Armistice Day, November 11, 1918 at Madison Square in NYC, from the Wikimedia Commons and in the public domain.

Some thing that we all share with our parents and our grandparents, with all people worldwide is the wish that war will have ended forever.  So it seems fitting to share with you this historic photograph of the celebrations on Madison Square in New York City of the end of the “War to End All Wars,” taken on November 11, 1918.

You will note the Flat Iron Building in the background.  I was there about a month ago and tried to position myself exactly where Edward Steichen stood to take his wonderful image.  And I always look up at the Flat Iron building and smile remember both being there with my father and the wonderful movie “Bell Book and Candle” when Jimmy Stewart throws his hat off the roof. This picture captures the magic of the site and the magic of a New York City tickertape parade.  The trolley cars and automobile attest to when the image was taken.

Then there is the obelisk in the lower left.  This was erected in 1857 and rises over the tomb of General William Jenkins Worth, who served in both the Seminole Wars and the Mexican War.   Fort Worth, Texas was named, after him as was Worth Street in lower Manhattan. These wars were already distant memories by 1918.  But perhaps, the presence of this memorial in the picture testifies to the difficulty of establishing terue and long-lasting peace.  It is an admirable goal!