Scott Joplin

Biography Scott Joplin was born in Texas in 1867. His father (who was a slave) and his mother (who was not) were both musical people. His mother cleaned houses for a living, and one of the homeowners who hired her also allowed Joplin to play the piano in her home. That’s how Scott Joplin taught … Continue reading Scott Joplin

Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was born in Illinois. As he grew into an adult, he worked many odd jobs before he entered the Spanish-American War as an Infantryman. By 1913, he was living in Chicago, writing for the Chicago Daily News. His first book of poetry was published shortly afterward. Sandburg wrote free verse poems of … Continue reading Carl Sandburg

John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) was one of 10 children going to a family of Portuguese and German immigrants in Washington DC in 1854. His father played the trombone in the US Marine band and was Sousa’s role model in music study. Sousa learned the violin when he was six. During Sousa’s lifetime, he spent 20 … Continue reading John Philip Sousa

James Whitcomb Riley

James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916) was a poet who was born in Indiana countryside in the mid-nineteenth century. He wasn’t a very good student because he preferred to be outside reading books he chose creating rhymes and walking in his neighborhood. He quit school when he was 20 and did all sorts of strange charms from … Continue reading James Whitcomb Riley

James Abbott McNeil Whistler

James Abbott McNeil Whistler (1834-1903) was an American artist who first developed an interest in art as a child living in Russia. Whistler was born in Massachusetts, but his family moved to Russia when he was eight years old. He returned to the United States in 1849 after his father died. Since his art career … Continue reading James Abbott McNeil Whistler

Nature Study: Squirrels

Just a tawny glimmer, a dash of red and gray,Was it a flitting shadow, or a sunbeam gone astray!It glances up a tree trunk, and a pair of bright eyes glowWhere a little spy in ambush is measuring his foe.I hear a mocking chuckle, then wrathful, he grows boldAnd stays his pressing business to scold … Continue reading Nature Study: Squirrels

Phillis Wheatley

Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784) was born in West Africa and came to the New World on a slave ship. She was both purchased and eventually freed by Boston commercialist John Wheatley. Phillis was part of a group of refugee slaves who were too young or frail for rigorous labor. She did housework for the Wheatleys. They … Continue reading Phillis Wheatley

Justin Morgan

Biography During the colonial period, there was a lot of work to do everywhere, and people worked very long hours every day, though most tried to rest on Sunday. Even on the day of rest, there was still the work of feeding both people and animals. Justin Morgan’s life was no different. He was born … Continue reading Justin Morgan

Nature Study: Honeybees

By Julie McIntosh, beekeeper and HSOK Trustee Can you imagine having over 20,000 sisters? A honeybee can have that many or more! Almost all bees in a hive are female, and all the eggs they hatched from were laid by the same queen mother. That makes them all sisters!  The honeybee is a fantastic creature … Continue reading Nature Study: Honeybees

Frederic Edwin Church

Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter and a central figure of the Hudson River School. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut. His father was a successful silversmith and businessman, so Church had time and supplies to pursue art as a career. When he was eighteen, he began … Continue reading Frederic Edwin Church