All Titles

Author and former Miller & Rhoads Snow Queen Donna Strother Deekens recounts the amazing history of the Real Santa.

After the turn of the 20th century, young Bill Strother left the tobacco farms of North Carolina to make a living climbing buildings. He became known as the ""Human Spider,"" scaling countless structures across the nation. Yet this was just a prelude to his true calling as the Santa Claus at Richmond's famed Miller & Rhoads department store. As department stores everywhere reached their golden age, Strother became one of the most beloved and sought-after Santas in the nation.

Let the good times roll down in New Orleans! Read the secrets and origins of the beloved Mardi Gras.

New Orleans practically owns Mardi Gras, and you would be hard-pressed to find someone who would deny it. The wild celebration brings thousands of tourists to Louisiana each year, but none of it would be possible without the carnival krewes. The backbone of this Big Easy tradition, different krewes put on extravagant paries and celebrations to commemorate the beginning of the Lenten season. Historic krewes such as Comus, Rex, and Zulu date back generations and have become part of New Orleans' greater history, but today, what was once an exclusive position has widened their reach and new krewes are inaugurated regularly to enrich the flavor of Louisiana's cultural melting pot. Through careful and detailed research of over three hundred sources, author and New Orleans native Rosary O'Neill explores this storied institution, its antebellum roots, and its effects in the twenty-first century.

Mardi Gras in Mobile began its carnival celebration years before the city of New Orleans was founded.

In the 1700s, mystic societies formed in Mobile, such as the Societe de Saint Louis, believed to be the first in the New World. These curious organizations brought old-world traditions as they held celebrations like parades and balls with themes like Scandinavian mythology and the dream of Pythagoras. Today, more than 800,000 people annually take in the sights, sounds and attractions of the celebration. Historian and preservationist L. Craig Roberts, through extensive research and interviews, explores the captivating and charismatic history of Mardi Gras in the Port City.

Suwannee County is filled with forgotten echoes of its lost past, from demolished pioneer homes to defunct railroads to lost forts from the Seminole Wars. In the 1830s, ecotourism arrived. Local sulfur springs, with their grand hotels and health resorts, drew travelers from around the world for a dip in the same healing waters of the Suwannee River traversed by steamboats. Thundering iron horses brought citizens and industry into the county, making Live Oak one of the largest cities in Florida in the early twentieth century. Landmarks and communities like the opulent Suwannee Springs resort and the once-flourishing riverbank town of Columbus disappeared in the face of progress. Lifelong resident and historian Eric Musgrove launches an entertaining and informative journey through Suwannee County's lost history.

Jacksonville has long been a mecca for car enthusiasts and collectors, due in part to the city's unique automotive history. Bystanders gazed in wonder as John Einig drove Florida's very first steam-powered horseless carriage through the streets in 1889. Fred Gilbert opened the first automobile dealership in 1903, just before the city's first automobile parade, and people were soon clamoring to buy cars of their own. Claude Nolan, whose local dealership has been in business for well over a century, gained fame for racing his Cadillac against an airplane at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. NASCAR held races at the Jacksonville Speedway in the '50s and '60s. Author Dorothy K. Fletcher explores the rich history and memories of car culture in the River City.

Arkansas's booze scene had a promising start, with America's biggest brewing families, Busch and Lemp, investing in Little Rock just prior to Prohibition. However, by 1915, the state had passed the Newberry Act, banning the manufacturing and selling of alcohol. It was not until sixty-nine years later that the state welcomed its first post-temperance brewery, Arkansas Brewing Company. After a few false starts, brewpubs in Fayetteville, Fort Smith and Little Rock found success. By 2000, the industry had regained momentum. An explosion of breweries around the state has since propelled Arkansas into the modern beer age.

For decades, the Christmas season in Birmingham was not complete without the sights and sounds of the retail district. During the season, the Magic City made magic with elaborate light displays and the Living Christmas Tree in Woodrow Wilson Park. Many remember the battling Santas of Loveman's and Pizitz, each vying for the hearts of the community. The elaborate Enchanted Forest dazzled shoppers on the sixth floor at Pizitz. In the 1940s, more than 200,000 people lined the streets each year to make merry for the Christmas Carnival parade. Author and local historian Tim Hollis celebrates the happy history of Birmingham's holiday season, reviving the traditions and festivities, the food and shopping of days gone by.