Back when I started writing here, my main goal was to consolidate a trio of blogs I published about old courthouses, old schoolhouses, and tobacco pipes. One by one, I meticulously copied hundreds of posts. The process took forever, but it shouldn’t have. Exporting your WordPress blog is easy! Here’s how to do it.
Continue reading “How to export and format your WordPress blog”
My favorite blogs usually provide a year-end retrospective of stats, insights, popular posts, and favorites. The numbers are in and the votes have been tallied for 2023, so let’s take a look.
Continue reading “2023: The Year in Review”
I’ve been blogging about esoteric local history for over a year now. Little affirms my efforts more than when someone likes, shares, or comments, but I’ve received a handful of messages asking about other ways to support my work. In response, I added a “Buy me a coffee” button to the bottom of my posts in January. I dropped the ball and missed Thanksgiving, but here’s a year-end update on your generosity.
Continue reading “Say, thanks!”
This blog’s first anniversary surprised me: I knew the date was near the beginning of September, but I didn’t realize it was this past Tuesday. Congratulations to me for publishing something new every day for a year! I thought it’d be fun to commemorate the occasion by reviewing the lessons I’ve learned and laying out what to expect over the next year.
Continue reading “My blog turned one! Here’s what to expect in its second year.”
I’ve been slammed with new responsibilities since my trip to the property over the Fourth of July weekend, and I haven’t felt like myself. I’m figuring it all out, but wanted to give a quick update on the state of this blog and say thanks.
Continue reading “A quick thanks”
Hotels are pretty dull today. They all look the same! That was less the case when I was a kid in the 90s, though, and I found that Signature Inns around the midwest featured architecture that I now think of as iconic. With its peaked roof, massive Porte Cochere, two-story lobby, and skylit canopy, the typical Signature Inn stuck out amongst its boxy peers. The chain employed the same kind of identifiable design language I identified in Marsh supermarkets built during the same era, and recognizing them from the back seat of my parents’ cars felt like I was competing in a multi-city scavenger hunt.
Continue reading “Got an esoteric interest like Signature Inn? Start a blog!”
I’ve had a ton of jobs over the years. Not counting freelancing, I’ve worked for ten different companies since I entered the workforce fifteen years ago. Depending on your industry, that might not sound like a lot, but I’m only thirty-two! I’d rather have stayed and grown with a single company, but those days are long gone, and the cycle starts again today. Here’s a personal update and a bit about how that might impact my output here.
Continue reading “A new job and a blog update”
I’ve been surprised and humbled by the amount of people who have told me they use this blog to help with their own research. A few mentioned that they wished there was an easier way to find my schoolhouse posts since there are so many of them! A simple index I rolled out last week should help with those requests and streamline things.
Continue reading “The schoolhouse index”
I’m thrilled and gratified that, in a month, my blog has already reached more people than it did in all of 2022. It’s proof positive that people enjoy reading about historic sites and structures just as much as I love to research them! I wanted to introduce myself to everyone who’s recently stopped by or subscribed, so today I’m going to write about why I’m interested in esoterica, why I’m fascinated by what I write about, why I write how I do, and why I write, in general.
Continue reading “Why I write what I write”
We’ve officially made it into the second week of 2023. In just seven days, this blog has already welcomed nearly half of the visitors it saw in all of 2022! I only started in September, granted, but I’ve been blown away by how many people have found my peculiar interests and obsessions compelling enough to stop by. I have no doubt that it’s going to be a great year here!
Continue reading ““Buy me a coffee” to help support what I do here, if you want”
Ted Shideler 