Archive for History
-
August 2013
By Eloise Graham Are you aware of any special “Day” in August? Let’s play a game. I’ll name the day, you think of the month. Here goes: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, April Fools Day, (hope you didn’t miss that one!)...
-
In and Out of the Quad-Cities – Amtraking our Life Away
Contributed by Gail McPike and Toni Hall Trains have rumbled down the long track of American poetry, folklore and music. Jimmy Rogers, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson join Emily Dickinson and Henry David Thoreau in heralding the magic of the Iron Horse. And, while enjoying a mountain hike a few w...
-
July – Some Highlights of the Past 150 Years
By Eloise Graham 1863 - The Battle of Gettysburg is fought in July 1863. * Boise, Idaho is founded (now capital of Idaho). 1873 - Prince Edward Island becomes the 7th Canadian province * Jesse James & James Younger gang's first train robbery (Adair Iowa). 1883 - Buffalo Bill Cody presents ...
-
The Merry Month of May…
By Eloise Graham May seems to have a theme all to itself – the letter “M.” May Day, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day all take place in the merry month of May. Even its birthstone is the “M”erald. (Emerald) May Day, celebrated on May 1, is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festi...
-
April – The Month for Diamonds
By Eloise Graham Some diamonds are a girls best friend… other diamonds are a guys! The birthstone for April is the diamond. Opening day for baseball is in April. Therefore, April must be the month for diamonds. April also boasts of many other important events. To start with, April 1 is ...
-
Iowa Department on Aging Searches for Centenarians
By Donna K. Harvey Director, Iowa Department on Aging Iowans age 100 and above will be honored at the 2013 Centenarian Honors Celebration at the Science Center of Iowa October 4, 2013. Any Iowan born in 1913, or before and not yet on the Iowa Centenarian Registry, qualifies for this milestone r...
-
March – In Like a Lion and Out Like a Lamb…
By Eloise Graham Or is it the other way around? I remember learning this little “fact” of predicting March’s weather. It seems to be as good as any other way to determine the weather a month out. And, I would say this statement is accurate… at least 50 percent of the time. So, when I thin...
-
February – The Shortest Month… but packed full of activities, events and history
By Eloise Graham On February 2, we get to find out if we have six more weeks of winter or not. Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, is widely known as the forecaster of the day. There is historical reference to “Groundhog Day” dating back to 1841. Recently, many ...
