Six Art Deco Gems
You don’t have to go to Miami or Hollywood for an Art Deco experience. New England has plenty of Art Deco office buildings, theatres and post offices – you just… The post Six Art Deco Gems appeared...
View ArticleConstance Baker Motley Faces Down Racism
Constance Baker Motley encountered overt racism for the first time when she left her home in New Haven to attend Fisk College in Nashville. She got off her southbound train… The post Constance Baker...
View ArticleThe MTL Insanity File of Robert Todd Lincoln Discovered
Robert Todd Lincoln burned most of his papers and correspondence before he died. Most, but not all. He saved a collection of papers he called the MTL Insanity File. Fifty… The post The MTL Insanity...
View ArticlePittsfield’s Frank Grant Fights Baseball’s Color Line in 1887
After Frank Grant lost his battle to play on integrated baseball teams, almost 50 years would go by before Jackie Robinson reintegrated the sport. Grant played for six years on… The post Pittsfield’s...
View ArticleThe Jack Kerouac Fantasy Baseball Game (Yes, That Jack Kerouac)
Jack Kerouac invented a fantasy baseball game with homemade cards that he played well into adulthood. After he played the games, he wrote them up using the fevered prose he… The post The Jack Kerouac...
View ArticleHow To Talk With a Boston Accent (Not for the Faint of Haht)
The Boston accent has brought many an actor to grief, especially these days as films about the city just keep coming. George Clooney famously botched it in Perfect Storm, but… The post How To Talk With...
View ArticleBuffalo Soldiers Come Out to Vermont
In July of 1909, 750 African-American men known as Buffalo soldiers arrived at Fort Ethan Allen in Colchester, Vt., near the small city of Burlington. Greater Burlington had a population… The post...
View ArticleCharles Ives’ New England Holidays, A Danbury Childhood Set to Music
Charles Ives never forgot the sights and sounds of the village cornet band marching to the cemetery in Danbury, Conn., on Decoration Day. His father, George Ives, had served as… The post Charles Ives’...
View ArticleJackie and Rachel Robinson, A Love Story
On Feb. 10, 1945, Jackie and Rachel Robinson got married in a big church wedding in Los Angeles. Two weeks later they boarded a plane to a hostile and unfamiliar… The post Jackie and Rachel Robinson, A...
View ArticleWhen Ernie Shore Overshadowed Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth cast a very large shadow, but on June 23, 1917, Ernie Shore overshadowed the big guy. He even managed to do it after the Babe got kicked out… The post When Ernie Shore Overshadowed Babe Ruth...
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