Who, What, When, Where & Wiandt

I saw a movie Friday night called “Go For Broke,” starring Van Johnson. It was a good, old-fashioned World War II movie with a twist — it was about a regiment of all Japanese Americans. Released from relocation camps that were out West, these were volunteers who fought for the U.S. against Germany. Very interesting. It was based on a true story. I never knew America put Asians in concentration camps here in America after Pearl Harbor. They were called “relocation camps” but there were prisons. No one was screened, everyone who basically had slanted eyes were rounded up and locked away. I don’t know how long. I saw it on Time Warner’s free movies on demand under TCM. They have other movies, unless they changed them, that depict Asians on screen. “Bad Day at Black Rock” is another one. Although there are no Asians in the movie, there is talk of a Japanese man and of the relocation camps.

This is Jack Davis art from the May 1980 issue of Mechanix Illustrated. Look at the price on the pump. Can you believe gas was that cheap back then and people were freaking out? I guess some things never change, they just get pricer. It’s all relative.

Click below for the full cover.

Last week I covered the Woodridge Local Board of Education meeting in Peninsula. (Read story here.) In preparing for the meeting, I reviewed the resume of Jill Schissler, who was going to be hired as the district’s athletic director/attendance officer. I saw that she is from Carrollton and wondered if she was related to John Schissler, a man I knew at St. Mary’s Church in Morges when I lived in Magnolia. At the meeting I asked her and she said, “Yes, he’s my brother.” I told her the last time I saw John was a year or two ago at a friend’s wedding reception.

Jill is very nice and will no doubt make a great athletic director. She told me she served a year in the Army and would have gone into criminal justice, but she re-injured her shoulder parachuting and decided to go into teaching. Jill said she and her two German Shepherds are looking forward to moving into the Woodridge community.

I love this record album art. Sorry I couldn’t scan the top, but the illustration by Pete Hawley graced the dust jacket for “Walt Disney’s Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland.” (Click on it for a larger view.) I think it’s beautiful, and although I’ve yet to learn about the man, I’ve appreciated his work for some time. I plan to post more of it later.

Check out this Jack Davis treatment of Laverne and Shirley — from left, Cindy Williams (Shirley) and Penny Marshall (Laverne) – on the front of the June 18, 1977, issue of TV Guide. I bought this used, but I remember when this issue first came out. I can picture it sitting on our big Motorola at our old house on 21st Street Northwest in Canton. (Click on it for a larger version.)

I believe this is the first day my blog can be reached through my paper’s Web site, www.fallsnewspress.com. (I didn’t see the link when I checked last night.) Feel free to explore Who, What, When Where & Wiandt. It’s mainly about fun stuff like comics, humorous illustration, old movies and classic TV. The blog was recently in the shop having some repair work done. Although the technical team valiantly saved my archive, the filing categories were lost, so the blog isn’t as organized as it once was. I’ve just started relabeling my posts. But please explore and enjoy.

As a post script, I hadn’t mentioned before that the new address for my blog is: blogs:dixcdn.com/wiandt. Despite the change, my blog is still linked to The Alliance Review (www.the-review.com) where it all started.

Hi and welcome to Steve Wiandt’s monthly blog. Just kidding. I’ve been bad about keeping up with my blog. And there were some technical difficulties that prevented me from blogging when I wanted to. But we’re back now and hopefully in the coming weeks I can add some interesting notes and pictures to brighten your day.

Did anyone see the TV Land Awards the other night? I’m not a big fan of the show but I usually watch at least part of it. I am not happy with the way TV Land network has added new programs including reality shows to their schedule. And the awards show always has current stars and they never give enough time for the old guys and gals. What was that tribute to Johnathan Winters — a bicentennial minute? I also have to admit I get a little sad when I see how my old favorites have aged.

Did anyone see Laverne and Shirley on the TV Land Awards? I used to watch that show every Tuesday night. That and its predecessor Happy Days. Keep an out on this blog for a cool picture of L&S from “back in the day” (I hate that saying).