Beech Tree News Network

Our new year, 2013, still sounds odd to many of us. It’s the first “13” most of us have entered. My grandparents lived in 1913: my grandfather was 12, and my grandmother was nine. But, that year wasn’t a part of any of their stories. A hundred years ago, things were not like today.

The Internet (primarily Wikipedia) provided historical information about 1913. Some significant events included:

•    Woodrow Wilson became president of the United States.
•    New York's Grand Central Terminal, having been rebuilt, reopened as the world's largest railroad station.
•    The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect income taxes.
•    The first prize was inserted into a Cracker Jack box.
•    The women’s Suffrage Parade of 1913 took place in Washington D.C. led by Inez Milholland on horseback.
•    The suffragist "Army of the Hudson" marched the 225 miles from Newark to Washington in 16 days, gaining a national audience.
•    Woodrow Wilson succeeded William Howard Taft as the 28th President of the United States.
•    The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed, mandating the direct election of senators.
•    The Woolworth Building skyscraper in New York City was opened.
•    Igor Sikorsky was the first person to pilot a 4-engine aircraft.
•    New York Governor William Sulzer approved the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which began operations with a $100,000,000 donation from John D. Rockefeller.
•    Death Valley, California hit 134 °F, the highest temperature recorded in the world (as of 2012).
•    The Lincoln Highway opened as the first paved coast-to-coast highway.
•    The Ford Motor Company introduced the first moving assembly line, reducing chassis assembly time from 12½ hours to 2 hours, 40 minutes. Although Ford was not the first to use an assembly line, his successful adoption of one sparked an era of mass production.
•    The first drive-up gasoline station opened.
•    The Federal Reserve System was created as the central banking system of the United States by Woodrow Wilson's signature of the Federal Reserve Act.
•    The first crossword puzzle (with 32 clues) was printed in NY World.
•    Billboard magazine published a list of the most popular vaudeville songs. This was the predecessor to their trademark charts.
Some of the people who died in 1913 were:
•    Harriet Tubman, American abolitionist (b. 1820)
•    J. P. Morgan, American financier and banker (b. 1837)
•    Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, inventor of mail order (b. 1844)
And, some of the people who were born in 1913 were:
•    January 9 – Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States (d. 1994)
•    February 4 – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)
•    February 14 – Jimmy Hoffa, American labor leader (disappeared 1975)
•    July 14 – Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States (d. 2006)
•    July 18 – Red Skelton, American comedian (d. 1997)
•    September 11 – Paul "Bear" Bryant, American football coach (d. 1983)

Many changes can happen in a year’s time – much less 100 years. Abraham Lincoln said, “The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” In Matthew 6:26, Jesus spoke of the heavenly Father’s care for birds and said, “…Are you not much more valuable than they?” (NIV). As we begin 2013, let’s pray for God’s continued care for us and our world.