This is my favorite fable from Aesop. A boy returned home one day with a book that he had stolen from a classmate. Instead of scolding and punishing her son, the mother asked him if anyone had seen him take it. When her son said no, she complimented him. Read more…
Willie Kellogg was born the seventh of sixteen kids on April 7, 1860 in Battle Creek, Michigan. A poor student, Will dropped out after sixth grade and went to work as a broom salesman for his father’s broom company. After eight years, he took a three-month business course and Read more…
He was born Erik Weisz in Hungary on March 24, 1874. His family moved to Wisconsin when he was 4. He was nicknamed Harry. As a child he developed a love of magic. In particular, he idolized a French magician named Jean-Eurgene Robert-Houdin. He adopted his name, adding an i Read more…
This story was a popular one for Spartan parents to tell their sons. Once upon a time, there was a Spartan boy living in the barracks with other boys his age. The boys never seemed to get enough food. This was to toughen them up and they were encouraged Read more…
We do not know the date of the first Easter. In fact, we are not even sure what year Jesus was crucified. I used 30 A.D. in my Western Civ class, but I have also seen 33 A.D. The idea of celebrating the Resurrection goes back to the early Read more…
On April 3, 1860 the most famous mail service in American History started. It went from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. It normally took ten days (in comparison to 25 by way of stagecoach). The record was the delivery of Lincoln’s first inaugural address in March, 1861 in 7 Read more…
After losing the Battle of Salamis, Persian Emperor Xerxes left his army in Greece and returned home with his fleet. On the way, the fleet ran into a terrible storm and Xerxes’ ship was about to go under. He asked the captain what could be done and the Read more…
Some historians trace April Fool’s Day back to France in the late 16th Century. France converted to the Gregorian Calendar in 1582. Under the Julian Calendar, French people celebrated New Year’s Day on April 1 in conjunction with the spring equinox. With the switch, the French who continued that were Read more…
Today is the birthday of the first great African-American boxer. Live large today in his honor. Jack Johnson was born on March 31, 1878 in Galveston, Texas. His parents were former slaves. He was frail as a child, he would not stay that way. After only five years of schooling, Read more…
Maria Oktyabrskaya was one of ten children to a poor family. She married an officer in the Red Army in 1925. She joined the Military Wives Council and was trained to fire weapons and drive. When Germany invaded Russia, her husband was killed in fighting near Kiev in 1941. She Read more…