Have you eaten any home grown vegetables lately? I must admit that I haven’t. After trying to grow my own tomatoes two summers in a row, I conceded to the hu...

The United States would not have won World War II without the millions of soldiers, nurses, and factory defense workers who served during the war, but there ...

​ This is bizarre story from World War II! In 1942, Lucille Ball, actress and future star of I Love Lucy, had several lead fillings put in at the dentist. Af...

For those of you who have read Songbird, do you have an image of Ava in your mind? If you are like me, I am always creating mental pictures of characters whe...

Before Songbird began in May 1943 and Edwin, Barry, and Sydney ever saw Ft. McClellan, the real-life 27th Division from New York made the fort its temporary ...

Today, we have women’s bunko groups, mommy and me groups, and painting parties. In the 1940s, they had garden clubs! I love reading old newspapers and learni...

Women sacrificed many things during World War II, including their nylon stockings! DuPont began producing the popular hosiery in 1939, and by the end of 1940...

A new year always makes me reflect on new beginnings and think back to old beginnings. Songbird begins on May 28, 1943. As we look forward to 2015, let’s loo...

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? If you were buying for a World War II soldier, what would you buy? According to a 1941 survey by the Army Time...

Even in war, art must go on! Edouard Patte, a Red Cross Inspector, was surprised to find an art studio when he visited Fort McClellan’s POW camp in 1944. He w...

German soldiers in Alabama! For those living in the state during World War II, it was a startling realty. In the summer of 1943, thousands of mostly German p...

In 1939, Gone with the Wind premiered, and women began to wear fuller skirted and more romantic feeling clothing. Nylon stockings were new to the fashion sce...

When World War II began, television sets were just emerging onto the scene. Manufacturers were busy figuring out how to make the television as prevalent as t...

Have you ever wondered just what exactly “Rosie the Riveter” did for the war effort? This fictional wartime heroine based on hundreds of women throughout the...

While World War II produced innumerable soldiers, tanks, and warships, it also produced something else – marriages! With the uncertainties of war, couples ac...

When Jason and I talked to older adults at the Fair on the Square a few weeks ago, they all had the same thing to say about Anniston, AL in the 1940s. They s...

I will be in Jacksonville, AL this weekend for the city’s Fair on the Square, Living Museum. At my table, I am excited to have my grandfather’s rationing boo...

Did you know that Anniston, AL once had its own minor league baseball team? Between 1904 and 1950, Anniston’s baseball team was called the Nobles, the Models...