On June 20, 1782, Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States of America with the bald eagle as its symbol. The seal we know today is actually the fourth draft created by Secretary of the Continental Congress, Charles Thomson. In 1789, the government assigned custody of it to the Secretary of State. Thomas Jefferson thus became the first of a long line of Secretaries of State to have custody of the Great Seal. The actual sealing is done by an officer from the Department’s Presidential Appointments staff. On the obverse side of the Great Seal, the most prominent feature is the American bald eagle supporting the shield, or escutcheon, which is composed of 13 red and white stripes, representing the original States, and a blue top which unites the shield and represents Congress. The motto, E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one), alludes to this union. The olive branch and 13 arrows denote the power of peace and war, which is exclusively vested in Congress. The constellation of stars denotes a new State taking its place and rank among other sovereign powers. On the reverse side of the Great Seal, the pyramid signifies strength and duration: The eye over it and the motto, Annuit Coeptis (He [God] has favored our undertakings), allude to the many interventions of Providence in favor of the American cause. The date underneath is that of the Declaration of Independence, and the words under it, Novus Ordo Seclorum (A new order of the ages), signify the beginning of the new American era in 1776. On this date in 1840, Samuel Morse was awarded a patent his telegraph design. The idea of using electricity to communicate over distance is said to have occurred to Morse during a conversation aboard ship when he was returning from Europe in 1832. Morse found when he began to develop his idea that he had little real understanding of the nature of electricity, and after sporadic attempts to work with batteries, magnets, and wires, he finally turned for help to a colleague at the University of the City of New York, Leonard D. Gale. Morse’s system used an automatic sender consisting of a plate with long and short metal bars representing the Morse code equivalent of the alphabet and numbers. The operator slid a pointer connected to a battery and the sending wire across the bars, and immediately the appropriate dots and dashes were sent over the line. The receiver used an electromagnet with a stylus (a pen-like instrument) on the end of an arm. When the magnet operated, the stylus made an impression or tiny dent in a paper tape which wound past a clockwork motor. The tape was then read by the operator. In 1843, Congress votes to appropriate $30,000 for an experimental telegraph line from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Maryland. Construction of the telegraph line begins several months later. Initially, the cable is placed in lead pipes underground, using a machine designed by Ezra Cornell; when that fails, above-ground poles are used. ON May 24th, 1844, Morse sent the telegraph message "What hath God wrought?" from the Supreme Court chamber in the Capitol in Washington, D.C., to the B & O Railroad Depot in Baltimore, Maryland. Telegraph lines soon extended westward, and within Morse's own lifetime they connected the continents of Europe and America. And, apropos of the start of summer, on this date in 1975 "Jaws", based on the book by Peter Benchley, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Roy Scheider was released. Shot mostly on location on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Jaws was the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean, and consequently had a troubled production, going over budget and past schedule. As the art department's mechanical sharks often malfunctioned, Spielberg decided mostly to suggest the shark's presence, employing an ominous and minimalist theme created by composer John Williams to indicate its impending appearances. Spielberg and others have compared this suggestive approach to that of director Alfred Hitchcock. Universal Pictures' release of the film to over 450 screens was an exceptionally wide release for a major studio picture at the time, and it was accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign with a heavy emphasis on television spots and tie-in merchandise. Jaws was the prototypical summer blockbuster, regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history, and it won several awards for its music and editing. It was the highest-grossing film until the release of Star Wars in 1977. Our summer session is going well, with 16 peggers coming out to play. We were happy to see Henry Douglass and Robert Smothers make the trek down to play. With 16 players, we paid out four places and two teams. We also had several 12- and 13-point cards that didn’t make the top four. They made for great partnerships, though… 1st place went to Joe Greiner, with a 16/7/+77 2nd place was Andy Wagner, with a 14/7/+80 3rd place was Tom Goeschel, with a slightly less-better 14/7/+64 And 4th place was Jennifer Johnson, with the best 13 card: 13/6/+80 First team (combined 20 points: Mike Due (12) and Robert Smothers (8) Second team (combined 19 points): Frank Abernathy (13) and Henry Douglass (6) Below, you can see the current standings at 3 weeks in. Remember, we take the best 8 scores between now and the end of August. That’s it for me, folks, except to say, get your NOCT entries in to Megan if you haven’t already! Those who get in before July 1st, and are booked into the hotel, are entered into a drawing for a free night. Free = Good! Have a great week, y’all! ~ Jennifer
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It sure is toasty here in Raleigh. We've got expected temps close to 100 for the next few days, with the heat index registering higher than that. Stay hydrated, everyone, and walk your pets in grassy areas (protect dem paws!) On June 13, 1789 Elizabeth “Betsy” Hamilton, the wife of Alexander Hamilton (who was first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States), served ice cream to George Washington. It was said to be the highlight of the dinner party. By August, the president and first lady likewise were serving ice cream at dinner parties. An inventory of Mount Vernon shortly after Washington’s death listed 10 ice cream pots among the kitchenware. Thomas Jefferson was also a great fan of ice cream, especially vanilla, which he first enjoyed in France and may have introduced to America. During his presidency, he sometimes served ice cream balls encased in warm pastry. By the end of the 18th century, the commercial harvesting and shipping of ice from the cold states to warmer ones was taking hold, and Washington-area residents could purchase ice year-round. The ready availability — and eventual affordability — of ice, plus the invention of the hand-cranked, dasher-style ice cream machine and appearance of soda fountains in the mid-19th century changed the ice cream experience dramatically. With the heat this week, we could all use a little dish of something cold! Passed by Congress June 13, 1866, and ratified July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. Following the Civil War, Congress submitted to the states three amendments as part of its Reconstruction program to guarantee equal civil and legal rights to Black citizens. A major provision of the 14th Amendment was to grant citizenship to “All persons born or naturalized in the United States,” thereby granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people. Another equally important provision was the statement that “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The right to due process of law and equal protection of the law now applied to both the federal and state governments. On June 16, 1866, the House Joint Resolution proposing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution was submitted to the states. On July 28, 1868, the 14th amendment was declared, in a certificate of the Secretary of State, ratified by the necessary 28 of the 37 States, and became part of the supreme law of the land. And, on this date in 1920, the US Post Office officially says children cannot be sent by parcel post (after various instances). In January 1913, one Ohio couple took advantage of the U.S. Postal Service’s new parcel service to mail their infant son. They paid 15 cents for his stamps and an unknown amount to insure him for $50, then handed him over to the mailman, who dropped the boy off at his grandmother’s house about a mile away. Regulations about what you could and couldn’t send through the mail were vague when post offices began accepting parcels over four pounds on January 1, 1913. It wasn’t common to mail your children, yet for long distances, it would’ve been cheaper to buy the stamps to send a kid by Railway Mail than to buy her a ticket on a passenger train. In August 1915, three-year-old Maud Smith made what appears to be the last journey of a child by U.S. post, when her grandparents mailed her 40 miles through Kentucky to visit her sick mother. After the story made the news, Superintendent John Clark of the Cincinnati division of the Railway Mail Service investigated, questioning why the postmaster in Caney, Kentucky, had allowed a child on a mail train when that was explicitly against regulations. Though Maud seems to be the last successfully mailed child, others would later still tried to mail their children. In June 1920, First Assistant Postmaster General John C. Koons rejected two applications to mail children, noting that they couldn’t be classified as “harmless live animals.” Truer words. Tonight, we had another visit from Dot, who FOUND HER MISSING PEGS! Apparently, that’s what was keeping Dot out of the prizes, as she earned 13 points and took third place. We had 16 peggers come out – a light night to be sure. As such, we paid out four places and two teams. Mike Due won the top spot, with 14/7/67 Heather Chilsen took second, with 14/7/33 Dot Davis won third, with 13/6/57 Jennifer Johnson snagged the last spot, with not even the lowest 13: 13/6/45 The two teams were: Combined 21 points (21/11/76) : Glenn McMahon (11) and Chris Larsen (10) Combined 21 points (21/9/-10): Tom Goeschel (13) and Ernie Hodgson (8) There's no "website" to check, just here, for the Summer Standings. Here's what it looks like now that we're through Week 2: Remember that it's the best 8 of 12 weeks, and we don't play on July 25th, due to the National Open weekend still going on. July 4th is still in the air; in the next couple of weeks, I'll be asking everyone (again) if the Fourth will be an on-night or off-night for you. If we have a good quorum we'll play. More to come.
Stay cool, ya'll, and see you on Monday! ~ Jennifer We’ve kicked off our “summer season” this week, with 13 people (so far) buying into the best-8-of-12 side pool. If you weren't at club this week, but would still like to join the pool, you can do so next week. This was a great date for music. In 1955, Bill Haley & Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" hit #1. In 1960, Roy Orbison released "Only the Lonely". In 1965, the Rolling Stones released their single "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". In 1972, David Bowie released "Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust". It was a good day for primitive messaging, as well. A passenger aboard the steamship “SS Arawatta” wrote a message which was placed in a bottle and thrown overboard between Cairns and Brisbane in 1910. It was found June 6th, 1983 – 73 years later almost to the day – on Moreton Island off the Queensland Coast in Australia. And, of course, everyone knows that in 1944, the biggest land, air and seaborne invasion the world has ever known was launched on this day. Codenamed Operation Overlord, 156,000 American, British and Canadian troops sailed to France from England and stormed the beaches of Normandy. An element of surprise worked in the Allies’ favor. Hitler believed that an invasion would come along France’s northern coast, but he did not know where. In England, they were prepping for deception on a massive scale. There was an imaginary army of a million men, supposedly led by America’s General George Patton and headquartered in the UK across from Calais – the shortest distance between England and France. With the use of double agents, bogus radio transmissions and other means the Germans were made aware of this "army". They were also briefed over other possible invasion sites and Hitler moved garrisons into all these places. Tent cities were created all over eastern England. There were fake mess halls, hospitals, ammo depots, and even sewage treatment farms. Fuel depots were constructed and parks for trucks, tanks, jeeps, and ambulances were laid out. Everything, including the tanks, trucks, and other vehicles, were made of fabric and wood or were rubber inflatables. Soldiers used tools to make tread marks on the ground. It was vital to let Luftwaffe reconnaissance planes through to see the mock preparations on the ground, but not let their flights seem suspiciously easy. On top of all that, the deceptions extended to England’s ports and waterways with the help of the British movie industry, which was called in to make fleets of dummy landing craft. The resulting “vessels”, made of wood or fabric and floating on oil drums, were “moored” in harbors and rivers and looked convincing to German pilots at 33,000 feet. The trickery even extended to “letters” in local newspapers from clergymen complaining about the terrible behavior of some of the “foreign troops.” All of this shifted much German attention away from Normandy and so, on June 6, 1944 the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, America’s General Dwight D. Eisenhower, gave the order for the invasion to begin. Even as troops began wading ashore along the Normandy beaches, the fooled Germans still believed that the major assault would come at Calais and that Normandy was a feint. Hitler personally ordered the tanks and infantry of the German 15th Army to stay at Calais. And other reinforcements on the way to Normandy were diverted to the port. Official figures record that 4,414 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with another 10,000 wounded or missing. But it enabled the great Allied march across Europe to begin. By late August all of Northern France, including Paris, had been liberated from German control. Next came Germany itself, where the Allies would meet Soviet troops moving in from the east. The following spring, on May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany offered unconditional surrender. Kicking off the summer, we had 19 players come out, including Jim and Ms. Dot! Dot got an ovation from the crowd when Jim wheeled her in. We love that lady!! We paid out five places and two teams. Jerry Gooden took first place with a 16/7/+111 Joe Greiner was second, with 15/7/+55 Frank Abernathy came in third, with 15/6/+107 Megan Player took fourth, with 13/6/+14 Tim Townsend rounded out the top five, with a 12/6/-26 The two teams were: Combined 20 points: Heather Chilsen (10) and Andy Wagner (10) Combined 19 points: Tom Goeschel (11) and John Morch (8) We're only at week 1, so there aren't any surprises, but here is the current list of players in the pool, and how they're doing: Also, and I'll mention this in the email, and in club -- Grass Roots Dues are increasing to $8.00 starting with the 2022-2023 season. This is to help subsidize the insurance policy that the ACC has taken out to protect tournament directors at the Sanctioned and Grass Roots level.
There also may be an opportunity to pay ACC and Grass Roots dues online (more coming about that later this summer), but I will be collecting dues for those who wish to just give me cash. I will start collecting in August for those interested in paying early. I think that's everything. Have a great day! ~ Jennifer |
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