April 1, 2016 – APRIL FOOLS’ DAY – NATIONAL SOURDOUGH DAY – NATIONAL ONE CENT DAY

                                          APRIL FOOLS’ DAY

Please note: Names have been changed to protect the identities of the victims.
On this day in 1979, a woman and four men were abducted from Grand Teton National Park.  According to witnesses, a group of a dozen hikers headed out on March 29th with enough gear and supplies to return that Sunday evening.
Allison Rockford of Boulder, Colorado said all the hikers were experienced, and they had no trouble navigating the trail to Two Ocean Lake.
“We set up camp. Roger even commented it all seemed too easy.”

Roger Moore of Denver was the first to disappear.  “We were just getting ready to eat.  He was just gone.  Everything was gone, even his walking stick,” Jeff King, also of Boulder, explained.  “There wasn’t any sign of struggle.”
The remaining 11 hikers started a search until darkness fell and then huddled around a fire, they took turns keeping watch until morning.
They watched in pairs, and they disappeared in pairs as well.  Griffin and Jennifer Rhodes of Douglas, Wyoming, took the first watch and when the next watch came they were gone.
Jeff and Allison both took a turn and made it through their watch.  Then Bruce Hornsby (Preston, Idaho) and Tom Wolff (Monmouth, Oregon) stood watch.  They haven’t been seen since.
Before daylight returned a piercing sound filled the forest.  “It was electronic, high pitched and painful,” Allison explained.  “I can’t describe it any other way.  We all were doubled over in pain.”
“Then it suddenly stopped and the sky was filled with light, as bright as day,” Roger continued the description of the events. “It was brighter than day. It was blinding!”
For more information, visit the National Day Calendar page for April Fools’ Day.
 

NATIONAL SOURDOUGH BREAD DAY

National Sourdough Bread Day is observed across the country on April 1.
One of the world’s oldest leavened breads, sourdough is produced through a the process of long fermentation of the dough using lactobacilli and yeasts.  The use of naturally occurring yeasts and friendly bacteria versus cultivated yeast causes the bread to have a slightly sour, but pleasant taste. 
Most likely the first form of leavening available to bakers, it is believed sourdough originated in Ancient Egyptian times around 1500 BC.  It did remain the usual form of leavening into the European Middle Ages. During the California Gold Rush, sourdough was the main bread made in Northern California and is still a part of the culture of San Francisco today.
The bread was so common at that time the word “sourdough” became a nickname for the gold prospectors. In The Yukon and Alaska, a “sourdough” is also a nickname given to someone who has spent an entire winter north of the Arctic Circle, and it refers to their tradition of protecting their sourdough during the coldest months by keeping it close to their body. The sourdough tradition was also carried into Alaska and western Canadian territories during the Klondike Gold Rush.
San Francisco sourdough is the most famous sourdough bread made in the United States today.  In contrast to sourdough production in other areas of the country, the San Francisco variety has remained in continuous production since 1849, with some bakeries able to trace their starters back to California’s Gold Rush period. Many restaurant chains keep it as a menu staple. Sourdough bread is a great side to your soup or stew or toasted with your morning cereal.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Enjoy this delicious recipe: San Francisco Sourdough Bread recipe.
Use #SourdoughBreadDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
We were unable to find the origin or the creator of National Sourdough Bread Day.
 

NATIONAL ONE CENT DAY

What does Benjamin Franklin, the phrase “mind your business” and April 1 all have in common? The answer is the penny, which we recognize on National One Cent Day.

The United States first issued a one-cent coin produced by a private mint in 1787.  It was designed by Benjamin Franklin.  On one side it read “Mind Your Business” and the other “We Are One”.  This coin was made of 100% copper, was larger than today’s penny and came to be known as the Fugio cent.

It wasn’t until 1792 that the United States Mint was first created.  The first coins struck by the newly established mint were called Chain cents, or Flowing Hair Chain Cents by collectors today.  On one side of the was coin a circle of 13 links of chain representing the 13 colonies. On the reverse side of the coin was an image of a woman with flowing hair, otherwise known as Liberty.

The one cent coin was reduced in size in the 1850s to make the coin more economical and easier to handle.  In 1856, the mint produced the Flying Eagle cent with a wreath on the reverse side.

This coin was soon replaced with the Indian Head cent in 1859 which quickly became popular and remained in circulation for decades.

Today’s one cent coin is made of copper and zinc and has borne the image of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909.  From 1959  to 2008, the reverse featured the Lincoln Memorial. Four different reverse designs in 2009 honored Lincoln’s 200th birthday depicting various scenes from his lifetime and a new, permanent reverse – the Union Shield – was introduced in 2010.

HOW TO OBSERVE
On National One Cent Day,  you can research the history of the penny and also learn about saving your cents.  Each cent saved accumulates over time. Use #NationalOneCentDay to post on social media.
HISTORY
Our research was unable to find the origin or the creator of National One Cent Day, an unofficial National holiday.