*Note: Some of the language below may be a little antiquated because its excerpts and transcriptions from a the book -Transcription from Historic Houses of New Jersey By Weymer Jay Mills .J. B. Lippincott Company – written in 1902 = The original words provide a unique glimpse of the people and early times in New […]
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[Old film & pics of farm life in 1916] with home of Abraham Lincoln’s parents in Ky
This historic film below provides a wonderful sense of what life was like for settlers in 1869 Kentucky and the old photographs depict how much life changed by 1916. The people had a strong character to conquer such hardships. Samuel Haycraft Jr., in his 1869 History of Elizabethtown, wrote: “For who can tell what Elizabethtown […]
Time is running out -[films & pics] will future generations know the joys of pine forests?
I have fond memories of riding my bike as a child to my favorite spot, a Longleaf pine thicket near my house. There I would often spend hours reading, thinking or just daydreaming as I was at one with nature. The long pine needles made a soft cushion where I could rest comfortably. Today, we are in […]
These people found a unique way to advertise
Some people believed in engraving their trades on their tombstones. Epitaph to blind woodsawyer in Georgia: “While none ever saw him see thousands have seen him saw.” Elkhart, Indiana, epitaph on tombstone of teacher: “School is out Teacher has gone home.” Epitaph to fireman in Wilmington, North Carolina “William P. Monroe Died […]
Inspiring story – problems are always as big as they first appear
FACING MY GIANTS by Inez McCollum The Bible and folk tales give examples of people who faced their giants. When David faced Goliath, he was definitely successful. When Jack faced the giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk,” the ending was good. I do love a story with a good ending. Personal stories with a good […]
DYK: ‘Without a clue’ once meant something different than it does today
Today without a clue means to have no knowledge of something, but it once had a different meaning. A clue (also spelled clew) was a globular ball formed from coiling worms or the like or, more specifically, a ball of thread. In Greek myth – the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur. Theseus entered the […]
Please put a heat-a-lator on the phone line – so funny!
In 1974, as an April Fool joke, a radio announcer told his audience that, since the community had experienced several nights of unusual below-zero temperature, the telephone company, at a specified time, would put “heat-a-lators” on all the lines to thaw them out. The disc jockey told his listeners to put their phone receivers in […]
First breaking news event covered by helicopter was in Baldwin Hills, Ca.
(KTLA, already a pioneer of live on-the-scene television coverage, used a helicopter to cover the disaster. Common today, this was perhaps the first such live aerial coverage of a breaking news event.) The Baldwin Hills Dam disaster occurred on December 14, 1963, when the dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir suffered a catastrophic failure and […]
AUTHOR SUNDAY – Russians in the house -Try to explain that experience to someone
Russians In The House! by Inez McCollum I am a member of a group, Friendship Force International, that hosts young professionals from Russia each Fall. The young adults are sponsored by the Library of Congress and visit our area to study the various city offices, civic organizations and human aid groups. I usually host two […]
Christmas Boxes were originally earthenware boxes
The 26th of December, also called St. Stephen’s Day. Boxing Day is a public holiday that forms part of the Christmas festivities in most of the countries that were once part of the British Empire. It was originally the first working day after Christmas Day, but is now always celebrated on December 26th, regardless of […]