Thursday

Jul. 1, 1999

The Amish

by John Updike

Broadcast Date: THURSDAY: July 1, 1999

Poem: "The Amish," by John Updike, from Telephone Poles and Other Poems (Alfred A. Knopf).

It's the birthday in Edinburgh, Scotland 1955 of CANDIA MCWILLIAM, best known for her 1988 novel, A Case of Knives.

It's the birthday in 1949, St. Paul, Minnesota of BARRY SILESKY, author of books that combine poetry and prose: like In the Ruins (1983), and One Thing That Can Save Us (1994).

It's the birthday of novelist and short-story writer JEAN STAFFORD, born in Covina, California, 1915. She became a star with her very first novel, Boston Adventure, that came out in 1944 when she was 29 years old, followed by The Mountain Lion, (1947) and her Collected Stories, which won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize.

It's the birthday in Annapolis, Maryland, 1892, of the novelist JAMES M. CAIN, author of The Postman Always Rings Twice. It came out in 1934—his first novel and a big bestseller.

July 1 marks the beginning of the BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, 1863, in south-central Pennsylvania, a three-day battle that turned the Civil War in favor of the Union.

It was on this day in 1858 that CHARLES DARWIN presented a paper to the Linnean Society in London, on his theory of the evolution of the species. The following year he came out with the first edition of his famous book, which had the title, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life; now it's simply called The Origin of Species.

It was on this day in 1840, in England, that POSTAGE STAMPS were first issued. Before that, the recipient had to pay to get a letter, and many letters were thus refused and had to be sent back. The new postage stamp meant the sender would pay-and they were a big hit. On July 1, 1847, the United States Post Office issued its first stamps, a five-cent stamp honoring Benjamin Franklin and a ten-cent stamp honoring George Washington.

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

 

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