Batters Up

Hi Puzzlers,

Sports fans across the nation have begun to rejoice- it's spring training time! So today I would like to tell you about a fact from our country's national pastime that seems to be fading from memory, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.

During World War II major league baseball players were not drafted, but many of the young men who played on the minor leagues were. As a result most minor league teams disbanded. This disbandment left a huge gap in revenues generated by the Major League Baseball parks. Fear of collapse spurred Chicago Cub owner Philip K Wrigley to form a committee to search for possible solutions. The committee thus recommended using the girl’s softball league and so in 1943 the All-American Girls Professional Base-Ball League was born.

The first issue the committee needed to decide on was which game would be played. Women’s semi-pro softball teams at the time used a 12-inch softball and under handed pitching and teams consisted of ten players. In an effort to incorporate the two games the distance between bases were increased and men’s base running rules were incorporated; this allowed for the stealing of bases - and we all know how fun it is to watch for a stolen base! The team’s size was also reduced to 9 players.

Next, talent scouts scoured the country and Canada looking for players. Try-outs were held in all major cities and hundreds of women showed up looking for their chance to play for this new professional league. Sixty lucky women were chosen.

The women that were chosen had strict contracts forbidding any other type of employment during the season. Salaries ranged from $45 -$85 a week, which was higher than most of their professional parents. Strict moral codes of conduct would also have to be adhered to. Femininity was crucial. The girls received training on hygiene, etiquette, and dress codes. Charm school training also taught the girls how to act in every situation. “Physical attractiveness was a must and players received beauty kits and instructions on how to use them.” The All-American Girl Next Door, along with outstanding athletic ability was a top priority.”

The League's popularity peaked in 1948, selling 910,000 tickets to paying fans. By 1950, the league became decentralized and televised major league game saw to the demise of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, but not before giving over 600 women the chance to play baseball at a level never before obtained.

Happy Puzzling!

Victory Garden

Hi Puzzlers,

The buzz here at the office has been all about getting ready for spring and picking out garden seeds. Well I don’t have a garden but I’ve been thinking about planting a small raised one, so I pulled out our Victory Garden puzzle and started looking at all the different seed packets to find inspiration. WOW! I really did find some inspiration.

I found out that the term Victory Garden was an actual term used to describe home gardens that were planted during both World Wars. These gardens were planted in backyards, empty lots, rooftops, and public parks and on community land. All this was done in the name of patriotism.

As a part of the war effort Allies across the world had put rations on foods like sugar, eggs, coffee, milk, cheese, meat and canned goods. Citizens were urged to produce their own “war garden” in an effort to reduce the pressure on the public food supply. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt even planted a “food garden for defense” on the White House lawn. Nearly 20 million Victory Gardens were planted yielding an estimated 9-10 million tons of fresh fruits and vegetables. This amount was equal to “all of the commercially produced fresh vegetables, so the program made a difference.”

Citizen were also encouraged to can their own fruits and vegetables so the commercially made items could be sent to the troops. In 1943, 315,000 pressure cookers were sold versus the 66,000 sold in 1942. Popular women’s magazines began including gardening and canning articles.

One of the oldest remaining Victory Gardens is the Fenway Victory Garden in the Back Bay Fens of Boston, Massachusetts. The gardens are located on 7 acres of the Fens. Presiding over the 500 plots, each 15 feet by 25 feet, is the famous Prudential building. “The gardens are named for Richard D. Parker, a member of the original garden organizing committee. Thanks to his efforts the gardens are now an official Boston Historic Landmark.”

In 2009 First Lady Michelle Obama planted a vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House. This is the first garden to be planted at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden. The First Lady planted the garden to help “educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national concern.”

Happy Puzzling!

Route 66

Hi Puzzlers

Every time I see our Route 66 puzzle I get filled with curiosity. I try to envision what it would have been like traveling that highway in the 1930’s and then again in the 1950’s. Would I fear for my life or be getting my kicks?

Between 1916 and 1921, Cyrus Avery of Tulsa, Oklahoma and John Woodruff of Springfield, Missouri are said to have been instrumental in promoting the idea of a highway which would link Chicago and Los Angeles. Once their lobbying efforts were combined with the 1925 government expanded legislation for public highway construction, Route 66 would soon be underway. The official number 66 was assigned to the route in 1926.

Approximately 210,000 people migrated to California to escape the despair caused by the Dust Bowl of the 30s, which by 1934 had affected an estimated 100 million acres of farmland, thus Route 66 quickly became known as the “road to opportunity.” In the early years it was common to travel Route 66 in caravans which provided protection and assistance. During the depression years thousands of unemployed men from every state worked as laborers on road gangs to complete the final miles of highway.

“Completion of this all-weather capability on the eve of World War II was particularly significant to the nation's war effort. The experience of a young Army captain, Dwight D. Eisenhower, who found his command bogged down in spring mud near Ft. Riley, Kansas, while on a coast-to-coast maneuver, left an indelible impression. The War Department needed improved highways for rapid mobilization during wartime and to promote national defense during peacetime. At the outset of American involvement in World War II, the War Department singled out the West as ideal for military training bases in part because of its geographic isolation and especially because it offered consistently dry weather for air and field maneuvers.”

After the war many of the service men from the east coast chose to relocate to the warmer climates of the west and southwest with Route 66 facilitating their journey. Route 66 meant people no longer had to stay local and the west was an adventure waiting to happen. As a result gas stations, hotels, motels, restaurants, souvenir shops and entertainment spots sprang up along the highway offering tourists and weary travelers a place to rest and relax.

“As a result some of these small businesses developed into corporations, building franchised locations in state after state. Soon travelers deserted the small eateries, gas stations, and tourist camps located in the center of towns for the familiarity of heavily-advertised McDonalds, Whiting Brothers, and Howard Johnson.”

By 1970 most of Route 66 had been by-passed with four lane highways and it was officially removed from the US Highway System on June 27, 1985. Recently Historic Route 66 has begun to return to maps and the actual signs include historic information.

Happy Puzzling!

Meet Artist Kate Ward Thacker

Hi Puzzlers,

Today we would like you to meet artist Kate Ward Thacker. Kate’s lifelong love of vintage illustration, advertising, travel memorabilia and assorted ephemera has resulted in an unparalleled library of retro themes which she uses as inspiration for her designs in these collections.

As an avid artist from an early age, Kate Ward Thacker began selling her work at art festivals when she was in high school. After earning a bachelor's degree in design, she spent twelve years on commercial design projects while also developing and refining her painting techniques and style.

As a designer for Walt Disney Imagineering, Kate's talent and creativity were put to good use on theme park designs for Paris Disneyland and Walt Disney World. This creative atmosphere further enhanced her desire to turn to a full time art career, which she did in 1990.

Kate's vibrantly hued paintings are included in numerous corporate, public and private collections worldwide. She has shown her work for many years in galleries across the country. Also, some of Kates work has also been spotted on HDTV’s Color Splash with David Bromstad!

Happy Puzzling!