document_title: Memorial Day

question_text: when was memorial day declared a national holiday

text: Memorial Day

text: History[edit]

text: The practice of decorating soldiers' graves with flowers is an ancient custom.[5] Soldiers' graves were decorated in the U.S. before[6] and during the American Civil War.

text: Some believe that an annual cemetery decoration practice began before the American Civil War and thus may reflect the real origin of the "memorial day" idea.[7] Annual Decoration Days for particular cemeteries are still held on a Sunday in late spring or early summer in some rural areas of the American South, notably in the mountain areas. In cases involving a family graveyard where remote ancestors as well as those who were deceased more recently are buried, this may take on the character of an extended family reunion to which some people travel hundreds of miles. People gather, put flowers on graves and renew contacts with relatives and others. There often is a religious service and a picnic-like "dinner on the grounds," the traditional term for a potluck meal at a church.[7]

text: On June 3, 1861, Warrenton, Virginia was the location of the first Civil War soldier's grave ever to be decorated, according to a Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper article in 1906.[8] In 1862, women in Savannah, Georgia decorated Confederate soldiers' graves according to the Savannah Republican.[9] The 1863 cemetery dedication at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was a ceremony of commemoration at the graves of dead soldiers. On July 4, 1864, ladies decorated soldiers' graves according to local historians in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.[10] and Boalsburg promotes itself as the birthplace of Memorial Day.[11]

text: In April 1865, following President Abraham Lincoln's assassination, commemorations were ubiquitous. The more than 600,000 soldiers of both sides who died in the Civil War meant that burial and memorialization took on new cultural significance. Under the leadership of women during the war, an increasingly formal practice of decorating graves had taken shape. In 1865, the federal government began creating national military cemeteries for the Union war dead.[12]

text: On May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina, recently freed African-Americans held a parade of 10,000 people to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers, whose remains they had reburied from a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp.[13] Historian David W. Blight cites contemporary news reports of this incident in the Charleston Daily Courier and the New-York Tribune. Although Blight claimed that "African Americans invented Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina",[14] in 2012, Blight stated that he "has no evidence" that the event in Charleston inspired the establishment of Memorial Day across the country.[15] Accordingly, investigators for Time Magazine, LiveScience, RealClearLife and Snopes have called this conclusion into question.[16][17][18][19]

text: In 1868, copying a southern annual observance,[20] General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans founded in Decatur, Illinois, established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Union war dead with flowers.[21] By the 20th century, various Union and Confederate memorial traditions, celebrated on different days, merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.[1]

text: On May 26, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson designated an "official" birthplace of the holiday by signing the presidential proclamation naming Waterloo, New York, as the holder of the title. This action followed House Concurrent Resolution 587, in which the 89th Congress had officially recognized that the patriotic tradition of observing Memorial Day had begun one hundred years prior in Waterloo, New York.[22] The village credits druggist Henry C. Welles and county clerk John B. Murray as the founders of the holiday. Scholars have determined that the Waterloo account is a myth.[23] Snopes and Live Science also discredit the Waterloo account.[24][25]

text: In the North[edit]

text: On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan issued a proclamation calling for "Decoration Day" to be observed annually and nationwide; he was commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of and for Union Civil War veterans.[7] With his proclamation, Logan adopted the Memorial Day practice that had begun in the Southern states three years earlier.[26][27][28]

text: The first northern Memorial Day was observed on May 30, 1868. One author claims that the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of any particular battle.[29] According to a White House address in 2010, the date was chosen as the optimal date for flowers to be in bloom in the North.[30]

text: The northern states quickly adopted the holiday. In 1868, memorial events were held in 183 cemeteries in 27 states, and 336 in 1869.[31] In 1871, Michigan made "Decoration Day" an official state holiday and by 1890, every northern state had followed suit. There was no standard program for the ceremonies, but they were typically sponsored by the Women's Relief Corps, the women's auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), which had 100,000 members. By 1870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Union dead had been reinterred in 73 national cemeteries, located near major battlefields and thus mainly in the South. The most famous are Gettysburg National Cemetery in Pennsylvania and Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C.[32]

text: Memorial Day speeches became an occasion for veterans, politicians, and ministers to commemorate the Civil War and, at first, to rehash the "atrocities" of the enemy. They mixed religion and celebratory nationalism for the people to make sense of their history in terms of sacrifice for a better nation. People of all religious beliefs joined together and the point was often made that the German and Irish soldiers had become true Americans in the "baptism of blood" on the battlefield.[33]

text: Since 1868 Doylestown, Pennsylvania, has held annual Memorial Day parades which it claims to be the nation's oldest continuously running.  However, the Memorial Day parade in Rochester, Wisconsin, predates Doylestown's by one year.[34][35]

text: By the 1880s, ceremonies were becoming quite similar as the GAR provided handbooks that presented specific procedures, poems, and Bible verses for local post commanders to utilize in planning the local event. Historian Stuart McConnell reports:

text: on the day itself, the post assembled and marched to the local cemetery to decorate the graves of the fallen, an enterprise meticulously organized months in advance to assure that none were missed. Finally came a simple and subdued graveyard service involving prayers, short patriotic speeches, and music...and at the end perhaps a rifle salute.[36]

text: In the South[edit]

text: The U.S. National Park Service[37] and numerous scholars attribute the beginning of a Memorial Day practice in the South to the ladies of Columbus, Georgia.[38][39][40][41][42][43][44] On April 25, 1866, women in Columbus, Mississippi laid flowers on the graves of both the Union and Confederate dead in the city's Friendship Cemetery, claiming to be the first "Decoration Day."[45][46] The early southern Memorial Day celebrations were simple, somber occasions for veterans and their families to honor the dead and tend to local cemeteries.[47]

text: Historians acknowledge the Ladies Memorial Association played a key role in these rituals of preservation of Confederate "memory."[48] Various dates ranging from April 25 to mid-June were adopted in different Southern states. Across the South, associations were founded, many by women, to establish and care for permanent cemeteries for the Confederate dead, organize commemorative ceremonies, and sponsor appropriate monuments as a permanent way of remembering the Confederate dead. The most important of these was the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which grew from 17,000 members in 1900 to nearly 100,000 women by World War I. They were "strikingly successful at raising money to build Confederate monuments, lobbying legislatures and Congress for the reburial of Confederate dead, and working to shape the content of history textbooks."[49]

text: In 1868, some southerners appended the label "Confederate" to what they originally called "Memorial Day" after northerners co-opted the holiday.[50] The tradition of observances were linked to the South, they served as the prototype for the national day of memory embraced by the nation in 1868.[37][51]

text: By 1890, there was a shift from the emphasis on honoring specific soldiers to a public commemoration of the Confederate south.[47] Changes in the ceremony's hymns and speeches reflect an evolution of the ritual into a symbol of cultural renewal and conservatism in the South. By 1913, David Blight argues, the theme of American nationalism shared equal time with the Confederate.[52]

text: At Gettysburg[edit]

text: Starting in 1868, the ceremonies and Memorial Day address at Gettysburg National Park became nationally known. In July 1913, veterans of the United States and Confederate armies gathered in Gettysburg to commemorate the fifty-year anniversary of the Civil War's bloodiest and most famous battle.[53]

text: Since the cemetery dedication at Gettysburg occurred on November 19, that day (or the closest weekend) has been designated as their own local memorial day that is referred to as Remembrance Day.[54]

text: 20th century[edit]

text: Indiana from the 1860s to the 1920s saw numerous debates on how to expand the celebration. It was a favorite lobbying activity of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR).  An 1884 GAR handbook explained that Memorial Day was "the day of all days in the G.A.R. Calendar" in terms of mobilizing public support for pensions. It advised family members to "exercise great care" in keeping the veterans sober.[55]. As the years went by, the GAR complained more and more about the younger generation. In 1913, one Hoosier veteran complained that younger people born since the war had a "tendency ... to forget the purpose of Memorial Day and make it a day for games, races and revelry, instead of a day of memory and tears."[56] Indeed, in 1911 the scheduling of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway car race was vehemently opposed by the increasingly elderly GAR. The state legislature in  1923 rejected the race on that special day. But the new American Legion and local officials wanted the big race to continue, so Governor Warren McCray vetoed the bill and the race went on.[57]

text: In the national capital in 1913 the four-day "Blue-Gray Reunion" featured parades, re-enactments, and speeches from a host of dignitaries, including President Woodrow Wilson, the first Southerner elected to the White House since the War.  James Heflin of Alabama gave the main address. Heflin was a noted orator; his choice as Memorial Day speaker was criticized, as he was opposed for his support of segregation; however, his speech was moderate in tone and stressed national unity and goodwill, gaining him praise from newspapers.[58]

text: One of the longest-standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, an auto race which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911.[59] Originally it was held on Memorial Day itself, and since 1974 it runs on the Sunday preceding the Memorial Day holiday. Since 1961 NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 has been held during Memorial Day weekend, and has also been held on the previous Sunday since 1974.[citation needed] Since 1976 The Memorial Tournament golf event has been held on or close to the Memorial Day weekend.[citation needed] The final of the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship is held on Memorial Day.[citation needed]

text: The preferred name for the holiday gradually changed from "Decoration Day" to "Memorial Day," which was first used in 1882.[60] Memorial Day did not become the more common name until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967.[61] On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved four holidays, including Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend.[62] The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.[62] After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all 50 states adopted Congress' change of date within a few years.

text: 21st century[edit]

text: Memorial Day endures as a holiday which most businesses observe because it marks the unofficial beginning of summer. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW)  advocated returning to the original date, although the significance of the date is tenuous. The VFW stated in 2002:

text: Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day.[63]

text: In 2000, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act, asking people to stop and remember at 3:00 PM.[64]

text: On Memorial Day, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon.[65] It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.[66]

text: The National Memorial Day Concert takes place on the west lawn of the United States Capitol.[67] The concert is broadcast on PBS and NPR. Music is performed, and respect is paid to the men and women who gave their lives for their country.

text: Across the United States, the central event is attending one of the thousands of parades held on Memorial Day in large and small cities. Most of these feature marching bands and an overall military theme with the Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard and Veteran service members participating along with military vehicles from various wars.[citation needed]

text: Poppies[edit]

text: In 1915, following the Second Battle of Ypres, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a physician with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, wrote the poem, "In Flanders Fields". Its opening lines refer to the fields of poppies that grew among the soldiers' graves in Flanders.

text: In 1918, inspired by the poem, YWCA worker Moina Michael attended a YWCA Overseas War Secretaries' conference wearing a silk poppy pinned to her coat and distributed over two dozen more to others present. In 1920, the National American Legion adopted it as their official symbol of remembrance.[68]

text: As civil religious holiday[edit]

text: Scholars,[69][70][71][72] following the lead of sociologist Robert Bellah, often make the argument that the United States has a secular "civil religion" – one with no association with any religious denomination or viewpoint – that has incorporated Memorial Day as a sacred event. With the Civil War, a new theme of death, sacrifice and rebirth enters the civil religion. Memorial Day gave ritual expression to these themes, integrating the local community into a sense of nationalism. The American civil religion, in contrast to that of France, was never anticlerical or militantly secular; in contrast to Britain, it was not tied to a specific denomination, such as the Church of England. The Americans borrowed from different religious traditions so that the average American saw no conflict between the two, and deep levels of personal motivation were aligned with attaining national goals.[73]

text: Memorial Day has been called a "modern cult of the dead". It incorporates Christian themes of sacrifice while uniting citizens of various faiths.[74]

text: In film, literature, and music[edit]

text: Films[edit]

text:
Memorial Day (2012) is a war film starring James Cromwell, Jonathan Bennett, and John Cromwell.
Logan Lucky (2017) starring Channing Tatum

text: Music[edit]

text: Charles Ives's symphonic poem Decoration Day depicted the holiday as he experienced it in his childhood, with his father's band leading the way to the town cemetery, the playing of "Taps" on a trumpet, and a livelier march tune on the way back to the town. It is frequently played with three other Ives works based on holidays, as the second movement of A Symphony: New England Holidays.

text: Poetry[edit]

text: Poems commemorating Memorial Day include:

text:
Michael Anania's "Memorial Day" (1994)[75]
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Decoration Day" (1882)[76]
Joyce Kilmer's "Memorial Day"

text: Observance dates (1971–present)[edit]

text:
Year

Memorial Day

1972
2000
2028
2056
2084

May 29

1973
2001
2029
2057
2085

May 28

1974
2002
2030
2058
2086

May 27

1975
2003
2031
2059
2087

May 26

1976
2004
2032
2060
2088
2100
May 31

1977
2005
2033
2061
2089
2101
May 30

1978
2006
2034
2062
2090
2102
May 29

1979
2007
2035
2063
2091
2103
May 28

1980
2008
2036
2064
2092
2104
May 26

1981
2009
2037
2065
2093
2105
May 25

1982
2010
2038
2066
2094
2106
May 31

1983
2011
2039
2067
2095
2107
May 30

1984
2012
2040
2068
2096
2108
May 28

1985
2013
2041
2069
2097
2109
May 27

1986
2014
2042
2070
2098
2110
May 26

1987
2015
2043
2071
2099
2111
May 25

1988
2016
2044
2072

2112
May 30

1989
2017
2045
2073

2113
May 29

1990
2018
2046
2074

2114
May 28

1991
2019
2047
2075

2115
May 27

1992
2020
2048
2076

2116
May 25

1993
2021
2049
2077

2117
May 31

1994
2022
2050
2078

2118
May 30

1995
2023
2051
2079

2119
May 29

1996
2024
2052
2080

2120
May 27

1997
2025
2053
2081

2121
May 26

1998
2026
2054
2082

2122
May 25

1971
1999
2027
2055
2083

2123
May 31


document_title: Dodge City, Kansas

question_text: who was the first person to settle dodge city

root

text: Dodge City, Kansas

text: History[edit]

text: Fort Mann was the first settlement of nonindigenous people in the area that became Dodge City, built by civilians in 1847 (then the territory being part of Mexico) to provide protection for travelers on the Santa Fe Trail.  Fort Mann collapsed in 1848 after an Indian attack.  In 1850, the U.S. Army arrived to provide protection in the region and constructed Fort Atkinson on the old Fort Mann site.  The army abandoned Fort Atkinson in 1853.  Military forces on the Santa Fe Trail were re-established farther north and east at Fort Larned in 1859, but the area remained vacant around what would become Dodge City until the end of the Civil War.  In April 1865, the Indian Wars in the West began heating up, and the army constructed Fort Dodge to assist Fort Larned in providing protection on the Santa Fe Trail.  Fort Dodge remained in operation until 1882.

tag: p

text: The town of Dodge City can trace its origins to 1871, when rancher Henry J. Sitler built a sod house west of Fort Dodge to oversee his cattle operations in the region, conveniently located near the Santa Fe Trail and Arkansas River, and Sitler's house quickly became a stopping point for travelers.  Others saw the commercial potential of the region with the Santa Fe Railroad rapidly approaching from the east.  In 1872, Dodge City was staked out on the 100th meridian and the legal western boundary of the Fort Dodge reservation. The town site was platted and  George M. Hoover established the first bar in a tent to serve thirsty soldiers from Fort Dodge.  The railroad arrived in September to find a town ready and waiting for business.  The early settlers in Dodge City traded in buffalo bones and hides and provided a civilian community for Fort Dodge.  However, with the arrival of the railroad, Dodge City soon became involved in the cattle trade.

text: The idea of driving Texas Longhorn cattle from Texas to railheads in Kansas originated in the late 1850s,[citation needed][11] but was cut short by the Civil War.  In 1866, the first Texas cattle started arriving in Baxter Springs in southeastern Kansas by way of the Shawnee Trail.  However, Texas Longhorn cattle carried a tick that spread Texas cattle fever, among other breeds of cattle. Alarmed Kansas farmers persuaded the Kansas State Legislature to establish a quarantine line in central Kansas.  The quarantine prohibited Texas Longhorns from the heavily settled, eastern portion of the state.

text: With the cattle trade forced west, Texas Longhorns began moving north along the Chisholm Trail.  In 1867, the main cowtown was Abilene, Kansas.  Profits were high, and other towns quickly joined in the cattle boom:  Newton in 1871, Ellsworth in 1872, and Wichita in 1872.  However, in 1876, the Kansas State Legislature responded to pressure from farmers settling in central Kansas and once again shifted the quarantine line westward, which essentially eliminated Abilene and the other cowtowns from the cattle trade.  With no place else to go, Dodge City suddenly became the "queen of the cow towns".

text: A new route known as the Great Western Cattle Trail or Western Trail branched off from the Chisholm Trail to lead cattle into Dodge City.  Dodge City became a boomtown, with thousands of cattle passing annually through its stockyards.  The peak years of the cattle trade in Dodge City were from 1883 to 1884, and during that time the town grew tremendously.  In 1880, Dodge City got a new competitor for the cattle trade from the border town of Caldwell.  For a few years, the competition between the towns was fierce, but enough cattle were available for both towns to prosper.

text: Nevertheless, Dodge City became famous, and no town could match its reputation as a true frontier settlement of the Old West.  Dodge City had more famous (and infamous) gunfighters working at one time or another than any other town in the West, many of whom participated in the Dodge City War of 1883.  It also boasted the usual array of saloons, gambling halls, and brothels, including the famous Long Branch Saloon and China Doll brothel.[12]  For a time in 1884, Dodge City even had a bullfighting ring where Mexican bullfighters would put on a show with specially chosen Longhorn bulls.

text: As more agricultural settlers moved into western Kansas, pressure increased on the Kansas State Legislature to do something about splenic fever.  Consequently, in 1885, the quarantine line was extended across the state and the Western Trail was all but shut down.  By 1886, the cowboys, saloon keepers, gamblers, and brothel owners moved west to greener pastures, and Dodge City became a sleepy little town much like other communities in western Kansas.

text: Geography[edit]

text: Dodge City is located at 37°45′35″N 100°1′6″W / 37.75972°N 100.01833°W / 37.75972; -100.01833 (37.759671, −100.018212) at an elevation of 2,493 ft (760 m).[5][13] It lies on the Arkansas River in the High Plains region of the Great Plains.[14] The city sits above one of the world's largest underground water systems, the Ogallala Aquifer,[15] and is 25 miles (40 km) from the eastern edge of the Hugoton Natural Gas Area.[citation needed] Located at the intersection of U. S. Routes 50, 56 and 283 in southwestern Kansas, Dodge City is 151 mi (243 km) west of Wichita, 199 mi (320 km) northeast of Amarillo, and 301 mi (484 km) southeast of Denver.[14][16]

text: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.55 square miles (37.68 km2), of which 14.44 square miles (37.40 km2) is land and 0.11 square miles (0.28 km2) is water.[2]

text: Climate[edit]

text: Dodge City lies at the intersection of North America's semi-arid (Köppen BSk) and humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) zones,[17] with hot summers, highly variable winters, both warm and very cold periods, and low to moderate humidity and precipitation throughout the year; it is part of USDA Hardiness zone 6b.[18] Areas to the west are drier and more strongly semi-arid. Severe weather, including tornadoes, is common in the area, especially in the spring months. Dodge City is often cited as the windiest city in the United States with an average speed of 13.9 mph (22.4 km/h), which results in occasional blizzards in the winter, even when snowfall does not accumulate much.[19] On average, January is the coldest month, July is the hottest month, and June is the wettest month.[20]

text: The normal annual mean temperature in Dodge City is 55.4 °F (13.0 °C), while the normal monthly daily average temperature ranges from 32.2 °F (0.1 °C) in January to 79.6 °F (26.4 °C) in July.[21] The high temperature reaches or exceeds 90 °F (32 °C) an average of 67 days a year and reaches or exceeds 100 °F (38 °C) an average of 13 days a year; the last year that failed to reach 100 °F was 1958.[22] The minimum temperature falls to or below 0 °F (−18 °C) an average of 3.0 days a year.[22] The highest officially recorded temperature was 111 °F (44 °C) on June 27, 2012, while the lowest temperature officially recorded was −26 °F (−32 °C) on February 12, 1899.[20] The record cold daily maximum is −13 °F (−25 °C) on January 13, 1875, and conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 81 °F (27 °C) last set July 12, 1978.[22]

text: Dodge City receives an annual average of 21.6 inches (550 mm) in precipitation, with the largest share being received from May through August;[20] annual precipitation has historically ranged from 9.97 in (253 mm) in 1956 to 34.29 in (871 mm) in 1944.[22] There are, on average, 77 days of measurable precipitation each year. Snowfall averages 21.1 inches (54 cm) per season, although snowfall has historically ranged from 0.2 in (0.51 cm) in 1903–04 to 61.3 in (156 cm) in 1992–93. Measurable snowfall occurs an average of 14 days a year with at least an inch of snow being received on six of those days. Snow depth of at least an inch occurs an average of 19 days a year. The average window for overnight freezes is October 17 through April 21,[22] allowing a growing season of 178 days.

text:
showClimate data for Dodge City Regional Airport, Kansas (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1874–present)[a]

Month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Year

Record high °F (°C)

80 (27)

86 (30)

98 (37)

100 (38)

106 (41)

111 (44)

109 (43)

109 (43)

107 (42)

99 (37)

91 (33)

86 (30)

111 (44)

Average high °F (°C)

44.2 (6.8)

48.4 (9.1)

57.8 (14.3)

67.5 (19.7)

76.9 (24.9)

86.7 (30.4)

92.8 (33.8)

90.8 (32.7)

82.4 (28)

69.7 (20.9)

55.9 (13.3)

44.3 (6.8)

68.2 (20.1)

Average low °F (°C)

20.1 (−6.6)

23.4 (−4.8)

31.0 (−0.6)

40.2 (4.6)

51.5 (10.8)

61.0 (16.1)

66.3 (19.1)

65.3 (18.5)

56.0 (13.3)

43.4 (6.3)

30.3 (−0.9)

21.2 (−6)

42.6 (5.9)

Record low °F (°C)

−20 (−29)

−26 (−32)

−15 (−26)

9 (−13)

19 (−7)

36 (2)

46 (8)

43 (6)

29 (−2)

10 (−12)

−13 (−25)

−21 (−29)

−26 (−32)

Average precipitation inches (mm)

0.58 (14.7)

0.68 (17.3)

1.59 (40.4)

1.82 (46.2)

2.85 (72.4)

3.24 (82.3)

3.08 (78.2)

2.75 (69.9)

1.67 (42.4)

1.74 (44.2)

0.76 (19.3)

0.84 (21.3)

21.60 (548.6)

Average snowfall inches (cm)

4.9 (12.4)

3.9 (9.9)

4.9 (12.4)

1.1 (2.8)

0 (0)

0 (0)

0 (0)

0 (0)

0 (0)

0.4 (1)

1.8 (4.6)

4.1 (10.4)

21.1 (53.6)

Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)

3.5

4.8

6.5

7.1

8.9

8.9

8.2

8.0

5.7

6.1

4.5

4.6

76.8

Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)

3.4

2.8

2.3

0.6

0

0

0

0

0

0.2

1.2

3.2

13.7

Average relative humidity (%)

65.9

64.5

60.5

57.5

62.5

59.9

55.2

58.4

61.9

58.2

64.3

66.6

61.3

Mean monthly sunshine hours

207.2

201.6

241.1

270.0

297.6

332.9

357.8

319.0

267.6

248.8

192.9

189.2

3,125.7

Percent possible sunshine

67

67

65

68

68

75

80

76

72

71

63

63

70

Source: National Weather Service (relative humidity and sun 1961–1990),[22][21][24] The Weather Channel[20]

tag: table

text: Demographics[edit]

text:
Historical population

Census
Pop.

%±
1880996—18901,76377.0%19001,94210.2%19103,21465.5%19205,06157.5%193010,05998.8%19408,487−15.6%195011,26232.7%196013,52020.0%197014,1274.5%198018,00127.4%199021,12917.4%200025,17619.2%201027,3408.6%Est. 201627,453[4]0.4%U.S. Decennial Census

text: 2010 census[edit]

text: As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 27,340 people, 8,777 households, and 6,241 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,893.6 people per square mile (731.1/km²). There were 9,378 housing units at an average density of 649.5 per square mile (250.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 72.5% White, 2.5% African American, 1.1% American Indian, 1.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 19.3% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 57.5% of the population.[9]

text: There were 8,777 households of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.9% were non-families. 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05, and the average family size was 3.60.[9]

text: The median age in the city was 28.9 years. 31.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 11.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.8% were from 25 to 44; 19.6% were from 45 to 64; and 8.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.4% male and 48.6% female.[9]

text: The median income for a household was $43,994, and the median income for a family was $49,957. Males had a median income of $31,400 versus $27,884 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,350. About 16.7% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.7% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.[9]

text: Economy[edit]

text: Meat packing is the primary industry in Dodge City. Cargill Meat Solutions and National Beef both operate large facilities in the city.[25] The city also hosts farm implement manufacturing and serves as a supply center for area agriculture. Livestock-raising is a major activity while wheat and sorghum are the area's main crops.[8] In addition, a local tourism industry, including a casino resort, has developed to capitalize on Dodge City's history as an Old West cowtown.[26] The service sector accounts for much of the rest of the local economy.[25]

text: As of 2010, 70.9% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. 0.3% was in the armed forces, and 70.5% was in the civilian labor force with 66.9% being employed and 3.6% unemployed. The composition, by occupation, of the employed civilian labor force was:  23.3% in management, business, science, and arts; 16.4% in sales and office occupations; 10.9% in service occupations; 15.2% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance; 34.2% in production, transportation, and material moving. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were:  manufacturing (33.0%); educational services, health care, and social assistance (18.1%); and retail trade (9.4%).[9]

text: The cost of living in Dodge City is relatively low; compared to a U.S. average of 100, the cost of living index for the city is 79.3.[27] As of 2010, the median home value in the city was $83,300, the median selected monthly owner cost was $1,013 for housing units with a mortgage and $450 for those without, and the median gross rent was $571.[9]

text: Top employers[edit]

text: Cargill Meat Solutions and National Beef are the two largest employers. Other major employers include local government, schools, retail stores, and health care providers.[25]

text:
showLargest employers (100+ Employees)[28]

Employer
Employees

National Beef Packing Company
2,950

Cargill Meat Solutions
2,700

Unified School District #443
1,292

Wal-Mart Super Center
400

Western Plains Medical Complex
295

Boot Hill Casino & Resort
288

Dodge City Community College
284

Ford County Government
263

City of Dodge City
238

CrustBuster/Speed King, Inc.
150

Dillon's Super Store
140

Dodge City Medical Center
125

Kansas Soldiers' Home
115

Arrowhead West, Inc.
101

text: Government[edit]

text: Dodge City is a city of the first class with a commission-manager form of government.[29] The city commission consists of five members who serve either two-year or four-year terms, depending on the number of votes they receive. Every year, the commission selects one commissioner to serve as mayor and another to serve as vice-mayor.[30] The commission meets on the first and third Mondays of each month.[29] Appointed by the commission, the city manager leads the city administration, executes the commission's policies, and develops operational programs to meet the city's needs.[31]

text: As the county seat, Dodge City is the administrative center of Ford County. The county courthouse is located downtown, and all departments of the county government base their operations in the city.[32]

text: Dodge City lies within Kansas's 1st U.S. Congressional District. For the purposes of representation in the Kansas Legislature, the city is located in the 38th district of the Kansas Senate and the 115th and 119th districts of the Kansas House of Representatives.[29]

text: Dodge City has been criticized by Johnny Dunlap, Ford County Democratic Party's chairman, for only having one polling place for 13,000 voters. For the 2018 election, it was moved outside the city limits one mile from the nearest bus stop. [33] While the county will provide transportation, voters have to arrange for it in advance. [34]

text: Education[edit]

text: Primary and secondary education[edit]

text: Dodge City Public Schools (USD 443) serves over 6,000 students and operates 14 schools in the city, including one early childhood center, eight elementary schools, two middle schools, one high school, and one alternative school.[35]

text: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dodge City oversees one Catholic school in the city:  Sacred Heart Cathedral School (Pre-K-8).[36]

text: Colleges and universities[edit]

text: Dodge City Community College (DCCC), a two-year public college with approximately 2,000 students, is located in the northwestern part of the city.[37][38] From 1952 to 1993, Dodge City was also home to St. Mary of the Plains College, a private, four-year Catholic liberal arts college.[39] Newman University, a Catholic university based in Wichita, now operates a branch campus on St. Mary of the Plains' former grounds.[40]

text: Libraries[edit]

text: Dodge City Public Library, located north of downtown, is the city's main library. A member of the Southwest Kansas Library System, it has a collection of approximately 123,000 volumes, and it circulates more than 189,000 items annually.[41] It was founded as a Carnegie library in 1905 and moved to its current facility in 1981.[42] The library offers several services to the public, including computer classes, public internet access, and programs for children and adults.[43] Other libraries in the city include the DCCC Library, which holds more than 30,000 volumes and serves as a federal depository library, and the Kansas Heritage Center, a non-profit resource center and research library operated by Dodge City Public Schools and dedicated to the history of Kansas, the Great Plains, and the Old West.[44][45][46]

text: Infrastructure[edit]

text: Transportation[edit]

text: Originally a stop on the Santa Fe Trail, Dodge City was later located on the National Old Trails Road, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, which followed the trail's path in western Kansas upon its establishment in 1912.[47] Currently, four U.S. Highways meet in Dodge City: U.S. Route 50, U.S. Route 56, U.S. Route 283, and U.S. Route 400. U.S. 50, an east-west route, runs through the northern part of the city. U.S. 400, which also runs east-west, runs through the southern part of the city. U.S. 56, an east-west route, and U.S. 283, a north-south route, run concurrently around the city's southern and eastern fringe. The U.S. 50 business route runs concurrently with U.S. 56, U.S. 283, and U.S. 400 at different points through the southern part and around the eastern part of the city.[48]

text: Bus service is provided daily eastward towards Wichita, Kansas and westward towards Pueblo, Colorado by BeeLine Express (a subcontractor of Greyhound Lines).[49][50]

text:
Dodge City Regional Airport is located approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the city.[51] Used primarily for general aviation, it hosts one commercial airline with daily flights to
Denver, CO and Liberal, KS.[52][53]

text: Three railroads serve Dodge City: the La Junta Subdivision of the BNSF Railway which runs east-west, the main line of the Cimarron Valley Railroad of which Dodge City is the northeastern terminus, and the Boot Hill and Western Railway of which the city is the northwestern terminus.[48][54] Using the BNSF trackage, Amtrak provides passenger rail service on its Southwest Chief line between Chicago and Los Angeles.[51][55] Amtrak's Dodge City station is located downtown.[56]

text: Fixed-route bus service operates between 6am and 7pm Monday-Friday.[57]

text: Utilities[edit]

text: The Utilities Division of the city government's Public Works Department operates and maintains the city's water and waste water distribution systems.[58] The department's Sanitation Division provides trash pickup.[59] Operations Management International, Inc. (OMI), a private contractor, provides waste water treatment, pumping the city's waste water to treatment holding ponds 12 miles south of the city.[60] The Victory Electric Cooperative Association, Inc., part of the Mid-Kansas Electric Company, delivers electricity to the city.[61][62] Local residents primarily use natural gas as their heating fuel; natural gas service is provided by Black Hills Energy.[27][63]

text: Health care[edit]

text: The Western Plains Medical Complex is the sole hospital in Dodge City. A 100-bed hospital accredited by the Joint Commission, it serves as a referral center for southwestern Kansas.[64]

text: Media[edit]

text: The Dodge City Daily Globe is the city's daily newspaper with a circulation of approximately 7,000 copies.[65] In addition, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dodge City publishes a weekly newspaper, The Southwest Kansas Catholic, formerly known as The Southwest Kansas Register.[66] The High Plains Journal, a weekly trade journal covering regional agricultural news, is also published in the city.[67]

text: Along with Garden City, Dodge City is a center of broadcast media for southwestern Kansas.[68][69] Two AM radio stations, seven FM radio stations, and four television stations are licensed to and/or broadcast from the area.[68][70][71] Dodge City is located in the Wichita-Hutchinson, Kansas television market.[72] The four stations that broadcast from the city include:  one CBS and one FOX network affiliate, both of which are satellite stations of their respective affiliates in Wichita;[71][73] a satellite station of Smoky Hills Public Television, the PBS member network covering western Kansas;[74] and KDDC-LD a sister station of KDGL-LD in Sublette, Kansas.[70][75]

text: Parks and recreation[edit]

text: The city's Parks and Recreation Department maintains 21 parks in the city.[76] The largest is Wright Park, located immediately south of downtown and home to the Dodge City Zoo.[76][77] Legends Park, in the northern part of the city, is a four-diamond, tournament-level baseball and softball complex that hosts both youth and adult league games.[78] The city also maintains the St. Mary Soccer Complex, which includes six full-size game pads and three junior-sized fields, and the municipal pool.[79][80]

text: There are two golf courses in the city, one public and one private. Mariah Hills Municipal Golf Course, the public course, is an 18-hole course built in 1974 and redesigned in 1990. It includes a full-service pro shop, driving range, and putting green. Dodge City Country Club, the private course, is an 18-hole course built in 1916 and expanded in 1982.[81]

text: Culture[edit]

text: Arts and music[edit]

text: Two galleries support an arts community in the city. Located in the original public library building, The Carnegie Center for the Arts provides gallery space to local artists and houses the Dodge City Arts Council.[82][83] The second gallery, the Second Avenue Art Guild, exhibits the work of regional artists in ceramics, photography, and other media.[84]

text: The Depot Theater Company, based in the former Santa Fe Railroad Depot, puts on theatrical productions throughout the year. Founded in 1984, the group performs in both the old depot and the Occident Theater.[85]

text: Events[edit]

text: Each summer, the Dodge City Chamber of Commerce holds Dodge City Days, the city's annual community festival.[86] Lasting ten days, it includes the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo, a parade, a beauty pageant, music concerts, a golf tournament, arts and craft shows, and other activities.[87] Several other community events are held throughout the year.[88] In early May, the city's sizable Mexican community celebrates Cinco de Mayo in Wright Park with live music, folk dance performances, and traditional Mexican cuisine.[89] To celebrate Independence Day, the city holds its Old-Fashioned Fourth of July which includes a fireworks display and children's activities at Boot Hill.[90]  Christmas in Old Dodge City, the city's winter holiday festival, starts in late November and lasts until Christmas.[88] It begins with a formal Christmas tree lighting downtown, a chili cook-off, and the Parade of Lights, a parade of floats decorated with Christmas lights.[91]

text: Two other annual events reflect the central role of agriculture in the local economy. The Ford County Fair is held in July and includes 4-H and FFA exhibits, competitions, and shows, as well as other activities.[92] Also in July, the Western Kansas Manufacturers Association (WKMA) holds the 3i Show, an agri-business expo of agricultural products, technology, and services.[93]

text: Points of interest[edit]

text: Located in and around the city are a number of historical sites, museums, and landmarks dedicated to Dodge City's Old West heritage.  The Boot Hill Museum, located downtown, contains thousands of artifacts and a variety of exhibits portraying the culture of the city's early years. The museum's larger exhibits include:  Front Street, a partial reconstruction of downtown Dodge City as it existed in 1876; the Long Branch Saloon and the Long Branch Variety Show; the Saratoga Saloon; the Hardesty House, a period-typical home built in 1879; the city's original Boot Hill Cemetery; and the Kansas Cowboy Hall of Fame.[94][95] The Santa Fe Trail Remains, located 9 miles (14 km) west of the city, are preserved wagon tracks from a section of the Santa Fe Trail.[95] The Ford County Historical Society maintains the Mueller-Schmidt House, called the "Home of Stone." Built from area limestone in 1881, it is the oldest building in the city still standing at its original site.[96] Other historical landmarks include:  El Capitan, a life-sized bronze sculpture of a Texas Longhorn steer built to commemorate the cattle drives that once ended in the city; a bronze statue of famous Dodge City lawman Wyatt Earp; and the Santa Fe Depot, the largest extant train depot in Kansas.[97][98]

text: To capitalize on this heritage, the city promotes its downtown business district as historic Old Dodge City complete with Western-themed tourist attractions, shops, and restaurants.[99] Visitors can tour the district by trolley or by taking the Dodge City Trail of Fame walking tour.[100][101] The state of Kansas operates the similarly themed Boot Hill Casino & Resort on the west side of the city – when it opened for business in December 2009, Boot Hill became the first state-owned casino in the United States.[102][103]

text: Dodge City Civic Center and United Wireless Arena are the city's two main indoor event venues. The Civic Center, built in 1954, is a 2,800-seat multipurpose facility that has hosted a variety of events, including concerts and sporting events.[104][105] United Wireless Arena, opened in 2011, is a 5,500-seat multipurpose arena located next to the Boot Hill Casino on the west side of the city. Owned by the City of Dodge City and Ford County, the arena complex includes the 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) Magouirk Conference Center.[106]

text: Other sites of interest in the city include the Dodge City Zoo and the Kansas Teachers' Hall of Fame. The Zoo is located in Wright Park and is home to more than 45 animals.[107] Located downtown, the Kansas Teachers' Hall of Fame hosts exhibits on education in Kansas and claims to be the first of its kind in the United States.[108]

text: Religion[edit]

text: There are 33 Christian churches in and around Dodge City.[109] The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dodge City is based in the city. Established in 1951, it comprises 28 Kansas counties, roughly the southwestern quarter of the state.[110] The city is home to the diocese's current cathedral as well as its former cathedral, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Sacred Heart Cathedral, respectively.[111] Also headquartered in the city is the Dodge City District of the United Methodist Church which consists of 22 counties in southwestern Kansas.[112]

text: Sports[edit]

text: Dodge City Community College's athletic teams, the Dodge City Conquistadors (or "Conqs" for short), compete in several sports in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC).[113]

text: Beyond DCCC sports, Dodge City also hosts amateur baseball and professional motorsports. The Dodge City Athletics, nicknamed the "A's", are a collegiate summer baseball team in the Jayhawk Collegiate League of the National Baseball Congress.[114] Both the A's and the DCCC Conquistadors baseball team use Cavalier Field, located on the former St. Mary of the Plains College campus, as their home field.[115] Dodge City Raceway Park, located immediately south of the city, is a 3/8-mile dirt track that hosts midget and sprint car racing from April through October. Past events at the park have included National Sprint Tour and World of Outlaws races.[116] The Western Kansas Dirt Riders, a motocross team, race at Tumbleweed Raceway adjacent to the Raceway Park.[117]

text: In the past, Dodge City hosted college football and professional basketball as well. From 1970 to 1980, the annual Boot Hill Bowl post-season college football game was played in Dodge City.  The bowl was sanctioned by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and featured schools such as Washburn University and Emporia State University.  The last game was played on November 21, 1980.[118] From 2000 to 2007, the city was home to a minor league professional basketball team, the Dodge City Legend of the United States Basketball League.[119]

text: In popular culture[edit]

text: Starting in the 1870s, the violent episodes of early Dodge City history, particularly the exploits of Wyatt Earp, attracted national media attention. National news coverage of the 1883 Dodge City War civil strife fueled public perceptions of frontier turmoil and established Dodge City as the "Sodom of the West" in the public consciousness. Gunfighters and lawmen such as Earp and his brothers and partners became celebrities, and sensationalized versions of their activities entered period popular culture as the subject of dime novels. Over time, the level and scale of the violence in early Dodge City were significantly embellished, becoming the stuff of legend. This trend continued into the 20th century, particularly after the 1931 publication of Stuart N. Lake's book Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. Regarded in American folklore as the quintessential rough and rowdy Old West frontier town, Dodge City served as the setting for numerous works of Western-themed media, including later popular films and television series.[120]

text: Dodge City was the setting of the long-running radio and television series Gunsmoke. The series followed the adventures of fictional U.S. Marshal Matt Dillon portrayed first by William Conrad and then by James Arness, as he dealt with gunfighters, cattle rustlers, gamblers and other criminals while enforcing the law in the frontier town.[121] The radio series starring William Conrad lasted from 1952 to 1961 while the television series ran from 1955 to 1975, on the CBS television network (Columbia Broadcasting System), the longest-running prime-time TV drama in American history.[122] The show proved to be culturally influential and promoted the legend of Dodge City's Old West era. It also served as the source of the idiom "get [the hell] out of Dodge" which means to leave a dangerous area quickly.[123] In honor of the series, the city government changed the name of Walnut Street, one of its downtown streets, to Gunsmoke Street, in 1959.[124]

text: The city has also been a setting for a number of films and television series dramatizing the career of Wyatt Earp. These include several seasons of the  series The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp starring Hugh O'Brian on the ABC television network from 1955 to 1961,[125] and the films Winchester '73 (1950), with James Stewart[126] Masterson of Kansas (1954), with George Montgomery,[127] Cheyenne Autumn (1964), featuring Richard Widmark, James Stewart and Edward G. Robinson and directed by John Ford[128] and Wyatt Earp (1994) with Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman.[129]  In the 1939 film Dodge City the fictional lawman Wade Hatton, played by Errol Flynn, was modeled on Earp.[130]

text: In the television series Smallville, Metropolis is said to be southwest of Dodge City with Smallville, "Superman" / Clark Kent's childhood and adolescent residence, located 200 miles (320 km) west of Wichita.[131]

text: More recently, Dodge City served as a setting for the 2005 multi-platform video game Gun.[132]

text: Notable people[edit]

text: Numerous figures of the American Old West lived in Dodge City during its period as a frontier cowtown. These included, most notably, lawmen Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson as well as gunfighter Doc Holliday.[133] Other notable natives and residents have included Vaudeville actor and comedian Eddie Foy Sr.,[134] wrestler Sputnik Monroe,[135] and actor Dennis Hopper.[136]

text: Gallery[edit]

text:
Reconstructed shops on Front Street at the Boot Hill Museum (2010)

Hanging Tree at Museum (1959)

Graves at Museum (1959)

tag: ul

text:
Historic Images of Dodge City, Special Photo Collections at Wichita State University Library
Historic Images of Fort Dodge, Special Photo Collections at Wichita State University Library


document_title: List of living recipients of the George Cross

question_text: what is the highest civilian award in uk

text: As of 2017, there are 20 living recipients of the George Cross, including three former recipients of the Albert Medal for Lifesaving and one former recipient of the Edward Medal, who voluntarily exchanged their medals for the George Cross in 1971 when it replaced both.

text: The George Cross (GC) is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom and other member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is the highest gallantry award for civilians of any rank or profession, and is primarily intended to be a civil award. Military personnel may be awarded the George Cross for actions not in the face of the enemy or for actions not normally meriting a purely military award.[1] The George Cross was officially constituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI as a way to recognise civilian courage. It recognises "acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger".[1]

text: Initially, the Empire Gallantry Medal recognised acts of the highest bravery. The George Cross succeeded the Empire Gallantry Medal and all those living that had been awarded the medal, and all posthumous awards from the outbreak of World War II, were obliged to exchange their medal for the George Cross. In 1971, the living recipients of the Albert Medal and Edward Medal were invited to exchange their medals for the George Cross; 24 recipients elected not to exchange their medal.

text: In recent years, the George Cross has often served as the highest-level military decoration for recognition of peacetime heroism, or for wartime actions of gallantry not in the face of the enemy. Prior to 2017, when Dominic Troulan received the decoration for heroism during a 2013 terrorist attack at the Westgate shopping mall in Kenya, no civilian awards of the GC had been made since 1978, when it was awarded to Victoria Police constable Michael Pratt. Previously, the last civilian award in the UK to a living recipient had been to Metropolitan Police inspector Jim Beaton in 1974 for his efforts in protecting Anne, Princess Royal from a mentally ill man attempting to kidnap her.

text: Certain Commonwealth realms have replaced the GC with their own equivalent awards. The Cross of Valour has been awarded to Canadian citizens since its establishment in 1972,[2] and the identically named Cross of Valour has been awarded to Australian citizens since 1975.[3] Both allow the wearer to use the postnominal letters CV.[2][3] Since 1999, the New Zealand Cross has been awarded to New Zealand citizens, which allows the wearer the postnominal NZC.[4] Awards of the George Cross made prior to the establishment of their replacements in each nation are not exchanged.

text: Until 26 January 1950, when India became a republic within the Commonwealth, the George Cross and its precursors were awarded to Indian civilians and military personnel in the government and princely states forces.[1] All British awards were discontinued after 26 January 1950. In 1952, the Ashoka Chakra replaced the George Cross.[5]

text: Living recipients[edit]

text:
Name
Year of award
Location of gallantry
Original award (if replaced with GC)

Henry Flintoff
1944

EM

Ernest Wooding
1945

AM

Alf Lowe
1949
Portland Harbour
AM

Margaret Purves nee Vaughan
1949
Near Sully Island
AM

Awang anak Raweng
1951
Johor, Malaysia

Jack Bamford
1952
Newthorpe, Nottinghamshire

Derek Kinne
1954
Korea

Henry Stevens
1958
Bickley, London Borough of Bromley

Tony Gledhill
1967
Deptford, London

Carl Walker
1972
Blackpool

Jim Beaton
1974
London

Michael Pratt
1978
Clifton Hill, Victoria, Australia

Barry Johnson
1990
Derry, Northern Ireland

Christopher Finney
2003
Iraq

Peter Norton
2005
Iraq

Matthew Croucher
2008
Helmand Province, Afghanistan

Kim Hughes
2010
Afghanistan

Samuel Shephard
2014
Egypt

Kevin Haberfield
2015
Afghanistan[6]

Dominic Troulan
2017
Kenya[7]

text: [8] [9] [10]

text: Recently deceased[edit]

text: Recipients who died within the last five years are listed below.

text:
Name
Year of
award
Location of gallantry
Original award (if replaced with GC)
Deceased
Notes

Richard Butson
1948
Antarctica
AM
2015-03-24 !24 March 2015
[11]

Stuart Archer
1941
South Wales

2015-05-02 !2 May 2015
[12]

John Sedgwick Gregson
1943
Atlantic Ocean
AM
2016-12-25 !25 December 2016
[13]


document_title: Santa Clarita Diet

question_text: who plays doctor wolf in santa clarita diet

text: Santa Clarita Diet

text: Plot[edit]

text: Joel and Sheila Hammond are everyday suburban real estate agents in Santa Clarita, California.[6] The couple face a series of obstacles when Sheila has a medical turn and starts craving human flesh. With Joel and the family trying to help Sheila through the trying time, they have to deal with neighbours, cultural norms and getting to the bottom of a potentially mythological mystery.[7]

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Timothy Olyphant as Joel Hammond, Sheila's husband and Abby's father
Drew Barrymore as Sheila Hammond, Joel's wife and Abby's mother
Liv Hewson as Abby Hammond, Sheila and Joel's daughter
Skyler Gisondo as Eric Bemis, the Hammonds' neighbor, Lisa and Dan's stepson

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Ricardo Chavira as Dan Palmer, a sheriff's deputy and the Hammonds' neighbor
Mary Elizabeth Ellis as Lisa Palmer, Dan's wife and Eric's mother
Richard T. Jones as Rick, a Santa Monica police officer, the Hammond's neighbor, and Joel's friend
Joy Osmanski as Alondra, Rick's wife
Natalie Morales as Anne Garcia, a sheriff's deputy and co-worker of Dan's
Thomas Lennon as Novak, Abby's school principal
Grace Zabriskie as Mrs. Bakavic, Novak's grandmother
DeObia Oparei as Loki Hayes, a convicted felon
Portia de Rossi as Cora Wolf, a scientist focused on the undead

text: Guest[edit]

text:
Nathan Fillion as Gary West, a realtor and the Hammonds' co-worker
Andy Richter as Carl Coby, the Hammonds' boss
Patton Oswalt as Dr. Hasmedi, a virologist
Ryan Hansen as Bob Jonas, Lisa Palmer's lover
Derek Waters as Anton, a conspiracy theorist
Ravi Patel as Ryan, a convention goer
Ramona Young as Ramona, a pharmacy worker whose unenthusiastic attempts to help customers trigger epiphanies in them

text: Production[edit]

text: Fresco came up with the premise from wanting to make "a family show with an interesting approach that we haven’t seen before". The zombie angle also allowed Fresco to explore the concept of Narcissism stating that "the undead are the ultimate narcissists. They want what they want when they want it and will do anything to just have what they want and don’t care about other people’s needs" [8]

text: For the setting Fresco drew from his own experience growing up in San Fernando Valley. Santa Clarita was chosen because of its middle class inhabitants.[8] The Hammonds' profession of realtors was chosen because "It gets them out into the world" as well as the "forced friendliness" inherent to the profession.[8]

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original air date

1
"So Then a Bat or a Monkey"
Ruben Fleischer
Victor Fresco
February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)

Joel and Sheila Hammond are realtors leading a normal suburban life with their daughter Abby. They are trying hard to sell a house but while showing it Sheila begins to violently throw up copious amounts of yellow liquid, including what might be an organ. Joel takes Sheila to the emergency department but it’s slow and they go home. Sheila is acting oddly including an increased libido. Sheila shows the family that she had no heartbeat and her blood is thick. They then talk to Lisa’s son Eric who informs them Sheila is dead and undead, thus driven by her Id. Sheila is okay with her new state. Eric tells them Sheila must always be fed, and if she degrades they may have to kill her. Later, Sheila and Abby sneak out and buy a car then Sheila goes to party with her neighbors. Sheila and Joel's co-worker, Gary, shows up and entices Sheila into dancing with him when Joel finds them. They leave and Sheila thinks her new behavior might be who she really is. Sheila is at home when Gary comes by and tries to force himself on her, threatening to tell others she was unfaithful if she refuses. Sheila begin to lick his fingers, suddenly biting two of them off and begins to devour Gary in the backyard. Joel comes home, and walks into the backyard to see Sheila eating Gary. She tells Joel she wants to make this work as Joel looks on in astonishment and horror.

2
"We Can't Kill People!"
Ruben Fleischer
Victor Fresco
February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)

They bury Gary’s remains in the desert. Abby and Eric follow them discovering Sheila killed Gary. While covering up the murder Dan sees Joel spraying his grass in the middle of the night and gets suspicious. Joel consults a virologist but he thinks Joel is crazy. Dan comes to inspect the grass and Joel tells him they have ants. Abby ditches school with Eric. Joel tries to get Sheila to eat meat but she says since she ate Gary she does not want anything but humans. Joel suggests that maybe it is the freshness that matters. Sheila continues to act impulsively including killing a rooster. After they make the sale on the listing Sheila tells Joel she couldn’t eat the rooster. Joel reiterates that they cannot kill people. Joel and Sheila try to find an alternate food source at the morgue but Sheila can’t stand the cadaver flesh. Sheila’s hunger in growing so Joel tells her they are going to kill people so she can eat. They have been together since high school and he is not going to leave her now. Abby comes and sleeps in their bed because she is worried about the changes.

3
"We Can Kill People"
Marc Buckland
Clay Graham
February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)

Joel and Sheila discuss balancing killing people and being parents. Abby is grumpy with them for being overbearing. They make a plan to find a bad person to kill. Dan talks to them about never having a sloppy kill referring to the ants. They get supplies for killing people. Joel smokes pot in the bathroom to calm down. Eric and Abby have lunch while ditching school where Abby’s friend leaves with her older boyfriend but he breaks up with her. Joel and Sheila talk to Rick, their other neighbor who is also a cop, looking for where to find people to kill. Sheila and Joel overhear the teenagers talking about how bad the ex-boyfriend was and decide to kill him. Once Joel talked to him he decides to let him go much to Sheila’s annoyance. The teenagers teargas the ex-boyfriend's house retrieving her friend sweater. On the way home Sheila and Joel have a road rage incident then Sheila kills the driver of the other car. They put him in the freezer in their storage unit hoping he will not be missed. They go to family dinner and all three of them tell the others how wonderful everything is.

4
"The Farting Sex Tourist"
Ken Kwapis
Michael A. Ross
February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)

Sheila makes a smoothie from the body in storage then goes walking with her neighbors. Sheila suggests the women should live life to the fullest. Sheila tells them her new attitude is due to her new high protein diet. Joel goes to paranormal stores researching zombies. He finds two prints from Serbia that show someone vomiting up a red ball and then eating someone. Rick talks to the couple about their new car and then Dan interrupts bringing them more ant spray. Abby’s school calls them in and Principal Novak tells them Abby is missing school. They insist everything is normal. Sheila gets upset with Novak and she wants to eat him when he threatens to suspend Abby. Sheila tells Abby she should drop out causing Joel to confront Sheila about her behavior concluding he is not sure their family can survive it. Sheila talks to Eric who tells her the undead have no impulse control and she cannot change. Meanwhile Joel talks to Abby and they steal Rick’s motorcycle before they bond over freaking out about Sheila. Joel realizes Novak is Serbian. Dan sprays Joel’s yard for ants and finds Gary's finger.

5
"Man Eat Man"
Marc Buckland
Chadd Gindin
February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)

Abby goes to the storage unit and finds the dead man in the freezer. Joel talks to Novak’s Grandmother for help translating the prints. She tells him it is an old story about zombies from a book that might have a cure. Sheila is reluctant about a cure at first as she likes the side effects of being a zombie but finally agrees she wants a cure. Joel finds a possible source for the book, Anton. Abby tells Eric about the dead guy she found. Eric tells Abby he found out his mom is having an affair. Joel asks Rick to run a check for Anton. Dan blackmails Joel into killing a guy named Loki. Joel tells Sheila that Dan knows about Gary. Sheila wants to kill Loki for food and is willing to go alone. Abby complains to Eric about her parent’s lying and he tries to kiss her. Sheila and Joel try to kill Loki and fail. Sheila is worried she bit Loki. Abby notices blood on Sheila’s briefcase but does not confront her mom about it. Loki is on the floor of a hotel room surrounded by vomit like Sheila was before.

6
"Attention to Detail"
Craig Zisk
Leila Cohan-Miccio
February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)

Joel and Sheila stake out Loki and debate the possibility that he was turned into a zombie. With no resolution they go to a party at Dan’s house and Joel has to lie to Dan about Loki. Sheila realizes she left a pen with her contact information at Loki’s house. Abby and Eric have a hard time recovering from the kiss. Dan wants Joel to kill another guy who he claims is a bad guy but when Sheila goes to kill him it turns out to be the guy Lisa is having an affair with and she does not kill him. Abby and Eric plant a flash bang in Dan’s rose garden to freak him out. In the process they find a stash of money concluding Dan is a dirty cop. Joel runs into Loki’s friends and is held hostage. They knock him out but he is OK and he finds the pen. Joel and Sheila decide they are going to do everything together moving forward. Joel confronts Dan telling him he will not be killing people for him anymore. They get into a fight and Joel kills him with a shovel.

7
"Strange or Just Inconsiderate?"
Lynn Shelton
Ben Smith
February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)

Joel and Sheila bring Dan’s body to their house and they make a plan to dispose of him. Sheila begins to worry about Joel, who is obsessed with retaining the family's "normality." Rick finds Anton for Joel. Abby finds Dan’s body in the tub and confronts her parents about lying to her. Abby tells Eric that Dan is dead and he is fine with it. Abby and Eric have a plan to help cover up Dan’s murder by revealing he is a dirty cop to the other cops. With the sheriff's department all over the neighborhood following Dan's disappearance, Sheila undertakes to eat him completely to hide the evidence but fails. Joel decides to take the remaining body parts out of the house in a cooler. The cops find Dan’s stash and with it Gary’s finger. Rick tells Joel that Gary’s disappearance is being blamed on Dan. While Sheila is taking a bath her little toe falls off.

8
"How Much Vomit?"
Steve Pink
Aaron Brownstein & Simon Ganz
February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)

Sheila keeps the fact that her toe has fallen off from Joel. As the police discover more about Dan's corrupt activities, Joel and Sheila hear that Loki is still alive and appears to have turned undead as well. They find him doing an acoustic performance at a local club, and he becomes obsessed with Sheila, forcing them to kill him when he tries to murder Joel. As Joel is coming to terms with Sheila's toe having fallen off, they are both shocked to notice that her right eye is now hanging out of her head.

9
"The Book!"
Tamra Davis
Sarah Walker
February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)

Joel and Eric head to a paranormal convention to meet Anton, a popular and mysterious figure in the paranormal community, who claims to have an ancient book containing the cure for Sheila's condition. Anton accuses Joel of being a government agent, and when confronted later, admits he is a fraud and does not have the book—however Joel is approached by another attendee, who puts him in touch with the book's real owner, Dr. Cora Wolf. Meanwhile, Sheila tries to bond with Abby, as the two try to get her money back from the brother of the deceased chop shop owner.

10
"Baka, Bile and Baseball Bats"
Dean Parisot
Clay Graham
February 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)

Dr. Cora Wolf moves in with the Hammonds to work on a cure for the virus, which has previously only been tested on rats. Wolf tells Sheila that as her condition progresses, she will become uncontrollably violent and could harm her family and others. With Eric's assistance, Wolf synthesizes the cure, only requiring the final ingredient: the bile of a pure-born Serbian. Joel and Sheila visit Principal Novak's "baka" and attempt to get her to vomit by getting her drunk, however Novak calls the police and Joel is arrested and committed to a mental institution. Sheila gets Abby to chain her up in the basement, to prevent her harming anyone. She takes a call from a real estate client, telling them that she hopes either she or her husband "will be free next week".

text: Critical reception[edit]

text: Santa Clarita Diet received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the season has an approval rating of 71% based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Santa Clarita Diet serves up an excellent cast, frequent laughs, and an engaging premise – but the level of gore might not be to everyone's taste."[9] On Metacritic, the season has a score of 67 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

text: Advertising controversy[edit]

text: In February 2017, advertising for the show sparked criticism in Germany, where Netflix promoted the show with posters depicting a human finger sliced up like a currywurst, a popular German fast food dish. After receiving more than 50 complaints that the advertising was glorifying violence and inducing fear, especially in children, the German Advertising Council, a self-regulatory institution, forwarded the complaints to the company. Netflix then decided to end the campaign and remove all posters.[11]