FEBRUARY 29 — 1932 Alfalfa Murray appears on cover of Time Magazine; 1960 Hugh Hefner opens Playboy Mansion in Chicago; 1780 Benjamin Franklin opens Omicron Delta Omega fraternity; MUSIC: Bing Crosby teams up with Mills Bros, 1980 Items from Buddy Holly plane crash found, 2000 Puff Daddy pleads not guilty to bribery charges
FEBRUARY 29
1932 – Alfalfa Murray appears on the cover of Time mag.
One of America’s more colorful politicians, William David Henry Murray grew up in the southwest. He ran away from home when he was 12 and worked on farms until becoming a school teacher in Texas, then a newspaper editor and lawyer. He moved to the Indian territory in 1898 and got into politics as a leader of the Democratic party and helped draft the Oklahoma state constitution. As a farmer, he cultivated alfalfa and acquired the nickname alfalfa Bill. In 1906 he won the election for the house of Representatives in which he was a speaker. During the 1920s, Alfalfa Bill unsuccessfully took a shot at creating an agricultural colony in Bolivia, and returned to the United States at a time when America, especially Oklahoma, was hit hard during the Great Depression. He was elected governor, and was known for allowing starving citizens to grow potatoes on his lawn at the governor’s mansion. If you’ve ever driven down Highway 75, you may have seen a sign on the side of the road that says quote:
“This highway to Texas and the Red River Bridge opened to the free use of the public, by Governor William H. Murray of Okla. July 16, 1931. This Highway on the Texas side closed by Governor Ross S. Sterline of Texas with Texas Rangers July 17 1931.”
That’s a whole different story though, getting back to Bill. In 1932, he unsuccessfully ran for President, promising in his campaign “Bread, Butter, Bacon and Beans.”
This landed him on the cover of Time Magazine on February 29, 1932. But Americans at that point were more excited about FDR and his New Deal. He would spend the rest of his days writing books denouncing FDR, and technology in general, stating famously, Civilization begins and ends with the plow. According to NewsOK, his spirit has been known to haunt the Governor’s Mansion. Also according to the website, that has been debunked, although there sits a doll on the third step of one of the stairways. The reason the doll is there is because his wife Mary once slipped and fell on that step, thus cursing it and leading to others after her to slip on the same step. Like, why they put a doll there instead of just getting a contractor to fix the damn step I don’t understand.
Speaking of mansions…
1960 – Hef opens the Playboy Mansion in Chicago.
However after getting hassled Hugh Hefner moved it to Beverly Hills, CA. 70 rooms folks and I’m sure you can find a good time in all of them. Might want to stay out of the hot tub, though. Holly Madison says that the Party Palace wasn’t all it was cracked up to be in her movie The Girl Next Door in 2005. Last I checked, Hef had it on the market for $200 Mill but I seriously doubt Hugh will more than $80 or 90. The house is a tear down, according to TMZ, and the real value is in the acreage. Great news for Hef, if sold, Hugh gets a life estate which would give him the right to stay in the mansion until he dies. And with the pretty girls he invites over, I’m sure any man would love for him to stick around as a roommate as long as possible.
Speaking of parties….
1780 — Omicron Delta Omega fraternity was founded by Ben Franklin. Unfortunately, Dean Vernon placed Franklin and his boys on double secret probation and Franklin had to get back at him by staging a massive toga party. Something like that. Look people, February 29th only happens once every four years. I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel as it is.
Finally in music news…
1932 – Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers teamed up to record “Shine.”
1980 – Buddy Holly’s glasses and the Big Bopper’s wristwatch were found in old police files by the Mason City Sheriff. The items were worn by the men when their plane crashed of February 3, 1959. 2000 – Puff Daddy pled not guilty to charges that he had attempted to bribe a professional driver to take responsibility for a pistol that had been found in a Lincoln Navigator with Puff Daddy following a shooting in 1999 at Club New York on W. 43rd street.