Blog
Amanda Smith: Overcoming Obstacles Through Faith
Born into slavery and living in a world dominated by white males, Amanda Smith overcame many obstacles to share the Gospel and promote education around the world.
Really Unhappy Valentine’s Days
On February 14, many people in the Western world celebrate love and chocolate, so it can be a happy occasion. If you are lacking one or both of these causes for revelry, Valentine’s Day may not be such a great day. Rest assured, however, that you are not alone in your...
Bootleggers — More Than Expected
Today is, at least according to one post on social media, National Bootlegger’s Day. This makes sense because January 17 was the day Prohibition took effect, and this year marks the 100th anniversary of that day. While smuggling of alcohol to avoid taxes had long been...
Who Was Eating out of That Manger Anyway? Animals at the Nativity
This year, as we looked over the collection and watched wobbling angels push shepherds off the edge of the table, my daughter asked what animals would actually have been at the nativity. She had her doubts about the turkey strutting around in the loft, as if thrilled that he had survived another Thanksgiving. I agreed that turkeys were unlikely since their native habitat is about 7,000 miles from Bethlehem. So, then I started to wonder what animals might really have been there eating out of that manger.
Not Dead Yet – Waterloo Village Still Worth Visiting Despite All Attempts to Destroy it
Expectations were low as we headed to historic Wateloo Village in northwest New Jersey. Even so, when we first arrived, it appeared that those sea-level expectations were too high. The 19th Century canal town is now owned by the state of New Jersey and all appearances...
The Augusta Canal – What’s the Opposite of Obsolete?
We learned all about American canals in school, or so I thought. In the days before trains, men loaded goods onto canal barges. Then the barges would be pulled slowly by draft animals trudging up the tow path. It was a slow means of transportation, but still faster...
Ammonia Coke
At first, I thought I heard wrong. I could have sworn the state park employee behind the counter told a co-worker that she needed an “Ammonia Coke.” Being nosy, I had to ask. And I heard right. She wanted to head down to the local lunch counter for a “hand-pumped”...
Glamping May Have Saved the Republic: George Washington’s Attempt to Win French Support with a Fancy Campsite
We may owe our independence as a nation to a fancy tent and some pilfered uniforms. As autumn began in 1782, George Washington set up camp outside New York City. A year after the decisive victory at Yorktown, the situation was by no means as jubilant as most Americans...
Painted Stones on Dead Eyes in GOT – Did Anybody Do That?
I like to look for historical corollaries in the admittedly not historical Game of Thrones books and TV adaptation. So the creepy eye stones placed on bodies lying in state have intrigued me. Did any real cultures ever follow this practice? It makes sense for people...
Twelve Angry Women? The Mysterious Colonial Jury
Since the laws in the U.S. did not grant women the universal privilege to vote until 1920, most people are aware that women’s ability to participate in the political and legal process was severely restricted for centuries after the first European settlers landed on...