The sad story of the USS United States....From queen to derelict.

The USS United States was a special ship no one doubts. She was the fastest, the safest, the most modern speed queen on the north Atlantic. She was designed by Francis Gibbs who had been planning her for many years. She was to be quite unique.

She was to be over powered, just in case of a national emergency. She could be transformed into a troop transport and carry 10.000 soldiers at a hefty 35 knots.She could go faster if need be and she even was able to do 20 knots in reverse! This was a very powerful ship.  She was designed to capture once and for all the Blue Ribbon for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic. This she did with ease. Gibbs was terrified of fire on a ship and she was designed with no wood on the vessel. In fact the butchers block in the kitchen was one one of the few pieces and Gibbs when ever on board carried a little piece of wood in his pocket.

Gibbs had a great deal of experience in shipping. He was involved in the restoration of the USS Leviathan during WWI and it conversion to a peacetime liner after the war. In WW2 he was designing a lot of destroyers and military boats. I interviewed years ago one of his assistants, Warren Boin.   I remember Boin would be in charge of taking each new ship out for a test drive so to speak for Gibbs. So Gibbs was able to learn, invent and improve the abilities of ships during this time.

When it was time to build the United States it was special project that was shared by several, including the US Government.  When she sailed on her maiden voyage in 1952 Margaret Truman was on board to help sound the ships horn when the record had been broken for the trans-Atlantic crossing.

She had defeated the old speed queen  of the Atlantic, the Queen Mary. The Mary was sixteen years old by then, but what was more that her design was from the mid 1920's and she was not much more up to date than the Mauritania or the Majestic that she replaced in 1936.

The United States was a whole new breed and behaved as such.



She was a ship born in the cold war and designed to survive it. However , what the world did not see right away was something else that would in time render all of these ocean going ships to become as antiquated as typewriters. This was the commercial airliner.  By 1957 as many people who took ships to Europe was equaled by people who took airliners. It just went down hill from there and quickly.  The late Victorian early Edwardian age is when the super liner first made its appearance. What is considered the first modern speed queen was the Lusitania. It was the Lusitania that would be the first to cross the Atlantic in less that 5 days. All the ships that followed were her descendants, including the United States.

By the 1960's a nearly 5 day trip to Europe was being matched by a 6 hour flight. The answer of who would do what was obvious. In the 1960's the ocean ferries were being withdrawn and in many cases scraped as they had become white elephants in a modern age.  By 1967 there were just a few ocean liners going to Europe. In 1967 the Queen Mary was removed from service as she was losing too much money and the staff was out numbering the paying passengers. It was the same for the Queen Elizabeth in 1968. The United States was running at a severe deficit and was just to expensive to run. In 1969 she was with drawn from service. She had been sailing only 17 years. She sat and rusted in Virginia for a long while and then was taken to areas near Turkey where she rusted some more. Finally in the late 1980's she came back to the USA under tow. She was stripped of all of her furnishings that were left. That Warren Boin I mentioned earlier had a number of items from the ship that he got in auction.

She finally came to Philadelphia where she has been rusting away at her pier for the last two decades. I was involved in cleaning up the battleship USS New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey. As we worked on the ship you could see the hulk of the United States sitting there.

Now she is in terrible condition and if she is to be saved it had better be soon as she cannot afford to wait much longer.

What will be the future of the USS United States? I cannot say, but things are stating to look dark for its future. The great queen of the seas has become a begging derelict in a supplied port. In an age of budget crisis and economic woes, the preservation of a ship may cause some eyebrows to be raised. For the country she represents is in some ways equality in need of repair.

The first type of disc record with a label 1900

Before the Consolidated Gram-O-Phone record came on the scene the only disc records available had etched labels. This label which arrived on the scene in 1900. The records were manufactured by Eldridge Reeves Johnson in Camden, New Jersey. Even though the address of the company says Philadelphia. These are the first and some of the most rare of the pre dog Victors as we like to call them. Within two years of this  first recording, the Victor Talking Machine Company will be producing records with a logo that at one time was the most famous in the world. A picture of a little terrier looking into a Berliner Gramophone. But this is where the Victor company starts...Making several thousands of these little seven inch records. When it was still fashionable to use the term gramophone in the United States.

A great baseball joke from the days of Vaudeville

There is an old joke that goes back years ago and probably has its roots in Vaudeville

Man 1.   I have good news and bad news.

Man 2.  Oh, what is the good news?

Man 1.  I have been told that they play baseball in Heaven

Man 2.  Oh that is great. What is the bad news?

Man 1.  You are Pitching next Thursday.

Zon-O-Phone records. Stamper information seems a little hard to find. But here is one thing that may help.

Although not the best picture, you can see where the stamper letter is on the rim of the record.



In 1904 through the G&T company, the Victor Talking Machine Company would get a low cost brand of record called the Zon-O-Phone record.  It was made from masters made in New York City and the records were stamped in Newark, New Jersey.  These stampings were done at the Duranoid Company which was at 28 Prospect Street in Newark.  The company would soon move to 213-221 Chestnut Street in Newark. By the way some of the original buildings are still there.

But this is where the stamping and production of all the Zon-O-Phone records would take place between late 1904 to early 1905 till around 1910. This company would also at times makes Victor Records, specially when there were some very big sellers.

The Victor Company had a set policy for their stampers and how they would be marked.
It was a alphabetical and numerical system.  Let me explain

The first stamper from from the mother would be marked  A .  When that stamper wore out after making a 150 to 300 copies the next stamper would be used. This one would be called B.  This went right through to Z.  Then they would start all over again 1A, 1B, etc...  It is not unusual to see some popular Victor records with 27 W next to the serial number of the record on the wax.  This was a good system and it was quite understandable.

Then Zon-O-Phone was started and controlled from a distance by the Victor Company, there was a rather messy attempt to do the same for the cheaper label. However, I have been going through about 150 Zon-O-Phone records from 1904 to 1910. It is a very haphazard system. I saw that many of the earliest pressings from 1904 have no stamper info at all. Some others from 1904 have the stamper info right where it is on Victor records. But by what I can see by around 1905 is that all stamper info has been moved from the inside area by the serial number and moved to the outside rim of the record! This becomes a standard practice by 1905. I have seen markings that go from A to I and as of yet not any higher. But what I am wondering is, if this was the markings of the stampers, there were a lot of records that were not selling well.

If we can guess in the best conditions around 300 records could be pressed with a stamper, perhaps a little more. If the record shows a C stamper that means that there were about 1000 records made of that record. At least at the time of this records stamping.  What I was looking for was the signs of a 12 W or anything like that. I did find a few crudely scratched numbers written on to the wax. I would see 6 and then a stamped C. The highest number I could find was an 8 B.  This was found on only two records. That is all I could find on a 150 or so Zon-O-Phone records.    So my guess is while they were stamped and produced by the Duranoid Company there was not a great deal of control or concern to mark the records by stampers in a very organized fashion. So I am guessing that many of the records that have a rim stamper mark of C, could easily have been preceeded by a 2 or 3. If not Zon-O-Phone was not making or selling many records.

In 1910 the company was brought down to Camden and all of the records were marked like Victor records. But the early years from 1904 to 1910 leave quite a few mysteries.

JFK and Conspiracy. I have always been against it, but now I am starting to wonder.

I have been a very strong supporter of the single gunman theory.  I have written on it here, I was able to interview President Gerald Ford. All of these things made me think I knew. But, I am not sure now. Next year it will be 50 years since the assassination.

 All the major players are dead. Now it is time to really dig into this. I am for exhuming the body and settling this once and for all. Of course there will not be a lot left, but what is needed is the bones and most of them are still existent I am sure, along with some tissue.

 I know this is not a pretty topic but if it is never dealt with it was fester and grow with each succeeding year. So study the body and learn and prove one way or the other what is what. That is my feelings on the topic, from one who always thought it was a open and shut case.

If there is no examination of the body there can be no ending of this case....Sadly I am sure it will never happen, but I feel it should be done to answer a question from the people of this country. These are the people in charge, answer their question America!

Christopher Hitchens. (1949 - 2011) A personal hero to me and a fighter against the cruel and sadomasochistic nature of religion.

I have always been an ardent fan of Hitchens. His logic, common sense, and sheer strength of mind was always and continues after his death to be a source of comfort.  His attacks on the evils of religion were always done with facts, common sense, and a touch of good humor.

 I found I liked him more than Richard Dawkins, who is of a similar ilk. This is not saying I do not like Dawkings, which I do. But I found that while Hitchens was more of a street brawler, Dawkins is more of the quiet and somewhat condescending type to those he opposes rather than fight with them. Hitchens I found always ready to fight on and take on the nonsense that was condemning him. very different types of people.

He wanted to fight against all things he saw a tyranny, be it political or religious. In doing so he gained a liking by those who wished to think and not just follow.  That is so important!  Free thinking is such an important thing. Sadly in these United States were are dealing with about a 65% religious base that does not want to really think at all. They want to be told what to think and do, even if they do not think they are. They are really living their lives to please God, who ever she is. If God exists she is a woman, not a man.

 As for Hitchens he lived far too short a time. Sixty two years is not too long. I know, I can see it coming up on the horizon myself very soon. But what is most important about him was the fact that he made the most of those years and influenced many, including this writer.

Thank you for all of your good work Mr. Hitchens.  Freeing and fighting with us. To protect all  from the horrors of religion and its cruel and sadomasochistic doctrines.

One more time, Thank you sir!

Collecting Records ...The early days of collecting recordings before anyone know too much of anything. How the hobby has changed.

I acquired my first old record in 1969. It came my way in school. It had been found in the waters of Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale  Florida . It was a home made job from the 1940's of a rather bad barbershop quartet singing. I have a feeling that there was drinking involved in this recording. But I was delighted and hooked.

 I started in 1970 collecting records. Anything old I would take. I used to go to houses of older folks and ask if they had any old 78 records to get rid of. Amazingly I did find quite a few. Many were odd and unusual. Being that I did not know a lot yet I let many a treasure go away.

 Also I was totally confused as to the value and rarity of some of the records. In 1971 I traded a Philco cathedral radio for a Caruso record!

I was sure I did better in the deal...I had a lot to learn.

I was living in New Jersey by 1971 and before long I had a rare collection of Kate Smith records. Well I thought they were rare.

I found my first old phonograph in 1971. It was a Victor Victrola VI. It was not working had problems and I mowed a lawn to get it.  Since I had no idea what I was doing I broke the much of the original mechanism. Well by doing so I learned. I would in time fix it all with of all things Crazy Glue!  But this was my starting machine and I was very proud of it.  I signed the inside and put a 1972 penny inside to mark this very historic machine.  I was using sewing needles to play records..This was not the most successful way to play them.

So in my naive sense I called RCA Victor. It was still their logo on the side of the Victrola. It was a million to one chance that the person who answered the phone at RCA was a record collector named Don Donahue. I asked if they made needles for their Victor machines and he answered "Of course we do"  That evening I was to receive a pack of needles, as I walked to the RCA company in Rockaway, New Jersey.    I was soon to get mono and was sick beyond belief. One day while I was in and out of a very restless sleep there was a man at the foot of my bed with a big box. This was Don, and he brought me a get well present. A box of old records!

Once I was strong enough to, I went through that box and was amazed at all the treasures it contained. I would spend my evenings just playing some of these records ( I still have a few of them these 40 years later)

It was at this time I would discover Henry Burr, Billy Murray, Ada Jones, The Peerless, American, and Hayden Quartets and many more. I would in 1974 go and by chance walk into a store that would change my life. It was called the Player Piano Headquarters of Boonton, New Jersey. I was there with a friend and heard a piano playing one of the songs I had on my old records called Old pal why don't you answer me?

I walked in and said to the young fellow playing or I should say pumping the old piano, " I have a recording of Henry Burr singing that"..... Suddenly I heard a voice in the back louder than I could imagine say "Henry Burr!" Out came Ted Spangenberg the restorer of the pianos. He was about six feet tall, wearing a white tee shirt, bright green shorts, orange socks, and a smile. He grabbed me and took to the back of the shop and loaded me up in about 40 seconds with about 30 records of Henry Burr.  After getting over my shock of the records, his outfit, and this unique experience I found my home and people who loved what I did.

922 Main Street became my home away from home as Ted would restore phonographs, teach me about reproducers, and introduce me to many who were 15 to 90 in the field.  Saturdays would be the day we would all get together at Ted's place.  Through this association I would meet people who had worked for the Victor Company, recording artists, and some really fascinating collectors.

When I graduated from High School, Ted who always drove a limo, even though he was in the front made sure I arrived in style. Afterwards He would bring me a Victor Victrola as a present.   It was at this time I said goodbye to that first machine I had and had learned from. I sold it for $25.00 in 1976. What was amazing was I would get it back through another person who had it in 1992. I would get rid of it again in 1993 and it has not returned yet.  But who knows?

By 1980 I was well on my way to collecting a vast amount of early discs. It was good to start then as many of those records I found at this time you cannot find at all easy today. By 1982 I had a nice collection of Zonophones, Pre Dog Victors, Columbias and Climax records. I also had a good grouping of Edison records. Although I was never as fascinated by the Edison's as much as the early pre 1905 discs.

So now I have been at this for well over 40 years and I am not looking much for records, although I would be delighted to find some early ones, which happens now and then. But my collection is basically disc records from the 1895 to 1910 period. I find this period the most fun and also just about anything would be put on record.. So there is a lot of fun to many of these early records and their amateurish nature has a sense of fun in it. As we worked into the 20th century the fun went out of the recording and it became a serious business.

Now after all of this time and talking to so many people I have learned so much and know the histories of these recordings and artists. No longer do I have my Kate Smith records...

Although I am willing to trade a Caruso record for a Philco Cathedral radio!

George Washington praying at Valley Forge 1777. One of the most outlandish lies in American history !!

The scene is so familiar to us. Washington kneels in the snow outside of his quarters at Valley Forge.  There he prays for his country, his men, and the war. Lovely!

This story and picture is so well known that it is part of our history. Of course it is true we are told.

We know it is true, because the same man who told us about Washington's attack on the Cherry tree, told us this story!  So we know it is true!  WINK!!!

Lets be honest the Cherry tree story is the second biggest out and out lie about Washington. It is only beaten out by this one!
Parson Weems who wrote the biography of Washington, did not know too much about Washington's early life. Therefore, he added a little drama here and there.  In simple terms he just made up stories that would make Washington look good to the common man of the time.
It did not matter if they were true, it was to show his greatness. Washington did not do this at Valley Forge any more than he attacked the cherry tree.

In this case he used a local Quaker named Potts who saw the entire event. Research proves that Potts was not even there at the time. Oh well...

 It is a lie that has been told so long we think it is true.  No one believes the cherry tree story, but here we have people saying  it is true...It has been painted time and time and time again!  Why not do some more pictures of the Cherry Tree incident!

Well, it is not true as said before..  There is so much misinformation on Washington. He was a great man and did not need this nonsense added to his life to make him greater. Washington was a deist and a dandy. It was not his style. Last thing he was going to do is pray in the snow!


Why would he have to pray in the snow when he could do it right inside where it is warmer. Remember Washington always had a nice place to stay while the general army froze pretty much in the cold weather.

Weems turned Washington into something he never was. The sad part was that Weems next project, was to do a biography on Napoleon, of whom he knew less about than Washington.

American history is sadly 70% fact and 30% good for growing tomatoes!   Let us pray!