There’s still plenty of time to visit two special, on-going exhibits at Oswego’s Little White School Museum, one honoring the community’s war dead and the second recognizing the contributions of women inventors. The Museum is at 72 Polk Street (Polk at Jackson), just two blocks from Oswego’s downtown district. “Salute
“Terrible as an army with banners the legions of labourthe builder of ships tramp thro’ the winter eve.” —Richard Williams It was a blustery Belfast, Northern Ireland December morning, 1979, when I had appointments with the workers at the Harland & Wolff shipping yards. My friend and driver, Jim, had
May 20 The U.S. Congress passes the Homestead Act which allows adults over the age of 21, male and female, to claim 160 acres of land from the public domain. Eligible persons had to cultivate the land and improve it by building a barn or house, and live on the
May 13 The U.S. Congress overwhelmingly votes in favor of U.S. president James K. Polk’s request to declare war on Mexico in a dispute over Texas. Under the threat of war, the United States had refrained from annexing Texas after the latter won independence from Mexico in 1836. – 1846.
May 6 The airship Hindenburg, the largest dirigible ever built and the pride of Nazi Germany, bursts into flames upon touching its mooring mast in Lakehurst, N.J. and kills 36 passengers and crew members. – 1937. Works Projects Administration (WPA) established, provides work opportunities for millions during the Great Depression.
April 22 Adolf Hitler, learning from one of his generals that no German defense was offered to the Russian assault at Eberswalde, admits to all in his underground bunker that the war is lost and that suicide is his only recourse. – 1945. Earth Day, an event to increase public
April 15 The RMS Titanic, billed as unsinkable, sinks into the icy waters of the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage and kills 1,517 persons. – 1912. Jackie Robinson, age 28, becomes the first African-American player in Major League Baseball when he steps on Ebbets Field
The Bartlett House on Oswego’s South Main Street, which may be the oldest house in the Village, will be just one of the architectural treasures described during an architectural walk at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 15, with the Oswegoland Heritage Association and the Oswegoland Park District as hosts.
April 8 Buddhists celebrate the commemoration of the birth of Gautama Buddha, 563 B.C. to 483 B.C., the founder of Buddhism. – 563 B.C.. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) is approved by the U.S. Congress. President Franklin Roosevelt proposed the WPA during the Great Depression of the 1930s when 25%
In medieval church art, the hare was a popular figure. It was believed by Pliny, Plutarch, and other philosophers and essayists in ancient times the hare was a hermaphrodite. The idea that a hare could reproduce without loss of virginity led to an association with the Virgin Mary. Hares occurred
April 1 English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on each other. – 1700. Eleven-day strike by 34,000 New York City transit workers begins, and halts bus and subway service in all five boroughs before strikers return to work with a 17%
The New Year 1890 brought a harsh March Winter to New York City. The hoar frost on the tree limbs and branches made it look like a silver brush had painted over it all. The Irish had arrived to its tenements. There was little fresh air, or water. Cinders and
The Little White School Museum, 72 Polk Street, Oswego, is celebrating Women’s History Month with a special, free, online exhibit honoring the accomplishments of some of the Community’s most determined women. The exhibit includes mystery novelist Emily Murdock Van Deventer, who wrote under the pen name of Lawrence L. Lynch
March 25 The Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burns down and kills 145 workers. The tragedy led to the development of a series of laws and regulations that better protected the safety of factory workers. – 1911. An explosion at a coal mine in Centralia, Ill. kills
In the large cities in America and even in small towns, the Irish banded together for companionship and for recreation. Saloon-keepers formed social clubs which brought fellowship for the Irish. Soon they became cogs in the wheels of ward politics. The mines and factories had horrid working conditions, so unions
March 18 In New York City, Henry Wells and William G. Fargo join with several other investors to launch their namesake business. The discovery of gold in California in 1849 prompted a huge spike in the demand for cross-country shipping. Wells and Fargo decided to take advantage of these great
March 11 One of the worst blizzards in American history strikes the Northeast, and kills more than 400 persons and dumps as much as 55 inches of snow in some areas. Wind gusts are recorded at 85 miles per hour in New York City which end with drifts that reach
The Spring rain had been gentle and consistent that Saturday afternoon in March. The birds were rather raucous as if knowing that warming weather was on its way. Parisians were out walking, holding hands, and smiling. It had been a very long and frigid winter and all were ready for
March 4 U.S. president William Howard Taft signs legislation to create the Department of Labor. – 1913. UAW workers win sit-down strike in Flint, Mich., to force General Motors to recognize the union. In the 40-day action, the strikers were protected by 5,000 armed workers circling the Fisher Body plant.
“Only from the heart can you touch the sky.” – Rumi She was born Mary Granville in 1700 at her father’s country house in the Wiltshire village of Coulston. Hers was a well-to-do English family. She would hear first-hand the voyage of Captain Cook and be astonished by that voyage
