Good morning, Whitewater.

Wednesday brings a slight chance of afternoon showers, but otherwise a partly sunny day with a high of seventy-eight.

The Fire & Rescue Task Force meets tonight at 7:30 PM.

On this day in 1961, Communist East Germany began construction of the Berlin Wall:

On 15 June 1961, First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party and GDR State Council chairman Walter Ulbricht stated in an international press conference, “Niemand hat die Absicht, eine Mauer zu errichten!” (No one has the intention of erecting a wall!). It was the first time the colloquial term Mauer (wall) had been used in this context.

The record of a telephone call between Nikita Khrushchev and Ulbricht on 1 August in the same year, suggests that it was from Khrushchev that the initiative for the construction of the wall came.^[40][41] However, other sources suggest that Khrushchev had initially been wary about building a wall, fearing negative Western reaction. What is beyond dispute, though, is that Ulbricht had pushed for a border closure for quite some time, arguing that East Germany’s very existence was at stake.^[42]

Khrushchev had been emboldened by US President John F. Kennedy’s tacit indication^[how?] that the US would not actively oppose this action in the Soviet sector of Berlin.^[43] On Saturday, 12 August 1961, the leaders of the GDR attended a garden party at a government guesthouse in Döllnsee, in a wooded area to the north of East Berlin. There Ulbricht signed the order to close the border and erect a wall.

At midnight, the police and units of the East German army began to close the border and, by Sunday morning, 13 August, the border with West Berlin was closed. East German troops and workers had begun to tear up streets running alongside the border to make them impassable to most vehicles and to install barbed wire entanglements and fences along the 156 kilometres (97 mi) around the three western sectors, and the 43 kilometres (27 mi) that divided West and East Berlin.

The barrier was built slightly inside East Berlin or East German territory to ensure that it did not encroach on West Berlin at any point. Later, it was built up into the Wall proper, the first concrete elements and large blocks being put in place on 17 August. During the construction of the Wall, National People’s Army (NVA) and Combat Groups of the Working Class (KdA) soldiers stood in front of it with orders to shoot anyone who attempted to defect. Additionally, chain fences, walls, minefields and other obstacles were installed along the length of East Germany’s western border with West Germany proper. A huge no man’s land was cleared to provide a clear line of fire at fleeing refugees.^[44]

Google-a-Day poses a question from its Art & Literature category:

What was the name of the pet that often traveled with the artist of “Tuna Fishing”?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Election day brings a one-third chance of morning showers, with gradual clearing into a mostly sunny day, with a high of seventy-three.

The city’s Parks & Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM today.

On this day in 1939, the Wizard of Oz premieres in Oconomowoc:

1939 – Wizard of Oz World Premier — in Oconomowoc

According to the fan site, thewizardofoz.info, “The first publicized showing of the final, edited film was at the Strand Theatre in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on August 12, 1939. No one is sure exactly why a small town in the Midwest received that honor.” It showed the next day in Sheboygan, Appleton and Rhinelander, according to local newspapers. “The official premiere was at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on August 15, attended by most of the cast and crew and a number of Hollywood celebrities.” [Source: thewizardofoz.info/, link fixed from WHS site]

Google-a-Day has a baseball question:

As of 2012, of the 65 living members of the “National Baseball Hall of Fame,” twenty of them played what position?

Good morning, Whitewater.

There’s a seventy-percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms today, with a high of eighty, in the Whippet City.

Whitewater Planning Commission meets at 6 PM tonight.

In Friday’s FW poll, on whether it would be advisable to pet a zoo lion, 81.82% of respondents would say No, but thanks for asking.

To start off the week, here’s Veritasium‘s presentation of 5 Fun Physics Phenomena:

On this day in 1965, the Watts Riots begin.

On 8.11.1919, a great team is born:

1919 – Green Bay Packers Founded

On this date the Green Bay Packers professional football team was founded during a meeting in the editorial rooms of Green Bay Press-Gazette. On this evening, a score or more of young athletes, called together by Curly Lambeau and George Calhoun, gathered in the editorial room on Cherry Street and organized a football team. [Source: Packers.com]

Google-a-Day asks a geography question:

What mountain in Switzerland includes three types of glacial erosion, and resembles an ancient Egyptian structure with four specific sides?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday in the city will be partly sunny with a high of eighty. Sunrise is 5:56 AM and sunset is 8:04 PM. It’s a full moon today, at 1:10 p.m. Central Daylight Time.

NASA tests a saucer-shaped vehicle using a high-altitude balloon:

On this day in 1946, Pres. Polk signs a bill creating the Smithsonian Institution:

The Smithsonian Institution ….  smith-soe-nee-?n), established in 1846 “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge,” is a group of museums and research centers administered by the United States government. Originally organized as the “United States National Museum,” that name ceased to exist as an administrative entity in 1967.^[1] Termed “the nation’s attic”^[2] for its eclectic holdings of 137 million items,^[3] the Institution’s Washington, D.C. nucleus of nineteen museums, nine research centers, and zoo—many of them historical or architectural landmarks—is the largest such complex in the world. Additional facilities are located in Arizona, Maryland, New York City, Virginia, Panama and elsewhere, and 168 other museums are Smithsonian affiliates. The Institution’s thirty million annual visitors^[4]are admitted without charge; funding comes from the Institution’s own endowment, private and corporate contributions, membership dues, government support, and retail, concession and licensing revenues.^[3] Institution publications include Smithsonian and Air & Space magazines….

British scientist James Smithson (d. 1829) left most of his wealth to his nephew Henry James Hungerford; however, when Hungerford died childless in 1835,^[5] the estate passed “to the United States of America, to found at Washington, under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an Establishment for the increase & diffusion of knowledge among men.”, in accordance with Smithson’s will.^[6] Congress officially accepted the legacy bequeathed to the nation, and pledged the faith of the United States to the charitable trust on July 1, 1836.^[7] The American diplomat Richard Rush was dispatched to England by President Andrew Jackson to collect the bequest; Rush returned in August 1838 with 105 sacks containing 104,960 gold sovereigns (about $500,000 at the time).^[8][9]

Once the money was in hand, eight years of Congressional haggling ensued over how to interpret Smithson’s rather vague mandate “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”^[7][9] Unfortunately the money was invested by the US Treasury in bonds issued by the state of Arkansas which soon defaulted. After heated debate, Massachusetts Representative (and ex-President) John Quincy Adams persuaded Congress to restore the lost funds with interest^[10] and, despite designs on the money for other purposes, convinced his colleagues to preserve it for an institution of science and learning.^[11] Finally, on August 10, 1846, President James K. Polk signed the legislation that established the Smithsonian Institution as a trust instrumentality of the United States, to be administered by a Board of Regents and a Secretary of the Smithsonian.^[7]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Saturday in town will be mostly sunny, with a high of around eighty, and east winds of five to ten mph.

On this day in 1974, Gerald Ford becomes president:

In accordance with his statement of resignation the previous evening, Richard M. Nixon officially ends his term as the 37th president of the United States at noon. Before departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House lawn, he smiled farewell and enigmatically raised his arms in a victory or peace salute. The helicopter door was then closed, and the Nixon family began their journey home to San Clemente, California. Richard Nixon was the first U.S. president to resign from office.

Minutes later, Vice President Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th president of the United States in the East Room of the White House. After taking the oath of office, President Ford spoke to the nation in a television address, declaring, “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.”

Ford, the first president who came to the office through appointment rather than election, had replaced Spiro Agnew as vice president only eight months before. In a political scandal independent of the Nixon administration’s wrongdoings in the Watergate affair, Agnew had been forced to resign in disgrace after he was charged with income tax evasion and political corruption. In September 1974, Ford pardoned Nixon for any crimes he may have committed while in office, explaining that he wanted to end the national divisions created by the Watergate scandal.

On this day in 1793, a pioneer is born:

1793 – Milwaukee Pioneer Solomon Juneau Born

On this date Laurent Salomon Juneau was born in Repentigny, Quebec, Canada. Known as the founder of Milwaukee, Juneau was a fur trader with John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company. He built the first log house in Milwaukee in 1822 and followed with the first frame house in 1824. In October 1833 he formed a partnership with Morgan L. Martin to develop a village on the east side of the Milwaukee River. Juneau was elected commissioner of roads and director of the poor in September 1835. He was also appointed postmaster, a position he held until 1843. In 1837 he began publishing the Milwaukee Sentinel. He was elected first mayor of Milwaukee in 1846. Juneau died on November 14, 1856. [Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography, p.198]