Quick Takes

I was poking through my site thinking, “What would be most fun to read for someone who is relishing a little extra time…”

I would love it if you would spend the full extra hour we gain cruising the site, but I’m realistic, so what I’m going to share with you is one of my favorite posts. It’s about the Apollo Theater, and it’s special because of the video of Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers in “Jumpin’ Jive.”

The video is embedded toward the bottom of the post, and the Nicholas Brothers rise out of the audience for their dance number about 1:30 into the video… I guarantee you will love it. The Apollo Theater and How It Shaped Entertainment.

It only takes a few minutes to watch but you may want to watch again… It’s that good!

One of the stories on the site that gets a lot of attention is the newsletter I wrote about Office Life–what it was like in the past.

Many of the people who locate the newsletter have come there to read about Bette Nesmith Graham, the inventor of Liquid Paper. (She’s the second story.)

Other than the frustrations of typewriters, what else do you remember about offices of the past?

“Let’s stop for a map,” were words I heard my father say many times as I rode in the backseat of our family car.

Young people would be amazed to learn that there was a time when drivers had to navigate on their own, without the aid of a GPS unit. We couldn’t even “google” driving directions for where we were going–we had to figure it out.

And if the distances were far, we had to wait to pick up a map as we drove into each new part of the country.

This month’s newsletter tells of early “route guides” and early maps… and why and when gas stations stopped giving out maps for free. Check it out: Before GPS: Road Maps.

Usually when I write, I am thinking “only in America.” This morning I am thinking, “Only in L.A.”

It is October 19 and this first photo is typical of the scene in most communities right now.

But across the street is this house… All set for a winter time commercial. I assume they will take down the witch who knocked herself out on the front door, and I’m not quite certain why they didn’t cover the bushes with cotton when they did the other prep, but over the course of the day, I’ll be checking it out.

There’s something magical about living where the town’s business centers on creating magic. One day I may just take all this in stride but right now I find it great fun to open the door to something totally new happening down the block.

So Happy Whatever Holiday from Hollywood!

This photo shows the clear line between the neighbors’ home and the home for the commercial.

With Steve Jobs’ death this evening, the world has lost a genius. The innovations created and pushed forward by Apple are nothing short of amazing. While the iPhone was just one of many inventions, 2011 is certainly the year of iPhone dominance so it’s a good time to remind Americans how far we have come since the invention of the first cell phone in 1973.

To read about Martin Cooper’s invention, click through to “Can You Hear Me Now? The Story Behind the First Cell Phone.” And for more information about “phones of old” check out the newsletter “Thinking Back to Number Please.”

Thank you to Steve Jobs for all he conceived of that advanced communication and technology.

The other day I came across a great website that I want to share with you. Next autumn (2012), the state of Oregon will celebrate the centennial of women gaining the right to vote. To mark this occasion, a consortium of history professionals has put together a wonderful website to serve as a resource on women and suffrage.

As you may know, most of the west had given women the right to vote before the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which provided for women’s suffrage nationally. Oregon had brought suffrage for women to a vote five times previously, but as they approached 1912, the supporters felt they had momentum. Oregon’s neighboring states–Washington, Idaho, and California–had all given women the right to vote; Oregonians felt November 1912 would be their time.

It was. By a vote of 52 percent in favor, the word “male” was removed from the paragraph describing voting privileges in the Oregon constitution. Ethnic and racial barriers still remained: first-generation women (and men) who migrated from Asia were prohibited from becoming naturalized citizens and could not cast a ballot. Native American women, except those married to white men, were also ineligible for U.S. citizenship until federal legislation in 1924.

Check out the Oregon Century of Action site, and for more on women’s suffrage read Penny Colman’s book, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: A Friendship that Changed the World. (Read more about it here.) Or for more information, read “Little-Remembered Stories of Women and the Vote.”