Arnold Palmer is considered one of the greatest professional golf players of all time, having made a huge impact on the public image of the sport. Golf was a sport that until Palmer’s time was considered only a pastime for the upper class to enjoy. However, Palmer helped to change this perception and made golf a sport for the working and middle class also to enjoy. Palmer won 62 PGA titles, seven major titles, and various other awards during his professional career. He was also one of the thirteen original inductees into the World Golf Hall of Fame. While he was an unforgettable player, his legacy lasts beyond the golf world. Almost any place you go, you can order an “Arnold Palmer” drink, a mix of lemonade and iced tea that Palmer was known for drinking on the course. After he retired from golf in 2006, he pursued many business ventures, from writing books to running his enterprise. After 87 years of success, he passed away on September 25th, 2016.
Following the news of his death, many shared their thoughts and memories of the golf superstar. The Norfolk Daily News shared a piece that included many of these sentiments about Palmer and his achievements. One person said he transcended the game of golf, being not just a player but an icon. Many referred to him as ‘the king’ for his talents but also the way he interacted with his fans. Even famous golf player Tiger Woods said that without Arnold, the game of golf wouldn’t be what it is today.
My search tip of the week is one that helped me find an article remembering Arnold Palmer following his death. Did you know that there are different search filters you can use to filter by date? In the Community History Archives, you have the ability to search between, on, before, or after a specific date! This means if you need to filter out some irrelevant results, but aren’t sure what specific day a particular event would be reported on, you can filter the dates you are searching for after it happened. That’s what I did when looking for this article. Because Arnold Palmer was such a legend, there were hundreds of papers talking about him, mostly about his golf game. To narrow my search, I filtered the date to include results after the day he passed, which helped me to find the specific article I was looking for!
On September 29, 1988, the Discovery Space Shuttle returned to flight. It had been inactive since the Challenger Shuttle exploded on January 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts aboard. The shuttle was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as many NASA shuttles, rockets, and rovers are. The shuttle ran a four-day return-to-flight mission in which it traveled over a million miles through space and completed 64 orbits. The Crew was led by Commander Frederick Hauk, marking his third and final flight in space. Nerves were high as they drew closer and closer to launch, but the Nebraska City News published on September 27th, 1988 that so far the preparation had gone exactly as planned, but weather could prevent them from launching. Luckily, the mission was a success and gave NASA the confidence to continue space exploration following the Challenger explosion.
The Little Rock Nine were a group of students who were tasked with integrating Little Rock’s Central High School for the first time. For almost the entirety of September of 1957, the nine black students tried and failed to attend the otherwise entirely white high school. Angry crowds and even the National Guard prevented them from entering the building. In fact, the night before their first day, September 2nd, the Arkansas governor ordered the state’s national guard to prevent the students from entering the building.
On September 25th, the students could finally enter the building and attend classes. However, this didn’t happen until a plea from the town’s mayor reached President Eisenhower, who then federalized the National Guard and US Army to escort the group into the building. From then on, they were able to attend classes regularly, but not without enduring horrific treatment from the other students. Daily the Little Rock Nine were harassed and mistreated for nothing more than the color of their skin. On October 2nd, 1957, the Southwest American reported that they had a “pretty rough day” even when escorted by federal troops, as they did little to stop the racially motivated incidents that occurred within the walls of the school. Nonetheless, they persisted and graduated from Little Rock Central High School. Their courage laid a path for black students everywhere and helped schools integrate all over the United States. Eight of the nine students in the group are still alive today.
The Munich Agreement was a settlement between Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and France signed on September 30, 1938. The agreement came following rising tensions over who should control the Sudetenland. Hitler believed that it should be annexed to Germany, as the population was largely ethnically German. However, Czechoslovakia wasn’t going to let that slide. To address this, they held a conference in Munich with Great Britain, Italy, and France but notably excluded Czechoslovakia in discussions over the territory.
Great Britain and France were eager to avoid another war after World War I, so they agreed to many of Hitler’s demands. Eventually, they agreed to allow Germany to annex the territory. While this was aimed to be a peaceful agreement, the Lakeville Journal reported on October 27th, 1938, that following the agreement Great Britain and other involved countries began to prepare their armies for war rapidly. It seems they had a feeling that the conflict would not end with the Munich agreement. Hitler had insisted that the annexing of the Sudetenland would be his final attempt to gain more territory in Europe. Obviously, this was a lie, and Hitler went on to occupy Czechoslovakia completely, which eventually contributed to the beginning of World War II.
One of the things President Theodore Roosevelt is best known for is his passion for creating national monuments and parks. On September 24th, 1906, he established the very first national monument in Crook County, Wyoming. The Devil’s Tower is a laccolith mountain in the Black Hills mountain range. It played a role in many indigenous cultures, having various stories about its creation and purpose. Devils Tower stands out from the area around it, as it reaches an elevation of 5,112 feet. Before becoming a national monument, the area was a US Forest Reserve from 1892 until 1906. The Minute Daily News shared that 2,500 people gathered at the Devils Tower National Monument on September 24th, 1956 to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of its monument status. The Devils Tower now serves as a checklist item for nature lovers visiting the black hills mountain range!
Join me again next week to discover more of history’s hidden gems and timeless tales.
Explore the “Read All About It” archives to read stories that spotlight our partners and their communities, announcements from our team, updates on current projects, and so much more. Discover articles about engagement, outreach, primary sources, community, digitization, education, and other topics of interest. Delve into the happenings in this week in history and take a deep dive into the events and people who helped shape our communities, our nation, and the world.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye, READ ALL ABOUT IT!
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