Al Jolson, May 26, 1886-October 23, 1950

Al Jolson passed away 75 years ago. He was known as The World's Greatest Entertainer for his music, Broadway shows, silent movies, and being in the first talkie. He was performing before microphones, and his voice could fill a hall, reaching all the way to the back rows. His most well known songs came from the acoustic recording era, and his career waned quickly when microphones came on the scene. Crooners took over the popular music scene, but he made a comeback in the Forties with electrical recordings. His final gig was in 1950 when he went to Korea to entertain troops.  He died of a heart attack shortly after returning to the states.

 

Fall Activities: Beware of Red Waspers!

 As Fall progresses be on the lookout for red wasp nests hidden around your domicile. These colonies produce a bunch of queens who will overwinter and start new colonies in the Spring. They are looking for cozy homes for Winter, and will even try to go into your pants pockets! They are hungry and ill-tempered right before frost, so deal with them forcefully or leave them alone. They will try to get into your house, so act accordingly.

We are busy getting ready for Winter. We pulled tomato cages today and have many posts to pull out of the garden, then cutting, cleaning up cardboard, and burning. I noted that there was a lot of bird spatter on the pepper plants. Susan said it is from hummingbirds feeding on the pepper flowers. That is a good reason to keep your pepper plants going until a killing frost! Back To The Old Grind!

Weekend Steam: 6 Horsepower Advance Engines

 These are new engines, built with Stutzman boilers in Ohio. They are serialed with numbers following the original Advance serial numbers. The neatest thing about having an engine like this is that you don't need a semi to move it. A heavy duty trailer and pickup truck will handle one of these just fine. They have some improvements from the originals, so they produce more than the advertised 6 horses.

Our Fall Favorite! When The Goldenrod Is Blooming, Irving Kaufman Vocal

 The goldenrod is beginning to fade now, and frost will be here in a couple weeks. I always hate to see the last of the flowers end in early Fall. The wood stoves will keep our spirits up through the Winter. The old Brunswick still works. Brat is long gone. Sure do miss the old boy!