Day Tripping: March 24

Man Power, Man-Up, and Man-Made Mess

Welcome to my daily feature where each day on the calendar marks a part of our shared history.

First Steps

Male black citizens of Canada are given the right to vote in 1837, three years after the law is passed considering slave ownership a crime. Canada is still under British rule at the time and it would be another thirty years before the Dominion of Canada was created.

Upper Canada, as it was known, grew in black population as an integral link to the Underground Railroad, but though many blacks were free men, hardships for recognition as equals were still a long time coming. Black women were not given the vote until 1919.

March On

At the Memphis Draft Board in 1958, the United States Army welcomed Private Elvis Presley into their ranks. He reported for active duty at 6:30 am at his local recruitment office where the ‘King of Rock-and-roll’ was taken by bus with twelve other recruits for physicals. Elvis spent six months training at Fort Hood, Texas before being shipped off to Germany with a tank battalion.

Presley had his famous hair cut the day before at his local barber, just after completing the shooting for his film, King Creole. Elvis was discharged as a Sargeant On March 23, 1964.

Major Cleanup

An oil tanker called the Exxon Valdez moves out of Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1989 on its route down to Long Beach, California when the ship strikes Bligh Reef, running aground and causing 240,000 barrels of crude oil to spill overboard. The equivalent of 10.8 Million US gallons spilled into the water over the next few days was considered at the time to be the worst environmental oil disaster in history.

The remote location of the disaster created logistical problems for eventual clean-up, which affected several hundred miles of coastline, a quarter of a million seabirds, countless herring, salmon, and other sea life. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 gallons of oil still remain in the sound’s waters, some thirty years later.

Exxon Shipping Company continued litigation on its own behalf while placing the blame for the incident on the ship’s Captain Joseph Hazelwood who was reportedly ‘sleeping one off’ below decks. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was implemented in response by the US Government.

Musical Milestones

Little Boy Blue & the Blue Boys perform in 1962 at a club in Ealing, England featuring first-time paid gigs for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Narratives

The Provincial Freeman, an anti-slavery newspaper in Windsor, Ontario, is published in 1853. Mary Ann Shadd Cary is the first black woman credited as a publisher.

Remembrance

The creator of two of 90s television's best comedy shows, Garry Shandling passed away in 2016 at age 66. He was a successful stand-up comedian and regular guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

Notable Births

1930 — Film star in blockbuster movies like The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, The Thomas Crown Affair, Papillon and Bullitt, Steve McQueen

1973 — Everyone knows Jim Parsons as Sheldon, Sheldon, Sheldon on the hit series The Big Band Theory.

1977 — Two-time Oscar nominee and talented actor, producer, and if I may say the very lovely Jessica Chastain.

On A Personal Note:

Today would have been my mother’s 100 birthday. Here’s to you, Ruth! Thanks for teaching me to weave a tale.

K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, PhD. Terry Trueman Dr Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS

The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present