Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Search for John Thomas Dalie

John (Jack) Thomas Dalie was an experienced hiker who set out, one August morning in 1954, to hike the 14,259 ft. Longs Peak.  He wasn't alone, as 32 other members of the Colorado Mountain Club went along to hike along the cable route of the mountain -- but he would be the only one who got lost.

Hail and snow plummeted the route, but he managed to get to the top, only to find nobody else in his party. A gust of wind then blew his knapsack (and all of his provisions) down the mountain, and he soon realized he was in trouble.

It wasn't until the rest of his hiking party made it to the bottom that they realized Dalie wasn't with them. Three SA-16 planes circled the mountain, attempting to locate the 25-year-old, first year Denver University law student.  After four days they began looking for circling birds of prey.  All hope appeared lost.

Then, after six days, Dalie walked into the Meeker Peak campground... 60 pounds lighter, but alive.


On August 30, 1954, KOA radio's Norman Nesbit interviewed Dalie about his six days and nights on Longs Peak.  What you have here is an almost 60 year old rare recording of that interview. A very cool addition to my collection, courtesy of my dear friend Joel Scherzer.

 

John T. Dalie died May 7, 2003 in Denver.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Mark Morris Associates

My dear friend, and eight-track format historian, Bucks Burnett (visit his eight-track museums in Dallas, and Roxbury) sent me a couple of unique 33 1/3, 7" discs this summer - two Denver-based spoken word pieces from Dr. Mark Morris.

Mark Morris (to those unfamiliar with veterinary history) was the founder of Morris Animal Foundation, the world's largest non-profit organization, funding humane animal health research and studies.

To most folks, he's best remembered as the guy who developed Science Diet and Hill's, the largest pet food company in the world (and since sold to Colgate).

Sometime in his busy schedule he also started up a veterinary education record label.  No telling how many of these were produced, and how many topics there are, but the two records Bucks found are dated 1961 ("Diagnosis and Management of Liver Disease"), and 1963 ("The Aged Dog").


"Diagnosis and Management of Liver Disease"
Dr. Jack O. Knowles - Miami, Florida and Dr. Lester E. Fisher, Berwyn, Illinois


Listen to a sample

Dr. William K. Riddell - Los Angeles and Dr. James R. Rooney, University of Kentucky

Dr. Morris passed away in 2007, at the age of 72. The Morris Animal Foundation, based in Denver, continues on in his name.

Jeff Valdez



Do a search for "Jeff Valdez" and "Pueblo" in your favorite search engine, and you will find numerous stories, and background info.  I'm not going to reinvent the wheel, by copying and pasting everything on here, but it's a pretty darn cool story:  Poor kid from Pueblo, who found fame and fortune, etc., etc... (Wiki entry).

Valdez left Pueblo in 1974, after he graduated Central High.  Somewhere between his time up in the Springs, doing stand-up comedy, and before he high-tailed it to California and became a media executive, he got together with Colorado Springs record producer Tom Gregor (who produced the Starr LP), and cut a single.

"Blown Away" is a reggae-infused, ode to ganja, co-written by Rick Kocor, who played in the Colorado Springs-based band Giving Tree, of which Valdez was a member.
 
On November 22, 1981, "Blown Away" was featured on the Dr. Demento Show, sandwiched inbetween "Granny Won't You Smoke Some Marijuana" by John Hartford, and Noel Coward's "Let's Do It."

The flipside of the single features a 45-second "advertisement" for the fabricated movie "Farts From Hell," and a 3 minute monologue, "Your Friendly Neighbor."