I start this morning with a couple of memorable happenings from the year 1888, as reported by Wikipedia: “March 11 – The “Great Blizzard of 1888″ begins along the East Coast of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400. … May 1 – Fort Belknap Indian Reservation is established by the United States Congress. May 5 – The International Association of Machinists is founded in Atlanta, Georgia.”

First of all, it’s good to remind myself how lucky we are to be in a warm weather state. Even in Oregon, we would get a little touch of winter, with the necessity to wear crampons while walking the dogs. I grew up in Indiana with blizzard nightmares and dreams of a White Christmas. In Austin, icy winds would often freeze any precipitation on the towering fly-overs, bringing traffic to a halt. With sunny skies and flat ground, Florida traffic is still often at a standstill but it’s not because of ice and snow. We left our snow shovel back in Portland and our snowblower in Illinois many years ago. I now have no mowing, shoveling, or gardening responsibilities in retirement. Killer storms are now limited to hurricanes not “Great Blizzards” and tornados. 

The Indians, thought of as “savages” regardless of their tribal association, were relocated to some of the most remote areas possible, including Ft. Belnap, near the Canadian border in Montana. “Out of sight – out of mind” was the thinking, using their original homes for “White Man” commerce and settlement. We were the real savages. It’s an embarrassing part of our American heritage as we continue to erase the “disrespectful” references to Indians, Braves, Tomahawks, etc. from the world of sports. Indian revenge is now limited to casinos, hoping to earn back all their stolen resources and eventually reclaiming their rightful property. I personally feel that the Indian references in competitive sports are a complimentary tribute to their bravery, while maintaining top of mind awareness of their heritage. 

The final reference to 1888 was the founding of the International Association of Machinists. I was a member of their racing team back in the mid-1970s. It was a unique arrangement where IAM members were owners, each contributing a dollar of their union dues to the racing operation. My job was to help supplement those funds with team sponsorships through BRG Sports Marketing. Explorer Vans was one of my clients, joining Hardees, Otter Pops, Schaefer Beer, Playboy, and other companies with logos on the race cars driven by Josele Garza, Scott Atchison, Roger Mears, Kevin Cogen, and Pancho Carter. At the Milwaukee race track I even got to be part of the pit crew. Those were indeed memorable times!