Money does not exist. Only its value does. Go to the bank and ask to see the $1,000 in your

Why Are High Schools Graduating Illiterate Seniors? If you really want to know what is happening in America’s schools, do

Coming Out of the Water Dry (The 1838 Missouri Extermination Order) “The Mormons must be treated as enemies, and must

When Detective Heinz Noonan arrives in Spokane to investigate a simple case of double obituaries, he has no idea he’s

Detective Heinz Noonan, the “Bearded Homes,” is sent to Virginia Beach, North Carolina, to find 30 antique Christian crosses that

Why would anyone steal something that has no value? And then stick the insurance company for a ten-million-dollar loss? That’s

How can $2 million in diamonds vanish? First, the diamonds were assessed to make sure they were authentic. Then, in

The Alaska Gold Rush is the least studied era of United States history. If you pull up Alaska Gold Rush

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“Hey!  If you don’t want to pay a living wage; do it yourself!”

“Hey!  If you don’t want to pay a living wage; do it yourself!”

Roman history records five widespread Plebian Secessions between 494 and 287 BC.

“He collected cats?!”

“He collected cats?!”

As a matter of fact, he did. ‘He,’ in this case, was President of the

“It is not a rock!!  It’s a ship!!”

“It is not a rock!!  It’s a ship!!”

Yes, it is! Because the British Navy was prohibited from ruling on land, AND there

“Some things you just can’t make up!”

“Some things you just can’t make up!”

On July 12, 1855, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some clowns from S. B. Howes' Star

 “Who?”

 “Who?”

John Baker “Texas Jack” Omohundro, who died at the age of 33, packed a lot

“Talk about a man ahead of his time!!’

“Talk about a man ahead of his time!!’

Giovanni Caselli was a priest?! AND a physicist. In 1856, he invented the pantelegraph. In

“Talk about a real-life Robin Hood!”

“Talk about a real-life Robin Hood!”

Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd was only 30 years old when the FBI shot him

“An INDIAN!  How did that happen?!”

“An INDIAN!  How did that happen?!”

He was known as “Indian Charlie.” His real name was Charles Curtis. And he was

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They were black but bled red just like the white soldiers

They were black but bled red just like the white soldiers

While the Afghanistan War was America’s longest, the shortest was the Spanish American War.  It

America in a Snapshot

America in a Snapshot

One of the nice things about historic photographs – please excuse the pun – is

The Matter of the Bird Skin Feather Plucker Grifter

The Matter of the Bird Skin Feather Plucker Grifter

A quiet academic scandal hides in plain sight as Heinz Noonan uncovers a strange scheme involving stolen bird feathers, elite institutions, and a grifter no one wants to expose.
“Thanks to the women who made America great!”

“Thanks to the women who made America great!”

This was Mary Katherine Goddard, one of the first women publishers in America.  She ran

“HOW CAN A FOUNTAIN CHANGE ITS SHAPE?”

“HOW CAN A FOUNTAIN CHANGE ITS SHAPE?”

This is the Kay Linton Memorial Ice Fountain outside the Loussac Library in Anchorage, Alaska. 

The Matter of the Peanut Rain

The Matter of the Peanut Rain

When peanuts mysteriously rain onto a remote California island, Heinz Noonan uncovers a strange environmental scheme tied to offshore wind farms, birds, and the politics of energy.
Some ideas have “Bad News” written all over them

Some ideas have “Bad News” written all over them

One fateful day in the 1870s, the James Robinson Circus traveled to Middleton, Missouri.  As

“It’s all the same, the whole world over/it’s the poor what get the blame”

“It’s all the same, the whole world over/it’s the poor what get the blame”

This is one of my favorite editorial pictures.  His name is “Has No Horses,” or,

“Here’s a glimpse of the past that will give you a glimpse of the future.”

“Here’s a glimpse of the past that will give you a glimpse of the future.”

History is not the story of the past; it is the study of the future.

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

[huge_it_video_player id="5"] To paraphrase Al Jolson, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” (If you’re a millennial,

THE LAVENDER GANGLIA OF COROLLA

THE LAVENDER GANGLIA OF COROLLA

When an entire store vanishes overnight on the Outer Banks, Heinz Noonan uncovers a hidden motive tied to history, shipwrecks, and something far more valuable than the building itself.
Billy the Kid

Billy the Kid

Yes, you have seen this photograph many times before.  It is Billy the Kid, circa

“Where did ‘letting the cat out of the bag’ get its start?”

“Where did ‘letting the cat out of the bag’ get its start?”

The middle of the 1700s, farmers would put young pigs in a burlap ‘bag’ to

“Would you pay $77,634 for a copy of the Constitution?”

“Would you pay $77,634 for a copy of the Constitution?”

No? Well, Abraham Lincoln did. In 1864 he was running for re-election against a very

“Party on!”

“Party on!”

Wanna party?! This is a photograph of an ‘entertaining’ evening in Koyukuk in 1900, just

“Money does not exist.”

“Money does not exist.”

If you think money exists, go to your bank and ask to see the actual

The value of an education

The value of an education

The greatest shortcoming of American education is the belief that you ‘teach for the job.’

“Talk about luck!!!”

“Talk about luck!!!”

There’s been a lot of talk about who was on the Titanic. How about the

“Just because someone says it, it’s not necessarily true.”

“Just because someone says it, it’s not necessarily true.”

  Alaska bush pilot Archie Ferguson was famous for inventing “The Arctic Bump.” He convinced

“Now, don’t get all 1970s on me!”

“Now, don’t get all 1970s on me!”

DO NOT ROLL YOUR EYES when I tell you this is a statue of Sonny

History is not the story of the past

History is not the story of the past

History is not the story of the past; it is the study of the future. 

“Yes, Dorothy, there is such a thing as fake news.”

“Yes, Dorothy, there is such a thing as fake news.”

I, as an Alaskan, am outraged some people are giving fake news a bad name. 

“absurding.”

“absurding.”

Alaskans have a unique folk art, it’s called “absurding.” Alaskans get tired of hearing tourists

“Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.”

“Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.”

This is a photograph of a ship somewhere along the Mississippi before the Civil War.