Finally underway, the 1620 voyage of the Mayflower took 65 days, from September 6 (we today would say 16) to November 11 (we would say 21), from Plymouth, England, to present-day Provincetown Harbor. [SEM, OPP, pg. 60] So, this coming week of 2020 is the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower and the Pilgrims and the rest of the British passengers in John Smith’s New England. (more…)
Inside the Mayflower II Replica ~ 2016, Plymouth, Massachusetts
It’s July 1620 in Leyden, the Netherlands. The financially strapped group of Separatist Puritans finally (“at length,” writes William Bradford) bought and fitted a small ship ~ the Speedwell ~ with a plan for it to remain with them in their New World colony for fishing and “other affairs.” (more…)
The only known, recorded suggestion that George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of fledgling America’s army, should become king of the new country came from one of Washington’s officers, Colonel Lewis Nicola in a letter to Washington, dated May 22, 1782. (more…)
A Mast of the Mayflower Replica, Plymouth Harbor (Taken 2016 by author)
It’s June of 2020. What was the group we call the Pilgrims doing 400 years ago? Never mind contemplating the fearsome challenges of an Atlantic crossing and an alien environment. Pilgrim leaders and representatives were trying to overcome a series of serious obstacles on the Dutch and English side of the ocean before they could even set foot on a ship’s deck. (more…)
Plymouth’s Famous Rock (author’s photo)
Above, you see a famous rock (boulder) that resides for viewing within an enclosure on the beach of Plymouth, Massachusetts. At some point, the date 1620 was carved into it. Look closely and you will see where the rock had broken into two pieces and was repaired. (more…)
Dwelling Interior, Plimouth Plantation, Plymouth, Massachusetts (author’s photo)
The words above, penned (literally) by Plymouth Governor William Bradford, are a reference to the New Testament letter to the Hebrews (11:13). The letter’s eleventh chapter is known as the hall of fame of (more…)
This blog entry is dated March 28, 2020, so it is perhaps a pertinent time, as we Americans endure an unprecedented and rather peculiar quarantine, to explore a curious and historically important plague of four centuries ago.
In 1616, several years prior to the year of the Mayflower, an unseen enemy stalked (more…)
It is March of 2020, the Year of the Mayflower, the 400th anniversary of the good ship’s New England arrival some 8 months future. What were the people we call our Pilgrim Fathers doing in March of 1620? They were dealing with, and arguing over, a new development on the business end of moving to America. (more…)
Unless you are a true nerd of America’s juvenile series heroes of the early 1900s, I’m sure your first question is, “Who in the world is Frank Merriwell?” If you were a good bit older, you would surely know.
I’m working on a book titled In Search of Yesterday’s Heroes which will fully answer that question, but now, to keep it short, Frank was the fictional, young, ultra-clean living, magnanimous and virtuous sports hero of literally millions of young readers, eventually tens of millions, (more…)
Just as with the first book in this series, I wish I had been able to use it when I was teaching. I’m really glad a homeschooling friend clued me in. These books are fun, but they are also important.
In this second “economics for kids” adventure story, The Hidden Entrance, heroic duo Maya and Nate are now members of the secret Under the Staircase Society. (more…)