Author: Christine Skirbunt Locked Out of Ownership While women were entering the workforce in greater numbers during the latter part of the 19th century and they may have won the right to vote in 1920, this progress happened in fraught increments. It may surprise younger generations of American women today (especially those born in the 1980s [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt When we think of World War II heroines, images of spies, nurses, and munitions workers often come to mind. But another group of women quietly transformed the British home front with determination, boots, and a hoe in hand: the Land Girls. Members of the Women’s Land Army (WLA), these women kept Britain’s [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt 250 Years 25 Decades One Nation in Motion Decade 21: 1976–1985America turned 200 – and reflected on its identity. In 1976, the United States celebrated its Bicentennial, marking 200 years of independence with parades, fireworks, time capsules, tall ships, and nationwide festivities. It was a rare moment of national unity after a [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt 250 Years 25 Decades One Nation in Motion Decade 16: 1926–1935The Great Depression began – and reshaped the American dream. On October 29, 1929, the stock market crashed, triggering the Great Depression, the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. Banks failed, unemployment soared, and families lost homes, savings, and hope. By 1933, [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt 250 Years 25 Decades One Nation in Motion Decade 11: 1876–1885The telephone was invented – and America started talking. The First Telephone In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone, forever changing the way people communicated. His first words over the device were, “Mr. Watson, come [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt 250 Years 25 Decades One Nation in Motion Decade 6: 1826–1835Two founding fathers died on the same day – July 4, 1826. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were once close allies: co-authors of independence, diplomats abroad, and revolutionaries at heart. But in the 1790s, they became fierce [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt 250 Years25 DecadesOne Nation in Motion The United States of America is turning 250 in 2026 and for two and a half centuries it has stood as both a symbol of self-determination and as an experiment in government, inspiring many other nations in their own pursuits of democracy. But how do we [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt “What greater gift than the love of a cat.”–Charles Dickens Old maid. Spinster. Crazy Cat Lady. All words used to describe single women through the centuries who dared to be unwed and have a cat as a companion. The stereotype of the “cat lady” conjures vivid imagery: a solitary woman surrounded by [...]
Author: Christine Skirbunt In today’s digital age, it’s not uncommon to hear concerns about the impact of violent video games, explicit music lyrics, or provocative TV and films on young minds. But this pattern of blaming popular media for societal ills isn’t new. Back in Victorian England, Penny Dreadfuls – cheap, sensational fiction aimed primarily [...]