I was born in Maryland and spent my first thirty years living there, first in the Appalachian Mountains, then on the Eastern Shore, and later in suburban Washington. After a year in South Carolina, I moved to Georgia in 1977. I soon met another park ranger who worked in Florida. She was a wonderful woman who became my best friend. then my wife, and soon the mother of our three children. I spent over eleven years working in the historic city of Savannah, Georgia, and on the moss-draped sea islands nearby before moving to Atlanta.. In 2007, I retired from the National Park Service and a career dedicated to preserving and interpreting resources and themes in the cultural and natural history of the United States. It was a most rewarding experience. Today, I enjoy living in the rolling hills and woods of the Appalachian Piedmont east of Atlanta.
Smooth, high brow, faultless, sophisticated, American. All of these words describe the music that came out of the world of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington as a composer, performer, and conductor. For fifty years he defined jazz in his own way with his superbly talented jazz orchestra, surviving the onslaught of bebop, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll. His discography includes over seventy hit records out of hundreds of releases spanning seven decades.
Ellington was born on this day in Washington, D. C., in 1899. He formed a band while in his teens and played the circuit in and around the nation's capital before moving to New York. There, his creative fervor and gentlemanly demeanor made him an influential force in the Harlem Renaissance. He was a star much appreciated in Europe as well as the United States by the mid '30s. His collaboration with the brilliant composer and arranger, Billy Strayhorn, later in that decade and again in the '60s enhanced his fame and helped him bridge gaps between jazz and other musical genres. Ellington passed away over forty years ago and with his passing the nation lost both a legendary technician at the piano and its strongest advocate for the American musical invention called jazz. To learn more about this extraordinary entertainer visit the Official Website of Jazz Legend Duke Ellington. In addition, The Duke Ellington Society website is another excellent information source, including the significant story of the contributions of Billy Strayhorn. As it so happens this year Ellington's birthday coincides with the full Pink Moon that's rising over the East Coast about now. That's a perfect setting for enjoying a few of his compositions about the moon and the moods it elicits in the hands of a music master.
If your sky dome permits, after the Pink Moon rises you can turn around and enjoy the planet Venus low in the western sky. If you're awake around midnight go outside and enjoy Jupiter rising in the east. And just in case you're wondering, although nature was a frequent subject, Ellington never wrote a song about the planets.
Today is National Blueberry Pie Day.There isn't much to say about the subject. I'd rather think of it as sensory immersion. One needs to feel the dough as it's hand-mixed. Hear the fruit and sugar bubbling on the stove as it reduces into a thickened filling. See the pattern of the lattice work take shape across the filling in the pie shell. Smell the aroma of berries and pastry baking in the oven. Taste the product of your culinary skill and nature's unforgettable sweet berry bounty. Mouth watering yet?
Below is the blueberry pie recipe we've enjoyed most in the OTR household for almost forty years. It comes from The Southern Heritage Pies and Pastry Cookbook (1984), one of a series of nineteen books in The Southern Heritage Cookbook Library published by Southern Living.
Blueberry Pie
1 cup sugar1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch1/4 teaspoon salt6 cups fresh blueberries2 tablespoons butter Pastry for 1 double-crust (9-inch) pie
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium saucepan, stirring well to remove lumps. Add berries; mix well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add butter, mixing well. Set mixture aside and let cool.
Roll half of the pastry to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface; fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Pour cooled berry mixture into the pastry shell.
Roll remaining pastry into 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into 3/4 inch wide strips, and arrange in a lattice design over filling. Trim edges; seal and flute. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees, and continue baking for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Yield: one 9-inch pie.
An aside: The Southern Heritage Cookbook Library has served us well over the years. It's filled with classic Southern recipes, foodways history and personal anecdotes, and scores of photos and illustrations from Southern archives. I don't understand why this series isn't republished for a new generation of cooks and trust that it's available electronically. If you happen to find the cookbooks at a yard sale, grab them. You won't be disappointed.
On April April 25, 1917, Ella Jane Fitzgerald, the "First Lady of Song," arrived on the American scene in Newport News, Virginia. In 1934, Fitzgerald wanted to dance at an amateur night at the Apollo in Harlem, but was intimidated by other dancers and decided to sing instead. It was the beginning of a career that took her magnificent voice through the big bands, to jazz, bop, and the Great American Songbook. With a voice ranging from smoky to bright she put her signature on every note and sharp diction on every word. For people who like to immerse themselves in lyrics, Ella was unbeatable. And when she forgot those lyrics or let the spontaneity flow, the scat singing was priceless.
Fitzgerald and President Reagan at The White House in October 1981
Throughout her very public life, Ella Fitzgerald remained a private, if not shy, person. Were she receiving a birthday cake today, I can envision a broad, approving smile and nervous glances from squinting eyes behind those big bottle bottom glasses. She'd respond with a heart-felt "Thank you, thank you," and move into the comfort and safety of song.
I saw Ella perform at the peak of her career in the 1960's. Unfortunately, it was the only time I'd see her in concert. Looking back, I realize how significant it was. She had turned 50 and completed her famous Songbook series a few years earlier. And though her peak years were coming to an end, what she had left exceeded the best of what most 20th century singers ever offered. She went on to perform another quarter of a century dazzling audiences everywhere. Ella passed away almost sixteen years ago, but she's still making her mark, living on through a huge discography and video record. In all, it is an immense, if not iconic legacy.
Here she is performing two jazz standards from that famous Songbook series produced by Norman Grantz and released over an eight year period. The series has never been out of print and remains a hot seller after more than fifty years:
Superb!
Sources
Photos and Illustrations:
White House, Item C4495-9A, President Reagan with Ella Fitzgerald after her performance for King Juan Carlos I of Spain in the east room, 10/13/81; Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Simi Valley, California.
Today marks the birthday (1839) of the great American naturalist and conservationist, John Muir. Through his personal efforts and the movements he supported with such fervor - he founded the Sierra Club - we can enjoy the spectacular wildness that is Yosemite National Park. His efforts also help establish the national park movement that today provides us with more than 400 units administered by the National Park Service. And modeled after the national park idea, there are more than 6500 state parks and thousands of local parks and preserves to enjoy. Although Muir focused on the preservation of wilderness his work provided a structure for cultural resource preservation and management. That movement originated largely with Civil War commemorations late in the 19th century and accelerated through the benevolence of industrialist including Henry Ford (The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village) and John D. Rockefeller Jr. (Colonial Williamsburg).
John Muir, seated, reading a book ca. 1912 May 29
Muir was a wanderer both physically and emotionally building upon his studies in botany and geology as he traveled. In 1868 he saw Yosemite Valley for the first time and soon realized he had found his calling in the world of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This is how he described the revelation in his autobiographical notebook:
There are eight members in our family....All are useful members of society - save me. One is a healer of the sick. Another, a merchant, and a deacon in good standing. The rest school teachers and farmers' wives - all exemplary, stable, anti-revolutionary. Surely then, I thought, one may be spared for so fine an experiment.
. . .
... the remnants of compunction - the struggle covering the serious business of settling down -gradually wasted and melted, and at length left me wholly free - born again! I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot...As long as I live, I'll hear the waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm and the avalanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can.
Muir lived to see the creation of Yosemite National Park in 1890 and the consolidation of control of the park - California had retained management of the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove in 1906 - by the federal government in 1906. Two years following his death in 1914 Congress created the National Park Service to manage the preservation and use of the growing number of natural areas under federal jurisdictions.
If you took a photograph of the "Little Tramp" to almost any corner of the world touched by Western culture, chances are, someone would recognize it. That's a powerful statement given that the character hasn't appeared in a film for over seventy years. Greatness persists. And so it is with Charlie Chaplin, born on this date in London in 1889.
In his 88 years, he graced the world of entertainment as a performer, director, producer, businessman, and composer. His concern for everyday people and their often difficult lives was a common theme in virtually all his films as well as his private life. Such humanitarian sympathies led him to ally with well-known leftist in the U.S. and eventually leave the country in the early 1950s'. Through it all, his endearing, bumbling, yet refined, tramp brought laughter and awareness to millions.
Take some time today to visit Chaplin's official site. The biography page is especially useful, providing information about nine "masterpiece features" and a complete filmography. Chaplin has three films on the American Film Institute's Greatest Films of All Time list. They are: City Lights (1931) at #11, The Gold Rush (1925) at #58, and Modern Times (1936) at #78. It's important to keep in mind that Chaplin was the director, producer, writer, star, composer, and editor for all of these films except Modern Times, edited by Willard Nico.
My personal favorite among all of his films is The Great Dictator(1940). Interestingly, this film was Chaplin's first "talkie." In it Chaplin portrays two characters, the "Little Tramp" variation of a Jewish veteran of World War I attempting to reestablish his life as a barber, and Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomainia. Any resemblance between Adenoid Hynkel and Adolph Hitler is completely intentional. The film is a masterful piece of political satire made as an appeal to Americans and their leadership to wake up to the threat of Nazi Germany. It's often cited as the finest example of the use of ridicule in film in the twentieth century.
Here are two clips from The Great Dictator. First is the famous "globe scene," and second, "Benzino Napaloni - played to ridiculous perfection by Jack Oakie - meets Adenoid Hynkel at the train station."
Today marks the 153rd anniversary of the assassination (1865) of President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington. He was taken across the street to the home of William and Anna Peterson where died shortly after 7:00 a.m. the following morning. The theatre remained closed for over a century. It reopened in 1968 as a performance venue and national historic site that included the Peterson House. Today it is owned by the National Park Service and operated through a partnership agreement with the Ford's Theatre Society.
Ford's Theatre 514 10th Street NW, Washington, DC
President Lincoln and his son, Tad. February 5, 1865
For more information on this event, the place where it occurred, and its impact on the American experience explore the Ford's Theatre National Historic Site web page.
Sources
Photographs and Illustrations:
Ford Theatre photographs, Ford's Theatre National Historic Site Lincoln photograph, Alexander Gardner. Abraham Lincoln with his son Tad (Thomas), February 5, 1865. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (140) Digital ID # cph-3a05994
Seventy-three years ago today, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia. It was a place and community he had come to love over the twenty years since his first visit there to treat his polio. William Katz, one of the most literate polymaths and participant-observers of our American experience said this about Roosevelt on his blog, Urgent Agenda, in 2011:
Roosevelt, of course, was the only American president to be elected for more than two terms. He had just started his fourth when he died. He was succeeded by Harry S. Truman who, contrary to political myth, was not an obscure former senator from Missouri, but a prominent former senator who'd been on the cover of TIME in 1943.
One can debate Roosevelt's policies, but he was, as Ed Murrow described him, the central pivot of 12 years of American history, leading the nation through the Depression and World War II. He is considered by most historians one of the great American presidents, often ranked third behind Lincoln and Washington. His policies did not end the Depression, but Roosevelt gave Americans a sense of hope and a sense that he cared, and that he understood the impact of the economic disaster on the ordinary American. FDR invented the modern presidency, for better or worse. He was the first to use mass media, addressing the nation frequently by radio in his fireside chats. He was the first to fly to a political convention. And he became an internationalist in an age of isolationism. He was not a great intellect, nor was he impeccably honest (to put it mildly), but it is hard to think of American history without him. He had the sense to appoint Republicans to high positions to help fight World War II, symbolic acts that established, at least for a time, a bipartisan foreign- and defense policy. His bond with Winston Churchill during World War II was one of modern history's great partnerships. The decision, in 1944, to replace the naive left-wing vice president, Henry Wallace, with Harry Truman on the Democratic ticket was an act of political genius, although the Congressional leadership probably had more to do with it than Roosevelt himself. And that act, based on Truman's actual performance in the Senate, demonstrated the enormous value of listening to people who actually know a candidate for high office. It was a far cry from today's "democratic" primary system, where people vote for candidates who may have little actual experience, and who have not been examined by those who understand the pressures of the presidency. It's remarkable to think that in 1944 the Democratic Party had on its ticket Roosevelt and Truman, two men later seen as great presidents. Compare please to today.
The Little White House, Warms Springs State Historic Site, Georgia
For more information on the Little White House and Warm Spring State Historic Site, go here and here. Readers who enjoyed the insight of William Katz can read his blog here.
Harris at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco, 2005
Emmylou Harris, my "sweetheart of the rodeo," was born on this day in 1947. She played many of the local clubs and coffee houses in metro DC when I was there around 1970. It was impossible not to see and hear the advertising for her performances in and around Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Silver Spring. Unfortunately, I never found myself in the audience. Eventually, she moved to Los Angeles to work with Gram Parsons and his band, The Grievous Angels. When he died in 1973, she was devastated, but carried on Parsons's search for the fusion sound he called "cosmic American music." Two years later, with the release of her album, Pieces of the Sky, she was on her way. The sound Harris and Parsons produced in their short time together would have a significant impact on decades of folk, rock, and country music to follow.
Here is the song she wrote with Bill Danoff as a tribute to Parsons:
Harris's career as a songwriter and entertainer just seems to keep going and going without an end in sight. I say, "Let it go!"
Power Line's cultural beacon, Scott Johnson, wrote a fine post on Harris a few years ago. Access it here to enjoy more music, lyrics, and information. Sources Photos and Illustrations: By Yogibones from (optional) (Flickr) [CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons
![[John Muir, seated, reading a book]](https://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsca/18900/18943r.jpg)
