History
The glacier is named in honor of Edward A Spencer, who was a general timekeeper for the Alaska Central Railway. You might think it strange to name a glacier after a timekeeper for the railroad, but there is a reason the glacier took on his name.
On November 16, 1905, Spencer set out to hike the trail from Camp 52 to Camp 55, through the region now known as the glacier named after him. Despite the nighttime journey, Spencer was reportedly sure of his ability 
to complete the trek. Unfortunately, Spencer fell into a crevasse within the glacier while traveling alone at night. A year later, his remains, along with his travel gear and documents, were discovered. In 1909, the United States Geological Survey honored his memory by naming the glacier after him.
Edward A. Spencer was a key figure in the development of Alaska’s railway system, his story is intertwined with the stark challenges faced by those who labored to construct the Alaska Central Railroad. As a timekeeper for the railroad, Spencer’s role was essential. Following his death, U.S. Grant and D.F. Higgins from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) named the glacier “Spencer Glacier” the massive ice formation in Alaska after Edward Spencer in 1909. Spencer Glacier originates in the Kenai Mountains, about 6 miles south of Carpathian Peak, and extends northwest to the southern tip of the Placer River Valley, roughly 20 miles southeast of Sunrise in the Chugach Mountains. Spencer Glacier ascends 3,500 feet like a magnificent natural ramp from a lake dotted with royal-blue icebergs in the Chugach National Forest, located just 60 miles south of Anchorage. This ice-age landscape is both rugged and ancient, with peaks reaching a mile high, sheer cliff rising above 
gravel outwash plains, and the stunning sights of waterfalls and braided rivers. Eighty percent of an iceberg is below the water, mushrooming and shelving out beneath the surface, making it much larger than it appears. This lake can reach depths of up to 400 feet, and the glacier wall at the edge of the lake is estimated to be 300 feet deep. The beauty of Spencer lies in its pristine wilderness setting. With no roads leading in, the only access is by rail.
On November 15, 1884, a woman named Ellen Keyse was found dead in a pantry next to John Lee’s room. Ellen Keyse was a rich older woman for whom Lee had worked. Keyse’s murder was brutal. Her head was severely battered and her throat cut. There was no direct evidence of Lee’s guilt, and in fact, the case was made solely on circumstantial evidence. The alleged motive was Lee’s resentment at Keyse’s supposed mean treatment. Lee insisted he was innocent. He had been convicted and sentenced to death by hanging.
On February 23, 1885, Lee, who was just 19 years old is, was sent to the gallows in Exeter, England, for Keyse’s murder. It seemed that no matter how hard he had tried to prove his innocence, it was all for not, and his life was over. However, after the noose was placed around his neck, the lever that would release the floor beneath his feet was pulled, and something malfunctioned. Lee was not dropped, even though the equipment had been tested and found to be in working order. It was shocking!! The weights in the test plummeted to the ground as anticipated. Despite two additional attempts at hanging, Lee remained standing on the trap door when the lever was pulled, and it failed to open. Not sure what to make of the situation, the guards returned Lee to prison.
Since everything worked fine with weights, the authorities got a little nervous about the inexplicable malfunction, and they decided to attribute the whole thing to an act of God. Lee was removed from death row, his sentence commuted, and he spent the next 22 years in prison. Once he was released, Lee emigrated to America. They tested the gallows again and still found no cause for Lee’s remarkable reprieve. These days condemned prisoners don’t have a chance to receive such reprieves. No one is hanged anymore. Most people are executed by lethal injection. Even when there are mishaps in carrying out an execution, such as the case when an executioner failed to properly find a vein for a lethal injection, the authorities will try again, until the prisoner has been put to death.
Lee maintained his innocence until his death. Following his release, he appeared to capitalize on his fame, earning a living through lectures about his life and even becoming the subject of a silent film. The details of his 
life post-1916 are murky, with some speculation that multiple individuals later claimed to be him. It was once believed he died in a Tavistock workhouse during World War II. However, newer research suggests that he died in the United States as “James Lee” in 1945. The book “The Man They Could Not Hang” states that Lee’s gravestone was found at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee in 2009.
These days, we all know what mass transit is. It’s about taking a trip on a plane, train, ship, or even a bus. Certainly, trains existed prior to 1832, but they were not designed for cross-town travel back then. On November 14, 1832, all that changed when the New York and Harlem Railroad in New York City introduced the nation’s first horse-drawn streetcar. The streetcar service was launched on the Bowery and Fourth Avenue in Manhattan, spanning from Prince to 14th Street, and with that, it became the city’s inaugural mass transit system. The fare for a ride was set at 12.5 cents.
The streetcar was named “John Mason” after the President of Chemical Bank, a prosperous New York businessman and railroad co-founder who financed its creation. It was essentially a horse-drawn bus with seating for about a dozen passengers. However, as reported by the New York Herald, this did not deter people from crowding in, “People are packed into streetcars like sardines in a box, with perspiration for oil. The seats being more than filled, the passengers are placed in rows down the middle, where they hang on by the straps, like smoked hams in a corner grocery.” No one thought about the problems, and in fact dangers of overcrowding, and as it turns out those dangers did not materialize anyway, so the ride, overcrowding and all, was a beloved pastime.
Horse-drawn carriages had always existed in New York City, but the omnibus was different because it ran along a designated route and was a more affordable option. “Omni” meant the bus carried everyone and anyone. The ride was cushioned with steel springs, but wheels were solid metal and wood. I can imagine the rough ride its passengers must have experienced, and the amount of effort needed by the draft animals to pull the oversize coaches along New York City’s cobblestone, unfinished, and litter-strewn streets. While riding was a trick sometimes, getting off was just as strange. To signal their desire to disembark from the large stagecoach, passengers would pull on a leather strap connected to the driver’s ankle. Imagine how annoying that constant pulling on the ankle must have been for the driver. I suppose he got used to it, but to me it seems like it would be a huge annoyance.
The next step took over 50 years, but in 1883, New York saw its first steam-powered streetcar, which replaced 
the horse-drawn omnibus. From there, change was rapid. By 1909, electric trolleys were introduced to the city. Even the local baseball team got in on the streetcar craze. Baseball historians tell of the Brooklyn Dodgers, originally the “Trolley Dodgers,” who earned their name because the borough’s baseball team fans quite often had to navigate through busy streetcar traffic.
It became an almost commonplace practice for a while, but it really wasn’t a safe practice or an acceptable practice. A backboard shattering, also referred to as backboard breaking or smashing, is an accident or deliberate stunt in basketball. It happens when a player slam dunks with enough force to break the tempered glass backboard, which may also result in the hoop detaching. This event typically leads to game cancellations or delays, a foul against the player responsible, potential serious injuries, and significant cleanup and replacement costs. The act of shattering a backboard is hazardous, as it propels small shards of glass over the players, sideline press, referees, and spectators. Nevertheless, On November 13, 1979, during a game at the Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Philadelphia 76ers center Darryl Dawkins soared over Kansas City Kings forward Bill Robinzine and executed a slam dunk that shattered the fiberglass backboard. Witnesses described the noise as resembling a bomb detonating on the court. Glass shards scattered everywhere, cutting Robinzine’s arms and legs and embedding in Dr. J’s Afro. Dawkins later remarked, “It wasn’t really safe, but it was a Darryl Dawkins thing to do.” It also wasn’t the first time it happened. Chuck Connors, who would later gain fame as an actor in “The Rifleman,” was the first NBA player to shatter a backboard, not with a dunk but with a set shot. While playing for the Boston Celtics in 1946, during pregame warmups, Connors’ shot hit the front of the rim. The backboard shattered because an arena worker had neglected to install a protective piece between the rim and the backboard. I can only imagine his shock.
When 6’10”, 260-pound Dawkins joined the 76ers in 1975, he was the first NBA player drafted directly from high school. His nickname, reportedly bestowed on him by Stevie Wonder, was “Chocolate Thunder.” His aim was to become the league’s most entertaining player. His slam dunks, huge crowd-pleasers, and he named them all: “the In-Your-Face Disgrace, Look Out Below, Turbo Sexophonic Delight, Rim-Wrecker, Go-Rilla, Spine Chiller Supreme, Cover Your Head, Yo Mama, and his personal favorite, the Get-Out-of-the-Waying, Backboard-Swaying, Game-Delaying, If-You-Ain’t-Grooving-You-Best-Get-Moving Dunk.” His notorious Kansas City backboard shattering dunk was aptly named “the Chocolate-Thunder-Flying, Robinzine-Crying, Teeth-Shaking, Glass-Breaking, Rump-Roasting, Bun-Toasting, Wham-Bam Glass-Breaker-I-Am Jam.”
Apparently, he liked this showiness, because a few weeks later, Dawkins shattered another backboard, this time at the Philadelphia Spectrum. Following this incident, NBA Commissioner Larry O’Brien summoned the young player to his office and issued a stern warning: for each backboard Dawkins broke, he would face a $5,000 fine and suspension. While the dramatic dunks were generating publicity for the NBA, which was then facing difficulties, they also led to lengthy game delays as janitors cleaned up the broken glass, not to mention the inherent danger. Consequently, the league decided to equip every arena with shatterproof backboards and breakaway rims. If you can’t stop the players from this risky behavior, you make it impossible to perform.
Darryl Dawkins’ iconic backboard-shattering dunks are some of the most memorable moments from an 
especially exuberant era in NBA history. I don’t think there is one person who hasn’t see a replay or two. He continued his basketball career in Italy, where he broke several backboards that were not Dawkins-proof and later coached the Pennsylvania Valley Dawgs in the United States Basketball League. Dawkins was born in Orlando, Florida, on January 11, 1957, to Harriet James and Frank Dawkins. His grandmother Amanda Celestine Jones was fond of the young Darryl and personally raised him. Dawkins passed away in 2015, at the age of 58
When weather gets ugly, and things end up in really bad shape, the blame often falls on the disaster crew trying to help. The 1970 Bhola cyclone, which was also referred to as the Great Cyclone of 1970, was a catastrophic tropical cyclone that hit East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Bengal in India on November 12, 1970. It was also a prime example of the blame game. The 1970 Bhola Cyclone was the deadliest tropical cyclone on record and one of the most lethal natural disasters in history. The death toll from the storm was at least 300,000, with estimates reaching up to 500,000, largely due to the storm surge that inundated the low-lying islands of the Ganges Delta. Bhola was the most intense and the sixth cyclonic storm of the 1970 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. 
A cyclone developed over the central Bay of Bengal on November 8th and moved northwards, gaining strength along the way. It peaked with winds of 115 mph on November 10 and struck the coast of East Pakistan the next afternoon. The resulting storm surge demolished numerous offshore islands, wiping out villages and decimating crops across the area. In Tazumuddin, the upazila (sub-district) hardest hit, the storm claimed the lives of more than 45% of its 167,000 residents. The death toll was just shocking.
The Pakistani administration, under the leadership of General Yahya Khan, faced criticism for its slow response to relief efforts after the storm from both East Pakistani political figures and international media. Of course, the media doesn’t always understand the logistics concerned in such a rescue effort. This inadequate and biased response from the government of West Pakistan contributed to growing disenchantment among the people of East Pakistan, which enabled the opposition Awami League to secure a decisive victory in the provincial elections the following month and also led to the Bangladesh Liberation War seven months later. This was most likely a clear showing of weather making history.
The name was originally Armistice Day, but now is known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of England and Veterans Day in the United States. It is observed annually on November 11th. This day marks the armistice signed at Compiègne, France, between the Allies of World War I and Germany at 5:45am, leading to the end of hostilities on the Western Front, effective from 11:00am…the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” in 1918. Despite this, Thomas R Gowenlock, a US First Division intelligence officer, reported that shelling continued throughout the day, ceasing only at nightfall. The armistice, initially set for 36 days, required several extensions until the formal peace agreement with the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year. In celebration of the day, “Legally, two minutes of silence is recommended to be observed at 2:11pm Eastern Standard Time.”
Originally set for November 11th annually, Veterans Day was shifted to the fourth Monday of October starting in 1971, due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This change occurred on October 25, 1971; October 23, 1972; October 22, 1973; October 28, 1974; October 27, 1975; October 25, 1976, and October 24, 1977. However, in 1978, the observance was returned to its original date of November 11th, mainly because its date had significance too. Although the official holiday is still on November 11th, if it falls on a weekend, federal employees and various organizations observe the holiday on the adjacent Friday or Monday.
Veterans Day, the federal holiday in the United States, is observed annually on November 11th to honor military veterans from the United States Armed Forces. Veterans Day is distinct from Memorial Day, a US public holiday in May: Veterans Day commemorates the service of all US veterans, while Memorial Day specifically honors those who have died while in military service. Another military holiday that also occurs in May, Armed Forces Day, honors those currently serving in the US military. Additionally, Women Veterans Day is recognized by a growing number of US states that specifically honor women who have served in the US military.
While the holiday is commonly printed as Veteran’s Day or Veterans’ Day in calendars and advertisements, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs website states that the attributive (no apostrophe) rather than the possessive case is the official spelling “because it is not a day that ‘belongs’ to veterans, it is a day for honoring all veterans.” I find that very informative, because I have always struggled with where that apostrophe was supposed to go…silly as that may sound. I like that it is actually no apostrophe to honor all veterans. So, to our veterans, Happy Veterans Day!!
Ok, so you bought a car. You already know, I’m sure, that there are many things your car will need. You just hope that it will be…eventually. With the introduction of the automobile, came the need for parts…lots of parts. On of the parts that might seem insignificant…until it rains anyway, is the windshield wipers. Nevertheless, after those first cars were invented, and the rain, snow, and sleet moved in, the windshield wiper became very important. Enter Mary Anderson. Mary was a woman from Birmingham, Alabama, who came up with her “window cleaning device for electric cars and other vehicles to remove snow, ice or sleet from the window.” The product was very unique, and the patent office awarded US Patent Number 743,801 to Mary for her work. Upon receiving her patent, Anderson attempted to sell it to a Canadian manufacturer, but the firm declined, stating the device lacked prac9tical value and was not monetarily worthwhile. Despite mechanical windshield wipers becoming standard in passenger vehicles by approximately 1913, Anderson did not profit from her invention.
As the story goes, “on a freezing, wet winter day around the turn of the century, Mary Anderson was riding a streetcar on a visit to New York City when she noticed that the driver could hardly see through his sleet-encrusted front windshield. Although the trolley’s front window was designed for bad-weather visibility—it was split into parts so that the driver could open it, moving the snow- or rain-covered section out of his line of vision—in fact the multi-pane windshield system worked very poorly. It exposed the driver’s uncovered face (not to mention all the passengers sitting in the front of the trolley) to the inclement weather, and did not improve his ability to see where he was going in any case.”
Mary Anderson’s invention solved this problem for everyone. With a simple flip of a switch, the wipers kick in, and our windshields are clean and dry. Yes, they wear out sometimes, and many people would say that they 
don’t last as long as they should, but try to do much driving in the rain or snow without them. Many parts, some much more expensive don’t last long either. It’s better to have a set of almost worn-out wiper blades than to have none at all. Many people would have expected an automobile invention to come from a man, but not in this case. So the next time you use your wiper blades, you can thank Mary.
Yesterday, Americans went to the polls to elect our next president. We do this every four years, and whether your candidate wins or loses, it is a right that belongs to every US citizen over the age of 18 years. It isn’t a right that should be taken lightly. There are nations who do not have this right…and unfortunately, there are people who don’t vote and therefore forfeit their right. I understand that many people thing that their vote doesn’t matter, but every vote matters…every vote counts. I don’t care if you live in a state that is so completely red or so completely blue that you don’t think that your vote could possibly make a difference, it can. Change often happens slowly, but when enough people see a need for change, and they vote, change eventually happens. Take for example the states that flipped from Democrat to Republican in this election. People wanted change, and they went out to vote so they could get it.
Of course, sometimes things have to get so bad that if makes people go out to vote. That can be the hardest part, because things do have to get pretty bad. Nevertheless, the people living in this era were born “for such a time as this.” We may not know it, but it is the truth. Each of us has face the times we are in, and we have decided whether we like what is going on or not. Then we act…but only if we get out and vote. Being angry, frustrated, or just done with it, will not create change. Only voting can do that…well, voting and much prayer. I’m sure you can tell which side of the coin I fall on, and that’s ok. I may be for one side or the other, but I firmly believe that people from both sides have a say, and a right to choose. 
Of course, along with the right to vote, comes the right not to vote, and that too, is your right, but in my opinion, that is not the best way to go. My candidate may or may not win, as president, or any other office, but by voting, I have had my say in the matter. Sometimes, a win that is completely unexpected happens, because the voters turn out. You have tremendous power. That vote carries weight. It says, “I am making a stand!! This is how I see things…like it or not!! It’s my vote…and mine alone!! No one can make me vote one way or the other…or at all, but if I don’t vote, my voice is silenced.”
As with any attack, planning must be done before any action can take place. The attack on Pearl Harbor was no exception. A little more than a month, on November 5, 1941, the Combined Japanese Fleet received Top-Secret Order Number 1, stating that in just over a month, Pearl Harbor, along with Malaya (now Malaysia), the Dutch East Indies, and the Philippines, was to be bombed. There was much preparation to do, and very little time to do it. Failure would not be an option, because failure would mean death, and in fact, the battle was a planned death for the kamikaze pilots.
The problem was that the relationship between the United States and Japan had rapidly worsened following Japan’s occupation of Indochina in 1940 and the subsequent threat to the Philippines, which is an American territory. With the seizure of the Cam Ranh naval base, located roughly 800 miles from Manila, something had to be dome. In response, the United States seized all Japanese assets within its borders and shut the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping. In September 1941, President Roosevelt, with a statement prepared by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, warned that the United States would go to war with Japan if it continued to invade territories in Southeast Asia or the South Pacific. The United States hoped, and yes even expected the Japanese to comply.
Nevertheless, despite ongoing negotiations between the United States Secretary of State and his Japanese counterpart to alleviate tensions, Hideki Tojo, the War Minister soon to become Prime Minister, was not inclined to retreat from occupied territories. Viewing the American “threat” of war as an ultimatum, he readied to initiate the first strike in a confrontation with the United States…the attack on Pearl Harbor.
We all know what happened next, but could it have been prevented? I don’t believe that Japan had any interest in preventing a war with the United States. So, it would have been up to the United States to pave the way for peace between the two countries…if that was even possible. Since I don’t believe it was possible, due to Japan’s plans, The other aspect of the question is how America might have prevented Pearl Harbor. It is likely that intelligence shortcomings and underestimation of the Japanese played a role. However, it is argued that the American military hawks and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt may have seen the attack as a necessary catalyst to persuade the nation to enter the war against the tyrannies of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. I don’t know for sure, and I hate to say that was exactly it, but I wonder if they expected the attack to be as bad as it ended up being.
Numerous theories speculate on whether Roosevelt, or even Great Britain’s Winston Churchill, had foreknowledge of the impending attack. However, it seems improbable. Military leaders typically do not permit such attacks due to the unpredictability of the consequences. Consider the possibilities: the attack occurring prematurely and sinking the carriers, the destruction of oil facilities, or the Japanese invasion and occupation of Hawaii. These are risks that no military leader would willingly take, regardless of their desire for a pretext to enter the war. It is probable that Roosevelt anticipated an attack, although the specifics of when and where remained uncertain.
To address the question of how America could have avoided Pearl Harbor, one must dig deeper into history, far beyond the oil embargoes of the early 1940s. It could be argued that the path to Pearl Harbor was set as early as July 8, 1853, when American Commodore Matthew Perry entered Tokyo Bay with his four ships, aiming to reestablish regular trade between Japan and the Western world. It all seemed innocent enough, but while Japan was once receptive to Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch influences. Then, with each nation attempting to introduce Western culture and religion, Japan began to have issues with them. Within a few decades, these Western powers were expelled, leaving only the Dutch with limited trading privileges through Dejima, a small man-made island in Nagasaki.
The Japanese quickly assimilated the practices of their adversaries, which included adopting a Western-trained military. The Army was advised by the French and later the Germans, while the Navy was guided by British advisors and equipped with British-built warships. Japan managed to defeat its long-standing rival China, annexing Taiwan and Korea into its gradually expanding empire. In 1904-1905, Japan, was hardly a regional power a mere fifty years prior, overwhelmed Imperial Russia in a fierce conflict. The victory followed a surprise assault on the Russian Navy at Port Arthur…something that American military planners in 1941 should have taken notice of! The initial attack aimed to incapacitate the Russians, yet the pivotal battle occurred at Tsushima Straits, where Admiral Togo Heihaciro led the Japanese fleet to obliterate eight Russian battleships.
In World War I, which followed less than ten years later, Japan joined with the Russians and aided the British in seizing the German-held Tsingtao in China. Japan also took control of the Marianas, the Caroline Islands, and the Marshall Islands. All this further fueled Japan’s ambitions concerning Chinese territories and the American-
controlled Philippines for potential expansion. Then, came “the straw that broke the camel’s back” for the Americans, and with the threat against the Philippines, the attack of Pearl Harbor was set in motion…all due to the actions taken to protect the Philippines.
Had Perry not “opened” Japan, this sequence of events might not have unfolded. This is not to imply Japan would not have modernized, but the trajectory could have been altered. Without the Emperor’s restoration, the Boshin War might not have taken place, possibly preventing the swift military reforms that followed. Of course, all this could be speculation, but the experts think it is fact.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was fatally shot after attending a peace rally in Tel Aviv’s Kings Square, Israel on November 4, 1995. He succumbed to his injuries during surgery at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. The assassination occurred as Rabin was leaving the rally. The killer was Yigal Amir, who was against the Oslo Accords. The rally, held at Kings of Israel Square (now Rabin Square), supported the peace agreement. As Rabin descended the city hall steps towards his car, Amir fired three shots with a semi-automatic pistol. Two bullets struck Rabin, while the third slightly wounded Yoram Rubin, Rabin’s bodyguard. Rabin was rushed to Ichilov Hospital but passed away curing surgery, due to blood loss and lung damage.
Yigal Amir, a 27-year-old Jewish law student, was linked to the far-right Jewish group Eyal. He was arrested by Israeli police at the scene of the shooting and subsequently confessed to the assassination. During his arraignment, he explained that he killed Prime Minister Rabin because the prime minister wanted “to give our country to the Arabs.” Amir was apprehended on the spot and later sentenced to life in prison.
Yitzhak Rabin, who was born in Jerusalem, played a pivotal role in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 and was the chief-of-staff for Israel’s armed forces during the Six-Day War in 1967. Following his tenure as Israel’s ambassador to the United States, he joined the Labour Party and was elected prime minister in 1974. During his term, he led negotiations resulting in the 1974 ceasefire with Syria and the 1975 military disengagement agreement with Egypt. Rabin resigned from his position in 1977 due to a scandal related to maintaining bank 
accounts in the United States, contrary to Israeli law. He later served as the defense minister of his country from 1984 to 1990.
Then, in 1992, Rabin was the leader of the Labour Party, taking them to an electoral victory. Once again, he became the Prime Minister of Israel. The following year, he signed the landmark Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles alongside Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and in 1994, they reached a formal peace agreement. In October of that year, Rabin, Arafat, and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Tragically, Rabin was assassinated in 1995. Shimon Peres, who was serving as Israel’s Foreign Minister at the time, was appointed Acting Prime Minister after an emergency cabinet meeting. It was such an unnecessary attack.
