American History
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The White House Rose Garden
When President Kennedy asked gifted horti-culturalist, Bunny Mellon, to redesign the Rose Garden, Mrs. Mellon hesitated. She did not have an advanced degree.
What she did have was tremendous talent.
Learn more here.
The New York Yankees
Building a Brilliant Brand
When Jacob Ruppert bought the NY Yankees in 1914, the team was languishing at the bottom of the League. Ruppert transformed the Yankees into the world's most valuable sport franchise.
How did he do it? What can we learn from him?
Visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
The Founding of Washington, D.C.
It's a well-worn myth that Congress established America's capitol on the banks of the Potomac River
in honor of George Washington.
As you'll see, nothing could be farther from the truth. This unlikely story started with a band of soldiers marching to Philadelphia to demand back pay from Congress at gunpoint!
America's Star-Spangled Banner
America's flag didn't always have stars and stripes
and it wasn't always called "the star-spangled banner."
Our flag got that great nickname one memorable
morning in Baltimore harbor.
Learn more here.
The Statue of Liberty
Her official name is Liberty Enlightening the World
but we all know her as the Statue of Liberty - a beacon of freedom who has awed countless Americans, immigrants and visitors.
Whose idea was she? Who built her? What does
she represent? Let's find out!
Reagan's Journey
Lessons from a Remarkable Career
Ronald Reagan’s early life was a rollercoaster of new towns, new homes and new schools. His father was an alcoholic who could barely hold onto a job.
Forced to look outside his family for role models, Ronald Reagan found heroes in books, at church, at school and at work.
Thanks to a mentor, within months of graduating from college at the bottom of the Depression, Reagan was on his way to spectacular success in his dream career. How did he do that? What can we learn from him?
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A Soldier's Tale - World War I
What is it like to be working in real estate in lower Manhattan one day and off to book camp the next?
My grandfather's letters to his "sweetheart" provide a vivid picture of exactly what it was like - on trains, on ships, on the front lines.
Thanks to terrible eyesight, he was put to work clerking for a medical unit. During the Argonne-Meuse offensive, he retrieved badly wounded soldiers from the front.
Learn more here.
A Mariner's Tale - The Civil War
What was it like to serve in the U.S. Navy in the 19th century?
Born in London, my great, great grandfather, George Price went to sea with the British merchant navy but jumped at the opportunity to join the U.S.Navy in 1848 to fight the Mexican - American War.
He spent 30+ years at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, served at the Battle of New Orleans in 1862, and was injured at Vicksburg in 1863.
Learn more about a 19th century mariner's life here.
