June Is Here
By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews
WARSAW — As we start a new month, here is a list of holidays and trivia associated with June as well as information about upcoming local events.
HOLIDAYS:
- June 14 — Flag Day
- June 18 — Father’s Day
- June 19 — Juneteenth
TRIVIA:
- June birth flowers are Rose and Honeysuckle.
- June’s birthstone is Pearl, Moonstone and Alexandrite.
- Those born in June have a Zodiac sign of either Gemini (May 21–June 20) or Cancer (June 21–July 20).
HISTORICAL EVENTS:
- June 4, 1989 — The Chinese government ordered its troops to open fire on unarmed protesters in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The protest had started on April 16 when approximately 1,000 students marched to mourn the death of Hu Yaobang, a pro-reform leader within the Chinese government. Despite government warnings, pro-reform and pro-democracy demonstrations continued for a month, drawing ever-larger crowds of young people, eventually totaling over a million persons. On May 13, three thousand students began an eight-day hunger strike. The government imposed martial law on May 20 and brought in troops. On June 2, in their first clash with the People’s Army, demonstrators turned back an advance of unarmed troops. However, in the pre-dawn hours of June 4, the People’s Army, using tanks, machine-guns, clubs and tear gas, opened fire on the unarmed protesters. Armored personnel carriers then rolled into the square, crushing students still sleeping in their tents. The Chinese government later claimed only 300 died in the attack. U.S. estimates put the toll at over 3,000. Following the massacre, over 1,600 demonstrators were rounded up and jailed, with 27 being executed.
- June 17, 1972 — Following a seemingly routine burglary, five men were arrested at the National Democratic Headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. However, subsequent investigations revealed the burglars were actually agents hired by the Committee for the Re-election of President Richard Nixon. A long chain of events then followed, in which the president and top aides became involved in an extensive cover-up of this and other White House sanctioned illegal activities, eventually leading to the resignation of President Nixon on Aug. 9, 1974.
- June 6, 1944 — D-Day, the largest amphibious landing in history, began in the early-morning hours as Allied forces landed in Normandy on the northern coast of France. Operation Overlord took months of planning and involved 1,527,000 soldiers in 47 Allied divisions along with 4,400 ships and landing craft, and 11,000 aircraft. The Germans had about 60 divisions spread along France and the Low Countries. American forces landed on two western beaches, Utah and Omaha, while British and Canadian troops landed farther east on Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. By the end of the day, 150,000 Allied soldiers and their accompanying vehicles had landed with 15,000 killed and wounded.
- June 12, 1929 — Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany. She is perhaps the best known victim of the Nazi Holocaust. Anne and her family moved from Germany to Amsterdam to flee Nazi persecution, then went into hiding in a small attic after Holland was invaded by Nazis. Anne, a girl on the verge of womanhood, was unable to go outside for any reason. In 1942, she began a diary to cope with the boredom, fear, annoyances and loneliness of captivity. Her family’s hiding place was eventually discovered and Anne and her family were deported to Nazi concentration camps. She contracted typhus and died at Bergen-Belsen in 1945. After the war, her father published her diary, which inspired the world, revealing a young woman who had managed to remain hopeful, despite it all.
THIS MONTH IN MUSIC:
- June 19, 2004 — An audience member hurls a lollipop on stage while David Bowie is performing in Oslo, Norway. The lollipop wedges itself in David Bowie’s left eye (which already has an enlarged and frozen pupil following a childhood fight). Bowie halts the concert to remove the lollipop. Luckily, he escapes serious injury.
- June 16, 1978 — The movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, opens in U.S. theaters, becoming the smash hit of the year.
- June 19, 1965 — “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)” by The Four Tops goes to #1 in America, knocking off another Motown song, “Back in My Arms Again,” by The Supremes. Both songs were written and produced by the team of Holland-Dozier-Holland.
THIS MONTH IN SPORTS:
- June 20, 1982 — Tom Watson won the U.S. Open by two strokes ahead of Jack Nicklaus at California’s Pebble Beach Golf Links. Watson birdied on the final hole in one of the greatest moments in golf history.
- June 9, 1973 — Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by an unprecedented 31 lengths to complete the most dominant Triple Crown run of all time. Secretariat, also known as “Big Red,” was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the American Triple Crown, setting and still holding the fastest time record in all three races. He is regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time.
- June 12, 1939 — The National Baseball Hall of Fame was dedicated in Cooperstown, N.Y. Cooperstown has been the location of the prestigious National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ever since.
EVENTS:
- June 9 — Critter Encounter: Turtle, 9:30 a.m., Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams, 806 Connection Circle, Winona Lake.
- June 10 — New Hope Pet Rescue Benefit Cruising the SS Lillypad II, 2-4 p.m., 1116 S. Harkless Drive, Syracuse.
- June 17 — City of Lakes Show Ski Tournament, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2455 Hidden Lake Drive, Warsaw.
- June 17 — Joyfest, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center, Winona Lake.
- June 24 — 30th Annual Optimist Triathlon, 8 a.m., Winona Lake Beach and Park, Winona Lake.