History is Classic

Jan Berenstain

2012-02-27T22:40:00.000-06:00

I posted back in January about the Berenstain Bears and the autobiography of Stan & Jan Berenstain I was reading. The Berestain Bears are very close to my heart, so I'm sad to post that Jan Berenstain passed away Friday, February 24, 2012. Stan Berenstain passed away in 2005, so the creators of the Berenstain legacy are no longer with us. But the Berenstains and their Bears will forever live on in the hearts and minds of children and adults.

Photo source

160 Years of Singer

2012-01-25T23:40:00.000-06:00

It's interesting that my last post was about the history of the sewing machine...then today I was reminded that Singer Sewing Machines is celebrating their 160th year. They came out with The Singer 160 Limited Edition sewing machine to celebrate the anniversary. The machine is styled after the vintage Singer Featherweight and some of their other machines, but has all the modern functions.

As I said in my last post, vintage solid metal sewing machines will always be my favorite...but the Singer 160 is beautiful!

Singer has created a neat website where you can share your Singer story. Along the top is a timeline showing important dates and images from Singer history.

Fun fact from the timeline- The '68 Elvis Presley Comeback Special was solely sponsored by the Singer Brand!

Sewing Machines

2012-01-16T17:04:00.000-06:00

If you don’t know already…I love sewing machines! I have a pretty decent collection of new and used machines ranging from 10-99 years old.

You can’t use and see as many sewing machines as I have without beginning to think about how sewing machines got started.

I did a little research and wanted to share a little info about how sewing machines came to be...

Prior to the sewing machine invention all sewing was done by hand. This took a lot of time and kept pre-made clothes from being anywhere near affordable. Small items such as double pointed needles were invented in attempts to speed up sewing, but it still wasn’t the breakthrough that was needed.

In 1846 Elias Howe invented and patented the first automatic sewing machine.

Photo Source

Eight years later Isaac Singer patented the first home sewing machine.

Photo Source

Singer was inspired by Howe’s machine, but as a trained engineer he made multiple improvements on the design. Singer also invented the foot (or treadle) powered machine which further enhanced his clever design. However, as you can imagine, Howe found out about Singer’s machines and started some legal trouble. Several inventors ended up coming together to create the Sewing Machine Combination to share the patents.

In 1889, machines began to turn electric. The first electric machines had a small motor strapped to the side as though it wasn’t a real part of the design. As more and more homes added electricity the motors became an integrated part of the sewing machine casing.

After learning all this it’s incredible how little sewing machines have changed in the last 100+ years…and really since 1854. Improvements have been made, but the basics are all still the same.

All of my machines have the same type of bobbin, they have variable stich sizes, they also all have feed dogs, presser feet, and foot/knee pedals. Sure, higher end sewing machines have become a lot more technical and computerized. However at the end of the day I would rather use a 50-60 year old sewing machine than anything else!

The Berenstain Bears Celebrate 50 Years!

2012-01-02T09:53:00.000-06:00

If you're like me you grew up reading The Berenstain Bear books! They are classic and I still read the chapter books on occasion when I want a light read. I think my favorite ever Berenstain Bear book is No Girls Allowed! The reason I loved the book so much as because the illustrations showed the clubhouses the boy bears and girl bears played in. (When I was a kid I LOVED anything to do with really cool clubhouses and tree houses...ok, I actually still love treehouses!)

I opened my email today and there was a News from the Berenstain Bears email in my inbox (yes I'm almost 25 and subscribed to the Berenstain Bear newsletter). The email announced that 2012 in the 50th anniversary of the Berenstain Bears. Throughout the entire year Stan and Jan Berenstain will be celebrating the 50th anniversary and sharing fun facts and info about the books.

Here's some interesting details about Stan and Jan creating the Berenstain Bear concept and writing the first book.

Photo source (also includes some interesting facts)

Vintage Coca-Cola Decor

2011-12-17T18:39:00.001-06:00

I've blogged before about how I love vintage Coca-Cola advertising...

Jeremiah and I decided we wanted diner type food on Thursday so we went to a new place (sorry, can't remember what it's called). We went in and it was full of tons of amazing vintage Coca-Cola decor! I filmed part of it because it was so awesome and I wanted to show it to my dad :)

Here's the clip...

History Detectives

2011-11-12T18:11:00.006-06:00

About a month ago I was flipping through the channels on a Monday evening and landed on OETA. The show was History Detectives. Each show has 2-4 segments and each one is about a historical object. Can be an antique musket, a painting, book, or even a Ronald McDonald costume.

(photo source)
It happened to be the Ronald McDonald story that caught my attention. I had recently read the book The Man Behind the Nose. The [auto]biography of Larry Harmon, the man who made Bozo and every modern clown what they are today. I knew little to nothing about Bozo or Larry when I started the book...but now I love him! The book was one of the most interesting and well written books I've read in a long time.

Larry started the Bozo television show then franchised Bozo so each television station would have a local Bozo actor. One of the actors, Willard Scott (who went on to be a Today Show weatherman), used Bozo as the inspiration for the character of Ronald McDonald.

Ok, back to History Detectives...a lady had a Ronald McDonald costume and thought it might be the original. The episode followed show researchers as they tracked down clues and information about the costume. It ended up not being the original, but it was the first Ronald McDonald costume created for national production and for someone other then Willard.

(photo source)

If you've never seen History Detectives you need to check your local PBS listings!

CBS

2011-10-20T19:37:00.002-05:00

Exactly 60 years ago, on October 20th, 1951, CBS debuted their then new eye logo. If you don't already know...I happen to be a huge fan of CBS!

*I love many CBS programs including NCIS, CSI, and Big Bang Theory.

*It was Craig Day, a news anchor on our local CBS affiliate, who inspired me to pursue a mass communication degree. Without said degree I would never have considered starting Whitney Sews.

*To top it off I got to job shadow and intern at that same CBS affiliate station!

I guess you could say CBS and I are pretty tight...so when I found out today was a somewhat historical day for CBS I just had to share the news!

Here is original all seeing CBS eye

Quick video about the eye's history

Here's to many, many more years for CBS!

Vintage Find

2011-10-12T09:48:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to quickly share a video I filmed last week at a thrift store showing off some amazing vintage radios! I didn't buy one at the time and they were all gone when I went back the next day :/

Mark Twain

2011-09-12T14:26:00.001-05:00

We've all heard of the guy, right? You probably know he's that guy who wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. You might even know that Mark Twain is a pen name for Samuel Clemens.

I myself have read the condensed versions of both previously mentioned books, seen the Wishbone episodes, and watched the movie Tom and Huck featuring Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Brad Renfro. I however was not aware that there were four books written about Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn along with at least three more unfinished books. I happened to buy one of the three yesterday!

The unfinished manuscript for Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians was published in Life Magazine in 1968. Then college student Lee Nelson read the story. Then in 2002, while watching a PBS documentary on Mark Twain, he remembered the long forgotten story. Nelson decided to finish Twain's book...and that is what I bought.

Nelson chose to leave Twain's work as is, even though it was an unedited rough draft and wrote the book's middle and ending in a style to match Twain's writings. I'm excited to read the book! I think it will be interesting to see how the Twain's and Nelson's writing fits together to tell one story.

Wow...It's Been Forever

2011-09-12T14:00:00.001-05:00

I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I have a youTube show. I've been super busy with that and some new opportunities that came my way...hopefully now that things are starting to settle down I can focus more on this blog.

The way I get inspired for blogging about history is by coming across a random fact (whether in a book, movie, or conversation) then I look up said fact to learn more about it. If it's something I find interesting I share it.

Since I've been so busy the majority of the reading I've been doing is audio books...juvenile audio books at that. I think reading (or listening) to a book is fantastic, no matter what type of book it is...but these books have had nothing to spark my curious mind.

Yesterday, Jeremiah and I went to Borders for their going out of business discounts and I found an interesting looking book and it has inspired a new blog post! (I'll write it in just a moment.)

History of Silver Dollar City

2011-07-29T11:59:00.000-05:00

I mentioned my love for Silver Dollar City in my blog introduction. I was fortunate enough to get to go several times a year from 1996 to 2009 (except 1 year). I think it's safe to say Silver Dollar City was the first love of my life!

If it wasn't for SDC I would have zero interest in music. I would not be as interested in photography. Nor would I have as much love for history. In other words Silver Dollar City has made me who I am.

Today I was looking up some info about Disneyland which lead into some research pertaining to SDC and I came across THIS page. It's a great timeline detailing the history of not only SDC but of the land it sits on...all the way back to the Osage tribe. It's really neat to see how much the park has changed, even in just the 15 years I've known it.

Silver Dollar City calls it's employees citizens. I'd like to think that I'm an honorary citizen of the City.

Television Time Capsules

2011-07-24T22:23:00.000-05:00

In case you're wondering... no, I haven't forgotten about this blog. I've been busy with work, life, Whitney Sews, and other things.

This afternoon I was watching the Lawrence Welk Show on OETA like I do every week. I love how the show is a time capsule of fashion, music, beauty, and etiquette! I don't think there is a single modern show that can be compared to the Lawrence Welk show in any way.

Another show I used to watch every week was the Ed Sullivan Show. The reruns came on every Saturday night after Lawrence Welk for several years. It exposed me to tons of singers, bands, comedians, and acts from the past. The show hasn't been aired on OETA in the past few years, so I was excited when I saw a promo last week for AugustFest. They are bringing Ed Sullivan back, at least for Festival!

Coca Cola Girls

2011-06-26T17:04:00.000-05:00

I checked a book out of the library last week called Coca-Cola Girls- An Advertising Art History. It's stuffed full of beautiful photos of vintage Coca-Cola advertisements with the 'Coca-Cola girls'. I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

In the meantime I wanted to share some of the vintage ads. Here's several made for overseas advertising.

[source]

Coca-Cola has done some ad campaigns lately mixing vintage with modern. Here's an example of a Cola-Cola ad with Taylor Swift dressed to look like a Coca-Cola girl.

[source]

Another thing they have done is using the actual vintage ads to digitally create a 're-mix'.

[source]

I think this is a fun way to integrate history with modern advertising techniques. I can't wait to see what else they come out with!

Never Give Up

2011-06-17T20:42:00.002-05:00

I've been reading the biography of Pearl Carter Scott (the Chickasaw aviator I mentioned last week) non-stop for the past two days. I've already seen the movie about her life...so I know about Pearl. However this is just another reminder to myself of why I love [auto]biographies so much. They contain little nuggets of extra info that not even a mini-series worth of movies could cover.

For example- the movie told about Pearl's father, George, going blind as a teen. While harvesting broom corn (used to make broom bristles until synthetic brooms came about) the dust got in his and his two brother's eyes. However the movie didn't mention that it wasn't the dust that cause George and one brother to become permanently blind...it was the eye drops the doctor put in. The drops caused their eyes to bleed and lose sight. The other brother hid while the doctor was at the house and his eyesight recovered.

This could seem unimportant to most, but if this event had not occurred Pearl would never have become an aviator. Let alone the first licensed Chickasaw pilot or the youngest.

Pearl was 12 years old when famous aviator Wiley Post landed in the field next to her house. A quick connection was made between Wiley and George because of Wiley's blindness in one eye and George's in both. George became Wiley's first passenger and Pearl his second after her expressed interest in flying. It was that very moment Pearl realized flying was for her!

If things had been different when George was young and he hadn't lost his sight, that day in 1927 would have gone much differently for Wiley, George, and Pearl.

Another thing Pearl learned from her father's blindness is the phrase Never Give Up (the title of the biography). George was a firm believer that anyone could do anything they wanted if they would never give up and put in some hard work. Pearl went on to live her life by that motto.

That was a rambling road of thoughts...but I learn a long time ago to just keep running with my thoughts when they take off. It's just crazy how one seemingly tragic event can become a positive thing in so many lives! Well I'm headed back to my reading :)

[photo source]

One-of-a-Kind Wedding

2011-06-15T23:48:00.000-05:00

Just came across a really interesting post about a wedding dress made in 1947. Sounds pretty run of the mill until you find out the dress was made using the parachute that saved the groom's life during WWII.

Here's the story-

This wedding dress was made from a nylon parachute that saved Maj. Claude Hensinger during World War II. In August 1944, Hensinger, a B-29 pilot, and his crew were returning from a bombing raid over Yowata, Japan, when their engine caught fire. The crew was forced to bail out. Suffering from only minor injuries, Hensinger used the parachute as a pillow and blanket as he waited to be rescued. He kept the parachute that had saved his life. He later proposed to his girlfriend Ruth in 1947, offering her the material for a gown.
Ruth wanted to create a dress similar to one in the movie Gone with the Wind. She hired a local seamstress, Hilda Buck, to make the bodice and veil. Ruth made the skirt herself; she pulled up the strings on the parachute so that the dress would be shorter in the front and have a train in the back. The couple married July 19, 1947. The dress was also worn by the their daughter and by their son's bride before being gifted to the Smithsonian.

Talk about a dress a mother would want to pass down!

Source

Vintage Sewing Ephemera

2011-06-13T23:14:00.002-05:00

Pearl Carter Scott

2011-06-11T22:19:00.005-05:00

I just finished watching a movie on OETA called Pearl. It's about an Oklahoma native Chickasaw woman who became the youngest licensed pilot in the United States of America in 1928.

Pearl's father went blind as a young man so at the young age of eleven Pearl learned to drive and would drive her father around for business. Pearl and her family met Wiley Post in the late '20s (Wiley is a one-eyed pilot who immediately took a liking to Pearl and her father). After a couple of flights with Wiley, Pearl was determined that the sky is where she wanted and needed to be.

The film was produced by the Chickasaw nation (their first full length film...and a really good one at that!). It was released at festivals and short theatre runs in 2010. Tonight was it's television premier. You should definitely watch Pearl if you get the chance. If you live in Oklahoma you can tune in on June 17th at 11:30 p.m. to see the film.

I just reserved a copy of the book Never Give Up: The Life of Pearl Carter Scott from the library. So I'm sure I'll be writing more about Mrs. Scott in the future.

Fascinating Fascinators

2011-06-03T22:55:00.000-05:00

In case you don't already know...I create sewing tutorials for youTube. One of my most popular tutorials is for a fascinator made using only items you can find around the house and your craft room.

This comment was left on one of my videos about the fascinator- 'You were making them, before they were well know here in North America.'

*Sigh* It sounds as though the commenter doesn't know the long history of the fascinator. I decided to do a little research and share some fascinating fascinator history today :)

The first fascinators can be dated back to about the time of King Henry VIII (which is fun since he is an ancestor of mine). They were made mostly of feathers but were often adorned with jewels or precious stones. Fascinators were purely decorative in nature unlike normal hats. In the late 1700s the trend traveled to the U.S. and became a hit among higher society colonists. Although styles continued to change fascinators managed to evolve enough to stay 'trendy' until the 1960s when their popularity started to decline. However recent events such as royal weddings have helped bring a legacy of elegance back to life!

Walt Disney's Multi Place Camera

2011-06-01T23:48:00.001-05:00

My husband just came across this video on one of his 'nerd' websites. We are both heavily into photography and videography so we found it fascinating.

The video shows Walt Disney explaining how a traditional cartoon was filmed and how the MultiPlane Camera works. It transforms a 2-D background into one that appears almost 3-D. Pretty incredible for it's time. If you've ever watch Bambi then you've seen it in action (BTW I've never seen Bambi).

Anyway, here is Disney himself...

Start of the Circus

2011-05-29T23:31:00.001-05:00

I'm currently reading a great book I picked up at Goodwill for $2.25. It's A Ticket to the Circus by Charles Philip Fox from 1959. The book details the history of the Ringling Brothers Circus and includes tons of great photos, sketches, and documents.

The first year the Ringling Brothers officially took the show on the road was 1884. The show was billed as Yankee Robinson and Ringling Bros. Great Double Shows, Circus and Caravan. Quite the name isn't it?!? This was the only year the Brothers ever took second billing.

I'm sure I'll be sharing other interesting things about the Ringling Brothers as I continue to read this book :)

Pirates!

2011-05-26T23:31:00.000-05:00

After watching the newest Pirates of the Caribbean movie I got to thinking about pirate history...

After just a quick search I learned something that should have been fairly obvious.

Pirates did not actually look like Captain Jack Sparrow...wait?!?! What?!? o.O

Ok, all joking aside. I didn't really believe that historical pirates dressed like the Hollywood version of pirates...but it is really fun for the movies. *Side note- I was the theatre costumer in college so I was loving that aspect of the film*

I did a google search and found this website. After a quick look around it seems like it has some pretty good info. It's 11:30 p.m. and I need to head to bed...so when it's day time I'll be reading up more about pirates and what they really wore...and other pirate-y things :)

Fun Fact- Coca-Cola

2011-05-22T22:13:00.001-05:00

Coca-Cola was invented in 1886 by John Pemberton, but it was his bookkeeper Frank Robinson who named the soda and who's script handwriting the classic logo is designed from.

Coca-Cola's first year of sales grossed $50...a $20 loss for the inventor. It was Permberton selling the
Coca-Cola formula and advertising that saved the soda and made it what it is today.
(source)

*If you're wondering...I don't drink Coca-Cola, but find it's history very interesting and have collected several Coca-Cola items, vintage bottles, and fabric over the years :)

Thrifted Finds

2011-05-18T13:30:00.001-05:00

Today I picked up Southern Nature Stories- Book III from 1941 and My Story by Marilyn Monroe from 1974. Both are hardcover and $1 each at the thrift store. The books should have some fun history and things to learn.

While flipping through the nature book I saw that the last section is about photographing nature! (My husband and I are both photographers.) There are illustrations of different early 1940s cameras in the book that are so fun to look at! Oh and the original book price...only $.92.

Norma

2011-05-16T22:29:00.002-05:00

Ever wondered about the singers and actors you hear in old cartoons?

Champagne Lady Norma Zimmer from the Lawrence Welk Show provided the singing voice for the White Rose in Disney’s 1951 release of Alice in Wonderland.

Norma had a successful career including a small role in a Bing Crosby film, but was most remembered for her 22 years on the Lawrence Welk Show.

As a Lawrence Welk fan I was sad to hear that Norma passed away on May 10, 2011, at the age of 87. I had the pleasure of meeting

Norma at a Lawrence Welk reunion show in 2004. I picked up her biography simply titled Norma a while back and have been meaning to read it.

By the way, I wrote my high school senior paper about Lawrence Welk…chose the topic willingly after years of watching reruns on OETA and attending the reunion show. I got to interview Welk star Tom Netherton for the paper- my first and most memorable interview!

I’m sure I’ll cover more Lawrence Welk topics along my history journey :)

Fun Fact- Lassie

2011-05-15T15:52:00.005-05:00

Lassie was the longest running family show on network television.

-The Story of Lassie, 1994

Campbell's Soup sponsored Lassie during it's entire nineteen years. Campbell's asked that their products be visible on the set and it become one of the first instances of product placement.