Category: Illinois
“What” Won the West
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/05/02Jun20-Sterling-Illinois-Dillon-Home-Barbed-Wire-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Who won the west? Perhaps a better question is, “what” won the west? Erin Thompson says what won the west…
A Patent That Changed the Way People Farmed and Ranched
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/05/01Jun20-Sterling-Illinois-Dillon-Home-Barbed-Wire-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)In the 1870’s, a series of patents were first issued for this product that was destined to change the way…
A CEO’s Philosophy of Business and Life
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/04/07May20-WD-40-Gary-Ridge-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)When you walk into the offices of this company you’ll be greeted by someone with a unique title. They are…
The Squeaky Wheel Gets WD40
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/04/06May20-WD-40-Gary-Ridge-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)A cliché says, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” In this case, Gary Ridge hopes the squeaky wheel gets WD40. …
Failing 39 Times
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/04/05May20-WD-40-Gary-Ridge-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)If you failed at something 39 times, would you attempt success with a 40th try? This company did, and of…
The First U.S. Woman to Win the Nobel Peace Prize
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/04/04May20-Jane-Adams-Hull-House.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)She was the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, a lady who helped establish a field of work…
Abraham Lincoln’s Senator Challenger
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/02/25Feb20-Stephen-Douglas-2020.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Abraham Lincoln led the country through the Civil War, but it was this man who defeated him for the senate…
Smoke-filled Rooms
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/02/19Feb20-Blackstone-Hotel-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)You many have heard of backroom political deals referred to as having taken place in a smoke-filled room. Today I’ll…
A Chicago Landmark
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/02/18Feb20-Blackstone-Hotel-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)When it was constructed just over a century ago, it was the tallest building in Chicago. It remains a landmark…
John Deere Before the Tractor
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/01/09Jan20-John-Deere-Plow-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)When you hear the name John Deere you might think of tractors. However, that is to think in modern terms. …
The Relocation of John Deere
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/01/08Jan20-John-Deere-Plow-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)We’ve all heard of John Deere equipment and you may know the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois. But that’s…
The Man Who Was Just Another Blacksmith
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/01/07Jan20-John-Deere-Plow-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)He was just another blacksmith until some of his old friends convinced him to move from the northeastern U.S. to…
Guinness Records Knows Casey, Illinois
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/09/26Sep19-Casey-Illinois-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)The folks at Guinness Book World Records knows Casey, Illinois very well. It seems they have to send someone there…
A Beautiful Rocking Chair
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/09/25Sep19-Casey-Illinois-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)It’s a beautiful rocking chair. The kind of chair that would be the perfect place to relax. There’s plenty of…
How Windchimes Changed Lives
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/09/24Sep19-Casey-Illinois-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)They are the windchimes that changed the way people thought about this small town. How could wind chimes do that…
A Place They Call Barnacopia
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/09/10Sep19-Barnacopia.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)What does a farmer do when he retires from working the land? For Gary Bocker he really wasn’t looking to…
An Iconic Vehicle Modernized
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/08/03Sep19-Mahindra-Roxor.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Some say it was the iconic vehicle of World War II. A vehicle that General Esienhower said was one of…
Grieving Traditions
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/08/26Aug19-Funeral-Customs-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)When someone close to us passes, we mourn. While it’s not a topic we usually want to dwell upon…this man…
History of a Difficult Subject
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/08/23Aug19-Funeral-Customs-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Today’s topic is one people don’t often like to discuss, yet it’s one with which all of us must deal…
Popcorn and Pumpkins
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/07/24July19-Illinois-Popcorn-Pumpkins.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Popcorn, pumpkins and more. Colin just thought every farm in American grew those crops, but then he took a look…
