Podcasts about santa fe railroad

08:00 — Joel Beinin Professor of Middle East History, Emeritus at Stanford University.  33:00 — Marissa Kendall covers homelessness for the nonprofit newsroom Calmatters.  45:00 — Carl Anthony has died. He was an architect, planner, founder of one of the country's oldest environmental justice organizations, Urban Habitat. Among his many legacies: he played a pivotal role converting big stretches of Berkeley's waterfront – including the soon-to-be-renamed Cesar Chaves Park – from dumps to parks. This at a time when the dominant landlowner around the waterfront, Santa Fe Railroad, basically wanted to build a mall instead. This is an excerpt of an interview we did in October 2017, when he'd just published his book The Earth, the City, and the Hidden Narrative of Race.  The post Upcoming Israel and Lebanon Negotiations; Plus, A New Paradigm for Fighting Homelessness; And, Remembering Carl Anthony appeared first on KPFA.

Send us Fan MailA county doesn't feel “real” until paperwork can beat chaos, and Ford County's origin story proves it. We head back to April 5, 1873, when Kansas Governor Thomas Osborne signs the proclamation that creates Ford County and forces Dodge City to start acting like a place with a future, not just a boomtown with a rail line and a trail of grudges.We walk through why that signature matters: the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad has pushed west, money is moving in freight and buffalo hides, and businesses are rising on land that settlers can't even prove they own. Without deeds, courts, or a way to record property, the frontier runs on fear and force. That's the backdrop for Osborne's calculated picks: Charles Wrath as the commercial muscle, J.G. MacDonald and Daniel Wolfe to build civic structure, and Herman J. Fringer to make the written record that turns a claim into a title.From Fringer's drugstore ledgers to the first convening of the provisional government on April 16, 1873, we connect the dots between Western history and practical governance: land records, local courts, taxes, roads, and the first steps toward law enforcement. Along the way, we also examine how historical memory can elevate louder names while quieter builders like MacDonald still shape the foundation.If you care about Dodge City history, Kansas history, the Santa Fe Railroad, or how the American frontier became a governed place, this story delivers the turning point. Subscribe, share the show with a history-loving friend, and leave a review to help more people find it. What part of “order” do you think mattered most: courts, titles, or the people chosen to enforce them?Support the showIf you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included. 

Send us Fan MailA railroad can feel inevitable when you see it on a map. Up close, it's a gamble with a hard deadline, exhausted men, and miles of empty country that refuse to cooperate. We pick up the Santa Fe's high-stakes race across the Arkansas Valley, where March 3, 1873 hangs over every hammer swing. Miss the Colorado border and the land grants that bankroll the dream can disappear, taking the company with them. Beat the clock and the “paper railroad” becomes a steel fact that rewires the American West.As we move with the railhead, we trace the human cost of railroad construction: cramped boarding cars, dust-choked days, and the volatile boom towns that spring up overnight. We revisit the Newton General Massacre and the way violence trails commerce on the frontier. Then the lens widens to the railroad's collision with Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, and Comanche homelands, including Satanta's push to meet expansion with sovereignty and negotiation, even as resistance sparks along the line.Dodge City arrives like a shock to the system: no proper depot, just a boxcar office and stacks of buffalo hides waiting for eastern buyers and global markets. The Santa Fe doesn't merely carry passengers, it accelerates the buffalo hide trade and the near-erasure of the herds, with consequences that ripple through Plains tribes, local boom economies, and the landscape itself. When the buffalo era collapses, the town pivots hard, welcoming Texas Longhorns and earning its “Queen of the Cowtowns” crown as cattle flood the stockyards.If you care about Wild West history, the Santa Fe Railroad, Dodge City, the buffalo extinction, and how transportation transforms economies and lives, ride this line with us. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review with the moment you can't stop thinking about.Support the showIf you'd like to buy one or more of our fully illustrated dime novel publications, you can click the link I've included. 

In this episode of Gangland Wire, host Gary Jenkins sits down with author and historian Gary Clemente for a deep dive into the remarkable life of Nicola Gentile, one of the most influential yet little-known figures in early American organized crime. Click here to find books by mob expert Gary Celemente Gentile was no street thug. Born in Sicily in 1884, he immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s and became a roving Mafia diplomat—trusted to mediate disputes among crime families in cities such as New York, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Kansas City, Pueblo, Chicago, and beyond. Known as Zio Nicola (“Uncle Nick”), Gentile operated as a stabilizing force during the most violent period of Mafia history, including Prohibition and the Castellammarese War. Clemente reveals that Gentile's story survives largely because Gentile broke the ultimate Mafia rule: he wrote memoirs. Those writings—published in Italy in the 1960s—were seized by the FBI and later translated by Clemente's father, Peter Clemente, one of the first Sicilian-born agents assigned to the FBI's elite Top Hoodlum Squad. The episode offers rare insight into those translations and the intelligence value they held for federal investigators. The discussion traces Gentile's interactions with legendary figures such as Carlo Gambino, Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Vito Genovese, as well as his behind-the-scenes role in shaping the Mafia's modern organizational structure—including the creation of the national Commission. The episode also explores Gentile's personal contradictions: a lifelong criminal who saw himself as an honorable man, a mediator capable of violence, and a romantic who later believed a lover betrayed him to federal authorities. After fleeing the U.S. under indictment, Gentile returned to Sicily, where he later provided intelligence to Allied forces during World War II—another unlikely chapter in an already extraordinary life. Despite being sentenced to death by Mafia leaders for publishing his memoirs, Gentile was spared due to the respect he commanded on both sides of the Atlantic. He died peacefully in Sicily in 1970, leaving behind a story so expansive it feels tailor-made for film. To go to the store or make a donation or rent Ballot Theft: Burglary, Murder, Coverup, click here To rent ‘Brothers against Brothers’ or ‘Gangland Wire,’ the documentaries click here.  To purchase one of my books, click here. [0:00] Hey, all you wiretappers, Gary Jenkins back here in the studio of Gangland Wire. I am a former Kansas City Police Intelligence Unit detective and now turned podcaster and documented filmmaker. We record the mafia, everything we can about the mob. And today I’ve been wanting to do this story, guys, as a man named Nicola Gentile. Did I get that right, Gary? Beautiful. All right. This is Gary Clemente, and Gary’s been on before, or GP Clemente. He’s been on before. His father was Peter Clemente, who was one of the original Sicilian-born FBI agents in the United States and did a lot of translation work with Bellacci. And he’s written, he’s writing books. So we talked about the first book, but tell just a little bit more about it. And guys, I’ll have links to that book. And then tell me a little bit about the two more you have coming out. The first book that I wrote in a series of books about my father’s lengthy FBI career is called Untold Mafia Tales from the FBI Top Hoodlum Squad. [1:04] And it’s about my father’s career in the mafia from 1950 to 1976. And in 1957, he became a part of the Top Hoodlum squad, which is an elite group that J.H. Goober started as part of the Top Hoodlum program. And what happened was in 1957, they had a big mafia conclave meeting in Appalachian, New York. [1:30] And they had about 60 members of the mafia throughout the country, all the bosses that attended this meeting. And it became publicized. The cops were there. They confiscated their identification, their wallets, the money, everything. And it got released into the news. This was a big story. [1:50] So what happened was J. Edgar Hoover at that time had been denying the existence of the mafia for a number of reasons. Probably because he didn’t want to get involved with all of the muck of trying to prosecute these gangland people because he knew that they had a lot of buffers between the bosses and the guys committing the murders. So he knew it was going to be difficult, and it would blemish their conviction record and rate. So he kind of stayed away from it, denied the existence of the mafia, And along comes this Appalachian Conclave meeting. It got released into the news, and everybody was up in arms about this. That’s when Hoover decided to start the Top Hoodland program, because there was absolutely no denial of what was going on here, that there was some sort of vast criminal organization that was highly organized, and he had to do something about it. So in 1957, my father became part of the Top Hoodlum program. [2:54] And in particular, the Top Hoodlum squad in New York City, which is really a hotbed of mafia criminal activity. You couldn’t get any more hotter than what they had. They had five mafia families alone in New York. And the first book was really about how my father confronted Carlo Gambino, how Carlo Gambino became one of his original subjects for him to study and to profile. [3:24] He was ordered to do that, and he was happy to do that. The book is really about him confronting face-to-face with Carlo Gambino, and then afterwards wiretapping him at the Golden Gate Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. He was on the other side of a wall. From Gambino for six weeks. Gambino did not know he was on the other side of the wall wiretapping him with another agent. So that’s what the first book was about. And the second book is about really the backstory of my father’s life before he got into the FBI a little bit. Then his first years in the Bureau, when he was a part of the investigation of the Communist Party and the Workers’, Party and the few offices that he was in, like the Springfield, Illinois office, and also Cleveland. And then he became a part of the New York office. He was still investigating communist activities at the time. And then he became a part of the Top Woodland squad. And his milieu, his wheelhouse, became organized crime and the mafia. So that’s generally what has happened so far. The second book is being released this coming month, and it will We’ll have book two and book three talking about these sorts of things. [4:44] Interesting. Interesting. All right, guys, I’ll have a link to the old book down there in the show notes and look for that new book coming up and we’ll get back together. I’ll get back with Gary after the book comes out sometime and we’ll do another show. And we’re not going to talk about the mafia so much. We’re going to talk about these activities, which I think is interesting, of the FBI against the Social Workers Party and the Communist Party USA because they did a lot of work. When I was growing up, Gary, do you remember I Led Three Lives, the TV show about, his last name was Phil Brick. It was a weekly TV show about an undercover FBI agent who supposedly was working as a member of the Communist Party. He would go to these meetings and things like that. Do you remember that? I Led Three Lives. I do remember that. That show goes way, way back. What year was that show? Oh, that had to be 1953, 54. I had to be like 9, 10 years old, 55. I was 10 years old, so it probably may be 1955. I do remember the show. I think I’ve seen reruns of it. Yeah, I bet it’s on YouTube. I have to look that up for fun one of these days. [5:52] Issue Machine’s show back then, we will talk about this later on at another time as regards to the second book. Back in the 1950s, J. Edgar Hoover’s main enemy was the Communist Party. It wasn’t organized crime. That was his top focus. He wrote a book called Masters of Deceit. And people, I think everybody, they should have this book in public school system, but they don’t want to do that today. Today’s public school system, they try to inculcate youngsters in more social activities and social warriors and not learning about the perils of Marxism and communism. [6:33] Okay, today we’re going to talk about Nicola Gentile. Now, 1903, he was a Sicilian immigrant that came to the United States, and he found a lot of opportunity among the other Sicilian immigrants because he was a blackhander, if you will, when he first got here. He was a criminal who came over from Sicily, but he was able to move among all the different families, all the different cities, and settle disputes and help people get organized and do things like that. Gary, start telling us a little bit about what you remember about Nicola Gentile. First of all, I want to tell people that Nicola Gentile was an uber jovelace. He was jovelace on steroids. Somebody later on in his life, toward the end of his life, he wrote his memoirs down. This was in 1963. So what happened was he published his memoirs in Italy. He had a co-author, he had another journalist write these memoirs down in Sicilia. [7:36] These memoirs were then grabbed by the FBI and they were given to my father. My father had the papers written in Sicilian. And I remember as a boy in 1963, when this happened, my father was sitting at a table translating these memoirs with my grandmother. Now, my grandmother grew up not too far away. My grandmother and my grandfather grew up not too far away from Nicola Gentile. Nicola was born in the town of Siculiana. Try to say that, Gary. [8:14] I give. I said that one real fast. So he’s writing these, translating the memoirs with my Sicilian-speaking grandmother and grandfather. My grandfather spoke, my grandparents, my father spoke Sicilian as well, too. He grew up with that as a little boy. But my grandmother and my grandfather were helping him translate these papers. These are the FBI papers. This is a copy. This is a copy of the FBI photocopy after it got translated. And my father did write some notes here and there. You can see it’s fairly light. The print is fairly light on it. I do have some post-it notes or notations, comments on it. But this is about 185 pages that were translated. And the language is quite formal, I’ll read to you a little bit of the first page What Nicola Gentile wrote as he started off Before you get started there, was that book ever translated? Is that available here in English form like on Amazon as a book you can buy today? I know a lot of people are wondering, can I find that? [9:34] That’s a good question. I haven’t gone that far yet. Okay, all right. I don’t know. I’ll take a look. That is a good question. But this is the translation that my father and my grandparents did. And whether it came out that way in these books that are out now, I don’t know. There are some books that do talk about Nicola Jantili, but I don’t know if there are any English translation books. So this is how the first page of Nicola’s book opens. Siculiana, a small town of Sicily, did not, prior to 1900, offer any opportunity for work or secondary school education for the betterment of life of its youth. [10:22] The greater portion of whom in which there existed the disposition encouraged by the family while still young frequented the shop of an artisan where they struggled to learn a trade, but at the same time often neglecting school so that illiteracy reigned supreme. So that’s the sort of language that Nicola used in it. And it’s quite interesting. It’s a bit formal. He does jump around a bit from his activities from one place to another. He talks a lot about how he knew practically everybody in the mob at that time. He knew people like Luciano. He knew he interacted with Al Capone. He interacted with Vito Genovese. He interacted with Albert the Mad Hatter, Anastasia. These were all the big shots. I’m talking about in the 1920s through the 1930s and all the way after. If you remember that in the 1920s, the 1919 prohibition happened, okay? That’s what really blew up out of everything, the prestige, the money, and the power of the mafia. That’s how it grew because of prohibition. and they were able to bootleg liquor, and Nikola was indeed a part of this. [11:51] He traveled around a lot. Now, what was the deal with that? He was in New York. I think that was his base, and that’s where he got started, but he traveled to, I think, New Orleans, or did he come up from New Orleans? I can’t remember. He was in Kansas City. He was in Cleveland. He was in Pueblo, Colorado. He made some connections. There’s a really old, early family in Pueblo, Colorado. I’ve talked to a descendant of that family, and I’ve talked to another author that knew quite a little bit about it so he traveled around to these different families what was the story with that, For whatever reason, he was a robing ambassador and a mediator. Look, you’re talking about organized crime. You’re talking about the mafia. You’re talking about vicious people who had one thing and one thing only in mind. What was it? Duh, money. Money and power. Because of that, you’re going to have disputes. You’re going to have arguments. You’re going to have people being killed as a result of it. And Gentile was the sort of individual that, think of Nicola Gentile as a Vida Colleone. [12:59] Think of him as a godfather figure. Very wise, understanding how to mediate the disputes, realizing that, as everybody else did, that if we do not mediate these disputes, what will happen? We will be at each other’s throats like animals. Yeah. And our organization cannot exist. Our universe, our world cannot exist if this happens. So we must mediate these disputes. We must have an organizational structure. We must have a boss. We must have an underboss. We must have a consigliere, an advisor, who tells, who gives words of wisdom about how to proceed with business. Whether to take somebody out, how to proceed in such a fashion. So all of that was a part of the world. And it existed for many years, for many decades because of that. [14:01] Now, let me start off a little bit to tell you the beginnings of Nicola so we can lead up to how he got to this position. So he was born in 1884. He came to America at the age of 19 and went to New York. He travels to Kansas City to meet with his brother Vincent, who lived in Topeka, Kansas, not too far away from Kansas City. He started working out in the Santa Fe Railroad, and he became a linen peddler, and he did make some money doing that. He returned to Italy in 1909. He married in 1910 and had a daughter named Maria. Now, in his papers, you really don’t hear anything more about that happening. You don’t hear anything about his wife, children, nothing. And it isn’t until later on, at the very end of his memoirs, he talks about the women in his life. We’ll get to that later. But so what happened was he returns back from Italy, gets back to America, and he goes to Canada. Then he moves to San Francisco with his brother, and he continues to sell linen until 1914. And it isn’t until he was a year or two later, maybe about the age of 19, 20 or so, he starts getting involved with the Honor Society. [15:27] Now, he knows about the Honor Society from back in Sicily. He’s been well aware of it. He’s been involved with it. At the age of 15, he had been convicted of a crime, and he had been sentenced to jail at the age of 15. So he wasn’t new to the world of organized crime. He knew it from back in Sicily. It’s a very deep fabric of the world of Sicily at that time. Why is that? Because in Sicily, in those years, in the late 1800s, you had either what? You had a sort of a feudal system where people were working for these large landowners, and the landowners were absentee landowners, okay? They delegated authority to people underneath them, and the people working for their land and working on their land were really, for example, a lot of poverty happened because of it. So to bridge that sort of gap with poverty, the Mafia started, in other words, and they called it the Honor Society. These were men of honor. And Nicola Gentile describes it as the, let me see here. [16:39] He describes the honor society, originating many years ago in antiquity, and it gives the right to defend the honor of the weak and to respect human law. With these principles as its guide, it’s still operated within the mafia. So you understand that within the honor society, here’s the code that we must be civilized, even though we’re acting like animals. [17:08] We don’t want to act too much like animals but otherwise we will destroy, the golden goose so this is what they put in the back of their minds we must act in a civilized manner, so that was the understanding of how the outer society worked so he went to New York he went to Brooklyn, and at that time the mafia probably had 2,000 2,000 members of the mafia in New York at that time, between the five families. They call them Bocate families. So he joined the Outer Society in Pittsburgh. [17:49] And soon after, he was asked by Gregorio Conte, the head of the mob boss in Pittsburgh, to do a killing for him. Okay? Now, he doesn’t say whether this was an initiation right, because that’s what they usually did in the mafia. You had to kill somebody in order to be initiated into the mafia, become a member of it. So he was ordered to do a killing, and what happened was he confronted this individual in front of a restaurant. His brother shoots the victim in front of the restaurant. He runs away before Nikola, empties his gun into the guy. Paul runs away. Nicola’s standing there with his gun. People are yelling and screaming, oh my gosh, he did it. He killed this person. Paul is running down the street. He takes his firearm. He shoots it up in the air. [18:45] Scares the crowd away. Nicola runs away. He escapes from that scene. Now, Nicola really has never, throughout his mafia career, he’s never been arrested. It isn’t until later on in his life that he actually does get under the eye of the police and he becomes indicted and will get arrested. So that’s what happens to him later on. But later, during his life in the mob, he does not get arrested in any way, shape, or form. Although he got to Italy, when he goes back to Italy, he was under the scrutiny of the police there and he had been arrested. He gets out on bail, and he was accused of crimes there. So he was pretty slippery. But in terms of what we’re talking about, his mediation skills, little by little, he becomes this sort of individual that people look at as somebody that can mediate their problems and to tamper down the situation that can become very hot. And he became somebody that the other mobsters called, they called him Uncle Nick or Zio Nicola, Zio Cola, Uncle Cola. They saw him as a sort of a vunticular figure. [20:07] That could ameliorate these disputes and these situations that they were involved with. In Kansas City, our mob boss was Nick Savella for a long time, and I was looking over some wiretaps, and people were talking about him, and one of his underlings was talking to another underling about something he was going to take to him, and he called him Zeo the whole time. They always referred to him as Zeo, so that’s a term of honor and respect throughout the mafia world. [20:37] That’s right. As I keep saying, the mafia was able to exist for as long as it did because they had an organizational structure. They had a code of honor that kept them from not acting like wild animals too much. Too much. A lot of these people, you’ve met more than your share of criminals. Gary, you know how many of these people can be. Some of them can be very business-like. Some of them can be very vicious, vicious, sick people too. And the great scarpets of the world that would kill dozens of people. These were psychopaths. You had your whole range. You had your whole range of people. And the fascinating thing about Gentile was that he knew a lot of these individuals. You talked about the Kansas City, the Kansas City entity. Yes, Pueblo, Colorado did have its problems at that time. And somebody had been killed, the Pueblo, Colorado family, and that sort of spilled over into Kansas City. Kansas City was asking to mediate the situation, and it was Chile mediated the situation because of it. [21:57] Chantina became the boss of the Kansas City family. Now, he does not get into this in great depth about what he did in Kansas City at Boston, but it was a temporary thing. He was bopping around from Pittsburgh to Cleveland to Kansas City. He went to New York. He was in Boston. He was far away, San Francisco, Los Angeles. He was all over the place. And he was very well respected. He had a lot to do with what was going on in Chicago with Al Capone. Interestingly enough, Al Capone, at that time, when Gentile encountered him, his family, if you want to call it his crime family, had a lot of international entities in it. It wasn’t an Italian thing. He had a lot of different people from different ethnic backgrounds as a part of his organization. It wasn’t until Nicola comes around and the mafia bosses came around and told him, look, this is what the mafia is like. We’re not an international group here. [23:08] It’s strictly Italian. You want to be a part of it, you need to buy into this. Okay. And that’s indeed what he did, bought into the mafia, marginalize the people that were not Italians. Booted them out and or killed them sometimes and started his own mafia italian thing in chicago which became very very well known as as a bloody place to believe bloody bloody place to be because of the the killings that they had prior to him being a part of the mafia officially there were a tremendous amount of gangland killings as you know in chicago so he had a large part to and he He did keep a lot of those other ethnicities around as players, as people he could use, though. And on into Frank Nitti’s time and on up into current modern times, up into the 50s and 60s, they had several people that were on the periphery would be associates. But I guess he had more organization of Sicilians, it looks to me like, over the years. Yes, yes, he did. What happened eventually was, as Gary, the Castellamareci War erupted in the 1930s. That’s another hard one to say, Castellamareci. Castellamareci. I can say that, Castellamareci. [24:35] Try to say that real fast. So what happened, the Castellamareci War erupted. In June, the boss mazzeria was the boss of bosses. They called him the king. Was the boss of the Capetituticape, the boss of bosses, okay? [24:53] And Mazzaria was wielding a very heavy hand that a lot of the other bosses in the country did not like at that time. And in particular, Maranzano became his chief foe. And he was originally from the Castellammare area of Sicily, okay? and his henchmen, his crew, the men around him were from that area. So they had a big war with the children past Mazaria. They wanted to assume power. A lot of people were dying. They were dropping like flies, especially over in New York. And Nicola Gentile was one of the people that were trying to mediate this situation between Mazaria and Marazano. Originally, Nicola sided with Mazaria, but then the ties changed. In turn, everybody wanted Mazaria dead. All the other bosses wanted him dead, including Capone. Mazaria was eventually executed in, I believe it was 1931. [26:05] And so Salvatore Marzano assumes power, okay? The people that Mazaria had underneath him, And Marisano said, we need to get rid of these guys. So he wound up killing all of the mazzarela boys. So everybody was saying, look, I don’t see any end of this bloodshed. We don’t need this publicity, okay? We need to operate in the shadows, okay? And Carlo Gambino was an expert at doing that. So what happened was the war ended. Marisano took over. He kills the boys. But then after that Marzano, what happens power gets to his head and easily lies the crown of the king, Marzano eventually gets killed by the other bosses and it was Vito Genovese. [27:00] It was Vito Genovese that was ordered to do the hit on Marazano with his crew. And as a result of that, Gary, the other bosses said, look, we need more structure here. There’s too much bloodshed. We can’t have this going on forever and ever. So they created a commission. Now, they did have other commissions before. They did have general assemblies like that. And so they created a commission that included Lucky Luciano, included Al Capone. [27:35] Included Joe Profaggi, included Joe Bananas as part of the commission to settle down, settle things down. Now, I said that originally, when we started that, that they had an Appalachian conclave, right? They had about 60 bosses, 60, 80 bosses there at that conclave. That’s big. Believe it or not, while the big war was going on, Al Capone had a meeting on his dime in Boston, I believe. Guess who was there? I’m sorry, about 500. They had 500 mafia guys there. And there was no publicity about it. Not what happened later on in Appalachian, New York. So here you have, you imagine, 500 mob guys meeting at a hotel in Boston, and it wasn’t covered by the media at that time. But that’s part and parcel of what Nicola was involved with, some of the people he was involved with at that time. So what happens to him later on? What stirs him to write this book? [28:44] What happened was, toward the latter part of his life, he starts to talk about a couple of women that he was involved with. He talks about, I will put all the paperwork so you can actually hear the words that he talks about. He talks about how he met this woman named Maria. [29:08] He meets this woman named Maria, and he really captures his imagination. He doesn’t talk about that he had been married, that he also had a child, too. He had a child named Maria. So he meets this woman named Maria, and she’s really stricken with him. And to the point where she tells him that she’s so smitten with him that I’m going to read what, He tried to pose as a jewelry salesman so that he could meet her. He says, I suspected that you weren’t a jewelry salesman. She says to him, she said, you did. She whispered in my ear, lightly touching my earlobe with her lips. She used to finish by kissing me on the mouth wild with love. There were moments of passion that our bodies would entwine, palpitating with love, and which would later be abandoned with languid reproves. So that’s the sort of language he used. And at one point, he talks about how he liked going to her apartment to visit her when he was feeling edgy. [30:28] You’re a mobster. You feel a little bit edgy. You’re always looking over your shoulder, right? So he was happy to go to her apartment to calm down, and she would talk to him. And she says, Mary was happy to see me. She used to tell me, Nick, that’s how she called me, you are an extraordinary man. You don’t know with what fear and respect those Boers, the Shacatani, speaker view. The Shacatani were the people of Sciacca, Sicily, that were mobsters that he associated with. It says, your name impresses everyone. Any woman alive brought to live among this rabble would be happy to be your co-worker, to wear men’s clothes, and at the necessary time of the occasion should present itself, to embrace a Tommy gun and die in your arm. [31:26] So that’s the sort of romantic verbiage that they used at the time. So what happened, too, was he sees her, then eventually he meets another woman named Dorothy. [31:41] She professes herself to be Irish to begin with, but then he finds out later as she tells him, I’m actually not Irish. I come from a Sicilian family. But she just wanted to impress him somehow to get his eyes. She was very attracted to him, to this woman, Dorothy. What happened was they have a love affair with each other, and Nikola, this is to the very end of his story here, Nikola had been involved with a gambling house in New York, and the gambling house was starting to go underwater. He needed money, so it was proposed to him by another mobster by the name of Jacono to do some narcotic trafficking down in Texas and Louisiana. [32:31] He gets the permission to do so from his bosses. Look, Nicola was still a roving asset, and he had to get permission to do things so that he could acquire enough money for investments, so he can give them money back, so he gets permission to do this. He starts getting involved with the drug trafficking trade in Texas and Louisiana, and he sees that he’s being tailed a lot. He doesn’t understand why. He says, out of nowhere, the police would show up. How did they find out? At the same time, he was trying to contact Dorothy. Before he left, Dorothy asked him. [33:11] Will I be seeing you much? She said, I don’t know. I could be gone six months or a year. She says that she’s so heartbroken about this. And he leaves and he gets involved with the drug trade. And he’s asking these questions about how is it that the cops are showing up at these different places where we are trying to transact business? What happens was he tried to contact Dorothy at different places where she said that she could be contacted. She didn’t get back to him. So he puts two and two together. He thinks that he believes that Dorothy was actually a treasury agent. She had been spying on him, that she was the Mata Hari, so to speak, and was feeding the information to the feds. to where he was. So what happened was they indicted him, got out on bail on $18,000 bail, and he was urged to be a stowaway to get to Italy. So he stows away on a ship, gets back to Italy. And interestingly enough, Gary. [34:23] He starts at World War II erupts, and he becomes an asset to the Allies in Sicily. He’s given them intelligence about what’s happening in Sicily with the mafia in Sicily. And the mafia in Sicily did not want to have anything to do with Mussolini. Mussolini was trying to bag on them big time. He’s trying to shut them down. And Nicola helped the Allies with intelligence reports on what was going on in Sicily. And that was a big part of what he was doing. And then later on, it wasn’t until 1963 or so, and he was still getting involved. He was still getting involved with the mafia at that time, doing criminal activities. But he wasn’t welcomed as much as he had been before. But he was still involved with them. What happened was the 60s came around, and he started writing his memoirs. He was an older man, and he started writing these things down on paper. [35:28] Which is what a mafia member does not do. You do not speak a word, let alone try to write it on paper. Otherwise, it’s a penalty of death. So he wrote all of these memoirs down in 1963. It got published that he was sentenced to death. But one of the mafia families in Sicily refused to do it. They refused to do it because he had a lot of respect. Members of the mafia in the U.S. And also in Sicily respected Gintilian very much because he had this godfather air about him. He had the Vita Corleone air about him. I will talk to you, and I will come up with a solution for you. Everybody’s calmed down by that. They’re not so excited and bloodthirsty when they hear that. They sense him to death. The mafia family in Sicily refused to carry out the hit. The book was published, and he lived the rest of his life in peace. He died peacefully as an old man in Sicily in 1970. Wow, 1970. That’s a hell of a story. That is a hell of a story, man. [36:44] I’m telling you you can make a movie out of this man’s life oh yeah literally the way he was jumping around from one place to the other he was really a maverick rogue sort of individual who is who did not have a higher education about him but was extremely intelligent and was able to use this and that’s what that’s why they respected him a lot of these individuals that he dealt with were boars and uneducated individuals to begin with. Many of them were highly intelligent. And as my dad always told me, his son, these individuals, especially the mob bosses, they could have been tycoons of finance. They could have been industrial tycoons, wizards of finance and economics and Wall Street if they had wanted to, but they did not want to. So they choose a life of crime. [37:40] Interesting. I’ll tell you what, that’s a hell of a story, Gary. That is a really cool story. I’d always wanted to do this guy’s story, mainly because I knew of his Kansas City connection. I talked to our local FBI agent here that has chronicled a lot of these things, got a book out there about those early days, and he’s excited. He’s looking forward to listening to this. So I really appreciate you coming on the show. Gary Clemente, GP Clemente. His father was Peter Clemente, the first Sicilian-born member of the FBI Top Hoodlum Squad. And Gary has been translating his works, is what he did. He wrote down a lot of stuff, and Gary’s been translating. He’s putting it down to a series of books. It’s called, let’s see, it is Untold Mafia Tales from the FBI Top Hoodlum Squad, I believe. I think I can read that on your event there. He does speaking events, too. If you’re back east, you’re from New York City area. Where are you from? Where do you speak at? I originally grew up in New Jersey, not too far from one of the Sopranos guys. [38:47] In New Jersey, my father was working at the New York office at that time and decided to buy a home in the suburbs of New York, not too far away from New York City. So that’s where I grew up. On the right side of the track. If somebody wants to get a hold of you to do a speaking engagement, though, how do they find you? They can get a hold of me at my email, gpclementibooks, gpclementibooks, at gmail.com. And I’m also on X, gpclementi16, I’m also on X. And the book is available on Amazon. You can pick it up there, and it’s doing quite well. I’m looking forward to the next one coming out next month. Yeah, I bet you’re looking forward to that. Yeah, and if you get his book, be sure and give him a review. Give him a good review on whatever review you want to give, but give him a good review. Please. [39:48] Because it helps these guys a lot to get a good review. More people will buy their book. And we, guys, we all want to encourage these mob historians. And Gary has done a real great job at chronicling the history, not just the blood and guts. We all like the blood and guts stories and the murder stories, but the entire history. You were talking about them being out in Pueblo, Colorado, and I just couldn’t figure that out. I just talked to a woman whose ancestors were in Pueblo, Colorado, connected to the mob out there. And she said that what it is, there was lead mines out there, and a lot of Sicilians were miners, and they went to that southern Colorado area to work in the mines. And I know we have a large group of Sicilian populations in southwest Missouri where there were strip mines down there for coal. And it’s a huge family of them down there. And so it’s, you know, where the work was is where people went to, and that’s how they ended up spread around the country. [40:45] That’s right. There were many Sicilians in San Francisco, Louisiana. Believe it or not, when Sicilians were in Louisiana when they first immigrated to Louisiana, there were several of them that had been home because they were looked upon as less than human. And the locals did not want them infiltrating their population. So it didn’t just happen to African-Americans, it also happened to Sicilians. Yeah, I’ve read about that story. So it’s an immigrant experience. Any group of immigrants that comes to the United States at first. [41:25] You know, the greater population, the English and the Irish and the Germans already have the good jobs and they keep them pushed out. And they have a different language, totally different language. And everybody else is speaking English. And so it’s really hard for an immigrant population to move in. That’s why they have to start businesses. And along with them, they brought the mafia. They had brought this tradition of the mafia that is shadow government, if you will, for them. Well, that’s true. And I must add that even though I talk a lot about the mafia and the world of the mafia, the Cosa Nostra, that my father was involved with, My father would be the first to tell you he was not proud of the criminal association and organization that these people started. He was not proud of it in any way. In fact, if you read my first book, you will read the part about how my father confronted Carlo Gambino and told him to his face that he was not proud of what Gambino and his associates were doing. And the bad name that they were bringing upon other Italian and Sicilians that had come to this country, like my grandparents, that work hard and made something of themselves. It’s not something to be proud of. Fascinating, interesting, but it’s not something that I’m certainly not proud of either. But pretty amazing, considering these people could have done something more honest. [42:51] But they chose not to. That’s a whole other story and movie to talk about. Yeah, it is. Gary Clemente, I really appreciate you coming on the show. Thanks so much. You’re welcome. Thank you, Gary. Great being here. Gary to Gary. Gary to Gary, yeah. You know, they don’t name Gary anymore. Gary, little kids, Gary anymore. That was back right after the war in the early 50s. Everybody was named Gary. I had three Garys, I think, in my class. I tell you, I went to this movie with my grandkids. It’s called Zootopia. And they had a character in there called Gary the Snake. [43:27] So that’s what we’ve devolved down to, We’re nothing but snakes, Gary Guys, I really appreciate y’all tuning in And don’t forget to like and subscribe And down in the show notes, I’m going to have links to this stuff And I’ve got links to some of the stuff that I sell My books and DVDs If you want to rent them, I’ve got a link to that You can rent my DVDs for $1.99 So thanks a lot, guys. Okay, Gary, thank you. Hey, thank you, Gary. Thank you very much. Really appreciate that you’re having me on. Really enjoy it. Anything I can do for you, please let me know. Anything I can do. You know that I’ve got your endorsement on the back of the book, right? I didn’t remember. I do so much sometimes, Gary, that I forget all what I do good. Yeah, I’ve got your endorsement on the back of the book. I gave you a good endorsement. All right. The second book, the one that’s coming out, the one that’s coming out, we’ll have the same thing on there. You got some author blurbs? You got enough author blurbs on there? Yeah, yeah. Your endorsement will be on the back of the next book, too. Okay, all right, all right. All right, Gary. Thanks a lot, my friend. Hey, thank you, buddy. Anything in Kansas City. When the other book comes out, I’ll let you know. Yeah, let me know. We’ll do that show here in a couple of months. Okay? Hey, thank you very much. Appreciate it. All right, all right. Stay safe. Okay, buddy. Take care. Bye-bye.

Today we are discussing the 43rd annual Rose Rock Festival in Noble, Oklahoma. Come to the Rose Rock Music Festival in downtown Noble for a fun-filled weekend featuring plenty of family activities. Visitors to this event will enjoy a carnival with popular carnival rides, a car show, poker run and more. Enjoy browsing through booths filled with arts and crafts, and peruse plenty of food booths for tasty treats. Watch the Rose Rock Idol contest to see who walks away with the title. Don't miss the parade on Saturday, and enjoy a wide variety of live musical entertainment featuring local bands throughout the three-day Rose Rock Music Festival. Located immediately south of Norman, Noble is a charming small town within minutes of most of the Oklahoma City metro area. Noble was formed as part of the great land run of April 22, 1889. Noble is located just east of the South Canadian River and was one of the original towns formed along the Santa Fe Railroad on April 22, 1889. For years Noble was home to a busy railroad depot, several cotton gins, hotels and a thriving Main Street business District. Also discussed Heavenlee BBQ, VisitOKC, Cafe 75, Southern Living Magazine, BlackTop BBQ, Olympics and The Oklahoman. Special thanks to our partner, Friends of Nicoma Park. Want some Only in OK Show swag? #RoseRock #OKC #Festival #NobleOK #heavenlee #cafe75 #olympics #bbq #onlyinokshow #Oklahoma #podcast #traveloklahoma #travel #tourism

Send us a text and chime in!The Town of Chino Valley, Arizona, in partnership with the Trust for Public Land (TPL), has acquired a 23-acre historic property known as the "Fred Harvey Farm." This acquisition is part of a larger effort to protect nearly 1,000 acres at the headwaters of the Verde River and establish a new state park. The former farm, once owned by a subsidiary of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad and operated by the Fred Harvey Company, holds significant historical value, having supplied food to their hotels along the railway. The preserved buildings will offer insights into early Arizona history and the Fred Harvey Company's role in it. This purchase ensures the preservation of the land's history, protects the waters of the Verde River, and will allow for public enjoyment and educational opportunities, recognizing the cultural importance of the area to Indigenous tribes. TPL facilitated the acquisition through partnerships and funding, securing the property at a reduced cost.You can read the entire article here: https://www.signalsaz.com/articles/chino-valley-acquires-historic-fred-harvey-farm/Check out the CAST11.com Website at: https://CAST11.com Follow the CAST11 Podcast Network on Facebook at: https://Facebook.com/CAST11AZFollow Cast11 Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/cast11_podcast_network

Dr. Bill's acute awareness of being “different” inspired him to explore and subvert constructs of gender, sexuality, culture, and individual identity.Early influences of folk and fiber art traditions were passed down from his grandmother. He worked on trash trucks, switched trains on the Santa Fe Railroad, made a living as an archaeologist at the Cahokia Mounds, and restored historic architecture throughout St. Louis.Dr. Bill holds advanced degrees in physical medicine, acupuncture, and the fine arts including a BFA in Ceramics and Printmaking and an MA in Weaving from Pittsburg State University and an MFA in Multimedia from Washington University.Additionally, he studied dance with Katherine Dunham and DeBorah Ahmed, contact improvisation with Sarah Shelton Mann, West African percussion with Mor Thiam, and toured internationally with Gash/Voigt Dance Theater as an installation artist, videographer, and physician.

This week we look at the Santa Fe Railroad at Disneyland plus some details on the postcards sent from Disneyland. Plus incoming mail from @jamalfox and @disneyinpopculture Follow Disney in Pop Culture Below are some of the regulars on Art Throw Down, Follow all of them on Instagram anyway for great art and postcards in your Instagram feed: Hipstadufus, luluvision, jlynch9923, greenmosspaper, georgemailsart, state_of_the_funyun, RussRomano2021

This week, parts of the esplanade are getting a facelift, an opening day attraction is back on track, American Idol was at the parks, guests can get Galaxy's Edge items at home, some new treats, we talk about our tour, Club 33, and the nighttime shows and more! Please support the show if you can by going to https://www.dlweekly.net/support/. If you want some DLWeekly Swag, you can pick some up at https://www.dlweekly.net/store/. Book your travel through ConciEARS at no extra cost to you! Be sure to mention that you heard about ConciEARS from DLWeekly at booking! DISCOUNTS! We have partnered with the Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel & Water Playground to get great deals for our listeners! Book your stay at the Howard Johnson Anaheim and get 15% off your stay (code 1000022077)! Magic Key Holders get 20% off their stay (code 1000025935) as well! Book now! Need the perfect bag for your days in the parks? Look no further than Designer Park Co.! Purchase the Rope Drop Bag as featured on Episode 222 and get 10% off your purchase! Use coupon code DLWEEKLY to get the discount. If you want some awesome headwear or one of a kind items, be sure to visit our friends over at All Enchanting Ears! You can use the promo code DLWEEKLY10 to get 10% off your order! News If a stop to Maurice's Treats is on your list during a visit, there are some menu changes that you should be aware of. The Cheddar Garlic Bagel Twist has moved to Edelweiss Snacks in Fantasyland and the Churro Gears have disappeared. Some new sweet and savory menu items have taken their place for now. - https://www.micechat.com/356364-disneyland-update-fantasmic-surprise-reservations-about-reservations/ A beloved Disneyland icon is no more. Nutmeg, one of the most well-known cats featured in the Magic Key Terrace, passed away recently. Nutmeg was beloved by guests and cast members alike. If you want to reflect on the impact they made on the resort, the artwork and tiles around the Magic Key Terrace are a great reminder. - https://www.micechat.com/356364-disneyland-update-fantasmic-surprise-reservations-about-reservations/ Some new treats have come to the resort to add to the mountain of already available treats! The Peach Cobbler Sundae is available at The Golden Horseshoe for $8.49. Over at Award Weiners, there is the Tropical Funnel Cake Fries for $9.49. Just down the road at Schmoozies is the Brave Little Mickey Shake for $12.99. Finally, there are two churros. One is the Spicy Chile Cheese Churro at Willie's Churros for $6.75, and the Cosmic Disturbance Churro at Terran Treats for $6.75. - https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2023/05/07/our-honest-thoughts-on-some-of-disneys-latest-menu-changes/#more-806440 Guests that purchased the commemorative bricks in the esplanade with the 50th Anniversary medallion on them will love the next bit of news. Disneyland has been replacing the missing or highly damaged medallions. There was no official announcement from Disney on this, but Disneyland News Today discovered the newly replaced feature recently. - https://dlnewstoday.com/2023/05/disneyland-resort-replacing-stolen-medallions-on-commemorative-bricks-in-esplanade/ Star Wars fans who would like to purchase some of the Galaxy's Edge exclusive items without going to the parks now have that option! ShopDisney has the Kyber crystals, Holocrons in Jedi and Sith variants, and a Therii creature plush. - https://dlnewstoday.com/2023/05/photos-star-wars-galaxys-edge-exclusive-merchandise-now-available-on-shopdisney/ An opening day vehicle has returned to Disneyland. The C.K. Holliday, named after Cyrus Kurtz Holliday, founder of the Santa Fe Railroad, returned to the rails recently. This engine, along with the E.P. Ripley were the two opening-day engines. The C.K. Holliday is engine #1 on the line. - https://dlnewstoday.com/2023/05/original-opening-day-steam-engine-c-k-holliday-returns-to-service-on-disneyland-railroad/ American Idol fans saw a familiar location on the most recent episode. The show was filmed in Disneyland for Disney night. Contestants got to visit the resort with their moms to celebrate Mother's Day. They were able to meet with celebrity mentor Sofia Carson on the balcony in New Orleans Square. - https://dlnewstoday.com/2023/05/american-idol-visits-disneyland-resort-for-upcoming-disney-night-episode-featuring-sofia-carson-and-halle-bailey/ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCKna5ZoyN4

This week, real snow at Disneyland, an original locomotive returns, more details are installed in Toontown before it's opening, food coming to Toontown, Oscars come to Carthay Circle, we talk to Don from the Pacific Northwest Mouse Meet and more! Please support the show if you can by going to https://www.dlweekly.net/support/. If you want some DLWeekly Swag, you can pick some up at https://www.dlweekly.net/store/. Book your travel through ConciEARS at no extra cost to you! Be sure to mention that you heard about ConciEARS from DLWeekly at booking! DISCOUNTS! If you want some awesome headwear or one of a kind items, be sure to visit our friends over at All Enchanting Ears! You can use the promo code DLWEEKLY10 to get 10% off your order! We have partnered with the Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel & Water Playground to get great deals for our listeners! Book your stay at the Howard Johnson Anaheim and get 15% off your stay (code 1000022077)! Magic Key Holders get 20% off their stay (code 1000025935) as well! Book now! Need the perfect bag for your days in the parks? Look no further than Designer Park Co.! Purchase the Rope Drop Bag as featured on Episode 222 and get 10% off your purchase! Use coupon code DLWEEKLY to get the discount. News Disneyland is a magical place, so much so that it can even have things like snow happen in Southern California! This year has been crazy in terms of weather, but not so far as snow! Weather experts said it was more of what is called graupel, which is snowflakes that collect water droplets on the outer surface. Either way, it was still surreal to see all the pictures and videos online of the weather event! - https://www.micechat.com/349659-disneyland-update-exciting-finds-feasts-and-oswald-meets/ One of the original steam engines of the Disneyland Railroad has returned to carrying guests on a grand circle tour of Disneyland this week. The EP Ripley, named after Edward Payson Ripley of the Santa Fe Railroad, was taken off the tracks a few years ago for repairs, and then underwent a full restoration starting in 2021. The original boiler had to be replicated, along with the headlamp and bell. The parts had to be replicated since they are not manufactured anymore. - https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2023/03/an-original-disneyland-railroad-steam-engine-is-back-on-track/ With Toontown fully opening very soon, some new things can be noticed through the construction walls. A new Minnie and Mickey fountain sculpture was installed in front of CarTOONial Park, the Wishing Tree has been installed and decorated with lanterns, and the Cafe Daisy sign has been installed for the new eatery. - https://www.micechat.com/349659-disneyland-update-exciting-finds-feasts-and-oswald-meets/ We are just a couple of weeks from the reopening of Mickey's Toontown! Disney released the upcoming food offerings in the so-to-be fully reopened land. From kid-friendly items like the Cheese Please! Pizza, Minnie's Mini Corn Dogs, to adult options like the Cheezy Pizza Flop-Over and a Spring Garden Wrap. - https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2023/03/disney-eats-first-look-at-mickeys-toontown-treats-coming-to-disneyland-resort/ For a limited time, there is a special exhibit inside Carthay Circle Restaurant. In the foyer of the restaurant, the honorary Oscar that Walt Disney won for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 are on display. They are on loan from the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco. - https://www.micechat.com/349659-disneyland-update-exciting-finds-feasts-and-oswald-meets/ One of our favorite holiday events is returning this year. The 2023 Eggstaviganza will begin on March 13th and run through April 9th. To take part in the scavenger hunt and collect a fun collectible egg at the end, guest purchase a game board for $9.99 plus tax and locate all the hidden eggs around Downtown Disney, Disneyland, and Disney California Adventure. Note that there are three different game boards, one for each location. - https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2023/03/06/dates-and-prices-announced-for-disneys-2023-eggstravaganza/ There is a few merchandise items for the Food and Wine Fest this year. There are spirit jerseys, mugs, ears, and more. - https://www.micechat.com/349659-disneyland-update-exciting-finds-feasts-and-oswald-meets/ For Magic Key Holders, there is even a special exclusive t-shirt that features Stitch eating a slice of cake for the Food and Wine Festival 2023. - https://www.micechat.com/349659-disneyland-update-exciting-finds-feasts-and-oswald-meets/ This past Sunday was Adventureland Day at Disneyland! Hundreds of Adventureland fans descended upon the park dressed in their Adventureland attire to follow clues and solve riddles in a treasure hunt to receive a prize. A sweet Disneyland classic has been updated at Pooh Corner. The classic Tigger Tail has been updated with a new coating that replaces the previous orange-colored white chocolate with an orange-flavored confectioners coating. The new version looks much closer to Tigger's actual tail. - https://dlnewstoday.com/2023/03/review-trying-the-updated-tigger-marshmallow-tail-from-pooh-corner-at-disneyland/ Jeff Reitz has done something that we all wish we could say we did - and that is hold the Guiness World Record for the most consecutive visits to Disneyland Park. Jeff went for 2,995 straight days in a row, which comes out to eight years, three months, and thirteen days. Jeff and his friends set out to visit the park all 366 days of 2012. They reached that goal, and Jeff kept going. His last streak day was March 13th, 2020, the day before the parks closed due to the pandemic. - https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2023/03/04/are-you-up-for-the-ultimate-disneyland-challenge/ For Weeklyteers who are looking to own a piece of Disneyland, there is an upcoming auction you might want to look into. On March 25th and 26th, The Art of Disneyland: From Stagecoaches to Monorails...and More! will be held in Beverly Hills, with previews March 20th through 24th from 10am-5pm at Heritage Auctions. For a list of all the items and location, check out the link in our show notes. - https://comics.ha.com/c/auction-home.zx?saleNo=7314 - https://wdwnt.com/2023/03/disney-auction-disneyland-monorail-ride-vehicles/ Discussion Topic Don Morin - Founder and Host of PNW Mouse Meet Since 2009 Don and his team have been creating a magical experience for thousands of Guests. “Passion, Disney Fandom and giving them more than they expect are key ingredients to our success!” The PNW Mouse Meet is an unofficial Disney Fan Event that was created by Disney Fans FOR Disney Fans. This annual event provides Disney enthusiasts the opportunity to get together right here in the Pacific Northwest to share and celebrate all things Disney. https://www.youtube.com/@PNWMOUSEMEET

Follow Galveston Unscripted on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! More history content on Visit Galveston! We dive into the life and legacy of Mary Elizabeth Moody Northen, one of the most influential women of her time. Despite her preference to stay out of the limelight, her entrepreneurial spirit and philanthropy in Galveston, Texas made her a legend. From founding the Mary Moody Northen Endowment to funding the restoration of the Santa Fe Railroad depot, Mary's life is an inspiring example of determination and hard work.Galveston Unscripted What is Galveston Unscripted?Follow Galveston Unscripted on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! More history content on Visit Galveston!

Into the Canyon with Mary Colter by Dr. Barbara ten Brink​The work of the Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe Railroad, the work of the Fred Harvey Company, and the talent and brilliance of Mary Colter formed a “perfect storm” to complete their many building projects along the Western Ho movement from her first hire in 1902 until her retirement in 1948. Please know that my book, Into the Canyon with Mary Colter, is a work of fiction. Cassidy Powell is a fictious character based on my family's history in Brownfield and Lubbock, Texas. Her exploits and conversations are fictious to entertain my readers, to weave a story, and to connect the true and famous men and women she meets along her journey and you find among these pages. To help clarify fact from fiction, the reader will find single quotation marks within the text for historically correct quotes and citations to facts in the Author's Notes."They agreed to go immediately to the precipice and Zen for a moment at Desert View. They sat on giant boulders at its very ledge above the sheer cliff face that dropped thousands of feet into the river valley of the Western Colorado River. From this vantage, they looked West into the Painted Desert and sat silent, meditative, banking the inspiration which had been the motivation for their trip to the Ruins, and stared into the most glorious sunset for an extremely long time. Without conversation, the women reflected on the richness of the day's events and the direction each would take from this pivotal moment."And to quote Mary Colter's own letters, ‘In the meantime, as for a long time past, I am your very sincere friend and happy passenger, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter'In her career as Science Coordinator for the State of Texas at Texas Education Agency, Dr. Barbara ten Brink was invited by Texas A&M University to participate in a two-week geological field trip by charter but through Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. This field trip introduced her and hundreds of other science teachers to the American Southwest and to the architecture of Mary Colter.https://www.amazon.com/Into-Canyon-Colter-Young-Adult-Biographies/dp/B0BKS5RM9Fwww.authorbarbaratenbrink.com   https://mainspringbooks.comhttp://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/1523msb1.mp3   

On November 14, 1959, two petty criminals, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, crossed Kansas, murdered the Clutter family in the tiny hamlet of Holcomb, Kansas and unwittingly enabled a New York City writer named Truman Capote to achieve immortality for all three of them. Capote, as he would have dressed while visiting Holcomb and Garden City Kansas When Truman Capote arrived in Kansas, Smith and Hickock were not yet on law enforcement's radar.  Capote's initial intent was to write about the reaction of the town and its inhabitants but he had at least enough self awareness to understand that it would be next to impossible for someone with both his New York and blatantly homosexual persona to ingratiate himself to the appropriate degree. Harper Lee, 1960, photo taken by Truman Capote Capote enlisted Harper Lee as his partner in journalism and set about trying to induce the locals, both law enforcement and private citizens, into sharing any valuable insight.  His initial wardrobe of a pillbox style hat, long sheepskin coat and scarf that hung all the way to his feet did him no favors but Harper Lee seems to have helped him win over his most productive source and access to important information.  Alvin Dewey, as a member of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation or KBI, the state agency with jurisdiction over the investigation and a resident of Garden City, was logically designated to coordinate the investigation with other assigned members of the KBI.  Initially repelled by Capote, Dewey eventually was charmed especially by Harper Lee, who also became friendly with Dewey's wife Marie, and it wasn't long before Capote and Lee were getting regular invitations to dinner. Clutter house, 2009, much like it appeared in 1959  Arriving shortly after midnight on the morning of November 15, a full moon completely illuminated both the Clutter home, and the expansive series of barns, which Smith said excited Hickock, Dick thinking the proprietor of such a spread had to possess a great deal of money.  With no need for headlights, Hickock shut them and the car engine off and parked behind a tree, allowing the two men to appraise the situation. Hickock mug shot Richard Eugene “Dick” Hickock was born on June 6, 1931 in Kansas City, Missouri.  His parents, Walter and Eunice, were typically devout, hard working lower middle class Kansas Midwesterners who raised their family on a 44 acre farm in the small town of Edgerton.  Walter Hickock worked as a mechanic by day and farmed his acreage during off hours.  Industrious, he built the farm's main family residence by himself.  His oldest of two sons, Dick was popular in high school and lettered in several sports but Dick's parents were unable to provide the financial means to send Dick to college after his graduation in 1949.  Instead, he went to work for the Santa Fe Railroad and pursued another interest, women.  Many surmise that the critical event in Hickock's life was a serious car accident in 1950, in which he was almost killed, spent days in the hospital and emerged with disfigured facial features and possibly permanent brain damage. Married at age 19 to his 16 year old girlfriend who produced two children, Hickock seems to have undergone a personality change in which he suddenly began gambling, kiting checks and living beyond his means.  He also managed to conceive a child with another woman, prompting a divorce from his first wife.  Saying that he wanted to “do the right thing,” he married the mother of his third child but continued to subsidize menial jobs, mostly as an auto mechanic, with petty crime.  Whether it was for writing bad checks or stealing a rifle from a private residence, Hickock finally caught his first five-year jail sentence in 1956 for “cheating and defrauding.”  He was paroled from Kansas State Penitentiary on August 13, 1959. Smith mug shot Perry Edward Smith was born in Huntington, Nevada on October 27, 1928, perhaps appropriately, his birthplace is now a ghost town.  His father John “Tex” Smith and mother Florence “Flo” Buckskin were rodeo riders who performed in small towns across the northern great plains. Described as a full blooded Cherokee by Capote, Flo was in fact Shoshone-Paiute.  In 1929, Smith's parents moved to Juneau, Alaska, where Tex hustled a living as a bootlegger.  Both parents were alcoholic, Tex violently abusive to both his wife and his four children and frequently absent for lengthy periods of time.  During these absences, Flo engaged in numerous adulterous affairs, eventually precipitating an especially violent beating at the hands of Tex in 1935, behavior that convinced Flo to flee to San Francisco.  Usually in an alcoholic haze, she was unable to care for her children, who were eventually placed in a series of institutions and Catholic orphanages, Perry already arrested by the age of eight.  Subjected to repeated physical abuse, especially at the hands of the nuns he frequently encountered, Smith evolved into an angry and aggressive loner, constantly in conflict with others.  Eventually, his father intervened, removing Perry from San Francisco and taking him throughout Nevada and Alaska, settling in the latter state until Perry's enlistment at age 16 in the Merchant Marine.  After that, in 1948, he enlisted in the US Army, serving in both Japan and Korea and receiving the Bronze Star for action as a combat engineer during the pivotal Battle of Inchon.  But, despite his honorable discharge, he frequently fought with other soldiers and civilians and spent lengthy periods in the stockade.  He intended to return to Alaska and live with his father but, most likely because of their tempestuous relationship, he moved to Washington State in the summer of 1952 and there he suffered a serious motorcycle accident that almost forced the amputation of both legs and left him with a permanent limp, constant pain and an aspirin addiction.  While in Washington he also fathered an illegitimate son, who was raised by an Army buddy as his own child.  Smith then spent a year convalescing in a hospital before returning to Alaska, where he hoped to reunite with his father.  They built a hunting lodge together in a remote part of the state, called the Trapper's Den Lodge but had a serious and violent falling out in 1955, when the lodge failed.  Smith drifted across the Midwest and with a partner, broke into an office in Phillipsburg, Kansas where they stole anything of value.  Arrested after a traffic stop, Smith and his accomplice broke out of jail, stole a car and it was New York City before Perry was apprehended by the FBI and taken back to Kansas to face the music.  In 1956, he received five to ten years for the previous burglary and interstate flight.  It is at the Kansas State Penitentiary that he met Dick Hickock, at some point sharing a cell. Robert Blake in the 1967 film as Perry Smith, an uncanny likeness The 1967 film reproduction of the book only added to Capote's celebrity runway.  While some have attributed the author's downward spiral to the emotional trauma of his involvement with Hickock and Smith, Capote's thinly concealed eagerness for the two men's execution and his alcoholism and drug abuse were only enabled by the ability to coast along on his reputation, his great wealth allowing a lifestyle of indulgence and artistic inactivity. Truman Capote, in front of the motel he frequented in Garden City, Kansas. Next door was one of the few "wet" restaurants in the city. By the time the two suspects were returned to Garden City, Capote had so ingratiated himself with Alvin Dewey that he was granted a privilege denied to every other journalist covering the Clutter case; interview access to Hickock and Smith.  This would not be the only benefit granted by Dewey but it was extremely significant.  The egotistical, verbose Hickock was an easy subject for Capote who drained him of as much information as possible but Perry Smith was initially wary. Ultimately fascinated by Capote and, insecure about his lack of formal education, that a man of letters would be interested in conversing with him, Smith also established a close relationship.  After getting this exclusive access, Capote then returned to New York with Harper Lee, as there was nothing for him to do but wait for the trial, scheduled for March 22, 1960.

I had a delightful chat with historical romance author, Tracie Peterson, a couple of weeks ago, and boy did I learn some cool stuff!  Listen in to find out what prompted Tracie to write about trains and New Mexico and just what horned toads have to do with any of it.  She even gives us a sneak peek into what's coming next!  Hint: it involves "brownies," freezing people (we presume), and gold! Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you. When You've Written This Many Books, You're Sure to Be a Favorite Tracie Peterson has been one of my favorite authors for years. I knew I'd read her books since at least the early days of this century, but when she said 1995, I knew I'd probably read every one of those first books, too.  Though her first love might be Jesus, her first writing love is definitely historical fiction with romance, adventure, and maybe a little intrigue to boot! As with many historical authors, research consumes a lot of her time. Find out which books involved her going to a trick riding school and how a book about a "horny-toad man" helped her write the Love on the Santa Fe series! In addition to chatting about her books, we also discussed the writing process. And even better, about the wonderful letters from readers.. Tracie Peterson is one prolific writer with over a hundred thirty books to her name! There's sure to be something for everyone, wouldn't you say? Beyond the Desert Sands by Tracie Peterson Can she reconcile who she's become with who she's meant to be? Accustomed to an opulent life with her aunt, the last thing twenty-five-year-old Isabella Garcia wants is to celebrate Christmas in her parents' small silver-mining desert town, leaving her handsome beau, Diego Morales, behind in California. Adding insult to injury, she must bear the company of Aaron Bailey, the disapproving Santa Fe Railroad businessman her father has sent to escort her home, who clearly finds her spoiled. But she is surprised to see how much the town of Silver Veil has grown and how fragile her father's health has become. Then a surprise visitor shows up with news that entirely upends the comfortable life she's been leading. Faced with all these changes, Isabella struggles to sort through her future and who she wants to be. But trouble is brewing, and there are those who hope she stays just as she is, even if it costs her everything. You can preorder the eBook and audiobook from Amazon or you can get the hardback or paperback from BakerBookHouse.com. Find out more about Tracie Peterson and her books on her WEBSITE. Like to listen on the go? You can find Because Fiction Podcast at: Apple  Castbox  Google Play Libsyn  RSS Spotify Stitcher Amazon and more!

The Linda Vista Hospital was first established in 1904 as the Santa Fe Coastlines Hospital, a prospering healthcare facility dedicated to servicing employees of the Santa Fe Railroad. During the early decades of the 20th century, the hospital flourished as did Los Angeles' surrounding Boyle Heights neighborhood. East LA was slowly transformed into a less affluent area, and the number of violent crimes escalated. Lowered funding at the hospital resulted in less staff to treat the influx of patients; as a consequence, the hospital's death toll rose.By the 1970s and '80s, the gangs of East LA sent a steady stream of gunshot wounds and stabbings through Linda Vista's ER doors. The neighborhood was getting worse, as was the survival rate of patients admitted.In 1991 the last patient checked out of Linda Vista.While the hospital is no longer in operation, some have told stories of the various hauntings that take place on the grounds themselves. Since the hospital's closure, many paranormal experts were known to spend the night here in hopes of catching whatever evidence they could find for paranormal activity. It had become a hotbed of ghostly activity for quite some time on account of the number of patient deaths that have occurred over the years.

Back in the late 1870s, the owner of the Santa Fe Railroad, William Barstow Strong, and the owner of the Rio Grande Railroad, General William Jackson Palmer, found themselves at war. Historian John Sedgwick, author of the new book “From the River to the Sea: The Untold Story of the Railroad War that Made the West,” joins Russell and Alan to talk about what took place as these two powerhouses fought over land and money.

As Dodge City was made by the Santa Fe Railroad, Fort Dodge was made by the Santa Fe Trail. Fort Dodge, established in 1865, was a part of the series of early frontier forts that made the settlement of the west possible by protecting travelers along the Santa Fe Trail. Thus, Fort Dodge has historical significance but has never been comprehensively evaluated for its eligibility to be placed on the National Historic Register. Of the three military installations in Kansas established to protect the Santa Fe Trail (including Fort Leavenworth established in 1827 and Fort Larned established in 1859), Fort Dodge remains the only fort not protected by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Unfortunately, this means that Fort Dodge buildings and cultural resources still lie unprotected. It is time for Fort Dodge to have its place in history and be protected by the National Parks Service as a National Historic Site. This show features Connie Penick, who currently serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Ford County Historical Society and is the Committee chair of the Preservation of Fort Dodge Focus group. To receive updated progress on developments for the preservation of Fort Dodge, you can join the Facebook page at PreserveFtDodge. In addition, you can learn more about the history of Fort Dodge by going to The History of Fort Dodge. 

The Tale of Two Gunfights and One Crazy Mule is an authentic story base on the first-person account of Emanuel Dubbs. Emanuel Dubbs's story takes place on August 20, 1871, when he arrives in Newton, Kansas. The story opens when Dubbs and his wife enter town-witnessing excitement in the streets. Dubbs takes it upon himself to explore a recent Hyde Park gunfight between Mike McCluskie, a burly local man who had worked in Newton as a night watchman, and a Texan named Billy Bailey. Dubs and his wife do not stay long in Newton, and Dubbs takes a job grading track for the Santa Fe Railroad. Then, during the spring of 1872, Dubs traveled with Mr. Wiley to the Arkansas River. Mr. Wiley, a head contractor, and Dubbs were to scout out a location for a new supply depot. Dubbs riding on his favorite mule named Marie, travel up the line from Fort Larned over what was then known as the Dry Ridge trail. They came off the trail in sight of the beautiful Arkansas valley about two miles above where old Fort Dodge stood. Dubbs describes the panorama view just minutes before he charges down an embankment to shoot a buffalo.After completing his work for the railroad, Dubbs decides to take in buffalo hunting, and while in Dodge City, he encounters a lawless character by the name of Billy Brooks. During this encounter, he witnesses a revenge gunfight between two Berry brothers from Hayes City over the killing of their brother.  

In  March 1960, Bakersfield was the site of an awful railroad tragedy. A passenger train collided with a truck hauling highly flammable oil product. 14 people were killed and 64 more were injured.  While this train accident was an awful tragedy, what I discovered in my research, was Bakersfield's response to this crisis was nothing less than inspirational. 

Good Morning, Colorado, you’re listening to the Daily Sun-Up. It’s Wednesday April 21st, and even though there’s a lot of turmoil right now we’re feeling lucky to start the day with you.   Today - the Suncor Refinery is one of Colorado’s biggest polluters. And now, as the refinery’s re-permitting hearings approach, some activists are calling for it to be shut down entirely.    But before we begin, let’s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett’s book “Colorado Day by Day”:   Today, we take you back to April 21st, 1879 when the supreme court reached a decision regarding a dispute between railroads over the royal gorge in Fremont county. The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad was considered the most obvious candidate for the market, but they were running out of capital. So their competition, the Atchinson, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad decided they’d like to secure the market for themselves. After sabotage and violence the D&RG ultimately won the market.   Now, our feature story.   Suncor Refinery in Commerce City is one of Colorado’s major polluters. Much of that is sanctioned through air pollution permits issued by the state. But activists and locals argue the emissions are beyond what is necessary, and some say the oil and gas refinery should shut down altogether. Reporter Michael Booth talks with Lucy Haggard about what may come in the refinery’s re-permitting hearings next month.   To read more about air quality in Colorado, go to coloradosun.com.    And Before we go, here are a few stories that you should know about today:   The trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin concluded Tuesday, with the jury ruling Chauvin guilty of two murder charges and one manslaughter charge. Chauvin pinned George Floyd, a Black man, to the ground with his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. The incident last summer sparked outrage and renewed calls for racial justice. It also resulted in a sweeping police accountability bill that passed the Colorado legislature. Black leaders across Colorado expressed relief at the verdict Tuesday, but said there is still much work to be done. https://coloradosun.com/2021/04/20/derek-chauvin-guilty-george-floyd/    Coloradans who have been vaccinated against coronavirus are at least 90% less likely to develop COVID-19 than those who have not been vaccinated. State health officials said Tuesday that just 819 coronavirus cases out of the 106,965 occurring since January 21 were people who were fully immunized. Even partial vaccination, that is, receiving just one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, provides about 66% protection against the virus. The state opened three of its mass vaccination clinics to walk-up appointments Tuesday to make it easier for Coloradans to get inoculated. https://coloradosun.com/2021/04/20/how-covid-vaccine-effective-colorado/    Since 2012 Colorado has been an island of legal recreational marijuana sales amid states with medical-only laws or none at all. Many businesses in border towns like Trinidad, Antonito and San Luis have capitalized on the illegal but frequent phenomenon of weed tourism. But New Mexico legalized recreational cannabis this month, and federal legislators are discussing legalization or decriminalization of the Schedule 1 controlled substance. Now Colorado towns that have benefited from the boom are preparing for inevitable declines in tax revenue as pot shops open across the border. Meanwhile, prospective New Mexico shop owners say they hope to capture customers before they cross the state line.    For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. And don’t forget to tune in again tomorrow for a special holiday episode. Now, a quick message from our editor.   The Colorado Sun is non-partisan and completely independent. We're always dedicated to telling the in-depth stories we need today more than ever. And The Sun is supported by readers and listeners like you.   Right now, you can head to ColoradoSun.com and become a member. Starting at $5 per month for a basic membership and if you bump it up to $20 per month, you’ll get access to our exclusive politics and outdoors newsletters. Thanks for starting your morning with us and don’t forget to tune in again tomorrow.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Twenty policemen, detectives, and deputy sheriffs are scouring the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroad yards and watching all outgoing trains in pursuit of Ben Elliot, the Tropico youth who is now the most generally suspected person in connection with the killing of Annie Poltera." This episode... An eighteen year old transplant becomes the focus of the Poltera murder investigation but, before the detectives can question the rookie thief, they'll have to find him and catch him. DONATE ➡️ linktr.ee/LAMysteries

 Richard AndradeOur guest this episode is Richard Andrade, who has been a member of TD Local 1081 in Arizona for 26 years. Brother Andrade is a Democratic member of the Arizona House of Representatives, representing District 29, which covers parts of Phoenix and Glendale, Ariz. He is running for re-election in 2020 for his fourth term in the state House.A third-generation railroader, Andrade first hired out with the Santa Fe Railroad (now BNSF) in 1994. He is a certified engineer and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He serves on the state House’s Land & Agriculture, Public Safety and Transportation Committees. He’s also chairman of the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, in a state that could potentially turn blue in the 2020 election. He brings his deep knowledge of railroad issues and staunch support for Arizona working families to the state legislature. In addition, listen for the open mic segment with General President Joseph Sellers at the end of this episode. He responds to a question about ideology and union endorsements. Talking SMART is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network — working people's voices, broadcasting worldwide 24 hours a day.RELATED RESOURCES:Richard Andrade campaign sitewww.richandrade.comRichard Andrade on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/richard.andrade.5076Richard Andrade on Twitter https://twitter.com/RichforRepLD29Richard Andrade on Ballotopediahttps://ballotpedia.org/Richard_Andrade Candidate Profile: Richard Andrade For AZ State House District 29Sept. 29, 2020Patch.com

All Aboard! It's train time on this episode of Galaxy Moonbeam Night Site! We are joined by train aficionado Mike Curran, who shares his extensive knowledge of both real and model trains. Mike recalls his days growing up when his dad worked on the Santa Fe Railroad, sharing details of earlier trains and how they operated, and what it was like to be aboard them. He also shares his knowledge of model train collecting, the different scales, types, accessories, and layouts that were found back in the day. Mike Curran's unique knowledge in all facets of trains, real or model, makes him a great resource for those who share the fascination of trains and train travel. For many kids, it began with a small train layout around the Christmas tree, and that interest continues to this day for young and old. All aboard the Galaxy Special on Galaxy Moonbeam Night Site, on the Galaxy Nostalgia Network! #modeltrains #santafetrain #trainpodcast Click here to listen: http://bit.ly/ModelTrainPodcast

Recorded in the Birdman Studios. In this episode, Birdman talks with Bill Thomack, Certified Occupational Health Nurse Specialist with Summit Healthcare about Occupational Health.   Video @ https://youtu.be/jBOy3h3vveo     Bill grew up in Winslow, AZ where he worked for the Santa Fe Railroad for four years before returning to school and receiving a Degree in Respiratory Therapy. He went to nursing school in Farmington, NM and received a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing at the University of Phoenix. Bill is a Certified Occupational Health Nurse Specialist and has worked in Occupational Health since 1989. He spent 22 years working in Occupational Health for Arizona Public Service Company, most of which was at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. While at APS, he was also part of the APS Volunteer Clown Unit. In 2013, he went to work for Payson Regional Medical Center as the Director of Employee Health/Infection Prevention and Environmental Services. Along with Occupational Health, Bill has also served as the Emergency Manager for Banner Payson Medical Center and has received training in Anniston Alabama through FEMA. Bill has 3 children and 12 grandchildren. Bill and his wife like to spend their free time camping, hiking and spending time in their RV in Tonto Basin, AZ. Bill makes jewelry which he sells at different craft shows in Arizona. He is a huge Disney fan, with the inside and outside of his house decorated with Disney items.   Visit: https://summithealthcare.net/occupational-health for Occupational Health Information & visit: https://summithealthcare.net/serenity-spa for more information about the Spa  

The Wild West Podcast proudly presents the story of Richard Irving Dodge. Travel with Richard Irving Dodge as he explores the great southwest plains of Kansas. Richard Dodge a naturalist tells his experience of seeing one of the last great buffalo herds twenty-five miles wide and fifty miles deep from the top of Pawnee Rock. In this episode narrated by Brad Smalley will take you deep into a buffalo stampede five thousand strong. The story of Richard Irving Dodge written and produced by Mike King takes place in May of 1872 just two months before Colonel Dodge takes command of Fort Dodge located on the North banks of the Arkansas River five miles West from the place where Dodge City will soon be born. The story transpires during the time Colonel Dodge was stationed at Fort Larned, a disbursement point for Indian annuities and a base for troops guarding workers on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad against an Indian attack in the 1870s. You can purchase the book by clicking on the link Return of the Great Hunters: Tales of the Frontier. Learn more about this episode at Wild West Podcast Facebook Page.

Welcome to Disney in Review! Today, we trace Walt Disney's lineage, travel to his hometown of Marceline, Missouri, and join him in France during World War I.    Follow the podcast on social media: Facebook- @disneyinreviewpodcast (https://www.facebook.com/disneyinreviewpodcast/) Twitter- @DisneyinRev (https://mobile.twitter.com/DisneyinRev) Instagram- @disneyinreview (https://www.instagram.com/disneyinreview/) I'd love to hear from you via email at disneyinreview@hotmail.com!   Sources Cited: 1. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler  http://amzn.to/2EdjNYT  2. How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life by Pat Williams with Jim Denney  http://amzn.to/2EFWPY6  3. In the Service of the Red Cross: Walt Disney's Early Adventures: 1918-1919 by David Lesjak http://amzn.to/2EdW4HZ    Disney History Timeline   Herbert Arthur Disney (December 8, 1888 – January 29, 1961) Raymond “Ray” Arnold Disney (December 30, 1890 – May 24, 1989) Roy Oliver Disney (June 24, 1893 – December 20, 1971) Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) Ruth Flora Disney (December 6, 1903 – April 7, 1995)   Disney Lineage -d’Isignys of Normandy, arrived in England with William the Conqueror and fought at the Battle of Hastings (October 14, 1066) -In late seventeenth century, during English Restoration, a Protestant branch of the family moved to County Kilkenny, Ireland   July 1834 (Decade before the Potato Famine) -Arundel Elias Disney (Elias’s grandfather, Walt’s great-grandfather) sold his holdings and moved from Liverpool to America with wife and 2 kids & his older brother (Robert) and his wife and 2 kids on the New Jersey   1835 -Arundel bought 149 acres along Maitland River and moved to the township of Goderich in SW Ontario’s wilderness (Canada), near Lake Huron -Arundel built his area’s first grist mill and sawmill, farmed his land, and had 16 kids (8 girls & 8 boys)   1858 -Oldest son, Kepple (25), married Mary Richardson (another Irish immigrant) -Bought 100 acres of lands and built small pine cabin and moved to Bluevale in Morris Township (north of Goderich) -Elias Disney (February 6, 1859 – September 13, 1941) -Kepple restlessly strikes out             -Oil struck nearby in Oil Springs – rented his farm, left family with Mary’s sister, and joined drilling crew for 2 years (Struck no oil)             -Returned to Bluevale, then left to drill salt wells for one year (still no fortune)             -Returned to Bluevale and built new frame house on his land and started farming again   1877 -Kepple left with Elias (18) and Robert (2nd oldest son) heading to California, where gold had been struck -Only got to Kansas. Kepple bought >300 acres in NW Kansas (Ellis county) from Union Pacific Railroad (trying to get people to settle at division points along the train route throughout the state; Disneys couldn’t get land through the Homestead Act because not American citizens) -Dry and bitter cold climate/rough frontier, making it hard to farm, so raised livestock instead (sheep and cattle could graze on yellow buffalo grass) -Difficult to farm, so men join railroad crews and women sell buffalo bones to fertilizer manufacturers   1886 -Winter of 1885/1886 rough (10-12 foot snow banks) -Kepple and Elias (27) went on a reconnaissance trip to Lake County, middle of Florida with their neighbors, the Call family, including their 16 year-old daughter Flora Call -Kepple returned to Ellis County, Kansas, but Elias stayed with the Calls in the middle of Florida   Call lineage -Moved from England to America in 1636, first near Boston then to upstate New York -In 1825, Eber Call, Flora’s grandfather, left for Huron County, Ohio with wife and 3 kids, to escape hostile Indians and “bone-chilling cold”, and farmed several acres -Eber’s son, Charles Call, graduated with honors from Oberlin College in 1847 -Charles then headed to California to find gold then drifted around the West for a few years until he ended up near Des Moines, Iowa and met a German immigrant by the name of Henrietta Gross. -Charles Call and Henrietta Gross got married on September 9, 1855 -Charles and wife returned to father’s house in Ohio, and Charles became a teacher like his two sisters -Flora Call (April 22, 1868 – November 26, 1938) -January 1879- Charles and his wife and 10 kids moved to Ellis County, Kansas because he was afraid one of his 8 daughters would marry one of the neighbor family’s 8 sons, all of whom were “not sober enough” for the devout father, Charles Call -1880- Flora was sent to Ellsworth to train to be a teacher and roomed with Albertha Disney, Elias’s sister   1886 -Elias moved to Acron. -Calls moved to adjacent town of Kismet. Charles raised oranges on several acres and began teaching in neighboring Norristown -Flora was the teacher in Acron her 1st year and Paisley her 2nd year   1888 -Elias (29) and Flora (19) got married on New Year’s Day, 1888 in the Calls’ home in Kismet -Elias bought an orange grove, but freeze destroyed most of the crop -Charles Call had an accident while clearing his land of pine trees and never recovered -Charles Call died in early 1890 -Robert Disney (Elias’s younger brother) had moved to Chicago in 1889 and built a hotel in preparation of the 1893 Columbian Exposition (celebration of the 400-year anniversary of Columbus’s discovery of America. -Herbert Arthur Disney (December 8, 1888 – January 29, 1961)   1890 -Elias, Herbert, and pregnant Flora moved to Chicago (Rented one-story frame cottage at 3515 South Vernon in South side of Chicago, located 20 blocks from exposition)   1891 -Raymond “Ray” Arnold Disney (December 30, 1890 – May 24, 1989) -Elias earned $1/day as a carpenter -Saved $700 and bought land in 1892 through Robert’s real estate connections and built 2-story wooden cottage at 1249 Tripp Avenue (later renumbered as 2156 North Tripp Avenue in 1909)   1893 - Roy Oliver Disney (June 24, 1893 – December 20, 1971) -Disneys moved to Tripp Avenue in spring 1893, which had just begun undergoing construction -Elias bought plots of land in the neighborhood, designed houses, and built them -By 1900, Elias had built 2 homes: sold one home for $2500 and rented out the other for extra income -St. Paul’s Congregation Church built in October 1900, 2 blocks from the Disney’s home (Elias named a trustee and member of the building committee) -Disneys attended church throughout the week, and when the preacher was gone, Elias would occasionally preach -Walt born in the upper bedroom of the Tripp house -Walter Elias Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966) -Bet with pastor: Minister Walter Parr’s wife and Flora were pregnant at the same time. Elias and Walter agreed if they both had sons, they would name them after each other (Supposedly Ray was originally named Walter, per his birth registration; Walt had no birth certificate, just a baptismal certificate) -Also rumored Walt was born in Mojacar, Spain, his parents had emigrated to the US and worked for Elias, who adopted Walt, per the Spanish magazine, Primer Plano -The Parr’s child was born in July 1902 and named Charles Alexander -Another of Parr’s children, born in May 1904, was named Walter Elias Parr -Ruth Flora Disney (December 6, 1903 – April 7, 1995)   1906 (Marceline) -2 neighbor boys the same age as Herbert and Ray and from a family in their congregation attempted to rob a car barn and killed a cop in a shootout -Elias was afraid his boys would follow the same path, since the neighborhood was getting rougher -February 1906, sold Tripp house for $1800, and sold another in March -Elias, Herbert, and Ray went to Missouri in a boxcar to prepare the farm -Flora, Roy, Walt, and Ruth came later on the Sante Fe train -Uncle Robert owned 500 acres a mile west of the Disneys -45 acre farm near Marceline, Missouri, 100 miles NE of Kansas City on Santa Fe RR, with whitewashed house -Walt’s first pet, Maltese terrier, followed Roy into town one day and didn’t come back -Piglet named Skinny, followed Walt like a puppy -Walt didn’t start school until age 7, so he could accompany Ruth to school -Marceline was the seat of the western division of the Santa Fe Railroad. Because of its large workforce, it had a large progressive population that supported William Jennings Bryan, and this contributed to Walt’s cultural education -Walt saw his first circus parade. Walt made his own and displayed it for neighboring kids -Walt attended his first Chautauqua (traveling tent show that featured the leading speakers of the time) -Walt saw his first theatrical play: Touring performance of Peter Pan starring Maude Adams             -Walt and Roy reprised the role at school using a hoist and tackle set that broke -Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show paraded through Marceline, when Buffalo Bill stopped his buggy and invited Walt to join him -Walt saw his first motion picture: Depiction of crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Walt convinced Ruth to go, and they both got scolded by parents when they came home after dark -Uncle Edmond “Ed” Disney (Elias’s younger brother, with intellectual disability, real-life Peter Pan, Walt admired his juvenile sense of freedom) -Uncle Robert and his wife Margaret would visit, and Aunt Margaret “Auntie” would bring pencils and Big Chief drawing tablets for Walt to draw on. She encouraged his art. -Doc Sherwood (Retired doctor with wife and no children, so they basically adopted Walt as their son) -Doc commissioned Walt to draw his prize Morgan stallion, Rupert. That day Rupert was skittish, so Doc had to hold his reins, and Walt had trouble drawing the horse. -Different stories: Doc paid Walt a nickel or a quarter for the drawing (unlikely for the frugal doctor) OR Doc framed and hung the drawing in his house -Walt and Ruth used tar from barrels’ tar lining on the farm to pain the side of their whitewashed house. Walt convinced Ruth because he told her it could come off.   1907 -Herbert and Ray grew wheat on Uncle Robert’s land with his permission, neighbors harvested it, and they got the money. -Elias asked what they were going to do with the money, and one said he wanted to buy a pocketwatch. Elias freaked and said instead he would take the money to help pay off the farm. -Herbert and Ray left the farm that night, withdrew their money from the bank, and hopped on a train for Chicago. -By spring, they had moved to Kansas City, where Robert got them jobs as bank clerks -Herbert became a postal service mail carrier in 1909 -Herbert and Ray would send old clothes to Flora for her to hem for Roy and Walt -Herbert and Ray would occasionally visit the family in Marceline, but the rift/wounds never fully healed   1910 -Farm was harder to run without Herbert and Ray -Elias formed a chapter of a farmer’s union, The American Society of Equity -Elias became sick with typhoid or diphtheria early in 1910, after which he was too weak to work the farm -Crop prices fell, and there was a 5-month-long coal strike in summer of 1910 -Elias finally sold farm in November 1910 for $5,175 -The Disneys moved into town in Marceline to a small 4-room house at 508 Kansas Avenue, so kids could finish semester and Elias recover his health -Walt would remember his idealized version of Marceline, the rustic farm city, which would eventually inspire/influence:             -So Dear to My Heart, Pollyanna, Disneyland’s Main Street USA and Tom Sawyer Island, and early cartoons about animals and farm life   1910 -Moved to Kansas City to 2706 E 31st St (small house, no indoor plumbing, outdoor shed “barn” that Walt and Roy would stay in when family visited, close proximity to Fairmount amusement park) -Elias bought distributorship of Kansas City Star newspaper in Roy’s name -13 editions of the paper delivered per week -Elias made about $28/week. Roy made $3. Walt (9) made “some little amount.” - Walt and Roy delivered papers starting around 3:30AM daily (took pushcarts resembling roman chariots to the paper’s distribution points, load up with papers, then return to Santa Fe St to deliver papers; papers too heavy on Sundays to make one trip) -First year, Walt delivered his 50 papers per edition by foot, second by bike (Walt got the bike because Roy left the route to become a bank clerk after graduating, and Walt took over Roy’s route too) -To make extra money, Walt also delivered medicine on his route for a pharmacy. Eventually Walt got 50 extra papers to sell near a trolley stop, then on the trolley -Because of the paper route, he would get to school late and leave early -Walt had to walk up to each door to make sure the paper wouldn’t fly away (put under a brick or between 2 doors) -In winter, snow would come up to his neck, and he would fall asleep in entryways of apartment buildings on his route. -In his 6 years on the route, Walt only missed 5 weeks:             -2 weeks with a severe cold             -1 week to visit his Aunt Josie in Hiawatha (Hi-wath-uh), Kansas (1913)             -2 weeks in 1916 when he kicked a piece of ice that had a nail hidden in it (Spent his recovery renovating Bellefontaine house with new kitchen, bedroom, and a bathroom to replace outhouse) -Walt never forgot his time with the paper route (Still having nightmares 40 years later about missing a customer on the route) -Elias’s temper and frugality distanced him from Walt (Elias invested Walt’s money earned from the trolley; Walt got another job at a candy store to earn money to buy extra papers for extra money that Elias didn’t know about) -Disney frugality -> Walt’s most memorable Christmas gift was a new pair of steel-toed leather boots to replace his worn-out shoes -Elias ordered 14 year-old Walt to the basement for a beating for being “too insolent,” but Roy pulled Walt aside and told him to resist. Walt went downstairs, and Elias followed. Elias yelled and grabbed a hammer to hit Walt, but Walt rose up and grabbed his father’s hand and took the hammer. After this, Elias never touched Walt again. -Roy took a parental role for Walt and Ruth (buying toys and candy, taking to the movies, trade stories, etc.)   1912 -Roy left home in the middle of the night for Kansas -Walt in 5th grade at Benton Grammar School -Walt’s best friend, Walter Pfeiffer (lived on Bellefontaine) -Walt had a curfew of 9pm for the paper route, but he’d sneak out to the Pfeiffers (family of performers) -Walt’s principal, Mr. Cottingham (1938 Walt invited entire student body to watch Snow White for free) -Walt/Walt skit in school talent show, “Fun in the Photograph Gallery” -“The Two Walts” skits and comedy routines at amateur night contests in Kansas City at Agnes Theater -Walt did impressions of Charlie Chaplin, drew cartoons, and told stories -Walt continued to draw throughout school (margins of textbooks, perfect Teddy Roosevelt on chalkboard, school posters for events, cartoon advertisements on glass slides for Agnes Theater) -Just as he had for Doc Sherwood, Walt drew cartoons for Bert Hudson, owner of a barbershop, in exchange for free haircut or 10-15 cents, and Bert Hudson would hang the pictures in a special frame. -Amusement parks in Kansas City: Fairmount Park “Fairyland per Ruth” (giant dipper rides, 9-hole golf course, zoo, swimming/boating on lake, 4thof July fireworks show) Electric Park (one of the largest amusement parks at the time, band concerts, thrill rides, spectacular nighttime fireworks displays, steam-powered train that circled the park, named from 100,000 electric bulbs transformed nightly)   1914 -Summer/Fall 1914 moved to 3028 Bellefontaine 2-story house (still along paper route)   1916 (Walt 14) -Elias allowed Walt to begin taking Saturday art classes at the Kansas City Art Institute in the downtown YMCA building (learned basics of sculpture and casting) -First feature-length film seen: silent movie of Snow White, starring Marguerite Clark   1917 (Walt 15) -March 1917- Elias sold newspaper route for $16,000 to invest and buy shares in jelly-canning firm, O’Zell Company of Chicago -Elias, Flora, and Ruth moved to Chicago to head up construction and maintenance at company’s factory. Elias became O’Zell executive -Walt stayed with Herbert and Roy in Bellefontaine Street home (Herb married with 1-yo daughter, Roy unmarried bank clerk) -June 1917- Walt graduated from Benton School (school ended at 7th grade) -Principal Cottingham gave Walt a $7 prize for a comic character Walt had drawn -Roy joined Navy in June 1917 after America entered WWI (2 weeks after Walt graduated) -Roy got Walt a summer job as “news butcher” for Van Noyes News Company (selling newspapers, candy, and tobacco to passengers on Santa Fe RR, brief education in business; quit after 2 months) -At end of summer, Walt moved to Chicago with his family -By day attended William McKinley High School in West Side Chicago, near Disney’s house on Ogden Avenue. -Walt worked as cartoonist on McKinley HS magazine, The Voice -Winter 1917 until Spring 1918- Elias paid for night classes at Chicago Academy of Fine Arts (Walt convinced Elias it had “educational value”). Walt’s first exposure to live models, but he realized his talent lay in caricature, not being a “fine artist” -Leroy Gossett and Carey Orr, Chicago newspaper cartoonists, mentored Walt and inspired him to pursue career as newspaper cartoonist   1918 (Walt 16) -1st Girlfriend, Beatrice Conover -Walt worked part-time at O’Zell Company from the time school let out for summer until July   World War I -Walt tried to join the Navy with friend, Russell Maas, but rejected for being too young -Walt tried to join Canadian Army with his friend, where age limit was lower, but Russell was rejected for poor eyesight (wore glasses and Walt didn’t want to join without Russell) -Turned down for post office job because too young (got job same day by wearing father’s hat and false moustache and returning to same man) -September 3, 1918- Bomb went off in Chicago Federal Building where Walt was walking through the post office after finishing his mail run (Bomb killed 4 and injured 30) -Walt tried to join Red Cross’s American Ambulance Corps (age limit 17) with Russell (fake names: St. John brothers). Plan failed when asked for passports, and Russell’s mom told Flora -Walt asked parents to join Red Cross. Elias refused. -Walt enlisted on September 16, 1918 (changed his birthday from 1901 to 1900 on his certificate after his mom had it notarized) -Walt’s training at Camp Scott (Chicago South Side near University of Chicago) cut short by influenza epidemic, contracted within days of starting training. Walt, Flora, and Ruth sick, and Flora took care of them at home (Hospitals considered unsafe). -When Walt recovered 3 weeks later, his unit shipped for France with Russell. -A month and a half later, on November 4, 1918 – Walt returned to Camp Scott, reassigned to new unit and sent by train for training at Camp King, located in Sound Beach, Connecticut. -Walt trained with Ray Kroc (15 year-old ambulance corpsman, lied about age also) -November 11, 1918 –Armistice signed at Compiegne, France (War ended) -November 18, 1918 –Walt shipped out for Le Havre, France aboard SS Vaubin (converted cattle ship) to be ambulance driver -November 30, 1918 –Walt landed in Le Havre, France. Took train from coast to Paris, where he chauffeured military officers around Paris. -February 1919- Transferred to Neufchateau (150 miles east of Paris) and ran errands for the canteen that served troop replacements passing through Neufchateau. Later drove relief supplies to war-ravaged areas. -Made extra money by painting discarded German helmets to look like battlefield souvenirs (Sent money home to Flora via American Express with instructions to buy Ruthie a watch and save rest in bank) -Walt started smoking (Eventually became 3 pack-per-day habit by end of life)   1919 -July 1919- Walt reassigned to Paris -August 7, 1919- Walt applied for a discharge -September 1919 –Walt’s ambulance unit disbanded -October 9, 1919- Walt arrived in New York Harbor on SS Canada -October 10, 1919- Walt discharged from Red Cross -October 11, 1919- Walt arrived in Chicago -Beatrice wrote Walt letters while he was in France, but she was engaged when Walt returned to Chicago (got married in April 1920), and Walt declared himself “through with women.” -Walt had saved $600 from his earnings in France ($300 from a craps game in Neufchateau) -Walt declined Elias’s job offer at O’Zell and set his sights on becoming a newspaper cartoonist.   The intro and outro of this podcast are public domain songs obtained from freemusicarchive.org. Intro- The Royal Vagabond by Jockers Dance Orchestra Outro- Hello Central, Give Me Heaven by Byron Harlan   Thanks for listening! Subscribe to get all the latest episodes, and share this episode with someone you think would enjoy it!

10242017Hey Jim, long time listener, first time caller…” it is that time again! Where Jim bubbles with anticipation and trembles in fear at the same time. The call in show. So jump on in and get ready for some spooky stories from the listeners, discussion on what types of places are the most active, particular locations that are deemed as some of the most haunted, and rapid fire questions directed at Jim.There are two locations mentioned in this episode that are known for their particularly high levels of paranormal activity, and after some further research, share a gruesome common thread. First up on this short list is the former thriving town of Dumas Missouri. Once a bustling railroad hub in the late 19th century, Dumas quickly began to dry up and dissipate in the 1920s and 1930s as more people began to flock to larger cities. However, one particular individual felt the need to stay behind and is said to still be there to this very day. It is purported the apparition of a headless woman wanders the train tunnel and near the river looking for her severed head. Allegedly a victim that succumbed to the tragic train wreck of 1892. On May 5, 1892 a Santa Fe Railroad, California Express Line was crossing a truss bridge when the bridge itself gave way due to torrential floodings from a previous storm. Six of the seven cars plunged into the water and seven individuals were killed instantly. It is said that the woman was launched from the car and her head severed in the process. Longtime residents of the area are familiar with the story, with many of them claiming have to seen the woman themselves.The next location on this list is one that if you are at all the least bit familiar with the paranormal, you will certainly know this location. The most haunted nightclub: The one and only Bobby Mackey's. Featured on numerous paranormal television shows and documentaries, the high level of activity here draws enthusiasts from around the globe. While Mackey's has stories attached to it ranging from Satanic practices, jealous murders of nightclub crooners of a bygone era, and overall slaughterhouse goodness, the one story that stands out above the rest is that of Pearl Bryan. The victim of a gruesome beheading due to an abortion that went horribly awry, she however is not the spirit causing all the trouble. It is said that Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling vowed to haunt the place for eternity just prior to their demise at the gallows.This is a fun episode that breaks away from the norm and gives a chance for the listeners to share their experiences as well. Keep up to date with all things Malliard (and to know when you can have your shot at being on the show too) at www.malliard.com or via Twitter @Malliard. Many big things are on the horizon so stay tuned! Share with us on Twitter your favorite haunted location and remember to spread the word about The Report! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themalliardreport.com

  On this edition of the Middle Chamber Books and Music Podcast, we chat with Texas-based author Terry Beck, whose book, A Train of Thoughts: Forty Years Workin' on the Railroad, is a collection of stories based on Terry's 40 years of experience working the Santa Fe Railroad. [spp-player] You can learn more about Terry's writing on his Facebook page. He also blogs and you can follow him on Twitter. Buy Terry's book here.

clickhere Visit the Radio America Store web site.Buy your 50 mp3 for &5.00 Gunsmoke's four continuing characters on both radio and television were Matt Dillon, United States Marshall, Chester Wesley Proudfoot, his middle aged "helper," Charles "Doc" Adams, the town physician, and Kitty Russell, a "saloon girl" at the Texas Trails. Gunsmoke was set in Dodge City, Kansas between 1872, when the Santa Fe Railroad reached town, and 1885, when local farmers forced the end of the Texas cattle drives along the Western Trail. Dodge City, known as the "Queen of the Cow Towns," the "Wicked Little City," the "Gomorrah of the Plains," had a reputation as a hostile, lawless town where the "fastest gun" ruled. As the opening of the show proclaimed: "Around Dodge City and in the territory on west, there's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers and that's with a U.S. Marshal and the smell of gunsmoke." That marshall, Matt Dillon, was modeled after the real lawmen who "tamed" (or at least kept a lid on) Dodge City: US Deputy Marshall Wyatt Earp (1848-1929), Sheriff Bat Masterson (1856-1921), Sheriff Bill Tilghman (1854-1924), and Sheriff Charlie Bassett.

clickhere Visit the Radio America Store web site.Buy your 50 mp3 for &5.00