Leasing News - information, news, education and entertainment for the commercial bank, finance and leasing industry

Archives ---April 20, 2005 Kit Menkin Moves
Santa Clara, Ca. to Los Gatos, Ca.

Los Gatos, Ca. Office

After 31 years in the City of Santa Clara, California, his main company American Leasing left a small 3,000 square foot office building with over 400 roses planted throughout the years by Kit and moved to Los Gatos, five minutes from where he lived. He brought a bookkeeper and web master with him. The company had been downsizing since 2002 as Kit planned to retire when he was 65.

His commute was even shortened on September 1, 2007, when he moved Leasing News into the house.

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Get that Corporate Resolution!
By Tom McCurnin
Leasing News Legal Editor

Equipment Lessor on Copier Lease Failed to Get Evidence of
Employee’s Corporate Authority. Appellate Division Holds That
Lessee Ratified Authority By Paying on Lease for Two Years.

CIT v Franklin First 18 N.Y.S.3d 112 (NY 2015)

Nothing is more fundamental than a corporate resolution to borrow in any lease or loan transaction. Today’s case demonstrates why lease underwriting is so important—the lessor forgot to obtain a corporate resolution. Although the court system bailed the lessor out, the time and money associated with this blunder must have been significant. Hopefully it will be collectable. The facts follow.

The equipment lessor, CitiCapital Technology Finance, Inc leased three copiers to Franklin First Financial, as lessee in 2006, slightly before the mortgage meltdown. Sadly, Franklin First was in the mortgage brokerage business.

Franklin Financial executed a written branch manager agreement with Jay Cassuto, permitting him to open a branch office in Syosset, New York. Cassuto executed the copier finance lease with the lessor for the Syosset office. Franklin First Financial thereafter paid the monthly invoices through May 2008, at which time the Cassuto’s employment was terminated and the Syosset branch was closed.

CitiCapital assigned the lease to the CIT group which commenced a collection suit for $105,000. Franklin First defended the action on the grounds of the lack of authority on the part of Cassuto. Ultimately, a judgment was entered against Franklin Financial and it appealed. On appeal, the Appellate Division affirmed holding that Franklin had given its branch manager apparent authority to execute the lease and ratified the lease by making monthly payments thereon for over two years with knowledge of the material facts. The final result? Lessor wins, lessee loses.

What are the takeaways here?

• First, I can’t speak for all lessors, but the half dozen or so I’ve been affiliated with have underwriting and funding departments with check list which always includes a check box for a corporate resolution. I’m frankly shocked that this detail slipped between the cracks.

• Second, I’m equally surprised that the assignee in taking such assignments didn’t have a similar check box. Then again, in the world of copier leases, anything can happen.

• Finally, if there is a silver lining here, Franklin First Financial is still in business and probably is collectable.

The bottom line to this case is that the corporate resolution is one of the most important documents in a lease document suite—don’t short change it.

CIT Technology Financing Services Inc
v Franklin First Financial Ltd (7 pages)
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/CITvFranklin2016.pdf

Tom McCurnin is a partner at Barton, Klugman & Oetting
in Los Angeles, California.

Tom McCurnin
Barton, Klugman & Oetting
350 South Grand Ave.
Suite 2200
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Direct Phone: (213) 617-6129
Cell (213) 268-8291
Email: tmccurnin@bkolaw.com
Visit our web site at www.bkolaw.com
Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org

Previous Tom McCurnin Articles:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/leasing_cases.html

((Please click on ad to learn more))
(Leasing News provides this ad “gratis” as a means
to help support the growth of Lease Police)

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Leveraging Technology through Best Practices
Amembal & Halladay Conference April 26 – 27

Hexaware Technologies, Inc. is a leading global provider of IT solutions, business process services and consulting services. Its 11000+ experts are driven by the business philosophy “Your Success is Our Focus” - to deliver value to its clients and help them succeed. Since its inception in 1990, the company has been providing cutting-edge solutions to small, large & Fortune 500 companies across the globe spanning industries such as banking, financial services, capital markets, leasing, healthcare, insurance, travel & transportation, logistics and manufacturing and retail.

The equipment leasing industry has identified several key tech initiatives for the coming year, including improving integrations, enhancing business intelligence, enhancing technology, and replacing legacy systems. Choosing the initiatives in which to invest, along with the financial and operational aspects of doing so are major hurdles being faced by lessors.

Several factors further complicating this decision are the past experiences of others that have attempted similar initiatives, along with a general inexperience as to the process of making infrequent decisions such as these. Lessors, therefore, are proactively seeking guidance, advice and insights into how to best approach these decisions in the most effective and cost-efficient manner.

BENEFITS OF ATTENDING: Attendees will benefit from the free-flowing and vendor-agnostic perspective that speakers with vast experience in the technical, operational, and accounting aspects of leasing applications will add. All sessions, particularly the roundtables, will reflect contemporaneous attendee input, so that the most relevant issues are addressed.

Frank discussions as to functionality and approach will be the norm, and without sales pressure, as LMS vendors will not be an element of this conference. Attendees will leave this conference with the tools to properly assess their technology decisions.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? CFOs, CIOs, COOs, IT managers, project managers, system analysts, data managers, service providers and operations personnel will all gain valuable information and insights from attending this conference.

Amembal & Halladay, formed in 1978, was the first entity to serve the global equipment leasing industry and is the world's premier service provider to its many leasing industries and companies. Amembal & Halladay has trained over 75,000 leasing professionals in 80- plus countries and has authored 16 industry bestsellers. It also has provided consultancy services to over 20 governments as well as numerous well-known, blue chip leasing companies around the globe.

For more information, email: Kelly@amembalandhalladay.com

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Leasing Industry Help Wanted

For information on placing a help wanted ad, please click here:
http://www.leasingnews.org/Classified/Hwanted/Hwanted-post.htm

Please see our Job Wanted section for possible new employees.

February--March, 2015--The List
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

February, 2016

Element Financial, Toronto, Canada (02/16) To Split into 2 listed
firms, $19.5 Billion Fleet/ $7 Billion North American Commercial
(http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2016/02_18.htm#element)

Quick Bridge Funding, Irvine, California (02/16) Wines 2016
BIG Innovation Award (http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2016/02_10.htm#quick)

March, 2016

Integrity Financial Groups, Utah (02/16) Alert: Dallin Hawkins
Making Rounds Again (http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2016/03_31.htm#alert_hawkins)

National Funding, San Diego, California (03/16) Bob Sweeney Wins CFO of the Year Award (http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2016/03_31.htm#sweeney)

Balboa Capital, Irvine, California (03/16) Balboa Capital Tagged for Bait and Switch on Lease Payoff Quote (http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2016/03_28.htm#balboa)

Axis Capital, Grand Island, Nebraska (02/16) Problems Continue
(http://leasingnews.org/archives/Mar2016/03_11.htm#problems)

Leasing News Alphabetical Order
http://www.leasingnews.org/list_alpha_new.htm

Leasing News Chronological Order List
http://www.leasingnews.org/list_chron_new.htm

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#### Press Release ###########################

Axis Capital Debuts in Top 10 of Monitor Daily’s
Listing of Top Private Independents

Continues robust growth trajectory

(This press release was received yesterday, and while at first thought it "too old," but then perhaps it gives Axis Capital side of their current business as noted in the March list above what was also explained in a letter to the editor published by Leasing News. (1) Editor)

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. April 7th, 2016 – Axis Capital, Inc. (Axis), one of the nation’s leading commercial equipment finance companies, announced that in 2015 it advanced by eight positions to number seven in Monitor Daily’s national ranking of top private independents. The advancement to 7th place from its previous ranking of 15th reflects Axis’ overall growth objective for new business volume and is further proof the initiatives implemented over the last few years are being well received by the industry. Between 2014 and 2015, new business volume at Axis increased by 56 percent. Last year Axis acquired an East Coast origination platform, which contributed 17 percent to its 2015 growth. In its 20 years of business, Axis has funded transactions with 15,000 business owners and maintains active relationships with over 2,000 equipment vendors, including 34 active vendor programs that cover diverse markets, equipment types and client bases on a national basis.

Malia K. Du Mont,
Axis Co-President and COO
Director of Strategy, Amur Capital
https://www.linkedin.com/in/malia-k-du-mont-992520

“Our long-term goal is to continue developing direct origination channels, especially through vendors,” said Malia K. Du Mont, Axis Co-President and COO: “We believe that as we continue to place emphasis on our asset and sector level expertise, we will continue to show positive growth for the foreseeable future.”

Andrea Zana
Co-President & Chief Risk Officer
Axis Capital
Director
Amur Finance Company
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-zana-a16108

Axis Co-President and Chief Risk Officer, Mr. Andrea Zana added, “Since our acquisition by Amur Finance Company in 2010, we have increased our origination volume by over 200 percent.” He continued, “Our strategic focus on providing financing for hard, business-essential assets with longer useful lives and higher values has lowered our risk exposure and improved our overall performance.”

This year, Axis celebrates 20 years in the industry. The company currently employs over 80 professionals across the United States with key management, credit processing, underwriting, servicing and finance functions located in Grand Island, Nebraska. Axis has additional sales offices in Massachusetts and California and satellite offices located across the country to service a broad range of markets including: transportation, construction, commercial and industrial equipment, food service, packaging, and printing.

About Axis Capital

Axis Capital, Inc. (Axis), a subsidiary of Amur Finance Company, is a commercial equipment finance company that provides businesses with customized capital financing options. Headquartered in Grand Island, NE, Axis was founded in 1996 and has served as a reliable capital partner to over 15,000 business owners and over 2,000 equipment vendors across North America. Axis offers financing solutions ranging from $10,000 to $2 million across a broad spectrum of industries and its dedicated industry coverage teams work directly with equipment vendors and businesses to quickly and efficiently provide financing solutions tailored to its clients’ needs.

For more information, go to www.axiscapitalfinance.com .

About Amur Finance Company
Amur Finance Company, Inc. (Amur) is a privately held, diversified commercial finance company focusing on four main sectors: General Equipment; Aviation; Energy, Shipping & Logistics; and Other Industrial and Commercial Assets. Amur’s management team and senior leaders have extensive industry expertise and have been involved in over $100 billion of transportation, industrial and related commercial finance, trading and investment transactions around the world. Amur takes a partnership approach to its investments, providing long-term value through direct investments and strategic arrangements with world-class entrepreneurs and businesses.

For more information, go to www.amurfinance.com

#### Press Release #############################

Axis Letter to the Editor
http://www.leasingnews.org/PDF/AxisLetter2016.pdf

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Credit/Collections #102 by Ben Carlile

Answer: Would you Do This Deal
PimerMed Products, Inc.

Welcome back. Last week we presented an opportunity to finance $6MM in production equipment for PimerMed Products, a medical device manufacturer. (1) We are reviewing the transaction from the perspective of an equipment finance firm (ABC) that was recently acquired by a local bank (FCB). The deal was lost to a leasing company that evidently did not have the same information regarding the founder, as well as the relationship with the daughter now operating the business. There is more to the story, as this is a good example of examining a credit.

Below are simplified highlights of our decision-making process:

First, in checking our Risk Appetite Statements, we found that there is no Risk Appetite Statement established yet for the equipment finance subsidiary, ABC. The bank’s Risk Appetite Statement does not fully accommodate the types of transactions typically seen by this subsidiary. With minimal direction provided by the risk of the equipment value, the stage was set for a lively debate within the credit team.

Some argued that Mr. Pimer’s recent behavior showed an unacceptable lack of character (DUI’s, etc.). ABC’s Credit Analyst noted that Mr. Pimer is 100% owner of the business and his personal behavior is impacting the performance of the company. Mr. Pimer halved the size of the capital investment planned by his daughter, PimerMed’s EVP, and he has taken money out of the firm in recent years. The credit analyst conducted a second interview with the daughter to dig deeper into the downside risks of her father’s influence and talk through worst case scenarios.

The daughter told us that there have been other important company decisions that Mr. Pimer has adversely influenced. In the daughter’s view, the company needs to be more competitive. She sees the need to invest in more equipment to reduce costs, speed up production and improve product quality. She also pointed out that a clear succession plan is not in place and there is no contract that binds her to stay with the firm. Should her father become incapacitated or die through an injury or ailment, she feared becoming distracted. She admitted that she is not sure who will own the majority of shares after her father passes. She still has a functional working relationship with her dad, but in the past year there have been more disagreements between them. That said, she is confident in her ability to manage and grow the business.

In discussions with Mr. Pimer, he dismissed the importance of his recent personal conduct --- and he denied there are strains in his relationship with his daughter.

ABC’s V.P. of Credit acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding Mr. Pimer’s behavior, his influence and the future control of the firm. But he pointed to the cash flow and debt service coverage as important strengths. PimerMed’s audited financial statements show the firm’s cash flow has been consistently healthy, even as its rate of growth has slowed. Cash flow models look acceptable based on reasonable assumptions. The company’s receivables are well managed and most ratios look good. Debt to equity leverage is not ideal, but acceptable for a somewhat capital intensive business. The company’s D&B and PayNet reports confirm PimerMed’s excellent payment histories. During its 30+ years in business, PimerMed has never been sued by a creditor. And with nearly $4MM in fully amortized debt coming to term this year, the company’s current debt service payments will decline, allowing for greater capability to cover new obligations.

The bank’s Chief Credit Officer took a broader view of the PimerMed opportunity. While acknowledging the aforementioned strengths and weaknesses, the Chief Credit Officer included the working capital line and the deposit account into the model. Assumptions were adjusted to determine a range of risk and profitability scenarios. A $6MM exposure would not have been possible for ABC as an independent finance company. However, the entire $11MM amount (new equipment lease plus working capital line) less deposits, would comply with the bank’s regulatory requirements (simplified for this discussion) so the CCO was in favor of pursuing the relationship.

When the additional due diligence was completed the transaction was presented to the credit committee. The strengths and weaknesses were summarized and simplified in terms of the five “Cs” of commercial credit analysis, as follows:

ITEM

RATING (1 LOW – 5 HIGH)

REASON

Conditions

Although the prospects for particular products vary, in general, medical device sales are expected to grow 4.9 percent annually through 2017 as a result of technological innovation and the aging population. Headwinds include overall economic growth and pressure on hospitals to reduce costs. Buyers continue to cut reimbursements and the prices they pay for devices. PimerMed’s competitors are becoming more innovative, shortening their product cycles and reducing their costs.

Capacity
(EBITDA, DSCR, DSO, etc.)

PimerMed’s 2015 audited financial statements were released this week. For the year ended 12/31/15, PimerMed recorded sales of $112MM from a diverse customer base with no concentrations above 12%. DSO was strong at 36. Net income was $5.2MM, an increase of 4% over 2014. Debt service coverage was 1.8X and debt to EBITDA was 4.7X. The company’s projections show moderate growth through 2017 provided that minimum investments are made in production improvements and product design.

The uncertainty regarding Mr. Pimer’s leadership hampers an otherwise stable outlook.

Q1 2016 internal results are expected by the end of April.

Global cash flow was not calculated because Mr. Pimer is not offering his personal guarantee.

Collateral

While the production line has material in-place revenue-producing value for PrimerMed, the repossessed remarketing value of the specialized configuration is minimal. The price of the new equipment includes substantial labor for assembly and testing. Removal, storage and sales expenses on the back end will further reduce recovery proceeds to a range of 15% to 5% of OEC.

Capital

PimerMed’s 12/31/15 balance sheet shows $1.2MM in cash confirmed by consistent balances on the bank statements. Working capital and liquidity ratios (current ration and quick ratio) are satisfactory. The company was levered 2.6X (including contingent liabilities) with a tangible net worth of $21MM. However, during the past two years, Mr. Pimer has paid himself a total of $4.5MM in dividends (the maximum allowed under his bank line covenant) which has reduced the firm’s equity and increased its leverage position (debt/equity). This reduces the financial strength of the company, the firm’s ability to withstand adverse economic events. The prospect of future large distributions creates additional uncertainty. Under these conditions, the credit team weighed the probability and consequences of a Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy.

Mr. Pimer did not provide his updated personal financial statement listing his own assets, liabilities and cash flow. He is not offering his personal guarantee.

Character

The company has been in business since 1985 and has an excellent reputation. It has always repaid its debt as agreed.

Mr. Pimer controls the company. His personal behavior during the past two years shows a worrisome lack of good character and his actions are impeding the effective management of the firm. This creates additional risk.

Generally speaking, for this simplified analysis, we needed to have 3 out of the 5 categories above to be rated a 4 or higher to approve this transaction. Clearly that did not happen. So, considering the potential income that could be generated from the bank’s new relationship with PimerMed (including an equipment lease, credit line and deposit accounts), our credit committee attempted to reduce our risk by structuring an approval.

To build an appropriate structure, we considered the worst case default scenarios (under the initial terms already discussed). We used models to calculate our expected loss (EL=EAD x PD x LGD) in a range from $2MM to $8MM. To reach an approval, we needed to substantially reduce our EL. Ultimately, our structure involved the personal guarantee of Mr. Pimer, provided that we could confirm he has at least $1MM in liquid assets, tangible net worth (TNW) of at least $7MM, and total debt not exceeding the amount of TNW. We also wanted Mr. Pimer to pledge 51% of his shares in PimerMed. We knew these terms would be met with resistance so we agreed to limit the duration of the personal guarantee and pledge to 4 years, provided that all loan covenants were met within that time.

After several discussions, these terms were ultimately rejected by PimerMed. In the end, the magnitude of uncertainty presented by Mr. Pimer’s actions prohibited us from winning the deal. We learned several weeks later that a larger independent equipment finance company approved $3.5MM in equipment financing for PimerMed at a yield of 6.5%.

How would you have looked at this deal? Do you agree with the analysis? What would you have done differently?

Join the discussion at the ELFA Credit & Collections Management Conference in Denver, June 5-7. This is the premier annual event for credit and collections professionals in equipment finance. As part our popular session “How Would You Do the Deal?”, we’ll discuss more credit decisions like this as well as some very interesting and challenging workout situations. Make your reservations now. See you there!

Ben Carlile
Small Business Lending Expertise
Alternative Non-Bank Underwriting
Risk Management, Collections, Operations
bencarlile9@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/bencarlile
415.209.3271

Credit and Collections 102 Previous Articles
http://www.leasingnews.org/Conscious-Top%20Stories/credit_collections102.htm

(Leasing News provides this ad as a trade for investigative
reporting provided by John Kenny)

News Briefs---

GE Capital mere days from 'exiting' U.S. banking system
Sells online deposit platform to Goldman Sachs
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/36828-ge-capital-mere-days-from-exiting-us-banking-system

Intel to cut 12,000 jobs as it confronts decline in PCs
http://www.sacbee.com/news/business/article72686057.html

Judge rules City National 'bank to the stars' overcharged its own employees' retirement plan
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-cnb-401k-20160418-story.html

Meridian, Ontario's Larges Credit Union, to acquire
Roynat Lease Finance from Bank of Nova Scotia & Roynat, Inc.
http://news.sys-con.com/node/3774076

LeaseAccelerator Launches FASB ASC 842 Compliant Accounting Solution for Equipment Leases
http://floridanewswire.com/leaseaccelerator-launches-fasb-asc-842-compliant-accounting-solution-for-equipment-leases/

Can the US Treasury Market Absorb a $750 Billion Saudi Arabian Fire Sale?
http://247wallst.com/economy/2016/04/18/can-the-us-treasury-market-absorb-a-750-billion-saudi-arabian-fire-sale/

Say goodbye to your neighborhood bank branch
Branches to be cut 20% to 50% over next decade
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/04/19/say-goodbye-to-your-neighborhood-bank-branch/

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--You May Have Missed It

Steve Kerr spent 2 years building a manifesto on how to coach
before turning the Warriors into the best team in the NBA
http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Steve-Kerr-spent-2-years-building-a-manifesto-on-7248676.php

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SparkPeople--Live Healthier and Longer

SparkPeople Trivia
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/games_trivia.asp

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Warriors Win!!!

"If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think that you dare not, you don't,
If you'd like to win, but you think you can't,
It's almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost,
For out in the world you'll find,
Success begins with a fellow's will,
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can."

(anonymous)

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Sports Briefs----

Browns shopping No. 2 pick. Are the 49ers buyers?
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/article72621607.html

Big names to help launch Chargers campaign for new stadium
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/apr/19/chargers-signatures-stadium/

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California Nuts Briefs---

SF Bay Area home sales in March: up from February, down from a year earlier
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_29786036/bay-area-home-sales-march-up-from-february

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“Gimme that Wine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJnQoi8DSE8

Jackson Family Wines Buys Penner-Ash Wine Cellars
http://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=167717

Winemaker Denis Malbec cast large influence over North Coast wine industry
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/5511947-181/winemaker-denis-malbec-cast-large

Shibumi Knoll Winery Owner Don Ross Dies At 74
http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/53026

California's New Wave of Sparkling Wine
http://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2016/04/california-s-new-wave-of-sparkling-wine

Free Mobile Wine Program
http://leasingnews.org/archives/Feb2010/2_26.htm#mobile

Wine Prices by vintage
http://www.winezap.com
http://www.wine-searcher.com/

US/International Wine Events
http://www.localwineevents.com/

Leasing News Wine & Spirits Page
http://two.leasingnews.org/Recommendations/wnensprts.htm

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        1534 - French explorer Jacques Cartier set sail from St. Malo to explore the North American coastline during which he discovered Canada and Labrador.
    1657 - Asser Levy of New Amsterdam (later New York City) was admitted as a town citizen. Jews were denied the privilege of standing guard and keeping watch, compulsory for all citizens, and Asser Levy and Jacob Barsimson objected to the discrimination. After being denied, Levy appealed. He became a prosperous trader, the first Jew to own land in America, and the first to serve on a jury, in 1671, after the colony had been taken over by the English.
    1718 - Birth of David Brainerd (d. 1747), Haddam, CT. Colonial American missionary to the Indians of New England. Following his premature death from tuberculosis at 29, Brainerd's journal (published in 1649 by the Jonathan Edwards) influenced hundreds to become missionaries after him.
    1775 - British troops began the siege of Boston.
    1777 - New York adopted a new constitution as an independent state.
    1789 – The first Presidential inauguration was held in Philadelphia for President George Washington.
    1799 - Napoleon issues a decree calling for establishing Jerusalem for Jews
    1815 - Boston's Handel and Hayden Society, which claims to be the oldest singing group in the United States, was made up of members of nine Boston churches. It excluded women from membership. However, the chorus of ninety men "permitted" ten women to perform at its first concert 12-25-1815 of Handel's Creation because it was *written* with women's parts and solos. The barring of women was based on the church's rulings that women were not to lead.
The melodies were converted to male voices and women were only allowed to sing harmony. Oddly enough, the society hired Miss Sophia Hewitt, the only woman they have ever employed in its history, as organist and accompanist. She also served as organist at the two major churches in Boston and performed in New York and other parts of New England in concerts and benefits. Following her marriage, the receipts for her pay were signed for by her husband since married women at the time had no legal rights to their own money and could not own property.
     1825 - Scottish naturalist David Douglas arrived at Fort Vancouver, one month after it was established by the British Hudson's Bay Company on the north bank of the Columbia River in present-day Clark County. Douglas, a collector for England's Horticultural Society, was dispatched to the Northwest coast to bring back specimens and seeds of the plants of the region for possible introduction into British gardens and forests. For the next two years Douglas traveled extensively throughout present-day Washington and Oregon collecting thousands of plant specimens and interesting geological samples, and also preserving for study a few of the animals that he hunted. In 1826 Douglas extended his explorations, traveling deep into the Columbia Basin. After returning to England, Douglas returned to the Northwest for two more journeys to the Columbia River before dying under mysterious circumstances in Hawaii in 1834. Today he is perhaps best known for the Douglas Fir, which was named in his honor.
    1832 - Hot Springs National Park, the first national park in the United States, was established by an act of Congress. It had been a reservation prior to becoming a national park.
    1836 - Wisconsin Territory is established. Wisconsin, formerly governed as part of the territories of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, was established as a separate US territory, with Madison, located midway between Milwaukee and the western centers of population, to be founded as the territorial capital. In 1634, French explorer Jean Nicolet landed at Green Bay, becoming the first European to visit the lake-heavy northern region that would later become Wisconsin. In 1763, at the conclusion of the French and Indian Wars, Wisconsin, a major center of the American fur trade, passed into British control. Two decades later, at the end of the American Revolution, the region came under US rule, and was governed as part of the Northwest Territory. However, British fur traders continued to dominate Wisconsin from across the Canadian border, and it was not until the end of the War of 1812 that the region fell firmly under American control. In the first decades of the nineteenth century, settlers began arriving via the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes to exploit Wisconsin's agricultural potential, and in 1832, the Black Hawk War ended Native-American resistance to white settlement. In 1836, after several decades of governance as part of other territories, Wisconsin was made a separate entity. By 1840, population in Wisconsin had risen above 130,000, but the people voted against statehood four times, fearing the higher taxes that would come with a stronger central government. Finally, in 1848, Wisconsin citizens, envious of the prosperity that federal programs brought to neighboring Midwestern states, voted to approve statehood. On 29 April 1848, Wisconsin entered the Union as the thirtieth state.
    1841 - "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," Edgar Allen Poe's first detective story, was published. The story featured C. Auguste Dupin, the first-ever fictional detective. Poe considered his work an example of ratiocination - the process of logical and methodical reasoning.
    1850 - Birthday of American sculptor of Daniel Chester French (d. 1931) at Exeter, NH. One of the most important artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries as a sculptor of public monuments, French is best known for his 1875 “Minute Man” statue at Concord, MA, and his 1922 statue of the seated Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial at Washington, DC
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/apr20.html
    1853 - Harriet Tubman starts Underground Railroad.
http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/tubman
http://www.nyhistory.com/harriettubman/life.htm
    1854 - Capt. Creesy sets a world record by sailing from New York to San Francisco in 88 days.
    1861 - Colonel Robert E. Lee resigns from the United States Army two days after he was offered command of the Union army and three days after his native state, Virginia, seceded from the Union. Lee opposed secession, but he was a loyal son of Virginia. His official resignation was only one sentence, but he wrote a longer explanation to his friend and mentor, General Winfield Scott, later that day. Lee had fought under Scott during the Mexican War, and he revealed to his former commander the depth of his struggle. Lee interviewed with Scott on April 18, and explained that he would have resigned then "but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted the best years of my life and all the ability I possess." Lee expressed gratitude for the kindness shown him by all in the army during his 25-year service, but Lee was most grateful to Scott. "To no one, general, have I been as much indebted as to yourself for uniform kindness and consideration..." He concluded with this poignant sentiment: "Save in the defense of my native State, I never desire again to draw my sword." But draw it he would. Two days later, Lee was appointed commander of Virginia's forces with the rank of major general. He spent the next few months raising troops in Virginia, and in July, he was sent to western Virginia to advise Confederate commanders struggling to maintain control over the mountainous region. Lee did little to build his reputation there as the Confederates experienced a series of setbacks, and he returned to Richmond when the Union gained control of the area. The next year, Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia after General Joseph Johnston was wounded in battle. Lee quickly turned the tables on Union General George B. McClellan, as he would several other commanders of the Army of the Potomac. His brilliance as a battlefield tactician earned him a place among the great military leaders of all time.
    1865 - Safety matches advertised for the first time.
    1871 - Ku Klux Klan Act passed by US Congress. With passage of the Third Force Act, popularly known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, Congress authorized President Ulysses S. Grants to use military force against the Ku Klux Klan. Founded in 1865 by a group of Confederate veterans, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rapidly grew from a secret social fraternity to a paramilitary force bent on reversing the federal government's progressive Reconstruction Era-activities in the South, especially in regard to the region's African-American population. The name of the Ku Klux Klan was derived from the Greek word kuklos, meaning circle, and clann, a Scottish Gaelic word for the traditional tribal units of Scotland that reflected the Scottish ancestry of many of the KKK's founding members. Under a platform of philosophized white racial superiority, the group employed violence as a means of pushing back the radical reforms underway in the post-Civil War South. Thriving in counties where the two political parties or races were relatively balanced, the KKK engaged in terrorist raids against African-Americans and white Southern Republicans at night, employing intimidation, destruction of property, assault, and murder to achieve its aims and influence upcoming elections.
    1880 - Sacramento, California had its heaviest 24 hour rainfall when 7.24 inches fell.
    1893 - Harold Lloyd (d. 1971), a comic genius of early American film, was born at Burchard, NE. Lloyd began acting at 20 years of age, and his career took off when he teamed with producer Hal Roach in the comic “Lonesome Luke” shorts (1916-1917). Lloyd then created the “glasses” character: the boy-next-door whose distinguishing feature was his round horn spectacles. This character thrilled audiences in “daredevil” comedy featuring dangerous stunts. (Lloyd never used a double). Lloyd’s hits included “Safety Last” (1923), where he dangled from a building’s clock face, “The Freshman” (1925) and “Speedy” (1928), the biggest box-office star of the 1930s. Lloyd survived with lesser success in the talkie 1930s. He was given an honorary Oscar in 1953 for being a “master comedian and good citizen.”
    1908 – Vibraharp/Bank Leader Lionel Hampton (d. 2002) birthday, at Louisville, KY. Hampton started out on piano and rums, but Louis Armstrong urged him to take up the vibraphone in 1930. Hampton went on to make that his signature instrument. He recorded and played with Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Carter, and other legends, before becoming a bandleader himself. He played almost up until his death.
    1901 - A spring snowstorm dumped very heavy snow over northeastern Ohio. Warren was buried under 35.5 inches in 36 hours and 28 inches fell at Green Hill. Akron established April snowfall records with 15.6 inches in 24 hours and 26.6 inches for the month.
    1912 - After two days of rain, the first game ever is finally played at Fenway Park with a comeback eleven-inning Red Sox win over the New York Highlanders, 7-6.
    1912 – Tiger Stadium in Detroit, originally known as Navin Field, opened to the Tigers 6-5 win over the Cleveland Indians. Long gone, it was the site of Babe Ruth’s 700th career HR and Roger Maris’ first of the 1961 season.
    1916 - In Chicago, the Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park beating the Reds in 11 innings, 7-6. The ballpark will be renamed Wrigley Field in 1926.
    1918 – Baron Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shot down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
    1920 - Tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama killed 219 persons.
    1923 - Birthday of Tito Puente (d. 2000), The King of the Mambo or “El Rey,” was born Ernesto Antonia Puente, Jr. at Spanish Harlem, New York City, to Puerto Rican parents. The legendary Puente had a career that spanned more than six decades, starting in 1937. He popularized the timbale, but played many percussion instruments and was also a composer, arranger and bandleader. His album “Dance Mania” (1948) was an international bestseller, and he released more than 100 albums. His song “Oye Corno Va” was covered by Carlos Santana and has become a classic. Puente won five Grammies, was inducted into the Jazz and Hispanic Halls of Fame and received a Smithsonian Lifetime achievement Award. President Jimmy Carter pronounced him “The Goodwill Ambassador of Latin American Music. “ Puente died on May 31, 2000, at New York, NY.
    1931 - On Okeh Records, Louis Armstrong recorded, "When It’s Sleepy Time Down South", which would be his theme song for decades. The song was recorded in Chicago, Illinois.
    1934 - Child actress Shirley Temple's first major movie, “Stand Up and Cheer”, was released to New York theaters on this date. It was the beginning of the most successful child actor's career in the history of Hollywood.
    1939 - Ted Williams made his major league debut for the Boston Red Sox, getting one double in four at-bats, as the Sox lost to the New York Yankees, 2-0.
    1939 - Billie Holiday records “Strange Fruit.”
    1939 - New York World's Fair opens
    1939 - Country-pop singer Johnny Tillotson was born in Jacksonville, Florida. Between 1958 and 1965, he had more than 25 records on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart, including "Poetry in Motion," "Without You" and "Talk Back Trembling Lips."
    1939 - Birthday of Katherine V. Forrest in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She is a novelist and editor whose erotic lesbian novel “Curious Wine” has sold more copies than any lesbian-centered novel since “Well of Loneliness”. She crossed over to mainstream novels using some lesbian characters, especially a mystery series that features a Los Angeles detective. The detective series is strong on technical police work.
    1945 - Soviet troops enter Berlin.
    1945 - US 7th Army and Allied forces capture Nuremberg and Stuttgart in Germany.
    1945 - Allied bombers cut off German retreat in Italy as Hitler celebrates his birthday. Allied bombers in Italy begin Operation Corncob, a three-day attack on the bridges over the rivers Adige and Brenta to cut off German lines of retreat on the peninsula.
Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler, who has only 10 more days to live, celebrates his 56th birthday as a Gestapo reign of terror results in the hanging of 20 Russian prisoners of war and 20 Jewish children. Of these, at least nine are under the age of 12. All of the victims had been taken from Auschwitz to Neuengamme, the place of execution, for the purpose of medical experimentation.
    1945 - American forces liberated Buchenwald. 350 Americans were imprisoned at Berga, a sub-camp of Buchenwald, following their Dec, 1944, capture at the Battle of the Bulge. Charles Guggenheim's (d. 2002) last documentary film was title "Berga."
    1945 - HAYASHI, JOE, Medal of Honor
Private Joe Hayashi distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 20 and 22 April 1945, near Tendola, Italy. On 20 April 1945, ordered to attack a strongly defended hill that commanded all approaches to the village of Tendola, Private Hayashi skillfully led his men to a point within 75 yards of enemy positions before they were detected and fired upon. After dragging his wounded comrades to safety, he returned alone and exposed himself to small arms fire in order to direct and adjust mortar fire against hostile emplacements. Boldly attacking the hill with the remaining men of his squad, he attained his objective and discovered that the mortars had neutralized three machine guns, killed 27 men, and wounded many others. On 22 April 1945, attacking the village of Tendola, Private Hayashi maneuvered his squad up a steep, terraced hill to within 100 yards of the enemy. Crawling under intense fire to a hostile machine gun position, he threw a grenade, killing one enemy soldier and forcing the other members of the gun crew to surrender. Seeing four enemy machine guns delivering deadly fire upon other elements of his platoon, he threw another grenade, destroying a machine gun nest. He then crawled to the right flank of another machine gun position where he killed four enemy soldiers and forced the others to flee. Attempting to pursue the enemy, he was mortally wounded by a burst of machine pistol fire. The dauntless courage and exemplary leadership of Private Hayashi enabled his company to attain its objective. Private Hayashi’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.
    1948 - Labor leader Walter Reuther is shot and seriously wounded by would-be assassins. Reuther was previously victim of an attempted abduction in April 1938. His brother Victor was shot & nearly at his home by police in 1949. In 1949 the UAW’s headquarters in Detroit was bombed. He later died in a plane crash in 1970 (of the media reports apparently only one paper addressed the possibility that he may have been murdered; In October 1968, both Walter and his brother Victor were almost killed in a small private plane near Dulles Airport).
http://www.is.wayne.edu/mnissani/media/reuther.htm
    1949 - Willie Shoemaker won his first race as a jockey aboard Shafter V at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, CA -- not far from San Francisco.
    1950 - Top Hits
“If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake” - Eileen Barton
“Music, Music, Music” - Teresa Brewer
“Peter Cottontail” - Gene Autry
“Long Gone Lonesome Blues” - Hank Williams
    1951 - Luther Vandross (d. 2005) is born in New York City. His biggest pop hit is “Power of Love/Love Power,'' which hits No. 4 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1991. The album “Power of Love'' reaches No. 1 on both Billboard's pop and R&B album charts.
    1952 - The tankers Esso Suez and Esso Greensboro crashed in a thick fog off the coast of Morgan City, LA. Only five of the Greensboro's crew survived after the ship bursts into flame.
    1957 - Westinghouse first to use FORTRAN computer language. The Westinghouse-Bettis nuclear power plant became the first commercial users of FORTRAN, soon to be the dominant computer language for scientific applications. FORTRAN, or Formula Translator, was the first widely used high-level computer language. Developed by IBM researcher John Backus, FORTRAN greatly simplified programming by translating simple English instructions into machine language, saving the programmer hundreds of steps.
    1957 - Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up" starts an eight week stay at the top of the US record charts. Songwriter Otis Blackwell would later say that he wrote the tune at the suggestion of an associate who was shaking a bottle of Pepsi. The song went on to be the biggest single of 1957, selling over 2 million copies.
    1958 - Top Hits
“He’s Got the Whole World (In His Hands)” - Laurie London
“Book of Love” - The Monotones
“Don’t You Just Know It” - Huey (Piano) Smith & The Clowns
“Oh Lonesome Me” - Don Gibson
    1959 - CBS-TV's "Desilu Playhouse" presented a two-part show titled, "The Untouchables" starring Robert Stack. When the program became a weekly show in 1959, Stack became a star. It ran until 1963 and beyond in re-runs. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized Ness' experiences as a Prohibition agent, fighting crime in Chicago in the 1930s with the help of a special team of agents handpicked for their courage, moral character and incorruptibility, nicknamed the Untouchables. The book was later made into a film in 1987 by Brian DePalma with a script by David Mamet, and a second less successful TV series in 1993. A powerful, hard-hitting crime drama, and a landmark police series, “The Untouchables” won series star Robert Stack an Emmy for Best Actor in 1960.
    1959 - Goldband Records releases "Puppy Love" by Dolly Parton, a song that was recorded two years earlier when she was just eleven years old. The record will flop and Dolly would have to wait until 1967 to make her first Billboard chart appearance.
    1960 - Elvis Presley's return to Hollywood to film "G.I. Blues" is greeted by tremendous fanfare. Of course, it's the top story on the nightly news and even makes page one of the local newspapers.
    1961 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved FM stereo broadcasting, but it would be another five or six years before FM stations went ‘underground’ to attract listeners tired of poor audio quality on AM stations. Until then, FM stations broadcast in monaural sound.
    1961 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Runaway,'' Del Shannon. Shannon is the first artist to take a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney onto the U.S. pop charts. His version of “From Me to You'' hits the Hot 100 on June 29, 1963, before the release of the Beatles debut American single, “I Want to Hold Your Hand.''
    1962 - The New Orleans Citizens Committee gives free one-way ride to blacks to move North.
    1963 - The movie soundtrack album of “West Side Story” hit Number 1 on the pop LP chart and stayed there for 2 weeks: music by Leonard Bernstein, libretto/lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and conception and choreography by Jerome Robbins. It was inspired by Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.
    1963 - Ricky (he wasn’t Rick yet) Nelson married Kris Harmon, daughter of Tom Harmon, the 1940 Heisman Trophy Winner from the University of Michigan. Six months later, on October 25th, Tracy Kristine Nelson was born at St. John's Hospital near Santa Monica.
    1964 - The Elvis Presley movie “Viva Las Vegas'' premieres.
    1966 - Top Hits
“The Ballad of the Green Berets” - SSgt Barry Sadler
“(You’re My) Soul and Inspiration” - The Righteous Brothers
“Daydream” - The Lovin’ Spoonful
“I Want to Go with You” - Eddy Arnold
    1968 - Pierre Elliott Trudeau sworn-in as Canada's PM
    1968 - The Rolling Stones record "Jumpin' Jack Flash", which will reach #1 in the UK and #3 in the US by next July.
    1969 - Ken Harrelson almost quit Major League baseball when he found out he was being traded from the Boston Red Sox, an American League contender, to the Cleveland Indians, a perennial American League non-contender. He stayed for money and played for Cleveland after all.
    1969 - On the site of a parking lot owned by the University of California, Berkeley a diverse group of people came together, each freely contributing their skills and resources to create People’s Park. This is to be the site of a student revolution.
    1971 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.
    1971 - Barbra Streisand records "We've Only Just Begun"
    1974 - Top Hits
“TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” - MFSB featuring The Three Degrees
“Best Thing that Ever Happened to Me” - Gladys Knight & The Pips
“The Loco-Motion” - Grand Funk
“A Very Special Love Song” - Charlie Rich
    1977 - The theme song from the TV show “Soul Train” called TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) topped the Billboard Hot 100.
    1979 - It was reported Johnny Carson was leaving "The Tonight Show". Newspapers in the United States offered ideas why the comedian and late-night host was unhappy after 17 years on the show. More money, more vacation time and a four-day week (he got Mondays off) was just what ‘The Great Carsoni’ needed to stay at NBC for another 12 years.
    1980 - 84 year old George Burns, who starred in the movie “Oh God” with John Denver, reaches the Billboard Hot 100 with "I Wish I Was 18 Again".
    1982 - Top Hits
“I Love Rock ’N’ Roll” - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
“We Got the Beat” - Go-Go’s
“Chariots of Fire” - Titles - Vangelis
“The Clown” - Conway Twitty
    1982 - With a 4-2 win over the Reds, the Braves record their 12th consecutive victory to establish a major-league record for the most victories from the beginning of the season. The previous mark had been set a year earlier by the Oakland A's. The Braves, under Manager Joe Torre, won the NL West Division title.
    1983 - President Ronald Reagan signs a $165 billion bail-out for Social Security
    1984 - A temperature of 106 degrees in Del Rio, Texas set a new record high for April.
    1986 - Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls scored a record 63 points in the NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics. This NBA Playoffs record included two overtime periods.
    1986 - Pianist Vladimir Horowitz gave his first concert in the Soviet Union for 61 years. He had emigrated in 1925.
    1987 - "Starlight Express", the roller-skating musical, posted the largest week’s gross in the history of Broadway, earning $606,081 at the box office. The revival of "The King and I" starring Yul Brynner was the old record holder in 1985.
    1987 - In Columbus, OH, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) was organized, making it the largest Lutheran denomination in the U.S. It represented the merger of three smaller Lutheran bodies, and was officially born on Jan 1, 1988.
    1987 - Fifty-two cities in the central and eastern U.S. reported new record high temperatures for the date. The high of 92 degrees at Memphis, TN was a record for April, and the high of 94 at Little Rock, AR equaled their April record.
    1988 - Helen Thayer, New Zealand-born American reaches the North Pole on foot and on skis with no mechanical assists. Using a rope attached to her belt, she pulled a sled which held her tent and all her food (and her dog’s food). Her sole companion was a husky who would warn her when polar bears were approaching. (The big bears are absolutely silent when they attack.) Temperatures in storms dropped to minus 100 degrees. The 345-mile, 27-day journey marked the first time a woman had reached the North Pole alone. Thayer, a mountain climber and U.S. Luge Champion in 1975, was 50 years old at the time. In 1990 she would serve as the leader of the first International U.S./Soviet Arctic Women's expedition.
The website at
http://www.goals.com/thayer/expfrm.htm
that explains the arctic trip in detail.
    1988 - Claudell Washington hits the 10,000th home run in Yankee history.
    1988 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,'' Whitney Houston.
    1989 - Hot weather spread from the southwestern U.S. into the Great Plains Region. Twenty-three cities reported new record high temperatures for the date. The afternoon high of 104 degrees at Tucson, AZ was an April record, and highs of 87 at Provo, UT, 90 at Pueblo, CO, and 85 at Salt Lake City, UT, equaled April records.
    1990 - Top Hits
“I’ll Be Your Everything” - Tommy Page
“Don’t Wanna Fall in Love” - Jane Child
“Nothing Compares 2 U” - Sinead O’Connor
“Five Minutes” - Lorrie Morgan
    1990 - A fast moving Pacific storm produced heavy snow in the central mountains and the Upper Arkansas Valley of Colorado, with a foot of snow reported at Leadville. Thunderstorms in the south central U.S. produced wind gusts to 76 mph at Tulsa, OK, and heavy rain which caused flooding of Cat Claw Creek in the Abilene, TX area. Lightning struck the building housing a fish farm in Scott, AR killing 10,000 pounds of fish. Many of the fish died from the heat of the fire.
    1991 - Wendy and Carnie Wilson, daughters of The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, along with Chynna Phillips, daughter of The Mamas and Papas' John Phillips, combined their talents as Wilson Phillips to hit #1 on the Billboard singles chart for the third time with "You're In Love".
    1992 - 100th episode of "Murphy Brown" airs
    1996 - In a case that sparked an uproar reminiscent of the Rodney King case in Los Angeles, two Riverside County, Calif., sheriff's deputies were videotaped repeatedly clubbing a Mexican man and woman after a 70-mile highway chase involving a pickup truck suspected of sneaking across the border.
    1997 - Mark McGwire becomes the fourth major leaguer to hit a home run over the left field roof at Tiger Stadium. The A's first baseman joins Harmon Killebrew (1962), Frank Howard (1968), and Cecil Fielder (1990) as the only players to accomplish the feat.
    1998 - Digital TV and Internet over copper wires. US West announced it would deliver digital TV programming and high-speed Internet access using traditional copper telephone wires. The company said it would first offer the service, called VDSL (Variable Digital Subscriber Lines), in Phoenix, providing some 120 television channels, forty digital music channels, Internet access, and telephone services through television sets.
    1999 - At Columbine High School, Littleton, CO, students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 other students, a teacher and then themselves. 24 were seriously wounded.
    1999 - Billy Joel performs what he says is his last public pop music concert at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. He plans on devoting his efforts to classical music. After getting married, he began his concerts
again.
    2006 - Appearing as a pinch hitter at PETCO Park, Julio Franco becomes the oldest major leaguer to hit a home run. The 47-year, 240 days old’s eighth inning blast, which put the Mets ahead in their 7-2 victory over the Padres, surpasses Jack Quinn who accomplish the feat as a pitcher for the Philadelphia A’s at the age of 46 years, 357 days.
    2006 - As the Nationals beat the Phillies, 10-4, Frank Robinson becomes the 53rd manager to win 1000 big league games. The first black skipper in Major League history, who has also been the dugout leader for the Indians, Giants, Orioles, and Expos, has compiled a 1065–1176 record in 16 seasons.
    2006 - Up to five feet of snow falls in the Dakotas. I-94 and other highways were closed, power was out for thousands and caused at least four deaths.
    2008 – Danica Patrick became the first female driver to win an Indy car race, winning the Japan 300.
    2010 – In the Gulf of Mexico, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last six months. It is the largest oil spill in American waters. Damage estimates approached $200 billion.

Stanley Cup Champions
1958 - Montréal Canadiens

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