In a few days, Americans all across the country will pin up their shamrocks, clothe themselves in green, and raise a Guinness or two to St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. Most of them have never set foot on the Emerald Isle. Many more haven't even a drop of Irish blood in their bodies. And … Continue reading The Feast of Immigrants (and St. Patrick, too)
history
Suicide Sal and the Barrow Gang
Beginning with the stock market crash of 1929, the Great Depression, as it would later be called, swept across the United States, plunging much of the country into an unprecedented state of poverty. Crop prices fell by 60%. Construction projects and manufacturing ground to a standstill. Unemployment wavered between 25-33%. And, out west, in the … Continue reading Suicide Sal and the Barrow Gang
Blood, Whipping, and Chaucer: The Truth Behind St. Valentine’s Day
The ancient Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia in mid-February, usually from the 13th-15th, in an effort to avert evil spirits and purify the city. The celebration started in a cave known as Lupercal where, tradition said, Roman founders Romulus and Remus were nursed by she-wolf Lupa. Inside the cave lay an altar, where drunk, … Continue reading Blood, Whipping, and Chaucer: The Truth Behind St. Valentine’s Day
Black Sunday
April 14, 1935. Palm Sunday. The start of the holiest week of the year for Christians in Boise City, Oklahoma and all around the world. Dresses and suits were pulled from the closet and wiped free of dust, although years of drought and poverty had left most with frayed cuffs and thin fabric. But it … Continue reading Black Sunday
The Beginning of a Dream
"I have a dream." Perhaps one of the most famous lines in all of American history. On August 28, 1963, a mere 5 years before his death, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered these words on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, painting … Continue reading The Beginning of a Dream
A Wonderful, Awful Idea
"Why for 53 years I've put up with it now!" So laments the Grinch, the titular character of Dr. Seuss's holiday masterpiece How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The book was an instant classic when it was released in 1957, the same year its author turned...53. It's not a coincidence. Yes, fans of the lovable, silly, … Continue reading A Wonderful, Awful Idea
The Propaganda Experiment
By 1935, the Plains were in shambles. The crops were withering, the dust was swirling, and the drought showed no signs of slowing. Thousands of people were suffering in poverty, dying from from too much dust or not enough food. The war with Mother Nature was inherently lopsided, and the residents of the Dust Bowl … Continue reading The Propaganda Experiment
A World of Country to Settle
In the early 1820's, Stephen F. Austin led a group of approximately 300 families to an area that is now modern-day Texas. By 1836, after several bloody skirmishes, including the famous battle at the Alamo, the land had broken free from Mexican oppression, becoming the newly formed Republic of Texas. At the time, the countryside … Continue reading A World of Country to Settle
“This rusty car creaking along the highway to the west…”
In 1935, facing mounting pressure from Congress about the "Dust Bowl" problem, and thanks in part to Hugh Bennett's passionate plea to save the Plains, President Roosevelt created the Resettlement Administration. The main purpose of this entity was to give a buy-out, about seven hundred dollars per family, for people affected by the drought and … Continue reading “This rusty car creaking along the highway to the west…”
The Winged Plague
A black cloud on the horizon races towards your homestead. In the life of an Oklahoma farmer during the Dust Bowl, this was not an unusual sight. You'd herd what livestock remained into the barn and gather your family inside your house, stuffing wet sheets into the cracks to keep out the incoming dust. Then, … Continue reading The Winged Plague
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