This is the Kay Linton Memorial Ice Fountain outside the Loussac Library in Anchorage, Alaska.  And it changes it shape throughout the year. Note the steel frames with wires set at steep angles. During the summer, water washes the structure … Continue reading →

You would have to have been an Alaskan in the last century to understand the importance of this photo.  For those in the Lower 48, take a look at a map of Alaska.  Note the Aleutian Chain extends some 1,500 … Continue reading →

In about 1910, Alaska Gold Rush newspaper editor/printer/investigative reporter George Hinton Henry published scathing but true stories of United States Commissioner in Tanana, Alaska, George Bathurst. Bathurst responded by sending Henry to jail for 90 for contempt of court. Not … Continue reading →

Like many fashions, high heels have come a long way since the 10th Century when the Persian cavalry ‘invented’ them to keep their shoes in stirrups. When high heels found their way to Europe, they were a fashion statement for … Continue reading →

25th Infantry Regiment, 1890  At the end of the Civil War, many black Union veterans chose to remain in the service. They were sent west where they became known as “Buffalo soldiers.” The term originated because their thick, curly, black … Continue reading →

In 1854, Levi Boone became Mayor of Chicago on the Know-Nothing Party whose tenets were strongly anti-immigrant and what would later be called ‘America First.’ Boone, a Baptist and Temperance enthusiast, believed drinking was akin to worshiping the Devil – … Continue reading →

Not much of a photo, eh?  I agree. But in the early days of Alaska, this was PROGRESS!  During the Alaska Gold Rush, there were boomtowns scattered across an area 1/5th the size of the Lower 48. Some had post … Continue reading →

An ancient Greek joke tells of a master and his slaves who are on a ship being battered by a powerful storm. As the slaves are shrieking in terror, the master yelled, “Why are you complaining? In my will, if … Continue reading →

The Golden Age of Hollywood glamorized the cowboy and the Wild West. Unfortunately, what appeared on the silver screen ended up in our history books and far too many Americans believe all of the cowboys were white – and that … Continue reading →

All Roman roads had mileage stones, set one thousand paces apart. The term “mile” comes from the Latin mille, one thousand. It was estimated that Roman army units marched at the rate of five feet per step.  The actual “mileage” … Continue reading →