Today, birthday-ers Don Ho and Annie Oakley make and break stereotypes – isn’t everyone more real up close? Love poem by e.e. cummings.
The date is August 13th, Tuesday, and today I’m coming to you from Rochester, NY.
Today is the birthday of Don Ho, Hawaiian-American musician. Don was born in Hawaii and joined the Air Force in 1954 at age 23, just a few years after marrying his high school sweetheart.
Don and his wife Melva moved to California per Don’s job in the Air Force. While there, he picked up an electronic keyboard to accompany his voice. (He had already done a bit of singing as a young man at his Mom’s bar in Hawaii.)
Not many years later Don Ho left the Air Force and returned to Hawaii to take care of his ailing mother and her bar, Honey’s. Soon, Don found himself performing as the headliner for the bar. As his popularity as an entertainer spread, Don was asked to headline at another bar, Duke’s. Duke’s was a popular spot for celebrities and executives on vacation and Don would be ‘discovered’ by a music agent there.
Don Ho signed with Reprise Records and would go on to have a successful career over multiple decades. He was able to capitalize on the wave of tourists from America to the newest state in the union (Hawaii). He became a pop icon and, in addition to his own short-lived variety show, Don Ho made appearances on TV shows such as I Dream of Jeannie, The Brady Bunch, Batman, and Charlie’s Angels.
Despite a persona as an “easygoing romantic rogue,” Don Ho remained married to his high school sweetheart Melva until her death in 1990. Don Ho passed away in 2007.
And today is the birthday of Giovanni Agnelli, Sr,, Italian co-founder of Fiat. He was born in a small town in Italy in 1866, the son of the mayor. However, his father died when he was just five.
Agnelli was determined to make his mark. After attending school to be an engineer, he attempted a military career for a few years. When that didn’t work out as he had hoped, he returning back to his hometown of Villar Perosa and become mayor, like his late father.
As mayor, he enjoyed being well-connected to fellow politicians and businessmen. With his mechanical background, he was particularly curious about the invention of a horseless carriage. When a Count approached him with the opportunity to invest in a horseless carriage business venture, Agnelli jumped at the chance.
Fiat was formed in 1899 and in 1900 they produced their first cars. (This was four years before Ford would open on the States.) Agnelli was fully committed to Fiat and bought up extra shares when they were available. He worked his way up from investor to CEO, determined to make Fiat an international company.
He was a savvy leader. When 3k employees rioted in 1921, Agnelli quit, and let them run Fiat. Of course, the employees were not equipped to run the whole company and soon asked Agnelli to return – which he happily did, enjoying the employees newfound respect for company executives.
While Agnelli succeeded in his mission to take Fiat cars abroad, he wound up getting caught in Mussolini’s dictatorship. He repurposed Fiat factories for weapons and arms manufacturing but toward the end of WWII and Mussolini’s reign, the Italian Committee of National Liberation striped Agnelli of control of Fiat.
Thoroughly embarrassed and removed from his sole purpose in life, it would seem Agnelli gave up on life. He passed away in 1945 at age 79. (The Agnelli clan would not regain influence in Fiat until 1966.)
And today is the birthday of Annie Oakley, American sharpshooter.
Born on the plains of America in 1860, Annie had a hard life. Annie’s father died when she was just six. A few years later, destitute and desperate, her mother “rented” nine-year-old Annie as a servant to a well-to-do but cruel family. The arrangement lasted a grueling two years.
When Annie returned home she began to trap and hunt. At first, it was simply a means of survival: her hunting put food on the table. But then, as her talent developed, Annie used it to bring in money. She would sell whatever the family couldn’t eat, first, to local shops, then found a vendor who would sell her catches to hotels and restaurants in the large towns and cities of Ohio. With the income, Annie was able to feed her siblings and even helped her mother pay off the mortgage on their home.
Annie’s career as an entertainer started when she entered into a shooting contest with two traveling frontiersmen. Frank Butler placed a bet that he could shoot better than any local marksman. A resident Hotelier took him up on that bet and presented five-foot, fifteen-year-old Annie Oakley as his competition. Oakley won, impressing Butler who began to court her. The two married a year later.
Throughout her successful and well-paid career, Annie and her husband donated to charity. Annie was adamant that women should learn to use guns as a means to protect themselves from preadators, particularly given the lawlessness of the West at the time.
Annie Oakley was a powerful image for young girls in the first decades of the 1900s. She advocated for women to receive more independence and education and is the undisputed inspiration for the image of the “cowgirl.” She used her story as proof that women were as capable as men when given the same opportunities.
Wishing you a good morning, a better day, and a lovely evening.