Category: Open Lines

All summer long, millions of Americans have been enjoying ice cream cones. The exact origin of the cone is a subject of controversy. This month in 1903, an Italian immigrant in New York City — Italo Marchiony — filed a patent for a waffle-like pastry cup to hold ice cream. But he later lost court cases against makers of devices, which produced cone-shaped holders for ice cream. Whoever actually invented the ice cream cone, the first ones were hand rolled. …

An unusual event gets under way today in the two small Texas towns of Rockport and Fulton — the annual Hummingbird Celebration. Some 6,000 people will celebrate the spectacular fall migration of ruby-throated hummingbirds from their northern nesting grounds to winter locations in Mexico and Central America, including their 500 mile flight over the Gulf of Mexico. One activity is capturing and banding hummingbirds to track their movements. Nearly 14 million people across the U.S. enjoy bird watching each year. …

One of the nation’s historical treasures is the wooden frigate USS Constitution, better known as “Old Ironsides.” Launched in 1797, the ship became famous in the War of 1812. In September 1830, it was reported that the fabled vessel was to be scrapped. This led young law student Oliver Wendell Holmes to publish a poem in the ship’s defense in a Boston newspaper. The result was a national uproar, and Congress voted to restore the ship, which to this day …

Eleven years ago today, America experienced one of its darkest days — the coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon by terrorists flying hijacked airliners. A fourth aircraft crashed in rural Pennsylvania, as passengers fought with the hijackers. At the Pentagon, the attack killed 189 civilian and military personnel. In New York, nearly 3,000 people died. By comparison, the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor in 1941 killed some 2,400. A long-lasting impact of the attacks is …

The first coast-to-coast highway in the United States opened on this date in 1913. Known as the Lincoln Highway, the road originally ran for almost 3,400 miles through 13 states. Nicknamed “the Main Street across America,” the highway brought economic progress to many cities, towns and villages along its route. As a young army officer, Dwight Eisenhower drove in an army convoy on the Lincoln Highway — an experience that fostered his support as president for the Interstate Highway System …

Today marks the birthday of famous heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey, who has been described as “perhaps the greatest surgeon ever.” While still in medical school, DeBakey invented the roller pump, a key piece of equipment in open heart surgery. During his long professional career, he invented at least 50 instruments for heart and artery repair. He is also credited as the driving force behind the establishment of the Houston Medical Center, one of the best of its kind in …

A device that most of us interact with every few days was first unveiled this week in 1905 — the gas pump. Sylvanus Bowser of Fort Wayne, Indiana made the pump for a customer, basing it on an earlier design for pumping kerosene. As the number of cars increased dramatically, the pumps became very popular. Eventually, his name became a generic term for a fuel dispenser, and gas pumps in New Zealand and Australia are still called “Bowsers.” Across the …

Wildfires — and what to do to prevent them –have been in the news a lot in the last few years. One of the largest blazes in U.S. history started on this date in 1881 in the upper peninsula of Michigan. After a long, dry summer, gale force winds turned several small fires into an inferno that blackened a million acres in just three days. The death toll reached 125 and thousands more were left homeless. Helping the victims of …

One of the things we usually take for granted is that our morning newspaper will appear on our doorstep every day. For over 150 years, getting papers to their subscribers was the chore of a small army of newspaper delivery boys. Usually somewhere between 10 and 15, youngsters hungry for their own pocket money got up at 4 a.m. to bicycle or walk through their neighborhoods to toss papers onto front porches. Today is the anniversary of the hiring of …

In 1882, Matthew Maguire, a machinist, first proposed the holiday while serving as secretary of the CLU (Central Labor Union) of New York.[2] Others argue that it was first proposed by Peter J. McGuire of the American Federation of Labor in May 1882,[3] after witnessing the annual labor festival held in Toronto, Canada.[4] Oregon was the first state to make it a holiday in 1887. By the time it became a federal holiday in 1894, thirty states officially celebrated Labor …

It may sound unlikely, but one of the biggest Italian-themed festivals in the U.S. is located in West Virginia. Beginning today and running through September 2nd, the 34th West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival will draw 100,000 people to the town of Clarksburg for a sample of all things Italian. Those attending will have a chance to enjoy a parade and live entertainment, as well as a homemade wine contest, and naturally, Italian food. Along that line, one highlight will be …

Labor Day weekend sees a lot of traditional events in all corners of the country. Starting tomorrow, the folks in Kewanee, Illinois are holding their 59th annual Hog Capital of the World Festival. By the time it’s over on Monday, the festival will attract 40,000 people to sample the world’s largest pork chop barbecue. They’ll also see Model T races, a parade, top flight entertainment — and a four-mile run known as the Hog Stampede. There are nearly 65 million …

Nineteen-year-old Jim Casey had an idea. So, this week in 1907, he and a friend borrowed $100. With it, they started the American Messenger Service in Seattle. By 1913, they had their first vehicle, a Ford Model T, and switched from messages to packages. By 1919, the firm expanded beyond Seattle. Soon, the growing United Parcel Service painted its trucks a rich brown. Today, UPS trucks are still brown. It is the largest package delivery company, serving more than 200 …

“This program is brought to you by…” Those words or ones close to them, were heard for the first time on this date 90 years ago, as the first commercial was broadcast on the new medium of radio. Station WEAF in New York City carried that first ad — not for soap or automobiles — but for a group of apartment buildings in Queens. The cost was $100 for 10 minutes of programming. At the time, there were just 30 …

Much is being written and said about the nation’s dependency on foreign oil and the daily need to fuel our cars, trucks, railroad locomotives, ships and jetliners. The U.S. petroleum industry got its start on this date in 1859, when “Uncle” Billy Smith saw a dark film floating on the water of a shaft he was digging near Titusville, Pennsylvania. Soon, the nation’s first commercial oil well was pumping out crude oil. Today, there are 526,000 oil wells in the …

It may seem like it’s still summer — it’s hot and many people are on vacation. But one of the nation’s largest seasonal events is already under way. It’s back to school time. From nursery school to college, 77 million students are headed to the classroom — that’s more than one-out-of-four of the total U.S. population aged 3 and over. Of the 56 million elementary and high school students enrolled this fall, 11 percent will attend private schools. There are …

Today marks the 100th birthday of one of the nation’s most popular entertainers of the 1940s and ’50s — dancer, movie director and producer, choreographer, singer and actor Gene Kelly. Kelly, a powerful and athletic dancer, is perhaps best remembered for two movies–“An American In Paris,” and “Singin’ in The Rain.” He was a dominant force in Hollywood musicals for the better part of 20 years and received many prestigious awards, including the Kennedy Center honors and an honorary Academy …

Big city hotels as we know them would not be possible without elevators — guests simply would not walk up countless flights of stairs with their luggage. This week in 1859, the first hotel with an elevator opened in New York City, an elegant structure called the Fifth Avenue Hotel. It was six stories high. Its elevator did not use cables, but cars carried guests to upper floors atop a solid, screw-like mechanism, called a “vertical screw railway.” The first …

All across the country, many families are squeezing in a last week of vacation before school gets under way. These getaways will take people to the mountains, lakes, ocean beaches, and the country’s network of national parks and recreation areas for one last summer fling. Many will be sightseeing trips, while others have more defined goals, such as fishing, camping, or hiking. Americans go on 350 million leisure trips each year, averaging about 4½ nights away from home. More than …

It’s unfortunate, but many people die each year in the U.S. from diseases that could have been prevented by immunization. That’s why this is National Immunization Awareness Month — calling attention to the importance of people of all ages to get their shots. Also known as vaccination, its most spectacular success came in the eradication of smallpox, a human scourge for thousands of years. The last known natural case was diagnosed over 30 years ago. While Edward Jenner and Louis …