What's Past is Prologue
@wpip.bsky.social
[Dave Woodbury] — Exploring history & historic sites (mainly American Civil War, & the West—Woodbury Historical Tours: whtours.org). Host of the Central Coast Conference, Monterey, CA (https://tinyurl.com/bdd6h6w2). Happily ensconced on the Left Coast.
Pinned
3rd Central Coast Conference
SELDOM HEARD HISTORY
of the CIVIL WAR ERA
Stanton Center, Monterey, CA
May 1-3, 2026
A full weekend of intriguing presentations by a stellar lineup of historians, exploring fresh perspectives on the American Civil War. For more information, visit: tinyurl.com/3k5t6tfx
SELDOM HEARD HISTORY
of the CIVIL WAR ERA
Stanton Center, Monterey, CA
May 1-3, 2026
A full weekend of intriguing presentations by a stellar lineup of historians, exploring fresh perspectives on the American Civil War. For more information, visit: tinyurl.com/3k5t6tfx
"A historic deal was announced on Wednesday: the Washoe Tribe, pushed off land it members had lived on for thousands of years during the Gold Rush by settlers, miners and loggers in the 1850s, reclaimed some of their ancestral territory near Lake Tahoe."
Watch: Aerial footage of “classic Western landscape” that city of Santa Clara sold to Lake Tahoe-area tribe for $6 million
The 10,274 acre Loyalton Ranch had been planned for geothermal development but will go instead to the Washoe Tribe
tinyurl.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:44 PM
"A historic deal was announced on Wednesday: the Washoe Tribe, pushed off land it members had lived on for thousands of years during the Gold Rush by settlers, miners and loggers in the 1850s, reclaimed some of their ancestral territory near Lake Tahoe."
Born OTD 217 years ago:
"By the time Abraham #Lincoln & Charles #Darwin were dead—the American murdered by a pro-slavery terrorist in 1865, the Englishman after a long illness in 1882—the shape of history had changed, & the lives they had led and the things they had said had done a lot to change it"
"By the time Abraham #Lincoln & Charles #Darwin were dead—the American murdered by a pro-slavery terrorist in 1865, the Englishman after a long illness in 1882—the shape of history had changed, & the lives they had led and the things they had said had done a lot to change it"
How Lincoln and Darwin Shaped the Modern World
Born on the same day, Lincoln and Darwin would forever influence how people think about the modern world
www.smithsonianmag.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:17 PM
when asked why she's concealing the identities of a ring of CHILD RAPISTS, #Bondi replied:
“The Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P [is] at almost 7,000 and the Nasdaq [is] smashing records. Americans’ 401k and retirement savings are booming right now . . .That’s what we should be talking about.”
“The Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P [is] at almost 7,000 and the Nasdaq [is] smashing records. Americans’ 401k and retirement savings are booming right now . . .That’s what we should be talking about.”
February 12, 2026 at 12:52 AM
when asked why she's concealing the identities of a ring of CHILD RAPISTS, #Bondi replied:
“The Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P [is] at almost 7,000 and the Nasdaq [is] smashing records. Americans’ 401k and retirement savings are booming right now . . .That’s what we should be talking about.”
“The Dow is over 50,000 right now. The S&P [is] at almost 7,000 and the Nasdaq [is] smashing records. Americans’ 401k and retirement savings are booming right now . . .That’s what we should be talking about.”
Famous Coconuts
In WWII, marooned Lt. John F. Kennedy & surviving crew were rescued after #Kennedy carved this message into a coconut shell. "NAURO ISL…COMMANDER…NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT…HE CAN PILOT…11 ALIVE…NEED SMALL BOAT…KENNEDY". Photo: paperweight used by President Kennedy in the Oval Office. #JFK
In WWII, marooned Lt. John F. Kennedy & surviving crew were rescued after #Kennedy carved this message into a coconut shell. "NAURO ISL…COMMANDER…NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT…HE CAN PILOT…11 ALIVE…NEED SMALL BOAT…KENNEDY". Photo: paperweight used by President Kennedy in the Oval Office. #JFK
February 11, 2026 at 8:00 PM
California Bear Flag
Designed by William Todd on a piece of new, unbleached cotton. Todd was reportedly the nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln. The original flag was in San Francisco in 1906, and was destroyed in the conflagration following the great earthquake. www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/toddfl...
Designed by William Todd on a piece of new, unbleached cotton. Todd was reportedly the nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln. The original flag was in San Francisco in 1906, and was destroyed in the conflagration following the great earthquake. www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/toddfl...
February 11, 2026 at 7:50 PM
California Bear Flag
Designed by William Todd on a piece of new, unbleached cotton. Todd was reportedly the nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln. The original flag was in San Francisco in 1906, and was destroyed in the conflagration following the great earthquake. www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/toddfl...
Designed by William Todd on a piece of new, unbleached cotton. Todd was reportedly the nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln. The original flag was in San Francisco in 1906, and was destroyed in the conflagration following the great earthquake. www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/toddfl...
historical consultant to the stars, Jorell Meléndez-Badillo — "Puerto Rico: A National History" (Princeton University Press, 2024). #BookSky 📚💙 tinyurl.com/bdz4ectv
February 9, 2026 at 5:53 PM
historical consultant to the stars, Jorell Meléndez-Badillo — "Puerto Rico: A National History" (Princeton University Press, 2024). #BookSky 📚💙 tinyurl.com/bdz4ectv
Notorious R.B.G.
Babe status.
(Ruth as a senior at Cornell in December, 1953)
notoriousrbg.tumblr.com
February 8, 2026 at 8:31 AM
Dreams
by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
—"Collected Works of Langston Hughes"; photo: Carl Van Vechten, 1932. Nat'l Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian
by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
—"Collected Works of Langston Hughes"; photo: Carl Van Vechten, 1932. Nat'l Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian
February 8, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Dreams
by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
—"Collected Works of Langston Hughes"; photo: Carl Van Vechten, 1932. Nat'l Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian
by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
—"Collected Works of Langston Hughes"; photo: Carl Van Vechten, 1932. Nat'l Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian
— The Underground Railroad —
"With its origins in the late 18th century, the #UndergroundRailroad (UGRR) was a network of African Americans and white allies who provided safe houses and different resources to enslaved persons who seek freedom from the South."
"With its origins in the late 18th century, the #UndergroundRailroad (UGRR) was a network of African Americans and white allies who provided safe houses and different resources to enslaved persons who seek freedom from the South."
The Underground Railroad - Google Arts & Culture
We are proud to continue telling the stories of brave individuals who risked their lives to dismantle the institution of slavery.
artsandculture.google.com
February 8, 2026 at 8:12 AM
— The Underground Railroad —
"With its origins in the late 18th century, the #UndergroundRailroad (UGRR) was a network of African Americans and white allies who provided safe houses and different resources to enslaved persons who seek freedom from the South."
"With its origins in the late 18th century, the #UndergroundRailroad (UGRR) was a network of African Americans and white allies who provided safe houses and different resources to enslaved persons who seek freedom from the South."
"There has long existed in America a conundrum of Blacks and the military, and it stretches back across two centuries." #BookSky 📚💙
Fighting Abroad and At Home: Remembering the Experiences of Black Vietnam Veterans
If you were a twelve-year-old kid, as I was in the summer of 1966, N. Fifth Street in Columbus, Ohio seemed a bucolic place. Every neighborhood kid seemed to have a bicycle. Trees shaded homes. Men…
lithub.com
February 8, 2026 at 5:50 AM
"There has long existed in America a conundrum of Blacks and the military, and it stretches back across two centuries." #BookSky 📚💙
—Colonel Allensworth State HP (CA)
"Like Du Bois, Allensworth believed that Black people would be well served by relocating to the relatively less cruel California. And like another leading figure, Booker T. Washington, Allensworth promoted vocational education, land ownership, & self-sufficiency"
"Like Du Bois, Allensworth believed that Black people would be well served by relocating to the relatively less cruel California. And like another leading figure, Booker T. Washington, Allensworth promoted vocational education, land ownership, & self-sufficiency"
Allensworth and Black Resilience on Juneteenth
This Central Valley town was founded in 1908 to offer Black people respite from the Jim Crow South, but it was stymied by racism and failed. Today, it’s a state park where broken dreams exist alongsid...
www.altaonline.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:45 AM
—Colonel Allensworth State HP (CA)
"Like Du Bois, Allensworth believed that Black people would be well served by relocating to the relatively less cruel California. And like another leading figure, Booker T. Washington, Allensworth promoted vocational education, land ownership, & self-sufficiency"
"Like Du Bois, Allensworth believed that Black people would be well served by relocating to the relatively less cruel California. And like another leading figure, Booker T. Washington, Allensworth promoted vocational education, land ownership, & self-sufficiency"
There is nothing a frothy-mouthed racist hates more than being called a racist. What is WRONG with these people?
ICE acts just like the fascist Gestapo and the Trump regime acts just like the racist Ku Klux Klan, but PLEASE don't be rude enough to notice or mention the similarities. It hurts their delicate, white supremacist feelings.
mississippitoday.org/2026/02/05/m...
mississippitoday.org/2026/02/05/m...
Medgar Evers’ killer was a Klansman, but Trump administration says stop calling him a racist - Mississippi Today
Among anticipated changes to a new visitor brochure for the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument is no longer using "racist" to describe the killer of the civil rights leader.
mississippitoday.org
February 5, 2026 at 7:42 PM
There is nothing a frothy-mouthed racist hates more than being called a racist. What is WRONG with these people?
What was it King Solomon is reputed to have said? "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."
American Infamy #2, 2006, by Roger Shimomura. Boise Art Museum. Minidoka War Relocation Center, Idaho. www.arts.gov/.../2016/spo...
American Infamy #2, 2006, by Roger Shimomura. Boise Art Museum. Minidoka War Relocation Center, Idaho. www.arts.gov/.../2016/spo...
February 5, 2026 at 7:20 PM
What was it King Solomon is reputed to have said? "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."
American Infamy #2, 2006, by Roger Shimomura. Boise Art Museum. Minidoka War Relocation Center, Idaho. www.arts.gov/.../2016/spo...
American Infamy #2, 2006, by Roger Shimomura. Boise Art Museum. Minidoka War Relocation Center, Idaho. www.arts.gov/.../2016/spo...
Artist Roger Shimomura, like “Star Trek” actor George Takei (painted here for a show at Greg Kucera Gallery), was forced to live in an internment camp with his family during World War II
[Seattle Times article: tinyurl.com/mrxx9mts]@ge... @georgetakei.bsky.social
[Seattle Times article: tinyurl.com/mrxx9mts]@ge... @georgetakei.bsky.social
February 5, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Artist Roger Shimomura, like “Star Trek” actor George Takei (painted here for a show at Greg Kucera Gallery), was forced to live in an internment camp with his family during World War II
[Seattle Times article: tinyurl.com/mrxx9mts]@ge... @georgetakei.bsky.social
[Seattle Times article: tinyurl.com/mrxx9mts]@ge... @georgetakei.bsky.social
Unabomber's Cabin, Exhibit 'A'
by Richard Barnes, 1998
Gift of Evanne and Edward Gargiulo in honor of Richard E. Salomon, MoMA tinyurl.com/pf3szcb2
by Richard Barnes, 1998
Gift of Evanne and Edward Gargiulo in honor of Richard E. Salomon, MoMA tinyurl.com/pf3szcb2
February 5, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Unabomber's Cabin, Exhibit 'A'
by Richard Barnes, 1998
Gift of Evanne and Edward Gargiulo in honor of Richard E. Salomon, MoMA tinyurl.com/pf3szcb2
by Richard Barnes, 1998
Gift of Evanne and Edward Gargiulo in honor of Richard E. Salomon, MoMA tinyurl.com/pf3szcb2
Minor White
Two Barns and Shadow
1955
Two Barns and Shadow
1955
Minor White. Two Barns and Shadow. 1955 | MoMA
Minor White. Two Barns and Shadow. 1955. Gelatin silver print. 7 1/4 × 9 5/8" (18.5 × 24.4 cm). Gift of Robert M. Doty. 163.1969. © Trustees of Princeton University. Photography
www.moma.org
February 5, 2026 at 8:27 AM
Minor White
Two Barns and Shadow
1955
Two Barns and Shadow
1955
Hot Coffee, Mojave Desert
by Edward Weston, 1937
Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. MoMA
by Edward Weston, 1937
Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. MoMA
February 5, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Hot Coffee, Mojave Desert
by Edward Weston, 1937
Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. MoMA
by Edward Weston, 1937
Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. MoMA
Connubial
By Stephen Dunn
Because with alarming accuracy
she’d been identifying patterns
I was unaware of—this tic, that
tendency, like the way I’ve mastered
the language of intimacy
in order to conceal how I felt—
I knew I was in danger
of being terribly understood.
Source: Poetry Feb 2009
By Stephen Dunn
Because with alarming accuracy
she’d been identifying patterns
I was unaware of—this tic, that
tendency, like the way I’ve mastered
the language of intimacy
in order to conceal how I felt—
I knew I was in danger
of being terribly understood.
Source: Poetry Feb 2009
February 4, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Connubial
By Stephen Dunn
Because with alarming accuracy
she’d been identifying patterns
I was unaware of—this tic, that
tendency, like the way I’ve mastered
the language of intimacy
in order to conceal how I felt—
I knew I was in danger
of being terribly understood.
Source: Poetry Feb 2009
By Stephen Dunn
Because with alarming accuracy
she’d been identifying patterns
I was unaware of—this tic, that
tendency, like the way I’ve mastered
the language of intimacy
in order to conceal how I felt—
I knew I was in danger
of being terribly understood.
Source: Poetry Feb 2009
Chiura Obata, Tadeo Takamizawa, Morning At Mono Lake, 1930, color woodcut on paper, image: 11 x 15 3/4 in. (27.9 x 39.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Obata Family, 2000.76.2, © 1989, Lillian Yuri Kodani
February 4, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Chiura Obata, Tadeo Takamizawa, Morning At Mono Lake, 1930, color woodcut on paper, image: 11 x 15 3/4 in. (27.9 x 39.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Obata Family, 2000.76.2, © 1989, Lillian Yuri Kodani
Chiura Obata, Life and Death, Porcupine Flat, 1930, color woodcut on paper, image: 15 1/2 x 10 7/8 in. (39.4 x 27.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Obata Family, 2000.76.3, © 1989, Lillian Yuri Kodani
February 4, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Chiura Obata, Life and Death, Porcupine Flat, 1930, color woodcut on paper, image: 15 1/2 x 10 7/8 in. (39.4 x 27.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Obata Family, 2000.76.3, © 1989, Lillian Yuri Kodani
The name of Stephen Bishop (1821-1857) is well known to modern cavers and forever linked to the story of Mammoth Cave. Many consider him to be one of the greatest cave explorers who ever lived. www.nps.gov/people/steph... • tinyurl.com/yvfaazhn #BlackHistoryMonth
February 3, 2026 at 11:31 PM
The name of Stephen Bishop (1821-1857) is well known to modern cavers and forever linked to the story of Mammoth Cave. Many consider him to be one of the greatest cave explorers who ever lived. www.nps.gov/people/steph... • tinyurl.com/yvfaazhn #BlackHistoryMonth
Jim Beckwourth
In 1850, Beckwourth learned from local Indigenous people about a low-elevation gap in the eastern Sierra north of Reno. In 1851, he improved the ancient trail through this gap, now called Beckwourth Pass, by widening the trail for horses and eventually wagons. #BlackHistoryMonth
In 1850, Beckwourth learned from local Indigenous people about a low-elevation gap in the eastern Sierra north of Reno. In 1851, he improved the ancient trail through this gap, now called Beckwourth Pass, by widening the trail for horses and eventually wagons. #BlackHistoryMonth
Efforts to protect Plumas National Forest offer reminder of African-American explorer • CALWILD
James Pierson Beckwourth defied the constraints of his time while overcoming adversity in his quest to pave a new path between the forbidding rugged wall of the eastern Sierra, and the headwaters of t...
www.calwild.org
February 3, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Jim Beckwourth
In 1850, Beckwourth learned from local Indigenous people about a low-elevation gap in the eastern Sierra north of Reno. In 1851, he improved the ancient trail through this gap, now called Beckwourth Pass, by widening the trail for horses and eventually wagons. #BlackHistoryMonth
In 1850, Beckwourth learned from local Indigenous people about a low-elevation gap in the eastern Sierra north of Reno. In 1851, he improved the ancient trail through this gap, now called Beckwourth Pass, by widening the trail for horses and eventually wagons. #BlackHistoryMonth
67 years ago: Winter Dance Party Tour. Feb. 2, 1959 — Buddy Holly at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa (photo by Mary Gerber). Holly, Ritchie Valens, & "The Big Bopper," J. P. Richardson, died in a plane crash shortly after takeoff from the Mason City, Iowa airport, around 1:00am on Feb. 3.
February 2, 2026 at 8:19 PM
67 years ago: Winter Dance Party Tour. Feb. 2, 1959 — Buddy Holly at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa (photo by Mary Gerber). Holly, Ritchie Valens, & "The Big Bopper," J. P. Richardson, died in a plane crash shortly after takeoff from the Mason City, Iowa airport, around 1:00am on Feb. 3.
"what one begs the American people to do, for all our sakes, is simply to accept our history." —from James Baldwin speech on the American Dream at Cambridge University in 1965.
James Baldwin's Speech on the American Dream
YouTube video by Green Knight Productions Gawain Films
youtu.be
February 2, 2026 at 7:23 PM
"what one begs the American people to do, for all our sakes, is simply to accept our history." —from James Baldwin speech on the American Dream at Cambridge University in 1965.