Raisinghistory

As I said, this cactus did not give up...it found a way to bloom, not once, but twice!

It reminds me of a business size card I have that says, "I will ALWAYS find a way and a way will always find me."

May this be inspiration for anyone out there ready, willing and wanting to bloom!

Christmas cactus Jan. 2026

Christmas cactus, March 2026 2nd bloom

So...this Christmas cactus had not bloomed in YEARS...photo on the left was from January....photo on the right, MARCH...YES, a 2ND bloom...WooHoo!

This is a simple lesson in persisting until you succeed. This cactus did not give up!

#plants #cactuslover #flowers #blooming #spring #persistence

Lillian Wald, c. 1900

#OnThisDay, March 10th, 1867, Lillian Wald was born.

She was a nurse, activist & humanitarian who would in 1893 start the Henry Street Settlement to provide medical care and other social services for residents of the Lower East Side.

#NYCHistory #NursingHistory #womenshistory #WomensHistoryMonth

Kate Sheppard, 1905

#OnThisDay March 10th, 1848, Kate Sheppard was born.
She was a shining light of the New Zealand women's suffrage movement, and through her efforts, helped women gain the right to vote in 1893, making New Zealand the first country to do so.

#newzealand #suffragist #womenshistory #WomensHistoryMonth

George William Curtis 1854 by Samuel Laurence

#OnThisDay in 1824, George William Curtis was born in #providencerhodeisland

Journalist, Editor, Lecturer, Author, Abolitionist, & Activist: well known for his essays in Harper's Magazine under the title, "The Easy Chair". His friendships included Emerson, Hawthorne, & Thoreau.

#literature

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper 1872-03-09 Vol 33 Iss 858

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper page 411 1872-03-09 Vol 33 Iss 858

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper page 411 cont. 1872-03-09 Vol 33 Iss 858

#OnThisDay in 1872, the opening reception of @metmuseum.org NY is held at 681 Fifth Ave.

This event was held for only subscribers to attend, with the public opening occurring later in the Spring.
Below: engraving & article from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper

#museums #arthistory #nychistory

Abraham Lincoln, c. 1858

#OnThisDay in 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born.

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing."

"The way for a young man to rise, is to improve himself every way he can, never suspecting that any body wishes to hinder him."

#AbrahamLincoln

Mary Mapes Dodge, c. 1865

Mary Mapes Dodge, c. 1896

#OnThisDay in 1831, Mary Mapes Dodge was born. She was an American children's author, best known for her novel, "Hans Brinker", as well as the first editor of St. Nicholas, a successful monthly children's magazine.

#womenwriters #WomenInLiterature #womenshistory #literature #womenauthors #writing

Berthe Morisot, 1875 Photo by Charles Reutlinger

#OnThisDay in 1841, Berthe Morisot was born. She was a French painter who would become the only female founding member of a group of painters in Paris known as the Impressionists.

#impressionism #impressionistart #arthistory #womeninart #artmuseum

Berthe Morisot, 1875 Photo by Charles Reutlinger

Happy New Year 2026

Sending everyone abundant blessings in 2026!!!

#HappyNewYear2026

Still from Tillie's Punctured Romance 1914 Charlie Chaplin Marie Dressler and Mabel Normand

#OnThisDay in 1914, the 1st feature-length silent film comedy "Tillie's Punctured Romance" is released by the Keystone Film Company starring Mabel Normand, Marie Dressler, & Charlie Chaplin.
#silentmovies #MabelNormand #CinemaHistory #cinema #silentfilmcomedy #silentfilm #comedies #silentfilms

Fletcher Henderson 1943 Publicity photo, Maurice Seymour Studios

#OnThisDay in 1897, Fletcher Henderson was born. His 1st career choice was to be a chemist, but he was also a talented pianist. He created his own formula of musical chemistry, introducing #swingmusic & #bigbandjazz to each other and to those who love it!
#jazzmusic #jazz #jazzhistory #jazzgreats

Annie Jump Cannon, 1922

#OnThisDay in 1863, Annie Jump Cannon, #astronomer, was born in Dover, Delaware.

Known as the “census taker of the sky”, she developed the Harvard Classification System that classifies stars to this day.

#WomenInSTEM #womeninscience #astronomy
@aas.org @wellesley.edu

Photo: Library of Congress

Joseph Smith as Augustin Fresnel

Joseph Smith as Augustin Fresnel

What a wonderful weekend of Augustin Fresnel performances! Happy 150th to Currituck Beach Lighthouse and thank you Northern Outer Banks and Corolla NC for your hospitality!!!

#lighthouses #150thAnniversary #lighthousehistory #lighthouselovers #maritimehistory #fresnel #currituck #corollanc

Joseph Smith at Currituck Beach Lighthouse

On this Thanksgiving day I'm feeling much gratitude being on my first Fresnel performance tour! Looking forward to this weekend's performances for Currituck Beach Lighthouse as part of its 150th celebration! Happy Thanksgiving & Keep Shining Your Lights!!!

#lighthouses #maritimehistory #fresnel

Joseph Smith as Augustin Fresnel

My 1st Augustin Fresnel performance tour! Thank you Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse for bringing my performance to you as you celebrate your 150th, Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park as host, Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society & the city of #annapolis for your hospitality & vibrancy!!!

Day 2 memories of myself & Monsieur Augustin Fresnel from last month's NJ Lighthouse Challenge Weekend! Such a joy to visit Tuckerton Seaport, Absecon and Cape May Lighthouses!

@uslhs.bsky.social

#lighthouses #njlighthouses #MaritimeHistory #lighthousehistory #NJHistory #lighthouselovers #fresnel

Joseph Smith as Augustin Fresnel at Twin Lights

Joseph Smith as Augustin Fresnel at Sea Girt Lighthouse

Joseph Smith as Augustin Fresnel at Barnegat Light Museum

I and Monsieur Augustin Fresnel had a wonderful time last month participating in the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge Weekend! Here are some memories of Day 1 at Twin Lights, Sea Girt Lighthouse & Barnegat Light Museum.

#lighthouses #njlighthouses #maritimehistory #lighthousehistory #NJHistory

Portrait of Michael Faraday 1842 by Thomas Phillips

#OnThisDay 9/22/1791, Michael Faraday was born.

Faraday is best known for his work on electricity & magnetism.

Later in life, he gave a series of Christmas lectures for young people for the The Royal Institution, a series which continues today.

#ScienceHistory #ChristmasLectures #selfeducation

Charlotte Cooper 1900

#OnThisDay Sept. 22nd, 1870 Charlotte Cooper was born.

1st female athlete to win Olympic gold in an individual event at the 1900 Olympics in Paris.

At 26, she lost her hearing.

She won 5 Wimbledon titles.
#SportsHistory #OlympicHistory #tennishistory #tennishalloffame #wimbledon #resilience

Joseph Smith as Augustin Fresnel

Looking forward to traveling to #BuffaloNY to both attend the 12th Maritime Heritage Conference September 24th - 27th, & to also perform Augustin Fresnel: Through A New Lens for the lighthouse & maritime community!

#maritimehistory #maritimeheritageconference #lighthouses #Fresnellens #lighthouse

Happy #NationalLighthouseDay to all lighthouses in the United States! @uslhs.bsky.social

Keep Shining Your Lights!!!

#lighthouse #lighthouses #lighthouselovers #lighthousehistory #Fresnellens

Joseph Smith as Augustin Fresnel next to the 4th Order Fresnel Lens at Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, NJ Photo credit: Donna Dimino

So wonderful to surprise everyone last night at the 1st Friday Lecture at Custom House #Maritime #Museum Newburyport with an Augustin Fresnel virtual pop-up appearance at the end of the presentation by RADM Dan May, USCG, RET.
Congrats on the return of a 4th Order Fresnel Lens! #newburyport

Louise Blanchard Bethune c. late 1880's early 1890's

#OnThisDay in 1856, Louise Blanchard Bethune was born. She became the 1st American woman to work as a professional architect, primarily in the Buffalo, NY area. She was the 1st woman admitted to The American Institute of Architects in 1888.

#buffalohistory #womeninarchitecture #womenshistory

Me too...I think I have enough to open a small bookstore/library!

Engraving of Augustin Fresnel, Public Domain

Joseph Smith as Augustin Fresnel (Photo courtesy of Leon Gurinsky, Fire Island Lighthouse)

#OnThisDay, 7/14/1827, Augustin Fresnel left this world.
His legacy, The Fresnel Lens - an invention with a technology ahead of its time, safeguarding countless lives navigating on the waters of the home we call Earth.
It's been an honor to portray you & I intend to continue for as long as I can.

Henry David Thoreau 1856

#OnThisDay in 1817, Henry David Thoreau was born.

"I am not alone if I stand by myself". - A Week on the Concord & Merrimack Rivers

"I have a room all to myself; it is Nature." - Journal, 1/3/1853

"I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society." - Walden

Bill Haley 1974

#OnThisDay 100 years ago, one of the pioneers of Rock & Roll, Bill Haley, was born.
Bill Haley & His Comets would make their impact with "Rock Around The Clock" & their version of Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle & Roll". In 1987, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Robert Henri 1897

#onthisday 160 years ago, Robert Henri was born.

Painter & teacher, he is best known for founding the "Ashcan School", the urban realism of what he felt was "art for life's sake".
#AshcanSchool #UrbanRealism #ashcanart #arthistory #americanrealism #artlovers #americanart #museums #philadelphiaart

Robert Stevenson 1772 - 1850

Bell Rock Lighthouse drawn by Jane Stevenson

#OnThisDay in 1772, civil engineer Robert Stevenson was born. He would build & design such lighthouses as Bell Rock & Sumburgh Head. Northern Lighthouse Board Engineer from 1808 - 1842.

To Scotland's lighthouses: Keep Shining Your Lights!!!

#lighthouses #lighthouselovers #lighthousehistory