History lessons is a grouping of historical stories and tidbits. The topics range from the American Civil War through interesting items from around the world. Please use the comments area to ask questions and make suggestions for future topics.
“How’dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?” Those are the opening lyrics to an old pop song, sung by crooner Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in the 1940s, folk artist Leon Redbone more recently, and even Jimmy Buffet. But none of them performed it while waving the Christmas Island flag. They’re both real… continue
In December 1845 – 170 years ago – Texas joined the United States, bringing with it a state flag and later adding a municipal flag for its capital. If that’s not sufficient, there’s also a college flag for one of Texas’s many institutions of higher education. STATE FLAG The Texas state banner, created six years… continue
The approach of Christmas and Hanukkah provides an opportunity to give friends and family members a flag, especially if they are now – or once were – in the military. The options are many in a year when three branches of the military are marking a significant anniversary: U.S. MARINES The U.S. Marine Corps was… continue
One year after the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that launched the U.S. into World War II, Americans commemorated the “day of infamy” with coast-to-coast flags. In Boston, for example, the Bunker Hill Boys Club observed “one minute of silence…in respect of the service men who gave their lives” a year earlier…. continue
No city in the U.S. seems more appropriate for an article about flags than Flagstaff, Arizona. Whether it’s a municipal flag, a state flag or the American flag, the town’s name literally lifts them upward. Karl Eberhard, historic preservation officer for the city, explained how the location came to be named after a flagpole. Or,… continue