Sonya Curry likens her family to The Big Machine. Every member of the family plays a part in helping the household run at maximum efficiency, with chores and activities on schedule for each. So when her eldest son Stephen Curry—who would go on to become the basketball star Steph Curry—failed to do the dishes one…
Profiles in History: Mary Miller: The Lady Steamboatman
Mary Millicent Miller (1846–1894) was born at the height of the steamboat era. Her affinity for steamboats was fueled, or perhaps created, by the fact she was born in Louisville, the city that lies right next to the Ohio River which separates Kentucky and Indiana. She grew up on the river and around the newest…
Book Review: ‘A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland’
Grover Cleveland often gets categorized as a president of trivial significance. Trivial as in trivia. He is known as the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms, the only president to get married inside the White House, and a president who underwent a secret and potentially life-saving surgery on a yacht. He was also the…
History Off the Beaten Path: A Natural Wonder With Distinguished Ties
On my way up to see Pennsylvania family and friends from my home in western North Carolina, I spotted a small road sign in Rockbridge County, Virginia on Interstate 81 that piqued my interest. I pulled down a simple road and into a parking lot that indicated it was the entranceway to the official state…
Profiles in History: Norman Rockwell: Up from the Ashes
By 1943, Norman Rockwell (Feb. 3, 1894–Nov. 8, 1978) had long been a household name. At almost 50 years old, he had become America’s illustrator, telling stories of American life through his fresh and often humorous paintings. His career officially began at 15, when he was commissioned to paint four Christmas cards. While still in…
Our English Cousin: William Shakespeare and the Shaping of America
March 1, 2023
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American EssenceArts & CultureArts & TraditionbooksBrightHistoryLife & TraditionShakespeareTraditional Culture
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Shakespeare. Bring up that name in conversation, and the reactions of your audience are likely to be mixed. To some of your listeners, that most famous name in all of English literature will likely arouse unpleasant memories of a dreary week or two in a high school class lost in a jumble of lords, ladies,…
All That Glitters Is Not Gold: The Colorful Past of a California Gold Rush Ghost Town
Dashing down to the wharf at the foot of Market Street in San Francisco, during the height of a gold strike in 1879, you board a ferry for a two-day journey to a remote and hardscrabble boomtown among inhospitable hills just east of the Sierra Nevada. The side-wheeler steams across San Francisco Bay on a…
History Off the Beaten Path: Abandoned but Not Forgotten
Before my husband and I headed for a few days to the backside of Grand Teton National Park, his supervisor advised enthusiastically, “You have to stop and see the old abandoned settlement!” He gave us the GPS coordinates, since it was, indeed, off the beaten path. After driving three hours through Yellowstone and then through…
This City Girl Turned Homesteader Is Teaching Thousands of People How to Live ‘Old Fashioned on Purpose’
February 19, 2023
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American EssenceBrightDigital MagazinesHomestead Act of 1862Jill WingerLifestyleThe Prairie Homestead
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It’s been 160 years since the Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged folks to head west for a chance at a new beginning. Thousands took advantage to claim the government’s offer of 160 acres. History tells us that while some succeeded, many failed due to inexperience, lack of money to buy equipment, and the environment. But…
Tragedy and Triumph: The Roebling Family and the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge
After many long years of planning and building, along with numerous setbacks, the Brooklyn Bridge opened to traffic on May 24, 1883. The first vehicle to cross the bridge was Emily Roebling’s horse-drawn carriage. Emily carried with her a rooster in a cage symbolic of the victory realized that day. The victory was wrought from…
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