Utt the Nut helped put "under God" in the Pledge

     Back in November of 2005, the OC Register published a "book"—a one-off magazine, really—entitled, 100 People Who Shaped Orange County (see at left). No doubt it presents exactly the kind of white-washed history that makes our pal Gustavo Arellano piss and moan, but still, it does touch on important OC people, including Tustin's C.E. Utt, born in 1866 or thereabouts.

     Clarence Utt  was eight years old when he arrived with his family in "Tustin City" in 1874, and it wasn't much, comprising only "a small store, a blacksmith shop, a few shacks and acres of mustard grass" (according to 100 People). When his father died in 1891, the twenty-five year old Utt took over the family store and later took on the Tustin Water Works, turning it into a moneymaker. According to the Reg, if anything important happened in Tustin, "Utt was there." He went into agriculture, including citrus (with the likes of James Irvine), and eventually became the "Orange County goober king."

James B. Utt

     In 1899, goober boy had a son, namely—you guessed it!—James B. Utt, who ultimately served as an OC Congressman from 1953 until his death in 1970 (he was replaced by John Schmitz), about the time that the new Saddleback Community College was planning construction of a library. It was named the James B. Utt Memorial Library in 1973.

     We've noted previously that Utt ("the Nut," as he was sometimes called) sought to remove the U.S. from the United Nations and had a few unfortunate and embarrassing things to say about African Americans during the Civil Rights era. 

     But get this: according to the Utt article on p. 38 of 100 People, James B. "helped lead the effort to add 'under God' to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954." 

     Gosh, thanks James.
     As you know, the SOCCCD and Saddleback College have been loci of legal skirmishes, in recent years, concerning the so-called "separation of church and state." (See Westphal v. Wagner.)

     Here's the "Utt" article in 100 People (click on graphic to enlarge):

Photo: James is the boy at left

     According to a recent Saddleback College Lariat editorial, the college plans to change the library's name (it is undergoing extensive remodeling). 
     How 'bout the "Not Under God" Library? Godless Library? Porky Library?

Poli-tics suck our blood

Thinking about all the campaign nonsense. Therefore,

American Circus Lingo

Hide the alfalfa!

Alfalfa — Paper money.
Brodie — An accidental fall (but one which has an element of stupidity or clumsiness, rather than disaster). From the name of Steve Brodie, who in 1886 claimed to have survived a jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.
Bunce — Profits.
Butcher — Strolling vendor selling refreshments or souvenirs.
Carpet Clown — A clown who works either among the audience or on arena floor.
Cattle Guard — A set of low seats placed in front of the general admission seats to accommodate overflow audiences.
Chinese — Extra jobs done by circus personnel without additional pay.
Circus Candy — Very cheap confections with deceptively impressive packaging.
Cirky — Circus counterpart to the word "carny;" a circus employee.
Clem — A fight.
Clown Alley — The clowns' dressing and prop area.
Donniker — A rest room or toilet.

Poli tick

Fink — Anything broken. Also 'larry.'
Garbage Joint — The souvenir or novelty stand.
Gilly — Anyone not connected with the circus, an outsider or towner.
Hey Rube! — Traditional battle cry of circus people in fights with townspeople.
Horse — One thousand dollars.
Horse Feed — Poor returns from poor business.
Jackpots — Tall tales about one's exploits on the circus ('war stories'.)
John Robinson — A signal to cut or shorten an act, or to give a very short show altogether. If you were headed out to the ring, someone would say "John Robinson" to call for an abbreviated performance, or in the middle of an act if the ringmaster made the announcement "Would John Robinson please come to the rear entrance," the performer should go right into his last trick.
Jump — The distance between performances in different towns.

"John Robinson!"

Larry — "Something's wrong with it." Might describe damaged merchandise, or something worn out beyond any usefulness, or even a person who's a loser (however affable) - "He's just a larry."
Lot Lice — Local townspeople who arrive early to watch the unloading of the circus and stay late. Maybe they leave money behind, but they sure get in the way.
Night Riders — Bill posters for competing circuses, who posted paper for their employers in a gentlemanly fashion by day, and tore down or covered up the bills for their competition by night.
Picture Gallery — A tattooed man.
Pie Car Jr. — On the modern Ringling show, a trailer or wagon that provides meals on the back lot of the arena. What movie companies call "craft services" and rock concerts call "catering."
Punk Pusher — Supervisor of the work crew.
Rat Sheets — Advance posters or handbills with negative claims about the opposition.

Poli ticks

Red Lighted — A method of getting rid of you: the owner departs without paying while you're not looking (all you see when trying to pick up your check is red lights disappearing down the road); or tells you to meet the circus somewhere, but the circus goes somewhere else; some sources even use this word to mean that an unpopular person is thrown from the back of a moving vehicle. Also "Oil Spotted," the moment when there's just you and the oily stains where the bus used to be.
(to) See the Elephant — The circus origin of this phrase is obvious. It passed into general popular usage about 1835 meaning "to have seen everything there is to see in the world," and shortly thereafter it took on the added meaning "to lose your innocence and learn a humbling or embarrassing lesson." Among the military it has come to mean "to experience combat for the first time." Even Tolkien's Lord of the Rings makes a sly reference to it, as Sam Gamgee, out in the wide world among amazing things, remarks on finally having seen an "oliphaunt."

Rat sheets workin'.
Avoid a Brodie!

Stake Bites — The ankle wounds inflicted by the heads of metal stakes that you walk into while crossing the lot in the dark.
Tack Spitter — Banner man or bill poster.
Toby News — Circus-lot gossip, from the european/gypsy "tober," meaning campsite.
Windy Van Hooten's — Name of the mythical "perfect circus" imagined by performers and crew, where everything is wonderful and everyone gets the money, respect and working conditions they deserve, plus some.