#Paducah News

[angelpuns]

MY SHOP IS FINALLY OPEN!!

I am finally opening my shop!!!!

It took a while due to having to wait for some stickers to come in, but it's finally here!!!! This is my first time opening a real shop, so it was a bit of a learning experience!

A lot of the stuff is older art for non-tmnt fandoms, but I have a LOT of stock from when I was doing conventions. Most of the money from sales is going to go towards ordering new/better quality stickers as well as ordering Halloween Turtle Tot stickers!

I got a lot of encouragement to open this shop, so thank you to everyone who gave me a push!!!

I did end up opening an Etsy shop due to my beginner status - I plan to open my own site once I get a better feel for selling things online!

I've put a lot of time and effort into opening this shop, so please enjoy it!!!

Also side note: I plan on making some Kid Leo stuff as well, so look out for polls regarding that ;)

[frithwontdie]

Historical Fun Facts #5

Did Y'all know, that jews were almost expelled from Union military districts in Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi during the American Civil War? Yes, it almost happened.

On December 17, 1862, Union General Ulysses S. Grant lashes out at Jewish cotton speculators, who he believed the driving force behind the black market for cotton. Which he was trying to surpress.

Grant was extremely angry about the unscrupulous activities of jewish profiteers who were undercutting Union efforts to suppress the black market in Southern cotton. After learning that his own father had teamed up with three Jewish traders from Cincinnati in a scheme to procure cotton at a discount, the general lashed out in anger, and issued General Order No. 11 expelling all Jews, which he issued from his headquarters at Oxford, Mississippi. Which this order expelled all jews from the territory he commanded, which was comprised of portions of Kentucky and Tennessee west of the Tennessee River, and Union-controlled areas of northern Mississippi, "within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order."

Prussian-born Jewish immigrant Cesar J. Kaskel from Paducah Kentucky, received his later to leave his home and business behind. He telegrammed Lincoln on behalf of a group of Jewish merchants from Paducah, condemning the order as "the grossest violation of the Constitution and our rights as good citizens under it... [it would] place us...as outlaws before the world. We respectfully ask your immediate attention to this enormous outrage on all law and humanity....” Other telegrams were sent to President Lincoln from Chicago, New York and Philadelphia. This stirred the extremely powerful jews in the North to protest to President Abraham Lincoln, who promptly directed Grant to rescind the order. Then Grant later made an apology to the Jews.

Yet what Grant wrote in his General Order No. 11, speaking about how jews cared only about making a profit, and were dishonest and swindling every gentile that they did business with.

One recorded Example of shady dealings:

A swarm of Jews, within the last ten years, has settled in nearly every southern town, many of them men with no character, opening cheap clothing and trinket shops; ruining or driving out of business, many of the old retailers, and engaging in an unlawful trade with the simple negroes, which is found very profitable.

Here is the text of Grant's General Order No. 11. Judge for yourselves whether the activities of the jews seem familiar:

The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department and also department orders, are hereby expelled from the Department [of the Tennessee] within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order. Post commanders will see to it that all of this class of people [Jews] be furnished passes and required to leave, and any one returning after such notification will be arrested and held in confinement until an opportunity occurs of sending them out as prisoners, unless furnished with permit from headquarters. No passes will be given these people to visit headquarters for the purpose of making personal application of trade permits.

A military comrade, General James H. Wilson, later suggested that the order was related to Grant's difficulties with his own father, Jesse Root Grant. He recounted:

Quote:

"He [Jesse Grant] was close and greedy. He came down into Tennessee with a Jew trader that he wanted his son to help, and with whom he was going to share the profits. Grant refused to issue a permit and sent the Jew flying, prohibiting Jews from entering the line."

[thatspectacularpigeon]

East Palestine, Ohio.

Train Derailment.

-------------------

Affected Area

States

Ohio

Pennsylvania

West Virginia

Indiana

Kentucky

Illinois

-------------------------------

Counties affected 

Major Cities Affected

Pittsburgh, PA.

Liverpool, OH.

Portsmouth, OH.

Cincinnati, OH.

Wheeling, WV.

Parkersburg, WV.

Huntington, WV.

Ashland, KY.

Louisville, KY.

Owensboro, KY.

Henderson, KY.

Paducah, KY.

Cairo, IL.

Evensville, ID.

If you receive water from the Ohio river or rivers that flow from the Ohio river you are in the effected area.

So check where you get your water if you live in any of the yellow counties.

-------------------------------

Affects Of Chemicals.

Chemicals spilt.

Vinyl Chloride

Butyl acrylate

Ethylhexyl acrylate.

---------------------

Vinyl Chloride

Vinyl Chloride has been linked too liver damage when exposed to between 300 and 500 ppm, it is a known carcinogen that causes a rare liver cancer to form.

The other two chemicals pose very little harm.

Should you be worried.

This is an ongoing situation but as of currently only very small traces amounts of Butyl Acrylate have been found in the Ohio river.

The overall danger is minimal.

If you receive your water directly from the Ohio river you can switch to bottled water for extra safety if you feel the need to. 

I will personally be doing this.

But if your outside the Ohio river basin you have 0 worry and for those of us living here the only slight concern should be had if you water comes from the river or a river being fed by the Ohio river.

This is a continued situation and I will update it as new information comes out

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Here’s an 1860 home in Paducah, Kentucky that needs some work, but it’s been updated inside. It has 2bd. 2ba. and is listed for $225K. I’m surprised that it only has 2bds., b/c it looks much bigger.

Black molding must be a trend, but it really doesn’t look terrible, like the house we saw yesterday. There’re just enough nice touches of wallpaper. Notice the small plaque on left- it’s a Flood Peak Plaque. I’ve never seen a transom that swings open like that one on the left. Interesting.

The living room to the left of the entrance hall has been updated. Cute fireplace wall.

The dining room has a very pretty feature wall. 

The kitchen is neatly remodeled and the backsplash has the same wallpaper that’s out in the hall. They also made a cute little coffee bar.

Upstairs, the main bd. is lovely. It’s spacious and has a great fireplace.

Look at the nice updated, yet vintage, bath.

The 2nd bd. and bath are smaller, but still very pretty.

This is the sunporch that you see in the front of the house. Very nice feature.

On the main level is a large screened porch and a decent sized yard.

The shed looks new and there’s also a fire pit. 

The house is just a block from the Ohio River where you can see the fireworks on the 4th of July and all the parades go by, too. 

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/323-Madison-St_Paducah_KY_42001_M99813-58726

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics: Inspiring HPL.

1. Irvin S. Cobb - American writer, editor, humorist & columnist hailing from Paducah, Kentucky¹.

He was the highest paid staff reporter on the NY World newspaper².

Irvin would write 60+ books & around 300 short stories.

Some of which were adapted into silent movies. And, 2 of his later tales were actually filmed, by the famed John Ford³, during the 1930s!

2. Cobb's "dark side" (horror works) of the otherwise lighthearted comedian & the story in question.

3 & 4. Comedic frontpieces(?) for books by Cobb. The 2nd even boasts an Abraham Lincoln quote!

5. Cover to Cobb's collection of other authors's short horror tales.

6. Inside art from Fishhead's ending...

1913 Addendum -

Intro: Irvin Cobb's infamous short story "Fishhead" is set in the back- wood bayous of the vast Reelfoot Lake⁴.

Plot: The tale concerns the murder of a local outcast freak by "poor whites."

With its surprise Jaws⁵-like ending, this gruesome work reminds readers of an issue of EC comics⁶!

Criticism: Lovecraft lauded Cobb for, "... Carrying on our (own) spectral tradition is the gifted... humorist, I.S. Cobb, whose works... contain some finely (made) weird (tales)."

Of the plot, Howard stated that, "Fish- head" (is) an early achievement, ... banefully effective in its portrayal of (an) unnatural... hybrid idiot & the strange fish of an isolated lake."

Lovecraft further opined, "It is (my firm) belief... that... few short stories of equal merit have been published anywhere (else)..."

Legacy: Cobb's "Fishhead" is seen as a major influence on Lovecraft's own "Shadow Over Innsmouth."

Robert M. Price⁷ noted that, "What (Howard) found revolting was the idea of interracial marriage (&) of different ethnicities mating, (thus) 'polluting' the (white? human?) gene pool."

Fishhead is supposedly "the son of a Negro father & a halfbreed Indian mother." It's never mentioned what her other half was from...

This is the same premise behind HPL's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth."

Except that Lovecraft calls them Deep Ones & has a whole city that's been 'turned'...

More when we get to this story...

Notes:

1. Paducah, as 1 out of 9 U.S. Creative Cities, is a haven for thinkers, artists & creators!

Architectural Digest recognizes this city's historic district as 1 of the most beautiful main streets in America.

There are 20 downtown blocks listed in the National Register of Historic Places!

Weird Shit: Paducah's nickname is "The Atomic City."

This was because it was once the U.S.'s only uranium plant, making atomic bombs for our Defense Department...

2. The NY World newspaper began (in 1860) as a leading voice for the US Democratic Party.

But, once under Joseph Pulitzer, it became a pioneer in "yellow journalism."

Catching readers's attention with sensational (sex, sport & scandal) news stories.

This raised their circulation past the 1 million mark!!

Best known for being among the 1st to publish daily comic strips.

They actually created "Hogan's Alley", "Everyday Movies", "Little Mary Mix- up" & "Joe Jinks!"

Merged with The NY Telegram in 1931.

Revived - online - in 2011 by Columbia U. But, hasn't had any new content since 2016...

3. John Ford was an American movie director who won Oscars for "The Informer", "The Grapes of Wrath", "How Green Was My Valley" & "The Quiet Man."

The best of his many Westerns are "The Searchers", "Stagecoach" & "My Darling Clementine."

4. Reelfoot Lake is a real lake best known for its shallowness - about 5½ feet on average.

It's located in western Tennessee &, strangely enough, no swimming is allowed there...

The lake is named after an 1800's Chickasaw warrior with a deformed leg...

Reelfoot Bayou, with its cypress trees, flows out of the lake to join the Obion River - which runs straight to the Mississippi.

5. "Jaws" is, of course, director Steven Spielberg's 1st international master- piece.

And it doesn't need any hype, from me, for you to see it again!

97% on Rotten Tomatoes!!

Enough said...

Make it so!

6. E.C. Comics was an American publisher specializing in horror, crime, dark fantasy & sci-fi comicbooks.

William Gaines printed mature tales of war, adventure, satire, etc...

Noted for its stories high quality, shock endings & progressive social awareness.

Among the themes that EC creators touched upon are: racial equality, anti- war sentiments, nuclear disarmament & even early environmentalism!

Sadly, official censorship forced EC to focus on its "Mad" magazine - which became it's greatest success!!

EC has just been revived, by Oni Press, on this past February of 2024!!

Good times guaranteed...

7. R.M. Price is an American biblical scholar, author & an authority on H.P. Lovecraft.

His works include: "Deconstructing Jesus", "The Reason Driven Life", "The New Lovecraftian Circle", "World War Cthulhu", "The Disciples of Cthulhu", "Arkham Detective Agency", "The Da Vinci Fraud", "The Apartheid State in Crisis" & more great stuff!!

Price was the editor of the greatly lamented Crypt of Cthulhu, Midnight Shambler & Eldritch Tales fanzines.

He even edited a whole series of Mythos anthologies for Chaosium.

Today, Price is editor of The Journal of Higher Criticism!

Busy little tentacle, ain't he...

[grandhotelabyss]

Is the very idea of a contemporary counterculture an impossibility? Considering that the traditional concept of counterculture was often opposed to a hierarchical, patriarchal, and corporatized society, many of the demands of the counterculture have already been absorbed by modern progressive capitalism. To the point that perhaps the only possible outcome is that strange oxymoron called reactionary counterculture, which I personally find neither interesting nor stimulating.

"Counterculture" may have been a time-limited phenomenon, circa 1792-2012. It depended on the interplay between the cultural and technological centralization of the nation-state, on the one hand, and the freedoms of an independent civil society, on the other. When art was monopolized by academic salons, Salons des Refusés meant something revolutionary; when there were three identical broadcast channels with strict decency standards, it was almost enough just to say fuck. With increasing technological and political decentralization, there can be small countercultures relative to the nearest cultural center—thus it's countercultural to be MAGA Catholic in New York City, and also countercultural to be blue-haired they/them in Paducah—but there can be no single counterculture as there could be in the long period that runs from the Romantics through the last of the late-20th-century subcultures. This need not necessarily be a bad thing from the artist's point of view; there is more to art than "fighting the power," and it's possible that "fighting the power" (which, as you correctly point out, fed the power structure anyway) may have been misleading, that art's more traditional roles of assembling a community, seducing the beloved, or honoring nature and/or divinity may yet have life in them. (Not so much for me—I'm old and am therefore still trying to sum up the whole of society in epic novels—but for future generations.) On the other hand, a monoculture could be reconstructed using the new technologies that created the fragmentation in the first place, but I wouldn't bet on it.

[guerrerense]

In The Cut por David Blazejewski Por Flickr: Some friends and railroaders gathered in the pouring rain for a little private photo charter on Rhode Island's own little railroad, the Seaview Transportation Company. The little Seaview Transportation Company doesn't have much in the way of scenery or geographic features along its 7 miles of 'mainline' across the Quonset Business Park on the east shore of Narragansett Bay. About the only spot of note is this deep cut through Devil's Foot Rock just west of the US Route 1 overpass at about MP 1.5 where the two legs of the railroad split to the waterfront in Quonset and Davisville respectively. The road's primary locomotive had been hand washed only a few days prior by the road's new VP (and me!) and hasn't looked this good in years. The rain really saturated the fall leaves and the vibrant blue making for a better scene than we expected. SVTX GP10 1855 was built as a GP9 in Aug. 1956 for the Baltimore and Ohio as their #6467. Later rebuilt by ICG's Paducah Shop she bounced around on different shortlines until coming to Rhode Island in 2006 where she was given this snappy paint job. To learn more about this railroad check out the longer caption with this shot: flic.kr/p/2nNXfxP North Kingstown, Rhode Island Saturday October 27, 2023

[finishinglinepress]

NEW FROM FINISHING LINE PRESS: Beyond Cornfields by Elaine M. Seaman

On SALE now! Pre-order Price Guarantee: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/beyond-cornfields-by-elaine-m-seaman/

Traveling Beyond Cornfields is the heart of this collection of #poems by Elaine M. Seaman. Starting from her miniature town in Iowa to various states, especially Colorado and Michigan, and countries, especially Mexico and New Zealand, she notices intricacies in #landscape, flora, fauna, and humanity. She recognizes life lived and life lost. But she always remembers that “Home is just ahead. Warm rooms in our clover meadow, oaks and pine. Home. Ahead.”

Elaine M. (Koren) Seaman grew up near the cornfields of Iowa but has lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan, for over forty years. Her sons draw her to Colorado and New Zealand each year and wanderlust takes her to other parts of the planet. Finishing Line Press published her first book of poetry, Rocks in the Wheatfield, in 2004. Her self-published book (2019), My Mother Sewed Dresses for Five, contains quilts she made and poems she wrote that share titles. The American Quilter’s Museum in Paducah, Kentucky, has one of her quilts in their collection, as do many private collectors.

PRAISE FOR Beyond Cornfields by Elaine M. Seaman

Beyond Cornfields is alive with backroad byways, birds, Pepsi and peanuts, and patchwork landscapes. Seaman begins by saying that “everything that would come later spun out from the center of Iowa” and her clear-as-day Iowan voice drops sparks of wry humor as deftly as it alludes to grief, made all the more poignant for its spareness. From the family home in Iowa Seaman spins us outward to Michigan, west to Colorado, past sandhill cranes writing across the broad sky, then farther still to Hawai’i, Mexico, and New Zealand, where she puzzles over a recipe calling for “blue milk.” But always there is the return home, where “life doesn’t have to go far to be a life.” I urge you to settle in and read this volume straight through. Allow Seaman’s poems to offer you tender comfort as, again and again, she shows you how “the world bumps beauty right in front of your eyes.”

–Marion Starling Boyer, winner of the 2021 Wheelbarrow Poetry Prize for Ice Hours and Grayson Books 2023 Chapbook Prize for What Word for This.

In Elaine Seaman’s poem “Centrifuge,” she writes, “Everything that would come later/spun out from the center of Iowa…”. And so it is with this collection, grounded between cornfields in Iowa but taking literal flight to new worlds where her sons have settled. Drives, cruises, flights, she finds herself between the comfort and ghosts of the past and the quickly accelerating present, new geographies and adult children. Plain-spoken but not terse, Seaman wonders successfully about her shifting world.

–Elizabeth Kerlikowske, Author of The Vaudeville Horse, Art Speaks, and Dominant Hand

Elaine Seaman’s Beyond Cornfields is a must-have guide for anyone who has ever travelled, left loved ones behind, or found themselves left behind. A poet who is also a quilter, Seaman has expertly pieced together tender and fierce poems that take the reader on a vibrant journey through Iowa cornfields to New Zealand gardens, from a dinner cruise where a stranger chokes on a steak to playing extreme croquet in Kalamazoo. Seaman’s delightful collection is testament to the power of poetry, stitching together memories that open to the vast landscape of the heart.

–Jennifer Clark, author of A Beginner’s Guide to Heaven and Kissing the World Goodbye

Please share/repost #flpauthor #preorder #AwesomeCoverArt #read #poems #literature #poetry

[jpbjazz]

LÉGENDES DU JAZZ

FATE MARABLE, PIONNIER DU JAZZ SUR LE MISSISSIPPI

"There was a saying in New Orleans. When some musician would get a job on the riverboats with Fate Marable, they'd say, 'Well, you're going to the conservatory.'"

- Zutty Singleton

Né le 2 décembre 1890 à Paducah, au Kentucky, Fate Marable était le fils de James Marable et d’Elizabeth Lilian Wharton. Marable avait deux frères, Harold et James, et trois soeurs, Mabel, Juanita et Neona. La mère de Marable, qui était professeur de piano, avait appris à son fils à lire la musique et à jouer du piano. Au début, la mère de Marable lui avait interdit de toucher à son piano, mais en son absence, il en avait profité pour expérimenter. De guerre lasse, sa mère avait finalement accepté de lui apprendre à jouer.

Enfant-prodige, Marable était si talentueux qu’il aurait commencé à se produire professionnellement à partir de l’âge de neuf ans.

DÉBUTS DE CARRIÈRE

À l’âge de dix-sept ans, en 1907, Marable avait commencé à jouer sur les navires d’excursion qui naviguaient le Mississippi. À l’époque, Marable avait été recruté par John et Joseph Streckfus pour remplacer le pianiste Charles Mills, qui avait été engagé pour jouer à New York. Très consciencieux, Joseph Streckfus avait à coeur le succès de ses vapeurs, qu’il considérait comme une sorte de salles de danse flottantes. Streckfus assistait à toutes les répétitions et critiquait même les performances de ses musiciens.

Engagé comme pianiste de ragtime, Marable se produisait sur le J.S. No. 1, qui était basé à Rock Island, en Illinois. Le navire, qui faisait la navette entre La Nouvelle-Orléans, la Louisiane et la ville de St. Paul, au Minnesota, était la propriété de l’Acme Packet Company. Même si le premier engagement de Marable lui avait permis de jouer en duo avec le violoniste blanc Emil Flindt, ses talents de compositeur et de dépisteur de talents étaient rapidement devenus évidents. Le revenu d’appoint fourni par le travail sur les vapeurs était très apprécié des musiciens de La Nouvelle-Orléans, particulièrement après la fermeture de Storyville (comme on désignait alors le quartier des prostituées ou ‘’Red Light’’) en 1917. En effet, le travail sur les vapeurs procurait un salaire régulier (35$ par semaine avec le gîte et la nourriture, et 45$ sans).

Parmi les responsabilités de Marable sur le vapeur ‘’J.S.’’, on remarquait le maniement d’un calliope à vapeur, une sorte d’orgue format géant doté d’énormes tuyaux qui possédait une pression de quatre-vingt livres et qui servait à annoncer l’arrivée du navire aux riverains. Conçue pour être clairement entendue à partir du rivage, la machine était difficile à manier et exigeait l’utilisation de gants pour manipuler les clés qui étaient souvent très chaudes. Marable devait aussi bourrer ses oreilles de coton afin d’éviter de devenir sourd.

Décrivant les activités de son groupe, Marable avait expliqué: “It sailed to New Orleans that year with me at the piano, and a white fellow playing the violin. That’s all we had. Each year, we added one more piece until we had what we thought was a great big band. Four pieces — piano, violin, trumpet and drums. All of them were white boys but me, and playing strictly ragtime.” Le groupe de quatre musiciens de Marable s’était produit sur le ‘’J.S.’’ jusqu’en 1910, alors que le navire avait été la proie des flammes. Après avoir acheté la Diamond Jo Packet Company, le capitaine John Streckfus avait lancé une nouvelle ligne comprenant des navires comme le St. Paul, le Quincy (qui était devenu plus tard le second ‘’J.S.’’), le Dubuque et le Sidney. C’est sur le Sidney que Marable avait poursuivi ses activités. Il précisait: “We were going in and out of New Orleans all the time, and I began to notice the type of music they were playing there. It just got under my skin.’’ Parmi les membres du groupe de Marable, on remarquait Johnny St. Cyr au banjo, “Baby” Ridgeley au trombone, Davey Jones au melophone, Paul Dominguez au violon, Sam Dutrey à la clarinette, Norman Mason à la trompette, George “Pops” Foster à la contrebasse et Warren “Baby” Dodds à la batterie. C’est aussi en se produisant sur les navires à vapeur que Marable avait découvert Louis Armstrong, qu’il avait engagé par la suite pour jouer sur les navires d’excursion qui se rendaient à la Nouvelle-Orléans.

À l’époque, Armstrong, qui était alors âgé de dix-huit ans, venait tout juste d’apprendre à lire la musique avec Davey Jones. Ce dernier avait déclaré à Armstrong: “Louis, you can blow and you can swing because it’s natural to you. But you’ll never be able to swing any better than you already know how until you learn to read. Then you can swing in ways you never thought of before!” Au début, les spectateurs avaient été peu réceptifs, mais Marable avait rapidement effectué les ajustements nécessaires. Marable expliquait: “Finally, after the intermission, We got a little spasmodic applause, but the people were completely amazed at our type of music. You could tell, though, that they were beginning to like it.” Comme chef d’orchestre, Marable n’avait pas tardé à partager les leçons de sa mère avec ses musiciens. La plupart des musiciens de Marable jouant par oreille, il avait développé leurs aptitudes en leur apprenant à lire la musique. Comme l’avait expliqué un des batteurs de Marable, le légendaire Zutty Singleton: "There was a saying in New Orleans. When some musician would get a job on the riverboats with Fate Marable, they'd say, 'Well, you're going to the conservatory.'" En montrant aux musiciens à mieux exécuter les arrangements de danse pour les passagers des vapeurs, Marable a également conribué à lancer la carrière de plusieurs futurs grands noms du jazz comme Cab Calloway, Count Basie, King Oliver, Johnny St. Cyr, les frères Johnny et ‘’Baby’’ Dodds, Tommy Ladnier, ‘’Pops’’ Foster, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Fats Waller et Chick Webb.

Avec Armstrong, Marable avait remporté un grand succès avec la pièce ‘’St. Louis Blues’’, une composition de W. C. Handy qui avait permis à l’orchestre de devenir un des meilleurs groupes de danse aux États-Unis. Indirectement, Marable avait même participé à l’invention du scat. Marable adorait raconter une anecdote au sujet de l’enregistrement de la pièce “Heebie-Jeebies.” Ce jour-là, Armstrong avait complètement oublié les paroles et s’était mis à enchaîner les onomatopées. L’innovation avait été reprise par la suite par de nombreux chanteurs et chanteuses comme Cab Calloway, Fats Waller et Ella Fizgerald.

À l’époque, le ragtime était à son apogée. Marable précisait: “It was an entirely different kind music, than the ragtime which preceded it or the swing which followed. While ragtime, like jazz, was born and bred in New Orleans, St. Louis accepted it and some of the finest ‘rags’ ever written were written here.”

Le premier ragtime majeur de l’histoire avait été publié en 1895 sous le titre de “Harlem Rag’’ par Tom Turpin, qui était également l’auteur de “St. Louis Rag” et de “Bowery Buck.” Quatre ans plus tard, Scott Joplin avait publié son célèbre “Maple Leaf Rag”. D’autres pianistes et compositeurs de St- Louis avaient suivi l’exemple de Joplin, dont Sammy Paterson (Patterson), Louis Chauvin, Charlie Thompson, Robert Hampton, Walter Farrington et Johnny Arnold.

Marable étant très exigeant, les membres de son groupe devaient être capables de jouer plusieurs styles de musique, allant des grands succès de l’heure aux classiques du jazz. Même si Marable demandait à ses musiciens de rendre le public heureux et d’être disciplinés, il leur avait aussi permis de développer leur potentiel. C’est dans cette perspective que Marable avait encouragé le talent d’improvisateur de Louis Armstrong et qu’il lui avait laissé toute latitude pour se lancer dans de grandes envolées même s’il s’écartait parfois de la partition. Le groupe de Marable avait aussi servi d’école à plusieurs futurs grands noms du jazz dont Red Allen, Baby Dodds, Johnny Dodds, King Oliver, Pops Foster, Erroll Garner, Narvin Kimball, Al Morgan, Jimmy Blanton, Tommy Ladnier, Johnny St. Cyr,  Red Allen, Elbert Pee Wee Claybrook, Earl Bostic, Al Morgan, Narvin Kimball, Gene Sedric, Joe Poston et Zutty Singleton. 

Décrivant sa passion pour le jazz, Marable avait commenté:

“Jazz was the outgrowth of Negro life in New Orleans. It developed from the chants of roustabouts loading cotton boats, singing with perfect rhythm as they lifted the bales. It grew out of the music played by bands[,] which accompanied funeral processions. On the way to a burial the music was solemn, with a sound marching tempo. But on the way back from the burial the musicians pepped up the marches to cheer the mourners. No matter how they deviated from the melody in improvisation, though, they still had the basic foundation of timing, and they never missed a beat. They took marches like ‘My Maryland,’ ‘High Society,’ ‘Panama,’ and ‘That’s a Plenty’ — playing them first just like a brass band marching down the street, every beat and every instrument clear. Then when they started improvising, the foundation was still there.”

C’est la transition du ragtime vers le jazz qui avait convaincu Marable de transformer son orchestre presque entièrement composé de musiciens blancs en groupe exclusivement de couleur en 1917. Appelé le Kentucky Jazz Band, le groupe était surtout formé de musiciens originaires de Paducah, même si du propre aveu de Marable, il était loin d’arriver à la cheville des musiciens de La Nouvelle-Orléans.

Après avoir engagé un nouveau pianiste, le  Kentucky Jazz Band s’était rendu dans le nord en 1918. Marable était demeuré à St. Louis pour faire la publicité du vapeur St. Paul. Pendant que Rodemich et ses joueurs de ragtime faisaient danser les spectateurs, Marable se produisait seul au piano au second étage de la cafétéria. L’année suivante, le groupe de couleur de Marable avait pris la place de Rodemich.

Même s’il était un excellent chef d’orchestre, Marable n’avait rien d’un compositeur. En 1916, Marable avait d’ailleurs  publié la seule composition originale de sa carrière. Intitulée ‘’Barrell House Rag’’, la pièce avait été co-écrite avec Clarence Williams.

Mais la célébrité est souvent ingrate. À la suite du déclin du Dixieland et de l’avènement du jazz symphonique de chefs d’orchestre comme Paul Whiteman, plusieurs des musiciens de Marable avaient commencé à le quitter. Le premier à quitter le groupe avait été Louis Armstrong, qui avait signé un contrat avec le cabaret de Tom Anderson à La Nouvelle-Orléans en 1921 avant de se joindre à l’orchestre de King Oliver à Chicago l’année suivante. En 1928, lorsque le jazz à Chicago était entré dans une période de déclin, Marable avait tenté de ramener Armstrong dans le giron de l’orchestre en lui offrant un salaire variant de 75$ à 125$ par semaine, mais ce dernier avait décliné la proposition.

Le batteur ‘’Baby’’ Dodds avaient quitté le groupe la même année qu’Armstrong pour se joindre à l’orchestre d’Oliver. Au début des années 1920, le batteur “Zutty” Singleton avait lui aussi quité le ‘’navire’’ pour se joindre au Pee Wee Russell Trio, aux Rhythmakers puis aux groupes de Louis Armstrong.

Boyd Atkins, le violoniste qui avait écrit le célèbre “Heebie-Jeebies’’ popularisé par Louis Armstrong, avait quitté en 1923 pour lancer son propre groupe à Chicago. Pour sa part, le trompettiste Sidney Desvigne avait tiré sa révérence en 1926. Quant au trompettiste Irving Randolph, il avait poursuivi sa carrière avec l’orchestre de Cab Calloway. À la même époque, le saxophoniste Earl Carruthers s’était joint au groupe de Jimmie Lunceford. Quant au trompettiste Henry “Red” Allen, Jr., il avait quitté le groupe en 1929 pour devenir membre du Mills Blue Rhythm Band.

Loin de s’arrêter là, les départs s’étaient poursuivis en 1935 avec l’engagement du saxophoniste Tab Smith avec l’orchestre de Count Basie. Pour sa part, le joueur de trombone Nathaniel Storey s’était joint à l’orchestre de Chick Webb, avant d’aller jouer avec le groupe Jeter Pillar au Club Plantation de St. Louis.

Le contrebassiste Jimmy Blanton avait quitté le groupe en 1939 pour se joindre à l’orchestre de Duke Ellington, dont il avait fait partie jusqu’à sa mort en 1942. Marable avait pariculièremen regretté le départ de Blanton au sujet duquel il avait déclaré: “The year before Jimmy died, a music critic asked me whom I considered the greatest instrumentalists in the country at the time. My answer was: ‘Give me Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Jimmy Blanton and let the rest of the world go by.’ If Jimmy had lived, I know he would now be regarded as the greatest bass player.”

Pendant que le batteur Floyd Campbell avait formé son propre groupe à Chicago, le saxophoniste Eugene Sedric  s’était joint au groupe de Fats Waller. Pour sa part, le contrebassiste Al Morgan avait poursuivi sa carrière avec l’orchestre de Cab Calloway avant de devenir membre du groupe du chanteur Louis Jordan. Les trompettistes Charlie Creath et Dewey Jackson avaient dirigé leurs propres groupes à St. Louis.

Résumant cette période de sa vie, Marable avait commenté: “When Paul Whiteman arrived on the scene with his symphonic ideas, arrangements and what not, the Dixieland style of jazz began to peter out gradually, although with his entrance about 1921, my band was right on top of the list.’’ Très fier d’avoir contribué au développement de si grands musiciens, Marable avait ajouté:

‘’I have played ragtime, jazz-time and swing and I believe that the Dixieland style of jazz gives a man the best chance to play what’s in him. A real jazz musician doesn’t require the other man’s thought through arrangements. He plays as a solid musician of his own making. Furthermore, I can tell a New Orleans band from a Chicago type or a St. Louis type anytime. New York, of course, doesn’t have any particular type or style — it’s everybody’s style. Lots of those jazz musicians couldn’t read music — never mind an arrangement. I could read myself because my mother was a piano teacher and I studied at Straight University in New Orleans, but, sometimes, there was only one man in a jazz band who could read. I firmly believe that New Orleans and Louis Armstrong have done more for the present dance band than any other factors, for the simple reason that Louis is New Orleans style personified, and he is copied by instrumentalists and singers alike.”

DERNIÈRES ANNÉES

Marable avait quitté l’orchestre en 1940 pour se consacrer à sa carrière de pianiste. À la fin de sa vie, Marable avait travaillé comme dépisteur de talents dans les clubs de La Nouvelle-Orléans. Il se produisait aussi dans les jam sessions.

Fate Marable est mort de pneumonie à St. Louis, au Missouri, le 16 janvier 1947. Il était âgé de cinquante-six ans. Marable a été inhumé au Oak Grove Cemetery de Paducah, au Kentucky.

Comme plusieurs musiciens de La Nouvelle-Orléans, Marable n’avait jamais tellement apprécié le nouveau style de jazz, qu’il trouvait souvent dépourvu d’émotion. Marable expliquait:

“The music of today seems to lack the fire that it had in the old jazz days, and some of the present bands are using arrangements copied from things we did in New Orleans in 1912. My favorites in the field today are Benny Goodman — and let me tell you that white people can play the Negro’s jazz, although some people will say no — Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Woody Herman, the King Cole Trio and ‘Red’ Allen.”

Marable a eu un fils, Fate Marable Jr. Celui-ci, qui serait toujours vivant, habiterait à Pittsburgh et serait aujourd’hui âgé de plus de quatre-vingt-sept ans. Marable, qui avait suivi les traces de son père, avait dirigé un groupe et joué du piano à Pittsburgh. Marable est aujourd’hui considéré comme le père spirituel de plusieurs pianistes de Pittsburgh comme Mary Lou Williams, Earl "Fatha" Hines, Erroll Garner, Billy Strayhorn, Ahmad Jamal, Horace Parlan, Dodo Marmarosa et Johnny Costa. ©-2024, tous droits réservés, Les Productions de l’Imaginaire historique

[hoodoo12]

The tour is still happening?? I heard the production has been officially closed indefinitely due to Miss Corona and Music Man pushing them out of that theater, causing it to crash

Uhhh

Yes! The tour is (still) happening! It opened in Paducah KY and has been in Cleveland OH since last week, then goes on 23 more cities, with the possibility that more will be added.

In 2019 it was announced the show would be closing in June 2020 so the Music Man could open in its og theatre (the Winter Garden), but then the infamous pandemic blew apart everyone's plans and the rest of the world. However, it came back at the Marquis Theater in April 2022; its last Broadway performance was January 9 2023.

Check out the link, it may be coming to a city near you!

[herd-reject-arts]

Are y'all even ready for the results of me autistically deciding to do research on TVA's Tellico Dam?

The History of TVA:

Without a shadow of a doubt, the Tellico Project, first proposed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1939, was the most controversial dam installment along the Tennessee River and its tributaries. TVA, having been formed three years prior to the inception of the idea to build a dam at the place where the Little Tennessee River meets the Tennessee River, was moving too quickly for it to keep up with its own progress. Born in the era of the New Deal, possibly given too much authority over itself, TVA soon found itself mired in discussion over its necessity and legitimacy.

From its inception, the Tennessee Valley Authority had the goal of producing energy for the region along the Tennessee River while also helping to control flooding along its length. The dams under TVA control were also used for the production of fertilizer (and munitions during wartime), transportation, recreational use, and urban planning. From Northeast Tennessee down to South-Central Mississippi, TVA also aided what were historically very impoverished areas in gaining access to affordable electricity. The first city to take advantage of this cheap hydroelectric energy was Tupelo, Mississippi, in 1934; in partnering with TVA to receive energy from the dams, Tupelo saw its energy costs decrease by roughly 68%, allowing for an 83% increase in the number of homes with electricity in the first 6 months of the partnership. This was a major step in modernizing much of the South. 

But how did this government agency begin? What is the history of the Tennessee Valley Authority?

As previously stated, the Tennessee Valley Authority Act was passed into being in 1933, only two months into Roosevelt’s New Deal plans. With the creation of the TVA came control over the few dams which had already been built along the Tennessee River. The first of these dams was built in 1916 at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. This, along with the second dam to be constructed - Wilson Dam, named after then president, Woodrow Wilson - were built for the purpose of generating energy as well as producing nitrates and phosphates to be used as fertilizer for surrounding farms. Both of these had largely ceased production after the first World War. By 1923, the US Army Corps of Engineers had taken on the burden of building dams, with the plan to “form a navigable channel from Paducah to Knoxville” (Callahan, 1980), while also taking advantage of the power that could be generated from the construction of the dams. This was the foundation for the Tennessee Valley Authority roughly a decade later, and the mission they absorbed. 

TVA was initially awarded 50 million dollars (adjusted for inflation, this is nearly 1.2 billion today) to construct more dams. This was for the goal of helping to control flooding, soil erosion, afforestation, elimination from agriculture use, and aiding in building up industries that could benefit from riverine transportation. Being the largest river in Tennessee, all water in the area eventually ends up in the Tennessee River, causing issues with flooding in many places across, and outside of, the state. In Tennessee alone, flooding was costing an annual 1 million in damages per year - that’s around 23 million today, adjusted. But TVA wasn’t just reshaping the landscape of Tennessee; it also brought with it the promise of jobs. Though some were waiting for the projects to fail, others saw it as a way to break out of poverty, or otherwise looked forward to the changes this new government agency was promising for the area along the Tennessee River. 

The first major site the TVA chose for a dam was an area now known as Norris, Tennessee. By 1934, the area that was soon to be inundated had been cleared. Those who had been living there beforehand were bought out of their land and forced to vacate, much to the displeasure of many of the locals. In cases of eminent domain, there is not much one can do but complain, and so people were relocated, largely to the surrounding counties. When people refused to sell and leave their land, TVA had no issue with taking people to court over the disagreement; litigation was the end result in only 5% of all land purchases (about 801 tracts of land), however. Though TVA had promised to help the people impacted by the dam relocate, they did not always do this; in cases where they did, it sometimes resulted in people being lodged in areas knows as “poor farms,” where families and their livestock could stay (in tents, mind) until they were able to locate another tract of land. These tents were described by people at the time as being “not too bad.” Numerous graves also had to be moved. Though some preferred their family members be left where they’d initially been interred, over 5,000 graves were moved from the floodplain. The wishes of each family were respected, unless a grave absolutely needed to be moved for the purpose of construction. Continuing into the year, the Norris Reservoir Basin (as it was now called) was investigated for any evidence of past human occupation. Unfortunately - and this is largely a product of its time - sites were logged, but often not investigated properly. It was at this phase of construction that TVA decided the dam should be open to the public. After all, with so many people displaced due to its construction, they might as well still be able to utilize the land in some way, if for no other reason than leisure. It was argued that the dam would be an engineering marvel, something people would want to see, something that would revitalize American nationalism and inspire awe and pride in being American.

The next construction site was the General Joe Wheeler Dam, with the main purpose being to generate energy. This dam, along with Wilson Dam, were primarily used in times of heavy rains. Norris was not run until the water got low in the winter, ensuring a steady flow of electricity year round. 

TVA began construction on the Pickwick Landing Dam in 1934. This was the first dam solely constructed and overseen by the Tennessee Valley Authority. For the rest of the decade, TVA continued to build more and more dams, expanding them from being along the Tennessee River to include several of its tributaries. When World War II began, dam construction was ramped up, reaching its full potential after the tragedy at Pearl Harbor. 

In total, by the 1980s, TVA was in control of 58 dams along the Tennessee River and its tributaries. 23 of these were built by the TVA (that being Kentucky Dam, Pickwick Landing Dam, Wheeler Dam, Guntersville Dam, Nickajack Dam, Chickamauga Dam, Watts Bar Dam, Fort Loudoun Dam, Norris Dam, Hiwassee Dam, Cherokee Dam, Appalachia Dam, Nottely Dam, Ocoee Dam Number 3, Chatuge Dam, Fontana Dam, Douglas Dam, South Holston Dam, Watauga Dam, Boone Dam, Fort Patrick Henry Dam, Melton Hill Dam, and Tims Ford Dam). The Main River Wilson Dam was acquired by TVA after it took over the dam from the War Department. Three were acquired from the Tennessee Electrical Power Company (TEP): Ocoee Dam Number 1, Ocoee Dam Number 1, and Blue Ridge Dam. Calderwood Dam, Cheoah Dam, Thorpe Dam, Nantahala Dam, Santeelah Dam, Chilhowee Dam, Mission Dam, Queens Creek Dam, Tuckasegee Dam, Cedar Cliff Dam, Bear Creek Dam, Wolf Creek Dam, and East Fork Dam were previously owned by the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA). Wilbur and Nolichucky Dams were purchased from East Tennessee Light and Power Company (ETL&P). Great Falls Dam, Dale Hollow Dam, Center Hill Dam, Wolf Creek Dam, Old Hickory Dam, Cheetham Dam, Barkley Dam, and J. Percy Priest Dams were also major contributors, though not owned exclusively by TVA. Tellico and Raccoon Mountain Dams were still being tinkered with. 

As the Tennessee Valley Authority acquired more and more land in the area, people began to worry about the impact this might have on life in the Tennessee River Valley overall. Whereas TVA had initially been seen as a good for locals, who were mostly impoverished farm workers, people were now considering the drawbacks. Unemployment in the areas affected by the dams was at a record low, but what about all the homes being destroyed? What of the archaeological sites now trapped beneath a man-made lake? How would all of this impact local flora and fauna? Though the Tennessee Valley Authority seemed inept in certain realms (such as project planning), they did fulfill some of their promises. Flooding was down in the entire River Valley, saving taxpayers, the government, and home and business owners alike millions (not adjusted for inflation) per year. However, the downside of this was that smaller waterways were now experiencing higher water levels, leading new areas to flood. Another benefit of the dams was that malaria and other mosquito-borne illnesses decreased rapidly; the movement of the water through various hydroelectric dams and the elimination of large patches of stagnant water helped limit the reproductive potential of mosquitoes. There was also the question of what would happen to newly flooded areas, and how this would be potentially detrimental to plant and animal species alike. Many worried about silt buildup along areas where fish typically spawned, and how this might limit the numbers of various fish populations; in the years since all these projects began, this has luckily been such a miniscule issue that it’s rarely something that even needs to be addressed. As well as trying its best to keep the environment mostly at balance, TVA was helping fight erosion by reforesting areas and planting native plants along previously ruined stretches of land; they also assisted in repairing soil quality by using the dams to help produce phosphides, which could be sold to local farms to help replenish the soil.

By the mid-70s, there were 400 access roads, 19 state parks, 91 local/city parks, and roughly 300 recreational areas open to the public along TVA-owned land. Having all of this available stimulated the local economy, an added benefit of the dams that had not been initially foreseen. Several tens of millions of people annually would visit these areas, making them a clear benefit for both TVA and people living near TVA lands. 

Despite a few hiccups along the way, TVA had mostly been managed properly and professionally throughout the years. A shift had been made at some point to move away from a more industrial mindset to more of a community-focused one in response to Eisenhower threatening to dismantle the Tennessee Valley Authority for being too socialist. In this, locals had more of a say in what was being done in the area, a decision no doubt also sparked by new laws and regulations being passed about how TVA could act. The decision was made to build more along tributaries off the Tennessee River, which would not only help local communities with flooding, but also provide more affordable energy, jobs, and recreation areas. Revitalizing the backing for the Tellico Dam within TVA was the major step that was taken in doing all of this. Despite knowing that Tellico Dam would have no impact on energy production, transportation, or flood control by 1959, it was still pushed by the TVA. The mindset of everyone involved in the planning was that it had to happen, no matter what. Tellico Dam had been proposed decades before, and TVA was adamant about it being finalized. By 1961, local opinions of the dam were that it should not happen.

Regardless of this, in 1963, the Tellico Project was approved by Congress.

Tellico Dam:

Having been placed on hold decades before due to the sudden involvement of the United States in World War II, Tellico Dam was scheduled to begin construction in 1965 after a movement to revive this particular project. It was asserted that, because of poor placement of the Fort Loudoun Dam, another would have to be placed in a nearby tributary to further aid in flood control. Knowing energy production and transportation would not be the purpose of this new dam, TVA scrambled to find justification for it being built; after all, they had to present some sort of reasoning behind each construction in order to get funding from the federal government. TVA ended up using “land enhancement, recreation, and general economic benefit” (Wheeler &McDonald, 1986) as their justification. They had also asserted that it would help modernize local communities, which they treated as if they were stuck decades in the past when they were, in fact, rather modernized. These all proved to be difficult to quantify, and, needing to have some idea of the long-term monetary benefits of such a monumental task as dam building, TVA believed they would fail due to their inability to crunch the numbers. But, being a government agency, this did not stop them in their pursuit to have Tellico Dam become a reality.

Since Tellico’s initial stages, TVA had been caught in controversy. Announced to the public in 1961, businesses near the proposed dam began to endorse its construction very early on. People began to notice very quickly, however, that the wording in the endorsement letters was all suspiciously similar. TVA denied any role in this, yet was also caught trying to bribe the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce into endorsing the Tellico Project; because of this, the popular theory is that TVA was paying businesses to back them. In order to keep things under control, TVA decided to: Deny the dam was even being built (something they did up until the time of its completion), lie to the public about how much land would need to be purchased in order to finish the dam, and pay for various local groups to endorse them. From this, the Little Tennessee River Valley Development Association was born. This organization was directly responsible for lobbying on behalf of the Tellico Project, helping to build a plan for developing the area, and ended up being rather useless. 

Realizing their own ineptitude, TVA found rather quickly that it would need far more land than initially projected. Some 17,000 additional acres would need to be procured in order to successfully carry out their half-baked plans. This is in addition to the 16,500 acres that were to be flooded. Understandably, this caused a lot of community backlash. Once stating that they cared about the opinions of the community, TVA was now hellbent on the completion of Tellico Dam at any cost.

In 1964, TVA held a meeting at Greenback High School in Greenback, Tennessee. They were met with around 400 people from nearby communities; almost every one of them opposed the Tellico Project, concerned that it would have a negative impact on their lands, fish populations, and archaeological sites, among other factors. They argued that TVA was not listening to what the people wanted, and they were only doing what TVA wished instead. The accusations worried TVA, for this was their largest, most vocal, opposition yet. The dissenting side went so far as to invite Supreme Court justices to East Tennessee to look into exactly what TVA was doing. This brought the controversy to national attention, and TVA began accusing any detractors of being paid opposition; in reality, they were being chastised by several small groups which had little to no connection to one another save for their dissatisfaction with how the Tennessee Valley Authority was operating in their own back yards. TVA began to suspect everyone of being against them, from local farmers to ALCOA to writers. Needless to say, none of these small groups did much more than make TVA look foolish, as a bunch of people with little to no power are often helpless in the face of a government agency. 

In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson released the federal budget for the following year. In this, 6 million was allotted for TVA to begin the Tellico Project. Construction was set to begin in 1967. From that point until the early 1970s, TVA began absorbing more and more of the surrounding land. This led to additional outrage, as they were now evicting people that they had previously told were not to be affected by the land acquisition. What’s worse, TVA had no idea how many people they would have to displace by buying up the land. No numbers had been run on what they were doing to the locals they claimed previously to have cared for. When prompted for an estimate, they gave the answer of 600 families/households affected; in reality, it was much closer to 350. There was also the issue of lack of funds to purchase all the extra land. Still, this did not deter them. 

Moving into the 1970s, environmentalists became a big problem for the Tennessee Valley Authority. So the environmentalists said, TVA had no environmental impact statement. In response to this, and under threat of a lawsuit, TVA threw one together haphazardly, resulting in another blunder.  The resulting environmental impact statement showed that TVA would break even on the cost of the Tellico Project vs the monetary value land development could bring in (1:1 ratio); in reality, it was closer to a 3:1 ratio, meaning they were spending three times more than what they could feasibly bring in. To further embarrass TVA, an economics professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville had his students run the numbers from the official TVA report to find the inconsistencies. Once again, this made everyone responsible for the Tellico Project look like buffoons. 

By 1971, almost all the land needed for the dam had been purchased. The concrete structure of the dam was in place, and any manipulation of the land surrounding the dam had already been completed. Despite running into issue after issue, TVA was pressing forward, doing what they could when they could. In December of that same year, TVA was brought to court over their incomplete environmental impact statement. As they always seemed to do, however, TVA wormed its way out of being sued, stating that any impact the dam would have on fish and plant species or archaeological sites would be nothing compared to the ecological damage left from an incomplete dam, citing erosion from them clear cutting much of the area around the river as a major ecological concern. Despite being set to flood that year, a hold was placed on this due to significant archaeological areas of interest along the floodplain. 

In 1972, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals halted any further construction of Tellico Dam. This blindsided TVA, who had, up until this point, only been given a slap on the wrist when they were engaging in activities which may or may not be illegal. The terms of this pause in construction was only limited to the dam itself; noticing this, TVA continued to work on building access roads, working on the canal area, and buying more land. It was also during this year that TVA brought in paid archaeologists to say that there’s nothing wrong with the excavations being performed on various Overhill Cherokee sites, and that things should be promptly wrapped up. 

In 1973, Chattanooga experienced a horrible flood. TVA used this to their advantage, stating that the flood would not have happened if only the Tellico Dam were built. This didn’t sway many in their direction. Later that year, a zoologist visiting the Little Tennessee River happened upon a species of fish he’d never seen before. This species, which was dubbed the snail darter, after its primary food source, would be the next tactic for halting construction of the dam. Per the Endangered Species Act, if the snail darter happened to be endangered, TVA would have to stop construction, perhaps indefinitely. While the paperwork for this was being looked through, TVA continued to cut trees and silt the water, which appears to have been an attempt to eliminate the snail darter before the federal government had a chance to deem it endangered or not. Development of the area also picked up steam, as TVA believed they would soon be made to halt everything. Thus far, 40 million (not adjusted for inflation) had been spent overall in construction and land acquisition costs, and TVA was now finding itself possibly in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 

The following year, to add to the fight, people began to ask what would become of all the priceless Cherokee sites that would soon be buried beneath Tellico. A resurgence of appreciation for indigenous cultures led to more and more people being concerned about the state of these sites. Unfortunate for the (mostly white) people attempting to use Overhill Cherokee sites as the newest way to halt TVA, many Cherokee did not seem to care; this was in part to TVA hiring a white man, who did all he could to mute indigenous voices protesting the dam, as their Cherokee representative, but also likely due to the fact that it seemed as if TVA was paying off high ranking members of the Cherokee nation to act as if they didn’t care what happened to their ancestors. Ecological considerations were also made, which TVA was now notorious for failing to properly address. 

It wasn’t until 1976 that construction was officially put on hold due to the status of the snail darter. By 1977, construction was to be halted until further notice. It was also in ‘77 that archaeology in the area ceased. Despite the court-ordered hold, TVA persisted. TVA had already constructed most of the dam and its surrounding structures, as well as acquired some 22,000 acres of land surrounding the flood plain. They argued that they’d already changed the environment so much that stopping now would do more harm than good, and that the snail darter couldn’t get to its natural breeding ground because of the dam; they asserted that relocating populations to different areas in East Tennessee would make more sense. The decision to force the Tennessee Valley Authority to stop construction was upheld for several years. It wasn’t until 1979 that Congress and the House of Representatives decided (allegedly by mistake) to exempt TVA from the Endangered Species Act. This was the final decision in the dam’s construction, and a fatal blow for all in opposition to it. 

In November of 1979, the gates on Tellico Dam were closed. 

Archaeology:

Though now buried beneath several meters of water, many significant archaeological sites had been found along the Tellico Dam floodplain. In 1967, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville began to dig in the floodplain, having received funding from the National Parks Service. Starting in 1968, UTK was also receiving funding from TVA itself. Despite having adequate funding, the work was very rushed, as flooding was initially planned for 1969 or 1970. Both for the time and with how modern archaeology is performed, the job was executed poorly. Little to no effort was made to ascribe meaning or context to what was found; oversight and security were not even a thought, leading to looting; the archaeologists on site were reported to have left trash everywhere. After being informed as to how their ancestors’ graves were being treated, more and more Cherokee began to protest. Meetings were made with the governor of Tennessee to halt what was being done, but representatives from the Cherokee Nation were told he had no power over what TVA did. In the Eastern Band Tribal Council of 1972, the Cherokee, as well as most other indigenous tribes present, agreed to oppose TVA in their endeavors. Sites along the floodplain were registered as historic places - only to be dismissed as not being relevant or significant enough. In all, these protestations mattered about as much as any before them, and countless archaeological sites were forever destroyed. 

The data on these sites is shoddily thrown together and largely unanalyzed. Bag after bag of unprocessed artifacts and remains sit in the McClung museum (on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville), waiting to be looked at. Reports of the findings from the time are full of inconsistencies, making it hard to know what was actually found, where, and how reliable the reports truly are. Alongside tales of sites being found, collections being made, and no artifacts from the site ever turning up, it’s safe to say that 1) not much care was taken in collecting from the Overhill Cherokee sites, and 2) members of the teams conducting the digs were almost certainly stealing from the sites. 

To the advantage of those performing the digs, holdups due to the discovery of the snail darter meant there was more time than initially anticipated to conduct surveys. Beginning in 1967 and ending in 1978, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville sent out various exploratory groups to map and excavate as many archaeological sites as they could under the 16,500 acres the dam would soon be covering. Priorities were placed in areas where little to no work had been done before, such as terraces and islands along the river, slopes along the floodplain where chert had been spotted, and down tributaries off the Little Tennessee. Areas heavy with weeds or pasture, that had recently flooded, or where clear cutting hadn’t begun were to be ignored. This left around 19% of the 16,500 acres to be explored, and only 34% of that number (some 1,000 acres) was exposed enough to yield any results. As with all things, there were roadblocks. Poor preservation, fields that had to be free of crops before exploration, land owners refusing entry to archaeologists. 

Survey teams of two people at a time were sent out to areas of interest to find if there was anything significant in those areas. Teams worked on foot, presumably so as to miss as little as possible. During the seasons they were present, 129 new sites were located in the floodplain. 

The first dig season was in 1967-68. This was mostly for the purpose of identifying sites and finding how long the Cherokee had occupied the Little Tennessee River Valley. As TVA had not yet acquired all the land needed, there were many tracts of land in the area along the river that archaeologists did not have access to. As this was the case, not much was gathered during this dig season.

Teams went back out in 1969-1971, this time in the hopes of excavating the supposed Overhill Cherokee capital of Chota, and to hopefully find the location of Tuskegee in the process. 29 new sites were located during this season. Of the 29 new sites, 10 seemingly contained no artifacts, as nothing from them ever made its way to the McClung Museum.

From 1972 to 1976, and then again in 1977-1978, UTK sent out two more exploratory teams, neither bringing back much of importance, at least in terms of what was deemed important at the time. It is important, when viewing the past, to realize that methodology and focus change over time. The main goal of TVA archaeology at the time was to locate sites and collect all that could be from them before the inevitable flooding. This was almost purely salvage work, whereas today more time would be spent carefully assembling everything present and helping to paint a picture of what life would have been like for the people who occupied each site. One of the major criticisms is how differently each site within the river valley was treated. Depending upon who was in charge of the survey, bias could be seen in test methods, collection methods, what counted as significant, etc., leading to rather unscientific and unreliable data collection.

In all, 29,722 total artifacts were collected from the sites found. These included: 21,757 lithics/lithic fragments; 5,943 ceramics/ceramic sherds; 2,022 Anglo-American artifacts; and 2,258 faunal remains. By the 1980s, the last of these categories had been almost entirely untouched. Though no exact number could be found for the number of human remains found along the Little Tennessee River, an estimated 500,000 fragments of human remains had been recovered, according to a report on a 1971 survey. Of the artifacts recovered from the surveys over the years, most were fairly local. However, many of the lithics found were sourced from great distances away (New England area down to the Gulf of Mexico region, perhaps up into the Great Lakes). Of the artifacts found from beyond local trade range, it was found that those artifacts were either repaired once broken, or that they were repurposed as much as possible, indicating that they were of a much higher value than local lithics and pottery.

As a general timeline, human beings have been living in the Tennessee River Valley for roughly 10,000 years. The first signs of human occupation in the valley occur in the Early Archaic Period (8,000BC - 6,000BC). It was during this time that runoff from the Smoky Mountains began to form islands and sandbars along the Tennessee River and its offshoots. These were prime habitation zones, as they provided the natural protection water brings. These areas, as one might expect, flooded regularly, leading to quick sedimentary deposits (and thus stratigraphic layers). People at this time were semi-migratory, spending a decent amount of each year in the same area, likely moving to follow migrating prey sources or to a more season-friendly part of the valley. Homes were arranged close to one another, with a hearth at the center of each. Because of soil conditions, little biotic evidence exists at these early sites; almost all human, animal, and plant remains would have long since decomposed. It is assumed, based on recreations of what people were doing in nearby regions, that women primarily gathered foods, cooked, wove, and tanned hides, while men would have been responsible for hunting, gathering lithic materials, and making tools. The average life expectancy was around 25 years of age; this is, of course, brought down by a high infant and child mortality rate, but most people didn’t live very long regardless of that. 

The Middle Archaic (6,000BC - 3,000BC) was not very well documented, but contained some floral remains. Analyzing these, it can be seen that there was an overall increase in temperature at the time, as well as a decrease in rainfall. Because of these two factors, it is largely assumed that high temperatures and low rainfall are responsible for why there is less human activity in the region at the time. 

From 3,000BC - 900BC (the Late Archaic), hunter-gatherer strategies improved, leading to an increase in population. There is the emerging reliance on more and more riverine resources, especially fish and mussels. It is also in this time period that social stratification becomes more easy to define. Trade routes outside the local area are established, leading up into the Northeast. Domestication is slowly being introduced. The first domestic plants in the region were squash and gourds, presumably originating in Mexico (though there is no evidence that the people of the Tennessee River Valley themselves were traveling that far). Turkey were domesticated and eaten; dogs were a food source, a work animal, and/or a companion depending on a variety of circumstances. 

During the Early Woodland (900BC - AD200), there was a change in how pottery was made. Possibly due to the influence of other cultures nearby, it became popular to mix crushed quartz in with the clay one was molding. The traditional fluted point also shifts to be more triangular; the implication here is that the bow and arrow had arrived in the valley, as triangular arrowheads would have made sense in the context of that being the weapon of choice over a spear. There is also evidence of post holes, indicating homes were more permanent than before and people were perhaps leaving semi-nomadic lives behind for a sedentary one. The popular burial position at the time was to inter people in a flexed position, with their knees up to their chin and their arms wrapped around their legs; almost all burial pits were oval or circular. 

The Middle Woodland (AD200 - AD600) is marked by a shift into the Hopewell Culture. This is evident by the emergence of blades (a type of flake knapped from chert, obsidian, or similar rock) above more traditional styles of knapping. Trade networks were expanding, evidenced by materials from further and further away being found in the Tennessee River Valley. Though wild flora and fauna still dominated the economic structure of the Tennessee River Valley, cultivated plants (now expanding to include things such as corn, beans, sunflowers, maygrass, knotweed, lambsquarters, and marsh elder) became more of a dietary staple. At this point, it was almost assured that people were staying in the same residence year-round.

Nothing of note seems to have happened during the Late Woodland (AD600 -AD900).

The Mississippian Period is when activity begins picking up in the valley. Ranging from AD900 through AD1600, many changes were made to economic and social structures amongst the indigenous people of the Tennessee River Valley. First is the emergence of mounds. These functioned as burial sites, temples, residence for elites, and council buildings. In addition to this new type of structure is how villages are arranged; instead of being located near one another, now structures were located around a central plaza. Populations in these villages were also higher than they’d ever been, leading societies to both be more stable than before and more susceptible to warfare. Warring among tribes was so common that most villages of any size had a palisade built around them in an attempt to keep invading people out. Chiefdoms arose in this time period, along with further social stratification; chiefs would control the villages, with smaller settlements and farms surrounding their centers of power. Matrilineal lines become the basis for one’s social standing, meaning your status in society is determined by who your mother and her family had been. It was during this time that the first real hint of organized religion begins to show its face, mostly in the form of specific practices and ceremonies surrounding the dead. 

Mississippian Culture died out ib the Tennessee River Valley long after it had in many other places in the Southeast. It is believed that the Spanish are responsible for the shift in culture from Mississippian to what is known as the Dallas Culture. After European contact, and the subsequent deaths of countless indigenous people due to the European diseases they had no natural immunity to, dogs being sicked on people, and weapons the Spanish brought with them, the Overhill Cherokee emerge. There is no real evidence of if the Overhill are descendants of the peoples who had been living in the Tennessee River Valley for generations, or if they were migrants who moved in after the Spanish were gone, but the leading theory is that they migrated into the area after the Dallas people were driven out. 

Tellico Dam Archaeological Sites:

Many significant sites were found during the excavation years. Smaller sites deemed insignificant at the time have little recorded evidence of their existence, and thus the focus here will be on a few of the larger sites, on which literature is more readily available. All of the following is from those (mostly primary) sources, with the warning that there are inconsistencies within these forty to fifty year old documents that may lead the following to be mildly inaccurate:

Tomotley Site:

First recorded by Eurpoeans in 1894, Tomotley (40MR5) was a habitation site primarily used during the Late Mississippian Phase, but which has evidence of occupation dating back to the Archaic. There are four distinct periods of occupation at the site: Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian, and Historic. The later periods (Archaic and Woodland) are marked by the presence of lithics. Due to stratigraphic disturbances, pottery sherds and lithics from different time periods were mixed among one another; as this was the case, artifacts found were identified by style rather than how deep in the soil they were found. Based on post hole configurations, 14 total structures were located. These structures were constructed over a long period of time, evidenced by the depth the holes are found at. 6,268 total lithics were recovered, with evidence of occupation from all but the Middle Woodland Phase; the majority of these were identified as having been manufactured during the Mississippian Phase. 4,179 faunal remains were recovered. Evidence existed of a modern household once sitting on the site, likely having been constructed somewhere between 1750 and 1775. 84 total burials were identified. 55 of these were from the Dallas Period (AD1250 - AD1550). 8 were Overhill Cherokee. 20 were from an undetermined time period. As stratigraphy was messy, the period in which these people were interred was determined by grave goods associated with them. Those with no grave goods thus had no way of being determined, and were marked as unable to be determined. With modern techniques, it is entirely possible that these remains would be able to be analyzed today.

This site was excavated for a total of 5 days in 1967. It can be assumed that all artifacts recovered remain in the basement of the McClung museum, untouched. 

Mialoquo:

Having first been placed on a map in 1761, Site 40MR3 was not considered a proper settlement by the Overhill Cherokee because it lacked a “townhouse.” Underneath the settlement, however, was evidence of occupation dating back to the Archaic Phase. 30 total midden pits were identified; 15 of these contained the refuse of the Overhill Cherokee, 3 were from the Mississippian, and 12 were unable to be determined. 692 total post holes were found, suggesting a long period of occupation before more modern times. A total of 4,986 lithics were identified, ranging from the Archaic through the Historic Periods.Very little found was from the Archaic Period, with the majority being from the Late Woodland to Early Mississippian. 6,677 ceramic sherds were recovered, ranging from the Woodland to Historic Periods. 2,987 faunal remains were identified; of these, 186 were molluscan, with the remainder being vertebrates (mainly whitetail deer and black bears). No mention of human burials comes from the report on this site.

Chota:

Though the report on Site 40MR2 was some 600 pages long, the majority was simply describing, in excruciating detail, what all was found. There was little to no analysis of what time periods the artifacts came from, simply that they were present. As this is the case, the details on what all was found for this site are clear, but the period of time they came from is not. 

In total, 18,410 pottery sherds were located. Based on style, it is assumed that they are all from the Early Woodland through Cherokee occupation. An unstated number of lithics were recovered; though the report fails to state the total number, the breakdown is as follows: 287 were utilized flakes (broken pieces of projectiles that could be repurposed); 1,547 were chipped pieces; 5 were unworked nodules (stones chosen to be knapped into projectiles, but which never got used); 74 pipes, or pipe pieces; 1 chunkey stone; 7 anvil stones; 16 net sinkers; 2 gorget fragments; 8 hammerstones; 1 pestle; 3 slate saws; 7 bowl fragments; 10 chipped or broken hoes; 2 celts; 3 whetstones; and 93 stone fragments with evidence of human manipulation. This brings the total of lithics identified to 2,069. A plethora of Historic Era artifacts were also recovered: 19 projectile points; 14 gun parts; 1 powder horn; 23 musket balls; 1 explosive shell fragment; 9 pole axes; 16 knives; 2 straight razors; 3 pair of scissors; 2 saddle braces; 1 iron buckle; 1 strike lighter; 1 pair of eyeglasses; 1 hinge; 9 metal containers; 5 needles; 2 brass wire needles; 3 brass straight pins; 1 iron brace; 3 wood screws; 51 nails; 4 tacks; 40 buttons; 1 sleeve link; 2 broaches; 1 silver pendant; 5 ear ornaments; 32 tinklers (or, bells); 2 silver beads; 8 “c” bracelets; 1 gorget; 1 staple; 1 snuff box; 4 unidentified silver objects; 44 unidentified lead objects; 82 unidentified brass objects; 12,568 glass beads; 63 glass bottles; 14 pieces of mirror; 1 wine glass; 2 glass insets; 54 gunflints; 183 kaolin (a type of clay) pieces; 22 European ceramics; 9 European pigments. 944 total pieces of shell were identified, including 13 conch shell beads and 7 oyster shell beads. All faunal remains found were collected, but not analyzed or counted. Six total structures were able to be identified, as well as four houses. 17 human burials were found, with little detail into who they may have been, or from what time period. 

Toqua:

Site 40MR6 was first investigated by European settlers in 1884. 57 burials were found at the time. The next time a professional dig was performed at the site was in the 1930s; an additional 100-150 burials were found in this exploration, but the people conducting the excavation were not concerned about the remains, but their grave goods. This being the case, all human remains were dumped along with the dirt moved to uncover them, with no effort being made to catalog or recover them. As can possibly be inferred from the way in which the humans whose final resting place was Toqua were treated, almost no record of this dig exists, save for the assemblage from it which made its way to McClung Museum. Proper excavation was not made until 1975. TVA had to purchase the land from its previous owner in order to gain access to the mounds which marked the site, and digging continued here for another two years, making it perhaps the most thoroughly excavated site under the Little Tennessee River. Five phases of excavation were performed: The preliminary survey, test excavations (specifically to gain an idea of the stratigraphy within Mound A), excavatory tests on the grounds around Mound A as well as into Mound B, excavation of Mound A, and comparison of results to other Dallas sites in the area.

At its height, Toqua would have covered around 4.8 acres and housed some 250 to 300 people. It was ruled as a chiefdom, with a matrilineal line dictating one’s social standing. Men of higher status were allowed to take multiple wives. Mound A, which took as many as 300 years to get to its full height, was constructed some time around AD1200. Starting around the second phase of construction (of which there were 16), humans began being interred into the mound. At its full size, Mound A would have stood 25ft tall and been 154ft in diameter. Mound B was constructed some time after this, though there was no definitive date for when this would have been. At its completion, Mound B was 6ft high and 93ft in diameter, and may have been built solely for the purpose of housing Toqua’s dead. In total, 133 structures were noted, as evidenced by the 10,127 post holes associated with the structures. Over 200,000 pottery sherds were found at the site, 212 of which were complete or near-complete. A total of 511 burials were recorded. Based on some of these remains, people at Toqua were purposefully flattening their foreheads by placing boards against them for days at a time; this could have been a status symbol or simply something they deemed to have been fashionable. There is also evidence that the people of Toqua may have relied too heavily on crops such as corn and not enough on red meat, as many of the individuals uncovered showed signs of an iron deficiency. 

Conclusions:

The Tennessee Valley Authority, while bringing affordable energy and plentiful jobs to a part of the country in dire need of both, also brought with it the destruction of an unknowable amount of precious historic and prehistoric sites. One could argue the obvious tradeoff there being that sacrificing indigenous history in order to help the Tennessee River Valley in the modern day was worth it, but when the entire fiasco of the Tellico Project is taken into consideration, statements such as this simply do not hold water (pun intended). 

Firstly, the dam was not constructed to be able to generate electricity. That was not its purpose. Jobs may have been created in the decades it took for construction to be completed, but the only real benefits of Tellico Dam are that it marginally decreased flooding along the Tennessee River (though it aided in smaller tributaries getting more flooding than usual) and provided recreational space.

Second, TVA was so hellbent on getting the dam finished that nowhere near enough time was spent exploring the inundated area. If more responsible, less egotistical people had been in charge, perhaps more would be known about these sites found beyond “people lived here, once.” But, instead, they routinely broke the law (continuing construction and seeming to be trying to destroy habitat in the case of the snail darter incident) and went against court orders to cease construction for lengths of time. The lack of care for both local people in the modern era and or the past is so evident that it’s a wonder TVA was allowed to continue their behavior. 

TVA purposefully flooded an area in which this was not necessary in order to make themselves feel good. They had made a plan, and they intended upon completing it no matter what, whether that “what” be questions of its necessity or in spite of laws and regulations. It is clear that the Tellico Dam Project in its entirety was a blunder, a project pushed simply to sate someone’s ego. And, because of it, the archaeology work done in the area was rushed and haphazard, producing artifacts from which little can be derived, solely because of the pace at which they were collected. No time was afforded to do proper work, and so artifacts got tossed into bags and shipped off to McClung museum, if there was even enough oversight for them to have made it that far. 

Had the time and care been taken in these excavations, had TVA had enough sense to postpone their project in order to allow the descendants of those who lived along the Little Tennessee River to understand a little more of their history, who knows what we would be able to say about these sites. Anything more than that is pure conjecture, however; perhaps there would have been little else to find. Perhaps major sites existed, overlooked in the hurry to get the job done, lost to history. Due to negligence, we will never know. 

But there is still some hope on doing what can be to reconstruct the lives of the people who once resided in the Tennessee River Valley. Countless bags of artifacts exist in the McClung Museum, waiting for an aspiring young archaeologist to uncover their secrets. We may not be able to go back in time and do more thorough digs, but people today can still make basic assessments on what the Overhill Cherokee, and those before them, were doing, or eating, or making. The mistakes of the Tennessee Valley Authority can also be used as a lesson on what not to do in regards to someone’s ancestral lands, a talking point on how to do better in the future. Humanity makes mistakes as reliably as the sun will continue to rise and fall, but that doesn’t mean hope is lost. Wrongs can still be righted. Care can still be taken. Research can still be done. 

Works Cited:

·Callahan, North. TVA: Bridge over Troubled Waters. A.S. Barnes, 1980. 

·Chapman, Jefferson. Tellico Archaeology 12,000 Years of Native American History. Tennessee Valley Authority, 1985. 

·Gleeson, Paul, and Howard H. Earnest. Archaeological Investigations in the Tellico Reservoir: Interim Report, 1970. Dept. of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, 1971. 

·Guthe, Alfred K., and E. Marian Bistline. Excavations at Tomotley, 1973-74, and the Tuskegee Area: Two Reports. Tennessee Valley Authority, 1981. 

·Kimball, Larry R. The 1977 Archaeological Survey: An Overall Assessment of the Archaeological Resources of Tellico Reservoir. Tennessee Valley Authority, 1985. 

·Polhemus, Richard R., et al. The Toqua Site: 40MR6: A Late Mississippian, Dallas Phase Town. Tennessee Valley Authority, 1987. 

·Russ, Kurt C., and Jefferson Chapman. Archaeological Investigations at the Eighteenth Century Overhill Cherokee Town of Mialoquo (40MR3). Department of Anthropology, the University of Tennessee, 1983. 

·Wheeler, William Bruce, and Michael J. MacDonald. TVA and the Tellico Dam 1936 - 1979. Univ. of Tennessee Pr, 1986. 

[sam-loftgren]

name: sam loftgren age: 28 birthday: november 4th, 1994   neighborhood: fishtown  occupation: dispensary associate at beyond/hello

tw: death (incl. parental death), car accident

QUICK STATS

zodiac: scorpio ☉ | scorpio ☽ | sagittarius ➶   mbti: isfp enneagram: 9 alignment: neutral good element: water

BIO  tw: death (incl. parental death), car accident

Sam was born to teen parents in Paudcah, KY. A high school couple who were ill prepared for him. He doesn’t remember much about his father, just the few pictures his mom hadn’t gotten rid of, or the sense memory of cigarettes and car exhaust.

When it came to his childhood, Sam didn’t feel a loss. He was happy with it just being him and his mom, and the nights he was watched by his grandparents while she had to work her second job.

The two packed up and moved when Sam was 11, moving to St. Louis, MO for a job his mom had gotten, one that had meant they were comfortable, that she wouldn’t have to work a second job, that, in her words, they could “be a proper family”.

The dream of peace was short-lived, his mother lost her job two years later, and they moved back to Paducah to live with his grandparents until his mom was back on her feet again.

His mom got a job in Lansing, MI when Sam was 15, and the two once again packed up their car and moved with a promise that this was the last stop.

But, this time, the next move came faster than any before. Sam came home and found his mom already packing, the word of Philadelphia and a promise that the transfer was permanent, that this time they would really be settled.

Philadelphia, however disappointed at the news of the move that Sam was, was a place he took to quickly, and deeply. An immediate connection to the city that he’d not really felt anywhere else.

When his mom died, a nearly 18 year old Sam didn’t know how to process. His grandparents came down to stay with him and help him pack up the house. Despite his best effort to argue to stay in Philadelphia to finish out his senior year, he found himself back in Paducah for the last semester and a half.

Graduation was a hurdle he stumbled to get over. His grades had taken a hit, and he’d turned inward, hardly speaking to anyone outside of texts with his friends back in Philadelphia

But, as soon as he’d gotten his diploma he packed his things, and moved back to Philadelphia, taking the first job he found, and a roommate on CraigsList.

Sam and a friend were in a car wreck the following summer. Another car hit the driver’s side. Sam woke up in the hospital, a few broken bones, and a concussion but nothing much more serious. However, his friend, who had been driving, did not survive.

Sam sought some hand in the grief, feeling disconnected from even his other closest friends at the time, and found an online support group. A simple forum that gave him an outlet, a connection to others who were in his same boat.

It felt silly at first, little check-ins from everyone in the forum filled with mutual grief and the responding scripted votes of support. And no one that he truly felt a connection with past the mutual hollow repetitions of “you’re doing your best!” “one day at a time”.

A couple of months passed before Lena had joined the group. The first time that Sam had really felt a connection to anyone in the group. Someone who seemed to have a real understanding of where he was, and who he understood on a level that made the forum finally click

What started as just responses to each other and brief messages turned to IMs, eventually to texts, and eventually, calls.

The friendship had been a turning point, the thing that got Sam out of the isolation. A dependent friendship of sad souls who helped drag each other out of the mud, that turned into something a little lighter and real friendship the longer they kept it up.

Eight years of friendship over phone calls and continued texts had touched on visits, finally actually meeting and just getting some final piece of a puzzle of assurance, though, neither seemed to stick their guns on it, Sam never really getting the time off or enough money outside of working

CONNECTION IDEAS

friends (literally any and all kinds: best friends, high school friends, drinking buddies, smoking buddies, etc etc)

roommate(s) 

coworkers (or former coworkers, sam’s floated around jobs a bunch)

literally anything else, bbys

[reputationsaviors-blog]

#Online #Reputation Management# #Crisis Remove Complaints# Consultants# Services# Local# #Search #Engine Optimization# SEO# GMB# Tools# Software# Online# Companies# Reviews# Tips# Social Media Management# Remove Complaints# BBB# RipOffReport.com# Complaints.com# ComplaintsBoard.com# Blogs # Reviews# Webites# Online# Advertising# Marketing# Ads# Computer# Web Site Development# Hosting# TV# Television# Commercials# Internet# PR# Public Relations# Legal# Lawyer# Law# Attorney# Attorneys# Finance# Loan# Classifieds# Directories# Local Search# Business Leads# Sales Leads# Personal Data Removals# Internet Legal# Training Seminars

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 9.6 (before 1940)

394 – Battle of the Frigidus: Roman emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills Eugenius the usurper. His Frankish magister militum Arbogast escapes but commits suicide two days later. 1492 – Christopher Columbus sails from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. 1522 – The Victoria returns to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, the only surviving ship of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition and the first known ship to circumnavigate the world. 1620 – The Pilgrims sail from Plymouth, England on the Mayflower to settle in North America. (Old Style date; September 16 per New Style date.) 1628 – Puritans settle Salem, which became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1634 – Thirty Years' War: In the Battle of Nördlingen, the Catholic Imperial army defeats Swedish and German Protestant forces. 1781 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Groton Heights takes place, resulting in a British victory. 1803 – British scientist John Dalton begins using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements. 1861 – American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, giving the Union control of the Tennessee River's mouth. 1863 – American Civil War: Confederate forces evacuate Battery Wagner and Morris Island in South Carolina. 1870 – Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807. 1885 – Eastern Rumelia declares its union with Bulgaria, thus accomplishing Bulgarian unification. 394 – Battle of the Frigidus: Roman emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills Eugenius the usurper. His Frankish magister militum Arbogast escapes but commits suicide two days later. 1492 – Christopher Columbus sails from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. 1522 – The Victoria returns to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, the only surviving ship of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition and the first known ship to circumnavigate the world. 1620 – The Pilgrims sail from Plymouth, England on the Mayflower to settle in North America. (Old Style date; September 16 per New Style date.) 1628 – Puritans settle Salem, which became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1634 – Thirty Years' War: In the Battle of Nördlingen, the Catholic Imperial army defeats Swedish and German Protestant forces. 1781 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Groton Heights takes place, resulting in a British victory. 1803 – British scientist John Dalton begins using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements. 1861 – American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, giving the Union control of the Tennessee River's mouth. 1863 – American Civil War: Confederate forces evacuate Battery Wagner and Morris Island in South Carolina. 1870 – Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807. 1885 – Eastern Rumelia declares its union with Bulgaria, thus accomplishing Bulgarian unification. 1901 – Leon Czolgosz, an unemployed anarchist, shoots and fatally wounds US President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. 1914 – World War I: The First Battle of the Marne, which would halt the Imperial German Army's advance into France, begins. 1915 – World War I: The first tank prototype, developed by William Foster & Co. for the British army, was completed and given its first test drive. 1930 – Democratically elected Argentine president Hipólito Yrigoyen is deposed in a military coup. 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Interprovincial Council of Asturias and León is established. 1939 – World War II: The British Royal Air Force suffers its first fighter pilot casualty of the Second World War at the Battle of Barking Creek as a result of friendly fire. 1939 – World War II: Union of South Africa declares war on Germany.

[factinhistory]

What Happened on September 6 in History?

September 6 has witnessed a range of significant events throughout history, from political milestones to major battles. This article explores key moments that occurred on this date, providing a comprehensive overview of how September 6 has shaped historical narratives across different eras.

What Happened on September 6 in History?

Trail of Tears (1839)

On September 6, 1839, the Cherokee Nation formally ratified its constitution in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. This event marked a crucial step in the rebuilding of the Cherokee Nation following the devastating Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears refers to the forced removal of the Cherokee people from their ancestral lands in the southeastern United States to what is now Oklahoma. This journey, driven by the Indian Removal Act of 1830, resulted in the deaths of thousands due to exposure, disease, and starvation.

The ratification of the Cherokee constitution on September 6 symbolized the resilience and determination of the Cherokee people to reestablish their governance and cultural identity despite the profound challenges they faced. This new constitution laid the groundwork for the political structure and laws that would guide the Cherokee Nation in their new territory, ensuring the preservation of their societal and legal frameworks.

Grant Occupies Paducah (1861)

On September 6, 1861, during the early stages of the American Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant achieved a strategic victory by occupying Paducah, Kentucky. This move was part of a broader Union strategy to control key transportation hubs and river routes. Paducah’s location at the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers made it a strategic point for controlling movement and supplies.

Grant’s occupation of Paducah on September 6 helped to secure the region for the Union and demonstrated his effective military strategy. This action also contributed to his growing reputation as a capable and determined leader, eventually leading to his promotion to general and playing a significant role in the eventual Union victory in the Civil War.

See Also: What Happened on September 6 in American History?

Jackson Occupies Frederick (1862)

On September 6, 1862, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson occupied Frederick, Maryland, during the American Civil War. This event was part of the broader campaign known as the Maryland Campaign, which preceded the Battle of Antietam. Frederick’s occupation was a strategic move by Jackson to disrupt Union plans and gather supplies for the Confederate Army.

The occupation of Frederick on September 6 by Jackson was significant for its psychological and logistical impact. It demonstrated the reach and effectiveness of the Confederate forces and placed pressure on Union forces. This action contributed to the shifting dynamics of the campaign and set the stage for the subsequent Battle of Antietam, which would become one of the bloodiest battles in American history.

1st Black Delegate (1866)

On September 6, 1866, Frederick Douglass became the first Black delegate to a national convention in the United States. This milestone occurred at the National Convention of Colored Men, which aimed to address the issues and rights of African Americans in the post-Civil War era. Douglass’s participation as a delegate was a significant achievement in the struggle for civil rights and representation for Black Americans.

Douglass’s role on September 6 underscored his commitment to advocating for equality and justice. His involvement in the convention highlighted the growing political engagement of African Americans and set a precedent for future representation and advocacy in national politics.

First Westbound Train Arrives in San Francisco (1869)

On September 6, 1869, the first westbound train arrived in San Francisco, marking a significant milestone in the development of the American railroad system. This event symbolized the completion of the transcontinental railroad, which had been a critical project for connecting the eastern and western parts of the United States.

The arrival of the train on September 6 in San Francisco was a momentous occasion that facilitated economic growth, migration, and development across the country. It represented the culmination of years of effort and investment in the railroad infrastructure, fundamentally transforming transportation and commerce in the United States.

Assassination of William McKinley (1901)

On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, during the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley, who was the 25th President of the United States, was attending the exposition when Czolgosz approached him and fired two shots.

The shooting on September 6 had a profound impact on American politics and society. McKinley’s assassination led to the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and a shift in the political landscape of the early 20th century. The event also highlighted the growing concerns about political violence and the need for greater security measures for public figures.

Peary 1st to North Pole? (1909)

On September 6, 1909, the New York Times published a headline announcing that American explorer Robert Peary had reached the North Pole five months earlier. This claim was a significant moment in the history of exploration, as it was believed to mark the first successful expedition to the North Pole.

However, the claim made on September 6 was later subjected to scrutiny and debate. Subsequent investigations raised doubts about the accuracy of Peary’s achievement, and it remains a topic of historical controversy. Despite this, the announcement represented a major milestone in polar exploration and contributed to the broader narrative of human exploration and achievement.

First Battle of the Marne (1914)

On September 6, 1914, the First Battle of the Marne began during World War I. This pivotal battle was fought between the Allied forces, including French and British troops, and the German Empire. The battle marked a significant turning point in the early stages of the war, as it halted the German advance on Paris and prevented the Germans from securing a quick victory.

The commencement of the battle on September 6 played a crucial role in shaping the course of World War I. It led to a prolonged conflict on the Western Front and set the stage for the trench warfare that would define much of the war’s subsequent years. The battle’s outcome had far-reaching implications for the military and political strategies of the warring nations.

See Also: What Happened on September 6 in British History?

Wilhelmina’s Silver Jubilee (1923)

On September 6, 1923, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands celebrated her silver jubilee, marking 25 years of her reign. This event was a significant milestone in Dutch royal history, recognizing the Queen’s long and impactful leadership.

The celebration on September 6 included various ceremonies and public events that highlighted Wilhelmina’s contributions to the Netherlands. Her reign was marked by considerable political and social changes, and the silver jubilee served as a moment of national reflection and appreciation for her leadership.

Assassination Attempt on Mussolini (1924)

On September 6, 1924, an assassination attempt was made on Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. The attempt, which occurred during a period of political instability in Italy, was part of the broader context of political violence and dissent against Mussolini’s regime.

The attack on September 6 was a significant event in the history of Italian fascism and underscored the challenges faced by Mussolini in maintaining control over his government. While the attempt failed, it highlighted the increasing tension and opposition to Mussolini’s rule during this period.

Queen Juliana (1948)

On September 6, 1948, Juliana was crowned Queen of the Netherlands, succeeding her mother, Queen Wilhelmina. This event marked the beginning of Juliana’s reign, which would last until her abdication in 1980.

The coronation on September 6 was a momentous occasion for the Dutch monarchy and symbolized a new era in the Netherlands. Juliana’s reign was characterized by significant social and political changes, and her ascension to the throne marked a continuation of the Dutch royal legacy.

Konrad Adenauer Re-elected (1953)

On September 6, 1953, Konrad Adenauer was re-elected as Chancellor of West Germany for a second term. Adenauer, a key figure in post-World War II German politics, led the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to victory in the federal elections.

The re-election on September 6 underscored Adenauer’s significant role in shaping the reconstruction and development of West Germany. His leadership was instrumental in navigating the challenges of the post-war period and establishing a stable democratic government in West Germany.

Funeral for Princess Diana (1997)

On September 6, 1997, the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, was held at Westminster Abbey in London. Diana’s death in a car accident in Paris had shocked the world, and her funeral was attended by a global audience mourning the loss of the beloved Princess.

The service on September 6 was a significant event in contemporary history, reflecting Diana’s impact on the British monarchy and public life. The funeral was marked by a profound outpouring of grief and tribute from people around the world, highlighting her enduring legacy.

Obama Accepts Nomination (2012)

On September 6, 2012, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for President of the United States at the Democratic National Convention. This event marked a key moment in the 2012 presidential election campaign, as Obama sought re-election for a second term.

The acceptance speech on September 6 was a pivotal moment in American political history, setting the tone for the final stretch of the election campaign. Obama’s address focused on his administration’s achievements and future vision, contributing to the broader narrative of his presidency and the electoral process.

Conclusion

September 6 has been a date of considerable historical significance, encompassing a range of events that have shaped political, social, and cultural landscapes across different periods. Each of these moments highlights the diverse ways in which this date has influenced historical trajectories and public consciousness.

[warningsine]

NEW YORK (AP) — A global technology outage caused by a faulty software update grounded flights, knocked media outlets offline, and disrupted hospitals, small businesses and government offices on Friday, highlighting the fragility of a digitized world dependent on just a handful of providers.

The trouble with the update issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike affected customers running Microsoft Windows. It was not the result of hacking or a cyberattack, according to CrowdStrike, which apologized and said a fix was on the way.

Businesses and governments experienced hours-long disruptions and scrambled to deal with the fallout.

Thousands of flights were canceled and tens of thousands were delayed around the world, leading to long lines at airports in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Airlines lost access to check-in and booking services in the heart of the summer travel season.

Several local TV stations in the U.S. were prevented from airing the news early Friday, and some state and local governments reported problems at courts, motor vehicles departments, unemployment agencies and other offices.

Affected hospitals had problems with appointment systems, forcing them to suspend patient visits and cancel some surgeries.

Alison Baulos said her 73-year-old father’s emergency heart surgery in Paducah, Kentucky was canceled Friday morning because of the tech outage, leaving her family scared and worried.

“So if anything happens, it would be as a result of not having the surgery this morning,” Baulos said in an interview. She said her father was waiting at Baptist Hospital to find out what will happen next. A phone message left with the hospital was not immediately returned.

Elsewhere, people experienced minor inconveniences, including trouble ordering ahead at Starbucks, causing long lines to form at some of the coffee chain’s stores.

A disturbing reminder of vulnerability

Cyber expert James Bore said real harm would be caused. “All of these systems are running the same software,” Bore said. “We’ve made all of these tools so widespread that when things inevitably go wrong — and they will, as we’ve seen — they go wrong at a huge scale.”

The head of Germany’s IT security agency, Claudia Plattner, said “we can’t expect a very quick solution.” A forecast for when exactly all systems will be up and running is difficult, but “it won’t be hours,” she added.

CrowdStrike said in a recording on its customer service line that the problem was related to “the Falcon sensor,” referring to one of its products used to block online attacks. The company says it has 29,000 customers.

In an interview on NBC’s “Today Show,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized, saying the company was “deeply sorry for the impact that we’ve caused to customers, to travelers, to anyone affected by this, including our companies.”

“We know what the issue is” and are working to remediate it, Kurtz said.

Shares of the company, which is based in Austin, Texas, fell nearly 10% on Friday. Microsoft’s stock price fell more than 3%.

Though the outage’s impact could be felt far and wide, the forecasting firm Capital Economics said it was likely to have little impact on the world economy.

Cybersecurity experts said those affected by the outage also needed to be wary of bad actors reaching out claiming they can help. “Attackers will definitely prey on organizations as a result of this,” said Gartner analyst Eric Grenier.

Air travel delayed everywhere

Most airlines attributed the problems to their booking systems. Thousands of flights were affected in the U.S. alone, though by late morning on the East Coast airlines said they were beginning to mitigate problems and resume some service.

Airlines and railways in the U.K. experienced long wait times. And airports across Europe suspended landings or halted takeoffs for several hours due to difficulties in checking in passengers.

Saskia Oettinghaus, a member of the German Olympic diving team, was among those stuck at the Berlin Airport.

“We are on our way to Paris for the Olympic Games and now we are at a standstill here for the time being,” Oettinghaus said.

Other athletes and spectators traveling to Paris were delayed, as were their uniforms and accreditations, but Games organizers said disruptions were limited and didn’t affect ticketing or the torch relay.

Broadcasters go dark, surgeries delayed, ‘blue screens of death’

In Australia, national news outlets — including public broadcaster ABC and Sky News Australia — were unable to broadcast on their TV and radio channels for hours. Some news anchors went on air online from dark offices, in front of computers showing blue error screens. Internet and phone providers were also affected.

In the U.S., KSHB-TV in Kansas City, Missouri, aired Scripps News instead of local news until about 5:35 a.m., the stations said on its website. IT teams and engineers worked through the night to resolve the glitch, the station said. Other local stations owned by Scripps reported similar problems, though Scripps spokesman Michael Perry said in an email early Friday that 90% of stations were able to air local news.

Hospitals in different countries also reported problems.

Britain’s National Health Service said the outage caused problems at most doctors’ offices across England. NHS England said in a statement said the glitch was affecting the appointment and patient record system used across the public health system.

At Mass General Brigham, the largest health care system in Massachusetts, all scheduled non-urgent surgeries, procedures, and medical visits were canceled Friday because of the outage, according to a spokesperson. Emergency departments remained open.

Shipping was disrupted too.

A major container hub in the Baltic port of Gdansk, Poland said it was battling problems. And at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, marine terminals were affected, although the outage didn’t cause significant disruptions.

“Basically, it’s been minimal impact overnight and we’re going to have to wait and see how these terminals come up over the next several hours,” said Phillip Sanfield, a spokesperson for the Port of Los Angeles.

In Manhattan, a criminal court proceeding for Harvey Weinstein, who is charged with rape, started 90 minutes late because of disruptions to computer systems.