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BEST CHRISTMASLIGHT SHOWS

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BEST CHRISTMASLIGHT SHOWS

46P.T. BARNUMTHE GREATESTSHOWMAN ON EARTH

8 US MINT STANDS UPFOR DISABLED VETS

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Americans love Christmas and they love light shows. Put the twotogether, and you have some awesome heartland Christmas lightshows. Here are 10 of American Patriot editor’s favorites.

THE BEST CHRISTMASLIGHT SHOWS

SILVER DOLLAR CITY, BRANSON MOMillions of Christmas lights cover the whole park. Theentire City is transformed into a holiday wonderland eachevening at 5:30 p.m. as guests join together on theSquare for the lighting of a five-story Special EffectsChristmas Tree. Adorned with over 250,000 lights coor-dinated to blaze to the musical movements of Christmassongs, this unique tree presents classics such as “Carolof the Bells” and Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” in aspectacular light and sound show.

SMOKEY MOUNTAIN WINTERFEST, TNThis magical celebration begins in late fall. Ride theTrolley Tour of Lights around Pigeon Forge and claim aspot on the sidewalk for Gatlinburg’s “Fantasy of Lights”Christmas Parade, featuring lighted floats, marchingbands and giant balloons. Three Tennessee cities partic-ipate: Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. Theseneighboring Smokey Mountain towns are ablaze with 5million lights through February.

TRAIL OF LIGHTS, AUSTIN TXThe Trail of Lights is a mile-long display of 42 lightedscenes, Santa’s House, the Yule Log, and an entertain-ment stage. The festival begins with the lighting of theZilker Tree, a 155 feet tall lighted tree consisting of 3,309bulbs on 39 streamers strung from Austin’s historicalMoonlight Tower. Since 1987, the honor of lighting thetree has been bestowed upon the winner of the city-wide children’s tree coloring contest.

OGLEBAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS, WHEELING WVIn 1985, a holiday tradition spread throughout the cityof Wheeling. That tradition is the Winter Festival of Lightscelebration. The first year, displays and landscape light-ing covered about 125 acres over a three-mile drivethroughout the resort of Oglebay. Since then, the showhas grown into one of the nation’s largest Christmaslight shows, covering more than three hundred acresover a six-mile drive throughout the resort.

MAGICAL NIGHTS OF LIGHTS, LAKE LANIER GARekindle an old tradition or create a new one at LakeLanier Islands Resort’s 16th annual Magical Nights ofLights holiday celebration. The fun kicks off November22 through December 30 nightly. Bring the whole familyon a drive through tour of over six miles of twinkling,

holiday light displays and a live nativity scene completewith live actors and animals!

HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS, CHARLESTON SCIn 1990, Charleston County Park & Recreation Com-mission created the Holiday Festival of Lights to bringfamilies and friends together, and to raise support forthe Charleston county park system. With over 600 indi-vidual displays located throughout the park in 132 powerlocations, the Holiday Festival of Lights is a magicalsight to see.

TEMPLE SQUARE, SALT LAKE CITY UTThe Christmas lights on Temple Square are lit every yearon the day after Thanksgiving. This one-of-a kind displayoffers hundreds of thousands of lights and a life-sizenativity scene. Visitors can enjoy the wonderful array oflights as well as Christmas music and various video pre-sentations in the visitor centers. The lights stay upthroughout December.

THE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE, LEAVENWORTH WAVisitors come back year after year for this famous Leav-enworth festival (shown left). Fridays the town is indarkness awaiting Saturday’s festivities. Saturday at duskeveryone gathers to sing “Silent Night” and witness thelighting of the village as it is transformed into a magicalwonderland of lights.

SHADRACKS CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND,WEST KNOXVILLE TNShadrack’s Water Sports puts on two of the most awe-some Christmas light show you’ve likely ever seen. Alarge hillside behind their boat showroom has beentransformed into a Christmas wonderland with hundredsof thousands of brightly colored lights dynamically syn-chronized and dancing to Christmas tunes.

LOUISVILLE MEGA CAVERN,LOUISVILLE, KYEvery year, the Louisville MEGA Cavern is transformedinto a Christmas light spectacular. Lights Under Louisvillefeatures 35 displays, 300 LED Light characters, overone million points of light. The public is allowed to drivetheir own vehicles inside the cavern to experience thisunique Christmas wonderland.

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P.T. BARNUMTHE GREATEST SHOWMAN ON EARTHTo understand the history of the circus and the spectacle in America —and the venerable Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus —you must begin with the showman of showmen, P.T. Barnum.

Born in Bethel CT, Phineas T. Barnum started asa small businessman and founder of a weeklynewspaper in nearby Danbury. Frustrated by smalltown life, increasingly skilled at public relationsand with a hankering to be in the spotlight, hemoved to New York City in 1834 and embarkedon an entertainment career. His first major suc-cess was a variety troupe called “Barnum’s GrandScientific and Musical Theater,” which featureda disabled African American woman who, hersponsors claimed, was 160 years old and hadbeen the infant George Washington’s nurse. (Asubsequent autopsy proved her to be 80 yearsold.) Barnum’s find was a sensation.

Next, Barnum purchased the struggling Scudder’sAmericanMuseum, a collection of curiosities, whichhe turned into the most famous showplace of theera. The public could see educated dogs andfleas, automatons, jugglers, ventriloquists, livingstatues, albinos, fat men and bearded women,singing and dancing acts, models of Paris andJerusalem, dioramas of the Creation and the Del-uge, glassblowing, knitting machines, war dance,Siamese twins, flower and bird shows, whales,mermaids, melodramas, menageries of rare ani-mals and more. Altogether, the museum showedover 600,000 exhibits during its existence. Itmade Barnum a national name.

Two of his greatest successes in this period were:General Tom Thumb, a 25 inch tall and 15 poundman whose real name was Charles S. Stratton;and Jenny Lind, the most famous singer of hertime, a Swede whom he introduced to the Amer-ican public with a national tour.

In 1854, Barnum published his autobiographyand retired. After going bankrupt, however, thevolatile Barnum resurfaced in 1871 with a circus.

Soon it was the largest in America. By 1874, heexpanded his “P.T. Barnum’s Traveling World's Fair,Great Roman Hippodrome and Greatest Show OnEarth” to a size covering five acres. It filled 10,000seats at what was New York’s original MadisonSquare Garden. Along with a young partner, JamesA. Bailey, the three-ring extravaganza he createdwas to become an American institution. His lastgreat coup was the 1881 purchase from the Lon-don Zoo of the largest elephant in captivity, Jumbo.

In 1891, the indefatigable Barnum began to fail.As a final stunt, a few weeks before his death,Barnum gave permission to the Evening Sun toprint his obituary, so that he might read it. Afterhis death, Bailey purchased the circus, success-fully toured in the U.S. and Europe, and then, in1902, merged with competitor Ringling Brothersto create the combined Ringling Bros. and Barnum& Bailey Circus. Its slogan is still “The GreatestShow On Earth.”

LEARN MORN ABOUT THE CIRCUS’ HISTORYAND PLAN YOUR NEXT VISIT HERE

AMERICAN PATRIOT 7

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The United StatesMint has issued silver one-dollar coins to honor disabled

American veterans. The American Veterans Disabled for Life Commem-

orative Coin Act authorizes the United States Mint to mint 350,000 such

coins. Surcharges earned by sale of the coins are helping to fund the planned

American Veterans Disabled For Life Memorial in Washington DC.

US MINT STANDS UP FORDISABLED VETS

AMERICAN PATRIOT 9

The coin’s obverse (heads side) was designed

and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-

Engraver Don Everhart. The design features

the legs and boots of three disabled veterans,

which pays tribute to the service and sacri-

fice of our disabled veterans. The inscription

“They Stood Up For Us” is in the banner

along the coin’s upper rim. Additional in-

scriptions on the obverse are “In Good We

Trust, 2010” and “Liberty.”

The coin’s reverse (tails side) is the work of

the Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program Master

Designer Thomas Cleveland and sculpted by

Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna. Here, the

design depicts a forget-me-not flower at the

base of a wreath wrapped in a ribbon that cra-

dles and supports clusters of oak branches.

The oak branches represent strength, while

the forget-me-not is a widely accepted sym-

bol of remembrance for those who sacrificed

their lives for our country. The inscriptions

include “Take This Moment To Honor our

Disabled Defenders of Freedom.”

As noted above, surcharges from the sale

will go directly to the Disabled Veterans’

Life Memorial Foundation, the organization

raising the private funds for the construction

of the Memorial. The Memorial will be the

first in the capital area dedicated to living

disabled veterans across all service branches

and all areas of conflict. Commanding an

impressive two-acre site between Washington

Avenue SW, C Street SW and Second Street

SW, the memorial will be within full view of

the U.S. Capitol, adjacent to the National

Mall, and across from Independence Avenue

and the United States Botanic Garden. The

monument was sponsored in 2000 by Sen-

ator John McCain, former Senator Max Cle-

land, and Representatives Sam Jonson and

the late John Murtha. President Bill Clinton

signed it into law soon thereafter.

Regular pricing is currently in effect. Available

options include proof and uncirculated ver-

sions of the coin, struck in 90 percent silver.

Coins can be purchased at www.usmint.gov/

catalog or 1-800-USA-MINT.

SEE AN INTERVIEWWITH THE MEMORIAL’SNATIONAL SPOKESPERSONGARY SINISE

10 AMERICAN PATRIOT

JOHN F. KENNEDY’SPROFILES IN COURAGE

AMERICAN PATRIOT 11

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS,for breaking fromthe Federalist Party.

DANIEL WEBSTER,for supporting the Compromiseof 1850 which helped keepthe Union together.

THOMAS HART BENTON,for staying in the DemocraticParty despite his oppositionto slavery.

SAM HOUSTON,for opposing Texas secessionfrom the Union.

EDMUND G. ROSS,for voting to acquit thepainfully unpopular PresidentAndrew Johnson.

LUCIUS LAMAR,for seeking to mend tiesbetween the North and South.

GEORGE NORRIS,for trying to keep the U.S.neutral during World War 1.

ROBERT A. TAFT,for criticizing the NurembergTrials of Nazi war criminalsunder what Taft consideredex post facto laws.

Rarely does a historical study of arcane issues and legislators influence a Presidentialcampaign, become a best-seller and get turned into a popular television series. But JohnF. Kennedy’s Profiles In Courage accomplished this, helping to establish then-SenatorKennedy’s gravitas as a serious thinker and potential Presidential candidate, as well asgetting the public to focus on the grandeur of the Senate, and seeing life as a mid-1960stelevision series in which the “profiles” of courageous political leaders were dramatized.

THE JFK LIBRARY SPONSORS AN ANNUAL PROFILES IN COURAGE ESSAY CONTEST

The book itself, a Pulitzer Prize winner, had a simple premise: it described acts of bravery and integrityby eight United States Senators. In most of the stories, these men crossed party lines or defied popularopinion to make hard decisions that cost them dearly. Kennedy wrote the book at his bedside whileon leave from the Senate recovering from back surgery.

THE EIGHT SENATORS INCLUDED BY THE AUTHOR WERE:

The book was widely applauded as an effort to raise the level of public discourse by a handsome youngSenator with national ambitions. A few critics expressed doubt about whether Kennedy wrote it himself,since his family’s great wealth allowed him to be surrounded by many professional speechwriters andthinkers such as Ted Sorenson. Late in life, Sorenson acknowledged having worked on a draft. It remains,still, a definitive book on the history of the Senate.

12 AMERICAN PATRIOT

FAJITASTRUE TEX-MEX

The fajita is classic Tex-Mex food, a mix

of Texas cowboy and Mexican panchero

foods. Considering the limited number

of skirts per carcass and the fact the

meat wasn’t available commercially, the

fajita tradition remained regional and

relatively obscure for many years.

Today, the term fajita has strayed from

its original meaning, and now describes

just about anything that is cooked and

served rolled up in a soft flour tortilla.

This includes chicken, pork, shrimp and

all cuts of beef. These days it is often

cooked with onions and peppers, and

served with condiments such as shredded

lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, salsa,

cheese and tomato.

Historians who study such things credit

Sonny Falcon, an Austin area restauran-

teur, as operating the first commercial

fajita stand in Kyle TX and at rodeos and

fairs. Dubbed “The Fajita King,” he actu-

ally trademarked that name and his food

became popular in the Houston, San An-

tonio and Austin areas. From there, the

dish exploded, to the point where Mexican

food restaurants nationwide have adapted

the dish, and even McDonald’s has fajitas

on their menu from time to time. Not just

a cheap and regional food anymore,

restaurants worldwide now serve it up

and people everywhere are familiar with

the site of fajita meat being brought to

the table sizzling loudly on a metal platter

or skillet, with tortillas and condiments

served on the side.

Texans would like to lay claim to the fajita, but history gives creditto Mexican ranch workers living in West Texas in the late 1930sor early 1940s. When a steer was butchered, the workers weregiven the least desirable parts to eat as part of their wages, oftenthe tough cut of beef known as skirt steak. In Spanish, fajita is aform of the word faja which translates to “belt” in English.

CLICK HERE FOR 1000 FAJITA RECIPES

AMERICAN PATRIOT 13

14 AMERICAN PATRIOT

QUOTE OFTHE WEEK

Secularists are wrong when they ask believers to leave their religion at the door before

entering into the public square. Frederick Douglass, AbrahamLincoln,Williams Jennings

Bryant, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King — indeed, the majority of great reformers in

Americanhistory—werenot onlymotivatedby faith, but repeatedly used religious language

to argue for their cause. So to say that men and women should not inject their "personal

morality" into public policy debates is a practical absurdity. Our law is by definition a

codification of morality, much of it grounded in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

— PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMASpeech, June 28, 2006

OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY CHUCK KENNEDY

AMERICAN PATRIOT 15

1932.Radio City, the magnificent Art Deco theater at Rockefeller Centerin New York, opens at the height of the Great Depression. Brainchildof John D. Rockefeller, more than 300 million people have gone toRadio City since its opening to see movies, stage shows, concertsand special events. A popular seasonal favorite are the high-kickingRockettes, a precision dance troop.

THIS WEEK INAMERICAN HISTORY

PHOTO BY MATT H. WADE

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