In 1974, David Bowie began a five-night engagement at Philadelphia’s Tower Theater, all of which was recorded for his first live album, David Live, released in October of that year. The performance was an interesting one, as it found the artist in transition between his Ziggy Stardust glam phase and the “plastic soul” era of Young Americans. Despite the album cover, which showcased Bowie in the latter style, the set list primarily featured material from his glam days – spanning Ziggy Stardust, Aladin Sane, and his most recent release, Diamond Dogs.
In 1987, legendary producer and Columbia Records executive John Hammond passed away at 76. During his lengthy career, Hammond was pivotal in launching the careers of countless artists – from Billie Holiday and Bob Dylan to Aretha Franklin and Bruce Springsteen. Hammond was also a tireless civil rights activist, who fought for racial integration in the music industry and beyond.
In 1965, The Rolling Stones scored their first No.1 hit in the US with “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” The song, which was initially only played on pirate radio stations, due to its suggestive nature, held the top spot for four weeks.
In 1976, Starland Vocal Band scored a No.1 hit with their suggestive ditty, “Afternoon Delight.” Despite its subject matter, the song’s title was inspired by the name of a happy hour menu item at a Washington, DC restaurant. “Afternoon Delight” went on to become one of the biggest songs of the year and later earned a Grammy for Best Arrangement for Voices. Elsewhere, the song landed in the UK’s Top 20 and Australia’s Top 10, while it was a No.1 hit in Canada.
BORN ON JULY 10
1939: Mavis Staples
1942: Ronnie James Dio
1947: Arlo Guthrie
1954: Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys)
1958: Béla Fleck
1959: Sandy West (The Runaways)
1970: Jason Orange (Take That)
1970: Gary LeVox (Rascal Flats)
1974: Imelda May
1978: Jesse Lacey (Brand New)
1980: Jessica Simpson
The Litchfield Rotary Club will have its food stand open this evening at Memorial Park. The stand opens around 4:30 and will be open throughout the Watercade Beach Party or until the food is gone.
Rotary member Dianne Mitchell says it’s $7 for a hamburger or cheeseburger and $5 for a brat. She says, besides just selling the food at their stand, they are going to try something new this year – selling the burgers and brats on the go with a golf cart, and people can also place orders from the golf cart and then they will deliver the food.
Mitchell says the Litchfield Rotary Club uses the proceeds for their various community projects which, over the years, have included developing Prairie Park, the Splash Pad, installing AEDs around town, and building beds for kids. She says supporting the Rotary Club’s food stand will help them fund some future projects that they are considering.
Mitchell says the Litchfield Rotary Club is collecting new and gently used shoes from now through August 15th to raise money for the Beds for Kids Project. She says drop off sites include the Litchfield Library, Litchfield Chiropractic, Fieldgate Cheese store, Walmart and several area churches.
Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze says speeding, distracted driving and driving under the influence are still the main causes for injury and fatal crashes. He reminds everyone to drive with caution as law enforcement personnel want to see people get to their destinations safely.
Sheriff Cruze says the crash numbers are pretty consistent statewide from the previous year, but there has been a trend since the COVID pandemic of motorists increasing their speed, and now there are more instances of people driving under the influence of marijuana. He says if you go out and have a good time, make sure you have a designated driver or spend the night where you have been partying; and if someone notices that another person is impaired, don’t let them drive.
Sheriff Cruze says motorcycle safety is always a concern so make sure to look out for motorcycles and motorcyclists should drive defensively. He says law enforcement has responded to numerous fireworks complaints with the recent 4th of July celebration and it will likely be an issue again this weekend with Litchfield’s Watercade celebration, and people shooting off illegal fireworks can be looking at citations or having their fireworks confiscated.
Sheriff Cruze says if you want to have a big, private fireworks show, you can pool your resources with friends, get a permit, and hire a licensed pyrotechnic person. He says National Night Out will be coming up on August 4th so the Meeker County Sheriff’s Office will participate in events in Litchfield, Dassel, Watkins, Grove City and Cosmos and there will be more details available about that at the Sheriff’s booth at the up-coming Meeker County Fair.
The grandchildren of Dave & Suzy Binsfeld are once again hosting a lemonade stand on Saturday during the Litchfield Watercade celebration from 11-to-3 – across from the Litchfield Middle School on East 10th Street. This year, they are donating the proceeds to ProWorks, and as an added bonus, they will have a dunk tank.
The dunk tank schedule includes Brynn Nagel at 11 a.m., Chris Olson at 11:30, Ty Penk at noon, Dr. Frank Koch at 12:30, Tim Bergstrom at 1, Dave Binsfeld at 1:30, Jenni Hicks at 2, and Ben Swanson at 2:30.
This is the 10th year that the Binsfelds have held their lemonade stand and each year the proceeds are donated to different charitable causes. Customers can choose from regular or strawberry lemonade – or mix them together, and they will also be selling hot dogs and chips.
The Darwin Twine Ball has had numerous visitors over the years, and occasionally, celebrities find their way to the biggest ball of twine in the world – made by one person. Francis Johnson began wrapping twine into a ball in 1950, and by 1979, it had ballooned into a 13-foot wide, 17,400-pound monument that has put the small Meeker County community of Darwin on the map.
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported on June 26th that Lin-Manuel Miranda – creator of the hit Broadway musical “Hamilton” recently made a trip out to see the Twine Ball in Darwin after his son, Sebastian, requested that they visit the landmark following his 6th grade graduation on June 18th. The newspaper reported that the Mirandas had dinner and ice cream on Lake Minnetonka following their visit to Darwin, then boarded an Amtrak train for a 30-hour ride back to New York.