On This Day
1835 – Texas Revolution: Mexican troops attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, but encounter stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia.[9]
The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. It was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835, between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army soldiers.
In 1831, Mexican authorities lent the settlers of Gonzales a small cannon to help protect them from frequent Comanche raids. Over the next four years, the political situation in Mexico deteriorated, and in 1835 several states revolted. As the unrest spread, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, the commander of all Mexican troops in Texas, felt it unwise to leave the residents of Gonzales with a weapon and requested the return of the cannon.
When the initial request was refused, Ugartechea sent 100 dragoons to retrieve the cannon. The soldiers neared Gonzales on September 29, but the colonists used a variety of excuses to keep them from the town, while secretly sending messengers to request assistance from nearby communities. Within two days, up to 140 Texians gathered in Gonzales, all determined not to give up the cannon. On October 1, settlers voted to initiate a fight. Mexican soldiers opened fire as Texians approached their camp in the early hours of October 2. After several hours of desultory firing, the Mexican soldiers withdrew.[1]
Although the skirmish had little military significance, it marked a clear break between the colonists and the Mexican government and is considered to have been the start of the Texas Revolution. News of the skirmish spread throughout the United States, where it was often referred to as the “Lexington of Texas”. The cannon’s fate is disputed. It may have been buried and rediscovered in 1936, or it may have been seized by Mexican troops after the Battle of the Alamo.
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1789 – George Washington proclaims a Thanksgiving Day for that year.
Thanksgiving is a federal holiday in the United States, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.[2] It is sometimes called American Thanksgiving (outside the United States) to distinguish it from the Canadian holiday of the same name. It originated as a harvest festival[citation needed], and the centerpiece of Thanksgiving celebrations remains Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner traditionally consists of foods and dishes indigenous to the Americas, namely turkey, potatoes (usually mashed), stuffing, squash, corn (maize), green beans, cranberries (typically in sauce form), and pumpkin pie. Other Thanksgiving customs include charitable organizations offering Thanksgiving dinner for the poor, attending religious services, watching parades, and viewing football games.[1] In American culture Thanksgiving is regarded as the beginning of the fall–winter holiday season, which includes Christmas and the New Year.
The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating “thanksgivings,” days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as a military victory or the end of a drought.[3] The event that Americans commonly call the “First Thanksgiving” was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621.[4] This feast lasted three days, and—as recounted by attendee Edward Winslow—[5] was attended by 90 Wampanoag and 53 Pilgrims.[6]
Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789, with a proclamation by President George Washington after a request by Congress.[7] President Thomas Jefferson chose not to observe the holiday, and its celebration was intermittent until President Abraham Lincoln, in 1863, proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”, to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November.[8][9] On June 28, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law the Holidays Act that made Thanksgiving a yearly appointed federal holiday in Washington D.C.[10][11][12] On January 6, 1885, an act by Congress made Thanksgiving, and other federal holidays, a paid holiday for all federal workers throughout the United States.[13] Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the date was moved to one week earlier, observed between 1939 and 1941 amid significant controversy. From 1942 onwards, Thanksgiving, by an act of Congress, signed into law by FDR, received a permanent observation date, the fourth Thursday in November, no longer at the discretion of the President.[14][15]
Born On This Day
1895 – Ruth Cheney Streeter, American colonel (d. 1990)[57]
Ruth Cheney Streeter (October 2, 1895 – September 30, 1990) was an American military officer who was the first director of the United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve (USMCWR). In 1943, she became the first woman to attain the rank of major in the United States Marine Corps when she was commissioned as a major on January 29, 1943.[1] She retired in 1945 as a lieutenant colonel.
1906 – Natalie Savage Carlson, American author (d. 1997)
Natalie Savage Carlson (October 3, 1906 – September 23, 1997) was a 20th-century American writer of children’s books.[1] For her lifetime contribution as a children’s writer, she was United States nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1966.[2]
She was born in Kernstown, Virginia of French Canadian descent, and worked many old family stories and folktales into early books like The Talking Cat and Other Stories of French Canada (1952).[3] Carlson published her first story at age eight on the children’s page of the Baltimore Sunday Sun.[4] For The Family Under the Bridge, she was a runner-up for the 1959 Newbery Medal from the professional librarians, which annually recognizes the “most distinguished contribution to American literature for children”.[5]
Carlson died on September 23, 1997 in Rhode Island.
Works
The Talking Cat: and other stories of French Canada, illustrator Roger Duvoisin, Harper, 1952
The Happy Orpheline, illustrator Garth Williams, Harper, 1957
The Family Under the Bridge, Harper, 1958; reprint HarperCollins, 1989, ISBN 978-0-06-440250-7
A Brother for the Orphelines, illustrator Garth Williams, Harper, 1959
Evangeline, Pigeon of Paris, illustrator Nicholas Mordvinoff, Harcort Brace Jovanovich, 1960;
reissued as Pigeon of Paris, illustrator Quentin Blake, Scholastic, 1972
The Tomahawk Family, illustrator Stephen Cook, Harper, 1960 ISBN 0060210966
A Pet for the Orphelines, illustrator Fermin Rocker, Harper, 1962
Jean-Claude’s Island, illustrator Nancy Ekholm Burkert, Harper & Row, 1963.
School Bell in the Valley, Harcourt, 1963, ISBN 978-0-15-270645-6
The Orphelines in the Enchanted Castle, illustrator Adriana Saviozzi, Harper, 1964
The Empty Schoolhouse, HarperCollins, 1965, ISBN 978-0-06-020981-0
Chalou, Harper & Row, 1967, pictures George Loh, AC 67-10034
Ann Aurelia and Dorothy, illustrator Dale Payson, Harper & Row, 1968
The Half Sisters, illustrator Thomas Di Grazia, Harper & Row, 1970
Luvvy and the Girls, illustrator Thomas Di Grazia, Harper & Row, 1971
Marie Louise’s Heyday, illustrators Jose Aruego, Ariane Dewey, Scribner, 1975, ISBN 0-684-14360-7
Runaway Marie Louise, illustrators Jose Aruego, Ariane Dewey, Scribner, 1977, ISBN 978-0-684-15045-1
The Night the Scarecrow Walked, illustrators Charles Robinson, 1979, ISBN 0-684-16311-X
FYI
Brain Pickings by Maria Popova: Love, death and Whitman. George Saunders on the two keys to storytelling. Alan Turing, the world’s first digital music, and the poetry of the possible
By Ivana Rihter, Narratively: How Ted Bundy’s Killing Spree Launched a Legion of Feminist Karate Masters When a serial killer terrorized 1970s Seattle, these women banded together to defend themselves. Now they’re teaching a new generation to take control.
By Keith Phipps, GQ: The Legacy of Daniel Craig’s James Bond Fifteen years and five films later, Daniel Craig’s run ends with No Time to Die. How does his tenure stack up?
Recipes
By Pontchartrain Kitchen: Frozen Irish Coffee
By Jeromina: Rotten Teeth Chocolate Strawberries
By In The Kitchen With Matt: Chocolate Banana Bread
By Momos75: Spicy Pumpkin Cheesecake
By The Darling Apron: Graham Cracker Fluff
RecipeTinEats
- Popcorn chicken January 10, 2025This is a KFC popcorn chicken copycat recipe. It’s downright addictive – I challenge you to stop at just one! Surprisingly quick, they take just 2 minutes to cook, and just shallow fried at that. Popcorn chicken Many people have tried this popcorn chicken now, including an entire crew of builders at my home which... […]Nagi
- Honey mustard dipping sauce January 10, 2025This is a lovely dipping sauce that’s creamy, a bit tangy, a bit sweet and takes barely a minute to make. Particularly great with crunchy crumbed chicken tenders, popcorn chicken, nuggets and fish fingers, though I also use it for veggie sticks and spoon it over simple pan-fried chicken or fish. One of my most... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for January 11 January 11, 2025Picture of the day Sninský kameň, Vihorlatské vrchy in the winter, frost on trees
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for January 10 January 10, 2025Picture of the day Kapelle St. Martin-Caplutta Sogn Martin. Breil-Brigels. Wooden main door of the chapel. (Detail).
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Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
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