Have You Noticed The Change?
We recently upgraded our blog to give you more organized access to the information, a cleaner look and feel, and an address that’s easier to remember.
You may also notice that we’ve rearranged a bit. You will now find “Leave a Comment” at the top of the blog post, under the title.
Want to see what everyone is talking about, or simply get more exposure? We’ve added a “Recent Comments” section in the right column that lists the 5 most recent comments and their authors. Readers can click on a commenter’s name to go right to their Web site. So keep the discussion going—and don’t forget to add a link to your site.
Finally, our new address is:
http://infocentral.blogs.realtor.org/
Take a look around and let us know what you think!
Interstate highways beckoned REALTORS®
JULY 2009 — In July of 1956 REALTORS® across America saw opportunities in a project that would change the country. The Interstate Highway System had been approved by Congress and would be signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The new program designated 40,000 miles of highway as part of a “Federal Superhighway System.” The program’s price was set at $33 billion.
“Opportunities for Realtors abound in the…program,” noted an editorial in the publication REALTOR HEADLINES. Among the chances awaiting REALTORS®, according to the article, were:
Rights of way to be appraised and purchased.
Highway realignments creating new and desirable business locations.
Creation of limited-accessing routes helping some properties.
Extending superhighways outside metro areas, creating demand for subdivisions and home building.
“Every segment of the real estate business will be affected,” Headlines predicted. “Land, residential, business, and industrial property values will be disturbed. Changes in ownership will be accelerated. While the Realtor’s opportunities in this more rapidly changing scene will be many, his obligations to clients will be exacting.”
Radio legends joined NAR in promoting home ownership
MAY 2009 — “Hello, Jot ‘Em Down Store, this is Lum and Abner.”
From 1931 to 1954 one of the most popular radio programs in the country featured two storekeepers in the small town of Pine Ridge, Arkansas. The pair kept Americans laughing despite hard times that included the Great Depression and Second World War.
On May 24, 1939, in cooperation with the National Association of Real Estate Boards, they devoted part of their show to “what things make for safety when a family goes into home ownership today and some of the things the family should look for when it is choosing a homesite or a home,” according to the association’s press release.
“The best way to keep yer feet on the ground is to have yer own ground under ‘em,” said Lum Edwards, played by Chester Lauck. His friend and fellow Arkansan Norris Goff played Abner Peabody.
The duo’s fame grew so much that the people of Waters, Arkansas, inspiration for the fictional Pine Ridge, persuaded the post office to legally change the name to Pine Ridge in 1936.
Unfortunately no recording or script of that episode is known to exist, according to the Jot ‘Em Down Store and Museum in Pine Ridge.
TwitterFox
If you’re following anyone on Twitter you may find it frustrating to have to login to see your new tweets. A handy tool called TwitterFox is available to those using the Firefox browser. Simply download the Firefox extension and your tweets will appear in the lower right-hand portion of your screen as they become available.
Milwaukee REALTORS® showed their pride at 1917 Home and Real Estate Show
APRIL 2009 — In April of 1917 thousands flocked to Milwaukee Auditorium for the Home and Real Estate Show. “The show was the first of its kind ever attempted in the Northwest,” the National Real Estate Journal reported. This exposition of home planning, building and outfitting…will be difficult to improve upon.”
The show’s organizers wanted to “arouse interest in home planning and building, and to show the latest improvements and conveyances entering into the planning, equipping and maintaining of the modern home.” The host city benefitted from publicity of the show. NAREB Secretary Thomas Ingersoll observed “Milwaukee is being advertised all over the country…both as a home city and as a convention city.”
The week-long event began on Monday April 9. Saturday the 14th was “Children’s Day” and included a special invitation to high school students, “regarded by the show management as the next generation of home builders.”
Each ticket sold to the show included a chance on winning a drawing for a city lot valued at $1,000. On the last day, Sunday the 15th, the lot was won by George Krause of Milwaukee.
A near tragedy occurred the Saturday before the show opened. Local REALTORS® Frank Armitage, O. J. Schenck and J. M. Granger were driving home after preparing the auditorium for the show when “their machine was struck by a street car,” the Journal noted. Armitage was injured, but his place as Chairman of Audits and Admissions was ably filled by his son, REALTOR® David F. Armitage.
Tiny URL
I wanted to highlight a helpful tool for occasions when you need to send a long URL to someone. Tiny URL lets you paste the long URL into a box and it generates a nice short one. For example, I pasted the URL of this web page (http://narblog1.realtors.org/mvtype/infocentral/) into Tiny URL and it churned out this shorter version: http://tiny.cc/TsqS0. This tool is most helpful when the links are extremely long or when you want to post something to your Facebook or Twitter account. The shorter links won’t expire as long as they are clicked on once a year.
NAR Returns to Colorado Springs
MARCH 2009 — NAR’s 2009 Association Executives Institute meets March 20-24 in Colorado Springs — the first time the National Association has held a major meeting in that city in nearly seven decades.
In January 1940 a blizzard hit the Colorado Springs area, keeping some REALTORS® away from NAREB’s South Central Regional Conference. Attendance was still good with 361 paid registrations. Traveling by train the St. Louis delegation numbered the largest at 57, including four spouses.
Like the 2009 AE Institute the 1940 meeting was headquartered at the historic Broadmoor Hotel. Distinguished speakers included NAREB President Newton C. Farr from Chicago and Executive Vice President Herbert U. Nelson. Two popular addresses were “It’s Your Attitude” and “Creative Selling,” both by the acclaimed real estate writer and lecturer Hobart C. Brady. A former president of the Wichita Real Estate Board, Brady would become NAREB president in 1948.
According to the National Real Estate Journal the speakers and panel discussions “were enthusiastically received by the attending Realtors.” Entertainment included banquets, an ice carnival, and a program of early American dances presented by Lloyd Shaw and the Cheyenne Mountain Dancers.
REALTORS® honored George Washington
February 2009 – In February of 1932 the National Real Estate Journal remarked on the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth. “Because in a sense he was our first Great Realtor,” the Journal wrote, “present day real estate men will take special interest in the bicentennial celebration.”
When he became owner of Mount Vernon at age 21 the estate comprised 2,700 acres. At the time of his death Washington’s holdings exceeded 63,000 acres in seven states.
“Next to Mount Vernon, the most interesting lands that Washington owned consisted of…nearly 52 square miles, situated on the Ohio and the Great Kanawha Rivers” the magazine noted. Washington himself wrote “there is no richer or more valuable land in all that region” and considered it’s value as high as ten dollars an acre.
REALTORS® joined their fellow Americans in celebrating the 200th birthday of the Father of the Country. 12,000 communities across America set up Washington bicentennial commissions. The national chairman was President Herbert Hoover, who opened the celebration on February 22 with a radio address.
What is that technology, anyway?
We’ve all been there. We hear our friends, family, and co-workers talking about mysterious things called RSS, Wikis, and Twitter, and we secretly think…what is that anyway? We try to hide the fact that we don’t have a clue what they’re talking about. Well no more. Enter Common Craft’s “In Plain English” video series. These short, entertaining videos sum up hard to understand concepts usually in about 3 minutes or less. Besides their technology topics, they also cover how to save and borrow money, how phishing scams work, and why we should use CFL lightbulbs. Check it out here or on YouTube.
New Kindle to be Revealed on Feb. 9
According to The New York Times Bits column, it looks like the next incarnation of Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader will debut on February 9. New features may include rounded buttons and better processing. Not sure how this gagdet works? View a 6 min. video tour at Amazon.com (scroll down the page). With a price tag of $359, it may still be too steep for many to embrace.
