Tribute to Philip Van Doren Stern

It's a Wonderful Life wouldn't be a film without Philip Van Doren Stern. 

Source: http://goo.gl/zRaxHg

It was he who wrote the short story "The Greatest Gift" that inspired the film. "The Greatest Gift" takes elements of "The Gift of the Magi," Tom Sawyer, and A Christmas Carol and wraps them all together.

Stern was best known as a historian, who wrote biographies about Edgar Allen Poe and Robert E. Lee. He also wrote history books about the Model T Ford, a book called The Life and Writings of Abraham Lincoln, as well as another book titled The Man Who Killed Lincoln.

I have an interesting story about The Man Who Killed Lincoln. It was published in 1939. As a former Civil War reenactor, a Civil War enthusiast, and someone who is enamored with Lincoln, I was excited to find a beat up used book called The Man Who Killed Lincoln at my favorite coffee shop/used book store in the town where I grew up and currently live.

I never paid attention to who wrote it. I got it, put it on my shelf, and proceeded to ignore it for many years. One day when I was going through my books, weeding out the stuff I have read or wasn't interested in reading, I grabbed that book and almost threw it on the "toss it out" pile. As I was tossing it, I caught the words "Van Doren" on the spine.

Source: Personal Collection

As a BIGGER enthusiast of IAWL than I was of the Civil War, I snatched the book back up, knowing that "Van Doren" was not very common. I was surprised to find out that not only it was the same name, but I had been oblivious of its existence in my collection for many years. A quick search on the internet confirmed that it was indeed the same author. The book quickly made its way to my permanent IAWL collection, where it remains.

I write of Stern today because it was on this day in 1984 that he died in Sarasota, Fla. The location of his burial is unknown.

He was born Sept. 10, 1900 in Wyalusing, PA. If he were alive today, he would be 114 years old.

Sources:

http://goo.gl/e2evhw

Find a Grave

Photo Friday - Bells Part 16

It's been a couple of crazy Photo Fridays. Last week, I dropped the bell theme in order to pay tribute to my Grandpa Van Vorhis, who died July 21.

This week, I return to the bells on Photo Friday, this time paying tribute to my other grandfather and his father. But it can't be that easy, or I wouldn't be me. My unintended motto seems to be "take something simple and make it insanely difficult." So in true form, I am posting this Photo Friday on Thursday. Because it naturally makes sense, of course.

The real reason is that I have special posts to run on both Friday and Saturday. So in the name of the Greater Good, here is Photo Friday, on Thursday....

This week's topic is my Great-Grandpa Lance's school bell. My Great-Grandfather, who was bit by a raccoon and died of rabies (that's the simple version of the story), was a teacher. Somewhere in a box, I have stored away some of his old teaching books, including a really cool, old copy of Evangeline. My Grandpa Lance received and displayed his teaching bell, and when he died, Grandma kept it on display. On Sunday, it was passed down to me, and I am pleased to receive it. Check it out, then read more below!

Here is my bell in black and white, which sits on top of an
really cool antique dresser that I will pick up this weekend.

So while I was at Grandpa Van Vorhis's visitation on Thursday, I finally learned which house my Grandpa Lance was born in. I always knew what street he was born on, but I never knew which house. It was a short street, and there were only like 12 houses to choose from. My mom always told me it was a brick house, so that cut the options down to two.

It turns out my mom was wrong....it wasn't a brick house. The Commodores would be disappointed. But it turns out that one of the brick houses that I originally thought he was born in was actually once the home of a Civil War drummer. I learned all sorts of things at my Grandpa Van Vorhis's visitation and funeral.

My Grandpa Lance was actually born in another (not brick) house on the opposite side and opposite end of the street. He was born in THIS house:

The house my Grandpa Lance was born in. Photo taken July 28, 2015.

Tune in on Thursday

Hi everyone!

I usually post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but this week is so full of special events related to this blog that I will instead post my Photo Friday on Thursday (!!!???!!!) and then publish my regular posts on Friday and Saturday.

Crazy, I know. But that's what I'm doing this week. I had better get to writing!

-Greg