Author
You’ve heard about the Unsinkable Molly Brown, the brassy, nouveau riche millionaire miner’s wife who made it safely off the sinking Titanic. As incredible as that was, she had nothing on a remarkably feisty feline. Because he survived not one, but three separate ship sinkings … and in wartime, too, no less. At least, that’s [ ] The post HOLY COW! HISTORY: Unsinkable Sam, the World’s Luckiest Cat…
Everyone loves a bargain, a bit of financial good fortune to the buyer’s advantage. When it’s exceptionally good, we call it the deal of a lifetime. Sixty years ago, a lawyer made an arrangement that he thought would quickly reap a highly profitable windfall. But as so often happens in Holy Cow! History tales, it [ ] The post The Deal of a (Very Long) Lifetime appeared first on J. Mark Powell .
The Mother of All Missed Calls It’s been a bungee jump of a year politically. Last spring the GOP seemed poised to ride a Red Tsunami in the upcoming midterm elections. Democrats rallied over the summer and appeared to have regained the momentum. This fall, however, there was a Republican resurgence with the prevailing winds [ ] The post 1948: Political Polling s Epic Fail appeared first on J.…
THE STRANGE SAGA OF THE SUTHERLAND SISTERS There’s no delicate way to say this, so here goes. Your great-great-grandparents had a weird thing about hair. The Victorians were obsessed with lovely locks. People have always admired a nice head of hair. But Victorians were bonkers for beautiful tresses. They snipped strands of dead loved ones’ [ ] The post 7 Sisters and 37 Feet of Hair appeared first…
HOW HARRY TRUMAN KEPT THE TRAINS RUNNING Labor contract negotiations often come down to a game of chicken. Negotiators on both sides go as close to the deadline as they dare until someone blinks. The higher the stakes, the closer to the edge each camp is willing to go. They can make the Cuban Missile [ ] The post An Earlier Rail Strike’s Close Call appeared first on J. Mark Powell .
A SENIOR S WALK INTO THE RECORD BOOKS I ve been getting into shape recently. But my progress pales compared to what a remarkable senior did nearly 70 years ago. Emma Gatewood’s life was hard. Born in Ohio in 1887, she was one of 15 kids in a family that slept four to a bed. Her father [ ] The post Grandma Gatewood s Excellent Adventure appeared first on J. Mark Powell .
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED Keeping all of February’s presidential birthdays straight is a big headache. Ronald Reagan was born on February 6. William Henry Harrison on the 9. Lincoln arrived on the 12th. And president Numero Uno, George Washington, was born February 22. Congress washed its hands of the mess by lumping them all together in [ ] The post Young George and That Cherry Tree appeared first on…
THE SMOOCH HEARD ROUND THE WORLD We’ve all done something impulsive at one time or another. A spur of the moment decision that, when you thought about it later, wasn’t such a good idea. Nearly 90 years ago an American woman acted rashly, and her action involved history’s worst monster. Here’s the story of the [ ] The post The Woman Who Kissed Hitler appeared first on J. Mark Powell .
THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL RETREAT President Trump loves hanging out at Mar-a-Lago, his luxury Florida estate. He’s less fond of Camp David, the chief executive’s official getaway in the Maryland mountains. He once described the presidential retreat as “interesting for about 30 minutes.” Every president since FDR has spent time at Camp David. Yet 13 years [ ] The post Before Camp David, There Was Camp…
THE TIME WE PUT A FORT IN THE WRONG PLACE We all make mistakes. To err is human, after all. For example, flowers sometimes get inadvertently planted or fences built on the wrong side of the property line. It’s an imperfect world after all. When armies and nations make such a faux pas, war can [ ] The post Fort Blunder appeared first on J. Mark Powell .