Grateful to my Irish grandparents on this St. Patrick's Day
Katie Brady Conrad in the backyard of our ancestral home in Lilly, Pa. in the 1930s In 1880, at the age of eight, little Katie Brady from...
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hughconrad52
Mar 124 min read
The Lilly Grade School Basketball Tournament started 60 years ago
Repost: A tremendous community success story: Lilly Grade School Basketball Tournament: Recollections and a little history from my years,...
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hughconrad52
Mar 123 min read
More colleges are requiring the SAT/ACT: “The U. of Texas at Austin Is the Latest”
… the SAT is valuable for a number of reasons During the Covid pandemic, many universities and college decided to forgo use of the...
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hughconrad52
Feb 203 min read
These three presidents are always ranked highest by historians for a good reason
President rankings even by professional historians and political scientists are often said to be subjective. However, when they are done...
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hughconrad52
Feb 165 min read
North Fort Myers (Fla.) teacher resigns after school removes in-class library
… “The Book Thief” reigns in America One of the joys of my young life was reading books that my parents provided to me or that I found in...
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hughconrad52
Jan 225 min read
Putin tries to annul the sale of Alaska to the U.S. in 1867
Alaska … Seward’s "Folly" was hardly accurate I first learned about the life and career of William Seward when I read Gore Vidal’s epic...
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hughconrad52
Jan 172 min read
American Cancer Society: New cancer diagnoses expected to hit record high this year
… young people more at risk The number of deaths from cancer has declined by about 33 percent since 1994, which is positive. However,...
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hughconrad52
Jan 85 min read
Irony of ironies: John Harbaugh condemned Bill Belichick in 2012 for cheating, but now ...
Will Jim Harbaugh jump to the NFL to avoid "the stain"? … if the Wolverines win, Michigan may have to return its trophy like USC did for...
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hughconrad52
Jan 72 min read
Yearning for the return of “no snow days,” walking to school in the snow was a better time for America
Not Lilly, Pa., but it is close to the 1950s -- except for the backpacks … just walking to school was a joy for us as kids This may be...
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hughconrad52
Jan 42 min read
Portage Historical Society photo recalls iconic battles between St. Joes and Lilly Raiders
… back to the 60s The Portage Historical Society does a great job of promoting the history of Portage Borough, Portage Township, and...
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hughconrad52
Jan 15 min read
Should high schools ban cell phones like San Mateo did five years ago?
… should more schools do this? Something occurred in 1999 that forced parents to start buying cell phones for their children. It was...
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hughconrad52
Jan 14 min read
Agreed: Mason Rudolph should look elsewhere. “He shouldn’t trust Tomlin.”
Mason will not be selling real estate next year … Steelers “had not scored 30 points in a game until Rudolph’s first start” Sometimes,...
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hughconrad52
Jan 18 min read
How these “progressive” teachers banned “To Kill A Mockingbird” from their classrooms
Their story deserves to be told -- and read … exactly what is the role of literature? Often, when we read stories, they may offend us in...
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hughconrad52
Jan 11 min read
Happy New Year on Waikiki starts early
... May 2024 be a great one! My last night at Waikiki was Dec. 29, but I had no idea that the New Year's Eve celebration started on...
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hughconrad52
Dec 24, 20232 min read
Memory of the music at Christmas at St. Brigid’s: a Christmas Eve recollection
St. Brigid's Catholic Church in our youth. The music that I learned first by playing the piano in the convent at St. Brigid’s parish in...
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hughconrad52
Dec 22, 20236 min read
Did the selection of Dan Rooney as Ambassador to Ireland in 2009 start the demise of the Steelers? Yes, no, and maybe.
Dan Rooney signs on to become ambassador to Ireland … Loss of character and integrity started in 2007, an inexorable decline To...
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hughconrad52
Dec 6, 20232 min read
Historians rank The most revered First Ladies of the United States
Why is Eleanor Roosevelt ranked number 1 by historians? … Siena College study by experts ranks the best With the passing of Rosalyn...
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hughconrad52
Nov 23, 20235 min read
Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, 1963: Special and joyous for family, yet mournful
Our last Thanksgiving Day photo in the Baltimore/D.C. area My recollection of Thanksgiving Day in 1963, starts with the weather: It was...
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hughconrad52
Nov 23, 20234 min read
“Abraham, Martin, and John”: Why do the good die young?
“More Balm Than Song” Like so many of my generation, the large one known as Boomers that is rapidly passing from this earth, I can...
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hughconrad52
Nov 21, 20233 min read
Remembering a former teammate and friend, Mickey Arnold, a class act in every way
RIP Mickey Arnold 1947-2023 -- obituary photo … just wanted to help others, like “others helped me” One of the joys of childhood for me...
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