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As We Celebrate the 1924 Senators, It’s Time to Put Joe Judge into the Hall of Fame
The Washington Nationals’ centennial celebration September 13-15 of the 1924 Washington Senators’ World Series title is a fitting moment to advocate for the one of that team’s stellar contributors’ overdue inclusion into the M.L.B.’s Hall of Fame: Joe Judge. In that seven game triumph over the New York Giants, Judge hit .385: The highest average…
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Anniversary of Fabled March Recalls My Grandfather’s Connection to John Philip Sousa
Fabled bandleader John Philip Sousa’s (1854 – 1932) immortal march “The Washington Post” debuted 135 years ago on June 15. The famous conductor and my maternal grandfather Captain Taylor Branson’s (1881 – 1969) special association also began that day. Consider the following coincidences that deepened their connection. Both native Washingtonians led the marine band. Among…
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Recalling An Unsung Saint
42 years ago this month – February 28, 1982 – the sadly truncated life of Sister Anna Marie Branson ended. As I describe in my book Sisters, her fellow Daughters of Charity in Bolivia had prevailed upon Anna Marie to return reluctantly to the states for overdue medical treatment. She was admitted to the Daughters…
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Recalling and Celebrating Little Known Moment in American Catholic Church History
Fifty years ago – January 23, 1974 – some Daughters of Charity in Albany, New York announced a decision that made American Catholic Church history. Members of the order’s Northeast Province’s Council, they decided to grant the Albany Diocese’s Bishop Edwin Broderick’s request to appoint one of their members, 60-year-old Sister Serena Branson as Catholic…
Chris Byrd 