Category: 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. …
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…
Resilient Grafton, Illinois
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/04/27Apr23-Grafton-Illinois-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Rose Marie Ritchie has a beautiful location to work right along the Mississippi River. But in the decades she’s lived…
The “Dinky”
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/04/26Apr23-Grafton-Illinois-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)There are many storied rail routes in this nation – some historic, others still operating. In Grafton, IL you’ll find…
Lincoln Says Goodbye to Mother and Farm
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/02/09Feb23-Lincoln-Log-Cabin-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)We may remember that President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is February 12th. But we often forget the important role of his…
Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2023/02/08Feb23-Lincoln-Log-Cabin-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Abraham Lincoln lost his mother to a sudden illness when he was just nine years old. Within a year his…
Remember the Gettysburg Address
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2022/11/18Nov22-Lincoln-Library-Historic-Doc-4.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Almost every American can recite the opening line of this speech. It is perhaps the best known in American history,…
The Most Important Speech?
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2022/11/17Nov22-Lincoln-Library-Historic-Doc-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)What is the most important document that Christian McWhirter handles at this vault? He admits, the answer may seem boring,…
Lincoln’s Big Three
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2022/11/16Nov22-Lincoln-Library-Historic-Doc-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Although Abraham Lincoln served as president over a century and a half ago, people still are very interested in his…
Opening the Vault of Lincoln’s Papers
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2022/11/15Nov22-Lincoln-Library-Historic-Doc-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)We know Abraham Lincoln as a great president and orator. However, how much do you know about Lincoln as a…
Lincoln on the Other Side of the Debate
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2022/10/07Nov22-Lincoln-Log-Cabin.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Abraham Lincoln is known as the great emancipator, a champion of ending slavery in the United States. However, in the…
Stories of Survival
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2022/09/22Sep22-Lincoln-Library-Holocaust.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It is perhaps only fitting that right now in Springfield, IL you’ll find an exhibit titled “Stories of Survival” at…
Catsup?
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2022/07/14Jul22-Collinsville-Ketchup-Tower-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Today we call it “ketchup.” But there was once a segment of this nation that knew it as “catsup.” Today…
The Large Bottle of Ketchup
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2022/07/13Jul22-Collinsville-Ketchup-Tower-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)If you are one of those folks who will put ketchup on just about anything, head to Collinsville, IL. If…
Chain of Rocks Bridge
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2022/05/01Jun22-Chain-of-Rocks-Bridge.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)The development of not only cars, but roads themselves has improved safety and lessened highway fatalities. But in the 1920s…
The Luna Café
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/12/06Jan22-Luna-Cafe-2022.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)In front of the Luna Café, on old route 66 near Mitchell, Illinois, you’ll find a beautifully restored neon sign…the…
The French Arrive in Illinois
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/09/07Sep21-Chester-Illinois-History-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Take a drive south of St. Louis on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River and you’ll find some very…
Illinois’ Largest City – A Long Time Ago
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/09/06Sep21-Chester-Illinois-History-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Illinois’ Largest City – A Long Time Ago Chicago is by far the largest city in the state of Illinois. …
The Guy Who Liked Spinach
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/08/03Sep21-Chester-Illinois-Popeye-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)A lot of people don’t like spinach, but this guy did. In fact he really liked spinach. And when he…
Drawing Caricatures of Locals
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/08/02Sep21-Chester-Illinois-Popeye-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)There was no doubt this young man had talent. He was operating motion picture as the local opera house in…
