By Mickey Dunaway Reprinted with permission from Limitless Magazine Cornelius, NC 28031

I am going to have the pleasure in future issues of Limitless Magazine to explore each MONTH in History. 

We will start with a little U.S. History Lesson for the month of January. I divided the month up into three parts and listed the events by the day of the month.  I certainly could have chosen other events, but these spoke to me for one reason or another. The comments in italics following the event are my own editorializing.

1-1-1735          Paul Revere was born in Boston. Revere made a living as a silversmith and revolutionary.

1-1-1864         President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, granting freedom to slaves held in the “rebellious states.” Perhaps now is a good and proper time to recommit to Lincoln’s view of an all-inclusive Union.

1-8-1814         Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. And the world of music has never been the same.

1-10-1933       The Holocaust began. Say a prayer for all the victims, survivors, and their families on this day.

1-11-1973        Designated-hitter rule adopted by Baseball’s American League. I wonder. Isn’t it about time to return to the purity of the game?

1-13-1969       Beatles’ Yellow Submarine album released in U.S. Aahh…The Beatles. Now that was ROCK AND ROLL!

1-15-1929       Martin Luther King, Jr. was born. Visit his memorial in Atlanta sometime. It is a short drive.

1-20-1986      Martin Luther King Day was first observed. Try to make it more than a holiday.

1-21-1977       President Carter pardoned Vietnam draft evaders. Seems like a good example of how we should deal with all the undocumented aliens in the country today.  I honestly, this conservative cannot come up with another way?

1-23-1968      USS Pueblo seized by North Koreans. And 53 years later, the regime remains as enigmatic and daft as ever.

1-26-1942      First American forces in Europe during WWII went ashore in Northern Ireland. Now, there is a factoid I did not know!

1-27-1880      Thomas Edison received a patent for the electric incandescent lamp, 1880. I think I still like the warmth of his bulb over the LED.

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January was a popular month for states to enter the Union.

Jan. 2, 1788               Georgia

Jan. 4, 1896               Utah

Jan. 6, 1912               New Mexico

Jan. 9, 1788               Connecticut

Jan. 26, 1837             Michigan

January 29, 1861      Kansas

The January-birthed states above should remind us just how wonderful and varied is this thing we call a Union. January is an excellent month to throw away all notions and ideas and philosophies that one group of our citizens is somehow more capable or worthy than another. Such beliefs did not make us great, and they certainly are not seeds that will grow greatness in our future.

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I have often thought of how interesting it is that, as adults, almost everything we talk about at the supper table relates to social studies and history and how poorly I learned its lessons back when.

You may call the evening meal supper, as we do in the South, or dinner, as the rest of the country refers to it. Regardless, I trust that this pandemic—and its commensurate quarantine—has convinced us all of the immense value contained in the simple act of breaking bread together at whatever we call the evening meal.

Until next month, I leave you with a quote to ponder: Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy January 29, 1961