Happy Holidays to you and yours today from the DC History Center! 🎄 📸 : East Gate of the White House in Winter (Kiplinger Washington Collection, https://t.co/lwqDd9Pnsb., original watercolor painting by Paul Hoffmaster) https://t.co/5zCkgUpi5z Happy Holidays to you and your…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 25, 2021
https://t.co/VI9yBbqyGg
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 25, 2021
our final glimpses of the telescope craft as it marks a destination a million miles away from earth. outside my kitchen door, dozens of hawks circling, hundreds of geese flying in formations, as if they know what a momentous day this is for exploration. https://t.co/uvw9S1VDck
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 25, 2021
Today in History - December 25 https://t.co/cMfFb2xeK4 On December 25, Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Christ. Continue reading. On Christmas Day, December 25, 1830, the Best Friend of Charleston became the first regularly scheduled steam locomotive passe…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 25, 2021
Quote of the Day: "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 25, 2021
Four islands from around the world - Bermuda, Iceland, Jan Mayen, and Newfoundland - are depicted on this map by 17th-century cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli. Zoom in here: https://t.co/Z6eQeH1NZc https://t.co/hL6ixXjF8u Four islands from around the world - Bermuda, Iceland, J…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 24, 2021
Holy Toledo! This panoramic map of Toledo, OH depicts the city as it was in 1876. Explore the map here: https://t.co/XnSpLKkdfh https://t.co/3UO7gDVBkj Holy Toledo! This panoramic map of Toledo, OH depicts the city as it was in 1876. Explore the map here: …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 24, 2021
Holiday greetings from Streets of Washington. Circa 1913 postcard, from the days when it used to snow at Christmastime. https://t.co/aQ2xton2i7 Holiday greetings from Streets of Washington. Circa 1913 postcard, from the days when it used to snow at Christmastime. …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 24, 2021
Today in History - December 24 https://t.co/yVIjvKE4jU ‘Tis December 24, the day before Christmas, and all through the land, families send excited children to bed with a reading of Clement Moore’s classic poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Continue reading. Click here to se…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 24, 2021
Quote of the Day: "Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store." - Dr. Seuss
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 24, 2021
Lots of interesting things happening in and around the Gulf of Thailand in this 1519 nautical chart! It's a folio from an atlas produced for King Manuel I of Portugal. Take a tour here: https://t.co/mI6WzWw2Kp https://t.co/CLJOzNH0Kk Lots of interesting things happening in and…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 23, 2021
James Webb Telescope Rolls to the Pad Aboard an Ariane 5 Rocket via NASA https://t.co/zF24kI5Ish https://t.co/B81eTXkQQM
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 23, 2021
Check out this map from 1953 which depicts nations receiving support from the Point Four Program initiated by President Harry Truman. The program was intended to provide technical assistance to developing nations. Have a look: https://t.co/D5ax4b2ndj https://t.co/E3gfFJdlR2 C…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 23, 2021
1636 Conn Ave NW, built in 1921, originally housed a Rolls Royce dealer and a hair stylist. By the 1970s, the popular counterculture Ben Bow bar and Ellen's Irish Pub had taken over. In 1978 patrons of the two bars protested plans to tear the building down and it was saved. …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 23, 2021
Today in History - December 23 https://t.co/cuU6DoVRXG George Washington resigned his commission as commander in chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783, in the Senate chamber of the Maryland State House in Annapolis, where the Continental Congress was meeting. Co…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 23, 2021
Since we started the #longreads hashtag in 2009 to share great reads on Twitter, curation has been the beating heart of Longreads. We highlight our favorite stories in our weekly Longreads Top 5, and at year’s end — in what is now a decade-long tradition — we revisit and reflect on the pieces we loved most.
This year we did things a little differently — our editors still considered their top stories, but we also reached out to our readers to see what the Longreads community enjoyed in 2021. So today, we’re delighted to showcase 10 stories from the year that our readers loved — and hear why these pieces stood out to them in their own words.
Dave Herbert’s piece on Camp Shane is incredible work, and deeply meaningful as a survivor of that weight loss camp. As an amateur writer — I also have to say that the author weaved a number of different issues and concepts using a fantastic narrative form, coupled with a unifying thread that would resonate with any reader.
—Mark Rothenberg
I am an American expat living in Australia, and this story gave me the most insightful look at how COVID-19 in the U.S. is impacting work, place, real estate, local culture, and nature — and how the socio-economics pervade everything.
—Tara Johnston
I loved this essay’s description about “teetering on a tightrope between Asian America and Black America,” and her powerful explanations of coping with the realities of racism and discrimination from a young age.
—Vesna Jaksic Lowe
The question of profile writing is: What fascinates me about this person, and what does it say about myself or the world? The other, especially in sports writing these days is: How can I get enough time and access to get to the core of a character? Anderson manages to obtain one of the deepest and — given the insane shield put around sports stars these days — most unlikely portraits of an NBA star. We see the moody, ingenious, unlikely Kevin Durant in a way he’s never been shown to us before. It’s the piece every sportswriter I know is jealous of.
—Joseph Bien-Kahn
It’s a story that traverses the very real ecological and sociological issues of our present world — a world at the brink of irreversible damage. Written with poetic articulation, it narrates a well-researched story of the unique wetlands of Kolkata. Despite the imminent urgency of the problems discussed, it still relates an uplifting instance of the human capacity for survival, resourcefulness, and optimism. Beautifully written and moving.
—Reshma Matthew
This profile about freediver Alenka Artnik blew me away. Not only is her story of overcoming grief and mental health challenges inspiring, but it is written in such an evocative way. I’ve never seen a story designed like that either. The video of Alenka diving under the story transfixed me.
—Jenni Blossom
This is still a story I think about. After two years filled with so much loss and immeasurable lost time, this feature clung to my heart and made me appreciate how much more time I do have, post-pandemic.
—Sarah Anderson
It’s an age-old problem that isn’t spotlighted much, and wildlife trafficking interlopes with lots of other types of crimes (e.g., drug trade). This was a great article.
—Lindsey Reeves
I loved this story so much. It was a good old-fashioned rip-roaring adventure story, done the way it should be: the biggest, baddest river, a race, a record meant to be broken, petty interpersonal conflict, tension, and terror — all with a dose of redemption at the end. And it was reported from the boats, not after the fact. Great stuff.
—Jason Albert
This piece on the Thailand palm oil industry, and the violence and harassment against local farmers, shows the strengths and courage of ordinary people — who, although vulnerable and underprivileged, refuse to give up on insisting their rights are respected.
—Sutharee Wanna
Quote of the Day: "There's no use doing a kindness if you do it a day too late." - Charles Kingsley
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 23, 2021
In contrast to his earliest performances, Elvis's last performance in the D.C. area at the Capital Centre had a much calmer audience. According to the Post, "Though no one was was seen swooning, nobody objected to that gyrating either." https://t.co/WP6IJMj7eW #DCHistory In …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 22, 2021
Check out the detailed illustrations on this 1888 panoramic map of Bridgton, Maine: Get a bird's eye view here: https://t.co/eBCRxG2xQz https://t.co/ORssDVq6MG Check out the detailed illustrations on this 1888 panoramic map of Bridgton, Maine: Get a bird's eye view here: https…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 22, 2021
Have a look at this 1857 map of New York City. The orientation may throw you off at first as Manhattan is not often depicted horizontally! The map is oriented with north on the right side. Zoom in here: https://t.co/lTe6iLYLCl https://t.co/dNmgIb4Rh1 Have a look at this 1857 …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 22, 2021
Small (But Mighty) Weather Instruments via NASA https://t.co/Zs1G23xdPG https://t.co/UD4cP3oreR
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 22, 2021
1922 photo of the Elias Caldwell House, built in 1810 at 206 Pa Ave SE. After the British burned Washington in 1814, Caldwell offered his home as a temporary site for the Supreme Court. The house was torn down in 1933 to make way for the Adams Building of the Library of Cong…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 22, 2021
Since he had renounced his Catholic faith, F. Scott Fitzgerald couldn't be buried with the rest of his family at St. Mary's Cemetery in Rockville, MD, and his body ended up in Rockville Union Cemetery instead. https://t.co/XyF43P8Bgr #MDHistory Since he had renounced his Cat…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 22, 2021
Today in History - December 22 https://t.co/9z4IgFtQHn Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy, known as Connie Mack, the "Tall Tactician" of major league baseball, was born on December 22, 1862, in East Brookfield, Massachusetts. Continue reading. Click here to search Today in Hi…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 22, 2021
Quote of the Day: "If you're alive, there's a purpose for your life." - Rick Warren
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 22, 2021
Behold a Winter Solstice via NASA https://t.co/3A1CIiX0oy https://t.co/UPjFLrqssI
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 21, 2021
This lovely hand-colored map depicts Maine as it was in 1840. Take a look: https://t.co/diob79qJDW https://t.co/u8i70TyqeQ This lovely hand-colored map depicts Maine as it was in 1840. Take a look: https://t.co/diob79qJDW https://t.co/u8i70TyqeQ — LOCMaps (@LOCMaps) Dec 21…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 21, 2021
Harry Lucien Ebert (1880-1946) of Frederick , Maryland, went into the grocery business in 1912 and gradually moved to producing and selling ice cream. This postcard is from the 1930s. https://t.co/6Rla8XgWPg Harry Lucien Ebert (1880-1946) of Frederick , Maryland, went into the…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 21, 2021
In a time when most of the public shunned AIDS patients, philanthropist Robert Alfandre invited 30 people infected with the illness to his home for a Christmas party. https://t.co/yO0LOxWfNm #DCHistory In a time when most of the public shunned AIDS patients, philanthropist R…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 21, 2021
Today in History - December 21 https://t.co/594AoCv8at On December 21, 1928, President Calvin Coolidge signed the Boulder Canyon Project Act, which sought to dam the Colorado River and distribute its water for use in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, a…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 21, 2021
Since we started the #longreads hashtag in 2009 to share great reads on Twitter, curation has been the beating heart of Longreads. All year long, we highlight our favorite stories in the weekly Longreads Top 5. At the end of the year, we love to reflect on and share the pieces that stayed with us, a tradition we’ve kept for 10 years! Now it is the turn of the profile — as we highlight the craft of writing about someone else. These five writers are masterful at providing insights into another’s world.
On May 4, 1970, Kent State University students gathered on campus to peacefully rally against President Richard Nixon’s decision to invade Cambodia, which would expand U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. Fourteen-year-old Mary Ann Vecchio, a free-spirited teen who hitchhiked around the country to escape a volatile family life in Florida, found herself on the school’s Ohio grounds, drawn to the protests. National Guard troops shot four students dead that day, including a man, Jeffrey Miller, whom Vecchio had been talking to. She dropped to the ground and knelt beside his body — her arms raised, her face full of anguish and horror. McCormick documents her pleas: “‘Doesn’t anyone see what just happened here?’ she remembers crying. ‘Why is no one helping him?’”
Student photographer John Filo snapped a picture of her at that very moment, capturing what would become an iconic image, one that “fundamentally changed the way we see ourselves and the world around us,” writes Patricia McCormick. Through a dozen phone interviews with Vecchio, who is now 65 and living a quiet retired life, McCormick recounts that fateful day and how the image “hijacked” Vecchio’s life, haunting her even 50 years on. (Her reaction to the video of George Floyd’s last moments shook her to her core.) Affected from “opposite ends of the lens,” Vecchio and Filo are intimately connected to one another through the photo — Vecchio a “human flashpoint” and a symbol of the national conscience, and Filo full of grief and guilt over what the image did to her, despite his winning a Pulitzer for his work. Compassionate and superbly reported, McCormick’s profile hits a nerve, and especially resonates in our time of virality and smartphone-recorded moments of injustice. —Cheri Lucas Rowlands
In this beautiful piece, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal offers a haunting portrait of her father, Gilberto Villarreal, a virtuoso guitarist and musician, a man who was a “prodigy at the foot of this country, in a place no one ever expects to find someone extraordinary.“ Villarreal recalls the struggles her father endured as a Mexican immigrant trying to be discovered in a music business dominated by white interests and pernicious racism: “What I experienced as poetry came first through the song my father wrote for me when I was two years old, a song whose melody is a turning helix in my blood, another way of speaking my name. It is the rarest gift I have ever received.“ This is a piece steeped in love and admiration for a man and an artist who, despite his many musical skills and achievements, did not consider himself a success. “You might think from my tone that this is a sad story,“ Villarreal writes. “And maybe it is, but it is also a tribute to an unseen life, a long overdue recognition of ordinary genius worn down by circumstance.“ —Krista Stevens
Author Vanessa Angélica Villarreal on the story from 2021 that impacted her most:
Carina del Valle Schorske’s “Dancing Through New York in a Summer of Joy and Grief“ in The New York Times Magazine was an incredibly rich, historical snapshot of embodiment, grief, vitality, and rebellion in the shared ritual of social dance, specific to Black, Latin, queer, and immigrant communities. From Harlem to Brooklyn and everywhere in between, del Valle Schorske writes a history of social dance as a site of healing after mass tragedy that is part personal essay, part performance theory, part history lesson — an erotics of survival and joy at the end of the world.
Given the state of the celebrity-industrial complex, the vast majority of profiles you read in any given year are about people you already know. The truly special ones, though, tend to buck convention. And that’s exactly the case with Molly Ball’s riveting portrait of Mike Fanone, the Washington D.C. narcotics officer who drove to the Capitol on January 6 to help defend it against insurrectionists. Sure, you may have seen Fanone on cable news in the aftermath of the riots, may have thought he was a hero or a martyr or a turncoat or anything else — but you didn’t know what he’d gone through that day, let alone who he was. Ball’s scene work and deft reconstruction help bring together the splintered shards of a complicated, imperfect man, one who somehow both validates and punctures whatever assumptions you had. “He’s not asking to be called a hero — he just wants us to remember what his sacrifice was for,” she writes. “Fanone believes we can’t keep trying to outrun this thing; we’ve got to turn around and face it, defeat it once and for all. That if all we do is turn away and hope it fades, it will just keep getting stronger until it comes back to kill us all.” Once upon a time, that may have sounded overwrought. Today, it’s all too real. —Peter Rubin
What happens when the worst day of your life animates a social movement over which you have no control? This question is the engine of Imani Perry’s profile of Samaria Rice, mother of Tamir Rice, killed by police in 2014. Samaria was anguished, and she wanted justice. But she didn’t want to be told how to act, or to see “leaders” she didn’t know speaking for her — much less making money off her son’s death. In Perry’s hands, Samaria’s story is a window into the growing pains of Black Lives Matter. If readers are uncomfortable with what they see, that’s the point: We can’t look away from the truth, Perry says, just because it’s messy. “We have lost a great deal of history by relying upon a neat consensus narrative,” she writes. “If we’re not careful, we run the risk of letting that become the story of today as well.” —Seyward Darby
The opening lines of another profile by Imani Perry, which author Becca Andrews chose as her favorite lede of the year:
“I knew from the beginning that I would not meet Gayl Jones.
Or see a recent photograph of her. Or ask her any questions. What does it feel like, 46 years after the first, to have a new novel coming out? Why did you step out of view? Did it make you a more honest writer? Did it serve your soul? I would not get answers. I would not be able to charm her into laughter. I know she is brilliant, obscure, irascible. I imagine her smile is still wry. But does she still wear her head wrapped in 2021? Is she still adept at putting a nosy questioner in her place?“
—“She Changed Black Literature Forever. Then She Disappeared,“ The New York Times Magazine
This piece brought a smile to my face and delight to my heart. For even in the age of the Instagram-famous pet, it’s not often we get a proper pooch profile. Benji the dog is a George Clooney lookalike who “prefers to greet the world au naturel whenever possible,” writes Madeleine Aggeler. He is “confident that wherever he goes, everyone will be thrilled to meet him,” and he is right — they are: Benji is “one of the most famous dogs in America right now.” A worthy profile subject, indeed. His is an interesting story: His owner, the YouTube yoga instructor Adriene Mishler, was the champion of COVID lockdowns, with her online exercise classes becoming incredibly popular. Benji was a part of this, making cameos on camera that brought joy to Adriene’s viewers. Written with great creativity and humor, Aggeler’s article shows us why Benji is such a scene-stealer. — Carolyn Wells
This 1862 map of Colorado highlights the region of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, which began in earnest in 1859. Explore the map here (and let us know if you find gold!): https://t.co/kCLtuCu2f4 https://t.co/A4l3oNRoux This 1862 map of Colorado highlights the region of the Pike's…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 20, 2021
Blueprints of the James Webb Space Telescope via NASA https://t.co/5qg2KOed8a https://t.co/HZwRexIFsC
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 20, 2021
Overlooked No More: Frances B. Johnston, Photographer Who Defied Genteel Norms https://t.co/zsHimwlXjF Overlooked No More: Frances B. Johnston, Photographer Who Defied Genteel Norms https://t.co/zsHimwlXjF — Streets of Washington (@StreetsOfDC) Dec 20, 2021
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 20, 2021
For today’s #MapMonsterMonday we’re sharing creatures from this 1565 world map. The monsters may not be the strangest feature of the map, however. Look closely and you’ll notice Antarctica is depicted as being inhabited my rhinos and more! Check it out: https://t.co/05xe8co7Yt …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 20, 2021
The name Virginia originally referred to all of North America that wasn't controlled by the Spanish or the French. https://t.co/nUIrOUhVja #VAHistory The name Virginia originally referred to all of North America that wasn't controlled by the Spanish or the French. …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 20, 2021
19th century stereoview of the old General Post Office (now Hotel Monaco) across F St from the Patent Office (now Portrait Gallery). Taken from the Patent Office's grand staircase on F St, which was removed in 1936 to improve automobile traffic. Restore it, Smithsonian! …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 20, 2021
Today in History - December 20 https://t.co/roEEPcJ0dx On December 20, 1790, a mill, with water-powered machinery for spinning, roving, and carding cotton, began operating on the banks of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Continue reading. Click here to searc…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 20, 2021
Quote of the Day: "No one has a greater asset for his business than a man's pride in his work." - Hosea Ballou
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 20, 2021
Jazz musician Shirley Horn didn't let labor pains stop her from carrying on with her show at the Howard Theatre in October 1958. https://t.co/khW9fmEuOU #DCHistory Jazz musician Shirley Horn didn't let labor pains stop her from carrying on with her show at the Howard Theatre…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 19, 2021
Postcard view of the old Laurel High School, on Montgomery Street in Laurel, Maryland, which was constructed in 1899 as the first public high school in Prince George's County. https://t.co/U47atbfxZY Postcard view of the old Laurel High School, on Montgomery Street in Laurel, …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 19, 2021
Perspective | An old building near Dupont Circle will get a nice, new turret https://t.co/dIwH4QClMg Perspective | An old building near Dupont Circle will get a nice, new turret https://t.co/dIwH4QClMg — Streets of Washington (@StreetsOfDC) Dec 19, 2021
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 19, 2021
The Million Man March of 1995 on the National Mall is remembered by many as "the day that masses of black men came together and walked away as brothers." https://t.co/xXkpmJT9WW #DCHistory The Million Man March of 1995 on the National Mall is remembered by many as "the day t…
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 19, 2021
Today in History - December 19 https://t.co/VBk0Sydv2W In the final hours of December 18, 1813, some 500 British soldiers as well as some 500 militia and Indians—crossed the Niagara River from Canada determined to seize Old Fort Niagara on the opposite shore in New York. By …
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 19, 2021
Quote of the Day: "We grow small trying to be great." - E. Stanley Jones
— Kenneth Samson (@PangurBanC) Dec 19, 2021