I thought this would be appropriate for this week’s Tidbits since we just had elections held on November 4 across the country. Ever wonder why national elections are scheduled in November? Well, it seems an 1845 law set the first week in November as the time for our presidential elections because at that time it came after the harvests and before the dirt roads got too muddy for rural residents to travel into town. This information was found in Mattie’s papers without an author or date of the article. Enjoy!

It has been said that words can move mountains. Some words have certainly moved history. Listed below are 20 phrases out of America’s past. Each is associated with some particular man. Can you match the slogan with the man? A score of 8 is good; 10 excellent; and 15 puts up with the experts.

1. “Give me liberty or give me death.”   Abraham Lincoln, Patrick Henry, or Thomas Jefferson

2. “Remember the Alamo!”   Admiral Dewey; Davy Crockett, General Sidney Sherman

3. “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”   Herbert Hoover; Dwight Eisenhower; Franklin Roosevelt

4. “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” Nathan Hale; Paul Revere; Benedict Arnold

5. “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” William Prescott; General Israel Putman; Daniel Webster

6. “I have not yet begun to fight.”   Admiral Farragut; General Grant; John Paul Jones

7. “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.”   Robert E. Lee; General Sherman; Commodore Perry

8. “Go West, young man, and grow up with the country.”    Henry Raymond; Horace Greeley; Brigham Young

9. “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”   Stephen Decatur; Admiral Farragut; Admiral King

10. “Taxation without representation is tyranny.”   Thomas Jefferson; Patrick Henry; James Otis

11. “The world must be made safe for democracy.”    Herbert Hoover; Warden Harding; Woodrow Wilson

12. “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”   Benjamin Franklin; Samuel Adams; John Hancock

13. “Our country may she always be in the right, but our country right or wrong.”   James Madison; John Adams, Stephen Decatur

14. “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute.”    Charles Pinckney; Thomas Paine; Alexander Hamilton

15. “Sir, I would rather be right than President.”    Henry Clay; Daniel Webster; Horace Greeley

16. “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”     Grover Cleveland; William J. Bryan; William Borah

17. “These are the times that try men’s souls.”     George Washington; Franklin Roosevelt; Thomas Paine

18. “I shall return!”     Harry Truman; Woodrow Wilson; Douglas MacArthur

19. “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy---”   Alfred E. Smith; Franklin Roosevelt; Herbert Hoover

20. “Fifty-four forty, or fight.”   Theodore Roosevelt; William Allen; John Pershing
      Hint: territorial dispute over the political division of the Pacific Northwest of North America between several nations that had competing territorial and commercial aspirations in the region.

Note: I will give the answers to the questions in next week’s Tidbits. See how many you can get right.  This is a reminder that the “Art” exhibit is still showing at the museum. Come by and check out the fantastic talents of our artist.  I will soon be removing the exhibit and if anyone has a suggestion for the forthcomingexhibit, please share it with me.  It takes a County to keep the museum up and running. Your support is greatly appreciated. It is also time to start sending in your money for the 2026 Membership of the Shelby County Historical Society (the museum).  The fee is only $25 for a family.