American Countryside

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

He is the biggest of his kind and you certainly won't miss him if you drive into Audobon, Iowa.  He's been in the movies and...

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...

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...

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...

Some call this place the home of the generals.  It's a fitting title because during the U.S. Civil War, nine generals all hailed from this...

When this man left town, to most, he was just a man who just rented a home and worked in a business here.  When he...

The name of a town can sometimes tell you a lot about its history.  That's the case for a place in the northwestern corner of...

Near Granite Falls, Minnesota you'll find a small airport with a remarkable collection of aircraft.  They represent a collection of planes that flew during World...

The Fagan family had an important link to the events of World War II.  One of their family members had stormed the beaches of Normandy...

There is a large painting hanging in the historical society museum in Montpelier, Ohio depicting the role three gentlemen had in thwarting Benedict Arnold's plan...

The term is used countless times each winter yet most of us don't know where it originated.  It turns out the man who invented the...

Along the New York – Connecticut border you'll find a statue in tribute to Sybil Ludington.  Perhaps you've not heard of her, but the daring...

You've probably heard of Paul Revere's ride that took place in April of 1775 to warn citizens of soldiers advancing into the countryside.  But do...

He said it was perhaps the greatest moment of his life.  So what was it that made Colonel Sanders shed a tear?  It was a...

We've all seen the image of Colonel Sanders on the many restaurants that are his legacy.  Now image you had the chance to eat at...

In Craig, Colorado you'll find a beautiful painting of a cowboy on horseback crossing a stream.  The painting has quite a story as people will...

Ranching in the late 1800s could be a difficult life.  One item that made it even more challenging here was the threat of cattle rustlers. ...

They are called Rosenwald Schools.  They were in part founded by a man who gave the equivalent of a billion dollars today to help meet...

When Texas became an independent nation from Mexico in 1836, it needed a location for a capital.  That first spot was in a place you...

When Mexico gained independence from Spain, today's state of Texas was a prime spot for some American citizens to settle.  That process required some work...

By the late 1800s most locations in this country had access to rail services.  There might still be a short wagon ride involved, but it...

You've perhaps heard of the wise old owl.  But are owls really that wise?  And where did we get the idea the bird possessed better...

Sometimes a small idea turns into a very large thing.  That was the case in the town of Houston, Minnesota.  They didn't realize they were...

In Dover, Ohio you will find a collection of masterpieces.  They are carved scenes, mostly tied to the railroad, that one man created for people...

Ernest Warther was just a young boy in charge of keeping an eye on the cows.  What he did while tending the herd turned into...

She served as Nebraska's first female U.S. Senator.  She also managed a large sandhills ranch and had quite a collection of one item that still...

In northern Nebraska you'll find a Sandhills ranch that dates to the late 1800s.  The couple who lived here met quite by happenstance and their...

Imagine a building project that involved moving 7000 large stones across the Atlantic Ocean to reconstruct a building that was about 400 years old. That's...

Most of us after heard of the phrase, “the iron curtain” to describe the communist countries of eastern Europe during the Cold War. That phrase...

Just two months after the Allies won the European theatre of World War II, the leader of Great Britain, Winston Churchill, lost reelection. The now...

If there is a museum to Spam, well Reed Andrew thought there should certainly be a museum to this.  After all, a lot of people...

A lot of people enjoy root beer.  But how did a drink that contains no alcohol wind up with beer in the title?  And exactly...

My in-laws had been telling me about a place called Angel Fire for many years.  They make an annual trip there to remember friends and...

When Doc Westfall lost a son to the Vietnam War, the event changed his plans for the future.  His new dream was one that honored...

The Westfalls had dreams of a ranch resort where they could retire.  Then tragedy struck and the plans for the ranch became a dream that...

Did a man in Texas build an aircraft that flew a full year before the Wright Brothers plane?  There are some say that he did...

They are called the Untouchables.  However, you may have not heard their story if not for one year this man spent in a small town...

Cleveland was a city dealing with a major crime problem in the 1930s and 40s.  The man they brought here to fight crime was someone...

When the 18th amendment to the US Constitution made alcohol illegal, many began to supply the drink illegally.  It was just one of the products...

In south central Kansas you'll find a place long important to Native Americans – a place where they and later white settlers would meet to...

This lady was known to back up her words with her hatchet.  And that hatchet is still well known over a century later.  In fact,...

If you attended David Nation's church in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, many would say the real sermon began when David's wife began the after-sermon lecture…

Many of us love road trips.  Probably nothing we've experienced compares to what Jeff and Alexis Popick recently did.  They ran the Cannonball Run making...

Many people decide to make the trip of a lifetime and drive their car from one coast to another.  Now imagine making that drive as...

In the early 1980s the movie “Cannonball Run” hit movie theatres.  Although the comedy is several decades old, many have seen it and remember the...