Stories of America’s Past
Welcome to America Comes Alive!, a site I created to share little-known stories of regular people who made a difference and changed the course of history. Look around and see what inspires you! — Kate Kelly
Passenger Air Flights Begin
Before there were passenger airline flights there were regularly scheduled flights for the U.S. mail. These flights actually inspired the idea that people might like to travel by plane. In the 1920s, the pilots carrying the mail were flying in open cockpit planes with the bags of mail stuffed in behind them. Young men often waited around the landing strip hoping for a ride. If the pilot agreed, the passenger hopped in behind the pilot, generally sitting…
The Harvey Girls
The Harvey Girls were an important part of opening the American West in the late nineteenth century. Fred Harvey, a British entrepreneur, started a chain of restaurants along the railroad, and he hired educated young women to serve the restaurant patrons, thereby establishing the Harvey Girls. The young women were vital to the Harvey House Company, and the benefits were mutual. At a time when women had few opportunities to work or to leave the…
Bid Whist and Sleeping Car Porters
Sleeping car porters are a well-known part of history. The card game of Bid Whist is not. Yet the story of the men and the story of the card game are very much intertwined. As the Pullman porters traveled the country, they spread information, music and card games like Bid Whist. (Bid Whist is a trick-taking strategic card game compared to spades and bridge.) Why haven’t more people heard of it? Here’s the story: How…
Dr. Charles Drew, Medical Pioneer in Blood Work
Dr. Charles Drew was a pioneer in medicine who achieved recognition in a racially divided America for his work with blood collection and storage during World War II. But those who knew him said that his greatest pride was in having mentored many Black surgeons who might never have moved forward in the field of medicine if it hadn’t been for Dr. Drew. Dr. Drew was one of several scientists working on ways to get…
On
This
Day
On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany finally and fully surrendered, and Victory in Europe Day was declared by Great Britain and the U.S. celebrated Victory in Europe Day. People in both nations, as well as the residents of formerly occupied towns in Western Europe, rejoiced in the hard-won victory.
Women Leaders
Women in Medicine: Little Known Crusaders Who Have Made a Difference
On March 4, 2014 I was invited to Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, to help them celebrate Women’s History Month. I addressed an audience of engaged students and faculty with my talk, “Health and Wellness in America: Little Known Women Who Have Made a Difference.”
Drawing on my background of having written a six-volume history of medicine, I pulled out six unsung heroes who have helped move women forward both in terms of medical careers but also in terms of medical progress. You can watch the 45-minute speech below or read excerpts from my speech.
Women in Politics: An Equality Emergency
While the mid-term elections involved the constant media coverage of several female candidates (O’Donnell, Angle, McMahon, et al), the current tally shows that even when the last winners are determined, the number of women in elective offices will have dropped for the first time since 1978. Experts indicate that the number of women in the upcoming Congress is expected to slip slightly below the previous figure of 17 percent. This will bring the U.S. ranking to 90th in the world for the number of women serving in its country’s national legislature.Olive Ann Mellor Beech (1904-1993), Aviation Industrialist and Pioneer
• First woman to head major aircraft companyFirst—and thus far, the only–woman to receive National Aeronautic Association’s Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy (1980)• Selected by The New York Times as one of most distinguished women in business (1943)• Led company through two wars and into the space age
First—and thus far, the only–woman to receive National Aeronautic Association’s Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy (1980)• Selected by The New York Times as one of most distinguished women in business (1943)• Led company through two wars and into the space ageCaresse Crosby (born Mary Phelps Jacob) Invented Bra
Freed American women from corsets by designing and patenting a bra (1913) Mary Phelps Jacob (1892-1970) wanted something more comfortable than a corset to wear under one of her ball […]
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Welcome to America Comes Alive!, a site I created to share little-known stories of regular people who made a difference and changed the course of history. Look around and see what inspires you! — Kate Kelly
Recent Stories
Passenger Air Flights Begin
Before there were passenger airline flights there were regularly scheduled flights for the U.S. mail. These flights actually inspired the idea that people might like to travel by plane. In the 1920s, […]
Harvey House Company
The Harvey House business, founded by Fred Harvey in the late 19th century, played a significant role in shaping the dining and hospitality experience for those traveling west along the […]
The Harvey Girls
The Harvey Girls were an important part of opening the American West in the late nineteenth century. Fred Harvey, a British entrepreneur, started a chain of restaurants along the railroad, […]
Tombs Angel: A One-Woman Social Service Agency
Rebecca Foster Salome was a middle-class woman who earned the apt name the “Tombs Angel” for her daily visits to the Manhattan courts and detention center in the 1880s-1890s. Known […]
Bid Whist and Sleeping Car Porters
Sleeping car porters are a well-known part of history. The card game of Bid Whist is not. Yet the story of the men and the story of the card game […]
Celebrating Airmail: 1938
Today, e-mail travels in a matter of moments, text messages arrive in real time, and almost all items sent through the U.S. Mail spend at least part of their time on an airplane.Part of the inspiration for this site comes from this remark: “People do not want to hear about simple things. They want to hear about great things – simply told.”
Nobel Peace Prize winner Jane Addams (1860-1935)