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 time-travel ad
By John Silveira
Issue #125 • September/October, 2010
It's become a minor Internet phenomenon. The ad reads:
It's also been read by Jay Leno on his late night TV show, on National Public Radio more than once...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
Fried chicken for breakfast
By Danny Fulks
Issue #88 • July/August, 2004
Danny Fulks, 71, is one of those rare writers capable of painting a vivid picture of life back in another time. His stories focus on the 20s, 30s,...
Presidents’ wives of the past Part 4 — Cunning, vindictive, and one may have...
By John Silveira
Issue #35 • September/October, 1995
(This is a four-part series. Click the links to navigate to parts one, two, three, and four.)
Do you think we'll ever have a woman as President?" I asked....
Biological and chemical weapons through history
By John Silveira
Issue #81 • May/June, 2003
The weather here on the coast of Oregon is nice almost all year-round, and there almost always seems to be some kind of fishingsalmon or winter steelhead running...
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,...
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....
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...
From Martha and Abigail to Dolley and Louisa, America’s earliest First Ladies were fascinating
By John Silveira
Issue #29 • September/October, 1994
(This is a four-part series. Click the links to navigate to parts one, two, three, and four.)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...wait...
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...
