Classic Covers: New Year’s Resolutions
Dozens of Saturday Evening Post covers show that self-improvement — from reading more to saving money — has been a popular topic for decades. Do any of these look similar to your own New Year’s resolutions? Share your plans for self-improvement with us in the comments below.
Resolution No. 1: I Will Lose Weight
Probably the New Year’s resolution on everyone’s list is to lose weight. That’s what this lady is working on and she’s obviously none too happy about it. This is from 1948, but we’ll tell you something, lady: Dieting today is no more fun and — with all our pills, online programs and progress — no easier.
The gentleman in the 1924 cover below is taking up an exercise program. It looks like early aerobics, before the days of “The Biggest Loser” and celebrity spokespeople looking svelte after losing weight due to the Brand “X” weight-loss program. With no such inspiration to spur him on, he’s trying it the roaring ’20s way.
Resolution No. 2: I Will Save More $
Saving money is always a big New Year’s resolution. This is a photographic cover, rather than an artist illustration, which was rare for the 1940s. But everyone was being encouraged to buy bonds for the war effort and this handsome young man was doing his part.
Resolution No. 3: I Will Read More. I Will Improve My Mind!
This 1921 cover by Norman Rockwell shows a young man with two resolutions: to help mom with the chores and to be well-read. Actually, peeling potatoes was probably mom’s idea. Combining the tasks, however, is not safe, as the bandaged thumb indicates. Sometimes a good story is hard to put down. But, dude, when the chore involves a knife…
Resolution No. 4: I Will Not Gossip
Resolved. Did you see the way that Smith boy and that Jones girl were looking at each other? Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were wedding bells ahead. (This is strictly confidential, of course.)
Resolution No. 5: I Will Keep the House Clean
I will keep the house looking like something out of a magazine. Only not this magazine. What is more discouraging than a pile of dirty dishes? We’ll tell you what – a pile of dirty dishes and a husband who thinks it’s his time to relax with the papers. The editors thoughtfully suggested she close the door while she’s cleaning up so as not to disturb him. This was said tongue-in-cheek. We think.
Resolution No. 6: I Will Get More Sleep
Last, but not least: I resolve to get more rest. This is a noble goal, since experts tell us that most Americans don’t get enough sleep. But perhaps not at the theater, mister. Wives are known to have sharp elbows. It doesn’t look as if the glaring technique is going to work. This cover is from 1923.
5 Resolutions for Green Living
Happy New Year!
Size up these fresh ideas from the American Chemical Society to go “green” in 2011 and beyond.
- Stop wasting food. Scientists say that producing (and purchasing) foods more wisely could save the energy equivalent of 350 million barrels of oil—and without spending a penny or putting a ding in our quality of life. It takes the equivalent of about 1.4 billion barrels of oil to produce, package, prepare, preserve, and distribute a year’s worth of food in the United States. But research shows we waste about 25 percent of it.
- Take five. Walking in parks or on outdoor trails for just five minutes can improve mood and self-esteem, according to recent findings. Bicycling or fishing also improve mental health, notes study authors who add that exercising in view of rivers, lakes, or streams seems to provide an extra boost.
- Ride the train. An ACS study shows that cars adversely impact the environment at a rate that is four to five times higher than do passenger trains. You’ll get extra exercise if it’s possible to walk to the train station, too.
- Find out about eo-friendly cremations and burials. People who care about improving the environment in life may soon be able to do so after death. European entrepreneurs have developed new methods of body disposal — including a low-heat cremation method— that could provide alternatives to those now in use.
- Use those “no-mix” toilets. A new toilet that could substantially reduce pollution and conserve water is gaining popularity in Europe, report scientists in Switzerland. “NoMix” toilets collect and dispose of liquid and solid wastes separately.
Classic Covers: A Kiss Under the Mistletoe
“…the Yule log and Christmas candle were regularly burnt, and the mistletoe, with its white berries, hung up, to the imminent peril of all the pretty housemaids,” wrote Washington Irving (1783-1859). This Victorian couple under the mistletoe was on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post December 15, 1900. How many people have our cover artists caught under that infamous plant?
Couple Under the Mistletoe
“…the Yule log and Christmas candle were regularly burnt, and the mistletoe, with its white berries, hung up, to the imminent peril of all the pretty housemaids,” wrote Washington Irving (1783-1859). This Victorian couple under the mistletoe was on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post December 15, 1900. How many people have our cover artists caught under that infamous plant?
Stealing a Christmas Kiss by J.C. Leyendecker
Never mind those feisty Victorians – this medieval couple is downright frisky. J.C. Leyendecker did this colorful cover for Christmas of 1933. Since the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe is said to date back to ancient times, such a scene may have very well occurred. Beyond the custom’s authenticity, the artist simply loved elaborate costumes – as did his famous protégé, below.
Mistletoe Kiss by Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell channeled colonial times for this cover from 1936. A traveler stopping in at the friendly tavern found mistletoe and proceeded to get, well, friendly, with a serving girl. Mistletoe as a plant is actually a parasite, spread by birds in a very non-romantic manner (through feces). Rather a humble beginning for something that came to represent amorous feelings.
Cousin Reginald Under the Mistletoe by Norman Rockwell
Rockwell did several covers of city-slicker Cousin Reginald and his ornery country cousins for Country Gentleman magazine, a sister publication to the Post. Here Reginald’s cousin, Red, is coaxing a very embarrassed Reginald into his first kiss under the mistletoe. Well, the young lady is willing! This cover is from 1917. The plant has been considered sacred, and later, a fertility herb. Something to think about when you’re passing under doorways.
Woman Gazing Up at Mistletoe by Harrison Fisher
Back in 1908, we find another willing lady. Perhaps she’s wishing upon the mistletoe for a particular suitor to find her. This parasitic plant possibly became revered because it was rare to encounter it, and when one did find it in the dead of winter, it was green and thriving, unlike the tree on which it fed. The kissing under the mistletoe tradition is said to date back to Norse times. It is hard to picture marauding Vikings getting mushy over a plant, but there you are. Hagar the Horrible smooching Helga under the mistletoe? Hey, it could happen.
Girl Under Mistletoe by J.C. Leyendecker
This cute cover is also from 1908. The young boy seems to want to fill out his dance card, but the girl appears to have more than a mere dance in mind. She isn’t budging until she gets a kiss! We agree – if you have mistletoe, don’t waste it – get your Christmas smooches. And have a happy holiday!
Christmas Gifts of a Hundred Years Ago
If you would like to see our gallery, click on an image below for a bigger view.
Stress Less About the Holidays
Don’t let unrealistic expectations sabotage your health this holiday season, cautions Jay Zimmerman, a staff psychologist with the Ball State University Counseling Center in Muncie, Indiana.
“Many of us wish that family gatherings were more like what we remember from our childhoods or see on television,” explains Zimmerman. “But dreams of a perfect holiday season can quickly become nightmares—and sometimes lead to bouts of depression.”
To treat yourself this holiday season, Zimmerman offers these five tips:
- Avoid or reduce alcohol consumption. Liquor is a depressant that can deepen existing emotional problems.
- Include exercise in your daily routine. A walk in the sunlight will add energy and help counteract seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
- Maintain close friendships and confide in those you trust. Talking about your feelings helps reduce or eliminate the blues.
- Read one of the dozens of books on the market to discover stress-busting tips.
- Face the facts. No holiday gathering is perfect.
Those who have feelings of depression lasting more than two weeks to seek professional advice, adds Zimmerman. Symptoms of depression may include sleeplessness or sleeping too much, a lack of appetite, inability to concentrate and feeling hopeless.
Classic Covers: A Soldier’s Christmas
Shopping, decorating and lots of Santas: that’s what Saturday Evening Post Christmas covers are made of. But we wanted to remember those serving overseas this holiday season.
Santa’s in the News – Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell wanted to remind us amidst the horrible 1942 war news, that it was still Christmas. Rockwell finished his famous “Four Freedoms” paintings about this time: Freedom of Speech, Freedom from Want, Freedom of Worship and Freedom from Fear. Whoever purchased a war bond would receive a set of the Four Freedom prints, and the original paintings were exhibited in a special tour, a way the artist helped rack up millions in war bond sales.
Lone Soldier – Mead Schaeffer
Nor were our WWII troops forgotten by Rockwell’s friend, fellow cover artist Mead Schaeffer. Schaeffer painted dozens of soldiers for Post covers during these years, although this is perhaps the most touching. A lone soldier standing guard on December 25, 1943. Like Rockwell, Schaeffer was a stickler for details. A WWII cover of the crow’s nest of a patrol boat was changed after the Navy took a look at it. The fear was the enemy could determine the location of our Russian convoy route on the basis of the stars in the Arctic night sky. So the heavens were scrambled for the actual Post cover. Presumably, these Christmas stars passed muster.
Hanging Holly – J.C. Leyendecker
Back to the first war to end all wars. Remembering her sweetheart at Christmas time, this lady keeps his photo first and foremost among the decorations. Beginning in 1899 and continuing to 1943, J.C. Leyendecker did a remarkable 322 Saturday Evening Post covers, one more than Norman Rockwell. It is said that Rockwell deliberately did one less, out of deference to his idol.
A Soldier’s Christmas – J.C. Leyendecker
Leyendecker did many covers of the WWI soldier, writing a letter by campfire, throwing a grenade, praying at a memorial. One we can never resist is this soldier sharing his meager holiday with a little French cutie. By now the prolific artist was famous for his iconic Arrow Shirt ads featuring remarkably handsome men and elegant ladies.
A Soldier’s Thanksgiving – J.C. Leyendecker
This happy soldier, also from 1917, lucked out for his holiday feast. Is that perhaps a plum pudding? Although Leyendecker’s art career was waning by World War II, he received commissions from the U.S. War Department to paint posters of officers like Eisenhower and MacArthur encouraging the purchase of war bonds.
Saluting Santa – J.C. Leyendecker
Again by J.C. Leyendecker, this cover sums it up. Wherever our troops are serving, along with our Post artists and Santa himself, we would like to salute them.
Building The Ultimate Toy: From Monopoly To Slinky
Those unfortunate people with no opportunity to buy Christmas presents for children don’t get the annual update on America’s toy industry. They aren’t aware that each Christmas, there is one Ultimate Toy — a gift every child seems to want.
You might recall Ultimate Christmas Toys from your own past — a Barbie, or Lionel train set, a Cabbage Patch Doll, Rubik’s cube, or Lego set. Today’s Ultimate Toy tends to rely on advanced electronics, a gigabyte of memory, a video screen, and it probably doesn’t sell for less than $130. It’ll be unique, clever, engrossing. It’ll also be in tune with today’s tastes in amusement, because fashions in entertainment change just as they do for clothing.
In post-war America, the fashion in toys was education. The Christmas tree was crowded with games to stretch children’s minds. They were a hit with the parents. They flopped with kids — which didn’t surprise some toy experts. The staff at New York’s F.A.O. Schwartz toy store had a theory about what made a toy successful.
Toys, they say, are nothing more than an imitation of life. In a footnote they add that any plaything is worthless if it is not fun to use.
The store’s vice president said,
“If you have to force or coax a child to play with a toy, it’s a waste of money,” he says, “The popularity of educational toys was the result of high-powered salesmanship, backed up by fancy psychology, that tried to teach mothers what children should have instead of telling them what kids always have liked,” He sighs lugubriously. “That’s the trouble with the business. Adults buy the toys. If kids shopped for their own stuff, everybody would be a lot happier.” [“There’s No Other Store Like This,” Stanley Frank, Dec 14, 1946]
For years, the Ultimate Christmas Toy was a Monopoly set. Monopoly hit the market in 1935 and made a fortune for Parker Brothers Inc., and becoming the most successful board game in history. In the decades that followed, the Parker executives reviewed hundreds of new board-game ideas, hoping to find the next big money-maker. They received hundreds of proposals for new games, but few seemed promising.
In 1957, within two weeks of the launching of Sputnik I, the company got a hundred Sputnik games. Half the games sent in today concern space travel, and Parker is fed up with them—inventors love them but people don’t buy them.
“I have no idea why some subjects sell while others don’t,” says Edward P. Parker [grandnephew of the company’s founder]. “Every time we make up a theory, we’re proved wrong.”
Members of the board (no pun intended) at Parker Brothers found almost all new ideas were variations on old standards.
Like a comedian who has heard all the basic jokes, the Parker firm has seen countless variants of the six basic games: track games (Parcheesi), war games (chess), word games (Scrabble), card games (rummy), luck games (dice or roulette), and alignment games (Chinese checkers).
The company could probably survive if it made nothing but Monopoly, but Parker has some 150 games in stock and produces a half-dozen new ones each year. The firm makes over 10 million sets yearly. No one knows the total number of all games sold annually in the U.S., but a rough guess is 50 million. [“Pass Go And Retire,” Roy Bongartz, April 11, 1964]
At the time of this article, 1964, the company was selling one million Monopoly games each year. Today, 275 million have been sold and Hasbro, who owns Parker Brothers, claims that over one billion people have played the game. And Monopoly is just a small part of the American toy industry, whose sales exceed $20 billion each year. No wonder toymakers spend their years, and fortunes, to create the next Ultimate Christmas Toy.
Yet one inventor struck it rich by accident — and help from his two-year-old son. Richard James was a nautical engineer who conducted performance testing on battleships. One of his tools was a torsion meter, which tested the horsepower delivered to ships’ propeller shafts. To get an accurate reading of torsion, free of the ship’s vibration, the meter was suspended by a spring. One day at work, James knocked one of these springs off his desk and noticed how it bounced and flipped. He showed it to his boy.
James’ son, Tommy, liked one as a plaything. So did a neighbor boy who came down with measles. So did other children. The engineer had a vague feeling that he ought to do something with this device, but it was Tommy who showed him the possibilities. The boy put one on the steps of their home, pulled the top of the spring down to the next step, and to James’ surprise this talented hardware walked gravely down.
James immediately set out to design a toy in which this trick would be perfected. A piston-ring company manufactured a few for him in the fall of 1944, but toy dealers weren’t interested. Less than a month before Christmas a department store phoned to say James could use the end of one counter, but would have to serve as salesman. No little embarrassed, he and his wife turned clerks on November twenty-seventh and sold their entire supply—400—in ninety minutes.
In the last few weeks of the year, the toy made more money for them than James had earned all year in a good engineering job. By Christmas 22,000 had been sold, and by October of this year James was manufacturing 22,000 a week. He had sold 430,000, had his own business, his own little factory, and had quit marine engineering cold.
[“Up Bounced a Business,” Robert M. Yoder, Dec. 21, 1946]
While high-tech toys come and go, the Slinky remains popular, impervious to toy fashion. And while it might never again be an Ultimate Christmas Toy, it is something almost as good — a toy that can be enjoyed by more than one generation.
Ambrosia Time
Here’s our simple recipe for Ambrosia, but every family has a special twist. What’s yours?
Ambrosia
Makes 6 to 8 servings
- 2 11-ounce cans mandarin oranges, drained
- 2 13-ounce cans pineapple chunks, drained
- 3/4 cup colored miniature marshmallows
- 1 1/4 cup shaved or shredded coconut
- 1 cup light whipped cream
Gently stir all ingredients together, cover, and chill overnight.
Christmas Seals Turn 104!
Decorative seals for Christmas cards and packages helped control tuberculosis by raising funds for research, mobile x-ray units, and public health programs. Today, the nation’s oldest direct-mail fundraising campaign has set its sights on other forms of lung disease—including lung cancer.
Most of us remain in the dark about the most deadly cancer in this country, according to a new survey by the National Lung Cancer Partnership (NLCP).
“Lung cancer is by far the number one cancer killer in the United States, yet the disease isn’t on people’s radar,” said Regina Vidaver, Ph.D., executive director of the nonprofit advocacy organization. “If we’re going to catch it early and give people the best chance for survival, they need to know about lung cancer and its symptoms, take measures to reduce their risk, and talk with their doctor about their health history.”
Tuberculosis—also called “consumption”—was the leading cause of death worldwide when Red Cross volunteer Emily Bissell expanded the promotion of Christmas Seals (then called Christmas “Stamps”) from Denmark to the United States in 1907. Needing $300 to save a small sanitarium for TB victims in Delaware, the innovative Bissell borrowed $40 to create special stamps that were sold at a local post office for a penny each. Soon, President Roosevelt endorsed the campaign, and Christmas Seals became a nationwide holiday tradition.
More than a century later, profits from the enduring campaign support the American Lung Association in its fight for healthy lungs and healthy air. Lung disease comes in many forms, including asthma, influenza, emphysema, and, of course, lung cancer.
Half of all lung cancers occur in people who have already quit smoking, according to the NLCP. Exposure to radon, a radioactive gas without color or odor, is the second leading cause of the disease.
Quick Facts About Lung Cancer
- Lung cancer takes more women’s lives each year than breast cancer.
- Lung cancer takes more men’s lives each year than prostate cancer.
- Symptoms include a cough that won’t go away; pain in the back, chest or shoulders that won’t go away; shortness of breath; unexplained wheezing; and coughing up blood.
Resources
- National Lung Cancer Partnership: for patient stories, expert information, and locations of clinical trial sites.
- Environmental Protection Agency: to read more about radon and how to protect yourself and loved ones from its harmful effects.
- American Lung Association: to learn about lung cancer, COPD (emphysema and chronic bronchitis), asthma, and influenza.
What the Queen Does for a Living
At first glance, the queen appears hardly essential to the survival of Great Britain. She signs her name to Parliamentary laws and “accepts” every new prime minister, but these are just formal ceremonies: the British government could function easily without them.
Meanwhile, the queen, throughout her 60-plus-year reign, has been steadily giving up privileges other monarchs took for granted. Her royal household — including her family, her staff, and the upkeep on several houses — is $60 million each year. While this is a princely sum, it has been frozen for 20 years and its purchasing power has dropped by 75 percent. Moreover, the queen now pays income tax, which further reduces that figure.
It’s a precarious position, this queen business. Without any true power of her own, her income is subject to the approval of Parliament, which can deny any expense it doesn’t like. Meanwhile, there is a significant number of Britons who call for the end to a monarchy that seems expensive and silly to them.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth must regularly appear among her subjects and work her royal charm to build support and allegiance to herself. As British journalist Malcom Muggeridge observed in the Post back in 1957:
When, as in the case of Queen Elizabeth II, a monarch only reigns, with no ruling powers whatsoever, it is inevitable that the focus of interest should be transferred from the office to the person.
It is the queen herself, her family, her associates, her way of life, which hold the public attention. The role she has inherited is purely symbolic, and the functions that go with it are purely ceremonial. Because she has no power, she must be, in herself, wondrous. If she were ordinary, she would be nothing.
She must be alluring, removed from the necessities and inadequacies of ordinary men and women — a creature of this world in the sense that she has a home, a husband, and children, and yet not quite of this world in that she is a queen.
Muggeridge concedes the queen does a fairly good job of projecting this royal mystique, despite the disenchanted mood of post-war Britain.
The monarchy has grown more glamorous in circumstances which, theoretically, should have reduced it to the proportions of a Scandinavian dynasty.
Debutantes throng more numerously and eagerly than ever to be presented at court. Mayors and other local dignitaries proudly rustle up gray top hats for the Buckingham Palace garden parties. Labor ministers lay aside their red ties and delightedly attire themselves in knee breeches to attend upon Her Majesty.
This is the queen’s greatest, and most historic service to the country: dispensing royal approval and honors. Each year, hundreds of British citizens are nominated for knighthood, or an order of chivalry like Commander of the British Empire. The queen, advised by the Prime Minister’s cabinet, grants these awards to a handful of distinguished, and proud, men and women. The title lack the privileges they once conveyed, but they’re still highly valued. Few Britons turn down them down.
Strangely enough, people are still clamorous for these baubles, which constitute an inexpensive form of political patronage. Happy the government that can bribe with knighthoods, baronetcies and peerages rather than with jobs and money. It is so much cheaper and less complicated.
The queen would seem to be essential to this procedure. If the honors were conferred by a president or a prime minister, the odds are that they would lose some of their allure. The worthy alderman kneels ecstatically with creaking joints before the queen to receive the accolade; the aged party hack finds one more canter in him when it is a question of being elevated to the peerage by Her Majesty in person.
Answering the question posed by his article, “Does England Really Need a Queen?” Muggeridge concludes:
The British monarchy does fulfill a purpose. It provides a symbolic head of state transcending the politicians who go in and out of office, who, as King Lear so wonderfully said, “ebb and flow by the moon.”
It expresses that continuity which has enabled Britain to survive two great revolutions — the French and the Russian — and two ruinous and destructive world wars, without being torn by civil conflict. But this function must not only be fulfilled. It must be seen to be fulfilled.
The queen, in other words, must be put across, not only as a charming wife and mother who dresses pleasingly, if not always elegantly, who wins hearts wherever she goes, and who presides gracefully over a lunch or dinner table even when her guests include politicians, writers and statesmen, rather than her own intimates, sharing her own simple, unintellectual tastes.
She must be put across, as well, a useful unifying element in a society full of actual and potential discord.
This post was updated on September 10, 2015.
Finding Some Good in the Royals
With three recent events, the British Royal Family has once again moved into the media spotlight. First came the announced engagement of Prince William, Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson. Then came the release of the movie The King’s Speech, about King George VI and his struggle to master his chronic stutter. Just yesterday, the car carrying Prince Charles and his consort was attacked by college students rioting over tuition hikes.
Perhaps it’s inevitable that any mention of the ‘royals’ in America prompts the old debate of whether there’s any justification for a monarchy today. The duties of the queen, and all her family members, are entirely ceremonial. They are living symbols of a long tradition. But they are symbols and this is an literal age.
Americans should have a natural prejudice against kings and queens, or any inherited privilege. The United States only came into existence after fighting for independence from King George III — Queen Elizabeth’s great, great, great, great grandfather. Thomas Jefferson branded that king an “absolute tyrant” and believed that aristocracy was a “mischievous ingredient in government, and provision should ever be made to prevent its ascendancy.” In the following centuries, as the U.S. and England competed for global prominence, American writers, teachers, and politicians frequently denounced the English throne, and its occupants — “those pets of privilege,” as Mark Twain called them.
Yet the American attitude toward the Royals is curiously ambivalent. Millions of Americans became admirers of Princess Diana. For some, she embodied the fairytale romance of the princess bride. But many others admired what they perceived as her grace, poise, and commitment to social causes. Americans may be biased against aristocracy, but we are drawn to any display of heroism and virtue. We seek role models of courage, judgment, maturity, and dedication. Like it or not, we have often found these democratic qualities among the last people we would expect — the ultra-privileged.
The Post published several articles about the British royal family in the 20th century. Every one of them noted approvingly how England’s kings and queens displayed such American virtues as modesty, simplicity, and informality. The authors of “King George” in 1933 praised the frugality of the King George V and Queen Mary.
[The royal family] ungrudgingly fulfilled the countless ceremonial duties falling to their share. … They were content to live self-effacingly with the shadows for a while. Their expenditures were modest, considering their rank. The small dress bills [of Mary] would have amazed women of the New York Four Hundred, it was said at the time. Indeed, even when she became Princess of Wales, the future Queen Mary still most creditably refused to be extravagant.
King George V, they concluded, didn’t even talk like a king.
[His] an unstilted style of saying things, far removed from the old-time public utterances of royalty.
His son, the Prince of Wales — and later, briefly, King Edward VIII — was a nice guy with class:
charming, urbane, with a delightful suavity of manner, [he] puts everybody at ease, allaying all feelings of natural shyness and timidity.
His brother, the future King George VI, had a natural affinity for the commoner:
With the bluffness of the sailor … he had about him a certain “hale-fellow-well-met” air. The straight-from-the-shoulder simplicity with which he talked … rang delightfully true. Pretense was so alien to him … one could see that here was a prince who, in mixing with people, could not easily conceal his liking for them.
If the Post writers purred in their assessment of the kings, they nearly swooned over young Queen Elizabeth II. Even before she had a chance to prove herself as monarch, journalists were pulling out their most rhapsodic prose for her. Paul Gallico promptly declared her “a young, gracious, and really lovely queen.” Jan Morris gushed —
There is no getting away from the mystique of the English monarchy. … I defy any man of sensibility, still less any woman, to resist the magic of this extraordinary lineage, when you meet it face to face. It is a phenomenon unique in its kind. Profound your instincts of equality may be, and blaring your dislike of snobbery, but when it comes to the royal point you will almost certainly succumb. An inescapable mystic allure invests the queen of England when you see her standing in her own palace, a handsome woman in herself, and in her significance marvelously alluring.
One of the classic European experiences of our time is to wander on to Pall Mall in London one high summer day and glimpse above the shoulders of the crowd this royal lady, in a tricorn hat and scarlet tunic, pink-cheeked and grave-faced, side-saddle on a tall chestnut, leading her glittering Horse Guards toward Admiralty Arch. Here we see a last figure of towering romance, of folk loyalties and earth instincts, a last shining reminder of the world that was, before reality broke in.
Reality, in fact, never broke in. It was there all along. All that display and ceremony, the fancy dress and glittering guards, were only incidentally meant to impress commoners and, later, attract tourists. The monarch’s true purpose, as Malcolm Muggeridge pointed out in his 1957 Post article “Does England Really Need a Queen?” has been, and continues to be, political.
Next: The Queen’s Real Job
This post was updated on September 10, 2015.
Classic Covers: Can You Guess the City?
We admit these beautiful cities look different now than they did in 1946 or 1960, but these covers by artist John Falter are still a treat. How many can you guess?
Fifth Avenue
This is one of the most famous streets in America, circa 1960. Next hint: the April sun in shining on the windows of Tiffany’s. Joggers, cars, horse and buggies, feeding the pigeons – so much detail that it was actually a fold-out cover. You can study it further or read on for the answer, as if you didn’t know: New York’s Fifth Avenue. By the way, you can click on any cover for a close-up.
Falls City, Nebraska at Christmas
A few weeks ago, Ruth Nixon wrote to us asking for John Falter covers. This one is of Falter’s (and Ruth’s) hometown of Falls City, Nebraska, Christmas time 1946. The future Post cover artist worked on this very street in his father’s clothing store. He had the exalted title of “pants runner”; he ran trousers from the store to the tailor’s to get them shortened. You have to love the cars in this one. Thanks so much, Ruth, for giving us the idea for this segment!
Monument Circle
I knew this one instantly! I’d like to think it’s because I’m so darned smart, but actually it’s because I’ve worked in downtown Indianapolis and have had lunch out on Monument Circle on many fine days. Dedicated in 1902, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument is at the very heart of downtown. Again, the minute artist’s detail: A teeny-tiny group of school children are viewing the beautiful statues of soldiers and sailors – which, unfortunately, you have to be quite close to see how exquisite they are. The beautiful English Gothic Christ Church still stands, I’m happy to say, as does the neighboring Columbia Club building. Indy thanks you for this one, Mr. Falter.
Kansas City
If this cover is any indication, this is one of the prettiest cities around. “Spanish architecture in Missouri?” the editors asked. “If such a state of affairs seems peculiar, consider that the unpredictable Show Me state even has a town named Peculiar, some twenty miles south of here.” “Here” is lovely Kansas City in 1961. The charming community of shops pictured here was conceived and built by Jesse Clyde Nichols (1880-1950) to whom the fountain in the foreground is a memorial.
Peachtree Street
Let’s head south and see what people are doing on this fine June day in 1960. Construction workers are constructing (right of that big tree), pedestrians are pedestrianing, and traffic is flowing well on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. Get out the magnifying glass again, because the editors identified one of the teeny-tiny people to the far lower left: “ the gentleman on crutches is Ernest Rogers, Atlanta Journal columnist and the popular ‘Mayor of Peachtree Street’”. More editorial info: “In the early nineteenth century this was a sinuous ridgetop trail leading to an Indian settlement known as The Standing Peachtree; today it’s the main artery in the economic capitol of the South. That towering tree in the foreground is an American elm. Our scene contains no peach trees—they don’t thrive in downtown Atlanta.”
Michigan Avenue, Chicago
We must not forget the Windy City. Again, there was so much wonderful stuff to show, this was a fold-out cover, but we can show you half. This is Michigan Avenue, looking north toward the Tribune Tower and the Wrigley Building. Where, you ask? Again, the incredible detail: “The Wrigley Building and environs are reflected in the camera lens at left”. You can tell it’s a crisp autumn day from the coats being worn and the changing leaves on the tree to the left. Another identifiable pedestrian: “The whiskered gent with the sketch pad is the late Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright’s mentor and an architect who helped reshape the face of this frisky city.”
Town Square, New Castle, Delaware
I must add one more because this is such a charming cover. New Castle, Delaware was not a big city (pop. 4469 at the time of this 1962 cover), but it won over artist Falter. The editors shared some interesting history: “Founded in 1651, it was William Penn’s landing place when he came to America at in 1682. Penn is thought to have spent a night in the house at the extreme right of our cover. The spire atop the Court House (left foreground) was used as the center of a twelve-mile radius in part of the 1763-67 survey—to settle a boundary dispute—that resulted in the Mason-Dixon Line.” You thought the Mason-Dixon line was way down South, didn’t you? Nope. Personally, I’m interested in the people at the lower right of the cover trying to fit a lovely antique into a car trunk. It makes me want to go antiquing in New England. Well, maybe with a bigger vehicle.
The Kid Nobody Could Handle
“What this town needed was some excitement, and Jim knew just how to provide it.”
“The Kid Nobody Could Handle” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
5 Tips to Spot Skin Cancer
Skin cancer develops right before our eyes—or those of our friends and family. Too often, however, we just don’t look for early signs of trouble.
“No one wants to think about developing a disfiguring, even deadly, disease like skin cancer, so many Americans live in a state of denial,” says Joshua Fox, M.D., a leading dermatologist and medical director of Advanced Dermatology of New York and New Jersey. “Most people know they are supposed to be checking their skin monthly for changes that might be cancer, but they aren’t exactly diligent about it. It’s something that gets put off for later, often indefinitely.”
Checking your skin regularly, and making an appointment to have your dermatologist do the same, is the best and only way to catch skin cancer before it spreads.
“For the past twenty-five years, we’ve told people to pay attention to the ABCDs of pigmented skin irregularities,” Dr. Fox continues. “Checking for asymmetry, border irregularity, color variation, and diameter more than 6 mm (about 1/4 inch) is still the key to identifying a problematic growth among a bunch of innocuous-looking freckles and moles.”
Here are Dr. Fox’s five rules to save your skin:
1. Make it a habit to check your skin at home.
Inspect yourself, head to toe, once a month. “Many cases of melanoma and other cancers develop on the scalp,” Dr. Fox says. “These cancers can be deadly, but unfortunately, most people don’t check the tops of their heads very often.”
Helpful Hint: Look over every inch of your birthday suit, even in areas where you’ll need a hand mirror to get a good look.Check the palms of your hands, your nails, and the soles of your feet, too.
2. Know what is normal.
In most cases, a normal mole is a uniform shade of brown, tan, or black, and can be flat or raised, round or oval. Some moles are present at birth and others develop later in life, especially in areas that get lots of sun. Once moles appear, they most often remain the same size, shape, and color. Others eventually fade and disappear. “Almost everybody has moles, and almost all moles are harmless,” Dr. Fox says. But people with lots of moles, more than 50, are at a higher risk for skin cancer.
Helpful Hint: Be on the lookout for flesh-colored, pearl-like bumps or pinkish or reddish patches of skin that flake, scale, or even bleed. They can be basal or squamous cell carcinomas.
3. Pay attention to changes in your skin.
Be on the lookout for new marks and check for changes in old ones. Also note whether skin around a freckle or mole becomes crusty, for example, or spots start to feel itchy or sore.
Helpful Hint: “Spots on the skin come in all shapes and sizes, and not every mark you see will be cancer,” Dr. Fox says. “But if you see something that really stands out, what dermatologists call an ‘ugly duckling’, be sure to tell your dermatologist in a timely manner.”
4. Schedule an annual skin check with your dermatologist.
Most people should see the dermatologist once a year. At this exam, the doctor will check your skin and discuss any changes that the two of you have found.
Helpful Hint: Anyone who’s had skin cancer already or who has other significant risk factors should make an appointment at least every six months.
5. Find a dermatologist who uses dermatoscopy technology.
Also known as epiluminescence microscopy (ELM), or surface microscopy, this is a relatively new method of screening that’s extremely effective at identifying cancers, helping the doctor distinguish malignant lesions from benign ones, says Dr. Farkas, who uses a dermatoscope in her practice at Advanced Dermatology. “The dermatoscope uses polarized light and a magnifying lens to let us ‘see’ the skin more clearly,” she explains. “It significantly increases the accuracy of the exam, meaning we can detect problems much more reliably than with the naked eye.”
Helpful Hint: Next week, Medical Update offers bonus coverage from dermatology specialist Dr. Babar Rao about VivaScopes with advanced laser technology that provides optical images of cells at and below the surface of living skin to detect and diagnose skin cancer—without a biopsy.
Beatings, Brawls, and Lawmaking: Mayhem in Congress
Political divisions between Republicans and Democrats run deep — impossibly deep, some say. But there is still some common ground (the good of the country, presumably). To get an idea of how a truly divided Congress looks, you must go back to the late 1850s, when the phrase “battle on the floor of Congress” really meant something.
Galusha A. Grow was a Pennsylvania congressman in those years when the legislative process was often a contact sport. Pro-slavery southerners were fighting to maintain their control of Congress against the growing power of abolitionist members. The air grew dark with insults, threats, then violence. In 1856, Preston Brooks of South Carolina attacked Charles Sumner of Massachusetts in the Senate, savagely beating him with a cane until it broke. Senators who tried to come to the aid of Sumner were warned away by another South Carolinian, Laurence Keitt, who waved a pistol and promised to shoot anyone who intervened.
In 1858, President Buchanan was pressuring Congress to admit Kansas as a new slave state. Congressman Grow and other Republicans bitterly opposed the move. The matter was referred to a special committee and the debate ran well into the night. According to Grow’s own account—
Having been chairman of the Committee on Territories in the previous Congress, I was asked to take charge of the [blocking the admission of Kansas a slave state.] Toward three o’clock in the morning I crossed to the Democratic side—“
Note: Seating in the House of Representatives is arranged in a semi-circle before the Speaker’s platform. By tradition, Republicans sit on the right side of the circle and the Democrats on the left. Grow had walked past the Speaker’s platform to the left side of room.
— to consult with John Hickman, a Douglas Democrat from Pennsylvania. Just then John A. Quitman, of Mississippi, arose and asked consent to make a few remarks. We [Republicans] did not want to talk but to keep on voting, and I promptly objected to Quitman’s proposal.
“If you are going to object,” shouted Lawrence M. Keitt [Preston Brooks’ friend] who was sitting near, “return to your own side of the House. You have no business over here, anyway.”
“This is a free hall,” I responded, “and everybody has a right to be where he pleases.”
At that Keitt, whose seat was in the second aisle from me, sprang to his feet, strode down into the area, and advanced up the aisle in which I was standing, closely followed by Reuben Davis, of Mississippi.
“I want to know,” demanded Keitt, “what you meant by such an answer as that.”
“I mean just what I said,” I replied; “this is a free hall, and everybody has the right to be where he pleases.”
“Sir,” said Keitt, attempting to seize me by the throat, “you are a damned, black, Republican puppy!”
“Never mind what I am,” I retorted, knocking up his hand. “No negro-driver shall crack his whip over me.”
Keitt again attempted to grasp me by the throat; I struck out from the shoulder and he fell to the floor. In an instant John F. Potter, of Wisconsin, closely followed by Elihu Washburn, of Illinois, and a number of others who were standing in the area in front of the Speaker’s desk, came rushing up the aisle, Potter striking right and left.
Lovejoy, of Illinois, and Lamar, of Mississippi, were pawing each other in the area, each seeking to persuade the other to be still. Mott, a gray-haired Quaker from Ohio, was seen in the melee, his hand bleeding, but he afterward declared that he intervened in the interest of peace. Covode, of Pennsylvania, grabbed a heavy stone spittoon by his desk and marched down the broad aisle into the area in front of the Speaker. In the end he placed the cuspidor on a desk and returned to his seat, but, his attention being called to it, he took it back with him. Questioned later as to his purpose he said he thought that some one might draw a weapon, and if so he intended to tag him.
As [Potter] reached me he hit Davis with one hand, and [Tennesseean William] Barksdale, who had hold of me — in no angry mood but in way of friendly restraint — with the other.
Barksdale, not knowing where the blow came from, turned to Elihu Washburn and asked if the latter had struck him. Washburn replied that he had not.
“You are a liar,” said Barksdale, and letting go of me caught hold of Washburn. Cadwalader Washburn, coming up just then and seeing Barksdale and his brother, Elihu, in a clinch, struck out for Barksdale and hit him a glancing blow on the forehead which knocked off his wig.
Barksdale, picking it up, put it on backside first, which gave him such a grotesque appearance that everybody nearby broke out in a loud guffaw.
Meantime, the Speaker had called upon the Sergeant-at-Arms to restore order. The rush of members into the aisle had prevented Keitt from immediately regaining his feet, but as soon as he did the Sergeant-at-Arms led him out to the door opening into the corridor in the rear of the Speaker’s desk. Then the combatants, still laughing at the ludicrous spectacle presented by Barksdale, drew off one by one, and quiet was restored.
The hard feelings were only put away for a short time. Within three days, Grow was accused to trying to force the House into an extra session that would favor the Republicans. More harsh words followed. A Congressman from North Carolina took offense and challenged Grow to a duel, which he publicly declined.
Not long afterward, a Virginia legislator challenged Potter of Wisconsin to a duel. Even though Potter wasn’t a duelist, he felt obliged to accept the challenge. A friend suggested that Potter chose Bowie knives as a weapon. The challenger declined Potter’s choice, stating that a Bowie knife was not a civilized weapon. And so another Congressional fight dissolved into bathos.
Recounting the fight for the Post 42 years later, Grow doesn’t seem surprised at the ferocity of those distant days. Congress, he believed, particularly the House of Representatives, is an inherently rough place.
The popular branch of Congress has always been a more or less turbulent body, and it would be a matter of surprise if such were not the case. Indeed, occasional outbreaks in Congress, however much they are to be deprecated, are perfectly natural. Crowd some hundreds of men together on a hot afternoon or night; fill them with the fire of partisan ardor; perplex them with doubt as to the personal gain or loss that may follow their vote on the question at issue, and instill them with envy of, and ill-will toward, their fellows, and you have abundant material for a row. All that is needed is an excuse, and that is too often found.
Perhaps, then, we shouldn’t be surprised at the name-calling and finger-pointing. The men and women serving in Congress are only representing us, after all.