Tag: American Essence

From B-17 to Avrocar

From B-17 to Avrocar, a journey between the flying fortress B-17 and the first (unsuccessful) attempt to build a flying saucer, an American secret project during the Cold War that never found the light. …


How Grief Spurred Teddy Roosevelt to Protect the Wilderness

In a matter of two months, Theodore Roosevelt Sr. was dead. Cancer had quickly devoured the father of one of America’s most famous presidents. The son, a 19-year-old eventual executive, was crushed by the loss of his father, a man who was a founder of the American Museum of Natural History and whom the son…


An Orphan Boy Unlocks What Baseball Can Teach Us About Hardships and Life

Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “If we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.” My dad, Andrew “Andy” Monteleone, whose favorite sport was America’s pastime, baseball, echoed Coach Lombardi’s words when he would say: “No one bats a thousand, but never stop trying.” My dad lived those words. And he inspired me—and many others—to…


Book Review: ‘The Old Lion: A Novel of Theodore Roosevelt’

In the mid-1990s, Mrs. Irene Harrison (1890–1999) several times stayed in the bed-and-breakfast my wife and I operated in Waynesville, North Carolina. Daughter of famed tire entrepreneur Frank Seiberling, this centenarian was a gracious lady with a distinctly conservative take on politics. Once when she and her son were discussing politics in the living room,…


Anna Mary Robertson Moses: America’s Grandma

Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860–1961) witnessed the evolution of America. She was born two months before Abraham Lincoln was elected and died nearly a full year into the Kennedy administration. She grew up on a farm and remained on a farm. It was the farm life that she was most known for, but predominantly for…


‘I Serve a Savior’: Josh Turner’s Album Featuring Popular Gospel Songs

Singer-songwriter Josh Turner became one of country music’s most well-known voices in the early 2000s with hits of “Your Man” and “Would You Go With Me.” After years of touring, Turner decided to take a break in 2018. Suddenly, he found himself with extra time on his hands. He used the grace period to accomplish…


The D-Day Tugboat That ‘Saved Our Bacon’ and Bloodied the Enemy

As the orange rays from Lake Ontario’s setting sun filter through the glass windows of the tugboat’s elevated steel pilothouse, one can almost see her crew. Their faces, slightly blurred by time, are still fixed in anxious rigidity. As they pass around the binoculars, each man leans forward slightly, in a vain attempt to magnify…


Hedy Lamarr: Hollywood Star and Inventor

After a day’s filming for a movie, Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000) would often slip unnoticed from her set trailer to get in a swim in her agent’s pool. There, she might be seen pausing after a lap contemplating her latest idea. Lamarr didn’t like the fame and attention she received from being a star actress during…


Arthur Compton’s Discoveries in This World and Beyond

Days before an important conference in 1923, Arthur Compton was sitting in his room late one night. He was exhausted, but his mind kept racing about what his discovery meant. He knew that his theory would be huge, bigger than anything he had discovered in the past. Then he prayed. Deeply religious his whole life,…


Bill Monroe and The Blue Grass Boys

The rolling hills of Kentucky are adorned with a soft blue hue each spring thanks to Poa, a type of luscious green grass that blooms bright, delicate flowers atop its blades. These flowers can be found across vast pastures and horse farms throughout the state. When musician Bill Monroe needed to come up with a…