Name That City! — Oct 14, 2021

Here’s a review of this week’s questions:

  1. What southern city is home to Oakwood Cemetery, where seven governors, five US Senators and four Civil War generals are buried?
  2. Blues legend John Lee Hooker, in his signature tune, “Boogie Chillun,” refers to the “Henry Swing Club” on “Hastings Street.” What is the midwestern city where these sites were located?
  3. Zoologist Jack Hanna represented his hometown and its zoo in numerous TV appearances. In what city is the zoo located?

And here are the answers:

  1. Raleigh, NC–Initially founded as a Confederate cemetery after the Civil War, it owes much of its history to a subject that has become increasingly problematic in recent years, honoring those who served in the Confederacy at all. Perhaps most fascinating is the fact that, in 1867, the Ladies Memorial Association of Wake County was forced to relocate 500 bodies to Oakwood after victorious US lawmakers would not allow them to be buried in the cemetery they now controlled, Raleigh National Cemetery. Today the cemetery is open to the public and conducts nature walks, history discourses and an annual Halloween “Lantern Walk.”
  2. Detroit, MI–Unlike many blues superstars of his era, John Lee Hooker migrated from the south to  Detroit rather than Chicago. The locations referenced in “Boogie Chillun” are no longer even there – the part of town where Hooker gigged and made the scene, referred to as Black Bottom, was paved over in 1954, as part of an urban renewal program active in Detroit. You can, however, still visit the recording studio, United Sound Systems, where Hooker recorded many of his most famous blues songs.
  3. Columbus, OH–Jack Hanna, of the Columbus Zoo shone a positive light on that city for more than 40 years-worth of TV appearances. Starting with his own show in Columbus and quickly moving to the “Late Show with David Letterman,” Hanna’s appearances were funny and fascinating, and never lacked surprises. Born in Knoxville, TN in 1947, Jack Hanna’s family were sad to announce this year that he would be stepping away from public appearances due to his battle with dementia.

Thanks for playing!