American Countryside

In east central Iowa you’ll find the small town of Lost Nation, Iowa.  Interestingly, the story of how it was named seems to be lost as well...

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In 2020 the use of Aunt Jemima as a brand name was discontinued due to racial stereotypes.  However, the story behind the first person to become a living trademark is much bigger than that brand – it’s the story of woman dedicated to helping others...

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In the 1830s a lady named Nancy Green was born into slavery near Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.  Although you may not believe you know her, there’s a chance you do because of a role she began later in life...

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Judson Welliver is just one of the famous folks from this small town.  If you’ve not heard of Judson, he was the first of the folks to occupy a position that creates some important words delivered to the nation and world

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If you drive into Aledo, Illinois you will notice that it is the world’s capital for this particular item.  That proclamation draws thousands of folks here every year...

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In the corner of one of Michael Dolan’s farm fields there is a place devoted to the story of Easter.  He never imagined what the place would become – today a site known as Reflections Park that attracts passing motorists as well as people from around the world...

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You’ve most likely never heard his name, but you’ve likely heard his music.  His family tried to dissuade him from majoring in music, but it turned out this small town musician hit it big with a new movie company...

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Many people like to be patriotic and support our troops.  This small town went well above and beyond, helping over 1.5 million soldiers all with volunteer labor and food...

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He was a farm kid who discovered one of the most distant objects in our solar system.  And recently, his ashes were sent to that speck of light he discovered way back in 1930...

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This business is about a century and a half old and has been housed in the same building since before the 1900s.  It remains a draw for locals and visitors alike here along Main Street in Victoria, Texas...

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When this immigrant came to America he was looking for a job as a stone mason.  He ended up founding the oldest one of this type of business in the state of Texas...

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It’s the kind of place kids would love to climb around, on and through.  It’s also a place that tells an important part of America’s industrial age...

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It’s hard to imagine today’s largest city in Alabama didn’t even exist at the time of the Civil War.  However, in the years following that conflict, factors converged to spur quick growth...

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The cliché says, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”  Two pictures of Emmett Kelly said much about the man, and the story behind those photographs is still remembered today...

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If you go to a circus you’ll probably see some clowns.  Most clowns smile and laugh.  This one did the opposite.  He never smiled and his routine became a headliner for some of the biggest shows in the world...

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A lot of kids love the circus.  Maybe some imagine joining the circus one day.  This kid did just that and his story is one that touched many lives...

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There have long been tensions between the U.S. and the middle east…but Chuck Scott believes today’s challenges stem from an incident decades ago…an ordeal in which he was held captive...

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When the Iranian hostage situation began…most of those Americans held would have told you the conflict would have lasted a week at most…but in the end, the ordeal would stretch for well over a year.  We visit with one of those men who spent 444 days as a prisoner...

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Considering world events, I thought it might be interesting to take a look back at an interview I did about twenty years ago with Chuck Scott.  Chuck had made several trips to the Middle East, but a new assignment in Tehran in 1979 impacted his life forever...

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