Articles about Holiday
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Emancipation Day once Black community’s July 4th
By Bill Kemp. Published on May 21, 2017.
In the years before the Civil War and for several decades afterward, Bloomington’s African-American community embraced alternatives to ...
Halloween 1945 followed world war’s end
By Bill Kemp. Published on October 20, 2019.
World War II still loomed large over American life during the Halloween season of 1945. The surrender of Japan marking the war’s end ha...
Spirits high for Depression-era Christmas
By Bill Kemp. Published on December 22, 2019.
During the 1936 Christmas season, Americans faced an Ebenezer Scrooge writ large — the hard times of the Great Depression. Even so, mos...
New Year’s Eve 1919 meant hope for better times
By Bill Kemp. Published on December 29, 2019.
One hundred years ago, New Year’s Eve 1919 brought hope for better days to come. After all, the nation had been deeply scarred by the t...
Community Christmas ‘sing’ once annual event
By Bill Kemp. Published on December 13, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation of countless holiday gatherings, school pageants, office parties, concerts, dinner da...