item 1 >>> Well, you learn something new every day. Pork butts…they don’t come from where it sounds like they would, but instead the shoulder of the pig. “Butt” refers to barrels or casks the meat was stored and shipped in. And a Boston butt was simply the way they cut shoulders in Boston.
item 2 >>> Yesterday I mentioned A&P’s store brand Yukon Club tonic. This was an obvious take-off on the popular Clicquot Club brand. Founded in 1881 in Millis, southwest of Boston. By the 1950s it was being distributed nationally, but declined amidst intense competition. Sold to Connecticut’s Cott in 1960, then Cott was purchased in 1965 by Canada Dry, and Clicquot Club was discontinued. BTW, most can-ologists credit Clicquot Club with the first soda cans in 1938…they were the old-fashioned “cone-top” type. So what’s a “Clicquot”? Best I can find is it was the name of a 18th century French organ maker…
item 3 >>> Notice another member of Camelot has died, speechwriter Ted Sorensen, at age 82. Not for nothing, but did you ever notice, Kennedy cousins were never in the news, except for the Gargans, Joe with Ted at Chappaquiddick, and Ann, who was Joseph Kennedy’s nurse and aide. This may well have been because there were no cousins with the Kennedy last name…Joseph Kennedy and his father both came from big families, but each had only one brother, neither of which survived childhood.
item 4 >>> As a kid, I collected political buttons (remember those?) and one of my favorites was Endicott “Chub” Peabody, probably just because of the name. Born in Lawrence, elected Governor in 1962, upsetting John Volpe (Italian for “fox”) by just over 4000 votes out of 2 million cast. In 1964, defeated in the Democratic primary by Lt. Gov. Francis X. Bellotti. Defeated in 1966 senate race by state Attorney General Edward Brooke. At the 1972 Democratic National Convention, finished 4th in the vote for Vice President. Moved to Hollis, New Hampshire in 1983, running unsuccessfully for local and statewide offices. Died in 1997 at age 77. Descendant of colonial Massachusetts governor John Endecott.
item 5 >>> Saw in the paper today, a local St. Lawrence county native, now working for a company in Florida, has introduced his new variety of red celery. Reminds me of Danvers carrots and onions. When I entered Danvers High in 1965, the colorful old nickname “Oniontowners” was replaced by the up-to-date “Falcons,” at the start of the Coach Fravel era. This change had been several years coming…in the Spring of 1963, students voted to retain the old name 620-363 over “Blue Falcons.” “Ambassadors” received 78 votes.
Item 6 >>> It was suggested I include the slogans of the various A&P coffee brands, and I’d be pleased and proud to…Eight O’Clock = “mild and mellow”…Red Circle = “rich and full-bodied”…Bokar = “vigorous and winey”….hick!…pardon me…
Item 7 >>> Product Quiz from the 1950s & 60s…what were: Snootie…Praise…Nucoa…Qwip…Tuffies of the West…Kan-Kil…Prop…and a vehicle called a Champ? (answers tomorrow…)
Item 8 >>> When it comes to pizza, the more meat the better for me, and I don’t mean chicken! But haven’t we come a long way from Appian pizza mix, my old college stand-by. Regular or Grated Cheese…then in the 70s, remember those toaster pizzas?
item 9 >>> Here’s one for you: before starring in “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,” Robert Vaughn appeared in not one but two pilots called “The Boston Terrier.” This was Blake Edwards’ try for a series about a Harvard-educated private eye named A. Dunster Lowell. The first 60-minute pilot aired as an episode of “Dick Powell Theater” in 1962. The half-hour pilot the following year, featuring Elizabeth Montgomery, also failed to sell.
item 10 >>> Answer to yesterday’s Pict-O-Quiz…that was Fred Lynn, his one season with the Pawtucket Paw Sox in 1974. He was 22.
Wicked Ballsy
Surfing the web, came up with these…no dates given, I’m guessing early 1950s?
shameless plugitis…
Podcasts at http://stolfpod.podbean.com and http://thewholething.podbean.com
Daily blogs at http://stolf.wordpress.com and https://deepfriedhoodsiecups.wordpress.com
More bloggage at http://travelingcyst.blogspot.com and http://www.examiner.com/retro-pop-culture-in-watertown/mark-john-astolfi
Resume and audio samples at http://home.rr.com/mastolfi
Deep-Fried Hoodsie Cups 