Archive for August 2018
History of the Holidays
HISTORY OF THE HOLIDAYS Welcome to this year’s edition of the History of the Holidays. I’m Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian. From now through the Spring or vernal equinox, we celebrate most of the major secular and sacred holidays. This is a series that recounts the history behind the major American holidays, some of…
Read MoreHow I Spent My Summer Vacation
HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION I spent an extended two-week period this summer in New England and Canada, particularly Maine and Prince Edward Island. Here is my travel log. Day 1: Maine My first time in Maine. Motto of the Interstate “Camp in the woods, not the left lane.” It only…
Read MoreHistory of the California Gold Rush
HISTORY OF THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH On August 19, 1848, the New York Herald reported the news along the American East Coast of the California Gold Rush. It was not new news to those further West, as the gold rush had started in January and was publicized in San Francisco in March. However, the New…
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