NPS expands network of sites that explore the post-Civil War era
The Reconstruction Era, dating between 1861 and 1900, 'is one of the most fascinating and misunderstood periods in American History and includes stories of freedom, education and self-determination,' the service said in a news release.
'We are very excited to work with these sites which are being added to the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network,' Park Superintendent Laura Waller said in a statement. 'They represent a wide variety of the types of institutions engaged in preserving the story of Reconstruction around the country.'
Advertisement
The places being added to the park service's Reconstruction Era National Historic Network include Tolson's Chapel, an African American church and cemetery in Maryland that was used as a school between 1866 and 1899.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
27 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Putin's failed experiment to lure anti-woke Americans to Russia
'He feels like he's been thrown to the wolves right now,' DeAnna Huffman told her YouTube followers two months ago. Her husband is serving in a foreigners unit with Russian officers. 'He's not getting any training,' DeAnna Huffman said, because her husband doesn't speak Russian. Advertisement 'He's needing money,' she said, adding that he had to give the unit 10,000 rubles ($125) for supplies. The Huffmans have been living in what Russian media Advertisement Another American, Chantelle Hare, explained why her family moved to Russia from Texas in The trickle of American emigres calls to mind the larger migration during the 1930s, when hundreds of Americans traveled to the then-young Soviet Union, either to find work or to escape virulent racism in the United States. While there is no reliable, comprehensive account of how those emigrants fared in the self-styed 'workers' paradise,' Many Americans found work in the USSR's explosive factory boom of the early Advertisement Still others, disenchanted, tried to return to the United States, with mixed results. When I posted a query on a Facebook site for former Moscow diplomats earlier this week, a retired consular officer answered: 'I was in Moscow 1992-94 and saw a half-dozen of these American citizens come into the consular section to reclaim their citizenship. They were an interesting group. One older gentleman I remember had been living in a town in the Urals and still had a Chicago accent, although he struggled with getting English words out.' The Depression-era US-to-USSR emigres inspired few imitators. It seems hard to believe that history won't repeat itself with the Huffmans, the Hares, and their disaffected compatriots. The Russians have a saying, 'Khorosho tam, gde as nye,' meaning: 'Things are great, where we are not.' The grass is always greener, until you are standing on the lawn in question. Alex Beam's column appears regularly in the Globe. Follow him
San Francisco Chronicle
9 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
A Grand Canyon mascot is recovered from the rubble. Can Brighty the Burro be restored?
Missing an ear and his front legs detached, Brighty the Burro certainly has seen better days. The 600-pound (273-kilogram) bronze statue used to greet visitors at the Grand Canyon Lodge on the national park's North Rim. The nearly century-old building was reduce to rubble this summer when a wildfire swept through the area. Brighty was found charred, his head and body mostly intact. As firefighters continued their work Friday to corral the stubborn flames, Brighty hit the road — strapped into the back of a pickup truck for a roughly five-hour journey that would take him from his home on the North Rim to the South Rim. The plan calls for temporarily housing him in the Grand Canyon National Park's museum collection so he can be assessed. It will be up to park officials and conservation experts to determine if the burro can be carefully restored or if a new statue will have to be created. There's no timeline for the effort, but fans on social media already are weighing in with support for returning the burro to his former glory. They talk about taking family pictures with the sculpture in the background and reading the children's book that's loosely based on the original burro's adventures traversing the canyon. 'It's a very special symbolic piece of history for a lot of people,' park spokesperson Joëlle Baird told The Associated Press. An enduring symbol of life along the rugged canyon, the hefty statue represents a free-spirited burro who lived more than a century ago. Brighty was known to migrate up and down the canyon as the seasons changed. He'd help haul water to a summer camp on the North Rim in exchange for pancakes and would give children rides. One of the first chores for the team will be testing for any toxic materials on the sculpture, Baird said. Then, depending on the damage assessment, the park could end up working with a foundry to make the burro whole again. Brighty is a small but important part of what will be a yearslong effort for the National Park Service as it charts a path for restoration and reconstruction on the North Rim. More immediately, Baird said a special team that focuses on stabilizing the soil, controlling erosion and reseeding will begin assessing the burned areas starting next week. The Dragon Bravo Fire was sparked by lightning in early July. It burned for about a week before exploding into a fast moving conflagration that forced evacuations and consumed the Grand Canyon Lodge and dozens of cabins. The National Park Service has defended its handling of the fire, saying a sudden and extreme shift in the wind far exceeded forecasts. Persistent hot, dry and windy weather has hampered crews over the past several weeks, making it more difficult to fight the flames on the North Rim and elsewhere around the West — from Idaho and Montana to California, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, nearly four dozen large fires are burning in the U.S., with more than 17,700 firefighters and support personnel assigned to them.
Los Angeles Times
11 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Opinion: Motivation is a myth
Before you start reading on, I can assure you: this is not clickbait. Motivation really is a myth — and I'll show you why. Let's play a game of true or false. True or false? Each and every one of us is procrastinating on one or another task right now. True . True or false? Too often do we feel unmotivated to finish or even start a task. Of course it's true. True or false? You need motivation to start anything in order to finish it. False… now that one must have come as quite a surprise. This leaves you pondering and asking yourself: why? The answer lies in the debunking of the very myth — motivation. To many, this would seem like a sceptical perspective of a 14-year-old intending to lure you out of a state of complacency. But in reality, motivation is only an ephemeral concept that fails to withstand the innate tendencies of human behaviour and mind. Before drawing any conclusions, it is imperative that we unravel the essence of motivation to its core. So, what exactly is motivation? Motivation is regarded as the act of stimulating one's desire to achieve a goal — to summon up this sort of mystical and elusive energy that would propel an individual to 'spontaneously start being productive'. Are you beginning to see the utopian nature of this concept? In an ideal world, this notion may sound like the ultimate key to unlocking productivity and a robust catalyst for action. But here lies the trap. The motivation trap — a trap too many of us have unwittingly fallen into. Dr. Russ Harris, an American psychotherapist, explained it most effectively when he said, 'we wait to feel motivated before we take any action.' Now, what's the problem with that? Well, it sets in motion a vicious cycle wherein, if you only act when you feel 'motivated' enough to do so, you may find yourself waiting indefinitely for the opportune moment to strike. This results in an accumulation of missed opportunities and unfulfilled potential — a world where backwardness dominates. Many people fall victim to the motivation trap, perpetually seeking external inspiration to drive their actions. However, relying solely on motivation can result in inconsistent behaviour and procrastination. Being a transient emotion, it often fails to provide sustained momentum. Consequently, it comes in intervals, and the frequent instances wherein an individual lacks 'motivation' can be nothing short of a bane. Consider this scenario: have you ever felt too lazy to work on a project due the next day, left wanting to go to sleep instead? A situation like this is all too familiar for many, especially for an early bird who yearns for their sleep like me. But have you noticed that once you start studying, your focus and energy gradually increase, and you become more determined to finish the task at hand? This explains the underlying truth behind productivity: motivation does not precede action, and instead, it is an outcome of it. That sense of determination and accomplishment derived after or during a task is motivation. So ask yourself: how many times have you been challenged with a seemingly 'impossible' task, only to discover that taking a few steps towards that goal makes you more motivated to complete it? But if motivation is, in fact, a myth, then the question still lies: what truly facilitates success and productivity? The answer lies in a shift of mindset from motivation to discipline . Discipline, unlike motivation, isn't reliant on a fleeting urge to suddenly initiate work. It's a routine –a habit developed with dedication and persistent work. It entails establishing precise objectives, putting together a meticulous schedule, and adhering to it despite how 'motivated' you are. Admittedly, it is undeniably arduous in nature, but it also produces results like motivation never could. For someone who prioritises outcomes, discipline becomes indispensable. Discipline is the backbone of achievement. Its objective is to completely cut the link between two mutually exclusive concepts, in this case: feelings and action. The first step to fostering life-long productivity is to internally register that your feelings should be inconsequential to the tasks that you consciously want to do. Don't feel like doing it? Do it anyway. This way, the habit of actively taking action and prioritising goals is slowly cultivated. In essence, while motivation may provide a temporary spark, it's discipline that fuels long-term achievement, success, and productivity. This paradigm shift may be hard to fathom at first; however, over time, it will seamlessly engrave itself into your routine and lifestyle. Now, about that one seemingly Herculean and 'impossible' task you are yet to finish. Embrace its challenge, take the first step, and let discipline do its work. What are you waiting for? Related
