The New Year’s Eve BlastThe New Year’s Eve Blast
On New Year’s Eve, 1959, Spruce Pine, North Carolina was rocked by a massive explosion, leaving a crater in the town baseball field. What had happened? Listen to today’s podcast
The Bunkers of Mt. AiryThe Bunkers of Mt. Airy
Mt. Airy, North Carolina, is known as the model for Andy Griffith’s Mayberry, as depicted on his television show. But, a hundred years before, it was best known as the
The Feud, Part FiveThe Feud, Part Five
The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys comes to a head on New Years Day, 1888, with the bloody Hatfield attack on the McCoy farm. In this last chapter
The Feud, Part FourThe Feud, Part Four
The election of 1882 in Pike County, Kentucky, started out like any other election, but ended in Ellison Hatfield dead and three McCoy brothers, Tolbert, Pharmer and Bud, lynched on
The Feud, Part ThreeThe Feud, Part Three
We continue the story of the Hatfields and the McCoys with the tale of an Appalachian Romeo and Juliet. At least that’s how the newspapers of the time portrayed it.
The Feud, Part TwoThe Feud, Part Two
Hello podcast listeners! If there’s one thing about the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys it’s that the whole thing started with a trial over a pig. And you’d
The Feud, Part OneThe Feud, Part One
Hello podcast fans! For the next several weeks Rod and I are going to be telling the story of the Hatfield and McCoy feud. This bit of Appalachian history is
A Star Faces JusticeA Star Faces Justice
The Loretta Lynn biopic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” was filmed in Eastern Kentucky and Southwest Virginia during the late 70’s, causing a ton of excitement for the residents of that area,
The White Caps of Sevier CountyThe White Caps of Sevier County
Around the turn of the twentieth century there was a vigilante group that operated in Sevier County, Tennessee, named the “White Caps” for the white hoods they wore. Starting out
The Donelson ExpeditionThe Donelson Expedition
In the winter of 1779-1780, a group of settlers set out from the present site of Kingsport, Tennessee, sailing down the Holston River to establish a new settlement in the