Lost WWII Love Letter Returned
February 14, 2015 – A G.I.’s 1944 letter written on a European battlefield to his girlfriend in Kansas has been returned to the 90-year-old former soldier, now living in Colorado. Bill Moore served in General George Patton’s Third Army. Ilene Ortiz, also of Colorado, found the missive in an album cover she purchased at a thrift store and determined to find the […]
Thrift Store Sweater Worth $20,000
February 12, 2015 – A Tennessee couple paid 58 cents for a West Point sweater at Goodwill with the intention of reselling it at their vintage shop. Instead, Sean and Nikki McEvoy discovered they had made what a Dallas auction house calls “a once-in-a-lifetime find” – the coaching jacket once owned and worn by football […]
Footage of 1915 Chicago River Disaster Discovered
February 11, 2015 – Film clips of a tragedy on the Chicago River in 1915 have been discovered by a graduate student looking through World War I materials. A boat taking passengers to a company picnic capsized, killing 844 people. Jeff Nichols, studying for his doctorate at the University of Illinois, found the film mixed in with Dutch newsreels. No other footage of […]
Submarine Life
Additional Photos (click thumbnails to enlarge) [divider]
The Real Great Gatsby
February 10, 2015 – An Ohio lawyer from Cincinnati who turned bootlegger during the Prohibition Era is believed to be the inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald’s protagonist, the Great Gatsby. The novelist was said to be fascinated by the larger-than-life personality of George Remus, whom he met by chance in a Louisville hotel. Remus grew rich by making and […]
Rare “Shoeless Joe” Autographed Photo Worth $100,000
February 10, 2015 – Call it the Holy Grail of baseball signatures. A one-of-a-kind autographed photo of Shoeless Joe Jackson, remembered for throwing the 1919 World Series, is expected to bring at least $100,000 at auction. Experts believe there are fewer than 100 autographs of the disgraced player in existence and no other autographed photos. […]
Real Estate Deal of the Century
February 7, 2015 – New York City realtors are calling it one of the greatest returns on investment in the city’s history. A graffiti-covered building in the Bowery has been sold for $55 million by a photographer who bought it for just $102,000 in 1966 and turned into his home. Jay Maisel sold the six-story former bank building to […]
Life After Slavery
February 6, 2015 – Recorded interviews and portraits of former slaves have been put online by the Library of Congress. The research, originally published in 1941, was conducted under the auspices of the Federal Writers’ Project, a government program in the 1930s. Link: theGrio Additional Photos (click thumbnails to enlarge) [divider]
Mussolini Car Neglected in NY Barn Sells for $2.1 Million
February 5, 2015 – An historic 1939 Alfa Romeo once purchased by Benito Mussolini has been sold at a Paris auction for $2.1 million after a complete restoration. The fascist dictator bought the car for his girlfriend. The pair were captured trying to flee to Switzerland in the car in 1945. An American army officer bought the car […]
Laura Ingalls Wilder Autobiography a Hit
February 5, 2015 – A never-before-released autobiography of children’s author Laura Ingalls Wilder has become a surprise hit for a small South Dakota publisher. Pioneer Girl, written in 1930, is the first draft of her reminiscences before her story was “edited and romanticized,” according to the South Dakota Historical Society Press. The book is a candid picture […]