Goodbye, Monticello 2014

Goodbye, Monticello, 2014 and Hello, Monticello, 2015.

Looking back is a common thing to do during this time of the year. Remembering the past, trying to learn from the past, as we look forward to the coming year.

With that note, looking back 100 years ago, it is 1914. World War I begins in Europe. We will not enter the war for four years. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington is begun. The Panama Canal opens. First Class stamps are two cents.

Pittsburg Pirate Honus Wagner hits a grand slam. (The famous T206 Honus Wagner baseball card last sold for 2.8 million dollars in 2007). Number One Billboard song is “By the Beautiful Sea” by the Heidelberg Quintet.

50 Years ago, 1954, the life expectancy is 69.6 years. Americans lined up to get the Salk polio vaccine. The first McDonald’s restaurant opened. The Vietnam Conflict begins for the United States. Minimum wage is $1.00 an hour. The song of the year is “Little Things Mean a Lot” by Kitty Kallen.

Of course, we do not know what 2015 has in store for us. Comforting words come from Rabbi Daniel Lapin who wrote, “The more things change, the more we need to depend upon things that never do.”

Happy New Year, Monticello!