SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
March 11, 2025
Sullivan’s Salvos 3/13/25
In this edition:
*RIP Randy Brown
*RIP Phil Reisetter
*Saint Patrick’s Day!
*St. Patrick’s Day Trivia
*Bob Sullivan
*Congratulations Oliver
*Johnny Cash Boyhood Home
*Did You Know?
*RIP Randy Brown
I was sad to learn of the passing of my friend Randy Brown of Iowa City. Mr. Brown was a longtime educator at City High, and was recently inducted into the City High Hall of Fame. Randy was an avid history buff, Scrabble player, Hawkeye fan, and all-around good guy. RIP, Randy.
*RIP Phil Reisetter
Attorney Phil Reisetter of Iowa City passed away recently. I knew Phil through his dedicated work with MECCA/Prelude, the precursor to CFR, our current substance abuse provider. Phil was a funny guy who was very committed to helping others with their problems. He will be missed. RIP, Phil.
*Saint Patrick’s Day!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day on March 17! St. Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite days of the year. While not an “official” holiday, this day has long been considered a holiday by my Irish family.
March 17 is a Sunday this year, but we should still be able to celebrate correctly! Meanwhile, I hope each and every one of you is touched by a little luck o’ the Irish!
*St. Patrick’s Day Trivia
Here are some interesting St. Patrick’s Day facts:
*With 23 percent of the population of Celtic ancestry, Massachusetts has a higher proportion of residents of Irish descent than any other state, edging out New Hampshire (20 percent) and Rhode Island (18 percent). The remaining New England states -- Connecticut, Vermont and Maine -- also rank among the top 10 in this category, as do Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Montana.
*New York City has more residents of Irish descent than any city in the world, including Dublin! Boston, however, has the largest percentage of Irish residents of any large American city.
*22 - Gallons of beer consumed per capita by Americans annually. (The equivalent of 176 pints per year.) I used to bring that average way up. Now I bring it way down!
*13 million - In 2017, it was estimated that 13 million pints of Guinness would be consumed worldwide on St. Patrick's Day. And in 2020, it was estimated that in America, overall beer sales would be up 174 percent. In fact, it's the biggest day for bars in the country. And in general, in 2020, it was expected that Americans would spend over $6 billion celebrating the holiday.
*9 - Number of places in the US which share the name of Dublin, Ireland's capital. Dublin, OH was the most populous, at 31,392, followed closely by Dublin, CA at 29,973.
*There are many more Americans of Irish origin than there are Irish in Ireland. (36 million Americans claimed Irish ancestry in 2008; the population of Ireland was 4.4 million at the time.)
*You can't attend a St. Patrick’s Day event without hearing a cry of "Erin go Bragh." What's the phrase mean? It's a corruption of the Irish Éirinn go Brách, which means roughly "Ireland Forever."
*Bob Sullivan
March 17 holds a special place in my heart that goes beyond St. Patrick’s Day. That was also the birthday of my late father, Bob Sullivan.
Dad was a proud union man, Hawkeye fan, and Irishman. We were father and son, but also best friends. I can honestly say he was probably the most fun person I have ever known.
Unfortunately, he left this world much too soon, and never got the chance to meet any of his nine grandchildren. I miss him every single day, but especially on St. Paddy’s Day.
So, if you are looking for an extra toast on St. Patrick’s Day, allow me to suggest that you raise a glass to Bob Sullivan.
Happy birthday, Dad.
*Congratulations Oliver
Congratulations to Oliver Weilein on his win in the special election to fill a vacancy in Iowa City Council District C. I look forward to working with him!
*Johnny Cash Boyhood Home
I recently returned from a visit with my daughter Jordan in Memphis, Tennessee. Jordan has been down there 9 years now, so needless to say, I have made the drive many times. And each time I have been intrigued by a sign that says, “Johnny Cash Boyhood Home” about an hour north of Memphis.
I love Johnny Cash! But until now, I had just never taken the time to stop. This time I stopped, and I am glad I did! (About half of what you will read next comes from Wikipedia, and half is from me.)
The place I stopped is Dyess, Arkansas, formerly known as the Dyess Colony, and it has an amazing backstory. The area is all Mississippi River floodplain, and it is wet most of the year. There were very few people who could eke out a living in the area due to the vicissitudes of the Mississippi. Those who did live there were among the poorest people in the US.
Dyess Colony was established in Mississippi County in 1934 as part of the FDR’s New Deal efforts to provide economic relief to destitute workers during the Great Depression. The experiment was the largest community-building effort established by the federal government.
The project was established by Mississippi politician and cotton planter William R. Dyess, director of the Arkansas Emergency Relief Administration, who initially sought to get something out of unused Mississippi Delta farmland. Director Dyess established the plans, which were submitted to chief of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) Harry Hopkins early in 1934, and approved by Hopkins in March 1934.
16,000 acres of land were purchased by Dyess for the colonization project at the cost of $9.05 per acre. (16,000 acres is about the size of a township in Iowa.) The site contained 500 family parcels, with the participants to be recruited from poor people throughout Arkansas. Applicants were carefully screened, and eligibility requirements included being an experienced farmer and being an Arkansas resident "of good moral background" in good health, under the age of 50, and white. (FDR, at Eleanor’s insistence, created a similar, smaller project for African American residents elsewhere in Arkansas.)
The main purpose of the town's administration was to give poor white families a chance to start over with land that they could work toward owning. The original township included 500 individually owned and operated farms which were 20 or 40 acres each.
Barracks were built, and 1500 poor men from across Arkansas were sent there to work. Levees were built, roads were raised and graveled, ditches were built, power poles were installed, and suddenly the area could be farmed for cotton and rice. (It was mostly cotton then, and mostly rice now.) Prior to that, the few mud roads were impassable most of the year.
The Cash family was one of the families selected. They got 40 acres, a mule, and a tiny two-bedroom house. It was electrified, and had indoor plumbing. In that house slept 7 members of the Cash family; Mom, Dad, and two girls in two double beds in one bedroom, and 5 boys in two double beds in the other bedroom. The house also came with a radio, and young Johnny listened to Memphis stations as he became interested in music.
They grew cotton on their 40 acres, milked a couple cows, had a couple hogs, and raised some chickens. Mrs. Cash had a vegetable garden, and the family was able to eke out a living. Flooding was still an issue, however – Johnny Cash’s classic song, “Five Feet High and Rising” was written in remembrance of one of the big floods.
The Cash family made it. The New Deal had saved them and millions like them. Johnny graduated high school in 1950, did a stint in the Army, and upon returning to Memphis, became a popular musician. The rest of the family moved to Memphis shortly thereafter, leaving Dyess behind.
Multiple attempts were made in the Arkansas legislature to undermine and disestablish the Dyess colony. In 1950, the Dyess Colony officially disbanded, though families continued to live and work there. Unfortunately, without the favorable terms the Feds had set, many families felt forced to sell their little bit of land. Many descendants of these families remain in the area.
What is it like now? Frankly, it is one of the most desperately poor places I have ever seen. There are a few big farmers who do very well. Otherwise, I saw some of the most horribly dilapidated housing stock I have ever seen in my life. It is tragic. The people of Dyess, Arkansas need another New Deal. The people of America need another New Deal!
*DID YOU KNOW? Saint Patrick was born Maewyn Succat to a Romanized family in Britain (not Ireland.) He took the name ‘Patricius’ in his writings.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 7:39 AM
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