Christmas Traditions: Christmas ornaments
Today, Christmas ornaments come in every shape, size and color imaginable. They can be store bought or homemade and there are numerous themes to choose from. The first Christmas trees were adorned with apples, candy canes and pastries in the … Continued
A Century at Plymouth Plantation
We’ve been taking a look at events which transpired after the Mayflower arrived and the first Thanksgiving. We’ll finish up the series today with a look at the rest of the 17th Century. 1650-1660 Tensions increase between Natives and Colonists … Continued
Christmas Traditions: Letters to Santa
Writing letters to Santa is a long held tradition for children. While we don’t know how long letter writing has been going on, the United States postal service made an effort to begin answering the letters in 1912. Since 1940, … Continued
The Next Twenty Years after the First Thanksgiving
Last time we looked at the growth over the first decade after the Mayflower arrived and celebrated the first Thanksgiving. Let’s take a look at how growth continued. June 1630—The Winthrop fleet arrive with 700 colonists, some of whom settle … Continued
The First Decade After the First Thanksgiving
We’ve been discussing the Mayflower journey and events leading up to it, as well as the journey, first year and first Thanksgiving. We’re going to wrap it up with a brief overview of events which happened in the century following … Continued
How did the Flu Epidemic End in 1918?
After the second wave, many U.S. cities saw a dramatic increase in outbreaks. The greatest question researchers ask is why was the second wave so lethal? The third wave, in October, had spread throughout the world. The explanation given at … Continued
Casualties of 1918 Flu Epidemic
More than 500 million people worldwide are said to have been affected by the influenza pandemic. In other words, 27% of the world’s population was infected. The estimations vary about how many died during this time, but historians believe the … Continued
Influenza Outbreak Effect on World War I
Many historians believe the poor living conditions on the Western Front attributed to the spreading of the Spanish flu and influenza epidemic. Often soldiers lived in cramped, dirty and damp conditions leading to illness. Malnourishment also resulted in weakened immune … Continued
U.S. Towns affected by influenza 1918
While the influenza epidemic spread throughout Europe, it didn’t reach the United States until Spring 1918. As troops came home from World War I, cases began to appear throughout the United States. Communities were greatly affected by the outbreak, as … Continued
Three Phases of Epidemic
There were three phases of the influenza pandemic or Spanish flu. Started in the Spring and resembled typical flu epidemics and mainly effected the sick and elderly Began in August throughout France, Sierra Leone and the United States. Virus mutated … Continued