Lillian Bounds was born on the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho in 1899. Her father was the federal marshal on the reservation and also the blacksmith. Lillian was the youngest of 10 children and the family struggled financially. Her father died when Lillian was 17. Lillian graduated from high school and went to business college….
Category: Pop Culture
The Year was 1926
Missing! For 11 days, police, dogs, airplanes and 15,000 searchers scoured the English countryside for the missing wife. Was she kidnapped? Murdered? Or had she killed herself? This was straight out of a Stephen King novel. Or an Agatha Christie mystery. Wait! This was Agatha Christie. Agatha was married to the tall, dashing Archie Christie,…
The Year was 1916
Thanks to Steve Ellis for this idea! Should we blame farmers? What about school bus drivers? No. For Daylight Savings Time, we must blame World War I. Making optimal use of daylight was an idea that was used even in ancient times. The Romans adjusted their water clocks for every month. In 1895, a New…
The Year was 1913
“They’re ruining the country. People are obsessed. They can’t get to work on time.” Or at all! They were spending their time in libraries. What was the evil? Crossword puzzles! The idea began in England but it was in the United States where the idea took off. The first crossword puzzle appeared just before Christmas,…
The Year was 2018
What a park! Originally called Greensward, it is Central Park, New York City; 750 acres, commissioned by the New York State legislature in 1853. By 2017, it had everything – almost. To let people know where they were in the park, 21 gates were designated. To avoid competition, in 1862, the Board of Commissions decided…
The Year was 1955
Santa! Quick! Where is he??? NORAD knows? What? If you call this number, 877-HI-NORAD, someone will answer and give you an update. How did the military in the United States and Canada start this, now operated by some 1,500 military personnel and volunteers? They didn’t. In 1955, someone at Sears got a brilliant idea. Why…
The Year was 1441
O tannenbaum, o tannenbaum… We know this is Oh Christmas Tree, oh Christmas tree…and in fact the Christmas tree comes from early German Protestant celebrations of Christmas. But where did the Lutherans get this idea of decorating greenery in the middle of winter? The Vikings made green bows part of their celebration of mid-winter, perhaps…
The Year was A Date Lost in Antiquity
It was a pagan holiday. Now, the first day of November is called All Soul’s Day. According to various religions, this is the day to pray for the dead. In the Roman Catholic Church tradition, those who have gone to Heaven are Saints. Those who still have a chance to get into Heaven, who have…
The Year was 1969
You have seen him on TV. Maybe thousands of times. He has done more than 4,000 shows. But you would not recognize him. If he was introduced to you, you would not recognize his name. It is Caroll Spinney. He just retired this week as, yes, Big Bird. Caroll met fellow puppeteer Jim Henson at…
The Year was 1896
What is May Irwin famous for? The very first kiss every filmed. May Irwin was born in Canada and named Georgina May Campbell. When she was 13, her father died. Her mother, in need of money to support herself and her two daughters, Adeline and Georgia, had them do a vaudeville act as “The Irwin…