##\keycode.boilerplatetext## NOTE--To see an on-line version of this newsletter, copy this link and paste it into your web browser: http://www.reimanpub.com/shared/pages/onlineemail.aspx?codelocal=Newsletters/REM/2009/08/newsletter.html&firstname=##firstname##&emailaddress=##emailaddress##&refurl=##keycode## If you would like to change or edit your email preferences, please visit your Personal Preferences page. https://www.reimanpub.com/registration2/Login.asp?Newsletter=REM&pmcode=##keycode## ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ REMINISCE Newsletter - August 2009 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear ##firstname[Friend]##, We hope your summer has been filled with fun, fairs and family gatherings as we enter August and … shhh, don’t tell the kids … make plans for school shopping. Reminisce normally focuses on first-person memories dating before 1970, but we received a nice story from someone who met with Rosalind Russell not long before the beloved actress passed away in 1976. We think you’ll enjoy the one-on-one encounter with Ms. Russell. We’ve also peppered our latest newsletter with nostalgic ads, duckpin bowling and other fun items that we hope you enjoy. As always, feel free to forward our newsletter on to a friend or family member. If this newsletter was forwarded to you and you’d like a monthly copy of your own, just use this link to sign up yourself. For now, take a moment from your hectic summer to reminisce. —John Burlingham at Reminisce sign up yourself: https://www.reimanpub.com/registration2/NewsletterSignup.asp?optID=63&pmcode=#keycode ##\keycode.pscopytext## ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **************************************** Grandma's Kitchen Puzzle from Reminisce: http://www.countrystorecatalog.com/productDetail.asp?refurl=I136&txtproductId=38686&pmcode=##keycode## Reminisce's 1940s DVD Set: http://www.reminiscedvd.com/index.html?refurl=I4006&refurl=##keycode## ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Free Preview: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Best of Reminisce -- Presenting the BEST stories & photos from the first 10 years of Reminisce - try it RISK FREE! http://www.tasteofhomebooks.com/orders/2009/REM2009/Default.aspx?Keycode=BR911VH04M&pmcode=##keycode##&emailaddress=##emailaddress##&indID=##individualid## **************************************** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In this issue: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ => A Gift from “Auntie Mame” =>Nostalgic Ads Bring Back Carefree Days =>The Hazards for a Duckpin Bowling Boy =>From a Drawing Came an Award-Winning Home =>Poem: The Farm =>Time Capsule Trivia =>A Thought to Remember ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Gift from “Auntie Mame” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By Karen Cadle Encino, California “Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!” — Auntie Mame, 1958 “He’s on the shelf over there, why don’t you go get him.” I looked at her and then knew what she meant. I crossed to the shelf behind me and picked up Oscar. He was heavier than I thought he’d be, and dustier, too. It was the Oscar she should have won for Auntie Mame in 1958, but instead won in 1973. It was the Humanitarian Award presented to her by one of her closest friends, Frank Sinatra. Instinctively, I picked up a napkin and began to dust the golden gentleman she so deserved. It then struck me that I had spent the last few hours with a woman who I had felt close to my whole life. She was also a woman who I knew wouldn’t live much longer. She was Auntie Mame. She was Rosalind Russell. And she was a woman who was about to share a secret with me I would remember for the rest of my life. I sometimes wish it didn’t take so long to understand why we are so affected by people in our lives. Why can’t we learn from them when we’re young instead of when we’re older? I knew this wonderful lady had a power over me; I just couldn’t understand why. Only after my day with her, alone, was I to understand the lesson and the secret that she imparted. Rosalind had come to the end of her life. She knew it, but she approached these days with a spirit of hope and love. The rheumatoid arthritis that ravaged her body had also taken away the Rosalind I remembered onscreen. But this Rosalind, this brave Rosalind, was the woman I would never forget. I remember her kneeling in the garden—the one place where she felt most alive—and watched as she struggled to open a can of soda. She refused my help, however, because that was just the way she was. Her illness may have stopped her from getting roles in films, but she never let it stop her from living, laughing and loving to entertain those who came to see her. I had with me a little package that day, for I could not leave her without giving her something to remember our visit. I knew that because of the arthritis that left her hands so disfigured and limbs weak, my gift had to be something very special. With this in mind, I brought a tiny, weightless, gold bracelet that she would barely feel … but know was there. I spent all afternoon with Rosalind. We talked about her life, her son and his new marriage to my college roommate, and more. But the whole time, I wanted to let her know just how much she had given to so many people who would never know her. I wanted to bless her for all of the wonderful moments we would always share of her on the screen in those films we love so much. She let me put the tiny golden bracelet on her wrist, telling me that I couldn’t have given her a more perfect gift. I knew I had to leave soon, for she was tired, but it was difficult. I knew that once I left, I would probably never see her again. When she walked me to the door, she stopped for a moment. “Let me tell you a secret, Karen, one that you must always take with you wherever you go,” she said. “The moments we shared today are what this life is all about. It’s not what my body has become; it’s what our hearts will remember. I won’t forget you, and for that, I thank you.” That was the last time I ever saw her. Rosalind died the following year. Shortly after she passed away, I received a note from her daughter-in-law. It read, “Karen, your brief time with Rosalind was important to her. We buried her in your little bracelet, and she wanted you to know that.” So take it from this magical Auntie Mame: make sure life is a banquet each and every day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nostalgic Ads Bring Back Carefree Days ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By B. Harlan Boll Littleton, Colorado Over the years, I’ve become fascinated with classic magazine ads and their slogans and promotions, which depict great times in America. There had to have been a sense of pride in creating an ad slogan that, even in print, left consumers humming tunes like, “Double your pleasure, double your fun with Doublemint, Doublemint, Doublemint Gum.” Even earlier political campaign ads were uplifting, making us “like Ike” and propelling a somewhat unknown Senator Jack Kennedy into the White House. A few years ago, I began collecting my favorite ads. In my opinion, celebrity endorsements were the most influential and memorable ones. They enticed us to smoke Philip Morris cigarettes with Lucy and Desi Arnaz, drink Blatz beer with Sid Caesar and support war bonds along with Joan Crawford. If any girl saw an image of Debbie Reynolds, Maureen O’Hara or Shirley Jones using Lustre-Creme shampoo, then she wanted it. If June Allyson and Dick Powell had General Tires, while Jimmy Durante and Donald O’Connor used Havoline Oil to keep them rolling, then so did we. Families gathered to listen to their GE radio like Margaret O’Brien and ate Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes with Art Linkletter. Whether it was Carol Channing using her American Express card for a diamond, Bob Hope traveling with his American Tourister luggage or Tippi Hedren sunbathing with Coppertone lotion, this now-nostalgic advertising captured the American public’s imagination. Image 1 View larger image: http://hostedmedia.reimanpub.com/Newsletters/REM/2009/08/images/Tippi-Coppertone-ad.jpg?pmcode=##keycode## Image 2 View larger image: http://hostedmedia.reimanpub.com/Newsletters/REM/2009/08/images/Linkletter-Kellogg.jpg?pmcode=##keycode## ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Hazards for a Duckpin Bowling Boy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By Lou Brierley Columbia, South Carolina I imagine there were regular tenpin alleys In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, but I never ran across them. Duckpin bowling is what I remember. Duckpin bowling is unlike tenpin because the ball is about the size of a large grapefruit and weighs about 4 pounds. The bowler has three chances to knock down all 10 pins. The alleys I remember were a little over 60 feet long, and when the ball came whizzing down, it seemed a lot shorter! If the player knocked down all the pins with the first two balls, the pins he got on the third ball would be added on. There were two alleys that I knew of, because on occasion, I’d set pins. One alley was in the Leroy building where the magnificent Leroy Theatre was located, and the other was on East Avenue across from the Boys Club. It seemed there was always a shortage of pinsetters. Most of the pin boys looked like they came right out of the projects. It would be rare to talk to any of them, as we were all too busy setting up pins in one alley or another. But one day, when one of the kids didn’t have alleys to set up, he came over to me and asked what I was doing in his bowling hall. I noticed the top of a large folded knife handle in his pocket and told him that I was just visiting and on my way out. Setting pins was hazardous work. I would be at the end of the 60-foot alley in a pit 9 inches deep and maybe 30 inches from the end of the alley, where a cushioned board hung so the pins wouldn’t chip when thrown back by the ball. Above the cushion was a small platform where I would sit in front of a screen that I could pull down for protection. Setting pins was not a great way to make money, but it was a way. I believe we got 5 cents a game per alley and hopefully a tip from the bowlers. Perhaps either I was a terrible pinsetter or the guys I set for held onto their pennies. The pins were shorter than those in a tenpin game. Those that fell but didn’t make the pit had to be removed by hand. I had to be nimble so as not to knock down any other pins, because if I did, I’d hear about it from the angry bowler at the other end of the alley. There were different kinds of bowlers. The most dangerous bowlers would wait after I had placed the last pin and they’d send the ball down the alley as fast as they could to see me jump onto the platform to save my skin. The opposite of the speedster are the guys who had all the time in the world to play their game. In one way, this kind of bowler was worse because he took a lot of time between bowlers; I could have set up two games to his one. One time, I set for a fellow who came to the alley just to practice. I’d be setting certain pins or different splits without knowing how many boxes had been filled to make a game. Usually a fellow like this was easy on the pinsetter, and often an informal conversation would be shouted back and forth telling me what pins to set up and if the pins were on their mark or not. It wasn’t easy money, or easy work, and the manager would often shout at us, “Get rid of the dead wood!” or “Quicken the pace!” or “We’re here to make some money!” If I got a couple of games, and tips, I could come out with enough money to buy a hamburger at the Texas Red Hots near the Capitol Theatre, have a Coke or a root beer, or even go to a cheap movie. At the time, I could live with that, but to be honest, about three or four times setting pins was enough experience for a lifetime. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From a Drawing Came an Award-Winning Home ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By Delores Warner Auburn, Washington Many people have built their own homes, but ours received the Golden Hammer Award from Mechanics Illustrated in 1968, and we still live in this home today. I designed the home on a piece of typing paper and showed it to my husband. From that he built our home, relying on the help of his father and brother. You couldn’t build this home today for what it cost us: $21,500. And in our county now, you could never get away with drawing something on a piece of paper and building it without licenses and permits, but back then, it was allowed. I was so proud of the home and my builders when they had finished, so I surprised my husband by sending in the information to Mechanics Illustrated. The home was completed in six months. They installed all copper plumbing, installed the heating system and put in the electrical appliances. Our Home has three bedrooms, a family room, a fireplace, 2-1/2 baths and many built-in conveniences. Before this, we had lived in a trailer for 12 years and from that got the idea for built-in wardrobes and drawers. The county has changed our address, but it’s still the same home built with love so many years ago. Image 1 View larger image: http://hostedmedia.reimanpub.com/Newsletters/REM/2009/08/images/OurWinner.jpg?pmcode=##keycode## ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Farm ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “This was written by my daughter, Debbie Kline, on November 1, 1967, when she was 16, and we all cherished it,” notes Mrs. John E. Kline of Flemington, New Jersey. “It all took place on her grandparents’ farm.” I remember, from years before, A house with morning glories by the door, A cherry tree that marked the lane, Windows with bubbles in their panes, A tire swing hung from a tree, And fields and fields far as you could see. A tree was planted when I was new; In 16 years, it really grew! The sandbox where you’d often find me Is usually where I got poison ivy. The medicine chest had a magic potion; The grownups called it calamine lotion. The barns and attics I’d explore Always had something different than before. A newborn calf brought a lot of fussin’ To see who would name him, me or my cousin. On snitching grapes off of the vine, The clock that ticked loudly, and usually chimed, The “funny bed” on the parlor floor, So many memories to adore. The holidays — what celebrations! The whole family gathered on these occasions, And over silence as he took his place, We all gave thanks while he led the grace. As the fields were sown were the memories reaped And locked in our hearts forever to keep. And as time goes on, I’ll remember the charm Of the place I’ll call simply The Farm. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Time Capsule Trivia ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From the decades spanning the 1920s to the 1960s, try to guess what year these historic events took place. Click the link below for the answer, but no peeking! 1. In the Middle East, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser mobilizes military units in the Sinai Peninsula and closes the Gulf of Aquaba to Israel, which responds by launching a massive air assault that cripples Arab air forces. The Israeli army takes over the Sinai, Jerusalem’s Old City and the Golan Heights on the Syrian border. On June 10, the Six-Day War ends. The Suez Canal is closed. 2. American astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White II and Roger Chaffee are killed when a fire sweeps through their command module as it sits on the launch pad for a preflight test at Cape Kennedy, Florida. 3. Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African-American appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. 4. Sidney Poitier stars in two films involving racial issues: In the Heat of the Night with Rod Steiger and in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. 5. The first title clash between champions of the long-standing National Football League and the upstart American Football League is won by the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, 35-10, over the Kansas City Chiefs. The game will later be known as Super Bowl I. Click here for the answer to Time Capsule Trivia. http://www.reminisce.com/2009/AS09/trivia.asp?pmcode=##keycode## ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Thought to Remember ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Love grows best when watered daily with kind words. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This email was sent to: ##emailaddress## HAVE A FRIEND who enjoys the good old days? Feel free to forward this newsletter! 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