Good morning,

Today’s forecast for Whitewater calls for a sunny day, with a high of fifty-seven degrees.

The History Channel’s website has a post this morning that considers the expression “o.k.” Apparently, it’s older than one might have imagined:

On this day in 1839, the initials “O.K.” are first published in The Boston Morning Post. Meant as an abbreviation for “oll correct,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct” at the time, OK steadily made its way into the everyday speech of Americans.

During the late 1830s, it was a favorite practice among younger, educated circles to misspell words intentionally, then abbreviate them and use them as slang when talking to one another. Just as teenagers today have their own slang based on distortions of common words, such as “kewl” for “cool” or “DZ” for “these,” the “in crowd” of the 1830s had a whole host of slang terms they abbreviated. Popular abbreviations included “KY” for “No use” (“know yuse”), “KG” for “No go” (“Know go”), and “OW” for all right (“oll wright”).

Of all the abbreviations used during that time, OK was propelled into the limelight when it was printed in the Boston Morning Post as part of a joke. Its popularity exploded when it was picked up by contemporary politicians. When the incumbent president Martin Van Buren was up for reelection, his Democratic supporters organized a band of thugs to influence voters. This group was formally called the “O.K. Club,” which referred both to Van Buren’s nickname “Old Kinderhook” (based on his hometown of Kinderhook, New York), and to the term recently made popular in the papers. At the same time, the opposing Whig Party made use of “OK” to denigrate Van Buren’s political mentor Andrew Jackson. According to the Whigs, Jackson invented the abbreviation “OK” to cover up his own misspelling of “all correct.”

The man responsible for unraveling the mystery behind “OK” was an American linguist named Allen Walker Read. An English professor at Columbia University, Read dispelled a host of erroneous theories on the origins of “OK,” ranging from the name of a popular Army biscuit (Orrin Kendall) to the name of a Haitian port famed for its rum (Aux Cayes) to the signature of a Choctaw chief named Old Keokuk. Whatever its origins, “OK” has become one of the most ubiquitous terms in the world, and certainly one of America’s greatest lingual exports.

Good morning,

Today’s forecast for Whitewater calls for a sunny day, with a high of fifty-four degrees.

There’s no school this week, on a week that looks to be sunny and mild.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has a story on it’s website today about an episode in trickery, from the Wisconsin of 1854 — the claim that a prehistoric beast had been discovered:

1854 – Eugene Shepard, Father of the Hodag

On this date Eugene Shepard was born near Green Bay. Although he made his career in the lumbering business near Rhinelander, he was best known for his story-telling and practical jokes. He told many tales of Paul Bunyan, the mythical lumberjack, and drew pictures of the giant at work that became famous. Shepard also started a new legend about a prehistoric monster that roamed the woods of Wisconsin – the hodag. Shepard built the mythical monster out of wood and bull’s horns. He fooled everyone into believing it was alive, allowing it to be viewed only inside a dark tent. The beast was displayed at the Wausau and Antigo county fairs before Shepard admitted it was all a hoax. [Source: Badger saints and sinners, by Fred L. Holmes, p.459-474]

Rhinelander, Wisconsin has adopted the fictitious beast for a mascot, and there’s a music festival that carries the animal’s name.

Good morning,

Whitewater’s forecast calls for a mostly cloudy day, with a high of fifty-three degrees.

At each of the schools in our public school district today, from 8:30 to 9:30, there’s a Coffee with the Principal hour. Spring Break begins at the end of today’s school day.

We’ve had a few days of Daylight Saving Time, but the practice is old. Congress passed legislation in 1918 about Daylight Saving, although the idea was considered far earlier:

Daylight Saving Time has been used in the U.S. and in many European countries since World War I. At that time, in an effort to conserve fuel needed to produce electric power, Germany and Austria took time by the forelock, and began saving daylight at 11:00 p.m. on April 30, 1916, by advancing the hands of the clock one hour until the following October. Other countries immediately adopted this 1916 action: Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, and Tasmania. Nova Scotia and Manitoba adopted it as well, with Britain following suit three weeks later, on May 21, 1916. In 1917, Australia and Newfoundland began saving daylight.

The plan was not formally adopted in the U.S. until 1918. ‘An Act to preserve daylight and provide standard time for the United States’ was enacted on March 19, 1918. [See law] It both established standard time zones and set summer DST to begin on March 31, 1918. Daylight Saving Time was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. After the War ended, the law proved so unpopular (mostly because people rose earlier and went to bed earlier than people do today) that it was repealed in 1919 with a Congressional override of President Wilson’s veto. Daylight Saving Time became a local option, and was continued in a few states, such as Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in some cities, such as New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

Good morning,

Today’s forecast calls for a clear day with a high of sixty-three.

It’s Market Day in Lincoln school. There will be pickup from 5 to 6 p.m. in the upper gym. It’s also Market Day at the High School, with pickup there from 4 to 5:30 p.m. During the day, the Middle School’s eighth grade band will make a tour today of district elementary schools.

On this day in Wisconsin history, the Wisconsin Historical Society recalls a wage increase in 1954 for workers at Parker Pen:

1954 – Parker Pen Employees Win Wage Increase

On this date employees of Parker Pen in Janesville won a 5-cent-an-hour wage increase in contract negotiations. After the raise, male employees made a base pay of $1.95 an hour while their female counterparts were paid $1.62 an hour. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

Here’s a picture of the Parker 51:

Good morning,

The forecast for Whitewater today calls for a mostly clear day, with a high of fifty-eight.

In the City of Whitewater today, there will be a Common Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. The agenda for that meeting is available online.

On this day in Wisconsin history, the Wisconsin Historical Society, recalls

1967 – Sculptor Jean Pond Miner

On this date Jean Pond Miner Coburn died at the age of 101. A well-known sculptress during her time, Jean Pond Miner’s statue “Forward” was placed at the north corner of Capitol Park in Madison in 1895. At the time of the World’s Columbian Exposition, the Janesville Ladies Afternoon Club recommended Miner as a Wisconsin sculptress who might be featured at the Exposition’s Wisconsin building. $8,000 was raised by Wisconsin women for this exhibit featuring local talent. The statue is now in the first floor lobby of the Wisconsin Historical Society headquarters in Madison. [Source: Famous Wisconsin Women, Vol. 6, SHSW Women’s Auxiliary, 1976, pg. 4]