Archive for May 2019

‘Twas an ordinary morning, on an ordinary day in the very ordinary village (except the oranges) of Orangeville when the unthinkable occurred. Since time began oranges magically appeared at the fruit stand in the village square. All the townspeople, and those who came before them assumed there would be an unending supply of oranges in…

Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706 In Boston, Massachusetts. From a modest beginning as the son of a candle-maker, he became a highly intelligent and prolific adult who lived a long life of fame and fortune. He made multiple contributions to humanity everywhere. He was an author, printer, political theorist, politician, businessman, musician,…

The Signing of the Declaration of Independence was a magnificent moment in human history. The document boldly announced to the world the separation of the American colonies from the British Kingdom, and gave detailed, powerful justification for the action taken. It was the first, formal assertion, by a whole people, of their right to a…

Many will  immediately say: “Francis Scott Key.”     If this were a history test, and I’m glad it’s not, they’d get no better than a “C-” for that answer.     Here’s why. Key wrote the words, but not the music to our national anthem. The music was written by John Stafford Smith, ironically, a British composer. The original song had…

Eli Whitney, in 1795, at the tender age of 27, invented the cotton gin, the “gin” being slang for “engine.” Little did he suspect that his simple machine, designed and built in only ten days, would revolutionize the entire soc1al and economic structure of the “southern section of the United States. The cotton gin separated…