#State Funeral of Warren G. Harding

[deadpresidents]

The casket of President Warren G. Harding being loaded into a car outside the Palace Hotel in San Francisco on August 3, 1923. The awning over the entry of the hotel had been draped in black mourning crepe in the hours following the President's death.

[studionotesonline]

What is a Concert Band?

A concert band, now and again known as a symphonic band, is an ensemble constituted of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments.  At times, a concert band may consist of piano, harp, or string bass, depending at the desires of certain pieces.  

US Army Field Band demonstrates a few gadgets commonly located in Concert Bands in the following video:

A concert or symphonic band ought to not be careworn with a marching band.  While they often consist of comparable instrumentation, a concert band is a seated institution.  

The range of members of concert or symphonic bands can range substantially.  In public college settings, they may be frequently very large, however in professional settings, they're generally smaller.  

Some expert concert bands consist of the ones hired by the United States Military, including the USA Air Force Band, heard in the video below.

Concert bands can also be determined in public college or honor band settings.  The video beneath is of the New York State Band Directors Association (NYSBDA) High School Honor Band of 2019.

What is the Difference Between a Concert or Symphonic Band and a Wind Ensemble? People frequently see the title “wind ensemble vs concert band” and assume the group does not incorporate percussion contraptions.  This is an incorrect assumption.  A  wind ensemble vs live performance band consists of contraptions from the woodwind, brass, and percussion families, simply as a concert and symphonic bands do.  

The distinction among wind ensemble vs live performance band and different wind bands is normally the range of gamers in every section.  Traditionally, concert or symphonic bands are huge ensembles, with severa players on each part.  Wind ensemble vs live performance band are smaller ensembles, with handiest one or two players on every element.  

In a public faculty setting, wind ensemble vs concert band typically play extra tough song and incorporate superior gamers, whilst live performance bands are larger businesses that play much less tough song.  Often, college wind ensemble vs concert band are audition-best organizations, where concert or symphonic bands welcome all ranges of gamers.

Brief History of Wind Bands in America Wind bands can hint their origins all the way back to the Medieval time period.  This short history will attention on a portion of the records of wind bands in America, starting in the nineteenth century.

The American wind bands of the early 1800s have been largely based on the lifestyle of European bands.  While the instrumentation of the United States Marine Band of 1800 become constructed from  oboes,  clarinets, a bassoon, two horns, and a drum, the most generally visible wind bands most effective contained brass instruments.

Brass Bands A various aggregate of brass contraptions made up the instrumentation of 1800s brass bands.  They frequently covered keyed bugles, ophicleides, natural French horns, trumpets, submit horns, and trombones.  American brass bands performed pieces consisting of polkas, galops, waltzes, patriotic picks, and marches.

When the American Civil War started in 1861, there had been numerous brass bands throughout the u . S . A ..  The bands performed at live shows, political rallies, parades, and dances.  Many bands additionally participated in musters and ceremonies with the local military, where they have been often used to encourage men to enlist for each the Union and Confederate armies.  

As the Civil War endured, contributors of navy brass bands determined that their responsibilities changed pretty dramatically.  They have been now not just anticipated to carry out for the troops but have been now required to lead them as they marched into war, act as stretcher-bearers, assist surgeons, and bury the lifeless.  

In 1865, Union General Philip H. Sheridan was heard to reserve his musicians to “play the gayest tunes of their books...In no way thoughts if a bullet is going thru a trombone, or even a trombonist, now and then.”

The video below gives a incredible demonstration of Civil War technology devices, by way of Jeff Stockham.  Mr. Stockham turned into one of the ancient tune specialists for Steven Spielberg’s movie, Lincoln.

Patrick Gilmore’s Band Patrick Gilmore (1829-1892) was one of the infantrymen who needed to satisfy the obligations of both stretcher-bearer and musician all through the Civil War.  Gilmore, the famous cornetist and bandmaster, changed into born in Ireland in 1829. In 1849, he escaped the famine and emigrated to Canada.  After dwelling in Canada for a brief time, Gilmore moved to Boston, where his prolific American track profession began.

After surviving the Civil War, Gilmore hooked up Gilmore’s Band, in 1873. His band become able to excursion the U.S., Canada, and Europe.  This band offered a aggregate of wind gadgets that have been not usually heard with the aid of maximum Americans. Gilmore’s Band became produced from the subsequent instrumentation.

Piccolo                                                             E-flat soprano cornet

flute                                                                 B-flat cornet

oboe                                                                trumpet

A-flat sopranino clarinet                                  flugelhorn

E-flat soprano clarinet                                     French horn

B-flat clarinet                                                   E-flat alto horn

alto clarinet                                                      tenor horn

bass clarinet                                                    euphonium

soprano saxophone                                         trombone

alto saxophone                                                bombardon (tuba)

tenor saxophone                                             percussion

bass saxophone

bassoon

contrabassoon

It is essential to be aware that Gilmore was the primary American bandleader to utilize the newly-invented saxophone in his ensemble.  

Gilmore and his band can be credited with performing at and growing many “firsts” for the USA, including:

1855 - First “Promenade Concert in America,” which became the predecessor of nowadays’s Boston Pops live shows. Established “Gilmore’s Concert Garden,” which have become Madison Square Garden 1876 - Lead United States Centennial celebrations in Philadelphia 1886 - Lead festivities on the willpower of the Statue of Liberty 1891 - Established public New Year’s Eve birthday celebration in New York City 1891 - Played on some of Thomas Edison’s first commercial wax cylinder recordings John Philip Sousa once called Patrick Gilmore, the “Father of the American Band” and also remarked that all of us “who ought to do one-thousandth as a good deal suitable for mankind as changed into carried out by Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore, his reminiscence will indeed be blessed.”

John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) is possibly the maximum famous bandmaster, and is extensively called “The March King.”  Sousa commenced his musical career started as an apprentice with the United States Marine Band.  He also executed in and carried out many theater orchestras.  Eventually, Sousa was requested to direct america Marine Band.  The Marine Band made its first recordings on wax cylinders, for the Columbia Phonograph Company, under the route of Sousa.

Sousa was a prolific composer, not best of marches, however also artwork songs and operettas.  While the latter  categories aren't very famous, a number of his maximum popular marches encompass Semper Fidelis (1888), The Washington Post (1889), The Liberty Bell (1893), and The Stars and Stripes Forever! (1896).

In 1892, Sousa resigned from america Marine Band and shaped his personal band, The Sousa Band.  The instrumentation of this band become much like what we're used to today in maximum concert bands.

Active till 1931, Sousa and his band toured the U.S., Europe, finished one international excursion, and even finished for King Edward VII of England.  

United States Military Bands The earliest documented navy band within the United States become a 1653 New Hampshire military band.  

All of the branches of the U.S. Military (Marine Corps, Navy, Army, Coast Guard, and Air Force) employ a diffusion of bands, inclusive of live performance bands and jazz bands.  The bands are made from regularly enlisted or commissioned military personnel.

Duties of the bands include performing at navy funerals, legit state arrivals, commissioning of ships, promotion ceremonies, and parades.  They additionally excursion, giving loose live shows during the US.

Two of the maximum famous United States Military Bands are “The President’s Own” and “Pershing’s Own.”

“The President’s Own” - The United States Marine Corps Band The oldest mounted U.S. Army band is “The President’s Own,” United States Marine Corps Band which turned into based in 1798, below President John Adams.  This is the most effective musical institution with the primary assignment of offering track for the President of the US.  They have completed at every inauguration on the grounds that Thomas Jefferson’s in 1801.  It is stated that Jefferson first dubbed the band, “The President’s Own.”  

In addition to inaugurations, they have also performed at numerous inaugural balls, White House weddings, State dinners, live shows, and excursions.  Under the famed path of John Philip Sousa, “The President’s Own” started out travelling in 1891 and has continued to the modern-day.  

Several presidents were recognised to play with “The President’s Own,” occasionally.  President Warren G. Harding sat in with the ensemble and claimed to have performed every tool besides trombone and E-flat cornet.  In 2008, President George W. Bush performed the ensemble in a performance of The Stars and Stripes Forever, at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner.

“Pershing’s Own” - The United States Army Band Another of the more famous military bands is The United States Army Band, called “Pershing’s Own.”  This institution became fashioned in 1922, at the request of General John Pershing, who felt that army bands have been vital to reinforce morale and growth performance among the troops.  He additionally desired a band that might outshine the navy bands of Europe.  Throughout the years, “Pershing’s Own” has executed at the first Presidential wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery, the ceremony for Charles Lindbergh and “The Spirit of St. Louis,” President John F. Kennedy’s funeral, and various Olympic Games.  

Concert Band in American Public Schools The earliest documented instrumental application in an American school become in 1857, at Boston’s Farm and Trade School.  However, Will Earhart’s orchestra, in Indiana, is credited as being the first a success instrumental software in United States colleges, in 1898.  

In the early 1900s, faculty districts commenced hiring full-time track instructors and supplied devices, uniforms, and practice session area. School song ensembles have been given time to rehearse at some stage in the school day and were installed as credit score-bearing instructions.  Up until this time, most track training were taught after school, by using personal teachers.  

By the cease of the Nineteen Twenties, maximum excessive faculties, and many elementary colleges had band programs.  Towns and villages commenced counting on school bands to provide tune for parades, carrying events,  and diverse community activities.  

School band leaders recognized that some, however now not all, students have been going to end up expert musicians.  Teachers labored to educate students in track idea, as well as track appreciation, if you want to produce properly-educated track purchasers.  Many scholar musicians went on to perform with nearby community bands, as properly.  

Band services at U.S. Public schools maintain to conform.  Most districts now have band packages beginning in fourth or fifth grade, persevering with thru excessive faculty.  At the excessive faculty level, students in a few districts will even have the choice of gambling in a conventional live performance band setting or in an audition-only wind ensemble. Many excessive schools offer jazz band and marching band, as nicely.  

Community Bands Community bands, from time to time known as “town,” “civic,” or “municipal” bands, are produced from volunteer amateur musicians.  They maintain frequently scheduled rehearsals for community occasions, inclusive of Old Home Days,  and unique holiday performances along with the Fourth of July and Memorial Day.  

It is predicted that on the quit of the 1800s, there have been hundreds of lively community bands inside the United States.  Many of those bands emerged from the military bands of the Civil War.

After World War I, hobby in network bands started to die out, a victim of a cultural shift delivered on via severa advances in technology.  This is likewise the time that the United States started to see a upward thrust in college music programs. More college students had been learning band contraptions and needed an outlet for their musical expertise after graduating from excessive school.   Due to this, we begin to see a rise in participation in network bands within the United States.

In truth, network bands became so valued that during 1921, the Iowa legislature exceeded a law entitled “The Municipal Band Fund.”  This law, sponsored with the aid of famed bandleader and composer, Karl King, legal a tax for cities, with fewer than forty,000 residents, to keep a municipal band.  Community bands had been now regular city departments reliant at the metropolis’s annual budget, in preference to being depending on funds from charitable contributions.  The regulation was copied by 33 states and at the least 3 countries.  After the legislation handed, Karl King become stimulated to compose Iowa Band Law March.

Pyramid of Sound All of the aforementioned corporations could have striven to use the pyramid of sound, however they possibly didn’t call it that!  Well-regarded American composer and conductor, W. Francis McBeth delivered his “Double Pyramid Balance System” inside the mid-1900s. A nicely-balanced and combined wind band sound is accomplished through this pyramid of sound.

As illustrated through the picture beneath, the pyramid of sound way that there desires to be greater volume from bass instruments, and less quantity from soprano devices.  Basically, the lower gadgets provide the muse of an ensemble, while the sound from higher units floats on pinnacle of that solid basis.  

The pyramid of sound additionally allows promote active listening inside an ensemble.  This, in flip, will enhance dynamic manipulate, intonation, and mix within a concert band.  

The video underneath gives a wonderful explanation of the pyramid of sound.  Be positive to watch all of the way through to the quit to look how the pyramid of sound is sort of a chocolate cake!

Concert Band Seating The seating for a wind band can vary based totally on instrumentation inside the ensemble, conductor preference, and rehearsal and performance space.  In faculties, seating is dependant upon many factors, such as room size, whether or not the complete ensemble rehearses collectively or in separate sections, the quantity of devices in each segment, and individual scholar desires.

The seating chart below shows an instance of the standard large live performance band in a public faculty.  You will observe that it does not have ideal instrumentation, but is consultant of many college bands.

Concert band seating chart

Some conductors select that fundamental or first chair gamers are predominately on the outdoor of the ensemble, at the ends of rows.  Others choose that major or first chair gamers are all placed inside the middle of the rows so that they're all within the middle of the band.  

The following seating chart is consultant of an average wind ensemble.

Wind ensemble seating chart

Well-recognised Concert Band Composers Throughout the years, severa composers have made a huge impact on wind band repertoire.  The roster beneath isn't always a whole list but is alternatively a jumping-off factor if you are inquisitive about similarly getting to know wind band literature.

The listing below represents a few composers of twentieth-century concert band track.  There are many other composers, who composed for wind band prior to 1900.

Early twentieth Century Wind Band Composers Percy Grainger (1882-1961)

Gustav Holst (1874-1934) -  The first enormous piece written for wind bands within the 20th century is taken into consideration to be First Suite for Band in E-flat, composed through Holst.

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

Holst First Suite

Mid twentieth Century Wind Band Composers John Barnes Chance (1932-1972)

Norman Dello Joio (1913-2008)

Frank Erickson (1923-1996)

Karel Husa (1921-2016)

Francis McBeth (1933-2012)

Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987)

Clifton Williams (1923-1976)

Air For Band By Frank Erickson:

Late twentieth Century Wind Band Composers Brian Balmages (b.1975)

Mark Camphouse (b.1954)

Michael Colgrass (1932-2019)

David Gillingham (b. 1947)

Julie Giroux (b.1961)

David Maslanka (1943-2017)

Joseph Schwantner (b. 1943)

Frank Ticheli (b.1958)

UNT Concert Band: Julie Giroux - Shine (2017):

In Conclusion Regardless of whether ensembles are referred to as concert bands, symphonic bands, or wind ensembles, all of them descend from a wealthy history of American wind bands. Composers maintain to explore and stretch the bounds of live performance band abilities, through writing creative compositions to feature to the repertoire.  In the future years, faculty music packages will keep to allow the subsequent era of wind band players to thrive!

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Burger Commission Report

The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Reagan, informally known as the Burger Commission, was established by President George Bush through Executive Order 12304 on April 8, 1981 to investigate the assassination of United States President Ronald Reagan that had taken place on March 30, 1981. The U.S. Congress passed Senate Joint Resolution 59 authorizing the Presidential appointed Commission to report on the assassination of President Ronald Reagan, mandating the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence. Its 776-page final report was presented to President Bush on June 30, 1982, and made public four days later. It concluded that President Reagan was assassinated by John Hinckley Jr., and that Hinckley acted entirely alone. The Commission took its unofficial name—the Burger Commission—from its chairman, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger.

Committee

Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (chairman)

Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona), U.S. Senator

Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia), U.S. Senator

Tom Foley (D-Washington), U.S. Representative, House Majority Whip

Robert H. Michel (R-Illinois), U.S. Representative, House Minority Leader

William J. Casey, Director of Central Intelligence and head of the Central Intelligence Agency

Floyd I. Clarke, Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Joan Quigley, astrologer (not officially part of the commission, but former First Lady Nancy Reagan insisted that she be included in committee meetings so as to "leave no stone unturned.")

At one point, Nancy Reagan insisted that the Commission hold a seance to summon the spirit of President Reagan himself so he could help solve his own murder. President Bush respectfully declined the suggestion, though Senator Goldwater, a close personal friend of the Reagans, humored the former First Lady by spending a week in November of 1981 investigating the "Curse of Tippecanoe," the supposed pattern of deaths in office of presidents of the United States who won the elections in years that are evenly divisible by 20

William Henry Harrison (1840)

Abraham Lincoln (1860, 1864)

James A. Garfield (1880)

William McKinley (1896, 1900)

Warren G. Harding (1920)

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944)

John F. Kennedy (1960)

Ronald Reagan (1980)

The Committee found no evidence of conspiracy linking Reagan's death to any previous president's, chocking it up to a coincidence as it failed to account for the death of President Zachary Taylor (1848), and the survival of Presidents Thomas Jefferson (1800, 1804) and James Monroe (1816, 1820).

State Funeral of Ronald Reagan

Date: April 3 - 7, 1981

Mourning Period: March 30 - April 30, 1981

Location: Capitol Rotunda, U.S. Capitol, Washington, DC

Participants: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George Bush, members of the 97th Congress, the 52 former Iran hostages

George Bush would probably nominate a moderate Republican to be his Vice President under the 25th Amendment sometime in May or June; while Republicans controlled the Senate, Democrats held a considerable majority in the House of Representatives, preventing Bush from appointing a hardline conservative.

George W. Romney, Governor of Michigan (1963 - 1969), HUD Secretary under Nixon (1969 - 1973)

Jim Jeffords, Attorney General of Vermont (1969 - 1973), U.S. Representative from Vermont's at-large District (1975 - present)

John Chafee, Governor of Rhode Island (1963 - 1969), U.S. Senator from Rhode Island (1976 - present)

William Scranton, Governor of Pennsylvania (1963 - 1967), United States Ambassador to the United Nations (1976 - 1977)

Bush had more experience in foreign policy then domestic, so I think Scranton would be a probable choice for VP. Governor of a swing state and an ambassador under Gerald Ford. This combined ticket of Bush/Scranton would be seen as far too liberal by Republicans in 1984, so he would likely choose a more conservative running mate for his second term.

Perhaps Barry Goldwater, Senator from Arizona, father of modern conservatism, mentor to late President Reagan, and Republican nominee for president in 1964 (he lost to Johnson in a 60-40 landslide due to his opposition to the Civil Rights Act). If not Goldwater, perhaps his son Barry Jr, a Representative from California.

Bob Dole, Senator from Kansas, and President Gerald Ford's running mate in 1976

Caspar Weinberger, Reagan and Bush's Secretary of Defense

William French Smith, Regan and Bush's Attorney General

Alexander Haig, Reagan and Bush's Secretary of State (though he would be a controversial choice, having erroneously claimed to be acting-president in the time between Reagan death and Bush's return to Washington, DC from Texas)

In June 1982 of our timeline, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity, in part because the assassination failed. Attempting to assassinate a president is different than actually assassinating them, so Hinckley would very likely be found guilty and sentenced to death, becoming the first federal inmate to be executed since Victor Fregur in 1963.

[bountyofbeads]

Gunman in Dayton Had History of Threatening Women, Former Friends Say https://nyti.ms/2T7A0DV

Gunman in Dayton Had History of Threatening Women, Former Friends Say

By Campbell Robertson, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Timothy Williams | Published Aug. 5, 2019 | New York Times | Posted August 6, 2019 |

DAYTON, Ohio — The police on Monday were still trying to determine what motivated a gunman in Dayton to kill his sister and eight others, but people who grew up with him were conducting a different kind of investigation, looking back for any signs that might have foreshadowed his explosion of violence.

For more than a few, and for women in particular, these signs were not hard to find.

“I don’t want to say I saw it coming,” said Mika Carpenter, 24, who met the gunman, Connor Betts, 24, at a summer camp when they were both 13. “But if it was going to be anybody it was going to be him.”

Like others who knew Mr. Betts as a teenager, Ms. Carpenter recalled his dark and often violent jokes, including riffs about “bodily harm” that led many to keep their distance.

“He was kind of hateful to women because they didn’t want to date him,” she said. Still, she became friends with him because, she said, she saw that he had a good side.

Mr. Betts often expressed concerns to her about having dark thoughts, she said.

“I remember specifically him talking about being scared of the thoughts that he had, being scared that he had violent thoughts,” said Ms. Carpenter, who cut off contact with him in 2013 after he lashed out at her during an online chat. “He knew it wasn’t normal.”

The police in Dayton were quick to caution on Monday that much about the shooting early Sunday morning was still unknown. There was still no clear motive, nor an understanding of how three people — Mr. Betts, his sister and a mutual friend — all went out together and one ended up shooting the other two. The friend, who has not been named by the police, was shot in his lower torso but survived; the sister, Megan Betts, 22, was killed.

“It seems to just defy believability that he would shoot his own sister,” said Dayton’s police chief, Richard Biehl, at a news briefing on Monday morning. “But it’s also hard to believe he didn’t recognize that was his sister, so we just don’t know.”

On Saturday night, the three drove together to the Oregon District, a stretch of bars and clubs that is usually crowded on weekends. They separated at one point but remained in touch, the chief said. The police have no indication that the sister or mutual friend knew about the weapons Mr. Betts would later use in the shooting.

Mr. Betts fatally shot one person in an alleyway before turning his fire on his sister and their friend, the police have said. Nine people were killed and at least 27 others were wounded, including 14 who were shot. Others had cuts and injuries from the stampede of fleeing people.

The police said on Monday that Mr. Betts had purchased an AR-style pistol online from Texas, but had modified the gun with a pistol brace to improve stability. He also had a drum magazine that could hold 100 rounds, the police said.

Mr. Betts had up to 250 rounds of ammunition and fired at least 41 shots, Chief Biehl said. Six officers fired a total of 65 rounds at the gunman, killing him as he tried to enter a bar, where many people had taken refuge when the shooting began.

“I ran, I got trampled, I lost my shoes,” said Jessica Westover, 23, who was among the hundreds of people who gathered on Sunday night at a crowded vigil in the Oregon District. They mourned the dead and cheered the actions of emergency medical workers, but some also expressed anger over inaction on gun control.

When Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, stepped to the microphone to say a few words, some shouted “Do something!” and drowned out his remarks. A chant soon broke out: “What do we want? Gun control! When do we want it? Now!”

Mr. DeWine planned to hold a news conference on Tuesday morning to announce proposals to address gun violence and mental illness.

For many who grew up alongside Mr. Betts in the quiet Dayton suburbs, the shooting had summoned uneasy memories.

“He wanted to scare people, he really enjoyed it,” said Hannah Shows, who became friends with Mr. Betts when they were in the seventh grade. She recalled his talk of guns and gore, but chalked it up at the time to his being a 13-year-old boy.

But in ninth grade, Ms. Shows discovered she was named on a list that Mr. Betts had made of people in the school. The list threatened violence or sexual violence toward those who were on it, most of them girls, said Ben Seitz, 25, whose girlfriend at the time was also included.

Ms. Shows said she was never told the details about the threats, but the principal had asked her, “Is there any reason he would want to hurt you?”

Ms. Shows said she had assumed she was on the list because Mr. Betts had expressed interest in her and she turned him down. “After that, it turned into cold hatred the way he stared at me,” she said.

“People knew he was this way,” she said. “A lot of people could have helped, but no one did anything about it.”

Asked about the list from high school, Chief Biehl said that, even if the reports were true, he would be wary about making any connections.

“I’m a little bit reluctant, even if there’s such evidence, to interpret it 10 years later as somehow this is indicative of what happened yesterday,” he said.

At a brief talk with reporters later on Monday, the chief said he expected the investigation to be lengthy. Detectives were continuing to look at phones, computers and videos to understand what happened and why, though he added that there was no evidence that the shooting was a hate crime.

“I think there will be some familiar themes that will emerge from this investigation, so it will not be a surprise in some regard,” Chief Biehl said. “I think there are some unique aspects of it that we perhaps have not seen in other shootings.”

He declined to say what those unique aspects might be.

Here Are the Nine People Killed in Seconds in Dayton

The gunman’s victims ranged from a graduate student to a grandfather, a young mother to longtime friends.

By Farah Stockman and Adeel Hassan |

Published Aug. 5, 2019 | New York Times | Posted August 6, 2019 |

Two were friends from work, enjoying a night on the town. One had recently given birth and was finally getting out of the house. Another had just gotten a new job at a place he loved.

The crowd outside the Ned Peppers bar in Dayton, Ohio, had much to celebrate on Saturday night and the small hours of Sunday morning. But in an instant, their festivities turned into deadly chaos as a gunman clad in black opened fire with a military-style rifle and a large-capacity magazine. Nine lives were cut down and 27 more people were injured in a matter of seconds before police officers shot and killed the gunman.

Those who died left behind at least eight children, and countless friends, co-workers, classmates and family members struggling to grasp how so much could be lost so senselessly. Here is what we have learned about each of them.

Megan Betts

Ms. Betts, 22, was the younger sister of the gunman, Connor Betts. She attended Wright State University, a commuter school in the Dayton area, where she studied earth sciences and was expected to graduate next year. The university posted a message on Facebook offering counseling services to students.

Ms. Betts was a graduate of Bellbrook High School, where she played in the marching band along with her brother. Another former member of the band, Alex Gerbic, recalled her as very outgoing and kind. “She was a very bubbly personality,” Mr. Gerbic said.

According to a résumé she posted on LinkedIn, Ms. Betts spent much of the summer in Montana working as a tour guide at the Missoula Smokejumper Visitor Center. Last summer, she supervised children’s water activities at an urban park, according to Trish Butler, director of marketing and community engagement for Five Rivers MetroParks in Dayton. She also worked at Bed Bath & Beyond and Pier One.

Monica Brickhouse

Local media outlets reported that Ms. Brickhouse, 39, grew up in Springfield, about 20 miles from Dayton. She lived in Virginia Beach for a time, where she worked for Anthem, the health insurance company, according to WAVY, a television station in Portsmouth, Va. The station reported that Ms. Brickhouse had recently transferred to Dayton to work for Anthem from home.

At the time of the shooting, Ms. Brickhouse was out with a friend and co-worker, Beatrice Warren-Curtis, who also was killed. Anthem’s chief executive, Gail Boudreaux, sent a memo to the company’s employees describing the two women as dear friends “known for their positive energy,” according to the TV station.

A Facebook user, Brittany Hart, posted on Sunday that she had been close with both women and was shocked at their loss. In her post, Ms. Hart remembered Ms. Brickhouse as “like another aunt to me” and someone “I always wanted to tag along with.”

Thomas J. McNichols

Mr. McNichols, also known as Teejay, was 25. He was the father of two girls and two boys, and was living with his aunt in the Westwood neighborhood of Dayton.

“He loved to have fun, and every time I seen him, he was either laughing or smiling,” said Jevin Lamar, a cousin of Mr. McNichols who grew up in Dayton and has since moved to Los Angeles. “At family events, he was playing kickball. He was a great father, a great brother. He was a protector. He protected his family. He protected his sisters. He just was just happy.”

Lois L. Oglesby

Ms. Oglesby, 27, was the mother of a 6-year-old daughter and a newborn girl, according to a message posted by the Miami Valley Community Action partnership, where Ms. Oglesby’s mother has worked for almost 23 years. The agency is collecting funds for funeral costs as well as the long-term care of Ms. Oglesby’s two children.

According to The Dayton Daily News, she worked at a day care center, and grew up attending church and going to drill team. She was a former student at Sinclair Community College.

Nicholas P. Cumer

Mr. Cumer, 25, had just five more days to go in his internship at Maple Tree Cancer Alliance in Dayton, the final requirement for his master’s degree in exercise physiology from St. Francis University in Pennsylvania. Then he planned to take a permanent position that Maple Tree had offered him.

“He really wanted to spend the rest of his life working with cancer patients,” said Karen Wonders, Maple Tree’s executive director. “Most 25-year-olds don’t think that way.”

Two colleagues had just bought a house and were celebrating on Saturday, and they took Mr. Cumer along to show him the best his new home city had to offer. “If you’re going to go out in Dayton, that’s where you’re going to go,” Ms. Wonders said of the Oregon district, where the shooting took place. The two colleagues were injured in the shooting.

The Maple Tree Cancer Alliance guides patients through exercise sessions during their treatment, and Mr. Cumer, who had worked full time since May, was responsible for 20 patients.

“One of the things that stands out about Nick is that for every single one of his patients, he made them feel that they were the most important person in the world,” Ms. Wonders said. “That’s not something you can teach.”

Working with cancer patients, “we’re accustomed to heartbreak,” Ms. Wonders said of her staff. “We’ve lost some very special people — patients — to us this year. What caught people off guard is, now it’s one of our own. We’re the ones who are strong for everybody else. Now the tables are turned.”

Derrick R. Fudge

Mr. Fudge, 57, spent the last day of his life with his entire family — all 100 of them — at a cookout by a reservoir in Springfield.

“It was a wonderful opportunity for all of us — now it’s the best memory,” said Twyla Southall, his younger sister. “He was sitting at the table, laughing, eating and drinking.”

Mr. Fudge was with his son and 10-year-old granddaughter, whose house was devastated by a recent tornado in the area, Ms. Southall said. They had just repaired the home, and Mr. Fudge was looking forward to painting the girl’s room.

“We were actually celebrating an aunt’s victory over cancer,” Ms. Southall said on Monday after visiting a funeral home to make arrangements for a service on Aug. 10. “She’s not sick anymore, but it wasn’t her that we would have to worry about.”

Mr. Fudge, who grew up in Springfield with two sisters and three brothers, worked as a cook at several restaurants, Ms. Southall said. When he was a child, she recalled, he was hit by a train while playing, and lost three toes.

On Saturday night, he had gone out in Dayton with his son to celebrate a friend’s birthday. His son escaped without injury. “He loved life and he loved his family,” Ms. Southall said of her brother.

Beatrice N. Warren-Curtis

Ms. Warren-Curtis, 36, grew up in Wilmington, Del., and had moved to Virginia, where she worked in the Virginia Beach office of Anthem, the health insurance company. She was in Dayton visiting a co-worker and close friend, Monica Brickhouse, who also was killed in the shooting.

“She loved her family, especially her mom; she enjoyed traveling to watch her nephew play basketball and hanging out with her niece,” recalled her friend Lakisha Jarrett. “She loved to go to the football games to see her favorite team play, the Philadelphia Eagles.”

Ms. Jarrett said that she met Ms. Warren-Curtis, or Nikki, as her friends called her, in 2000 when they both worked at Coleman & Associates in Norfolk, Va.

“We instantly clicked,” Ms. Jarrett said. “She touched many lives with her presence. You were guaranteed a laugh or two, and maybe even three, if she was around. She was just full of life.”

Friends mourned her on Facebook as someone of strong religious faith who loved traveling. She posted photos of herself walking a beach in Cancún. When the film “Black Panther” came out, she posted that she would take children to see the film if their mothers could not afford tickets.

“Living life as He has designed for me to do!” she wrote. “I am who I am! Confident never cocky!”

Saeed Saleh

Saeed Saleh, 38, grew up in Eritrea and emigrated to Ohio about three years ago, according to Yahya Khamis, a leader of the Sudanese community in Dayton, which assists Eritrean immigrants, most of whom are recent arrivals. “Most of the Eritreans have been in Sudan,” Mr. Khamis said. “We understand each other. We speak the same language.”

Mr. Saleh lived in Dayton with his wife and a young daughter, while two other children live in Eritrea with his mother, Mr. Khamis said. Like many African immigrants, he said, Mr. Saleh held down several jobs, working at a warehouse and driving for a car service.

The Oregon district of Dayton, where the shooting took place, is a magnet for drivers looking for fares, and Mr. Khamis said he believed that was probably what Mr. Saleh was doing there on Saturday night when the gunfire broke out.

“He was a very good guy, he was very quiet,” Mr. Khamis said, adding that on Sunday, he had spent time with the family. “His wife was crying all day, and they had a lot of pictures with him and his daughter.”

Logan Turner

Logan Turner, 30, worked as a machinist operating computer-controlled tools at the Thaler Machine Company in Springboro, about 12 miles south of Dayton. After three years on the job, he had already gained a reputation as one of Thaler’s top employees, according to Greg Donson, the president of the company.

Mr. Turner was earning an associate degree at a vocational school and working as server at the Whiskey Barrel Saloon when Mr. Donson met and recruited him. Mr. Donson said Mr. Turner soon distinguished himself as an intelligent, hard worker with a good attitude.

“He was quickly working his way to the top,” Mr. Donson said. “A very positive person, with a big smile. Just a great guy.”

The governor of Ohio pushed for a ‘red flag’ law after the Dayton shooting.

(THIS IS NOT ENOUGH, BAN WEAPONS OF WAR, LARGE CAPACITY MAGAZINES AND UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS. ANYTHING LESS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH)

Two days after being drowned out by shouts of “Do something!” at a vigil for mass shooting victims in Dayton, Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio announced proposals on Tuesday that he said could reduce such shootings and limit gun access for people with mental health problems.

Mr. DeWine proposed adopting a version of a “red flag” law, which would allow the authorities to take firearms from a person deemed by a court to be dangerous.

He also said he would ask the General Assembly to pass a law requiring background checks for all firearm sales in the state, with some exceptions, including gifts between family members.

Mr. DeWine, a Republican endorsed by the National Rifle Association, encountered an angry, grieving crowd Sunday evening in Dayton, where nine people were killed in an entertainment district by a gunman with a history of misogyny and violent threats. Mr. DeWine was delivering condolences when his speech was interrupted with chants of “Do something!” that made it impossible to hear the governor. Later, some in the crowd chanted “What do we want? Gun control! When do we want it? Now!”

Mr. DeWine, who took office in January, had previously spoken in support of red flag legislation, but the Republican-led Legislature never took up the proposal.

His latest ideas could face skepticism from both sides of the political divide: Democrats are unlikely to find the proposals sweeping enough, and Republicans lawmakers are often loath to consider any legislation that would curb gun rights.

[tigermike]

On November 11, 1921, President Warren G. Harding presided over the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. The monument honored fallen U.S. servicemen from WWI whose remains were unidentified. The ceremony took place the same day the country was celebrating the newly declared Armistice Day holiday.

During WWI, the chaos of battle resulted in scores of unidentified dead servicemen. The creation of the memorial, also known as the Tomb of the Unknowns, was proposed in 1920 by New York Congressman and WWI veteran Hamilton Fish. Both Great Britain and France had dedicated similar monuments in 1920, and in March 1921, Congress approved the plan to build America’s tribute to unidentified fallen soldiers.

Officials wanted to choose one unknown serviceman and reinter him in a tomb at Arlington. To select that soldier, the bodies of four unidentified U.S. servicemen were exhumed from different American military cemeteries in France in October 1921. They were placed in identical caskets and brought to the city hall in Châlons-sur-Marne, France, where American war hero Sgt. Edward F. Younger selected one casket. With the backdrop of a dignified ceremony, officials placed the casket on board the USS Olympia to begin the journey home, arriving at the Washington Navy Yard on November 9, 1921.

After arrival, the Unknown lay in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, where on November 10, some 90,000 visitors waited in line to pay their respects. On the morning of November 11, a large funeral procession proceeded from the Capitol to Arlington. President Harding, former President Woodrow Wilson, and General John J. Pershing were among the dignitaries that participated in the procession.

After reaching Arlington, Americans across the country observed two minutes of silence. President Harding gave a speech and bestowed the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross on the Unknown Soldier; other nations also bestowed their highest awards. The funeral ended with the playing of Taps and a 21-gun salute.

At the time of burial, the tomb had yet to be completed and consisted of a simple marble slab. In 1932, the marble structure that now stands was installed. The tomb bears the inscription, “Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God.”

The tradition of guarding the tomb began in 1926, and in 1937, soldiers transitioned to a 24/7 presence at the memorial. The changing of the guard is a moving ceremony and takes place every 30 or 60 minutes, depending on the season.

In 1958, unknown soldiers representing the fallen of WWII and the Korean War were laid to rest at the monument. In 1984, a soldier from the Vietnam War was also interred in the tomb. However, through DNA testing, the body was positively identified in 1998 and returned to his family. The crypt designated for the Vietnam War Unknown remains vacant, and in 1999, it was rededicated to honor all missing U.S. service members from the Vietnam War.

As we mark the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we honor all who have served and sacrificed for their country.

[goswagcollectorfire]

CARL’S BLOG: ARKANSAS HILLBILLY 2-18-21, Striking out in Clarksville, Mississippi, Part 9 Striking out in Clarksville I glanced over at the passenger side of the car and saw the telephone directory Mrs. Brooks Taylor had given me. I opened it to the Clarksdale, Mississippi, section. I looked under the G section for Gates. I notice that Clarksdale had about six Gates’s listed in the telephone directory. Something compelled me to drive to Clarksdale, forty-five miles south of Tunica, in Coahoma County. While I was sitting in my car reading the telephone directory, Lena called and asked me how things were going. “Honey, I’m afraid I’ve struck out in Tunica.” “I’m so sorry. What are you going to do next?” “I’ve found some Gates’s in Clarksdale, and I’m going there to check newspapers in their city library. “That sounds like a good idea. If you do not find anything there what is your next plan?” “Something tells me I need to go to Sardis and Panola.” Lena reminded me to drive safely, and to let her know when I got settled in. After I reached Clarksdale, my first stop was the sheriff’s department. As I entered the building, I saw a young black lady sitting in an office with an enclosed window with bars on the outside. “Could I speak to the sheriff?” I asked. “What is your name?” “I am Carl Barger, superintendent of the Warren Public Schools, in Warren, Arkansas.” She got the sheriff on the phone and handed the phone to me. “Mr. Barger, what brings you to Clarksdale?” “I am researching a wreck that occurred in 1967 and killed one girl and injured three other teenagers.” “I was deputy sheriff in 1967. I remember a bad accident like you are describing that occurred on Highway 61, north of Clarksdale”. “Sir, do you have a record of that accident?” “We don’t keep records that are over five years old.” “Would the state police keep records that are over five years old?” “No sir, they don’t.” I felt dejected! What now? I thought to myself. “That’s terrible! How does someone like me find out what happened in years past?” “Mr. Barger, we don’t have the space or capacity to store records.” “Why don’t you put them on microfilm?” “That’s too expensive!” “What would you suggest I do to find out who was involved in the wreck you referred to on highway 61?” “You might try the local funeral homes or the city library. One of them might have a record of the accident.” I was really frustrated. I had gotten a lead on a wreck, but no records were available. I decided to take the sheriff’s advice and go to the city library. After arriving at the Clarksdale library, I explored a roll of microfilm for 1967. I found a wreck, but it was not the right one. I had again struck out. On my way back to Robbinsville, Mississippi, where I spent the night, I started reflecting on my conversation with my Little Rock source. I had gone to Tunica, but found nothing. Why did my source tell me to go to Tunica to gamble? Surely, there is a Tunica connection, but what? I still had a burning desire to continue. I felt God was telling me to hang in there. God knew it was not my nature to give up. I had never been a quitter, and I would not quit now. As I traveled back toward Tunica on highway 61, I took time to pray. I often did that when I drove places by myself. At that time, I felt a strong desire to talk to my Lord and Savior. He had been good to me all my life, and without Him, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I needed His help and since I believed in prayer, I began to pray. “Lord Jesus, I need your help! I need wisdom to know what to do next. Please give me wisdom, God, so I might know what decisions I need to make to find the Gateses. God, there must be something I am overlooking. What is it? Please reveal to me what I need to do.” After I had my talk with God, I felt an inner peace come over me again. I knew He heard me. Before I got out of my car at the motel in Robbinsville, I looked over to the passenger seat and saw the telephone book that Mrs. Taylor had given me. I picked it up and carried it with me to my motel room. After taking a shower and getting dressed for bed, I decided to look at the telephone book. I started flipping through the book looking for the name Gates. I found Gates’s in Crenshaw, Batesville, Jonestown, Marks, and Sumner. All of these places were within eighteen to thirty five miles of Tunica. I started looking at the yellow pages and noticed that the cities of Batesville, Marks, and Sardis had newspapers. I got little sleep during the night. Once I get something on my mind, it is hard for me to get it off. I play it over and over in my mind. After finding out there were Gates’s listed in the Crenshaw phone directory, I decided I would drive to Sardis, which had one of the newspapers that covered Quitman and Panola Counties. The next morning, I left around ten o’clock for the little town of Sardis, Mississippi.

[ultraheydudemestuff]

Judy Chapel in the Washington Cemetery Historic District

1741 Washington Ave.

Washington Court House, Ohio

The Judy Memorial Chapel is a historic jewel of the Washington Cemetery grounds The Washington Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery on the outskirts of the city of Washington Court House in the southeastern part of the state of Ohio. Established in the mid-19th century, the cemetery was transformed from a typical cemetery into a masterpiece of design during its first several decades. It is the burial place of several prominent political figures, and elements of its design have caused it to be designated a historic site. The cemetery was platted in 1856 by several eminent citizens, including Judge Daniel McLain, who had previously owned the land. Although its original boundaries encompassed 10 acres, the area was soon tripled. As soon as the cemetery was properly organized in a legal fashion, it was devised to the city and to Union Township.

Colonel Samuel N. Yeoman, a former forty-niner and Civil War veteran, established the cemetery; he participated in planning its layout and served as its first president. Under the leadership of superintendents W.B. Ely, James Holmes, and George Gossard, the cemetery was converted from an ordinary burial ground into a garden cemetery of a sort little seen in Ohio except in the large cities. Some of the leading components of its design are the winding driveways, artificial lakes, rare shrubs and trees, and a fountain that was placed in 1892. Two of the most prominent buildings in the cemetery are its chapel (originally the "Doctor Judy Memorial"; now known as the "Judy Chapel"), and its mausoleum (originally known as the "Washington Memorial") which were constructed in 1905 and 1914 respectively. Built in 1905 at the direction of Doctor Henry Judy, the late Gothic revival style, cross-shaped, granite Chapel building was intended for funeral services before funeral homes became preferred locations. Bedecked by stained glass windows and opulent woodwork,

As the twentieth century passed, the cemetery fell into disarray; money was saved by filling in a lake, and the fountain and chapel deteriorated. Under the leadership of the garden clubs of Fayette County, Judy Chapel and the fountain were restored in 1997 and the early 2000s respectively. The chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, and the entire cemetery followed it eight years later; it was designated the "Washington Cemetery Historic District." This designation was unusual, for both religious properties and cemeteries are generally ineligible for the National Register and must pass higher standards than most other properties to be eligible for inclusion. Two U.S. Representatives are buried at Washington Cemetery: Mills Gardner (died 1910) and James D. Post (died 1921), as well as Harry M. Daugherty, who served as United States Attorney General during the presidencies of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s. Tours of the cemetery grounds, along with the Judy Memorial Chapel, the U.S. Colored Troops burial sites, and the Washington Cemetery Fountain, are available Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

[torreygazette]

Why Compare the BHI and the KKK?

The latest social media spat within Protestantism surrounds a statement made by the known celebrity apologist Dr. James White involving the BHI and KKK.

The Black Hebrew Israelites (BHI) are a fairly new sect that has developed in the religious world—particularly America. Multiple positions they hold are counter to historic Christian views. Some articulations of their views are nuanced but the primary focus is that Africans and others impacted by the Atlantic slave trade are the true Israel (e.g. "Hebrews") and thus God’s chosen people. They reference Old Testament prophecies to establish this, but after this generic premise, a chasm between different sects arise. For the purpose of this article I will mention the extreme viewpoints of some in this camp:

White people will be slaves and oppressed in New Heavens & New Earth

White people are the Edomites and evil

Other extreme comments can be found regarding violence to white people, who they view as evil. They also believe in observance of the Old Testament laws and thus have a works righteousness dynamic—they oppose any reformation soteriology. There are hardly any connections to of historic orthodox, catholic Christianity.

With many criticisms of doctrine in the camp of the BHI, it remains hard to equate them with the doctrine and historical actions of the KKK. This is what makes Dr. White's comment so historically invalid and reprehensible. I quote:

“These people are racist in a way that make the KKK look like amateurs, in comparison to these guys. They get away with it because they are of a different color and you can be racist if you're that color.  But … this is the worst example of using and abusing religion as a cover for racism that you’ll ever see.”

The majority of Dr. James Whites followers have decided to insert the word “today's/modern time” to justify the claim that the BHI has more impact and growth than the KKK/white supremacist in our present communities:

The original statement—“the worst example…that you’ll ever see”—in Dr. White’s quote shows that this is not limited to the current time period, but even if we ignore close to hundreds of years and focus merely on recent history is this claim true? Dr. White highlights the religious tones of the BHI but relatively ignores that the KKK has claimed to be a “Christian” organization throughout its tenure. As recently as 2014, a leader of the Traditionalist American Knights of the KKK argued that they are a “Christian” organization. It is an extreme claim that BHI as a group are the worst example of using and abusing religion as a cover for racism—let alone to the extent of making the KKK seem like amateurs.

Political Examples

In 2015, a radical group that goes by Anonymous released documents outing possible/potential KKK members. This list includes people like Frazier Glenn Miller, convicted of the murder of three people at a Jewish site in Kansas 2014 (still pretty recent). The list has been shown to not be entirely accurate, but it still demonstrates a noticeable KKK present in the United States of America that is unmatched by BHI. Wikipedia has sources for a list of purported—and relatively recent—politicians associated with the KKK:

Robert Byrd, Hugo Black, Edward Jackson, Rice Means, Clarence Morely, Bibb Graves, Clifford Walker, George Gordon, John Tyler Morgan, Edmund Pettus, John Brown Gordon, John Clinton Porter, David Duke, Benjamin F. Stapleton, Warren G. Harding, Harry S. Trueman.

This list includes politicians from the 1920’s until the 1980’s, ending with David Duke, a guy that (poorly) attempted to run for president. Yes, he lost, but to even be considered a possible candidate for president of the United States shows a level of societal influence and impact that no member of the BHI has ever had. President Trueman's (1945) connection to the KKK is not solid, but circumstantial evidence has created a likelihood that he was connected to this domestic terrorist group. Pure numbers show that even with the recent growth of BHI it is nowhere near ingrained in the fabric of American society as the KKK and white supremacist thought.

Recent Examples

On June 17, 2015, a young white male named Dylann Roof entered into a bible study at an African Methodist Episcopal church. He sat there as if genuinely attempting to fellowship with these beloved saints. Ultimately, he shot and killed nine people in that church. Later, reasons for the shooting became known because he confessed a desire to start a race war. Other details have come out showing the murderer posing with symbols of white supremacy and neo-Nazism.

Considering I write this is 2018, I hope this event is not dismissed as out of “today’s context” by people attempting to limit the scope of Dr. White's claims. If the theoretical impact and growth of BHI supposedly exceeds the KKK, I’d expect to hear about the BHI community committing mass genocide or having a serial killer in their midst. As of yet, that is not the case. Yet, it is not a mere theory of a Christian apologist personality that nine funerals were held to lay these saints to rest.

Further, how much actual history do we have to ignore to force a context that makes this statement true? During my lifetime there are multiple examples of terror by the KKK.

On June 7, 1998, James Byrd was murdered by three white supremacists in Jasper, Texas. They dragged his body behind a pickup truck on an asphalt road. What led to this tragedy? Nothing but hate for black people, the same ideology that fuels the KKK. Mr. Byrd accepted a ride home and was murdered. Not just murdered but tortured. They beat him severely, urinated and defecated on him, and chained him by his ankles to their pickup truck before dragging him for approximately 1.5 miles. One of the murderers had a patch that showed his affiliation with a gang of white supremacist known as the Confederate Knights of America. This gang is directly tied to the KKK. For a group that some claim has a lack of influence and decreasing violence in recent decades, examples like these show otherwise.

Similarly, the last recorded lynching by the KKK was in 1981. The lynching of Michael Donald. His body hung from a tree in Mobile, Alabama. No matter what his accused crime was, the United States does not conduct law and order in this manner with no trial taking place. This type of terror has never been attributed to a BHI group.

We can disagree with the BHI's theology and their vile comments, but are we really going to compare words and threats with funeral services and actual death? Even if words are to be compared with actions, there are white supremacist groups that talk just as vile as BHI. It is only a broken logical process that assesses a position which says horrible things as worse than a position that says similar things and has actually fulfilled its threats.

1981 is not so long ago. This lynching happened during my lifetime. Michael Donald was born in 1961 and more than likely he’d still be alive today! The grandmother and grandfather of my kids are still alive and were born around this same time period. How can we state that this reign of terror is not apart of the current context when people born the same year are still alive and active today?

I truly believe the statements made by Dr. White and currently defended vigorously by his supporters are horribly wrong. No matter what spin is put on the statement, it is false and playing off of stereotypes concerning black people in America—the anger and dangerous black male stereotype to be exact. There is no way a verbal threat can be categorized as worst than actual violence. Each example listed in this piece shows actual violence done in the name of white supremacist thought. Even if we limit the scope to say “Dr. White, meant it in today's setting,” we have two murders of people linked back to this thought process (Dylann Roof and Frazier Glenn Miller). We also have the last known lynching being recorded in the lifetime of middle-aged people in America. The only way to prove Dr. White’s claim to be true is to throw out all of history.

Ignore the white supremacists' marches in 2017 and every other example prior to January 1st, 2018, there are still white supremacist groups that say things just as vile and evil as the worst Black Hebrew Israelite quotes. One is left asking why or specifically how this group is defined as the worst! Unfortunately, I can only conclude that this is race baiting at its finest. There is no basis to support Dr. White's comments. He will dig his heels in even more and so will his followers. The fact is that his claims are false.

All of this is similar to how he dug his heels regarding the last racial divisive issue when he grabbed almost every stereotype to apply it to a Black kid that littered and flipped off the cops. (Stereotypes such as “it’s a 70% chance he never met his father,” “he would be the father to kids he will not support,” and other baseless claims.)  Calls for repentance were ignored. He simply got support from his favorite black friends to justify his statements and no repentance ever came forth.

To conclude, I’d like to state that the is no way Black Hebrew Israelites are the worst example for using religion as a cover to hide racism. I do not know if Dr. White is a racist or not, but I do know that with a platform as far-reaching as his, I pray he uses his words and accusations more carefully.

[udhcmh]

THIS WEEK IN UNIVERSITY DISTRICT HISTORY

Saucermen and teenage werewolves, sleeping under the viaduct, and Warren G…

1917- German language professors at Ohio State denied access to campus by military authorities. August 10.

1923- Ohio State University closed for day in memorial to (and to allow travel to the funeral of) fallen US President (and Ohioan) Warren G. Harding. August 10.

1927- Prof Henry Clyde Shetrone of the Museum unearths "Great Warrior Burial" at Seip Mound, Ross Co OH. 39th burial excavated at ancient site. Many copper axes within. August 6.

1957- Classic Fifties drive-in double-feature at W. 5th Ave. Drive-In is "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" and "Invasion of the Saucer Men." August 9.

1964- Meeting held at Ohio Union to recruit volunteers for African-American voter registration drive in Mississippi. August 11.

1982- To the chagrin of all future governors, Jim Rhodes begins tradition of governor spending a night at Ohio State Fair with the kids exhibiting livestock. August 6.

2003- Ohio potato chip manufacturers create world record bag of potato chips (1,082.5 lbs.) at 150th Ohio State Fair. August 8.

[deadpresidents]

The procession transporting the casket of President Warren G. Harding from the Palace Hotel through San Francisco to return Harding's body back to Washington, D.C. aboard the train that the Presidential party had spent most of the summer traveling across the country on during Harding's "Voyage of Understanding", August 3, 1923.

[deadpresidents]

who was the last president to have an open casket at his funeral?

I’m almost positive that the last President who had an open casket funeral was Calvin Coolidge in 1933. There’s even a rare photo of President Coolidge in his casket as mourners pay their respects:

If any Presidents who died after 1933 had open caskets during their funeral ceremonies it would have likely been during private services for family and friends. I’ve never seen or read any evidence to suggest that any President’s remains were viewed by the public in an open casket after 1933.

Interestingly, after President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, tried to convince his grieving sister-in-law, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, that JFK’s casket should be opened for the public during his funeral ceremonies. From an earlier essay of mine, here’s some fascinating details on the discussion between RFK and his freshly-widowed sister-in-law on whether or not JFK’s funeral should have featured an open casket:

When President Kennedy’s casket was opened, it became readily apparent that the hard work of Vernon O'Neal and the nurses at Parkland Hospital in Dallas to protect the inside of the expensive coffin was unsuccessful. The makeshift bandage which had been carefully wrapped around Kennedy’s head did not prevent seepage after all. Blood soaked through the sheets which made up the “bandage” and the inner lining of Kennedy’s ornate casket was obviously damaged. It was a surreal, eerie sight in the autopsy room as John F. Kennedy was removed from his coffin and placed on the stainless steel autopsy table at Bethesda. The 35th President was naked and seemed to be in remarkably good physical condition for a 46-year-old man who was known to suffer from serious health problems. Most shocking for those in the room during the autopsy, however, was the fact that this seemingly young and vital President who had inspired a new generation was now very much dead with a massive gunshot wound to the head that exposed the part of his brain still contained within it and left the top of his skull jaggedly disfigured with missing pieces of bone and flesh. Kennedy’s eyes were fixed open, staring vacantly into space with dilated pupils that could no longer envision ambitious goals for his nation. The mouth which formed his famous words, framed his most inspirational messages, and spoke that unmistakable Boston accent now hung open, forever silenced and permanently paralyzed in a final expression which seemed to mirror the mood of the entire country: a combination of shock, pain, horror, and perplexity.

The pathologists who performed John F. Kennedy’s autopsy finished their work shortly after midnight on November 23, 1963. Photographs and drawings were taken of Kennedy’s body during the autopsy, and when the autopsy was finished, morticians from one of the capital’s finest funeral parlors arrived on the scene. A team from Gawler’s Funeral Home entered the autopsy room at Bethesda Naval Hospital to embalm the President and attempt to make him presentable. The casket that brought JFK back to Washington from Dallas would not work. While the casket from O’Neal’s was a beauty from the exterior, the interior was a mess. All of the safeguards attempted by O’Neal and the Parkland nurses in Dallas were not quite enough to protect the inside of the Handley Britannia from the gruesome wound that had killed the President.

The question many might have is why would there be such a need to make John F. Kennedy’s remains presentable when JFK was obviously in no condition to be viewed? Why couldn’t they simply close that beautiful Handley Britannia casket that was purchased in Dallas and bury Kennedy in the container which carried him back to Washington?  

At the orders of Jackie Kennedy, aides went to the Library of Congress in the hours after President Kennedy’s body returned to Washington, D.C. and researched the historic, iconic, epic state funeral of Abraham Lincoln – the first American President to be assassinated, almost exactly a century earlier. Kennedy’s funeral preparations would be steeped in tradition and either perfectly replicate or closely mirror the funerals of other fallen American Presidents including Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. As information about these past Presidential funerals (along with the funerals of famous Congressional and military leaders throughout United States history) was brought forward, one constant was apparent: in almost every case, the fallen leader was viewed by a grieving public in an open casket display. For many Americans, streaming past the open casket of a former President or American military hero was an opportunity to pay tribute, look upon the face of a fallen hero, and find closure in another storied chapter of American History.

Yet, as much as Jackie wished to replicate Lincoln’s funeral, she was dismayed at the thought of an open casket for John F. Kennedy. Jackie had seen what the assassin’s bullet had done to her husband. As Kennedy’s motorcade raced to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas minutes after the shooting, Jackie wouldn’t allow doctors and Secret Service agents to remove President Kennedy’s body from the limousine until an agent covered Kennedy’s head with his suit jacket, shielded the President from the view of others, and preserved some of the dignity that was so important to the Kennedy image. As the morticians from Gawler’s worked on JFK, Jackie once again expressed her wish that her husband’s coffin would be closed. Bobby Kennedy, however, didn’t think that the decision was up to the family. RFK felt strongly that JFK belonged to the people, too, and that the American people would want their opportunity to say goodbye.

Following his assassination in 1865, Abraham Lincoln’s remains embarked on an epic, 20-day-long train trip that retraced the route he took to Washington in 1861 prior to his Inauguration. In major cities throughout the Northeast and Upper Midwest, hundreds of thousands of Americans turned out to pay their respects to their “martyred” President. Embalming was a relatively newly-mastered American art at the time of Lincoln’s death – a technique which had been much-improved upon and much-practiced during the Civil War when young men frequently died far from home and families looked to preserve their fallen loved ones so that they could have one last look at them before they were laid to rest.  

However, even today, embalming can’t guarantee perfect preservation for an extended amount of time. In 1865, there were definitely some worries about Lincoln’s extended, national funeral. After all, the warm weather of spring had started throughout the United States and Lincoln would be honored with open casket viewings by Americans in well over a dozen cities between Washington, D.C. and Springfield, Illinois in the twenty days after his death. Some people worried whether it was appropriate to view Lincoln’s corpse at all considering the fact that he had died from a gunshot wound to the head. Lincoln’s wound was far less devastating visually than Kennedy’s. The bullet that killed Lincoln had entered his brain, but did not exit Lincoln’s skull. The only damage visible was a black eye from bruising of the facial bones close to where John Wilkes Booth’s bullet had lodged in Lincoln’s brain. Undertakers accompanied Lincoln’s body on the funeral train back to Springfield and as time passed, they certainly became necessary. Lincoln’s face blackened considerably by the time his remains reached Springfield – partly from the facial bruising, partly from the dirt and dust of twenty days exposure to the elements, but also partly due to the beginning stages of decomposition. At some cities, the undertakers who accompanied Lincoln home would brush his face with chalk to make him more presentable to the citizens who came to pay their respects. In a few cities, it also became necessary to surround Lincoln’s casket with fragrant flowers and spray the area with heavy perfumes for reasons that I’m sure aren’t too difficult to surmise.

John F. Kennedy was not going to be viewed by the public for twenty days in over a dozen cities throughout the country and the funeral industry had made even larger strides in the century since Lincoln’s death. However, JFK was severely disfigured by the bullet that killed him. Unlike in Lincoln’s case, the bullet that tore through Kennedy’s skull and brain also exited his head, causing major damage that would be difficult for even the most-skilled mortician to disguise. The team from Gawler’s were perhaps the best in the business, but it wasn’t simply a matter of brushing some chalk or cosmetic makeup on Kennedy’s face to cover up some bruising or minor discoloration. Entire pieces of JFK’s skull were missing and parts of the President’s head needed to be synthetically reconstructed. The morticians also had to pack his skull with cotton and Plaster of Paris in the place of his brain – parts of which were removed during the autopsy and other parts of which were in countless places including (but not limited to) the fabric of his wife’s Pink Chanel dress, the windshields of the motorcycle cops escorting his motorcade in Dallas, the backseat and trunk of his limousine, and all over Dealey Plaza in Dallas.

The mortuary team from Gawler’s took over three hours to work on President Kennedy, clean him up, dress him (in a bluish-gray pinstriped suit with a white shirt, black shoes, and blue tie with dots), place him in a brand-new casket and put a rosary in the hands of the nation’s only Catholic President. A little after 4:00 AM, President Kennedy, his widow and Bobby Kennedy arrived at the White House after a solemn motorcade through the darkened streets of Washington. In the first nod to Lincoln’s funeral, JFK’s flag-draped casket was carried by an honor guard into the East Room of the White House and placed on a replica of the black catafalque that Lincoln’s coffin once rested on. After Kennedy’s casket was situated in the East Room, Jackie Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy entered the room and asked that the lid be opened. Both Jackie and Bobby were exhausted and emotionally drained, and Jackie was still wearing the Pink Chanel dress that she had cradled her dying husband’s head in. The front of her dress was smeared with the dried blood and brain matter of the President. As ghastly as the sight was, Jackie continually refused to change, noting that she wanted everyone to see what “they” did to her husband. As the casket lid was opened, Jackie snipped a lock of her husband’s hair with scissors and turned to Bobby, saying, “It isn’t Jack” – once again alluding to her wish that the casket remain closed.

Jackie left the East Room and headed upstairs to the White House Residence to finally change her clothes and attempt to sleep. In the East Room, Bobby remained near his brother’s coffin with a couple of friends, close aides, and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. The stoic RFK – always much tougher than his older brother – was a wreck by this point, after attempting to stay strong and supportive throughout the night for his stunned sister-in-law. Bobby had not yet looked at JFK’s remains. To finally make the decision about whether or not JFK would have an open casket, RFK took a look at his brother’s face. When he saw Jack in the coffin, RFK immediately agreed with Jackie’s feelings, “She’s right. Close it.” While the team from Gawler’s had done an admirable job of repairing the massive trauma to the President’s head, JFK was virtually unrecognizable as the man he once was. To those who saw his body as the casket was briefly open in the East Room early that morning, it was apparent that the American people wouldn’t want to remember their fallen President in that way – as if he were a wax museum knock-off of the real John F. Kennedy. The funeral ceremonies over the next few days would all be closed casket and the nation would remember JFK as the young, lively, inspirational President that he had been for so many Americans.