Traveling with Twain

In Search of America's Identity

Posts by Dan Tham (view all)

Knowing your place

On our first night in Elmira, Ny., we stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Painted Lady. The rooms were Twain-themed because Samuel Clemens had spent a significant portion of his life in Elmira, where … Read more >>

Republican NY Senator Mark Grisanti on voting for gay marriage

New York State Senator Mark J. Grisanti, a Catholic, agonized about his vote on legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. In the end, as the video indicates, he decided the denial of rights to same-sex partners … Read more >>

Niagara’s golden hour

A fabulous way to end a long day of interviews. We were blessed with inordinately good weather during our stay in Buffalo, New York. Here’s proof, along with some snapshots of Niagara Falls, just as the … Read more >>

Cleveland woman Priscilla Cooper talks poverty and stigma in her city

Priscilla Cooper, a former welfare recipient, started the Family Connection Center to empower the impoverished living in Cleveland, Ohio. The lakefront city competes with Detroit for the title of “Poorest Large City in America.” In the … Read more >>

Two Marion high school seniors discuss town’s dark past

Our visit to Marion, Indiana was sobering and tense. The last lynching in the North happened here on August 7, 1930, an event immortalized by Lawrence Beitler’s photograph, Abel Meeropol’s political poem and Billie Holiday’s rendition … Read more >>