Finding kindred spirits has become easier via the Internet.  For a couple of years I have subscribed to a blog called “Restauranting through History” where I have been able to read about tea rooms and restaurants with curb service as well as  the  story of the Reuben sandwich and the tradition of live music in restaurants.

Then the other day I was doing research pertaining to department stores, and when I received the book I ordered I noted that it was by Jan Whitaker, the person who writes Restauranting through History…  Well, that did it for me.  Clearly Jan and I had shared interests in bringing to light stories of America’s past.

I knew I would be visiting her part of the country this spring so I contacted her and we met for lunch.  As I expected, the conversation flowed easily.  Our shared love of research and our interest in providing readers with interesting stories gave us plenty to talk about.  In the meantime, I highly recommend that you check out her blog and sign up for her mailings.  She digs out stories about restaurants and customs we wish were still in place.

February and March were two very exciting months for America Comes Alive!  Women’s History Month, first celebrated by ACA in 2011, continued to provide a fascinating window into the lives of the women who preceded us.

Black History Month was added to ACA’s celebrations because I kept stumbling upon such amazing stories, and I wondered who was going to tell them if I didn’t?  These profiles amazed.  The continuing theme, even after slavery ended, was the difficulty of getting for an African-American to get an education; these people fought to learn and then went on and did amazing things.  We will celebrate other black leaders again next year.

I will also add in a Hispanic Heritage celebration in the fall.  We look at this growing segment of our population, and yet their leaders are also left out of most history books.  This site will help right this wrong.

A reader has also informed me that November is Native American month, and she has put forward a suggested candidate—a very worthy one—to profile, so we will also examine this aspect of our American story.

This week I have needed some time for my own renewal but I will be back with a couple of posts a week starting Monday and in July we will kick off the Dog Days of Summer 2012.  I can’t wait!

Thank you for stopping in, and Happy Spring.

Every family has their stories…the ones that get told over and over but also the less-told stories that we tell when we are unexpectedly reminded of something by a photo, a copy of a book, or a certain kind of day. These shared stories explain who we are and bind us together—no matter what happens, we “have each other.”

The same is true for a “people.”  It is our stories that help us understand who we are and where we have been.  Maybe these elements explain where we are going.

For the most part, stories don’t grow old—we like hearing them, telling them, and thinking about them again.

Last year when I undertook “Thirty [Women] Under Thirty” to celebrate Women’s History Month, I relished the stories—some about women we have heard of, like Julia Child, and some about women we have not heard of like Oveta Culp Hobby, the first secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and the first commanding officer of Women’s Army Corps.

What I have observed since last March is that readers love these stories no matter what the month.  When I check my website analytics each morning, I find that many times a little-known woman pops up as a particularly well-read-story for the month before.

With that in mind, I resolved that America Comes Alive! would not only celebrate Women’s History Month again, but that the site would also recognize Black History Month. I keep stumbling upon stories that need to be told.   My selection of individuals for both months is eclectic—I try to vary the era, the types of accomplishments, and of course, during Black History Month, the individual’s gender.  My prime criterion is “people whose stories should not be forgotten.”

If you would like to receive these by email, please sign up on the form on the right of the website, and if there is someone whom you think I should include next year, please let me know: kate@americacomesalive.com.

In the meantime, enjoy the stories.  Only by telling about people from all types of backgrounds will we come to a better understanding of what this country can be and what we stand for.

Today big screen TVs and flat screen TVs, and I guess eventually 3-D TVs, are all about the size of the viewing screen.

My husband George has married his work life in the television industry with a hobby—learning all about old and new technology, including ferreting out facts about old TVs and how they were sold.

On CNET this week he posted his blog about how televisions used to be sold as a piece of furniture. The color of the wood was important, and of course, the customer wanted to be able to close the doors in front of the television screen, I suppose to give the impression that most family members spent their time reading books.

To see some great vintage ads for televisions and read George’s blog, click here.

With New Year’s Resolutions on our minds (not anymore? Oh well), it seemed fitting that my January newsletter would be devoted to diet and exercise.

I quickly became diverted from my “diet plan” while reading some excellent stories about food and fitness.  I hope you’ll click through and read about Kellogg’s, Post, and Birds Eye.  Much better than reading about dieting!  These men and the products they created are quite fascinating.

When it comes to fitness, Jack LaLanne emerges as the “father of fitness” and the reason we all still have memories of him was being he lived to age 96, only dying a year ago.  You can still buy a Jack LaLanne juicer and exercise along with a younger “him” on his website or YouTube.

But I found even more information about exercise and want to share that with you here.  First, exercise programs were popular on radio.  In the 1920s and 30s, people could wake up early and turn on the radio to be guided through exercises to lose weight and gain muscle tone.

In addition, trainers to the stars soon became popular with the people much earlier than we might expect.  Richard Kline was hired by Paramount in the late 1920s and worked with Clara Bow, Nancy Carroll and later Claudette Colbert and Carole Lombard.  His advice to housewives was to make the most of their housework: “When you bend in your housework, do it gracefully, be conscious of the rhythmic use of your body and legs as you do it. Think rhythm when you sweep; your arms and back will be beautiful.”

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read some terrific stories about the families who brought us breakfast cereals, the man who invented frozen foods, and Jack LaLanne, father of fitness. Food and Fitness, January 2012.

“Auld Lang Syne” is sung as part of most New Year’s Eve parties. Here’s how “the most famous song that no one knows the words to…” became well-known.

Guy Lombardo Makes Song Famous

The song itself is an old Scottish poem first published in 1796 by Robert Burns. But no one would remember the song if it hadn’t been for bandleader Guy Lombardo (1902-1977) and his Royal Canadian Band.

Lombardo was part of a musical family. His father was a tailor but had greater aspirations for his sons. Three of them became part of brother Guy’s band. When Guy was only 12, the group began rehearsing in the back of the tailor shop. Bookings followed from there.

By 1928, they were working regularly in their hometown of London, Ontario.  It was there that Lombardo first made “Auld Lang Syne” a part of the band’s New Year’s Eve program.

Signed with Columbia Records

Lombardo and his band signed a recording contract with the Columbia records. In 1929, they were booked for a prestigious job playing on New Year’s Eve in the Grill Room at the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan. That year Columbia aired the program live on the radio, and it was billed as “radio’s first nationwide New Year’s Eve broadcast.”

The program was so popular that Lombardo’s New Year’s Eve performances became a tradition. They were broadcast, first on radio and then on television, primarily from the Roosevelt Grill (1929-1959).

In 1960, they were lured away by the Waldorf Astoria but the broadcasts continued. For 48 consecutive years, American could count on Guy Lombardo and his band ushering in the New Year.

Today “Auld Lang Syne” is generally sung—or hummed—by most people who attend a New Year’s Eve party.  Incidentally, the meaning of title is roughly, “old long since” or “times gone by.”

To read more about holiday traditions, read about the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square, and one of the most famous float designers for the Rose Bowl Parade: Isabella Coleman.