that his highest ambition was to be speaker of the House of Representatives. He became the Vice President in 1973 almost
during high school and at the University of
by accident. Vice President Spiro T. Agnew
Michigan. After college, Ford went to Yale as a
pleaded “no contest” to a tax evasion charge and
boxing coach and law student. After graduating,
resigned from the nation's second-highest office.
he returned to Grand Rapids, he married Eliz-
Richard Nixon, looking for a non-controversial
abeth Warner — forever known as “Betty” —
substitute was appointed to fill Agnew’s term.
and they had four children.
Soon after, Ford inherited the Oval Office after Nixon himself, tainted by the Watergate scandal,
Ford entered into Republican politics and was
also resigned.
elected to the House of Representatives in 1949. The future president became popular as
In his inauguration speech, Ford humbly declared
a representative, and his acceptance with the
“I assume the Presidency under extraordinary
Congressional inner circle led to election as
circumstances . . . This is an hour of history that
minority leader. Thus, when Agnew resigned
troubles our minds and hurts our hearts . . . .
in 1973, Ford was a natural choice for swift
My fellow Americans, our long national night-
confirmation.
mare is over.” This theme ran throughout the brief Ford presidency. He impressed the nation
In 1976, a reluctant Ford ran for election in his
with his basic down-to-earth decency and made
own right, facing down a powerful challenge by
a start at restoring the nation's confidence in
Ronald Reagan in the Republican primaries,
the basic institutions of government. On the
and then losing narrowly and bitterly to new-
other hand, his pardon of Richard Nixon, meant
comer Democrat Jimmy Carter of Georgia who
to speed the healing, was controversial and
ran as an outsider who would clean up Wash-
cost him his own election.
ington. The new President spoke for the people in his own inaugural address when he said: “For
Gerald Ford was born in July 1913 in Omaha NE.
myself and for our nation, I want to thank my
His parents divorced, and his mother moved
predecessor for all he has done to heal our land.”
him to Grand Rapids MI where his mother remarried. He was an outstanding football player
LISTEN TO GERALD FORD’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS AMERICAN PATRIOT 11
OLMSTED HE PUT THE ‘PUBLIC’ IN PARKS
Frederick Law Olmsted was the father of the public park, responsible for the design of New York’s Central Park, Chicago’s Riverside Park, the Boston park system, and many more. When one ponders what it means to be an American, the relationship between the citizen and the natural world is central. The vision of Frederick Law Olmsted — who believed that all Americans should have access to a common green space — is the one that has endured. Regarding Olmsted, his colleague Daniel Burnham once said: “An artist, he paints with lakes and wooded slopes; with lawns and banks and forest covered hills; with mountain sides and ocean views.” Informally educated yet wealthy, Olmsted found his calling late, at age 35, having dabbled as a seafarer, merchant, farmer, and journalist. Olmsted became famous as a reporter, and his travel abroad helped him formed his views on social class and personal freedom. He developed the notion that free access for all citizens to parks was an important goal of American democracy. His chance came in the early 1850’s, as the rapid growth of New York City led city planners to devise a plan for a Central Park. So desperate were New Yorkers for green space that leisure was becoming common in cemeteries and on private property. Alarmed, the city called for a design competition for the space, which Olmsted and partner Calvert Vaux won. Their plan called for the total creation of a landscape, with ponds, lakes, hills and pastures, granite outgrowths, and numerous manmade structures. It was a new way of constructing a park and a huge undertaking. Thousands of people were removed using eminent domain. Four million trees were planted. Over many years, through money shortages, political strife, numerous firings and rehiring of Olmsted, and Civil War, the park was completed.
Following the Civil War, Olmsted moved west. There his views on nature and man matured; he came to see the Yosemite Valley and its surroundings as a fundamental and irreplaceable aspect of being American. He would author the founding document of the American Conservation Movement, “Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove: A Preliminary Report.” Despite the protests of politicians and ranchers, Olmsted’s ideas helped lead to the establishment of the National Parks System. Returning to New York in 1865, Olmsted and Vaux were in demand everywhere. In this productive period, Olmsted would design Chicago’s Riverside Park, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, and park systems for Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Milwaukee. Later years would find Olmsted designing the famous “Emerald Necklace” in Boston, the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and the campuses of Stanford University and the University of Chicago. The lasting nature of Olmsted designs is clear: His parks remain largely untouched by development after more than a century of use. But the real legacy of Olmsted is the still-vibrant American attitude towards nature, that its preservation and use is necessary for a truly robust democracy. CLICK HERE FOR A TOUR OF OLMSTED’S CENTRAL PARK AMERICAN PATRIOT 13
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain.” — MARK TWAIN ON LOVE, IN HIS MARK TWAIN’S NOTEBOOK, 1898
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THIS WEEK IN
AMERICAN HISTORY
1898. In an act that led directly to the outbreak of the Spanish American War, a massive explosion sunk the battleship USS Maine in Cuba’s Havana harbor, killing more than half the American sailors on board. Though the official inquiry did not directly blame Spain, the American public and newspapers did – and demanded war accompanied by the call to “Remember The Maine.” Three months later, the United States had crushed Spanish forces on land and sea, and we received former Spanish possessions Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines as part of the settlement.
AMERICAN PATRIOT 15
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