Busy, busy, busy, that’s what June is! This new month is full of activities for everyone, such as weddings, Father's Day, heading to the cottage and the start of a million summer activities. It’s a great feeling when the summer season arrives, so we treasure every minute and always try to make the most out of what seem to be the shortest three months of the year.
Did you know that June is Dairy Month? Well, it is, so try to milk a cow at every opportunity.
This month also gives us National Friendship Week. It was a keen observer of people who had this thought on that subject: “A friend is someone who is happy to sing with you when you're on top of the mountain, but is also more than willing to silently walk beside you when you're down in the valley.”
Do you remember anything special about the month of June in 1985? Think weather.
In 1985, hurricane-force winds were sweeping across Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The soil erosion was incredible, damaging buildings and power lines. The newly-seeded crops were ruined, a fine layer of dust was sitting on everything and the sky was obscured for hours.
Can you say, “Dust bowl?”
June also gives us the start of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships over in England, and here’s a shot of trivia to get all you tennis lovers in the mood.
• Did you know that the first American to win at Wimbledon was a woman? The historic and prestigious Wimbledon championships started in 1877, just four years after lawn tennis was introduced by Major Wingfield. Women's singles was introduced in 1884 and the first American to win at Wimbledon was May Sutton in 1905. The first American man to win was Bill Tilden, who took the Wimbledon men’s singles in 1920 and 1921.
What else is on the June Calendar?
• June 1, 1909 — Governor General Lord Grey donated the Grey Cup to Canadian football.
• June 1, 1950 — The Hawaiian volcano, Mauna Loa, began erupting. It produced enough lava to pave a four-lane highway four and a half times around the earth.
• June 3, 1974 — Under the heading, It seemed like a good idea at the time, the management of the Cleveland Indians thought they’d come up with a great promotional idea when they announced, “Beer Night.” Baseball fans were offered all the brew they could consume at only 10-cents a cup. By the bottom of the ninth inning, the game was tied and the crowd had tied one on after quaffing 60,000 cups of beer. Unfortunately, the boozed-up fans poured out onto the field and started to harass the visiting Texas Rangers. The umpires were not amused and promptly forfeited the game to the Rangers.
• June 6, 1933 -- The first drive-in theatre opened in Camden, New Jersey.
In its time, the drive-in movie was pretty neat idea, wasn't it? But, alas, how times change. Today, they are youngsters growing up who don’t even know what a drive-in movie is.
• June 15 — Father’s Day. Try this riddle, dedicated to good old dad:
What do fathers get for Father’s Day?
The bills from Mother’s Day.
• June 20, 1874 — A storm lasting eight hours, and described as the greatest thunderstorm Manitoba had ever seen, brought torrential rain and spectacular lightning to our region. The intense lightning killed seven people and caused 250 mounted police horses to stampede out of control.
• June 21 — The official arrival of summer with the Summer Solstice. In reality, in this neck of the woods, we think of summer arriving whenever it does, right? But, whether May, June, or even if we have to wait for July, warm days will always be welcome.