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Posted by: Valerie Haeder
For a seemingly interminable 65 days the Mayflower was the floating home of pilgrims, officers and crew as they made their famous journey to America. For some it was a graveyard, and for others, a symbol of life renewed. Those who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 are commonly known as pilgrims, but the sailors who …
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
When Michael Hill opened his mailbox in 1982 and found a letter from renowned historian David McCullough he was astounded, and his life changed forever. Two months earlier he’d sent a letter to Mr. McCullough offering his research services, the envelope addressed only to David McCullough, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts—no zip code, no street address. Somehow …
Posted in: Biography, Digitized Newspapers, Newspapers
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
Why is there a Labor Day holiday celebrated in September when there already is a perfectly good labor day celebrated on May Day? While you will find no text book with a clear explanation—there is none—we can infer the reasons between the two days that honor the working man. May Day is the traditional day …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
On July 24, 1849, the residents of Salt Lake City were “awakened by the firing of nine rounds of artillery, accompanied by martial music.” It was Pioneer Day in Utah, marking the two year anniversary of the first group of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to reach the Salt …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
The flags decorating the theater box where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated were almost an afterthought, but they became central to the legend and lore surrounding his assassination. On April 14, 1865, just hours before the President arrived at Ford’s, John Ford, the proprietor of the theater, thought it appropriate to adorn the box where …
Posted in: Holidays, Mystery, Newspapers
Posted by: Valerie Haeder
The picture of May Day with merry lads and lasses dancing around the May Pole stands in stark contrast to the May Day parades held in the former Soviet Union when the top brass brought out their nuclear warheads to the (forced) delight of the comrades. How did the bucolic rites of changing seasons become …
Posted in: Digitized Newspapers, Holidays, Newspapers