Emancipation Proclamation by Historical Document
By the President of the United States of America:
A PROCLAMATIONWhereas on the 22nd day of September, A.D. 1862, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the...
Was the first government gun confiscation attempt foiled by an unsung colonial heroine?
By John Silveira
Issue #119 • September/October, 2009
Gun control people don't seem to get just how deeply etched into the American psyche gun ownership goes and that the resistance to being disarmed by their own...
The barnyard scramble
By Michelle Hampton
Issue #106 • July/August, 2007
Each year during our local county fair, one of the best-attended events happens when farm animals, donated by local ranchers, are let loose in the big rodeo arena....
the gee-whiz! page: Animals, humans, extraterrestrials, and tools
By O. E. MacDougal
Issue #154 • July/August, 2015
There was a time when it was thought that a defining difference between humans and animals was: we use tools, they don't. But, in the last few...
Gee-Whiz: Presidents
By O.E. MacDougal
November/December 2016, Backwoods Home
I could spend all day coming up with interesting trivia about the Presidents and those who surround them — wives, children, assassins, etc. I could literally fill this magazine...
James Polk — A model for modern presidents
By John Silveira
Issue #32 • March/April, 1995
It was snowing and three of us were up at the office. Dave Duffy, the fellow who publishes BHM, and I were trying to get some work done...
President George Washington’s Farewell Address
Friends and Fellow Citizens: The period for a new election of a citizen, to administer the executive government of the United States, being not far distant, and the time actually arrived, when your thoughts...
Farm baseball … with ghost runners!
By Tom Kovach
Growing up on a farm in north-central Minnesota wasn’t all chores and hard work … although there was plenty of that too. But back in the l950s and early l960s when I...
Feeling nostalgic? Now you’ll rave! Here’s the story of Burma Shave.
By Martin Waterman
Issue #37 • January/February, 1996
I can remember taking a trip as a child and seeing my first Burma Shave signs. Technically speaking, after 1963 all the 7,000 or so sets of signs...
Doesn’t anyone remember Tom Paine
By Robert L. Williams
Issue #19 • January/February, 1993
Many years ago, before I came to my senses and left public education for good, I was teaching on a college campus when one of the administrators...
The summer of ’35
By John Graesch
Issue #64 • July/August, 2000
Sixty five years ago I was living in that part of Seattle, Washington, known as South Park. Few places had as much natural beauty as "The Park" as...
Fly it proudly and properly
By Roger Meyer
Issue #130 • July/August, 2011
Since September 11, 2001, more Americans are displaying the national flag. Our flag gives us a sense of unity and purpose as a nation. Old Glory represents our...
Former first ladies — Beautiful, brilliant, crazy
By John Silveira
Issue #30 • November/December, 1994
(This is a four-part series. Click the links to navigate to parts one, two, three, and four.)
(When we left off last issue, O. E. MacDougal and John Silveira...
Grandpa’s justice
By Tom Kovach
Issue #65 • September/October, 2000
Having the best vegetable garden in the village might put food on the table and make some money at the market, but it also can cause some problems....
Habeeb Salloum — Poet, Traveler, Recipe Writer
Habeeb Salloum, 95, a poet, world traveler, linguist, and author of recipe books on Middle Eastern cuisine, has written recipe articles for Backwoods Home Magazine for 19 years. The son of Syrian immigrant farmers,...
Who were the best…and worst U.S. Presidents?
By John Silveira
Issue #49 • January/February, 1998
It was one of those days I love. We were between deadlines and Dave, Bill, Mac, and I had gone fishing on the lake. Dave, of course, is...
