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Day in American History

Thursday, February 17,2005

Headlines---

Classified ads--doc mgr/finance/legal
    Questionnaire on Equip .Leasing Regulation
        Cartoon---
LN Advisory Board Members...Leasing Conferences
    "SILO's Will be Audited”"
        Standard Federal Bank to Take LaSalle Bank's Name
            UAEL Regional Meeting---March 17th
eLeasing- aggregate funding sources
    News Briefs---
        "Gimme that Wine"
            This Day in American History
                Winter Poem

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Classified ads---

Documentation Manager / Finance / Legal

Documentation Manager: New York, NY.
10+ years in equipment leasing/secured lending. Skilled in management & training, documentation, policy and procedure development & implementation, portfolio reporting. Strong work ethic.
Email: dln1031@nyc.rr.com

Finance: Chicago, IL
Experienced in big ticket origination, syndication, valuation and workout. Twenty five years, MBA, CPA, JD, LLM (Tax), structuring specialist. Inbound and outbound transactions.
Email: pal108381@comcast.net

Transaction Summary
Website: www.tlgattorneycpa.com

Finance: Austin, TX.
20+ years all facets of lease/finance. Collection and credit management. Equipment & rolling stock structuring. $150k credit authority, $100 million portfolio management.
Email: texmartin@juno.com

Finance: Lyndhurst, NJ
CFO w/20+ years leasing/financing. Respected by lenders/rating agencies full & fair financial reporting. Outstanding record restructuring debt. Adept at investor relations and mentoring people.
Email: joemcdev@aol.com

Finance: San Jose, CA.
15+ years sourcing debt, managing cash and receivables and other treasury functions. Strong background in credit, contract administration and bankruptcy litigation experience. MBA Finance.
Email: raycis@comcast.net

Legal: Los Angeles, CA
Experienced in-house corporate and financial services attorney seeks position as managing or transactional counsel. Willing to relocate.
Email: sandidq@msn.com

Full listing of all ads at:
http://64.125.68.90/LeasingNews/JobPostings.htm

[headlines]

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QUESTIONAIRE on Equipment Leasing Regulation

This is the questionnaire sent out Tuesday. We normally
would close off the questionnaire earlier.

We are attempting to keep responses only from those in
the leasing industry. We know those with an “axe
to grind,” have a definite opinion, but we are more
interested in the current thinking of professionals
in the equipment leasing industry.

[headlines]

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[headlines]

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Leasing News Advisory Board Members...Leasing Conferences

( Part I )

Bank of the West is a member of all the major leasing associations, including AGLF, EAEL, ELA, NAELB, and UAEL and we attend all of the national conferences of each.

From a funding source's perspective, attending association conferences is an efficient way to meet with active and prospective brokers and lessors. Conferences provide a great means to meet other people in our industry and solidify relationships.

I acted as the conference chair for the last UAEL annual conference in Monterey and learned a great deal from the experience. It seems that most of the non-funder attendees fell into three categories. People new to our industry that are looking to make contacts, people that are seasoned in the industry and are there to maintain relationships and learn something new, and finally, people that are there on a boondoggle to play golf or get away with their spouse or significant other. This seems to be pretty common throughout most conferences that I have attended.

Conferences are a valuable means of conducting business within the leasing industry and I encourage everyone to become a member of at least one of the associations and attend their meetings.

Steve Crane
Vice President & Marketing Manager
Bank of the West

--

I found that there are several levels of attendee interest. Trade shows are what you make of them. You can take them seriously and come home with business, or you can take it easy, play golf, and come home with a tan and a story.

There are those who are on a quest to learn. Those who are religious about attending break out sessions, and the general sessions. There are others who take it a level higher by becoming involved in committees, planning, etc..

Hard workers find others who are trying to grow and improve their businesses.

There's something for everyone @ the convention.
You get out what you put in.

Ed Castagna
Nassau Asset Management

---

I went to my first leasing industry conference in 1976. It was organized by WAEL (Western Association of Equipment Lessors, now UAEL) and both WAEL and I were new to equipment leasing. Many of the contacts I made in those early years I still have, and the lessons I learned at those conferences, first as a salesman, and later as a manager, were where I really learned the business.

Since then I doubt that I have missed more than five or six UAEL conferences. I also attend NAELB national conferences, as well as local events put on by the various associations.

It doesn't matter whether someone is a beginner or an old-timer, you will come away from an industry conference more knowledgeable than when you went in. If you are a single practitioner you will benefit from face-to-face contact with your peers. If you are part of a large organization you will meet people in other segments of the industry. And if you are the head of your company, well, then you go play golf.

The years of conferences have helped me in my current role as lease trainer. A confirmed packrat, I have workbooks and copies of workshop materials from almost every conference I have ever attended. The information in these materials has been invaluable, and I refer to them often.

I urge everyone who has access to a conference to attend. And, for those who have achieved some success and longevity in the equipment leasing business, I urge them to pay back to the industry through the sharing of knowledge and experience by volunteering to present a workshop or appear on a panel.

Whether as an attendee or a presenter, anyone attending a leasing industry conference will gain immeasurably; in knowledge, in friendships and, ultimately, in their success.

Bob Teichman, CLP
Teichman Financial Training
3030 Bridgeway, Suite 213
Sausalito, CA 94965
Tel: 415-331-6445
Fax: 415-331-6451
e-mail: BoTei@aol.com

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"SILO's Will be Audited”"

The U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have officially declared "sale-in, lease-back," or SILO, arrangements as tax shelters, thereby opening them up to audits. In a corporate-tax bill passed last year, Congress eliminated tax breaks for SILO deals entered into after March 12, 2004. That effective date still stands, but the announcement by Treasury and the IRS suggests that older SILO tax shelters could be subject to new audits.

Both the IRS and Department of Treasury are advising taxpayers to examine any SILO arrangements entered into before the bill's effective date to determine whether they must comply with the new tax-shelter listing requirements. The arrangements typically involve the leasing of municipal infrastructure like railroads and buses.

This “tax advantage” was heavily lobbied by the leasing industry and large financial institutions ( except for the Association of Government Leasing and Finance.)

U.S. Treasury Department/IRS Announcement:
http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/reports/notice200513.pdf

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Classified Ads---

Leasing Sales Representative

National Account Manager

Platform Business Manager / Asset Manager

Sales Professionals

Small Ticket Sales Representative

[headlines]

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Standard Federal Bank to Take LaSalle Bank's Name

U.S. Bankers Weekly News

Standard Federal Bank will take the LaSalle Bank name later this year, in a unification of brands. This is not a merger of banks. During this transition, customers can continue to use the banks' products and services with no disruptions. Through holding company LaSalle Bank Corp., Standard Federal Bank and Chicago-based LaSalle Bank are indirect subsidiaries of Netherlands-based ABN Amro Bank N.V. The LaSalle Bank brand in Michigan will share ABN Amro's shield logo and corporate colors just as Standard Federal Bank does today. “Over the past several years, the LaSalle Bank organization has experienced strong growth,” said LaSalle president and CEO Norman R. Bobins. “We are now doing business as LaSalle Bank in 23 states. To achieve the strength of greater brand cohesiveness in the U.S., we will change our name from Standard Federal Bank N.A. in Michigan and other markets the bank serves, to LaSalle Bank Midwest N.A.”

Retail customers will be able to continue using pre-printed checks and ATM/debit cards with the Standard Federal Bank logo even after the name change. Standard Federal Bank is headquartered in Troy, MI, with $39.1 billion in assets and $20.2 billion in deposits. It has 261 branches, and more than 1,100 ATMs in Michigan and Indiana. LaSalle Bank is headquartered in Chicago and has $63.7 billion in assets and $37.7 billion in deposits. The bank has more than 140 retail locations and 500 ATMs throughout Chicago and neighboring suburbs. Standard Federal and LaSalle Bank's parent company LaSalle Bank Corp. is headquartered in Chicago with $106.6 billion in assets.

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UAEL Regional Meeting---March 17th

United Association of Equipment Leasing Regional Meeting

Thursday, March 17th 2005
4:30 pm – 7:30pm
Renaissance Club Sport, 2805 Jones, Walnut Creek
680 & Geary/Treat Blvd, across from Pleasant Hill BART

Please reserve your ticket by Monday, March 7th, via email at:
jhaenselman@befcfinance.com
or call John Haenselman at 650-616-1948

for more information, please go here:
http://leasingnews.org/PDF/NorCalMarch05Flyer.pdf

[headlines]

________________________________________________________

eLeasing- aggregate funding sources

( Soley eLease brokers/online brokers/super brokers )

This list has been up-dated, with five removed from the list.
One was re-classified, and the other four web sites are
no longer up, so we can assume they are no longer in operation:

Lease2save.com
Leasepoint
Ampent
LeasingX.com

If there is any contrary information or corrections to be made,

please contact us:

[headlines]

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News Briefs---

Housing activity climbs to highest level in more than two decades
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/
20050216-1457-economy.html

Greenspan urges caution on Social Security
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/
2005/02/16/greenspan_economy_expands_at_solid_pace/

Circuit City to Close 19 Stores
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/
2005/02/16/circuit_city_to_close_19_stores/

Ex-Tyco Officer Says He Was Told Board Approved Bonuses
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/17/business/
17tyco.html?pagewanted=all

New Approaches to Broadcast News Monitoring
http://www.cyberalert.com/broadcastnews.html

Westminster Dog Show 2005 Poster

2005 Westminster Kennel Dog Show Results—video, too
http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/2005/results/bis/

2005 Westminster Kennel Dog Show Breed Results
http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/2005/results/
breed/index2.html

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“Gimme that Wine

Poetry and Attitude, Pinot Noir's Paradox---Eric Asimov
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/16/dining/
16wine.html?pagewanted=all

Red Wine & Sex can protect women's hearts'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4263417.stm

The Claim: Drinking Alcohol With a Meal Prevents Food Poisoning
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/health/15real.html

Prestigious Burgundy vineyard introduces incredible 2002s
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/style/fooddrink/winecellar/
s_304138.html

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This Day in American History

    1761-Still surviving today in some East Coast communities, and considered landmarks as they exist tpdau, “milestones” between cities. There were stone blocks with mileage to mark the highways. Originally they were set by the directors of an insurance company known as the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. On this day, they agreed” to apply their fines ( a forfeiture of one shilling for not meeting precisely at the hour appointed, and two shillings for total absence) in purchasing Stones to be erected on the Road leading from Philadelphia toward Trenton, the distance of a mile from another with the Number of miles from Philadelphia, to be cut in each stone, and Thos, Wharton and Jacob Lewis are requested to Contract for the same. On May 15,1764, at five o'clock in the morning, the two men starting out from front and Market streets, taking with them the Surveyor General of the Province, and plated a stone at the end of every mile. They planed the 29 th milestone near the edge of the Delaware River, and gave their two remaining stones to be planted on the Jersey side of the road to New York.
http://www.route40.net/history/milestones/index.shtml
http://www.societe-jersiaise.org/alexgle/stonejsymilestones.html
http://www.geocities.com/jphistoricalsociety/markers.html
    1801-Presidential candidate Thomas Jefferson won support of a majority of congressional Representatives displacing incumbent John Adams. Jefferson's triumph brought an end to one of the most acrimonious presidential campaigns in U.S. history and resolved a serious Constitutional crisis. Republican Jefferson (an offshoot of the Democrat-Republican party ) defeated Federalist John Adams by a margin of 73 to 65 electoral votes. When presidential electors cast their votes, however, they failed to distinguish between the office of president and vice president on their ballots. Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr each received 73 votes. With the votes tied, the election was thrown to the House of Representatives. There, each state voted as a unit to decide the election. Burr publicly professed support for Jefferson, is fellow Republican, but did nothing to take himself out of the race, even though the Republicans intended that Burr become vice-president. Many Federalists favored Burr for president, but Alexander Hamilton, the leading Federalist, detest Burr and worked behind the scenes on Jefferson's behalf, despite his disagreement with Jefferson's policies. For six days, Jefferson and Burr essentially ran against each other in the House. Votes were tallied over thirty times, yet neither man captured the necessary majority of nine states. Eventually, a small group of Federalists, led by James A. Bayard of Delaware, reasoned that a peaceful transfer of power required the majority choose the President, and a deal was struck in Jefferson's favor. On the 36 th ballot, this day, barely two weeks before a new president was to be inaugurated, Jefferson received a majority vote when certain Federalist gave up their support of Burr. Burr was elected Vice-president. Jefferson was inaugurated on March 4, 1801. Adopted in 1804, the Twelfth Amendment, to the Constitution provides that electors "name in their ballots the person voted for as president, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as vice president." Just three years after his vice-presidential inauguration, Aaron Burr shot and fatally wounded Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Hamilton, a longtime political antagonist of Burr, played a key role in breaking the congressional stalemate in Jefferson's favor.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb17.html
    1817-The first gas streetlight was lit. The first gas street lights through a city were installed in Baltimore, MD. by the Gas Light Company in 1817. On June 19, 1816, the mayor and council authorized the company, whose officers included the artist Rembrandt Peale, to lay pipes for the manufacture and distribution of gas “to provide for more effectually lighting the streets, squares, lanes and alleys of the city of Baltimore.” Coal gas was used. The first engineer of the company was David Pugh.
    1864 - The Confederate hand-propelled submarine Huntley, armed with a ram torpedo, attacked the USS Housatonic in the Charleston Harbor. His torpedo was a mine placed onto the end of a long pole. When the Huntley hit the Housatonic with the mine, the resulting explosion sank both vessels. This was the first time in US Warfare that a submarine successfully sank another ship.
    1865-Fort Sumter Returned to Union Control: After a siege that lasted almost a year and a half, Fort Sumter in South Carolina returned to Union hands on this date. The site of the first shots fired in the American Civil War, the fort had become a symbol for both sides during the war. As Union attempts to retake it by shelling diminished the fort's capacity with large bombardments, Southern forces managed to hold out with few casualties.
    1865-Columbia, South Carolina was set afire while being entered by federal troops under General William Techumseh Sherman. Bales of cotton were put to the torch, perhaps by Confederates to prevent their falling into federal hands. Strong winds scattered the burning cotton across most of the city. On 11 February 1865, Sherman learned that only a cavalry unit was between him and Columbia. This was ample proof that his strategy of indirect approach was effective since the Confederates were more concerned about protecting Augusta and Charleston than the state capital. Sherman occupied Columbia on 18 February 1865. When Sherman's forces entered the city, they found it littered with broken furniture and other household items left by the pillaging Confederate soldiers and civilians. The railroad depot and a large storage building had been burned to the ground. Bales of cotton piled in the middle of many streets had been torn open, and lint was flying around. Fires were still burning when the initial troops entered the city and they turned to putting out the fires. That night the smoldering cotton bales, fanned by the high winds and possibly fueled by drunken soldiers and civilians, spread a great fire. Union soldiers attempting to put out the fire could only look on in misery as it consumed building after building. The next the population looked out on their city and saw vast destruction. While two-thirds of the city remained standing that morning, churches, most stores, and many of the most expensive houses were in ruins. Although Sherman did not order the city burned, the simple fact that he was there when the city was burnt placed the blame clearly on his shoulders to many Southerners. When Sherman left Columbia on 20 February 1865, Sherman's soldiers again acted on Sherman's total war policy and put to torch anything of military value. It was his goal to stop all modes of supply transportation which started with blocking traffic up the Mississippi and Atlantic Ocean ports, with an emphasis on destroying railroad junctions and the tracks themselves.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/I?cwar:1:./temp/~ammem_V8LM
::displayType=1:m856sd=cwpb:m856sf=03379:@@@
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/I?cwar:3:./temp/~ammem_V8LM::
displayType=1:m856sd=cwp:m856sf=4a40429:@@@
http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/hargrett/barnard/jpgs/plate53.jpg
http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/hargrett/barnard/jpgs/plate54.jpg
http://www.archives.nd.edu/barnard/sbio.html
http://members.aol.com/x69xer/odds.html#therailroads
    1876 - In Eastport, Maine, Julius Wolff was credited as the first person to can sardines in metal. Although the canning of sardines in bottles began in Europe in 1834, it was not until the Franco-Prussian War of the early 1870s cut off the supply to America, that the opportunity was provided to can sardines in America. In 1875 the commission house of Wolff and Reising, under the direction of Julius Wolff, began its first successful American sardine cannery in Eastport. At its greatest extent there were 22 sardine factories in Eastport at one time. The cans were soldered together in three pieces, a time consuming process. In 1903 machine-made and machine- sealed cans replaced the three-piece soldered cans.
http://www.qbyv.com/history_of_can.htm
http://www.port-louis.org/en/_fishing.html
http://www.worldandi.com/specialreport/2002/april/Sa22204.htm
http://www.stavanger.museum.no/Eng/Hermetikk/hermhist.htm
http://www.mtycounty.com/pgs-misc/cannery-row.html
http://www.kosherquest.org/html/Condiments%20&%20Cannd%
20Goods%202001.htm
http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/historic/nmfs/herr1.html
http://www.mainepreservation.com/dayswork/images/SARDINE1_000.jpg
http://www.mainepreservation.com/dayswork/images/Eastprt_000.gif
    1897-The Parent-teacher association ( national) was organized as the National Congress of Mothers in Washington DC, by Alice McLellan Birney and Phoebe Apperson Hearst at a meeting attended by 2,000 persons. At the annual meeting of March 9,1908, the name was changed to the National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher Associations. On May 9,1924, the name was changed to the National Congress of Parents and Teachers.
    1899-The first six-day bicycle race, featuring two-man teams, came to an end at New York's Madison Square Gardens. The race finished in a blizzard that was sweeping the entire Northeast and Southeast of the United states. The winning team of Charles Miller and Frank Waller rode a combined distance of 2,733 miles.
    1908-Walter Lanier “Red” Barber Birthday. One of the first broadcasters inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, "Red" Barber was born at Columbus, MS. Barber's first professional play-by-play experience was announcing the Cincinnati Reds opening day on radio in 1934. That game was also the first major league game he had ever seen. He broadcast baseball's first night game (in Brooklyn) on Aug 26, 1939, the game in which Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, and while a Yankee radio announcer he called Roger Maris's 61st home run in 1961. "Red" Barber died Oct 22, 1992, at
Tallahassee, FL.
    1908-Birthday of Flash Gordon, also known as Clarence Lindon “Buster” Crabbe, Olympic gold medal swimmer, bron at Oakland, CA. Crabbe's first-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle was the only swimming medal won by an American at the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. After his swimming career was over, he played Tarzan, flash Gordon and Buck Rogers in the movies. These appeared on early television, and I very well remember both Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. By the way, there were no residuals for any of the actors, writers, directors of any movies until 1960. Residuals for “made for TV” shows were limited to five payments until 1979 when it went to nine payments. There were other minor changes, but it was not until 2001 that expanded this. Buster Crabbe died at Scottsdale, AZ, 1983 and never received any residuals for his movies on TV.
    1913-The first Modern art exhibition of importance opened at the 69 th Regiment Armory in New York City. The controversial exhibition, organized chiefly by the American modernist painter Arthur Bowen Davies, scandalized the public with such avant-garde works as Marcel Duchamp's “Nude Descending a Spiral Staircase.” More than 250,000 visitors received their first look at paintings by Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Edward Hopper, Henri Matisse, John Marin, Charles Scheeler, and others.
    1923-Birthday of clarinet player Buddy DeFranco, born Bonifacio Ferdinando Leonardo Defranco ,Camden, NJ
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,421834,00.html?
artist=Buddy+De
http://www.npr.org/programs/jazzprofiles/archive/defranco.html
http://www.buddydefranco.com/
    1926-Lee Holby birthday, composer, concert pianist, born Madison, WI.
    1930 - Eureka, CA, reported an all-time record high of 85 degrees, a record which lasted until September of 1983.
    1936-James Nathaniel “Jim” Brown birthday. activist, actor, Pro Football Hall of Famer, born St. Simons Island, GA.
    1936 - The temperature at McIntosh SD plunged to 58 degrees below zero to establish a state record
    1938-Slim Gaillard and Slam Stewart cut “Flat Foot Gloogie.”
    1941- singer Gene Pitney was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He first gained fame as a songwriter, penning "Hello Mary Lou" for Rick Nelson and "He's a Rebel" for the Crystals. In 1961, Pitney went into the recording studio himself, playing and overdubbing every instrument and multitracking his vocals. The result was his first hit, "(I Wanna) Love My Life Away." Gene Pitney had more than 20 chart singles during the '60s, including "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance," "Only Love Can Break a Heart" and "It Hurts to Be in Love."
    1944 - The Japanese naval base at Truk, Caroline Islands, was bombed by Allied aircraft destroying 201 planes.
http://www.ecophotoexplorers.com/chuuk.asp
http://www.saipan1.com/phm/maps/truk/index.htm
http://www.mansell.com/pow_resources/camplists/other/truk.html
    1949 - Richard (Dick) Button beat his competitors in Paris, France, to hold onto the men's figure skating championship world title. Button is now a figure skating commentator at events around the world for American television, including Olympics competition.
    1949-Pianist George Shearing records “September in the Rain.”
    1952-Top Hits
Slowpoke - Pee Wee King
Cry - Johnnie Ray
Anytime - Eddie Fisher
Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses) - Lefty Frizzell
    1954 - In the United States, Doris Day's single, "Secret Love", became the #1 song. From the motion picture, "Calamity Jane", the song spent 3 weeks at the top of the music charts.
    1958 - The greatest snowstorm of the mid 20th century struck the northeastern U.S. The storm produced 30 inches of snow in interior New England, including more than 19 inches in 24 hours at the Boston Airport. The same storm produced up to three feet of snow in the Middle Atlantic Coast Region, with 14 inches at Washington D.C., and 15.5 inches at Baltimore MD. The storm resulted in 43 deaths and 500 million dollars damage over the Middle Atlantic Coast States
    1958 - Former star of the New York Giants football team, Frank Gifford, signed a seven-year film contract with Warner Brothers, which did not make him a movie star despite the studio's expectations. Gifford then went into broadcasting. His first job was as a sportscaster for New York's WCBS-TV, before he moved to WABC-TV in New York, then went to network television as the primary play-by-play announcer. Eventually Gifford became color commentator on ABC's "Monday Night Football". Frank married Kathie Lee Gifford of "Regis and Kathie Lee” and last hard he was involved in an affair that sold many tabloids.
    1960- Elvis Presley received his first gold album for "Elvis," which included such songs as "Rip It Up," "Old Shep" and "Ready Teddy."
    1960-Top Hits
Teen Angel - Mark Dinning
Handy Man - Jimmy Jones
The Theme from "A Summer Place" - Percy Faith
He'll Have to Go - Jim Reeves
    1962 - The Beach Boys first hit, "Surfin'" swept California. They had a national hit in the United States when "Surfin' Safari" hit the music charts in August of this same year.
    1962 - Gene Chandler took the #1 spot with "Duke of Earl" for a three week stay. The song also hit #1 on the rhythm & blues charts. Out of the 6 songs Chandler recorded, "Duke of Earl" was his biggest hit. His only million seller was 1970's "Groovy Situation". Curtis Mayfield wrote several hits for Chandler, such as: "Just Be True","What Now" and "Nothing Can Stop Me". Chandler's real name is Eugene Dixon. From 1969 to 1973, he owned his own record label, Mr. Chand, but his million seller was recorded for Mercury Records in 1970.
    1963-Michael Jeffrey Jordon birthday, former basketball player, former minor league baseball player, born Brooklyn.
    1965 - Comedienne Joan Rivers her first guest appearances on NBC-TV's "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson". Later she became Carson's permanent guest host until signing for a late-night show deal with FOX television. Johnny was not impressed and wouldn't allow her back on his show.
    1965- "The Tennessee Waltz" was declared Tennessee's state song. The tune provided hit records for Patti Page, Cowboy Copas and its composer, Pee Wee King. Page's recording featured one of the first uses of multitracking in which the singer appeared to sing harmony with herself.
    1966 - RCA Victor awarded Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler a gold record, for the album and the single of "The Ballad of the Green Berets". Sadler, recorded one other single, "The "A" Team", for the label. He served in Vietnam until a leg injury from a Viet Cong booby trap sent him home. In 1988, Sadler was shot in the head during an attempted robbery at his Guatemala home. He suffered brain damage and at 49 years old, died of heart failure in November, 1989 in Tennessee.
    1968-Top Hits
Love is Blue - Paul Mauriat
I Wish It Would Rain - The Temptations
(Theme From) Valley of the Dolls - Dionne Warwick
Skip a Rope - Henson Cargill
    1968 - In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opened.
    1969- Bob Dylan began recording at Columbia Studios in Nashville with Johnny Cash. Few of the tracks laid down were ever released officially, although a bootleg album "The Dylan- Cash Session" made its appearance.
    1971 - James Taylor made his prime time television debut on The Johnny Cash Show, singing Fire and Rain and Carolina On My Mind.
    1971-Elton John U.S. debut goes gold. His first U.K. LP, "Empty Sky" is not issued in the States until 1975, by which time John has become a rock star of the first magnitude. He arrived in the States under much publicity in the summer of '70 and was hailed by Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times as the first Superstar of the Seventies. "Elton John" hit #4
    1972- Pink Floyd premiered "Dark Side of the Moon" in concert at London's Rainbow Theatre. When the album of the same title was released a year later, it made Pink Floyd one of rock's biggest acts. "Dark Side of the Moon" sold more than four-million copies. In 1980, it became the longest-charting rock LP in Billboard's history at 303 weeks. It was still on the album charts eight years later.
    1972-Jonathan Edwards is awarded a gold record for "Sunshine," the lone hit for the Virginia folkie. He handles his brief fame in typical laid-back fashion. Instead of buying himself a fancy Porsche, he got himself a fancy truck
    1972-President Richard Nixon left the White House to visit Red China. He was the first president to visit a nation not recognized by the federal government. This was also the first trip to China, the world's most populous nation, by any American president. Accompanied by a small army of journalist, he arrived in Beijing on Fe4brtuary 21 for talks with Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai. Later that year, Nixon became the first president to visit the Soviet Union when he arrive in Moscow on May 22 for a summit with Soviet leaders. Among the agreements that were reached during the visit was the Strategic Arms Limitations Treaty, singed by President Nixon and the Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev on May 26, which limited both nations to 200 antiballistic missiles each, divided between two defensive systems.
    1976-Top Hits
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
Love to Love You Baby - Donna Summer
You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate
The White Knight - Cledus Maggard & the Citizen's Band
    1979-“A Prairie Home Companion” premieres on radio. This popular live variety show debuted locally on Minnesota Public Radio in 1974 and was first broadcast nationally on Feb 17, 1979 as part of National Public Radio's Folk Festival USA. It became a regular Saturday night program in early 1980. Host Garrison Keillor's monologues about the mythical Lake Wobegon and his humorous ads for local businesses such as Bertha's Kitty Boutique, Powdermilk Biscuits and the Chatterbox Cafe were accompanied by various musical groups. Broadcast from the World Theater in St. Paul, MN, the show went off the air in 1986. A series of programs were done for cable TV, and Keillor continues to write works of fiction (Lake Wobegon Days). In 1994, "A Prairie Home Companion" went back on the air on Public Radio International.
    1976- the Eagles "Their Greatest Hits" album was released. It would eventually sell more than 22 million copies in the US, second only to Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
    1975-John Lennon releases "Rock n' Roll," his final record before a self-imposed five year exile from the music business. It reaches #6 on the chart and doesn't stay for long, falling fast.
    1976-Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatrical society gives its annual "Women of the Year" award to Bette Midler. Upon accepting, she comments: "This award characterizes what the American male wants in a woman--brains, talents and gorgeous tits." Saw her recently at the San Jose Compaq Arena,
“Kiss My Brass,” and she was better than ever, more topical than ever, and just plain terrific.
    1983- Linda Ronstadt, Nicolette Larson, Chaka Khan, Dave Mason and Helen Reddy were the hosts of a skating party in Los Angeles to raise campaign funds for California Governor Jerry Brown's presidential campaign. He then began to date Linda Ronstadt, and it is said their trip un-married to Africa together was the down fall of his candidacy for President.
    1984-Top Hits
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Joanna - Kool & The Gang
Jump - Van Halen
That's the Way Love Goes - Merle Haggard
    1989-Chicago Flag Display Controversy. An exhibit at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, titled What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag?, consisted of a ledger for viewers to write their impressions but required the viewers to stand on a US flag mounted on the floor to reach the ledger. The exhibit by art student Scott Tyler prompted protests from veterans' groups, a failed lawsuit and an introduction of legislation by Senator Bob Dole to make displaying a US flag on the floor or ground a crime. Although that legislation didn't pass, Congress continues to introduce legislation against flag desecration, most recently in 1999.
    1989-Top Hits
Straight Up- Paula Abdul
Lost In Your Eyes- Debbie Gibson
Wild Thing- Tone-Loc 2
The Lover In Me- Sheena Easton
    1990-Aerosmith appears on Saturday Night Live where they perform a version of the Wayne's World theme song during a skit in which they appeared as themselves.
    1990-- The biggest winter storm of the season hit the Pacific Coast Region. In northern California, snow fell along the coast, and two day totals in the mountains ranged up to 67 inches at Echo Summit. Snowfall totals in the mountains of southern California ranged up to 48 inches at Green Valley, with 46 inches reported at Big Bear. Up to two feet of snow blanketed the southern Cascade Mountains of Oregon, and 20 to 35 inches were reported in the northern Cascades of Oregon. Up to ten inches of snow blanketed Seattle WA.
    1990 - "Opposites Attract", by Paula Abdul with The Wild Pair, was #1 in the U.S. for the second of three weeks. On the Country chart, "On Second Thought", by Eddie Rabbitt, was #1 for the first of two weeks.
    1994-Top Hits
The Power Of Love- Celine Dion
All For Love- Bryan Adams/Rod Stewart/Sting
The Sign-Ace Of Base
Breathe Again- Toni Braxton
    1996 - "One Sweet Day", by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, was number one for the 12th of 16 weeks. Now that's what we call a smash! "Bigger Than The Beatles", by Joe Diffie was beginning a 2-week run at #1 on the Country music chart.
    1998-The US won the first Olympic gold medal ever awarded in women's hockey, defeating Canada in the final, 3-1, in the Nagano Winter Olympics. The American team was led by captain Cammi Granto and goalie Sarah Tueting.
    1999-Top Hits
Angel Of Mine- Monica
...Baby One More Time- Britney Spears
Believe- Cher
Heartbreak Hotel- Whitney Houston Feat. Faith Evans
    2000 - Windows 2000 Professional Edition was released. Windows 2000 was an “the next generation NT operating system” that Microsoft said took four years and cost over $1 billion to develop.

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Winter Poem

President George Washington

14 September 1789
Boston Gazette

An Acrostic--

G REAT Hero! whose illustrious actions claim
E ternal blessings and an endless fame--
O f every virtue and each gift possess
R eligion reigns triumphant in his breast.
G rant him, almighty God! thy aid and health
E ver to rule these states and guard their wealth.

W hat power of Language can enough extoll
A Son of Liberty and friend to all--
S aviour and patron of Columbia!
H er sons revere thee and exult this day--
I n thee, their Favourite and firm support--
N ations applaud thee and thy friendship court.
G enerous deliverer of thy Country's right!
T hou hast prov'd victor over lawless might.
O f all the Conquerors in the historic page,
N one have surpass'd this Phœnix of the age.

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