Event Calendar

In 1937, Ruth Grave Wakefield took her invention of the chocolate chip morsels and her curiosity of how they would taste in a sugar cookie and created this heavenly cookie loved by all ages. There is something so enjoyable about eating one straight out of the oven, closing your eyes and having the warm chocolate goodness melt in your mouth. So thank you Ruth Grave Wakefield! Without your ingenuity, generations would have missed out on the bliss that is known today as the Chocolate chip cookie. In honor of today--go enjoy the delectable treat!

Considering the valuable role friends play in our lives, it was deemed fit to have a day dedicated to friends and friendship. The United States Congress, in 1935, proclaimed the first Sunday of August as National Friendship Day. Since then, the celebration of National Friendship Day became an annual event. The noble idea of honoring friendship caught on with people and soon Friendship Day became a hugely popular event. Following the popularity and success of Friendship Day in the US, several other countries adopted the tradition of dedicating a day to friends. Today, Friendship Day is enthusiastically celebrated by several countries across the world. In the spirit of Friendship Day, honor your friends and show them how much they mean to you!

We've all heard the expression "the buck stops here," but where did the buck start in the first place? It started on this day in 1786 when Continental Congress established the United States monetary system. Of course back then the dollar could probably buy you a horse and now you're lucky if it gets you a candy bar. National Dollar Day is a day to be happy for every dollar you have in your pocket and every dollar that may come your way.

Native American tribes called the August Moon the “Sturgeon Moon” because they knew that the sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were most readily caught during this Full Moon. They also called August’s Moon the “Full Green Corn Moon.” Different tribes had different Moon name preferences. Other examples for August are: “Wheat Cut Moon” (San Ildefonso, and San Juan), or “Moon When All Things Ripen” (Dakotah Sioux) or “Blueberry Moon” (Ojibway). A full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun. At this time, as seen by viewers on Earth, the hemisphere of the Moon that is facing the earth (the near side) is fully illuminated by the Sun and appears round. Only during a full moon is the opposite hemisphere of the Moon, which is not visible from Earth (the far side), completely unilluminated. As a lunar month is about 29.531, the period between full moons can be either 29 or 30 days.

National Senior Citizens Day honors our elderly population. On this day, we are encouraged to recognize and show appreciation for the value and contribution of elderly people to home, family and society. In his Presidential Proclamation (August 19, 1988), President Ronald Reagan said, "For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks and a heartfelt salute. We can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem by making sure that our communities are good places in which to mature and grow older."

Today, the Moon’s shadow will cross the continental U.S. This total solar eclipse promises to be the most widely observed in history. The Moon's umbral shadow hasn't passed over U.S. soil since 1991, nor across any part of the contiguous 48 states since 1979. Moreover, a total solar eclipse hasn't run coast to coast since 1918! This particular event will be of modest duration, offering up to 2 minutes 40 seconds of totality. Of course, all this occurs weather permitting.