Historium Unearthia: Unearthing History's Lost and Untold Stories

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Episode 6: Meet the Notorious, Yet Politically Significant, Black and Native American Outlaws Omitted from Old West History Jan 31, 2018

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While the ballads of gun-slinging outlaws like Jesse James and Billy the Kid play on, there's another Old West gang that has been largely forgotten. This group of young boys – black, Native American, or of mixed-race – emerged from the shadows in a politically charged, yet severely flawed, rebellion. Have you ever heard of the Rufus Buck Gang? DOWNLOAD NOW Credits: Thank you to novelist Leonce Gaiter for bringing the Rufus Buck story to light. I'd also like to thank Stephen Aron, a professor at UCLA and specialist in frontier, borderland, and western American history, and Arthur Lurigio, a professor of psychology and criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago. Sources: Indian Outlaws Taken, San Francisco Call, August 12, 1895. The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang, Craig Lambert, Harvard Magazine, March-April 2012. I Dreamt I Was in Heaven - The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang, Leonce Gaiter, Legba Books, August 5, 2011. Violence and Innocence Love and Betrayal Butchery and Grace, Leonce Gaiter, 2011. Forgotten Outlaw Rufus Buck Had a Dream, ICMN Staff, Indian Country Today, July 27, 2017. Rufus Buck Gang: A Time to Die, Juliet Galonska, National Park Service, February 1995. Rufus Buck Gang, Robert W. Boyle, Old West Daily Reader, Retrieved December 2017. The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang of 1895, Jae Jones, Black Then, July 16, 2017. Rufus Buck Gang, The Spell of the West, Retrieved December 2017. Buck Gang, The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, Linda D. Wilson, Oklahoma Historical Society, Retrieved December 2017. PHOTO: Rufus Buck Gang, Artist/Photographer unknown, Public Domain

Episode 5: About that Time Kissing Was Outlawed in Canoes on Boston's Charles River Jan 13, 2018

Show notes

Long before Fats Domino found his thrill on Blueberry Hill or making out in the backseat of a station wagon on Lover's Lane was hip, young couples took to the water. But they weren't out there for a midnight swim. They didn't make a splash or even get wet. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, canoes provided a private escape. Canoodling went on for years in the Boston area. Then, someone let the cat out of the bag, and the innocence of love turned into the scandal of the century. Have you ever heard about the time Boston banned kissing in canoes? DOWNLOAD NOW Credits: For this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Cathy Hurst, a writer and professor who transcribed and annotated a 1905 family diary set in the Boston area, and Clara Silverstein, the Community Engagement Manager for Historic Newton. I'm also grateful to Marcel Danesi, a professor of Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Toronto and author of the book The History of the Kiss, who spoke to the past, present, and, hopefully, future of the kiss. Sources: Love Boats: The Delightfully Sinful History of Canoes, Hunter Oatman-Stanford, Collector's Weekly, July 5, 2012. The Charles River: in the Right Place at the Right Time, Historic Newton, City of Newton, retrieved January 2018. Kissing in Canoes, Catherine Hurst, Dateline: Boston 1905, July 29, 2008. The Charles River Canoe Craze and Massachusetts' 'War on Osculation', New England Historical Society, August 2014. Revolt at Riverside: Victorian Virtue and the Charles River Canoeing Controversy, 1903-1905, Thomas A. McMullin, The New England Quarterly, September 2000. Boston: A Guide Book, Edwin Monroe Bacon, Ginn & Company Publishers, 1903. "Down by the Riverside" in Historic Auburndale, Robert F. Pollock, a booklet published by the Auburndale Community Association, revised edition 1996.

Episode 4: Vermont's Legendary Wampahoofus Circled the Green Mountains Long Before Bigfoot or Yeti Jan 03, 2018

Show notes

Deep in the Green Mountains of Vermont, history runs as rich as the pristine waters that ebb and flow between the rocky peaks. Many stories have originated from within this lush countryside. Some accounts are true. Others came to life in the imaginations of restless souls. Long before Bigfoot and Yeti became well-known in Western popular culture, another legendary creature was said to roam the hilly woods of the Green Mountain state. Have you ever heard of the wampahoofus?

Episode 3: World War II's Rumor Clinics Dispelled the Scuttlebutt and Tale Tales Dec 18, 2017

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Rumors, like most forms of gossip, are usually rooted in half-truths and outright falsities. Yet, during World War II, these insatiable tidbits of hearsay threatened to undermine civilian morale and even cause unrest within the military community when they nearly spiraled out of control. A network of "morale wardens" tracked down the latest scuttlebutt, and helped refute these tall tales. Have you ever heard of the World War II rumor clinics?

Episode 2: Step Inside Madam Fan Jones' Bawdy Blue House of 19th Century Pleasure Dec 04, 2017

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There was once a stretch of land so wicked and rowdy, it became known as the Devil's Half Acre of Bangor, Maine. Historians affectionately refer to this legendary destination of merriment and mayhem as Satan's playground – a place where loggers, sailors, and other workingmen gathered to spend their hard-earned cash on whiskey and women. When Maine became the first state to pass Prohibition in 1851, supporters dreamed of a pine-strewn moral haven. But one freethinking former seamstress had other ideas. Have you ever heard of Fan Jones? DOWNLOAD NOW Credits: This story was originally published on Narratively, a site where human stories are boldly told. Again, I must give a huge round of applause to my editors Brendan Spiegel and Mike Stahl who helped bring Fan back to life – in a well-deserved positive light. A special thanks to Monique Bouchard who spent countless hours researching Fan Jones and leading Bangor, Maine's walking tour of Devil's Half Acre for several summers. She spent days in the scorching heat dressed as the infamous madam, teaching tourists not only of Jone's business affairs, but also of her humanity. Also, a huge thanks to Bella Arsenic who is working hard to help destigmatize an industry plagued by misconceptions and myths. Sources: Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History, Jack S. Blocker and David M. Fahey, December 17, 2003. Throwback Thursday: Maine Becomes the First State to Outlaw Alcohol, Madeline Bilis, Boston Magazine, June 2, 2016. The Maine Liquor Law: Origin, History, and Results, Henry Stephen Clubb, 1856. Fan Jones, The Madame Who Reigned Over the Devil's Half Acre in Bangor, New England Historical Society, updated 2017. Where was the Devil's Half Acre?, Wayne E. Reilly, Bangor Daily News, September 16, 2012. Penobscot Marine Museum, Nineteenth Century Industries: Lumber, 2012. Tall Trees, Tough Men, Robert E. Pike, 1967. Rivers of Fortune, Bill Caldwell, October 28, 2014. Rogues, Rascals, and Other Villainous Mainers, Trudy Irene Scee, November 7, 2014. Maine's Golden Road: A Memoir, John Gould, August 17, 1995. Tour the Devil's Half Acre with Bangor's infamous madam, Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News, August 2, 2015.

Episode 1: The Former Slave Who Became an Executioner Nov 16, 2017

Show notes

Death is a part of life that makes most of us… uncomfortable. But there are many faces of death – some more troubling than others. Take, for example, executions. Imagine being the individual tasked with the job of death. Right or wrong, however moral or unjust, the history of execution dates to the earliest footprints of time. One of the most unusual, yet forgotten accounts, is of a former slave who became an executioner. Have you ever heard of Louis Congo?

Coming Soon: Historium Unearthia Oct 22, 2017

Show notes

Freelance journalist and lifelong history sleuth, Crystal Ponti, introduces Historium Unearthia - a podcast celebrating history's lost and untold stories… the ones overshadowed by the more memorable and talked about events, people, and "things" from our past. But these are no ordinary stories. These are the weird, the macabre, the unbelievable. The stories that make your heart race and your mind spin. They're the kind of stories that leave you stunned and amazed and questioning everything you thought you knew about our history. Join her next month as she unveils the very first episode of Historium Unearthia. In the meantime, please subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts and visit the website at historiumunearthia.com to receive notifications of new episodes.

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