MARILYN: We had a few alert readers call to tell us about Bradford’s native daughter, Marilyn Horne, being featured on the television game show “Jeopardy” on Monday.
Jim Belardia said the category was “mezzo,” and the answer referred to a mezzo-soprano who debuted at La Scala in 1969, and noted “she’s not related to Lena.”
Jim, of course, knew the answer.
It’s not the first time the grand dame of opera has been used as a clue in the famous trivia game.
On Oct. 1, 1997, the answer was this: “Marilyn Horne revived many obscure roles for this vocal range just below true soprano.”
The question, of course, was “what is mezzo-soprano?”
And on April 30, 2001, the answer was this: “Celebrity birthdays for January 16 include Marilyn Horne, A.J. Foyt & this waif supermodel.” The question was “who is Kate Moss?”
ZIPPO: We hear from quite a few people with Zippo sightings. We have one of our own to report. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s staff writer Jason Nark penned a nice story about the company and the community.
“The typical Monday blues were below zero here because of a fresh half-foot of snow that covered this Northwestern Pennsylvania city and a heartbreaking Steelers loss that buried it.
Yet no matter how far temperatures fall or how games end, an eternal flame burns in the Allegheny Mountain community of 8,369. Zippo, maker of an American icon, is the largest employer in rural McKean County, and since 1932, it has produced more than 569 million lighters, every single one stamped on the bottom with “Bradford, Pa.”
“Cold hands, warm hearts. That’s what they say about Bradford,” said longtime employee Barb Reid, 73.”
The writer continued, explaining that company officials are used to people thinking Zippo’s flame is wavering.
“Executives are accustomed to speculation about the company’s doom, but Zippo has seen $200-million-plus in annual sales in recent years, thanks to increasing demand in Asian and European markets, where Zippo has opened both offices and storefronts.
“We’re exporting into 180 countries,” said Richard Finlow, Zippo’s vice president of sales and marketing. “Sixty percent of our business is exports.”
“Our company is very healthy,” said president and CEO Mark Paup. “We’re in acquisition mode. We’re in innovation mode. We’re in diversification mode.”
