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
the bus from the Montgomery bus boycott

What the Montgomery Boycott Showed Us

The story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott is a testament to the enduring strength and dignity of Black Americans. Denied the basic right of equal access to public transportation in Montgomery, Black citizens were relegated to sitting only in the rear of the bus. The front rows were reserved for white people—even it there were few or none on the bus.  Even more degrading, Blacks, regardless of their age or physical well-being, were forced to…
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Annie Oakley: Sharpshooter & Remarkable Woman

Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann Mosey. She grew up to be an international celebrity for her marksmanship. As a child, she needed to help hunt for the family and she became a remarkable sharpshooter. Eventually she changed her name to Annie Oakley and toured with traveling shows. Her level of marksmanship was extraordinary. The work required great vision, dexterity, excellent eye-hand coordination, and the ability to function under pressure. What’s more, Oakley did what…
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The Brownie Camera: Point-and-Shoot Pictures

The Brownie camera was the first inexpensive device that regular people could use to take photographs. This was a very exciting prospect for Americans at the turn of the century. The camera was simple to use and priced at only a dollar. Introduced in 1901, the Brownie camera was the creation of George Eastman, a budding Rochester-based entrepreneur, and one of his suppliers, Frank A. Brownell. Brownell’s company made shell cases for cameras, including the…
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First Rearview Mirror Marketed as “Cop-spotter”

The first widely distributed rearview mirror for automobiles was sold as the “Cop-spotter” by a fellow named Elmer Berger. Available as an auto accessory, the “Cop-spotter” retailed in hardware stores for about $4. (Cars did not routinely have any sort of mirrors until the late 1920s.) We think of the rearview mirror as an aid to safe driving, but in 1921, it was an aid to knowing when to drive safely!    About Elmer Berger…
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On
This
Day

On April 1, 1700, English pranksters popularized the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day. The tradition of a day for practical jokes continues. In Scotland, they send people on phony errands (“hunting the gowk”). In the U.S. in 1996,  the fast food chain, Taco Bell, duped people  by announcing it had purchased Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell and would rename it the Taco Liberty Bell. In 1998, Burger King advertised a “Left-Handed Whopper.” Many customers came in to order it.

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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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