Category: Note

On January 12, 1888, the “Schoolchildren’s Blizzard” killed 235 people, many of whom were children on their way home from school across the Northwest Plains region of the United States. The storm came with no warning, and some accounts say that the temperature fell nearly 100 degrees in just 24 hours. There were many instances of teachers keeping or rescuing children who would have been caught in the storm while walking home. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First …

January 11th is the birthday of Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804). It is also the natal day of the late Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sonsteby, who was born in 1918. He was the most decorated hero of the Norwegian resistance under the German occupation. He died May 10, 2012. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the …

January 10th, 1776 is the day that North Carolina Governor Josiah Martin issued a proclamation calling on the king’s loyal subjects to raise an armed force to combat the “rebels”. This ultimately led to Colonel Donald McLeod leading the men on an assault on the Patriots that ended with fifty of his men dead and 880 captured. The Patriots lost only two of their number. Also on this day in 1976 the song “Convoy” by C.W. McCall was the #1 song on the U.S. pop charts. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog …

On this day in 1776, writer Thomas Paine published his pamphlet “Common Sense,” setting forth his arguments in favor of American independence. Although little used today, pamphlets were an important medium for the spread of ideas in the 16th through 19th centuries.

On this day, in 1835, the U.S. National Debt reached zero for the first and only time. This is also the birthday of the late Algis Budrys (born 1931, died June 9, 2008). He was the Lithuanian-American science fiction author who wrote the classic survivalist novel Some Will Not Die.

This is the birthday of several notables: Senator Rand Paul (born 1963); Cresson Kearny (born 1914, died December 18, 2003); and Bent Faurschou-Hviid, known as The Flame (born 1921, died October 18, 1944). The Flame was a red-haired Danish resistance fighter in the Holger Danske Group during World War II. His exploits were dramatized in the movie Flame and Citron. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran …

Today is the birthday of musician Earl Scruggs, (1924-2012) and British comic actor Rowan Atkinson (born 1955). o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value), A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for …

Today is the birthday of actor Robert Duvall (born 1931.) His roles in Open Range and Apocalypse Now are unforgettable. January 5th is also the birthday of the late John Pugsley(born 1934, died April 8, 2011), libertarian and economics author. Pugsley was well known in preparedness circles as the author of The Alpha Strategy. (The book is out of print, but a PDF is available for free download.) It is also the birthday of General Courtney Hodges (born 1887 – January 16, 1966). Kicked out of West Point for low math scores, he enlisted as a private but soon became …

January 4th is the birthday of George Hyde, who was born “Heide” in 1888, in Arpfingen, Germany. He was the chief gun designer for the Inland Division of General Motors (GM) in Dayton, Ohio during World War II. Hyde was best-known as the co-designer of the M3 “Grease gun” SMG and the Liberator pistol, but he also designed the Bendix-Hyde Carbine and the M2 Hyde submachinegun. He immigrated to the United States in 1927. A gent at the Nitro Express Forumsmentioned some details on his life before World War II: Before 1935 Hyde was the shop foreman and metal man …

On this day, in 1521, Martin Luther– the father of the reformation and founder of Protestantism– was officially excommunicated by Pope Leo X from the Roman Catholic Church. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day …

January 2nd, 1776 is the anniversary of the first revolutionary flag to be displayed. Also on this date in 1936, the first night vision electron tube was revealed in St. Louis, Missouri.

John Cantius Garand (January 1, 1888 – February 16, 1974) was born in St. Rémi, Quebec. John Garand designed one of America’s best known battle rifles, the M1 Garand. General Patton praised Garand’s design, writing to Chief of Ordnance Lt. Gen. Levin H. Campbell, Jr., (January 26, 1945): “The M1 rifle is the most deadly rifle in the world.” o o o More bad news: Debbie Reynolds has passed away. She was an amazing dancer, singer, and stage performer.

December 31st is the birthday of Dr. Cynthia Koelker, SurvivalBlog’s Medical Editor. It is also the birthday of Frederick Selous (born 1851, died 4 January 1917). o o o Mountain House is hiking most prices on their 30-year freeze-dried foods January 1 (as much as 10%). Safecastle is offering MH Sale discounts of as much as 48% through Dec. 31 (midnight Eastern time). Prices may never be this low again, so don’t miss this opportunity. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this …

December 30, 1865 was the birthday of Rudyard Kipling. I should mention that his writings about Afghanistan have sparked a modern-day revival of interest in Kipling among British, Australian, and American officers and NCOs deployed to Afghanistan. o o o Today, we present another entry for Round 68 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $15,000 worth of prizes for this round include: First Prize: A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that …

One of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history was actually perpetuated by the Federal Government itself on December 29th, 1890, on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. While unconstitutionally disarming the people, the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment opened fire on men, women, and children, killing over 150 Indians, nearly half of which were women and children. Another 50 or so were wounded, some dying later from those wounds. The officers lost control of their men, and some were recorded as fanning out and finishing off the wounded. Wounded Knee stands as a prime example of why the Second Amendment …