2018 A - Z Challenge - Y

Y    Things We Appreciate

Back in 1907, Chicago car salesman John Hertz, along with Walden Shaw began using trade-ins as taxicabs. Hertz painted the cars yellow to attract attention and in 1915 incorporated the Yellow Cab Company with a fleet of 40 cars. By 1925 it was the largest taxicab company in the world and boasted a fleet of over 2500. Several significant innovations were introduced under the leadership of Hertz, including the automatic windshield wipers, smooth-riding balloon tires, and telephone dispatch. But in 1929, John Hertz gave up his share of the Yellow Cab Company to focus on a rental car company he’d purchased in 1923. After merging with Checker, Yellow Cab remained in business throughout the years and in the late 90’s split off on its own again and founded the Wolley (yellow spelled backward) Cab Association, which runs a fleet of 120 bright orange cabs in Chicago.

Yellowstone National Park – The nation’s first national park was established and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. Encompassing nearly 3500 miles including areas of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, the park is well-known for its geothermal features such as the ‘Old Faithful” geyser that erupts every 91 minutes, and Yellowstone Lake; one of the largest high-elevation lakes in North America, is centered over Yellowstone Caldera which is the largest super-volcano on earth. There are 290 waterfalls, 2 rivers, and 3 deep canyons to explore, though 80% of the park is forest and grassland. 311 species of birds, including 26 pairs of nesting Bald Eagles had been documented within the park as of 1999.

Bison are among the 60 different mammals you might see roaming free, though, for the bison, Yellowstone may be their last remaining stronghold. When the photo of Park Ranger Horace Albright and his dinner companions was taken in 1922, the practice of feeding the friendly bears was a favorite tourist activity, but several years and a few hundred injuries later, the practice was abolished.

Speaking of bears and Yellowstone Park, did kindly Yogi the Bear of Jellystone Park ever remind you of Ed Norton (played by Art Carney) from the television sitcom The Honeymooners? As many Hanna-Barbera characters were based on trending celebrities, Ed may well have been the inspiration.  I’m kind of partial to Yogi’s best friend Boo-boo ;-)  Fun Fact: Yogi was one of several Hanna-Barbera characters who wore a collar so that animators didn’t have to re-draw his entire body for each frame.

Any thoughts? Can you add to the list of things we appreciate that begin with the letter Y?