Individuals and groups

Individuals and groups whose story doesn't fit into any other category.

Baha'is find community in Casper

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Category: Individuals and groups
Created: Monday, 26 February 2007 15:08
Published: Monday, 26 February 2007 14:58
Written by Barbara Nordby, Star-Tribune
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After the partyers greeted each other and got caught up, polished off plates of spaghetti, and passed around a new baby, it was time to cut the cake, which read, in pink frosting, “Happy Ayyam-i-Ha!”

{josquote}It’s sort of like Mardi Gras, but there’s no drinking or promiscuous parades{/josquote}

There are just nine official members in a group of Casper Baha’is, but they met Saturday night with other friends in the north Casper clubhouse to celebrate the annual Baha’i festival of Ayyam-i-Ha, a period of preparation before a 19-day fast.

It’s sort of like Mardi Gras, said Jennifer Cooper, one of the group. But there’s no drinking or promiscuous parades – just people gathering to socialize and celebrate.

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"In the Park" with Bill Sears 1956

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Category: Individuals and groups
Created: Sunday, 25 February 2007 16:29
Published: Sunday, 25 February 2007 16:20
Written by Ira H. Gallen, tvdays.com
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Want a "blast from the past", circa 1956? In those days it was a fortunate family who had a TV, and everyone gathered around it to watch programs together. Why not take a break from this nuclear age and these troubled times for a brief (half hour) walk backwards in time right now to watch the late Hand of the Cause Bill Sears' live TV program, "In the Park". He loved children especially, but old folks who still have a little twinkle in 'em are welcome, too! What a delightful human being he was, the living embodiment of joy and mirth, even in the face of the most serious of issues. They don't make 'em like that any more.

[Ed: That's partly because they no longer allow children's show presenters to smoke a pipe.]

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Juan Cole Profile Page

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Category: Individuals and groups
Created: Thursday, 22 February 2007 16:33
Published: Thursday, 22 February 2007 16:27
Written by The Atlantic Free Press
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Juan Cole was born in October 1952 as "John Ricardo Cole" to a military family; from the beginning, his family called him "Juan." His father was stationed in Albuquerque, NM at the time of Cole's birth. In addition to this and other USA locations, Cole's father did two long tours in France (a total of seven years) and one 18-month stay at Kagnew Station in Asmara, Eritrea (then Ethiopia).

Cole reports that he first became interested in Islam in Eritrea, which has a population roughly half Christian and half Muslim. After completing an undergraduate degree at Northwestern University (see below), Cole pursued Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the American University in Cairo and the University of California Los Angeles, and ultimately joined the faculty at the University of Michigan.

{josquote}Cole officially separated himself from the religion in 1996 after disputes with Baha'i leadership concerning the Baha'i system of administration.{/josquote}

Cole married the former Shahin Malik in Lahore in 1982. The couple have one son, Arman, born in 1987 Cole became a member of the Baha'i Faith in 1972 as an undergraduate at Northwestern, and the Baha'i religion later became a focus of his academic career. Cole officially separated himself from the religion in 1996 after disputes with Baha'i leadership concerning the Baha'i system of administration.

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Morris Chapman, famed civil lawyer, dies

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Category: Individuals and groups
Created: Tuesday, 20 February 2007 13:46
Published: Tuesday, 20 February 2007 13:35
Written by The Telegraph
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Morris B. Chapman, a Granite City man who built a nationwide reputation as a plaintiff's attorney and political power, has died. He was 87. Chapman practiced law for 63 years in Granite City, involving himself in many of the campaigns involving Madison County judges and other politicians.

He mentored and partnered with many of the prominent lawyers and judges in the Metro East. His daughter Melissa Chapman rose to become a justice in the 5th District Appellate Court.

Chapman was a colorful character, known for his wit and legal ability. In 1954, he was the youngest lawyer to have argued before the United States Supreme Court. He was a member of the Baha'i Faith and was an avid aviator, horseman and auto enthusiast among other things.

He was also active in the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.

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Other accounts:
Morris Chapman, father of judge, dies at 87
Morris Chapman, the dean of Madison County trial lawyers, dies