The LuLac Edition #5, 633 April 19th, 2026

 

DON’T PUT THE 

BREAD IN THE FRIDGE

 

When a lot of people buy bread, they don’t want it to mold. Some put it in the fridge. That is not a good thing.

Plastic doesn't just fail to keep bread fresh. It actively makes it worse. In two different ways. At the same time.

When you seal bread in a plastic bag, you're trapping moisture inside.

Bread naturally releases water vapor after baking. It's part of the cooling process that continues for days. The crumb is roughly 45 percent water. The crust is dry. And moisture is always moving from the inside out.

In open air, that moisture escapes harmlessly but In plastic, it has nowhere to go.

So it condenses. On the crust. On the inside of the bag where little water droplets appear.

That moisture saturates the crust. From the bread's own humidity, trapped in the plastic bag and forced back onto the surface.

 The crust turns soft, rubbery, and leathery because it's slowly being drowned from the inside.

And here's the second hit: that same trapped humidity creates the exact conditions mold needs to thrive.

This is why bread in plastic often molds faster than bread left completely uncovered. You're not protecting it. You're feeding the problem.

Why The Fridge Is A Death Sentence For Bread

This one surprised me the most.

 We've been taught that cold preserves food. And for most things, it does. But bread follows different rules.

There's a chemical process called starch retrogradation. It's what makes bread go stale. When bread cools after baking, the starch molecules slowly crystallize, pushing water out and creating that hard, dry texture we hate.

This crystallization happens fastest between 35°F and 40°F.

That's exactly your refrigerator temperature.

Studies show bread stored in the fridge stales six times faster than bread stored at room temperature. Six times. You're literally accelerating the aging process every time you put a loaf in the fridge.

The fridge does prevent mold. But at the cost of destroying the texture faster. You're trading one problem for another one.

So where does that leave us? Plastic creates mold. The fridge creates staleness. Paper and linen dry bread out within a day.

This is the trap that kept me freezing bread for three years. I thought those were my only options.

What Our Grandparents Knew That We Forgot

The solution has existed for generations. It just got lost when plastic came along: Beeswax

Beeswax-coated cloth is what our grandparents used. What every farm wife during the Depression knew. What families who couldn't afford to waste a single slice of bread figured out because they had to.

It creates something plastic and paper can't: a semi-breathable barrier.

It lets moisture escape slowly, at roughly the same rate bread naturally releases it. Not too fast (like linen). Not trapped completely (like plastic). Just enough to maintain balance.

The crust can breathe, so it stays crisp. The crumb retains enough moisture to stay soft. And without the humid greenhouse effect, mold spores can't take hold.

Then plastic came along. It was cheap. It was convenient. And America adopted it without ever learning why the old methods worked.

So either freeze it or invest in the beeswax envelopes that are effective and relatively inexpensive.

HEALTHIEST BREADS TO BUY

 

Best Overall: Dave’s Killer Bread 21 Whole Grains and Seeds

Best Sprouted: Food for Life Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Whole Grain Bread

Best Sourdough: Bread Alone Whole Wheat Sourdough

Best Whole Wheat: Arnold 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Best Omega-3: Silver Hills Flax Omegamazing Bread

Best High Protein: Equii Classic Wheat

Best Gluten Free: Little Northern Bakehouse Gluten Free Seed & Grains

Best Whole Grain: One Mighty Mill Mighty Whole Wheat Bread

Best Low-Sodium: Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free Ancient Grain Bread

Best Pita: Joseph’s Pita Bread   

Locally, there are many fine bakeries to get bread from. The Sanitary in Nanticoke, for me will always be the gold standard. But area super markets have been very good sources. Both Wegmans and Price Chopper have great, innovative items that are the LuLac favorites. Then there is Lackawanna County that is filled with trhe same grocery options as well as National Bakery and Best Bread out of Clarks Summit.

 

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 632, April 18th, 2026

 

THE MULTI NAMED RUSSIAN

WHO SHAPED

WASHINGTON’S ARMY

BARON VAN STEUBON

Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben is also referred to as Baron von Steuben,  a Prussian-born army officer who played a leading role in the American Revolutionary War by reforming the Continental Army into a disciplined and professional fighting force. His contributions marked a significant improvement in the performance of U.S. troops, and he is consequently regarded as one of the fathers of the United States Army.

Born into a military family, Steuben was exposed to war from an early age; at 14 years old, he observed his father directing Prussian engineers in the 1742 siege of Prague. At age 16 or 17, he enlisted in the Prussian Army, which was considered the most professional and disciplined in Europe.

Through the years he had many military successes and was highly regarded by friends and foes alike. In 1763, Steuben had been formally introduced to the future French Minister of War, Claude Louis, Comte de Saint-Germain, in Hamburg. They met again in Paris in 1777. The Count, fully realizing the potential of an officer with Prussian general staff training, introduced him to Americans Silas Dean and Benjamin Franklin. The Americans, however, were unable to offer Steuben a rank or pay in the American army. The Continental Congress had grown tired of foreign mercenaries coming to America and demanding a high rank and pay.

Promoting these men over qualified American officers caused discontent in the ranks. Steuben would have to go to North America strictly as a volunteer and present himself to Congress. Steuben left these first meetings in disgust and returned to Prussia. After unknown events, Steuben was discharged from his position as a captain and traveled to Paris. It is speculated that he was, or was accused of being, homosexual. It is unknown whether or not this occurred, and regardless, no charges were pursued.

Upon the Count's recommendation, Steuben was introduced to future president George Washington by means of a letter from Franklin as a "Lieutenant General in the King of Prussia's service",[24] an exaggeration of his actual credentials that appears to be based on a mistranslation of his service record.

Steuben, his Italian Greyhound Azor (which he took with him everywhere), his young aide-de-camp Louis de Pontière, his military secretary Pierre-Étienne du Ponceau, and two other companions reached Portsmouth, New Hampshire on December 1, 1777. There, they were almost arrested because Steuben and his entourage were wearing red clothing similar to those worn by British troops.[19] They were extravagantly entertained in Boston. On February 5, 1778, Steuben and his party arrived in York, Pennsylvania, where the Continental Congress had relocated after being ousted from Philadelphia by the British advance.

Arrangements were made for Steuben to be paid following the successful completion of the war according to his contributions. He arrived at Valley Forge on February 23, 1778, and reported for duty as a volunteer. One soldier's first impression of the Baron was "of the ancient fabled God of War ... he seemed to me a perfect personification of Mars. The trappings of his horse, the enormous holsters of his pistols, his large size, and his strikingly martial aspect, all seemed to favor the idea. He turned the volunteers into a great army."

On May 5, 1778, on General Washington's recommendation, Congress appointed Steuben inspector general of the army, with the rank and pay of major general. The internal administration had been neglected, and no books had been kept either as to supplies, clothing, or men. Steuben became aware of the "administrative incompetence, graft, war profiteering" that existed. He enforced the keeping of exact records and strict inspections. His inspections saved the army an estimated loss of 5000 to 8000 muskets.

Steuben used 120 men of the Commander in Chief's Guard, and used them to demonstrate military training to the rest of the troops.These men, whom Steuben called the "Model Company" in turn trained other personnel at regimental and brigade levels. Steuben's eccentric personality greatly enhanced his mystique. In full military dress uniform, he twice a day trained the soldiers who, at this point, were themselves greatly lacking in proper clothing.

The Steuben Statue in Valley Forge National Historical Park

As he could only speak and write a small amount of English, Steuben originally wrote the drills in French, the military language of Europe at the time. His secretary, Du Ponceau, then translated the drills from French into English, with the help of John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton, two of Washington's aides-de-camp. They did this every single night so the soldiers could practice the next day. Colonel Alexander Hamilton and General Nathanael Greene were of great help in assisting Steuben in drafting a training program for the Army. The Baron's willingness and ability to work with the men, as well as his use of profanity (in several languages), made him popular among the soldiers. It is here he met his close friend and future adopted heir, Captain Benjamin Walker. Within weeks, Walker was Steuben's aide-de-camp.

Steuben introduced a system of progressive training, beginning with the school of the soldier, with and without arms, and going through the school of the regiment. This corrected the previous policy of simply assigning personnel to regiments. Each company commander was made responsible for the training of new men, but actual instruction was done by sergeants specifically selected for being the best obtainable.

Upon Steuben's initial inspection of the camp and soldiers, he remarked that “the American soldier, never having used this arm, had no faith in it, and never used it but to roast his beefsteak." Steuben's introduction of effective bayonet charges became crucial. In the Battle of Stony Point, Continental Army soldiers attacked with unloaded muskets and won the battle solely on Steuben's bayonet training.

The first results of Steuben's training were in evidence at the Battle of Barren Hill, May 20, 1778, and then again at the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778. Steuben, by then serving in Washington's headquarters, was the first to determine that the enemy was heading for Monmouth.

During the winter of 1778–1779, Steuben prepared Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, commonly known as the "Blue Book". ts basis was the training plan he had devised at Valley Forge.  It was used by the United States Army until 1814,and affected U.S. drills and tactics until the Mexican–American War of 1846.

It is written in  history that the Continental Army would have crumbled without his help. He quartered in Virginia, since U.S. supplies and soldiers would be provided to the army from there. Steuben would help in the defense of Virginia with approximately 1,000 militia fighting a delaying action in the Battle of Blandford. During the spring of 1781, he aided Greene in the campaign in the South, culminating in the delivery of 450 Virginia Continentals to Lafayette in June.

He was forced to take sick leave, rejoining the army for the final campaign at Yorktown, where his role was as commander of one of the three divisions of Washington's troops. In 1783, General Von Steuben joined General Knox at Vail's Gate, near West Point, in the fall of 1782 and in early 1783 moved to the Verplanck homestead, at Mount Gulian, across the Hudson River from Washington's headquarters in Newburgh. Steuben gave assistance to Washington in demobilizing the army in 1783 as well as aiding in the defense plan of the new nation. In May 1783, Steuben presided over the founding of the Society of the Cincinnati. He was discharged from the military with honor on March 24, 1784.

Steuben became a naturalized U.S. citizen by act of the Pennsylvania legislature in March 1784 and later by the New York authorities in July 1786. With the war over, Steuben resigned from service and first settled with his longtime companion, William North, for whom he created a special room on Manhattan Island, where he became a prominent figure and elder in the German Reformed Church. From 1785 until his death in 1794, he served as president of the German Society of the City of New York, a charitable society founded in 1784 to assist German immigrants

On December 23, 1783, the state of New Jersey presented him with the use of an estate in Bergen County now known as Steuben House, which had been confiscated from Loyalist Jan Zabriskie in 1781. Located in the formerly strategic New Bridge Landing, the estate included a gristmill and about 40 acres (16 ha) of land. Legislators initially conditioned the grant, requiring Steuben to "hold, occupy and enjoy the said estate in person, and not by tenant."

Von Steuben died on November 28, 1794, at his estate in Oneida County, and was buried in a grove at what became the Steuben Memorial State Historic Site. The estate became part of the town of Steuben, New York, which was named for him.

Generally, Von Steuben Day takes place in September in many cities throughout the United States. It is often considered the German American event of the year. Participants march, dance, wear German costumes and play German music, and the event is attended by millions of people. The German-American Steuben Parade is held annually in September in New York City. It is one of the largest parades in the city and is traditionally followed by an Oktoberfest in Central Park as well as celebrations in Yorkville, Manhattan, a historically German section of New York City. The German-American Steuben Parade has been taking place since 1958.

Chicago hosts a von Steuben Day parade, which is featured in the U.S. film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Philadelphia hosts a smaller Steuben Parade in the Northeast section of the city.

The Steuben Society was founded in 1919 as "an educational, fraternal, and patriotic organization of American citizens of German background". In the difficult post-World War I years the Society helped the German-American community to reorganize. It is now one of the largest organizations for Americans of German descent.

 

 

The LuLac Edition #5, 631, April 16th, 2026

 

THE POPE &

THE PAGAN PRESIDENT

 

I don’t claim to be the best Roman Catholic in the world. As a matter o fact I sometimes think I’m not doing enough when in church, I see people concentrating on their faith more than me. I was taught by the nuns that the Pope, as head of our religion represents a  relationship with Christ.   It is the Catholic Church's foundational beliefs. The Church traces its origins directly to Jesus Christ, who founded the Church in 33 AD when He appointed Saint Peter as the first Pope. This appointment established the papal office that continues to this day, with the Pope serving as the spiritual leader of the universal Church. The Pope's role is to shepherd Christ's flock, ensure the preservation of the teachings of Jesus, and serve as the earthly representative of Christ's authority.

That was drummed into us in school, in Mass and at church. So I guess I am befuddled by the silence I’m experiencing from all the Catholic MAGAs who still support this bottom dwelling President who attacked the Pope for doing his job. What is even more galling is to have Eucharistic ministers, and deacons wearying white robes standing by this latest fit from a non-believing, un-Christian example of a President.  For non Catholic, the Pope is the representative of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We believe it. It is in our teaching. It’s why we get sashes on Ash Wednesday, fast during Lent, carry a cross on Friday and celebrate Christmas and Easter as holidays. 

The Popes through history, (some good, some bad, others great) are the guy. So MAGAs……you own this behavior because  you were warned but you choose not once, but twice, chaos, cruelty, and crazy  “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing,(or a blue suit, red tie, and bad combover)  but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” – Matthew 7:15

 

 

GOP LIE: DEMOCRATS ALWAYS

RAISE TAXES

 

There is no getting around it. Republicans LIE. The GOP lie machine is a thing to behold. The MAGAs will tell you that Democrats always raise taxes.   They do but only because Republicans have ballooned the deficit in an obscene manner in this century.

The Bush administration in the first decade took us on two  misadventures and caused an economic collapse. The Dems had to clean it up.

The Trump administration has raised the deficit by 2.25 trillion and add that to the 11 trillion he blew through in his first term. THAT’S 14 TRILLION.

Plus the difference between the GOP raising taxes and the Democrats is this. The Republicans care about tax breaks for billionairess while Democrats try to actually improve the lives of middle class Americans.

When you cut Medicaid, SNAP and aide to education you are not for the people.

 

MEASLES ON THE RISE

 

Ass wipe parents who don’t vaccinate their kids are killing other people’s children. Latest cunt in America: 17,000.

 

THE HILLBILLY SCHOOLS

THE POPE ON THEOLOGY

The Hil Billy Veep  who converted to Catholicism in 2019, also pushed back against the Pope’s recent criticism of the Trump administration and the Iran war on Tuesday. Speaking at the conservative group Turning Point USA’s event in Phoenix, Vance said, “How can you say that God was never on the side of those who wield the sword?” before he gave the example of U.S. military involvement in liberating Europe from the Nazis in the Second World War. The vice president then added, “There are certainly things the pope has said I disagree with.” Vance said he is open to disagreements on whether the Iran War is just, but added: “In the same way, it is important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy. I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.” The vice president then added: “if you’re going to opine on matters of theology…you’ve got to make sure it’s anchored in the truth,” without specifying if he believes the Pope’s remarks were not anchored in truth.

On Monday, Vance was interviewed by Fox News on the feud between the White House and the Pope and said: “It would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality, to stick to what’s going on with the Catholic Church, and to let the president stick to dictating American public policy.”

Vance should just shut up because the more loyal he seems to be to his boss and the less loyal he is to this faith, will not bode well for his future ambitions.

 

 

PAGNOTTI: FAMILIES NEED TO GET AHEAD  

8^th District candidate Paige Cognetti has laud out a plan for families to not only get ahead but stay ahead.

Break up the huge monopolies that hurt our small businesses and raise costs. Bring more competition into our communities by ending the Big Box monopolies that drive small businesses out of our area, give consumers fewer options, and let a few large companies control everything.

Strengthen unions; make it easier to join and start a union.

Respect the power of the people via local control and allocate more federal money directly to municipalities and counties.

Champion small business by understanding how federal choices impact their ability to stay alive — without access to a healthcare marketplace, many people cannot work at the small businesses they love.

Go after fees that shrink our pocketbooks with a million little cuts, like capping credit card fees.

Prevent healthcare industry middlemen from denying care and medications prescribed by doctors.

Reform the insurance system so that when people pay for insurance, they can expect to be protected when something happens – from healthcare to flooding.

 

CAN ANTI CRIME MESSAGE RESONATE WITH VOTERS?

 

Days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was ousted by an opposition campaign with an anti-corruption message, Democrats want to try the same playbook against President Donald Trump before the midterm elections.

House Democrats launched Wednesday what they call a task force to overhaul ethics rules and protect access to the ballot. They also want to highlight the Trump family’s business dealings and the president’s transformation of the federal government.

The task force, which will include a mix of progressive and moderate members, could become a central part of Democrats’ messaging as they try to claw back control of Congress from Republicans.

Rep. Joe Morelle, top Democrat on the House Administration Committee and a longtime ally of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, will spearhead the effort. He said Jeffries “fears that we’re losing Americans’ faith and trust in government and institutions” because so often “decisions are made based on the personal interests of the members or the president and with little regard for Americans.” (AP, LuLac)

 

BRESNAHAN PRESENTS LONG-OVERDUE MEDALS TO VIETNAM VETERAN

U.S. Representative Rob Bresnahan, Jr. (PA-08) presented Vietnam Veteran Walter James (Jim) Roos with the military medals he earned during his service, presented for the first time decades after they were awarded.

“Walter Roos devoted his life to serving our nation, both in uniform and as a civilian,” said Rep. Bresnahan. “Thanks to our team’s work, we were able to secure these long-overdue medals and formally honor his courage, and dedication. It’s a privilege to celebrate his service and the example he sets for his family, community, and country.”

During his six years in the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Roos served as a Staff Sergeant, handling critical responsibilities on the flight line while stationed overseas. After leaving the military, he had a distinguished civilian career supporting the U.S. Army, including key roles in logistics and supply operations during natural disasters and international missions.

Walter Roos was presented with the following medals:

Air & Space Commendation Medal

Air Force Good Conduct Medal

Air & Space Longevity Service Award

National Defense Service Medal

Vietnam Service Medal

The recognition was made possible through the dedicated work of Rep. Bresnahan’s constituent services team, who responded after Mr. Roos’s wife reached out to ensure her husband’s service was properly acknowledged. The team worked closely to track down the medals he had earned but never received, coordinating with the appropriate military offices to make this presentation possible.

 

INDEPENDENCE HALL - GOVERNOR SHAPIRO AND FIRST LADY SHAPIRO WELCOME THE KING AND QUEEN OF THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS TO PHILADELPHIA, CELEBRATE STRONG ECONOMIC AND HISTORICAL TIES AHEAD OF AMERICA'S 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF INDEPENDENCE

Governor Shapiro Welcomes the King and Queen of the Netherlands to Philadelphia, Highlight Economic Ties between Pennsylvania and the Netherlands

 

Governor Josh Shapiro and First Lady Lori Shapiro welcomed His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Mxima of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Philadelphia during their working visit to the United States - touring Independence Hall, visiting the Liberty Bell, and convening a roundtable with the CEOs of Dutch multinational businesses to encourage them to increase investment in Pennsylvania.

During their visit, the Governor, First Lady, and Their Majesties highlighted the long-standing relationship between Pennsylvania and the Netherlands, dating back to the Commonwealth's founding in 1681, while underscoring shared economic ties ahead of America's 250th anniversary.

"We're honored to welcome Their Majesties to the Commonwealth as we celebrate the historic friendship between Pennsylvania and the Netherlands," said Governor Shapiro. "For centuries, our people have benefitted from this productive relationship and my Administration looks forward to strengthening those ties and our shared commitment to economic opportunity and innovation."

 

MEDIA MATTERS

WVIA NEWS 

WALN

BOLD GOLD COMMUNITY FORUM

You'll hear the program Sunday at 6 on 94.3 The Talker; 6:30 on 1400 am The Mothership and 7:30 am on 105 The River.

 

THE LAURIE CADDEN SHOW

Tune in every Saturday morning at 9am for The Laurie Cadden Show on WILK FM 103.1 and AM 980 and 910. Laurie’s program has been a northeastern Pennsylvania mainstay every Saturday. Tune in to hear her insights and take on local issues as well as entertaining and informative interviews.

 

BOBBY V’S DOO WOP SUNDAY NIGHT SOCK HOP

 

BEATLE EDD’S FAB FOUR MUSIC HOUR

Tune in every week to the Home of Rock and Roll for a jam packed, unpredictable hour starting at 9am Sundays. Host Edd Raineri gives you facts and great music from the immortal Fab Four on ROCK 107.

 

THE LULAC TIME MACHINE

BREAKING THE COLOR LINE

Jackie Robinson arrives

April 1947

Jack Roosevelt Robinson  was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.

Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson was raised in Pasadena, California. A four-sport student athlete at Pasadena Junior College and the University of California, Los Angeles, he was better known for football than he was for baseball, becoming a star with the UCLA Bruins football team. Following his college career, Robinson was drafted for service during World War II, but was court-martialed for refusing to sit at the back of a segregated Army bus, eventually being honorably discharged. Afterwards, he signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues, where he caught the eye of Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who thought he would be the perfect candidate for breaking the MLB color line.

During his 10-year MLB career, Robinson won the inaugural Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, was an All-Star for six consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1954, and won the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player Award in 1949—the first Black player so honored. Robinson played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers' 1955 World Series championship. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 in his first year of eligibility.

In 1942, Robinson was drafted and assigned to a segregated Army cavalry unit at Fort Riley, Kansas Having the requisite qualifications, Robinson and several other black soldiers applied for admission to an Officer Candidate School (OCS) then located at Fort Riley.

After receiving his commission, Robinson was reassigned to Fort Hood, Texas, where he joined the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion.

An event on July 6, 1944, derailed Robinson's military career. While awaiting results of hospital tests on the ankle he had injured in junior college, Robinson boarded an Army bus with a fellow officer's wife; although the Army had commissioned its own unsegregated bus line, the bus driver ordered Robinson to move to the back of the bus.  Robinson refused. The driver backed down, but after reaching the end of the line, summoned the military police, who took Robinson into custody. When Robinson later confronted the investigating duty officer about racist questioning by the officer and his assistant, the officer recommended Robinson be court-martialed.

After Robinson's in the 761st,   Paul Bates  refused to authorize the legal action, Robinson was summarily transferred to another battalion where the commander quickly consented to charge Robinson with multiple offenses, including, among other charges, public drunkenness, even though Robinson did not drink.

By the time of the court-martial in August 1944, the charges against Robinson had been reduced to two counts of insubordination during questioning.  Robinson was acquitted by an all-white panel of nine officers.

Although his former unit, the 761st Tank Battalion, became the first black tank unit to see combat in World War II, Robinson's court-martial proceedings prohibited him from being deployed overseas, and he was never in combat.

After his acquittal, he was transferred to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky where he served as a coach for army athletics until receiving an honorable  in November 1944.

 Robinson pursued a baseball career and signed a contract in the Negro Leagues with the Kansas City Monarchs. Branch Rickey from the Dodgers wanted to sign him but kept it a secret due to the tenor of the times and competition from other clubs. Rickey's offer allowed Robinson to leave behind the Monarchs and their grueling bus rides, and he went home to Pasadena. That September, he signed with Chet Brewer's Kansas City Royals, a post-season barnstorming team in the California Winter League. Later that off-season.

In 1946, Robinson arrived at Daytona Beach, Florida, for spring training with the Montreal Royals of the Class AAA International League. Clay Hopper, the manager of the Royals, asked Rickey to assign Robinson to any other Dodgers affiliate, but Rickey refused. Robinson's presence was controversial in racially segregated Florida.

 In 1947, the Dodgers called Robinson up to the major leagues six days before the start of the season. With Eddie Stanky entrenched at second base for the Dodgers, Robinson played his initial major league season as a first baseman. Robinson made his debut as a Dodger wearing uniform number 42 on April 11, 1947, in a preseason exhibition game against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field with 24,237 in attendance.  On April 15, Robinson made his major league debut at the relatively advanced age of 28 at Ebbets Field before a crowd of 26,623 spectators, more than 14,000 of whom were black. Although he failed to get a base hit, he reached second on a throwing error and scored the winning run in the Dodgers' 5–3 victory. Robinson became the first player since 1884 to openly break the major league baseball color line. Black fans began flocking to see the Dodgers when they came to town, abandoning their Negro league teams.

Robinson delivered as a player and in effect became part of pop culture.

On April 15, 1997, Robinson's jersey number, 42, was retired throughout Major League Baseball, the first time any jersey number had been retired throughout one of the four major American sports leagues. Under the terms of the retirement, a grandfather clause allowed the handful of players who wore number 42 to continue doing so in tribute to Robinson, until such time as they subsequently changed teams or jersey numbers. This affected players such as the Mets' Butch Huskey and Boston's Mo Vaughn. The Yankees' Mariano Rivera, who retired at the end of the 2013 season, was the last player in Major League Baseball to wear jersey number 42 on a regular basis. Since 1997, only Wayne Gretzky's number 99, retired by the NHL in 2000, and Bill Russell's number 6, retired by the NBA in 2022, have been retired league-wide in any of the four major sports.

Seattle Mariners teammates wearing number 42 on Jackie Robinson Day in 2012.

As an exception to the retired-number policy, MLB began honoring Robinson by allowing players to wear number 42 on April 15, Jackie Robinson Day, which is an annual observance that started in 2004 and this week in 1947, Robinson’s first in the bigs the number one song in LuLac land and America was “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)”. This was  the Commander Cody version.