July 11, 2018
Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone's week is going well. Today's installment will be pretty simple: reruns! If television can rebroadcast older shows, Mistletoe Enterprises and Victory & Valor can tell the stories of history & heroes by republishing some of our older material too! To make it easy, I'll just post the links. You can take it from there. http://www.mistletoetom.com/victory-and-valor-blog/fathers-day-lesson-our-finest-hours http://www.mistletoetom.com/victory-and-valor-blog/the-eagle-has-landed http://www.mistletoetom.com/victory-and-valor-blog/sir-paul-mccartney http://www.mistletoetom.com/victory-and-valor-blog/deliveries-donuts-deutschmarks http://www.mistletoetom.com/victory-and-valor-blog/the-arts We hope you enjoy the stories we share. And we hope you'll browse through our site. See you Friday! Enjoy!
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July 9, 2018 Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. The weather was ideal here, and I was fortunate to meet up with some old friends for a great outdoor concert. Indeed, it was wonderful! I’ve always had an eclectic taste in music: classic rock, pop, blues, jazz, swing, big band, country, easy listening, and classical genres all have some artists I enjoy. Some artists incorporate a mix of genres in their repertoire, and some artists are noted for just one style. Fortunately, in the age we live in, we can find something that appeals to our taste very easily through the internet. This is doubly convenient for me. Writing and researching for Mistletoe Enterprises and Victory & Valor, I am a history buff. As such, I often find some musical offering to associate with the historical events that I publish here or on the website. On July 4th, for instance, I enjoyed researching more about the life of John Philip Sousa. He was an accomplished composer of military marches and, as the most notable leader of the Marine Band, his music remains today among the most popular patriotic music in the United States. In a recent Victory & Valor Blog I wrote a piece about Frank Sinatra welcoming Elvis Presley home from his military duty. In another recent blog I wrote about Sir Paul McCartney’s musical career and his Library of Congress Gershwin Prize. Several artists, multiple genres, spanning many years. Touching many lives. Today, I remember Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong. He was born in New Orleans on August 4, 1900. He passed away in New York City on July 6, 1971. He is regarded as the first great jazz solo artist, and his career was incredible. He was among the most notable performers in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920’s. He moved to New York City from Chicago in 1924 and he was a wildly popular performer playing trumpet at legendary venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater. During World War II he performed for the troops via the Armed Forces Radio Service and made “V-Discs” which were rugged-durable records distributed to military personnel overseas. His voice was unique. He gave us unforgettable renditions of tunes such as “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Hello Dolly”. And he gave us “What a Wonderful World”. According to his obituary in the New York Times, his honorary pallbearers included Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Guy Lombardo, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Pearl Bailey, Count Basie, Harry James, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson, David Frost, Merv Griffin and Dick Cavett. He touched many artists. He influenced many genres and was the King of Jazz. His career spanned more than fifty years. He touched many lives. Mistletoe Enterprises and Victory & Valor remember fondly the life and talent of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong. He gave us “What a Wonderful World.” We’re trying to pay it forward. Enjoy! And I’ll see you back here Wednesday! July 6, 2018 Happy Friday! This is another short & sweet post. At Mistletoe Enterprises LLC and Victory & Valor, we recognize that summertime - especially around the Fourth of July - can be full of outdoor activities, leisure, and relaxing with family & friends. We hope your Fourth of July was fun and safe. And we hope it was memorable! Back in 2006 - 2007, when Victory & Valor was in its premier year, we covered numerous high-profile sporting events. We covered the Army-Navy football classics both years. In 2007 we reported from the sidelines of the Notre Dame - Navy game in which Navy beat Notre Dame at South Bend for the first time in more than forty years. Then we were back in South Bend to witness the Air Force Academy knock-off the Irish days later. Additionally, we had press credentials for the Lansing Lugnuts that season. Throughout the summer we saw many games... and some old stars of the game, as well as future Major Leaguers. When the Peoria Chiefs came to town, we spotted Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg (pictured) as their manager and coaching at third base. And from the Lugnuts roster, we watched future Major League left-fielder for Toronto, Pittsburgh and Baltimore: Travis Snider. And we saw a lot of great entertainment. Among the favorite games was their July 4th contest against South Bend when they secured a 4-3 win with a fireworks finish! The video below is a favorite of mine... hope you enjoy it too! Have a great weekend! See you back here Monday! July 4, 2018
Happy Independence Day! The Fourth of July has always been special to me. Besides Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving it is my favorite day of the year. It even ranks ahead of my own birthday: I get candles on a cake while this day gets fireworks that light up the sky! I’ll keep this installment brief because it is a holiday and most Americans want to enjoy the festivities, rather than browsing the internet for history lessons. But I did want to share one of my favorite July 4th memories: July 4, 1986. I was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas at the time. The Fourth fell on a Friday that year, and our commander gave us liberal leave for the long weekend. As it happened, the Detroit Tigers were visiting Arlington to take on the Texas Rangers. I asked a couple of my buddies, Jim Barch and Jim Mabery, if they wanted to go to the game with me. We made the two-and-a half-hour drive from Killeen to Arlington in just under four hours. Holiday traffic. Pit stops. And even map-makers underestimate the size of Texas. But we arrived well before game-time. Early enough to beat the crowd and watch the Tigers take batting practice. I had a good camera with me, and I took lots of pictures. I saw the likes of Hall of Famers Alan Trammel and Jack Morris. I caught sight of Darrell Evans. And I spotted Mr. Tiger himself: Al Kaline. Retired from playing since 1974, he was still a fixture with the team with many roles as a mentor and advisor. On this day, he donned the old Number 6 uniform. I pointed him out to my buddies. We were loitering around the third base side of the field near the Tigers dugout. Then I saw Mr. Ernie Harwell. The long-time radio voice of the Tigers… Hall of Fame play-by-play man. I called him over and introduced myself and my friends. I asked him if he would say hello to the folks back home, so he wrote down my name, “Air Force Sergeant Tom Davis from Toe-Toe-Toe-Leeee-Do!”, he said as he jotted it onto his notepad. “Here with his buddies from Fort Hood.” My Aunt Dorothy heard him send the greeting that night during the game. I didn’t have the presence of mind to ask for a picture with him. But he gave me a July 4th memory I’ll never forget! So did Al Kaline! From Mistletoe Enterprises and Victory & Valor: Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July! July 2, 2018 Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. The weather has certainly been hotter lately, and it’s expected to remain toasty for the next week. With 4th of July celebrations also in the forecast, some will be content to stay indoors with the reprieve of air conditioning… and others will be outdoors from morning until the fireworks are done because… some like it hot! These days, I can deal with either. I rarely give a second thought to spending four or five hours playing 18-holes of golf in the sweltering sun – provided I have some bottled water with me. And I’d sooner spend a day at the beach than doing most grown up things – again, provided I have some bottled water with me! But there are some days when I would just prefer to stay inside and avoid the heat. (That’s when I drink too much coffee.) Of course, as a kid growing up in Toledo, avoiding the heat never crossed my mind. Many of my summer days were spent outside. When I wasn’t playing baseball with my brothers, I was playing with my classmates and friends. We rode bikes. We went fishing. We went swimming. We would find the best cherry trees and plum trees around the neighborhood and get belly-aches. And then we’d burn it all off with some other activity without ruining our suppers. Oh, and we usually carried a plastic milk carton full of water. But most of the time with my friends, we played pick-up baseball at places like Dexter Park, Wilson Park, behind the old Parkland School, at the field next to Louie’s Market, behind the Toledo Blade newspaper station, and… at Joe E. Brown Park. Eventually, many of us played organized Little League baseball in the 4th Ward Old Timers leagues right there at Joe E. Brown Park. The younger readers may not remember Joe E. Brown so, as is customary with Mistletoe Enterprises and the Victory & Valor Blog, where we tell the stories of history and heroes, a little history lesson is in order! Joseph Evans Brown was born July 28, 1891 in Holgate, Ohio, about fifty miles southwest of Toledo where he attended grammar school. He passed away on July 6, 1973. But for most of his life, this man dubbed “America’s Master of Mirth” was an entertainer. He started in the circus, he did Vaudeville acts, Broadway shows, and he made many movies. Among his well-known stage roles was playing Elwood P. Dowd in “Harvey.” On the silver screen he had many hits, but he’s often best remembered playing along-side Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe in, “Some Like It Hot!” But he was more beloved as an entertainer for the U.S. military troops stationed around the globe. Joe E. Brown traveled extensively and performed hundreds of shows for military personnel overseas during the WWII era. His oldest son, Don, was an Army Air Force pilot who was killed in a crash while ferrying bombers in 1942. Still, Joe E. Brown carried on, entertaining the troops. In 1945, by an act of Congress, Joe E. Brown became one of a few civilians ever to be awarded the Bronze Star for his patriotic service. Besides entertaining, Joe had another passion: baseball. He played several seasons of semi-pro and professional ball. His skills were good enough for him to sign with the New York Yankees, but he chose to return to entertainment. However, the love of the game never left him. He was a friend to many players, among them Hall of Famer Babe Ruth. (Brown was such a good friend of Ruth that Babe gave Brown the bat he used to hit three home-runs in the 1926 World Series. He also gave Brown the bat he used to hit his 60th home-run in 1927). Brown was also friends with Ty Cobb, and Tris Speaker. Along with Speaker, Brown was part owner of the Kansas City Club in the American Association from 1932-1935. In the 1953 season, he was a pregame and postgame announcer for the Yankees. His younger son, Joe L. Brown was for many years General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. And Joe E. Brown was the long-term President of Pony League baseball. “PONY” stood for “Protect Our Nation’s Youth.” And that is precisely why Joe E. Brown Park was dedicated in Toledo on Sunday, May 25th, 1958: to protect our nation’s youth. At least, the youth in that vicinity of north Toledo where I grew up. The park is much different now, and it became a focal point in recent months due to some controversial remarks. That controversy is unfortunate, and I won’t go into details here. You can research it online for yourself if you’re so inclined. Suffice to say it belies the fact that Joe E. Brown Park was dedicated to honor a man of principles and tireless patriotism, and to make a place where baseball could be played to develop “great men of tomorrow.” This is not to say that youth baseball is the solution to every woe in society. But it can help many youngsters learn about rules, fair play, honest competition, and sportsmanship. All these things were at the core of Joe E. Brown’s philosophy. Mistletoe Enterprises and Victory & Valor salute the memory of Joe E. Brown for his patriotism, his humor, and for his advocacy for youth baseball programs. As one who grew up and learned many lessons at Joe E. Brown Park, I will always treasure his history, and I will always regard him as a hero. And for those who don’t like baseball, in the immortal words of Osgood Fielding III, the character portrayed by Joe E. Brown in “Some Like It Hot!”: “Well, nobody’s perfect.” Have a great day! Stay cool! See you back here Wednesday! And don’t forget your bottled water… unless you like it hot! The following sources were researched to help compile and verify this installment: “Our” Joe E. Brown, An Essay by Judge Aaron B. Cohn, 1958; Library of Congress; Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); National Archives / National Park Service; NY Times; Chicago Tribune; NY Post; United Services Organization (USO); Toledo Blade; Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) |
AuthorTom Davis is the owner of Mistletoe Enterprises LLC. He also publishes and distributes the Victory & Valor Flyer, it tells the stories of heroes from all walks of life. Archives
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