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Posted in American Countryside Illinois World War II

The Pig that Built a Battleship…Sort Of

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/05/25May21-King-Neptune-the-Pig-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It costs a lot of money to build a battleship.  The U.S. government was building all kinds of ships as…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois World War II

The 4-H Pig That Became A War Hero

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/05/24May21-King-Neptune-the-Pig-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Let’s face it – most hogs are destined to become pork chops and bacon.  But this hog had a change…

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Posted in American Countryside Nebraska

The First Encounter with Wild Bill Hickok

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/21May21-Rock-Creek-Station-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Mention the name Wild Bill Hickok and many people have images of a western lawman not afraid to enter a …

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Posted in American Countryside Nebraska

Ruts That Are Never Filled

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/20May21-Rock-Creek-Station-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)If someone cuts ruts down a muddy dirt trail, someone else will probably need to come and fill them in…

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Posted in American Countryside Kansas

The Flying Priest of Bolivia

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/19May21-Father-Mike-Gould-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Buying a plane seemed like a good idea.  Then again, Mike Gould didn’t know how to fly.  It turned out…

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Posted in American Countryside Kansas

Bolivia on Horseback

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/18May21-Father-Mike-Gould-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)It’s been nearly seventy years since Mike Gould was assigned to work in Bolivia.  He’s spent almost all of those…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Finding New Markets in a Pandemic

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/17May21-Ropp-Jersey-Cheese-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)When the Covid pandemic hit this country, this small business suddenly found half of its sales gone.  It was a…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Ropp Jersey Cheese

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/14May21-Ropp-Jersey-Cheese-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)It may be difficult for a small dairy producer to make a living.  However, just outside of Normal, Illinois, Ken…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

The Ropps of Ropp Road

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/13May21-Ropp-Jersey-Cheese-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Ken laughs when people tell him he must be pretty famous to have a road named after him.  It is…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

The Bronze Star Optometrist

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/12May21-Kermit-Bell-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Over two decades after he first entered the army…Kermit Bell was now on his way to Vietnam.  Not only would…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Fighting the Second of Three Global Wars

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/11May21-Kermit-Bell-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)For Kermit Bell, the Korean was just the second of three world conflicts he would find himself in…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

How the Batchtown Farm Kid Made it to West Point

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/10May21-Kermit-Bell-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Kermit Bell never intended to make a career in the military…but by the time he retired from the army he…

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Posted in American Countryside Arizona

Master of Mountain Unicycling

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/07May21-Rough-Terrain-Unicycling.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Many of us remember the struggle of learning to ride a bike as a kid.  Eventually we mastered it…and perhaps…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

The Cozy Dog

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/06May21-Route-66-Cozy-Dog.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Route 66 is full of pieces of Americana…and in central Illinois you’ll find a drive in over 70 years old…and…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Cruising in the Land Yacht

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/05May21-Route-66-Pontiac-Illinois-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)If you asked someone in the U.S. to name a famous foreign highway, maybe they’d mention the German Autobahn or…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Museum of the Mother Road

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/04May21-Route-66-Pontiac-Illinois-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It’s the museum of the Mother Road.  And you know you’ve got quite a historic route when there is an…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Crossing the Ohio at Cave in Rock

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/03May21-Cave-in-Rock-Illinois-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It’s the end of the road in Illinois, and if you want to go further south on Route 1, you’ll…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Cave In Rock

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/30Apr21-Cave-in-Rock-Illinois-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It was a dangerous portion of the Ohio River – not because of the current, but because of who might…

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Posted in American Countryside Oklahoma

The Cattlemen’s Steakhouse

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/29Apr21-Cattlemens-Steakhouse-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)You might go to a fancy clothing store to get measured for a suit.  But where do you go to…

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Posted in American Countryside Oklahoma

Beer for Breakfast

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/04/28Apr21-Cattlemens-Steakhouse-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Why are nurses on the night shift eating breakfast in the Oklahoma City Stockyards?  In a moment we’ll take you…

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