Author: jmonk

  • National Hobo Convention

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    jmonk

    Every year since 1900, Britt, Iowa, celebrates current and retired hobos and their independent life style. Each year there is a parade, traditional mulligan stew is served, and visitors can visit the Hobo Museum and the Hobo cemetery. The celebration also crowns a King and Queen of the hobos. To learn more about this obscure…

  • Disappearance of Judge Crater

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    jmonk

    Joe and his wife were on vacation in their cottage on a lake in Maine on the 3rd of August, 1930. The 9th was her birthday and the two were going to celebrate. Joseph Force Crater was a justice of the New York Supreme Court. He received a phone call that day and left immediately…

  • “American Bandstand” TV Premiere: Anniversary

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    jmonk

    August 5, 1957 marked the premiere of the American classic, “American Bandstand.”  The program began five years earlier as a local show in Philadelphia.  Dick Clark, then a disc jockey, took over as host at age 26 and held that position until 1989. The show toured the country, putting on concerts or dances in various…

  • Mandela Arrest: Anniversary

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    jmonk

    Born Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, to the leader of the Tembu tribe in 1918 Umata, South Africa. Mandela grew up to be a political activist and a lawyer and in 1962 established the first black practice in South Africa. Four years later, he was charged with treason. In 1961 he was acquitted of those charges, but…

  • Columbus Sails for the New World: Anniversary

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    jmonk

    In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue…We all know it, but did you know that he set out to traverse the Big Blue on August 3rd? His courage and sometimes audacity won this Italian the nickname, “Admiral of the Ocean.” The Admiral and his crew of 90 set sail from Palos, Spain just half an…

  • Happy 150th Birthday, Henry Ford!

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    jmonk

    Happy birthday to the great American innovator! You know him as the man who introduced the car and the industrial line to America. Did you also know that he was not only a perfectionist and a business man, but also a tinker-er, a tyrant, and a good bit paranoid (borderline mental)? That’s right, Henry Ford…

  • Diplomatic Squabbles in Prelude to the 2nd World War

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    jmonk

    The 22nd of July, 1938, all major powers in the West are at attention. Only a few months prior, Czechoslovakia had concentrated their military on the border which they share with Germany. Hitler sent diplomats to meet with the Czech government and to reassure them that Germany had no interest in invading Czechoslovakia. This was…