…so into the “bin” I go…
My political collecting has slowed down a bit over the last year or so. But during the time I was really into collecting, my goal was to get one item from every announced candidate or unannounced hopeful from the earliest days of Presidential campaigning to the present.
It was a lofty goal.
It was also an expensive one too.
Maybe those are the reasons why I slowed down a bit.
The best part about collecting was finding an item that I was never searching for.
A hidden gem.
And that brings me to a ribbon from 1956.
Albert Benjamin Chandler was once a United States Senator, twice a Governor, and the second Commissioner of Baseball. The Democrat from Kentucky also had aspirations for President, not only in ‘56 but in 1960 as well. He lost his party’s nomination to Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy in those years, respectively.
What drew me to this ribbon was that as a baseball fan, I never forgot Chandler’s nickname.
Happy.
Always wondered how he got that name.
Was it from his days in government? Democrats were doing well when he was office.
Nope.
Was it from his days as Commissioner? He was, after all, in charge of the game when the racial barrier was broken.
Nope.
His nickname came from his days as a student at Transylvania University.
To his classmates, he was just a friendly guy.
Happy.
Pretty neat to have a nickname from your youth that lasts throughout your life.
I can relate.
During my days as a student at what was then called, Trenton State College, I was a DJ at WTSR 91.3FM. The station played college alternative music throughout the day.
At night, DJs could play their own genre of music. Some played folk. Others played reggae. Everything hit the airwaves when the sun went down.
Me?
I had a show where it was nothing but three straight hours of 70’s music.
It was a blast.
From 9pm to Midnight.
Nothing but the greatest hits from what I think was the greatest decade of music.
And it was there that I earned my nickname.
Disco.
Anything from the Village People to KC & The Sunshine Band was spun from a record player.
I loved every minute of it.
And for four years, whether on the air or off, I was “Disco Deron”, “Disco D”, or just plain “Disco”.
Then the turntables stopped. College ended.
But just like “Happy” was for Albert Benjamin Chandler throughout his life, “Disco” stuck for this writer to this day.
And when someone refers to me by my college nickname, let’s just say it makes me
Happy.
…and back into the “bin” it goes.
Photo: Happy Chandler for President ribbon (1956). From the author’s collection in “The Schreck Bin”