On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy, a shoemaker and social activist, walked into the Press Street Depot in New Orleans, bought a first-class ticket to Covington, Louisiana, and boarded the East Louisiana Railroad’s Number 8 train--all with the full expectation of being forced off the train or arrested—or both. That's because Plessy was a black … Continue reading The Little Rock Nine
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Computer Slow? Check for bugs!
In February 1945, with World War II dragging into its sixth year, the United States Navy entered a contract with a team of scientists at Harvard University to build a computer. Having been impressed by a demonstration of the Mark I, an electromechanical computer used to study implosions for the Manhattan Project, Navy higher-ups believed … Continue reading Computer Slow? Check for bugs!
When The Third Time’s NOT a Charm
Blink and you'll miss it. Codell is a small farming community much like many others scattered throughout Kansas. Located in the windswept prairie north of Hays (and the bustling traffic of Interstate 70), Codell was established as a railroad town in 1887 and once boasted hundreds of houses, a school, multiple churches as well as … Continue reading When The Third Time’s NOT a Charm
This Is Berlin Calling…
In the height of the Second World War, exhausted American soldiers hunker in their makeshift camps. They are dirty and exhausted, not just from the day's battle, but from years of continuous warfare. Friends have been lost. Comrades have been maimed. And home--America--has never felt further away. Someone pulls out a radio. The upbeat melody … Continue reading This Is Berlin Calling…
3-2-1, Action…or Explosion!
In 1945, the world witnessed the true power of nuclear weapons when two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, one on Hiroshima on August 6, and on Nagasaki three days later. Realizing the potential (and perhaps ramifications) of such a weapon, at the war's end, the United States created the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to … Continue reading 3-2-1, Action…or Explosion!
No One Was Responsible
On the northwest corner of Greene Street and Washington Place in Manhattan sits the Asch Building. Made of iron and steel and constructed in 1900, the ten-story building was named after its owner--Joseph J. Asch--and, upon its completion, offered office and factory space for several of New York's rising industries. In 1911, the 8th, 9th, … Continue reading No One Was Responsible
The Small Fry Club
Let's go back in time together. Back before Netflix and Hulu, before satellite dishes and cable providers, back even before a plethora of available local stations like Fox and PBS. Back to the 1940's, when television was in its infancy and there were only 3 networks. Three! ABC, CBS, and NBC. And the only thing … Continue reading The Small Fry Club
For Love of the Land…
The Allegheny forest of Northwestern Pennsylvania was once a sight to be seen. Brimming with acres upon acres of Eastern hemlock, American beech, sugar maple, chestnut, and other distinct trees, this old-growth forest was home to wolves and cougars, which kept the deer population at naturally regulated low levels. This, in turn, allowed the understory … Continue reading For Love of the Land…
Heartbreak Hotel and Other Humble Beginnings
On January 8, 1935, in a two-room shotgun house in East Tupelo, Mississippi, a woman named Gladys gave birth to a son, Jesse Garon. The child, unfortunately, was stillborn. Thirty-five minutes later, the second of the twins arrived alive, to the great relief of both mother and father. They named the child Elvis Aron (later … Continue reading Heartbreak Hotel and Other Humble Beginnings
The Beginning of a Dream
It's #historyfriday--throwback edition! Today, in honor of the upcoming MLK holiday, I'm re-posting an article I wrote about the beginning of Martin Luther King Jr's dream. You can read it here "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." --MLK
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