VTT - The Wearing of the Green

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

We associate the wearing of green with St. Patrick's Day. Historically, the color green was used as a symbol of Irish patriotism and of sympathy for Irish independence. The song "The Wearing of the Green" is about the repression around the time of the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Wearing the green was prohibited at that time and was punishable. Many versions of the song lyrics exist. Here is one version (source: Triskelle)

"O Paddy dear, and did ye hear the news that's going round?
The shamrock is by law forbid to grow on Irish gound!
No more Saint Patrick's Day we'll keep, his colour can't be seen
For there's a cruel law against the Wearing of the Green."

I met with Napper Tandy, and he took me by the hand,
And he said, "How's poor old Ireland, and how does she stand?"
"She's the most distressful country that ever yet was seen,
For they're hanging men and women there for Wearing of the Green."

"So if the colour we must wear be England's cruel red
Let it remind us of the blood that Irishmen have shed;
And pull the shamrock from your hat, and trow it on the sod
But never fear, it will take root there, though underfoot 'tis trod.

When laws can stop the blades of grass from growing as they grow
And whem the leaves in summer time their colour dare not show,
Then I will change the colour too I wear in my caubeen;
But till that day, please God, I'll stick to the Wearing of the Green."

My thingies this week are potholder versions of green wearables. First is a pair of crocheted potholder dresses.

Next is an "Overall Sam" applique potholder. Overall Sam is the male counterpart to Sunbonnet Sue. Both Sunbonnet Sue and Overall Sam have sun hats hiding their heads. Sue is usually shown in a side view, while Sam is often shown in a rear view.

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SS - Zehnder's Restaurant, Frankenmuth, Michigan

This old postcard from Zehnder's Restaurant in Frankenmuth, Michigan doesn't give a lot of information, but it does include a helpful map of their location and a memorable rhyme.

Zehnder's is one of those old restaurants that has lasted and lasted. They even have a big website complete with online shopping. According to the Zehnder's website, Zehnder's is America's largest family owned restaurant. Zehnder's restaurant began in 1927 when the Zehnder family purchased the old Exchange Hotel which dated back to 1856. There are ten dining rooms, which can seat more than 1,500 guests. Their menu features "all-you-can-eat family-style chicken dinners, seafood, steaks, fresh baked goods and European desserts."

Smorgasbord Sundays (SS)
restaurant and food postcards

PFF - Texas Cowboy Riding a Jack Rabbit

Postcard jack rabbits always look huge. I always knew they weren't THIS big, but I still thought they must be quite large. It turns out that they aren't any bigger than an average cat. The National Geographic website gives their size and weight, and shows their size compared to a 6 foot tall man.

Size: 2 ft (61 cm)
Weight: 3 to 9 lbs (1.4 to 4 kg)

Jack rabbits got their name from their big ears that look like those of a jackass. Jack rabbits actually aren't even rabbits--they are hares. Hares are larger than rabbits, have longer hind legs and longer ears, and are born with a full coat of fur and open eyes.

Despite their small size, jack rabbits are capable of speeds up to 40 miles an hour and leaps of more than ten feet.

VTT - Corning Glass and Vintage Pyrex

Corning Glass Center in Corning, New York is shown in the postcard above. This is where "the public may see under one roof a complete record of the history, art, science and manufacture of glass." Tours are still offered at the Corning Museum of Glass. This postcard is from the early 1960s, so the center has probably changed quite a bit since then.

Pyrex is now manufactured by World Kitchen at their Charleroi, Pennsylvania plant near Pittsburgh. PYREX is a registered trademark of Corning Incorporated used under license by World Kitchen. Other World Kitchen products include CorningWare, Corelle, Revere, Ekco, Baker’s Secret, Magnalite, and Chicago Cutlery brands.

I have two sets of Pyrex "Bake Serve Store Casseroles." I love how convenient they are to store. I keep all six of the casseroles nested together in my cupboard, with a stack of lids beside them. The first turquoise set of small casseroles I bought in 1968. This pattern is called Butterprint or Amish. The sizes are 1 pint, 1-1/2 pint, and 1 quart.

The second brown and tan set with amber lids I bought sometime around the mid-1980s. This pattern is called Homestead. The sizes are 1 liter, 1.5 liter, and 2.5 liter.

I bought my 9-inch turquoise pie plate at an antique show a few years ago because the color matches my casseroles.

I just bought the vintage Pyrex booklet, Getting the Most Out of Foods, last weekend. I was attracted by the beautiful Art Deco cover. It is "Form B-29—200M 9-30 Eastern" from Corning Glass Works. I think the 29 and 30 probably refer to the years 1929-30.

The first half of the 32-page booklet tells how Pyrex saves time and fuel, gives menus for meals cooked in Pyrex ovenware, and tells why women prefer Pyrex dishes for baking and serving. There are 20, 30, and 45 minute menus. Each menu is composed of dishes that have the same baking time and can be cooked at the same time using several different Pyrex dishes.

The second half of the booklet shows the Pyrex product line with prices and tells how the products can be used.

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SS - The Chuck Wagon, Rapid City, South Dakota

The Chuck Wagon restaurant is no longer at 3609 Sturgis Road in Rapid City. That address is now listed as the location of a Mr. Movies video rental store.

The chuck wagons that were used on western cattle drives originated in 1866. Charles Goodnight rebuilt a sturdy four-wheel wagon, fitting it with a chuck (food) box in the rear. The chuck box was the width of the wagon and had a hinged lid that lowered to become a work surface for the cook. Inside the chuck box were shelves and drawers for food and cooking utensils.

The tops of chuck wagons had bows across the top covered with waterproof sheets. The sides of the wagon held water barrels and tool boxes. A canvas or cowhide sling was attached to the bottom of the wagon to hold fuel collected along the way. The average wagon box was about 10 feet long and 38-40 inches wide. The wagon box carried the cowboys' personal items, gear, and bulk supplies.

Typical chuck wagon meals included beans, beef, sourdough biscuits, and coffee. In addition to their meal-time use, chuck wagons served as headquarters and social centers on cattle drives.

Smorgasbord Sundays (SS)
restaurant and food postcards

PFF - Big Tex - Texas State Fair

This postcard is a Curteich Panoramic Postcard measuring 3-1/2" X 8-1/4". It shows Big Tex, a 52 foot tall cowboy, who has been greeting visitors to the Texas State Fair in Dallas, Texas since 1952. In the postcard photo (circa 1970), Big Tex is wearing a Lee brand shirt, belt, and jeans. Nowadays Big Tex is dressed in Dickies brand apparel.

Big Tex "talks" to visitors--his talk includes saying HOWDY about 60 times a day. His body was rebuilt in 1997, and in 2000 he became able to move and wave to visitors for the first time.

Vital Statistics (from the Big Tex Fact Page):

HEIGHT: 52 Feet
WEIGHT: 6,000 Pounds
HAT: 75 Gallon, measuring 5 feet high
SHIRT: 100 inch neck and 181 inch long sleeves.
BELT: 23 feet long, with a 50 pound buckle
PANTS: Size 284W x 185L.
BOOTS: Size 70, measuring 7 foot 7 inches high

VTT - My Heroes Were Cowboys

The movie and TV cowboys on these three postcards by Movie Candid Color Cards (circa 1949) were my heroes when I was about five years old. From left to right the cowboys are Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, and Gene Autry. **I will put the text from the backs of these postcards at the end, for those who are interested.

I actually saw Hopalong Cassidy in person and had an autographed picture of Roy Rogers. My first watch was a Hopalong Cassidy watch. Hopalong Cassidy was very big business in 1950 (you can read all about him in the 1950 Time Magazine article "MANNERS & MORALS: Kiddies in the Old Corral." Below is a photomontage of me in my cowboy outfit superimposed on a photo of Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger.

Unfortunately I didn't save any of my cowboy stuff except the photo of Roy Rogers and my cowboy hankies.

**From the backs of the postcards:

ROY ROGERS and TRIGGER are one of the most successful entertainment teams in the world. Starring in Republic westerns, Roy also has a weekly radio show, makes records, has tieups with twenty-odd wearing apparel manufacturers, and his rodeo has broken all records with 12,000,000 admissions in the last six years.

BILL BOYD, or "Hopalong Cassidy," as he's better known to youngsters from six to sixty, has never been far from the top of the Cowboy Roost. This year, however, with his new series of weekly appearances on Television, Hoppy's hit the peak of a Hollywood career that began as a De Mille extra in 1919.

GENE AUTRY started a new cycle in Hollywood when he joined Republic Pictures in 1934 as their singing cowboy star. Now equally prominent on radio, screen, records and rodeos, Gene and his horse "Champion," are high on the list of America's perennial entertainment favorites.

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