Category Archives: Presentations

They Laughed and Laughed

It is always fun to speak to the Pamlico County Historical Association in Grantsboro, NC. Last night I spoke about the History and Evolution of the Outhouse. The audience was comprised primarily of senior citizens who had grown up in … Continue reading

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150 Years of the Grange

I was honored to be invited to speak at the 150th Anniversary of the Grange in Pennsylvania. If you don’t know about the Grange it is a rural oriented organization started soon after the Civil War in an attempt to … Continue reading

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Who Says You Can’t Go Home Again?

This past week I defied the message in Thomas Wolfe’s novel, You Can’t Go Home Again. I did go home – to Lampasas, Texas to speak at the annual Lampasas County Farm Bureau Convention. I grew up in Lampasas and … Continue reading

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The Plight of Japanese American Farmers

In baseball the fourth player in the batting order is known as the cleanup hitter. So I like to think since I was the fourth speaker at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at North Carolina State University yesterday that made me … Continue reading

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“I didn’t know that!”

I spoke at the Fountain Park Chautauqua in Remington, Indian on July 17 on the topic From Cradle to Grave: The Impact of Sears Roebuck on Rural America. My goal was to get the audience to say, “I didn’t know … Continue reading

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Twelfth Presentation at Chautauqua

My first presentation at the Chautauqua Institute in New York was in 2011. They invited me back this year for my 12th presentation (in 2015 I made two presentations but missed one year because of the Pandemic). They must be … Continue reading

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Whomp, Whomp, Whomp

Do you know what a pool noodle sounds like when you hit it on the floor? I discovered the sound they make recently while attending the Area 1 FFA Convention in Canyon, Texas. Nine hundred plus FFA members and guests … Continue reading

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Coming Full Circle

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Temple Beth Or for their University Senior Day last week. I spoke about the Rosenwald School program. Julius Rosenwald, the one time president of Sears and Roebuck, had established a foundation to … Continue reading

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I Keep Learning

Yesterday I spoke to the NCSU Osher Lifelong Learning Institute about Sears, Roebuck and Company. While I educated the group, I was in turn educated by several attendees. One person had worked in the Sears Tower in Chicago in an … Continue reading

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Fur sure!

Yesterday I spoke at the upscale retirement community The Cardinal at North Hills. My presentation was titled “From Cradle to Grave: The Impact of Sears and Roebuck on Rural America.” The audience learned a lot about Sears they didn’t know. … Continue reading

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