Author Archives: michaeljdouma
Meeting the Neighbors by Talking about History
Yesterday, I stopped at a yard sale about a mile from where I live. There was nothing I wanted to buy (although I discovered that it is legal to sell guns at yard sales in West Virginia!). Anyway, I introduced myself as a new neighbor from down the way, and that I had purchased land […]
A Trip to the Hampshire County Archives
It started with a deed search. I wanted to learn more about my property’s history. But fifteen minutes after I had arrived at the Hampshire County Courthouse, I was sitting in the Clerk’s office, chatting with him about history. The clerk showed me his historical treasures: a Civil War letter rescued from Ohio and returned […]
Twice the Processing Power
Word processing. On the left is s Remington Portable Model 5, and on the right a Remington Noiseless model seven. The seven was considerably more expensive than the 5, but the 5 is my favorite. It’s a full education trying to figure out all of the levers on these things.
A Field Guide to the Wild American BUD LIGHT CAN, State flower of West Virginia
The Bud Light Can (Canus Budus Litus), is a hardy superabundant species of aluminum can with a range contiguous to the borders of the American lower forty-eight states, Alaska, Hawaii, parts of Canada and Mexico. Occasional specimens have been found in other countries, where it is often considered an invasive species. Reports of a Bud […]
Perspective
With my historical vision, I can see clearly hundreds of years into the past. But, looking forward, I don’t have a clue what I have scheduled next week Tuesday. All I know is that Wimpy is supposed to pay me back for a hamburger.
Civil War Script
I’ve been reading hundreds of these Civil War letters from local judges declaring foreign residents fit or unfit for the draft. A good way to test your cursive reading skills. How long does it take you to read it?
The bell curve of anti-slavery and abolitionism
Let the publication train keep on rolling! Choo Choo. This one was inspired by a facebook conversation. The image may appear in my forthcoming book. http://www.learnliberty.org/blog/the-bell-curve-of-anti-slavery/
Little Chrome Football Guy
Friends of mine, and readers of this blog (if there are any?) will know that I am renovating a 100 year old barn. It’s hard to tell how many generations have used the barn, but as I excate and renovate, I’ve found layers of old stuff. This is another barn archaeology find today. Its heavy […]
Red Tape and Ribbons
From the National Archives earlier this week. These ribbons were probably used as some kind of marking system by the Secretary of State’s office (William Seward’s office) during the Civil War. Something similar to the red/ pinkish ones were used all of the time to bundle letters together and I believe its where we get […]
The American Historical Review’s Nonsense
Today, I received the latest American Historical Review in the mail. Just try to make sense of the abstract of one of it’s featured articles: In “History in the Dungeon: Atlantic Slavery and the Spirit of Capitalism in Cape Coast Castle, Ghana,” Andrew Apter focuses on a West African spirit, Nan Tabir, a coastal diety […]
Michael J Douma 