І. The establishment of Kyiv University and its pre-revolutionary operation during 1834-1917
1. Kyiv University during the first half of the 19th century
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv is a research university with a classic tradition and is the leading establishment of higher education in Ukraine. Its history dates back to November 8, 1833, when its establishment was supported by C.C. Uvarov, then Minister of Education, who founded the Imperial University of Saint Volodymyr with the transfer to Kyiv of the Polish Kremenets High School. The inauguration of the university was on July 15, 1834, the Memorial Day of Saint Prince Volodymyr.
| The Order of Nicholas I to the Ministry of National Education approving the draft statute and status of the University of Saint Volodymyr
On 18 October 1834 Mykhailo Maksymovych, a 30-year-old Professor of botany, history, folklore and a prominent encyclopaedic academic, was appointed as the first Rector of the University by Emperor Nicholas I.
|Portrait of M.O. Maksymovych by Taras Shevchenko (1845)
During the 1834-1835 academic year only the Faculty of Philosophy was in operation at the university, with two Departments: History and Linguistics, and Physics and Mathematics. In the first year 62 students were enrolled and on 28 August 1834 the university commenced teaching. The Faculty of Law opened in 1835 opened, and in 1841 the Medical School was founded, based upon the Medical School of Vilensky University of Vilnius that had been shut down.
A major challenge for the university was the lack of its own premises. Its management was forced during the first eight years to rent a number of private buildings that had not been adapted for educational work. The construction of a new building commenced on 31 July 1837, designed by Vincent Beretti, Professor of Architecture at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts.
|Vincent Beretti (1781-1842). Architect, academician, master of Russian classicistic architecture. Designer of university buildings and botanical garden.
Under his direct supervision, the building was constructed in a classical style, and is today still used as the main building of the university. Meanwhile, Professor E. Trautfetter laid out the Botanical Gardens, which are still in use today. The transition to its own large building and the adoption in 1842 of the university charter permitted a continual growth in the scale of possible university Departments, and by this time the number of departments increased from 20 to 37.
Within the university's walls progressive ideas have always flourished and grown, despite the obvious desire of the imperial government to turn Kyiv University into an outpost of Russian autocracy. During the period 1830-1860 the university was one of the centres of the Polish national democratic movement, and during 1845 to 1847 the Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood was established and began to make its presence felt.
| M.I. Kostomarov (1817-1885). Professor of Kyiv University, an eminent Ukrainian historian, ethnographer, writer, publicist and public figure. Instigator of the Cyril and Methodius Society and author of its charter.
M. Kostomarov, a distinguished historian, was Head of the Department of Russian History at the university, and was creator and author of the credo of the Brotherhood. The intellectual inspiration for the Cyril and Methodius society members was the brilliant poet Taras Shevchenko, who at that time was working as a teacher of painting at the Art School of the University, while simultaneously holding a position in the university Archeography Commission (a temporary commission for the study of antique documents).
|T.G. Shevchenko. Self-portrait. 1845
2. Kyiv University in the second half of the nineteenth century.
The revival of scientific and educational activity at Kyiv University in the second half of the nineteenth century resulted from the liberal reforms of the 1860s and the introduction in 1863 of a new university charter. At this time the right to act autonomously was extended at the university, which opened 15 new departments (increasing the number from 37 to 52), and increased the number of lecturers and students. 90 new lecturers were invited from Russian and European universities to work in Kyiv, and the departments began to keep talented students for academic research and educational activities.
| MD Ivanyshev (1811-1874). Professor, law historian, Rector (1862-1874). Editor-in-Chief of Kyiv Archaeological Commission publications
By virtue of the reforms, by the late nineteenth century Kyiv University -became is a powerful teaching and educational centre of European importance. The number of students during the 1830s and 1840s was 500, mainly Poles, while by 1883 the University had 1700 students, mostly Ukrainian and Russian, and by 1913 this number had increased to 5000. Research and teaching work was provided by 160 professors and associate professors. The University had 45 teaching and ancillary facilities: including 2 libraries (academic and student), 2 observatories (both astronomical and meteorological), a botanical garden, 4 faculty clinics, 3 hospitals and 2 clinical departments at the City Hospital, a theatre of anatomy and 9 laboratories.
| External view of the Anatomy building. Photo from the late nineteenth century.
The lecturers and students were organized, active participants in a number of world-wide academic societies: naturalism, surgery, physics, mathematics, chemistry, and a history society named after Nestor the Chronicler.
Academic activity by the professors was conducted in close collaboration with overseas research centres and prominent scientists around the world. There were frequent overseas research trips, with papers published in international journals and more. One aspect highlighting cultural relations was the election of distinguished academics and cultural figures as honorary members of the university. These included Doctor of medicine Max von Pettenkofer, historian Leopold von Ranke, author Ivan Turgenev, chemist Dmitri Mendeleyev, microbiologist Ilya Mechnikov, and others.
| V.S. Ikonnikov (1841-1923). Professor, historian, academician of the Ukrainian Academy of Science (1920). One of the founders of the History Society named after Nestor the Chronicler.
3. Kyiv University between 1900 and 1917
The history of the University at the beginning of the twentieth century was marked by the fact that the Ukrainian intelligentsia raised the issue of 'Ukrainianization' in higher education in the region. On 20 April 1906, representatives of the Ukrainian community in the city of Chernihiv (D. Yavorskiy, M. Kotsyubynskiy, M. Fedchenko, L. Shramchenko et al.) raised the issue of opening departments at Kyiv University for the study of Ukrainian language, literature, history, ethnography and common law, requesting that those subjects be taught in the Ukrainian language. On 22 May 1906, Professors V. Peretz and H. Pavlutskiy signed a submission to the Dean of the Faculty of History and Linguistics, which mandated that such Ukraine-oriented Departments be created .
Under their support a number of Ukrainian public and cultural figures emerged from the University of Kyiv: Ivan Lypa, Symon Petliura, Dmytro Doroshenko, Borys Hrinchenko, Oleksandr Lototsky, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Serhiy Yefremov and others. 27 November 1906 saw Ukrainian students submit their applications to the Academic Council of the University to transfer to the newly-opened Ukraine-oriented Departments.
| V.M. Peretz (1870-1935). Professor, literary historian, academician of the Ukrainian Academy of Science (1919). Supervised seminars of Russian Linguistics, and chaired the linguistics section of the Ukrainian Academic Society.
1430 students signed such applications. However, the Rector of the University M. Tsytovych spoke out firmly against this idea, heading a reactionary group of professors and management from the Imperial Ministry of Education. In 1907, Professors A. Loboda and V. Perets on their own initiative began teaching Ukrainian literature at the University, until shortly this "seditious experiment" was banned.
| M.S. Hrushevskiy (1866-1934). Distinguished Ukrainian historian, social and political activist, graduate of Kyiv University, Chairman of the Ukrainian Central Rada, the President of the Ukrainian People's Republic. Founder and Chairman of the Ukrainian Scientific Society. Academician of the Higher Ukrainian Academy of Science (1923) and the Academy of Science of the USSR (1929).
The First World War severely disrupted the educational process. A considerable number of students found themselves conscripted into the army, the medical school of the University was transformed into a military hospital, and some of the laboratories under threat from the occupation of Kyiv by German and Austrian troops, were evacuated deep into the Empire, to the town of Saratov in southern Russia. They only returned to the University of Kyiv during the autumn of 1916. The moves resulted in serious losses to the laboratories, offices and museum collections of the University. Under such conditions, Kyiv University saw daily revolutionary activity, which in Ukraine was part of a struggle for cultural and national revival and the creation of an independent government.
| Lecture by Professor H.H. Pavlutsky in the office of fine art. Early 20th century.
After the overthrow of the autocracy, insistent requests by Ukrainian students and lecturers gradually led to the opening of Ukraine-oriented Departments and the introduction of lecturing in the Ukrainian language, having compelled the new government in Petrograd to make a number of concessions. On 27 June 1917, the Ministry of People's Education had evolved their position to the point of opening at the University of St. Volodymyr four Ukraine-oriented Departments: Ukrainian Language, Literature, History and the history of Western Rus Law. On 5 September 1917 a proposal to that effect was submitted by the Ministry to the Provisional Government. 19 September 1917 saw the Government announce the establishment of the above-mentioned departments at Kyiv University. On 30 September 1917, the university administration ordered the undertaking of preparations to start work and recruitment for the Ukraine-oriented Departments, and this was given a time limit of no more than three months. However, by January 1918, when the three months had passed, the political events that unfolded in Ukraine pushed academic issues into the background.
II. Kyiv University during Soviet times 1917-1991
1. Kyiv University during the Ukrainian Revolution 1917-1919.
With the creation in Kyiv of the Central Rada in March 1917, dozens of lecturers and hundreds of university students took an active part in the struggle for the independence of Ukraine. The most heroic page in the history of independence was the story of the events involving students of Kyiv University, which took place at Kruty. In early January 1918 over three hundred university students and school students responded to a call by the leaders of the Ukrainian People's Republic in Kyiv and formed a student battalion. The first 130 volunteers under the command of a student leader, Andriy Omelchenko, led heavy defensive battles, protecting an important railway junction on 29 January 1918 - the Kruty station in the Chernihiv area - and holding back the offensive of Russian Bolshevik divisions on Kyiv.
In the period of the Ukrainian Hetman State, P. Skoropadskiy of the St. Volodymyr University obtained official status for the Russian University of Kyiv. At the same time, in July 1918, Kyiv Ukrainian National University was founded.
2. Break-up of the University into separate higher educational establishments 1920-1933
In February 1919 the Bolsheviks occupied the Kyiv University of St. Volodymyr and the Kyiv Ukrainian National University which they merged into one establishment, Kyiv University, with a main objective of educating the Soviet intelligentsia. The People's Commissariat of Education came into being in 1919 on the territory of Soviet Ukraine, responsible for the development of primary and secondary school education and higher education. In the universities, all so-called "bourgeois remains" were eliminated and all their autonomy was lost. The management structure of universities, such as the posts of Rectors and Vice- rectors was abolished and replaced by Commissars of Higher Education, and at this time all academic degrees and titles were abolished. The Soviet government set the goal of complete subordination of the university to the task of socialist revolution. However, even this very limited form of university had no right to exist, according to leaders of the People's Commissariat of Education of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. They were branded as centres for the "bourgeoisie", which had no place in the new communist society.
As a result of these reforms in 1920 Kyiv University (along with other universities in Ukraine) was disbanded. A separate Medical Institute was created from the remains of the Medical Faculty, and the Faculty of Law was transferred to the Institute of People's Economics. The Drahomanov Institute of Higher People's Education was formed from the Faculties of history and linguistics, physics and mathematics and natural science, together with the Kyiv Teacher Training College and the Kiev Institute of Higher Women's Courses. In 1926 this was renamed as the Kyiv Institute of People's Education (KIPE). The number of Ukrainian students in the Institute reached 65%.
|Training teaching staff to eliminate illiteracy in the Workers' Faculty of the KIPE.
As a result of pivotal reform, higher education in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic began to differ fundamentally from high school in Soviet Russia. Russian universities lost much of their essential value, but were not disbanded and continued to function in Moscow, Leningrad and other Russian cities. Unification was one of the most important targets in Soviet education policy in the 1920s and 1930s, and it became necessary to rebuild the whole system of higher education on a single Russian model.
|Students in the "Soviet Red Corner" of a university dormitory, 1930s
The absence of traditional university education at this time led to a drop in the number of scientists and qualified teaching staff, the loss of educational and academic traditions at universities and falling standards across higher education, as for the entire period after the closure of universities, there was no equivalent replacement. It became altogether obvious that the Soviet authorities were unable to organize the functions of higher educational establishments, not having the knowledge base and experience from pre-revolutionary higher education.
| Participants in a mathematics seminar held by Academician D.O. Grave, 1930
3. Re-establishment of Kyiv University and its pre-war operation 1933-1941
In autumn 1933, universities were re-established in Ukraine, including the Kyiv State University. Before them lay the task of putting students through postgraduate centres to train lecturers for high schools, together with producing scientists for research institutes, scientific laboratories in factories, and scientific research stations. These universities needed to focus on academic training for all major branches of science.
| Students in a university dormitory. 1934
In 1934 the University celebrated its 100th anniversary. At that time its structure was renewed, and research and teaching activities recommenced. In 1935 the University began to publish a series of academic journals on the natural sciences and humanities. New Faculties were formed and by 1938 there were eight: physics and mathematics, history, linguistics, chemistry, geology and geography, biology, law and foreign languages. In March 1939, in honour of the 125th anniversary of the birth of Taras Shevchenko, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR conferred the title of Kyiv State University on the institution. In the same year, the Kaniv Bio-Geographical Reserve was transferred to the university, giving it a scientific-experimental and educational centre for the Faculties of Natural Science. The following year a new building was opened for the Humanitarian Faculties (now the Maksymovych Academic Library Building).
| Students at Kiev State University. 1936
The massive repression of lecturers and students was a heavy blow to the University during the 1930-40s. Among the lecturers lost during the repression were the academics: M.P. Kravchuk, N.Y. Mirza-Avakyants, M.O. Rusanivsky, K.T. Shteppa, M.I. Bezborodko, and A.Y. Krimsky, together with many others.
However, despite the ideological restrictions and repression, on the eve of World War II, Kyiv University was among the leading universities of the USSR, ranked in third place among Soviet universities. 4,000 students were studying there, with more than 300 professors, associate professors and lecturers working in 52 departments. Among these were 8 Academicians and 6 Corresponding Members of the Academy of Science of Ukraine, 24 PhDs and 65 lecturers with higher academic degrees. Postgraduates at the University became highly qualified in 43 disciplines.
| Meeting of the Academic Council at the newly restored Kyiv University. 1934
When hostilities began in the summer of 1941, Kyiv University was evacuated. The majority of students went to the Front, while many lecturers, together with colleagues from Kharkiv State University, continued the learning process at the United Ukrainian State University in Kazakhstan, in the city of Kyzylorda. Simultaneously, attempts were made to continue some of the work of the university in Nazi-occupied Kyiv, but soon the Nazis closed the university, repressed most of the lecturers, and students were taken as forced labour to Germany. During the battles that took place in Kyiv during October-November 1943, the University suffered irreparable damage and loss.
The main "Red" building of the University suffered considerable, where the library, museum collections and laboratories were looted. The cost only of the laboratory equipment lost reached the colossal sum of 50 million Karbovanets (Soviet roubles) .
| Liberation by Soviet soldiers at the walls of the burnt-out Kyiv University. 1943
4. Kyiv University during the post-war period 1944-1991
Despite the enormous losses during the war, the post-war decades saw the main university of Ukraine manage to not only restore its lost potential, but also substantially strengthen. Immediately after the liberation of Kyiv, the revival of the university began. Students and lecturers rebuilt the Humanities and Chemistry buildings with their own hands and by 15 January 1944, classes resumed for senior undergraduates and for first-years on 1 February. 146 students, 3 professors, 7 associate professors and 11 lecturers from the Kyiv unit of the United Ukrainian State University returned from Kyzylorda in the summer of 1944. Nearly 1,500 young men and women enrolled for the 1944-45 academic year, and within a year they were joined by another 2,000 students. It was possible to reopen 80 departments, with 290 professors, associate professors and lecturers. By 1946 there were over 3,800 students, taught by 357 professors and lecturers at the university.
At the end of the 1940s, the scope of work at the University was reaching pre-war levels. There was especially rapid development of the university during the 1950s. Up to 1958 the Kyiv State University has 11 faculties and almost 10,000 students. During the 1959 to 1984 period, 70 thousand students graduated from the University, moving into various sectors of the economy, science, education and culture.
| International students at Kyiv University just after the war. 1947.
|Public address by M.U. Biliy, Rector of the University, celebrating Shevchenko Day in 1981.
Over the years hundreds of prominent academic have worked at Kyiv University, including:
- Historians and Linguists: M. Maksymovych, V. Tsikh, F. Dombrovski, I. Neykirkh, M. Kostomarov, P. Pavlov, V. Antonovych, V. Ikonnikov, I. Luchytsky, M. Drahomanov, V. Peretz, M. Dovnar-Zapolzky, M. Dashkevych, A. Loboda, F. Volk, F. Fortynsky, Y. Kulakovsky, S. Yefremov, A. Krymsky, A. Hermayze, Y. Tarle, N. Polonska-Vasilenko, A. Ohloblin;
- Philosophers: O. Novitsky, A. Hilyarov, H. Chelpanov, V. Shynkaruk;
- Lawyers: K. Nevolin, M. Ivanishev, M. Vladymyrsky-Budanov, A. Kistyakivsky;
- Economists: H. Sydorenko, M. Sieber, M. Yasnopolsky, P. Kovanko;
- Mathematics and Mechanics: I. Rakhmaninov, M. Vashchenko-Zakharchenko, P. Romer, V. Yermakov, D. Hrave, O. Schmidt, B. Bukreyev, H. Pfeifer, H. Suslov, P. Voronets, M. Boholyubov;
- Physicists: M. Avenarius, M. Schiller, J. Kosonohov;
- Chemists: H. Fonberg, M. Bunhe, S. Reformatsky, A. Babko, A. Holub, A. Pylypenko, A. Kipriyano;
- Geologists: K. Feofilaktov, V. Chyrvynsky, M. Andrusov, P. Tutkovsky, V. Tarasenko;
- Botanists: V. Besser, E. Trautfetter, O. Rohovych, I. Schmalhausen, S. Navashyn, K. Puriyevych, O. Fomin, Y. Baranetsky, M. Kholodny, N. Kornyushenko, D. Zerov, O. Lypa;
- Zoologists: K. Kessler, O. Kovalevsky, O. Severtsov, O. Korotnyev, S. Kushakevych, L. Shelyuzhko, B. Mazurmovych;
- Biochemist: O. Palladin;
- Medical Doctors: V. Karavayev, O. Walter, V. Bets, M. Sklifosovsky, F. Yanovsky, V. Obraztsov, V. Chahovets, M. Strazhesko and other prominent academics.
ІІІ. Kyiv University in independent Ukraine
On 21 April 1994, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv was granted the status of "National" by Leonid Kravchuk, the President of Ukraine by Decree № 176/94, and on 25 November 1999 a further Decree № 1496/99 of Leonid Kuchma, now President of Ukraine, significantly expanded the autonomous status of the university. Decree № 412/2008, of Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine, on 5 May 2008, further stipulated the conversion of the University to becoming the main principal educational and scientific centre of Ukraine for the education of academic and teaching staff with higher qualifications. Then on 29 July 2009 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine with Regulation № 795 granted the University the status of being a self-governing and autonomous national research university, while providing increased funding for the future development of the university.
| The main building of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
The University awards Junior Specialist’s, Bachelor’s, Specialist’s and Master’s degrees, Higher Qualification Post-graduate degrees and Doctoral degrees. Training and retraining programs are provided in 14 specialties of Junior Specialist qualification, 55 fields of Bachelor training programs, 49 areas of Specialist training programs and 98 fields of Master training programs. More than 26 thousand students study at the University. Approximately 1,645 postgraduate students and 125 PhD students are working for higher qualifications at the University. Courses are provided by 198 Departments, who have more than 80% of their teaching staff with academic degrees of Doctor or at a Higher Postgraduate level, and over 50% of the teaching staff has attained the academic rank of professor or associate professor.
There are 13 Faculties within the University: Geography, Economics, History, Cybernetics, Mathematics and Mechanics, Sociology, Faculty of Information Technology, Radio Physics, Electronics and Computer Systems, Psychology, Physics, Philosophy, Chemistry, Law. There are 8 Institutes (the Military Academy, the High Technology Centre, the Institute of Geology, the Institute of Journalism, the Institute of International Relations, the Postgraduate Education Centre, the Institute of Linguistics, and the State Security Department) and 1 Training and Research Center (the Institute of Biology), 2 Colleges (Optical and Mechanical College, Geological Exploring College) and Ukrainian Physical and Mathematical Lyceum.
|L.V. Hubersky, Rector, with Honorary Doctors at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv 2009
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv has a number of auxiliary facilities: Astronomical Observatory, the Fomin Botanical Garden, the Maksymovych Academic Library, the Kaniv Nature Reserve, a publishing and reprographics unit called "Kyiv University", an Informatics Centre, a Ukrainian Studies Centre, a Geological and Zoological Museum, a Museum of the History of the University, an interfaculty Museum of Linguistics, and others.
|Graduates of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Today the University has bilateral partnership agreements with 227 foreign educational and scientific institutions from 57 countries. 180 foreign academics and lecturers from 32 countries visit the University annually to collaborate in research, attending conferences, and giving lectures. Each year more than 1500 lecturers, researchers and students travel abroad to 59 countries. Two-thirds of those take overseas trips in 2014 travelled abroad for academic purposes (conferences, training, and research).
Today Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv is a classical university with a research profile, whose primary objectives are education, research and innovation.


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Since its formation as The Treasury Building in 1851, this site has been one of the city’s most significant locations. The new design celebrates its rich history, while restoration works preserve the sacred stories of our nation’s past for future generations to enjoy.
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Inheriting Civil War Stuff
In Joel Chandler Harris’s “The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story,” the turpentine and tar stick figure stays still and silent throughout the two-page short story. Yet, it’s the Tar-Baby’s refrain from polite speech that draws the ire of Brer Rabbit while Brer Fox lays low in the bushes. The hundreds of Confederate monuments scattered around America are equally muted and infuriating. Standing watch in front of courthouse squares and manicured green spaces, these sculpted monuments have further divided a fractured country. Erected generations ago by windbag politicians and the doting matrons that formed United Daughters of the Confederacy, these marble tar-babies have ensnared passersby but by their nature are unable to let them loose. The primary solvent is an honest examination of the gilded accounts that have been handed down from our predecessors.
At the centennial of the Civil War in 1961, Robert Penn Warren, the 1946 Pulitzer Prize winner for All the King’s Men, published The Legacy of the Civil War. His 108-page essay was subtitled a Meditation on the Centennial and dissects the war’s “influence on our economy, our social institutions, our domestic politics and foreign policy, our philosophy and our psychology.” The war, Warren asserts, was fought to salvage the Union, the respect for which still beat “deep in many a Confederate breast” and the abolishment of slavery. These are each critical ideas to establish and paramount in placing the war in perspective.
America won the Civil War.
Not the Yankees.
Not the North.
The United States of America.
The same Army that helped win two World Wars and protects us today defeated an enemy intent on destroying the country that we honor before the kick-off of every football game from pee-wees to professionals, and in this victory, we vanquished a heathen system hell-bent on brutalizing our fellow human beings for their own economic gain. On these two facts, there is no room for honest debate.
Warren acknowledges that the war restored the Union and emancipated the slaves, yet “it did little or nothing to abolish racism.” Leaving us with a public discussion on how we free ourselves from the viscous legacy that in our imperious indignation we’ve collectively punched, kicked, and head-butted until we’ve mired ourselves in a befuddling trap.
A recent New York Times article, “Aging Parents with Lots of Stuff, and Children Who Don’t Want It,” focused on the issue of children dealing with their parents’ “competitive accumulation of material goods.” Like reluctant offspring trying to diplomatically tell their mothers they don’t want her Lenox china, Southerners have inherited Confederate memorials in public spaces that wouldn’t be erected today. Unfortunately, a hundred Jefferson Davis statues can’t be unloaded at an estate sale, and it fails to address the core of the dilemma:
Not merely subtle colorism, institutional discrimination, or overt bigotry. It’s hate. It’s white supremacy. It’s racial terrorism.
Patrick Phillips’s Blood at the Root provides a chilling account of racial terrorism’s demonic evolution. A former resident of Forsyth County, Georgia, now a sprawling Metro Atlanta suburb, Phillips’s goal was to understand “the people of my home” and “to trace the origins of the ‘whites only’ world they fought so desperately to preserve.” From the forced removal of the indigenous Cherokee to the 1912 merciless purging of all blacks from the county to the 1987 attack on the Brotherhood March, Phillips details the county’s brutal and shameful heritage. It’s the resurfacing of this vitriol hatred in north Charleston and Charlottesville that all Americans should unite against.
These perplexing heirlooms can’t be dealt with by sharing cranky white dude memes or sneaking cranes in at midnight. Dr. Wayne Dyer, a renowned self-development author and speaker, said, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” The beauty of this is that it works for statues and people.
At the base of Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest chalet in the Austrian Alps is a museum. Nearly all vestiges of der Fuhrer have been stripped from the site to discourage neo-Nazis pilgrims. The various displays are designed for Germans to learn their recent history and to teach us all an invaluable lesson on the menace of a narcissistic cult gone mad. Dynamiting the face of Stone Mountain is problematic, but there’s merit to the establishment of a southern museum of African-American History and Culture at the site of the largest Confederate memorial in the world.
The little boy to whom “the (tar-baby) story had been told” asked Uncle Remus, “Did the Fox eat the Rabbit?” Wise old Uncle Remus doesn’t answer the question conclusively, which is the tale’s resonant appeal. The resolution requires a willingness to turn away from what appears to separate us towards what binds us together. We must set aside our fears for the sake of hope. Compassion must be our legacy.
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In 1871, at the age of twenty-seven, Carl Benz joined a mechanical workshop in Mannheim, working together with his friend August Ritter. He first began his work on a two-stroke engine in the hopes of finding new sources of income and despite some early business misfortunes, successfully developed new types of engines and patented key engine components. These patents, among them the patent for the first internal combustion engine (approved in 1879), soon led to substantial revenue increases and helped to subsidize the workshop business.
Carl Benz' true genius became obvious thanks to his successive inventions registered whilst designing what would become the production standard for his two-stroke engine. During this time he patented the speed regulation system, the ignition using sparks with a battery, the spark plug, the carburetor, the clutch, the gear shift, and the water radiator.
The success of the company gave Carl Benz the opportunity to indulge in his old passion of designing a horseless carriage. He finished his creation in 1885 and named it the Benz Patent Motorwagen. It was the first automobile entirely designed as such to generate its own power, which is why Carl Benz was granted his patent and is regarded as its inventor. The car was first driven in Mannheim in 1885.
In 1887, after years of testing and modifications, Benz created the first definitive commercial vehicle, the Model 3, an automobile with a four-stroke engine of his own design which was gasoline powered, with wooden wheels. This became the first production automobile. The model 3 was introduced at the 1889 World Fair in Paris and soon received recognition from around the world.
In the 1880's, automobile owners faced considerable problems as gasoline was only available from pharmacies. The early 1888 version of the "Motorwagen" had to be pushed when driving up a steep hill. This limitation was rectified after Bertha Benz made her famous trip, driving one of the vehicles a great distance. On returning, she suggested the addition of another gear to her husband. The popular story goes, that on the morning of August 5, 1888, Bertha Benz borrowed this vehicle (without the knowledge of her husband), and embarked on a 106 km (fifty mile) trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim to visit her mother, taking her sons Eugene and Richard with her. In addition to having to scrounge for fuel at pharmacies on the way, she also overcame various technical difficulties and finally arrived at nightfall announcing the achievement to Carl Benz by telegram.
In 1896, Carl Benz was granted a patent for his design of the first ‘boxer engine’ with horizontally-opposed pistons, a design principle which still remains relevant for high-performance racing car engines such as those used by Porsche. The great demand for internal combustion engines increased the size of, and indeed, completely transformed the Benz & Cie. automobile company. By 1899 it had become the largest of its kind in the world, increasing employment from 50 (1890) to 430 (1899) workers and producing 572 automobiles per year.
After World War I, the years of Depression led to an economic crisis and it became desirable for Benz & Cie to pool its resources with another leading company in Stuttgart, Daimler Motors, founded by Gottlieb Daimler and his lifelong partner Wilhelm Maybach. In 1926 the two merged to become the Daimler-Benz company, later to be renamed as Daimler-Benz, which is now part of Daimler AG. Following the merger in 1926, all new automobiles were called Mercedes-Benz in honor of the most important model of DMG automobiles, the Mercedes 35hp.
The name 'Mercedes' derives from the ten year-old daughter of Emil Jellinek, the wealthy European entrepreneur who sat on the board of Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) in the early 1900's and who helped to improve the design of the DMG engines.
Carl Benz served as a member of the supervisory board of Daimler AG from 1926 until he passed away in 1929.
On the Road
Watch the video to hear the story of Carl and Bertha Benz as told by the great granddaughter of Carl Benz, Mrs Jutta Benz.


Walter Parks… has written another well-researched and thought-provoking work in the exploration of ancient history.
He cleverly weaves together facts from ancient historical and religious documents, along with recent archaeological findings to provide a new and credible theory of the creation, legacy and destruction of Atlantis.
It provides convincing evidence that Atlantis was real and that its remains are visible today.
Reviewer: James Brooke, Literary Manager
The newly discovered document written in 9619 BC, 9,250 years before Plato convinces me that Atlantis was not just a myth from Plato.
Amazing that the evidence has always been available; we just did not recognize it.
I believe that there really was an Atlantis.
Reviewer: J. Long
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This book is also available in 3 subparts as shown on the Atlantis Home Page: Atlantis Home


Fifty Years Later, Free Comic Book Tells Story of Michigan’s First LGBTQ+ Pride
The story of Christopher Street Detroit ’72, the first-ever LGBTQ+ pride celebration in Michigan held 50 years ago this June 1972, has been brought to life through a full-color, 32-page nonfiction comic book for free distribution. Freelance illustrator Isabel Clare Paul and historian Tim Retzloff teamed up to create “Come Out! In Detroit” based on eyewitness primary sources, oral histories, and a cache of largely unseen photographs. The comic book’s release was accompanied by exhibits and public programs in Detroit, Ann Arbor, and East Lansing to mark the 50th anniversary of the event.
One June 24, 1972, Detroiters and other Michiganders gathered to publicly parade down Woodward Avenue, rally to speeches in Kennedy Square, dance the night away at the Unitarian Church on Cass, and picnic the next day in Palmer Park. It capped a week of celebrations at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University. In Ann Arbor, the city council declared Gay Pride Week, the first known official recognition of LGBTQ pride by a governmental body in the United States.
The 1972 activities were planned and coordinated by representatives from not only Metro Detroit but also from Ann Arbor, East Lansing and Lansing, and elsewhere in the state under an umbrella group called the Michigan Gay Confederation. It was touted as the earliest example of statewide gay organizing—what we now understand as LGBTQ+ organizing—in the United States.
Distribution started with an early release of several hundred copies at selected comic book stores in Metro Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Lansing on Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 7, 2022. Early distribution also took place at Motor City Comic Con May 13 to 15 at Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. The event, a gathering of comic book, television, and cinema fans, welcomes an audience not typically on the radar for storytellers of Michigan LGBTQ+ history.
Our official release began June 2nd. About a third of the 23,000 copies distributed were personally handed out at pride events, specifically Motor City Pride, Ferndale Pride, Michigan Pride, Hotter Than July in Detroit!, Lansing Pride, and Ann Arbor Pride. Distribution included public libraries, LGBTQ+ community centers, campus gender and sexuality centers, and a number of coffee shops, bookstores, bars, and other sites throughout the state.
The 50th anniversary Christopher Street Detroit ’72 and the publication of the “Come Out! In Detroit” comic book have both provided unique opportunities for additional educational outreach. As such, public programming has been an important aspect of the project as well. Here the comic book is not the end product of our efforts but rather a launching point, a tool for examining history in greater depth.
We are currently pursuing how to get copies into cataloged collections of high school and public libraries. Please reach out to us through the Contact page for more information.


Tesuki washi (handmade Japanese paper) was invented in 105 AD by a Chinese official named Cai Lun, and introduced to Japan in 610 AD by Doncho, a Buddhist monk from Korea. Sekishu washi, the special washi paper of western Shimane Prefecture, also has a long history of over a thousand years long. The name Sekishu comes from the Sekishu region (present-day Iwami), where the paper was first produced. The paper is also known as Sekishu-banshi (“half sheets of Sekishu”) because of the cut of the paper.
However, the name Sekishu is probably much older, as Kamisuki Chohoki (A Handy Guide to Papermaking), a book written by Kunisaki Jihei and published in 1798, states that Kakinomoto No Hitomaro, a leading official in the area, taught papermaking skills to the local people sometime around 704-715 AD. From then on, for over 1300 years, the art of handmade washi has been maintained and preserved within the area.
The raw materials for Sekishu washi are kozo, mitsumata, and gampi shrubs. Kozo and mitsumata are cultivated in the region but gampi grows wild. Sekishu-banshi made from Sekishu kozo is well known as the strongest paper produced in Japan. By the Edo period (1603-1867), Sekishu-banshi was popular among Osaka merchants for use in account books, and that name became widely known. Whenever a fire broke out, the merchants did not hesitate to throw their account books into a well to protect the records; the merchants were not worried about the paper being damaged by water.
In light of the unique traditional techniques and methods employed to make Sekishu-banshi by the Sekishu-banshi Craftsmen’s Association, Sekishu-banshi was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1969.
In addition, the techniques and methods used for Sekishu-banshi have been completely preserved by the crafts people who live in Misumi Town. To ensure even further improvement of the art, Sekishu Washi Cooperative was established, and Sekishu washi was declared a “Traditional Craft” by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in 1989.
The Sekishu-Banshi papermaking technique was designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1969, and the Sekishu-Banshi Craftsmen’s Association was recognized as the holding group.
Sekishu-banshi was registered at “the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” based on the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.
At this time, Sekishu-banshi was reregistered at “the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” based on the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2014, as “Washi, craftsmanship of traditional Japanese hand-made paper”.


Welcome to the Temple of Sumer, a resource for those interested in learning about the religion and myths of the Sumerian peoples.
In our myth section you will see our modern English versions of the myths. We will be bringing you an easy to understand version of the myths without losing the meanings and implications that were put there by the peoples of the Ancient Near East.
This site is a work in progress and a great deal more material remains to be added to it. Much material exists from an older incarnation of the site, but as the authors have grown in their devotion and their perspectives since those articles were written, they must be checked and proofread before being published.
If you have any questions, feel free to join us in the Temple of Sumer Facebook community, which is dedicated to the worship of all the gods of Mesopotamia, and where a friendly, welcoming, knowledgeable community of people are always happy to answer questions and provide guidance,
The Temple of Sumer supports the Temple of Enki. In Sumerian myth, Enki is the god responsible for crafting all the powers of civilisation. He carries over his shoulder the two great rivers which caused the first advanced civilisation to flourish. The Temple of Enki is therefore sacred to Enki's worship, maintaining a YouTube channel and a Facebook community of its own.
The Ishtar Gate is a website aimed at providing a broad overview of the principles of the modern Sumerian faith, with articles on Sumerian gods, Sumerian civilisation and culture, and a series of devotional articles around topics like Sumerian prayer and worship, suitable offerings to Sumerian deities, and setting up a home altar.
The subreddit /r/Sumer is the home of the Sumerian and Mesopotamian faith community on Reddit. Like the Temple of Sumer Facebook page, there are numerous devoted and insightful worshippers of the Sumerian gods who participate in the subreddit, and it is a friendly and welcoming place for anyone who's looking to learn more about our faith.


Amritsar as the name signifies the two words: Amrit means sacred water and Sar means Sarovar or river generally called sacred water river. Basically, the name has been taken from the sacred water pool. On which the shrine of Sikhs Golden Temple is located on that pool or Sarovar. Amritsar is also called Ambarsar or Ramdaspur (in the ancient era) because the fourth Guru of the Sikhs Sri Guru Ramdas Ji founded this city as per Sikh tradition.
Why is Amritsar famous for?
Amritsar is famous for its great heritage and significance in the history of Sikhs. There are various shrines and sacred places of all religions situated in this holy city. Places like Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh, Wagah Border, Ram Tirth, Gurudwara Shaheed Ganj Sahib, Durgiana Mandir, Guru Bazaar, Gobindgarh Fort, Sadda Pind, and there are lot more places which are located in the outskirts of the district.
What is the historical significance of Amritsar?
Well, who can forget the Jallianwala Bagh massacre? Who can forget the attacks on Golden Temple? Who can forget Operation Blue Star on Golden Temple? Those were the dark times when Amritsar and its people faced these bad sins. But after all that period, this city is proud of its rich heritage and culture, bravery, and valour of Panjabis. Even festivals like Diwali, Vaisakhi, Dusshera, Lohri are celebrated with great enthusiasm among Hindus and Sikhs. There is a popular saying or proverb called “Dal Roti Ghar Di, Vaisakhi Amritsar Di”.
And lastly, you might have heard that people say these little proverbs in their homes “Amritsar- Sifti Da Ghar”. Sifti is a Punjabi word that means appreciation/compliments.
What are the popular places to visit in Amritsar? Which are the tourist spots in Amritsar?
1. Golden Temple
Golden Temple or Harmandir Sahib is a famous place and has a great significance in Sikh history. This is the shrine of Sikhs and it is located on the man-made pool called Sarovar. This pool was completed by Guru Ram Das Ji in the year 1577. Then fifth Guru of Sikh Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji requested a Muslim Mir Mian Mohammad to lay the foundation stone of the Golden Temple in the year 1589. Then Guru Arjan Dev Ji placed the copy of Adi Granth in 1604 in the temple. Golden Temple has witnessed various attacks during the Mughal and Afghan periods. But time and again Sikhs gave a befitting reply to every attack in one form or the other. In 1809, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji renovated the whole temple with gold foil and changed the architecture of the gurudwara. That’s why it has been named as Golden Temple.
2. Jallianwala Bagh
Well, you guys must have heard about Jallianwala Bagh in your life or some history books. If not, then you should read this stanza carefully.
Basically, it was a memorial park until the massacre. The infamous park is known for the genocide by the British troops or you can say the British army. On 13th April 1919, people were celebrating the Vaisakhi festival in the park, and also they were peacefully protesting for the two national leaders Satyapal and Saiffudin Kitchlew. Then Brigadier General Dyer entered the park with his army. They blocked the only entrance of the park and started firing on unarmed people. That cruel person did not even see children and women, he just fired a lot of bullets. As a result, thousands of people were killed and sacrificed their lives. General Dyer was criticized for his inhuman act but highly appreciated by the Britain govt.
Consequently, in 1940 at the age of 75 Dyer was shot by Indian freedom fighter Sardar Udham Singh in London. This was a retaliation attack related to the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh.
3. Wagah Border
Wagah is a small village situated near the Indo- Pak Border. This border is famous for transportation between India and Pakistan. This border or partition is 24 km from Lahore and 32 km from Amritsar. There is also a railway station called Wagah Railway station. Attari is a small town that is adjacent to the Wagah.
In the evenings, there is a Wagah-Attari retreat ceremony happens between Pakistani Ranger and Indian Forces. People gather here to watch all the activities like hoisting flags, salutes between Indo-Pak soldiers, etc.
The above image shows the great rivalry between India and Pakistan.
4. Gobindgarh Fort
This fort was built by Dhillon Jat Misldar of Bhangi Misl in the year 1760. It was renamed after the tenth Guru of Sikh Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji by Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji. This is a historical military fort located in the heart of the city of Amritsar. Recently in the year 2017, it was opened to the public (earlier it was occupied by the army. The Fort is totally renovated as a theme park or you can say a museum of ancient things or architecture.
This fort is made of bricks and lime and its shape is square in nature. The main entrance of the gate is called Nalwa Gate which is named after Hari Singh Nalwa and the rear entrance is called Kellar gate.
5. Sadda Pind
Sadda Pind is a famous tourist spot in Amritsar. It is located around 8 km from the Golden Temple. So if you are planning to visit Amritsar on a weekend, then this is the best place you can ever visit. You can explore the Punjabi cuisines, culture, flavors of villages, etc. It helps you to rejuvenate and reconnect with yourself and your culture. Bhangra, Sarson da Saag, Gidda, some fun rides are the key ingredients of your visit. Make sure before entering, you should have some 1000 bucks for yourself to visit and accommodation. You can also visit the official website for more information.
6. Bhagwan Valmiki Tirath Sathal
As per Hindu mythology, this place is considered an inseparable part of Ramayana. At this tirath sathal, Bhagwan Valmiki wrote the whole Ramayana. It is also the birthplace of Rama’s sons Luv and Kush. Sita was abandoned by Rama after the Lanka war between Ravana and Rama. Then she stayed here for several years and gave birth to two sons. It is also said that the fight between Rama and his sons took place at this place.
7. War Memorial
The full name of the War Memorial is The Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum. It is located on the outskirts of Amritsar city. This seems to be a prominent place since this is just 18 km away from the international border i.e Wagah Border.
This museum signifies the bravery and gallantry deeds of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives. Around names of 3500 martyrs are carved on the memorial built at an elevation of 4 meters.
You would be amazed to see that there is the world longest or you can say the world’s largest sword is erected on the central edifice. The sword is around 45 meters in height and the material is stainless steel. It represents the audacity and valor of the people of Punjab who defended the nation in times of crisis.
8. Durgiana Temple
Durgiana Temple is also called Lakshmi Narayan Temple, Durga Tirath, or Sheetala Mandir. Its name is derived from Goddess Durga. It is located in the heart of the city near Lohgarh Gate.
Some people might be thinking that it should be Golden Temple but no its architecture is almost similar to Golden Temple, it is a Hindu Temple which is around 5 km from Darbar Sahib. In 1921 Sheetala Madir was rebuilt by Guru Harsai Mal Kapoor. Harsai Mal was a scion of Prithi Chand Mina. Then Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya inaugurated this temple.
9. Gurudwara Shaheed Ganj Sahib
You might have heard about Baba Deep Singh Ji, well known and very brave martyr and Singh in Sikh history. This gurudwara was made to commemorate Baba Deep Singh Ji and other martyrs since the cremation was carried out on this land.
Jassa Singh Ramgaria did construction and rebuilt this memorial to this martyr. The SGPC committee renovated and enlarged the whole Gurudwara in the early 1920s.
10. Partition Museum
Partition Museum has been set up recently by the Punjab Heritage Tourism and Promotion Board and The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust. It is the world’s first museum which was built on the partition.
In 2015 some dedicated people decided to reshape this museum. After a lot of discussion with leading experts, scholars, historians, researchers, authors, filmmakers, journalists, etc, this museum was set up meticulously. In October 2016, this museum was opened for the public, four gallery exhibitions were carried out and the Chief Minister of Punjab inaugurated the museum.
Then on 17 August 2017, then CM Captain Amarinder Singh dedicated this museum to the nation. It was commemorated as Partition Remembrance Day in tribute to millions of people.
Well if you are interested in the aerial view of Amritsar city then check out the whole video below which was captured through the drone.


The Chateau de la Galoisiere
was built in the 18th century by the highly affluent Blouin du Bouchet family, who were well known and highly respected in the province of Anjou. Claude Jean Gabriel Blouin du Bouchet, who was personal bodyguard to King Louis XVI and Knight of the Royal and Military Order of St Louis, was the first resident of this noble home.
The original property was an area of 800 hectares of land located in Jarze, including forests, farms and vineyards, a village belonging to Baugeois, in the northeastern part of Anjou province, whose capital is the medieval town of Bauge.
The region is the most forested of Anjou with a lot of aristocrats owning castles and manors.
The Blouin du Bouchet family owned the property until the beginning of the 20th century. The last resident of the family was Isidore Blouin du Bouchet, mayor of Jarze in 1881, who died in 1903. Today, in the private chapel, there is still a memorial stone set to remember Mathilde Marie Charlotte Poulain du Mas, his first wife.
In the absence of any heirs, the Chateau de la Galoisiere was then owned by only two noble families, Vernot de Jeux/de Brullon and the Count and the Countess of Belleville, until 2013.
In 2013, the new owners of the castle has worked with talented painters and upholsterers to tastefully refreshed interiors, whilst maintaining the heritage.
The interior design maintains much of the 18th century opulence, furnished with antique furniture from the same period, showcasing some famous pieces from cabinetmakers and carpenters of the King Louis XV and King Louis XVI.
Adding to the old world glamour are the contemporary luxury touches, especially in the en-suite bathrooms and kitchen. A mixture of Asian influence has been infused seamlessly to reflect the fascination of the silk and spice route era.


The nearby Ventura County Naval Base is comprised of the Point Mugu Naval Air Station and CBC Port Hueneme. The Port Hueneme base in southwestern Ventura County is a homeport that furnishes training, administrative, and logistic support for Navy Seabees. Port Hueneme (“pronounced Why-Nee-mee”) is from the Chumash Indian word for resting place.
Military families enjoy the nearby Channel Islands National Park, popular for boating, sport fishing, kayaking and whale-watching excursions. The harbor is also home to Ventura County Maritime Museum and fresh seafood restaurants.
The U.S. Navy Seabee Museum selects, collects, preserves and displays historic material relating to the history of the Naval Construction Force, better known as the SEABEES, and the U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps.The Museum is open to the public and tours can be arranged for schools or other groups. Call (805) 982-5167 or email firstname.lastname@example.org
Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Port Hueneme/Point Mugu is located near the cities of Port Hueneme, Oxnard, and Camarillo along the Pacific coastline, just 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles, California, 3 miles from Oxnard Airport, or 60 miles from Los Angeles International (LAX) Airport..
The Point Mugu site is located approximately nine miles from the Port Hueneme site. There the NBVC operates two runways and a 36,000-square-mile sea test range.
NSWC Port Hueneme Division is a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command and provides the United States Navy global fleet with weapon system in-service engineering, logistics, and test and evaluation. NSWC Port Hueneme is located at Naval Base Ventura County, Calif., where it employs more than 1,900 personnel.
For more info


This name derives from the Ancient Greek name “Kallístratos (Καλλίστρατος)”, composed of two elements: “kalós (καλός)” (beautiful, lovely, virtuous, noble) plus “stratós (στρᾰτός)” (army, military force). In turn the name means “beautiful army, beauty-army”. 1) Callistratus was an Alexandrian grammarian, flourished at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. 2) Callistratus was a Greek sophist and rhetorician. He wrote Ekphraseis (Statuarum descriptiones), descriptions of fourteen works of art in stone or brass by distinguished artists. 3) Callistratus was a Roman jurist, who, as appears from passages in Justinian’s Digest, wrote at least as late as the reign (198–211 AD) of Septimius Severus and Caracalla
These sandals are very comfortable and perfect for everyday wear. They are handmade to order in Greece with high quality genuine leather by local craftsmen using traditional techniques. Natural leather may vary from light beige to light brown and it depends on the particular hide.
The tan colour leather gets darker when exposed to the sunlight, ageing gracefully and classically.
Wearing leather sandals in wet weather conditions is not recommended.
They fit true to size and come in full sizes only. If in-between sizes, we recommend sizing up.
They come with leather lining and insole and with a high resistant rubber anti-slippery outsole.
Heel height 4.5 cms – 1.8 Inches (approx.)


Vail-Leavitt Music Hall: A Historic Journey
Original research by Harold Smith, Jean Hallock and Sylvia Shaffran (circa 1980)
Revised and updated by Robert Barta (2020)
Of the three theatres which existed in Riverhead in the late nineteenth century, only one – the Music Hall – has come down to us. Miraculously escaping the wrecker’s ball due largely to its upstairs location over two lucrative storefronts, the Music Hall has survived all its contemporaries to become the oldest theater on Long Island or New York City – 20 years older than Broadway’s oldest theater.
Early History – The Vail Years
Located on what today is known as Peconic Avenue (then called Bridge Street), the Music Hall was the talk of the town when David F. Vail, a local lumber dealer built it with the help of his son, George M. Vail.
The Long Island Traveler of April 22, 1881, noted: “Numerous improvements are being made throughout our village. The large brick building is rapidly nearing completion and when finished will be a marked improvement over the old rookeries which now front on Bridge Street….” A week or two later, the Traveler reported that “Mr. J. W. Flack will soon start embellishing and frescoing the interior.” Mr. Flack was a well-known Eastern Long Island interior decorator of the period, and an expert in the application of gold leaf. Even today at the Music Hall, we can see gold highlights at various places in the restored interior.
After a number of previews, including a strawberry festival and musicale, the Music Hall opened with fanfare on October 11, 1881. The event was a concert with both professional and amateur talent, sponsored by the Rough and Ready Engine Company of Riverhead. A smashing success, the show continued until 3 A.M. It was then that the firefighters were called to duty to extinguish a blaze in a barn on Osborne Avenue, owned by Mr. Osborne. Off they went, according to the Riverhead News, grabbing hats and coats hastily and “leaving the ladies to wend their way home as best they could.”
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was the Music Hall’s first professional play and was produced at the Music Hall by multiple companies during its early years. One of the earliest performances included a wondrous curiosity billed in the programs as “Edison’s Electric Parlor Lamp.” Since electricity was still in the future as a common lighting source, we can only surmise that the lamp must have been battery-powered. This was the Music Hall’s first connection with the name of Thomas A. Edison.
In the ensuing years, Music Hall played host to a variety of events. A lecture by one Theodore Tilton entitled “The World of Tomorrow” so stirred the Music Hall audience that the editor of the Long Island Traveler called for the founding of a group to present more such offerings and to give the proceeds to the Riverhead Reading Room, located on the top floor of the Bank Building still standing on Main Street. This was the start of the Riverhead Lecture Society, which in turn brought about what we know today as the Riverhead Free Library.
In April of 1885, Music Hall contributed to the construction of the pedestal of the “Bartholdi Statue,” according to a Traveler item. Mrs. Frank Baird, a local art teacher, engaged the hall for an “art reception” with the proceeds to be allotted to what we now know as the Statue of Liberty.
Lighting at Music Hall appears to have begun with candles. According to a press item, the candles in the footlights started a small blaze which was quickly extinguished. Whether these candles were a supplement to gaslight or whether the gaslight followed the bad experience with candles is not known. We do know, however, that the Music Hall had its own gas plant behind the theatre, that gas fixtures were placed all along the horseshoe balcony, and that gaslight continued at Music Hall until the advent of electricity there in July of 1888.
The Improved Order of Red Men, a fraternal organization founded by George Washington for the purpose of assisting Native Americans in their problems with incoming settlers, engaged Music Hall for a six-year period beginning in 1900.
In 1908, Thomas A. Edison’s famous name returned to the Music Hall for the first time since “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” It was then that Edison’s “moving picture show” made its Riverhead debut. While it was not the first movie shown in Riverhead, it featured a dramatization of the famous Harry K. Thaw murder case “depicting all phases from the shooting to the incarceration of Thaw in Matteawan.” Taking no chances, the management thoughtfully added “a number of first-class vaudeville acts.”
20th Century and The Leavitt Years
Later that year, George M. Vail (by now sole owner of Music Hall) sold the building to Simon Leavitt. Leavitt’s Men’s Shop served the community into the 1970’s as downtown Riverhead developed into one of Suffolk County’s premier commercial shopping districts. Some local residents recall it as a long-time local outlet for purchasing Boy Scout uniforms and supplies.
Beginning in 1909, the Music Hall became known as the Lyceum Theatre – the Broadway theatre of the same name had been built that year and probably inspired the change – and as such presented moving pictures, vaudeville, occasional stock and road companies, and more rarely, concerts and dances.
It was about this time that the late Ted Leavitt, then a youth, remembered having met a young Western rope-spinner then performing on the Lyceum stage named Will Rogers, who taught the youngster the art of lariat-twirling in between appearances in the theatre upstairs.
In 1912, after several successful years of vaudeville, film, lecture and concert bookings, the Leavitts leased their upstairs showplace to Franklin P. McCutcheon, a vastly experienced showman from Brooklyn. Under the McCutcheon management in 1914 came one of the Lyceum’s most exciting times.
For several years, Thomas Edison had been working on a new development in entertainment – talking motion pictures. At the same time, the talents of the great inventor were devoted to another experiment in nearby Quogue – extracting iron from the sands of that ocean resort. In 1914, an advertisements appeared in the Riverhead News to the effect that “The Eighth Wonder of the World” was coming to the Lyceum Theatre in Riverhead – “Thomas A. Edison’s Talking Pictures.” The all talking program featured John J. McGraw, then manager of the New York Giants; Van and Schenck, popular musical comedy stars; a scene from “Faust”; Edison’s Minstrels; “Julius Caesar” and an all-star feature program. “No silent pictures shown,” declared the Lyceum ad.
In its next issue, the Riverhead News raved about Edison’s experiment. “The talking movies at the Lyceum here last week was a show that greatly pleased large audiences,” stated the enthusiastic reviewer. “Most of the people present declared it a marvelous performance. The accurate timing of the words, music, dancing and various sounds with the pictures produced results practically perfect, and there was hardly any flicker to the pictures themselves. It was hard to believe that live persons were not on the stage contributing to the program.”
Thomas Edison’s experimental system, properly known as “Kinetophone”, was brought to the theater in an effort to raise capital and garner good publicity. It is known that Edison’s own technicians were prohibited from running the equipment in the unionized theaters of New York and other cities, resulting in an embarrassing lack of synchronization between the picture and sound at those showings. As a result, Edison chose to bring Kinetophone to the Music Hall as well as other local theaters across the country.
Edison suffered a major setback when a fire broke out at his lab in West Orange, New Jersey in December of 1914. Many items relating to the kinetophone project were destroyed, although Edison did attempt to continue for a time. Ultimately, lack of investment, other projects, and his own advancing age caused the great inventor to abandon kinetophone. It would be more than a decade until “talkies” reached a mass audience, but the Music Hall remains as one of the only surviving original sites of Edison’s experimental kinetophone exhibitions.
For three more years, the Lyceum continued its career as a purveyor of motion picture entertainment. However, announcement of a palatial new theatre to be called the Riverhead Capitol in late 1917 seemed to throw a pall over activities at the Lyceum. With the onset of World War I and as a flu pandemic struck, the Lyceum’s screen and stage events came to a halt.
It is known that after the war, the old theatre was converted into the Imperial Restaurant, a lavish Chinese restaurant. However in 1925, that enterprise came to a sad end when a kitchen fire damaged an area that had been the stage, but was prevented from spreading elsewhere by a wall that had been erected between the stage and the auditorium. Thus were preserved the ornate box tiers and the notable horseshoe balcony as well as the elaborate stage proscenium arch.
A short career as a pool hall and another one as a betting parlor (ending in an eviction notice from the Leavitts) were the last public activities in Music Hall. A fire, unruly pool sharks and shady bookies were enough for the owner, who vowed from then on nothing would occupy the space over his store but storage…and that was the way it was from 1925 until 1978.
Around 1967, Ted Leavitt told local businessman Harold Smith about the theatre over his store upstairs. Mr. Smith – an actor dating back to 1929 – would soon become the leading force to restore the Music Hall.
Present-day Riverhead’s first look at the 1881 Music Hall (the name of Lyceum had by then been abandoned) came at the time of one of the early Riverhead Country Fairs. As an early member of Riverhead Townscape, Smith succeeded in interesting the membership in establishing a sub-committee to revitalize the old Music Hall. A first meeting of the new group was held in November of 1978. The committee’s activities broadened, and it was not long before Townscape decided that its offshoot should become an independent body, providing sufficient funds for its incorporation as such.
The new corporation, the Council for the Vail Leavitt Music Hall, accepted the building through a HUD block grant arranged by the Town of Riverhead’s Community Development officer, Robert Schemer. This was accomplished in April 1982. In that period, the Hall’s Council raised over $100,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to operate and restore Riverhead’s historic hall. In September 1985, after several years of work on applications and interviews, Music Hall was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The first phase of Music Hall’s restoration began with the opening of the Music Hall Mini-Cine in the former Leavitt’s Men’s Shop in 1984. Prior to the opening, Council members volunteered their services in rebuilding the former haberdashery into an 84-seat cinema. A generous contribution from a council member provided the funds for the purchase of theatre chairs from the old Freeport Theatre which was to be razed. A Laurel and Hardy Film Festival opened the Music Hall Mini-Cine in the spring of 1984. Revival films were very popular in the early ’80s, and it seemed the public couldn’t get enough of Bogart, Gable, Garbo, Monroe and perhaps most especially, the MacDonald/Eddy operettas.
By the 1990’s the advent of home video spelled the end of revival films in theatres, and the Council was finding it increasing difficult to maintain and operate the Mini-Cine profitably. As a result, upstairs restoration was put on hold.
Recognizing the importance of the Vail-Leavitt to revitalization of downtown Riverhead’s arts district, the Town Board and supervisor Vinnie Vilella allocated $150,000 of mitigation fees received from construction of the Tanger Outlets specifically to restoration efforts at the Music Hall. Unfortunately, disagreements within the Vail’s board resulted in lack of a cohesive plan and direction for several years. Town government, growing impatient with the lack of progress, would not release allocated funds until a viable plan of action was presented to them.
In early 2002, after public hearings called attention to the cause, several new members joined the Council. Bob Barta (a local college professor, musicologist and performer) joined the board and was able to reopen discussions with supervisor Bob Kozakiewicz and the town board, garnering key support. Mr. Barta would quickly become vice-president, and since 2006 has been president of the Vail-Leavitt board. Another notable addition to the Music Hall was Vince Tria, the owner of local radio station WRIV. A former general contractor, Tria became the organization’s treasurer and brought his experience in engineering and local politics to bear on the restoration project.
In just over a year, major renovation took place, including pouring of a foundation floor, fine carpentry restoration, construction of restrooms and a dressing room, carpeting and flooring…a complete overhaul of the Music Hall. Modern heating and air-conditioning were installed while maintaining the Music Hall’s original interior decor.
The Mini-Cine was converted into a multi-purpose area suitable for meetings, limited presentations or intermission-style receptions. A new archway was built to permit direct access from the downstairs lobby to the grand staircase, as well as necessary office space.
The Music Hall’s exterior received attention as well. Originally, the Hall’s brick walls were unpainted, while its cast iron first-floor front sported a coat of gray-blue. Research and expert consultation advocated repainting the exterior rather than attempting paint removal which could damage the soft brick. A rear entry ramp, along with a lift-style elevator, made the Music Hall handicap-accessible for the first time in its long history.
After spectacular interior painting by local artisan Mary Cox and restoration of historical stenciling by Sherrie Netusil-Barta, the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall re-opened in the summer of 2003. Since then, it has hosted numerous performances by local and internationally recognized performers and serves as a symbol of Riverhead’s cultural and artistic heritage.
International artists of note who have graced our stage include:
- Leon Redbone
- Lee Konitz
- Bucky Pizzarelli
- Teddy Charles
- Sam Taylor
- Four O’Clock Flowers
- Pete Best
- Frank Vignola
- Jeff and Anne Barnhart
- Toby Walker
- Rosie Ledet
- Ari Eisinger
- Jerron Paxton
- Peter Tork
- Jim Kweskin
- Geoff Muldaur
- Chad and Jeremy
- Sarah Spencer
- Bob Greene
…along with an equally stellar list of regional talent too large to enumerate.
The Music Hall is proud to feature great local and original performers. From 2006 to 2012 , the Vail-Leavitt produced the Riverhead Blues and Music Festival at the downtown’s historic riverfront, drawing thousands of music fans to hear legendary performers like Little Charlie & The Nightcats, Mose Allison, Johnny Winter, Savoy Brown and many more. The Music Hall also serves the community as a site for public meetings and forums, including charitable fundraisers, debates of local candidates for office, educational presentations, and past inauguration ceremonies for Riverhead’s elected officials.
The Council continues its fundraising efforts to further promote arts and cultural education in downtown Riverhead. We greatly appreciate the support and patronage of our community.


The first licence for the Moss Vale Hotel was issued to Martin Larkin around 1866. Moss Vale Hotel was the first licenced premises in Moss Vale. Larken had previously held the licence for The Briars at Bong Bong. For the next decade he held the licence of the Moss Vale Hotel.
Martin Larkin must have known a thing of two because this was the period when Moss Vale really started to boom. The railway was coming, and with it all sorts of new opportunities for rural and commercial development.
The railway station at Moss Vale was opened in 1867 but it was called Sutton Forest. The first refreshment rooms, however, were located in Mittagong. The Governor or New South Wales at the time, The Earl of Belmore, resided in Sutton Forest and, for his convenience, the refreshment rooms were relocated to Moss Vale.


Our story began in 1983 when the Hatch's acquired a 62-acre farm in Eagle, Ontario with plans to grow the best local blueberries. The farm began with the planting of just a few acres with only three varieties and kept growing to its current thirteen-acres of seven different varieties of blueberry bushes.
In late 2013, after a full season of working with the Hatches, the Pierinelli family; Gio and Mariangela decided they would like to run the farm. Enthusiastically committing to improving the logistics of the farm in every aspect and securing its success for many generations to come.
Fast forward, five-years, in 2018 the Pierinelli family passed the farm onto the Innes family. The Innes' jumped right into the blueberry farm life and continued the organic traditions and success of the farm.
In 2021, after a very successful three-years with the Innes family running the farm, two local residents from St. Thomas, ON came across the farm for sale and decided to take the leap into organic blueberry farming. Victoria and Mike look forward to continuing the traditions at Bluegroves Farms.
Not only do we grow incredible organic blueberries, but we also have many other delicious organic produce.
Quality Control & Environmental Commitment
We take a lot of pride to share that our farm is fully oriented to keep it all-natural but at the same time following all rules and regulations set out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and other government institutions.
We are members of the Ontario Berry Growers Association - www.ontarioberries.com and the Ontario Highbush Blueberry Growers Association.


I have taught in RISD’s Illustration Dept. since 1982 and my work spans painting, sculpture, scientific illustration and design. I have exhibited my fine art work both nationally and internationally. Venues have included the Aldrich Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the De Cordova Museum, the Mint Museum, the Pierogi Gallery, Caren Golden Gallery and many others.
As a Scientific Illustrator, I am currently working with Assist. Prof. Jian Chen from the Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County on several projects.
Additionally I have worked as a Scientific Illustrator on an Etruscan excavation in Murlo, Italy; the reconstruction of the Great Temple in Petra, Jordan; numerous historic and prehistoric excavations in Rhode Island and Mass., as well as survey archaeology in New Mexico.
Career: Design and Validation of Perceptually Accurate Spatial Data Visualization for Brain Cohort Analysis
Ongoing NSF Grant Proposal
Collaborator, with Assist Prof. Jian Chen, Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County, on NSF grant proposal, entitled “Career: Design and Validation of Perceptually Accurate Spatial Data Visualization for Brain Cohort Analysis: Using Concepts from Arts, Perception, and Information Visualization”. If funded, the project would define perceptual cues, color, drawing and design strategies that could aid in effective spatial visualization of brain scans utilizing large data sets.
Brain Tractography Imaging
Collaborator, with Assist Prof. Jian Chen, Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County, on Brain Tractography Imaging, creating visualization experiments involving brain pathology to define effective visualization strategies.
Scientific Illustrator: Etruscan Archaeological Expedition
Scientific Illustrator for Prof. Anthony Tuck of UMass Amherst on an Etruscan Archaeological Expedition in Murlo, Italy during the summers of 2012 and 2013, trained and brought 3 RISD students to work as archaeological illustrators for the excavation’s 6 week summer field school. Worked on reconstruction visualizations of a large Etruscan workshop building dating from 600 BCE. I hope to rejoin the excavation in the summer of 2016.
American Museum of Natural History: Visualization of Trilobite Morphology
During the Spring of 2015, my Scientific Illustration class worked with Melanie Hopkins, Assistant Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History on the visualization of trilobite morphology.
Excavations of the Great Temple in Petra
Summer 1995, 1996
Scientific Illustrator for Prof. Martha Joukousky, Brown University, in excavations of the Great Temple in Petra, Jordan. During the summers of 1995 and 1996 I worked on artifact renderings and site reconstructions.
Contact Jean Blackburn


The island of Barbados is a desirable sun-soaked getaway in the Eastern Caribbean, just off the coast of Venezuela. This British colony of just 284,000 inhabitants was once the home of many slaves who worked on the prosperous plantations. Today it is famous for its rum, calypso music, colonial architecture and picture-perfect beaches.
Although Amerindians and South American Kalinagos inhabited Barbados for centuries, its modern history began with the arrival of 60 British settlers in 1628. It became the home for pirates, slave traders and sugar plantation owners before finally settling down as a major tourist destination. Temperatures on Barbados rarely stray outside 23-31°C (73-88°F) with tropical afternoon showers in late summer.
Bridgetown, the island’s capital city is named after the historic bridge which spans the Careenage River. It was built in pre-colonial times by the Tainos and was later improved by the British in the 1650s. George Washington was one of the early visitors of note, back in 1751, and he stayed in Bush Hill House which is now part of the historic Garrison area. Visit National Heroes Square, a miniature of London’s Trafalgar Square complete with a statue of Nelson and the neo-Gothic Parliament buildings which are open to the public when the parliament is in session. Bridgetown was once the port from which sugar cane and rum were exported all over the world. The warehouses and period buildings now house cafés and restaurants overlooking the marina.
Crane Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches on Barbados with pink-hued sands at the foot of the cliffs. It is ideal for gentle strolls at the water’s edge or sitting in a shady spot and watching the sunset. Sunbathing and surfing are popular on Barbados along with snorkelling and scuba diving to nearby shipwrecks and coral reefs. On the south and west coasts, windsurfing, jet skiing, parasailing and waterskiing can be enjoyed along with game fishing for tuna, sailfish and barracuda. Visit a rum distillery to learn how this sugarcane derivative is produced, and enjoy some tastings. Horseriding and polo are popular sports, or attend a cricket match, from village friendly matches to International Test Cricket. For keen walkers, the Barbados National Trust offers guided hikes ranging from 8-22km (5-14 miles). For an encounter with local wildlife, head to the Barbados Wildlife Reserve where monkeys, deer, raccoons, otters and deer roam the mahogany forest. There is also a walk-through aviary where visitors can admire the gorgeous colours of toucans, parrots, flamingoes, peacocks and macaws.
Festivals are a large part of the annual calendar of events in Barbados. The Crop Over Festival in early July originates from the harvesting of the sugarcane and a King and Queen of the crop are crowned each year. Farley Hill Plantation is now a ruin, but the grounds are filled with exotic hibiscus and poinsettias. The Morgan Lewis Mill is one of only two remaining intact sugar mills with a delightful Dutch-style windmill. You can tour the Mount Gay Rum Distillery and see how rum is made. The recommended Cocktail Tour includes a cocktail-making contest for all participants with all ingredients provided. Alternatively, opt for the Lunch Tour which includes a tour of the distillery followed by a Bajan lunch with rum punch. After all, you are on holiday!


American writing is predominantly composed of essays. A lot of great American writers and thinkers were influenced by historical moments. They helped to shape the nation we see today. The religious leaders, judges, and others who were official figures were among the very first American essay writers. The early sermons usually contained thoughtful essay. Samuel Sewall and Jonathan Edwards as well as others have inspired generations of writers and essay order contributed to define the nation. Numerous other American essay writers have played a role in the evolution of the current American writing.


Opening Reception With the Artist,
Sunday Oct 25th 2015, 4:00-7:00pm
Show runs December 2nd through Nov 29th, 2015– Baltimore artist Alina Poroshina’s figurative paintings are testimonies of conflict, passage, and transition.
Reflecting today’s refugee crisis while commemorating 100 years since the Armenian genocide of 1915 which claimed over 1.5 million lives, the exhibit illustrates how themes of human history are tragically repetitive. While examining “cultural memory”, Poroshina reflects on how atrocities committed generations ago relate to the continuing global struggle for peace, justice, and the triumph of our humanity over senseless and primitive violence.
The genocide of 1915 and the artist’s own experience of relocation and displacement in the 1990’s illustrate the cyclical nature of unresolved historical conflict that continues to affect us all. Through stories and symbolism, her works manifest the internal resistance to becoming a victim, and the desire to conquer and prevail over adversity.
Combining various allegorical elements, such as iconography, Armenian folklore, and her experiences as a woman in America, Poroshina explores several subjects through a painting style she describes as “Expressive Realism”. Uncertainty, hidden danger, the construction of memories and their effects, are threads that unite Poroshina’s bodies of work.


The 98-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Who Evaded Nazis By Assuming Fake Identities: The last time he shared his story before his death ...
NEXT: Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter shares how he survived the Warsaw Ghetto and 6 Nazi concentration camps: “Remember the other person is the same as you.”
Vera Gara shares how she survived the Holocaust and horrors of Hitler’s Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp: “As long we are survivors, we have to tell the stories, so it doesn't happen again."
Find out how this Holocaust survivor escaped a ghetto, went into hiding, and reunited with his brave rescuers: Sidney Zoltak shares his story of survival.
Moshe Kraus, the now 98-year-old Holocaust survivor, whose singing voice saved his life, shares his story with me.
AUDIO from Moshe's story:
This last story you won't hear from the Holocaust survivor herself. But you hear it through me. You even see it in my actions. And everything you hear from me is through her scars. My Bubby Rose. I will keep her voice alive. And because of her I can help to keep many voices alive. Please. Never forget.


The Welsh flag hangs now outside my Pennsylvania home after my return from a two week visit to London and the Welsh countryside. I had gone to find my ancestors, and I did.
I found many family living in England, and one I had never met and whose ancestor was brother to my great-great grandfather.
One day I stood before the grave site of Rev. George Morgan, buried with others of my family, in a small parish cemetery in Staunton, England, near the same church in which he had been I baptized. I found other Morgans whose names I did not know, but one I did–she would have been my aunt who died as a young child. It was a humbling experience to stand quietly by their tombstone and tell George Morgan his great, great grandson had returned. Across space and time, I hope he might have been listening.
The real impact of the journey to Wales was to come later when I returned to my Pennsylvania home.
Last night, my son and wife and I took a drive on the back country roads not far from where we live. Looking out over the distant green mountains and rolling hills and passing a farmhouse where the sheep were heading into the barn, it dawned on me that although I was a long way from Wales, a piece of it was here, in “Penn’s Woods,” (what the Englishman and Quaker William Penn called this state).
I thought of the coal mine we had gone into in Wales and remembered the coal region of Pennsylvania where we have lived and the Welsh community there, including a Welsh congregational church and an annual Welsh choir festival. I remember my friend, George Powell, a lover of poetry and music who would speak Welsh to me and talk about the beauty of the land where he had been born.
I thought of growing up in Philadelphia and all the Welsh influence around me. All I needed to remind myself of this is to name some of the towns: Bryn Mawr, Bala Cynwyd, etc.)
While I was in Wales, I kept thinking to myself: “I feel at home here; I could live here.” And now that I am back in Pennsylvania I realize that a part of Wales is with me in the green hills and small towns, the sheep farms and stone walls, and the music and poetry of the descendents of people who came here a century or two ago.
I am home in a new and deeper way, more satisfied where I live with a deeper appreciation for my Welsh family roots and mine here in this green world of Penn’s Woods. After all, as I learned, I come from a long line of what are called “people of the forest,” those who lived on the borders of England and Wales, and settled in either. Now I live near another woods, not unlike those of my ancestors.
Home is a place, but it also is a region of the heart and mind where one can go in thought, music, poetry, and spirit. That’s what I learned and like the poet William Wordsworth who carried memories of his walks above the Tintern Abbey in Wales to London, I will do the same here. As he wrote in his lines written above Tintern Abbey in July, 1798:
Oft, in lonely rooms and ‘mid the din
of towns and cities, I have owed to them
in hours of weariness, sensations sweet….
And I have felt
a presence that disturbs me with the joy
of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
of something far more deeply interfused,
whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,
and the round ocean and the living air,
and the blue sky, and in the mind of man….
Therefore am I still
a lover of the meadows and the woods,
and mountains; and of all that we behold
from this green earth….
The sun was setting over the distant hillside as we headed back from our drive around the countryside. I was home.


Did you know there was a difference between Father Christmas and Santa Claus? Their tale emanates from different time periods and regions of the world. The tale of Santa Claus came down from the old story of Saint Nicholas, a Greek Bishop in Myra (now Turkey) in the 3rd Century AD who had a kindness for children and brought them gifts.
Earliest stories of Father Christmas came from ancient British mid-winter festivals during the Middle Ages. Wearing a green cloak and a wreath of holly, ivy or mistletoe, he was considered a harbinger of spring and a sign of good things to come.
Later, in Britain, Father Christmas was also known as King Frost or King Winter. Dressing up like King Frost, a man would be welcomed for a visit into homes and given food in the hopes of a mild winter. Through these customs, Father Christmas became associated with receiving good things.
Over time Father Christmas became associated with the Norse mythological father figure of Odin, (Thor’s father) who would visit the earth during the Yuletide between December 20th and 31st. Odin grew portly, had vastly accelerated travel times, and knew who had been naughty or nice.
In Europe these earlier tales later were blended in with the story of Saint Nicholas, bringing in the association of gifts for children. In the 1600’s the Puritans in England sought to ban Father Christmas and the customs surrounding him were suppressed until the 1800’s Victorian’s revival of the “Spirit of Christmas”.
In America the merger of Father Christmas and Santa Claus became even more complete with the 1822 poem “The Night Before Christmas”, cementing for the coming generations the legend of “Old Saint Nick”.


Where it all began: the story of Hill York, South Florida’s leading mechanical contractor.
Imagine the luxury hotels of Miami Beach without air conditioning, closed in the summer, and cooled only by fans in the winter months. As Florida’s first air-conditioning company, Hill York changed all that!
Hill York pursued the challenge of designing and installing air-conditioning in more than half of the luxury hotels in Miami Beach just after World War II, making way for more tourism in South Florida with visitors and conventioneers flocking to the area. To this day, the company is credited with making Miami Beach a year-round community.
In 1936, the two founders, Ren Nitzsche and Everett Carroll were in the equipment business, serving as a distributor for Hill refrigerated cases and York air conditioning. During World War II, the company refurbished and installed used refrigerators, and renamed their company by combining the names of the two companies for which they were distributors.
Ten years after the duo began their business, they met Robert S. Lafferty, Sr., whose vocation was selling oil heaters in New Jersey. Lafferty saw an opportunity in the warm climate of the South to bolster the air-conditioning business of Hill York. He sold the first complete air-conditioning system to The Roney Plaza Hotel on Miami Beach. Other hotels started following suit, and Lafferty soon had nearly every major hotel lined up for air conditioning. Eventually, Lafferty became a part owner of the company.
His son, Robert S. Lafferty, Jr., is now chairman of the board of Hill York, while his grandson, Robert W. “Chip” Lafferty, a professional engineer, presides as chief executive officer. The company still maintains a branch in Miami where it got its start, but Fort Lauderdale is now the location of its headquarters.


History of Chatuchak Market
Chatuchak Market has been running for over 70 years and has gone through huge changes from being a small market in Bangkok to welcoming hundreds of thousands of tourists each weekend.
Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram was the third Prime Minister of Thailand who first came into office in December 1938. During his tenure, he decided that every town must have a flea market of their own to make it easier for locals to trade and boost the local economy. Bangkok was high on his agenda, so it was declared that a flea market would open up in Sanam Luang, which would become the city’s first market in 1942.
In the coming months, the Government changed the venue, as the site was needed for other special functions. They decided to move to Saranrom Palace, in the centre of Bangkok. It stayed there for eight years until it was moved again to Sanam Chai and then back to the original venue Sanam Luang. The return was brief as Bangkok had its 200-year anniversary of the city; meaning that the market’s location had to be switched once more. In 1982, the market was moved as a permanent feature to Chatuchak. Five years later, the iconic Clocktower was built to celebrate King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 60th birthday and the market was finally renamed, Chatuchak Market.
The popularity of the market has grown substantially since it’s relocation from Sanam Luang. The market regularly accommodates 200,000 tourists each weekend and has over 15,000 stalls making it the world’s biggest weekend market in the world.
Want more on Chatuchak Market? Click on our Blog for all the information.


Lloyd triestino to egypt
Lloyd Triestino is an old company founded on the 2nd August, 1836 and remains the oldest still-active shipping company even though its name was changed. In the XIX century, Trieste was part of the the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and became the gateway between European and Eastern markets. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 brought enormous benefits to the Lloyd of Trieste. Regular passenger and cargo routes were started to the Middle and Far East, reaching parts of the Red Sea, the Indian peninsula and China and Japan. Among the most established lines was the service to the Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. In the 1970s, competition from the airlines forced the Lloyd, like most other shipping companies, to close down its passenger services. (Source: Italian Liners Historical Society)
About this Lloyd triestino brochure
This 20 pages brochure (14,3 x 22,2 cm) of the Italian shipping company Lloyd Triestino for cruises to Egypt is illustrated with view from antic columns and a ship for the cover and the colossi of Memnon for the back.
Title: “Lloyd Triestino Service Express pour l’Egypte”
Creator: Cover design signed by A.Quaiat
Published : June 1926
Ref / Date: TE-CM-1926-A / 2019


Means of Ascent (The Years of Lyndon Johnson #2)
A handshake, as delivered by Lyndon Johnson, could be as effective as a hug.
A laconic Texas lawmaker declined to use his considerable influence to intervene in a loud dispute between his colleagues. When asked why not, he said, "They're not voting. If they're not voting, they're not passing any laws. If they're not passing any laws, they're not hurting anybody.
dignity was a luxury in a fight with Lyndon Johnson, a luxury too expensive to afford.
From the earliest beginnings of Lyndon Johnsons political lifefrom his days at college when he had captured control of campus politicshis tactics had consistently revealed a pragmatism and a cynicism that had no discernible limits.
He (LBJ) played on their fears as he played on their hopes.
if one characteristic of Lyndon Johnson was a boundless ambition, another was a willingness, on behalf of that ambition, to make efforts that were also without bounds.
I never conceived of my biographies as merely telling the lives of famous men but rather as a means of illuminating their times and the great forces that shaped their timesparticularly political power, since in a democracy political power has so great a role in shaping the lives of the citizens of that democracy.
Lyndon Johnson knew how to make the most of such enthusiasm and how to play on it and intensify it. He wanted his audience to become involved. He wanted their hands up in the air. And having been a schoolteacher he knew how to get their hands up. He began, in his speeches, to ask questions.
Speaking out as he had never before done in Congress, Lyndon Johnson in 1947 opposed most of Trumans Fair Deal.
Until the end of his life, whenever the subject of the vast growth of the LBJ Company and associated business enterprises was raised, Lyndon Johnson would emphasize that he owned none of it (All that is owned by Mrs. Johnson. I dont have any interest in government-regulated industries of any kind and never have had).
(Until the end of their lives, these men and women would tell stories about the summer they followed Lyndon Johnson and his Flying Windmill around Texas; as Oliver Knight of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram would write about one trip, That mad dash from Navasota to Conroe in which I dodged stumps at 70 MPH just to keep up with that contraption will ever be green in my memory.) At the landing site, there would be the brief respite