Recent Posts
John Brown: The Early Years
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/01/11Jan19-John-Brown-Osawatamie-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)In the years just ahead of the Civil War, thousands of people came to Kansas ahead of a critical vote…
The Elephant Hotel
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/01/10Jan19-Elephant-Hotel-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)When you run across a building named the “Elephant Hotel,” well, there’s probably going to be an interesting story behind…
A Time Before Zoos and Circuses
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/01/09Jan19-Elephant-Hotel-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Just about everyone one of us has visited a zoo and seen a circus. Now let me take you to…
The Elephant That Changed the Course of American History
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/01/08Jan19-Elephant-Hotel-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB) It all began with a man who wanted to farm, not with a team of horses or mules, but…
Fort Bridger
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2019/01/07Jan19-Fort-Bridger-3.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)This fort serviced the Pony Express, the Oregon Trail, and was around so long it even slept travelers by car. …
New Ownership of a Fort
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/04Jan19-Fort-Bridger-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)You usually don’t think of a fort coming under new ownership. But that’s what happened to this site that bears…
One of the Best Known Mountain Men of the 1800s
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/03Jan19-Fort-Bridger-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)He was one of the best known mountain men of the early 19th century. A man who was skilled in…
Remembering Fred Mares
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/02Jan19-Remembering-Fred-Mares.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Image a man who speaks over ten languages, can play multiple musical instruments and serenade customers with his wonderful voice. …
Best of 2018: The Hartsdale Pet Cemetary
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/01Jan19-Best-of-2018-Hartsdale-Pet-Cemetary.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)Ed Martin Jr. has helped bury dogs, cats, birds, guinea pigs and he’s even heard of a lion cub on…
Best of 2018: Dan Meers
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/31Dec18-Best-of-2018-Dan-Meers-KC-Wolf.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 2:59 — 2.0MB)Dan Meers has nearly a dozen suits he wears to work. The odd thing is, all the suites are alike. …
Best of 2018: Wall Drug
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/28Dec18-Best-of-2018-Wall-Drug.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)What’s the first thing a father teaches his son about being a good businessman? How to make donuts of course! …
Best of 2018: Todd Syrup Farm
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/27Dec18-Best-of-2018-Todd-Syrup-Farm.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 2:58 — 2.0MB)Lots of people enjoy pure maple syrup. But if you ask this farmer what he thinks of it, well you’ll…
Best of 2018: Billy the Kid
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/26Dec18-Best-of-2018-Billy-the-Kid.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)When two different cities, in two different states claim to have the body of the same man, well, you know…
The Holiday Christmas Store
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/25Dec18-Holiday-Christmas-Store.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)If Santa Claus needed a place to buy all of his decorations, this would be it. It’s big business in…
Twas the Night
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/24Dec18-Twas-the-Night-Before.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 2:59 — 2.0MB)We know the words of “’twas the night before Christmas;” words that helped solidify the image of Santa over 200…
The Scene of a Winter Battle
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/21Dec18-Stones-River-National-Battlefield-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:03 — 2.1MB)The Union army was defeated at Fredricksburg, Virginia in mid December 1862. President Lincoln needed a victory to bolster the…
That Smell in the Air
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/20Dec18-College-of-the-Ozarks-Fruitcake-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)The college president smelled something. It was not a bad odor, but rather something pleasant. And soon his nose led…
A Christmas Tradition
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/19Dec18-College-of-the-Ozarks-Fruitcake-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Many of us have Christmas traditions. At this college there is a Christmas tradition that has raised money for these…
A Business Totally Run By Volunteers
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/18Dec18-St-James-Coffeehouse-2.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:00 — 2.1MB)It’s a business that is run totally by volunteers. What’s interesting is many of the volunteers are middle and high…
A Small Town Coffee House
http://americancountryside.com/wp-content/gems/2018/12/17Dec18-St-James-Coffeehouse-1.mp3Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:01 — 2.1MB)Many towns have one or more coffee houses. But in St. James, Missouri the local coffeehouse may have a familiar…