Tag: American Essence

This Small Town Mississippi Bookstore Unites Not Just Bookworms, But the Whole Community

As a young child, Richard Howorth was often gifted books for Christmas from families and friends. However, his most memorable book was a giant golden volume that contained Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey.” Intended as a children’s copy, it was full of wondrous illustrations, and Howorth recalls being swept away by the stories within. His elder…


How a Circus Trip with Mom Brought Out Important Life Lessons for All

It is recorded that in 1793, George Washington went to the circus in Philadelphia, perhaps one of the first circuses in America. It was, by all accounts, mainly an equestrian show. It did have jugglers, clowns, and even a rope walker. Around 1825, American circuses began to use tents. As they added animals and equipment,…


The Salmon Sisters: Meet Alaska’s Sibling Duo Dedicated to Supplying America with Fresh Sustainable Seafood

There were more fish than people. Sisters Claire Neaton and Emma Teal Privat were raised on a remote Alaska island in a region where salmon outnumbered humans exponentially—10 billion salmon, a few hundred people. Privat and Neaton, whose family ran a commercial fishing operation, lived on a homestead near False Pass, in the Aleutian Islands….


James Beard Award-Winning Chef Chris Hastings on the Loving Family That’s Got His Back

Chris Hastings is comfortable in his own skin. Trim with short hair and glasses, he tucks his shirt in and speaks with the authority of someone on a mission—one of providing mouth-watering cuisine to his customers and fans. Hastings has been around the culinary block a few times. In 2012, he beat Food Network star-chef…


Chicago-Based Historic Brand Oxxford Clothes Still Hand-Sews Every Suit for a Tailored Masterpiece

After a career of working on Savile Row with Sir Hardy Amies to produce the Queen’s day-wear, then moving to Ontario with custom tailor Coppley, Warwick Jones thought he was ready to retire. While planning a paradisaical retirement of fly-fishing in New Zealand, he was called by the head of the Individualized Apparel Group (IAG,…


Traditional Calligraphy is Making a Comeback with This Master Penman’s Faith-Inspired Creations

Before putting pen to paper, Jake Weidmann listens to classical music to calm his heart and clear his mind. The slightest tension would stifle the flow of the pen’s dance. The smallest tremor would create a flaw in the fluid ink flourishes. Calligraphy in its highest form is a fine art, and Weidmann is one…


A Physician’s Daring Escape from the Khmer Rouge Inspires His Future Generations to Cherish Freedom

When I was younger, my father regaled me with stories of his childhood in Cambodia so vivid I felt I could touch or taste them—golden candy made of palm sugar, water buffaloes lumbering through rice paddies (and oh, the leeches that would grab onto your legs!), greens you’d pick at the edge of those same…


A Champion Wins Alaska’s Toughest Dog Sled Race By Communing with Nature and His Furry Companions

Attitude is everything for Brent Sass, winner of the 2022 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Always a challenging event, it was particularly harrowing this year. Sass said he went through what he describes as “mental warfare” to bring his team across the finish line first in 2022, triumphing despite being blown off-course by a mammoth…


World-Class Performer Steven Wang on Discovering the Power of Dance in America

It had been a few months since Steven Wang last spoke to his parents, located halfway across the world in China. He knew that every time he phoned, the Chinese authorities would be listening in via wiretapping, so he avoided calling too often. He started by asking simple questions, the way he always did. In…


A 17-Year-Old Entrepreneur’s Creative Board Game is Inspiring Kids to Put Down Their Phones and Explore the World

A spark of inspiration can strike at any time. Three years ago, it struck a girl in 8th grade returning home from a trip to Morocco. As her plane was landing in San Francisco, Ava Rathenberg overheard two boys playing on their tablet computers and realized that they had no idea where they were going….