TODAY IS WHITE CANE SAFETY DAY!! White Cane Safety Day celebrates and recognizes the achievements of the blind and visually impaired, and their independence. That independence is represented by the white cane that they use to travel from place to place. The white cane is an invaluable tool for the blind. It affords blind people a freedom of movement they otherwise may not have. The white cane is a well recognized symbol of independence. If you know someone who is blind or visually impaired, celebrate this day with him or her. We suggest you let them take you for a walk. On October 15, 1964, a Joint resolution of Congress passed legislation marking this day. President Lyndon Johnson immediately issued a proclamation declaring this day to be White Cane Safety Day. This is an annual proclamation. TODAY IN HISTORY in 1860 - Grace Bedell, age 11, wrote Abe Lincoln with a suggestion. She urged Lincoln to grow a beard. If he did, she’d try to get her four brothers to vote for him for president. Lincoln won the election in November -- then he grew a beard. 1892 - The U.S. government convinced the Crow Indians to give up 1.8 million acres of their reservation for 50 cents per acre. On this day, by presidential proclamation, the land in the mountainous area of western Montana was opened to settlers. 1905 - President Grover Cleveland wrote an article for Ladies Home Journal, joining others in the U.S. who opposed women voters. The president said, “We all know how much further women go than men in their social rivalries and jealousies... sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.” 1931 - The production of The Cat and the Fiddle opened in New York. It played for 395 performances. Meow! 1932 - The War Memorial Opera House became the first municipally-owned opera palace -- in San Francisco, CA. Tosca was the first opera presented. 1946 - With two outs, and St. Louis Cardinals’ Enos Slaughter on first, Harry Walker hit a line drive to left-center. Slaughter got an early jump as Boston Red Sox pitcher Bob Klinger failed to hold him on the bag. Leon Culberson (in center) bobbled Walker’s single and shortstop Johnny Pesky hesitated on the cutoff (checking the runner on first instead of throwing home). Ignoring third base coach Mike Gonzalez, Slaughter rounded third and scored. Pitcher Harry Brecheen shut down the Red Sox in the ninth and St. Louis won the game, 4-3, and the World Series, four games to three. The ’46 Series will always be remembered in Red Sox lore as the one in which “Pesky held the ball.” 1951 - I Love Lucy debuted on CBS-TV. For the next 20 years, Lucille Ball would be a TV regular. She did take 1956 off. Why? No, having little Ricky had nothing to do with it. She starred in Wildcat on Broadway that year. 1953 - The Teahouse of the August Moon opened on Broadway to begin a long and successful run (1,027 performances). 1955 - The Grand Ole Opry finally made it to TV on this day. The ABC network carried just one hour of Opry (it continued through the night), live from Nashville. This arrangement only lasted for one year; although the Grand Ole Opry was used as a staging arena for other successful shows like Classic Country Featuring Stars of the Grand Ole Opry and Hayride. Then, Grand Ole Opry came to TV to stay. In 1985, the Nashville Network (TNN) positioned the show on Saturday nights. In July 2001, Opry moved to Country Music Televison (CMT). 1959 - Van Johnson was originally slated to play Eliot Ness, but he backed out in a dispute over money the weekend before filming was to begin. Robert Stack was hastily recruited for the starring role in The Untouchables on a Sunday morning. He was fitted for costumes in the afternoon, and started filming the first episode, The Empty Chair, on Monday morning. The Untouchables, with the chatter of machine-gun fire and the squeal of tires on the streets of Chicago, began a four-year run this day on ABC-TV. With Stack, as G-man Ness, were Nick Georgiade (as Enrico Rossi), Jerry Paris (as Martin Flaherty), Abel Fernandez (as William Youngfellow), Anthony George (as Cam Allison), Paul Percerni (as Lee Hobson), Steve London (as Agent Rossman) and Bruce Gordon (as Frank Nitti). The unforgettable narrator was radio’s famous Walter Winchell. 1964 - An American treasure died. Cole Porter, renowned lyricist and composer, died at age 73. I’ve Got You Under My Skin and hundreds of other classics crossed all musical style and format boundaries throughout his long and rich career. 1964 - For St. Louis, it was the first time a Cardinal team had appeared in the World Series since 1946 (see above), and the first of three Series appearances in the 1960s. For the Yankees, it was their last Series appearance for 12 years, and the last hurrah in a long string of Fall Classics for legendary players Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle. The Cards won the Series in seven games, with Bob Gibson’s complete game, nine strike-out performance in game seven. Lou Brock’s fifth-inning home run triggered a second 3-run inning and a 6-0 lead for Gibson. Mickey Mantle, Clete Boyer, and Phil Linz homered for New York, but it wasn’t enough. The Cards won the game, 7-5, and the series, four games to three. 1970 - The Baltimore Orioles overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-3, and win the World Series in five games. It was the first Series on artificial turf and the first at Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati). And it was the Brooks Robinson show. With the Orioles’ third baseman leading the way, the Orioles avenged their World Series loss (to the NY Mets) of a year earlier by getting beating the Reds in five games. 1971 - Rick Nelson was booed off the stage when he didn’t stick to all oldies at the seventh Annual Rock ’n’ Roll Revival show at Madison Square Garden, New York. He tried to slip in some of his new material and the crowd did not approve. The negative reaction to his performance inspired Nelson to write his last top-40 hit, Garden Party, which hit the top-ten about a year after the Madison Square Garden debacle. Garden Party, ironically, was Nelson’s biggest hit in years, “...If you gotta play at garden parties, I wish you a lotta luck; But if memories were all I sang, I rather drive a truck.” 1973 - “From those of you working the late shift in Southern California, sweet dreams.” Tom Snyder would use this phrase to close his late-night show, Tomorrow, which debuted on NBC-TV this night. Tom would yuk it up with some of TV’s most interesting chatter -- right after the Tonight show. NBC would later add critic Rona Barrett to the show. Tomorrow ran until January of 1982. 1984 - Public telephones flew on 20 flights beginning this day for those who had credit cards. Costs for the Airfone service: $7.50 for a three-minute call, $1.25 for each additional minute anywhere you wanted to call in the United States. 1988 - Red Red Wine, by UB40, was the first reggae hit to make it to number one in the U.S. From the album Labour of Love, Red Red Wine was #1 for only one week, but turned out to be UB40’s signature song. 1990 - Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the USSR (1985-1991), won the Nobel Peace Prize. Gorbachev is widely credited for “helping to end the Cold War, change the map of Europe and usher in a new era in world affairs.” 1993 - African National Congress leader Nelson (Rolihlahla) Mandela and South African President F.W. (Frederik Willem) de Klerk were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to usher in reforms that 1) ended South Africa’s era of white minority rule and 2) laid the foundations for democracy. 1994 - REM’s Monster was a monster of an album -- #1 in the U.S. The album, featuring What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?, Crush with Eyeliner, King of Comedy, I Don’t Sleep, I Dream, Star 69, Strange Currencies, Tongue, Bang and Blame, I Took Your Name, Let Me In, Circus Envy and You, was number one for two weeks. 1997 - British Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green drove (piloted?) the first land-based vehicle (at Black Rock Desert, NV) to break the sound barrier: a two-way average speed of 763.035 mph – mach 1.020. And, considering he had to use one hand just to hold on to his hat, that is an impressive feat... 2001 - NASAs Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiters moon Io. 2003 - China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission. 2003 - The Staten Island Ferry boat Andrew J. Barberi collides with a pier at the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island, killing 11 people and injuring 43. 2005 - Iraqi constitution ratification vote 2005 - Riot in Toledo, Ohio breaks out during a National Socialist/Neo-Nazi protest; over 100 are arrested. 2007 - 17 Activists in Aotearoa New Zealand arrested in the countrys first post 9/11 anti-terrorism raids across the country. 2011 - Global protests break out in 951 cities in 82 countries. 2011 - Legoland Florida (the worlds largest Legoland theme park) opens in Winter Haven, Florida. 2012 - Hilary Mantel wins the 2012 Man Booker Prize for her novel Bring Up the Bodies I pray that today will be a special day in your life. May God Bless You!!
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 18:21:59 +0000
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