Spooky Season Reads

Fort James Jackson has been the silent sentinel protecting Savannah, Georgia, for over 200 years. Never taken by force, its soldiers also never fired a shot in anger, only in celebration. On Halloween in 1863, Confederate president Jefferson Davis received a 21-gun salute while touring the Savannah River defenses on the steamer Beauregard. However, the soldiers at the fort faced many challenges, including disease, cold, heat, mosquitoes, poor nutrition, and stress. Active during wartimes, the fort was often quietly abandoned between wars. Union soldiers last fired the fort's guns on April 11, 1865, when Savannah got news of the fall of Richmond and the war's end. After the Civil War, the fort's longest wait began, despite 1870s renovation attempts. The mid-1960s saw renewal through historic preservation and archaeology as the fort became a museum. The fort was even a filming location for the movie Glory, which was appropriate as the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, an African American unit, was briefly stationed here.

On August 9, 1929, the Cascadian Hotel opened in Wenatchee, Washington, the “Apple Capital of the World.” It was (and still is) the tallest building in town. The opening ceremony—featuring a human spider scaling the facade—celebrated the coming to town of a technologically innovative and luxurious hotel that, for its 42-year existence, prided itself on quality service. The Cascadian had very strong ties to the community, apple themes ran throughout the building, and for years it was the go-to meeting place in Wenatchee. The hotel also served as the starting point for the hospitality careers of several men and women who rose to executive leadership positions in the international Western (later Westin) Hotels chain.

The story of the Oklahoma State Capitol is as wild and unpredictable as the story of Oklahoma itself. The on-again, off-again effort to construct the statehouse lasted five years as Oklahoma City and Guthrie jockeyed back and forth, each laying claim to the capital city. Finally, seven years after statehood, ground was broken on the capitol. Oklahoma's third governor, Robert Williams, seeking to keep costs low, put himself in charge of the Oklahoma State Capitol Building Commission and made the following controversial decision that would be debated for decades afterwards: he would forgo the structure's planned ornamental dome. It would not be added until 85 years later. Dome or no dome, the capitol has served as the People's House, a place for Oklahomans to let their voices be heard throughout the generations.