#Mervin Williams

[its-all-down-hill]

[hoursofreading]

The mission of the dog—I say it with all reverence—is the same as the mission of Christianity, namely, to teach mankind that the universe is ruled by love. Ownership of a dog tends to soften the hard hearts of men. There are two great mysteries about the lower animals: one, the suffering which they have to endure at the hands of the man; the other, the wealth of affection which they possess, and which for the most part is unexpended. All animals have this capacity for loving other creatures, man included.

William Mervin

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 5.11

Holidays

Aso ote Tala Lei (Gospel Day; Tuvalu)

Azores Day

Blow Bubbles For Your Cat Day

Bob Marley Day (Jamaica)

Day of the Military Police of the National Armed Forces (Indonesia)

Feynman Day

Human Rights Day (Vietnam)

International Strange Music Festival

Joan of Arc Day (Orleans, France)

Lokadagur (Iceland)

The Long and Winding Road Day

Mata Tirtha Aunsi (Mother’s Day; Nepal)

Miskolc Day (Hungary)

Mixed Race Irish Day

Moose Hide Campaign Day (Canada)

National Deer Association Giving Day

National Foam Rolling Day

National Girls Learning Code Day

National Hairy Nosed Wombat Day (Australia)

National Wear Red Pants Dy

National Technology Day (India)

Richard Feynman Day

Sex Difference in Health Awareness Day

Somerset Day (UK)

Tubeless Tire Day

Twilight Zone Day

Victoria Sponge Day

Witching Day (Isle of Man)

World Ego Awareness Day

World Keffiyeh Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chocolate Ball Day

Eat What You Want Day

Eat Without Guilt Day

Hostess Cupcake Day

National Mocha Torte Day

2nd Thursday in May

Dress in Purple Day (Texas) [2nd Thursday]

Keller Williams RED Day [2nd Thursday]

Lanimer Day (fka Landimere’s Day; Lanarkshire & Aberdeen, UK) [1st Thursday after 6th]

One Day Without Shoes [2nd Thursday]

Independence Days

Imvrassia (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]

Minnesota Statehood Day (#32; 1858)

Feast Days

Anthimus of Rome (Christian; Saint)

Gangulphus of Burgundy (a.k.a. Gengulf; Christian; Saint)

Ice Saints (Europe)

Majolus of Cluny (a.k.a. Maieul; Christian; Saint)

Mamertus, the first of the Ice Saints (Christian; Saint)

Ma Zu (Goddess of the Sea’s Birthday; Buddhism, Taoism)

Nimnim (Muppetism)

Nisga'a Day (Nisga'a Nation/British Columbia)

Paulus Aemilius (Positivist; Saint)

Radunitsa (Ancestors’ Veneration Day; Belarus, Russian Christians, Thomas Sunday Slavs)

Salvador Dali Day (Artology; Church of the SubGenius; Pastafarian; Saint)

Syn’s Blot (Pagan)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lemuria (Day 2 of 3; Ancient Rome) [Unlucky to Marry.]

Prime Number Day: 131 [32 of 72]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Ahab the Arab, by Ray Stevens (Novelty Song; 1962)

Cats (UK Musical Play; 1981)

Cooked, by Michael Pollan (Book; 2013)

Dark Shadows (Film; 2012)

Firestarter (Film; 1984)

Fox-Terror (WB MM Cartoon; 1957)

Higher Ground, recorded by Stevie Wonder (Song; 1973)

A Knight’s Tale (Film; 2001)

MacArthur Park, by Richard Harris (Song; 1968)

The Natural (Film; 1984)

Penny Dreadful (TV Series; 2014)

Road Trip (Film; 2000)

Sniffles Takes a Trip (WB MM Cartoon; 1940)

Tales of Brave Ulysses, recorded by Cream (Song; 1967)

Turn Coat, by Jim Butcher (Novel; 2009)

Water Babies (Disney Cartoon; 1935)

Woodstock (Soundtrack Album; 1970)

Woolen Under Where (WB MM Cartoon; 1963)

Today’s Name Days

Gangolf, Joachim, Mamertus (Austria)

Kiril, Kirila, Metodi (Bulgaria)

Franjo, Mamerto (Croatia)

Svatava (Czech Republic)

Mamertus (Denmark)

Leevo, Liivar, Liivo (Estonia)

Osmo (Finland)

Estelle, Mayeul (France)

Joachim, Mamertus (Germany)

Argyris, Armodios, Dioskouridis, Methodios, Olympia (Greece)

Ferenc (Hungary)

Achille, Fabio, Fiorenzo, Marziale, Stella (Italy)

Karmena, Manfreds, Milda (Latvia)

Mamertas, Miglė, Pilypas, Skirgaudas (Lithuania)

Magda, Malvin (Norway)

Adalbert, Benedykt, Filip, Franciszek, Iga, Ignacja, Ignacy, Lew, Lutogniew, Mamert, Mira, Żegota (Poland)

Chiril, Metodie, Mochie (România)

Blažena (Slovakia)

Fabio, Francisco (Spain)

Märit, Märta (Sweden)

Asa, Ervin, Erwin, Irvin, Irving, Irwing, Marlo, Marlon, Marlow, Marvin, Merle, Merlin, Mervin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 131 of 2024; 234 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of week 19 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 26 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Bing-Chen), Day 22 (Ji-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 20 Iyar 5783

Islamic: 20 Shawwal 1444

J Cal: 10 Bīja; Threesday [10 of 30]

Julian: 28 April 2023

Moon: 59%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 19 Caesar (5th Month) [Paulus Aemilius]

Runic Half Month: Ing (Expansive Energy) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 53 of 90)

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 22 of 30)

[byneddiedingo]

Striking miners in Salt of the Earth (Herbert J. Biberman, 1954)

Cast: Will Geer, David Bauer, David Sarvis, Mervin Williams, Rosaura Revueltas, E.A. Rockwell, William Rockwell, Juan Chacón, Henrietta Williams. Screenplay: Michael Wilson. Cinematography: Stanley Meredith, Leonard Stark. Film editing: Joan Laird, Ed Spiegel. Music: Sol Kaplan. Although it holds one's interest and is a largely successful American attempt to imitate the neo-realism of postwar Italian directors like Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica, Salt of the Earth is not, I think, a great movie. The acting is amateurish -- necessarily so, because most of the actors are in fact amateurs -- and the plotting is tendentious, with "bad guys" who are given no depth of characterization. But I think it is, perhaps more now than ever, an essential movie. It tells the story of a miners' strike in New Mexico that's based on an actual 1951 strike by the workers of the Empire Zinc Company. The point of view is mostly that of a Mexican-American married couple, the miner Ramon Quintero (Juan Chacón) and his wife, Esperanza (Rosaura Revueltas). When the miners go on strike for better working conditions, especially to put Latino workers on a par with the Anglos, the company invokes the Taft-Hartley Act, enjoining the striking workers from picketing. But the miners' wives take up the cause, in part because they want to improve the standards of the company-owned housing they live in. The film develops a tension not only between workers and management but also between Juan, who clings to a traditional machismo, and Esperanza, who is pregnant but insists on joining the other women on the picket line, where they are subjected to harassment and threats of violence, and are briefly thrown in jail. The story has a happy ending, with the miners and their wives triumphing, but the film itself was denounced as communist propaganda, and its director, Herbert J. Biberman, was one of the Hollywood Ten who were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Biberman went to jail for six months. The film's screenwriter, Michael Wilson, was blacklisted, though he continued to work on films sub rosa: His work on the screenplay for The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957) won an Oscar, though only Pierre Boulle, who neither spoke nor wrote English, was credited. In 1984, the Academy posthumously restored Wilson's credit on the film and his Oscar, as it later also restored his credits on the Oscar-nominated screenplays for Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) and Friendly Persuasion (William Wyler, 1956). Salt of the Earth itself got a kind of belated recognition in 1992 when the Library of Congress chose it for inclusion in the National Film Registry. And the story of the treatment of its filmmakers could serve as an object lesson in an era when resurgent racism and anti-feminism threaten to turn the clock back to the era in which the film was made.

[wahwealth]

⛏️Rosaura Revueltas, Juan Chacon | Salt Of The Earth (1953) | Full Movie...

Salt of the Earth is a 1954 US drama movie written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico.  The film was called 'subversive' and blacklisted because the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers sponsored it and many blacklisted Hollywood professionals helped produce it.  The producers cast only five professional actors. The rest were locals from Grant County, New Mexico, or members of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 890, many of whom were part of the strike that inspired the plot.  At the time that  the movie was released it was not well received, The film is superb, however, and gets 100% from Rotten Tomatoes. Cast Professional actors Rosaura Revueltas as Esperanza Quintero Will Geer as Sheriff David Bauer as Barton (as David Wolfe) Mervin Williams as Hartwell David Sarvis as Alexander Never miss a video. Join the channel so that Mr. P can notify you when new videos are uploaded: https://www.youtube.com/@nrpsmovieclassics

[wutbju]

Labutius Selina (Straw) Mathews, 93, of Saint Cloud, FL passed away Sunday, May 7, 2023 at the home of her daughter and son-in-law who she had lived with the last 14 years. She was born June 14, 1929 in Towanda, PA to her late parents, George Muller Straw and Helen Lorraine Witherite Straw.

Labutius, was nicknamed “Boots”, after an old comic strip named “Boots and her Buddies”. Boots graduated from Clearfield High School, in Clearfield, PA. Labutius then attended Bob Jones University graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Religion. There she met her husband, William Philo Mathews. They married August 19, 1950 and enjoyed 50 wonderful years together until his death of cancer in 2001. She is survived by her children, Elisabeth Jane Daley (Mark) and William George Mathews (div. Carol) and one brother Perry Clark Straw of Oregon, IL. She was preceded in death by her brother Mervin LeVoy Straw and his wife Margrit, brother Philip George Straw, sister-in-law Lorraine Straw, and niece Naomi Dhuse. She leaves her beloved grandchildren: Janelle Holloway (Joseph), Stephen Daley (Mandy), Holly Groce (Michael), Timothy Daley (Laura), Pam Gregory (Michael), Susan Spafford (David), and Erika Christofolo (Ed). She also leaves her great grandchildren: Josiah, Aliyah, Chasen, Trevor, Andrick, Caleb, and Joanna Holloway; Anna and Jackson Buzzard; Benjamin and Nathaniel Daley; Forest Groce; and Zyla Daley; Natasha, Michael, Caleb, and Joshua Gregory; Annika, Jalyn, and Turner Spafford; and Natalie and Nathan Christofolo as well as nieces Barbara Jean Mathews, and Betsy Mathews and nephews John Mathews and Perry Straw.

Labutius (Boots) accepted the Lord as her Savior during her Uncle Rev. Walter Young’s presentation of the Gospel using a replica of the Jewish tabernacle. She came from generations of Christians with her father being a Baptist minister. She grew up in Pennsylvania and New York state. After marriage, they settled in Roxbury, CT where her husband was from. She loved music and wrote songs. She taught music to all 8 grades at Booth Free School in Roxbury and taught piano for many years. Then she became a 2nd or 3rd grade school teacher. Boots kept her class in order, created an enjoyable learning environment, and loved all her students. Former students have shared the impact she had on their lives. She taught in Washington and New Preston elementary schools and was a teaching-principal. Boots earned a Masters of Science Degree in Education from Western Connecticut State College. Boots and Bill moved to Wethersfield, CT where she taught in Berlin elementary schools. She was involved in Connecticut Education Association and NEA and was on the CEA Board of Directors. She played Lady Thiang in the Berlin Teacher’s Association performance of the King and I.

Labutius (Boots) and her husband Bill (Philo) were very involved in every church they attended, including Christ Church in Roxbury, CT, Danbury Baptist Church in CT, Wethersfield Evangelical Free Church in CT, and Berea Baptist Church in Palm Harbor, FL. She taught Sunday School and earned Evangelical Teacher Training Association credentials that allowed her to teach ETTA certified classes to other Sunday School teachers. She was a Sunday School Superintendent and Christian Education Director. She served as Pioneer Girls Chairman, New Education Building Bond Drive co-chairman, choir director, pianist, Women’s Missionary Society officer, youth leader, soloist, and choir member. They also were involved in Gideons.

Boots was involved in the communities they lived in. She was a Girl Scouts leader, in Garden Club, organized Junior Garden Club, and served on the Board of Education in Roxbury. When they retired to Palm Harbor, FL she was involved in Red Hats, Purple Ladies and with the Blue Jay Estates community. Boots sold Tupperware, Sarah Coventry Jewelry, Amway, and Successful Living Books. Bill and Boots hosted and entertained many people in their home, especially missionaries and housed young people from time to time. During retirement they travelled by RV to 49 states (48 states were visited 3 times) including a special trip to Alaska. They also vacationed in Hawaii making it all 50 states visited. They loved to travel and especially liked Bryce Canyon and the Grand Tetons. They also visited many islands and some European countries.

Boots was a friend to everyone. She showed unconditional love and total acceptance of others. She had the gift of encouragement and was loved by everyone who knew her. She loved to study the Bible and sing hymns. Boots looked forward to seeing Jesus face-to-face. She will be greatly missed.

The family appreciates the care by Kindred/Gentiva Hospice for Boots in her last months and by Osceola Memory Gardens for her body before sending her to CT.

The family will receive guests Monday, May 29th from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Rose Hill Funeral Home, 580 Elm St., Rocky Hill, CT. A graveside service, open to the public, will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 30th at Center Cemetery, 34 North St, Roxbury, CT.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Gideons International, Jesus Project a part of Cru, or The Voice of the Martyrs.

[brookston]

Holidays 5.11

Holidays

Aso ote Tala Lei (Gospel Day; Tuvalu)

Azores Day

Blow Bubbles For Your Cat Day

Bob Marley Day (Jamaica)

Day of the Military Police of the National Armed Forces (Indonesia)

Feynman Day

Human Rights Day (Vietnam)

International Strange Music Festival

Joan of Arc Day (Orleans, France)

Lokadagur (Iceland)

The Long and Winding Road Day

Mata Tirtha Aunsi (Mother’s Day; Nepal)

Miskolc Day (Hungary)

Mixed Race Irish Day

Moose Hide Campaign Day (Canada)

National Deer Association Giving Day

National Foam Rolling Day

National Girls Learning Code Day

National Hairy Nosed Wombat Day (Australia)

National Wear Red Pants Dy

National Technology Day (India)

Richard Feynman Day

Sex Difference in Health Awareness Day

Somerset Day (UK)

Tubeless Tire Day

Twilight Zone Day

Victoria Sponge Day

Witching Day (Isle of Man)

World Ego Awareness Day

World Keffiyeh Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Chocolate Ball Day

Eat What You Want Day

Eat Without Guilt Day

Hostess Cupcake Day

National Mocha Torte Day

2nd Thursday in May

Dress in Purple Day (Texas) [2nd Thursday]

Keller Williams RED Day [2nd Thursday]

Lanimer Day (fka Landimere’s Day; Lanarkshire & Aberdeen, UK) [1st Thursday after 6th]

One Day Without Shoes [2nd Thursday]

Independence Days

Imvrassia (Declared; 2011) [unrecognized]

Minnesota Statehood Day (#32; 1858)

Feast Days

Anthimus of Rome (Christian; Saint)

Gangulphus of Burgundy (a.k.a. Gengulf; Christian; Saint)

Ice Saints (Europe)

Majolus of Cluny (a.k.a. Maieul; Christian; Saint)

Mamertus, the first of the Ice Saints (Christian; Saint)

Ma Zu (Goddess of the Sea’s Birthday; Buddhism, Taoism)

Nimnim (Muppetism)

Nisga'a Day (Nisga'a Nation/British Columbia)

Paulus Aemilius (Positivist; Saint)

Radunitsa (Ancestors’ Veneration Day; Belarus, Russian Christians, Thomas Sunday Slavs)

Salvador Dali Day (Artology; Church of the SubGenius; Pastafarian; Saint)

Syn’s Blot (Pagan)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Lemuria (Day 2 of 3; Ancient Rome) [Unlucky to Marry.]

Prime Number Day: 131 [32 of 72]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Ahab the Arab, by Ray Stevens (Novelty Song; 1962)

Cats (UK Musical Play; 1981)

Cooked, by Michael Pollan (Book; 2013)

Dark Shadows (Film; 2012)

Firestarter (Film; 1984)

Fox-Terror (WB MM Cartoon; 1957)

Higher Ground, recorded by Stevie Wonder (Song; 1973)

A Knight’s Tale (Film; 2001)

MacArthur Park, by Richard Harris (Song; 1968)

The Natural (Film; 1984)

Penny Dreadful (TV Series; 2014)

Road Trip (Film; 2000)

Sniffles Takes a Trip (WB MM Cartoon; 1940)

Tales of Brave Ulysses, recorded by Cream (Song; 1967)

Turn Coat, by Jim Butcher (Novel; 2009)

Water Babies (Disney Cartoon; 1935)

Woodstock (Soundtrack Album; 1970)

Woolen Under Where (WB MM Cartoon; 1963)

Today’s Name Days

Gangolf, Joachim, Mamertus (Austria)

Kiril, Kirila, Metodi (Bulgaria)

Franjo, Mamerto (Croatia)

Svatava (Czech Republic)

Mamertus (Denmark)

Leevo, Liivar, Liivo (Estonia)

Osmo (Finland)

Estelle, Mayeul (France)

Joachim, Mamertus (Germany)

Argyris, Armodios, Dioskouridis, Methodios, Olympia (Greece)

Ferenc (Hungary)

Achille, Fabio, Fiorenzo, Marziale, Stella (Italy)

Karmena, Manfreds, Milda (Latvia)

Mamertas, Miglė, Pilypas, Skirgaudas (Lithuania)

Magda, Malvin (Norway)

Adalbert, Benedykt, Filip, Franciszek, Iga, Ignacja, Ignacy, Lew, Lutogniew, Mamert, Mira, Żegota (Poland)

Chiril, Metodie, Mochie (România)

Blažena (Slovakia)

Fabio, Francisco (Spain)

Märit, Märta (Sweden)

Asa, Ervin, Erwin, Irvin, Irving, Irwing, Marlo, Marlon, Marlow, Marvin, Merle, Merlin, Mervin (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 131 of 2024; 234 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 4 of week 19 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 26 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Bing-Chen), Day 22 (Ji-Si)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 20 Iyar 5783

Islamic: 20 Shawwal 1444

J Cal: 10 Bīja; Threesday [10 of 30]

Julian: 28 April 2023

Moon: 59%: Waxing Gibbous

Positivist: 19 Caesar (5th Month) [Paulus Aemilius]

Runic Half Month: Ing (Expansive Energy) [Day 2 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 53 of 90)

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 22 of 30)

[fuip421]

du kannst die Halbinsel bräunen gehen von Mexiko rennen wald rennen wald rennen Kraft für die Grenze du kannst sie bauen siDr alban. Cm average 881 Ted Williams marsupial acrylics oil-based watercolor painting detroit jorge sanz Bridgette neilson rating on Nintendo 64 thousand dollar pyramid for Joseph bahl offspring beverage page 178 Santa Cruz waves of sorror , shell nitro Taurus USA ugly stupid asshole USAF her nameplate ranking Fresno economy is fashion Taurus cotton Arizona McCain John McCain senator vietnam 존 윌리엄 래퍼티 1927년생Theme 1edit redefine visit vision gator alpha Gatorfunnelling ceiling ciderhouse Daryl jamie einstein and the degree astraul brotherhood of teamsters adjacent page topps and Sega polaroid Texas instrument Kodak tiktok truck and Texas instrument polaroid freeze tundra tip casualty 26+2112#3300/1990+0005+5000*4416¢ππ=×¢π⟩∆∆¶=π¥[π¥u.giants. Daryl jamie Fresno.usaf..84 gi joe fbi gamma grammDr alban. Cm average 881 Ted Williams marsupial acrylics oil-based watercolor painting detroit jorge sanz Bridgette neilson rating on Nintendo 64 thousand dollar pyramid for Joseph bahl offspring beverage page 178 Santa Cruz waves of sorror , shell nitro Taurus USA ugly stupid asshole USAF her nameplate ranking Fresno economy is fashion Taurus cotton Arizona McCain John McCain senator vietnam 존 윌리엄 래퍼티 1927년생Theme 1edit redefine visit vision gator alpha Gatorfunnelling ceiling ciderhouse Daryl jamie einstein and the degree astraul brotherhood of teamsters adjacent page topps and Sega polaroid Texas instrument Kodak tiktok truck and Texas instrument polaroid freeze tundra tip casualty 26+2112#3300/1990+0005+5000*4416¢ππ=×¢π⟩∆∆¶=π¥[π¥u.giants. Daryl du kannst die Halbinsel bräunen gehen von Mexiko rennen wald rennen wald rennen Kraft für die Grenze du kannst sie bauen siDr alban. Cm average 881 Ted Williams marsupial acrylics oil-based watercolor painting detroit jorge sanz Bridgette neilson rating on Nintendo 64 thousand dollar pyramid for Joseph bahl offspring beverage page 178 Santa Cruz waves of sorror , shell nitro Taurus USA ugly stupid asshole USAF her nameplate ranking Fresno economy is fashion Taurus cotton Arizona McCain John McCain senator vietnam 존 윌리엄 래퍼티 1927년생Theme 1edit redefine visit vision gator alpha Gatorfunnelling ceiling ciderhouse Daryl jamie einstein and the degree astraul brotherhood of teamsters adjacent page topps and Sega polaroid Texas instrument Kodak tiktok truck and Texas instrument polaroid freeze tundra tip casualty 26+2112#3300/1990+0005+5000*4416¢ππ=×¢π⟩∆∆¶=π¥[π¥u.giants. Daryl jamie Fresno.usaf..84 gi joe fbi gamma grammDr alban. Cm average 881 Ted Williams marsupial acrylics oil-based watercolor painting detroit jorge sanz Bridgette neilson rating on Nintendo 64 thousand dollar pyramid for Joseph bahl offspring beverage page 178 Santa Cruz waves of sorror , shell nitro Taurus USA ugly stupid asshole USAF her nameplate ranking Fresno economy is fashion Taurus cotton Arizona McCain John McCain senator vietnam 존 윌리엄 래퍼티 1927년생Theme 1edit redefine visit vision gator alpha Gatorfunnelling ceiling ciderhouse Daryl jamie einstein and the degree astraul brotherhood of teamsters adjacent page topps and Sega polaroid Texas instrument Kodak tiktok truck and Texas instrument polaroid freeze tundra tip casualty 26+2112#3300/1990+0005+5000*4416¢ππ=×¢π⟩∆∆¶=π¥[π¥u.giants. Daryl jamie Fresno.usaf..84 gi joe fbi gamma grammar ar e werden crom kommen alles was ich hatte war wie ein Haufen Kekse und Semmelbrösel Taco Bell rohe Taco Bell jamie Fresno.usaf..84 gi joe fbi gamma grammar ar e werden crom kommen alles was ich hatte war wie ein Haufen Kekse und Semmelbrösel Taco Bell rohe Taco Bell مرصد Kmart kerplunk Mervin Griffin 1987 1988 مخصص مزدوج لخادم Shasta Super Nintendo Entertainment System 2 مقابل 5725 دولارًا أن 24 7255 لنحصل على Kiefer Sutherland ونحصل على Donald Dump في dad vib

[wildwardance]

no thoughts, only maid springtrap

[dweemeister]

Salt of the Earth (1954)

The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) played an important hand in Hollywood history by finding ten directors and writers in contempt for refusing to testify before the committee. Three of those ten figures – director Herbert J. Biberman, producer Paul Jarrico, and writer Michael Wilson – worked on an independent film entitled Salt of the Earth, a story of a largely Mexican-American mining community in New Mexico that strikes against the corporation virtually all the men work for, demanding more humane working conditions like their fellow white co-workers enjoy. As one might imagine, Salt of the Earth was troubled with difficulties even in pre-production and, as if all of those obstacles were not already enough (more on those later in this piece), this is the only film that has ever been blacklisted. Major American movie theater chains, spooked by any potential governmental sanctions, refused to show the film upon initial release. A limited run in thirteen North American theaters followed.

Salt of the Earth’s low-budget limitations are apparent: the acting is awkward, the editing subpar. What is remarkable about this film is that its principal creators – Biberman, Jarrico, and Wilson – could have easily made this film as a metaphor for how they were treated. Many films written by blacklisted screenwriters (Dalton Trumbo comes to mind) attempt to insert the stories of their blacklisting into the narrative, forming intentional parables of their struggles into the screenplays. That is not the case in Salt of the Earth, which was based on the 1951 Empire Zinc strike. As one always finds in narrative movies on labor movements, there are conflicts between the laborers and executives. Here, there are also racial dynamics from the onset. So too are commentaries on machismo culture prevalent in Mexican-American (across Latin America, really) communities, and how intersectionality and feminism strengthen the miners’ strike.

Esperanza Quintero (Rosaura Revueltas) is pregnant with her third child and married to Ramon (Juan Chacón). Their marriage could be better, as Ramon is intimidating and emotionally dominant and they live in a basic house owned by the local mining company. Ramon works in the nearby mine and, after a preventable workplace accident, he – with the backing of almost all his fellow Latino union members – votes to strike for equal working conditions with their white counterparts. The corporation refuses to negotiate; the miners’ strike becomes a cause célèbre of labor organizations, civil rights groups, and concerned citizens from across the country. Eventually the company wins a Taft-Hartley injunction from the federal government – meaning that if any of the strikers persist, they will be arrested. But at the next union meeting, the miners’ wives and other women of the community note the existence of a loophole and volunteer themselves to strike on behalf of the miners. It is Esperanza, without any political voice until now, who is among those who speaks up. Don’t demean yourselves like this, say some of the men. Women should not be involved in political affairs, some add.

In that crucial scene, the chairman of the labor union – sensing an opportunity to prolong the strike and showing the company (and the nation) a united front – adjourns the union meeting and calls for an impromptu community meeting. The women are almost unanimous in their opinions and are joined by enough men to outnumber those disapproving of this proposal. This is the most moving scene in Salt of the Earth – already weakened by far too much exposition and narration from Esperanza rather than letting the actions and images command the story. These Latina women, perhaps too scared to be expressly political in their own homes let alone in public, remind the men (and the audience) that they suffer from the company’s unfair practices as well. The strike, which has gone on for months, is making it difficult to feed families and buy necessities. Salt of the Earth, in scenes where Esperanza and Ramon are fighting amongst each other about the aims and duration of the strike, captures the tension that one infers is playing out in homes throughout the area. Sixty years after Biberman’s film was first released, the idea of women participating in any form of civic engagement no longer feels radical. But for when Salt of the Earth was released, how astonishing it must have been to see the sight of Latina women – joined by women of other races looking to show solidarity – taking it upon themselves to organize, mobilize, and vocalize.

That acknowledgement of feminism and the power of intersectional politics in a social protest movement is Salt of the Earth’s greatest strength. While struggling to find a place for her political voice, Esperanza also struggles to find a place at home – where the company owns the house, the furnishings, and probably the utilities as well. Her understanding of the world – along with her lady friends – is limited to what they talk to each other about, as well as what they overhear on the radio all day. The women, together, free themselves from the confines of their homes, their unbalanced familial commitments, their small worlds where mobility and progress are just abstract talking points.  Even now, it seems that Hollywood is awaiting a film inspired by the political resolve of the non-white women found in Salt of the Earth. There really is no excuse anymore because the film – now in the public domain because its copyright was not renewed in 1982 and part of the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry (class of 1992) – is freely available. And no, 2000′s One of the Hollywood Ten (a narrative movie about Herbert Biberman’s attempts to make Salt of the Earth; Biberman is played Jeff Goldblum) does not count.

It is almost documentary-like at times (the mediocre cinematography and, as mentioned before, its rough editing and poor acting outside of Revueltas lets that down), certainly taking a page from the Italian neorealists. Like Italian neorealism, Salt of the Earth employs many non-professional actors (including Chacón, who was the real-life union’s local president) as extras or bit players – some of whom participated in the Empire Zinc strike. Only five professional actors starred in the film: Revueltas (who primarily worked in Mexican cinema; 1952′s Soledad’s Shawl and 1953′s Sombrero), Will Geer (1950′s Winchester ‘73 and the grandfather from The Waltons) as the sheriff, David Wolfe (1949′s Bagdad), Mervin Williams (an extra in various films, including 1948′s The Naked City), and David Sarvis.

Salt of the Earth’s socialist themes, unlike its feminism, interferes with the film. Where the latter never strays into patronizing pontification, the former does. The lack of nuance to how the strikers are approaching the company and vice versa from class- and employee-employer dynamics does well to preach to the converted, but little else (films adopting politics I sympathize with are well and good, but I admit to having little patience for agitprop, which tends to demonize political opponents and which this film comes close to becoming).

Financing for the film was provided the International Union of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers, which had been removed from the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in 1950 due to suspected communist leanings. With money limited and even violent reprisals against cast and crew from residents of the New Mexico towns where the film was being shot, Salt of the Earth’s production story is the stuff of anxiety attacks and nightmares. Film processing laboratories – largely owned by the major studios – refused to work on the film’s post-production. Thus, the exposed footage was sent to labs under a different name – Vaya Con Dios (“Go with God”) – in order to be completed. Salt of the Earth was also the only American film to open in the People’s Republic of China between 1950 and 1979.

Rosaura Revueltas, after the film’s release, was accused of being a communist. She was later detained and deported by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), never to work again in American cinema. It took longer than it should for American cinephiles and the federal government to accept Salt of the Earth for what it is and what, in this movie, Revueltas represented. As Esperanza (“Hope”, for all non-Spanish speakers), she is at first overcome with fear of reprisals from the white executives and her husband. Through her friends and within herself, she finds the strength to take action, to express her political voice.

My rating: 7/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

NOTE: Salt of the Earth can be viewed here (it is in the public domain).

[wwwrecktagle]

wrecktangle music artist real name list

IRA GABRIEL ALDO MYLES LEROY OMER DEANDRE RICK ELBERT AMADO DOUG CHRISTIAN NATHANIAL GALEN JEFFREY JUAN HAYDEN RUDOLPH STERLING DERICK TIMOTHY REED PEDRO MOHAMMED JORDAN LANNY WELDON CHARLEY THEODORE LEN ELMO MATTHEW BRANDEN KRISTOFER BART JUSTIN JULIO JARVIS RAFAEL QUINN RAYMUNDO SHAYNE RAYMON GINO ISIAH SAMMY MARTIN CHRIS ERNEST LUKE RUPERT LES HERSHEL GALE MARIA CECIL WILL LUCIO DONTE DON ZACHARY MAURO DONNY DILLON SHELTON ABRAHAM EMILE LYNDON STEPHEN RASHAD MICHAEL JONAS DENNIS JEROMY DUSTY QUINTIN OLEN HOYT SAMMIE ARIEL MAURICE DONALD WYATT ANDERSON KELLEY ROCCO MARVIN REYNALDO VERNON RENE ALONZO WRECKTANGLE SALVADOR DINO KURT LEONARDO HORACE JAY HASSAN REYES JEFFRY LUTHER ROB HAROLD EMERY DONNIE GREG WES TED DUSTIN DWAYNE BRANDON CLAY PETER MARCELO GARY JERRELL MARCELINO RODRIGO CHAS ART RON HANK NIGEL JED ABE STANFORD DALTON MCKINLEY RAPHAEL MARGARITO ISREAL LEIF HOSEA LEONEL ANTONIA GARFIELD HOBERT TONY NOEL ARNULFO AMOS DARNELL ROYAL JERALD ALAN WILEY MICHEL JAE PALMER WILMER CRAIG ED ODELL DEXTER PRESTON GASTON HARLAND VICENTE ANDY DORSEY ANTWAN PARIS KIRK CYRUS ROBT JEFFERY CORNELL ALEJANDRO EVERETT TANNER SYDNEY RORY DANTE CARSON LIONEL WILLIE ALI SILAS BERNARDO DEREK GRAHAM MARK HUGO TUAN WILLIS RODNEY BRYANT PRINCE LOREN DIEGO MICKEY DARIUS LYLE CURTIS TOBIAS EDDY DEVIN LOGAN CARLTON ROOSEVELT ISAIAS MATHEW GUSTAVO NOLAN DYLAN MARLIN EMANUEL SHAWN ALFRED JOHNATHAN NORMAN CHUNG TONEY LOWELL ANTIONE HARRY LINDSEY LUCAS TOM CHADWICK ARDEN RAYMOND ROMAN SHIRLEY BRAIN ALLAN AUGUST BOOKER CURT RODRICK WAYLON BUSTER ROY OLIN SIDNEY DAREN MYRON GAYLE PABLO DEMARCUS SCOTTY RAYFORD ARTHUR CARLO BILLIE MANUEL THANH LEON SHAD LOUIS PAT LESLEY JUDSON JAN TEODORO REGINALD JAMAAL COLTON MIKEL LOYD GUADALUPE LEO FRANCISCO ZACK WARD HERMAN OMAR DARIN ARON WALTON ANTHONY HERSCHEL REY IVORY FOSTER WILFREDO BO MARCUS ABDUL DENVER HEATH GRADY FAUSTO CHANCE TY PORFIRIO DANE DAMIEN SHERWOOD GERRY MILO JOSUE DOMENIC STEWART ELLIS CHARLIE WILLIAN GAVIN ETHAN GENE WILBERT ZACHARIAH ANTON MURRAY LOU KIP AHMAD FELTON CHAD PAUL WALKER FRANCIS REID BRADFORD EZEKIEL FLOYD CRUZ MAX ELWOOD ARNOLD RICHARD ANIBAL KENNY THOMAS KENETH HIPOLITO ERICK SID ALDEN BRYON REINALDO JASON LUCIANO KENT CARROL RANDAL JERAMY AUGUSTINE JERMAINE DARREL ZACKARY GARRET WILLARD BARRETT CHESTER EMIL JOHNATHON GRANT EMORY NATHANAEL LANDON SEAN MANUAL TOMMY DWIGHT DEWITT ELIAS DOUGLASS DEMETRIUS MONROE FRANCES JERROD JEAN DESMOND ABRAM RODGER BOYD GERMAN JEROLD RANDY ELDRIDGE ROBBY COLBY JULIAN BENEDICT VINCENT DEAN COLUMBUS GRANVILLE GERARDO OSWALDO DOMINIC NORBERT HERB DARRON FERMIN OTIS STAN ALEX LON SEBASTIAN SCOT ANDREW TYRELL MERRILL LEWIS DONG ROBIN TEDDY ANDREA JOHN WINSTON PHILLIP LEMUEL RICKIE CLEMENTE ADRIAN GILBERT MARCEL MAXWELL WINFORD BRAD BARTON JAROD TRENT SHELDON NOE ARCHIE RUSTY BLAKE EDISON EDWIN REGGIE HUMBERTO JUDE ALPHONSO BARNEY LELAND SHANE ELIJAH TITUS CHARLES FORREST VITO ALONSO DENNY DALLAS JEFFERSON RUEBEN JAMES OLIVER IKE MILTON SAM RYAN TODD JIMMY WILLIAMS RALEIGH NUMBERS RONALD VANCE ANDRES RUDOLF SERGIO TRENTON ISSAC PARKER SCOTT ALEXANDER ARRON KARL NORBERTO JAMEY CLAUDE IGNACIO SHON AGUSTIN ENOCH RODOLFO JIMMIE ISRAEL BLAIR DOUGLAS SHAUN CODY DARREN HIRAM DAVIS ROYCE VIRGIL RIGOBERTO ELI TOMMIE DAMION TERRELL NICK WAYNE NOBLE HAI WILSON HANS LAURENCE RUSSELL FABIAN CLIFTON ROLANDO ALBERT WOODROW ARLEN MILLARD SUNG SETH KIRBY ELDON SIMON MARLON JEREMIAH TERRY LLOYD JOHNIE ZANE NATHAN BUD KERMIT JESSE HOMER MAC JOHNNIE TROY JONATHON EDGARDO BRYCE BENJAMIN MOHAMED WILLY RICH JACKSON LORENZO MITCHEL MARIANO SON RONNIE NATHANIEL JAMIE NICHOLAS EFRAIN ALEXIS REUBEN JOSIAH COY HENRY NAPOLEON ROSCOE BERTRAM MOHAMMAD TRAVIS ARNOLDO DONNELL SAL MARCELLUS WERNER GERALD LINO KEENAN ENRIQUE SOLOMON GIL HYMAN CLIFFORD LINDSAY VINCE HORACIO ESTEBAN LINCOLN CHRISTOPHER ERIK LARRY MERVIN NESTOR AARON TYRON HUGH ALFONZO CARMEN DAN ANGELO LACY TORY JAYSON GRAIG EUGENIO BENNY BURTON JEWELL BASIL BENITO JONAH JOSH JESSIE KAREEM FERNANDO RILEY MALIK JESS BRENDAN HOUSTON CHONG REFUGIO FEDERICO LENNY HARVEY DOMINGO AMBROSE KEVIN LAWRENCE DARRELL JC

BERNIE DANA RUFUS VALENTIN EZEQUIEL FRITZ BERNARD PASQUALE STUART FELIX ALVA GEOFFREY TRACY JULIUS JAVIER MONTE JERROLD THURMAN GAYLORD MASON LONNIE RANDELL SAUL MARC VIRGILIO ROLLAND BRADLY ANDRE MORGAN SHANNON MORTON GILBERTO MILFORD KASEY RODERICK ROSARIO JAMAL FLETCHER LAWERENCE BURL KRAIG JOSEF SANFORD JOE AUBREY BRICE FREDERICK HAL ELDEN ROGELIO GLENN HUNTER TYREE SHERMAN QUINCY QUINTON RENALDO MOISES GREGORIO VINCENZO KIETH SEYMOUR TAD EUGENE GROVER BUFORD STACEY KYLE LUIS MARCOS SYLVESTER VALENTINE KELLY PERCY AUGUSTUS JACINTO ALBERTO JACOB ADAN HARRIS HARLAN LONG KOREY LAMAR CHUCK ODIS BENTON ULYSSES SALVATORE ANTOINE STEPHAN LAVERNE ERASMO AHMED FOREST GREGORY GERARD MEL DALE ROMEO TREVOR KING COLE MICAH IRWIN KEN ORVILLE IAN KEITH CLEMENT OCTAVIO CLARK CARMINE SAMUAL ISMAEL BRODERICK BENNIE JERRY LESTER KENNITH NORRIS LUCIEN PHIL LAZARO RAUL DARYL RUSS TERRENCE LYMAN FREDERIC KRISTOPHER STEVEN DONN HUEY PATRICK GEORGE WILBURN CARMELO WHITNEY MONTY HOLLIS ALFREDO TYRONE JAIME RICKEY SHELBY CORNELIUS CONRAD ROBERT WALTER SCOTTIE COURTNEY DANIEL DAVID KELVIN VON ALVIN DEE GONZALO ANTONIO COLLIN LANE EARNEST GREGG IRVING ERVIN ORVAL CLAIR DONOVAN GERALDO PETE OLLIE RONNY LANCE PHILIP MARTY LAMONT JAMAR SANTIAGO FRANCESCO JOSPEH MATT ARMANDO TOBY AVERY JEREMY NEIL DARWIN NED EDMUNDO HILTON BUDDY BENNETT ASHLEY DUDLEY JARROD BARRY MAJOR SANG EMILIO ANDREAS EMMETT MIQUEL WARNER BERRY EDGAR JOAN IRVIN ROSS MORRIS LUPE BRIAN CESAR BRETT DANNIE EDUARDO DANILO GUILLERMO ALFONSO FILIBERTO CLINT CAMERON DEL IVAN KORY LYNWOOD CLEO JARRETT RHETT BRITT KEVEN LEANDRO DARRICK AL WILFORD LEONARD NEVILLE JAMEL STEVIE CHET NICKOLAS LAVERN EMERSON LEE ISAIAH VERN BURT BEN TRUMAN GIUSEPPE SONNY LEVI JOSEPH DEANGELO MODESTO BYRON JEROME MILAN MARIO JAME EDMOND VAN DEON ROLAND EMMITT BRENT JACK MITCHELL ROBERTO GENARO JOHNNY ANGEL GARTH PORTER DEWEY MITCH GARRETT JORDON DOMINICK CAROL MERLE BERT DAVE OSVALDO WESLEY JODY MAN CLAUD MELVIN LENARD KURTIS CLINTON TREY FREDDIE SOL JON DREW FELIPE TYSON BRANT HOWARD SANTOS ROSENDO COLIN RAY NICKY TIMMY JARRED JAMISON BEAU MOSE PERRY EVERETTE MILES JEFF ARTURO MAURICIO WINFRED ADOLPH STANLEY DELMAR CHANG DANNY LINWOOD CEDRICK COREY GARLAND YONG JESUS ROCKY EVAN NELSON DEVON DUANE DORIAN SPENCER RICO ELOY MIKE CORDELL JARED FREEMAN HECTOR ALEC STEVE THERON RENATO BRET CARY BORIS CRISTOBAL LESLIE WILBUR RANDOLPH WALDO REX DAMIAN LONNY ELTON CARLOS MACK ROGER BRADLEY DARON ERNESTO AUSTIN OTTO THEO ADAM JERE LAUREN FRED MARION EARLE ISAAC JACQUES BRADY ELVIS FREDRICK TRISTAN EMMANUEL TAYLOR THADDEUS GUS WARREN FRANK DANIAL DARRIN FIDEL JOEY RAMIRO LEOPOLDO WILBER ADALBERTO WM MAYNARD YOUNG WENDELL DOMINIQUE ELISEO FERDINAND CHRISTOPER STACY TERENCE CLETUS BROCK BRENTON THAD JACKIE CHASE MAXIMO ARMAND FLORENCIO FRANKIE RICHIE ERIN CORTEZ MOSHE HARRISON EARL TOD CASEY CORY EDWARDO NICOLAS JEFFEREY WALLY MOSES ROLF CONNIE CLEVELAND JOEL LUCIUS EZRA CYRIL LOUIE ELROY WESTON WADE VAUGHN MARCO BRUNO ERICH BRENDON ELVIN BILL ERROL VICTOR WILLIAM NOAH TRINIDAD BOYCE DOYLE GARRY JOSE PATRICIA TERRANCE ROBBIE RUDY MARQUIS ANTONE STEFAN PIERRE NEAL BOBBY BILLY MARSHALL HONG DARRYL JULES CARL JAKE OSCAR JUNIOR DWAIN JASPER RICKY FAUSTINO CALEB MALCOLM RAMON ADOLFO RUSSEL ORLANDO DICK MICHALE ABEL HILARIO BUCK ALPHONSE MARKUS WILTON TOMAS QUENTIN HUBERT RICARDO RUBEN ERWIN LYNN BRUCE JORGE DAMON HAYWOOD FRANKLIN ARLIE DIRK OWEN GLEN BROOKS MICHEAL VAL COLEMAN KENDALL MARY ELLIOT ANTONY CALVIN ALTON SANDY ZACHERY SANTO DARIO BRYAN NORMAND AURELIO DENIS CLAYTON ASA ELLSWORTH DERRICK EDMUND CLYDE ERNIE KENTON JONATHAN HERBERT STANTON KENNETH MINH DEWAYNE CARTER FREDRIC HUNG DUNCAN KENDRICK XAVIER CARROLL RUBIN HERIBERTO MERLIN TIM MICHAL ROD CAREY GIOVANNI EFREN TYLER JOSHUA BOBBIE FRANKLYN EDWARD WILFRED ELLIOTT GUY DION CRISTOPHER DELBERT BOB NEWTON ISIDRO RALPH SAMUEL WALLACE KIM ELISHA JEWEL JOAQUIN TRACEY ALLEN KRIS CHAUNCEY FREDDY FLORENTINO GORDON JIM RANDALL LEIGH DESHAWN GAIL EUSEBIO CLARENCE BLAINE KERRY JOHNSON HARLEY LUIGI ELMER CHI CLIFF OREN OTHA CLAUDIO EDDIE ALVARO CEDRIC MALCOM JOESPH MIGUEL

DELMER ERIC DARELL

[chiseler]

Larger Than Life

In 1927, Albert Bertanzetti and his three-year-old son, William, were taking a stroll when they stopped to join a small crowd watching a film being shot on the streets of Los Angeles. During a break in the shoot, Albert suggested his son go show the director, Jules White, his little trick. So William toddled over to White and tugged on his pant leg. When he had White’s attention, William flipped over, went into a headstand and began spinning in circles. White was so taken with the trick he gave the young Bertanzetti a small uncredited role in the two-reel short, Wedded Blisters. Afterward, William earned a regular role in the popular Mickey McGuire series of shorts, where he played Mickey Rooney’s younger brother Billy. Taking prevailing anti-Italian sentiments into consideration, in the credits he was cited as “Billy Barty.”

Barty had been born in Millsboro, Pennsylvania in 1924, but when it was determined he had hay fever, Albert decided to move the family West, to the dry, clean air of Hollywood. Depending on how you look at it, hay fever was the least of Barty’s problems. Or maybe not, given how things worked out.

Apart from hay fever, Barty had also been born with cartilage–hair hypoplasia, a form of dwarfism. Being extremely small for his age at three (as an adult he stood three-foot-nine), when it came to early film roles he was almost exclusively relegated to playing diaper clad infants. It was a director’s dream—having an infant on set who could not only take direction, but could walk, run, talk and do tricks as well. As a result, along with the Mickey McGuire shorts, he played infants in everything from the all-star live action adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (1933) to Golddiggers of 1933 (1933) to Bride of Frankenstein (1935). In fact Barty, tiny as he was, would play diaper-clad infants until he hit puberty.

Over a career that would span seven decades, along with infants, Barty would play his share of elves, leprechauns, imps, Hobbits, trolls, assorted other fairy tale and fantasy characters, clowns, court jesters, pygmies, sideshow performers and mad scientist assistants. Ironically, for having appeared in over two hundred films and television shows, Barty did not appear in the three touchstones of American Dwarf-centric cinema: Tod Browning’s Freaks (1932), Sam Newfield’s The Terror of Tiny Town (1938), or Mervin LeRoy’s The Wizard of Oz (1939). No, although he would appear in the behind-the-scenes comedy Under the Rainbow (1981), contrary to the general assumption, Billy Barty was never an original Munchkin. There are reasons for this.

In 1932 when Browning was working on Freaks, Barty was only eight, he was not a professional carnival freak, and he was too busy with the Mickey McGuire shorts. And after the shorts’ seven-year run ended in 1934—two years before casting began on Tiny Town or The Wizard of Oz—Albert Bertanzetti, recognizing talent in all of his children, pulled Billy out of the movies and sent the whole family on the vaudeville circuit.

Now, 1935 was hardly the most opportune time to try and break into vaudeville. As an entertainment form it had been on life support for a decade already, with theaters either closing down or becoming movie palaces with performances, almost as a sad afterthought, taking place after that evening’s double feature had ended. Those performers who could were trying to break into pictures, and those who couldn’t were vanishing without a trace. Now here was Barty, who’d been working regularly in films for nearly ten years, trying to break into vaudeville. Nevertheless, Billy and Sisters, as they were touted, marched on, with a musical act featuring Barty’s sister Evelyn on piano and accordion, his other sister Dede playing violin, and Barty himself on drums. They all sang and danced a little, and the adolescent Barty told jokes and did impressions. In his later years he remembered the time fondly, mostly because it gave him a chance at that early age to see much of North America.

In 1942 Barty enrolled in college in Los Angeles and majored in journalism, hoping to become a sportswriter. While there, he joined the football and basketball teams, where he was both a novelty and a ringer. He also played second base on a semi-professional baseball team for a spell, where by his own account he was walked forty-five times.

Instead of pursuing work as a sports columnist after graduation, he returned to show business. Later he was quoted as saying, “You don’t see any little people doing newscasts, you don’t see any doing sports writing, you don’t see any sports announcing, you don’t see any coaches, but there are little people who are capable of doing these things, who have proven themselves.” You get the sense there was a little personal bitterness there, hinting he may have been forced back to Hollywood because that was the only place he could find work.

By 1947, now an adult with a gravelly but high-pitched voice, Barty sported a boxer’s face on a disproportionately large head. In many ways he resembled a diminutive William Demarest, and in many roles would adopt Demarest’s gruff but lovable demeanor. Shedding the diaper at last, he nevertheless picked up where he left off, playing assorted pygmies and leprechauns and elves, usually for cheap laughs.

In the early Fifties he became a regular member of Spike Jones musical comedy ensemble, The City Slickers, and was a big hit on Jones TV shows, where he became especially known for his slapstick, spot-on Liberace impression, and his ability to roll off his piano bench into a head spin, a trick which continued to serve him well.

Growing up, Barty said, he had no idea he was different, that his parents never told him there were things he couldn’t do because he was too short. By the time he was thirty, however, he’d come to learn the rest of the world was not quite as accepting as his parents. In 1957, Barty put out a call for little people from around the country to join him for a get together in Reno. Only twenty people showed up to that first convention, but it became the foundation for Little People of America, a support and advocacy group pushing for equitable treatment and civil rights for dwarfs, midgets and other people of unusually small stature. His aim was to ensure little people across the country would be treated fairly, would be able to get jobs, and would be granted the same accessibility rights afforded the normally-sized. It always struck me as a little odd that, for all his tireless efforts lobbying to normalize perceptions and treatment of little people throughout American culture, Barty, without much apparent gumption, would continue to take roles some might call demeaning, or at the very least helped cement those stereotypes he was fighting so hard to break. Perhaps to him it was simply paying work, it was showbiz, and he knew full well what his role was within that world. But the apparent ironic contrast between his activism and his work would lead to a public tiff in the Seventies with fellow small actor Hervé Villechaize of Fantasy Island. Barty, who’d appeared on the show, felt Villechaize was undercutting all his work when he said bluntly that people like him and Barty “were midgets, not actors.”

After the second annual Little People of America convention, Barty began courting Shirley Bolingbroke, a little person who had attended the meeting. When he proposed, however, she declined, telling him she was a devout Mormon, and so would never consider marrying anyone outside the faith. In 1962 Barty relented and converted to the church of Latter-day Saints, and the two were married. Although Mormon insiders and publicists have made a big deal of Barty’s enthusiastic True Believer status within LDS, it would be many years before he agreed to get baptized and receive full member status, and then only to participate in his son’s baptism.

Around the time of the marriage, as Barty was making regular TV appearances on various comedy and variety shows (including a recurring role on Peter Gunn), he also began hosting a weekday afternoon local kid’s show in Los Angeles which was called either Billy Barty’s Big Top or Billy Barty’s Big Show, depending on who’s doing the remembering. That stint may well have brought him to the attention of the sinister Sid and Marty Krofft, who in the late Sixties conscripted Barty to become a regular on several Krofft shows including H.R. Pufnstuf, The Bugaloos, and later Sigmund The Sea Monster, where he played the titular sea monster opposite Rip Taylor and aging child star Johnny Whittaker.

For all the low-brow antics and his uncredited roles in Elvis movies, it must be said Barty was always a compelling and charismatic screen presence, a, yes, larger than life character. In those few rare instances when he played roles that made no references at all to his height—like Abe Kusich, the shady drunken cockfighter in Day of the Locust or Ludwig, Rod Steiger’s sidekick in W.C. Fields and Me, he proved himself an electric onscreen presence who could dominate any scene.

(Just a quick aside, in 1980 Ralph Bakshi rotoscoped Barty to portray both Bilbo and Samwise Baggins in his animated version of Lord of the Rings. I wasn’t aware of that at the time, but thinking back on it now, the way both characters moved, it seems so obvious I was watching another Billy Barty performance.)

In 1975, around the same time he opened a Southern California roller rink he called “Billy Barty’s Roller Fantasy, Barty established The Billy Barty Foundation. As an adjunct to Little People of America, the Foundation aimed to provide practical assistance—money, adaptive equipment, etc.—to little people in need, particularly children. And after campaigning for George H.W. Bush during the 1988 presidential campaign, he sat on a panel of advisors working to hammer out the details of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which President Bush signed into law in 1990.

At the same time he was sitting on that panel, Barty was also producing, directing and starring in Short Ribs, a syndicated sketch comedy series featuring an all-dwarf cast including Patty Maloney, Jimmy Briscoe and Joe Gieb. The show, which was modeled after SCTV and SNL, only aired in the Los Angeles area and ran thirteen weeks. After the show went off the air, Barty was slapped with two lawsuits, one from the show’s co-producer William Winckler and one from the show’s co-writer Warren Taylor, both of whom claimed Barty owed them money. The suits ended up, inevitably, in small claims court. Barty lost both suits, and even though few people had ever heard of, let alone seen the show, news of Barty in small claims court was too much for reporters to resist, and the case received smirking national attention.

After the suits were settled, Barty continued to work, but a bit more sporadically. He had one-off roles on Frasier, Jack’s Place, and a few low-budget quickies, and seemed to be edging more into voice roles, providing characterizations for a Batman cartoon and The Rescuers Down Under, to name a couple. But he was still working until the end, when he ended up in the hospital with cardiopulmonary issues in late 2000. He died on December 23rd of that year at age 73.

In the late Eighties he told an interviewer, “I’ve never looked at acting as ‘Ahhh!’ and ‘Gee!’ I started in vaudeville when I was five and for me it was just walking on a stage and I’m gonna perform. Later on I was impressed by many things, like when I worked with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in Tough Guys. That was an ‘Ahhh!’ for me. When I look back, even today, I guess I can go ‘Ahhh!’ because I worked with Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell in Gold Diggers of 1933 when I was nine. Then they were just grown-ups on the stage. As I look back, I’m more awed now than I was when I was actually doing it.”

Those who knew and worked with Barty always recall what a joy it was, how kind and enthusiastic and funny he was, a real spark who could enliven even the most questionable production. I would never deny that. I’ve always loved and admired Barty, and have sat through countless godawful films and TV shows simply because he had a role, no matter how small.

That said, I do have to wonder if at the end, after all his decades of work fighting for the dignity of little people everywhere, he felt like a bit of a hypocrite for spending those same years and more cementing the stereotype in the American consciousness. I also wonder if he died still wishing he’d become a sportswriter for a Des Moines daily instead.

by Jim Knipfel

[aestheticnerdmess]

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Chuck Elliott Antonia Lazaro Isaias Minh Isaiah Guy Mose Sebastian Andres Danial Werner Geraldo Major Beau Markus Augustine Eric Danilo Ellsworth Marion Hank Sammie Thanh Wilson Thomas Homer Dominique Mac Eugene Jesus Garret Simon Luigi Harley Brendan Shon Nickolas Benton Lino Felix Garret Bill Robt Kendall Bo Donald Shawn Carlton Earnest Perry Terrence Louis Agustin Emmett Vincenzo Dwayne Nathan Rudolf Chi Duncan Isreal Fidel Shannon Ernesto Bruno Chris Clement Dan Deshawn Domenic Chance George Nathan Grant Bryan Ed Shayne Micah Norberto Quincy Hans Marcel Gerardo Don William Norris Rudy Elliott Rex Percy Les Numbers Lorenzo Seth Josiah Fernando Thomas Jamaal Douglass Morgan Lynwood Silas Santos Donald Mose Allan Kent Arron Nigel Del Gabriel Frederic Amado Eloy Randy Bruno Kent Rickey Josue Lee Antoine Guillermo Ronnie Eloy Ruben Mose Pablo Antonia Curtis Hipolito Benny Heriberto Graham Keven Hubert Stevie Alphonso Robt Mervin Willy Paul Francis Edmund Rogelio Jeffery Lewis

[ccwastaken]

im glad you think its clever! i also tried hard with wendy because im not native american (im. uh. white) and i really wanted to get it at least somewhat accurate. i decided to name her after an olympian (William Mervin Mills) because uh. i didnt have anything else to go off on.

Valid. I like that idea :0

[world-architecture-blog02]

New York - Neo Classical and Art Deco

In a recent visit to New York I spent a large amount of time marveling the amazing architecture around me. Not only the stereotypical modern style skyscrapers, glass reflecting the winter sun, but the details on apartment buildings and fantastical colours of the various artists works and of the buildings themselves.

Two styles that prominently stood out for me were art deco and neoclassical. Encyclopedia Britannica defines “Neoclassical architecture, revival of Classical architecture during the 18th and early 19th centuries. The movement concerned itself with the logic of entire Classical volumes, unlike Classical revivalism (see Greek Revival), which tended to reuse Classical parts. Neoclassical architecture is characterized by grandeur of scale, simplicity of geometric forms, Greek—especially Doric —or Roman detail, dramatic use of columns, and a preference for blank walls. The new taste for antique simplicity represented a general reaction to the excesses of the Rococo style.” [Seen in the Met (lead architects Thomas Hastings and John Mervin Carrère) and the New York Public Library (lead architects Richard Morris Hunt and Richard Howland Hunt) among others]

“Art Deco, also called style moderne, movement in the decorative arts and architecture that originated in the 1920s and developed into a major style in western Europe and the United States during the 1930s … Art Deco design represented modernism turned into fashion. Its products included both individually crafted luxury items and mass-produced wares, but, in either case, the intention was to create a sleek and antitraditional elegance that symbolized wealth and sophistication. 

The distinguishing features of the style are simple, clean shapes, often with a “streamlined” look; ornament that is geometric or stylized from representational forms; and unusually varied, often expensive materials, which frequently include man-made substances (plastics, especially Bakelite; vita-glass; and ferroconcrete) in addition to natural ones (jade, silver, ivory, obsidian, chrome, and rock crystal).” [Seen in Chrysler Building (Architecture firm: Reinhard, Hofmeister & Walquist) Empire State Building (designed by William Lamb, an architect at the firm Shreve, Lamb & Harmon) and Rockefeller Plaza (designed by Raymond Hood)]

Through both of these styles it is evident when there was a surplus of money and therefore development in New York. Especially with the Art Deco style which flourished in the 1920s it is poignant to note that despite the Wall Street crash in 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression there was no hindrance to the development of the city because New York City was a hub of communication, trade and finance during this time.

https://www.britannica.com/art/Neoclassical-architecture

https://www.britannica.com/art/Art-Deco

[the-record-obituaries]

June 19, 2019: Obituaries

Lovina Schrock, 91

Mrs. Lovina Hostetler Schrock, 91, of Moravian Falls, passed away on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at her residence.

Lovina was born on June 11, 1928 in Stark County Ohio to Henry Hostetler and Ella Miller Hostetler.

Lovina is preceded in death by parents; husband, Mervin L. Schrock; brother, Ervin Hostetler; sister, Beulah Hochstedler and great grand daughter, Danielle Schrock.

Lovina is survived by her 5 daughters, Susan Faye Hochstetler of Canada, Joy Roselle Hileman of Ohio, Debra Kaye Yoder of Moravian Falls, Juanita Lynne Herber of Pennsylvania, Charlotte Marlene Schrock of Virginia; 5 sons, John Mark Schrock, Larry Dean Schrock, Timothy Jay Schrock, Franklin Scott Schrock all of Virginia, Frederick Allen Schrock of Moravian Falls; sisters, Mary Wittmer of Pennsylvania, Viola Mullet of Ohio; brothers, Melvin Hostetler of Ohio, Henry Hostetler of Canada; 21 grandchildren and many great grand children.

The funeral service will be held in Ohio at a later date.

Adams Funeral Home of Wilkes has the honor of serving the Schrock Family.

 Nancy Winters, 5

Nancy Lee Winters, age 55, of North Wilkesboro, passed away Saturday, June 15, 2019 at Westwood Hills Nursing and Rehab Center. Nancy was born July 11, 1963 in Wilkes County to Cecil and Mandy Stanley Trivette. She loved to fish; do crafts and quilting. Ms. Winters was preceded in death by her parents; and several siblings.

Surviving are her son, Steven Winters and spouse Jessica of North Wilkesboro; daughter, Amanda Winters and spouse Zachary White of Huntington, West Virginia; a number of siblings; grandchildren, M.J. Winters and Josh Walker.

The family has requested no flowers.

Miller Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements.  

 Hazel Prevette, 96

Hazel Maie Johnson Prevette, 96, of North Wilkesboro, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at Wilkes Senior Village.

She was born May 23, 1923 in Wilkes County, to the late William Edward Johnson and Julie Maie Combs Johnson.

     Hazel was a member of Lewis Baptist Church.  She loved singing and praising the Lord with her church family in the choir.  She was a passionate vegetable and flower gardener.

     Including her parents, she was preceded in death by: her husband, Dewey Gaither Prevette Sr.; grandchildren, Craig Williams and Pamela Taylor.

     Those left to cherish and honor her memory include: daughters, Peggy Taylor (Wallace) of McGrady, Kathy Williams (Dean) of Wilkesboro; sons, D. G. Prevette, Jr. (Linda) of Wilkesboro, Kenneth Prevette (Sarah) of Lewisville; sister, Annie Lou Brown (Gene) of Millers Creek; brother, Howard Johnson of Purlear; many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren

     Funeral services wereJune 18,   at Lewis Baptist Church in North Wilkesboro.  Rev. Bruce Rhoades will be officiating.  Burial followed in the church cemetery.

     Adams Funeral Home of Wilkes and cremation services is honored to be serving the Prevette Family.

 Fern Anderson, 87

Fern Anderson, 87 Mrs. Fern Pauline Call Anderson, age 87, widow of Hobert Anderson, died on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at Villages of Wilkes.

     Funeral services were June 19,  at Reins-Sturdivant Chapel with Rev. Alan Bouchelle officiating.  Burial was in Fishing Creek Arbor Baptist Church Cemetery.

Mrs. Anderson was born June 19, 1931 in Wilkes County to Benjamin Winfred and Carrie Elizabeth Benge Call. She was a member of Penelope Baptist Church in Hickory. Before her retirement while residing in Hickory, NC, she worked for Cline Insurance Company as a private secretary and was self-employed as a skin care specialist thru Ann Mari.

In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her husband, Hobert Anderson; four sisters, Sylvia Call Soots, Tessie Call Foster, Florence Call Hayes Bouchelle, and Doris Call Waddell Spears; and four brothers, Julius H. Call, James P. Call, Roy "Ray" Call, and Coy "Clay" Call.

She is survived by her daughter, Linda Anderson Plemmons of North Wilkesboro; twin sons, Tracy Anderson and wife, Sandy, of Millers Creek, and Travis Van Anderson of Hickory; four grandchildren, Dana K.Anderson, Dylan L. Anderson, Doug Plemmons, and Floyd Plemmons; four great-grandchildren, Rachel C. Plemmons, Kyle P. Plemmons, Jason Sprinkle, and Elijah Foster; one great-great-grandchild, Chaselyn Kate Plemmons; one sister, Lois Call Foster of Traphill; and one brother, Thomas Jerry Call of Wilkesboro.

The latter part of her life, Mrs. Anderson spent ten years at Catawba Valley Assisted Living and three years at Wilkes Senior Villages.  The family sincerely thanks the staff of both facilities for their wonderful care of their loved one.

A special thank you from the family to Shirley Bowlin for her exceptional care of our Mother.

  Kenith Jones, Sr., 83

 Mr. Kenith Smythe Jones, Sr., 83, of Taylorsville, passed away Thursday, June 13, 2019 at Valley Nursing Center.

Kenith was born December 18, 1935 in Fayette  County, WV, the son of the late George Thomas Jones, Sr. and Inez Blanch Duncan Jones.

He was a US Army veteran, who served in Germany as a combat engineer. He had worked as a supervisor for Southern Devices before retiring and was a member of Bethel Baptist Church. He enjoyed reading Westerns, was a avid Redskin fan, and enjoyed playing golf when he was able and also enjoyed watching NASCAR.

Including his parents, he was preceded in death by: his wife, Peggy Joyce Payne Jones; four sisters, Beulah Pemberton, Doris Criss, Natella Blackwell and infant sister, Carolyn Jones; a brother, George Jones.

Those left to cherish and honor his memory include: a daughter, Patricia Jones Carter and husband, Larry, of Statesville; four sons, Kenny Jones and wife, Joan, of Taylorsville, Barry Jones and wife, Janna, of Newton, Timothy Jones and wife, Lisa, of Taylorsville, Ricky Jones of Asheville; five grandchildren, Joshua Moore, Caitlin Jones Parkhurst and husband, Matt, Ashley Jones, Tyler Jones and wife, Tiffany, Andrew Jones and fiance, Lacey Bruno; four great-grandchildren, RJ, Gracelynn, Jacob and Ezra; two sisters, Janet Payne and husband, Charles, of WV, Drema Gail Gales of VA; a brother, William Jones and wife, Carol, of WV; a sister-in-law, Christine Jones of WV; and a number of nieces and nephews.

A service was held  June 17,  at Bethel Baptist Church with Revs. Bill Smith and Ervel Jones officiating. Burial   followed in the church cemetery with flag folding ceremony.

Pallbearers were Ken's sons and grandsons.

The family would like to express a sincere thank you for every act of kindness or visit to our loved one and also to the staff, nurses and caregivers at Valley Nursing Center.

Memorials may be made to: Alexander County Hospice, 50 Lucy Echerd Lane, Taylorsville, NC 28681.

Adams Funeral Home and cremation services is honored to be serving the Jones Family.

 Terri Sigmon, 64

Terri Lynn Sigmon, age 64, passed away peacefully on June 11, 2019 at Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation in Taylorville and is now resting in the care of our Lord.  

She was born in Hickory, NC on February 28, 1955.  Prior to moving there she lived at Parklane Group home in Newton.

She was preceded in death by her parents Charles and Jane Sigmon of Hickory.  

She is survived by her sister, Sandie Cline (Jimmie) of Wilkesboro, and her brothers, Robert Sigmon (Virginia) of Statesville, and Bruce Sigmon of Hickory.

Terri was a long- time member of Christ Lutheran Church in Hickory where she is best remembered for her deep faith and leading the congregation in happy birthday songs.  She especially loved family gatherings during the holidays. She had a special relationship with her nephews Christopher (Tanya) of Wilkesboro, Jonathan (Ellen) and Matthew (Jessica) of Mooresville and great nephews and nieces, Ayden, Charlie, Cameron, Macie, Oren, Eli, Finley and Luke. They will cherish the memories of her.

The funeral service will be held on Thursday, June 20,   at 3:00 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church in Hickory.

The family will receive friends prior to the service from 2: 00 until 3:00 p.m. at the church. Rev. Richard Schwandt will be officiating the service. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers memorials can be made to the memorial fund at Christ Lutheran Church, 324 2nd Ave. SE, Hickory, NC 28602.

Pallbearers for the service will be Christopher Cline, Jonathan Cline, Matthew Cline, Van Smith, Scott Wimmer, and Billy Pernell.

 Vickie Cothren, 52

Vickie Cothren, 52 Miss Vickie Lee Cothren, age 52 of Roaring River, passed away Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at Woltz Hospice Home in Dobson.

     Funeral services were June 15,   at White Plains Baptist Church with Pastor William Souther and Bishop Peggy Horton officiating.  Burial was in the church cemetery.                Vickie was born October 24, 1966 in Wilkes County to James "Jim" Ervin Cothren and Georgie Lee Swaim Cothren. She was employed for 30 years with Wilkes Community College as a Library Assistant. Vickie enjoyed spending time with her great nieces and nephews who called her "Bibby" and liked sports from WFU, Chicago Bulls and Carolina Panthers. She also enjoyed cooking and most enjoyed sharing her testimony with her relationship with God.

She was preceded in death by her mother; Georgie Lee Cothren.

In addition to her father; Jim Cothren, she is survived by three sisters; Anna Church of Millers Creek, Teresa Absher of Roaring River and Jane Whitley of Hays, nieces and nephews; Amanda Miller (William), Sonya Evans (Allen), Michael Church, Ashley Mabe (Jason), Lindsay Jester (Justin) and Colby Whitley, great nieces and nephews; Elijah Miller, Asher Miller, Brenan, Nevan and Rowyn Mabe and Elizabeth Jester, Aunt Joy Swaim, Cousins; Calvin Swaim, Charlene Dancy and family, special friends and co-workers; Rebecca Kruger, Christy Earp, Misty Bass, Janet Atwood, Audrey Chapel and Donna Church and Fur Babies; Jett, Sanford, Melinda and Miss Sunshine.

Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to the Donor's Choice, Wilkes Community Partnership for Children PO Box 788 North Wilkesboro, NC 28659, Wilkes Community College Endowment Corporation PO Box 120 Wilkesboro, NC 28697 or Mtn. Valley Hospice 401 Technology Lane Suite 200 Mt. Airy, NC 27030.

 James Ashley, Jr. 77

Mr. James Martin Ashley, Jr. age 77 of Wilkesboro, passed away Tuesday, June 11, 2019 at his home.

Funeral services were June 18,   at Cub Creek Baptist Church with Pastor John Lewis and Mr. Frank Denny officiating. Burial was in Cub Creek Baptist Church Cemetery.  

Mr. Ashley was born November 27, 1941 in Wilkes County to James Martin Ashley, Sr. and Geneva Sink Ashley.  He was retired after 35 dedicated years at Lowe's Companies. During his employment he worked as a Store Manager and a Regional Manager. James was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend. He was a member of Cub Creek Baptist Church where he was a Faithful Deacon, Loved and Respected Sunday School Teacher, member of the Adult Choir and Hand Bell Choirs, Good News Club Teacher, served on the Building Committee, Maintenance Committee and the Expansion Committee. James was an avid Golfer. After retirement, he enjoyed spending his time working on his cattle farm and enjoying the beautiful mountain views. He was always helping or attending the many activities with his grandchildren. James was well known for his love of his family, his church and his tremendous work ethic. His best Friend, Bear, Black-Lab mix was always at his side, waiting for the last bite of anything that James ate.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother; Bill Ashley.

James is survived by his wife; Judy Ann Wayne Ashley of the home, two daughters; Jamie Ashley Beamon and Lorie Ashley Kerhoulas both of Wilkesboro, a son; James Martin Ashley, III "Jimmy" of Wilkesboro, five grandchildren; Anna Kerhoulas LaFave and husband Ethan, Stephen Kerhoulas and fiancé Clair Colburn, Martin Beamon, Jacob Beamon and Nicholas Ashley, a great grandchild; Addy Billings and two sisters; Ann Ashley and Jane Ashley both of Wilkesboro.

Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made in honor of grandchildren Anna and Jacob to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Piedmont Triad Chapter 216 W. Market Street Suite B, Greensboro, NC 27401.

 Ann Whitworth, 83

Ann Hill Whitworth, age 83, passed away on Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at her home in Purlear, NC. She was born in Erwin, NC on November 12, 1935 to Frank Weaver, Sr. and Elsie Horrell Weaver.

Mrs. Whitworth was formerly employed at Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company and was retired from Duke Medical Center. She was a member of Greystone Baptist Church until her move to Purlear, NC in 2007. She was a member of New Hope Baptist Church, Purlear, NC until her passing.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred Roy Hill and her husband, Donald Whitworth.

She is survived by her daughter, Deborah Hill Yates of Purlear, NC; her son, Frederick A. Hill of Durham, NC; three grandsons, Ross B. Yates, and wife, Andrea of Mt. Pleasant, SC, Brett J. Yates of Millers Creek, NC, and Mark C. Yates of Purlear, NC and three great grandchildren, Finley Madison Yates, Bennett Reid Yates, and Cooper Hill Yates.

A memorial service will be held on June 29, 2019 at 2:00 PM at Greystone Baptist Church, Hillsborough Road, Durham, NC. A private burial at Maplewood Cemetery, Durham, NC will follow the memorial service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Wake Forest Care at Home Hospice, 126  Executive Drive, Suite 110, Wilkesboro, NC 28697.

Miller Funeral Service is in charge of the arrangements.