Currently browsing: Americana
Americana means different things to different folks. Here at Great American Things, it means cool stuff that doesn’t fit into any other category. I guess we could have called it Miscellaneous, but “Great Miscellaneous Things” doesn’t tell you much, does it?
Americana: The U.S. Army
Clinton L. Chalkley joined the U.S. Army in 1942 and, following a miserable Atlantic crossing on a troop carrier, attained the rank of...
Read MoreAmericana: USA TODAY
Want a lot of news? USA TODAY has it. Want easy-to-read news? Turn to USA TODAY. Want charts and graphs, lists and snippets? USA TODAY...
Read MoreKid Stuff: Animal Crackers
The first cookies baked in the shape of animals came from the kitchens of Stauffer’s Biscuit Company in York, Pennsylvania...
Read MoreAlbum: "Thriller"
Remember music videos? Okay, music videos are still being made, so let me put it another way: Remember when music videos mattered?...
Read MoreKid Stuff: Where the Wild Things Are
Where the Wild Things Are, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak and published almost 50 years ago (1963), still is a favorite...
Read MoreAmericana: South by Southwest
First, there was a music industry trade show in Austin. (It’s grown from about 700 to near 12,000 registrants.) Then, a bunch...
Read MoreKid Stuff: Duncan Yo-Yo
It’s on a string. It goes down. It comes back up. What’s so great about that, to have it considered a Great American...
Read MoreAmericana: Warehouse Club Stores
Personally, I love the warehouse stores. Of course, you don’t go to the warehouse store for a pack of gum. You go for a...
Read MoreAmericana: Amish Quilts
Doesn’t it strike you as somewhat contradictory that Amish women, often called “plain people,” make such beautiful,...
Read MoreKid Stuff: Chuck E. Cheese's
A friend of mine calls this place “Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Hell.” I get that. But the company’s slogan is...
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