HISTORY NEVER
CEASES TO AMAZE
A Guest Post by Marie Watts
As
a writer I have eclectic tastes and am published in both the fiction and
non-fiction arena. One of my joys is
delving into historic newspapers and finding a connection with our day-to-day
lives.
While
searching for information regarding a funeral in 1888, I noticed a number of
deadly shootings had been chronicled by the Fayette County, Texas paper. The editor opined: “Shooting and killing it
would seem are liable to become epidemic, judging from what occurred the past
week. There are too many persons in the county who have the privilege of
wearing six-shooters. Their number should be curtailed.”
A
1936 report concerning my grandparents’ displacement by the Tennessee River
Authority revealed that they had electricity courtesy of Delco. Curious I began
researching and found that the General Motors Company, under the name of
Delco-Light, had been manufacturing battery-operated power plants for rural
residents. Thousands subsequently lost
their jobs in that industry when electricity was delivered to rural areas
through the Rural Electrification Act.
My
most recent find came while I was writing a blog about robocalls in Chinese
designed to prey on recent immigrants. After
a bit of research, I realized that scamming immigrants has a storied past in
the U.S. One of the standouts was the
notorious con men George C. Parker. He began his career in 1883 and
managed to talk newly arrived, uneducated immigrants into purchasing the
Brooklyn Bridge, Madison Square Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the
tomb of U.S. Grant.
Many
of the issues of today such as scams, gun control, and government subsidizing
power sources that affect other industries are not new. However, knowledge of the past can help us
understand the complexity of the issues at hand and may offer clues to
solutions. Moreover, it reminds us that
the “Good Old Days” were not really that great.
We can, nevertheless, strive each
day to put out best foot forward, do the right thing, and treat others with
compassion.
I
invite you to join me at mariewatts.com as I write “stories about life” and
learn more about my recent novel, The Cause Lives: Warriors for Equal Rights. You can find my historical articles under
“Lagniappe”—a little something extra.
You can also find me on:
Website: http://www.mariewatts.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mariewattsbooks
Twitter: @mariewattsbooks
Instagram: @mariewattswriter
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