Category: Iowa
New Melleray’s Caskets
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/10/05Nov21-New-Mellary-Abbey-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)When people began attending funeral’s here, many had the exact same reaction. They mentioned that when they passed, they wanted…
New Melleray’s Timber Transformed
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/10/04Nov21-New-Mellary-Abbey-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)These men had about 3500 acres of farmland, pasture and timber. However, tilling the land they owned was becoming more…
Monks of the Union Army
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/10/03Nov21-New-Mellary-Abbey-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Who helped supply the Union army’s depot in Galena, IL during the Civil War? The monks at this abbey of…
Amazing Photos from A Historic Event
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/09/17Sep21-Union-Pacific-Railroad-Museum-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)This company was created from scratch in the 1860s. From the start, those founders knew that their work would be…
West from Mile Zero
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/09/16Sep21-Union-Pacific-Railroad-Museum-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)This is Mile Zero. For several years mile zero of this railroad would only take you to the banks or…
Lincoln’s Site To Begin a Railroad
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/09/15Sep21-Union-Pacific-Railroad-Museum-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Abraham Lincoln had an important decision to make. Where would be the beginning point of a new railroad. We don’t…
Don’t Paint My Tractor!
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/06/10Jun21-Hart-Parr-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Ask any farmer what is their favorite color on the farm and they most likely know you are asking them…
Coining “Tractor”
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2021/06/09Jun21-Hart-Parr-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)They were not the first to invent a tractor, but they were the first to call it that. And a…
Swamp Root to Cure Your Ails
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/12/06Jan21-Allerton-Iowa-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)If you saw an advertisement for someone selling “swamp root” that could cure your ails, well, you might be a…
A Meeting in the Park
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/12/05Jan21-Allerton-Iowa-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)This small town was in danger of losing a treasured part of its past and present. But who would step…
The World’s Fair in Iowa
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/12/04Jan21-Allerton-Iowa-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Perhaps you’ve heard of the World’s Fair. Many editions of that global event have been held over the centuries. But…
Losing All Five Sullivan Children
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/11/12Nov20-Sullivan-Brothers-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)One cannot fathom the thought of losing five children in one event, but that’s exactly what happened to the Sullivans. …
Remembering the Sacrifices
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/11/11Nov20-Sullivan-Brothers-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Veteran’s Day is a time we remember the sacrifices of those who fought for the freedoms we enjoy in the…
Remembering Five Brothers from Waterloo
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/11/10Nov20-Sullivan-Brothers-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)After the attack on Pearl Harbor, many young men in the country rushed to join the military to fight for…
A Different Cemetery
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/10/05Nov20-Hobo-Museum-4.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)In Britt, Iowa you’ll find a section of the town’s cemetery that looks different than the rest. The stones are…
Luring a Convention
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/10/04Nov20-Hobo-Museum-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Lots of cities work to lure conventions to town. They may offer several amenities to take advantage of the economic…
Catching a Train Ride on a No Budget Trip
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/10/03Nov20-Hobo-Museum-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It was quite an adventure. Shorty and Frog caught and westbound train and were headed over the Rocky Mountains and…
A Visit with Hobos
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/10/02Nov20-Hobo-Museum-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)When I told my son on a recent trip that we were going to stop and visit with a couple…
Putting Hats on the Map
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/08/19Aug20-Iowa-Hat-Lady-2020-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)People always ask who is the most interesting person I’ve interviewed? It’s a question with many answers, and most of…
The Hat Lady, Alvina Sellers
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2020/08/18Aug20-Iowa-Hat-Lady-2020-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Dr. Suess wrote the cat in the hat, but he should have consulted an expert like Alvina Sellers for background…