Alsace (French: Alsace [alzas]; Alsatian: Elsàss [ˈɛlsɑs]; German: Elsass, pre-1996: Elsaß, IPA: [ˈɛlzas]; Latin: Alsatia) is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area (8,280 km²), and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km² (total population in 2006: 1,815,488; 1 January 2008 estimate: 1,836,000). Alsace is located on France's eastern border and on the west bank of the upper Rhine adjacent to Germany and Switzerland. The political, economic and cultural capital as well as largest city of Alsace is Strasbourg. Because that city is the seat of dozens of international organizations and bodies, Alsace is politically one of the most important regions in the European Union.

The name "Alsace" can be traced back to the Old High German Ali-saz or Elisaz, meaning "foreign domain". An alternative explanation derives it from a Germanic Ell-sass, meaning "seated on the Ill", a river in Alsace. The region was historically part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was gradually annexed by France in the 17th century under kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV and made one of the provinces of France. Alsace is frequently mentioned in conjunction with Lorraine, because German possession of parts of these two régions (as the imperial province Alsace-Lorraine, 1871–1918) was contested in the 19th and 20th centuries, during which Alsace changed hands four times between France and Germany in 75 years.

Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974), better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting (son John and grandson Jason). He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Ritter was born in Murvaul, Texas, the son of Martha Elizabeth (née Matthews) and James Everett Ritter. He grew up on his family's farm in Panola County and attended grade school in Carthage. He attended South Park High School in Beaumont. After graduating with honors, he entered the University of Texas at Austin; he studied pre-law, majoring in government, political science and economics.

An early pioneer of country music, Ritter soon became interested in show business. In 1928, he sang on KPRC-AM in Houston, a 30-minute show featuring cowboy songs. That same year, he moved to New York City and landed a job in the men's chorus of the Broadway show The New Moon (1928). He appeared as cowboy Cord Elam in the Broadway production Green Grow the Lilacs (1930), the basis for the musical Oklahoma!. He also played the part of Sagebrush Charlie in The Round Up (1932) and Mother Lode (1934).

Roscoe Ates (January 20, 1895–March 1, 1962) was an American actor and musician in primarily western films and television.

Ates was born in the rural hamlet of Grange, northwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Grange is no longer included on road maps. Ates spent much of his childhood overcoming a severe stutter. He entered the entertainment medium as a concert violinist but found economic opportunities greater as a vaudeville comedian. He revived his long-gone stutter for humorous effect. Besides his early films, Ates starred in his own short subject series with RKO and Vitaphone.

His first film role was at the age of thirty-four in 1929 as a ship's cook in South Sea Rose. The next year he was cast as "Old Stuff" in the film Billy the Kid with Johnny Mack Brown (1904–1974) as Billy the Kid and Wallace Beery (1885–1949) as Deputy Sheriff Pat Garrett.

In 1931, Ates appeared in a total of fourteen films, some roles uncredited. Here is a partial listing of his films:

From 1946 to 1948, Ates appeared as the western character Soapy Jones in fifteen films, including Colorado Serenade, Driftin' River (with Shirley Patterson), Stars Over Texas, and Tumbleweed Trail (all 1946), West to Glory, Shadow Valley, and Wild Country (all 1947), and Check Your Guns, Black Hills, Tornado Range, The Westward Trail, and The Tioga Kid (all 1948). His Soapy Jones character is the sidekick to the "Singing Cowboy" portrayed by native Texan, Eddie Dean. Thereafter, George "Gabby" Hayes employed archival footage from many Soapy Jones films in his 1950s children's television series, The Gabby Hayes Show.

Ewell Albert "Reb" Russell (March 12, 1889 in Albany Mississippi – September 30, 1973 in Indianapolis Indiana) was a Major League Baseball player for the Chicago White Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Russell was drafted by the White Sox as a pitcher in 1912. In his rookie season, his won-loss record was 22–16 and he led the league in games pitched, with 52. The lefty had a sterling 1.90 ERA while leading the team in innings pitched (317) and wins. Only Washington's ace Walter Johnson topped Reb’s 8 shutouts, and Russell tied a record that still stands with five 1–0 victories in a season. In 1916, he was Chicago's opening day starter; that year he led the team in wins (18), innings (264), and shutouts (5), and led the league in fewest walks allowed per inning.

In 1917 Russell helped the White Sox win the 1917 American League pennant, with a won-loss record of 15–5 and an ERA of 1.95.

Russell developed arm trouble in 1918 and after a poor start that season, he was released by Chicago. However, in the minor leagues the decent-hitting Russell converted to playing the outfield and returned to the major leagues in 1922 playing that position for the Pittsburgh Pirates. That year, he batted .367 with 75 RBI in 60 games. He was released by the Pirates at the end of the 1923 season, after which he returned to the minor league American Association (the highest level of minor league play in his era). He was a highly paid star in the AA through age 40, and won the league batting title (.385) when he was 38 years old.

Lucille Lund (June 3, 1913 – February 15, 2002) was an American film actress of the 1930s.

Lucille Lund was born in Buckley, Washington to Oluf and Laura (Skjelkvale) Lund, and was of Norwegian descent. She began her theatrical career as a child doing play extracts and readings. After leaving school she joined a stock company, the Henry Duffy Players, and toured up and down the Pacific Coast. She then studied drama at Northwestern University in Chicago. Lund studied drama while attending Northwestern University.

In 1933 she won a nationwide contest, "The Most Beautiful College Coed", which included a small Universal Pictures contract as a prize. Her first film was Horseplay in 1933, in which she had a minor role, with her first noticeable film being opposite Robert Young in the 1933 movie Saturday's Millions.

In 1934 she starred in six films. That year she starred in The Black Cat, a horror film starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. She also starred in the lead role opposite Reb Russell in Range Warfare, and would be named a "WAMPAS Baby Star". Of the thirteen girls selected that year to be "WAMPAS Baby Stars", only four would see any success as actresses. It was the last year that "WAMPAS" selected actresses for that title.