Wednesday, November 9, 2005

Hey, who pulled the plug ???

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the worst power failure to-date in an area covering 9 states in the northeast and 2 provinces of Canada. Some 80,000 square miles and 25 million people were affected by the blackout on November 9, 1965...

Lights began to flicker at 5:17PM and 10 minutes later people from Philadelphia to Providence and Brooklyn to Boston were plunged into darkness. The blackout covered an area as far west as Pittsburgh, as far south as Atlantic City and in the north beyond the New England states into 2 provinces of southeastern Canada. 800,000 were trapped in the subways of New York, railroads ground to a halt, planes circled endlessly, unable to land and flashlights directed automobile traffic. The National Guard was called into service in New York City, upstate New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts...

While this blackout would not last as long as the one we suffered during that heatwave in July of '77, it would be several hours before electricity was restored with Manhattan being the last area in the metropolitan New York area to get power back at 4AM...

Who's to blame for this massive blackout ? We blamed Canada, Canada blamed us. It is believed that the break occurred between Rochester and Syracuse and in 1965 Con Edison's system was connected to 5 other power companies upstate and in the state of Connecticut. To avoid future problems a major reconstruction program included the building of 3 new power substations, end of problem, or so we thought...

While terrorism wasn't even on the radar screen in 1965, it's interesting to note that rumors of sabotage reached the White House and Lyndon Johnson's press secretary, Bill Moyers (yes, that Bill Moyers) issued this statement: "all of the resources of the Government are being invoked in the investigation". A follow-up statement issued on behalf of the President said "it's pretty well agreed upon that there is substantially no chance of sabotage". But there was enough of a reason to investigate that possibility...

More November 9 Memories...

1938) Nazis looted and burned synagogues and Jewish owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria on "Kristallnacht", the "night of broken glass"...

1953) The Supreme Court upholds a 1922 ruling that major league baseball does not come within the scope of federal anti-trust laws...

1961) Record store manager Brian Epstein sees the Beatles for the 1st time in the Cavern in Liverpool (2 months later he will become their manager)...

1963) "Louie, Louie" is released by the Kingsmen...

1965) A major blackout hits the northeast (feature story)...

1965) The Knicks game against St. Louis scheduled for Madison Square Garden is postponed because of the blackout...

1966) Johnny Rivers tops the charts with "Poor Side of Town"...

1967) The 1st issue of Rolling Stone is published with John Lennon on the cover...

1970) Former French president Charles De Gaulle dies at 79...

1973) Billy Joel releases his "Piano Man" LP...

1978) Donna Summer is #1 with her remake of "MacArthur Park"...

1982) Sugar Ray Leonard retires from boxing (in 1984 he fights once more before becoming a boxing commentator for NBC-TV)...

1985) "The theme from Miami Vice" by Jan Hammer is #1...

1988) Former Attorney General and major Watergate scandal figure John N. Mitchell dies at 75...

1989) Communist East Germany throws open its borders allowing citizens to travel freely to the West. Joyous Germans dance atop the Berlin Wall...

1996) Evander Holyfield, a 5 1/2-1 underdog, batters Mike Tyson to win the WBA heavyweight championship in Las Vegas (this was the beginning of the end for Tyson who had lost to Buster Douglas in 1990 before serving 3 years in prison for rape)...

1997) The Lions' Barry Sanders becomes the 1st player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in 9 straight seasons (in the same game Sanders passes former Cowboy Tony Dorsett for 3rd place on the all-time rushing list)...

Happy Birthday To...

1930) Sportscaster Charlie Jones...

1935) Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson...

1936) Mary Travers...

1951) Lou ("The Incredible Hulk") Ferrigno...

1973) Nick Lachey...

Commentary...

A recent David Hinckley column in the New York Daily News brought us the news that Mary Travers (Peter, Paul and Mary) is suffering from lukemia. Mary who celebrates her 69th birthday today is soldiering on and plans to perform with the trio in their holiday shows this season...

Here's to a Happy Birthday, Mary and a speedy and complete recovery from your scores of fans, including this one...