Frank Beacham's Journal

On this day in 1940 — 81 years ago — the first peacetime draft in the history of the United States was imposed

Vietnam Veterans Against the War, 1972

Photo by Frank Beacham

On this day in 1940 — 81 years ago — the first peacetime draft in the history of the United States was imposed.

It came in the form of the Burke-Wadsworth Act, passed by Congress by wide margins in both houses. The measure gave birth to the Selective Service.

The registration of men between the ages of 21 and 36 began exactly one month later, as Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, who had been a key player in moving the Roosevelt administration away from a foreign policy of strict neutrality, began drawing draft numbers out of a glass bowl.

The numbers were handed to the president, who read them aloud for public announcement. There were some 20 million eligible young men — 50 percent were rejected the very first year, either for health reasons or illiteracy (20 percent of those who registered were illiterate).

In November, 1942, with the United States now a participant in the war, and not merely a neutral bystander, the draft ages expanded. Men 18 to 37 were made eligible.

Blacks were passed over for the draft because of racist assumptions about their abilities and the viability of a mixed-race military. But this changed in 1943, when a "quota" was imposed, meant to limit the numbers of blacks drafted to reflect their numbers in the overall population, roughly 10.6 percent of the whole.

Initially, blacks were restricted to "labor units," but this too ended as the war progressed, when they were finally used in combat.

"Conscientious objector" (CO) status was granted to those who could demonstrate "sincerity of belief in religious teachings combined with a profound moral aversion to war."

Quakers made up most of the COs, but 75 percent of those Quakers who were drafted fought. COs had to perform alternate service in Civilian Public Service Camps, which entailed long hours of hazardous work for no compensation.

About 5,000 to 6,000 men were imprisoned for failing to register or serve the nation in any form. These numbers were comprised mostly of Jehovah's Witnesses.

By war's end, approximately 34 million men had registered and 10 million served with the military. However, the draft laws remained intact.

Of the more than 72,000 men registering as conscientious objectors (CO), nearly 52,000 received CO status. Of these, over 25,000 entered the military in noncombatant roles, another 12,000 went to civilian work camps and nearly 6,000 went to prison.

Draft evasion only accounted for about four percent of the total inducted. About 373,000 alleged evaders were investigated with just over 16,000 being imprisoned.

The large cohort of Baby Boomers who became eligible for military service during the Vietnam War was responsible for a steep increase in the number of exemptions and deferments, especially for college students.

Besides being able to avoid the draft, college graduates who volunteered for military service (primarily as commissioned officers) had a much better chance of securing a preferential posting compared to less-educated inductees.

As U.S. troop strength in Vietnam increased, more young men were drafted for service there, and many of those still at home sought means of avoiding the draft.

Since only 15,000 National Guard and Reserve soldiers were sent to Vietnam, enlistment in the Guard or the Reserves became a popular means of avoiding serving in a war zone.

For those who could meet the more stringent enlistment standards, service in the Air Force, Navy or Coast Guard was a means of reducing the chances of being killed. Vocations to the ministry and the rabbinate soared, because divinity students were exempt from the draft.

Doctors and draft board members found themselves being pressured by relatives or family friends to exempt potential draftees.

Some conscientious objectors objected to the war based on the theory of Just War. One of these, Stephen Spiro, was convicted of avoiding the draft, but given a suspended sentence of five years. He was later pardoned by President Gerald Ford.

There were 8,744,000 service members between 1964 and 1975, of whom 3,403,000 were deployed to Southeast Asia.

From a pool of approximately 27 million, the draft raised 2,215,000 men for military service (in the United States, Vietnam, West Germany and elsewhere) during the Vietnam era.

The draft has also been credited with "encouraging" many of the 8.7 million "volunteers" to join rather than risk being drafted. The majority of servicemen deployed to Vietnam were volunteers.

Of the nearly 16 million men not engaged in active military service, 57 percent were exempted (typically because of jobs including other military service), deferred (usually for educational reasons), or disqualified (usually for physical and mental deficiencies but also for criminal records including draft violations).

During the 1968 presidential election, Richard Nixon campaigned on a promise to end the draft. He had first become interested in the idea of an all-volunteer army during his time out of office, based upon a paper by Martin Anderson of Columbia University.

Nixon also saw ending the draft as an effective way to undermine the anti-Vietnam war movement, since he believed affluent youths would stop protesting the war once their own probability of having to fight in it was gone.

There was opposition to the all-volunteer notion from both the Department of Defense and Congress, so Nixon took no immediate action towards ending the draft early in his presidency.

Instead, the Gates Commission was formed, headed by Thomas S. Gates, Jr., a former Secretary of Defense in the Eisenhower administration. Gates initially opposed the all-volunteer army idea, but changed his mind during the course of the 15-member commission's work.

The Gates Commission issued its report in February, 1970, describing how adequate military strength could be maintained without having conscription. The existing draft law was expiring at the end of June, 1971, but the Department of Defense and Nixon administration decided the draft needed to continue for at least some time.

In February, 1971, the administration requested of Congress a two-year extension of the draft, to June 1973. It was approved.

Meanwhile, military pay was increased as an incentive to attract volunteers, and television advertising for the U.S. Army began. With the end of active U.S. ground participation in Vietnam, December, 1972 saw the last men conscripted, who were born in 1952 and who reported for duty in June, 1973.

On February 2, 1972, a drawing was held to determine draft priority numbers for men born in 1953, but in early 1973 it was announced that no further draft orders would be issued.

In March, 1973, 1974 and 1975, the Selective Service assigned draft priority numbers for all men born in 1954, 1955 and 1956, in case the draft was extended, but it never was. Jeff Mellinger, the last drafted enlisted ranked soldier still on active duty, retired in 2011.

The pressures of the draft during the Vietnam war had a great effect on the music produced in the period and shaped the classic rock and roll that is still played today.

John Huston was born 115 years ago today

John Huston was born 115 years ago today.

The film director, screenwriter and actor wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics.

They include The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), Key Largo (1948), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The African Queen (1951), Moulin Rouge (1952), The Misfits (1961) and The Man Who Would Be King (1975).

During his 46-year career, Huston received 15 Oscar nominations, won twice and directed both his father, Walter Huston, and daughter, Anjelica Huston, to Oscar wins in different films.

Huston was known to direct with the vision of an artist, having studied and worked as a fine art painter in Paris in his early years. He continued to explore the visual aspects of his films throughout his career. He sketched each scene on paper beforehand and then carefully framed his characters during the shooting.

While most directors relied on post-production editing to shape their final work, Huston instead created his films while they were being shot. He made his films both more economical and more cerebral, with little editing needed.

Most of Huston's films were adaptations of important novels, often depicting a "heroic quest,” as in Moby Dick, or The Red Badge of Courage. Many of his themes involved some of the "grand narratives" of the time, such as religion, meaning, truth, freedom, psychology, colonialism and war.

Before becoming a Hollywood filmmaker, Houston had been an amateur boxer, reporter, short-story writer, portrait artist in Paris, a cavalry rider in Mexico and a documentary filmmaker during World War II. Huston has been referred to as "a titan,” "a rebel" and a "renaissance man” in the Hollywood film industry.

Author Ian Freer describes him as "cinema's Ernest Hemingway"— a filmmaker who was "never afraid to tackle tough issues head on.”

Here, Huston accepts the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1983

Spam, the canned meat, was introduced on this day in 1937 — 84 years ago

Spam, the canned meat, was introduced on this day in 1937 — 84 years ago.

Hormel Foods introduced the mix of pork shoulder and ham, whose name is derived from “spiced ham.” (No, it doesn’t stand for “Something Posing As Meat.”) Since then, Spam has been a muse for poets, comedians and chefs, and it helped win World War II.

Jay Hormel, Spam’s creator, said he was the first to successfully can ham. Cooking the meat inside the can produced a natural gelatin, increased shelf life and made it useful in battle.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote a letter praising Spam, and the former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev said his country couldn’t have fed its troops without it. Hawaii embraced Spam during the war, too, and the affection never ceased. The state consumes the most in America, with seven million cans a year, or five cans per person.

“In all of its high-sodium, gravy-drenched glory, Spam has, in every sense, found its way into my heart,” Anthony Bourdain, the late chef, said during a visit to Hawaii for his show “No Reservations.” “I get it now. I feel inducted into the Church of True Knowledge.”

Thanks New York Times!

Above, Jay Hormel and some of his company’s canned meat products, including Spam, in 1946

Photo by Wallace Kirkland

Pierre Salinger was born 96 years ago

Pierre Salinger: A Personal Remembrance

Pierre Salinger was born 96 years ago today. He was White House Press Secretary to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Also, Salinger served as a U.S. Senator in 1964 and was campaign manager for the Robert F. Kennedy presidential campaign.

He later became known for his work as an ABC News correspondent, and in particular for his coverage of the American hostage crisis in Iran and the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

It was at ABC News that I got to know and work with Salinger. In 1978, he was hired by the network as its Paris bureau chief. He became the network's chief European correspondent based in London in 1983. Under Salinger, I worked in Paris for about six weeks — doing a variety of stories.

Because Salinger was as much a French cultural ambassador as newsman, he was a lot of fun to be with. He was far more casual about news stories than his choice of food and drink, which he took very seriously. We ate at some amazing restaurants, where Salinger was always treated more like an important food critic than a VIP guest.

For a while in Paris, ABC booked me into the exclusive Hotel Saint Georges. After a period of working several days in a row with no time off, Salinger ordered a limo and put it at my disposal for an entire day to go anywhere I wanted. I was amazed by his generosity.

Such luxury is long gone from television news today, but in the era of Pierre Salinger it was still very much alive. He lived life to the fullest and made sure those around him enjoyed the fruits as well. Later, after leaving ABC, Salinger hosted a program in the early 1990s on the A&E cable network called Dining in France. No one was better qualified!

Salinger later made a permanent move to France, making good on his promise that, "If (George W.) Bush wins, I'm going to leave the country and spend the rest of my life in France."

Salinger died in October, 2004 of heart failure near his home, La Bastide Rose, in Le Thor, France at the age of 79.

The Story of the Fortune Cookie

Ever wondered about the origins of the fortune cookie? They are almost certainly not Chinese.

The fortune cookie may trace to Japan, reported the New York Times, but they were made popular in America by Chinese or Japanese immigrants in the early 20th century. Several U.S. companies claim to have made the first fortune cookies.

The largest in the world is Wonton Food, Inc., based in New York City. The factory opened in Chinatown in 1973, but has since moved to Brooklyn. They make over 4.5 million fortune cookies each day. In 1992, the company introduced fortune cookies to China.

Until World War II, fortune cookies were known as "fortune tea cakes" — likely reflecting their origins in Japanese tea cakes.

Fortune cookies moved from being a confection dominated by Japanese-Americans to one dominated by Chinese-Americans sometime around World War II. One theory for why this occurred is because of the Japanese American internment during World War II, which forcibly put over 100,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps, including those who had produced fortune cookies. This gave an opportunity for Chinese manufacturers.

Fortune cookies before the early 20th century, however, were all made by hand. The fortune cookie industry changed dramatically after the fortune cookie machine was invented by Shuck Yee from Oakland, California.

The machine allowed for mass production of fortune cookies which subsequently allowed the cookies to drop in price to become the novelty and courtesy dessert many Americans are familiar with after their meals at most Chinese restaurants today.

In 1867, Charles Feltman, a German immigrant, opened the first hot dog stand in Coney Island

The story of the original Coney Island Hot Dog

In 1867, Charles Feltman, a German immigrant, opened the first hot dog stand in Coney Island.

He called his signature frankfurter the Coney Island red hot, and it was served with mustard, sauerkraut and diced raw onions.

Soon, Feltman’s red hots were all the rage. Al Capone is said to have devoured one every night as a teenager before his shift at a local nightclub.

Feltman’s hot dogs were originally made near the Brooklyn Navy Yard and sold from a pie cart. In 1871, an enormous Feltman’s restaurant opened in Coney Island. It took up two city blocks and could serve 10,000 diners at once.

It wasn’t long before other companies entered the competition. A young man named Nathan Handwerker worked for Feltman in 1915. The next year, he opened his own shop, Nathan’s Famous, down the street, where he sold his hot dogs for a nickel less.

Nathan’s ultimately became the dominant brand on the boardwalk. Feltman’s went out of business in 1954, eight years after Charles Feltman’s sons, who were in their 70s, retired and sold the business to a hotel owner.

But five years ago, Feltman’s of Coney Island returned, with two brothers once again at its helm.

Michael and Joe Quinn are relying on their complementary talents and skills to run the business — Michael is a Coney Island history buff, and Joe, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has the business approach of a military strategist.

For example, Joe focused on locking down the Feltman’s supply chain in January, when he first heard about the Covid-19 outbreak. The brothers have also had good timing: People are pandemic-buying hot dogs like crazy.

Since March, the company has seen a 100 percent increase in sales from supermarkets and a 200 percent increase in online orders.

“Usually sales peak starting Fourth of July weekend,” Joe said. “So far it’s like March and April have turned into July.”

Thanks New York Times!

The story of barbecue...

Once upon a time, the Taino Indians of Jamaica got hungry, and they used the sweet wood of the allspice tree to cook meat over a slow fire. The wood they used was called barbacoa. That’s where the word barbecue comes from.

When Spaniards arrived in Jamaica in the 1490s, they enslaved the Indians and brought them to near extinction in about 50 years. African slaves were brought in to replace them.

In the 1650s, escaped slaves joined the remaining Taino in the forests and tried to fight the British and Spanish for control. The slaves learned how to preserve meat with spices because they didn’t know when their next meal might be. They shared with the Taino their method of smoking food in pits dug into the earth.

Barbecue has survived for more than 350 years from these humble origins.

Thanks New York Times!

John Harvey Kellogg, the American doctor who discovered dry cereal, was born on this day in 1852 — 169 years ago

John Harvey Kellogg, the American doctor who discovered dry cereal, was born on this day in 1852 — 169 years ago.

With his brother, Will Keith Kellogg, Dr. Kellogg ran the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Michigan, which combined aspects of a hotel, a hospital and a spa. Wealthy patients took in a regimen of exercise, fresh air and a strict diet — with wheat as a centerpiece.

One day in 1894, the Kelloggs overcooked the wheat, but went ahead and put it through the rollers they used to make dough. Voilà! Grain flakes were born. They prepared the accidental toasted flakes for patients, and the cereal was a hit. Granose Flakes went on sale in 1896.

It was rebranded as Corn Flakes a decade later and gave birth to the cereal giant, Kellogg.

It also led to another cereal powerhouse. A sanitarium patient, C. W. Post, loved the flakes so much that he began a rival company, Post, in Battle Creek, Mich., in 1895.

Battle Creek, west of Detroit, thus became the cereal capitol of the United States.

Thanks New York Times!

Finding Soul Food, and Comfort, at Sylvia’s

Finding Soul Food, and Comfort, at Sylvia’s

Alexander Smalls is now an acclaimed restaurateur in his own right, but when he came to New York to sing opera in 1977, he told us, he found sustenance and comfort at Sylvia’s, the Harlem restaurant and fixture founded by Sylvia Woods in 1962.

For me, it was sort of like going to a big Southern enclave where the people were very much like Southern people I knew in the South.

Sylvia was the queen of all that in Harlem because she came from South Carolina and she created this environment for other Southern people to congregate and carry on.

It was like that Sunday dinner after the church service, but it was in Sylvia’s.

We would go up there, and it was a little edgy and sketchy and you kind of clutched yourself a little tighter because clearly the economic scenario there was much different from the Upper West Side or Lincoln Center.

But it was also exciting. We were going to have fried chicken and candied yams and mingle and run into folks who made you feel like you were back home, south of the Mason-Dixon line. That’s what Sylvia’s was like. It was a pilgrimage.

And Sylvia was there. And she greeted you. And seated you and sometimes gave you a hug. When I told her I was from South Carolina, I remember her taking me back in the kitchen, showing me how she made her ribs.

It makes me think of Nina Simone. I was there eating one night, and Nina Simone came in and she and Sylvia had a little tussle, a little argument, because Nina never wanted to pay her bill.

You know Nina was one of those girls, like, “You know who I am?” And Sylvia was like, “Yes, and somebody’s going to pay this bill, Nina, I’m tired of you.”

I’ve been there many times with Cicely Tyson; with Ruby Dee and Ossie. This is the chorus of voices and images and impressions that wraps around me when I go there.

These are people I knew personally, but I was introduced to them as a 20-something-year-old from South Carolina who had come to New York to produce my operatic career, and they were as fascinated with me as I was with them. Baldwin! At Sylvia’s! It was iconic.

And I see that photo and I think of Gordon Parks and Life magazine.

And that’s what comes at me. You hear the roar of history, you know, a flash of civil rights and marches, Sylvia standing out front during a press conference and being revered and being seen as the mother of whatever the movement was, an anchor that anchors this great community. Adam Clayton Powell. That picture conjures up all of that for me.

New York Times

Photo by Jim Wilson

Article by Damien Cave

The story of how macaroni and cheese came to the United States

Do you know who brought the idea for macaroni and cheese to the United States?

The answer is Thomas Jefferson, an American founding father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the United States.

Despite his credentials, it could be argued that Jefferson’s greatest achievement was popularizing macaroni and cheese.

Though a dish of English origin, Jefferson first encounter macaroni and cheese in Paris and northern Italy in the late 1700s. He hand drew a sketch of the pasta and wrote detailed notes on the extrusion process.

In 1793, he commissioned the American ambassador to Paris, William Short, to purchase a machine for making it. Evidently, the machine was not suitable, as Jefferson later imported both macaroni and Parmesan cheese for his use at Monticello.

In 1802, Jefferson served "a pie called macaroni" at a state dinner. The menu of the dinner was reported by Rev. Manasseh Cutler, who apparently was not fond of the cheesy macaroni dish.

Nevertheless, since that time, baked macaroni and cheese has remained popular in the United States. Jefferson liked hot, melted cheese blended in creamy harmony with pasta, one of the great comfort foods.

A recipe called "macaroni and cheese" appeared in the 1824 cookbook, The Virginia Housewife, written by Mary Randolph. Randolph's recipe had three ingredients: macaroni, cheese and butter, layered together and baked in a hot oven. The cookbook was the most influential cookbook of the 19th century.