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DEDICATION, DEVOTION, WRITING A BLANK SCREEN ALIVE

April 4, 2024 by Leave a Comment

BoomerPdx spam is very encouraging with kudos for dedication, devotion, and persistence. Persistence, not pestilence. For the most part I work to promote persistence in whatever field you find yourself in. You didn’t get there by accident. It may have started from an accident, or happenstance, but once you settle in, keep going.

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LIVING HISTORY? IT WORKS FOR ME

March 28, 2024 by

Living history is what you see when people put on costumes and churn butter. At least that’s what comes to mind for most people. It’s a farm, a museum, a town. History is one thing; living it another. Which one is right for you? I have the right answer:

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HISTORY WORK NEVER ENDS FOR THE CURIOUS

December 8, 2023 by

Doing history work where you live is the only way to get to your happy place. Or at least you’ll know where you are. The Oregon Historical Society’s downtown Portland history museum is just the place. But first ask yourself, “Am I curious?” If you read boomerpdx regularly, you pass the curious test. Take this […]

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HISTORY PEOPLE IN OUR MIDST

September 21, 2022 by

History people carry a little extra with them. That’s the off-putting part because too many of them add their own extras. Does history need extra, or is ‘what happened’ good enough? I’m in the ‘good enough’ camp, and here’s why:

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READING HISTORY BOOKS YIELDS MORE THAN BARGAINED FOR

February 3, 2022 by

Reading history books is about more than validating the opinion you already have. George Washington, first president and father of our country, chopped a cherry tree down and confessed because he would never lie? Honest Abe Lincoln never told a lie? No one questioned their honesty? Reading history books could answer those sort of questions, […]

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FOR TEACHING HISTORY, FIRST LEARN HISTORY

December 29, 2021 by

My first awareness about teaching history came during a senior seminar class on the origins of WWI. I was a night school student finishing off history degree requirements; a ‘take classes at noon’ student, a ‘whatever class fits the right time slot’ student. It was the usual schedule for irresponsible college dropouts who get married, […]

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ASTORIA OREGON, THE FIRST RIVER CITY OF THE WEST

June 15, 2021 by

You won’t need a boarding pass for Astoria, Oregon. Crossing the Columbia River from the Washington side doesn’t require a ferry, either. However you will need a Boarding Pass for the Columbia River Maritime Museum. More than a nice place for a regional story, CRMM tells a big history in a big way. Astoria and […]

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HISTORY MATTERS WHEN YOU’RE NOT LOOKING

June 2, 2021 by

History matters more to history majors? We like to think so, but history matters to everyone else, too. It matters with personal history, house history, town history, business history, and the big history between nations. The key to remember is that it always starts small. And it starts with one question: What happened?

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HISTORICAL ADVICE: THIS IS WORTH SOMETHING, ISN’T IT

March 3, 2021 by

Historical advice usually comes from a book, or a class where some gray bearded funky old man in a musty suit jacket rambles on and on in a cloud of dandruff. Doing history is different than studying history. History museums Do History for everyone else. Museum visitors walk from exhibit to exhibit, floor to floor, […]

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SORTING HISTORY: WHAT MATTERS vs WHAT MATTERS MORE

September 19, 2020 by

Sorting history is the difference between hoarders and historians. If there were no difference, every garage full of crap would be a museum. And I say garage full of crap with all due respect, since I’ve got one piling up. In the end, that stuff tells a part of our story. But it doesn’t have […]

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