A Brief History On May 4, 1894, educator Charles Babcock, superintendent of Oil City, Pennsylvania schools, established “Bird Day” on May 4 in order to advance the celebration and conservation of our feathered friends. Digging Deeper Other “Bird Days” include International Bird Day (April 13) and International Migratory Bird Day (second Saturday in May, or May 13 this year). The 2017 theme is Stopover Sites: Helping Birds Along the Way. As birds are extremely important to the environment and to the welfare of mankind, we will take a moment to recognize some of their important contributions to the ecology. For…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On May 3, 2017, France is facing an upcoming contentious and momentous election that largely revolves around the national character of the country and the issue of immigration, especially Muslim immigration in the wake of terrorist incidents. Digging Deeper Emmanuel Macron, born 1977, is running for President of France on a secular and liberal platform that is pro-immigration (open door policy) and pro-European Union. His opponent, conservative Marine le Pen is running on a nationalistic platform against accepting further Muslim refugees from the Middle East and with an eye for pulling the country out of the European…
A Brief History On May 2, 1964, before even the Gulf of Tonkin Incident that heralded major US involvement in the Vietnam War, a Viet Cong or North Vietnamese frogman placed an explosive charge against the hull of the USS Card (USNS Card at the time of sinking), blowing a hole in the ship and sinking 48 feet as she lay berthed at the dock at Saigon. Digging Deeper The USS Card started life in 1942 as ACV-11 (Auxiliary Aircraft Carrier) after being laid down as a cargo ship. Just under 10,000 tons and just under 500 feet long, the…
A Brief History On May 1, 1884, catcher Moses Fleetwood Walker signed up to play for the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association, a professional baseball league considered a “major league” in existence from 1882 to 1891 and was a rival to the National League. Walker, a black African-American became the first (openly) major league baseball player of African descent over 60 years before Jackie Robinson broke the “color line” in 1947. Digging Deeper The reason why we note the word, “openly,” above, is because at least one other African-American played major league baseball before even Walker (William Edward…
A Brief History On April 30, 1517, oddly enough the day before May Day, riots in London, England broke out known as Evil May Day (alternatively, Ill May Day). English apprentices and businessmen had grown afraid of losing their jobs or business to foreigners coming from Continental Europe and setting up shop in London, taking jobs and business away from English workers and owners. Digging Deeper Resentment against foreigners has reared its ugly head again and again over the years in England and recently in the United States and other European countries as well. Xenophobia is apparently nothing new and…