On the hill above rightfield outfield fence at Miners Park in Joplin, Mo.

 The place to be on hot Joplin summer day

 C.I.O. HEADS DENY SHOOTING IN GALENA RIOTS

GALENA, KAN. -- Heads of the new C.I.O. International Union of Mill, Mine and Smelter workers visit the scene of last week's shooting fray to defend their organization's part in the riot. Nine marchers of the Tri-stated miners' union were wounded when shots reputedly were fired on their advancing mob from the windows of the local C.I.O. union headquarters.
Tony Micer, member of the executive board and national pres. of the International Union of Mill, Mine, and Smelter workers, at the scene of Sunday's shooting fray. Reid Robinson is pointing to the hole in the window of the Galena Local 17 headquarters of the C.I.O. organization, contending that the shooting was done from the outside.

Reid Robinson and Tony Micer, leaders of the C.I.O. International Union of Mill, Mine, and Smelter Workers, stand outside the Galena Local 17 headquarters in Galena, Kansas. Reid Robinson is pointing at a broken window, which is significant in the context of defending their organization against allegations related to a shooting incident during the Galena riots on April 14, 1937.

The photo captures a crucial moment in labor history during the tense period of unionization in the 1930s. The Congress of Industrial Organizations (C.I.O.) played a significant role in organizing industrial workers, contributing to the expansion of unionism in America. This period was marked by numerous conflicts as workers sought better conditions and right

NOTE: Robinson was elected as the union's eastern vice-president in 1947. Though he was not a communist, he was deported from Canada as a communist agitator and resigned from his union positions in 1950.

 

O'Hara was a prominent vocalist with the Loyd Jones Western Swing Band. Originally hailing from Sacramento, regular patrons of the Bakersfield Inn recall her frequent presence on Union Avenue, engaging with the local community at the bar. Perry Jones, a member of that band and Loyd's son, co-wrote a song with Dennis Knutson for Buck Owens' album Buck 'Em, released by Warner Bros. In 1975, O'Hara achieved notable success with her Columbia Records cover of "Rockin' Robin," with Norro Wilson serving as the producer. It is understandable that Wilson and the rest of the Al Gallico team may not have exerted sufficient effort to identify exceptional songs for Warner's Debi Hawkins, who would have excelled in such endeavors, as they appeared to be too dispersed to concentrate on the essential aspects of their work.

...

Faith, Lacosta, Debi -- Gallico's boys focus on the blondes

Faith, introduced above, and Lacosta 

and Debi

(photo coming)

During a visit to Buck Owens' enterprises in Bakersfield in 1976, the young women were engaged in the task of stuffing envelopes with promotional materials related to Buck Owens, while Mayf Nutter was present, idly observing during his own visit. I noticed the wristwatch he was wearing and initially assumed it to be a Mickey Mouse watch, a timepiece that had recently gained popularity due to its various cultural revivals.

"Mayf, is that a Mickey Mouse watch you're wearing? May I take a closer look?" I inquired.

He turned his wrist to allow me a better view. "Same thing," he replied. The young women responded in unison with an exclamation of surprise.

It turned out to be a Buck Owens wristwatch, a product I was aware of but with limited memory. Mayf found himself in a position to explain, not to me, but to the office staff. 

"They are both iconic figures in popular culture," Mayf began, speaking with confidence and assurance. "Each has a significant following and is recognized worldwide. There are numerous similarities between them..."

Mayf continued his explanation, and one can imagine the remainder of his remarks. His casual approach to addressing his misstatement in the House of Owens seemed to earn him a degree of forgiveness, in my estimation.

 

 

10 cent beer night. June 4th, 1974. Cleveland Ohio. Beers being sold for 10 cents turned a baseball game into chaos ©reddit by u/bovinejabronie

 SETTING THE TABLE FOR 2025

Yep, in the upper left that's Michael Jordan (NASCAR)

His future looked bright, and it certainly did have those highline moments for Tommy Collins

 

Tom Selleck cigarette ad, 1976

 

Columbia House Records, 1976

 

Fly me to the moon...

“Amelia Earhart, 1928 (colorized photo).”©Provided by eBaum's World

 

Private James Hendrix of the 101st Airborne, playing guitar at Fort Campbell Kentucky in 1962. Jimi Hendrix went on to become one of the most influential guitarists of all time.

 

The third Elvis

Elvis Presley with girlfriend Linda Thompson at the Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati, Ohio. Credit: Tom Wargacki / WireImage / Getty.

 Rocky Flop

 Coming to Tennessee SOON

 

Cost of Living Comparison with Galena, KS

If you move to Galena from one of these cities, you would have these the changes of your cost of living.

Move From	Move To	Cost Of Living Comparison
San Francisco, CA	Galena, KS	-96.1%
Washington, DC	Galena, KS	-54.8%
Miami, FL	Galena, KS	-24.9%
Chicago, IL	Galena, KS	-22.0%
Boston, MA	Galena, KS	-62.7%
New York, NY	Galena, KS	-86.6%
Dallas, TX	Galena, KS	-16.6%

 

Early 70's: 

Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, John Prine at The Grand Ole Opry

 Oh, where have you gone, Buddy Jones

Tulare Advance Register, Sept. 8, 1951, Page 5

...

"Meet The Cubs," "Buddy Jones Second Baseman." Visalia Times Delta, July 26, 1951, Page

Right off the top of the Cub batting order is today's subject for the Meet the Cubs feature. He is Buddy Jones, regular second baseman, who in addition to being the first man at the plate for the Cubs is the only member of the organization who is a native Tulare countian. Carl Eugene Jones (that's his full name) was born a few miles south on Highway 99 at Earlimart, 20 years ago. He now lives at Ridgecrest, Calif. Bakersfield High grad Buddy attended Bakersfield High School, Bakersfield Junior College, and was graduated from the College of the Pacific with a Bachelor of Arts degree. While in high school and college, he played baseball and additionally played basketball and football in high school. In 1949, he played for the Coombs Bros, of Bakersfield, who were California semi-pro champs that year. Last year, he went into the pro ranks, playing briefly with Springfield and finishing out the season with Nazareth. Penn. Regular second baseman Buddy came to Visalia as an outfielder but is now shining at second base. He is one of the select Cubs who belong to the .300 Club in batting at least he did at the close of the Ventura series when his average was an even .300, Since he's been with the Cubs this year, Jones has been at bat 271 times (also through the Ventura series), accounted for 54 runs and accumulated 84 hits for a total of 105 bases. He's pretty good at slamming out doubles, having gotten 19 of them, and he has 26 runs batted in, to his credit. A good base runner, he's stolen 7 bases this season. Buddy is single, is five feet, nine inches tall and weighs 155 pounds. Although he has a BA degree, he has been attending COP as a graduate student when he's not playing baseball.

NOTE From Ed. Bryce: Jones finished the season with a team-best .312 batting average.

 

"Sez who?"

 

Inyokern Airport Hangar

Top Gun, and Top Gun: Maverick are just two of the several movies filmed here at Inyokern Airport, California. I worked there years ago as the "line boy," prepping individuals for their various flights by taxiing and fueling and readying their airplanes for flight. The airport had been a part of the U.S. Navy prior to the Naval Ordnance Test Station (N.O.T.S.) moving to its current China Lake location.

 Gone But Not Forgotten

PFC Joseph Darryl Burnett

When the local draft board came calling for a mutual friend, Bob Ables summoned me to join him in rendering some aid and comfort to the forlorn lad. Upon confronting him it was clear Joe Burnett was in deep despair over his situation. The prospect of going to Vietnam and getting killed was overwhelming his very being. I was finally able to break through a little when I told him how high the odds were against that happening to him. "By far, many more come back alive than not," I assured him. I still remember his look of despair. He still had to go in as a recruit, complete a rough basic training, and then be given a duty station assignment. As downtrodden as he appeared now that seemed like a heavy load for him to carry. He did arrive in Vietnam soon after. It seemed like just short weeks later when the news came. The first report was that he had stepped on a land mine and lost both his legs. Finally, on November 23, 1966, just two days after his 20th birthday while in Vietnam, he died from multiple fragmentation wounds at USAF Hospital, Clark Air Force Base, Philippines.

PFC Joseph Darryl Burnett

 Time for a chaw and a puff or two

                                                                       Old advertising tin

Although not a frequent tobacco user, Grandpa Martin enjoyed lighting an El Producto cigar with one of Grandma's kitchen matches, reclining in his easy chair while he smoked. During other leisurely moments, he would retrieve his reliable Keen Kutter pocketknife from his overalls pocket to cut a piece from a Tinsley plug he kept in his shirt pocket. An empty Folger's coffee tin served as his spittoon. I am quite certain he was unaware, nor would he have had any particular reason to care, that El Producto was the preferred cigar of both George Burns and Elvis Presley.

 Susan is in good song company with this Capitol flashback assortment -- good listening all around

DECORATION DAYS IN KEOKUK
by Bryce Martin

   The city of Keokuk, Iowa, is now and always will be a part of my life. That was first evident in 1949 when my grandparents and my aunt Margaret made the trip there for Decoration Day ceremonies. They went to see the grave in the national cemetery and honor the memory of their son, brother, and my father, Wallace Bryce Martin Sr., killed in World War II along with the entire crew of an Army Air Force bomber on an aborted mission to China.

  I stayed home that first year. In the trips that followed I have many memories, pleasant and sad alike.

 Our federal government relocated the crew in which my father perished at the stateside gravesite in Keokuk, after previously burying them in a mass grave on foreign soil.

  I remember my grandmother, especially somber as she attached her Gold Star Mother’s pin just above the heart. For the ceremonies, she had chosen a black dress, matching black pillbox hat with a dotted veil, and new black dress shoes. She made only one other trip to the cemetery in Keokuk. Each year at the appropriate time, she would hang a gold star in our living room window facing the street in Galena, Kan. I made the journey three times after sitting out that first year in 1949.

 For my grandmother Martin, it was an event meaningfully satisfying since she met parents and other family members of all those killed in the crew of the B-29 bomber with her son. She exchanged letters and photographs with the families for years to come. Grandfather is seen in old photographs often wearing a suit and tie. In his 70s now he was more comfortable, especially in the warmth of late May, in dress slacks, polished shoes, a white short-sleeve shirt and his ever-present hat.

 Although it was not a pleasure trip, there were things to see and do in the city, with the proper perspective taken into consideration.

 One thing you could not miss was the large mass of water you had to cross to enter the city, nor the statue of Chief Keokuk and the inscription explaining the city’s origin.

 Then, there was the Keokuk Dam and Lock, and the bridge whose span crossed over the Mississippi River, and resembled a giant Erector Set when its drawbridge girder mechanisms kicked into gear from the hands of an operator stationed under the mass of steel. The drawbridge opened for river traffic to proceed through the lock.

                          Main road leading into Keokuk to crossing the bridge

   One summer, thousands and thousands of gypsy moths infiltrated the air and thousands more lie dead on the ground. The earthy aroma of the moths was an unforgettable smell.

 There were two main downtown hotels. We always stayed at the same one, the Hotel Iowa, except for one summer. From our room in the other hotel, we could see far down below and the animals in the city’s small zoo. 

 The first time we stayed in the hotel was a first for me. A man with an odd outfit insisted on carrying our bags and escorting us to our room. His outfit reminded me of the little bellhop I had seen in ads for Phillip Morris cigarettes. Once inside, the man drew open the curtains, showed where everything was and then kind of stood still, still as the statue of Chief Keokuk. My grandfather grimaced, reached into his pocket and handed the man a fifty-cent piece. He wanted a tip, explained my grandfather as the man exited. I could tell he did not like the idea of giving someone money for imposing on you for something you could have done for yourself.

   We habitually dined at the Chuck Wagon Café on the main drag. It was a cowboy-styled diner with portions of the inside walls decorated in knotty pine wood. The pork tenderloin sandwich was my favorite.

                                              Chuck Wagon Cafe, 421 Main St. (1954)

   There were trips to Joyce Park to see the Keokuk Kernels play baseball. During some of our first visits, the Kernels were a Class B professional minor league team in the Three-I League. I knew all this from reading the backs of my baseball cards. In reading them, I never imagined ever actually being in one of the many cities mentioned on those cards, except for the ones nearby my hometown that I was already familiar with in the K-O-M- League, such as Joplin, Independence, Chanute, and some others.

  The lobby floor of the Hotel Iowa on Main Street housed the office for the Keokuk Kernels. I met the team’s manager at the hotel in 1954, Jo-Jo White, when they were a farm club for the Cleveland Indians. Do you have anyone who hits the long ball, like Mantle maybe? I asked him. No, he said, seemingly disinterested where the conversation was going. Oh, yes, he lit up, as if he just remembered something. Roger Maris. He can belt them a distance. I'll be looking for him on a baseball card, I told him.

 On a later 1960 trip, Keokuk was a Class D farm club of the St. Louis Cardinals and a member of the Midwest League, along with Clinton, Decatur, Dubuque, Kokomo, Davenport, Quincy and Waterloo. I enjoyed memorizing the names of the league cities. They sounded so alien somehow. Gone was Quad Cities and other teams, along with Keokuk, that had previously helped form the Three-I League.

                                                       1954 Keokuk Kernels uniform top

   A letter to my grandmother was especially troubling. A dark-haired, handsome young man with impeccable manners, dapper in a dark suit, who sang impressively from the stage during wreath ceremonies in Keokuk, had died, and from complications quite unusual. The fact came out that he liked to place redskin peanuts in the bottles of his sodas. That was not all that odd, I and many of my neighborhood friends had done the same thing. However, doctors said an accumulation of the peanut skins had built up in the young man’s body and that is what killed him.

 Because of the effect it had on my grandmother, the stark reminder that death was no respecter of persons or circumstances, that has always left a stronger impression on me than any of my other Keokuk memories have.

 

.

Dr. Frank James served as the primary physician in Galena, and he was also connected to our family through his first marriage to Fern E. Thomason (1896-1957). Fern was the daughter of Joseph Green Berry Thomason, who was the brother of James David "Jim" Thomason (1883-1944). In 1903, Jim Thomason married Frances Jane "Fannie" Martin Thomason (1883-1954), who was the sister of my grandfather, Noah Wesley Martin (1879-1961). Fannie was the mother of Martha Jane Thomason, who resided on East 7th Street in Galena. In her later years, Fannie lived with Martha, during which time she was blind. Fannie would often run her hand along my face in an effort to "gather my features" and visualize any familial traits I might possess.

 HOT ON THE TRAIL OF THE BARROW GANG

Googie style motel

Googie, an odd and funny word, is undeniably the super-aesthetic of 1950s and ’60s American retro-futurism.

The World...

The 1870 discovery of zinc ore near Galena, Kansas, marked the beginning of a century of lead and zinc mining in the Kansas part of the Tri-State mining district. The Tri-State was one of the major lead and zinc mining areas in the world and included parts of southeastern Kansas, southwestern Missouri, and northeastern Oklahoma. Mining in the district has ceased, but for one hundred years (1850-1950), the Tri-State produced 50 percent of the zinc and 10 per-cent of the lead in the United States.

Luv'd ya Blue, until you started kneeling at the flag. Nice stand, Amy.

 

The 2023 Buckaroos, from left: Drew Harness, Dave Wulfekuehler, Jim Shaw (1970), Doyle Curtsinger (1969), Kim McAbee (1996), Chuck Seaton, and Terry Christofferson (1975)

The Martin family has a connection to "Red" Crowder. In 1953, when I was ten years old, the news of his passing emerged. My grandfather, Noah Martin, expressed skepticism regarding the circumstances surrounding his death, a sentiment that persisted after he engaged in discussions about the drowning with other relatives. Both he and my uncle, Noah Martin Jr., attended the benefit game held at Miners Park in Joplin.

NOTE: Frank Martin, a relative who in the early 50s was the Chief of Police in Joplin, had a stepson, George W. Crowder, who was part of that Crowder clan. He was inducted into the army June 20, 1943, and by July was stationed at Camp Roberts in California. He was apparently killed while serving our country in war. Frank was very upset that the boy had to join the military in the first place since he had poor eyesight.

FROM A CLASSIFIED AD IN THE JOPLIN GLOBE, 1967: In memorial in Loving memory of George W. Crowder, age 20, killed by the Japs in War II at Balete Pass, Philippines, May 5th, 1945, while serving with the 25th Tropic Lightning Div. A Dos. Co. 141st inf. Sadly missed by family and friends and especially by Mother Mrs. Elizabeth Butler. My Darling seems Only yesterday we got that letter from you from that Luzon Jungle trying to cheer us with news pointing to the end of the War. That was in April 1945. We won that War. Today there is "More Jungle fight, More boys. Dying. No end in sight. Tomorrow let's Pray we will. Is together again before then. All my love. Mom.

 Days of yore