Some of the stories you learned in a Virginia classroom were told like they’d never change. But historians have kept digging since, and several of those lessons look pretty different now. Here’s what you may have been taught, and what the evidence shows today. 1. Pocahontas and Smith Many history lessons tell you that Pocahontas…
Glance at a map, and the Upper Peninsula looks like it should belong to Wisconsin. Yet it’s Michigan’s, and that took some serious back-and-forth in the 1830s. Here’s the story behind one of the Midwest’s oddest-looking borders. The Line From 1787 Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance on July 13, 1787. It said the Northwest Territory…
Some towns have grown so much that Hoosiers who’ve been away barely recognize them. These are some of the Indiana towns that look nothing like they did in 1995. 1. Whitestown In 2008, an Amazon distribution warehouse went up in Whitestown, at the intersection of I-65 and State Road 267. The warehouse created 2,000 full-time…
Ask your grandparents about life in the 1950s, and you’ll hear things that sound unthinkable now. Georgia and federal law have since drawn lines around some of them. Here’s what was once routine, and how the law handles it today. Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Laws and penalties are subject to change….
Wyomingites have bragging rights that go back well over a century, and a few that are much newer. These are the firsts that put the state ahead of the rest of the U.S. Note: This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Business laws and state programs are subject to change. 1. Voting Rights…
Phones, cars and fashion look nothing like they did decades ago. A few things in Alabama have stayed put through all of it, though, and locals may pass them every day without a second thought. Here’s what’s held steady in Alabama through all those years. 1. Talladega’s Two Race Weekends Talladega Superspeedway has hosted two…
Some store names feel like part of the family. Ohioans who shopped in the 1980s may still picture their trips downtown and to the mall, and the names they came to know. Here’s a look back at the ones that didn’t make it. 1. Higbee’s If you shopped at Higbee’s in 1986, your store was…
Think back to a Minnesota fall when you were a kid. The air turned crisp, and your family had plans you never had to discuss. Some of those plans no longer exist. Here’s a look back at the autumn rituals that faded for good. 1. ZooBoo at Como Zoo ZooBoo was the fall tradition at…
A grandparent’s nightstand can look nothing like it did a generation earlier. Many Indiana grandparents now wind down with gear their own parents never had. Here’s what has changed after dark. Note: This is general information, not medical advice. Sleep needs and treatments vary by person, so talk to a doctor about a diagnosed sleep…
A Florida childhood in the 1960s came with a set of hazards that parents today would never sign off on. None of it felt unusual at the time. It was just what growing up looked like before a few decades of safety lessons caught up with the state. These are the things Florida kids did…
