An Explosive Moment in Time by Pete Kersey October 1957…I had been a clerk typist at Castle Air Force base in northern California for eight months. This was a B-52 Air Force bomber flight crew training base. In spite of my having tested high in electronic abilities, the Air Force needed help to process the […]
Written at the request of a grandson who ask me, “What has happened of great significance in your lifetime?” The Great Depression This was the period of time after World War I when the economy of the United States became even worse than today. Banks failed, unemployment was at the lowest in history, and food […]
This is a picture of the White House after it was burned by the British in the War of 1812. On June 12, 1812, the United States of America declared war on Great Britain. There had been a long period of simmering disputes between the nations, including Northwest Territory land disputes, the British impressment of […]
In the 1930s, Texas had plans to celebrate its 100th anniversary of independence from Mexico. The city of Dallas was chosen and on June 6, 1936, the exposition opened to huge crowds seeking to escape the hard-knock life of Depression-era Dallas. Crowds fill the plaza in front of the Federal Building during the Texas Centennial […]
The curators at the Michigan Historical Museum are stumped by this mysterious artifact in their collection that was donated to the Museum. Jeremy Dimick describes this unknown item that was donated early in the museum’s history, before record keeping is what it today (circa 1913). The artifact came from a mining ghosttown in Michigan’s Upper […]
Authorities differ, and statistics bristle in the controversy, but this is the offering of the Photographic History of the Civil War: More than 2,000,000 Federal soldiers were twenty-one or under (of a total of some 2,700,000)- More than 1,000,000 were eighteen or under. About 800,000 were seventeen or under. About 200,000 were sixteen or under. About 100,000 […]
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the State of South Carolina. From the creation of Columbia by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1786, the site of Columbia was important to the overall development of the state. The Congarees, a frontier fort on the west bank of the Congaree River, was the […]
SCENTS OF THE PAST by Gayle Farris Have you ever had a “flash back”, when you smell something that you had not…in a long long time? Perhaps it was the aroma of a food you ate as a child. Maybe you were walking in park and caught the fragrance of a flower or shrub that […]
The picturesque state of Vermont, land of maple syrup and beautiful fall foliage can also claim to have the first written constitution in North America to provide for the the abolition of slavery, suffrage for men who did not own land, and public schools. Elijah West’s tavern, scene of the adoption of this unique constitution […]
Can you imagine buying a new Chevrolet car for $659? You could in 1940. Of course, that was still quite a bit of money at the time when you consider minimum wage was only 30 cents per hour. From Life Magazine December 11, 1939 Here are some other typical prices for common items. Milk: 34 […]
