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| Pinto Colvig |
| Posted on Tuesday, June 10 @ 00:00:33 PDT (25 reads) | |
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pinto-studio.Png|colvig with his colleagues at the animated film corp. |
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? | Cavalcade of songs writing session.Jpg|l-r: colvig, john sibley, [[erdman penner]], [[frank thomas]] (seated), walt disney, [[ward kimball]] in [[cavalcade of songs]]. |
+ | cavalcade of songs writing session.Jpg|l-r: colvig, [[john sibley]], [[erdman penner]], [[frank thomas]] (seated), walt disney, [[ward kimball]] in [[cavalcade of songs]]. |
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latest revision as of 01:27, 10 june 2025
vance debar pinto colvig, sr. Was a vaudeville american actor, voice actor, comedian, newspaper cartoonist, circus performer, screenwriter, and animator, who was the story man at walt disney productions, perhaps better known for his voice work. His most famous for his disney role was as the original voice of goofy from 1932 to 1938, and again from 1944 until his death in 1967. He also provided the voices of pluto from 1932 to 1937 and again from 1941 to 1961, grumpy and sleepy in snow white and the seven dwarfs, practical pig in the three little pigs, and other classic characters.
born in jacksonville, oregon; one of seven children, he attended, but didnt graduate from medford high school. However, colvig was accepted and attended, sporadically from 1910 to 1913, oregon agricultural college, in corvallis, where he took art classes and played clarinet in the band as well as drawing cartoons for the oregon agricultural college barometer newspaper, and the yearbook.
from 1913 to 1922, colvig worked as a cartoonist and in various performances outlets including the al g. Barnes circus before moving his family to hollywood. Continuing work as animator and writer for different companies, colvig eventually obtained an eight-year contract with walt disney productions as a writer and sound effects artist. Between 1937 and 1940, colvig didnt work for the disney studio, after falling out with walt disney and worked with fleischer studios, such as the 1939 film gullivers travels before returning to disney.
he also voiced other characters, such as bluto (popeye the sailor), the sounds of jack bennys maxwell on the jack benny program, a munchkin in the 1939 mgm film the wizard of oz, and bozo the clown for capitol records in which he played the role for a full decade, which also included portraying the character on television.
a lifelong smoker, colvig was one of the pioneers in advocating warning labels about cancer risk on cigarette packages. He died of lung cancer in 1967 and was interred at holy cross cemetery in culver city.
writing credits
year | film | position |
---|---|---|
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mickeys revuethe whoopee partytouchdown mickeythe klondike kid1933the steeple-chasethree little pigs)[1934](/wiki/1934)[the grasshopper and the ants](/wiki/the_grasshopper_and_the_ants)[1935](/wiki/1935)[the cookie carnival](/wiki/the_cookie_carnival)[music land](/wiki/music_land)[broken toys](/wiki/broken_toys)[1937](/wiki/1937)[mickeys amateurs](/wiki/mickey%27s_amateurs)[1938](/wiki/1938)[merbabies](/wiki/merbabies)roles
trivia
- colvig was the original bozo the clown. He played the role of bozo from 1946 to 1949.
- he posthumously became a disney legend in 1993 and was put in the clown hall of fame in 2004.
gallery
external links |
( Read More... | 6804 bytes more | comments? |   ) |
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| Fantasia |
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*background painting: ed starr, {{wikipedialink|brice mack}}, and edward levitt |
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*animation supervision: [[wolfgang reitherman]] and [[joshua meador]] |
*animation supervision: [[wolfgang reitherman]] and [[joshua meador]] |
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? | *Animation: philip duncan, john mcmanus, paul busch, art palmer, don tobin, edwin aardal, |
+ | *animation: philip duncan, john mcmanus, paul busch, art palmer, don tobin, edwin aardal, paul b. Kossoff, [[john sibley]] |
*special camera effects: gail papineau and leonard pickley |
*special camera effects: gail papineau and leonard pickley |
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latest revision as of 01:29, 10 june 2025
fantasia is a 1940 american animated anthology film, produced by walt disney productions and given a wide release by rko radio pictures. With story direction by joe grant and dick huemer and production supervision by ben sharpsteen, it is the third feature in the disney animated canon. The film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by leopold stokowski; seven of which are performed by the philadelphia orchestra. Music critic and composer deems taylor acts as the films master of ceremonies, who introduces each segment in live action interstitial scenes.
disney settled on the films concept as work neared completion on the sorcerers apprentice, an elaborate silly symphonies short designed as a comeback role for mickey mouse (who had declined in popularity during that time). As production costs grew higher and the project getting pushed back, he decided to make a feature-length film with other segments set to classical pieces. The soundtrack was recorded using multiple audio channels and reproduced with fantasound, a pioneering sound reproduction system that made fantasia the first commercial film shown in stereophonic sound. Mickey was redesigned by fred moore into his current design starting in the pointer; here, though, he is dressed in a red sorcerer robe and, to complete the look, he dons his masters sorcerer hat. The energy absorbs into his blood, whereupon he performs magical feats not unlike those of his mentor.
fantasia was first released in theatrical roadshow engagements held in thirteen u.S. Cities from november 13, 1940. It received mixed critical reaction and was unable to make a profit. In part, this was due to world war ii cutting off the profitable european market, but due as well to the films high production costs and the expense of leasing theaters and installing the fantasound equipment for the roadshow presentations. Also, audiences who felt that disney had suddenly gone highbrow stayed away, preferring the standard disney cartoons. The film was subsequently reissued multiple times with its original footage and audio being deleted, modified, or restored in each version. As of 2012, fantasia has grossed $76.4 million in domestic revenue and is the 22nd highest-grossing film of all time in the u.S. When adjusted for inflation. Walts nephew roy e. Disney co-produced a sequel released in 1999 titled fantasia 2000.
the film gained a huge cult following since its first release, and is notably important to film industry as a milestone in the creation of the modern music video.
program description
the host and narrator of the film, deems taylor, introduces each piece in the program and gives background on the composers original intent. Of course, there was no intent to deceive anyone into thinking that disneys interpretation was the original intent of the composer.
some of the selections were shortened from their full length, for the sake of the films running time. Of the eight pieces, four are presented virtually complete: toccata and fugue, [the sorcerers apprentice](/wiki/the_sorcerer%27s_apprentice), the dance of the hours (which is actually expanded), and the ave maria. The nutcracker suite is shorn of its miniature overture and march, the twenty-five minute rite of spring (the longest segment in the film) is ten minutes shorter than the original 35-minute work, and the pastoral symphony segment is performed in a 20-minute version rather than beethovens complete 40-minute original. There are also small internal omissions in [night on bald mountain](/wiki/night_on_bald_mountain/ave_maria).
fantasia was produced on a budget of $2,280,000, to which $400,000 - nearly a fifth of the budget - went to the musical recording techniques.
[toccata and fugue in d minor](/wiki/toccata_and_fugue_in_d_minor)
- musical score:
[johann sebastian bach](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/johann_sebastian_bach)–[toccata and fugue in d minor](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/toccata_and_fugue_in_d_minor,_bwv_565)[bwv](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/bach-werke-verzeichnis)565 (stokowskis own orchestration) - directed by samuel armstrong
- story development:
[lee blair](/wiki/lee_blair), elmer plummer, and phil dike - art direction: robert cormack
- background painting: joe stahley, john hench, and nino carbe
- visual development:
[oskar fischinger](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/oskar_fischinger) - animation:
[cy young](/wiki/cy_young), art palmer, daniel macmanus,[george rowley](/wiki/george_rowley), edwin aardal,[joshua meador](/wiki/joshua_meador), and cornett wood
without opening credits of any sort, curtains open to reveal an orchestra stand. Musicians are seen ascending the stand, taking their seats, and tuning their instruments. Master of ceremonies [deems taylor](/wiki/deems_taylor) arrives and delivers an introduction to the film. Conductor leopold stokowski appears and begins conducting the first strains of his own orchestration of the toccata and fugue in d minor, by johann sebastian bach (originally written for solo organ).
the first third of the toccata and fugue is in live-action and features an orchestra playing the piece, illuminated by abstract light patterns set in time to the music and backed by stylized (and superimposed) shadows. The first few parts of the piece are played in each of the three sound channels (first left, then right, then the middle, then all of them) as a demonstration of [fantasound](/wiki/fantasound). The number segues into an abstract animation piece—a first for the disney studio—set in time to the music. Toccata and fugue was inspired primarily by the work of german abstract animator oskar fischinger, who had actually worked for a brief time on this segment. The animation segues back into the live-action footage of stokowski as the piece concludes, setting the precedent for the rest of the musical numbers.
although the philadelphia orchestra recorded the music for the film (excepting the sorcerers apprentice), they do not appear onscreen; the orchestra used onscreen in the film is made up of local los angeles musicians and [disney](/wiki/walt_disney_pictures) studio employees like [jimmy macdonald](/wiki/jimmy_macdonald) and [paul smith](/wiki/paul_smith), who mime to the prerecorded tracks by stokowski and the philadelphia orchestra. Originally, the philadelphia orchestra was slated to be filmed in the introduction and interstitial segments, but the union and budgetary considerations prevented this from coming to pass.
[nutcracker suite](/wiki/nutcracker_suite)
- musical score:
[peter tchaikovsky](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/pyotr_ilyich_tchaikovsky)–[nutcracker suite](/wiki/nutcracker_suite)op. 71a - directed by samuel armstrong
- story development: sylvia moberly-holland, norman wright, albert heath, bianca majolie, and graham heid
- character designs: john walbridge, elmer plummer, and ethel kulsar
- art direction: robert cormack, al zinnen, curtiss d. Perkins, arthur byram, and bruce bushman
- background painting: john hench, ethel kulsar, and nino carbe
- animation:
[art babbitt](/wiki/art_babbitt),[les clark](/wiki/les_clark), don lusk, cy young, and robert stokes - choreography: jules engel
the nutcracker suite, a selection of pieces from tchaikovskys classic ballet, is a personified depiction of the changing of the seasons; first from summer to autumn, and then from autumn to winter. Unlike the ballet, this version has no plot. It features a variety of dances, just as in the original, but danced by animated [fairies](/wiki/fairies), fish, flowers, mushrooms, and leaves; no actual nutcracker is ever seen in this version. Many elements are rendered carefully and painstakingly using techniques such as dry brush and airbrush. The musical segments are as follows:
as dawn breaks over a meadow, during the dance of the sugar plum fairy; tiny fairies sprinkle drops of dew on every flower and stern.
a cluster of tiny mushrooms, dressed in long robes and coolie hats resembling chinese (plus one little mushroom always out-of-step), perform the chinese dance.
multicolored blossoms shaped like ballerinas perform the dance of the flutes.
a school of underwater goldfish performs a graceful arab dance.
high-kicking thistles, dressed like cossacks, and orchids dressed like lovely russian peasant girls, join together for the wild russian dance.
in the final musical segment, waltz of the flowers, autumn fairies color everything they touch brown and gold with their wands. Then the frost fairies arrive and everything becomes part of an icy, jewellike pattern among falling snowflakes.
one quaint novelty of the full-length roadshow version of fantasia is that during his commentary on the nutcracker suite, deems taylor observes that the complete ballet the nutcracker is never performed anymore. The united states did not see a complete staging of the nutcracker until 1944, four years after fantasia, and george balanchines 1954 staging with the [new york city ballet](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/new_york_city_ballet) established the modern tradition of performing the ballet at [christmas](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/christmas) time.
[the sorcerers apprentice](/wiki/the_sorcerer%27s_apprentice)
- musical score:
[paul dukas](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/paul_dukas)–[the sorcerers apprentice](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/the_sorcerer%27s_apprentice_(dukas)) - directed by
[james algar](/wiki/james_algar) - story development:
[perce pearce](/wiki/perce_pearce)and carl fallberg - art direction: tom codrick, charles phillipi, and zack schwartz
- background painting: claude coats, stan spohn, albert dempster, and eric hansen
- animation supervisors:
[fred moore](/wiki/fred_moore)and[vladimir bill tytla](/wiki/vladimir_%22bill%22_tytla) - animation:
[les clark](/wiki/les_clark), riley thompson, marvin woodward,[preston blair](/wiki/preston_blair), edward love, ugo dorsi, [[wikipedia:[george rowley](/wiki/george_rowley)|[george rowley](/wiki/george_rowley)]], and cornett wood
the sorcerers apprentice, perhaps the best-known [mickey mouse](/wiki/mickey_mouse) short after his debut in [steamboat willie](/wiki/steamboat_willie) (1928), was adapted from goethes poem [der zauberlehrling](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/the_sorcerer%27s_apprentice). It is the story of the sorcerer [yen sid](/wiki/yen_sid)s ambitious, but lazy, assistant who attempts to work some of the magical feats of his master before he knows how to properly control them. Mickey plays the role of the apprentice in the segment and became one of the most famous segments in the movie.
after the music ends, mickey and conductor leopold stokowski, seen in silhouette, congratulate each other with a live-action/animation handshake. In the original roadshow version, after mickey leaves, deems taylor and the musicians applaud mickey and stokowski.
[the rite of spring](/wiki/the_rite_of_spring)
- musical score:
[igor stravinsky](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/igor_stravinsky)–[the rite of spring](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/the_rite_of_spring) - directed by
[bill roberts](/wiki/bill_roberts)and paul satterfield - story development/research: william martin, leo thiele, robert sterner, and
[john fraser mcleish](/wiki/john_mcleish) - art direction:
[mclaren stewart](/wiki/mclaren_stewart), dick kelsey, and[john hubley](/wiki/john_hubley) - background painting: ed starr,
[brice mack](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/brice_mack), and edward levitt - animation supervision:
[wolfgang reitherman](/wiki/wolfgang_reitherman)and[joshua meador](/wiki/joshua_meador) - animation: philip duncan, john mcmanus, paul busch, art palmer, don tobin, edwin aardal, paul b. Kossoff,
[john sibley](/wiki/john_sibley) - special camera effects: gail papineau and leonard pickley
disneys interpretation of the rite of spring features a condensed version of the history of the earth from the formation of the planet to the first living creatures to the age, reign, and [extinction](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/extinction) of the dinosaurs. The sequence showcased realistically animated prehistoric creatures including [tyrannosaurus rex](/wiki/tyrannosaurus_rex), dimetrodon, [parasaurolophus](/wiki/parasaurolophus), [apatosaurus](/wiki/apatosaurus), [triceratops](/wiki/triceratops), [ornithomimus](/wiki/ornithomimus), and [stegosaurus](/wiki/stegosaurus) (see list of dinosaurs used), and used extensive and complicated special effects to depict volcanoes, boiling lava, and earthquakes. The large carnivorous dinosaur attacking the stegosaurus is a villainous tyrannosaurus rex according to the preliminary introduction to the segment by deems taylor, and concept sketches by the artists. Disney also changed the order of the movements in the piece. The segment, after beginning with the first, second, and third movements, omits the fourth and reorders all the others. The danse de la terre is placed near the end of the cartoon rather than midway through the work. At the end, the orchestra replays the slow introduction to the rite, which does not happen in the original work. (The original ends with a violent sacrificial dance - also omitted in the disney version - and an orchestral crash.)
the roadshow version of the film features a humorous moment omitted from the general release version. When deems taylor announces the title of the work, there is a sudden loud crash in the percussion section, and we see that the chimes player has accidentally fallen against his instrument. He sheepishly gets up, to the amused chuckling of taylor and the other musicians.
intermission/meet the soundtrack
- directed by ben sharpsteen and david d. Hand
- key animation by
[joshua meador](/wiki/joshua_meador)
deems taylor announces a fifteen-minute intermission following the conclusion of the rite of spring. The musicians are seen departing the orchestra stand, and the doors close to reveal a title card. In a proper roadshow of fantasia, the theaters curtains would close simultaneously with the closing doors on the screen, and the title card would remain projected for fifteen minutes while the guests are briefly excused. Following the intermission, the film would be started again. On-screen, the stage doors are opened again, and taylor and the orchestra musicians are seen returning to their respective places. The intermission did not appear in the 1990 version as well as the 1991 uk vhs release.
after either the intermission (or the rite of spring in the 1990 version as well as the uk vhs release), a jam session in the orchestra is started by a bassist playing a jazzed-up version of a theme from the third movement of the pastoral symphony, which the clarinetist and other instruments take up. This is followed immediately by the brief meet the soundtrack sequence, which gives audiences a stylized example of how sound is rendered as waveforms to record the music for fantasia. The sequence features animation by effects animator [joshua meador](/wiki/joshua_meador) and his team, who give the soundtrack (initially a squiggly line which changes into various shapes based on the individual sounds played on the soundtrack) a distinct personality.
the instruments are a harp, violin, flute, trumpet, bassoon, and percussion including the bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, and triangle.
[the pastoral symphony](/wiki/the_pastoral_symphony)
- musical score: ludwig van beethoven –
[symphony no. 6 in f, op.68 pastorale](https://en.Wikipedia.Org/wiki/symphony_no._6_(beethoven)) - directed by hamilton luske, jim handley, and ford beebe
- story development:
[otto englander](/wiki/otto_englander),[webb smith](/wiki/webb_smith),[erdman penner](/wiki/erdman_penner), joseph sabo,[bill peet](/wiki/bill_peet), and george stallings - character designs:
[james bodrero](/wiki/james_bodrero),[john p. Miller](/wiki/john_p._miller), lorna s. Soderstrom - art direction:
[hugh hennesy](/wiki/hugh_hennesy),[kenneth anderson](/wiki/ken_anderson), j. Gordon legg,[herbert ryman](/wiki/herbert_ryman),[yale gracey](/wiki/yale_gracey), and[lance nolley](/wiki/lance_nolley) - background painting:
[claude coats](/wiki/claude_coats), ray huffine, w. Richard anthony, arthur riley, gerald nevius, and roy forkum - animation supervision: fred moore,
[ward kimball](/wiki/ward_kimball),[eric larson](/wiki/eric_larson),[art babbitt](/wiki/art_babbitt),[ollie johnston](/wiki/ollie_johnston), and don towsley - animation: berny wolf, jack campbell,
[jack bradbury](/wiki/jack_bradbury), james moore, milt neil,[bill justice](/wiki/bill_justice), john elliotte,[walt kelly](/wiki/walt_kelly),[don lusk](/wiki/don_lusk), lynn karp, murray mcclellan, robert w. Youngquist, and harry hamsel
the pastoral symphony utilized delicate color styling to depict a mythical ancient greek world of centaurs, families of pegasi, the gods of mount olympus, fauns, cupids, unicorns, and other legendary creatures and characters of classical mythology. It tells the story of the mythological creatures gathering for a festival to honor bacchus, the god of wine riding his horned donkey, jacchus, which is disturbed by [zeus](/wiki/zeus_(fantasia)), who decides to amuse himself by throwing lightning bolts at the attendees.
disney originally intended to use cydalise by gabriel pierné as the music for the mythological section of the program. However, due to problems fitting the story to the music, the decision was made to abandon cydalise for other music.
this portion of the film was criticized for brief yet blatant nudity on the female centaurs. Other criticisms center on the racial images of two female centaur servants named sunflower and otika, who are part african human, part donkey, and two attendants to bacchus, who are part african amazons, part zebra. The servants have been excised from all prints in circulation since 1969 (often by the use of pan and zoom, so the scenes dont focus on them), although the clips have recently turned up on various blogs and internet media.
[dance of the hours](/wiki/dance_of_the_hours)
- musical score: amilcare ponchielli – la giaconda: dance of the hours
- directed by t. Hee and norm ferguson
- character designs: martin provensen, james bodrero, duke russell,
[earl hurd](/wiki/earl_hurd) - art direction:
[kendall oconnor](/wiki/ken_o%27connor), harold doughty, and ernest nordli - background painting: albert dempster and charles conner
- animation supervision:
[norm ferguson](/wiki/norman_ferguson) - animation:
[john lounsbery](/wiki/john_lounsbery), howard swift,[preston blair](/wiki/preston_blair), hugh fraser,[harvey toombs](/wiki/harvey_toombs), norman tate, hicks lokey, art elliott, grant simmons, ray patterson, and franklin grundeen.
the dancers of the morning are represented by [madame upanova](/wiki/madame_upanova) and her ostrich students. The dancers of the afternoon are represented by [hyacinth hippo](/wiki/hyacinth_hippo) and her hippo servants. (For this section the piece is expanded by a modified and reorchestrated repetition of the morning music.) The dancers of the sunset are represented by [elephanchine](/wiki/elephanchine) and her bubble-blowing elephant troupe. The dancers of the night are represented by [ben ali gator](/wiki/ben_ali_gator) and his rival alligators. The finale sees the chaotic chase that ensues between all of the characters seen in the segment until they eventually decide to dance together.
the segment ends with the palace collapsing in on itself.
the dancing of the hippos and elephants is mostly a parody of the water nymph ballet, a scene in [the goldwyn follies (1938)](https://www.Imdb.Com/title/tt0030194/), choreographed by [george balanchine](https://www.Imdb.Com/name/nm0049422/). Disney historian brian sibley states this on his audio commentary track on the fantasia dvd and blu-ray. [Marge champion](/wiki/marge_champion), who performed some live-action reference shots, suggested the parody to her then-husband [art babbitt](/wiki/art_babbitt).
there are similar elements. The ballet is staged in a semicircular colonnade with a pool in the center. The dancers (men and women) enter and perform, then exit. The water nymph undine (performed by [vera zorina](https://www.Imdb.Com/name/nm0957936/)) rises from the pool. The dancers re-enter, and the women clothe undine in a ballet costume like theirs, and undine dances with them. A strong wind arises and forces the dancers off-stage, leaving undine alone. A clip of the scene can be viewed on youtube, titled [vera zorina in balanchines (undine) water nymph ballet](https://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=n8gm85bk91c).
[night on bald mountain/ave maria](/wiki/night_on_bald_mountain/ave_maria)
- musical score: modest mussorgsky – night on bald mountain, franz schubert – ave maria (ellens dritter gesang)
- directed by wilfred jackson
- story development:
[campbell grant](/wiki/campbell_grant), arthur heinemann, and phil dike - art direction: kay nielsen, terrell stapp, charles payzant, and
[thor putnam](/wiki/thor_putnam) - background painting: merle cox, ray lockrem, robert storms, and w. Richard anthony
- special english lyrics for ave maria by rachel field
- choral director: charles henderson
- chorus: westminster choir of westminster choir college
- operatic solo: julietta novis
- animation supervision: vladimir tytla
- animation: john mcmanus, william n. Shull, robert w. Carlson, jr., Lester novros, and don patterson
- special animation effects:
[joshua meador](/wiki/joshua_meador), miles e. Pike, john f. Reed, and daniel macmanus - special camera effects: gail papineau and leonard pickley
the night on bald mountain segment is a showcase for animator bill tytla, who gave the demon chernabog a power and intensity rarely seen in disney films. The devil known as chernabog summons from their graves, empowered restless souls.
the horror of the demons, ghosts, skeletons, vultures, ravens, firewomen, monstrous imps, witches, harpies, and other evil creatures in night on bald mountain comes to an abrupt end with the sounds of church bells, which send chernabog and his followers back into hiding, and the [multiplane camera](/wiki/multiplane_camera) tracks away from bald mountain to reveal a line of faithful robed religious figures with lighted torches. The camera follows them as they go through the forest and ruins of a cathedral to the sounds of ave maria. The camera slowly zooms through a thicket to a serene horizon with a hill, and a sunrise is shown shining beyond the horizon.
production
origins
in 1936, [walt disney](/wiki/walt_disney) felt that the studios star character, [mickey mouse](/wiki/mickey_mouse), needed a boost in popularity. He decided to feature the mouse in the sorcerers apprentice, a deluxe cartoon short based on the poem written by johann wolfgang von goethe and set to the orchestral piece by paul dukas, that was also inspired by the original tale. The concept of matching animation to classical music was used as early as 1928 in disneys cartoon series, the [silly symphonies](/wiki/silly_symphonies), but he wanted to go beyond the usual slapstick, and produce shorts in which, as he put it, sheer fantasy unfolds...Action controlled by a musical pattern has great charm in the realm of unreality. Upon receiving the rights to use the music by the end of july 1937, disney considered using a well-known conductor to record the music for added prestige. He just happened to meet leopold stokowski, conductor of the philadelphia orchestra since 1912, at a restaurant in [hollywood](/wiki/hollywood) by chance and discussed his plans for the short. Stokowski was happy to collaborate on the project and offered to conduct the piece at no cost.
following their meeting, disneys new york representative ran into stokowski on a train headed for the east. In writing to disney, he reported that stokowski was really serious in his offer to do the music for nothing. In addition, he had some very interesting ideas on instrumental coloring, which would be perfect for an animation medium. In his excited response, disney wrote that he felt all steamed up over the idea of stokowski working with us...The union of stokowski and his music, together with the best of our medium, would be the means of a success and should lead to a new style of motion picture presentation. He had already begun working on a story outline and wished to use the finest men...From color...Down to animators on the short. The sorcerers apprentice was to be promoted as a special and rented to theaters as a unique film, outside of the mickey mouse cartoon series.
an agreement signed by disney and stokowski on december 16, 1937, allowed the conductor to select and employ a complete symphony orchestra for the recording. Disney hired a stage at the culver studios in california for the session. It began at midnight on january 9, 1938, and lasted for three hours using eighty-five hollywood musicians. As production costs of the short film climbed to $125,000, it became clearer to disney and his brother [roy](/wiki/roy_o._disney), who managed the studios finances, that the short could never earn such a sum back on its own. Roy suggested keeping any additional costs to a minimum. He said, because of its very experimental and unprecedented nature...We have no idea what can be expected from such a production. Ben sharpsteen, a production supervisor on fantasia, noted that its budget was three to four times greater than the usual silly symphony, but disney saw this trouble in the form of an opportunity. This was the birth of a new concept, a group of separate numbers—regardless of their running time—put together in a single presentation. It turned out to be a concert—something novel and of high quality.
ideas to produce a complete feature film were pursued in february 1938, when inquiries were made to extend stokowskis contract. In august, disney asked stokowskis representative to have him return to the studios to select material for the new film, which was initially titled the concert feature. The pair further thought of presenting the film with an on-screen host to introduce each number in the program. Both had heard composer and music critic [deems taylor](/wiki/deems_taylor) provide intermission commentary during radio broadcasts of the new york philharmonic and agreed he would be most suitable for the role. Disney did contact taylor about the project, but by then work on [pinocchio](/wiki/pinocchio_(film)), [bambi](/wiki/bambi_(film)), and development on his new burbank studio kept him too busy to work on the new feature. In a change of plans, taylor was asked during a call on september 3, 1938, leave to come to the studios as soon as possible. He left [new york city](/wiki/new_york_city) for [los angeles](/wiki/los_angeles) by train two days later for a months visit.
development
taylor arrived at the studio one day after a series of meetings began to select the musical pieces for the concert feature. Disney made story writers [joe grant](/wiki/joe_grant) and [dick huemer](/wiki/dick_huemer) gather a preliminary selection of music and along with stokowski, taylor, and the heads of various departments, discussed their ideas. Each meeting was recorded verbatim by stenographers with participants being given a copy of the entire conversation for review. As selections were considered, a recording of the piece was located and played back at the next gathering. Disney did not contribute much to early discussions; he admitted that his knowledge of music was instinctive and untrained. In one meeting, he inquired about a piece on which we might build something of a prehistoric theme...With animals. The group was considering [the firebird](/wiki/the_firebird) by igor stravinsky, but taylor noted that his le sacre du printemps would be something on that order, to which disney replied upon hearing a recording, this is marvelous! It would be perfect for prehistoric animals. There would be something terrific in dinosaurs, flying lizards, and prehistoric monsters. There could be beauty in the settings.
numerous choices were discarded as talks continued, including moto perpetuo by niccolò paganini with shots of dynamos, cogs, pistons, and whirling wheels to show the production of a collar button. Other deletions were prelude in g minor and troika by sergei rachmaninoff and a rendition of the song of the flea by mussorgsky which was to be sung by lawrence tibbett. On september 29, 1938, around sixty of disneys artists gathered for a two-and-a-half hour piano concert while he provided a running commentary about the new musical feature. A rough version of the sorcerers apprentice was also shown that, according to one attendee, had the crowd applauding and cheering until their hands were red. The final pieces were chosen the following morning, which included toccata and fugue in d minor, cydalise et le chèvre-pied by gabriel pierné, the nutcracker suite, night on bald mountain, ave maria, dance of the hours, clair de lune by claude debussy, the rite of spring, and the sorcerers apprentice. Disney had already begun working out the details for the segments and showed greater enthusiasm and eagerness as opposed to his skepticism while starting pinocchio.
clair de lune was soon removed from the fantasia program, but disney and his writers encountered problems setting a concrete story to cydalise. Its opening march, the entry of the little fauns, attracted disney to the piece, which at first provided suitable depictions of fans he wanted. On january 5, 1939, following a search for a stronger piece to fit the mythological theme, the piece was replaced with beethovens sixth symphony sections. Stokowski disagreed with the switch, believing that disneys idea of mythology...Is not quite what this symphony is about. He was also concerned about the reception from classical music enthusiasts who would criticize disney for venturing too far from the composers intent. On the other hand, taylor welcomed the change, describing it as a stunning one, and saw no possible objection to it.
the new feature continued to be known as the concert feature or musical feature as late as november 1938. Hal horne, a publicist for disneys film distributor [rko radio pictures](/wiki/rko_radio_pictures), wished for a different title and gave the suggestion filmharmonic concert. [Stuart buchanan](/wiki/stuart_buchanan) then held a contest at the studio for a title that produced almost 1,800 suggestions including bach to stravinsky and bach and highbrowski by stokowski. Still, the favorite among the films supervisors was fantasia, an early working title that had even grown on horne, it isnt the word alone but the meaning we read into it. From the beginning of its development, disney expressed the greater importance of music in fantasia compared to his past work: in our ordinary stuff, our music is always under action, but on this...Were supposed to be picturing this music - not the music fitting our story. Disney had hoped that the film would bring classical music to people that, including himself, had walked out on this kind of stuff.
design and animation
animation on the sorcerers apprentice began on january 21, 1938, when [james algar](/wiki/james_algar), the director of the segment, assigned animator [preston blair](/wiki/preston_blair) to work on the scene when mickey mouse wakes from his dream. Each of the seven hundred members of staff at the time received a synopsis of the goethe tale and were encouraged to complete a twenty-question form that requested their ideas on what action might take place. Layout artist tom codrick created what dick huemer described as brilliantly colored thumbnails from preliminary storyboard sketches using gouache paints, which featured the bolder use of color and lighting than any previous disney short. Mickey was redesigned by animator fred moore who added pupils for the first time to achieve greater ranges of expression. Most of the segment was shot in live action, including a scene where a ucla athlete was asked to run and jump across one of the studios sound stages with barrels in the way, which was used for reference when mickey traverses through the water.
disney had been interested in producing abstract animation since he saw a color box by len lye from 1935. He explained the work done in the toccata and fugue was no sudden idea...They were something we had nursed along several years but we never had a chance to try. Preliminary designs included those from effects animator [cy young](/wiki/cy_young), who produced drawings influenced by the patterns on the edge of a piece of sound film. In late 1938 disney hired oskar fischinger, a german artist who had produced numerous abstract animated films, including some with classical music, to work with young. Upon review of three leica reels produced by the two, disney rejected all three. According to huemer all fishinger did was little triangles and designs...It didnt come off at all. Too dinky, walt said. Fischinger, like disney, was used to having full control over his work and was not used to working in a group. Feeling his designs were too abstract for a mass audience, fishinger left the studio in frustration, before the segment was completed, in october 1939. Disney had plans to make the toccata and fugue an experimental three-dimensional film, with audiences being given cardboard stereoscopic frames with their souvenir programs, but this idea was abandoned.
in the nutcracker suite, animator [art babbitt](/wiki/art_babbitt) is said to have credited the three stooges as a guide for animating the dancing mushrooms in the chinese dance routine. He drew with a music score pinned to his desk to work out the choreography so he could relate the action to the melody and the counterpoint, those nasty little notes underneath...So something has to be related to that. The studio filmed professional dancers joyce coles and marjorie belcher wearing ballet skirts that resembled shapes of blossoms that were to sit above water for dance of the flutes. An arabian dancer was also brought in to study the movements for the goldfish in arab dance.
an early concept for the rite of spring was to extend the story to the age of mammals and the first humans and the discovery of fire and mans triumph. John hubley, the segments art director, explained that it was later curtailed by disney to avoid controversy from creationists, who promised to make trouble should he connect evolution with humans. To better understand the history of the planet, the studio received guidance from roy chapman andrews, the director of the american museum of natural history, english biologist julian huxley, paleontologist barnum brown, and astronomer edwin hubble. Animators studied comets and nebulae at the mount wilson observatory and observed a herd of iguanas and a baby alligator brought into the studio. The camera was kept at a low position throughout the segment to heighten the immensity of the dinosaurs.
for inspiration on the routines in dance of the hours, animators studied real life ballet performers including [marge champion](/wiki/marge_champion) and irina baronova. Animator [john hench](/wiki/john_hench) was assigned to work on the segment but resisted as he knew little about ballet. Disney then gave hench season tickets to the ballet russe de monte carlo with backstage access so he could learn more about it. Béla lugosi, best known for his role in dracula, was brought in to provide reference poses for chernabog. As animator bill tytla disliked the results, he used his colleague wilfred jackson to pose shirtless which gave him the images he needed. There were ideas of releasing scents throughout the theater during fantasia, including the smell of incense during ave maria.
over one thousand artists and technicians were used in the making of fantasia, which features over 500 characters. Segments were color-keyed scene by scene, so the colors in a single shot would harmonize between proceeding and following ones. Before a segments narrative pattern was complete, an overall color scheme was designed to the general mood of the music and patterned to correspond with the development of the subject matter. The studios character model department would also sculpt three-dimensional clay models so the animators could view their subjects from all angles.
soundtrack
recording
disney wanted to experiment with more sophisticated sound recording and reproduction techniques for fantasia. Music emerging from one speaker behind the screen sounds thin, tinkly, and strainy. We wanted to reproduce such beautiful masterpieces...So that audiences would feel as though they were standing at the podium with stokowski. For the recording of the sorcerers apprentice in january 1938, engineers at disney collaborated with rca corporation for using multiple audio channels, which allowed any desired dynamic balance to be achieved upon playback. In addition, the stage was altered acoustically with double plywood semi-circular partitions that separated the orchestra into five sections to increase reverberation. Though fantasias production developed, the setup used for the sorcerers apprentice was abandoned for different multi-channel recording arrangements.
on january 18, 1939, stokowski signed an eighteen-month contract with disney to conduct the remaining pieces with the philadelphia orchestra. Recording began that april and lasted for seven weeks at the academy of music, the orchestras home, which was chosen for its excellent acoustics. Thirty-three microphones were placed around the orchestra in the recording sessions that captured the music onto eight optical sound recording machines placed in the halls basement. Each one represented an audio channel that focused on a different section of instruments: cellos and basses, violins, brass, violas, and woodwinds, and timpani. The seventh channel was a combination of the first six, while the eighth provided an overall sound of the orchestra at a distance. A ninth was later added to provide a click track function for the animators to time their drawings to the music. In the forty-two days of recording, 483,000 feet of film was used. Disney paid all the expenses, including the musicians wages, stage personnel, a music librarian, and the orchestras manager, that cost almost $18,000. When the finished recordings arrived at the studio, a meeting was held on july 14, 1939, to allow the artists working on each segment to listen to stokowskis arrangements and suggest alterations in the sound to work more effectively with their designs.
fantasound
the disney brothers contacted david sarnoff of rca regarding the manufacture of a new system that would create the illusion that the actual symphony orchestra is playing in the theater. Sarnoff backed out at first due to financial reasons but agreed in july 1939 to make the equipment so long as the disneys could hold down the estimated 200,000 dollars in costs. Though it was not exactly known how to achieve their goal, engineers at disney and rca investigated many ideas and tests made with various equipment setups. The collaboration led to the development of [fantasound](/wiki/fantasound), a pioneering stereophonic surround sound system which innovated some processes widely used today, including simultaneous multi-track recording, overdubbing, and noise reduction.
fantasound employed two projectors running at the same time. With one containing the picture film with a mono soundtrack for backup purposes, the other ran a sound film that was mixed from the eight tracks recorded at the academy to four: three of which contained the audio for the left, center, and right stage speakers respectively, while the fourth became a control track with amplitude and frequency tones that drove variable-gain amplifiers to control the volume of the three audio tracks. In addition were three house speakers placed on the left, right, and center of the auditorium that derived from the left and right stage channels, which acted as surround channels. Finally, as the original recording was captured at almost peak modulation to increase the signal-to-noise ratio, the control track was used to restore the dynamics to where stokowski thought they should be. For this, a tone-operated gain-adjusting device was built to control the levels of each of the three audio tracks through the amplifiers.
the illusion of sound traveling across the speakers was achieved with a device named the pan pot, which directed the predetermined movement of each audio channel with the control track. Mixing the soundtrack required six people to operate the various pan pots in real-time, while stokowski directed each level and pan change marked on his musical score. Disney ordered eight three-color oscillators from the newly-established hewlett-packard company to monitor the recording levels at lower frequencies, a predecessor from vu meters used today. Between the individual takes, prints, and remakes, approximately three million feet of sound film was used in the production of fantasia. Almost a fifth of the films budget was spent on its recording techniques.
release history
theatrical runs
1940–1941 roadshows with fantasound
rko balked at the idea of distributing fantasia, which is described as a longhair musical, and believed its duration of two hours and five minutes plus intermission was too long for a general release. It relaxed its exclusive distribution contract with disney, which wanted a more prestigious exhibit in the form of a limited-run roadshow attraction. Thirteen roadshows were held across the united states, each involving two daily screenings with seat reservations booked in advance at higher prices and a fifteen-minute intermission. Disney hired film salesman irving ludwig to manage the first eleven engagements, who was given specific instructions regarding each aspect of the films presentation, including the setup of outside theater marquees and curtain and lighting cues. Patrons were taken to their seats by staff hired and trained by disney and were given a program booklet illustrated by gyo fujikawa.
the first roadshow opened at the broadway theatre in new york city on november 13, 1940. The disneys had secured a years lease with the venue that was fully equipped with fantasound, which took personnel a week working around the clock to install. Proceeds made on the night went to the british war relief society for the efforts in the battle of britain. Ticket demand was so great that eight telephone operators were employed to handle the extra calls while the adjoining store was rented out to cater the box office bookings. Fantasia ran at the broadway for forty-nine consecutive weeks, the longest run achieved by a film at the time. Its run continued for a total of fifty-seven weeks until february 28, 1942.
the remaining twelve roadshows were held throughout 1941, which included a thirty-nine week run at the carthay circle theatre in [los angeles](/wiki/los_angeles) from january 29. Fantasia broke the long-run record at the venue in its twenty-eighth week; a record previously held by gone with the wind. Its eight-week run at the fulton theatre in pittsburgh attracted over 50,000 people with reservations being made from cities located one hundred miles from the venue. Engagements were also held at the geary theatre in [san francisco](/wiki/san_francisco) for eight months, the hanna theatre in cleveland for nine weeks, the majestic theatre in boston, the apollo theater in [chicago](/wiki/chicago), and also in philadelphia, detroit, buffalo, minneapolis, [washington, d.C.](/Wiki/washington,_d.C.), And baltimore.
fantasia grossed over $300,000 in the first sixteen weeks in new york, over $20,000 in the opening five weeks in san francisco, and almost the same amount in the first ten weeks both in los angeles and boston. The first eleven roadshows earned a total of $1.3 million by april 1941, but the $85,000 in production and installation costs of a single fantasound setup, along with theaters having to be leased, forced disney to exceed their loan limits. In addition, the onset of the second world war prevented plans for a potential release in europe, normally the source of as much as forty-five percent of the studios income. Up to eighty-eight engagements were outlined across five years, but wartime demands for material limited the number of fantasound prints to sixteen. All but one of the fantasound setups were dismantled and given to the war effort. Upon acquiring the films distribution rights in april 1941, rko initially continued the roadshow booking policy but presented the film in mono, which was easier to exhibit. The combined average receipts from each roadshow were around $325,000, which placed fantasia at an even greater loss than pinocchio.
1942, 1946, 1956, and 1963 runs
disney allowed rko to handle the general release of fantasia but fought their decision to have the film cut. He gave in as the studio needed as much income as possible to remedy its finances, but refused to cut it himself: you can get anybody you want to edit it...I cant do it. With no input from disney, musical director [ed plumb](/wiki/edward_h._plumb) and ben sharpsteen reduced fantasia first to an hour and forty minutes, then to an hour and twenty minutes by removing most of taylors commentary and the toccata and fugue segment. Fantasia was re-released in january 1942 at more popular prices with a mono soundtrack and was placed on the lower half of double bills with the western film valley of the sun.
rko reissued fantasia once more on september 1, 1946, with the animated sequences complete and the scenes of taylor, stokowski, and the orchestra restored but shortened. Its running time was restored to one hour and fifty-five minutes. This edit would be the standard form for subsequent re-releases and was the basis for the 1990 restoration.
by 1955, the original sound negatives began to deteriorate, though a four-track copy had survived in good condition. Using the remaining fantasound system at the studio, a three-track stereo copy was transferred across telephone wires onto the magnetic film at an rca facility in hollywood. This copy was used when fantasia was reissued in stereo by [buena vista distribution](/wiki/walt_disney_studios_motion_pictures) in superscope, a derivative of the anamorphic widescreen cinemascope format, on february 7, 1956. The projector featured an automatic control mechanism designed by disney engineers that was coupled to a variable anamorphic lens, which allowed the picture to switch between its academy standard aspect ratio of 1.33:1 to the wide ratio of 2.35:1 in twenty seconds without a break in the film. This was achieved by placing the cues that controlled the mechanism on a separate track in addition to the three audio channels. Only selected parts of the animation were stretched, while all live action scenes remained unchanged. This reissue garnered some criticism from viewers, as the widescreen format led to the cropping and reframing of the images.
on april 22, 1963, fantasia was re-released in both standard and superscope versions with stereo sound, though existing records are unclear. Its running time was fifty-six seconds longer than the previous issue, which is unexplained. This was the final release that occurred before walt disneys death in 1966.
1969, 1977, 1982, 1985, and 1990 runs
fantasia began to make a profit from its $2.28 million budget after its return to theaters on december 17, 1969. The film was promoted with a psychedelic-styled advertising campaign, and it became popular among teenagers and college students who were reported to have taken drugs for a psychedelic experience. Animator [ollie johnston](/wiki/ollie_johnston) recalled that young people thought we were on a trip when we made it...Every time wed go to talk to a school or something, theyd ask us what we were on. Animator [art babbitt](/wiki/art_babbitt), who drew the mushrooms in the nutcracker suite segment, was asked if he worked under the influence of drugs, and he quipped, yes, its true. I myself was addicted to ex-lax and feen-a-mint, which were both laxatives. The release is also noted for the controversial [removal](#controversies) of four scenes from the pastoral symphony over racial stereotyping. Fantasia was issued on a regular basis, typically for exhibition in art houses in college towns, until the mid-1970s.
the film was reissued nationwide once more on april 15, 1977, this time with simulated stereo sound. This edit featured the rko distribution logo being replaced with that of buena vista distribution since rko had not been part of a release since 1946. It had not been removed earlier as the credit sequence would have required being re-shot. A two-and-a-half-minute reduction in the films running time in this version remains unclear in existing records.
for the 1982 and 1985 releases, disney presented fantasia with a completely new soundtrack recorded in dolby stereo. First released on april 2, 1982, this version of the film marked the first time a films soundtrack had been digitally re-recorded in its entirety. To replace stokowskis recordings, the noted film conductor [irwin kostal](/wiki/irwin_kostal) was engaged. He directed a 121-piece orchestra and 50-voice choir for the recording that took place over eighteen sessions and cost $1 million. To maintain continuity with the animation kostal based his performance on the tempos and pacing of the stokowski recordings, including the cuts and revisions to the rite of spring. However, for night on bald mountain, he used mussorgskys original orchestration instead of leopold stokowskis own edition that was part of the original soundtrack. The new recording also corrected a two-frame lag in projection caused by the old recording techniques used in the 1930s. Deems taylors scenes were deleted and a much briefer voiceover narration was recorded by hugh douglas as the studio felt the modern audience is more sophisticated and knowledgeable about music. This version returned to around 400 theaters in 1985, this time with actor tim matheson providing the narration.
for its fiftieth anniversary, fantasia returned to 550 theaters nationwide on october 5, 1990, in its traditional 1946 version, including the live-action scenes with taylor and the original stokowski score. The film underwent a two-year restoration process which began after a six-month search to piece together the original negatives that had been in storage since 1946. Since then, this marked the first time that a release of the film had been processed from the original and not from a copy. Each of its 535,680 frames was restored at ycm laboratories, and an untouched print from 1951 was used for guidance on color and tone. Theaters were required to have specific stereo equipment installed and to present the film in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio with black borders on the side of their screens. The stokowski soundtrack was digitally remastered using the 1955 magnetic soundtrack, with an estimated three thousand pops and hisses being removed in the process. The 1990 reissue of fantasia went on to gross $25 million domestically.
home media
audio
disney considered releasing a multi-disc 78-rpm record album of fantasias soundtrack in conjunction with the films 1940 roadshow release, but this idea was not realized. The soundtrack was ultimately released as a three-record lp set in sixteen countries by [disneyland records](/wiki/disneyland_records) in 1957 under the catalog number wdx-101. Disney was required to obtain permission from stokowski, who initially rejected the deal unless the philadelphia orchestra association received a share of the royalties. With nearly two hours of music, the fantasia soundtrack album is the longest soundtrack album ever released of a disney film.
the fantasia soundtrack album contains all of the musical selections but none of the commentary from the film. After stereo lps became possible, [buena vista records](/wiki/buena_vista_records) released a stereo version of the soundtrack album.
the original soundtrack was remastered and issued as a two-disc cd set by [walt disney records](/wiki/walt_disney_records) in 1991. It eventually sold 100,000 copies. This was re-released in 2006. In 1982, buena vista records also released a two-disc edition of the re-recorded soundtrack conducted by irwin kostal. This was also issued on cd by walt disney records.
video
- main article:
[fantasia (video)](/wiki/fantasia_(video))
fantasia has received three home video releases. The first, featuring the 1990 restored theatrical version, was released on vhs and laserdisc on november 1, 1991, as part of the [walt disney classics](/wiki/walt_disney_classics) line. The 50-day release prompted 9.25 million advance orders for cassettes and a record 200,000 for discs, doubling the figure of the previous record. The deluxe edition package included the film, a making of feature, a commemorative lithograph, a 16-page booklet, a two-disc soundtrack of the stokowski score and a certificate of authenticity signed by [roy e. Disney](/wiki/roy_e._disney), the nephew of walt. Fantasia became the biggest-selling sell-through cassette of all time with 14.2 million copies being purchased. The record was surpassed by [beauty and the beast](/wiki/beauty_and_the_beast_(1991_film)) in december 1992. This version was also released as a dvd in 2000, outside of the u.S. In the united kingdom and other countries, again under the walt disney classics banner.
in november 2000, fantasia was released on video for the second time, this time along with [fantasia 2000](/wiki/fantasia_2000), on [dvd](/wiki/dvd) with 5.1 surround sound. The films were issued both separately and in a three-disc set called the fantasia anthology. A variety of bonus features were included on the bonus disc, the fantasia legacy. This edition attempted to follow as closely as possible the runtime and format of the original roadshow version, and included additional restored live-action footage of taylor and the orchestra, including the bookends to the films intermission. Since the 2000 release, deems taylors voice was re-recorded throughout by [corey burton](/wiki/corey_burton) because most of the audio tracks to taylors restored scenes had deteriorated to the point that they could no longer be used.
both films were reissued again by [walt disney studios home entertainment](/wiki/walt_disney_studios_home_entertainment) in november 2010 separately, as a two-disc dvd/blu-ray set and a combined dvd and blu-ray four-disc (named the fantasia 2 movie collection) set that featured 1080p high-definition video and 7.1 surround sound. The 2010 version of fantasia featured a new restoration by reliance mediaworks and a new sound restoration but was editorially identical to the 2000 version. This marked the first time the roadshow version was released in europe. Fantasia was withdrawn from release and returned to the [disney vault](/wiki/disney_vault) moratorium on april 30, 2011, along with [snow white and the seven dwarfs](/wiki/snow_white_and_the_seven_dwarfs) and [pinocchio](/wiki/pinocchio_(film)).
as of now, the film has yet to have a wide blu-ray/dvd re-release, but on april 20, 2021, the 2010 2-movie collection edition was repackaged with [celebrating mickey](/wiki/celebrating_mickey) as a [disney movie club exclusive](/wiki/disney_movie_club_exclusive_dvds_and_blu-rays), known as the best of mickey, except its menus are different.
international release
country | title | distributor | date of release |
---|---|---|---|
france | fantasia | rko | november 1, 1946 |
japan | ?????? |
|
reception
critical response
among those at the films premiere was film critic bosley crowther of the new york times, who noted that motion-picture history was made last night... Fantasia dumps conventional formulas overboard and reveals the scope of films for imaginative excursion... Fantasia ...Is simply terrific. Peyton boswell, an editor at art digest, called it an aesthetic experience never to be forgotten. Time magazine described the premiere as stranger and more wonderful than any of hollywoods and the experience of fantasound as if the hearer were in the midst of the music. As the music sweeps to a climax, it froths over the proscenium arch, boils into the rear of the theater, all but prances up and down the aisles. Dance magazine devoted its lead story to the film, saying that the most extraordinary thing about fantasia is, to a dancer or balletomane, not the miraculous musical recording, the range of color, or the fountainous integrity of the disney collaborators, but quite simply the perfection of its dancing. Variety also hailed fantasia, calling it a successful experiment to lift the relationship from the plane of popular, mass entertainment to the higher strata of appeal to lovers of classical music. The chicago tribune assigned three writers to cover the films chicago premiere: society columnist harriet pribble; film critic mae tinee; and music critic edward barry. Pribble left amazed at the brilliantly-attired audience, while tinee felt the film was beautiful...But it is also bewildering. It is stupendous. It is colossal. It is an overwhelmingly ambitious orgy of color, sound, and imagination. Barry was pleased with the program of good music well performed...And beautifully recorded and felt pleasantly distracted from the music to what was shown on the screen. In a breakdown of reviews from both film and music critics, disney author paul anderson found 33% to be very positive, 22% both positive and positive and negative, and 11% negative.
those who adopted a more negative view were mostly music critics who resisted the idea of presenting classical music with visual images, arguing that doing so would rob the musical pieces of their integrity. As stokowski feared, some critics were particularly turned off by the films depiction of the pastoral symphony. Composer and music critic virgil thomson praised fantasound, which he thought offered good transmission of music, but disliked the musical taste of stokowski, except for the sorcerers apprentice and the rite of spring. Olin downes of the new york times too hailed the sound quality that fantasound presented but felt that much of fantasia distracted from or directly injured the scores. Film critic pauline kael dismissed parts of fantasia as grotesquely kitschy. Music critic benjamin decasseres, writing in the new york journal and american, denounced the film entirely for bringing great music down to the level of jazz and perpetuating a travesty on great art. Some parents resisted paying the higher roadshow prices for their children, and several complained that the night on bald mountain segment had frightened them.
there were also a few negative reactions that were more political in nature, especially since the films release happened when nazi germany reigned supreme in europe. One review of the film written in this manner, by dorothy thompson for the new york herald tribune on november 25, 1940, was especially harsh. Thompson claimed that she left the theater in a condition bordering on nervous breakdown, because the film was a remarkable nightmare. Thompson compared the film to rampant nazism; both, according to her, depicted the abuse of power and the perverted betrayal of the best instincts. Thompson also claimed that the film depicted nature as being titanic while man was nothing more than a moving lichen on the stone of time. Thus, she concluded that the film was cruel, brutal and brutalizing, and a negative caricature of the decline of the west. In fact, thompson claimed that she was so distraught by the film that she even walked out of it before seeing the two last segments, night on bald mountain and ave maria because she was not about to be subject to any more of the films brutalization.
fantasia holds a fresh rating on rotten tomatoes, a website which aggregates film reviews. Its consensus—a landmark in animation and a huge influence on the medium of the music video, disneys fantasia is a relentlessly inventive blend of the classics with phantasmagorical images. 96% of critics gave the film a positive review based on a sample of 50 reviews, with an average score of 8.6 out of 10. Among the websites top critics it holds a positive rating of 86% from seven reviews. [Roger ebert](/wiki/roger_ebert) of the chicago sun-times rated the film four stars out of four, and noted that throughout fantasia, disney pushes the edges of the envelope.
remarks have also been made about fantasia not being a childrens film. Reporting on the popular culture site inside pulse and in the eagle newspaper, robert saucedo remembered to be not the only one...Having to sit through the movie as a kid fidgeting in your seat as the film delivers abstract image after abstract image, concluding that fantasia is for adults and very nerdy kids, while news and gossip website popsugar included fantasia in its 10 movies that scared buzz readers as kids list.
awards and honors
fantasia ranked fifth at the 1940 national board of review awards in the top ten films category. In addition, disney and stokowski won a special award for the film at the 1940 new york film critics circle awards. Fantasia was the subject of two academy honorary awards on february 26, 1942 — one for disney, william garity, john n. A. Hawkins, and the rca manufacturing company for their outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures through the production of fantasia, and the other to stokowski and his associates for their unique achievement in the creation of a new form of visualized music in walt disneys production fantasia, thereby widening the scope of the motion picture as entertainment and as an art form.
in 1990, fantasia was selected for preservation in the united states [national film registry](/wiki/national_film_registry) by the library of congress as being culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant. On the 100th anniversary of cinema in 1995, the vatican included fantasia in its list of 45 great films made under the art category; the others being religion and values.
fantasia is featured in three lists that rank the greatest american films as determined by the american film institute. The film ranked number 58 in 100 years... 100 movies in 1998 before it was dropped from its 10th anniversary revision in 2007, though it was nominated for inclusion. The 10 top 10 list formed in 2008 placed fantasia fifth under animation.
controversies
in the late 1960s, four shots from the pastoral symphony were removed that depicted two characters in a racially-stereotyped manner. A black centaurette called [sunflower](/wiki/sunflower) was depicted polishing the hooves of a white centaurette, and a second name [otika](/wiki/otika) appeared briefly during the procession scenes with bacchus and his followers. According to disney archivist david smith, the sequence was aired uncut on television in 1963 before the edits were made for the films 1969 theatrical reissue. John carnochan, the editor responsible for the change in the 1991 video release, said, its sort of appalling to me that these stereotypes were ever put in. Film critic roger ebert commented on the edit: while the original film should, of course, be preserved for historical purposes, there is no need for the general release version to perpetrate racist stereotypes in a film designed primarily for children. The edits have been in place in all subsequent theatrical and home video reissues.
in may 1992, the philadelphia orchestra association filed a lawsuit against the walt disney company and buena vista home video. As a co-creator of fantasia, the orchestra maintained that the group was entitled to half of the estimated $120 million in profits from video and laserdisc sales. The orchestra dropped its case in 1994 when the two parties reached an undisclosed settlement out of court. British music publisher boosey & hawkes filed a further lawsuit in 1993, contending that disney did not have the rights to distribute the rite of spring in the 1991 video releases because the permission granted to disney by stravinsky in 1940 was only in the context of a film to be shown in theaters. The united states district court backed boosey & hawkess case in 1996, but the second circuit court of appeals reversed the ruling in 1998, stating that disneys original license for motion picture rights extends to video format distribution.
additional material
disney had wanted fantasia to be an ongoing project, with a new edition being released every few years. His plan was to substitute one of the original segments with a new one as it was complete, so the viewer would always see a new version of the film. From january to august 1941, story material was developed based on additional pieces, including ride of the valkyries by richard wagner, the swan of tuonela by jean sibelius, invitation to the dance by carl maria von weber, flight of the bumblebee by nikolai rimsky-korsakov, which was later adapted into the bumble boogie segment in [melody time](/wiki/melody_time) (1948), and there was even consideration for a segment inspired by the polka and fugue from schwanda the bagpiper by jaromír weinberger. The films disappointing initial box office performance and the advent of world war ii brought an end to these plans. Taylor had prepared introductions for [the firebird](/wiki/the_firebird) by stravinsky, la mer by claude debussy, adventures in a perambulator by john alden carpenter, don quixote by richard strauss, and pictures at an exhibition by mussorgsky to have them for the future in case we decided to make any one of them.
clair de lune was another segment that was part of the films original program. After being completely animated, it was cut out of the final film to shorten its already long running time. The segment featured two egrets flying through the everglades on a moonlit night. The sequence was later edited and re-scored for the blue bayou segment in [make mine music](/wiki/make_mine_music) (1946). A workprint of the original was discovered and clair de lune was restored in 1992, complete with the original soundtrack of stokowski with the philadelphia orchestra. It was included as a bonus feature in the fantasia anthology dvd in 2000.
legacy
sequel
in 1980, the los angeles times reported that animators [wolfgang reitherman](/wiki/wolfgang_reitherman) and mel shaw had begun work on musicana, an ambitious concept mixing jazz, classical music, myths, modern art, and more, following the old fantasia format. Animation historian charles solomon wrote that development took place between 1982 and 1983, which combined ethnic tales from around the world with the music of the various countries. Proposed segments for the film included a battle between an ice god and a sun goddess set to finlandia by sibelius, one set in the andes to the songs of yma sumac, and other featuring caricatures of [louis armstrong](/wiki/louis_armstrong) and ella fitzgerald. However, the project was shelved in favor of [mickeys christmas carol](/wiki/mickey%27s_christmas_carol).
[roy e. Disney](/wiki/roy_e._disney), the nephew of walt, co-produced [fantasia 2000](/wiki/fantasia_2000) which entered production in 1990 and features seven new segments performed by the chicago symphony orchestra with conductor james levine. The sorcerers apprentice is the only segment retained from the original film. Fantasia 2000 premiered at carnegie hall on december 17, 1999, as part of a five-city live concert tour, followed by a four-month engagement in [imax](/wiki/imax) cinemas and a wide release in regular theaters, in 2000.
parodies and spin-offs
fantasia is parodied in a corny concerto, a warner bros. Cartoon from 1943 of the merrie melodies series. The short features elmer fudd in the role of taylor, wearing his style eyeglasses, who introduces two segments set to pieces by johann strauss (tales from the vienna woods and the blue danube waltz, both featuring porky and bugs and daffy respectively). In 1976, italian animator bruno bozzetto produced allegro non troppo, a feature-length parody of fantasia. [Jerry bruckheimer](/wiki/jerry_bruckheimer) used the story of the sorcerers apprentice as a basis for his [eponymous fantasy-adventure film](/wiki/the_sorcerer%27s_apprentice_(film)) in 2010.
disney are developing the night on bald mountain sequence from the film, with matt sazama and burk sharpless writing and executive producing the live-action film.
in february 2016, it was announced disney is developing a live-action version of [nutcracker suite](/wiki/the_nutcracker), which was last depicted as a segment of the 1940 film. The feature film is titled, [the nutcracker and the four realms](/wiki/the_nutcracker_and_the_four_realms).[[1]](#cite_note-1)
shotaro ishinomori, creator of the godzilla, kamen rider, and cyborg 009 franchises, is believed to have been inspired by fantasia when developing the [mythos cyborgs](https://ishinomori-shotaro.Fandom.Com/wiki/the_mythos_cyborgs), a group of villains based on greek mythological figures appearing in cyborg 009. This is mostly seen as being speculation on the grounds that two of the mythos cyborgs, namely the [hippo man](https://ishinomori-shotaro.Fandom.Com/wiki/hippo_man) and [pan](https://ishinomori-shotaro.Fandom.Com/wiki/pan_(manga)), resemble the ballerina hippos and the satyrs, respectively.
the animated television series the simpsons references fantasia in a few episodes. Matt groening, the creator of the franchise, expressed a wish to make a parody film named simpstasia; it was never produced, partly because it would have been too difficult to write a feature-length script. In treehouse of horror iv, director david silverman had admired the animation in night on bald mountain and made the first appearance of devil flanders resemble chernabog. The episode itchy & scratchy land references the sorcerers apprentice in a snippet titled scratchtasia that features the music and several shots parodying it exactly.
fantasia is also referenced in the animated series south park in the episode chefs chocolate salty balls, where mr. Hankey dons a wizard outfit and drives out an independent film festival by summoning a wave of sewage, similar to mickeys dream of summoning a storm in the sorcerers apprentice.
theme parks
[the sorcerers hat](/wiki/the_sorcerer%27s_hat_(disney%27s_hollywood_studios)) was once the icon of [disneys hollywood studios](/wiki/disney%27s_hollywood_studios), one of the four theme parks located at [walt disney world](/wiki/walt_disney_world). The structure was of the magic hat from the sorcerers apprentice. Still located at the resort is fantasia gardens, a miniature golf course that integrates characters and objects from the film in each hole. The fireworks and water show [fantasmic!](/Wiki/fantasmic!) Features scenes from the sorcerers apprentice and other fantasia segments on water projection screens, and involves the plot of mickey as the apprentice doing battle with the [disney villains](/wiki/disney_villains). The dinosaurs of the rite of spring would be brought to life in animatronic form for the [ford magic skyway](/wiki/ford_magic_skyway) at the 1964 new york worlds fair, making their way to disneyland as the [primeval world](/wiki/primeval_world) diorama along the disneyland railroad, which would be replicated for tokyo disneylands [western river railroad](/wiki/western_river_railroad) and epcots former [universe of energy](/wiki/universe_of_energy) attraction.
for the 20th anniversary of [disneyland paris](/wiki/disneyland_paris), mickey was depicted in a special version of his sorcerers apprentice outfit. His friends donned similar outfits, as well.
video games
in 1991, a side-scrolling eponymous [video game](/wiki/fantasia_(video_game)) developed by infogrames was released for the sega mega drive/genesis system. The player controls mickey mouse, who must find missing musical notes scattered across four elemental worlds based upon the films segments.
there are several film reel levels based on some of the movies segments such as sorcerers apprentice and night on bald mountain that appear in the [epic mickey](/wiki/epic_mickey) games. Yen sid and chernabog also make cameo appearances in the games (yen sid narrates the openings and endings of the two games and served as the creator of the wasteland. Chernabog appears as a painting in the first game and appears in the night on bald mountain film reel levels in the second).
the disney/[square enix](/wiki/square_enix) crossover game series [kingdom hearts](/wiki/kingdom_hearts_(series)) features chernabog as a boss in the first installment. The night on bald mountain piece is played during the fight. Yen sid appears frequently in the series beginning with [kingdom hearts ii](/wiki/kingdom_hearts_ii), voiced in english by [corey burton](/wiki/corey_burton). Symphony of sorcery, a world based on the movie, appears in [kingdom hearts 3d: dream drop distance](/wiki/kingdom_hearts_3d:_dream_drop_distance). Like the timeless river world in [kingdom hearts ii](/wiki/kingdom_hearts_ii), it is featured as a period of mickey mouses past.
a music game based on the film, [fantasia: music evolved](/wiki/fantasia:_music_evolved) has been developed by harmonix in association with [disney interactive](/wiki/disney_interactive). The game, which was developed for xbox 360 and xbox one, uses the kinect device to put players in control of music in a manner similar to harmonix previous rhythm games, affecting the virtual environment and interactive objects within it. The game is based on licensed contemporary rock music such as [queen](/wiki/queen_(band)) and bruno mars.
[sorcerer mickey](/wiki/sorcerer_mickey) is also a purchasable character for [disney infinity](/wiki/disney_infinity).
videos
gallery
trivia
- the films copyright was renewed on
[january 25](/wiki/january_25),[1968](/wiki/1968).[[2]](#cite_note-2) - this is the first and only disney film to have an intermission.
- fantasia is the second disney film out of the films in the animation canon to be preserved in the national film registry, having been preserved in 1990. The first being snow white and the seven dwarfs (was preserved in 1989), the third being pinocchio (was preserved in 1994) the fourth being beauty and the beast (was preserved in 2002) and the fifth being bambi (was preserved in 2011).
- with a running time of two hours and five minutes, fantasia is the longest of all the disney animated features.
- the original roadshow and blu-ray releases have no credits of any kind, and it only shows the fantasia title at the intermission. The 50th anniversary and vhs release have the walt disney pictures logo, the fantasia title at the beginning, and full closing credits, but dont expect to see this version anywhere else.
- in the case of the 50th anniversary and vhs versions with closing credits, when the shot of the orchestra members leaving before the doors close is restored for this release, the lighting of the orchestra stage was purple, not blue.
- in 1995, the 100th anniversary of cinema, the vatican compiled a list of forty-five great films, with fantasia listed in the art category.
- ave maria is the only part with lyrics in the entire film. Everything else is instrumental.
- when igor stravinsky (1882-1971, the only featured composer still living in 1940) was contacted about the rights to use the rite of spring, he offered to compose a completely new piece for walt disney. This was not taken, and stravinsky hated leopold stokowskis re-orchestration and re-organization of the piece, the original order of the sections was jumbled, and two of them were completely left out.
- the first american film to use stereophonic sound as well as the first and only film recorded in fantasound.
- unless you count kaas scene in the 2016 live-action remake of the jungle book.
- this is the first appearance of
[mickey mouse](/wiki/mickey_mouse)in a disney animated feature film. - This is the only musical film with the letter f on its title until the 1980 american teen musical film fame released 40 years later.
references
external links
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[snow white and the seven dwarfs](/wiki/snow_white_and_the_seven_dwarfs)(1937) •[pinocchio](/wiki/pinocchio_(film))(1940) • fantasia (1940) •[dumbo](/wiki/dumbo_(1941_film))(1941) •[bambi](/wiki/bambi_(film))(1942) •[saludos amigos](/wiki/saludos_amigos)(1942) •[the three caballeros](/wiki/the_three_caballeros)(1944) •[make mine music](/wiki/make_mine_music)(1946) •[fun and fancy free](/wiki/fun_and_fancy_free)(1947) •[melody time](/wiki/melody_time)(1948) •[the adventures of ichabod and mr. Toad](/wiki/the_adventures_of_ichabod_and_mr._toad)(1949) •[cinderella](/wiki/cinderella_(1950_film))(1950) •[alice in wonderland](/wiki/alice_in_wonderland_(1951_film))(1951) •[peter pan](/wiki/peter_pan_(film))(1953) •[lady and the tramp](/wiki/lady_and_the_tramp)(1955) •[sleeping beauty](/wiki/sleeping_beauty)(1959) •[one hundred and one dalmatians](/wiki/one_hundred_and_one_dalmatians)(1961) •[the sword in the stone](/wiki/the_sword_in_the_stone)(1963) •[the jungle book](/wiki/the_jungle_book)(1967) •[the aristocats](/wiki/the_aristocats)(1970) •[robin hood](/wiki/robin_hood_(film))(1973) •[the many adventures of winnie the pooh](/wiki/the_many_adventures_of_winnie_the_pooh)(1977) •[the rescuers](/wiki/the_rescuers)(1977) •[the fox and the hound](/wiki/the_fox_and_the_hound)(1981) •[the black cauldron](/wiki/the_black_cauldron)(1985) •[the great mouse detective](/wiki/the_great_mouse_detective)(1986) •[oliver & company](/wiki/oliver_%26_company)(1988) •[the little mermaid](/wiki/the_little_mermaid_(1989_film))(1989) •[the rescuers down under](/wiki/the_rescuers_down_under)(1990) •[beauty and the beast](/wiki/beauty_and_the_beast_(1991_film))(1991) •[aladdin](/wiki/aladdin_(film))(1992) •[the lion king](/wiki/the_lion_king)(1994) •[pocahontas](/wiki/pocahontas_(film))(1995) •[the hunchback of notre dame](/wiki/the_hunchback_of_notre_dame)(1996) •[hercules](/wiki/hercules_(film))(1997) •[mulan](/wiki/mulan_(1998_film))(1998) •[tarzan](/wiki/tarzan_(film))(1999) •[fantasia 2000](/wiki/fantasia_2000)(1999) •[dinosaur](/wiki/dinosaur)(2000) •[the emperors new groove](/wiki/the_emperor%27s_new_groove)(2000) •[atlantis: the lost empire](/wiki/atlantis:_the_lost_empire)(2001) •[lilo & stitch](/wiki/lilo_%26_stitch)(2002) •[treasure planet](/wiki/treasure_planet)(2002) •[brother bear](/wiki/brother_bear)(2003) •[home on the range](/wiki/home_on_the_range)(2004) •[chicken little](/wiki/chicken_little_(film))(2005) •[meet the robinsons](/wiki/meet_the_robinsons)(2007) •[bolt](/wiki/bolt_(film))(2008) •[the princess and the frog](/wiki/the_princess_and_the_frog)(2009) •[tangled](/wiki/tangled)(2010) •[winnie the pooh](/wiki/winnie_the_pooh_(film))(2011) •[wreck-it ralph](/wiki/wreck-it_ralph_(film))(2012) ·[frozen](/wiki/frozen)(2013) •[big hero 6](/wiki/big_hero_6)(2014) •[zootopia](/wiki/zootopia)(2016) •[moana](/wiki/moana_(film))(2016) •[ralph breaks the internet](/wiki/ralph_breaks_the_internet)(2018) •[frozen ii](/wiki/frozen_ii)(2019) •[raya and the last dragon](/wiki/raya_and_the_last_dragon)(2021) •[encanto](/wiki/encanto)(2021) •[strange world](/wiki/strange_world)(2022) •[wish](/wiki/wish)(2023) •[moana 2](/wiki/moana_2)(2024)upcoming: [zootopia 2](/wiki/zootopia_2) (2025) • [frozen iii](/wiki/frozen_iii) (2027) • [frozen iv](/wiki/frozen_iv) (tba)
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[toy story](/wiki/toy_story)(1995) •[a bugs life](/wiki/a_bug%27s_life)(1998) •[toy story 2](/wiki/toy_story_2)(1999) ·[monsters, inc.](/Wiki/monsters,_inc.)(2001) •[finding nemo](/wiki/finding_nemo)(2003) •[the incredibles](/wiki/the_incredibles)(2004) •[cars](/wiki/cars)(2006) •[ratatouille](/wiki/ratatouille)(2007) •[wall-e](/wiki/wall-e_(film))(2008) •[up](/wiki/up)(2009) •[toy story 3](/wiki/toy_story_3)(2010) •[cars 2](/wiki/cars_2)(2011) •[brave](/wiki/brave)(2012) •[monsters university](/wiki/monsters_university)(2013) •[inside out](/wiki/inside_out)(2015) •[the good dinosaur](/wiki/the_good_dinosaur)(2015) •[finding dory](/wiki/finding_dory)(2016) •[cars 3](/wiki/cars_3)(2017) •[coco](/wiki/coco_(film))(2017) •[incredibles 2](/wiki/incredibles_2)(2018) •[toy story 4](/wiki/toy_story_4)(2019) •[onward](/wiki/onward)(2020) •[soul](/wiki/soul)(2020) •[luca](/wiki/luca)(2021) •[turning red](/wiki/turning_red)(2022) •[lightyear](/wiki/lightyear)(2022) •[elemental](/wiki/elemental)(2023) •[inside out 2](/wiki/inside_out_2)(2024)upcoming: [elio](/wiki/elio_(film)) (2025) • [hoppers](/wiki/hoppers) (2026) • [toy story 5](/wiki/toy_story_5) (2026) • [coco 2](/wiki/coco_2) (2029) • [incredibles 3](/wiki/incredibles_3) (tba) • [untitled film](/wiki/untitled_pixar_film) (tba)
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[ducktales the movie: treasure of the lost lamp](/wiki/ducktales_the_movie:_treasure_of_the_lost_lamp)(1990) •[a goofy movie](/wiki/a_goofy_movie)(1995) •[the tigger movie](/wiki/the_tigger_movie)(2000) ·[peter pan: return to never land](/wiki/return_to_never_land)(2002) •[the jungle book 2](/wiki/the_jungle_book_2)(2003) •[piglets big movie](/wiki/piglet%27s_big_movie)(2003) •[poohs heffalump movie](/wiki/pooh%27s_heffalump_movie)(2005) •[planes](/wiki/planes)(2013) •[planes: fire & rescue](/wiki/planes:_fire_%26_rescue)(2014)
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[spies in disguise](/wiki/spies_in_disguise)(2019) •[rons gone wrong](/wiki/ron%27s_gone_wrong)(2021) •[the bobs burgers movie](/wiki/the_bob%27s_burgers_movie)(2022)upcoming: [ice age 6](/wiki/ice_age_6) (2026)
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| Discover the wonders of nature at CCCs Nature Spy Discovery Days | CCC |
| Posted on Tuesday, June 10 @ 00:00:33 PDT (14 reads) | |
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News
discover the wonders of nature at ccc’s nature spy discovery days
join the clackamas community college environmental learning center on an adventure of discovery at nature spy discovery days. Families will enjoy hands-on activities and games, explore the wetlands on naturalist-led walks, create nature crafts and more. Nature spy discovery days will be held every other saturday, july 5-aug. 16, 10 a.M.-Noon, during the oregon city farmers market on the ccc oregon city campus, 19600 molalla ave.
program themes include:
- july 5 – darting dragonflies
- july 19 – pollinators
- aug. 2 – bats
- aug. 16 – owls
the cost is based on a sliding scale of free to $10 per person. Donations help keep these programs running. Drop-ins are welcome, but pre-registration at https://bit.Ly/elc-discovery-days helps for planning purposes. For more information, contact sarah bidwell at sarah.Bidwell@clackamas.Edu. To learn more about the programs offered at the elc, visit www.Clackamas.Edu/elc.
about the environmental learning center
the environmental learning center has a rich history as an educational resource for clackamas community college, regional schools, industry and the community. Located on the former site of a smuckers processing plant, the center was established to demonstrate how people can reclaim industrial sites, address stormwater issues and restore wildlife habitats in urban areas. Each year, thousands of people visit to explore the 5-acre site and learn about watershed health. The site serves as an important stormwater facility for the college campus and provides critical wetland habitat for resident and migratory birds, such as the great blue heron, wood duck and merganser. |
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| Timeline (All Along The Wabash) |
| Posted on Tuesday, June 10 @ 00:00:33 PDT (9 reads) | |
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on december 8, america declares war on japan. Four days later, germany and italy declare war on the america, turning the war global. |
on december 8, america declares war on japan. Four days later, germany and italy declare war on the america, turning the war global. |
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? | [[File:battle-midway-important c00b55c201410030.Jpg|thumb|right|bloody wake, a major defeat for america.]] |
+ | [[file:battle-midway-important c00b55c201410030.Jpg|thumb|right|300px|bloody wake, a major defeat for america.]] |
1941 ends with what may be the decisive battle as formulated by famed naval theorist alfred thayer mahan. Kimmel gathers his carriers at pearl - lexington, yorktown, saratoga, enterprise, and hornet. War plan orange called a methodical push across the pacific, but kimmel decides for the decisive battle around wake island. With intelligence discovering that the japanese detached a carrier for the struggling assault on the philippines, kimmel gambles on an equal fight occurring when he sends out a huge task force to relieve the battered garrison on wake island. The battle does come on december 20, five against five. The japanese pilots are more experienced; the american bombers are also stuck with defective torpedoes. Only battered hornet survives the vicious battle; the americans lose four carriers while the japanese lost three. Wake island falls a few days later; hong kong falls on christmas. |
1941 ends with what may be the decisive battle as formulated by famed naval theorist alfred thayer mahan. Kimmel gathers his carriers at pearl - lexington, yorktown, saratoga, enterprise, and hornet. War plan orange called a methodical push across the pacific, but kimmel decides for the decisive battle around wake island. With intelligence discovering that the japanese detached a carrier for the struggling assault on the philippines, kimmel gambles on an equal fight occurring when he sends out a huge task force to relieve the battered garrison on wake island. The battle does come on december 20, five against five. The japanese pilots are more experienced; the american bombers are also stuck with defective torpedoes. Only battered hornet survives the vicious battle; the americans lose four carriers while the japanese lost three. Wake island falls a few days later; hong kong falls on christmas. |
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==1943== |
==1943== |
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===asia=== |
===asia=== |
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? | [[File:marines rest in the field on guadalcanal.Jpg|thumb|right|a rare moment of rest during the battle of rabaul, one of the most destructive battles of the pacific war]]1943 opens with the bloody battle of rabaul continuing to rage. Its otl guadalcanal on a larger scale as both the americans (with australian help) and the japanese pour everything into what very may be the decisive battle of the war. The japanese have already defeated the americans at sea in the battle of wake island; if they can defeat the americans on land, stop americas march on the home islands in the cradle, then they may very well win the war. Back home, the american public demands answers for the severe casualties; mcnutt and macarthur come to the mutual understanding not too play the blame game. Instead, their response is two-pronged. First, much of the blame ends up falling on general eisenhower, who will ride a desk for the rest of the war following the campaigns conclusion, later becoming a college administrator following the wars conclusion. Second, public opinion against the japanese is ramped up even further; posters and movie reels blast the japanese for their war crimes in china, for their brutality in the philippines against both captured soldiers and especially civilians. The crimes are real, even if the racial caricatures arent. Japanese usage of chemical and biological weapons against china is heavily played up, in part to prepare the american public for their own usage beginning in february. In a war of maneuver, chemical weapons arent incredibly effective, but when it comes to area of denial and cave-clearing, mustard gas and to a lesser extent lewisite is deployed to a liberal degree. By spring, the americans are making steady progress, aided by the overstretched japanese logistical system that reduces many of its soldiers to starvation or cannibalism (or both (this is also played up in american propaganda)). |
+ | [[file:marines rest in the field on guadalcanal.Jpg|thumb|right|300px|a rare moment of rest during the battle of rabaul, one of the most destructive battles of the pacific war]]1943 opens with the bloody battle of rabaul continuing to rage. Its otl guadalcanal on a larger scale as both the americans (with australian help) and the japanese pour everything into what very may be the decisive battle of the war. The japanese have already defeated the americans at sea in the battle of wake island; if they can defeat the americans on land, stop americas march on the home islands in the cradle, then they may very well win the war. Back home, the american public demands answers for the severe casualties; mcnutt and macarthur come to the mutual understanding not too play the blame game. Instead, their response is two-pronged. First, much of the blame ends up falling on general eisenhower, who will ride a desk for the rest of the war following the campaigns conclusion, later becoming a college administrator following the wars conclusion. Second, public opinion against the japanese is ramped up even further; posters and movie reels blast the japanese for their war crimes in china, for their brutality in the philippines against both captured soldiers and especially civilians. The crimes are real, even if the racial caricatures arent. Japanese usage of chemical and biological weapons against china is heavily played up, in part to prepare the american public for their own usage beginning in february. In a war of maneuver, chemical weapons arent incredibly effective, but when it comes to area of denial and cave-clearing, mustard gas and to a lesser extent lewisite is deployed to a liberal degree. By spring, the americans are making steady progress, aided by the overstretched japanese logistical system that reduces many of its soldiers to starvation or cannibalism (or both (this is also played up in american propaganda)). |
one unintended consequence of increased prejudice against the japanese occurred in san francisco in early march, when a local beat cop, angry over the death of his brother on bloody rabaul, took his frustrations out on a chinese youth arrested on the vague crime of loitering; the cop mistook him for japanese. The brutal, arbitrary beating set off protests in chinatown that soon escalated into three days of rioting and the destruction of a good portion of the district. The officer was never indicted for any crimes, and the chinatown riot can be seen as the first of many race riots that erupted throughout the united states in 1943, with a good portion on the west coast involving asian-americans. |
one unintended consequence of increased prejudice against the japanese occurred in san francisco in early march, when a local beat cop, angry over the death of his brother on bloody rabaul, took his frustrations out on a chinese youth arrested on the vague crime of loitering; the cop mistook him for japanese. The brutal, arbitrary beating set off protests in chinatown that soon escalated into three days of rioting and the destruction of a good portion of the district. The officer was never indicted for any crimes, and the chinatown riot can be seen as the first of many race riots that erupted throughout the united states in 1943, with a good portion on the west coast involving asian-americans. |
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by february, soviet forces reach kharkov and intense fighting begins around the city. Theyre unable to seize the city by the spring thaw; once the mud disappears, manstein opens up with the german 1944 offensive in april, hitting the soviets hard. But zhukov expected the attack, and spent weeks heavily fortifying the soviet salient. By the end of june, the germans have exhausted themselves, and no longer have the ability to wage the massive offensive operations they have in the past. All they can do is try to hold on as zhukov finally seizes the devastated kharkov, reaching the dnieper by july and kiev by august. American aid arrives in sicily by the end of april, and a massive push succeeds in taking the island by june. A late american addition to the operational plan - a sudden landing at the tip of calabria - cuts off the escape of the afrika korps. Erwin rommel surrenders to allied custody rather than take his own life as expected by hitler. |
by february, soviet forces reach kharkov and intense fighting begins around the city. Theyre unable to seize the city by the spring thaw; once the mud disappears, manstein opens up with the german 1944 offensive in april, hitting the soviets hard. But zhukov expected the attack, and spent weeks heavily fortifying the soviet salient. By the end of june, the germans have exhausted themselves, and no longer have the ability to wage the massive offensive operations they have in the past. All they can do is try to hold on as zhukov finally seizes the devastated kharkov, reaching the dnieper by july and kiev by august. American aid arrives in sicily by the end of april, and a massive push succeeds in taking the island by june. A late american addition to the operational plan - a sudden landing at the tip of calabria - cuts off the escape of the afrika korps. Erwin rommel surrenders to allied custody rather than take his own life as expected by hitler. |
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? | [[File:mussolini.Jpg|thumb|left|benito mussolini, the first of the axis leaders to fall]]the invasion of sicily nearly resulted in mussolinis overthrow, but italian (really german) successes in holding north africa enabled mussolini to hold onto power by the narrowest of margins. The fall of sicily proves to be the nail of the coffin, but mussolini has readied himself, knowing the knives will come out against him. From june 30 - july 2, rome is abuzz with activity is pro-mussolini fascists, anti-mussolini fascists, and non-fascist authoritarian factions duke it out on the streets; the anti-mussolini faction is struck a major blow on the first day when mussolinists shoot their ringleader galeazzo ciano while still abed with his wife, edda mussolini; the unexpected death of his daughter paralyzes mussolini, leading to the mussolinists and the authoritarians under general pietro badoglio whittling each other down rather than an outright mussolinist victory. The authoritarians suffer their own blow when a major figure, dino grandi, blows himself up with grenades when cornered in a riverside apartment, inadvertently taking out badoglio with him. False rumors of an allied advance out of calabria convince authoritarian administrator cesare maria de vecchi to launch an all-out assault on mussolinis stronghold. In the bombed-out building, il duce is captured by nightfall. As for the anti-mussolini fascists - theyve successfully escaped from the city, taking a good portion of the army and political leadership with them, where they establish a rival government in milan under german protection. The italian social republic is led by roberto farinacci, a fascist party leader who thought mussolini was too liberal; dedicated fascist general rodolfo graziani is the minister of defense. With the afrika korps destroyed, the few german troops in southern italy are either disarmed or make it back to the north, where a civil war begins with the vecchi government in rome. The allies, jubilant over italys apparent fall, agree to an armistice with the vecchi government in mid-july. The vecchi government will be given weapons and supplies in exchange for allowing sardinia to be used as a base of operations against southern france. Calabria will be returned to italy upon wars end. |
+ | [[file:mussolini.Jpg|thumb|left|il duce benito mussolini, the first of the axis leaders to fall]]the invasion of sicily nearly resulted in mussolinis overthrow, but italian (really german) successes in holding north africa enabled mussolini to hold onto power by the narrowest of margins. The fall of sicily proves to be the nail of the coffin, but mussolini has readied himself, knowing the knives will come out against him. From june 30 - july 2, rome is abuzz with activity is pro-mussolini fascists, anti-mussolini fascists, and non-fascist authoritarian factions duke it out on the streets; the anti-mussolini faction is struck a major blow on the first day when mussolinists shoot their ringleader galeazzo ciano while still abed with his wife, edda mussolini; the unexpected death of his daughter paralyzes mussolini, leading to the mussolinists and the authoritarians under general pietro badoglio whittling each other down rather than an outright mussolinist victory. The authoritarians suffer their own blow when a major figure, dino grandi, blows himself up with grenades when cornered in a riverside apartment, inadvertently taking out badoglio with him. False rumors of an allied advance out of calabria convince authoritarian administrator cesare maria de vecchi to launch an all-out assault on mussolinis stronghold. In the bombed-out building, il duce is captured by nightfall. As for the anti-mussolini fascists - theyve successfully escaped from the city, taking a good portion of the army and political leadership with them, where they establish a rival government in milan under german protection. The italian social republic is led by roberto farinacci, a fascist party leader who thought mussolini was too liberal; dedicated fascist general rodolfo graziani is the minister of defense. With the afrika korps destroyed, the few german troops in southern italy are either disarmed or make it back to the north, where a civil war begins with the vecchi government in rome. The allies, jubilant over italys apparent fall, agree to an armistice with the vecchi government in mid-july. The vecchi government will be given weapons and supplies in exchange for allowing sardinia to be used as a base of operations against southern france. Calabria will be returned to italy upon wars end. |
its all music to president mcnutts ears, as he enters the 1944 democratic national convention in chicago on july 19. Theres no question hell win the nomination. There had been some grumbling during the dark days of 1942, but mcnutt now has some major victories under his belt - rabaul, naval battles off new britain, across the northern coast of new guinea, avenged wake, the gilberts, and now sicily. Italy was knocked out of the war. Mcnutt keeps alben barkley as his running mate, though deep down, hes concerned about barkleys desire for a presidential run in 1948 - mcnutt hasnt ruled out the idea of a third term for himself. |
its all music to president mcnutts ears, as he enters the 1944 democratic national convention in chicago on july 19. Theres no question hell win the nomination. There had been some grumbling during the dark days of 1942, but mcnutt now has some major victories under his belt - rabaul, naval battles off new britain, across the northern coast of new guinea, avenged wake, the gilberts, and now sicily. Italy was knocked out of the war. Mcnutt keeps alben barkley as his running mate, though deep down, hes concerned about barkleys desire for a presidential run in 1948 - mcnutt hasnt ruled out the idea of a third term for himself. |
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the big soviet offensive comes in mid-september, once the invasion of northern france has drawn away german forces from the east. Soviet intelligence rouses convinced the germans that the grand attack would come in belarus with forces from north, east, and south; instead, the soviets barrel into western ukraine. Zhukov and konev cross the dnieper and smash into the german lines, overrunning von manstein. By november, all of ukraine is back under soviet control except for holdouts in crimea, which will fall by the end of the year. |
the big soviet offensive comes in mid-september, once the invasion of northern france has drawn away german forces from the east. Soviet intelligence rouses convinced the germans that the grand attack would come in belarus with forces from north, east, and south; instead, the soviets barrel into western ukraine. Zhukov and konev cross the dnieper and smash into the german lines, overrunning von manstein. By november, all of ukraine is back under soviet control except for holdouts in crimea, which will fall by the end of the year. |
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? | With defeats on all sides, the fuhrers rage is growing. Surely, all the failures must be the fault of the subordinates. Perhaps theyre even actively plotting against him - just look at what happened in rome just a few months back. No doubt, rommel plans to set up a rival puppet german government for the allies - why else would he choose surrender over honorable suicide? His family is imprisoned just to be the safe side, as are an increasing number of officials whose loyalties are in doubt. Several command positions are switched around: for his failure in the east, von manstein is sent to command german forces in northern italy, while the loyal heinrich himmler, reichsfuhrer-ss, is appointed to lead army group south in stopping the soviet tidal wave. Himmler manages to avoid any major missteps by the end of the year, mainly because soviet forces have been stopped at ukraines western borders by the autumn rain and the need to consolidate, and that their next blow is aimed indeed aimed at the baltics and belarus. |
+ | [[file:tojo hideki2.Jpg|thumb|right|prime minister tojo hideki, the second of axis leaders to fall]]with defeats on all sides, the fuhrers rage is growing. Surely, all the failures must be the fault of the subordinates. Perhaps theyre even actively plotting against him - just look at what happened in rome just a few months back. No doubt, rommel plans to set up a rival puppet german government for the allies - why else would he choose surrender over honorable suicide? His family is imprisoned just to be the safe side, as are an increasing number of officials whose loyalties are in doubt. Several command positions are switched around: for his failure in the east, von manstein is sent to command german forces in northern italy, while the loyal heinrich himmler, reichsfuhrer-ss, is appointed to lead army group south in stopping the soviet tidal wave. Himmler manages to avoid any major missteps by the end of the year, mainly because soviet forces have been stopped at ukraines western borders by the autumn rain and the need to consolidate, and that their next blow is aimed indeed aimed at the baltics and belarus. |
+ | on november 7, 1944 - to the surprise of few, president mcnutt wins re-election by a comfortable margin. His counterpart in tokyo wasnt so lucky - falling the twin falls of saipan and biak in september, prime minister hideki tojo was forced to resign. Replacing him would be ija hardliner terauchi hisaichi. Japan has been through two decisive battles - one at wake and one at rabaul. They won the first, yet it didnt bring america to the peace table. They lost the second and have been on the backfoot ever since. One school of thought would suggest that winning another decisive battle would be difficult, and that even a victory there might not be so decisive against the economic and military might of the united states. But prime minister terauchi represents another school of thought - that japan can win decisive battles as evidenced by wake, and it just needs to win another one to achieve victory. Even if that final battle is located in japan itself. |
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? | On november 7, 1944 - to the surprise of few, president mcnutt wins re-election by a comfortable margin. |
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[[category:all along the wabash]] |
[[category:all along the wabash]] |
latest revision as of 01:22, 10 june 2025
part 1: that platinum blonde s.O.B. From indiana
1940
fdr dead stop
cactus jack sworn in a president stop
unclear who will be 1940 nominee stop
“my fellow americans,” comes the southern twang over millions of radios. “I am sorry to announce that franklin delano roosevelt passed away last night from a fatal heart attack. As your new president, i will ensure his work was not in vain.”
primary season
on the evening of february 10, 1940 - president roosevelt suffers a fatal heart attack during another late night in the oval office. Vice president john nance “cactus jack” garner is immediately sworn in as the 33rd president of the united states. He will have big shoes to fill, especially in an election year. After the period of mourning and reorganization, garner makes it clear he’s interested in the democratic nomination for president this year. Postmaster general james farley, a democratic kingmaker, makes his intentions for the presidency known much more loudly. Then, of course, there’s secretary of state cordell hull, who subtly sends out signals for his own ambitions.
the spring and summer see rumors and reports of fierce in-fighting within the white house among the presidential hopefuls. Each man knows they don’t have a clear-cut path to the presidency, all suffering from their own weaknesses. For starters, garner will be 71 and hull 68, and though both men are pretty spry for their advanced ages, its not a good start. Garner has the advantage of now being the sitting president and also has the backing of southern conservatives, but lacks the support of liberal big city machines due to his opposition to the recent new deal programs. Farley has connections to the urban machines, but has never been elected to a public office and has no foreign policy experience, not good optics with much of the world engulfed in war. Hull is rumored to be fdr’s favored successor - perhaps even his potential running mate in a potential third term bid before his passing - and both garner and farley know this. The two men form a temporary alliance against hull, with rumors swirling following the fall of france that hull supports the puppet vichy government over the blossoming “so-called free french” (which he does). Hull is also slightly weakened by not running in the primaries, which gives farley an early lead, though the real nomination will come at the convention.
the bickering and focus on winning the presidency while half of europe has fallen to nazism does little to make any of the men look good.
the democratic convention is held in mid-july. Favorite sons and compromise candidates include senator millard tydings of maryland and federal security agency head paul v. Mcnutt. Hull has a slight lead, but the convention remains deadlocked well into day two. The compromise candidates become much more promising, mcnutt in particular. He controls a powerful indiana machine, he’s well-versed in foreign affairs thanks to serving as high commissioner of the philippines from 1937-1939, and has since overseen new deal programs as fsa administrator. He’s known as a terrific organizer and ran a budget surplus during his tenure as governor of indiana at the height of the depression.
his main flaws are accusations of corruption and that fdr absolutely loathed him. Corruption can be smoothed over with patronage, at least. For the latter flaw - two of fdr’s immediate family announce their support. Fdr’s son james is an opportunist, and as a slightly unscrupulous man, sees promise in mcnutt’s promise to expand the new deal. Eleanor’s support is on morale grounds; she watched as hull denied entrance to fleeing european jews, while mcnutt went out of his way to settle over a thousand of them during his time in the philippines.
impassioned speeches pick up support for mcnutt. The three main candidates see which way the wind is blowing. An offer to head a new department of welfare consisting of the fsa and access to its patronage networks secures farley’s (rather relucant) support while promises of southern work projects and a southern vp manages at last to get garner to release his delegates. Hull sees which way the wind is blowing and releases his as well. Paul v. Mcnutt is the democratic nominee for president in 1940.
to fulfill his promise, mcnutt arranges for speaker of the house william b. Bankhead of alabama to be his running mate. Bankhead is so excited by the news that he literally dies of a heart attack on the convention floor. Sam rayburn of texas replaces him as speaker, while senator james f. Byrnes of south carolina becomes mcnutt’s new running mate.
perhaps not the most auspicious start, but the mcnutt campaign is now off to the races…
the republican convention is a similar story, with the flaws of the major candidates allowing an outsider to secure the nomination. Senator robert a. Taft of ohio and senator arthur h. Vandenberg of michigan are too isolationist for a public increasingly concerned about nazi victories in europe. District attorney thomas e. Dewey of new york is a rising star among the eastern liberals and an internationalist to boot, but his youth - a mere 38 years old - and lack of experience in higher audience prevents him from securing enough delegates. Ironically enough, considering farleys main flaw, the republicans nominate wendell wilkie, a corporate executive with no prior experience in public office. But hes articulate in his criticisms of overreach by the new deal, a strong supporter of internationalism, and is seen as a fresh face among the tired republican party. To chants of we want wilkie, he gains the nomination on the fourth ballot. House minority leader joseph martin of massachusetts arranges for senate minority leader charles mcnary of oregon to be his running mate.
mcnutt vs wilkie. The race is on.
election season
there were a lot of similarities between mcnutt and wilkie, chief among them being that they both hailed from the great state of indiana. It was a proud moment for the hoosiers as two of their native sons competed on the highest stage in american politics. All along the wabash, democratic and republican partisans hang their banners and launch their campaigns to get out the vote.
the two men were well-acquainted, and though they had fallen out of each others social circles recently, then went way back. Mcnutt was a year older; both men attended indiana university in bloomington at the same time, becoming fraternity brothers at beta theta pi. Wilkie actually managed mcnutts successful campaign for student office there. This romantic element was certainly played up by the gentlemanly press of the day, which also helped keep the election relatively clean. Both men certainly have dirt on one another. As governor of indiana, mcnutts achievements included cancelling the 1933 municipal elections on cost-saving grounds, securing another year for the mainly democratic officials, as well as forcing state employees to pay two percent of their salaries to the indiana democratic party. As for wilkie, there was the small issue of his ongoing affair with new york literary editor irita van doren. None of these issues are printed in the daily news during campaign season.
both men are internationalists. Mcnutt is a liberal while wilkie is a moderate. Neither inspire particular enthusiasm among the conservative members of their party, but given its heritage, the solid south remains behind mcnutt, giving wilkie an uphill battle from the start. With their similarities elsewhere, the new deal is the key theme of the election. Mcnutt is in favor of its continuation, even expansion, while wilkie campaigns on streamlining the programs and making them more efficient.
mcnutt is a magnificent campaigner and brilliant administrator, having invented the concept of political clubs where small donations would grant access to the club and go straight to mcnutts growing war chest. His effective campaign, which trots out both eleanor and james roosevelt, rallies the new deal coalition, bringing together the unions, the working class, minorities, and white southerners and getting them out to vote on november 5. Wilkie runs a decent campaign of his own, speaking directly to working class crowds at the risk of receiving rotten vegetables to the head. Wilkie also lacks the ability to criticize an unprecedented run for a third term had fdr been the nominee. But really, it comes down to mcnutts ability to utter the words second new deal and wilkies (and the republicans) ties to big business and the great depression.
its closer than otl, but not by much. Mcnutts campaign manages to secure indiana, which wilkie narrowly won in otl. Mcnutts lack of connections to new york allows wilkie to win a narrow victory there instead, along with new jersey. But even picking up those additional states just wont cut it. Paul v. Mcnutt) will be the next president of the united states.
1941
domestic affairs
on january 20, 1941 - mcnutt is sworn as president. He immediately gets to work reorganizing the government and pushing through his second new deal. The democrats hold 66 seats in the senate under majority leader alben barkley of kentucky, giving them a supermajority to push through their agenda, though they need to keep conservative southern democrats on board. Speaker of the house sam rayburn also leads a decent democratic majority in the house. Taking advantage of the last few months of the two year limit set by the reorganization act of 1939, mcnutt abolishes the fsa and replaces it with the department of welfare; congress approves, and the senate confirms james farley as its first secretary. Cordell hull departs for the private sector; mcnutt elevates under secretary of state sumner welles to the top position in that department. A promising young administrator named alger hiss heads up states far eastern sub-department.
the second new deal, passed by congress, includes acts creating savannah river authority and ohio river authority that mirror the earlier tennessee valley authority as federally-owned infrastructure companies in those regions, providing public works and rural electrification in those regions (savannah definitely needs it; the ohio river authority conveniently built infrastructure and provided jobs in mcnutts home state of indiana). Having previously served as a dean at indiana university, mcnutt increases education aid to schools across america, many conveniently in the midwest and south. Spending for slum-clearing and housing construction is also increased; mcnutt gets farley to appoint james roosevelt to head up an office in the department of welfare in this capacity. Farley doesnt particularly like the connections roosevelt is growing in new york city, where farley himself is eyeing a future run. Housing construction is especially important in the capital, with the population ballooning in size as the government grows and grows. And since the capital is growing more importantly, surely it must be better represented in politics. No taxation without representation, after all.
its not an unlimited series of successes. Mcnutts push for a 23rd amendment granting dc electoral votes is shot down by republican states, since dc would be an easy pickup for the democrats in future elections. A proposal floated by mcnutt for the increased education aid to be applied equally to all schools (meaning equal funding for both white and black) is a non-starter with the conservative democrats. But still, mcnutts hundred days sees a flurry of activity mostly resulting in wins for the new president.
foreign affairs
in the winter and spring of 1941, war continues to rage in europe, with the italians stuck in a greek quagmire until the germans bail them out, conquering both greece and yugoslavia. Europe has fallen to nazism, which continues its relentless drive for expansion. Prime minister winston churchill and great britain hope to continue the good relationship they had with fdr; mcnutt and the internationalists take the next step by enacting the lend-lease act in march 1941, allowing the united states to loan supplies and resources to britain free of charge. Britain does start receiving lend-lease aid, but its quite less than otl, for mcnutt makes the grand strategic decision of going away from germany first to a focus on japan. Mcnutt is driven by his previous tenure in the philippines (well, that and racism); hes heard the stories of what the japanese do in cities they sack, and he thinks of poor filipino civilians undergoing a japanese occupation and wont allow it. This, after all, is a man who in otl, called for the extermination of the japanese in toto.
the defenses of the american pacific outposts, including wake island and the philippines, begin beefing up their defenses within the first month of mcnutts presidency. Lend-lease aid that mightve gone to great britain is now going to manila and gaum. Mcnutt has a working relationship with douglas macarthur, with mcnutt serving as high commissioner while macarthur was president manual quezons chief military adviser. Macarthurs ego does get on mcnutts nerves (and after all, mcnutt himself has quite the ego), but their shared past does allow mcnutt to convince macarthur to go along with war plan orange and rainbow five as planned. Mcnutt knows that war with japan is a strong possibility, especially after he orders a total embargo of oil and gas exports to japan on august 1 following japanese moves into southern indochina.
the germans are moving, too. Having launched their invasion of the soviet union on june 22, 1941, the nazi war machine moves east quickly, leaving million dead in its wake. Lend-lease aid is expanded to include the soviet union, but between the supplies going to the pacific and mcnutts lower level of trust in the soviets compared to fdr, means the germans are facing weaker soviet defenses. Combined with expanded finnish operations and some good luck, army group north not only captures leningrad but cuts off the murmansk railway, the main western supply route to the ussr. Millions starve to death in occupied leningrad this winter, perhaps the most successful execution of the hunger plan that would depopulate eastern europe. Despite being severely weakened, the soviets dont buckle, and stop the germans at the gates of the kremlin.
having lost to the majority of oil and other imports crucial to the war effort, the japanese government led by prime minister hideki tojo decides to claim them by force. Intricate plans are made for a massive, simultaneous asia-pacific offensive, with its grand centerpiece being a surprise attack on the american navy at pearl harbor. First air fleet - the famed kido budai - and its six carriers head out into the northern pacific on the early days of december, planning on launching their planes northwest of hawaii. However, with greater focus on the pacific - including more robust communications with cincpac husband e. Kimmel - an american air patrol catches the kido butai on december 6. Kimmel takes the spotting seriously.
washington that night is a flurry of activity as the beginning of the war is now known to be imminent. America is an uproar the next morning when they hear the news, and as secretary of states welles demands answers from the clueless japanese ambassadors, the japanese begin the offensive around noon est december 7. The kido butai, having been spotted, immediately steamed south to the island fortress of truk, meaning land-based american planes dont find them the next morning. The japanese offensive opens up with the kido butai dealing an air raid on wake island; theres more bombs falling on it than otl, but wake is also more defended than otl. The invasion of wake doesnt begin until december 11, allowing the beefed-up garrison to rebuild and prepare. Guam falls, the extra preparations doing little, since the islands position in the japanese-held marianas makes it all but indefensible. At the philippines, macarthur immediately orders a bombing of the airbases on formosa as part of war plan orange; though a lot of bombers fall to zeroes, japanese air power in the region suffers a decent blow. Rather than try to defend everywhere, macarthur sticks to well-maintained defensive lives, and the japanese assault is slowed on luzon is slowed.
on december 8, america declares war on japan. Four days later, germany and italy declare war on the america, turning the war global.
1941 ends with what may be the decisive battle as formulated by famed naval theorist alfred thayer mahan. Kimmel gathers his carriers at pearl - lexington, yorktown, saratoga, enterprise, and hornet. War plan orange called a methodical push across the pacific, but kimmel decides for the decisive battle around wake island. With intelligence discovering that the japanese detached a carrier for the struggling assault on the philippines, kimmel gambles on an equal fight occurring when he sends out a huge task force to relieve the battered garrison on wake island. The battle does come on december 20, five against five. The japanese pilots are more experienced; the american bombers are also stuck with defective torpedoes. Only battered hornet survives the vicious battle; the americans lose four carriers while the japanese lost three. Wake island falls a few days later; hong kong falls on christmas.
the american mood sombers as 1941 ends.
1942
axis victories
reasoning that the japanese surely mustve getting inside help in order to even consider a sneak attack on pearl harbor, mcnutt issues an executive order that january calling for the internment of japanese-americans on grounds of suspected fight column activity. Stemming from the presidents mood and the loss at the battle of wake island, the internment is much more expansive in otl, with 400,000 japanese-americans eventually being interned. Even though hes a republican, governor earl warren is a key ally in california for the internment. Seized japanese assets are funneled into department of welfare programs, with james roosevelt personally overseeing what happened to captured california property.
the disaster at wake results in the usn transferring all of its carriers to the pacific, further weakening the supply line to great britain and the ussr. Soviet weakness is matched by severe overextension in the german supply lines, especially in the north, resulting in the soviets making decent-sized gains that winter. Following the spring thaw, a soviet offensive in the south is bloodily repulsed, and the germans follow it up with a second summer offensive directed at the city of stalingrad.
in the pacific, burma, malaya, and singapore are captured by the end of the spring. The philippines continue to hold out, with macarthur becoming a rallying point for the american people. The destruction of the fleet makes the americans filipinos fight that much harder. The resources needed to capture the philippines keeps the japanese from expanding too far in the south pacific, only up to a major base at rabaul on the island of new britain. The philippines hold out until july, when the defenders have finally exhausted their ammunition. Macarthur is evacuated by plane, vowing to return.
allied answers
mcnutt rejects a british proposal for an american offensive in north africa for november 1942. The british hope that an american push from the west timed with a british breakout on the east would squeeze the germans out of north africa. But mcnutt and americas focus is on the pacific and a planned counterattack at rabaul. American-anglo tensions grow strained, while stalin is irate that the promised second front would not be arriving any time soon. Allied cooperation is not the greatest as the war progresses.
the counterattack at rabaul comes in august, when a cross-branch american army consisting of marines and the army under general dwight d. Eisenhower makes landfall on new britain. Fighting amid the jungle and mountainous conditions is brutal, and the american newspapers are filled with casualties throughout the end of summer and fall. An attritional war among the surviving carriers results off new britain results in an american victory thanks to superior code-breaking and the loss of skilled japanese pilots during earlier campaigns. But american losses are heavy throughout it all, and with no grand victory to think of so far, american voters to go the polls that november. The senate remains in democratic hands, though at the cost of their supermajority; the democrats lose their majority outright in the senate, with the republican representative joseph martin achieving his ambition of becoming speaker with a six person majority. The occasional alliance with conservative democrats gives the republicans some major firepower in congress. This wouldve posed a much more serious in a less bipartisan atmosphere, but the wartime conditions force the two parties to work closely together; therell be no further expansion of the second new deal or department of welfare, but no expansion of audits, either.
the british claim victory at el alamein that fall, even with less lend-lease aid. The battle of stalingrad sees the soviets narrowly keep the city, but therell be no grand encirclement that destroys sixth army. The soviets must reclaim their territory through a grueling slog that lasts all winter, taking heavy losses along the way.
1943
asia
1943 opens with the bloody battle of rabaul continuing to rage. Its otl guadalcanal on a larger scale as both the americans (with australian help) and the japanese pour everything into what very may be the decisive battle of the war. The japanese have already defeated the americans at sea in the battle of wake island; if they can defeat the americans on land, stop americas march on the home islands in the cradle, then they may very well win the war. Back home, the american public demands answers for the severe casualties; mcnutt and macarthur come to the mutual understanding not too play the blame game. Instead, their response is two-pronged. First, much of the blame ends up falling on general eisenhower, who will ride a desk for the rest of the war following the campaigns conclusion, later becoming a college administrator following the wars conclusion. Second, public opinion against the japanese is ramped up even further; posters and movie reels blast the japanese for their war crimes in china, for their brutality in the philippines against both captured soldiers and especially civilians. The crimes are real, even if the racial caricatures arent. Japanese usage of chemical and biological weapons against china is heavily played up, in part to prepare the american public for their own usage beginning in february. In a war of maneuver, chemical weapons arent incredibly effective, but when it comes to area of denial and cave-clearing, mustard gas and to a lesser extent lewisite is deployed to a liberal degree. By spring, the americans are making steady progress, aided by the overstretched japanese logistical system that reduces many of its soldiers to starvation or cannibalism (or both (this is also played up in american propaganda)).
one unintended consequence of increased prejudice against the japanese occurred in san francisco in early march, when a local beat cop, angry over the death of his brother on bloody rabaul, took his frustrations out on a chinese youth arrested on the vague crime of loitering; the cop mistook him for japanese. The brutal, arbitrary beating set off protests in chinatown that soon escalated into three days of rioting and the destruction of a good portion of the district. The officer was never indicted for any crimes, and the chinatown riot can be seen as the first of many race riots that erupted throughout the united states in 1943, with a good portion on the west coast involving asian-americans.
in brighter news - generals hyakutake harukichi and imamura hitoshi commit seppuku when rabaul finally falls in april 1943. The casualties taken may make it seem like a pyrrhic victory for the americans, but the japanese losses to men and material simply cannot be replaced. This is arguably americas only victory in the war so far, coming nearly fifteen months after the wars outbreak. Other victories also arrive at sea, as american industrial might replaces the losses from wake and deal the ijn a series of blows it cant recover from, including the destruction of carriers shokaku and zuikaku off rabaul in late march. Coming off the victory, macarthur favors driving on the philippines, while chester nimitz and the navy favor an advance through the central pacific; the experience on rabaul has taught both the importance of island hopping and bypassing enemy strongholds when possible. Perhaps the philippines can be bypassed? Perhaps it can, but mcnutt will not allow his beloved philippines to remain occupied when america has the resources to attack in both the south pacific and central pacific. With the majority of american resources already in the pacific, both offensives will take place.
europe
an american cross-channel offensive into occupied france under general joseph stilwell, tentatively earmarked for 1943, is postponed to 1944. Working with the british in north africa, along a potential follow-up campaign in italy, is out of the question. Churchill is irate; cant the americans see that germany is the true enemy? Many actually dont; their hatred is reserved for the japanese. Complicating matters is stilwells blatant anti-british, anti-french attitudes; his british counterparts have some choice words for him as well. Mcnutt, though harvard-educated, is the son of midwestern teachers and lawyers, and isnt too enamored with the egotistical, bombastic, aristocratic churchill. Stilwell is simply told not to air his true feelings in public so loud, especially since the american army is being hosted and training in britain.
without any american pressure on the germans from the west, bernard montgomery and his desert rats reach tripoli in march 1943. The british hope to recruit the commander of vichy french land forces in north africa, alphonse juin, to their side. With his control over the army, juins defection would bring the various vichy governors along with him. Juin ponders his options - tunisia is crawling with german and italian soldiers, while morocco and most importantly algeria remain under tight french control. The war is still anyones game at this point - the americans dont seem terribly interested in europe, the british are still off the continent, while the soviets are stuck in grueling street-fighting in voronezh, west of stalingrad. The british also want to place juin under the command of the upstart charles de gaulle and his free french. Unthinkable. But still, the germans are the true enemy here, and rumors that the germans plan a full occupation of all of france is the tipping point.
when montgomery attacks tunisia in april, juin orders french forces not to resist. This causes a mass disarmament and imprisonment of the french by german forces there, giving juin the justification he needs. The french soldiers are ordered to revolt in time with montgomerys offensive. When theyre unable to throw off the germans and italians, juin orders them to head west for algeria and link up with his armies moving eastward. Ironically enough, juins action causes the german occupation of france he felt was inevitable. As part of the deal, juin will not be under any free french command; he and de gaulle are equals in a makeshift french governing council that will be the site of political intrigue and backstabbing for years to come. It takes until july for tunisia to fall and the last of the afrika korps to flee to sicily.
churchill, in a moment of tireless energy, decides to pull british strength away from the planned cross-channel invasion in favor of further operations in the mediterranean. When asked why by stilwell, churchill puts it (eloquently) that if mcnutt can put more troops in the pacific, then he can put more in europes soft underbelly. Anglo-american relations are strained even further. Churchill wants his invasion of southern europe, believing regular operations picking away at the axis periphery to be better than waiting around for a potentially disastrous all-or-nothing cross-channel attack. And at least, in a moment of lip service to stalin, this will open a second front in 1943 as promised!
stalin isnt happy. With leningrads fall in 1941, german armies led by erich von manstein had been transferred south and took part in the 1942 summer offensive against stalingrad. The city was flattened even more so than otl if such a thing is possible, but a german misstep in diverting forces to overstretched offensives in the caucasus that succeeded in reaching the outskirts of baku enabled a soviet winter counter-offensive to retake the city. But there was no grand encirclement, no major breakthrough in the germans. It was a slow, grinding push to the east that succeeded in liberating the city of voronezh in may. Both sides licked their wounds, then manstein launched the 1943 german summer offensive targeting the city in july. The following months saw a major see-saw battle for the region that ultimately concludes in a stalemate when the autumn mud emerges.
perhaps the soviets get a modicum of relief when the british, with little american support, launch an amphibious invasion of sicily in november. That modicum quickly disappears, however, when faulty intelligence suggests that two afrika korps divisions - roughly half of its strength - had been transferred to support the fighting at voronezh. That isnt true. Though their presence isnt catastrophic to the operation, it does trap montgomery in a large beachhead at the port of gela into 1944. More and more british and commonwealth strength is poured into sicily and other sideshows in the dodecanese, leaving only a token force to aid in the cross-channel invasion. The allies see better success in russia, where soviet forces retake voronezh in a december offensive and begin pushing into belgorod oblast with the goal of liberating kharkov.
in the pacific, nimitz hoped to begin his offensive against the gilbert islands, north of macarthurs zone in the south pacific and relatively light-defended. But mcnutt and popular pressure inserts itself into the equation. In december, the americans return to wake to avenge their bloody defeat two years prior. Japan is caught off-guard by the attack, having poured resources into the south pacific and assumed the americans would continue the war there. Wake falls in ten days, longer than expected, with the japanese fighting to the last man. On their way out, they executed all of their pows remaining on the island, who had been put to work constructing the pillboxes and defense networks that held the americans up for more than a week. This becomes another propaganda victory for america, and another reason for anti-japanese prejudice to increase even further.
december ends with mcnutt, churchill, and stalin departing their respective countries for a summit meeting in tehran to discuss the next phase of strategy for the war. Allied cooperation isnt exactly the highest at the moment.
1944
allies gain the advantage
1944 opens with two more offensives in the pacific - macarthur attacks down the northern coast of new guinea in january, further catching the japanese off-guard with their attention on wake. With so many resources sucked into the fighting at rabaul, the japanese cancel tentative plans for an invasion of india and a massive operation in china. Though the japanese logistical system is still horrendous, the greater focus in the south pacific means the developed ports and strongholds of new guinea are well-defended and have no need of cannibalism, not yet at least. Macarthur is able to bypass some, but there are grueling fights at lae, the admiralty islands, wewak, and aitape thatll take most of winter, spring, and summer of 1944. In march, in time with the tehran conference, nimitz gets his desired offensive with an attack on tarawa in the gilbert islands. The lessons of wake and tarawas far-flung location make it a bloody, but relatively easy, victory.
the tehran conference opens in march 1944. The british are still stuck at the beachhead at gela, too strong to be pushed back into the sea but too weak to conquer the island. Mcnutt and churchill are at loggerheads - churchill feels mcnutt doesnt understand that germany is the real enemy, while mcnutt doesnt understand why churchill is so obsessed with a sicilian sideshow. Choice words between stilwell and his british counterparts dont help things. But ultimately, a compromise prevails - stilwell will spare a corps to help seize sicily, but italy itself will be bypassed, bombed into submission with this mediterranean allied force advances up through sardinia, corsica, and then into southern france by august. This will coincide with the cross-channel invasion, also scheduled for august. Stalin is irate that the second front will take that long; mcnutt and churchill argue that sicily is a second front. Kind of. Furthermore, they want stalin to commit to declaring war on japan within three months following germanys surrender. In exchange, austria will be allowed into the soviet sphere of influence, and the soviets can do as they see fit with finland. Stalin agrees, promising that fair and free elections will be held in its occupied territories following the wars end (ignoring that finland already has those). Stalin also agrees to a soviet summer offensive scheduled for august; mcnutt and churchill hope hell jump the gun and launch one earlier, drawing strength away from their offensive on france, but stalin has intelligence that the germans will try against for voronezh. Let them run into defended positions, then hell counterattack.
by february, soviet forces reach kharkov and intense fighting begins around the city. Theyre unable to seize the city by the spring thaw; once the mud disappears, manstein opens up with the german 1944 offensive in april, hitting the soviets hard. But zhukov expected the attack, and spent weeks heavily fortifying the soviet salient. By the end of june, the germans have exhausted themselves, and no longer have the ability to wage the massive offensive operations they have in the past. All they can do is try to hold on as zhukov finally seizes the devastated kharkov, reaching the dnieper by july and kiev by august. American aid arrives in sicily by the end of april, and a massive push succeeds in taking the island by june. A late american addition to the operational plan - a sudden landing at the tip of calabria - cuts off the escape of the afrika korps. Erwin rommel surrenders to allied custody rather than take his own life as expected by hitler.
the invasion of sicily nearly resulted in mussolinis overthrow, but italian (really german) successes in holding north africa enabled mussolini to hold onto power by the narrowest of margins. The fall of sicily proves to be the nail of the coffin, but mussolini has readied himself, knowing the knives will come out against him. From june 30 - july 2, rome is abuzz with activity is pro-mussolini fascists, anti-mussolini fascists, and non-fascist authoritarian factions duke it out on the streets; the anti-mussolini faction is struck a major blow on the first day when mussolinists shoot their ringleader galeazzo ciano while still abed with his wife, edda mussolini; the unexpected death of his daughter paralyzes mussolini, leading to the mussolinists and the authoritarians under general pietro badoglio whittling each other down rather than an outright mussolinist victory. The authoritarians suffer their own blow when a major figure, dino grandi, blows himself up with grenades when cornered in a riverside apartment, inadvertently taking out badoglio with him. False rumors of an allied advance out of calabria convince authoritarian administrator cesare maria de vecchi to launch an all-out assault on mussolinis stronghold. In the bombed-out building, il duce is captured by nightfall. As for the anti-mussolini fascists - theyve successfully escaped from the city, taking a good portion of the army and political leadership with them, where they establish a rival government in milan under german protection. The italian social republic is led by roberto farinacci, a fascist party leader who thought mussolini was too liberal; dedicated fascist general rodolfo graziani is the minister of defense. With the afrika korps destroyed, the few german troops in southern italy are either disarmed or make it back to the north, where a civil war begins with the vecchi government in rome. The allies, jubilant over italys apparent fall, agree to an armistice with the vecchi government in mid-july. The vecchi government will be given weapons and supplies in exchange for allowing sardinia to be used as a base of operations against southern france. Calabria will be returned to italy upon wars end.
its all music to president mcnutts ears, as he enters the 1944 democratic national convention in chicago on july 19. Theres no question hell win the nomination. There had been some grumbling during the dark days of 1942, but mcnutt now has some major victories under his belt - rabaul, naval battles off new britain, across the northern coast of new guinea, avenged wake, the gilberts, and now sicily. Italy was knocked out of the war. Mcnutt keeps alben barkley as his running mate, though deep down, hes concerned about barkleys desire for a presidential run in 1948 - mcnutt hasnt ruled out the idea of a third term for himself.
on the republican side, senator robert a. Taft of ohio had once been the frontrunner, being the face of (respectful) criticism of the wars progress and excessive government spending. But the victories and tafts isolationism have muted his chances; everyone knows mcnutt will be difficult to take down. Theres not a whole lot of interest, opening the way for the other competitor of 1940, thomas dewey, to emerge as the clear frontrunner. The prior republican nominee, wendell wilkie, has been serving as the ambassador to china since 1943, his brief flirtation with running for the nomination again ended when it became clear the interest wasnt there (his flirtation with various chinese debutantes has certainly not ended, though its unclear where the interest is there for his greatest target of all - soong mei-ling, wife of chiang kai-shek). In any case, its deweys to lose, and though opposition briefly swirls around governor john bricker of ohio, there simply isnt enough of it. Dewey wins the nomination, with bricker as his running mate. The dewey-bricker ticket faces an uphill battle. The war is going better, and though government waste can always be targeted, the mcnutt white house is a well-oiled machine. The president himself is a fantastic administrator, and results on the battlefield are finally starting to match the efficiency and success of the mcnutt administration. There are rumors about corruption, but a tight-lipped executive branch aided by fbi director herbert hoover keeps a lid on things. And in the war days, it wouldnt do too good to criticize the chief executive too much. The people have rallied around mcnutts flag, especially after the cross-channel invasion begins on august 3.
with strength siphoned off to the pacific and the mediterranean (especially for the british and commonwealth side for the latter), the d-day forces arent particularly large, and they run into strong defenses organized and led by field marshall albert kesselring. It isnt a disaster like the british landing on sicily - there is slow progress from the beachhead, but it is slow, and by september the americans are stuck in a quagmire in the bocage of northern france. Its not exactly the grand victory mcnutt wants, but the americans are on the continent, joined by the attack in southern france in october, corsica having fallen in august. Both charles de gaulle and alphonse juin land on the southern coast, both competing for the title as liberator of france. There can only be one! With german forces concentrated in northern france, northern italy, and especially against the soviets, the invasion of southern france makes quick progress, especially with britains weight behind it. Toulouse is liberated by the end of the month while the drive on lyon continues.
on the eastern front - marshal konstantin rokossovsky liberates leningrad in july. What he finds is a grisly sight - millions of people have starved to death, their final resting place either being mass graves or gigantic crematoriums that doubled as german strongholds in the urban fighting. Civilian survivors spread horrid tales as the germans starving so many to death that they had to start feeding people again to maintain the citys infrastructure and their supply lines. Marshal kirill meretskov, earlier architect of the failed winter war, is given a second chance to make ends and gain revenge on the finns who aided and abetted the starvation of leningrad. By september, the finns are pushed back to their post-winter war border and request an armistice. Its not given, and meretskov pushes through the karelian isthmus by december. In a sign of things to come, the western allies remain silent as finland requests support against soviet repression. Rokossovsky, meanwhile, begins a drive on the baltics.
the big soviet offensive comes in mid-september, once the invasion of northern france has drawn away german forces from the east. Soviet intelligence rouses convinced the germans that the grand attack would come in belarus with forces from north, east, and south; instead, the soviets barrel into western ukraine. Zhukov and konev cross the dnieper and smash into the german lines, overrunning von manstein. By november, all of ukraine is back under soviet control except for holdouts in crimea, which will fall by the end of the year.
with defeats on all sides, the fuhrers rage is growing. Surely, all the failures must be the fault of the subordinates. Perhaps theyre even actively plotting against him - just look at what happened in rome just a few months back. No doubt, rommel plans to set up a rival puppet german government for the allies - why else would he choose surrender over honorable suicide? His family is imprisoned just to be the safe side, as are an increasing number of officials whose loyalties are in doubt. Several command positions are switched around: for his failure in the east, von manstein is sent to command german forces in northern italy, while the loyal heinrich himmler, reichsfuhrer-ss, is appointed to lead army group south in stopping the soviet tidal wave. Himmler manages to avoid any major missteps by the end of the year, mainly because soviet forces have been stopped at ukraines western borders by the autumn rain and the need to consolidate, and that their next blow is aimed indeed aimed at the baltics and belarus.
on november 7, 1944 - to the surprise of few, president mcnutt wins re-election by a comfortable margin. His counterpart in tokyo wasnt so lucky - falling the twin falls of saipan and biak in september, prime minister hideki tojo was forced to resign. Replacing him would be ija hardliner terauchi hisaichi. Japan has been through two decisive battles - one at wake and one at rabaul. They won the first, yet it didnt bring america to the peace table. They lost the second and have been on the backfoot ever since. One school of thought would suggest that winning another decisive battle would be difficult, and that even a victory there might not be so decisive against the economic and military might of the united states. But prime minister terauchi represents another school of thought - that japan can win decisive battles as evidenced by wake, and it just needs to win another one to achieve victory. Even if that final battle is located in japan itself. |
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| Judith Lee announces candidacy for Mayor |
| Posted on Tuesday, June 10 @ 00:00:33 PDT (25 reads) | |
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Updated: 36 minutes ago
trio funding meant for first-generation students, low-income, disable students; trump calls it a ‘relic’
updated: 1 hour ago
students enrolled in st. Ambrose university’s online nursing program can now take approved eastern iowa community college courses that will count toward their sau degree.
updated: 1 hour ago
the program has provided essential academic, financial, and personal support to hundreds of students each year.
updated: 1 hour ago
two federal epa grants totaling $1.2 million will help the city assess and remediate several vacant properties.
updated: 1 hour ago
comfortable tuesday sun, then warmer and wet |
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| Week after Boulder attack, group hosts antisemitism summit in city |
| Posted on Tuesday, June 10 @ 00:00:33 PDT (9 reads) | |
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Concern, fear and motivation filled a meeting room at cu boulder’s university memorial center on monday.
boulder city and county elected officials joined religious leaders, political advocates and out-of-state legislators for an emergency summit hosted by combat antisemitism movement, or cam, to address worries on the rise of antisemitic beliefs and actions.
cam is an advocacy group founded in 2019 that aims to tackle the rise of antisemitism. It’s operated by kansas nonprofit the combat hate foundation, and it began organizing monday’s event not long after the pearl street mall attack.
the gathering came eight days after an antisemitic terror attack on the pearl street mall and emphasized efforts to combat rising anti-jewish sentiments. Present was boulder mayor aaron brockett and boulder city councilmember tara winer. Also there were three other boulder county mayors — hollie rogan from lyons, mark lacis from superior and dennis maloney from louisville. Boulder county commissioner ashley stolzmann was also present.
cam hosted speakers and panels that ranged from firsthand accounts of those who have been impacted by violent antisemitism to panels that provided educational opportunities on how to combat antisemitism.
the crowd of 30-plus people first heard from rabbi yehuda kaploun, who is president donald trump’s nominee as u.S. Special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism. Kaploun said trump is dedicated to combating antisemitism.
the crowd then heard from omer shachar, a survivor of last week’s terror attack that injured 15 people peacefully demonstrating for run for their lives, which calls for the release of 58 dead and alive hostages held by the militant group hamas since the oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
shachar, a member of denver’s run for their lives who happened to be walking with the boulder group that day, recalled his experience.
“i reassured everyone that a request had been put in the day before for an increased police presence during the time of our walk. And finally, in case of emergency, to call 9-1-1. As i said that, i was surprised by the sudden sound of glass shattering and i was terrified to see members of our group were on fire,” shachar said. “I realized immediately that we were under attack, molotov cocktails had been thrown at us. I screamed, ‘run!’ I noticed one of our participants, an (elderly) woman, had fallen and was in flames. I tried to remove her from the place, but the heat melted her skin and she was slippery to the touch.”
moshe lavi, brother-in-law of hamas hostage omri miran, spoke of the oct. 7 attacks, which killed nearly 1,200 people and was labeled as the deadliest day for the jewish people since the holocaust.
“i’m grateful and lucky because my parents survived … and omri’s still alive so we can still bring him home,” lavi said. “But being lucky means you still have a hostage in your family.”
jewish speakers expressed grave concern for their day-to-day safety.
central to many of monday’s discussions was the belief that there’s a fundamental public misunderstanding of the difference between antisemitism and anti-zionism. Speakers reiterated their stance that, to a majority of the jewish people, the beliefs are one of the same. That topic was central to boulder city councilmember taishya adams controversially not signing an official statement denouncing the attack and instead issuing her own.
brockett and winer both referenced adams’ decision, without naming her, then sought advice over increasingly charged open comments at council meetings over the israel-hamas war.
brockett indicated interest in amending the open comment section, possibly to only allow boulder residents or those with business in the city to speak at the meetings.
cam also provided educational literature to attendees. That included a packet that promoted legislation to prohibit public rallygoers and protesters from wearing masks.
speakers also criticized college campus protesters. Many of those protesters were, or are, using phrases seen by jewish people as antisemitic, such as “free palestine,” “from the river to the sea, palestine will be free” and “globalize the intifada.”
some guests said there is a place for criticism of israel’s military actions in gaza, which has led to the deaths of more than 54,000 civilians, but that it can easily cross a line into antisemitism. Others went further. Lisa katz, chief government affairs officer at cam, compared members of the lgbtq+ community supporting the people of gaza to chickens supporting kfc.
four out-of-state republican legislators joined the summit on a panel that focused on legislative efforts to combat antisemitism.
tony mattivi, director of the kansas bureau of investigation who briefly attended cu boulder; and kevin farrington, adviser for the jewish security company secure community network, spoke about how to keep the community and public spaces safe. The exact location of the summit was given only to approved registrants out of safety concerns.
“the threats we are seeing now are much more confrontational,” farrington said. |
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| Starting a New Career in Midlife with Sandra Block from Prism Insurance Agency I |
| Posted on Tuesday, June 10 @ 00:00:33 PDT (19 reads) | |
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0:03
prism insurance agency: whether you are contemplating a career change just to get a new fresh start or maybe you’re one of the many americans who have had a career change decided for them by a past employer, you’ll want to listen to today’s show. Sandra block, a senior associate editor for kiplinger’s personal finance, is our guest with 20 years of experience covering personal financial issues. She’s recently did research on how people have handled midlife career changes. Welcome sandra.
0:33
sandra: great to be here!
0:35
prism insurance agency: we’re really looking forward to today’s topic. I don’t think a week goes by where i don’t sit down with clients where one of the spouses at least is not happy at the job. They’re not ready to retire and they’re thinking of a career change. I know that’s something you’ve been through and you’ve been talking and writing about this quite a bit. Tell our audience a little bit about your circumstance or your situation.
0:57
sandra: i was a daily newspaper reporter for 17 years for usa today and then about a year and a half ago, i went to work for kiplinger’s. Although it’s not a radical change, i went from working for a daily newspaper and a daily website to much longer deadlines and longer stories. A very different approach to the subject that i was writing about. I’m 54 years old and i found the change very invigorating. My mother, who was a longtime newspaper editor, went to work for a community college when she was in her 50s and i’ve sort of been inspired by what she did and that she was willing to try something new at that point in her life.
1:33
prism insurance agency: sandra, then tell us about from your perspective with our experience and writing about this topic, if you’re pursuing a midlife career change, how do you avoid the stereotypes about older workers?
1:46
sandra: first of all, you have to acknowledge them but not be defeated by them. There are a lot of surveys out there that show that age discrimination is real. You are going to encounter employers who think they can’t afford you, who think that you are stuck in your ways and that sort of thing. Some of the career experts i’ve talked to say it’s not as pervasive as some people believe. The one advantage you have as an older worker is that you know a lot of people and networking is really the key to getting a job at any age but it’s probably more important than ever when you’re older because people who know you, know what you’re life and know your energy, know your willingness to work and try new things. You really have to take advantage and this is kind of old-school advice, just to take advantage of networking. Where you sort of ramp it up to the next level is get yourself on linkedin. Create a linkedin profile and use linkedin to find out what demands are, what jobs in the field that you’re interested in are out there and what employers who are advertising these jobs are looking for. What kind of skills do they want and so if you don’t have those skills, you can get them.
2:48
prism insurance agency: we’ve had a past guest on, wayne breitbarth who wrote a book on linkedin and us as middle-aged folks and baby boomers, when it gets to computers, a lot of us feel intimidated or maybe challenged by that but a lot of us have kids that they’re a wiz on that and we sometimes get intimidated that kids know how to get on the linkedin and the facebook. They can navigate through there and i know some people make the mistake of thinking that can’t work for them because they don’t know the computers. The best thing you can probably do is get your kids to help you with that. I’ll tell you, i’ve talked to so many clients about this and what you talked about on the networking, linkedin is probably one of the best tools from a business to business standpoint. Learning how to use that tool really can put networking on steroids.
3:34
sandra: i really agree with that. In the course of writing this story, i had a linkedin profile but hadn’t paid that much attention to it and just as sort of part of my research and just part of my interest, i really started spending a lot of time there and the way that it works is as you build more contacts, you find more contacts. It’s not like facebook where you have some qualms about putting personal information. This is purely professional. You might hesitate about who you want to be your facebook friends but with linkedin, anyone that you could have contact with and that you’ve worked with and that you’ve known throughout your professional career, you can reach out to and to me a very sort of non-threatening way and create this huge network. It’s a great way to connect with people maybe that you worked for a long time ago and who know you. What i’m finding and what people are telling me is that employers look at linkedin. When you apply for a job, they go there and look and one of the things they look at is to see how many connections you have. They look to see where you’ve worked and that sort of thing. It’s really important to have that profile and keep it updated. I think there are probably ways to use it that i haven’t explored but it really is a very useful tool and you don’t need to be a computer genius to use it.
4:40
prism insurance agency: what about just helping people get past that feeling of maybe imposing on other people as far as if you’re putting it out there, that you’re available, people know you and your skills and talents, and like you said, take advantage of that; but that’s actually a positive way to put it. It’s not take advantage of someone, it’s taking advantage of the fact that they know your skillset and so you’re not a stranger as an applicant because today i’m guessing if there’s a good job out there, there’s lots of people in line.
5:07
sandra: there are lots of people in line but i think if you have a former colleague or friend who respects you and they recommend you for a job, it makes them look good if you get the job and you succeed. I think that it’s not a totally altruistic thing to help someone get a job. At the same time, i think there is a pay it forward aspect to this and you have to be actively helping other people as well using your connections and your networking to help other people find jobs or make contact with folks who could be helpful to them. It works in a circle that way. As i said, i find that linkedin is pretty unobtrusive. You’re not sending people personal emails all day long asking them for advice. You’re reaching out to them in this way and sort of making it known maybe that you are looking for a job and looking for advice and that sort of thing.
5:51
prism insurance agency: the last person that we employed, we used linkedin. We were looking for a bookkeeper and i just put it out to my network. I said, “hey, we’re looking for a bookkeeper. Does anybody have anybody in mind?” And got a response right away. It really shortened that putting an ad in the paper and spending weeks and weeks interviewing people. We got a recommendation right away and were able to make a decision and it saved us a ton of time and knowing that person came recommended from someone i know and respect made that hiring decision so much easier.
6:21
sandra: that’s a really good story and i think that’s how older workers in particular can sort of overcome some of the barriers that are out there. Not just the fact that there are some many people for every job, but that if you come at it cold and an employer has never heard of it, looks and figures out that maybe you’re over 50 and might start having some hesitations. I think the fact that you reached them through another way sort of helps you get over those problems.
6:44
prism insurance agency: what have you found with your experience of course and researching this is people making transitions at midlife, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve changed employers. This is really about career change. Can you site some examples from your writings as far as people going from one industry to another and kind of how they made that jump?
7:04
sandra: some people as you said might approach a different division within their company, that’s to me the ideal situation if you could find something new and interesting without having to leave your employer but i think that is not always easy to do. More and more people are just not staying with the same employer their whole lives. There’s not that much of an incentive to do it anymore since very people get a pension. I think what i found in people that i interviewed is very often they had a particular passion or interest that had sort of been out there for years and they pursued that in their second careers. Teaching was something that came up a lot in the people i talked to. I talked to one woman and she’s not in the story but she was so interesting. She had spent a good part of her career as a disability advocate at a big ivy league school. She went through some personal problems and wanted a change and she’s now working for boston’s public transit commission and she is still advocating for disabled people and that is still her area but she is working for an entirely different organization than a university and that has been a challenge for her. She’s really enjoyed sort of just the different environment that she is in now.
8:08
prism insurance agency: that’s neat. Like you said it’s really being driven by your passion. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the exact same job description, it’s just a new opportunity and a fresh new look and i have to believe that if you finally pursue something that you really enjoy. I mean we counsel people all the time in their workplace that they’re not happy but they have to work because they need to pay their bills. If you have that opportunity to transition to something that involves your passion, well that’s pretty fulfilling.
8:34
sandra: you as financial advisors, i’m sure, are very often having to sort of gently tell people that they can’t really afford to retire at 60 or 62 and the idea that you could make this career switch at midlife and add some years to your career. To be honest, some of the people that i interviewed, one in particular, a corporate lawyer who is now a tour guide for students. He clearly took a big pay cut when he changed careers. He’s 62 and so by continuing to work even at a reduced income, he is going to be able to delay taking social security. We all know how valuable that is in terms of increasing your lifetime benefits. Even though he’s not making as much money as he was when he was a corporate lawyer, he is making an income and as a result his savings and his social security can continue to build for the time when he really does stop working.
9:20
prism insurance agency: exactly. That was a great story. I remember reading that. It was very good. Listen, we’re going to take a quick break and when we come back, let’s talk about some of those characteristics of successful midlife career changers. Tell us a little bit more about what you found in your interview process. Please stay tuned.
10:02
prism insurance agency: welcome back as we continue to discuss with sandra block today the topic of off to a fresh start and just kind of midlife career change and all of the aspects of that. Sandra is a senior associate editor for kiplinger’s personal finance and you’ve got more than 20 years of experience covering personal finance issues and an expert in taxes and saving for retirement and student loans, and all of those things. We appreciate your expertise today related to this particular issue. Would you share with us what are some of the characteristics of successful midlife career-changers.
10:35
sandra: i think one thing is they certainly have to be willing to learn new skills and learn new strategies because willingness to learn some basic computer skills is probably pretty key to embarking on any career even if it’s one that pays less than the job that you have now. Some of the people i interviewed took risks. A lot of older workers are finding that if they want to keep working, they really need to work for themselves. That sort of speaks to the lack of jobs and also their own desire to be independent, to control their own destiny. One couple i interviewed and who is really not that much older, they’re still in their early 50s and 40s, they wanted to spend more time together. They bought a franchise called mosquito joe. They kill mosquitos in people’s yards but part of their motivation was that they wanted to sort of control their hours. They wanted to spend more time together. In order to do that they had to dip into some savings. It’s going to be awhile before they start making a lot of money and so they took some risks. They think it’s worth it for their marriage, for their life and just what they see as a better opportunity than their previous jobs offered.
11:38
prism insurance agency: i’ve talked to a lot of people and i think one thing that people need to be aware of, you talk about maybe dipping into savings a little bit or taking a cut in pay, a lot of times people will be extremely unhappy at their current position but they’re afraid to explore and they a lot of times make the assumption that they can’t afford to do it. This is something you can sit down with a financial planner and go through your cash flow needs, go through your retirement goals. You might have this idea of retirement where you just stop working altogether at age 62 or 65 but if you find the job that you really enjoy, you might continue to do that just for the love of it through retirement. The fact that you might be earning less money, it might be enough that you don’t have to dip in more to your savings in retirement. As you mentioned with his corporate attorney, i think there is a lot of planning opportunities that can be done that might free people from their current position and allow them in their minds to go to that next better thing.
12:35
sandra: that’s right. Planning i think is key. One of the people i interviewed for this story is a woman who had a very lucrative career as a copywriter for a pharmaceutical advertising company. She sort of reached an epiphany a few years ago that she wasn’t happy with it and decided she wanted to teach in inner city schools. She went back to school to get her teaching degree and while she was studying, she continued to work and continued to earn this high salary and save as her plan for this time when she knew that she was going to take a cut in income. For her, one of the advantages was that now she is making a lot less money but she does get better benefits. As you said, she is in her 50s now, she could conceivably teach another 15 years or so and postpone retirement. Taking a salary cut isn’t always a bad thing. What we see so often and some of the people i interviewed had very successful lucrative careers and had been laid off or bought out because a lot of companies have downsized. When downsizing comes, oftentimes it’s the highly paid executives who are the first to go.
13:39
prism insurance agency: i’ve had that certainly happen with my clients and i will say it’s amazing. It depends on how you go into it and with what attitude because change can be for the better. It’s really what you make of it. If you go into it thinking “woe is me” and “i’ve got to start over”, that’s not going to probably lead off to good opportunities. First of course, a positive attitude, using technology today, networking. I just wonder why do you think maybe, sandra, so many people are embarking on so-called second acts at this time.
14:08
sandra: i think it just speaks to baby boomers who are constantly reinventing themselves. I think that we have a generation of people who grew up with higher expectations for their jobs than just supporting a family. They expect their work to be fulfilling and if you reach your 40s, 50s, even early 60s, and it’s not, then you start thinking about, well, what am i going to do for the rest of my life. A second career is one way that people are addressing that and the second is just the economic reality that we are all going to have to work longer. If you’re going to work longer, you should at least enjoy yourself while you’re doing it.
14:40
prism insurance agency: speaking of the economic reality, we’re in a time right now where there is very high unemployment, so where do people go to look for the jobs? Where are they?
14:49
sandra: as i said, one place i think linkedin does offer some pretty good clues as to you can look and see what is out there, what they want. I would suggest then and then as we mentioned networking, professional organizations. Volunteering can be a really good entrée particularly if you have a desire to work in non-profits or something like that. That can be one way to sort of meet people and try things out. Older people too may have more flexibility to pursue contract or temporary or freelance work than young people. I’m assuming maybe your kids are already out of college and you don’t have as many demands as you did. Maybe you have a little more flexibility and that’s something employers really value.
15:31
prism insurance agency: that’s a good point because certainly with the discussion today of benefits and health care, some employers are having to transition people away from full-time employment. We’ve had a lot of clients that have gone from full-time employment with full-time benefits to consulting and in some cases, it’s quite lucrative and it might even be with the same employer. It’s just restructuring the arrangement which for most of my clients who have done that successful will share that it’s kind of nice not to have to be on the clock every minute of the day. Now i have time to do my own pursuits, spend time with my grandkids but i still have an income stream. It’s amazing how many people we counsel today that are so-called technically retired or at retirement age but are still working and actually still contributing to their retirement plans. Roth iras, things like that, even traditional iras, you can still make contributions to. The key is you just have to have that earned income and it’s not that significant today with ira contribution limits. Just staying active, avoiding drawing from your savings, and delaying the social security issue just again further secures that your money will last longer than you.
16:38
sandra: that’s right. Employers have been really reluctant to hire full-time employees ever since 2008 but they do have work that needs to be done and to the extent that you can offer yourself up as someone who is available for contract and for temporary and for consulting work, that could be the answer to their prayers and a good situation for you too. As you said, maybe you don’t want to get back on the 9 to 5 commute. You want some time to travel. You want more time but you also want to work some. It could work out really well for both sides.
17:07
prism insurance agency: we certainly find when we’re counseling people to do that, it’s sometimes easy to be comfortable with where you’re at because where you want to be is uncertain and uncomfortable as far as what would that be like to make a change. From your discussions and interviews, just again maybe share as we close our topic today, inspire those who might be on the fence as far as exploring that opportunity and that passion that’s always driven them. I think sometimes nothing that is more inspiring than other people who had been through the process and that it’s been positive for them. Where should somebody start if they’re kind of unhappy where they’re at and they’re contemplating a change?
17:43
sandra: if your change is involving perhaps working for yourself, i would say start doing that while you are still working. Experiment with starting your own business or going after some business while you still have a job and so you sort of have that security and you can try that. If you think that you need more skills or there’s just a particular area that you’re passionate about, i would say look into going back to school. Community colleges are offering a lot of programs geared at older workers looking to change jobs. One of good segue is to start taking some classes and the additional advantage of that is by taking the classes, you may do some important networking and you may actually meet people who could help you get a job. I would say consider furthering your education. Try it out on your own. As i mentioned before, volunteer if your passion is giving back. There are a lot of really interesting opportunities out there for people who maybe want to do something in the non-profit sector. You could start out by volunteering and that may lead to an actual job there too.
18:37
prism insurance agency: that’s definitely another form of personal networking. Now you’re dealing with a person face-to-face and they can see your skills, they can see your passion that drives you. That is certainly great counsel. Sandra, we could probably talk for a long time. This is great information for our listeners, especially those who are just kind of on the fence or those that might be forcing a midlife change simply because their employer has made that decision for them. Regardless, you go into this with a positive attitude, know that others have been through it, and certainly know that it’s what you make of it. Sandra, you’ve been great today. We appreciate it and look forward to maybe chatting with you in the future.
19:13
sandra: thank you very much for having me.
19:16
prism insurance agency: thanks for joining us this week and tune in again next week as we explore another phase of the real wealth process. Remember, if anything you heard in today’s show you would like to get more information about, contact your real wealth advisor. Also, if you feel that any of this information will be helpful to a friend or family member, just click the forward to a friend button. |
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| Teen football star paralyzed after Brooklyn Park shooting recounts what happened |
| Posted on Tuesday, June 10 @ 00:00:33 PDT (9 reads) | |
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Michael blidi jr. Was a star outside linebacker at his central pennsylvania high school.
hes from a football family. His brother, philip blidi, was recently signed by the tennessee titans.
as for blidi jr., He had a scholarship to play football at an iowa community college, but his football hopes were put in serious jeopardy on may 29, while living with his dad in the twin cities.
i just thought my son was dying, said michaels dad, michael blidi sr.
blidi jr. Was shot in the abdomen , in the early morning hours, on the steps outside his brooklyn park, minnesota, home.
i just heard him, dad, dad, dad, dad and i went downstairs, and he was on the floor bleeding profusely, said blidi sr.
blidi sr. Said his son was shot in his spine.
the doctor came to me and said, hes not going to walk again, and that broke my heart, said blidi sr.
court documents said what started as an altercation during a basketball game at a park ended in gun violence just a few days later.
according to the criminal complaint, men wearing ski masks drove by blidi jr.S home. One of the men fired a shot before fleeing the scene.
brooklyn park police arrested one man whom they believe helped the shooters. Police tell wcco they are still investigating.
i look and i see a car that doesnt really look familiar, and i see people hop out with like ski masks on, and i just heard a loud sound and i felt myself drop, said blidi jr.
after he was shot, blidi jr. Said he screamed for help and couldnt feel his legs. He is still recovering in the hospital and working on physical therapy, hoping to someday walk and play football once again.
with an uncertain future, blidi sr. Said hes just thankful his son is still alive.
well hope that this turns out for the best, said blidi sr.
jason rantala jason rantala joined wcco as a reporter in june 2023. Hes a minnesota native and is thrilled to be telling the stories of those in his hometown. |
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| LSU baseball College World Series Omaha 2025 |
| Posted on Tuesday, June 10 @ 00:00:33 PDT (9 reads) | |
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Lsu in college world series: teams, tickets and everything you need to know
louisiana state university is omaha-bound as the team attends the college world series for the 20th time in program history.
lsu will open play against sec rival arkansas on saturday.
for those traveling to omaha to watch the regional, here is everything you need to know:
schedule
saturday, june 14 at 6 p.M. Central.
ncaa tournament tickets
fans looking to support the lsu baseball team can purchase tickets below:
related: things to do, see in omaha during the college world series
weather forecast:
the first weekend looks pretty good in omaha. High temperatures will start off around 86 on friday, june 13, and rise to near 90 by sunday, but rain chances will only be around 20%. The humidity won’t be too bad compared to louisiana, with dew points in the 60s. There are some signs of a complex storm developing friday evening, but the data as of right now show that it will stay southwest of omaha.
on monday, the high temperature is looking to be around 90, but the rain chances increase to about a 40% chance through monday afternoon and into monday evening.
rain chances also look to increase with the potential of a few waves of storms tuesday and wednesday, june 17 and 18, with high temperatures around 86-87.
forecast indications show the potential of a cold front coming through some time by the end of the week. That could bring a line of strong storms through the city.
hotel accommodations
for fans traveling to omaha, see hotels on tripadvisor.
related: where to eat in omaha during the college world series.
mobile ticketing guide
the ncaa encourages all fans to download their tickets before leaving for the games to avoid any technology complications or long lines. Find out how to download your tickets to your smartphone wallet by following this mobile ticketing guide.
directions to charles schwab field
it is recommended that you allow enough time to navigate traffic and find parking in time for the start of the game.
click here for the best route from new orleans to charles schwab field
parking information
charles schwab field omaha is located at 1200 mike fahey street.
surface parking is $10. Garage parking is $15. Cash payment and credit cards are accepted.
parking lot a and the chi health center omaha garage are $15 during the men’s college world series.
for more information on parking, click here.
traffic updates
for traffic updates in omaha during your stay, click here. |
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| Solutions to Bird Flu Hatched | College of Agriculture & Natural Resources at UM |
| Posted on Tuesday, June 10 @ 00:00:33 PDT (14 reads) | |
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On the farm and in the lab, researchers are fighting a virus that’s pushing up food prices and threatening a new pandemic
that chill in the egg aisle isn’t just refrigeration. Grocery runs these days can feel a bit soviet, with signs announcing carton rationing and apologizing for low stock. Even waffle house—known for holding the line on prices—added a 50-cent surcharge to egg dishes.
the once-affordable source of protein has become scarce for one reason: the latest strain of avian influenza, h5n1, a highly contagious and fatal virus. Over 168 million birds have either died of the virus or been culled over the last three years. Most of those were egg-laying hens, which drove the average price of eggs up more than 60% by the end of 2024, with the u.S. Department of agriculture (usda) predicting a 50% spike in 2025.
the disease is spreading rapidly through wild birds, decimating waterfowl and even killing our national bird, the bald eagle. Alarmingly, it’s jumped to mammals as well. Cats are particularly susceptible, including pets, wildlife and zoo animals like lions and tigers; dairy cattle are a new host, putting at risk another grocery staple, milk.
and as of april, 70 people have been infected after contact with diseased animals and one has died, fueling worries about human-to-human spread and a possible next pandemic.
but long before most of us had heard of bird flu, university of maryland researchers were already working to better understand it and curb its spread. Extension specialists are developing and disseminating the best biosecurity guidance to keep farms secure. Epidemiologists are tracking the virus’ path into and across the country. Lab researchers are using novel methods to understand the origins of avian influenza itself.
“we have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” says veterinary medicine assistant professor mostafa ghanem. “We have to do our best to contain it outside of humans as much as we can. No one can predict how (bird flu) will evolve.”
researchers have tracked “low-pathogenic” strains that produced mild symptoms like weight loss or lower egg production. In the 1990s, however, the far more dangerous h5n1 emerged in china and spread among wild birds, before conquering other nations in asia and moving west. (In 2015, a related h5n2 strain reached the u.S.; Farmers were able to eradicate it the next year by culling more than 50 million birds at a cost of $1.6 billion.)
then the h5n1 strain evolved and reemerged in 2021 to affect more wild birds, including raptors like owls and scavengers such as black vultures. It has since spilled over into domestic poultry as infected birds stop at a farm or surrounding areas, leaving virus particles in saliva, nasal secretions or feces. Outbreaks are most common during fall and winter migrations.
now the virus persists year-round, says associate professor jennifer mullinax of the department of environmental science and technology. “We’re not seeing the drop-off we expect. The normal pattern is changing.”
out where maryland’s eastern shore shrinks to a narrow strip, sandwiched between the chesapeake bay and the atlantic ocean, sits farhan nasir’s poultry farm. He rises every day at 5 a.M. To check his 18 chicken houses in pocomoke city, where he’s raised about 1.25 million broilers—meat chickens—each year for perdue farms for more than a decade.
when bird flu reemerged with a vengeance this winter, striking eight farms on the delmarva peninsula in january, he and his fellow farmers were terrified. Nearly half of maryland’s agriculture production comes from chickens, and on the eastern shore, it rises to about 75%.
“there’s a general sense of doom around,” says nasir. “It’s very stressful psychologically and financially for the community.”
when bird flu strikes, chickens show symptoms like coughing plus swelling and discoloration in the legs and head. The state department of agriculture then works to quickly contain and “depopulate” a farm’s entire flock. Next, the affected farm must wait at least two weeks—but sometimes months—and test negative for environmental contamination before it’s eligible to bring chickens back, creating major financial losses for farmers.
to help farmers stave off catastrophe, umd extension has created an education and outreach campaign on the importance of “biosecurity” procedures. These include having dedicated clothes and shoes for each chicken house, as well as bleach footbaths (right), to avoid tracking in contaminants that could contain avian flu; sanitizing trucks and cars carrying deliveries the farm; frequent handwashing and cleaning of high-touch items like glasses and cell phones; and scaring wild birds away with dogs, coyote silhouettes and even auto dealer-style inflatable tube men.
the economic consequences have farmers taking serious measures to secure their flocks, says umd extension poultry specialist and principal agent jonathan moyle, a former chicken farmer who has worked on biosecurity measures for more than a decade. “When i first came here, i was told what we’re seeing today, like changing shoes and using foot baths, would never happen. Now our farmers are doing all of it.”
nasir followed every recommendation, then asked for instructional videos in spanish for his employees, which the extension quickly provided. And when buzzards started plucking chicken carcasses from the compost, moyle helped him test various methods of discouragement until finally, reflectors and plastic buzzards kept the scavengers away, preventing further spread of the virus.
soon, nasir and his colleagues will have a new and improved tool to pinpoint farms that are most at risk, thanks to a college of agriculture and natural resources team.
mullinax and researchers from her applied spatial wildlife ecology lab have been tracking h5n1 since it emerged in the u.S. In 2022. They documented its routes across the country, examining where it’s spilling over from waterfowl into domestic poultry, between farms and occasionally, back into the wild.
“the virus itself is constantly changing...I wish we could tell you, ‘it’s this bird in that place’ (carrying it), but that’s not reality. It’s a wickedly complicated system.”
—jennifer mullinax, associate professor of environmental science and technology
now she and postdoctoral researcher matthew gonnerman, in collaboration with diann prosser ph.D. 12 of the u.S. Geological survey, have developed a model incorporating waterfowl habitats, environmental factors like waterways and topography, the prevalence of disease in different avian species, as well as farm locations and biosecurity measures. Once they publish their data, they’ll release their models for broader use, tailored for state and federal agencies as well as commercial and backyard farmers, who can use the results to prepare for oncoming waves of the virus.
with more data, “we hope to not just understand correlation, but be able to predict what’s coming next, and who’s most vulnerable throughout the year,” mullinax says.
whats coming next, unfortunately could bring economic and health consequences far broader in scope than just wild birds and chicken farms.
in march 2024, h5n1 was detected in dairy cattle in the u.S.—The first infection in cows anywhere. Cattle respond differently; rather than exhibit respiratory symptoms, they had reductions in milk production and mild fever, so farmers initially didn’t think to check for avian flu or take steps to stop it. The disease has since spread to cattle in 16 states.
the virus was likely introduced by wild birds and then transmitted from cow to cow, says ghanem, who studies the molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases and manages a usda-funded project on bird flu biosecurity.
then it made another jump. As of april, 41 people have been infected with bird flu via dairy cows, reported the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc), though human symptoms have mostly been mild. The challenge is that dairy farms require far more human workers than poultry farms, which are largely automated, ghanem says. Milking is still done manually, and many people interact with the milk as it’s processed.
“we don’t want the virus to adapt to humans,” he says, so increased biosecurity efforts, ranging from personal protective equipment to better testing, is key.
a cattle vaccine in development by the chair of umd’s department of veterinary medicine, professor xiaoping zhu, could help stop that jump. In april, zhu and wenbin tuo from usda’s agricultural research service received funding from the usda’s national institute of food and agriculture to adapt nasal spray technology they originally developed for covid-19 and human influenza. By delivering a protein to the nasal passages that blocks viruses from infecting cells in the respiratory tract and preventing infections from starting, this greatly reduces the likelihood of humans and other animals contracting the virus from cows.
and another mammal is at risk, with even closer ties to humans. Felines have long been susceptible to avian influenza, dating back at least 20 years to cases in asia among both large cats on wildlife preserves and barn cats. The newest strain is particularly deadly, with about a 90% mortality rate, presenting a clear risk for the more than 74 million pet cats in the united states.
cats “are not being monitored for h5n1. It’s a big black box,” says school of public health assistant professor kristen coleman, an airborne infectious disease researcher who previously studied animal-human spillover events in asia. She’s found a drastic increase in the number of cats reported with the disease, starting in 2023.
along with outdoor feral colonies contracting it from wild birds, the virus started showing up in indoor-only cats. The culprit is raw pet food, an unregulated industry that can source its meat from anywhere, including wild game, coleman says.
“in the best-case scenario, pets remain a dead end and don’t become a vector” to humans or other species, she says. “But even in that case, cats are the victims, and a lot of people’s hearts will be broken if they lose their pets.”
coleman is now working to collect blood samples with animal rescues and veterinarians in california, where several cat deaths have been connected to cattle outbreaks as well as to contaminated pet food, and in maryland, where cat cases are starting to emerge. She’ll identify how widespread the virus is and eventually alert workers in those industries about what precautions to take.
the cdc reported two possible cases of spread between felines and humans from may 2024, and there was at least one confirmed case in 2016. “Cats open up a whole new vulnerability,” she says.
youre probably not thinking about ducks when you’re on day three of the flu, shivering under your sheets and surrounded by a pile of used tissues. But it’s deep in their guts (or the bowels of fellow waterfowl) that all flu viruses originate. Human seasonal flu—which likely jumped from birds to humans many years ago—is even part of the same family, influenza a, as bird flu.
to better understand how new influenza viruses develop, avian and animal science assistant professors andrew broadbent and younggeon jin, and cell biology and molecular genetics associate professor margaret scull, supported by a umd grand challenges grant, are using “organoids”—lab-created stand-ins for intestines and tracheas cultured from tissues of chickens, turkeys and ducks—a more humane option than infecting live birds.
“we’re trying to understand: how are new strains of avian influenza made? Is it more likely to happen in duck hosts or chicken hosts? Which cells is it happening in?”
—andrew broadbent, assistant professor of avian and animal science
as they infect the organoids with various strains of avian influenza, they’ll compare how the viruses interact with different types of cells, including how they break through the body’s natural protective barriers, and evolve within different bird species (and they hope to create organoids from other duck breeds and other wild bird species like gulls in the future). Eventually they’ll be able to determine which virus mutations make certain fowl more susceptible, which could help field researchers determine the strains most likely to jump from wild birds into different types of poultry.
their work to date has focused on low-pathogenic strains, though they plan to move into high-pathogenic strains in the future. Their findings will have long-term implications, because avian influenza is here to stay. There’s no way to eradicate it from waterfowl, so even if this deadly strain is stopped, others will pop up again, whether next year or next decade.
but there’s good news: scientists already know a lot more about influenza than about coronavirus. The usda also has conditionally approved a vaccine for poultry, though it is not currently used because of poultry export agreements (some threatened wild species, like condors, have been immunized, however). Now, broadbent is partnering with school of medicine assistant professor lynda coughlan through a university of maryland strategic partnership: mpowering the state grant to test a new h5n1 vaccine in chickens this spring.
“this situation is very different from covid, where we had to start from scratch,” he says, noting that vaccines exist for humans as well, though they haven’t been deployed because bird flu is still rare in people. In addition, “h5n1 is sensitive to antiviral (treatments), which we didn’t have against coronavirus.”
as of april, there are still no cases of human-to-human transmission, and the cdc considers the public health risk low. So while you might have to work in some egg substitutes and keep mittens from slipping outside, it’s ok to keep living your life, umd researchers say.
“we don’t need to go into panic mode,” says mullinax. “The people at risk are the ones working in the industries every day. But we should be aware of what’s happening, because we will likely have to deal with this long-term.”
what you can do
food
• buy only pasteurized milk. Avoid the raw product.
• cook poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 degrees f.
pets
• keep cats indoors so they don’t come in contact with wild birds.
• don’t feed your cats raw pet food.
• call a vet immediately if your pet has respiratory or rabies-like symptoms, and request that they be screened for avian influenza.
wildlife
• avoid dead animals and droppings.
• if you see a dead or sick bird, call the maryland department of natural resources wildlife services hotline.
this story was originally published in maryland today and terp magazine. |
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