Petula Dvorak
@petulawrites.bsky.social
Local columnist focusing on history, The Washington Post
Oct. 19, 1925 — Calvin Coolidge’s progressive speech in Omaha focusing on a post-war America continued to ruffle feathers #100yearsagotoday :
October 19, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Oct. 19, 1925 — Calvin Coolidge’s progressive speech in Omaha focusing on a post-war America continued to ruffle feathers #100yearsagotoday :
Wicked fun to be in Boston today — where true patriots began the “No Kings” movement in 1773! From dancing lobsters and Dunkin’ jokes to a woman standing in silence holding a single lantern — one if by land — high, Boston did it right.
October 19, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Wicked fun to be in Boston today — where true patriots began the “No Kings” movement in 1773! From dancing lobsters and Dunkin’ jokes to a woman standing in silence holding a single lantern — one if by land — high, Boston did it right.
October 15, 1925 — After the KKK marched on Washington, Calvin Coolidge hit on the danger of growing intolerance in America during a speech in Omaha. His remarks were highlighted in a full page ad in The Post #100yearsagotoday.
October 15, 2025 at 3:55 PM
October 15, 1925 — After the KKK marched on Washington, Calvin Coolidge hit on the danger of growing intolerance in America during a speech in Omaha. His remarks were highlighted in a full page ad in The Post #100yearsagotoday.
October 14, 1925 — The representatives from 24 tribes of the New England region gathered for their third-annual pow-wow in Rhode Island #100yearsagotoday. It was the year after Calvin Coolidge, who claimed to have “a trace of Indian blood”, championed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924…🧵
October 13, 2025 at 4:57 PM
October 14, 1925 — The representatives from 24 tribes of the New England region gathered for their third-annual pow-wow in Rhode Island #100yearsagotoday. It was the year after Calvin Coolidge, who claimed to have “a trace of Indian blood”, championed the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924…🧵
Oct. 10, 1925 — New D.C. police superintendent Edwin B. Hesse made his first address to officers #100yearsagotoday. “Nothing is more important to the police department than the deportment of its individual members,” he said. Their duty is to citizens, he said, asking officers to prioritize courtesy.
October 10, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Oct. 10, 1925 — New D.C. police superintendent Edwin B. Hesse made his first address to officers #100yearsagotoday. “Nothing is more important to the police department than the deportment of its individual members,” he said. Their duty is to citizens, he said, asking officers to prioritize courtesy.
Oct. 8, 1925 - The Post made history #100yearsagotoday by using a motorcycle, airplane and car in a bold race to get readers photos from the 1925 World Series in Pittsburgh. Head to my Substack for more about the (sometimes dodgy) ways newspapers transmitted photos before we all had send buttons.
October 8, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Oct. 8, 1925 - The Post made history #100yearsagotoday by using a motorcycle, airplane and car in a bold race to get readers photos from the 1925 World Series in Pittsburgh. Head to my Substack for more about the (sometimes dodgy) ways newspapers transmitted photos before we all had send buttons.
🧵…lobotomies, insulin-induced comas and aversion therapy — lead to violence, chaos and federal investigations #100yearsagotoday . The massive campus is now home to the Department of Homeland Security…and some happier things. #history
October 6, 2025 at 4:39 PM
🧵…lobotomies, insulin-induced comas and aversion therapy — lead to violence, chaos and federal investigations #100yearsagotoday . The massive campus is now home to the Department of Homeland Security…and some happier things. #history
October 6, 1925 — St. Elizabeth’s was the first federally-funded asylum in the U.S. It aimed for more humane treatments, like hydrotherapy and views of nature. However, overcrowding — it was packed with Civil War veterans, and LGBTQ people subjected to electroshock therapy.. 🧵
October 6, 2025 at 4:38 PM
October 6, 1925 — St. Elizabeth’s was the first federally-funded asylum in the U.S. It aimed for more humane treatments, like hydrotherapy and views of nature. However, overcrowding — it was packed with Civil War veterans, and LGBTQ people subjected to electroshock therapy.. 🧵
Oct. 4, 1925 — Star pitcher Walter Johnson heard about a disappointed D.C. baseball fan who said, upon giving birth to a girl: “Oh, I was wishing for a boy, so he could be a pitcher like Walter Johnson.”Well…
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October 4, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Oct. 4, 1925 — Star pitcher Walter Johnson heard about a disappointed D.C. baseball fan who said, upon giving birth to a girl: “Oh, I was wishing for a boy, so he could be a pitcher like Walter Johnson.”Well…
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🧵
September 29, 1925 — Yup, you get cancelled for being ageist #100yearsagotoday. Meyer’s Shop in D.C. ran a cheeky ad telling “old chap(s)” they had more than the wide-leg pants and suits in “ice cream shades” that young guys were wearing. The outcry was enough for an apology in print the next day.
September 29, 2025 at 5:41 PM
September 29, 1925 — Yup, you get cancelled for being ageist #100yearsagotoday. Meyer’s Shop in D.C. ran a cheeky ad telling “old chap(s)” they had more than the wide-leg pants and suits in “ice cream shades” that young guys were wearing. The outcry was enough for an apology in print the next day.
Sept 24, 1925 — A mystery illness was killing babies #100yearsagotoday at the Florence Crittenton Home, a refuge for “fallen women” that was also an orphanage. Pictured is a window baby display in 1914, pet shop style…🧵
September 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Sept 24, 1925 — A mystery illness was killing babies #100yearsagotoday at the Florence Crittenton Home, a refuge for “fallen women” that was also an orphanage. Pictured is a window baby display in 1914, pet shop style…🧵
Sept. 16, 1925 — A DC woman met a small alligator outside her Foggy Bottom home #100yearsagotoday. He was captured and sent to the zoo, joining two other gators who also used to lived in that posh area, swimming in Herbert Hoover’s bathtub before he moved to the White House. #history #alligatorpets
September 16, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Sept. 16, 1925 — A DC woman met a small alligator outside her Foggy Bottom home #100yearsagotoday. He was captured and sent to the zoo, joining two other gators who also used to lived in that posh area, swimming in Herbert Hoover’s bathtub before he moved to the White House. #history #alligatorpets
Sept 15, 1925 — A record was set in traffic court #100yearsagotoday. It was 45 days in jail +$165 for a Black man with no permit/registration/tail lights.
Meanwhile, a white dude driving drunk who totaled his car after careening around Connecticut Ave. “was released” and charged with drunk driving.
Meanwhile, a white dude driving drunk who totaled his car after careening around Connecticut Ave. “was released” and charged with drunk driving.
September 15, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Sept 15, 1925 — A record was set in traffic court #100yearsagotoday. It was 45 days in jail +$165 for a Black man with no permit/registration/tail lights.
Meanwhile, a white dude driving drunk who totaled his car after careening around Connecticut Ave. “was released” and charged with drunk driving.
Meanwhile, a white dude driving drunk who totaled his car after careening around Connecticut Ave. “was released” and charged with drunk driving.
Sept. 2, 1925 — The listing of everyone’s income taxes were on the front page of The Washington Post #100yearsagotoday! Three times in U.S. history, income taxes were made public …🧵
September 2, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Sept. 2, 1925 — The listing of everyone’s income taxes were on the front page of The Washington Post #100yearsagotoday! Three times in U.S. history, income taxes were made public …🧵
August 18, 2025 at 7:34 PM
August 18, 1925 - A psych professor at George Washington University ran tests #100yearsagotoday to determine “the truth about the woman driver.” Conclusion? “…the woman stacks up higher than the male of the species”. (The first woman to get a license in the U.S. was Anne French — in 1900, in D.C.! )
August 18, 2025 at 2:41 PM
August 18, 1925 - A psych professor at George Washington University ran tests #100yearsagotoday to determine “the truth about the woman driver.” Conclusion? “…the woman stacks up higher than the male of the species”. (The first woman to get a license in the U.S. was Anne French — in 1900, in D.C.! )
August 17, 1925 — The DC National Guard had a very different assignment #100yearsagotoday — drills and swimming in Virginia Beach. #history
August 17, 2025 at 5:43 PM
August 17, 1925 — The DC National Guard had a very different assignment #100yearsagotoday — drills and swimming in Virginia Beach. #history
August 15, 1925 — As the U.S. faced a growing crime wave #100yearsagotoday, an editorial suggested we look at the U.K.’s precipitous drop in crime and the theory that their prison reform was a factor. It wasn’t ice cream socials and yoga, but they enacted a 1925 version. #historymatters
August 15, 2025 at 8:00 PM
August 15, 1925 — As the U.S. faced a growing crime wave #100yearsagotoday, an editorial suggested we look at the U.K.’s precipitous drop in crime and the theory that their prison reform was a factor. It wasn’t ice cream socials and yoga, but they enacted a 1925 version. #historymatters
August 14, 1925 — “There is no factor more potent in determining the character of a future citizen than play,” a D.C. commissioner said #100yearsagotoday, in a report urging a playground accessible to every child in D.C., supervised and open year-round. #historymatters
August 14, 2025 at 10:01 PM
August 14, 1925 — “There is no factor more potent in determining the character of a future citizen than play,” a D.C. commissioner said #100yearsagotoday, in a report urging a playground accessible to every child in D.C., supervised and open year-round. #historymatters
When D.C. made history by giving Black men the right to vote, the federal government moved in and took over. We’ve been here before and it was all about racism…
August 13, 2025 at 12:40 PM
When D.C. made history by giving Black men the right to vote, the federal government moved in and took over. We’ve been here before and it was all about racism…
His first year in power, Hitler deployed more and more Nazi troops to German city streets. Berliners were surprised by the array of Nazi uniforms occupying their city. #hitlerhistory
August 11, 2025 at 4:38 PM
His first year in power, Hitler deployed more and more Nazi troops to German city streets. Berliners were surprised by the array of Nazi uniforms occupying their city. #hitlerhistory
Aug. 11, 1925 — The federal budget director wanted say over running D.C. #100yearsagotoday. The District has been “neglected” and deserves more money for improvements as it becomes “an ideal residential city” and is “growing even faster than any other front-rank city”. How nice they were…#history
August 11, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Aug. 11, 1925 — The federal budget director wanted say over running D.C. #100yearsagotoday. The District has been “neglected” and deserves more money for improvements as it becomes “an ideal residential city” and is “growing even faster than any other front-rank city”. How nice they were…#history
August 8-9, 1925 — The nation’s capital was overwhelmed by the massive KKK march #100yearsagotoday. After D.C. mandated that the klansmen march unmasked, thousands lined the parade route in civilian clothes, suspected sympathizers who left their robes at home, but cheered on from the sidelines.
August 9, 2025 at 1:53 PM
August 8-9, 1925 — The nation’s capital was overwhelmed by the massive KKK march #100yearsagotoday. After D.C. mandated that the klansmen march unmasked, thousands lined the parade route in civilian clothes, suspected sympathizers who left their robes at home, but cheered on from the sidelines.
🧵…So Gardener insisted her brain be put to the test after her death. Almost two years later, Cornell issued their conclusion that “Noted Suffragette’s Brain as Good as a Man’s.”
August 6, 2025 at 2:54 AM
🧵…So Gardener insisted her brain be put to the test after her death. Almost two years later, Cornell issued their conclusion that “Noted Suffragette’s Brain as Good as a Man’s.”
Aug, 5, 1925 — Helen H. Gardener donated her brain to science #100yearsagotoday. The highest ranking woman in federal government, Gardener furiously refuted the Surgeon General’s assertion that women do not deserve equality because their brains are simply inferior to those of men…🧵
August 6, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Aug, 5, 1925 — Helen H. Gardener donated her brain to science #100yearsagotoday. The highest ranking woman in federal government, Gardener furiously refuted the Surgeon General’s assertion that women do not deserve equality because their brains are simply inferior to those of men…🧵