On the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Bill Overstreet was working as a statistical engineer for Columbia Engineering and attending Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston) in Charleston, WV. Wanting to get in the Air Corps as a fighter pilot, Bill enlisted and did a lot of fast talking to get accepted […]
The rose, the flower for those born in the month of June, is the national flower of both the United States and England. It is also state flower of several states including Iowa, North Dakota, Georgia, New York and Texas. Portland, Oregon holds an annual Rose Festival, and in Southern California’s annual Rose Parade features […]
May’s official flower, one of the most beautiful, delicate, and fragrant spring flowers, the Lily-of-the-Valley, was mentioned by John Lawrence in “The Flower Garden” (1726) as having the “sweetest and most agreeable perfume.” Also known as May lily, May bells, lily constancy, ladder-to-heaven, and fairy ladders, Lily-of-the-Valley is a low-growing perennial plant that makes an excellent […]
Robert Smalls was raised as a slave in Charleston, South Carolina, where he learned about steamboats – including how to pilot large vessels along the Atlantic seaboard. He earned a reputation for exceptional navigational skills, and at the outbreak of the Civil War was forced into service for the Confederacy as quartermaster on the Planter, […]
William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English :poet, :playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. Whether you’re a fan or not, you probably use many of his phrases on a regular basis — more than 400 years later. Ever […]
Whether it grows wild in a pasture or cultivated in the garden, the daisy has long been appreciated for its simple beauty. Daisies are an ancient flower. Hairpins decorated with daisies were found during the excavation of the Minoan Palace on the Island of Crete. Egyptian ceramics were decorated with daisies. The family Asteraceae, meaning […]
My mom, who made all my dresses when I was a girl, always kept her pins and needles stuck in a pin-cushion that was shaped like a tomato with a strawberry attached to it. I never gave it a second thought. Didn’t everybody keep their pins and needles the same way? Pincushions come in all […]
From its earliest days, America has been a nation of immigrants, starting with its original inhabitants, who crossed the land bridge connecting Asia and North America thousands of years ago. By the 1500s, the first Europeans, led by the Spanish and French, had begun establishing settlements in what would become the United States. The […]
In our small community here, in Arizona City, my husband Frank and I actively participate in our non-denominational worship services each Sunday. Frank assists with providing music and I contribute by putting the applicable hymn lyrics up on a large TV Screen. Recently, I had the opportunity to do a bit of research about one […]
January’s flower, the carnation is rich with symbolism, mythology and even debate. Some scholars suggest that the name comes from the word “corone” (flower garlands) or “coronation” because of its use in Greek ceremonial crowns. Others conjecture that it’s derived from “carnis” (flesh) referring to the flower’s original pink hue. Another suggests that the name […]