Americas
-
The State of Franklin
Following the American Revolutionary War there were 13 states that had been officially admitted to the Union. The 14th state to try their hand at joining the Union was a state originally called Frankland but later changed to Franklin. In April of 1784, North Carolina ceded an eastern part of their state between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains in what is today a part of Tennessee. When the war was over Congress was penniless and many states owed money to the government for war debts. As North Carolina could not afford to pay their debt in currency, the government agreed to the 29 million acres offered as payment…
-
The early and personal life of Dr. Seuss
Theodor Robert Geisel and wife Henrietta gave birth to Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, MA. While the name Theodor Seuss Geisel may not sound familiar, it is the real name of Dr. Seuss, that is known the world over. Seuss’s father and grandfather owned and operated a brewery in Springfield that was highly successful and profitable allowing Seuss and his sister, Marnie, to have a happy and prosperous childhood. Prohibition did present setbacks to the family but never enough for concern as the family continued to prosper. According to Seuss himself, it was his mother who he gave credit to for his unique ability to rhyme…
-
The Tornado that created the Mayo Clinic
Oppressive heat, dense air and a quiet stillness of life filled the citizens of Rochester, Minnesota with dread during the day of August 21, 1883. Conditions in town had turned for the worse by the evening when the skies had turned to black and sudden gale force winds whipped across the land. These are all the markings of an impending tornado. A small tornado formed in another area of Minnesota earlier in the day, but it was a much larger tornado that touched down at 6:30 P.M. that was the cause of the most concern as it was moving northeast, directly towards Rochester. At a mile wide, this F5 tornado…
-
USS Indianapolis – July 1945
Hooper: You were on the Indianapolis? Brodie: What happened? Quint: Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, Chief. We was comin’ back from the island of Tinian to Leyte… just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in twelve minutes…. Noon the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us. He’s a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper, anyway he saw us and come in low. And three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I…
-
Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash faced a lifetime of hardships and tribulations and it all started in the small town of Kingsland, Arkansas on February 26, 1932. Born John R. Cash to a family of sharecroppers that included his parents, Ray and Carrie Cash, and his 6 brothers and sisters. Life on the farm was not easy nor was sharecropping was not a lucrative business, and as a result the family was poor, forcing the children to help their parents farm their crops. The hard work was a blessing in disguise as this is where John would find his love of music. Carrie would sing in the fields, often folk songs and hymns…
