The Romans had a festival for the goddess Pomona, who was the harvest goddess. The apple was associated with her. Another festival was called Feralia. It was in late October and marked the passing of the dead. The eerie aspects were influenced by the Celtic festival of Samhaim (“summer’s end”) Read more…
One of the greatest cartoonists in American History was born on Oct. 29, 1921. He was trained in cartooning at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He enlisted in the Army (his father fought in WWI) in September, 1940. He first served in Sicily in 1943. He was wounded in Read more…
Today is the anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in 1886. The ceremony was hosted by Pres. Cleveland. Interesting facts about the Statue of Liberty: – it was first proposed by French Edouard de Laboulaye to commemorate the American-French alliance in the Revolutionary War – Read more…
In honor of the birthday of my favorite President, here are some anecdotes about Teddy Roosevelt. “FOUR EYES” – When he was ten and he was bullied by some older boys who called him “Four Eyes”. He tried to fight back, but he was easily fended off. When he Read more…
The most famous gunfight in the history of the Wild West occurred on Oct. 26, 1881. Tombstone had been founded just one year before and in two years it had gone from 100 residents to over 7,000. The silver mines attracted them. The town had churches, restaurants, hotels, an Read more…
It was the last major British victory in the Hundred Years’ War. 28 year-old King Henry V invaded France to uphold his claim to the French throne. He was supposedly provoked by a message from the French which consisted of some tennis balls. The suggestion being that he should limit Read more…
Johnny Appleseed was born Jonathan Chapman. His father was a Continental Army soldier who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. When his mother died when he was young, he was raised by relatives. In 1792, at age 17, he left home. He became a nurseryman. He would take Read more…
Gertrude was born on Oct. 23, 1905 in New York City to German immigrants. She loved to swim as a girl and dropped out of school as a teenager to train as a competitive swimmer. She joined the Women’s Swimming Association. She invented the “eight beat crawl” which was Read more…
He was born on Oct. 22, 1920 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He claimed he was conceived the day before Prohibition went into effect. His dentist father left his family when Timothy, Jr. was 14. He went to West Point, but didn’t fit in and had problems with authority. The other cadets Read more…
Alexander Hamilton, Jr was studying law when his father was shot in the most famous duel in American History. The duel took place at the same place where his older brother Phillip had been killed by a Burr supporter. He was at his father’s side when he died. He Read more…