Soon after Samuel Walker joined the D.C. police force in the mid 1880s, word got out that he had been collecting incriminating information on members of Congress to use as blackmail. https://t.co/3JxJpdZBKE #DCHistory Soon after Samuel Walker joined the D.C. police force in …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 13, 2021
The Army Air Force Band played their last performance at the Press Club in #WashingtonDC many months after their bandleader Glenn Miller had disappeared over the English Channel. https://t.co/ZeZNPOcbRW The Army Air Force Band played their last performance at the Press Club …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 13, 2021
Matchbook cover from the elegant Alban Towers apartment building, designed in a Gothic Revival style by Robert O. Scholz. It was built in 1929 at the intersection of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues NW across from the National Cathedral. https://t.co/IpZEiANLQO Matchbook co…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 13, 2021
Today in History - November 13 https://t.co/liGRTO7Vu5 General Richard Montgomery led American troops in the capture of Montreal on November 13, 1775. Continue reading. Click here to search Today in History for other historic moments.
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 13, 2021
Quote of the Day: "Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light." - Helen Keller
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 13, 2021
Back when he was finishing college in 1949, Vin Scully was hired at Washington's own WTOP. Little did he know, that job would be the start of a long career in sports broadcasting. https://t.co/8lyoI24b1Y #DCHistory Back when he was finishing college in 1949, Vin Scully was h…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 13, 2021
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— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
When it was built in 1930, the Park and Shop in Cleveland Park was a state of the art concept which allowed you to get everything you needed in just one stop. https://t.co/FiCwWMMee3 #DCHistory When it was built in 1930, the Park and Shop in Cleveland Park was a state of the…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
Check out FOUR Fuggler little monsters dolls Lil' Demon & Awkward Bear - give grandkids! #fuggler https://t.co/XDsHpLkN4S via @eBay
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
https://t.co/cQ3G71Kl77
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
Crew-3 Launches to the Space Station via NASA https://t.co/3o0laszUT0 https://t.co/VCMPiChoCZ
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
Here are five stories that moved us this week, and the reasons why.
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George Chidi | The Intercept | October 31, 2021 | 8,064 words
This is a story of political indifference and a system woefully unequipped to truly help unhoused people with mental illness. It is also the story of Harmony, a woman living on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia in her own filth, in a state that ranks 51st in the U.S. for investment in mental health spending. “Harmony is unique,” writes George Chidi, “And yet there are at least 100 Harmonys on the streets of Atlanta. The county knows each of them by name. There’s a list.” Harmony does not want to be in hospital or incarcerated; she does want her story told. As Chidi grapples with Harmony’s living conditions, he unravels who might be able to help and who should be held accountable. And while various entities and government departments play “hot potato” with her life and liberty, Harmony’s wishes go mostly ignored. She would very much like to be left alone. “And yet despite millions in resources, much of which the state cannot figure out how to spend, Harmony remained unhoused at the foot of the iconic Coca-Cola sign above the Walgreens at Five Points — in the heart of Atlanta — as she has on and off for years, in a state of abject human degradation, with all of this misery taking place less than 100 yards from the very steps of Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities headquarters.” —KS
Chantha Nguon and Kim Green | Hippocampus Magazine | November 8, 2021 | 3,946 words
Kim Green and Chantha Nguon have been working together to write Nguon’s memoir; they’ve talked and cooked together over the past several years. This co-written collaboration in Hippocampus Magazine is a stunning, lyrical essay about Nguon’s experiences as a child in Battambang before fleeing to Vietnam, surviving the Cambodian genocide, and remembering her mother, Mae. The Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot murdered 2 million Cambodians, erasing nearly one-fourth of the population, leaving nothing but death and a devastated country with “no idea of tomorrow.” Through evocative writing, Nguon carries her family’s history forward, “borne on the smoke” from the charcoal fire of her mother’s open-air kitchen. Her memories are aromatic and vivid; she remembers flavors of happiness like Mae’s pâté de foie, and the wind in her wide-open mouth as she zoomed around Phnom Penh with her older brother on his Vespa. The recipes weaved into the piece are unexpected and poignant, as you can sample from these ingredients and steps: “Take a well-fed nine-year-old with a big family and a fancy French-Catholic-school education. Fold in 2 revolutions, 2 civil wars, and 1 wholesale extermination,” she writes. “Slowly subtract small luxuries, life savings, and family members until all are gone.” It’s one of the most moving essays I’ve read this year, and a piece I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. —CLR
Poppy Sebag-Montefiore | The Guardian | November 2, 2021 | 6,380 word
This is a detailed examination of what happened behind the scenes during a BBC Newsnight investigation into abuse committed by Jimmy Savile. It was a difficult topic to investigate — Savile had recently died and had been a beloved BBC celebrity — but rumors about Savile being a sexual predator were rife, and two journalists were determined to find the truth. The author of this piece, Poppy Sebag-Montefiore, was a friend of one of the journalists — the late Liz MacKean. Sebag-Montefiore’s affection is apparent as she documents MacKean fighting for her piece, desperate to have the voices of the women who spoke to her heard. It was a battle MacKean ultimately lost, when Newsnight editor Peter Rippon killed the story. In the end, MacKean and producer Meirion Jones, “gave all their research on Savile to the BBC’s rival, the commercial channel ITV,” and the Savile story broke. A 2012 inquiry into the BBC’s conduct over the Newsnight investigation found Rippon’s decision “seriously flawed.” In refusing to drop this story, MacKean and Jones “helped to change the culture about the way past sexual abuse is talked about, and survivors listened to.” When Sebag-Montefiore searched for an account of what they had done she couldn’t find one: “So here it is.” —CW
Stephanie Hayes | The Tampa Bay Times | November 9 | 4,500 words
My favorite genre of viral story is Animals on the Run. The zebras in Maryland, the red panda in Washington, D.C., the llamas in Arizona — in my time, I’ve loved them all. So yes, I am the target audience for this feature about a creature who went on the lam: Cornelius the rhesus macaque, who outwitted would-be captors in Florida for years (years!). But Stephanie Hayes tells a Where Are They Now story for everyone, not just the animal-obsessed like me. It’s tragi-comic, expertly written, and thoroughly engrossing. What shines most is the respect — no, the awe — that Hayes has for her elusive subject. Cornelius, it turns out, is a mystery in more ways than one. And maybe that’s how it should be. —SD
Brianne Garrett | Sweet July | October 26, 2021 | 1,674 words
Mayukh Sen talks about his path to food writing in this interview about his new book Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America. Sen set out to look beyond white culinary luminaries like James Beard and Julia Child to highlight lesser-known people of color and how they’ve influenced American food. There’s plenty to appreciate in this interview; how Sen describes the way his book project evolved over time from its original intent into something larger and more nuanced and how a critical part of his focus was on honoring his subjects’ hands-on work in addition to their culinary ideas. “I wanted to tell the stories of these immigrants and really honor their labor with as much care as possible. I do hope that readers understand that for America to become this glorious, so-called melting pot of diverse cuisine, there’s a lot of struggle involved. You can see a lot of that struggle in the stories of each of these women.” —KS
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— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
This map from 1904 shows the now defunct streetcar lines that ran through Southeast Washington, D.C. Take a look: https://t.co/Dp0HdEGqXr https://t.co/cmyvnmC1rS This map from 1904 shows the now defunct streetcar lines that ran through Southeast Washington, D.C. Take a look: …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
https://t.co/PrZDVwl1Fp
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
https://t.co/J7nc8yeTNb
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
1910s postcard photo of the Atkinson residence at 1503 Q St NW, taken by prolific DC photographer Frederick A. Schutz. https://t.co/w0EvJtqdDv 1910s postcard photo of the Atkinson residence at 1503 Q St NW, taken by prolific DC photographer Frederick A. Schutz. …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
In the late 19th century, there was an East Indian Pondicherry vulture at the National Zoo named for Illinois Rep. Joseph G. Cannon. https://t.co/tmdptUzdao #DCHistory In the late 19th century, there was an East Indian Pondicherry vulture at the National Zoo named for Illino…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
Today in History - November 12 https://t.co/agwmzMTZ8c On November 12, 1815, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, spokesperson for the rights of women, was born in Johnstown, New York. Continue reading. Pioneering panoramic map artist Albert Ruger died on November 12, 1899, in Akron, Oh…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
Quote of the Day: "It is better to rust out than wear out." - Edwin Markham
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
The body of world-renowned pianist turned Polish Prime Minister Jan Paderewski was supposed to remain at #ArlingtonNationalCemetery for a short time before it would be returned to Poland, but it ended up resting there for more than half a century. https://t.co/7UASCbU9sA The…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 12, 2021
In honor of George Washington's 200th birthday in 1932, Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria, VA threw a celebration where many of the attendees wore family heirloom period clothing. https://t.co/k7sEum3z0X #VAHistory In honor of George Washington's 200th birthday in 1932, Gadsby's…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 11, 2021
This vibrant commercial map depicts many of the railroad lines that traversed the US and eastern Canada in 1855. Get a better look: https://t.co/BjiW8mfyV1 https://t.co/Dhkj8p0F2x This vibrant commercial map depicts many of the railroad lines that traversed the US and eastern…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 11, 2021
When a strangely dressed British musician arrived in the U.S. for the first time at Dulles International Airport in 1971, he was held up at customs for several hours. His name? David Bowie. https://t.co/y826WjCDQH #DCHistory When a strangely dressed British musician arrived …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 11, 2021
J. Wilmer "Bill" Morris (1889-1955) was a seafood merchant who opened the New England Raw Bar on the SW waterfront in the 1920s. He later opened the Packard, Plymouth, and Cadillac restaurants. This matchcover is from the Plymouth, in the same block as the Casino Royal night…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 11, 2021
#punchablenazi #Rittenhouse #faketears #WhitePrivilege #WhiteSupremacy #whitefragility #KyleRittenhouse #KyleRittenhouseIsGuilty https://t.co/yS3AFhnJQo
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 11, 2021
Today in History - November 11 https://t.co/y7txRCa3rp The Allied powers signed a ceasefire agreement with Germany at Compiégne, France, at 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918, bringing the war later known as World War I to a close. Continue reading. On November 11, 1889, Presi…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 11, 2021
As the plane dipped below the clouds, an endless patchwork quilt of green fields and russet hedges stretched out beneath me. It had been two years since I had seen that familiar vista, thanks to COVID-19. However, with travel restrictions lifted — and my arm triple-jabbed — I was finally returning from expat life in Canada to my home country of the United Kingdom, to spend three months with family.
Perhaps it is because it has been so long since my last visit, but the contrasts between North America and this gray, quirky little island seem more pronounced than ever. Everything is so much smaller, the tendencies for reservation and self-deprecation so much clearer, and even more cups of tea are offered (I clutch one as I write).
I live in British Columbia — a British colony back in the days of Queen Victoria, with her dubious penchant for claiming large chunks of the world. Yet, despite these origins, the differences between this Canadian province and the British Isles are as vast as the murky ocean separating them. Perhaps this island’s very particular culture comes from the hodgepodge of its ancestry: From the Normans to the Vikings, people always loved a good ol’ invasion of this land. Or maybe it’s simply the sense of history: Everywhere I turn there seems to be an ancient stone church, sitting awkwardly among new neighbors — swanky bars and flats. Nip to a pub and there will be a plaque above your head, casually informing you that people have been getting drunk in that establishment since 1552.
Whatever the reason, Great Britain is an obscure place — and one that has inspired some interesting writing — with people grappling to understand the different elements that make up the rather bizarre whole. And so, whilst I am embracing stoicism, marmite, rain, and real ales, I decided it was time for the Great British Reading List.
Laurie Penny has also experienced the differences between North America and Great Britain, after spending six months writing TV shows in Los Angeles. However, her understanding of the two cultures by far transcends my own. In this essay, Penny observes the Great British myth cheerfully portrayed abroad, full of “Queens, detectives, spies, castles, and young wizards,” versus the reality of a little island, “whose power on the world stage is declining, where poverty, inequality, and disaster nationalism are rising.” The imaginary version, although “fascinatingly dishonest,” is a hypnotic one, and people around the world cozy up with a cup of tea to watch the reassuringly gentle Downton Abbey, or “The Great British Worried-People-Making-Cakes-in-a-Tent Show.”
Penny carefully picks apart why Brits are happy to let this grand deception continue. From the loss of the Empire to the reality of life in Britain under COVID-19 lockdowns, Brexit, and Boris Johnson, we prefer the fantasy version. Have a read — her take on this phenomenon is jolly good.
I do try to resist the temptation to make fun of other people who take uncomplicated joy in their thing. The British do this a lot, and it’s one of the least edifying parts of the national character. Fandom is fine. Escapism is allowed. No semi-sensitive soul can be expected to live in the real world at all times. But watching the whitewashed, revisionist history of your own country adopted as someone else’s fantasy of choice is actively uncomfortable. It’s like sitting by while a decrepit relative gibbers some antediluvian nonsense about the good old days and watching in horror as everyone applauds and says how charming.
During my first week back in the U.K. I went to the great British seaside. It was beautiful. It was also freezing. Nevertheless, families were picnicking on the beach, sitting in their North Face jackets under huge umbrellas, stoically munching on cheese and pickle sandwiches while the wind beat a dance on their striped windbreakers. We were one of them. And as the wind turned up a notch into gale force, blowing the ice cream off my Mr. Whippy cone, I recalled Monica Heisey’s article for The Guardian detailing a holiday she went on with three Brits. As a Canadian, this was her first experience of a British holiday, and I very much enjoyed her shock at the pragmatism involved in holidaying “in a country where the ground is soggy and the sky grey at least 60% of the year.”
On Heisey’s holiday they “went on long, aimless walks every single day,” from “a half-hour jaunt on a public footpath across a gated, excrement-riddled field” to “an off-piste ramble through the tall, dry grasses surrounding a stately home.” This is completely normal. My family had begun muttering about “lovely coastal walks” months before we left for our seaside break, and sure enough every day we donned knee-high wellies and marched off to check on what those wind levels were up to on more exposed coastal paths. (On a couple of occasions treating ourselves to a cup of tea halfway round the trudge.)
Heisey nails her critique of British culture, and I found myself chuckling more than once reading this article. So take a look, and remember to always just carry on, “the forecast of heavy thunderstorms be damned.”
I am, it seems, comfortably in the minority. After the Great Walking Holiday of 2020, I encountered pro-walking sentiment everywhere. Friends tracked steps with competitive rigor, fighting to be the first to reach 10k a day, or announcing grand Sunday schemes to cross London on foot. Planning a weekend in Herefordshire, I was inundated with recommendations for the county’s excellent walks. In fact, Airbnb reviews in the UK tend to focus on two things: whether or not the property provides an adequate electric kettle, and the quality and abundance of nearby walking routes. Recently, watching The Crown on Netflix, I had the disorienting and novel experience of feeling sympathy for Margaret Thatcher who, in an episode set at Balmoral, is dragged out on the royal family’s favourite pastime, “walking around in terrible weather wearing the thickest socks imaginable”.
Great Britain is not particularly renowned for splendid cuisine, but there are some classics: the full English breakfast, a roast dinner, a ploughman’s lunch, bangers and mash, a jar of Branston pickle … and marmalade. Full disclosure: I have picked this essay before, for Longreads Best of 2020: Food. However, I still love it, and last week it came to mind when I had the pleasure of going to a shop that was purely dedicated to the wonder of marmalade: Rows upon rows of glinting orange and yellow jars, winking promises of citrus delights at me. Olivia Potts’ piece, all about this condiment of squashed oranges and sugar, is magical — and very British. Only in English does marmalade “connote a citrus-based preserve containing peel,” and Potts takes a deep dive into “why the British love marmalade so much.” The result is a lovely piece full of warmth, humor … and the rather wonderful characters who frequent the World’s Original Marmalade Awards.
I stand back and admire my five-and-a-half jars and… I get it. Of course I do. How could I not? My jelly isn’t quite crystal clear, but it is basketball orange, bright and glowing. I dropped saffron strands into a couple of the jars, stirring last minute, and they hang, suspended in the jelly, perfect threads. It may not be award-winning, but it is the best I have ever made. It really does feel like I’ve potted sunshine, a moment in time.
Great Britain may be the home of quaint villages with marmalade shops, but you are also never too far away from a cosmopolitan city. London is a little world all of its own — encircled by the M25, a road known to crush even the most buoyant of souls with its traffic — it is a heady mix of every culture and nationality. There are nine million people squashed into its bustling streets, or rammed into metal tubes down below: Where underground trains rumble through old Victorian tunnels and people remain ever so careful to mind the gap. Michele Kirsch’s article details an engrossing cross-section of this society. As a cleaner, Kirsch has a key into the lives of everyone from students to jazz singers, and though it might look like cleaning, exploring people’s homes “feels a bit Miss Marple-ish.” Her eloquent writing evokes the chaos, loneliness, sadness, and joy of the people to whom she is “East London’s good wife.”
Kirsch’s musings also brought back memories of my own time living in London, from Shoreditch being the “unofficial home of the high-maintenance beard,” to the darker side — the casual racism that can sadly still prevail in a multicultural country. Kirsch notes it when a friend’s 9-year-old son asks her what she does, and to her response that she cleans houses, “he said, ‘I thought you had to be Eastern European to do that. No offense.’”
So take a read for a glimpse into London life — the unique viewpoint and beautiful prose of this essay are worth spending some time with.
As well as working for long-term clients, I do one-off jobs, often frantic pleas to clean up before a move, or before the tidy person gets home. One was a flat off Brick Lane. This was a biohazard job: matted, badly stained carpets, never-been-cleaned fridge and cooker, loo out of Trainspotting. But the guy himself was ebullient, friends with all the neighbours. He just exuded a joie de vivre and genuinely did not see or care that he had been living in a shithole for years. Facing a big, brown dubious stain on his carpet, I asked, “Is this poo, vomit, or curry?” “Possibly all three,” he said, honestly, gleefully. A life well lived. Messily, but happily.
Sadly, the racism touched upon in Kirsch’s essay came crashing to the fore in 2016. I was living in Canada during Brexit, and, absorbed in the echo chamber of friends and family, I considered the referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union a mere political blip. As Zadie Smith writes in her incredibly astute and of-the-moment piece, Nigel Farage, one of the main forces behind the Leave campaign, “seemed in the grip of a genuine racial obsession, combined with a determination to fence off Britain from the European mainstream.” It didn’t seem possible to me that this was a sentiment that could win the day. I was wrong.
In truth, the reasons behind Brexit are varied, but the process of the vote did peel back a thin veneer to reveal an ugliness beneath. The week before the referendum, Smith’s Jamaican-born mother had someone run up to her in London and shout “Über Alles Deutschland!” The day after the vote, Smith noted “a lady shopping for linens and towels on the Kilburn High Road stood near my mother and the half-dozen other people originally from other places and announced to no one in particular: ‘Well, you’ll all have to go home now!’”
It was not only racial divides that were uncovered: Britain has long been a society dominated by class, with nuanced differences between many invisible, but powerful, lines. From the working class to the neoliberal middle and upper-middle class — reveal where you shop, go to school, or who you socialize with and you can be exposed. In this essay, Smith recognizes both her own middle-class liberal attitude, and the understanding of other viewpoints that this can preclude her from.
Read this essay and understand that the power of this referendum was to magnify “the worst aspects of an already imperfect system—democracy—channeling a dazzlingly wide variety of issues through a very narrow gate.”
Wealthy London, whether red or blue, has always been able to pick and choose the nature of its multicultural and cross-class relations, to lecture the rest of the country on its narrow-mindedness while simultaneously fencing off its own discreet advantages. We may walk past “them” very often in the street and get into their cabs and eat their food in their ethnic restaurants, but the truth is that more often than not they are not in our schools, or in our social circles, and they very rarely enter our houses—unless they’ve come to work on our endlessly remodeled kitchens.
Britain is a nation of animal lovers: It was the first country in the world to start a welfare charity for animals, and almost one in two households has a pet — 20 million of them being cats and dogs. In the area I am in at the moment it seems this 20 million quota has been filled just with cockapoo dogs named Barney (yes, we have one too). Fifteen percent of Brits even say they love their pet more than they love their partner (a statistic I am not shocked by after my mother informed me she wished to be buried with the cremated remains of her pet duck).
Therefore, it is also of no surprise that Phil Hoad’s fascinating article delving into the world of two pet detectives searching for a cat murderer is set in Britain. In this country, such things as a memorial service for the cat victims, complete with a harpist and a rendition of “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” are acceptable — people understand the passion of the detectives, Tony Jenkins and Boudicca Rising. Their organization, SNARL, has even been supported by British celebrities, including Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, who wrote in The Sun: “I’m not a cat fan by any means—they give me asthma—and I can’t think of anything worse than spending time in the company of an animal-rights person called Boudicca Rising. The case makes my blood boil because I am a dog fan. And if someone poisoned mine, I’d capture him and force him to live for a year with Boudicca Rising.”
This whodunnit at times made me both sad and angry — after all, I too am a British animal lover — but it is a rollercoaster ride and a beautiful read.
Jenkins worried that, too often, the media furor minimized the impact of the killings on pet owners. “I had one police officer who went, ‘Waste of my time—it’s only a cat.’ I said, ‘Excuse me? It’s only a cat?’” Jenkins told me. “Imagine you get married, and your wife gets a cat. You then have a child, and your child at the age of six has grown up with it, adores it, sleeps with it. And one morning your wife gets up, opens the curtains, and there’s your cat with no head, and no fucking tail, and your daughter’s about to go out and play. And you tell me it’s just a fucking cat.”
Quote of the Day: "We relish news of our heroes, forgetting that we are extraordinary to somebody too." - Helen Hayes
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 11, 2021
When members of the American Indian Movement got to #WashingtonDC in November of 1972, their planned week of demonstrations turned into something much bigger. https://t.co/0cipK1YiBg When members of the American Indian Movement got to #WashingtonDC in November of 1972, their…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 10, 2021
In 1921, the first soldier of the Tomb of the Unknowns was laid to rest. The memorial was caught on film. https://t.co/BieRIM1DWe In 1921, the first soldier of the Tomb of the Unknowns was laid to rest. The memorial was caught on film. https://t.co/BieRIM1DWe — Streets of Wa…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 10, 2021
Early 1910s postcard view, facing north, of the Taft Bridge that carries Connecticut Ave over Rock Creek Park. The Woodward Apartments (1910) are on the right. Note how sparsely Woodley Park, in the distance, is developed. For more about the bridge, see https://t.co/oPoyDQzVRc …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 10, 2021
During his senior year of high school, Jim Henson wanted a job in television and got hired by WTOP-TV to work with marionettes, despite not knowing much about puppetry. https://t.co/ebBkIJ4qow #MDHistory During his senior year of high school, Jim Henson wanted a job in telev…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 10, 2021
Have a look at this map of Texas produced by the US Forest Service in 1983. The map displays national forests, grasslands, and wildlife management areas across the state. Explore the map here: https://t.co/JjSzX0mNBo https://t.co/BNUGHeOoUR Have a look at this map of Texas pr…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 10, 2021
Mocha Swirls in Jupiter’s Turbulent Atmosphere via NASA https://t.co/O2nbmBqLA0 https://t.co/mTiWDjPpUq
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 10, 2021
Mocha Swirls in Jupiter’s Turbulent Atmosphere via NASA https://t.co/NQsUSH0Ulz https://t.co/1SDYuIIPwM
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 10, 2021
Matchbook cover from The Three Thieves, a 1960s steakhouse located at 2233 Wisconsin Ave NW in Glover Park. https://t.co/okY17ZFshD Matchbook cover from The Three Thieves, a 1960s steakhouse located at 2233 Wisconsin Ave NW in Glover Park. https://t.co/okY17ZFshD — Streets o…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 10, 2021
Today in History - November 10 https://t.co/RmU0S8kcni Henry Wirz, commander of the infamous Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia, was hanged on November 10, 1865, in Washington, D.C., the only Confederate officer executed as a war criminal. Continue reading. Click…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 10, 2021
Quote of the Day: "God cannot alter the past, though historians can." - Samuel Butler
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 10, 2021
Although they were previously seen as a nuisance, owls were reintroduced to the Smithsonian's Castle in the 1960s to add to the "spooky, romantic ambiance" of the building. https://t.co/AI8ZfEhCpG #DCHistory Although they were previously seen as a nuisance, owls were reintro…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
We are developing our resources and programming at the DC History Center to better supper this call and prioritize DC’s indigenous perspectives. Share your stories or suggestions for programming on Native DC history at programs@dchistory.org! 2/2 We are developing our resou…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
November is Native American Heritage Month! In recognition, it is important that we learn from the indigenous elders within our community. In an NPS interview Piscataway elder Mario Harley said “the challenge is that we don’t have a large microphone in order to tell our stor…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
House Jan. 6 panel subpoenas 10 more former Trump aides (from @AP) https://t.co/jCmOq3Te9B
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
White House rushes with infrastructure fixes for US economy (from @AP) https://t.co/R5RqzDYrsI
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
Fritz Reuter (1862-1906), a native of Hanover, Germany, opened his hotel in 1889 on the NW corner of 4½ St and Pa Ave NW. After Reuter committed suicide in 1906, the hotel and its gaudy rathskeller restaurant were taken over by Henry Achterkirchen (1875-1914). …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
The old Capital Centre arena in Landover, MD is remembered fro a lot of things -- including two Muhammad Ali fights. https://t.co/6IP3WNVbDV #MDHistory The old Capital Centre arena in Landover, MD is remembered fro a lot of things -- including two Muhammad Ali fights. …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
1870s stereoview of an interior at the Smithsonian. This is presumably the National Museum (Arts and Industries Building) next to the Castle. The cluttered arrangement of packed display cases is typical of this era. https://t.co/KKNo4Y9Nza 1870s stereoview of an interior at th…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
Today is the first day in nearly a century when the public can lay flowers on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Learn more about its dedication ceremony in 1921: https://t.co/wAkKHp1rDm Today is the first day in nearly a century when the public …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
Crew Dragon Endeavour Recovered After a Successful Splashdown via NASA https://t.co/kMFgQ3HyYr https://t.co/rtMd4Akub2
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
Take a look at this map of Los Angeles County from 1898. It includes the names of various landowners in the area at the time of publication. Check it out: https://t.co/x5kqIcdeaq https://t.co/VANiGeCGr5 Take a look at this map of Los Angeles County from 1898. It includes the …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
Early on in his effort to get legislative funding for cancer research, West Virginia Senator Matthew Mansfield Neely proposed that Congress offer a $5 million reward for "any information leading to the arrest of human cancer." https://t.co/3cC6VzDXt1 #DCHistory Early on in h…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
Today in History - November 9 https://t.co/xlvwnVK6lh Mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker was born on November 9, 1731, in Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland. Continue reading. Click here to search Today in History for other historic moments.
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
Quote of the Day: "True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision." - Edith Wharton
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 9, 2021
Peggy O'Neil featured regularly in early 1800s #WashingtonDC gossip, and the fact that she was so close to President Jackson made many worry that she could influence the whole country with her evil ways. https://t.co/saSEa4yPNE Peggy O'Neil featured regularly in early 1800s …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 8, 2021
This 1967 map of Nigeria depicts the languages and dialects of the country. The colors represent major linguistic zones while the names in black are dialects. Zoom in for a closer look here: https://t.co/lq3XW5nfSh https://t.co/xRt5Wux4kN This 1967 map of Nigeria depicts the …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 8, 2021
If you lived in or near #DC in 1969, you may remember the Led Zeppelin/The Who double bill concert at the Merriweather Post that year, but Led Zeppelin's first live show in the D.C. area might have actually been at the Wheaton Youth Center in MD. https://t.co/zzrZnoi25w If y…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 8, 2021
This colorful Italian made map depicts the Americas as they were understood in the late 16th century. Have a look: https://t.co/f9kAcfSAWy https://t.co/8t39R2NLX7 This colorful Italian made map depicts the Americas as they were understood in the late 16th century. Have a look…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 8, 2021
Spotted by Hubble: Dark Star-Hatching frEGGs via NASA https://t.co/PgAakXvr1v https://t.co/Nr6ZLhh31Q
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 8, 2021
After D.C. Transit decided to raise bus fares from 20 to 25 cents per ride in November 1965, the local chapter of the Student nonviolent Coordinating Committee, led by Marion Barry, staged a bus boycott. https://t.co/5aMuVfNuVT #DCHistory After D.C. Transit decided to raise …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 8, 2021
Detail from a matchbook cover from Charlie Chiang's restaurant. This popular family-owned chain of upscale Chinese restaurants opened their first DC location at 1912 I Street NW in 1982 and later were also at 4250 Connecticut Ave NW in Van Ness. https://t.co/LnL0pR3AJm Detail …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 8, 2021
Today in History - November 8 https://t.co/sjysaNew4f On November 8, 1906, cameraman Fred A. Dobson began filming The Skyscrapers of New York atop an uncompleted skyscraper at Broadway and 12th Street. Continue reading. On November 8, 1861, U.S. Navy Captain Charles Wilkes …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 8, 2021
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— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 7, 2021
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— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 7, 2021
Any runner today knows that a marathon is 26.2 miles, but during the marathon craze of the early 1900s, any "long distance race" of three to 15 miles counted. https://t.co/c32RaDsdAd #DCHistory Any runner today knows that a marathon is 26.2 miles, but during the marathon cra…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 7, 2021
An oil tanker from the Central Fuel Co poses in front of The Towers apartments, at 4201 Cathedral Ave NW, in this early 60s postcard view. The Towers, designed by Berla and Abel and completed in 1960, is a sprawling, luxury apartment complex that was converted to condos in 1…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 7, 2021
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— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 7, 2021
This tribe helped the Pilgrims survive for their first Thanksgiving. They still regret it 400 years later. https://t.co/QhDOGr1bq9 This tribe helped the Pilgrims survive for their first Thanksgiving. They still regret it 400 years later. https://t.co/QhDOGr1bq9 — Streets of …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 7, 2021
Former owner of both the Washington Herald and the Washington Times Cissy Patterson was the one to consolidate them, creating the most popular daily newspaper in #WashingtonDC. Former owner of both the Washington Herald and the Washington Times Cissy Patterson was the one to …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 7, 2021
Today in History - November 7 https://t.co/I58le1kOBi On November 7, 1837, Elijah Parish Lovejoy was killed by a pro-slavery mob while defending the site of his anti-slavery newspaper The Saint Louis Observer. Continue reading. Hawai'i officially joined the Union as the fif…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 7, 2021
The first Emerson's Ltd. restaurant opened in December 1969 at Georgia Ave and Eastern Ave in the District. The casual steak restaurant featured the area's first all-you-can-eat salad bar, which made it a huge hit. By 1976, there were 42 Emersons, but they wouldn't last... …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 7, 2021
Quote of the Day: "Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues." - George Will
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Nov 7, 2021