One of my earliest memories as a child is of waiting for the afternoon newspaper to be delivered to our mailbox by Jonesy, our "paperboy." (He was actually an adult driving an old, beat up, blue, late-Fifties Chevy.) I couldn't wait to plop down on the grass beside the driveway and open the paper to the comics page. I read every one of the strips, but among my favorites were Pogo , Nancy and Sluggo , Lil Abner , Beetle Bailey , and Dick Tracy . Comics later took second place to the baseball...

Last month's recent snow/sleet/ice storm brought back memories of childhood snow days. Days of no school and a lot of sledding until our toes, fingers, and noses were nearly frostbitten. And when we finally came inside to thaw our appendages, dry our wet clothes, and eat hot food, there were interminable sessions of playing Monopoly . Coincidentally, today marks the anniversary of when that board game first went on sale in 1935. Lizzie Magie's "The Landlord's Game" The game originated with...

Just before the attack on Pearl Harbor and U.S. entry into World War II, approximately 88 percent of American households had an automobile. The numerous automakers were rolling out new models with bold features and looks in growing quantities. For example, Ford turned out 691,455 new cars in 1941. But the war brought a sudden end to that. In 1942, Ford produced only 160,000 new cars. William Knudsen, president of General Motors and head of the Office of Production Management President...