Happy birthday Austyn.... hope you get lot's of special gifts ... and a night to remember!! We love you, Grandma and Grandpa Moffat
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Wonder what look will be on Austyn's face tonight??
Happy birthday Austyn.... hope you get lot's of special gifts ... and a night to remember!! We love you, Grandma and Grandpa Moffat
I know it's been too long. .but Grandpa has been busy... haha...
We had Thanksgiving at our home this year and I took advantage of getting Great Grandma Moffat and her 5 Great Grandkiddos together for that once in a lifetime shot.. hopefully we will have more for you after Christmas...
This is Austyn Lee Moffat, Great Grandma, Andrew Paul Blankinship
and then it's...
Kailtyn Brook Moffat, Dylan Scott Moffat, and Madison Ann Blankinship
All together on for Thanksgiving, 2007, at our country home near Stillwater, OK.
The newest edition to our growing family is still in the oven, but Ms. Issabella Ann Moffat is supposed to arrive in April of 2008. We are all excited about this coming edition to our family...
oh boy oh boy.. it's getting to be Christmas....
Grandma Ann did it one more time... haha... and yes kiddies.. there will be Christmas at Grandpa and Grandma Moffat's Christmas Morning... see ya here... ummmm gooooooodddd....
Thursday, November 29, 2007
What Is A Mother ?
What Is A Mother ?
A Mother is a drier of tears,
A Mother bandages a little one`s knee,
A Mother chases away fears,
A Mother can be you and can be me.
A Mother is a chauffeur,
Sometimes a referee.
A mediator, doctor, teacher,
Aren`t you glad you`re one of these ?
Dirty hands,
Dirty walls.
Running noses,
Yelling and laughing in the halls.
Big sloppy kisses,
Bright, smiling, smudgy faces.
Buttoning up blouses,
And tying up shoe laces.
Blowing noses,
Making ponytails.
Emptying boys pockets,
Of rocks, gum, and snails.
We get no payment,
In monetary gain,
We get love, hugs, and kisses,
But with that we sure don`t complain.
Helping your daughter,
Get ready for her first date.
Sitting and worrying,
When the time is getting late.
Graduation Day is here,
They`re all dressed in cap and gown.
And now getting ready to party,
Dawn is when they`ll finally wind down.
All too soon her Dad,
Is giving away the bride.
Mom`s losing her little girl,
She wipes away a tear she can`t hide.
Soon you have grand babies,
Some boys and some girls.
In your heart you have enough room,
For each of those precious pearls.
Nothing compares to Motherhood,
There`s nothing I would trade it for.
The love you have for your children,
Makes your heart soar.
You don`t have to give birth to a child,
To have this feeling like no other.
Raising and caring for a child or children,
Gives you the title of Mother.
Linda Faulkner
~~~~~~~~~~
Linda sent this to all of us who are in a music group online... and I thought ... " if Ann read this, would she agree...?".. so here it is...
A Mother is a drier of tears,
A Mother bandages a little one`s knee,
A Mother chases away fears,
A Mother can be you and can be me.
A Mother is a chauffeur,
Sometimes a referee.
A mediator, doctor, teacher,
Aren`t you glad you`re one of these ?
Dirty hands,
Dirty walls.
Running noses,
Yelling and laughing in the halls.
Big sloppy kisses,
Bright, smiling, smudgy faces.
Buttoning up blouses,
And tying up shoe laces.
Blowing noses,
Making ponytails.
Emptying boys pockets,
Of rocks, gum, and snails.
We get no payment,
In monetary gain,
We get love, hugs, and kisses,
But with that we sure don`t complain.
Helping your daughter,
Get ready for her first date.
Sitting and worrying,
When the time is getting late.
Graduation Day is here,
They`re all dressed in cap and gown.
And now getting ready to party,
Dawn is when they`ll finally wind down.
All too soon her Dad,
Is giving away the bride.
Mom`s losing her little girl,
She wipes away a tear she can`t hide.
Soon you have grand babies,
Some boys and some girls.
In your heart you have enough room,
For each of those precious pearls.
Nothing compares to Motherhood,
There`s nothing I would trade it for.
The love you have for your children,
Makes your heart soar.
You don`t have to give birth to a child,
To have this feeling like no other.
Raising and caring for a child or children,
Gives you the title of Mother.
Linda Faulkner
~~~~~~~~~~
Linda sent this to all of us who are in a music group online... and I thought ... " if Ann read this, would she agree...?".. so here it is...
thinking about this while walking...
When you turn on your car, does it return the favor?????
just wondering???
hehehe have a great day!
just wondering???
hehehe have a great day!
happy birthday Mr. Dylan Moffat
today is your day.... Happy Birthday to you and many many more...
Grandpa and Grandma Moffat
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
The year is 1907, one hundred years ago......
Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
Every American citizen needs to read this!
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
Every American citizen needs to read this!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sweger named SMC employee of the month
Sweger named SMC employee of the month
Stillwater Medical Center has selected Pete Sweger as the November Employee of the Month. Pete is a Physical Therapist at SMC Home Health and has been with SMC since 2000.
Pete graduated from Perkins in 1994 and has lived in Stillwater since that time. He and his wife, Sarah, have two children: Madelyne, 10 and James, 4.
In his spare time, Pete enjoys church activities and spending time with his family.
When asked how he felt about being name EOM, Pete said, “Being nominated by peers is an honor.”
One of his co-workers wrote, “He embodies the very essence of what SMC Home Health strives to achieve everyday. He delivers quality care in a kind, caring manner. He follows up on patient
problems/needs and is the ‘go to guy’ for wound and other therapy questions. He is a fabulous co-worker who shows he cares about all of us on a daily basis.”
Pete said his favorite vacation spot is Colorado, and the one thing he has promised himself he would do in his lifetime is get his pilots license.
Some of his most pleasant memories of at work include providing Christmas gifts to patients and their families who cannot do it on their own.
One talent that Pete would like to pass on to his children is the ability to see good in others. The one thing he would like to accomplish in his life time is making a difference in the world he lives in.
Jerry Moeller, President and Chief Executive Officer at SMC, said the hospital is proud of all employees and especially thankful for each Employee of the Month. He said the SMC Employees of the Month receive a “night on the town” which includes a dinner for two at the Stillwater
restaurant of their choice and two movie passes. They also receive a certificate signed by the CEO, a free meal in the snack bar from the SMC Auxiliary, and may park in a designated parking space at the hospital during the month they are honored.
A portrait of the Employee of the Month is displayed at the Medical Center and then given to the employee at the end of the month in which he/she is honored.
Each of the monthly winners is also eligible to be selected by SMC employees as Employee of the Year.
Something to think about...
When life this winter gets tough.... and things are looking bleak... Here is a story that warms the cockles of my heart....
Transcribed from "The History of Hall County," published 1920 by Buechler, Barr & Stough
No other winter storm in the history of the plains, it may be safely said, was ever more distructive than this one. The states of Nebraska and South Dakota were visited by the blizzard in all its ferocity, but for that matter the storm may be said to have been general throughout the whole country, and its chilling blast was felt from the Rockies to New England. Yet the wind swept plains of Dakota and Nebraska undoubtedly fared worse than sections east. Loss to human life and property on the plains, in places, was simply appalling, and the surviving residents of those sections cannot speak of it even now without an involuntary shudder.
The storm burst with great suddenness and fury, and many there were who did not live to tell the story of their suffering. Stories without number could be told of narrow escapes throughout the plains.
The morning of January 2 dawned damp and gloomy. A mist had been falling during the night, and the wind, which blew gently from the south, was just cold enough to turn the moisture covering all nature into a light hoarfrost. Before noon the frost had disappeared and every indication pointed to an early clearing of the sky. Around the hour of noon a terrific storm blast came bearing down upon the open prairies and dotted valleys. In a moment, heavy leaden clouds were blotted out. A bewildering, blinding sheet of dust like snow was whirled through the air, and before evening the thermometer had sunk to 25 degrees below zero. The wayfarer, caught far from home, soon found his pathway obstructed by the drifts of snow and every familiar guide mark obliterated. His bearings once gone would mean certain death unless he should chance in his blind gropings to stumble upon some human habitation or friendly stack of hay or straw in his path. As the early part of the day had been so mild, many people had ventured from home. Scores of farmers were caught in the towns, where they had to remain for several days, chafing under the restraint, but absolutely snow bound. Others less fortunate, caught on the road, in the valleys or out in the hills, soon found themselves in a terrible predicament.
Everybody suffered immense hardships or inconvenience in this terrible storm, but none suffered more keenly than did the occupants of the prairie schoolhouses. Innumerable stories stand out in Nebraska history from this event, but none more lasting nor worthy of our digression to mention here than those of three Nebraska country school teachers-Loie ROYCE of Plainfield, Etta SHATTUCK of Holt county, and Minnie FREEMAN of Mira Valley, who were the subjects of much newspaper writing.
Minnie FREEMAN Penney, in Nebraska Pioneer Reminiscences has told these three stories in such compact form that we can well afford to record them here, in her words:
Miss ROYCE had nine pupils. Six went home for luncheon and remained on account of the storm. The three remaining pupils with the teacher stayed in the schoolhouse until three o'clock. Their fuel gave out, and as her boarding house was but fifteen rods away, the teacher decided to take the children home with her.
In the fury of the storm they wandered and were lost. Darkness came, and with it death. One little boy sank into eternal silence. The brave little teacher stretched herself out on the cold ground and cuddled the two remaining ones closer. Then the other little boy died and at daylight the spirit of the little girl, aged seven, fluttered away, leaving the young teacher frozen and numb with agony. Loie ROYCE "hath done what she could; angels can do no better." Miss ROYCE lost both feet by amputation.
Etta SHATTUCK, after sending her children home (all living near) tried to go to her home. Losing her way, she took refuge in a haystack, where she remained, helpless and hungry Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, suffering intensely and not able to move. She lived but a short time after her terrible experience.
Those who knew Minnie FREEMAN say she was not seeking any newspaper notoriety, yet it is not amiss to quote from the Lincoln Daily Star of June 17, 1905, which remarked "That as Iowa has her Kate SHELLEY so Nebraska has her Minnie FREEMAN," we may add Minnie FREEMAN Penney's own account of this storm without it seeming to be any inclination on her part to claim undue glory:
Minnie FREEMAN was teaching in Mira Valley, Valley County. She had in charge seventeen pupils. Finding it impossible to remain in the schoolhouse, she took the children with her to her boarding place almost a mile from the schoolhouse.
Words are useless in the effort to portray that journey to the safe shelter of the farmhouse, with the touching obedience to every word of direction-rather felt than heard, in that fierce winding sheet of ice and snow. How it cut and almost blinded them! It was terrible on their eyes. They beat their way onward, groping blindly in the darkness, with the visions of life and death ever before the young teacher responsible for the destiny of seventeen souls.
All reached the farmhouse and were given a nice warm supper prepared by the hostess and the teacher, and comfortable beds provided.
Minnie FREEMAN was unconscious of anything heroic or unusual. Doing it in the simple line of duty to those placed in her care, she still maintains that it was the trust placed in the Great Spirit who guides and cares for His own which led the little band.
Through the desert and illimitable air,
Lone wandering, but not lost.
a bit of history on the subject....
Transcribed from "The History of Hall County," published 1920 by Buechler, Barr & Stough
No other winter storm in the history of the plains, it may be safely said, was ever more distructive than this one. The states of Nebraska and South Dakota were visited by the blizzard in all its ferocity, but for that matter the storm may be said to have been general throughout the whole country, and its chilling blast was felt from the Rockies to New England. Yet the wind swept plains of Dakota and Nebraska undoubtedly fared worse than sections east. Loss to human life and property on the plains, in places, was simply appalling, and the surviving residents of those sections cannot speak of it even now without an involuntary shudder.
The storm burst with great suddenness and fury, and many there were who did not live to tell the story of their suffering. Stories without number could be told of narrow escapes throughout the plains.
The morning of January 2 dawned damp and gloomy. A mist had been falling during the night, and the wind, which blew gently from the south, was just cold enough to turn the moisture covering all nature into a light hoarfrost. Before noon the frost had disappeared and every indication pointed to an early clearing of the sky. Around the hour of noon a terrific storm blast came bearing down upon the open prairies and dotted valleys. In a moment, heavy leaden clouds were blotted out. A bewildering, blinding sheet of dust like snow was whirled through the air, and before evening the thermometer had sunk to 25 degrees below zero. The wayfarer, caught far from home, soon found his pathway obstructed by the drifts of snow and every familiar guide mark obliterated. His bearings once gone would mean certain death unless he should chance in his blind gropings to stumble upon some human habitation or friendly stack of hay or straw in his path. As the early part of the day had been so mild, many people had ventured from home. Scores of farmers were caught in the towns, where they had to remain for several days, chafing under the restraint, but absolutely snow bound. Others less fortunate, caught on the road, in the valleys or out in the hills, soon found themselves in a terrible predicament.
Everybody suffered immense hardships or inconvenience in this terrible storm, but none suffered more keenly than did the occupants of the prairie schoolhouses. Innumerable stories stand out in Nebraska history from this event, but none more lasting nor worthy of our digression to mention here than those of three Nebraska country school teachers-Loie ROYCE of Plainfield, Etta SHATTUCK of Holt county, and Minnie FREEMAN of Mira Valley, who were the subjects of much newspaper writing.
Minnie FREEMAN Penney, in Nebraska Pioneer Reminiscences has told these three stories in such compact form that we can well afford to record them here, in her words:
Miss ROYCE had nine pupils. Six went home for luncheon and remained on account of the storm. The three remaining pupils with the teacher stayed in the schoolhouse until three o'clock. Their fuel gave out, and as her boarding house was but fifteen rods away, the teacher decided to take the children home with her.
In the fury of the storm they wandered and were lost. Darkness came, and with it death. One little boy sank into eternal silence. The brave little teacher stretched herself out on the cold ground and cuddled the two remaining ones closer. Then the other little boy died and at daylight the spirit of the little girl, aged seven, fluttered away, leaving the young teacher frozen and numb with agony. Loie ROYCE "hath done what she could; angels can do no better." Miss ROYCE lost both feet by amputation.
Etta SHATTUCK, after sending her children home (all living near) tried to go to her home. Losing her way, she took refuge in a haystack, where she remained, helpless and hungry Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, suffering intensely and not able to move. She lived but a short time after her terrible experience.
Those who knew Minnie FREEMAN say she was not seeking any newspaper notoriety, yet it is not amiss to quote from the Lincoln Daily Star of June 17, 1905, which remarked "That as Iowa has her Kate SHELLEY so Nebraska has her Minnie FREEMAN," we may add Minnie FREEMAN Penney's own account of this storm without it seeming to be any inclination on her part to claim undue glory:
Minnie FREEMAN was teaching in Mira Valley, Valley County. She had in charge seventeen pupils. Finding it impossible to remain in the schoolhouse, she took the children with her to her boarding place almost a mile from the schoolhouse.
Words are useless in the effort to portray that journey to the safe shelter of the farmhouse, with the touching obedience to every word of direction-rather felt than heard, in that fierce winding sheet of ice and snow. How it cut and almost blinded them! It was terrible on their eyes. They beat their way onward, groping blindly in the darkness, with the visions of life and death ever before the young teacher responsible for the destiny of seventeen souls.
All reached the farmhouse and were given a nice warm supper prepared by the hostess and the teacher, and comfortable beds provided.
Minnie FREEMAN was unconscious of anything heroic or unusual. Doing it in the simple line of duty to those placed in her care, she still maintains that it was the trust placed in the Great Spirit who guides and cares for His own which led the little band.
Through the desert and illimitable air,
Lone wandering, but not lost.
a bit of history on the subject....
Residents of Nebraska have endured many severe winter storms over the years.
The November 1857 blizzard caused the first death of a Hall County resident. Billy Painter, from the tiny settlement of Mendotte, then located near the present town of Alda, died in the storm while hunting along Prairie Creek north of the Grand Island settlement.
The Easter storm of 1873 claimed many lives and scores of livestock. Dead Horse Creek at Loup City serves as a reminder of the loss of horses and mules during that storm.
There have been many more severe storms over the years. An unforgettable blizzard for many senior Nebraskans is the big and long-lasting storm that raged during the winter months of 1948-49.
But the Jan.12, 1888 storm is perhaps the most famous of all. It has been dubbed "The Great Blizzard" because it was one of the most spectacular events in the history of Nebraska.
James C. Olson, former president of the Nebraska State Historical Society, wrote: "The heroism exhibited by men, women, and children on that occasion exemplifies the best in our sturdy pioneer background."
The Jan. 12, 1888 blizzard has also been called "The School Children's Storm." The name is appropriate because the blizzard struck during school hours and caught teachers and pupils in the little country schoolhouses scattered across the prairies of the Dakota Territory and Nebraska.
Early that day the weather had been so mild that men went about their work in shirt sleeves and cattle grazed in the fields. The air was as soft and hazy as an Indian summer's day. In all parts of the state, men and livestock were out in the fields and the school children played outdoors.
Suddenly, the wind changed to the north, blowing more furiously each minute. The wind drove blinding snow as fierce as bullets from a gun. There seemed to be no limit to the fury of the wind. Men driving their teams could not see the horses' heads. The roads were blotted out and the travelers staggered blindly on, not knowing where they were going. Familiar landmarks were completely obliterated.
The high wind and the large accumulation of snow produced a very unusual phenomenon in Nebraska's hills. The strange things were called "rollers" -- cylindrical shaped masses of snow that, like a snowball, began rolling down the hills while gaining size and speed.
Many of the school buildings were very poorly equipped to withstand the onslaught of wind and snow and bitter cold. Some of the buildings were made of sod and equipped with homemade benches and tables; schools near groves of trees were constructed with logs. Other districts had frame buildings, but were left unplastered.
All of the buildings offered but meager protection against the penetrating winds.
Heat was typically provided with one stove in the middle of the classroom. It might be fueled by coal, wood, cobs or hay, which was almost never in a copious or convenient supply.
The children and the teacher carried their cold lunches to school in paper sacks or in small tin pails. There was no hot lunch program, and home was too far to go at noon.
By contrast, many town schools were substantial structures, some made with brick and mortar. In Grand Island, for example, the first Dodge school at Walnut and First streets was built with brick in 1879. The two brick schools for District #1 (later known as Seedling Mile and Stolley Park) were completed two years before the blizzard.
The small rural schools were not located on well-marked or heavily-traveled roads. The farm homes of the youngsters could be a considerable distance from the school. As often as not, the children cut across the fields and pastures when going to and from the school. These "short cuts" could be a mixed blessing during an emergency.
Many acts of heroism in the storm are recorded. One school teacher, Mrs. Wilson of Runningwater, S.D., started from the schoolhouse with nine children. All were found frozen to death on the prairie when the storm was over.
In Dodge County, Nebraska, two sisters, 13 and 8 years old, started from the schoolhouse together. Their mother, Mrs. Peter Westphalen, watched anxiously for them, but they never came. Their bodies were later found lying close together in an open field drifted over by snow. The older girl had taken off her wraps and had put them on her little sister. The temperature that night was a minus 25 degrees.
Three young women school teachers became famous as Nebraska heroines of this storm. They were Miss Louise Royce of Plainview, in Pierce County; Miss Etta Shattuck of Inman, Holt County, and Miss Minnie M. Freeman of Mira Valley in Valley County.
Miss Royce started from her schoolhouse with three children to go to a house only a few yards distant. They lost their way and the children were frozen to death. Miss Royce, after being out all night, was rescued the next day so badly frozen that one of her limbs had to be amputated.
Miss Shattuck sent her children safely home at the first signs of the storm, but lost her way and wandered into a haystack. She crept into the hay and lay there three days before she was discovered by a farmer coming to get hay for his stock. Two of her limbs were frozen and had to be taken off. She was taken to her home at Seward, where she died a few weeks later.
Sixteen pupils were present at the Midvale school in Valley County on the day of the storm. Several of them were nearly as old as their teacher, Miss Freeman, who was still in her teens. The school was made of sod and there was enough coal on hand to keep the group warm if they had chosen to stay all night.
Before time for dismissal in the afternoon, the wind broke the leather hinges of the door and blew it in. The boys repaired the hinges and put the door in place. When the door blew in again, they nailed it shut. Soon a sudden gust of wind caught the corner the tar paper-and-sod roof and ripped it off, leaving a large hole. They expected the entire roof to come off at any moment.
The sturdy older boys and girls were mostly Nebraska born and undismayed by the fury of the storm. They agreed to Miss Freeman's plan to take the entire group to her boarding place a half-mile north of the schoolhouse. They exited the schoolhouse through a south window where they lined up. Minnie Freeman tied her school children together in single file, with herself at the head of the line. She found her way to the edge of the road and realizing she could not make it safely to the boarding house, she covered the two smallest children with her body... her legs became frozen and had to be removed later. They did finally make it and were found in the boarding house, and not one person was lost, only two legs.
Telling the story very simply many years later, Minnie (then Mrs. E.B. Penny of Fullerton) recalled how she and the housewife labored that evening to prepare a meal sufficient for the hungry crowd.
There is a song written about the 13 brave teachers that saves lots of children during this storm, but 235 died a frozen death.Friday, November 23, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Well, well well...
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone...
It's gonna be a great day... the whole family is getting together.. gosh I love times like these. They create some awesome memories....
Yesterday Ann and I went out to eat on our Anniversary and then came home. About 9 the phone rang and it was Phil, Austyn and Tammy. They came over and brought some scones for our breakfast this morning (and by the way, they were GREAT!) and wished us Happy Anniversary, and Jon called, and Heather called and Jake called - it was AWESOME...
and last night we had the first official freeze of winter... and it will not be the last, but it came a month later than usual.
Looks like rain... we are really getting dry and with all the growth from one of the wettest years on record, we need some moisture to keep things from burning up with another bad wild fire season.
All I know for now, but just wanted to stop by and wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving, and wish you many many more.
It's gonna be a great day... the whole family is getting together.. gosh I love times like these. They create some awesome memories....
Yesterday Ann and I went out to eat on our Anniversary and then came home. About 9 the phone rang and it was Phil, Austyn and Tammy. They came over and brought some scones for our breakfast this morning (and by the way, they were GREAT!) and wished us Happy Anniversary, and Jon called, and Heather called and Jake called - it was AWESOME...
and last night we had the first official freeze of winter... and it will not be the last, but it came a month later than usual.
Looks like rain... we are really getting dry and with all the growth from one of the wettest years on record, we need some moisture to keep things from burning up with another bad wild fire season.
All I know for now, but just wanted to stop by and wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving, and wish you many many more.
What would you do....??????
check out this short video....
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312339,00.html
what would you do???
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312339,00.html
what would you do???
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Today is our actual 35th Wedding Anniversary...
It's cool with wind out of the North about 25 gusting to about 30... feels like 100 when I was walking this am.. haha
Today is Wednesday, Nov. 21, the 325th day of 2007. There are 40 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Nov. 21, 1927, picketing strikers at the Columbine Mine in northern Colorado were fired on by state police; six miners were killed.
On this date:
In 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1922, Rebecca L. Felton of Georgia was sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.
In 1934, the Cole Porter musical "Anything Goes," starring Ethel Merman as Reno Sweeney, opened in New York.
In 1942, the Alaska Highway was formally opened.
In 1964, the upper level of New York's Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which connected Brooklyn and Staten Island, was opened.
In 1967, President Johnson signed the Air Quality Act.
In 1969, the Senate voted down the Supreme Court nomination of Clement F. Haynsworth, the first such rejection since 1930.
/**/
In 1973, President Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, revealed the existence of an 18 1/2-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate.
In 1979, a mob attacked the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing two Americans.
In 1980, 87 people died in a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.
Ten years ago: U.N. arms inspectors returned to Iraq after Saddam Hussein's three-week standoff with the United Nations over the presence of Americans on the team. President Clinton signed a law giving the FDA new powers to speed the approval of drugs to combat a host of killer diseases, including cancer and AIDS.
Five years ago: In a historic eastward shift, NATO expanded its membership into the borders of the former Soviet Union as it invited seven former communist countries under its security umbrella. In Nigeria, deadly rioting erupted after a newspaper suggested Islam's founding prophet would have approved of the Miss World beauty pageant, scheduled to be held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja (the event was moved to London). Eleven bus passengers were killed in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem.
One year ago: Kathryn Johnston, 92, was killed in a hail of bullets during a botched drug raid by Atlanta police. Lebanon's industry minister, Pierre Gemayel, scion of Lebanon's most prominent Christian family, was assassinated in a brazen daytime hit. A methane gas explosion at the Halemba coal mine in southern Poland killed 23 people. Justin Morneau won the American League's Most Valuable Player Award.
Today's Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Stan Musial is 87. Actor Joseph Campanella is 80. Country singer Jean Shepard is 74. Actor Laurence Luckinbill is 73. Actress Marlo Thomas is 70. Actor Rick Lenz is 68. Singer Dr. John is 67. Actress Juliet Mills is 66. Comedian-director Harold Ramis is 63. Television producer Marcy Carsey is 63. Actress Goldie Hawn is 62. Movie director Andrew Davis is 61. Rock musician Lonnie Jordan (War) is 59. Singer Livingston Taylor is 57. Actress-singer Lorna Luft is 55. Journalist Tina Brown is 54. Actress Cherry Jones is 51. Rock musician Brian Ritchie (The Violent Femmes) is 47. Gospel singer Steven Curtis Chapman is 45. Actress Nicollette Sheridan is 44. Singer-actress Bjork is 42. Football player Troy Aikman is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chauncey Hannibal (BLACKstreet) is 39. Rock musician Alex James (Blur) is 39. Baseball player Ken Griffey Jr. is 38. Rapper Pretty Lou (Lost Boyz) is 36. Country singer Kelsi Osborn (SHeDAISY) is 33. Actress Jena Malone is 23.
Thought for Today: "Modesty is the only sure bait when you angle for praise." _ The 4th Earl of Chesterfield, English author (1694-1773).
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
My second cousin's - OKLAHOMA'S STATE QUARTER MAZE
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Monday, November 19, 2007
Happy 35th Anniversary Cathrene Ann Shaklee Moffat...
Even at an early age, Ann loved animals... And you know what... I have seen this same look from her holding her kiddos... or holding a grandchild... but no matter what, she exhibits confidence and purpose! I wonder what she might change in the future at this age, if she knew what was in store for her.... hummmm.....
On Wednesday, November 21, can you believe we beat the odds, and proved our parents wrong... haha....
It's strange what love can do and not do, and how much you have taught me over the years...
In all things I do today, you touch my life. You have become the most important part of my life, of my soul. I like to think I am king of the hill, big dog on the porch, but no matter how big my chest swells, or my ego becomes, you are always there to see that I don't trip, or get lost, and guide me always...
Oh, I know you don't realize this. I know you think you know how I feel, but odds are, you have not a clue how much I depend on you, how much I truly love you, how much "you" have become life to me!
You are my hero. You are my inspiration!
So after 35 years, how does it feel to me... like we never left day one!
My only prayer is that in the next 35 years, our hands will always find time to touch, our lips to meet, and our love increase as many fold as in the first 35 years.
Happy 35th Anniversary; and many many more!
All my love, forever and a day!
s
So Ann, ever wonder what was going on while you raised four kiddos and a husband???? here are some of the important things you might have missed...
1972
President Nixon spent eight days on his groundbreaking trip to the People's Republic of China and became the first sitting president to visit Moscow.
Alabama Governor George Wallace was shot and paralyzed during a presidential primary appearance in Maryland. Arthur Bremer was charged with attempted assassination.
Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern dropped Thomas Eagleton as his running mate when it was revealed Eagleton had undergone shock therapy for depression. Sargent Shriver was named the Democrats' new vice presidential candidate.
Former Beatle John Lennon, who, with his wife Yoko Ono, actively demonstrated against America's Viet Nam policy, was given a deportation order by the Immigration & Naturalization Service. The action was orchestrated by the White House. After a series of court battles and hearings, Lennon would be granted a green card five years later.
Washington police arrested five suspects who were attempting to bug the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate Hotel. Seven were initially indicted in the incident. The operation became connected to President Nixon's Committee to Re-Elect the President, which was nicknamed "CREEP" by detractors. Attorney General John Mitchell resigned as the committee's chairman.
Despite the brewing Watergate controversy, Richard Nixon was re-elected president in a landslide victory over George McGovern.
The U.S. resumed heavy bombing of North Viet Nam shortly after Nixon's re-election. By the end of the year, presidential aide and peace negotiator Henry Kissinger announced that "peace was at hand."
118 died when a dam collapsed in Buffalo Creek, West Virginia.
91 died in a silver mine fire in Kellogg, Idaho.
A clerk in Sacramento County, California created a public outrage when he rejected voter registrations that bore the title "Ms." instead of "Miss" or "Mrs."
George Bush was named chairman of the GOP.
FBI director J. Edgar Hoover died at age 77.
Grease became the top Broadway attraction.
Hit songs included Let's Stay Together by Al Green, My Ding-A-Ling by Chuck Berry, I Am Woman by Helen Reddy and American Pie by Don McLean. The Concert For Bangla Desh, featuring George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar and Leon Russell, received the Grammy for Album Of The Year.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1973
Former president Lyndon B. Johnson died of a heart attack.
The U.S., North Viet Nam, South Viet Nam and the Viet Cong signed a peace agreement in Paris. 142 POWs were released and sent home to the U.S. 14 days later. The last U.S. troops departed South Viet Nam March 29th.
Henry Kissinger was nominated and confirmed as Secretary of State.
The American Indian Movement — AIM — occupied Wounded Knee, South Dakota for eight days. They surrendered after U.S. officials promised to investigate corruption in the Bureau Of Indian Affairs.
G. Gordon Liddy and James McCord were convicted in the Watergate break-in. Aides H.R. Haldeman, John Dean and John Erlichman were asked to resign. Attorney General Richard Kleindeinst resigned over the scandal. Aide Alexander Butterfield disclosed that there was a White House taping system. President Nixon's new Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, appointed Archibald Cox as special Watergate prosecutor. But when testimony in the Senate Watergate Hearings seemed to point the blame toward the Oval Office, President Nixon fired Cox, Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus. Upon appointing William Saxbe as his fourth Attorney General and Leon Jaworski as special Watergate prosecutor, Nixon declared his innocence in the scandal. Days later, the White House disclosed that 18½ minutes of a taped White House conversation between Nixon and H.R. Haldeman had been mysteriously erased.
Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in disgrace, just days before pleading no contest to charges of racketeering and tax evasion while he was governor of Maryland.
Gerald Ford, the only surviving member of the Warren Commission, was sworn in as the new Vice President.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws banning abortions.
88 died when a jetliner crashed while landing at Boston's Logan Airport.
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee founder H. Rap Brown was sentenced to 5 to 15 years for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
The Exorcist was number one at the box office. Other popular films included The Sting, Serpico, The Way We Were and American Graffiti.
Hit songs included Roberta Flack's Grammy-winning Killing Me Softly, Frankenstein by the Edgar Winter Group, Give Me Love by George Harrison, Half Breed by Cher and You're So Vain by Carly Simon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1974
The Skylab III astronauts finished the longest manned space flight to date — 85 days. The unmanned Mariner craft took photos of the planet Mercury.
19-year-old Patty Hearst — heiress and granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst — was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Hearst would later be seen on film helping the SLA rob a bank. 6 members of the SLA died in a shootout with Los Angeles police, but Hearst eluded authorities until September of 1975.
Journalist Karen Silkwood died in a mysterious car crash while investigating safety conditions at the Kerr McGee Nuclear Power Plant.
Chet Huntley, co-anchor of the Huntley-Brinkley Report, died of cancer at age 63.
TV journalist Edwin Newman's book, Strictly Speaking, chided Americans for allowing the electronic media to corrupt the English language with such improper usage as turned up missing and non-words like funeralize.
Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves surpassed Babe Ruth's record by hitting his 715th home run.
U.S. Representative Wilbur Mills of Arkansas resigned as Ways & Means chairman due to a scandal involving stripper Fannie Fox.
The House Judiciary Committee voted three articles of impeachment against President Nixon for tampering with the Watergate probe.
When White House tapes proved President Nixon had obstructed justice in the Watergate investigation, Nixon resigned.
Shortly after assuming the presidency, Gerald Ford granted Nixon a pardon for all or any crimes committed while Nixon was president.
Nelson Rockefeller was sworn in as vice president.
Congress passed the Freedom Of Information Act.
Georgia governor Jimmy Carter announced his candidacy for the 1976 presidential election.
President Ford declared an amnesty for Viet Nam deserters and draft evaders whereby they could return to the U.S. and perform two years of public service.
After a New York Times exposé, the CIA admitted to President Ford that domestic spying by the agency against war dissidents had been taking place.
President Ford named George Bush as America's first envoy to the People's Republic of China.
94 died when a Miami-to-Washington jetliner crashed in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
After a 41-year ban, Americans could resume the private possession of gold.
The low-power wireless transmitter called Mr. Microphone — which broadcast to nearby radios — was an extremely popular gadget.
Hit tunes included I Can Help by Billy Swann, The Joker by the Steve Miller Band, the anti-Nixon You Haven't Done Nothin' by Stevie Wonder with the Jackson Five, Eric Clapton's cover of Bob Marley's I Shot The Sheriff and Band On The Run by Paul McCartney.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1975
The Marianas Islands became a U.S. Commonwealth.
Puerto Rican nationalists bombed a cafe in New York City, killing 4 and wounding 50.
As remaining Americans fled South Viet Nam, the government surrendered to the Communists.
Americans and Soviets symbolically united their space programs as the Apollo and Soyuz docked in space.
Former Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.
As part of the administrative shake-up known as the "Halloween Massacre", Henry Kissinger resigned as Security Council head and President Ford named George Bush as CIA director.
President Ford visited China, the Philippines and Indonesia.
The corruption investigation that had toppled Vice President Agnew resulted in indictments for Maryland governor Marvin Mandel and five staffers on racketeering charges.
A former Charles Manson follower, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate President Ford in Sacramento. Two weeks later, FBI informant Sara Jane Moore was arrested on charges of attempting to shoot Ford in San Francisco.
The Vatican canonized Elizabeth Seton as its first American-born Catholic saint.
113 died when lightning struck a jet approaching New York's Kennedy International Airport. The strike shut down the jet's power, causing it to spin in and crash.
11 died and 75 were injured when a bomb exploded in a passenger terminal at LaGuardia Airport.
Nabisco's Nutterbutter cookies briefly surpassed Oreos as America's favorite.
All In The Family was America's top TV show for the fifth straight year. Hollywood Squares was the leading daytime show. Saturday Night Live received an Emmy for outstanding comedy series.
Hit songs included Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds by Elton John with John Lennon, Fame by David Bowie with John Lennon, Black Water by the Doobie Brothers, Jive Talkin' by the Bee Gees, Shining Star by Earth, Wind & Fire, Love Will Keep Us Together by the Captain & Tenille and the disco anthem The Hustle by Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1976
America's bicentennial year included hundreds of thousands of special events and celebrations, Bicentennial Minutes on TV and a stepped-up American History curriculum at many schools and colleges. Six million gathered in New York and another three million in Philadelphia for massive Independence Day celebrations.
The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. entered into a nuclear weapons agreement which allowed mutual inspection of test sites.
Pesticides containing mercury were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Hotel air conditioning containing a virus dubbed Legionairres' Disease killed 29 people who attended a convention in Philadelphia.
Former President Richard Nixon discussed his failed presidency with British talk show host David Frost.
The Viking I landed on Mars and began beaming back photographs.
With Nelson Rockefeller declining to run, President Ford chose Senator Bob Dole as his running mate for the presidential election. Ford & Dole were narrowly defeated by Democratic candidates Jimmy Carter & Walter Mondale.
The newly-built Teton River Dam in Idaho collapsed. Two billion dollars damage occurred and 11 died when water flooded 320 square miles.
140 died in flash floods along the Big Thompson River in Colorado.
Ohio Democrat Wayne Hays resigned from the U.S. House over an ethics investigation into his relationship with a former employee.
Broadway hits included California Suite and Godspell.
Rock, disco, pop, funk and country songs could all be found on the Top 40 charts, including Rock'n Me, Shake Your Booty, I Write The Songs, Play That Funky Music and Convoy. Stevie Wonder's brilliant Songs In The Key Of Life received Grammy awards for Best Male Vocal and Album Of The Year.
Happy Days became the number one TV show. On her first ABC-TV interview special, Barbara Walters chatted with Jimmy Carter and Barbra Streisand.
All The President's Men, based on the Woodward/Bernstein Watergate chronicles, was the year's most lucrative film. Sylvester Stallone's Rocky won the Oscar for Best Picture.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1977
Shortly after taking office, President Carter stressed his human rights agenda by cutting off aid to Argentina, Ethiopia and Uruguay.
President Carter announced an unconditional pardon to Viet Nam War draft evaders.
42,000 pages of FBI material on the assassination of President Kennedy was made public. There were few new facts in the highly-censored materials.
Over 150 inches of snow fell in a rapid series of crippling blizzards in the northeastern U.S.
7,700,000 gallons of crude oil leaked from a grounded tanker off Nantucket, Massachusetts.
In the first presidential radio talk show, 9 million people attempted to call President Carter. Only 40 got through.
The Carter administration created the Department Of Energy and called for voluntary cutbacks on energy use.
Oldsmobile introduced America's first diesel-fueled passenger car.
Jaqueline Means became the Episcopal Church's first female priest.
The Li'l Abner comic strip came to an end after 70 years in syndication.
Two of America's most popular singers died in 1977. Col. Tom Parker confirmed that Elvis Presley died of a heart attack on August 16th. Two months later, Bing Crosby died at age 73.
Woody Allen's Annie Hall earned three Academy Awards. Saturday Night Fever was released and would go on to be one of 1978's biggest hits. Star Wars and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind were the year's biggest box office draws.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended its 7-year run.
Hit tunes included Rich Girl by Hall & Oates, Dancing Queen by Abba, Car Wash by Rose Royce, Evergreen by Barbra Streisand, Hotel California by the Eagles, You Light Up My Life by Debbie Boone and You Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Leo Sayer. The Grammy for Album Of The Year went to Rumours by Fleetwood Mac.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978
The Senate voted to turn the Panama Canal over to Panama on December 31st, 1999.
The average life span of an American increased to 67, despite the many deaths of young men in Viet Nam. The mandatory retirement age was raised from 65 to 70.
911 members of the People's Temple cult, under the leadership of Reverend Jim Jones, committed suicide in Guyana.
The so-called "Son Of Sam," David Berkowitz, was given six concurrent life sentences for his New York City-area murders.
Americans were urged to stop the practice of making ice cream from snow when it was determined snowflakes contained dangerous levels of lead.
The Marine Corps appointed its first female General.
President Carter declared the Love Canal development in Niagara Falls, New York a disaster area, due to toxic waste leeching through the soil and groundwater. The area had been used as a dump for highly poisonous chemical waste from 1947 to 1953.
9 Lives spokescat Morris died at age 17.
Three's Company became America's number one TV show, but Taxi got the Emmy for outstanding comedy. 11 years after it was launched, 60 Minutes began to win the weekly TV ratings race.
The New York Yankees defeated the L.A. Dodgers four games to two in the World Series.
Saturday Night Fever, National Lampoon's Animal House, The Deer Hunter, Heaven Can Wait and the movie version of Grease were the year's biggest films.
Hit songs included You're The One That I Want by John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John, Grease by Frankie Valli, Kiss You All Over by Exile and Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979
As the year began, full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic Of China were enacted.
Thousands were evacuated when a cooling system failed at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The General Accounting Office admitted that thousands of U.S. troops had been sprayed with Agent Orange during the Viet Nam war. The toxic herbicide was known to cause mild to severe neurological problems.
121 people died in a blizzard that blanketed most of the midwest with snow and ice.
60 died and over 820 were injured when tornadoes ripped across the Texas-Oklahoma border.
Hurricane Frederic caused $1,500,000,000 damage along the Gulf Coast of Texas, Louisiana and Florida. 8 people were killed.
275 persons died when a DC-10 crashed shortly after taking off from O'Hare Airport in Chicago.
The Sioux Nation was compensated for its land under terms of an 1877 treaty. Adjusted for inflation, the tribe was awarded $17,497,500.
The Skylab III broke up upon crashing to Earth. Fragments were recovered in New Zealand and Australia.
Andrew Young resigned as U.N. ambassador after admitting he had conducted unsanctioned meetings with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Puerto Rican nationalists killed two American sailors after ambushing a U.S. military bus near San Juan.
Iranian revolutionaries seized the U.S. Embassy in Teheran and took 65 Americans hostage. 15 were let go. The militants demanded that he U.S. turn over the deposed Shah of Iran, who was in the U.S. for cancer treatments.
At the urging of President Carter, Congress voted to guarantee the financially-troubled Chrysler Corporation a loan credit of $1,500,000,000.
Ronald Reagan announced he would run for president in the 1980 primaries.
John F. Kennedy, Jr. dedicated the library bearing his father's name in Boston.
Hit movies included Superman — The Movie, Kramer Vs. Kramer, The China Syndrome, Norma Rae and Being There. During the Hollywood premiere of Being There, the movie was stopped as the theater manager announced that its star, Peter Sellers, had died of a heart attack.
Disco & rock continued to duke it out on the music charts, with hits including My Sharona by the Knack, Pop Muzik by M, Do You Think I'm Sexy? by Rod Stewart, Tragedy by the Bee Gees and Ring My Bell by Anita Ward. The Grammy for Album Of The Year was awarded to Billy Joel's 52nd Street.
President Nixon spent eight days on his groundbreaking trip to the People's Republic of China and became the first sitting president to visit Moscow.
Alabama Governor George Wallace was shot and paralyzed during a presidential primary appearance in Maryland. Arthur Bremer was charged with attempted assassination.
Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern dropped Thomas Eagleton as his running mate when it was revealed Eagleton had undergone shock therapy for depression. Sargent Shriver was named the Democrats' new vice presidential candidate.
Former Beatle John Lennon, who, with his wife Yoko Ono, actively demonstrated against America's Viet Nam policy, was given a deportation order by the Immigration & Naturalization Service. The action was orchestrated by the White House. After a series of court battles and hearings, Lennon would be granted a green card five years later.
Washington police arrested five suspects who were attempting to bug the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate Hotel. Seven were initially indicted in the incident. The operation became connected to President Nixon's Committee to Re-Elect the President, which was nicknamed "CREEP" by detractors. Attorney General John Mitchell resigned as the committee's chairman.
Despite the brewing Watergate controversy, Richard Nixon was re-elected president in a landslide victory over George McGovern.
The U.S. resumed heavy bombing of North Viet Nam shortly after Nixon's re-election. By the end of the year, presidential aide and peace negotiator Henry Kissinger announced that "peace was at hand."
118 died when a dam collapsed in Buffalo Creek, West Virginia.
91 died in a silver mine fire in Kellogg, Idaho.
A clerk in Sacramento County, California created a public outrage when he rejected voter registrations that bore the title "Ms." instead of "Miss" or "Mrs."
George Bush was named chairman of the GOP.
FBI director J. Edgar Hoover died at age 77.
Grease became the top Broadway attraction.
Hit songs included Let's Stay Together by Al Green, My Ding-A-Ling by Chuck Berry, I Am Woman by Helen Reddy and American Pie by Don McLean. The Concert For Bangla Desh, featuring George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar and Leon Russell, received the Grammy for Album Of The Year.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1973
Former president Lyndon B. Johnson died of a heart attack.
The U.S., North Viet Nam, South Viet Nam and the Viet Cong signed a peace agreement in Paris. 142 POWs were released and sent home to the U.S. 14 days later. The last U.S. troops departed South Viet Nam March 29th.
Henry Kissinger was nominated and confirmed as Secretary of State.
The American Indian Movement — AIM — occupied Wounded Knee, South Dakota for eight days. They surrendered after U.S. officials promised to investigate corruption in the Bureau Of Indian Affairs.
G. Gordon Liddy and James McCord were convicted in the Watergate break-in. Aides H.R. Haldeman, John Dean and John Erlichman were asked to resign. Attorney General Richard Kleindeinst resigned over the scandal. Aide Alexander Butterfield disclosed that there was a White House taping system. President Nixon's new Attorney General, Elliot Richardson, appointed Archibald Cox as special Watergate prosecutor. But when testimony in the Senate Watergate Hearings seemed to point the blame toward the Oval Office, President Nixon fired Cox, Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus. Upon appointing William Saxbe as his fourth Attorney General and Leon Jaworski as special Watergate prosecutor, Nixon declared his innocence in the scandal. Days later, the White House disclosed that 18½ minutes of a taped White House conversation between Nixon and H.R. Haldeman had been mysteriously erased.
Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned in disgrace, just days before pleading no contest to charges of racketeering and tax evasion while he was governor of Maryland.
Gerald Ford, the only surviving member of the Warren Commission, was sworn in as the new Vice President.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck down state laws banning abortions.
88 died when a jetliner crashed while landing at Boston's Logan Airport.
Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee founder H. Rap Brown was sentenced to 5 to 15 years for armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
The Exorcist was number one at the box office. Other popular films included The Sting, Serpico, The Way We Were and American Graffiti.
Hit songs included Roberta Flack's Grammy-winning Killing Me Softly, Frankenstein by the Edgar Winter Group, Give Me Love by George Harrison, Half Breed by Cher and You're So Vain by Carly Simon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1974
The Skylab III astronauts finished the longest manned space flight to date — 85 days. The unmanned Mariner craft took photos of the planet Mercury.
19-year-old Patty Hearst — heiress and granddaughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst — was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Hearst would later be seen on film helping the SLA rob a bank. 6 members of the SLA died in a shootout with Los Angeles police, but Hearst eluded authorities until September of 1975.
Journalist Karen Silkwood died in a mysterious car crash while investigating safety conditions at the Kerr McGee Nuclear Power Plant.
Chet Huntley, co-anchor of the Huntley-Brinkley Report, died of cancer at age 63.
TV journalist Edwin Newman's book, Strictly Speaking, chided Americans for allowing the electronic media to corrupt the English language with such improper usage as turned up missing and non-words like funeralize.
Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves surpassed Babe Ruth's record by hitting his 715th home run.
U.S. Representative Wilbur Mills of Arkansas resigned as Ways & Means chairman due to a scandal involving stripper Fannie Fox.
The House Judiciary Committee voted three articles of impeachment against President Nixon for tampering with the Watergate probe.
When White House tapes proved President Nixon had obstructed justice in the Watergate investigation, Nixon resigned.
Shortly after assuming the presidency, Gerald Ford granted Nixon a pardon for all or any crimes committed while Nixon was president.
Nelson Rockefeller was sworn in as vice president.
Congress passed the Freedom Of Information Act.
Georgia governor Jimmy Carter announced his candidacy for the 1976 presidential election.
President Ford declared an amnesty for Viet Nam deserters and draft evaders whereby they could return to the U.S. and perform two years of public service.
After a New York Times exposé, the CIA admitted to President Ford that domestic spying by the agency against war dissidents had been taking place.
President Ford named George Bush as America's first envoy to the People's Republic of China.
94 died when a Miami-to-Washington jetliner crashed in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
After a 41-year ban, Americans could resume the private possession of gold.
The low-power wireless transmitter called Mr. Microphone — which broadcast to nearby radios — was an extremely popular gadget.
Hit tunes included I Can Help by Billy Swann, The Joker by the Steve Miller Band, the anti-Nixon You Haven't Done Nothin' by Stevie Wonder with the Jackson Five, Eric Clapton's cover of Bob Marley's I Shot The Sheriff and Band On The Run by Paul McCartney.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1975
The Marianas Islands became a U.S. Commonwealth.
Puerto Rican nationalists bombed a cafe in New York City, killing 4 and wounding 50.
As remaining Americans fled South Viet Nam, the government surrendered to the Communists.
Americans and Soviets symbolically united their space programs as the Apollo and Soyuz docked in space.
Former Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.
As part of the administrative shake-up known as the "Halloween Massacre", Henry Kissinger resigned as Security Council head and President Ford named George Bush as CIA director.
President Ford visited China, the Philippines and Indonesia.
The corruption investigation that had toppled Vice President Agnew resulted in indictments for Maryland governor Marvin Mandel and five staffers on racketeering charges.
A former Charles Manson follower, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate President Ford in Sacramento. Two weeks later, FBI informant Sara Jane Moore was arrested on charges of attempting to shoot Ford in San Francisco.
The Vatican canonized Elizabeth Seton as its first American-born Catholic saint.
113 died when lightning struck a jet approaching New York's Kennedy International Airport. The strike shut down the jet's power, causing it to spin in and crash.
11 died and 75 were injured when a bomb exploded in a passenger terminal at LaGuardia Airport.
Nabisco's Nutterbutter cookies briefly surpassed Oreos as America's favorite.
All In The Family was America's top TV show for the fifth straight year. Hollywood Squares was the leading daytime show. Saturday Night Live received an Emmy for outstanding comedy series.
Hit songs included Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds by Elton John with John Lennon, Fame by David Bowie with John Lennon, Black Water by the Doobie Brothers, Jive Talkin' by the Bee Gees, Shining Star by Earth, Wind & Fire, Love Will Keep Us Together by the Captain & Tenille and the disco anthem The Hustle by Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1976
America's bicentennial year included hundreds of thousands of special events and celebrations, Bicentennial Minutes on TV and a stepped-up American History curriculum at many schools and colleges. Six million gathered in New York and another three million in Philadelphia for massive Independence Day celebrations.
The U.S. and the U.S.S.R. entered into a nuclear weapons agreement which allowed mutual inspection of test sites.
Pesticides containing mercury were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Hotel air conditioning containing a virus dubbed Legionairres' Disease killed 29 people who attended a convention in Philadelphia.
Former President Richard Nixon discussed his failed presidency with British talk show host David Frost.
The Viking I landed on Mars and began beaming back photographs.
With Nelson Rockefeller declining to run, President Ford chose Senator Bob Dole as his running mate for the presidential election. Ford & Dole were narrowly defeated by Democratic candidates Jimmy Carter & Walter Mondale.
The newly-built Teton River Dam in Idaho collapsed. Two billion dollars damage occurred and 11 died when water flooded 320 square miles.
140 died in flash floods along the Big Thompson River in Colorado.
Ohio Democrat Wayne Hays resigned from the U.S. House over an ethics investigation into his relationship with a former employee.
Broadway hits included California Suite and Godspell.
Rock, disco, pop, funk and country songs could all be found on the Top 40 charts, including Rock'n Me, Shake Your Booty, I Write The Songs, Play That Funky Music and Convoy. Stevie Wonder's brilliant Songs In The Key Of Life received Grammy awards for Best Male Vocal and Album Of The Year.
Happy Days became the number one TV show. On her first ABC-TV interview special, Barbara Walters chatted with Jimmy Carter and Barbra Streisand.
All The President's Men, based on the Woodward/Bernstein Watergate chronicles, was the year's most lucrative film. Sylvester Stallone's Rocky won the Oscar for Best Picture.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1977
Shortly after taking office, President Carter stressed his human rights agenda by cutting off aid to Argentina, Ethiopia and Uruguay.
President Carter announced an unconditional pardon to Viet Nam War draft evaders.
42,000 pages of FBI material on the assassination of President Kennedy was made public. There were few new facts in the highly-censored materials.
Over 150 inches of snow fell in a rapid series of crippling blizzards in the northeastern U.S.
7,700,000 gallons of crude oil leaked from a grounded tanker off Nantucket, Massachusetts.
In the first presidential radio talk show, 9 million people attempted to call President Carter. Only 40 got through.
The Carter administration created the Department Of Energy and called for voluntary cutbacks on energy use.
Oldsmobile introduced America's first diesel-fueled passenger car.
Jaqueline Means became the Episcopal Church's first female priest.
The Li'l Abner comic strip came to an end after 70 years in syndication.
Two of America's most popular singers died in 1977. Col. Tom Parker confirmed that Elvis Presley died of a heart attack on August 16th. Two months later, Bing Crosby died at age 73.
Woody Allen's Annie Hall earned three Academy Awards. Saturday Night Fever was released and would go on to be one of 1978's biggest hits. Star Wars and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind were the year's biggest box office draws.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ended its 7-year run.
Hit tunes included Rich Girl by Hall & Oates, Dancing Queen by Abba, Car Wash by Rose Royce, Evergreen by Barbra Streisand, Hotel California by the Eagles, You Light Up My Life by Debbie Boone and You Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Leo Sayer. The Grammy for Album Of The Year went to Rumours by Fleetwood Mac.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1978
The Senate voted to turn the Panama Canal over to Panama on December 31st, 1999.
The average life span of an American increased to 67, despite the many deaths of young men in Viet Nam. The mandatory retirement age was raised from 65 to 70.
911 members of the People's Temple cult, under the leadership of Reverend Jim Jones, committed suicide in Guyana.
The so-called "Son Of Sam," David Berkowitz, was given six concurrent life sentences for his New York City-area murders.
Americans were urged to stop the practice of making ice cream from snow when it was determined snowflakes contained dangerous levels of lead.
The Marine Corps appointed its first female General.
President Carter declared the Love Canal development in Niagara Falls, New York a disaster area, due to toxic waste leeching through the soil and groundwater. The area had been used as a dump for highly poisonous chemical waste from 1947 to 1953.
9 Lives spokescat Morris died at age 17.
Three's Company became America's number one TV show, but Taxi got the Emmy for outstanding comedy. 11 years after it was launched, 60 Minutes began to win the weekly TV ratings race.
The New York Yankees defeated the L.A. Dodgers four games to two in the World Series.
Saturday Night Fever, National Lampoon's Animal House, The Deer Hunter, Heaven Can Wait and the movie version of Grease were the year's biggest films.
Hit songs included You're The One That I Want by John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John, Grease by Frankie Valli, Kiss You All Over by Exile and Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979
As the year began, full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic Of China were enacted.
Thousands were evacuated when a cooling system failed at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The General Accounting Office admitted that thousands of U.S. troops had been sprayed with Agent Orange during the Viet Nam war. The toxic herbicide was known to cause mild to severe neurological problems.
121 people died in a blizzard that blanketed most of the midwest with snow and ice.
60 died and over 820 were injured when tornadoes ripped across the Texas-Oklahoma border.
Hurricane Frederic caused $1,500,000,000 damage along the Gulf Coast of Texas, Louisiana and Florida. 8 people were killed.
275 persons died when a DC-10 crashed shortly after taking off from O'Hare Airport in Chicago.
The Sioux Nation was compensated for its land under terms of an 1877 treaty. Adjusted for inflation, the tribe was awarded $17,497,500.
The Skylab III broke up upon crashing to Earth. Fragments were recovered in New Zealand and Australia.
Andrew Young resigned as U.N. ambassador after admitting he had conducted unsanctioned meetings with the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Puerto Rican nationalists killed two American sailors after ambushing a U.S. military bus near San Juan.
Iranian revolutionaries seized the U.S. Embassy in Teheran and took 65 Americans hostage. 15 were let go. The militants demanded that he U.S. turn over the deposed Shah of Iran, who was in the U.S. for cancer treatments.
At the urging of President Carter, Congress voted to guarantee the financially-troubled Chrysler Corporation a loan credit of $1,500,000,000.
Ronald Reagan announced he would run for president in the 1980 primaries.
John F. Kennedy, Jr. dedicated the library bearing his father's name in Boston.
Hit movies included Superman — The Movie, Kramer Vs. Kramer, The China Syndrome, Norma Rae and Being There. During the Hollywood premiere of Being There, the movie was stopped as the theater manager announced that its star, Peter Sellers, had died of a heart attack.
Disco & rock continued to duke it out on the music charts, with hits including My Sharona by the Knack, Pop Muzik by M, Do You Think I'm Sexy? by Rod Stewart, Tragedy by the Bee Gees and Ring My Bell by Anita Ward. The Grammy for Album Of The Year was awarded to Billy Joel's 52nd Street.
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