Understanding Backwards: Coming to Terms with the Past in Oxford, Mississippi

October 16, 2021 / by Malcolm Logan

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” That quote by the 19th century philosopher Kierkegaard lies at the heart of the novels written by William Faulkner, one of the giants of American literature. Faulkner believed the reality of one’s life experience almost invariably falls short…

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Alabama, The South

Beside the Singing River: The Extraordinary Musical Legacy of Muscle Shoals, AL

October 9, 2021 / by Malcolm Logan

In the spring of 1967 record producer extraordinaire Jerry Wexler brought Aretha Franklin to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record a single at FAME Studios. After recording the song, “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”, FAME’s owner and head producer Rick Hall got into a fist fight…

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Illinois, The Midwest

The Beaches of Chicago: The Miraculous Making of the Riviera of the Midwest

September 18, 2021 / by Malcolm Logan

Without doubt, one of the biggest surprises for first time visitors to Chicago is the extent and quality of its lakefront beaches. Many don’t even realize that Chicago has a developed waterfront, much less that it boasts twenty-six miles of some of the finest urban beaches in the United States….

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The Midwest, Wisconsin

Hell on Earth: The Forgotten Firestorm of Peshtigo, Wisconsin

September 11, 2021 / by Malcolm Logan

On the night of October 9th, 1871 sailors on the deck of the schooner C.I. Hutchison two miles off the coast of Wisconsin in Lake Michigan saw something incredible. Wind driven cinders fell from the sky, setting the boat’s rigging on fire. Five miles further out, flaming roof shingles landed…

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Michigan, The Midwest

The Remarkable Johnston Women of Sault Ste Marie

September 4, 2021 / by Malcolm Logan

Early 19th century history is filled with men of consequence. But in an era when most women were expected to remain at home and focus on domestic chores, few females made their marks, especially in the areas of trade, diplomacy and the arts. Exceptions can be found in the remarkable…

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New York, The East

Sam Patch, the Tragic True Story of America’s First National Celebrity

August 7, 2021 / by Malcolm Logan

On November 6th, 1829 a man dressed in a white shirt and spinner pants stepped to the edge of a stone precipice ninety-four feet above the High Falls of the Genesee River in downtown Rochester, New York. Below him, some 8,000 spectators lined the banks. He bowed to the crowd…

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New York, The East

Sliding into First: Examining Baseball’s Pointless Plunge into Irrelevance at Cooperstown, NY

July 31, 2021 / by Malcolm Logan

Sliding into first base is dumb. Diving head first into a thick, immovable bag at top speed can result in injury and is almost always unnecessary. In baseball a runner can run through first base without the risk of being tagged out by the simple method of turning right after…

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Massachusetts, The East

Lexington and Concord: The Stirring True Story of the Events that Sparked the American Revolution

July 3, 2021 / by Malcolm Logan

It was a war nobody wanted. Even rabblerousers like Sam Adams and John Hancock agreed that tangling with the mother country would probably to lead to grief. The preferred method was to pressure the crown into repealing the acts the colonists found so intolerable. The Intolerable Acts, as the colonists…

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Massachusetts, The East

The Memory Holes: Debunking the Myths Surrounding the Pilgrims in Plymouth, MA

June 26, 2021 / by Malcolm Logan

It was idealism that motivated them, idealism and a self-righteous belief in their own rectitude. Prickly is a word that might have been used to describe them, as well as narrow minded and intolerant. They were not easy people to get along with. They left England because they feared persecution…

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Massachusetts, The East

Losing Nantucket: How Massachusetts’ Iconic Whaling Port is Being Slowly Hunted to Extinction

June 19, 2021 / by Malcolm Logan

Nantucket is under threat. Like a humpback whale pursued by a skillful harpooner, the charming 18th century seaport is under siege from the modern world at every turn. Even the ferries that carry 1,600 visitors a day to the island each summer have been a target. In June of 2021,…

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history places to visit

Understanding Backwards: Coming to Terms with the Past in Oxford, Mississippi

Beside the Singing River: The Extraordinary Musical Legacy of Muscle Shoals, AL

The Beaches of Chicago: The Miraculous Making of the Riviera of the Midwest

Hell on Earth: The Forgotten Firestorm of Peshtigo, Wisconsin

The Remarkable Johnston Women of Sault Ste Marie

Sam Patch, the Tragic True Story of America’s First National Celebrity

Sliding into First: Examining Baseball’s Pointless Plunge into Irrelevance at Cooperstown, NY

Lexington and Concord: The Stirring True Story of the Events that Sparked the American Revolution

The Memory Holes: Debunking the Myths Surrounding the Pilgrims in Plymouth, MA

Losing Nantucket: How Massachusetts’ Iconic Whaling Port is Being Slowly Hunted to Extinction

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