Big Mike, Uncle Dan and Me

Big Mike, Uncle Dan and Me PDF

Author: Van Buskirk

Publisher: Bookbaby

Published: 2020-05-31

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781098307981

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As District Attorney, Thomas E. Dewey cracked Tammany Hall, thought to be the United States' most powerful and corrupt political machine. Yet as Governor, despite his state's vast resources, he could not crack the Upper New York State machine. In this modern-day David vs. Goliath tale, a 24-year-old college professor and engineer leads the challenge to liberate and transform his own upstate community from a 40-year reign of political corruption. In the first half of the 20th century, Michael "Big Mike" Tecumseh Smith founded a political machine which, after aligning with Albany's Democratic powerhouse Dan O'Connell, became impossible to crack. After several generations of inept management, Dr. Paul Van Buskirk rejected his own prominent Republican family's views and publicly called for change. The move, led by Van Buskirk's ruthless, methodical organization, led to the Citizens Party defeating the Democrats in 1963. In this political memoir, Dr. Van Buskirk details the thrilling events leading up to the Citizens Party's nationally-recognized victory over the political machine. It also recounts how, once in office, the Citizens were inspired by President Johnson's progressive War on Poverty to channel their ingenuity and community spirit into revitalizing their decrepit mill town, steering it to become a federally-designated Model City while also earning Look Magazine's highly-competitive All-America City Award. With a sharp wit and a careful eye, Dr. Van Buskirk shares shrewd political observations and offers cautionary advice about the stark differences between running a political campaign and running a city. He also discusses the behind-the-scenes intrigue - including an attempt on his life - that eventually led to the Citizens Party's demise. Despite occurring half a century ago, the tales of corruption and political scheming, as well as the people's rise from apathy to action, will resonate in a current era of political upheaval.

Uncle Dan's Report Card

Uncle Dan's Report Card PDF

Author: Barbara C. Unell

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2011-08-02

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 1101517565

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A Unique Approach to Teaching Children Timeless Values The worth of the child cannot be measured in terms of "Per Cent" alone. The home life of the child is an important part of the whole life. The teacher's judgment will be a much better one if the home will kindly co-operate. Parents are asked to carefully consider and mark "Home Report" as indicated. -M. E. Pearson, Superintendent, Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools, 1914 With the discovery of their Uncle Dan's school report card from 1914, in which a "Home Report" section of the card was to be completed by parents, Barbara and Robert Unell were inspired to explore the behaviors and values upon which students were "graded" in addition to the standard academic subjects. They realized that these surprising entries, ranging from acts of kindness and truthfulness to personal habits and reading for pleasure, were as timeless and relevant today as they were almost a century ago. Uncle Dan's Report Card gives every parent and caregiver not only a reminder of the worth of these values and behaviors but also a practical means to encourage children to recognize and practice good habits. This book provides the positive, proven tools they can use with toddlers to teens to help them be successful and happy in their everyday lives, personally and academically.

A Mortal Terror

A Mortal Terror PDF

Author: James R. Benn

Publisher: Soho Press

Published: 2011-09-13

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 156947995X

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In his time investigating crimes for both the Boston cops and General Ike's European forces, Lieutenant Billy Boyle hasn't encountered a serial killer. But now it looks like he may--a serial killer with a particularly frightening agenda. Two officers from the American troops stationed in Caserta, Italy, not far from Naples, have been found murdered. Lieutenant Norman Landry was found behind a supply tent with his neck snapped. Captain Max Galante, MD, was strangled on the same night, and his body left in a garden outside HQ. The MOs are completely different, and it seems like the officers had no connection to each other, but one frightening fact links the murders: each body was discovered with a single playing card: the Lieutenant, the ten of hearts; the Captain, the jack of hearts. The message seems to be clear--if the murderer isn't apprehended, the higher ranks will be next. Billy is sent to Italy for the investigation, which grows increasingly sinister. But he has other things on his mind, too. His girlfriend, Diana, is on a very dangerous spy mission, and Billy doesn't know when--or if--he'll see her again. To make matters worse, Billy's just learned that his baby brother, Danny, is being sent over to Europe as an infantry replacement, an incredibly dangerous assignment. And all around him, he sees GIs suffering from combat fatigue preparing for another battle. As the invasion at Anzio begins, Billy needs to keep a cool head amidst fear and terror as the killer calculates his next moves.

Preacher's Fire

Preacher's Fire PDF

Author: William W. Johnstone

Publisher: Pinnacle Books

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0786024232

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A Mountain Man In Disguise A big city like St. Louis is the last place where a mountain man like Preacher would pick a fight. But how else will he get at the ruthless power broker who is using fear and bloodshed to take over the Western fur trade? A Killer In Control Shaving his beard, posing as a greedy hayseed from Ohio, the Preacher comes face-to-face with Shad Beaumont--who is leaving St. Louis with an army of hired gunmen. . .with the Preacher on his tail. And A Fire That's Just Begun To Erupt The odds couldn't be worse and the battleground couldn't be better. For the wild frontier is no place for fancy plots or poor disguises--but a fine spot for a killing ground. . .

Dan Quinn

Dan Quinn PDF

Author: Paul Moroney

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2013-05-22

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1483623475

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Rip a young boy of fourteen from his Impoverished Irish family in the middle of the twentieth century and send him off to live with virtual strangers in Chicago. Raise him well. Then watch him survive the hell of Viet Nam. Meet Dan Quinn. A story of love and redemption.

Wait at the Big Tree

Wait at the Big Tree PDF

Author: Frances L. Sirianni

Publisher: Tate Publishing

Published: 2012-05

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1618627309

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When they did need to find us, our meeting place outside the school building was 'the Big Tree.' 'Wait at the Big Tree,' they told us. It's where they dropped us off and picked us up. After all these years that tree still stands at the corner of Cresent Street and Newtown Avenue in Astoria Queens. The school is gone, the nuns are gone, our parents and most of the family are now gone. There are no sounds of bells ringing, no kids lining up on the block, but that tree is still there. The only remaining vestige of my school days. It's funny and maybe a bit symbolic given the sanctity of this particular ground; that in a city a tree would out last a building and our very way of life.In the sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking saga of the Sirianni family of New York City, author Fran Sirianni captures the zeitgeist of a generation that was born in the 1950s, questioned things in the 1960s, and came of age in the 1970s. Fran's first person narrative tells the story of her family's arrival in the United States and how they embraced the opportunity of the America Dream to build a life of prosperity. When tragedy strikes, the family comes together to carry on, despite the uncertainty of the times in which they live.Wait at the Big Treeis a story of family, of loss, and of the inevitable change that occurs as we all come into our own.

The Confession

The Confession PDF

Author: Olusola Sophia Adebayo- Anyanwu

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Published: 2017-08-14

Total Pages: 107

ISBN-13: 1546280464

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The Confession is a satire. It is the story of four young married couples from different Christian denominations. They face temptations of the flesh and reap the consequences. Their individual attempts to place their hearts right with God and how they went about it is the central theme of the story.

Never Alone

Never Alone PDF

Author: Marian Olivia Heath Griffin

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2022-09-08

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 1669845869

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OUR CREATOR IS BESIDE US ALWAYS AND WE ARE NEVER ALONE. WE CAN WALK AND BELIEVE IN SOMEONE OTHER THAN MANKIND. IT IS PROMISING TO SEE YOUNG PEOPLE, OUR GRANDCHILDREN, DIRECTING OTHER PEOPLE AND DEVELOPING A SENSE OF HUMILITY AND DISCERNMENT WITH A GIVING SPIRIT. THERE IS SOMETHING INHERENT IN ALL OF US THAT SHOULD NEVER BE EXTINGUISHED. THE GENERATIONS TO COME SHOULD BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE WHAT THEY CAN BE, AS WE ARE ALL PUT ON EARTH FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE. WE LOOK AT WHAT IS HAPPENING AND SEE SIGNS OF CIRCUMSTANCES THAT ARE YET TO COME. THIS IS THE BEST OF TIMES AND THE WORSE OF TIMES, WRITTEN BY CHARLES DICKENS. YET THERE IS A PRESENCE OF LIGHT THAT CAN ONLY BE GIVEN BY THE ONE WHO CREATED ALL THAT WE ARE AND HAVE.

To Become a Priest

To Become a Priest PDF

Author: Den Adler

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2007-07

Total Pages: 422

ISBN-13: 0595447139

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Thirteen-year-old Danny Bates is obsessed with becoming a Catholic priest, and he enters Southport, Wisconsin's, Resurrection Seminary in 1957. But a tragic fire in Chicago ignites doubts about the God Danny is so eager to serve, and he falls in love with Jessica Fernettan, his best friend Pat's twin sister. As Jessica urges both Danny and Pat to leave the seminary, and with the Church in a period of dramatic change following its second Vatican Council, the young seminarians face agonizing choices. In a powerful and sensitive account of competing personal values, To Become a Priest-a Love Story follows the intertwined lives of Danny, Pat, and Jessica over the next forty years to a memorable ending at the place where their story began. "An engrossing account of the seminary and priesthood during this period, with the best depiction of the troubled terrain of sexual longing among seminarians that I have read." -Raymond Hedin, author of Married to the Church Professor of American Literature, Indiana University "A conflict of fundamental values, and a great love story besides." -Phillip Gaustad, author of The Ordnance "An incredibly sweet story." -Christine DeSmet, author of Spirit Lake University of Wisconsin-Madison

Kalyna's Song

Kalyna's Song PDF

Author: Lisa Grekul

Publisher: Coteau Books

Published: 2006-01-01

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 1550507761

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Colleen Lutzak, a talented young Ukrainian musician from northern Alberta, struggles to maintain a sense of identity as her awareness of the world expands. Growing up in the small northern Alberta community of St. Paul, Colleen Lutzak has both positives and negatives to deal with – she has an abundance of musical talent, excellent grades in school, and a close extended family. On the other hand, she has a melodramatic mother, a nemesis named Carla Senko who somehow manages to screw up every triumph Colleen closes in on, and a cousin named Kalyna. Kalyna is Colleen’s alter ego – they have the same name in different languages – and Kalyna is a mystery. A grown woman who once had a family, Kalyna talks and acts like a child. She loves Colleen’s music more than anything in the world, and brings out every protective instinct her young cousin has. Colleen vigorously practices her youthful idealism as well as her talent. This mindset means life’s lessons will be particularly hard on her. Her beloved music teacher, who shared and supported her pride in her Ukrainian heritage, suddenly dies. Colleen fails miserably in her first attempt at university in Edmonton. She is so determined to get away from all the “disappointments” of home that she registers to attend the United World College campus in Swaziland for a year. Obviously, Swaziland is an utterly foreign experience. Colleen meets young women from truly dire political and social circumstances all over the world. She realizes how sheltered her life in Canada has been. Her sense of identity and self-worth is challenged by her foreign surroundings, her homesickness, the suicide of her closest friend. And the sudden death of Kalyna. This final tragedy forces Colleen to face adult decisions about the purpose to which she should devote her life and her talent.