10 th September

1297 The Scottish defeated the British at the Battle of Sterling.

1813 us. Naval Commodore Oliver Perry defeated the British.

1913 The first coast-to-coast paved road in the U. S. opened.

1929 Arnold Palmer was born.

The Battle of Sterling took place on this day. In 1297, Scottish rebel forces, led by William Wallace and Andrew Murray, ambushed the Earl of Surrey’s army on the bridge at Forth near Sterling. The Earl’s three hundred cavalrymen and ten thousand foot soldiers were quickly defeated by a handful of highlanders.

This may be hard to believe, but today, back in 1913, the first coast-to-coast paved U. S. road was unveiled. Up to that time, portions of our transcontinental highway were just dirt roads. This smooth throughway was named the Lincoln Highway. You might know it as Interstate 80 which flows through the Great Plains and past the Great Salt Lake on its way to San Francisco’s Golden Gate. The people who created the Lincoln Highway had the foresight to realize that cars and bucks—not horses and trains—would become a major source of transportation for freedom-loving Americans. And over the years, this and many other interstate highways have come to symbolize American pride in freedom of movement.

Not all great naval battles took place on the open seas. In fact, a critical U. S. naval battle occurred on a lake—the Battle of Lake Erie. On this day in 1813, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry described his defeat of the British fleet in a succinct message that has been a model for clarity and brevity ever since. “We have met the enemy,” Perry said, “and they are ours.”

Today is Arnold Palmer’s birthday. born in 1929, this great golfer who hails from Youngstown, Pennsylvania, is known for his playing efficiency, style, and personality. Those talents won him a regiment of admirers—Amie’s Army. The same skills also earned him millions of dollars in prize money and endorsements. Talent can only take a person so far. It takes good interpersonal skills to make any star shine in the public eye.