Did Frances Elizabeth Willard, the long-time president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), ever go to a Seder? If she went, did she follow tradition and drink four glasses of amazingly sweet Kosher wine? Or did she follow WCTU's dictates and, as many people do, drink four glasses of grape juice instead? I ask because tonight is …
Topic: Historical Figures & Events
Delving into the people and events that shaped history
"The Goldberg Variations" That's what Nisa, my amazing sister-in-law said has been helping her through the past, difficult several months. It wasn't a random comment. Every Passover, over dinner, we go around the table (or the screen) and give each person an opportunity to talk about freedom and/or their narrow place, if they choose. Nisa explained that …
On April Fools' Day, I've been pranked by my own (late) father and his stamp collection. And, I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I almost fell for it. In fact, I was getting ready to write a #stampoftheday post about how I had recently rediscovered that my father's collection included four rare stamps issued in …
"I have called the Congress into extraordinary session because there are serious, very serious, choices of policy to be made, and made immediately," said President Woodrow Wilson on April 2, 1917. Wilson's somber tone was merited because, having narrowly won reelection in 1916 on a campaign that prominently noted "He Kept Us Out of War," he …
"The postman no longer rings twice," wrote Frank DeFilippo, in a recent column posted by news outlets in Maryland and Pennsylvania. In contrast, he added, "back in the day the Pony Express and its daredevil riders became early western cinematic celebrities for braving treacherous terrain, marauding bandits and worse weather than Texas and yet relaying …
When we moved to Lexington in 1996, I knew that Patriots' Day, the annual celebration of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, was a big deal. After all, I had been living in the Boston area for 16 years. But, it turns out, I had no idea what a big deal it was in Lexington, …
I have been looking forward to writing about Booker T. Washington, who was born on April 5, 1856. But it seems especially timely to be writing about him today. In some ways, Washington, who founded the Tuskegee Institute and was the dominant Black political leader in the late 1800s and early 1900s, has been on my …
The World Health Organization (WHO) is far from perfect. Nevertheless, it's still worth paying attention to what its head said today. "While we have all undoubtedly been impacted by the pandemic, the poorest and most marginalized have been hit hardest - both in terms of lives and livelihoods lost," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a biologist, public …
"Moral force can be a bulwark against aggression and that it is possible to make aggressive forces yield without resorting to power," said Gunnar Jahn, chairman of the Nobel Committee, at the December 1957 ceremony honoring Lester Pearson, who is still the only Canadian to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Pearson, then Canada's secretary of state …