BULLETIN PRESIDENT TREASURER EDITOR John Bachochin Loren Moore Mike Prero 15731 S. 4210 Rd., POB 1181 12659 Eckard Way Claremore, OK 74017 Roseville, CA 95678 Auburn,CA 95603 918-342-0710 916-783-6822 530-906-4705

No. 377 Dues due April 1st June 2016

by Denise McKinney

Once again, California's matchcover collectors gathered in beautiful Roseville, California, for the annual AMCAL event. It was sponsored by the Sierra Diablo Matchcover Club this year, and, as usual, the freebies were excellent and the company was pleasant.

Quality was the name of the auction game - there was something for everyone during all three days of the auctions and participating collectors all walked away with some matchcover gems. Attendees were also treated to a delicious BBQ lunch on Friday and we enjoyed not just each other's company, but a little bit of non-rainy weather. Yes - it actually rained in California. Friday night was Party Night as we played Matchbook BINGO, won awesome raffle prizes, and submitted any last minute display ballots.

We all had a great time at AMCAL this year and want to thank the Sierra Diablo Matchcover Club for once again hosting another great event!

Display Winners: Best Small Category: Pull Quicks by Dan Bitter Best Single: La Cucaracha by Denise McKinney Most Unusual: Hawaii Military Bases by Dan Bitter Best Set: First Night Life Set by Dan Bitter Best Combo: Knots Berry Farm by Denise McKinney Best California: Knots Berry Farm by Denise McKinney Open Category: 1st Place: Diablos by Denise McKinney Best Mexican/Fiesta Theme: 2nd Place: Diamond Quality by Dan Bitter Taco Tuesday by Denise McKinney Peoples Choice/Best in Show No. 377 SIERRA-DIABLO BULLETIN-June 2016 Page 2

Hawaii Military Bases by Dan Bitter No. 377 SIERRA-DIABLO BULLETIN-June 2016 Page 3

New Members

1014. David Stevenson, 84 Branch Turnpike, #94, Concord, NH 03301 Collects: Concord, NH, Military, Patriotic, CCC Camps, RR, Chain Restaurants/Fast Food & Chain Hotels/Motels

1015. Barry Balin, 4833 Escobedo Dr., Woodland Hills, CA 91364 Collects: General

Note: New roster is coming out soon. If you have any changes you wish noted (categories, etc), send to Ed. ASAP!

AMCAL 2016: Mike’s Perspective

Everything Denise pointed out in her AMCAL Report was certainly true. It was a great event, and everyone had a great time...the only problem was there weren’t very many ‘everyone’s’ in attendance. Several regulars were absent due to either their or their spouses’ medical problems, and we were especially rocked by long-time member Janet Johnk’s passing on May 10th. Still, Clem Pater came out from Ohio to be our auctioneer, and the Bitter’s made it from Oklahoma.

I was only able to attend in the mornings, but attending the convention was certainly worth it for me. Every registered attendee received a convention box (in lieu of convention ‘bags’) containing a minimum of 5,000 covers! That’s far and away the most that any convention or swapfest has ever given out, as far as I know.

There was a completely new and different system employed for the freebie tables (another innovation from Loren Moore). As a long-time freebie table affection ado ,myself, I initially had misgivings about it, but it worked just fine, and all I heard was praise for it from the other attendees.

Offsetting the disappointing attendance, Loren’s incredibly innovative absentee bidding system for the auctions was an unqualified success, with collectors across the country participating.

On Saturday, CBS sent out a team to video the convention activities and interview a number of attendees. CBS tentatively planned to air the segment on CBS Sunday Morning later in the month. It was a nice coup for AMCAL.

A special thanks to Denise McKinney, who handled the registration, displays, prizes, and furnished her AMCAL Report, plus photos; Dan Bitter, who helped with the convention boxes and auction lots; Clem Pater, our auctioneer; and Loren Moore, who....basically put on AMCAL 2016!

No. 377 SIERRA-DIABLO BULLETIN-June 2016 Page 4

National Donut Day! [first Friday in June]

Bet you didn’t know that National Donut Day was started by the Salvation Army! It started in 1938 as a fund raiser for 's Salvation Army. Their goal was to help the needy during the Great Depression, and to honor Salvation Army "Lassies" of World War I, who served doughnuts to soldiers.

Soon after the US entrance into World War I in 1917, The Salvation Army sent a fact-finding mission to France. The mission concluded that the needs of US enlisted men could be met by canteens/social centers termed "huts" that could serve baked goods, provide writing supplies and stamps, and provide a clothes- mending service. These huts were established by The Salvation Army in the U.S. near army training centers. About 250 Salvation Army volunteers went to France. Because of the difficulties of providing freshly baked goods from huts established in abandoned buildings near to the front lines, the two Salvation Army volunteers (Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance) came up with the idea of providing doughnuts. These are reported to have been an "instant hit", and "soon many soldiers were visiting The Salvation Army huts". Margaret Sheldon wrote of one busy day: "Today I made 22 pies, 300 doughnuts, 700 cups of coffee." Soon, the women who did this work became known by the servicemen as "Doughnut Dollies".

There are three other doughnut holidays, the origins of which are obscure. International Jelly-Filled Doughnut Day is widely recognized as June 8 (occasionally as June 9). National Cream-Filled Doughnut Day is celebrated on September 14. And, Buy A Doughnut Day occurs on October 30.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Doughnut_Day]

"Doughnut Dollies were women vol- unteers of the Salvation Army, who traveled to France in 1918 to support US soldiers." No. 377 SIERRA-DIABLO BULLETIN-June 2016 Page 5 Featuring Full-Lengths!

Hotels

Hmmmm...Hotels are good; Hotels with graphics are nice; but Hotels with colorful, full-length graphics are even better! It’s not just that they’re full-lengths, at least not for me. It’s the intricate art work in vivid color...the kind you don’t really see anymore on more modern covers.

You’ll find modern full-length Hotel covers, of course, but now they tend to have either very simple graphics, or, more likely, color photos.

Hotels were one of the earliest advertisers on covers, and today they constitute one of the largest categories collected in the hobby. Soooo...even though I don’t have any stats as to how many full-length Hotels there are, or what constitutes the largest known collection...there are bound to be a significant number compared to probably most of the other full-length subcategories.

I’d guess that Diamond probably produced the most Full-Length Hotels, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that distinction ended up in the hands of Ohio Match Company. I’ve seen quite a few of such isues from that company (and I think they’re actually of higher quality).

I collect Full-Lengths, but not Full -Length Hotels, as such, so all of mine are simply in my Full- Lengths. Hotel collectors, though, might have them subdivided into Full-Lengths, etc.

No. 377 SIERRA-DIABLO BULLETIN-June 2016 Page 6

An American Tour: 102

Chicago’s

Comiskey Park was a ballpark in Chicago, , the home of the Chicago White Sox from 1910 through 1990. Built by owner Charles Comiskey and designed by Zachary Taylor Davis, it hosted four World Series and more than 6,000 Major League Baseball games. The field was also the site of the 1937 heavyweight title match in which Joe Louis defeated then champion James J. Braddock in eight rounds.

The Chicago Cardinals of the also called Comiskey Park home when they weren't playing at Normal Park or . The Cardinals won the 1947 NFL Championship Game over the at Comiskey Park. A new ballpark opened in 1991, across 35th Street and south of its predecessor, and Comiskey Park was demolished the same year. Originally also called Co- miskey Park, the new park was renamed U.S. Cellular Field in 2003.

Comiskey Park was the site of four World Series. In 1917, the Chicago White Sox won games 1, 2 and 5 at Comiskey Park and went on to defeat the four games to two. In 1918, it hosted the World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox defeated the Cubs four games to two. Games one, two and three were played at Comiskey Park. The Red Sox won games one and three. In 1919, the White Sox lost the infamous "Black Sox" World Series to the Cincin- nati Reds, five games to three in a nine-game series. Games three, four, five and eight were played at Comiskey Park. In 1959, the White Sox lost four games to two to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Games one, two and six were played at Co- miskey Park. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comiskey_Park] No. 377 SIERRA-DIABLO BULLETIN-June 2016 Page 7

Murder, Inc.

Most of us have heard of Murder, Inc. Perhaps you even remember Twentieth Century Fox releasing the movie Murder, Inc. in 1960, written for the screen by Irve Tunick and Mel Barr from the book by Burton Turkus and Sid Feder, Murder, Inc. But was there ever any real Murder Inc.? Well, sort of...

Murder, Inc. was the name the press gave to organized crime groups in the 1930s through the 1940s that acted as the "enforcement arm" of the American Mafia, the early organized crime groups in New York and elsewhere. The groups were composed of largely Italian-American and Jewish gangsters from the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Brownsville, East New York, and Ocean Hill. Murder, Inc. was believed to be responsible for between 400 and 1,000 contract killings, until the group was exposed in the early 1940s by former group member Abe "Kid Twist" Reles. In the trials that followed, many members were convicted and executed, and Abe Reles, himself, died after falling out of a window. Thomas E. Dewey first came to prominence as a prosecutor of Murder, Inc. and other or- ganized crime cases.

The Bugs and Meyer Mob was the predecessor to Murder, Incorporated. The gang was founded by New York Jewish American mobsters Meyer Lansky and Benjamin Siegel in the early 1920s. After the Castellammarese War and the assassination of U.S. Mafia boss Salvatore Maranzano, Italian mafioso Charles "Lucky" Luciano created the Commission. Soon after, Siegel and Lansky disbanded the Bugs and Meyer gang and formed the ‘process’ later dubbed Murder, Incorporated.

Murder, Inc. was established after the formation of the commission of the National Crime Syndicate, to which it ultimately answered. It was largely headed by mob boss Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Mangano Family underboss Albert Anastasia. Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia was the troupe's operating head, or "Lord High Executioner", assisted by Lepke's longtime associate Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro.

In 1932 Abe Wagner informed on the crime syndicate to the police. He fled to Saint Paul and adopted a disguise to evade possible pursuit. Two killers, George Young and Joseph Schafer, found and shot him but were later apprehended. Bugsy Siegel failed to get them released.

In the 1930s Buchalter used Murder, Inc. to murder witnesses and suspected informants when he was investigated by crusading prosecutor Thomas Dewey. In one case, four kill- ers hacked loan shark George Rudnick to pieces on the mere suspicion he was an infor- mant.

Most of the killers were Italian and Jewish gangsters. In addition to carrying out crime in New York City and acting as enforcers for Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, they accepted murder contracts from mob bosses all around the United States. In his biography The Valachi Papers, Mafia turncoat Joe Valachi insisted Murder, Inc. did not commit crimes for the Mafia, but this is contradicted by other sources.

Based in part out of Rosie "Midnight Rose" Gold's candy store at the corner of Saratoga and Livonia Ave in Brooklyn, Murder Inc. hit men used a wide variety of weapons, in- cluding ice picks, to murder their victims. Though the group had a number of members, Harry "Pittsburgh Phil" Strauss was the most prolific killer, committing over 100 murders (some historians put the number as high as 500). The killers were paid a regular salary as retainer, as well as an average fee of $1,000 to $5,000 per killing. Their families also re- ceived monetary benefits. If the killers were caught, the mob would hire the best lawyers for their defense.

During the 1940s a series of trials focused on many of these killers. Many were executed or imprisoned, and Murder, Inc. vanished within a few years. [https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Murder,_Inc.] No. 377 SIERRA-DIABLO BULLETIN-June 2016 Page 8

Chippendales

Chippendales is a touring dance troupe best known for its male striptease performances and for its danc- ers' distinctive upper body costume of a bow tie and shirt cuffs worn on an otherwise bare torso. Estab- lished in 1979, Chippendales was the first all-male stripping troupe to make a business performing for mostly female audiences. Through the quality of its staging and choreography, Chippendales also helped legitimize stripping as a form of popular entertainment.

Today, the company produces Broadway-style shows worldwide and licenses its intellectual property for select consumer products ranging from apparel and accessories to slot machines and video games. The Chippendales perform in a ten-million dollar theater and lounge built specifically for them at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Annually, the official men of Chippendales are seen by almost two million people worldwide, performing in more than 25 cities in the U.S., 23 cities in Central and South America, 60 European cities, four Asian countries, and eight South African cities. The main troupe mem- bers today are Billy Jeffrey, Sami Eskelin, Nathan Minor, Jaymes Vaughan, Staceyy Robinson, James Davis and Johnny Howes.

After operating a Mobil gas station, Somen Banerjee and his partner, Loyola Law School law student Bruce Nahin, bought a failed west Los Angeles disco named Destiny II and turned it into a nightclub fea- turing female mud wrestling and a "Female Exotic Dancing Night." The club name Chippendales was sug- gested by Nahin because of the Chippendale style furniture at the club.

The concept of the male strip show was brought to Banerjee and Nahin by Paul Snider (later notorious for killing his estranged wife, Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten and then himself) who was desperate to revive his nightclub business because other ideas of backgammon and fe- male mud wrestling were failing. Banerjee was the creative force behind Chippendales. The initial script was written by Richard Barsh, who was the show's first Emcee. The concept immediately gained a huge female following. Together with choreographer and Emmy award winner Nicho- las De Noia and his associate Candace Mayeron (Snider had died in 1980), Chippendales was expanded to New York's Club Magique, Lon- don, Hamburg,Amsterdam, Thailand, Australia, Philadelphia, and Florida. Authorized shows also toured extensively in the U.S., Asia, and Europe.

For Chippendales, the early 1980s were filled with major lawsuits per- taining to personal injury, alleged sexual bias against male guests, charges of racial discrimination and a later 1988 bankruptcy. Eventually, De Noia and Banerjee fell out, but the company continues to battle similar male revues in the courts. Chippendales successfully registered its "Cuffs and Collar" uniform as a trademark in 2003. In 2011, St. Joseph, Missouri, police shut down a show by a Chippendales impostor group, alleging that it violated Missouri's adult entertainment laws.

The company is currently run by Kevin Denberg, whose grandfather was part of a partnership with Steve and Gary Rogers to open a Chippen- dales club in New York City in the 1980s. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Chippendales]

No. 377 SIERRA-DIABLO BULLETIN-June 2016 Page 9 Ads RMS CONVENTION 2016: 2016. Holiday Inn, 230 Cherry Au gu st 14-20th, 2016, St., Morgantown, PA 19543 (1-

Springfield Hilton, 700 E. 800-339-0264). More details TRADERS! I need traders. Send Adams, Springfield, IL 217-789 coming. me your want areas; I’ll send -1530 1-800-HILTONS. Come you mine. Mike Prero, 12659 to Springfield and walk where Eckard Way, Auburn, CA 95603 Hobby Library At Lincoln walked. Ride on [email protected] America's Road - Route 66and Your Fingertips

enjoy the Route 66 Museum. WANTED: RR, Fred Harvey, Attend the Illinois State Fair The Article Archives at http:// Perkins Americana. Have to matchpro.org has hundreds of trade: Chciks, Airlines, articles in as many categories. If Educational, Crowns, Federals, KEYSTONE/LEHIGH SWAPFEST: October 20-22, you need information on just World Fairs, Made in the West, Manumarks. Also, I have scanned 3,000 RR covers. German Army Covers This is a working list. [Courtesy of John Bachochin] Also have Fred Harvey listing of 525+ covers. This is one of the best listings ever. $25 each for DVD or flash drive. Russell Potter, 19088 192nd Ave., Spiro, OK 74959 (918-962-5271)

WANTED: Covers from Leonard, N. Dak, FS - ones I don't have. Buy or trade - Craig Neros - 11120 16th St. N.E. Saint Michael, MN. 55376 [email protected]

Coming Up

UES 2016: June 8-12 - Ramada Plaza Hotel, 1718 Underpass Way, Hagerstown, MD, (301) 797-2500, or (800) 732- 0906. Room: $79.00+tax. Reservations are due by May 10. FMI: Linda Wolfe, 13 Creekstone Dr., Mont Alto, PA 17237, (clavette324 @aol.com). No. 377 SIERRA-DIABLO BULLETIN-June 2016 Page 10

formula to Sierra-Diablo e- Happy Birthday! bulletin members, which the vast

majority of our members are. We Patel, Deepak...... 6-1 give you 120 pages annually for Gordon, Philip ...... 6-2 dues of $5...which works out to Dorval, Pierre...... 6-3 4.1¢ a page!! Bell, Larry...... 6-9

Goleman, Gerald...... 6-25 If that’s not the best deal in the Hothan, Mike...... 7-1 O hobby, it must be close to it! Nichols, John...... 7-2 O How can we do that?...because Stevenson, Scott...... 7-2 we’re not the average club! Jackson, Ken...... 7-7 P Hofacker, Gayle...... 7-13 S Leckie, Mike...... 7-13 Schwimmer, Mike...... 7-14 ! COMING Norton, DJ...... 7-16 UP Manwaring, Art...... 7-18 Nelson, Ron...... 7-19 Sperry, Herb...... 7-21 Jul: “Have You Got A Match” Kennaday, Dave...... 7-23 Aug: “Have You Got A Match Pelletier, Claude...... 7-23 II” Harding, Ted...... 7-24 Sep: “When Hats Were Bias, Bill...... 7-29 Cool!” Replace with advertising text Dixon, Barbara...... 7-29 Hollmann, Helen...... 7-31 June’s Smile SIERRA-DIABLO...we’re McMillan, Robert...... 7-31 the hottest club in the

hobby! Company Name about any hobby topic, check it out. And, you can always download what you need and The Sierra-Diablo Bulletin is a add them to your own hobby publication of the Sierra-Diablo library. Matchcover Club. Deadline for all ______submissions is 2 weeks before the issue month. Any information

herein may be reproduced with What A Deal! appropriate credit line. Dues of $5 (e-bulletin); or $10 hard copy

I just finished an editorial for (individual), $15 (family), $15 the RMS Bulletin extolling the (Canada/Mexico) or $20 (outside N. America) are payable to the virtues of RMS dues at $20, Sierra-Diablo Matchcover Club, c/ pointing out that the RMS o Loren Moore, POB 1181, Bulletin gives its members 192 Roseville, CA 95678 bulletin pages a year at the same price that the average club gives Visit the Sierra-Diablo Web Site at: http://www.matchcover.org/ its members 48 pages (10.4¢ a Sierra. You can reach the Ed. on page). line at [email protected] for

help with Bulletin/hobby

Then I applied the same questions, concerns or problems. [continued on column 3]