The Flame of Duty: U.S. Army Celebrates 250 Years of Enduring Spirit, Service, and Unity

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U.S. ArmyWhat makes a farmer grab a musket and risk it all?

Before the sun set on April 19, 1775, the rag-tag ruffians couldn’t believe what they had just accomplished. The British, that well-trained army of international fame, had retreated to Boston. Soon, thousands of militiamen from all the New England colonies would surround what John Winthrop had called 145 years earlier “the city on the hill.” The Revolutionary War had begun.

But it wasn’t that simple.

Two-and-a-half centuries ago, if we had remained divided, we would have fallen. The rag-tag ruffians may have won the day in Lexington and Concord, but they could not have sustained an extended military campaign. Our nation’s Founding Fathers knew that winning the Continue Reading “The Flame of Duty: U.S. Army Celebrates 250 Years of Enduring Spirit, Service, and Unity”

Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: John Greig Lives The American Dream

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Previous: Dispelling Mendon Myths

Portrait of John Greig. Source: Milliken, Charles F., A History of Ontario County, New York and Its People, Lewis Historical Co. Vol I, New York, 1911, p.225

The sun rose on Tuesday, June 7, 1825, signaling the start of a new day. For John Greig, it would prove among the most momentous days of his life—so far. It would prove anyone can attain their American dream.

By that morning, Greig had lived a tad more than a quarter of a century in his adopted home country. Born in Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland on August 6, 1779,1 he immigrated to the United States in 1797 after attending the Edinburgh High School.2 Only eighteen when he sailed to America, no doubt like many his age, Greig sought to make his mark.

He certainly did.

But not immediately.

Greig spent his first few months living in New York City before moving to Albany. He relocated to Canandaigua in April 1800. It’s likely this move Continue Reading “Lafayette’s Farewell Tour: John Greig Lives The American Dream”

Jerry Springer Was And Wasn’t Who You Think He Was

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This wasn’t the first time something like this happened, and I doubt it will be the last. Call it “The Quiet Man” approach. Hmm, that sounds like a pleasant topic for a future commentary.

This episode, however, begins in the quiet world of Manchester, New Hampshire in June of 2017.

No, wait. It actually begins before this beginning. Early in April, I met Suzette Standring at the New York Press Association Spring Conference at the Gideon Putnam Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York. She is an award-winning author and a syndicated columnist. Suzette was at the NYPA conference to present on how to write better columns.

In case you haven’t noticed, this weekly sojourn is what we in the journalism business call a “column.” It’s not necessarily a traditional column (which Continue Reading “Jerry Springer Was And Wasn’t Who You Think He Was”

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