Last Friday was December 7th, 2023. I wondered, on that day, what the newspaper and media headlines would say. How would they report about one of the greatest events in America history? What am I talking about? Ah, that’s the problem. You see, on December 7, 1941 the American naval fleet and it’s military installation in Hawaii was suddenly bombed by attacking Japanese naval forces in a sneak attack. The attack killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including 68 civilians, and destroyed…
Purse seine fishing has been a important part of Northwest history for a century. Purse seine fishing involves releasing one end of a net off the stern of fishing boats with a smaller power skiff attached to the other end. The purpose is to locate salmon and form a circle around them. The two ends of the net are brought together when the power skiff pulls up to the larger fishing boat. The net is hauled to the deck piling…
The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster, occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North end neighborhood of ‘Boston. According to This Day In History https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/molasses-floods-boston-streets it happened this way: “The United States Industrial Alcohol building was located on Commercial Street near North End Park in Boston. It was close to lunch time on January 15 and Boston was experiencing some unseasonably warm weather as workers were loading freight-train cars within the large building. Next…
In an Email to the children, I described the two dance halls in the county that were popular when I was in high school. I thought later about the street dances in Anacortes. When I was working on the purse seine boats during high school, Anacortes had fishermen “pavement dances” on the weekends during the fishing season. The dances were on Commercial Avenue. They were popular and crowded with people. The fisherman returned from fishing on the weekend and the…
Our friend, Harvey Felder, talked about his father in a recent Email he sent to my wife Lita and me. I thought it was inspiring and asked permission to repeat it here. He agreed. So, who is Harvey? At this time, he is the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Memphis. You can find his biography at https://www.memphis.edu/music/fac-staff/bios/felder.php He has a national reputation in his professional musical field. He has conducted at Carnegie Hall as well as numerous…
In 2008 a television miniseries about John Adams, his political life and his role in the founding of the United States was televised. Actor Paul Giamatti played the role of John Adams. It is a reminder of what an enormous undertaking the Revolutionary War was against such a formidable United Kingdom. The people who were responsible for the founding of this country. were extraordinary. The documents they created, the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States are unique….
Randy Kinnard is an outstanding plaintiff’s trial lawyer in Nashville Tennessee and a Vietnam veteran. He’s also a friend of mine. He recently sent as a gift a small device which makes a loud clicking noise when you press on it. In fact, it’s called “a clicker.” In a note accompanying the gift, he explains that paratroopers had been dropped behind Germany lines in World War II, and to identify themselves to each other they used a clicker which was…
Stephen Spielberg's movie, Bridge of Spies, is based upon a true historical event. During the cold war the United States conducted high altitude flights over Russia photographing areas of military interest. The movie involves the facts about an airplane, a U –2 spy plane flown by pilot Francis Powers and which was shot down by a Russian missile. Powers survived and was captured by the Russians. Powers eventually was exchanged for a captured Russian spy held in a United States prison. The Russian spy, working…
There have never been a war between Argentina and Chile, but in 1899 there was a dispute over the border between the two countries that became more serious. By Easter 1900 the armies of both countries were prepared to attack and war seemed inevitable. However, during Holy Week that year, a priest preached in Buenos Aires on Easter day a sermon that was a passionate appeal for peace. The sermon became repeated throughout the country. Word of the sermon reached the bishops…
As a school student I, along with everyone else in my generation, was introduced to Lincoln's famous speech during the civil war now known as the Gettysburg Address. I've often thought of this address as an illustration of Lincoln's following his own analysis of who he was and what he thought best. Here he was, the president of the United States, and his invitation to speak was only an after thought to the event. His invitation was a last minute one and then asked only to make…
