“First In Flight”, seriously?! – North Carolina DMV’s Historical Hijack

Being a born and bred son of Dayton, Ohio, I have vivid memories of traveling with my elementary school class to the historical village at Carillon park. There, among the various buildings from years past, I remember wandering to a tall, windowed storefront that our tour guide proudly stopped in front of.

wright-cycle-co“This,” he announced, “is the bicycle shop of Orville and Wilbur Wright. They designed and built their wildly successful bicycles in the front of the shop, but in the back room an even greater invention was taking shape. The world’s first heavier-than-air, powered, flying machine.”

And the story took on grandiose proportions from there. In a gush of nostalgia he explained how long it took them to build it, the materials used during its construction, and the methods for packing and shipping it in various crates to the North Carolina shores. Continue reading

History Nerd Click-bait, Also Known as Road-side Historical Markers

There’s always that first sign which kind of got you started. You hadn’t ever noticed it before, on your casual route to and from point A to point B. But there it had been all markeralong. Tall, broad and usually with some sort of official emblem or a Greek looking filligree that made it look old and staunchly official. Without much warning, you pull over and come to a screeching halt (typically scaring the crud out of your passenger or other motorists) while spinning your car into a jaunty “I meant to do that” kind of angle.

The signage had lots of writing and as you read it you slowly start to realize that it’s describing something which happened, right here, on the ground you’re standing. And it’s pretty cool sounding, too. Some battle between dimly recognizable generals or local leaders. Names that, in your time and place, are now attached to cities and counties nearby. Continue reading