Friday is here and so is the start of the 2012 London Olympic Games.
As we eagerly await what director Danny Boyle has in store for the Opening Ceremony tonight, here is a photo of the Ceremony the last time London hosted the Olympics back in 1948:
Baron de Coubertin's motto hovers over the stadium: “the important thing in the Olympic games is not winning but taking part. The important thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”
King George VI was on hand to open the 1948 ceremony, which was followed
by a parade of nations, declaration of opening, Olympic torch arrival, choral singing and Olympic oath swearing.
Pin of the week
Young Vancouverites outside the Village Bistro, 1967.
Pin of the Week comes from contributor Daniel Ross in Canada, with a wonderful photo documenting a changing neighborhood in 1960’s Vancouver. 4th avenue in the Kitsiliano neighborhood, today a busy shopping area with clothing stores, restaurants, and yoga studios, was the place to be for hip young Vancouverites in the 1960’s. This photo shows an evening scene outside the Village Bistro, one of several coffee shops and music venues that drew large crowds in the summer of 1967. Many locals were less than delighted by the changes in their neighbourhood, and did their best to make things difficult for the so-called “hippies.” See the photo in Street View here.
Pinner of the Week
- Diane Bertke, participates in the beer barrel rolling contest at Oktoberfest in MainStrasse Village, Covington Kentucky.
Pinner of the week goes to Kenton County Public Library, with their great collection of local history and genealogy materials. It’s one of the largest Kentucky history and genealogy collections in the nation with thousands of photographs and reels of microfilm, hundreds of maps, an extensive on-line newspaper index and the on-line geNKY genealogy database. This week they have been pinning some fantastic photos of local Kentucky history over the past forty years, from having fun at the fairgrounds to watching local parades. Check out their Channel here.
Story of the week
Story of the week is from the US National Archives, picturing a landmark moment in American history. On August 6, 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been largely responsible for the disenfranchisement of African Americans. The federal government were given the power to oversee voter registration and elections in counties that used tests to determine voter eligibility, banning discriminatory literacy tests and expanding voting rights for non-English speaking Americans.
The law had a huge impact. By 1968, nearly 60 percent of eligible African Americans were registered to vote in Mississippi, and other southern states showed a similar rise in numbers. Overall, the Voting Rights Act re-enfranchised black southerners, helping elect African Americans at the local, state, and national levels.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act, while prominent civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., watch.
