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L Verge · 09-25-2014, 10:04 AM

When and for what occasion was the first documented use of Hail to the Chief?

Wild Bill · 09-25-2014, 12:45 PM

I'm not sure but possibly for his first and only inaugural, Mrs James K Polk had it played to give her very sort husband a "taller" stature

RJNorton · 09-25-2014, 01:33 PM

I have no clue, but I don't think Millard Fillmore has ever been the answer to anything here - so I'll guess Mr. Fillmore. But I have no idea on the occasion.

L Verge · 09-25-2014, 02:00 PM

Sorry guys, neither answer is correct.

Hint #1 - Think earlier.

L Verge · 09-25-2014, 03:47 PM

Hint #2 - It was first used at a ceremony honoring a deceased President and the end of a war, but that is not considered its first official use.

Anita · 09-25-2014, 08:12 PM

I remember reading that it was played to honor George Washington. If so the War of 1812 would be the first war after that. Not positive because it seems so early.

STS Lincolnite · 09-25-2014, 08:45 PM

Like Anita, I also read that it was first associated with the Presidency when it was played to honor George Washington after the war of 1812 (so I guess that would have been in 1815). I think that it was originally composed in England and associated with Sir Walter Scott's "Lady of the Lake". I also remember that the first living president that it was played to honor as president was Andrew Jackson.

L Verge · (This post was last modified: 09-26-2014 01:54 PM by L Verge.)

Very well played, Anita and Scott! It was indeed played first in 1815 to commemorate George Washington during his birthday celebration and to recognize the end of the War of 1812. I have found two versions of when it was played for a President in office, however.

Like Scott, I thought it was played first to honor President Jackson in 1829. Several other sources place it on July 4, 1828, being played as President John Quincy Adams was leaving at the end of the dedication of the C&O Canal in Little Falls, Maryland. I'm going to give my interpretation that Jackson had the first official playing of it to recognize his ENTRY into an event! The 1828 and 1829 occasions both had the U.S. Marine Band performing the song.

Scott is certainly correct on the history of the song. Like our National Anthem, it began as a poem, The Lady of the Lake, written by Sir Walter Scott in 1810. "Hail to the Chief" are the words that open stanza XIX of the second canto. The poem's story line was so popular that it was turned into a play by James Sanderson for the London audiences and then premiered in New York on May 8, 1812. An old Scottish tune was used to accompany the lyrics. The lyrics that we know today were written by Albert Gamse. Bet you can't recite the lyrics, so here they are:

Hail to the Chief we have chosen for the nation,
Hail to the Chief, we salute him one and all.
Hail to the Chief, as we pledge cooperation
In proud fulfillment of a great noble call.

Yours is the aim to make this grand country grander,
This you will do, that's our strong, firm belief.
Hail to the one we selected as commander,
Hail to the President! Hail to the Chief!

It became an official part of the pomp and ceremony surrounding the Chief Executive in 1954, by order of the Department of Defense.

I forgot to add that Ruffles & Flourishes was added during the McKinley administration.

Eva Elisabeth · 09-26-2014, 01:47 PM

Thanks, Laurie, for this great question and "input"!!! I had no idea and to consult Google... Allow me just to add the respective original line in "Lady of the Lake": "Hail to the Chief who in triumph advances!“

L Verge · 09-26-2014, 01:50 PM

This next piece of historical and trivial pursuit is being posed first to Joe Beckert for an answer. If he has not responded by 6 pm tonight (Friday, September 26), it is open to everyone. This is something that should be known by every red-blooded American (LOL):

What is the oldest continually operating brewery in the United States. In what year did it begin business and where?

I won't promise a keg, but maybe a six-pack to the winner...

Anita · (This post was last modified: 09-26-2014 05:03 PM by Anita.)

According to this timeline it's Yuengling. I never heard of it.

1829 American Temperance Society has 100,000 members.
David G. Yuengling opens a brewery in the Pennsylvania coal town of Pottsville. It continues in 1995 as the oldest operating brewery in the United States, still owned by the Yuengling family.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/101/his...ican_beer/

L Verge · (This post was last modified: 09-26-2014 05:23 PM by L Verge.)

Joe didn't beat you to the punch, but you are absolutely correct, Anita. I had never heard of the beer until I met Joseph about three years ago. I think that's all he drinks - in the alcoholic category. I stumbled upon the history of it in the newest issue of Preservation magazine, published by The National Trust for Historic Preservation; and the brewery is still in business.

Several months ago, Joe was complaining because he left some of the Yuengling six-packs in his pick-up truck overnight, and his thirsty neighborhood bears punched holes in the cans to get to the beer. We don't have that problem down South with critters stealing our mint juleps... And the Tennessee bears go after the hard stuff.

Anita, see if you can purchase Yuengling in your part of the U.S. of A, and I'll send you money for a six-pack - if you are not a Lemonade Lucy tee-totaler.

I forgot to add that, when Joe first spoke of Yuengling beer to me, I was sure that it was an imported beer from somewhere in Holland or Scandanavia. I was very surprised to find that it was an American brew. Does anyone know the country of origin for the Yuengling name?

Eva Elisabeth · (This post was last modified: 09-26-2014 06:14 PM by Eva Elisabeth.)

Beer and Germany - that's almost a synonym...The original name of the founder was David Gottlob Jüngling, he immigrated to the United States in 1823 from Aldingen, a suburb of Stuttgart. In the US, he anglicized the name to Yuengling.

Anita · (This post was last modified: 09-26-2014 06:42 PM by Anita.)

Laurie, I can't wait to try this beer. I love a good beer, especially with the hot weather we've been having in LA. I actually found that you can buy Yuengling online. There's a place in San Francisco. The closest to me is the Brickyard Pub in North Hollywood. You can buy me a six-pack if you'll fly out and join me!

As for Joe's bears, I've been trying to trap two large pesty raccoons that keep tearing up my small yard. Maybe Yuengling's beer would do the trick.

According to the Yuengling website "David G. Yuengling came from Aldingen, Germany. Aldingen is a town in Wuerttemberg in the southwestern part of the country."
http://www.yuengling.com/faq/

L Verge · (This post was last modified: 09-26-2014 07:06 PM by L Verge.)

(09-26-2014 06:12 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote: Beer and Germany - that's almost a synonym...The original name of the founder was David Gottlob Jüngling, he immigrated to the United States in 1823 from Aldingen, a suburb of Stuttgart. In the US, he anglicized the name to Yuengling.

I should have known that Herr Beckert would only drink a German brew! The other half of his family is Irish, I believe. Wonder if he takes a little Irish whiskey with his coffee in the mornings?

Now that I have divulged that Yankee's European heritage, I'm sure that he'll be out to get me. Maybe I'll send some Southern Maryland moonshine to calm him down.

Anita, you would have to get me soooo drunk to get me on a plane that the crew would throw me back off immediately! My flying days are over; this old head cannot take the pressure of take-offs and landings any more, plus those planes seem to fall out of the sky a lot more than they did thirty years ago. With my luck, my seat would be next to Al-Undervar Bomber.