Blog Archives

June 28, 2014 – One hundred years ago today, the Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo by a Bosnia Serb nationalist. In addition to causing consternation at the archduke convention (as reported by The Onion), the act is considered the … Continue reading →

The Butts are long-time neighbors of my grandparents, Goldie and Addison Jenks, in the cemetery in Oneonta. I like to imagine the permanent residents sitting in rows of folding chairs, as if they were in a Thornton Wilder play. There’s … Continue reading →

DIck Nixon was attorney for Pepsi Cola when I wrote to him to request an autographed picture. His generous response was probably accompanied by a cover letter from his secretary, Rose Mary Woods. If so, I discarded her letter because … Continue reading →

In 1962 I read an article about Herbert Hoover in Parade magazine. The article described his austere life in the Waldorf-Astoria towers, and noted the ex-president still received a half dozen letters each day. He would write his responses on … Continue reading →

Adlai Stevenson would have been 114 this month. I once took a girl I admired on a “date” to see him speak at Colgate University, circa February 1963. The effort did not sweep her off her feet, and I began … Continue reading →

With one exception, I haven’t solicited a celebrity’s or politician’s autograph since 1964. That exception was Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier. In retirement, Joe represented a furniture company that happened to have a display room beneath my apartment on Charlotte Street … Continue reading →

I can’t remember where I got this pin because Democratic campaign items were not plentiful in Morrisville, N.Y., in 1960. I remember that I wore it throughout the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon campaign, wore it throughout the Kennedy years, and was wearing … Continue reading →