Category: On This Day

Colm Cille

irishsavedIf you haven’t yet read How the Irish Saved Civilization, put it on your reading list! Author Thomas Cahill tells some remarkable stories from the era that he calls one of the “hinges of history.”  Cahill makes the case that ideas that came from the Greeks, the Romans and the Jews, ideas that are among the foundational ideas of our civilization, were on the edge of an abyss, possibly to be lost forever. If not for the Irish, our civilization, at least civilization as we know it today, may have slipped away forever.  Read it for yourself and see what you think.

One of the remarkable figures that jumps off the pages is Colm Cille.  Known also as Saint Columba in the Roman Catholic Church, Colm Cille was one of those Irishman who inspired the notion that Ireland is the land of “Saints and Scholars.”  In a world of darkness, Colm Cille helped to bring light.

Fifteen hundred years ago, in the wake of a terrible battle, full of remorse, St. Colmcille left Ireland for Scotland. On the remote island of Iona he began a new life and helped create a new world. The beautiful manuscripts he and his followers produced helped spread not only Christianity but ideas about literacy, peace-making and nation-building, not to mention punctuation! His followers became missionaries, builders, teachers. It’s no exaggeration to say that these men from the North of Ireland rebuilt Europe. (source: The Return of Colmcille)

Columba

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Mary Celeste

300px-mary_celeste_as_amazon_in_1861
The Amazon, a British ship, was relaunched as the American Mary Celeste. source: wikimedia commons / public domain

On this day in 1872 a Canadian ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean discovered the American merchant sailing ship Mary Celeste, floating adrift. There was no sign of the crew or of any reason why they would abandon ship.  One of the great nautical mysteries of all time ensued as investigators discovered that  the boat was in good condition, its cargo intact, and the personal effects of the crew undisturbed. Furthermore, the crew was never heard from again. What happened?

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The Fonz

Source: Elvis Kennedy / CC

Henry Winkler was born on this day in 1945.  While he may be known to young readers as the author of the Hank Ziper books, he is best known in pop culture for portrayal of Arthur Fonzarelli on Happy Days. “Fonzie” or “The Fonz” was a pop culture superstar during the 1970’s.  Since then Winkler has appeared in wide variety of television, movie and stage roles. He has also been a director, producer and writer.

 

Mohandas Gandhi

source: public domain / wikimedia commons

Mohandas Gandhi was born on in this day in India in 1869. Gandhi led India to independence from the British Empire, primarily through non-violent protest and peaceful resistance. His ideas would inspire future movements from such people as Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

For more on the life of Gandhi, click here.

The Goal

For those born in last few decades, the greatest goal in hockey that they ever witnessed was the “Golden Goal” of Sydney Crosby, the overtime goal which captured the Gold Medal for Canada at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

For others, sandwiched between the baby boomers and the millennials, the greatest goal ever scored, that they saw, came in 1987, as Wayne Gretzky passed the puck to Mario Lemieux, who scored to give Canada a 6-5 victory over the Soviet Union in the third and deciding game of the Canada Cup.

The case can be made for other great goals as well. However, hockey fans in their 50’s or older were witnesses to “The Goal,”  what most hockey observers, experts and fans alike, consider to be the greatest goal in hockey history.

In 1972 the Summit Series featured the stars of the NHL, Team Canada, against the Soviet Union. The series was about more than just hockey.  It was the height of the cold war, and for many people, this was an extension of that conflict between Soviets, representing communism and totalitarianism, and the democratic, capitalist, “free” countries of the “West.”

1972 was the first time that the best players in professional hockey would be assembled to take on the Soviets, the powerhouse that had dominated international and Olympic hockey since the 1950’s.  Canadians were confident that this time it would be different, as hockey was our game, and now we finally had a chance to prove it, “best on best.”  For the first time we would send our best players, our NHL stars, to teach the Soviets about hockey.

It didn’t start out that way.  The Canadian stars were used to using September to get in shape for the NHL season. They weren’t ready to play and it showed, as Canada only won one game out of the first four games at home, and then dropped the first game in Russia. Down 3 games to 1, with one tie, the Canadians needed to win the final three games in Russia to win the series.  They would win the next two to even the series and make the 8th and final game the decider.

What had already been a dramatic series was about to achieve legendary status. Down by two goals going into the 3rd period, Canada clawed their way back to tie the game with about 7 minutes left.  In the final minute, Paul Henderson scored to give Canada the lead and the victory in the series.

Canadians had been watching on their television sets, all over the country and around the world.  Many Canadians can still tell you where they were when Henderson scored “The Goal.”

Find out more:

The Goal:

 

 

George Costanza

source: WikiSein

Jay Greenspan was born on this day in 1959.  Greenspan would go on to become an actor who performed under the name Jason Alexander. He would land a spot on the television show “Seinfeld,” portraying what some consider to be the greatest comedy character of all time, George Costanza.  For more on George Costanza and “Seinfeld”, check out WikiSein.

The Hajj

The annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, begins at sundown on September 21st and concludes on the 26th.  Millions of Muslims will descend on Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet, Mohammad, the founder of Islam. It is considered to be one of the “Five Pillars of the Faith” for Muslims to make the pilgrimage once in their life, if they are able to manage it physically and financially.

source: wikimedia / Creative Commons

Jim Abbott

Jim Abbott was born on this day in 1967. Abbott debuted as a Major League Baseball pitcher in 1989 for the California Angels. He would go on to play for several other teams, including the New York Yankees. It was with the Yankees that he threw a No-Hitter on September 4, 1993.

Jim Abbott was born without a right hand. He would throw with his left hand while his glove would rest on the end of his right arm. To field the ball he would deftly slip his left hand into the glove. To throw, he would then tuck the glove between under his right arm, and get the ball into his left hand. Early in his career teams tried to exploit this apparent “weakness” by bunting on him, but he was an amazingly effective fielder.

Jim Abbott’s ability to thrive as a professional athlete despite his physical challenges is truly inspirational.

After retiring from professional baseball, Jim began to tour the world as a motivational speaker.

For more on Jim Abbott, check out his website, jimabbott.net

Join the Library Team

libraryteam1Once again the Panther Den invites you to be a part of the Library Team. We are looking for responsible, diligent students to work as library monitors at lunch, before school and after school. Earn service hours, get first crack at new books and enjoy the privilege of serving your school in an important way.

All students from Grade 8 to 12 are invited. Click here to apply online. See Mr Sexton if you have any questions, and check out the Library Team page.

Vince Lombardi

source: wikimedia commons      (fair use)

Legendary pro football coach Vince Lombardi was born on this day in 1913.  The Super Bowl Trophy is named after Lombardi, who coached the Packers to the first two Super Bowl titles and to three NFL titles before that. Despite popular belief, Lombardi never said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”  However, he did say, “Winning isn’t everything, but making the effort to win is.”  There is a subtle but very important difference.