History is a little like a panther. A totally awesome panther that leaps out at you from the most unexpected places and mauls you with mad knowledge. I was attacked by the history panther this past weekend when I visited Prettybird in Carrollton, Missouri. Being a rural Midwestern town, there’s only a handful of people … Continue reading
Tag Archives: history
Hail to the Chief
Way back in December, one of my earliest posts on Rhoades to Madness was my excitement over seeing Honest-to-Godforsaken Abe cutting a swath through the vampire legions on the big screen. If Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter the book had a fault, it took the subject matter too seriously, taking a Doris Kearns Goodwin-style approach to … Continue reading
War in the Paris of the Plains
We finished up our Saturday jaunt through history in Kansas City by visiting the Liberty Memorial. Continue reading
Not So Bloody Sunday
Today is the 79th anniversary of the Union Station Massacre in Kansas City, Missouri. I have previously mentioned the Massacre on Rhoades to Madness, but for those unwilling to click a link, here’s a summary. On this day in 1933, heavily-armed gunmen attacked federal agents and local police who were escorting a prisoner out of … Continue reading
Joplin Prevails
At 5:41pm on this day last year, the city of Joplin, Missouri was nearly wiped off the map by a tornado. I was safe at home in Kansas City, blissfully unaware that my hometown, the place I was born and spent the first five years of my life, was being laid to waste. When my … Continue reading
Chief Massasoit
This is the statue of Chief Massasoit that stands in front of the Winstead’s Diner in Kansas City, Missouri and faces the Plaza. For those unaware, Massasoit and his Wampanoag tribe were the first Native Americans to forge an alliance with the three-month-old Plymouth Colony. In fact, they are largely responsible for keeping the clueless … Continue reading
Silent Running
Life, of course, intervenes. It has been one week since last we spoke (and by “spoke,” I mean I hurl words at you from a computer screen), and the reason for that is simple, if not entirely acceptable: I had stuff to do. And my unwillingness to write on my 30th birthday certainly put a … Continue reading