Charles van Heck's Woodhull Journal

history

  • The Origins of Memorial Day

    The men, women, and children who arrived at the race track came with shovels and picks. They came to pay tribute to the dead soldiers by giving them proper burials. The names of the dead were unknown to those who… Continue reading

  • The Conversion of Freedom

    Freedom. To be free. What do we mean when we say, “I am a free woman,” or “I am a free man?” On what foundation does our freedom rest? The availability of and the choices we make when purchasing commodities? … Continue reading

  • The Hat Trick and the Crisis We Still Face

    I was obligated to tell a broader story. I needed a cast of characters to tell Emma’s tale and to demonstrate the complexity of the historical period of national division mirrored in contemporary American society. Continue reading

  • Wiser Thursday and Random Thoughts

    I am a person of habits. These routines undergo modification to accommodate others, and, reluctantly, are made with a begrudged concession to age and health. These patterns of behavior are most evident on Fridays. This week, however, my Thursday was… Continue reading

  • Canada, an Off-Islander’s Perspective

    “Home,” as the saying goes, “is where the heart is.” Tony Bennet may have left his heart in San Francisco, but pieces of my heart have been left in various places. I have lived in eight states, meeting a wide… Continue reading

  • A World Without Rules

    A friend commented the other day that he noticed I was shifting my attention. “You’re posting poetry. Are you writing more poems?” Actually, yes. I took a hiatus from poetry to write two novels, travel, paint, garden, and begin the… Continue reading

  • 11 November, Part Three: The Reverberating Gunshot

    “’Some damned foolish thing in the Balkans,” Bismarck predicted would ignite the next war. The assassination of the Austrian heir apparent, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by Serbian nationalists on June 28, 1914, satisfied his condition.’” So wrote Barbara W. Tuchman in… Continue reading

  • Diversity, Freedom and the Chorus for Union

    Those who know me are aware that I firmly believe in the separation of Church and State. Christian nationalists irritate me with their bending and misinterpretation of the Gospels. They misconstrue the Constitution and misconceive their liberties to fit their… Continue reading

  • ENOUGH!

    You could have been on any college campus or any place where students hung out. He generated excitement, an excitement also felt by the middle-aged and the elderly. There was excitement from the streets of Manchester, New Hampshire, to Manhattan,… Continue reading

  • The Old Time Jim Crow Religion Revival Meeting

    The decision was made. There was a lesson to be learned. The suitcases were packed, and placed in the car. In the early hours of a July morning, my father backed the car out of the garage. We were going… Continue reading