On October 9, 1985, Beatles fans gathered at New York’s Central Park for the dedication of the Strawberry Fields John Lennon memorial. The ceremony, which took place on what would have been the late artist’s 45th birthday, was presided over by Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono. In the years following Lennon’s 1980 murder, Ono worked with the Central Park Conservancy and landscape architect Bruce Kelly, to design the site, with the aim of making it a peaceful space. Located across from the Dakota building, where Lennon and Ono lived, the five-acre site is named for the Beatles song and includes a mosaic, which reads “Imagine,” after Lennon’s iconic hit.
In 1993, Nirvana’s third and final album, In Utero, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200. The broadly-acclaimed album, which also topped the charts in Australia and the UK, featured such enduring tracks as “Heart-Shaped Box,” “Pennyroyal Tea,” “Rape Me,” and “All Apologies.”
In 1971, Rod Stewart celebrated his first No.1 hit in the UK with “Maggie May.” The song, which was initially released as the B-side to “Reason to Believe,” held the top spot for five weeks.
In 1969, for the first time in the history of the show, producers at the UK’s Top of the Pops refused to play the country’s No.1 hit song. The tune in question was “Je T’aime…Moi Non Plus,” a sultry duet between real-life couple Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin. The steamy track also marked the first French-language single to top the UK pop charts.
In 1961, Ray Charles topped the US pop chart with “Hit the Road Jack.” The song, which also features the vocal talents of The Raelettes’ Margie Hendrix, won a Grammy for Best R&B Recording and became one of the artist’s signature songs. Decades later, Rolling Stone included the track in their “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” poll.
In 1978, influential Belgian singer, actor, and songwriter Jacques Brel died at 78. While the majority of his songs were in French, Brel’s work was frequently translated and covered by English-speaking artists, including David Bowie, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, and Judy Collins.
BORN ON OCTOBER 9
1940: John Lennon
1944: John Entwistle (The Who)
1948: Jackson Browne
1949: Rod Temperton (songwriter, musician, producer)
1967: Mat Osman (Suede)
1970: PJ Harvey
1973: Terry Balsamo (Evanescence)
1976: Sean Lennon
Multi-Community Care & Homes will have a Fall Fundraising Festival on Saturday from 12-to-8 p.m. at Jomas Hill Vineyard – south of Darwin. There will be food, wine, and live music from 4-to-7 p.m.
MCCH board member Jeff Babbitt says they decided to organize a fundraiser to help fill gaps that they receive in state funding as they have 4 housing units for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He says they have great staff members who care for the residents.
Babbitt says he got involved in the organization as his sister is a MCCH resident. He says Saturday’s event at Jomas Hill Winery will be a great chance for people to learn more about MCCH, meet the people involved in the organization and enjoy pizza, wine and music. Raffle tickets will be sold for a prize drawing and tax-deductible donations would be appreciated.
The Litchfield Area Mentorship Program has a new program coordinator. Erika Buller joined the organization about a month ago.
Buller says her husband, Michael, is an associate pastor at First Lutheran Church in Litchfield; they have 3 children and moved to Litchfield about a year and a half ago. She is also an ordained minister. She says LAMP is always looking for people willing to be mentors.
Buller says LAMP has 3 major components including the one-to-one matches, the Lunch Buddies program at Lake Ripley Elementary School in Litchfield, Dassel Elementary, and – starting this year – ACGC Elementary; and a group experience which focuses on community service. She says people in LAMP will be able to attend the Pumpkin Patch Festival at the Nelson Farm this month, and LAMP will also be part of the Trunk or Treat event on October 26th from 3-to-5 p.m. in the Parking lot – south of the Meeker County Fairgrounds.
Judy Hulterstrum says with the hiring of Erika, she will be able to focus more on fundraising as the LAMP business manager. She says she attends First Lutheran Church and was talking to Pastor Michael about the possibility of Erika working for LAMP.
Hulterstrum says LAMP has its porch planter fundraiser underway in which you can order a holiday planter for $50 and the deadline to place your order is this Friday, October 10th. She says the are also getting ready for Turkey Bingo on November 21st. For more information about LAMP, call 320-699-1616 or email info@lampkinship.org.
The Litchfield Opera House will present the 55-piece Minnesota State Band in concert on Saturday, October 18th – starting at 4 p.m. The event will help to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Litchfield Opera House.
The concert is free and everyone is welcome. It’s sponsored by the Minnesota Legacy Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The Litchfield Area Male Chorus and the Rainbow Singers will perform a number with the Minnesota State Band.
The Minnesota State Band was founded 127 years ago and is the only remaining state band in the nation. Keith Liuzzi is the director of the band, which receives Legacy funding to enable its free public performances.
The Litchfield Opera House, built in 1900, is nearing completion of its restoration and renovation project. A grand buffet will immediately follow the concert with proceeds going towards finishing the balcony work at the Litchfield Opera House. Tickets are $10 for adults and
$7.50 for those under 12 years. The buffet is sponsored by the Greater Litchfield Opera House Association, Inc. (GLOHAI).
The restoration and renovation project began over 15 years ago as the historic structure was in severe disrepair and was slated for demolition back in 2007. A group of citizens purchased the building at that time from the City of Litchfield for one silver 1900 dollar with a commitment to spend $100,000 to rehabilitate it.
GLOHAI has worked with the Minnesota State Historical Society and the State Historical Preservation Office throughout the restoration and renovation project to maintain historical integrity. Its own vigorous fundraising has helped the Opera House Association to gain generous
state grants from the Legacy and state Capital Investment funds, along with grants from the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council, and local grants from Meeker Energy Electric Trust and from Center Bank.
