GERANIUM LOVER You luxuriate in their musky scent, Rubbing thumb and first two fingers across a leaf you offer me your perfumed hand. The scarlet ones are best top-heavy with blowsy blooms. I grow other variations, delicate pink, shell-like peach, ivy-leaved and lemon-scented, but they're far too dainty genteel as Dresden ladies not like the harlots in my window, flouncy skirts seducing you their robust colour a buxom miracle of each year's cuttings shoved casually into an earthen pot. I stroke the silky petals and you kiss my proffered fingers burning scarlet, dangerous and ardent. -- Eithne CAVANAGH "Extended Wings 4, An Anthology of Poetry and Prose," Rathmines Writers, Swan Press/Dublin (1998).

SNIPPET: The image of the Irish boxer was so powerful in late 19th century America that many aspiring non-Irish pugilists took Irish "ring" names. They believed, quite correctly, that their chances of getting better bouts and higher placement on fight cards depended on their appearing Irish! In 1905, The Ancient Order of Hibernians (who had launched a successful campaign to rid American theater of the "stage Irishman" character) announced a campaign against what they described as "the nefarious custom of criminals, pugilists, and the abandoned and submerged tenth of society adopting Irish names, both Christian and surnames." Still, it was the 1930s before Italian and Jewish fighters ceased the practice.

HOMEPLACE I love the way Eugene Clancy says the word homeplace This battle-scarred boxer lets the syllables roll They reverberate in his throat - homeplace - I envy the way he can say it so tenderly. Just like John Joe up the mountain at Moneen, where all that is left Of his family homeplace is a stone floor, his father's name carved on the hearth, A chimney and what was once his parent's bedroom. He carved his name too when he left for forty years Working away but always feeling the tug and dream like draw. These words are an embrace, a welcome and a safety. I know that there is no place I can call home place In the same way as Eugene or John Joe With that sound so grounded and assured, rooted on a square space where blood and earth mingle It is my earth, too, but not a homeplace. -- Bee Smith, 2005 issue of "Leitrim Guardian" yearly magazine.

SNIPPET: In Ireland Dublin-born poet and playwright William Butler YEATS and his friend authoress Lady Augusta GREGORY were to lead the Celtic literary revival. Their goal was to rekindle interest in the Irish language and cultural roots. Their efforts resulted in the formation of an Irish national theatre, eventually to become the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Born Augusta PERSSE, from a Galway landowning family, she married William GREGORY in 1880. After his death she administered his estate at Coole Park, Co. Galway, for their son and developed nationalist sympathies. Coole became a centre of the Irish literary revival through her friendship with YEATS, who encouraged her interest in folklore. She wrote several plays, and her history of the Abbey theatre and posthumous autobiography and journals are significant sources for the history of the literary revival. It is said that her grandmotherly, slightly condescending image disguised her stature and individuality. An example of YEATS poetry is his lovely, "The Wild Swans at Coole" -- "The trees are in their autumn beauty/The woodland paths are dry/Under the October twilight the water/Mirrors a still sky/Upon the brimming water among the stones/Are nine-and-fifty swans/The nineteeth autumn has come upon me/Since I first made my count/I saw, before I had well finished/All suddenly mount/And scatter wheeling in great broken rings/Upon their clamorous wings/I have looked upon those brilliant creatures/And now my heart is sore/All's changed since I, hearing at twilight/The first time on this shore/The bell-beat of their wings above my head/Trod with a lighter tread/Unwearied still, lover by lover/They paddle in the cold/Companionable streams or climb the air/Their hearts have not grown cold/Passion or conquest, wander where they will/Attend upon them still." YEATS encouraged author J. M. SYNGE to go to the Aran Islands and write about the life of the inhabitants. His "Riders to the Sea," written after his stay on Inishmore island, was presented at the Abbey Theatre to critical acclaim, although his "Playboy of the Western World" caused an uproar when it was presented. Sean O'CASEY's "The Plough and the Stars," set in Dublin at the time of the 1916 Easter Rising, was also presented at the Abbey Theatre. YEATS responded to an opening night riot by admonishing the audience: "Is this going to be a recurring celebration of Irish genius: SYNGE first and then O'CASEY?" One of the most significant events of 20th century Ireland was the 1916 Easter Rising. Patrick PEARSE, one of the leaders, read aloud the Proclamation of the Provincial Government from the steps of the general post office in Dublin, calling on all Irish men and women to fight for freedom from British rule. After six days of fighting, in which several hundred people were killed, the leaders of the Rising were arrested and then executed a few weeks later at Kilmainhaim Jail, thus securing their places in the Irish memory forever, and recreating the tradition of Cuchulainn and the belief that "better is short life with honor than long life with dishonor." A magnificient bronze statue of the dying mythic Cuchulainn was later erected in the general post office to commemorate the young martyrs. Many of the 20th century writers, including among others, Patrick KAVANAGH, John MONTAGUE, Seamus HEANEY, Sean O'FAOLAIN, and Ms. EAVAN BOLAND draw from historical images in their work, images of landscapes of the past. Ita DALY's poignant story, "The Lady with the Red Shoes": isolates the long-term effect of the past on her characters - both the observer and the observed.

PRELUDE Still south I went, and west, and south again, Through Wicklow from the morning to the night, And far from cities and the sights of men, Lived with the sunshine and the moon's delight. I knew the stars, the flowers and the birds The grey and wintry sides of many glens, And did but half remember human words, In converse with the mountains, moors and fens. -- J. M Synge

FYI -- Per a year 2000 issue of "Irish Roots" magazine (pub. Cork), a gentleman by the name of Mr. Anthony DALY, whose address at that time was 30 Gledswood Park, Clonskeagh, Dublin 14, Ireland, was in the process of compiling an extensive database which included 1901 and 1911 census returns for Ireland containing approximately 1,700 serving Coastguards plus family member detail. He had also traced from Church of Ireland records dating from between 1820 and 1916 over 3,000 baptisms of children of Coastguard and Preventive Water Guard families. Directories from the years 1835 to 1916 had also listed names of Officers in charge at many of the stations. Mr. DALY shared that comprehensive Royal Navy records are held at the Public Records Office (PRO) at Kew, in London, and that his data collection is more local in origin. At that time (2000) Mr. DALY was offering to check out requested names against his data on receipt of a self-addressed envelope accompanied by an international reply coupon (IRC) from your local postoffice. Mr. DALY also said that he had present-day photographs of many of the former coastguard stations. He had received quite a few enquiries in relation to his database from researchers in the UK, Canada and Australia. It is possible he may still be involved in that project and accepting requests for information. Perhaps he has a website on the Internet??? Maybe a Google search? An example from the database: Year 1901 - Station: Greystones: County Wicklow Name - Rank - Religion - Age - Prev. Occupation - Marital Status - Where Born 1. Robert E. LIPTON, Chf Btn, RC, 43, Printer, M, England 2. William QUINLAN, Comm Btn, RC, 45, Blacksmith, M, Alderney 3. William BATES, Comm Btn, C of I, 43, Blacksmith, M, England 4. William COOPEY, Boatman, C of I, 40, Collier, M, England 5. William J. GIDLEY, Boatman, Method., 41, Labourer, M, England 6. J. C. LORD, Boatman, Brethern, 34, Silversmith, M, England 7 George HUMBER, Boatman, C of I, 33, Page, M, England 8. Henry GUMBRELL, Boatman, C of I, 30, Labourer, M, England Name - Relation to Officer - Religion - Age - Occupation - Marital Status - Where Born Annie LIPTON, Wife, RC, 41, M, Malta Louise LIPTON, Dau, RC, 20, Housemaid, NM, Malta Mary Ann LIPTON, Dau, RC, 18, Housemaid, NM, Malta William H. LIPTON, Son, RC, 16, Messngr boy, NM, Co. Antrim Rosey J. LIPTON, Dau, RC, 14, Scholar, NM, Co. Antrim Amy E. LIPTON, Dau, RC, 11, Scholar, NM, Co. Dublin Robert E. LIPTON, Son, RC, 9, Scholar, NM, Dublin John J. LIPTON, Son, RC, 7, Scholar, NM, Dublin Frederick LIPTON, Son, RC, 3, NM, Co. Down Patrick A. LIPTON, Son, RC, 1, NM, Co. Down Annie QUINLAN, Wife, RC, 36, M, Portrane Francis DEVINE Jnr, Nephew, RC, 14, Scholar, NM, Portland, ME, USA Laura BATES, Wife, C of I, 42, M, England Gisset BATES, Dau, C of I, 15, Scholar, NM, England Nelli BATES, Dau, C of I, 11, Scholar, NM, Co. Cork Lillie BATES, Dau, C of I, 11, Scholar, NM, Co. Cork Ernest BATES, Son, C of I, 10, Scholar, NM, Co. Cork Harry BATES, Son, C of I, 9, Scholar, NM, Co. Cork Reginald BATES, Son, C of I, 7, Scholar , NM, Co. Cork Frederick BATES, Son, C of I, 4, Scholar, NM, Co. Cork Harriett COOPEY, Wife, C of I, 38, M, England Kate COOPEY, Dau, C of I, 12, Scholar, NM, England Sarah GIDLEY, Wife, Method., 44, M, England Frederick GIDLEY, Son, Method., 16, Tlgph. Msgr., NM, England Alice Rhonda GIDLEY, Dau, Method, 7, scholar, NM, England Nellie LORD, Wife, C of E, 29, M, England Harry LORD, C of E, 9, Scholar, NM, England Minnie HUMBER, Wife C of E, 35, Laundress, M, England Ellen GUMBRELL, Wife, C of I, 33, M, England Nellie GUMBRELL, Dau, C of I, 8, Scholar, NM, England Harry GUMBRELL, Son, C of I, 6, Scholar, NM, England The Coastguard in the southern part of Ireland was disbanded in 1922. Recently a new Coastguard service has been established by the Irish Government.

THE FAIR AT WINDGAP There was airy music and sport at the fair And showers were tenting on the bare field, Laughter had knotted a crowd where the horses And mares were backing, when carts from the wheelwright Were shafted: bargains on sale everywhere and the barmen Glassing neat whiskey or pulling black porter On draught -- and O the red brandy, the oatmeal And the whiteness of flour in the weighing scale! Calico petticoats, cashmere and blouses, Blankets of buttermilk, flannel on stalls there, Caps of bright tweed and corduroy trousers And green or yellow ribbon with a stripe; The tanner was hiding, the saddler plied the bradawl; Barrows had chinaware, knives and blue razors, Black twisted tobacco to pare in the claypipe And the ha'penny harp that is played on a finger. Soft as rain slipping through rushes, the cattle Came: dealers were brawling at seven-pound-ten, On heifers in calf a bargain was clapped When ewes, that are nearer the grass, had taken Two guineas; the blacksmith was filing the horn in his lap For the fillies called up more hands than their height, Black goats were cheap; for a sow in the stock O'Flaherty got but the half of her farrow. Balladmen, beggarmen, trick o' the loop men And cardmen, hiding Queen Maeve up their sleeve, Were picking red pennies and soon a prizefighter Enticed the young fellows and left them all grieving: While the marriageable girls were walking up and down And the folk were saying that the Frenchmen Had taken the herring from the brown tide And sailed at daybreak, they were saying. Twenty-five tinkers that came from Glentartan, Not counting the jennets and barefooted women, Had a white crop of metal upon every cart; The neighbours were buying, but a red-headed man Of them, swearing no stranger could bottom a kettle, Leaped over the droves going down to the ocean, Glibbed with the sunlight: blows were around him And so the commotion arose at the fair. -- Austin CLARKE (b. 1896) -- (from the Irish) Windgap is apparently in Co. Kilkenny

CLEARANCES VII In the last minutes he said more to her Almost than in all their life together. 'You'll be in New Row on Monday night And I'll come up for you and you'll be glad When I walk in the door...Isn't that right?' His head was bent down to her propped-up head. She could not hear but we were overjoyed. He called her good and girl. Then she was dead, The searching for a pulsebeat was abandoned And we all knew one thing by being there. The space we stood around had been emptied Into us to keep, it penetrated Clearances that suddenly stood open. High cries were felled and a pure change happened. -- Seamus Heaney, in memoriam M.K.H. 1911-1984

A COAT "We're not a mile off it," I heard him say, with an ought Dragging and lengthening out the sound of that "not"? For Mr Simpson, though he worked in Magherafelt, Was from Antrim and glottal and more of a Pict than a Celt. But an Ulsterman. An Ulsterman for sure, Calling a spade a spade and the door the dure And any child he was fitting with clothes the wean. My father poked his cattle-dealer's cane Into the coats on the coatrack for the only one That took his fancy and when I had put it on, "We're not a mile off it," Mr Simpson said again, Uneager and sure of the sale; and confidentially then, "Ulster, you know, is the name for an overcoat. The Oxford English Dictionary even gives it. Ulster." He paused and he mused. "All over the world Good cloth and good wear and the whole of your money's worth." I hear him still when I reach deep into the long Cold draught of the sleeve of some ulster I'm fitting on And wish my hand would come through and beyond all that Deep glottal purchase and worth, like the virtual flight Of The Red Hand of Ulster beyond the beyond of its myth, Back to its unbloodied cuff at its unsevered wrist, Flexing its fingers again and combing the air And a wild, post-Shakespearean streel of gallowglass hair. -- Seamus Heaney Webster's Dictionary: ulster: a long, loose, heavy overcoat (from Ulster, in Northern Ireland)

http://scripts.ireland.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm http://members.cox.net/hayes1966/griffiths.htm http://www.leitrim-roscommon.com/GRIFFITH/ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hiflyte/ http://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths.php

Hi Bill, Please forgive my oversight! Jean xx ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill McClain" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, January 21, 2007 9:39 AM Subject: Re: [IGW] Memory Lane -- America in the 1930s -- History forBackground > Hi Jean R, > There was a slight over sight in 1939, failed to mention my birth. Ha-Ha. > Bill > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jean R." <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2007 1:19 AM > Subject: [IGW] Memory Lane -- America in the 1930s -- History for > Background > > >> >> SNIPPET: Genealogy is made all the more interesting against a >> background >> of events during a particular time period. <snip>

SNIPPET: The following 2004 book may be of interest to researchers -- "Tides of Change, Memories of a Kerry Childhood," by John CURRAN (Curran Publishing at www.curranpublishing.ie, Toor, Waterville, Co. Kerry. (ISBN 0-9547026-0-3, P/b. "John CURRAN, born into a household of ten children in Kerry in 1941 learned how to dance the Polka Set - they do things differently in Kerry and he devotes a chapter to the ins and outs of 'going dancing.' Sadly an accident while helping a neighbour paralysed John from the neck down in 1978. But grit, tenacity, love and pride and the support of friends and family combined and he wrote this book, controlling his word processor with his chin. It took him six years. I quote from John's son, Mike" -- 'The book tells the story of his eventful life growing up as part of a large family in rural Ireland in the 1940s and 50s. An Ireland that probably no longer exists.....' The review goes on - "Indeed it is, describing as it does the joys and sorrows of a life lived in a large, loving, successful Kerry family with its feet firmly on Kerry ground." -- "Ireland of the Welcomes" magazine, published in Dublin.

Hi Jean R, There was a slight over sight in 1939, failed to mention my birth. Ha-Ha. Bill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jean R." <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2007 1:19 AM Subject: [IGW] Memory Lane -- America in the 1930s -- History for Background > > SNIPPET: Genealogy is made all the more interesting against a background > of events during a particular time period. In 1930, one out of every > five Americans owned a car, the U. S. population was 122.7 million and > life > expectancy of the average American was 61 years. The median age for all > living Americans at that time was 26.4. More than 1,300 banks closed in > 1930. Fred MacMURRAY sings a song by George OLSEN and His Music: "I'll > have to see my broker/Find out what he can do./'Cause I'm in the market > for > you." More than 14 million Americans are foreign-born, the highest number > there will be in the United States for another six decades. The planet > Pluto is discoverd by a 24-year-old astronomer Clyde TOMBAUGH. An article > on bridal showers suggests that guests hunt for souvenirs: "such things > as > a ten-cent wedding ring, toy wash-boards and other articles suggestive of > marriage and housewifery." The first installment of the comic strip > "Blondie" appears. Grant WOOD paints 'American Gothic." William > Harrison > HAYS, then president of the industry-created Motion Picture Producers and > Distributors, established a production code to regulate the use of > profanity, the depiction of sexual behavior and the treatment of material > deemed to be unpatriotic. Throughout the 30s and 40s producers lobbied > HAY's office repeatedly for the right to include certain material in their > films. > > In 1931 between 4 and 5 million Americans are unemployed. "The > Star-Spangled > Banner" is made the national anthem by an act of Congress. Two white > women > claim they had been sexually assaulted onboard a freight train in AL. > Despite scant evidence, nine black youths, who will become known as the > Scottsboro boys (because the trial takes place in Scottsboro, AL) are > convicted. Al CAPONE is ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and more than > twice > that in back taxes and is sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion. > James CAGNEY crushes a grapefruit into his girlfriend's face in the film > "The Public Enemy." President Herbert HOOVER takes a 20 percent pay cut. > > In 1932 Franklin Delano ROOSEVELT is elected president after promising a > "new deal" for the American people. On NBC and CBS, prices can now be > mentioned in radio commercials. Popular songs include Jay GORNEY and E. > Y. > HARBURG's "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," Irving BERLIN's "Let's Have > Another Cup of Coffee," and Cole Porter's "Night and Day." The body of > kidnapped baby Charles LINDBERGH, JR. is found in the woods near his > parents' home. Radio City Music Hall, Skippy peanut butter, and Zippo > lighters are new. Moving to radio, "New York Daily Mirror" columnist > Walter > WINCHELL begins his entertainment news and gossip show with the words, > "Good > evening, Mr. and Mrs. America, and all the ships at sea." > > In 1933 at New York's Cotton Club, 16-year-old Lena HORNE makes her debut. > FDR broadcasts his first "fireside chat." Gasoline costs 18 cents a > gallon. > Wtih its billboard inviting customers to "sit in your car, see and hear > movies," the first drive-in movie theater opens, in Camden, NJ. > Prohibition is repealed. Formerly found in packs of cigarettes, baseball > cards are now packaged with gum as well. Like many scientists in > Germany, > Albert EINSTEIN fled the Nazis to come to America. He accepted a teaching > post at Princeton University in 1933 and remained there until his death. > > In 1934, in separate incidents, Bonnie PARKER and Clyde BARROW, John > DILLINGER, Baby Face NELSON, and Pretty Boy FLOYD are all gunned down. > Interestingly, six weeks earlier, notorious Clyde Champion BARROW, had > written from Tulsa, OK to Henry FORD in Detroit, MI: "Dear Sir: While I > still have got breath in my lungs I will tell you what a dandy car you > make. > I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. For > sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford has got every other car > skinned, and even if my business hasen't been strickly legal it don't hurt > enything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V8." > > In 1935, Louisiana's governor, 42-year-old Huey LONG is shot to death by > Dr. > Carl Austin WEISS. The Works Progress Adminstration is created by an > executive order. The Social Security Act becomes law. Massive dust > storms > ravage the prairie states. Alcoholics Anonymous is founded by Bill WILSON > and Dr. Robert H. SMITH. Pan American Airways becomes the first airline > to > serve hot meals in the air. > > In 1936, Margaret MITCHELL's first and only novel "Gone With the Wind" > sells > a million copies in six months. The Waring Blender and "The Joy of > Cooking" > are introduced. > > In 1937, Amelia EARHART disappears over the Pacific Ocean. The German > airship Hindenburg explodes over Lakehurst, NJ. San Francisco's Golden > Gate > Bridge is opened. In gratitude for their increased sales, American > spinach > growers erect a six-foot-tall painted statue of the comic-strip character > Popeye in Crystal City, TX. > > In 1938, tanks are set up outside Gimbel's department store so swimmeres > can > show that the newly invented ballpoint pen will write underwater. In > spite > of four explanatory announcements during the show, panic sweeps the nation > when Orson WELLES, 23, and his Mercury Theatre broadcast a radio version > of > "War of the Worlds," complete with reports of "poisonous black smoke ... > death rays (and) monstrous Martians." > > In 1939, acclaimed black contralto Marian ANDERSON, denied the right to > perform in Constitutional Hall, sings before 75 thousand people at the > Lincoln Memorial. "Gone With the Wind," "The Wizard of Oz," "Mr. Smith > Goes > to Washington, " "Dark Victory," and "Wuthering Heights" are among the > fine > movies released. Baseball can be seen on television for the first time. > Frank SINATRA is hired by bandleader Harry JAMES as lead vocalist. It > takes > 22 hours (and $675 per passenger, round trip) to cross the Atlantic Ocean > on > Pan Am's new commercial Clipper service. The Perisphere and the Trylon > grace the New York World's Fair and become symbols of the optimistic theme > "Building the World of Tomorrow." > > -- Excerpts, "Letters of the Century, America 1900-1999," eds. Grunwald > and > Adler (1999) > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message

SNIPPET: "For those who stayed in Ireland throughout the Famine, either by force or circumstance or by personal good fortune, the most significant event of 1849 was the visit of the British monarch, Queen Victoria, who enjoyed a great welcome despite Anglo-Irish hostilities. Cheering crowds turned out in August to greet the Queen and her husband, Prince Albert, son of the German Duke of Saxe-Coburg. The royal couple visited Dublin and Cove, the magnificent harbour town 13 miles to the east of Cork. Though Ireland's political leaders were opposed to the royal visit, the Queen was aware of Ireland's suffering and was intent on judging the situation for herself. It is, of course, doubtful that she was able to witness the full horrors of the Famine, the starving beggars and overcrowded workhouses. Instead, she was honoured with lively and expensive festivities. At Cove, the royal yacht was greeted by rockets launched from her naval ships stationed in port; and local residents lit huge bonfires. The servants of one country house were so enthusiastic with their firework display that they set fire to 14 acres of woodland. The next day, at the official welcoming ceremony, the Queen surprisingly announced, 'I have much pleasure in giving my sanction to the change of name which has been sought by the inhabitants and direct that this town shall in future be called Queenstown.' The port had been known as the Cove of Cork, or Cove for short, but it retained its royal name until 1922 when Ireland achieve her independence, and Queenstown was re-named Cobh, which is the Gaelic for cove. Cove is probably the largest and most natural harbour in the world. Its share of maritime tragedies are by no means confined to the Irish Famine and Emigration. Cove was the last port of call for the Titanic, the safest liner afloat, on her fateful maiden voyage, ending in disaster. Nearby, in 1915, the Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine -- an act which precipitated America's participation in the First World War. As years rolled by there can have been little comfort for the local population of Queenstown." -- Excerpt, "The Famine Ships," Edward LAXTON, (Henry Holt NY/1996).

Hi Listers - I sent away for at least eight SS applications of family/relatives I found on one of the Internet SS databases some time ago. They contained new data for my research and the signatures of the persons applying. (I loved seeing once again the handwriting of my deceased parents!). Many contained information from the mid-to-late 1930s, which was great since it built on what I had discovered from the 1920 and 1930 USA Federal Censuses. It was interesting to see where they lived, where they worked, what type of jobs they had at that time. I would say this is a valuable resource for FH. Jean

SNIPPET: Genealogy is made all the more interesting against a background of events during a particular time period. In 1930, one out of every five Americans owned a car, the U. S. population was 122.7 million and life expectancy of the average American was 61 years. The median age for all living Americans at that time was 26.4. More than 1,300 banks closed in 1930. Fred MacMURRAY sings a song by George OLSEN and His Music: "I'll have to see my broker/Find out what he can do./'Cause I'm in the market for you." More than 14 million Americans are foreign-born, the highest number there will be in the United States for another six decades. The planet Pluto is discoverd by a 24-year-old astronomer Clyde TOMBAUGH. An article on bridal showers suggests that guests hunt for souvenirs: "such things as a ten-cent wedding ring, toy wash-boards and other articles suggestive of marriage and housewifery." The first installment of the comic strip "Blondie" appears. Grant WOOD paints 'American Gothic." William Harrison HAYS, then president of the industry-created Motion Picture Producers and Distributors, established a production code to regulate the use of profanity, the depiction of sexual behavior and the treatment of material deemed to be unpatriotic. Throughout the 30s and 40s producers lobbied HAY's office repeatedly for the right to include certain material in their films. In 1931 between 4 and 5 million Americans are unemployed. "The Star-Spangled Banner" is made the national anthem by an act of Congress. Two white women claim they had been sexually assaulted onboard a freight train in AL. Despite scant evidence, nine black youths, who will become known as the Scottsboro boys (because the trial takes place in Scottsboro, AL) are convicted. Al CAPONE is ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and more than twice that in back taxes and is sentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion. James CAGNEY crushes a grapefruit into his girlfriend's face in the film "The Public Enemy." President Herbert HOOVER takes a 20 percent pay cut. In 1932 Franklin Delano ROOSEVELT is elected president after promising a "new deal" for the American people. On NBC and CBS, prices can now be mentioned in radio commercials. Popular songs include Jay GORNEY and E. Y. HARBURG's "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," Irving BERLIN's "Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee," and Cole Porter's "Night and Day." The body of kidnapped baby Charles LINDBERGH, JR. is found in the woods near his parents' home. Radio City Music Hall, Skippy peanut butter, and Zippo lighters are new. Moving to radio, "New York Daily Mirror" columnist Walter WINCHELL begins his entertainment news and gossip show with the words, "Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America, and all the ships at sea." In 1933 at New York's Cotton Club, 16-year-old Lena HORNE makes her debut. FDR broadcasts his first "fireside chat." Gasoline costs 18 cents a gallon. Wtih its billboard inviting customers to "sit in your car, see and hear movies," the first drive-in movie theater opens, in Camden, NJ. Prohibition is repealed. Formerly found in packs of cigarettes, baseball cards are now packaged with gum as well. Like many scientists in Germany, Albert EINSTEIN fled the Nazis to come to America. He accepted a teaching post at Princeton University in 1933 and remained there until his death. In 1934, in separate incidents, Bonnie PARKER and Clyde BARROW, John DILLINGER, Baby Face NELSON, and Pretty Boy FLOYD are all gunned down. Interestingly, six weeks earlier, notorious Clyde Champion BARROW, had written from Tulsa, OK to Henry FORD in Detroit, MI: "Dear Sir: While I still have got breath in my lungs I will tell you what a dandy car you make. I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. For sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford has got every other car skinned, and even if my business hasen't been strickly legal it don't hurt enything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V8." In 1935, Louisiana's governor, 42-year-old Huey LONG is shot to death by Dr. Carl Austin WEISS. The Works Progress Adminstration is created by an executive order. The Social Security Act becomes law. Massive dust storms ravage the prairie states. Alcoholics Anonymous is founded by Bill WILSON and Dr. Robert H. SMITH. Pan American Airways becomes the first airline to serve hot meals in the air. In 1936, Margaret MITCHELL's first and only novel "Gone With the Wind" sells a million copies in six months. The Waring Blender and "The Joy of Cooking" are introduced. In 1937, Amelia EARHART disappears over the Pacific Ocean. The German airship Hindenburg explodes over Lakehurst, NJ. San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is opened. In gratitude for their increased sales, American spinach growers erect a six-foot-tall painted statue of the comic-strip character Popeye in Crystal City, TX. In 1938, tanks are set up outside Gimbel's department store so swimmeres can show that the newly invented ballpoint pen will write underwater. In spite of four explanatory announcements during the show, panic sweeps the nation when Orson WELLES, 23, and his Mercury Theatre broadcast a radio version of "War of the Worlds," complete with reports of "poisonous black smoke ... death rays (and) monstrous Martians." In 1939, acclaimed black contralto Marian ANDERSON, denied the right to perform in Constitutional Hall, sings before 75 thousand people at the Lincoln Memorial. "Gone With the Wind," "The Wizard of Oz," "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, " "Dark Victory," and "Wuthering Heights" are among the fine movies released. Baseball can be seen on television for the first time. Frank SINATRA is hired by bandleader Harry JAMES as lead vocalist. It takes 22 hours (and $675 per passenger, round trip) to cross the Atlantic Ocean on Pan Am's new commercial Clipper service. The Perisphere and the Trylon grace the New York World's Fair and become symbols of the optimistic theme "Building the World of Tomorrow." -- Excerpts, "Letters of the Century, America 1900-1999," eds. Grunwald and Adler (1999)

SNIPPET: Elizabeth SULLIVAN, 18-year-old daughter of Thomas and Julia SULLIVAN of Little Bray, Bray, Co. Wicklow, died on Tuesday, July 21, 1885, as the result of a tragic accident as she was attending to her duties as nurse and nanny to the children of the C. C. B. WHYTE family of Hatley, Manor, landlords of the town and district around Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim, Ireland. The story appeared in the Thursday issue of "The Leitrim Advertiser," in its July 23, 1885 issue. Mr. and Mrs. WHYTE were away from home when an ornamental chimney fell through the roof, crashing through the nursery floor, the drawing-room, and onto the ground floor, bringing with it their four children and one of the two nurses - Ms. SULLIVAN. Nurse Kate HOGAN escaped injury. A large crowd soon assembled and the police were summoned. One man, Mr. Patrick McMANUS, of Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim, (already a hero for having earlier rescued a man from drowning), began clearing the slates and debris trapping the victims. To everyone's horror, Ms. SULLIVAN and two of the WHYTE children were dead when pulled from the rubble; a third child had a broken arm and the fourth had been spared serious injury. An inquest was held. The town went into mourning, shutters were drawn. Mr. McMANUS received a solid gold watch from the WHYTE family for his quick actions which saved the other children. Elizabeth SULLIVAN is buried at the nearby historic village of Jamestown, Co. Leitrim, within sight and sound of the Shannon, and a marble headstone marks her burial place with the inscription, "Sweet Jesus Grant Her Peace, Erected by Mrs. and Mrs. WHYTE of Carrick-on-Shannon in memory of Elizabeth SULLIVAN, Beloved daughter of Thomas and Julia SULLIVAN of Little Bray who died in faithful discharge of her duties as nurse at Hatley Manor, July 21, 1885, aged 18 years." The deceased WHYTE children, Ingrie and Lucella, were interred in the grounds of Hatley Manor, in the family mausoleum erected by Ingrid Christina ST. GEORGE, the WHYTE childrens' Grand-Aunt, for the mortal remains of Charles Manners ST. GEORGE, their Grand Uncle-in-law, laid to rest there some 20 years earlier. Mr. McMANUS, Drumshanbo, who just happened to be in town on business the day of the accident), was presented with a solid gold pocket watch by the grateful WHYTE family which bore the following inscription: "Gold watch presented to Patrick J. McMANUS, Drumshanbo, who, on July 21, 1885 risked his life, with other kind friends, to save the lives of Hilda and Petronella Whyte, Hatley Manor, Carrick-on Shannon." The gold watch is currently in the possession of Mr. Tony DUIGNAN, Galway, a distant relative of the late Patrick J. McMANUS.

DEATH OF AN IRISHWOMAN Ignorant, in the sense she ate monotonous food and thought the world was flat, and pagan, in the sense she knew the things that moved all night were neither dogs or cats but hobgoblin and darkfaced men she nevertheless had fierce pride. But sentenced in the end to eat thin diminishing porridge in a stone-cold kitchen she clenched her brittle hands around a world she could not understand. I loved her from the day she died. She was a summer dance at the crossroads. She was a cardgame where a nose was broken. She was a song that nobody sings. She was a house ransacked by soldiers. She was a language seldom spoken. She was a child's purse, full of useless things. -- Michael HARTNETT (1941-1999), born Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick.

Place of Abode: 1. Street, avenue, road, etc. 2. House number (in cities or towns). 3. Number of dwelling house in order of visitation. 4. Number of family in order of visitation. 5. Name of each person whose place of abode on April 1, 1930, was in this family. Enter surname first, then the given name and middle initial, if any. Include every person living on April 1, 1930. Omit children born since April 1, 1930. 6. Relationship of this person to the head of the family. Home Data: 7. Home owned or rented. 8. Value of home, if owned, or monthly rental, if rented. 9. Radio set. 10. Does this family live on a farm? Personal description: 11. Sex. 12. Color or race. 13. Age at last birthday. 14. Marital condition. 15. Age at first marriage. Education: 16. Attended school or college any time since September 1, 1929. 17. Whether able to read and write. Place of Birth: Place of birth of each person enumerated and of his or her parents. If born in the United States, give the State or Territory. If of foreign birth, give country in which birthplace is now situated. Distinguish Canada-French from Canada-English, and Irish Free State from Northern Ireland. 18. Person. 19. Father. 20. Mother. Mother Tongue (or native language) of Foreign Born: 21. Language spoken at home before coming to the United States. Citizenship, etc.: 22. Year of immigration to the United States. 23. Naturalization. 24. Whether able to speak English. Occupation and Industry: 25. Occupation: Trade, profession, or particular kind of work, as spinner, salesman, riveter, teacher, etc.. 26. Industry: Industry or business, as cotton mill, dry goods store, shipyard, public school, etc.. 27. Class of worker. Employment: Whether actually at work yesterday (or the last regular working day): 28. Yes or No. 29. If not, line number of Unemployment Schedule. Veterans: Whether a veteran of U.S. military or naval forces: 30. Yes or No. 31. What war or expedition. 32. Number of farm schedule.

MEMORY LANE: Mr. Peter KELLY shared in the March 1999 issue of "Best of British, Past & Present" magazine: "I have retained a great fondness for old newspapers, magazines, comics and annuals. Unlike any programme which comes over the airwaves, a magazine is something tangible which you can feel and even smell as you read it, and then, when it's finished with, you can store it away somewhere safe and refer to it again and again. Even if you forget all about it, a member of some future generation will come along one day and gaze in wonder at the publications of so many years ago. I remember ripping up some old linoleum in the kitchen of a house we'd moved into and finding to my delight the yellowing pages of newspapers which had been laid beneath it many years before. The news pages were interesting enough - but the old-style advertisements were what really tickled my memory... How much simpler life used to be when the major means of advertising, apart from on the packaging itself and showcards on shop counters, was on enamel signs, poster hoardings, the sides of trams and buses and in newspapers and magazines. The messages were usually brief and to the point, often boasting brilliant artwork, and as far as I can see they did the job just as effectively as the complex devices of today. There was a glorious innocence to many of the wonderfully-painted pictures, whether they showed a picnic on the lawn, a game of golf or cricket, a simple domestic scene, workers taking a break, children at play. There were colorful scenes from the Raj and other aspects of Empire, boating and - particularly appealing to British patriotism - members of the armed forces on land and sea. The images they portrayed lasted for generations. Who can forget the GUINNESS toucan and the other colourful animals of that firm's splendid advertising menageries, or the classic "Guinness for Strength' posters showing a man carrying a huge steel girder on his shoulder, or pulling that cart as the smiling carthorse puts its hooves up and enjoys the ride for a change?" Other lasting images are the kilted Scotsman on SCOTT's Porage Oats, the farm horse (or was it a pair?) on packets of Mornflake Oats, the bearded sailor on Player's Navy Cut cigarettes, the little dog on His Master's Voice records, the bull on tins of COLMAN's Mustard, the splendid military scene on bottles of Camp Coffee or the facial expressions on that Five Boys' chocolate advertisement -- images which surely fixed themselves in the mind as effectively or even more so than anything before or since." Note, Mr. KELLY refers to his enjoyment of Robert OPIE''s book, "Rule Britannia, Trading on the British Image" published by Viking Penguin, Inc.