Category: Rhode Island Heritage Series

Pat Conley Each nation’s meteoric rise Implies the certain dread demise Of the very one that fickle Fate Had chosen first to elevate. Proud Egypt, Babylonia Assyria then Greece Enjoyed a transitory reign Ere their domination ceased. Resplendent Rome attained the crest Controlling all by force of sword Till corrupted from within It bowed before

In 1954, John Foster Dulles, President Eisenhower’s first secretary of state, named Dr. Henry Wriston as chairman of a public committee on personnel to reorganize the State Department and its Foreign Service. At the time, many State Department officials whose duties concerned foreign policy were under the civil service system. They were not required to

By Mike Levesque Ellison (Tarzan) Myers Brown got off to a fast start in the 1936 Boston Marathon until John Kelley caught him on a hill at the 20-mile mark. Kelley overtook him at the last of the Newton hills, a gradually rising slope near Boston College. Passing Brown, Kelly patted him on the back.

By Larry Reid The origins of Mother’s Day as celebrated in the United States date back to the 19th century. Before the Civil War, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children. Another precursor to Mother’s Day came from the abolitionist and suffragette Julia

Dr. D. Scott Molloy If George M. Cohan had been more truthful in Yankee Doodle Dandy, he would have reported his birth date as July 3, and not the “born on the Fourth of July” claim reported in his song.  Admittedly, his truthfulness would have reduced its punch. A birth certificate from St. Joseph’s Roman

By Russell DeSimone Though it is the most famous race in the United States, not all great horses run in the Kentucky Derby. Seabiscuit only displayed his greatness at an older age. In fact, Seabiscuit lost his first 17 races, was considered lazy, and was bought for $8,000 in 1936. Everything turned around after he

By Ken Dooley Her Irish friends would agree that Isabelle Ahearn O’Neill, a stage and screen actor of the silent film era, a suffragist, and the first woman elected to the Rhode Island Legislature, died most appropriately on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1975. The resolution passed by the Rhode Island House of Representatives recognizing

John F. “Jack” McGee, an aviation pioneer and one of Pawtucket’s most famous sons, was born in 1885 in Central Falls but spent most of his life in Pawtucket. He attended public school in Pawtucket and worked in many odd jobs as a youth. A machine shop job led to a chauffeur’s position with a wealthy

By Russell DeSimone It would not be easy to list the highlights of Doris Brennan Weir’s athletic career without omitting some accomplishment, title, or record. She was simply among the finest female swimmers in the world. It would have been perfect if this brilliant young lady could have completed her competitive career by performing in