Category: Make

In 1919, Chattanooga’s Charlie Willingham was known as a man who understood barbecue on a grand scale. To Willingham, pit barbecue was not a quick…

Long before convenience stores, overnight delivery, and endless household gadgets, home makers often had to solve small domestic emergencies with whatever was already close at…

The Enemy When you hold a 100-year-old newspaper or letter, you are holding a slow-motion chemical reaction. To successfully preserve these documents, you first need…

In the early 1900s, raising chicks successfully often depended on resourcefulness. Store-bought equipment could be costly, and many small farmers relied on homemade solutions built…

In the early 1900s, homemade toys often came with a spark of danger, sometimes literally. Long before modern safety warnings and store-bought science kits, young…

Long before televisions hummed in living rooms or smartphones glowed in children’s hands, amusement was often built at the kitchen table with scraps of wood,…

American newspapers were filled with projects meant to keep boys busy outdoors, and many of them involved homemade weapons. Long before video games and television,…

Before electric refrigeration became common in American homes, keeping food cold during the sweltering summer months was a constant struggle. Families depended on ice deliveries,…

In 1913, electricity still felt like magic to much of the world. Homes were only beginning to glow with electric light. Radios were rare curiosities….

In the summer of 1909, a Pennsylvania newspaper offered its readers a simple but clever solution to a very real problem: how to protect a…