Category: Open Lines

On this date 85 years ago, country music and radio joined together to create one of the most successful pop culture forces in entertainment history. The occasion was the first broadcast of the “Grand Ole Opry” on WSM in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, some of Nashville’s civic leaders worried that the show’s sound would project the wrong image for the city, which, of course, long ago became the nation’s capital of country music, and remains so to this day. …

This weekend, many households across the country will set up their Christmas trees. About one-fifth of homes still put up and decorate a real tree each year. Almost half of U.S. households now use artificial trees to decorate for the holidays. Many of those trees do annual duty for many years, returning to attics and garages to wait for the next holiday season. The remaining homes do not use a tree for the holidays. China was the leading foreign source …

This is National Pawnbrokers Day, held to acknowledge the valuable lending and retail services provided by the nearly 6,400 pawn shops across the country. Another important player in selling used goods is the much larger used miscellaneous merchandise stores, which number close to 78,000 from coast to coast. These stores are where you go if, for instance, you are looking for a copy of a 1934 National Geographic. These stores are overwhelmingly small, with three-quarters of them run solely by …

Today marks the birthday of one of the most familiar names in American entertainment — Walt Disney — born in Chicago in 1901. He created Mickey Mouse in 1928 in the first animated film with a sound track. Donald Duck came along in 1934, and three years later Disney created the first of a legendary series of animated feature films, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” The firm bearing his name continues to be a major player in today’s entertainment …

After a period of 13 eventful years, Prohibition ended this week in 1933, and Americans were able to legally have a drink once again. While alcohol is legal, its use involves personal responsibility. With the holiday season under way, it’s time for more parties and more driving than usual — as well as increased hours of darkness and bad weather. That combination is why this is National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month. About a third of the nearly 34,000 …

Sixty-five years ago today, one of Broadway’s most memorable plays opened — Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.” The play, which ran for two years, featured Jessica Tandy as Blanche du Bois and newcomer Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski. Williams won a Pulitzer Prize for drama, and Tandy was awarded a Tony for best actress in a play. The movie version of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” again starring Brando, was also a smash hit. There are just over 3,000 theater …

As National American Indian Heritage Month draws to a close, attention is being focused on the increasing role American Indians and Alaska Natives play in the country’s economy. Businesses owned by this group grew in a recent five-year period and now number more than 237,000. They generate nearly $34.5 billion in annual revenue. Just over half of these firms are in construction, retail trade, and wholesale trade. The largest number of firms owned by American Indians and Alaska Natives — …

Imagine if you shopped for a few items, including your favorite brand of coffee, and found that coffee was rationed? That’s exactly what happened this week in 1942, because the war had interrupted shipments and people were hoarding coffee. But rationing only lasted until the next summer. It’s thought that coffee was introduced into America by Captain John Smith, one of the founders of the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. Its popularity jumped after both the Boston Tea Party and the …

Americans are going to the doctor less often. From 2001 to 2010, working age adults went to see doctors, nurses and other medical providers an average of 3.9 times in 2010, compared to 4.8 times in 2001, according to Census Bureau figures. Those who answered the survey were much less likely to visit a dentist than a medical provider in the last year — 59 percent went to the dentist, while 73 percent saw a medical provider. Fifty-seven percent of …

As the old song says — “Button up your overcoat” because winter storms are not far away. With the calendar moving toward the end of the year, it’s increasingly time for water-resistant boots and jackets, sweaters, hats, scarves, and gloves. In some areas, these are needed just to continue going about everyday business, whether it’s working on a ranch or commuting to a big office building downtown. To answer this wide variety of needs, there are just fewer than 190,000 …

A side issue of the Civil War came to a head on this day in 1861 — resulting in the formation of the state of West Virginia. When Virginia voted to secede from the Union, delegates from pro-union counties in the western part of the state marched out of the convention and held their own gathering. Ultimately, 50 counties voted to form a separate state. The split had been brewing for decades around the issues of slavery, restriction of voting …

Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone.  For HiH, I’m thankful to have a great community on this little website.  Thankful for the folks to take the time out of their day to write something for our readers to spark some thoughts and conversations. Thankful that you’re being patient with me working on our wish list, I haven’t forgotten, and am slowing getting some accomplished.  Be mindful that many offices, government and business are closed. Be sure to call your local business before …

It’s widely thought that the day before Thanksgiving or the Sunday after is the busiest travel day of the year. But figures from some of the biggest U.S. airports say it’s summer weekends that are the busiest. Even so, there will still be a lot of people traveling in the next few days. Most will be driving to visit friends and relatives for the festive meal tomorrow. But for those who live too far away, getting on an airliner is …

November is set aside each year as National Diabetes Month. The goal is to make the public more aware of the serious nature of the disease and how to detect and control it. When our bodies are unable to maintain a normal blood sugar level, many complications may follow, including kidney failure. The disease is also the leading cause of new cases of blindness. Diabetes in the U.S. is on the rise, and some public health experts even refer to …

Whether it’s jazz, marching bands, or symphony orchestras, thousands of musicians and composers use saxophones to express their creativity. The family of brass wind instruments with Reed mouthpieces were invented by Adolph Sax of Belgium, whose birthday was noted earlier this month. Saxophones were first used in symphonic music but gained worldwide fame when American jazz artists such as Sidney Bechet, Lester Young, and Charlie Parker explored their sound and dynamic range. Today, saxophones are an important part of the …

Oklahoma joined the Union as the 46th state on this date in 1907. Its name comes from the Choctaw words “okla,” meaning “people,” and “humma,” meaning “red.” And the state’s rich history is intertwined with that of the American Indian. As the nation grew westward, Oklahoma hosted a cattle boom, cowboys and Wild West shows, and then an oil boom. Famous Oklahomans include Will Rogers, Jim Thorpe, cowboys Gene Autry and Tom Mix, author Ralph Ellison, jazz pioneer Charlie Christian, …

This week in 1901, there was good news for the hard of hearing, as Miller Reese Hutchinson of New York patented the first portable electric hearing aid. Called the “acousticon,” the device was a smaller version of previous tabletop units. While portable, it still had three components and used batteries that only lasted for a few hours. But it was far superior to ungainly hearing trumpets or simply cupping a hand behind the ear. Now, tiny digital hearing aids that …

Today marks the birth in 1765 of one of the nation’s major inventors — Robert Fulton — who built the first steamboat in the U.S., which in 1807 went 150 miles from Albany to New York City, ushering in a new motive power to young America. The impact of the trip was not immediately clear, and some critics even called the effort “Fulton’s Folly.” But steamboats became the dominant form of power for America’s merchant marine. Now, steam and diesel …

The first underwater tunnel built in the U.S. — New York City’s Holland Tunnel, running beneath the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey — opened for traffic 85 years ago today. Despite its age, the tunnel remains a key traffic artery serving the New York City area, carrying more than 33 million cars and trucks every year. It is named for Clifford Holland, the project’s first chief engineer, who died of a heart attack at the age of …

It’s a time to celebrate one of life’s simple pleasures — it’s Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month. The stuff of America’s favorite sandwich, peanut butter was first offered to the public at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904. But as we currently know it — with the peanuts roasted and the product churned like butter to be smooth and so the oil won’t separate — peanut butter didn’t appear on grocery shelves until 1922. While we each eat more than six …