We are in the last week of 2021. For some, the end of this year can't come soon enough. But, we said this about 2020. Me, I'm cautiously optimistic that 2022 will be better for all of us. On December 27, 1932, Radio City Music Hall Opened to the Public in New York. The Hall is famous not only for great acts like the Rockettes, but also for its fabulous Art Deco design. Starting in 1933, you could go there to see "The Radio City Christmas Spectacular," a New York Christmas tradition. Now you can see a number of shows there or just go inside to admire the design by Donald Desky. The interior incorporates glass, aluminum, chrome, and geometric ornamentation for a contemporary Art Deco look. Looking up from the seats of the Radio City Music Hall, you see before you the Great Stage, measuring 66 feet deep, 144 feet wide, and resembling a setting sun. The stage's system of elevators was so advanced that the U.S. Navy used identical hydraulics in constructing World War II aircraft carriers. According to Radio City lore, during the war government agents guarded the basement to make sure no enemy spy could steal the Navy's superior technology. The Radio City Music Hall is part of Rockefeller Center, a 12-acre complex in midtown Manhattan developed between 1929 and 1940 by business tycoon John D. Rockefeller Jr. He leased the land from Columbia University. Rockefeller initially planned an opera house on the site, but changed his mind after the stock market crash of 1929. One of the complex's first tenants was the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), hence the names "Radio City" and "Radio City Music Hall." On this date in 1947, the first "Howdy Doody Show" (Puppet Playhouse), was telecast on NBC. The show ran from 1947 to 1960, which is about 13 years. The show took place in Doodyville, a circus/wild west setting, and was hosted by Bob Smith a.k.a. Buffalo Bob and Howdy Doody the marionette. Among the other characters were Clarabell, a mute clown, Phineas T. Bluster, the mayor of Doodyville and Howdy's nemesis, and several other puppet characters, such as a creature named Flub-a-Dub. The show featured an audience of kids who sat in what's called the "Peanut Gallery" that Buffalo Bob would often interact with, making this one of the first examples of this trope in a kids show. The show ended in 1960. The last episode featured a scene where Buffalo Bob would stand in front of the empty "Peanut Gallery" and ask Sandra the Witch to make the kids appear in the gallery. This was all executed using chroma key, which was still relatively new technology on TV; a lot of blue noise appeared on screen. A maybe interesting factoid about Howdy Doody: Howdy started out with 48 freckles for each of the United States, which was later increased to 49 and 50 when Alaska and Hawaii joined the Union. On this date in 2021, we had a modest 13 people come out to play and ring out the old year. With that many playing, we had 3 places and 2 teams. 1st place: Frank Abernathy, scoring a 15/7 card. 2nd place: Joe Greiner, with a 14/7 card. 3rd place: Jennifer Johnson, with a 12/6 Those were the only GRP-winners this week. 1st Team: Jerry Gooden (10) and Kurt Hanson (8) 2nd Team: Tom Goeschel (0) and Kristy Haught (8) The full results are up on the website, and the top-10 standings are below. Jennifer is sneaking her way upwards with back-to-back GRP weeks. Frank is inching his way upwards as well. How will it all shake out? With half the season yet to go, it's too soon to tell :) I wish everyone a happy, healthy new year. See y'all in 2022! ~ Jennifer The Raleigh Cribbage Club is hosting
the following upcoming tournaments: April 1-3, 2022 ~ Raleigh Spring Fling ~ Hosted by Jennifer Johnson July 22-25 ~ The National Open ~ Hosted by Megan Player July 25 ~ Come Monday ~ Hosted by Fran Ward
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There are more than a dozen holidays celebrated in December. So a warm Happy Holidays to all of you!!! Dec. 6: Saint Nicholas Day — Christian This holiday honors the birth of Saint Nicholas, the saint who serves as a role model for gift-giving and is commonly known as Santa Claus. Dec. 7 to 14: Hanukkah — Judaism This is the eight-day Jewish festival of lights, which celebrates the Maccabean revolt in Egypt. Eight candles are lit with a menorah to honor the holiday. Dec. 8: Immaculate Conception — Catholic In the lead-up to Jesus’ birthday celebration on Christmas, Catholics celebrate the day of Immaculate Conception to honor his mother Mary, who they say was preserved from original sin for her entire life. Dec. 8: Rohatsu (Bodhi Day) — Buddhist This holiday celebrates the historical Buddha’s decision and vow to sit under the Bodhi tree until he reached spiritual enlightenment. It’s celebrated through meditation and is embraced similar to how Christians celebrate Christmas to honor Jesus Christ. Dec. 12: Advent Fast begins — Orthodox Christian Though Advent began this last weekend, the fasting starts midway through the month with only two weeks until Christmas. The holiday is celebrated by believers lighting Advent candles, hanging wreaths and attending church ceremonies. Dec. 12: Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe — Catholic This is a primarily Catholic holiday celebrated by Mexicans and Americans of Mexican descent that honors the reported appearance of the Virgin Mary in Mexico City. Dec. 16: Posadas Navidenas — Christian This is a primarily Hispanic Christian holiday that commends Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem to give birth to Jesus. Dec. 21: Solstice — Wicca/Pagan Solstice is the point in the year when the earth is farthest away from the sun. Pagans and Wicca believers will celebrate that event through Yule, in which believers also honor “the winter-born king, symbolized by the rebirth of the sun”. Dec. 23: Mawlid el-Nabi — Islam This is an Islamic holiday that honors the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, who founded Islam. Shia and Sunni believers will celebrate on separate days by reading the prophet’s teachings. Dec. 25: Christmas — Christian Christmas is a primarily Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Many will attend church, have family parties and exchange gifts. Dec. 26: Zarathosht Diso (Death of Prophet Zarathustra) — Zoroastrian Unlike many of the other holidays in the month, Zoroastrians honor the death of their prophet, Zarathustra, who founded Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest monotheistic religions. Dec. 27: Feast of the Holy Family — Catholic Catholics use this day to honor Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Dec. 28: Holy Innocents Day — Christian Christians solemnly honor the deaths of children killed by King Herod, who was attempting to kill Jesus. Dec. 31: Watch Night — Christian For Watch Night, Christians will thank God for the safety they received during the year. On this date in 1946, perhaps the most well-known (and possibly the most overplayed) Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life" premiered in New York. The film, directed by Frank Capra, starred James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore. Frank Capra's 1946 classic tells the story of a suicidal man (James Stewart) saved by divine intervention in the form of an angel named Clarence who has not yet earned his wings. Clarence shows the man, George Bailey, what life would have been like had he never been born, teaching him to appreciate the wonder of his small-town existence. While the film is now a Christmas tradition, when it was released it had a tepid reception, failing to recoup the $3.7 million the film cost to make and while it was nominated for five Academy Awards, it won none. We had 22 players come out to peg tonight, and we paid out five places and three teams. We welcomed back visitor Kurt Hanson to club tonight. We also were thrilled to see Dot Davis come out to play, especially since this was our "Christmas Party" and Tom and Megan brought lots of yummy snacks. Jennifer brought her candy cane army. 1st place: Our visitor, Kurt Hanson, took top prize with the better 15/7 (61 spread) 2nd place: Jennifer Johnson took second with the "worse" 15/7 (56 spread) 3rd place: Glenn McMahon with a 13/6/64 4th place: Tom Goeschel, with a 13/6/61 5th place: Megan Player with a 12/6/19 We had a lot of 10s and 11s this week, with most of them making good partnerships: 1st Team: Joe Greiner (11) and Visitor Bill Whiting from Virginia (10) 2nd Team: Fran Ward (11) and Jim Townsend (10) 3rd Team: Jeff Raynes (!1) and Kristy Haught (9) The full results are up on the website, and the top-10 standings (INCLUDING the GRRT scores, which should be in this weekend) are below. As expected, the GRRT had an impact on the standings, and Jeff made a small step but a big leap to take over the number 2 spot. ~ Jennifer The Raleigh Cribbage Club is hosting the following upcoming tournaments: April 1-3, 2022 ~ Raleigh Spring Fling ~ Hosted by Jennifer Johnson July 22-25 ~ The National Open ~ Hosted by Megan Player July 25 ~ Come Monday ~ Hosted by Fran Ward Our old buddy Bernard had an absolutely TERRIBLE week last week, winning none of his games. As is tradition in Club 58, a string of pearls was offered to Bernard, and he was a very good sport, wearing it the whole night. He came back with a vengeance, though, taking first place with a mighty pretty 15 card. But, more on that later in the post. On December 13, 1774, messengers on horseback carried news to the people of New Hampshire’s seacoast. Two British warships were headed to New Castle to reinforce Fort William and Mary. The messengers, or dispatch riders, helped organize the resistance. One messenger was Paul Revere. And one was Wentworth Cheswell. Everyone learns about Paul Revere and his ride, but I for one never learned Wentworth Cheswell’s name. Wentworth Cheswell was a teacher, auditor, assessor, selectman, and Justice of the Peace in New Hampshire. When he was elected town Constable of Newmarket, New Hampshire in 1768, he became the second person of African ancestry to be elected to public office in what would become the United States. He was elected every year (excluding 1788) until his death as a public official. He served as Auditor, Assessor, and Town Selectman among other positions. During the American Revolution he was elected Town Messenger for the Committee of Safety, a post that give him safe passage through battle lines to carry news to and from the Provincial Committee at Exeter. Boston’s patriot leadership knew that only a few soldiers guarded Fort William and Mary. They believed British troops and ships would sail to New Hampshire to secure the fort. And they thought the gunpowder and weapons at the fort would serve a more useful purpose in patriot hands. On Dec. 13, 1774, Paul Revere rode the 66 miles to Portsmouth with a letter from Boston’s Committee of Correspondence to its counterparts in Portsmouth and Exeter. The letter advised them to seize the weapons and gunpowder at the fort before the British warships arrived. Portsmouth mustered volunteers for an assault the next day on the British soldiers who guarded the fort. The men of Newmarket, a strongly patriotic town, wanted to take part in the attack as well. But where and how? Wentworth Cheswell then rode to Exeter to find out from the Committee of Correspondence where the Newmarket volunteers should go. The next day, 400 New Hampshire men marched on the fort and forced it to surrender. They took 100 barrels of gunpowder, light cannon and small arms. The ships never arrived, but the patriots used the gunpowder and weapons in the Siege of Boston. On this day in 1950, James Dean began his career with an appearance in a Pepsi commercial. Dean caught the eye of the commercial’s producer who chose to put him in a television special — Hill Number One: A Story of Faith and Inspiration. In Hill Number One, Dean portrayed John the Apostle. Hill Number One is an on-screen interpretation of what might have happened between Jesus’s followers in the three days following his Crucifixion. The story unfolds in the context of a US Army company stationed in Korea during the Korean War. “‘East of Eden'” was his first movie. In 1954. Dean was given his major role by Oscar-winning director Elia Kazan who cast him as the angst-ridden brother Cal in East of Eden, an adaptation of the 1952 novel by John Steinbeck. Dean dashingly played a young man in America trying to find his own way in the world, and the topic struck a chord with the youth of the time, who were eager to find ways to rebel against authority. The role made him a star overnight, earning him an Oscar nomination. It was his leading role in "Rebel Without A Cause" that gave Dean his breakthrough as an actor. His penchant for improvisation drove the director and his fellow actors crazy but it drove his female audience wild. The American epic "Giant" — the third and last movie Dean would appear in — solidified his position as the epitome of cool — and the immortal rebel on the big screen. The movie appeared in cinemas in 1956 after its leading man had already passed away. The picture brought him a posthumous Oscar nomination for best actor. In 1955, the avid sports car driver bought a new silver Porsche Spyder. He was traveling across California with a friend, German mechanic and race car driver Rolf Wütherich. The pair were on their way to a car race. In the twilight of the early evening, a car coming in the other direction turned in front of his Porsche, cutting him off. Dean, who had already been warned by the police for speeding earlier in the afternoon, was driving too fast and unable to swerve out of harm's way. He hit the other vehicle nearly head-on and died immediately, his neck broken. Dean only lived to see the success of his first film. His accident took place before the second and third films were released. At the age of just 24, he became a posthumous pop-culture icon. After his death, the roles he had been scheduled to play were taken over by the young Paul Newman. We had 20 players come out to peg tonight, and we paid out four places and three teams. We welcomed visitor Kurt Hanson to club tonight, and he will continue to come while he's visiting family in Durham. 1st place: Bernard Whitfield, he of the lovely jewelry takes the top spot with a 15/7/+104 card. 2nd place: Frank Abernathy, he of the first place winnings at the GRRT this past weekend, continued his run of good cards, taking second wit a 13/6/+92 3rd place: Yours truly, Jennifer Johnson, with a hard-fought 12/6/67 4th place: Joe Greiner rounds out the top scorers with a 12/6/+45 We had a lot of 10s and 11s this week, with most of them making good partnerships: 1st Team: Jeff Raynes (10) and Kurt Hanson (10) 2nd Team: Andy Wagner (11) and Luther Lanier (8) 3rd Team: Tom Goeschel (10) and David Lambeth (9) The full results are up on the website, and the top-10 standings (less the GRRT scores, which should be in this weekend) are below. We will see a re-ordering when I get the GRRT entered, but for now, this is it. See ya'll next week! ~ Jennifer The Raleigh Cribbage Club is hosting
the following upcoming tournaments: April 1-3, 2022 ~ Raleigh Spring Fling ~ Hosted by Jennifer Johnson July 22-25 ~ The National Open ~ Hosted by Megan Player July 25 ~ Come Monday ~ Hosted by Fran Ward We hosted our Grass Roots Regional Tournament on Saturday, December 11. We had 27 people come out to play, from our club (20), Winston-Salem (7). Folks started gathering outside at 8:30, and thanks to Jerry Gooden's knocking on the window, we were let in a little early to get set up. Jeff Raynes and Megan Player handled registration, and so many people helped me set up! I hope I don't miss anyone, but thanks Tom, Kristy, Barbara, Jerry, Sharon, Steve, Mike, and anyone else who helped in the chaotic first half hour of our residence at High Park Bar and Grille. Our server, Jessie, did a great job of keeping up with everyone. Aside from a miscalculation on my part -- I apologize! -- as to when we would break for lunch, meaning that hot lunches were a bit cooled if not cold when we actually broke, a good time was had by all. We paid out prizes for the top four in the first half, top four in the second half, and top 25% overall at the end of the day.
I am still waiting for the GRRT Coordinator (me) to get the results into the Cribbage.org website so they'll show for people. I plan to have that done this weekend.
Thanks for your patience!! ~ Jennifer Do you remember going to the library for school reports? And searching first in the "Encyclopedia Brittanica"? Well the 1st edition of this set of books was published in Scotland on this date in 1768. I remember in my grade school days, it was five cents per page to use the new-fangled copier, and children were not allowed to use it unsupervised. Librarians also wouldn’t make change for a quarter. The paper would come out of the machine warm and you could smell the ink, though it didn’t smear if you touched it. Ahhh, memories... Brittanica was our “Google” in the ‘70s. If it wasn’t in Brittanica, it didn’t exist. On this day in 1849, Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery in Maryland for the second and final time. Araminta Harriet Ross was born into slavery in Maryland, probably in 1825; no records of her birth were kept and the exact date of her birth is unknown. She married a free Black man, John Tubman, around 1844, and changed her name from Araminta to Harriet, to honor her mother. From an early age Tubman was subjected to the beatings and abuse that were commonplace in many slave-owning homes. In September 1849, fearful that her owner was trying to sell her, Tubman and two of her brothers briefly escaped, though they didn’t make it far. For reasons still unknown, her brothers decided to turn back, forcing Tubman to return with them. A few months later, Tubman set off again, this time on her own, leaving her husband and family behind as she made her way north through Delaware and Pennsylvania, stopping periodically at a series of hideouts along the Underground Railroad, before settling in Philadelphia. In late 1850, after hearing of the upcoming sale of one of her nieces, Tubman headed back down south, embarking on the first of nearly two dozen missions to help other enslaved people escape as she had. And, on this day in 1963, The Beatles begin a tradition of releasing a Christmas record for fan club members. Between 1963 and 1969, the Beatles sent limited-edition Christmas singles to paid-up members of their fan club. Consisting of spoken messages, odd skits and bits of original songs, these ultra-rare plastic “flexidisc” records existed as tough to find, releases. Thirty thousand copies of the one-track single were pressed and sent to fan-club members in the first week of December. In among the jokes and half-songs (like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Ringo”) McCartney delivered a mission statement: “Lots of people ask us what we enjoy best – concerts and television or recording. We like doing stage shows, ’cause it’s great to hear an audience enjoying themselves. But the thing we like best – I think so anyway – is going into the recording studio to make new records,” he says. “What we like to hear most is one of our songs taking shape in a recording studio, one of the ones that John and I have written, and then listening to the tapes afterwards to see how it all worked out.” I googled about and found a video that plays all of the recordings, if you'd like to give a listen: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x55pif7 We had 21 happy people come out to play on Monday night. We paid out five places and three teams, and eight players earned GRPs! 1st Place: David Lambeth, with a beautiful 15/7/+86. We were so glad to see David come out for the evening. A sight for sore eyes! 2nd Place: Mike Due, with a 14/6/73. Second week in a row that Mike has placed with our club, and won GRPs. Way to go, Mike! 3rd Place: John Morch, who took last week off, and came back strong with a 13/6/+17. 4th Place: Liz Henderson, with a 12/6/+71. The Mexico Magic is still working, but it seems that it may be starting to wear off a little. Hold onto that Magic, Liz!! 5th Place: Jerry Gooden, taking points again this week, with a 12/6/+65. Good on ya, Jerry! We had some other 12-point winners who made nice partnerships to take the lesser-but-still-worth-it prizes: 1st Team: Allan Simpson (12), and Jeff Raynes (10) 2nd Team: Kristy Haught (11), and Luther Lanier (11) Nice to see you back, too, Luther!! And congratulations on the 28-Hand!! 3rd Team: Larry Phifer (12), and Tom Goeschel (6) And other 12-point winners, well, at least we got GRPs! As always, the full results are on the website, and the current standings can be found below: Jerry continues to advance his lead in the club, with one good (or REALLY good) GRRT score being all that's needed for #2 or #3 to knock him out. With the GRRT happening in a few short days, make some popcorn -- this could be good. The rest of the field is tightening, with just 7 points separating fourth and ninth places. Bernard, in spite of earning a string of pearls this week (!!) clings to the number ten spot. That’s all I've got for today...see some of y’all on Saturday! ~ Jennifer The Raleigh Cribbage Club is hosting the following upcoming tournaments: December 11, 2021 ~ Grass Roots Regional Tournament ~ Hosted by Jennifer Johnson
April 1-3, 2022 ~ Raleigh Spring Fling ~ Hosted by Jennifer Johnson July 22-25 ~ The National Open ~ Hosted by Megan Player July 25 ~ Come Monday ~ Hosted by Fran Ward |
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