Appreciating all that makes America special

Currently browsing: Americana
Americana means different things to different folks. Here at Great American Things, it means cool stuff that doesn’t fit into any other category. I guess we could have called it Miscellaneous, but “Great Miscellaneous Things” doesn’t tell you much, does it?


Kid Stuff: Archie Comics

Posted by on Apr 8, 2011 in Kids Stuff | Comments Off on Kid Stuff: Archie Comics

  Though the publisher is also known as Archie Comics, I’m celebrating the comic books themselves. Archie, Betty, Veronica,...

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Americana: Cheyenne Frontier Days

Posted by on Mar 28, 2011 in Americana, Travel | Comments Off on Americana: Cheyenne Frontier Days

  You don’t have to love the sport of rodeo in order to enjoy Cheyenne Frontier Days. But it helps. Billing itself as “The...

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Kid Stuff: Barbie

Posted by on Mar 20, 2011 in Kids Stuff | Comments Off on Kid Stuff: Barbie

She looks pretty good for 50, don’t you think? It’s rather amazing to see the impact a simple doll has had on American girls....

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Americana: Fender Guitars

Posted by on Mar 12, 2011 in Americana | 1 comment

  Picture Leo Fender in his California electronics workshop in the late 1930s. Fixing phonographs, radios, and public address systems....

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Americana: Girl Scout Cookies

Posted by on Mar 5, 2011 in Americana, Food | 2 comments

  They’re inescapable. Your niece sells them. They’re outside the local Kroger. Your coworker is selling them for her...

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Americana: Culinary Institute of America

Posted by on Mar 2, 2011 in Americana, Food | Comments Off on Americana: Culinary Institute of America

  No cloak-and-dagger stuff for this CIA. Unless the cloak is a chef’s coat, and the dagger is a chef’s knife. The...

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Kid Stuff: Baseball Cards

Posted by on Feb 27, 2011 in Americana, Kids Stuff | Comments Off on Kid Stuff: Baseball Cards

  Don’t pay any attention to all those bandwagon jumpers who decided in the mid-80s that baseball cards were the investment of...

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Kid Stuff: Bridge to Terabithia

Posted by on Feb 25, 2011 in Kids Stuff, The Arts | Comments Off on Kid Stuff: Bridge to Terabithia

  I read lots of great children’s stories to my boys when they were growing up. Made up quite a few, too. I don’t know if...

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Americana: The Gallup Poll

Posted by on Feb 18, 2011 in Americana | Comments Off on Americana: The Gallup Poll

  I may not know what you think. And you may not know what I think. But since 1935, we all know what we all think – thanks to...

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Kid Stuff: Dr. Seuss

Posted by on Feb 5, 2011 in Kids Stuff | Comments Off on Kid Stuff: Dr. Seuss

  Interesting fact 1: The father and grandfather of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) were both brewmasters. You don’t think those fanciful...

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