Ex-GIs Roll Out the Barrel Again

--The year was 1946. The place was Atlantic City, N.J., and the tune wafting over the boardwalk was the Andrews Sisters’ rendition of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.” In those days, the seaside resort looked more like a military encampment as an estimated 350,000 men and women trained, served or were hospitalized there during World War II. About 600 veterans returned to the boardwalk they once used for marching drills at a 40th reunion dubbed “Camp Boardwalk Revisited.” In addition to renewing old friendships and reminiscing, they voted the Andrews Sisters the top entertainers of the wartime era, beating out second-place Glenn Miller and his orchestra and comedian Bob Hope, who finished third. Patty Andrews, the last performing Andrews sister, was on hand to accept the honor and wow them once again with their wartime favorites. “Whenever they would march, they’d always be singing ‘Roll Out the Barrel,’ which was one of our big records,” she recalled. “I always got a kick out of it. Even though we were at war, we were all in this together.” The oldest Andrews sister, LaVerne, died in 1967, and Maxene, the middle one, retired from show business after suffering a heart attack in 1982. Patty will celebrate her 50th year in show business next year.

--For only the second time in history, a Jew has been named a knight commander of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great, by Pope John Paul II. Dr. Joseph Lichten, a Polish-born American who has represented the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith in Rome since 1971, has spent 40 years working for closer understanding between Christians and Jews. The honorary organization, founded by Pope Gregory XVI in 1831, bestows membership in recognition of distinguished service to the church.

--It was not an auspicious start for the defendant. On their way to the courtroom, a dozen prospective jurors in a lawsuit against an elevator company got stuck in the Orlando, Fla., courthouse elevator maintained by the same company. They were quickly freed by a repairman and later assured Orange County Circuit Judge Lon Cornelius that their experience would not interfere with their objectivity. Sonny Hilyard, the lawyer representing Otis Elevator Co., called the incident a “strange coincidence.” The lawsuit was filed by Florence Hewitt, who suffered a broken nose in 1983 when she fell on an escalator at Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Hotel. She sued both Disney and Otis, which maintained the escalator.