Road Trip Through History: Fort Robinson

Forts and so-called “Indian agencies” and the relationship between them were a recurring them on our trip through the western plains.* The simple version is that agencies were established at various locations to manage trade and treaty obligations between the United States and the Native American nations. In theory, the agencies were intended to insure…

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The Rutabaga Winter

I’m currently working on wartime food shortages in Berlin in the First World War. The short version? Things were rough. Then, in the winter of 1916, things got worse. You’d like a few more details? Okay then. Germany was not self-sufficient in terms of food even before the war. The country relied heavily on imported…

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Introducing Eddie Rickenbacker, America’s Ace of Aces

Recently My Own True Love and I were discussing aviation history over dinner, as happens more often than you might think. My recent blog post on the Hat in the Ring Squadron had led us to talking about Eddie Rickenbacker. As we pooled what we knew, we realized that there was more to his story…

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