Thursday, May 28, 2020

The Invention of Air Conditioning

How an Apalachicola Doctor Laid the Groundwork for Modern Comforts

The first air conditioning in human history occurred here in Northwest Florida over150 years ago. Back in the 1840s, an Apalachicola physician, Dr. John Gorrie, found that patients suffering from fevers improved when their rooms were cooled by air that moved over ice. There was a major problem with this therapy. Ice was expensive. Harvested in the freshwater lakes north of Boston, the ice was packed in sawdust and shipped to Apalachicola aboard the ships of the Tudor Ice Company. Not only did the ice melt but there were times during the summer when it was unavailable. The solution to this problem consumed Dr. Gorrie and by 1846 his practical creative genius applied known scientific principles and produced a mechanism that made artificial ice. On July 14, 1847, the French consul at Apalachicola was able to celebrate Bastille Day with a toast of champagne chilled with Dr. Gorrie’s ice.

Dr. John Gorrie

History was changed forever in 1851 when Dr. Gorrie patented his ice maker. With this appliance came the promise of fresh food year round as well as comfortable summertime surroundings for work or play. Even though he

had invented one of mankind’s greatest technological achievements, Gorrie soon found that, in his own words, his ice maker “had been found in advance of the wants of the country.” Not only did his investors fail him but he may have been the victim of a smear campaign orchestrated by the New England ice cartel. Gorrie was called a “crank” in newspaper articles and accused of “playing God” with his artificial ice. Gorrie’s ice was a byproduct of his attempt to create air conditioning but in the 1850s his attempt to assist his patient’s healing with cooling comfort might as well have been the work of the Devil. No one appreciated the potential of Dr. Gorrie’s invention. After suffering from nervous exhaustion, Gorrie died destitute in Apalachicola in 1855. Today Dr. Gorrie’s achievement is recognized in the U.S. Capitol where his statue is one of two that honor representatives of Florida history. In his hometown of Apalachicola the John Gorrie Museum State Park displays a model of the device that produced the first artificial ice from mechanical refrigeration. Each August Apalachicola honors their favorite son with the Water Street Festival of Ice.
Dr. Gorrie’s museum and the grave across the street where he is buried are enough reason to take a short road trip to Apalachicola down U.S. Highway 98 East in your air conditioned automobile on any given evening. Each one of us can show appreciation for Dr. Gorrie’s achievements every time we end a busy day in the air conditioned comfort of our living rooms, clink a few ice cubes together and raise a toast to Apalachicola’s own Dr. John Gorrie, the father of mechanical refrigeration and air conditioning.

The small, glass tile windows show that the Hotel patio was designed to be air conditioned.

Back in 1956, most advertisements for motels in the Panama City area included the words “100% Air Conditioned.” Today we generally assume all hotel rooms are air conditioned but many aging Baby Boomers remember when a good night’s rest at the beach included open windows and the hum of an electric fan. Not until July 20, 1952 were any rooms air conditioned on Panama City Beach. That was the day Carrier Corporation, along with some other local businesses, purchased ads in the Panama City News- Herald congratulating the Hotel Patio on being the first motel on the beach to offer air conditioned rooms to the public.

Back in 1950, more people lived in Alabama than lived in the entire state of Florida. That’s kind of hard to believe today as Florida’s population pushes toward the 20 million mark. There’s no doubt that residential air conditioning had a major role in creating this mass migration to the Sunshine State and has transformed Florida into one of the most populous states in the nation.

So many of what were once luxuries or conveniences of modern life have, in the present day, become necessities. When the term “air conditioning” was coined over 100 years ago, indoor air quality in the summer was at the mercy of the weather. You might have been able to take the broiling heat of summer but you could hardly take it. As the old saying goes, ”You can’t miss what you’ve never had,” so it took a few decades of marketing for the comfort of air conditioning to move from inside the early 20th century movie theater to the family bedroom of the 21st century. And even in the 1970s, air conditioning had not caught on. Robert Wilkos with Roussos Air Conditioning recalls: “I am a Florida native, born and raised in the Miami area. I began my air conditioning career in 1972. When I informed my father that I was going to pursue a job in air conditioning, he replied that there was no future in air conditioning as our family home (and 99% of the others) plus the schools and businesses had no air conditioning. Needless to say, it was a good time to enter into this industry. I was on the state board of directors (ACCA-Florida) for over 10 years.” Now, more than ever, all of us can agree that our indoor comfort is as important to our health and happiness as any other factor of our lives.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

on Dan Baker: Michael Bailey When I was very young, he would call our house. If I had been good, my parents would let me answer the phone. Wide-eyed, I’d run to the phone and say “Hello.” This voice would mutter, “Damn you, Boy, that’s what I was going to say.”

Sunday, May 24, 2020

from page 336 of DEVIL MAKE A THIRD:

Buck watched him (Virgil) take a few steps up the sunny side of the street, wondering if he ever played the giutar, or if it was simply a friend whose voice he knew he could hear if he chose.

"Virgil!" he called, abruptly, hardly knowing why. Virgil turned to face, but not see him. "You never have been crazy, have you? You've been throwing a bluff for twenty years."

"No, I'm not crazy," Virgil said and his thin lips quivered, "But my brother is. He works."

Buck laughed out loud and pushed his hand out and away from him as if to hurry Virgil off again on his leisurely visit with the town. He realized, queerly, that it was the first time he'd laughed in a long time and turned towards the hotel, walking slowly, letting his mind lumber over Virgil.

"Damn if he ain't right in one way," he thought, and tried to put it into words. "Can't sleep in but one bed at a time. Can't eat but three meals a day and be comfortable, or wear more that one suit at a time. Reckon if a fellow stretched that thinking out, he'd figure anything above what he needs is like a mill rock that he'd got to drag along. If that's so, I'm toting a load."

pages 172 and 173 of Michael Dorman's THE GEORGE WALLACE MYTH

Every road leading into town is marked with a sign that reads, "Welcome to Clio, native home of George Wallace."

Many of the residents count it their fondest boast that they have known Wallace since he was a boy. The town has changed little in the intervening years. Most of the small stores and cafes currently surrounding Clio's main crossroads, at the intersection of Alabama highways 10 and 51, were there during Wallace's childhood. The section of Highway 51 running through Clio has, however. been renamed in recent years the Billy Watson Highway, in honor of a longtime Barbour County political figure who was one of Wallace's early mentors. Along the Billy Watson Highway in what passes for Clio's downtown are such establishments as Joe Long's Grocery, Smith's Laundry Mat. the Carpenter Tractor Company, the Corner Cafe, and the Cup and Saucer Restaurant (whose window sign warns, "No alcoholic beverages allowed"). Next door to Joe Long's Grocery stands a one-story brick building that serves as the city hall. A garage adjoining the city hall houses the two local fire engines. At the intersection of highways 10 and 51 stands the Cash Drug Store, operated by Wallace (Buck) Mizell. A jolly man of seventy-one years with a round pleasant face and white hair, Mizell looks as if he would make a fine Santa Claus. He has known George Wallace all his life. "I remember when George was born," he told me. "He was born right down the street there, where that brick house is now." Mizell pointed to a red brick house with green metal awnings, a small front porch, and three brick columns-standing across the highway from the city hall and next door to a farm-supply business.

"It wasn't that house he was born in," Mizell said. "The Wallace family used to have a wooden house there. Then George's daddy inherited some money in 1932 or '33, tore down the wooden house and had the brick house built." (The house is now owned by a couple named Zelmer and Margaret Herring.) https://books.google.com/books/about/The_George_Wallace_Myth.html?id=DWETAAAAYAAJ

Monday, May 11, 2020

Discovered this afternoon that the late Felix "Flaco" Falcon has a Facebook page. The following is an email I sent Felix's brother, Jorge, in 2009.
Jorge~
I have vivid memories of your brother because I met him the first time I ever met a rock star. For many years I remembered his name as being Felix Flaco. Only with the advent of the Internet did I discover that his name was Felix "Flaco" Falcon.

In the spring of '72, I had a work-study job at the Student Union Building at the University of Alabama. I was 22 years old and was about to graduate with my B.S. degree. I was the maintenance man for the Union so,in my opinion, I had the best job on campus(plus every master key). All the student organizations were located in the Union so I got to know just about everybody. I got to know all the cats in the University Program Council,the organization that promoted concerts,so I got to work security at all the concerts which meant I got in free and was given a free T-shirt. The night before I met your brother, I had worked security for the Joe Cocker concert & had witnessed the whole show from the side of the stage.

Cocker wasn't as animated as he usually was because he had fallen off stage the night before in Jacksonville,Florida. He'd cracked a rib and was wrapped in this huge Ace bandage.

The next day at work somebody in UPC told me to drive my '62 Chevy Impala over to the Stafford Hotel to help shuttle Cocker's band out to the airport which is located across the river from Tuscaloosa in Northport. Right when I got there I saw evidence of the "Rock and Roll Lifestyle". While standing on the sidewalk in front of the hotel I witnessed Chris Stainton walk full speed right into a plate glass window. It almost knocked him down. He wasn't paying attention because he was reading a copy of Winnie the Pooh as he walked.

There was a huge entourage but everybody got rides until finally everyone had left for the airport except for Joe and your brother. By the time they got downstairs,I was the only car left so they piled Joe's crutches and your brother's conga drum into the trunk of my car and off we went.

Your brother and Joe sat in the back seat and Joe did most of the talking. The only time Joe had been to Alabama before was to record in Muscle Shoals. He was really curious about Alabama liquor laws so that's all we talked about. Stuff like dry counties, no dancing laws, not being able to walk around with a beverage in your hand laws, no open windows in bars laws,no draft beer laws,no Sunday sales laws,no words on your sign like "beer,wine,liquor"laws,etc. Felix was very quiet.I remember he looked exotic with his bell bottom pants and billowing black silk shirt.Seems like I remember him having a little facial hair. Seems like a moustache or a goatee. Cocker had his hair plaited in corn rows. I'd never seen that before.

After we crossed the river, I asked Joe and Felix if they wanted a beer. They were ready so I stopped in a little store and bought a six pack. We all popped a beer and rode around the airport grounds until each of us finished our two beers. When we got to the plane which was parked at Dixie Air, everyone was already on board the plane and they were waiting on us. I'll never forget this gorgeous dark skinned girl with long black hair running off the plane to hug Joe's neck as we got Joe's crutches and your brother's drum out of my trunk.

I've always felt that Joe and your brother had their stash inside Felix's conga drum.

The next time I heard about your brother was in October of the same year when he got busted with Joe in Australia for weed.

The cat you need to talk to is Joe Cocker. Joe & your brother appeared to be best friends and they were working in about the biggest rock & roll show to ever tour the world up to that time.

best,
rr

Thanks for the info.

Your guess on the stash was probably right.

Thanks again. I'll try to reach out to Joe.

Jorge
https://www.facebook.com/FelixFlacoFalcon/

Sunday, May 10, 2020

May 10, 2014, left to right: J.R. Cobb, Paul Cochran, Buddy Buie, Gloria Buie

Paul Cochran ~ what a KIND person to be in business. I was reading the article about the gig the Old Man booked where the kids rioted at one of the first U.S. Stones shows EVER (and Jagger & Richards were inspired to write SATISFACTION while hangin' out @ the motel Paul put 'em up in)...anyway, after it was over Paul's boss, head of the Clearwater Rec Department, told the press something like, "THIS DEPARTMENT WILL NEVER ALLOW THE ROLLING STONES TO PLAY HERE AGAIN!!!!" That popped Paul's cherry. BUIE-COCHRAN WAS BORN!

https://books.google.com/books?id=xziKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA74&lpg=PA74&dq=%22Buie-Cochran+Management%22&source=bl&ots=ZrS7y46EdC&sig=ACfU3U2ANcAGewu7gwh-sdVjgfSe0Htp8w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj42qaQ5KnpAhVlmeAKHe83As4Q6AEwAHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Buie-Cochran%20Management%22&f=false

Saturday, May 09, 2020

image & comment courtesy of Mike McCarty:
"First time I met Richard, he introduced himself as 'The Beautiful Little Richard' and gave me this photo...the next time we met, I showed him the art piece I had done for 'The Best of Little Richard' cover, and I’ll never forget his response (in a higher voice): "Wooooooo that makes my big toe shoot up in my boot!!!' "

image & comment courtesy of Mike McCarty:
"RIP Little Richard...pencil study for a 'Best Of Little Richard' cover that I did in 1980-something, that contained his original recordings of his Specialty Records sessions from the 1950’s...lucky to have met him..."

image and comment courtesy of Mike McCarty:
"Found one more from Georgia Music Hall of Fame induction evening, with Issac Hayes, Buddy Buie, and Little Richard in 1984...I have had the honor working with all three of these people over the years...feeling broken hearted and blessed...miss them and those special times."

image & comment courtesy of Sherry & Mike McCarty:
"RIP Little Richard...ran across this photo (in elevator with Lena Horne, Del Bryant, and Little Richard) Georgia Music Hall of Fame induction night in 1984...photo by Sherri McCarty Wow!! How ironic that Lena Horne died on this same date in 2010..."