Posted in American Countryside Illinois

The Perfector of the Plow

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/08/09Sep24-John-Deere.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Although you may associate his name with tractors…he never saw one…yet his name is synonymous with the equipment used in…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Housing the Purple Martin

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/07/18Jul24-Purple-Martins-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)On the surface, it may seem like an odd pairing–a man who manufactured television antennas became the champion for a…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

America’s Most Wanted Bird

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/07/17Jul24-Purple-Martins-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It’s been called America’s most wanted bird. Not wanted in the sense that it has committed a crime, but rather…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

John Phillp Sousa

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/06/04Jul24-John-Phillip-Sousa.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Today we look back to a story who’s music captures the spirit of the fourth of July…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

The Story of the Heath Bar

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2024/02/12Feb24-Heath-Bar.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Many of us have a favorite candy bar…or maybe we can’t narrow it to just one, but have a few. …

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

The Moonshine Cafe

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/11/05Dec23-Moonshine-Cafe-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Imagine serving hundreds of people out of a small store in very rural Illinois.  That’s the setting that takes place…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

A Little Bit of Moonshine

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/11/04Dec23-Moonshine-Cafe-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)If I told you people were traveling hundreds of miles to this spot for moonshine, you’d probably think there was…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

The Van Doren Brothers

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/09/11Sep23-Van-Doren-Brothers.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)The Van Doren brothers hailed from Vermilion County, Illinois. Their father saw great potential in his sons and even made…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Mr. Speaker

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/08/08Sep23-Speaker-of-the-House-Joe-Cannon-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)The Speaker of the House is an important position in government and this man is often regarded as the man…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Joe Cannon’s Early Lessons

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/08/07Sep23-Speaker-of-the-House-Joe-Cannon-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)What happens in a kid’s life can have an impact on what they do later in life.  That was the…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

A Name Within a Name

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/08/06Sep23-Speaker-of-the-House-Joe-Cannon-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)A name may say a lot about a person.  In this case, there was a man’s name within a man’s…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

An Old Pontiac Wagon

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/08/17Aug23-Pontiac-Oakland-Museum-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Today we take a look at a very old Pontiac wagon.  No, we’re not talking about a station wagon, but…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois Indiana

The Oakland County Car

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/08/16Aug23-Pontiac-Oakland-Museum-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)If I were to tell you that there is a car named for Oakland County, Michigan you’d probably not recognize…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Jacksonville, Illinois’ Wheels

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/08/15Aug23-Eli-Bridge-Company-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)The numbers 1 and 17 are important in Jacksonville, IL.  Those are the numbers of two machines built here that…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

A Ride on a Contraption that Inspired

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/08/14Aug23-Eli-Bridge-Company-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It was a moment of inspiration.  A man took a ride on an amazing contraption that resulted in him just…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois Presidents

Lincoln’s 81 Bottle of Champagne

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/07/20Jul23-Lincoln-Vandalia-Illinois-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)What was Abraham Lincoln doing with 81 bottles of champagne and 14 pounds of raisins?  Thankfully he didn’t consume them…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois Presidents

Lincoln’s Start in Politics

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/07/19Jul23-Lincoln-Vandalia-Illinois-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)You can go to Springfield, IL and learn plenty about president Abraham Lincoln.  His home and presidential library are there. …

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Top Secret Pastor

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/06/05Jun23-Christian-Christiansen-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)The military exercise was top secret.  When this mission was finally opened to the public, the reverend who played the…

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

The Pastor Who Saved the World From Nuclear Destruction

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/05/02Jun23-Christian-Christiansen-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)During World War II the Germans raced against the Americans to be the first to successfully build an atomic bomb. …

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Posted in American Countryside Illinois

Gardner, Illinois and the Two Cell Jail

http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/05/01Jun23-Gardner-Illinois-Jail.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)The need for maximum security prisons is an unfortunate reality of life.  On the other end of the spectrum is…

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