Alexandria, Louisiana, USA

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Small Business Saturday have passed; November is on its way out; and tomorrow begins a month of planning for Christmas. Kids everywhere will be writing letters to Santa, and some communities will have a special delivery service to the North Pole. [2022]

The Everglades, Florida, USA

If today is your birthday, may you continue to strengthen your wings so that they will carry you to worlds unseen, lift you above the madness, and sharpen your vision of what lies ahead. In the words of poet William Blake (a fellow Sagittarian): "No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings." [2018]

Dillon, Montana, USA

Different geography, same adaptation to the frontier. Thousands of miles away from the East Coast (Rocky Mountains), and centuries later in time (1800s), pioneer settlers continued to make single-pen log cabins their starter homes. This one was moved into town from a nearby ranch. Imagine surviving a winter here. Single pen = single room. [2020]

Chickamauga, Georgia, USA

Unlike Europe, which had suffered centuries of deforestation, America had plentiful and easily exploited timber resources. On the frontier, therefore, single-pen log cabins became the "starter homes" of the day. This one has survived because it is on the Chickamauga battlefield and played a prominent role in Civil War military history. [2013]

Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA

Who built the first long cabins in America? The Swedes of New Sweden (which included many Finns) on the lower Delaware River. This may be the second oldest (ca. 1654) to survive. It is smaller than the Nothnagle cabin, but both are single-pen structures, originally with dirt floors. If you are into today's minimalist movement, this might be your ideal home. [2005]

Gibbstown, New Jersey, USA

The Nothnagle single-pen log cabin may be the oldest surviving log structure in the United States. (Attached house built much later.) Date: ca. 1640. Size: Larger than most. Builder: An immigrant from Sweden (though probably a Finn). The Swedish Empire (see the flag?) attempted to colonize the lower Delaware River, calling it New Sweden. [2016]

Hinton, West Virginia, USA

The turkey came to Europe from America, but no one in Europe knew that. The meaty bird (compare with quail) just showed up. Even though it was after 1492, Europeans still assumed anything new came from the eastern Mediterranean and beyond. In this case they decided the new addition to their diet came from Turkey and named it accordingly. [2014]

Brandywine, Delaware, USA

Delaware's Three Covered Bridges: Originally built in 1839 but rebuilt several times since then, Smith's Bridge is the longest in the state. Unlike the other two covered bridges in the First State, this one uses a Burr arch design (see it through the window?) rather than a lattice truss. [2022]

Ashland, Delaware, USA

Delaware's Three Covered Bridges: Built in the mid-1800s, the Ashland Bridge is the oldest in the state. Its value as a cultural landmark was recognized in the 1960s. Since then it has been rehabilitated many times and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. All three covered bridges in the First State are open to traffic. Remarkable! [2018]

Wooddale, Delaware, USA

Delaware's Three Covered Bridges: The Wooddale covered bridge, originally built in the mid-1800s, was taken out by a flood in 2003. Thanks to DelDOT, however, the bridge was rebuilt in 2008 using the original lattice truss design and authentic building techniques, including the use of treenails (below) to hold the lattice together. [2018]

Dallastown, Pennsylvania, USA

Every small town needs at least one coffee shop. It's a matter of livability, a place to be seen, and a key to community building. If the corporate sector is not responding along your Main Street, maybe one of the churches will. That's the story of Common Grounds. See the fish swimming around in the cup of coffee? [2019]

Brunswick, Georgia, USA

Welcome to Geography Awareness Week: It's time to appreciate maps on the landscape! The Governor's Office in Georgia apparently thinks a map will convince you to voluntarily buckle your seat belt. But, just in case the state map (in cautionary yellow) doesn't inspire enough compliance, a nasty threat has been added: "Click It or Ticket." [2010]

Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Welcome to Geography Awareness Week: It's time to appreciate maps on the landscape! "Think Globally, Drink Locally": a perfect slogan to illustrate with a world map (though the proprietor might think of adding a dot for Providence). The take-away: maps sell! [2021]

Tucson, Arizona, USA

Welcome to Geography Awareness Week: It's time to appreciate maps on the landscape! In this case, by using a map, Arizona pays homage to Texas as the home of the best barbeque anywhere, and "that aint no bull." Maps are ever popular components of mural art around the country and the world. [2018]

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Welcome to Geography A-WEAR-NESS Week (get it?): It's time to appreciate maps on the landscape! You should find something geographical to WEAR this week! Cartographically-inspired T-shirts are popular choices. This one displays a thematic map showing what people in different regions call a carbonated beverage. Pop? Soda? Coke (generic)? [2014]

Harrington, Delaware, USA

Welcome to Geography Awareness Week: It's time to appreciate maps on the landscape! Everyone has grown just a tad tired of seeing so many yard signs, but at least they're disappearing now that election season is over. Have you noticed how many use a map? Why? What's the iconic value of an outline map of Delaware as an election prop? [2022]

Cleveland, North Dakota, USA

Welcome to Geography Awareness Week: It's time to appreciate maps on the landscape! The one on this coop grain elevator is easy to miss. That's because North Dakota's shape is so boxy. If you are still not seeing the map, here's a hint: It is framed in yellow. Your assignment for the week: Keep track of all maps that circulate into your field of vision. [2021]

Canal Winchester, Ohio, USA

Towering above all other buildings in the Canal Winchester Historical Complex is the cathedral-like grain elevator, a sign of agricultural prosperity. The rail line came in 1869, quickly diluting the importance of the Ohio and Erie Canal as a means of getting the crops to the market. Today, the canal is a memory perpetuated only by the town's name. [2017]

Belle Fourche, South Dakota, USA

The Dakota Mill and Grain elevator serves as the economic hub of town. Grain elevators like these receive grain from nearby farmers; they store the grain and use the force of gravity to load it into trucks or railway cars for shipment out. The Dakota operation, however, takes it one step further: It is set up for milling the grain on site. [2019]

Seneca, Kansas, USA

How do we honor our veterans? Here's another method: We build an honor wall of names, one plaque for every veteran in our town or county. Before the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, honoring vets meant only one thing: sculpting a statue. Walls like this are far more personal. Remember: Today is Veterans Day. [2009]

Carrollton, Kentucky, USA

How do we honor our veterans? Here's one method: We personalize attention-getting banners and hang them from every pole in town, thus turning our streets into an outdoor portrait gallery. Over the last twenty years, this has become a national trend. Remember: Veterans Day is tomorrow. [2022]

Spokane, Washington, USA

A waterfalls on the Spokane River clearly demonstrated the potential for water power, at least enough to run a few mills. Later, that waterpower would be transformed into hydroelectricity on which the industrial base of the city would depend. The stately looking building by the bridge is the hydroelectric power station. [2019]

Spokane, Washington, USA

What physical feature defines your city? In Spokane, it is Spokane Falls. It was early recognized as a source of water power, a sawmill was established, and the city grew up as a service center for the ranches and mines in the surrounding region. The falls maintained their centrality in the urban settlement fabric: the city's downtown is adjacent. [2019]

Spokane, Washington, USA

The Great Northern Clock Tower is an early 20th century landmark, an authentic reminder of the role played by rail connections in turning a frontier outpost into the cardinal place of eastern Washington. Rising high above the city, this was the clock that established the rhythms of each day. It displayed the time of record despite what other clocks said. [2019]

Evansville, Indiana, USA

Unexpectedly Funny! Who do you think is going to be borrowing the books in this little free library? These libraries-in-a-box are usually placed closer to the souls to who still have the capacity to read, e.g., near churches, on town squares, or on court house lawns. Could this be the only one in a cemetery? [2022]

Grand Island, Nebraska, USA

Unexpectedly Funny! For the supine souls in the basement of this funeral home, time has not just come to a halt; time has run out completely. Beyond that, however, just the idea that a funeral home has mounted a clock outside tickles the funny bone. Time to stop in for a visit? [2009]

Liberty Hill, Texas, USA

Unexpectedly Funny! President Reagan would love being honored with a street named after him. Here's what he would not love: seeing the drive-by public being told to turn Left! As for "America's Builder," don't you wonder how many immigrant laborers he used to build those homes? [2015]

Mobile, Alabama, USA

Unexpectedly Funny! The Church of Christ's welcome sign points directly to the "Just say no" sign. The phrase was in common usage in late 20th century thanks to the "war on drugs" mounted by the Gipper and his better half. Juxtaposition can, indeed, be amusing. [1988]

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

Forty-eight of our 50 states were born as singletons. Two were born as twins: South Dakota and North Dakota. They were admitted to the Union on the same day: November 2, 1889, which makes them 133 years old today. Yet, to highlight their different personalities, one gave their capital city a French name, and the other chose a name from Germany. [2021]

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

You should have seen the restless souls out on the prowl last night! The dead came back to life to haunt the living, and sometimes their fate was harrowing. Oh well, this poor soul was dead already. [2021]