Celtics Coach Red Auerbach....I Met Him, What did I Get?

Why would I take this photo and write something about seeing the iconic statue of Boston legend, Red Auebach? My answer will make sense. In my first and only time attending a Celtics game, I sat behind this man (he was front row, we were second), and although I knew nothing about the Celtics, my husband did. I came across this statue one spring day while walking through Quincy Market in Boston. Two things to know; this was my first date with my husband, and I was brave enough to ask for autographs. I asked Red Auerbach, another player, and also the ultra legend, Bill Russell. I got the first two, as shown below, but Bill Russell said no.

I have no idea why I had a newspaper with me or even a scrap of paper, but I'm very glad I did, because it shows the date of March 9, 1969. I don't remember Sam Jones at all, but I'll always remember how tall Bill Russell was (husband, me and he) ran into each other in an empty corridor!

Photos and Autographs, Country Singers

A blogger friend wrote something yesterday on Facebook, and it reminded me that I had the autograph and photo of the person referenced to. I told Lori Hellmund about the items, and I would scan and share today, but it wasn't until I realized all the other singers I had that I decided to make it a post for Wordless Wednesday. Below is her autograph. Any guesses? The answer will be at the bottom. These photos and autographs are from the 70s. You should know most of them.

Crystal Gayle. (Photo below.)

 Billy "Crash" Craddock (Same concert as Crystal Gayle and Sonny James.)

 Tom T. Hall in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. (Autograph below.)

 Mac Davis (Same concert as Dolly Parton. (North Shore Music Theater, Beverly, MA)

 Sonny James (Autograph below. Same concert as Crystal Gayle and Billy "Crash" Craddock.)

 Johnny Cash at an outdoor venue in New Jersey, summer abt. 1977.

 Dolly Parton (North Shore Music Theater, Beverly, MA.)

Crystal Gayle

(Photo taken the same evening I saw Sonny James and Billy "Crash" Craddock, Sept. 19, 1976, in Virginia. She wasn't a "star" then, but I knew of her because I followed all country singers. I got her autograph after I returned from my car during a short break. As I walked along the school hallway, she came out to get a drink of water from the fountain. We were all alone, and I asked for her autograph!)

 Sonny James (Photo above, same concert as Crystal and Billy.)

 

 Tom T. Hall (Photo above.)

 Conway Twitty

(A friend went to him and got 4 autographs. I was chicken.) He sang at Hillbilly Haven, a club owned by former actress Donna Dixon's father in Lorton, VA.

Ricky Nelson aka Rick Nelson

I was at Paul's Mall in Boston one evening on Nov. 17, 1970, with my date. A small room, with lots of tables and chairs, and a small stage. I was there for the second show, maybe at 11. There were so few people there, but I was determined to get his autograph. At that time, he wasn't as popular as previously, so there weren't any groupies, only me. When he took a break, I knew he had to walk past me, so when he did, I asked if I could have his autograph. He said, "Yes, follow me." Off I went to his little room. I blabbered something about liking Boston, and probably something else. I don't think he asked me anything. Anyway, I got the autograph! He wore a skin-tight neck-to-toe white leather outfit with leather fringe from the shoulder to the wrist. I remember the important things. And yes, he sang, "Garden  Party."

The Pope and Joan Baez, 1979 in Washington, DC

Well, no, I never got to see the Pope Paul 11, on October 7, 1979, but I was on the National Mall the same time he was, I heard him speak and I took the below photo as proof.

That same year, in July, there was a free Joan Baez concert at the Lincoln Memorial. I don't believe I saw her either. I wonder if the reason for my not liking crowds stems from the many events I attended in Washington, DC during my 20 years there.

There Is A Lot to Like About Lowell -- Jack Kerouac, Life and Times, Birth and Death

"There is A Lot to Like About Lowell" is the city slogan.

(See tab on right side called "Lowell Series" for many more articles about Lowell.)

Jack Kerouac  --  Life and Times, Birth and Death

Jack Kerouac

Birthplace, Lowell, Massachusetts

b. 1922

Jack Kerouac Memorial in Lowell, Massachusetts

Wikipedia has a huge write-up about Jack, who was born in Lowell 92 years ago, and is buried in Lowell (see below). 

In the spring, I hope to take better photos, before the trees are full.

Mill Girls and Immigrants Exhibit at the Visitor's Center (above) and the exhibit of personal belongings at the Boott Mills Boarding House (below).

These three displays were enclosed in Plexiglas.

The anniversary of his death is in a week, and this week there will be many tourists coming to Lowell, some making their annual pilgrimage to the city in celebration of Jack's life.

The photos below were taken the day after the new monument was installed on Sept. 30th, and I took these the following day. 

"The Road is Life"

May 22, 1922     PFC Sebastian Sampas    March 2, 1944

Massachusetts 51 Station Hospital, World War II

1910      Vee Kay Sampas Eisentraug     1975

1909     Harold C. Eisentraut     1977

1888     George K. Sampas     1961

1893     Maria C. Sampas     1981

March 12, 1922     John Louis Kerouac     October 21, 1969

November 11, 1918     Stella Sampas Kerouac     February 10, 1990   

 Directions to Jack's marker at Edson Cemetery

Lowell, Massachusetts

http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=91

Kerouac Writes First Novel on March 23, 1948 (as described by Mass Moments article) First paragraph, "Lowell native Jack Kerouac happily noted in his diary that he had written 2500 words. If he could keep up this pace, he would finish his first novel in a matter of weeks. The highly autobiographical The Town and the City was published in 1950, the same year he began writing On the Road, the novel that earned him the title "Father of the Beat Generation." By the time he died at the age of 47 Jack Kerouac had published 14 books. On the Road is Kerouac's most-read work today; it is widely considered one of the most important and influential American novels of the twentieth century, and Jack Kerouac is celebrated as one of Lowell's favorite sons." Please read the rest of the article for more information.

Additional Blogs:

Jack Kerouac Was a Man Who Loved Cats, See The Proof

There Is A Lot to Like About Lowell -- Artist James McNeill Whistler was born in Lowell

"There is A Lot to Like About Lowell" is the city slogan.

(See tab on right side called "Lowell Series" for many more articles about Lowell.)

Artist James McNeill Whistler was born in this house in Lowell.

Photos taken in spring.

WHISTLER PARK

"The Demoulas Foundation is

committed and dedicated to

the history, past and present and

future, of the city of Lowell."

Telemachus A. Demoulas

1920 - 2003

1834

Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, July 11, 1834,

at 243 Worthen Street

His parents were Major George Washington Whistler,

Civil Engineer and his second wife Anna Matilda McNeill.

City Hall in the background.

Happy Birthday, Ansel Adams

Reprinted from my 1979 negative, March 7, 2014

Today is the birthday of Ansel Adams, born February 20, 1902. I'm sharing a photo I took of him, while he was on a book tour in Washington, DC on September 9, 1979. I knew he was giving a free lecture about his book on that Sunday, so I brought along my camera and the current edition of Time magazine, with his picture on the cover, with the hope that he would sign his autograph. After the lecture and with my newly purchased $15 book and magazine just autographed, I walked around The National Museum of History Museum on Constitution Ave. and saw his chauffeur waiting for him. Nobody was around, just the driver. We conversed for maybe 10 minutes before Mr. Adams came outside.  I asked him if I could take his photo, he was delighted, and I was too.

Two things, I told him where to stand and I only took one photo (35mm camera that I had to focus. 

The book I had with me was bought at a Yosemite Falls gift shop in May 1978, and I just now looked at it again. Ansel wrote the date 9-9-79 with his name. Perfect documentation. The Sunday was a little cloudy at a little after 4. I don't think I'll ever forget a thing about that afternoon. He passed away five years later.

The first printed picture shown below could be used as a postcard! Guess that is what they did in 1979.