Atari is known to have been a huge company in the past but in a way, they are still around. They just are not as active as they used to be. Today, I will be talking about 10 Retro Atari games you can play online at Atari.com that are known for its nostalgic. 

1. Space Invaders: Space invaders is known for its nostalgic value and its many variations. You can play Space Invaders online right now straight from Atari’s website, last I checked. As far as I known, the classic retro feel is still there. The difference is the speed and game physics is obviously going to be much higher, but it still gives the feeling of playing the game.

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Image courtesy of Windsor Historical Society

     Marguerite Mills (1903-1985) was a descendant of some of the oldest Windsor, Connecticut families. Windsor holds the distinction of being "Connecticut's oldest English town." At a young age, Mills developed a deep respect and love for the town's history. She lived in the same home throughout her life. The house, located on Deerfield Road, was filled with beautiful antiques. 

       In September of 1921,  Mills joined Windsor Historical Society of Connecticut at the age of 17. She was not only one of the 100 charter members of the society, but Mills injected a vital energy. The Windsor Historical Society was formed with the objective of creating awareness among the public about various places, events, and people that share a significant part of the evolving history of Windsor. The Windsor Historical Society conducts various exhibitions, sessions, research activities, programs and interaction with those interested in preserving and interpreting Windsor’s historical records. 

      In 1925, the Lt. Walter Fyler House, thought to be one of the oldest wood-framed houses in the state, was to be demolished to make way for a gasoline station. Mills and other members made every effort to preserve the historic site which now houses the Windsor Historical Society.¹ Every year Mills analyzed reports prepared by the President of the Windsor Historical Society. The data resulted in a collection of funds raised for the construction of a fireproof building so the increasing number of collections and antiques could be safely preserved. 

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1) Atari founder Nolan Bushnell had the opportunity to buy Apple Corporation for a measly $75000, which would be worth $190k after adjusting for inflation. Steve Jobs even offered to work for Bushnell during the time and use Atari computer parts for the Macintosh predecessor, of which Bushnell said no. Many believe it is because of Bushnell’s traditionalism, traditionalism in the sense Bushnell was less willing to take a risk on a disruptive tech in the market.

2) The Nintendo 2Ds: Nintendo’s 2Ds System was a terrible idea because they spent unneeded money for extra R & D, and the backlash from going backward in the release of a newer game console did not help. Essentially, Nintendo was able to save themselves, but it cost them extra hassle.

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     Women have influenced the acting and cinema sector for decades. We are well aware of many Hollywood actresses who have charmed the entire world with their beauty, elegance, and talent. Marilyn Monroe, Kate Winslet, Grace Kelly, Rita Hayworth are a few of these brilliant actresses. However, we know less about the actresses who ruled the American cinema during the early 20th century. One such beautiful and stunning actresses is Kathleen Clifford. She was an American vaudeville and Broadway stage talent and film actress during this period.

     Clifford was born on February 16. 1887 in Virginia in the United States.  Clifford’s acting career commenced on the vaudeville stages. She used to act in plays, mostly as comic relief, and was known for her impersonations of men. She was also known as “The Smartest Chap in Town” for her witty and humorous acts. Additionally, she worked in a play with a male impersonator, Bothwell Browne. Both actresses were constantly employed during those days.

     In 1907, Clifford was offered an opportunity to make her first appearance on Broadway. She accepted the offer and performed for the first time Broadway at the Lincoln Square Theatre in the J.J and Lee Schultz produced musical The Bell of London Town. Clifford was a prolific actor and as such, she appeared in many stage performances. Some of these are as follows:

• In 1911, she appeared in a musical triple bill named Hell, Temptations and Gaby at the Floies Bergere Theatre.
• During 1911-1912, she played in the original musical comedy known as Vera Violetta at the Winter Garden Theatre.
• In 1912, she performed at in the Florenz Ziengfield musical production A Winsome Window.
• In 1916, she worked in the H.H. Frazee Productions A Pair of Queens at the Longacre Theatre in which she was cast opposite the actor, Edward Abeles.

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Maria Tesch – A Woman Who Made a Difference

      Today we have mobile phones to take photos on any occasion. Moreover, we can even shoot selfies while eating a pizza, driving a car [not recommended] or even while having a row with your partner. A camera has become an essential need. If this technological advancement was told to a layman living in the 1900s, he would not believe you and thought you had become crazy.

     During those days, photos were taken only on special occasions. People living in the 18^th and 19^th centuries preserved their photos. If you have gone through the photographs of your grandparents or even great-grandparents, those photos look natural, elegant and real. These photos were preserved for ages so the next generation could see and cherish their ancestor's memories. This appears contradictory to our present scenario. These days our mobile phones are loaded with selfies and photos and we delete those as soon as it has been uploaded as a "Display Picture" or "Profile Picture" on WhatsApp and Facebook respectively.

     We don’t even have to incur substantial expenses for clicking and discarding photos, and taking a photo has become a usual task. One does not require photography skills to snap picture perfect photos, thanks to the advancements in the field.  The cameras found in today’s mobile phones are comprised of advanced and dynamic features such as auto click, zoom, clarity, special effects, etc. A person from the 19^th century could not have even imagined so many remarkable improvements in the photography industry.

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This article was sent by friends overseas. As it is International Women's Day, I am honored to share the sentiment. 

Why Celebrate Women’s Day 2017?

Today, women are dominating in every aspect of society. She is no longer secondary to a man. She has entered the fields of politics, teaching, writing, science, medicine, navy, army, air force, defense, technology, and so on. The list of work sectors is endless where women are working in alignment with men’s efforts.

Gone are the days when women were not given her basic rights and she was undermined by society. She was restricted to taking care of her family between the four walls of a house. But now the scenario is completely different. She not only cares for her family but also for the society, her school, her office, her organization and even her nation.

This does not mean that women who are shown on TV screens or whose remarkable achievements are printed in newspapers are the only successful women on this planet.

Every woman is successful.

If she is taking care of her sick parents, she is a successful daughter. 

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      Simply put, the goal of the Indedpendent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) is to "improve and elevate the character of man."¹   Its origins began when ordinary citizens in seventeenth century England joined forces and resources to aid persons in need. In America, Washington Lodge No. 1 in Baltimore, Maryland, received its charter from Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows in England on April 26, 1819.²  The members of the fraternal organization were employed to "Visit the sick, relieve the distress, bury the dead and educate the orphans" as Baltimore was suffering from an outbreak of yellow fever.³ 

      I.O.O.F. was the first national fraternity which to include both men and women when it adopted the Rebekah Degree in 1851. This degree was written by the Honorable Schuyler Colfax (1823-1885), who is perhaps better remembered for having served as the Vice President of the United States from 1869-1873. The Odd Fellows and Rebekahs continue their work today with nearly 10,000 lodges in approximately 26 countries. 

     Sarah Miles Hanna (1825-April 9, 1907)  became a Rebekah in 1854, three years after the Rebekah Degree was initiated. By the time of her death in 1907, she was one of the oldest Rebekahs. Hanna's pedigree was substantial. Her father, Solomon Stoddard Miles, was president of the Presbyterian College in Zanesville, Ohio. She was a cousin of  General Nelson A. Miles (1839-1925), a somewhat controversial figure for his eagerness to accept accolades, but unwillingness to accept blame, during the Plains Indian Wars (1854-90). 

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Andrew Kamal

     There are many nostalgic Sega Genesis games, but here are literally some of the best. These games are what made Sega one of the missed companies of our time in terms of the consoles they released or the classic gaming vibe they used to have. There are known for many classics which we will cover in this article.

1. The Sonic the Hedgehog series: The whole Sonic the Hedgehog series turned into one of the biggest gaming franchises ever to exist. It is literally Nintendo’s Mario biggest competitor. The classic sonic games are one of the reasons Sega is still considered somewhat functioning and active today. Just not as much as they used too.

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"First your country, then your rights." W.E.B. Du Bois, 1918

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                 Image Courtesy of Earnest Archives and Library                                                                                    

We recently [2013] came across notes written on blank pages of a copy of Johann Arndts’ Sechs Bücher vom Wahren Christenthum (Six Books of the True Christendom). Published in Nürnberg in 1762, the book was purchased in Philadelphia in 1783 by Peter Lex, who apparently penned the notes himself in German script. According to Lex, he was born on August 30, 1750 in “Gemein Schafftlichen Flecken Wöllstein beÿ Creutznach” (the little community [of] Flecken Wöllstein near [Bad] Kreuznach) in the Rheinland Pfalz area of today’s Germany. He bought his book in November 1783 for 1 pound, 17 shillings, and 6 pence. 

Lex’s notes are interesting for several reasons. He spoke about 1783 being the year that the republic gained its freedom from the King of England, and how the fledgling American congress would meet in December. Congress had proclaimed the end of the Revolutionary War on April 19, and it did meet, as noted by Lex, in Annapolis on December 23 to accept George Washington’s resignation as commander-in-chief. 

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By Andrew Kamal

     Game and Watch is the predecessor to modern handhelds starting in the 1980s. Some of the games that were in this series all led to the modern NIntendo games that we have today. One of them being the very well known “Donkey Kong Series”. Donkey Kong, and Donkey Kong Jr. as well as almost all the mini-games were originally released on the “Game & Watch” series by Nintendo, which were basically series of handhelds meant to play single low bit games in the late 1900s.

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By Benjamin Truesdale, Department Head, Freeman's 

                                            Image Courtesy of Freeman's

      For a certain tribe of collectors, there is no thrill greater than diving straight into a dusty, wrecked steamer trunk, or some other such vessel, and sifting through scraps of old paper, bond certificates, postcards, photos, and any other mixed-up fragments from an earlier age. This particular bunch finds the grittiness of excavation thrilling, as such, but even more essential is the persistent hope that something intact, something coherent, may emerge from the confused shards, rubble, and ruin. The form of the found object may even be irrelevant to manuscript collectors; it could be a ledger, a sentiment album, or a marked-up, yellowed typescript. What matters instead is the discovery of unattested documentary materials, written in human hand, which transport one directly to the lived experience of the past. Most prized of all are those documents which may expand upon, or better yet push back against, otherwise commonly accepted historical narratives.

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     Gaming companies have this nostalgic value to them, and have been changing over the years. We all miss the Atari & Sega days, and Nintendo has been around for literally centuries. This list tells you what I believe to be the five best gaming companies of our time in terms of value, popularity and demand. Sit back, and enjoy the memories!

•      Nintendo: Nintendo has been around before any gaming company in the past, and even started as a trading card company. The Nintendo Switch is literally coming out soon and they have been known for classics such as the N64 as well. People are demanding Nintendo so much, they wish they might even start making phones or doing something with VR eventually.

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Photo Courtesy of Earnest Archives and Library

     Happy New Year! We would like to extend our wishes of happiness, health, and prosperity to our readers. The folks here at Passed Time

    This Lied (Song) is part of a larger broadside--a sheet of paper printed on one side only. Occasionally, only a few examples of a broadside specimen survived. As they were often printed to announce a passing event, broadsides were thrown away once the affair was complete. This New Year Song is the only known survivor of this particular edition. It is a long, narrow sheet with another lied printed below. The original sheet was larger still--at least double in size. The other half probably showed the same two lieds and the printer cut the sheets in half, or even quarters, to sell. 

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Discontinued Game Consoles Way Ahead of Their Time by Andrew Kamal

     Many game companies have vanished, or their ideas have long been forgotten. It is past the age where handhelds where as impressive and SEGA as well as ATARI are way passed any golden years. However one thing is for certain, some game consoles in the past made by different companies were way ahead of its time. For this, I compiled a list:

1. The Atari Cosmos- Atari was experimenting with holoptics and potentially going to release the first holographic/3D screened game console nearly three decades before the Nintendo 3Ds. This was known as Atari Cosmos. The biggest reason I believe it was never released, was the fact that it was going to go into production at the end of Atari’s popular legacy.

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     As we near the season of giving thanks, I found myself racing frantically to accomplish something. Anything. I need a win. As many of you can empathize, my time is spent juggling too many activities in days which seem to last about an hour. Recently, in a more surprising twist, I also struggled to find material to write about. For someone who finds the smallest scrap of paper interesting, this was a new one. Luckily, this gem fell into my lap. As a primary source, it my favorite source material. It is a thank you note and I am sure its timeliness is not lost on our audience. 

     In this day and age (the era of "throw it away and buy a new one"), the gift of a bulletin board might seem inconsequential. In 1938, Americans still struggled with effects of the Great Depression.  Like many small American towns across the country, Mt. Rainier, Maryland was on shaky financial footing and many of its citizens were in need.* As such, small gestures made a great impact.  

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     Okay, here are the available clues to hopefully solve this mystery. (Do You Recognize Me? Where am I? Who are we? etc.)

1. The photograph

2. Two of the persons are identified on the reverse of the photograph (see below)

3. This is a Sanborn Studio photograph from Wil. Del. (see below)

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      Ah, this book has seen better days or, looking at it from the flipside, it has been used well in the past 146 years. In the days before electronic calculators (or cell phones with calculators), Leary's Reckoner and Form Book was carried around or kept closely on hand as a means to quickly perform accurate calculations. This particular example was printed in 1870 and the pocket-sized book also contains standard forms such as those used by merchants and others in days long gone. Young James McLaughlin of Port Jervis, New York took another view. He decided the book's endpapers would best be served to showcase his artwork. Another youngster, Frederick Ross, followed McLaughlin's lead.

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     When I read this letter I was amused to find that the author of the letter, Margaretta Wissler, used that conversational mainstay--the weather. She also alluded to her weight. Fast forward 149 years and we still talk about the weather and women still worry about their weight. My first thought was that nothing changes. Yet, she startled me with a reference to her son, Frankey, who "plays all day long outside." What form of torture is that?

    Margaretta Bowen Wissler married Jacob Hiestand Wissler (Whissler) on November 24, 1847, approximately twenty years prior to this letter.* When she wrote this letter, the Wisslers  lived in Freeport, Pennsylvania roughly 200 miles west of Gettysburg (depending upon route). The letter was sent to Margaretta's sister in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Her sister, Eliza (Bowen) Kendlehart (1815-1902), was married to David Kendlehart (1813-1891) an established Gettysburg merchant.** 

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      Do you know what clickbait is? For those who do not know, clickbait is the term for "articles" with sensationalistic headlines or tantalizing photographs which lure readers to click on them. This act leads readers to another website where they become mired in an endless labyrinth of webjunk (did I just coin a word?). Most of the times the webjunk is completely unrelated to the headline or photo that caused one to click on it in the first place. The process leaves the reader hanging their head and weeping in frustration because they fell for it again--or that is what I have heard. I've personally never fallen for it. I swear. I SWEAR!

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     A friend won a box lot containing a scrapbook and several nondescript three ring binders at an auction recently. He only wanted the scrapbook, but invited me over to go through the binders with him. To echo my teenager's comment, "cool!"

     The binders were created in the early 1920s by Mary Hunter Bean, who took art classes at two separate Pennsylvania schools. Each binder contains a plethora of information recorded by Bean from lectures she attended. They also contain thoughtfully placed newspaper and magazine clippings which enhanced her studies. 

     Within the binders, Mary included information about various classical artists and their individual styles, as well as studies of architectural elements, furniture, and even costumes. The binders could simply be dismissed as any schoolgirl's efforts and truthfully, the significance of this  find did not hit me until I was editing this article. 

      Later in her life, Mary Hunter Bean and her husband Richard Anders Rogers (1903-1967) inhabited one of Pennsylvania's historic homes--the Daniel Hiester house. In recognition of its historical authenticity, the home was purchased by the Montgomery County Lands Trust in 2012 to both preserve its heritage and share that heritage with the public for many generations. I like to believe that is due to the Rogers' family efforts, particularly those of Mary Hunter Rogers nee Bean, that the house retained its authentic features. The realization that these notebooks and her studies probably served as guides for keeping the house true to its origins only hit as I was editing this article. Thank you for bearing with me.

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