The Howdy Doody Show

On September 30, 1960, the last episode of the Howdy Doody Show aired on NBC. Clarabell finally spoke and said "Goodbye kids". The show began on WEAF radio in 1947 being called The Triple B Ranch, which stood for Big Brother Bob Smith. The show opened with a ranch hand, Smith, saying "Oh, ho, ho, howdy doody". On December 17, 1947, Smith started the Puppet Playhouse on NBC TV, and within a week the name of the show was changed to The Dowdy Doody Show. The Howdy Doody Show was a American TV classic and Bearwiskers says...TY Bob Smith and the great cast, with 2,543 episodes of great kid TV. Did you know that Chief Thunderthud introduced the word "Kawabonga" into the English language? Hey kids, what time is it?

Mondegreens or Lyricocis

Bearwiskers gets this all the time and has had it for years. Cool web sites like KissThisGuy and AmIRight are devoted to this problem. Since September 29, 1973, Bearwiskers has been going around singing the wrong words to We're An American Band by Grand Funk Railroad, their first #1 song. Grand Funk Railroad has released at least 54 great songs with my favorite being...Some Kind of Wonderful. What's your favorite. Bearwiskers say TY Grand Funk Railroad for your great songs!

Happy Birthday Alfred Gerald Caplin

Born on September 28, 1909, in New Haven, Connecticut, Alfred, or better known as Al Capp was a great American cartoonist. He was best known for his comic strip Li'l Abner and the great Fearless Fosdick. Al had many characters, General Bullmoose, Joe Bfstplk, Evil Eye Fleegle and many others. Al was a frequent guest on the Tonight Show. To quote Al - "Success is following the pattern of life one enjoys most". Bearwiskers says...Happy Birthday Al and TY.

Tin Lizzie

Today in 1908, the first production Model T left the Ford factory at Piquett Plant in Detroit, Michigan. Ford makes a great product, and Bearwiskers says...Buy American!

Oktoberfest

200 years of October fest. Named for the commemoration of the Crowned Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese on October 12, 1810. The festival was held for a horse race which continued till 1960. In 1811 an agricultural show was added to boost bavarian agriculture and is still held today. It is a 16 to 18 day event. There are lots of fest around the country starting from September 15 and going on for weeks. Bearwiskers says.... PARTY!

Melville Reuben Bissell

Melville Bissell was born today. In the mid 1800's, Melville and his wife Anna owned a crockery shop in Grand Rapids, Mich. The dust from the crockery packings was affecting Anna's health, so Melville invented the carpet sweeper. Tufts of hog bristles were bound with string, dipped in hot pitch, inserted in a brush roller and trimmed with scissors. After Melville's untimely death in 1889, Anne took control of the company and became America's first woman corporate CEO! Today Bissell, Inc., employees over 2,500 people, it's products are sold world wide and is still headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Bearwiskers says...Happy Birthday Melville and thank you for a great product!

Harvest Moon

Did you see the harvest moon? The moon will appear larger when it is lower in the sky, it's called a moon illusion. The harvest moon in is also known as the wine moon, singing moon, elk call moon, ands the Gypsy moon. This year we had a super harvest moon, the first time since 1991 and won't happen again till 2029. That's when we have a full moon on the autumnal equinox. Did you hear howling last night?

September

The breezes taste of apple peel. The air is full of smells to feel. Ripe fruit, old footballs, burning brush, new books, erasers, chalk and such. The bee, his hive, well-honeyed hum, and mother cuts chrysanthemums. Like plates washed clean with suds, the days are polished with a morning haze.

John Updike

The goldenrod is yellow, the corn is turning brown.

The trees in apple orchards, with fruit are bending down.

Autumn

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and fall a mosaic of them all."
Stanley Horowitz

Happy Birthday Walter

Happy Birthday Walter Breuning, of Melrose, Minn. Walter is 114 years young today, born in 1896. Bearwiskers says...Happy Birthday Walter!

Are You Ready?

Fall starts on Wednesday at 11.09 PM. Do you call it Fall or Autumn? For meteorologists, fall always starts on September 1. For some people who live in China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan, fall starts around August 8th. In the hemisphere it starts in March. Maybe it's when the leaves start to change? Maybe it's when animals start to store food for winter. Or is it when the fall TV schedule starts? Bearwiskers says...That's an easy question - it's when FOOTBALL starts!

Clinica Regina Margherita

Happy Birthday Clinica or as we know her now - Sophia Loren. Born on this day in 1934, Sophia was the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English speaking performance in Two Women. Sophia lives in Geneva, Switzerland, but has homes in Los Angeles and New York. Sophia has appeared in over 90 movies! Bearwiskers says...Wow!

Talk Like A Pirate Day

Ahoy matey, avast there, dead men don't bite, shiver me timbers! Bearwiskers thanks John Baur and Mark Summers for starting a cool holiday in 1995. Arrr matey, where's my eye patch?

September 18, 1837

Tiffany and Company is founded by Charles Tiffany and John Young in New York. The company name started out as Tiffany & Young. The store is called a stationery and fancy goods emporium. On opening day, every item is marked with a non-negotiable price, a revolutionary policy at that time that makes headlines. The first day's sales total $4.98! The store was at 259 Broadway. Tiffany & Company is a great American success story and Bearwiskers knows Angelbear LOVES Tiffany!

Cost of Living

Back to 1976 -

yearly inflation rate - 5.75%

year end close of the Dow Jones - 1004

average cost of new home - $43,000

average yearly income - $16,000

average monthly rent - $220

cost of a gallon of gas - 59 cents, yes that's right, 59 CENTS!

Plymouth Arrow - $3,175

Polaroid Camera - $28.00, you do remember the Polaroid? Bearwiskers says...WOW

Bewitched

Bewitched aired today in 1964 to 1972. Starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, then Dick Sargent, Agnes Moorehead and David White. Did you know that the Tates had a son who was about Tabitha's age? In the first six years of the show, just about every car was a Chevy, because it was one of the show's original sponsors. Helen Hunt and Jodie Foster were considered for the role of Tabitha, and Tammy Grimes was offered the role of Samantha.

TY IMDb

Fun in Chantilly

Everyone had fun at the Teddy Bear Show in Chantilly. Lots of teddy bears found new homes and the teddy bear graphics sold like pancakes with honey! Bearwiskers had a great time and suggest that all you teddy bear lovers get to the next teddy bear show in your area and adopt a new teddy!

Space

Cape Canaveral, Florida, is America's launch pad for space flights. The first rocket, launched on July 24, 1950, was Bumper 8. Today, NASA Kennedy Space Center is open for tours. The next Space Shuttle Mission will be the STS-113 / Discovery, target launch is November 1, at 4:40 pm. Bearwiskers says...visit this great location in the great State of Florida!

The Star Spangled Banner

On September 14, 1814, U.S. Soldiers at Baltimore's Fort McHenry raised a hugh American Flag to celebrate victory over British forces. Francis Scott Key was so inspired by the "broad stripes and bright stars", he wrote a song that eventually became the United States National Anthem. The Star Spangled Banner was officially made the National Anthem by Congress in 1933.

Today in History - September 13th

On this day in 1814, Francis Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America's national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Today in History - September 12

"Lassie" was seen on CBS-TV for the first time. Despite being called “girl” by Jeff Miller, who starred as Tommy, and Jan Clayton, who starred as Jeff's mom, Ellen, Lassie was, in reality, a male dog. In fact, there were more than a half-dozen Lassie dogs doing stunts. "Lassie" ran on CBS for exactly 17 years. The last show aired on September 12, 1971. Granny loved watching Lassie.

September 11

September 11, 2001, 19 al-qaeda terrorist hijacked 4 air line planes, flying 2 of them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. A 3rd plane was crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC and the 4th plane crashed near Shanksville, PA. The death toll was 2981 people, or higher, mostly civilians, with people from 70 different countries.

God bless the innocent people who died on that day, and their families.
Our hearts go out to all the families affected by the events of September 11.

Bearwiskers says God Bless America.

Gun Smoke

Today in 1955, Gun Smoke premiers on CBS TV, running until September 1975, making it the longest running dramatic series on TV. James Arness and Milburn Stone work all 20 seasons, and Amanda Blake was on 19 years. At one time there were 30 westerns on TV at the same time. A radio version ran from 1952 to 1961. Bearwiskers says....Cool!

National Teddy Bear Day

Celebrate Celebrate. The teddy bears are dancing, having a picnic (get it?), eating porridge, and celebrating National Teddy Bear Day. Bearwiskers says....LET'S PARTY!

Shake Shake Shake

On September 9, 1956 (Really?) Elvis Presley appears on the Ed Sullivan's TV show, toast of the town, and scandalizes the audiences with his suggestive hip gyrations. They say...82% of the TV audience saw that show. Did you know that Elvis had already appeared on other TV shows, the Stage Show, the Milton Berle Show and the Steve Allen Show.

Melitta Bentz

Melitta Bentz of Dresden, Germany, invented the first coffee filter because she didn't want over brewed coffee. After trying different materials, she found that her son's blotter paper worked best. That was in June, 1908, and the coffee filter and coffee filter paper was patented. In December, 1908, Mellita and her husband Hugo started the Melitta Bentz Company. The Melitta Company is now world wide with great products. Bearwiskers thanks Melitta for a great invention!

Here She Comes

On this date in 1921, the first Miss America beauty contest, a two day event, was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The First Miss America was Margaret Gorman of Washington, D.C. Father Neptune and the Mermaids opened the contest, arriving on a barge. Father Neptune was 80 year old Hudson Maxim, the inventor of smokeless gun powder. Atlantic City merchants started the contest to get people to stay at the beach past Labor Day. Bearwiskers has heard Angel Bear is a beauty contest winner!

Labor Day

First celebrated in 1882, labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894. Bearwiskers says have a safe and fun Labor Day.

New York, New York

On this day, September 5th, in 1664, the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam surrenders to the British, who will rename it New York. Bearwiskers knows lots of teddy bear lovers in the Big Apple.

Treaty of Paris

September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the American Revolution. The Treaty was ratified by the Continental Congress on January 14, 1884. Bearwiskers says God Bless America.

It was the 3rd of September...

Quick - what song was that from? It was Papa Was A Rollin' Stone, a 12 minute hit for The Temptations. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone was written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and released in 1972, and peaked at the 63rd spot on the pop charts and 24 on the R & B charts. In 1972, after the Temptations remake, it rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won 3 Grammy awards in 1973. The flip side or B side was an instrumental that was 6:58 long. Bearwiskers says - turn it UP!

September's Reading List

Here is my September Reading List:
Blind Alley by Iris Johansen
L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton
Candy Cane Murder by Joanne Fluke
Scratch the Surface by Susan Conant
Roses are Red by James Patterson
Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn
Ghost a La Mode by Sue Ann Jaffarian
Open and Shut by Andy Carpenter

"Who's been eating my porridge?" squeaked Baby Bear
"And who's been eating my porridge?" cried Momma Bear
"Burp!" said Poppa Bear
TY The Teddy Baron

Happy Birthday to the "T"

Where was the first American subway, New York -no, Philadelphia - no, San Francisco - no. The Boston West End Company teamed up with the Boston Transit Commission and on September 1, 1897 the "T" opened for business. One of the oldest stops was at Boylson Street. Bearwiskers has been on a subway and a trolley, the first used as subway trains.