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

Kate Kelly
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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…
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formal portrait of Charles Drew

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…
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Red Ball Express truck stuck in mud WWII

Red Ball Express: Transport System Helped Win WWII

The Red Ball Express was a desperately needed World War II truck transport system that came about six weeks after D-Day. By late July of 1944, the Allies were progressing farther and faster than expected after the June 6 surprise landing on the beaches of Normandy. The military was struggling to keep the front lines supplied.  The creation of a truck convoy system would provide a way to get ammunition, gas, and supplies to the…
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Who Thought of the Statue of Liberty?

The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor has come to be a welcoming beacon to immigrants. Officially called “Liberty Enlightening the World,” the statue was a gift from the French people to the citizens of the United States in 1886. Both countries believed in democracy, and the colossus was to celebrate a century of American independence from Britain that the French helped achieve. One Frenchman wrote: “Her presence above the port of New York…
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On
This
Day

On March 29, 1929, President Herbert Hoover had a phone installed at his desk in the Oval Office of the White House.  Telephones had been in use at the White House since 1878, but there had never been a phone in the President’s official office. It took a while to get the line to Hoover’s desk working correctly, but eventually it all worked out. Hoover’s son phoned his dad from outside the White House. Mission completed.

Women Leaders

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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.
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Marian Wright Edelman (1939- )

blankLawyer, activist, children’s advocate Today we know her as the founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund. Her list of accomplishments started early; she was the first African American woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar Association.
A burning brick building with great grey plumes of fire rising from the rooftop.

The Invention of the Fire Escape

Fire escapes and fire stairwells remain a vital component of multi-story buildings. Even with all the advances in building materials, catastrophic fires can and do happen. And of course, in […]
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The Hunt for Amelia Earhart

blankRecently news organizations reported on the $2.5 million dollar project that was mounted this summer to use new clues and equipment to try to uncover what happened to Amelia Earhart, who along with her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared on July 2, 1937 in Earhart’s Lockheed Electra airplane.

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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


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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)
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