Good morning, Whitewater.
The work week begins for Whitewater with sunny skies and a high of seventy-nine. Sunrise is 6:34 and sunset 7:06, for 12h 31m 57s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with just 1.2% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Planning Commission meets at 6:30 PM today, and members of Landmarks Commission may be attending a Friends of the Mounds meeting at the Irvin Young Library, also scheduled for 6:30 PM.
On this day in 1814, American resilience inspires Francis Scott Key:
During the War of 1812, Key, accompanied by the British Prisoner Exchange Agent Colonel John Stuart Skinner, dined aboard the British ship HMS Tonnant, as the guests of three British officers: Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane, Rear Admiral George Cockburn, and Major General Robert Ross. Skinner and Key were there to negotiate the release of prisoners, one of whom was Dr. William Beanes, a resident of Upper Marlboro, Maryland who had been arrested after jailing marauding British troops who were looting local farms. Skinner, Key, and Beanes were not allowed to return to their own sloop because they had become familiar with the strength and position of the British units and with the British intent to attack Baltimore. Thus, Key was unable to do anything but watch the bombarding of the American forces at Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore on the night of September 13–14, 1814.[4]
At dawn, Key was able to see an American flag still waving and reported this to the prisoners below deck. Back in Baltimore and inspired, Key wrote a poem about his experience, “Defence of Fort M’Henry”, which was soon published in William Pechin’s[5] the American and Commercial Daily Advertiser on September 21, 1814. He took it to Thomas Carr, a music publisher, who adapted it to the rhythms of composer John Stafford Smith‘s “To Anacreon in Heaven“,[4] a popular tune Key had already used as a setting for his 1805 song “When the Warrior Returns,” celebrating U.S. heroes of the First Barbary War.[6] (Key used the “star spangled” flag imagery in the earlier song.)[7] It has become better known as “The Star-Spangled Banner“. Though somewhat difficult to sing, it became increasingly popular, competing with “Hail, Colombia” (1796) as the de facto national anthem by the Mexican-American War and American Civil War. More than a century after its first publication, the song was adopted as the American national anthem, first by an Executive Order from President Woodrow Wilson in 1916 (which had little effect beyond requiring military bands to play what became known as the “Service Version”) and then by a Congressional resolution in 1931, signed by President Herbert Hoover.[8]
1888 – The Great Washburn Fire
On this date a fire broke out in back of Peter Nelson’s Hardware Store in Washburn, Wisconsin. The fire spread quickly, consuming an entire block of homes and businessses, including Meehan’s Clothing Store, two local newspapers, and Beausoliel’s Meat Market. [Source: “B” book : beer bottles, brawls, boards, brothels, bibles, battles & brownstones by Tony Woiak, p.2-3]
Puzzability begins a new weekly series entitled, Mouth Pieces:
|
This Week’s Game — September 14-18
|
|||||
|
Mouth Pieces
|
|||||
|
We’re listening for art sounds this week. For each day, we started with the name of a famous painting. Then, for the day’s clue, we broke it down into a series of words that, when said in order, sounds like the original title. You’ll probably need to say the words out loud to get the answers.
|
|||||
|
Example:
|
|||||
|
Him, purr, Hessians, Hun, rice
|
|||||
|
Answer:
|
|||||
|
“Impression, Sunrise” (by Claude Monet)
|
|||||
|
What to Submit:
|
|||||
|
Submit the painting’s title (as “Impression, Sunrise” in the example) for your answer.
|
|||||
 |
|||||
|
Monday, September 14
|
|||||
|
