Thursday, December 3, 2009

Century Flower

This happy announcement on The Rialto marquee deserves our attention!

What was the world like when Gladys May Tepe was born? In 1909 the first Lincoln head penny had just been minted. General Electric introduced the incandescent light bulb. The Wright Brothers produced a flying machine that could carry two people and stay aloft for 60 minutes at a top speed of 40mph. George Eastman acquired rights to manufacture Velox photographic paper. Thomas Hunt Morgan figured out the chromosomal theory of heredity. Selma Lagerlöf was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature -- although more people read Beatrix Potter's Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies. Henri Matisse painted The Dance. Pablo Picasso painted Woman with Pears. Their contemporaries were Henri Rousseau, Amédéo Modigliani, Diego Rivera and Egon Schiele. The song of the year was I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now. The Pittsburgh Pirates won The World Series against the Detroit Tigers. Not one to wallow in defeat, Tigers outfielder Ty Cobb used his earnings to invest in shares of a copper mine at $3 per share. (He sold them in 1910 for a whopping $1000 a share.) JL Kraft Brothers Company was founded, banking everything on the hope that hesitant Americans could be persuaded to eat more cheese. Fashionistas of the day scandalized their mothers with low-busted corsets.

I don't know if the birthday honoree surfs the net -- who knows, after experiencing 100 years of radical change and groundbreaking technology, she might find blogs a trifle underwhelming -- but if she logs on, I want to join her chorus of well-wishers.

Happy birthday, Ms. Tepe!

13 comments:

Cafe Pasadena said...

One could say much pro & con re 100 yrs back.
I'll just say I like this pic of de Rialto, despite the many shots of this old theatre.

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Judy Williams said...

Gladys May - now they don't name kids that any more. Gone are all of the 'y' names too, Mary, Judy, Suzy, Cindy and their 'ie' counterparts like Connie and Candie, . Even the longer names for which many of those are derived(Marion, Judith, Susan, Cynthia, Constance)have lost their popularity as well. You just don't see a little girl in her eyelet socks named Melva or Mamie or Myrna any more.

It is amazing what's happened in a century. Things that we take for granted were cutting edge. Many things that made life simpler then have long gone by the wayside, for more modern and technologically advanced versions. Can you imagine what people would think then if you told them that people would have a talking device attached to their ear or in their pockets at all times? Wouldn't they marvel in disbelief that you could watch a "talkie" in such real form on a giant glass screen in your own home? And don't get me started on texting.

Let's here it for Gladys May Tepe and may her 100th year be one filled with love and happiness.

Leif Hagen said...

Happy Birthday, Ms Tepe! Bon anniversaire! Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Glad fodelsedag! Otanjobi ni omedito gozaimashita! Gratulere med dagen!
Love the movie theater photo!

Anonymous said...

Clark Gable was 8 years old, FS Fitzgerald was 13. Myron Hunt had just completed the Huntington mansion,

jake said...

What??? No drunk posting? So much for my motto of: Drink. Read. Drink. Post.

Ohh well :) There are a couple good sites I like for finding "year" related info....

http://www.infoplease.com/year/1909.html

and also Wiki of course...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1909

Anyways, back to my hand cranked Victrola record player...

Chinatown, My Chinatown... la la laaa la laaaaa.

-1916home.net

Dixie Jane said...

Happy Birthday Gladys May Tepe. How lovely of the Rialto to put her name on the marquee. And Laurie to bring it to our attention. I hope she is healthy and happy and has many more years in her future.

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday Gladys May Tepe. I love the names used from turn of the century

Shanna said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Gladys May Tepe!

Yakpate said...

LA: Who IS Gladys May Tepe, and what did she do to earn a salute on the Rialto marquee instead of on Willard Scott's NBC Smuckers jelly jar?

I hope she acted and wrote poetry in her youth that later embarrassed her and lived in a lighthouse the year she was 17... and can we invite her out for a glass of sherry?

Laurie Allee said...

Thanks, everyone!

Steve said...

My Grandmother. Gladys May Tepe. Not only still alive, is LIVING. We had a party at her house. And among the friends was one lady, 102yrs old. Of corse the memory fades and 24hr nurses escort her around the house like a champagne glass ready to tip over. I am so proud to enjoy the stories and history she tells each time I visit her.
StevenTepe@gmail.com
And yes, she will read your posts from a google phone in the palm of her hands, ill let her know you are thinking of her.

Laurie Allee said...

Steve!

I am SO happy you left this comment! Please, wish your high-stepping, fabulous grandmother a very, very happy birthday.