Good morning, Whitewater.

Monday in town will be warm, with a high of eighty-one, accompanied by an even chance of late afternoon thundershowers.

There will be a meeting of the Urban Forestry Commission at 2:15 PM. Later, at 6:30 PM, there will be an informational meeting about construction at the intersection of Center and Whitewater Streets.

Reason prevails – when asked whether they’d perform CPR on a bear, 91.3% of respondents to FW’s Friday poll said, “No, I think I’d pass on that.” I’ve always been an optimist about our country’s future, and this is another small bit of information supporting a positive outlook.

On this day in 1957, the Packers get a new stadium:

1957 – Packers Dedicate New Stadium
On this date the Green Bay Packers dedicated City Stadium, now known as Lambeau Field, and defeated the Chicago Bears, 21-17. In the capacity crowd of 32,132 was Vice president Richard Nixon. [Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

Google-a-Day asks a question about a book, about a band:

The Curatorial Director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum authored a book describing 50 years of what rock band?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of eighty. Sunrise today is 6:49 AM and sunset 6:42 PM. The moon is a waxing crescent with nineteen percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Here’s one lucky cyclist from Russia, in the midst of accidents and chaos all around, but able to walk away —

On this day in 1781, as the Battle of Yorktown begins, Lord Cornwallis’s days as a British commander are numbered:

…General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War.

Earlier, in a stroke of luck for the Patriots, the French fleet commanded by Francois, Count de Grasse, departed St. Domingue (the then-French colony that is now Haiti) for the Chesapeake Bay, just as Cornwallis chose Yorktown, at the mouth of the Chesapeake, as his base. Washington realized that it was time to act. He ordered Marquis de Lafayette and an American army of 5,000 troops to block Cornwallis’ escape from Yorktown by land while the French naval fleet blocked the British escape by sea. By September 28, Washington had completely encircled Cornwallis and Yorktown with the combined forces of Continental and French troops. After three weeks of non-stop bombardment, both day and night, from cannon and artillery, Cornwallis surrendered to Washington in the field at Yorktown on October 17, 1781, effectively ending the War for Independence.

Pleading illness, Cornwallis did not attend the formal surrender ceremony, held on October 19. Instead, his second in command, General Charles O’Hara, carried Cornwallis’ sword to the American and French commanders.

Although the war persisted on the high seas and in other theaters, the Patriot victory at Yorktown ended fighting in the American colonies. Peace negotiations began in 1782, and on September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, formally recognizing the United States as a free and independent nation after eight years of war.

On this day in 1925, one of America’s finest computer engineers is born:

1925 – Seymour R. Cray Born
On this date Seymour R. Cray was born in Chippewa Falls. Cray received a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He established himself in the field of large-scale computer design through his work for Engineering Associates, Remington Rand, UNIVAC, and Control Data Corporation. In 1957 Cray built the first computer to use radio transistors instead of vacuum tubes. This allowed for the miniaturization of components which enhanced the performance of desktop computers. In the 1960s he designed the world’s first supercomputer at Control Data. In 1972 he founded Cray Research in his hometown of Chippewa Falls where he established the standard for supercomputers with CRAY-1 (1976) and CRAY-2 (1985). He resigned from the company in 1981 to devote himself to computer design in the areas of vector register technology and cooling systems. Cray died in a automobile accident on October 5, 1996. [Source: MIT and Cray Company]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Saturday in the Whippet City will be partly cloudy with a high of eighty. Sunrise is 6:48 AM and sunset 6:43 PM. The moon is a waxing crescent with eleven percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Tim Bell, while racing in the Circuit of the Americas, lost the brakes on his Nissan 370z and took evasive action — finally hitting a barrier at around one-hundred miles per hour. Amazingly, and fortunately, he walked away unharmed:

On this day in 1964, the Warren Commission report becomes public:

The President’s Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson on November 29, 1963[1] to investigate the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy that had taken place on November 22, 1963. Its 889-page final report was presented to President Johnson on September 24, 1964[2] and made public three days later.[3] It concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy and wounding Texas Governor John Connally[4] and that Jack Ruby also acted alone when he killed Oswald two days later.[5] The Commission’s findings have proven controversial and have been both challenged and supported by later studies.

The Commission took its unofficial name—the Warren Commission—from its chairman, Chief Justice Earl Warren.[6] According to published transcripts of Johnson’s presidential phone conversations, some major officials were opposed to forming such a commission and several commission members took part only reluctantly.[7] One of their chief reservations was that a commission would ultimately create more controversy than consensus, and those fears proved valid.[7]

Good morning, Whitewater

Week’s end in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of seventy-nine.

It’s the anniversary of the first Kennedy-Nixon debate, televised on this day in 1960:

On this day in 1833, several tribes in Wisconsin cede land to the United States:

1833 – Indian Treaty Cedes to Government
On this date Indian tribes including the Ojibwe, Menominee, Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, Ottawa and Sauk ceded land to the government, including areas around Milwaukee, especially to the south and east of the city. The ceded land included much of what is today John Michael Kohler and Terry Andrae State Parks. The Potawatomi continued to live along the Black River until the 1870s, despite the treaty. [Source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources]

Google-a-Day asks a sports question about a location:

In what state did a golf star, who was the youngest player to achieve the Grand Slam, hold a news conference in 2010 to issue a formal apology?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Thursday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of seventy-seven. Sunrise is 6:46 AM and sunset is 6:47 PM. The moon is a waxing crescent with two percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Tech Park Board meets at 8 AM and the Community Development Authority at 5 PM.

On this day in 1957, integration of Central High School in Little Rock begins following the arrival of federal paratroopers:

Under escort from the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, nine black students enter all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Three weeks earlier, Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had surrounded the school with National Guard troops to prevent its federal court-ordered racial integration. After a tense standoff, President Dwight D. Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent 1,000 army paratroopers to Little Rock to enforce the court order….

Troops remained at Central High School throughout the school year, but still the black students were subjected to verbal and physical assaults from a faction of white students. Melba Patillo, one of the nine, had acid thrown in her eyes, and Elizabeth Eckford was pushed down a flight of stairs. The three male students in the group were subjected to more conventional beatings. Minnijean Brown was suspended after dumping a bowl of chili over the head of a taunting white student. She was later suspended for the rest of the year after continuing to fight back. The other eight students consistently turned the other cheek. On May 27, 1958, Ernest Green, the only senior in the group, became the first black to graduate from Central High School.

Governor Faubus continued to fight the school board’s integration plan, and in September 1958 he ordered Little Rock’s three high schools closed rather than permit integration. Many Little Rock students lost a year of education as the legal fight over desegregation continued. In 1959, a federal court struck down Faubus’ school-closing law, and in August 1959 Little Rock’s white high schools opened a month early with black students in attendance. All grades in Little Rock public schools were finally integrated in 1972.

On 9.25.1961, Wisconsin Gov. Gaylord Nelson signed a bill requiring seatbelts:

1961 – Law Requires Seatbelts in Wisconsin Cars
On this date Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson signed into law a bill that required all 1962 cars sold in Wisconsin to be equipped with seat belts. [Source: Janesville Gazette]

Google-a-Day asks a football question:

What NFL player (Redskins and Vikings) held onto his record as the all-time interception leader until he retired?