Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations
The Hurricane Party of 1969
Based on the press coverage from 1969, it sounds like the couples who remained in the path of Hurricane Camille to have a "hurricane party" certainly deserved to become Darwin Award winners (bestowed on them in 2000 by Wendy Northcutt in her Darwin Awards book)."The last time I went up to try to get them out, the water was just over the sea wall. They were having a good time and they wouldn't leave. That's the last anybody saw of them," he said.
Orlando Evening Star - Aug 19, 1969
But digging deeper into the story, thirty years after the hurricane people began challenging the tale of a "hurricane party." According to the debunkers, there was no party, and the people who stayed had been told by the apartment manager that the building could withstand a hurricane because it was a designated Civil Defense shelter.
One apartment resident who survived the hurricane continued to insist that the people on the third floor had been having a party. But this woman also claimed insanity as the reason she killed her 11th husband. So not the most credible witness.
More info: Hurricane Camille party in 1969: Fact or fiction? -- Hurricane Party
image source: Acts of God: the Old farmer's almanac unpredictable guide to weather and natural disasters
Posted By: Alex - Tue Mar 21, 2023 -
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Category: Death, Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations, 1960s, Weather
Happy New Year’s Day 2023!
Posted By: Paul - Sun Jan 01, 2023 -
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Category: Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations, Holidays, 1960s
The North Dakota Zap-In, 1969
May 1969: Responding to a suggestion in the North Dakota State University paper that students "Zip to Zap" to stage a "Zap-In" in Zap, North Dakota (population: 300), 3000 young people descended on the town. The Zap-In soon descended into chaos, prompting the mayor to summon the National Guard to remove the students.According to wikipedia, the event was "the only official riot in the history of North Dakota that was put down by the National Guard."
More info: Minot Daily News
Bismarck Tribune - May 10, 1969
Bismarck Tribune - Aug 7, 1969
Students gather around the bonfire built in the middle of Zap's Main Street
source: North Dakota Digital Horizons
The National Guard in Zap
source: North Dakota Historical Society
Posted By: Alex - Sat Dec 17, 2022 -
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Category: Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations, Riots, Protests and Civil Disobedience, 1960s
Burglary Party
Our Glorious Founder Chuck Shepherd frequently featured reports of housebreakers who a) did housework; b) drank themselves into a stupor; c) cooked a meal; d) had a bath or shower; etc. Here's a variation on the theme.Source: Wichita Falls Times (Wichita Falls, Texas) 30 Jun 1953, Tue Page 1
Posted By: Paul - Tue May 31, 2022 -
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Category: Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations, Food, Stupid Criminals, 1950s
Wild Party, 1905 Style
After the article, you can view one of Madame Gabrielle Réjane's silent films.Her Wikipedia page, with some great photos.
Source of article: The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois) 05 Feb 1905, Sun Page 3
Posted By: Paul - Tue Apr 13, 2021 -
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Category: Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations, Movies, Publicity Stunts, Public Indecency, 1900s, Dance
Rafael Trujillo, Partying Dictator
Not that Rafael Trujillo's murderous reign is redeemed by his party animal ways, but it's always nice to see someone who doesn't let his work stand in the way of having fun.First he arrives at LA and smashes another boat, then avoids fees by declaring himself a ship of war.
Source: The Los Angeles Times 21 Jun 1958, Sat Page 2
Then he insults our national holiday and causes an uproar on Catalina Island.
Source: The Los Angeles Times 05 Jul 1958, Sat Page 1
Of course, none of this jovial playboy behavior prevented him from getting assassinated three years later.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Mar 22, 2021 -
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Category: Dictators, Tyrants and Other Harsh Rulers, Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1950s, Outrageous Excess, North America
Mystery Illustration 32
[Click to enlarge]
Why all the same mask? The answer is here.
Posted By: Paul - Mon Oct 03, 2016 -
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Category: Costumes and Masks, Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations, 1960s
Horseback Dinner
Conspicuous Consumption - as it was done in 1903. In order to celebrate the completion of his $200,000 stable, C.K.G. Billings held a "horseback dinner" on March 28, 1903 for 33 of his pals from the Equestrian club. It took 24 workers three days to convert the second-floor banquet hall at Sherry's restaurant in New York into a faux rural barnyard and stable.
The guests ate while seated on their horses. The various courses were served on a table attached to the saddle. There was an individual waiter for each rider, and a groom stood at each horse's head to keep it calm and prevent a sudden start from spilling the food. More details from the NY Post-Dispatch (Mar 29, 1903) :
In the center of the horseshoe formed by the animals was a mound of green, surmounted by a mass of flowers. The grassy sides sloped off into a lawn, which spread to the horse's fore feet.
Beside each horse was a satin upholstered mounting box, from which the diner in the saddle was served. A board fastened athwart the pommel of the saddle served as a table, and that the steed might not curvette or prance or shy, and so spill gravy or salad, a liveried groom stood at each horse's head...
The equestrian guests entered fully into the spirit of the affair and soon the first banquet in the saddle was in full swing. And while the guests ate, so did the horses. While the courses were being served from the mounting blocks to dishes which were secured in holders on the saddle tables the horses munched oats from individual silk-covered mangers.
Twelve courses were served, then the tables were removed from the pommels and the guests lounged over their cigars in the padded saddles. Speeches followed, mostly laudatory of Mr. Billings.
It cost Billings around $1.3 million (in modern money) to host the event.
The Town Talk - Mar 27, 1903
Reference: Museum of the City of New York
Posted By: Alex - Sun Sep 25, 2016 -
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Category: Dinners, Banquets, Parties, Tributes, Roasts and Other Celebrations, 1900s
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