While I love browsing online, it just isn’t the same as scanning the shelves at a public library. The other night when looking for a different book, I came across a handy little volume. “Frew’s Daily Archive—A Calendar of Commemorations,” by Andrew Frew (McFarland & Company, 1984), is a daily accounting of special days and holidays. A list of commemorative days for each May includes well-known events such as Kentucky Derby Day and Mother’s Day but how many of us knew that this month is also known for the Festival of the Hare. That one will take a little more research. Under each day for a given month are holidays celebrated and notable events. For instance I learned that on 8 May 1878, Paul Hines of the Providence Greys made the first Major League triple play on record. That’s a bit a baseball trivia to file away for the future. Maybe that’s not useful to your family history, but knowing that Minnesota joined the Union on 11 May 1858 might help you date a photograph of your relatives posed on their front porch waving the flag. 

Click here for a printer friendly version of this article.