Thursday

May 1, 1997

The Daughter of the Farrier

by Anonymous

THURSDAY 5/1

Today's Reading:"The Daughter of the Farrier" by an anonymous author.

Today is May Day, celebrated since ancient times to mark the arrival of spring. In Elizabethan England, women rose before sunrise to wash their face in the dew, and people went into the fields and woods to gather flowers and tree boughs to leave at the homes of friends.

The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival begins today in Winchester, Virginia.

It's the anniversary of the 1941 New York premier of Orson Welles' film CITIZEN KANE, a film based loosely on the life of William Randolph Hearst.

It's the birthday today of novelist and short-story writer Bobbie Ann Mason (SHILOH AND OTHER STORIES; IN COUNTRY), born in Mayfield, Kentucky, in 1940.

Novelist and screenwriter Terry Southern, whose screenplays include the classic films DR. STRANGLOVE and EASY RIDER, was born on this day in Alvarado, Texas, in 1924.

It's the birthday of novelist Joseph Heller, whose book CATCH-22 was inspired by his World War II combat missions. He was born in Brooklyn in 1923.

Singer Kate Smith was born on this day in Greenville, Virginia, in 1909. She first sang "God Bless America," which was written for her by Irving Berlin, on her radio show in 1938.

It's the birthday of the French chemist who created rayon, Louis-Maire-Hilaire Bernigaud, Comte de Chardonnet, born in Besancon, in 1839.

Reformer and labor organizer Mother (Mary Harris) Jones was born in Cork, Ireland on this day in 1830. She dedicated her life to the labor movement after receiving help from the Knights of Labor Hall when she lost all her possessions in the great Chicago Fire of 1871.

It's the birthday of architect Benjamin Latrobe, who designed the Supreme Court Chamber and also worked on the US Capitol in Washington. He was born in Fulneck, England, in 1764.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®

 

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