Hometown History

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The Straw Hat Riots of New York Oct 04, 2021

Show notes

New York City, New York. how you're not supposed to wear white after Labor Day? Imagine a similar rule for baseball hats, making it a crime of fashion to wear any hat with a soft cap and a stiff bill after a certain date, say September 15th, right near the end of baseball season. And imagine that the penalty for breaking this rule isn't a bit of a side-eye at the country club, but having a friend of yours gleefully rip your hat off your head and tear it to pieces in front of you.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of New York City is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 36 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

Hometown History explores forgotten stories from small-town America. The overlooked events, hidden triumphs, and buried tragedies that shaped the country we live in. New episodes every Tuesday. Find every episode at mythsandmalice.com/hometown-history

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Lincoln's Gettysburg Disaster Sep 27, 2021

Show notes

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There are just times when you need a great speech. These times are rare, but they exist. In most cases, the last thing you need is more words. You usually need someone to get up and do something, build something, pay for something. But sometimes words are all you have. Sometimes nobody knows what to do, what to build, or who to pay. You look at the other people in the room and shrug. And before you do anything else, you need to pause and wrap your head around the moment.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Gettysburg is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 35 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

If you liked this: Episode 176 (Erie, Pennsylvania)

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The Harvard Soldier Who Hated War Sep 20, 2021

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Cambridge, Massachusetts. On a cold morning, October 21, 1861, an officer in the Union Army named Major Henry Livermore Abbott led the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment through another hopeless assault against a superior enemy force up an isolated hill at the tip of northern Virginia at what would become known as the Battle of Balls Bluff. Like so many battles at the beginning of the war, the Union game plan was ill-conceived.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Cambridge is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 34 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

If you liked this: Episode 179 (Gay Head, Massachusetts)

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The Courtroom Tragedy: Monica Seles' Near-Fatal Match Sep 13, 2021

Show notes

Hamburg, Germany. Sometimes, the bad guys win. Sometimes, the people with the worst intentions get what they want in life, and their victims lose everything. Like when one unemployed German lathe operator attempted to murder the best tennis player in the world with a 9-inch boning knife in 1993 on live TV. This summer, the Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic won his 19th and 20th major tournaments at the French Open in Wimbledon.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Hamburg is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 33 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

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Alexandria: Where Washington Changed History Sep 06, 2021

Show notes

Alexandria, Virginia. One of the most important hometowns in American history is Alexandria, Virginia. Along with being the wealthiest city in Virginia, Alexandria is home to the Institute for Defense Analysis, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and the National Science Foundation. This city of 150,000 boasts a long list of famous residents, including Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, Doors frontman Jim Morrison, Civil War General Robert E. Lee, and NASA rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, among many others.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Alexandria is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 32 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

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The Marshall House Tragedy: Alexandria's First Civil War Deaths Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

Alexandria, Virginia. The first battle of the Civil War was the Battle of Fort Sumter off the coast of South Carolina in early April 1861. A week later, something like a battle erupted in the streets of Baltimore during the Pratt Street riots, when Union soldiers faced off with a gang of Southern sympathizers during their march through the city. Four Union soldiers and twelve citizens were killed in the shooting.

Episode 31 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

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The Italian Hall Disaster of Calumet Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

Calumet, Michigan. The sobering thought of this tragedy brought my mind into a similar event I'd learned of in a remote northern Michigan town while visiting a few years ago. I was leaving a local bar which just happens to boast the largest Tiffany stained glass bar canopy east of the Rocky Mountains. All the dark trim and woodwork in this bar dates to the 1890s and the legendary copper boom unrivaled in human history before or since.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Calumet is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 30 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

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The Potsdam Giants: Prussia's Regiment of Kidnapped Tall Men Jul 19, 2021

Show notes

In 18th-century Prussia, King Friedrich Wilhelm I built an entire military regiment based on a single qualification: height. The Potsdam Giants were Europe's most bizarre military unit, a collection of extraordinarily tall men kidnapped from across the continent to serve as the Soldier King's personal obsession. When persuasion failed, Wilhelm's agents resorted to hostage-taking and bribes. One Bavarian carpenter was literally nailed inside a coffin-sized box and shipped to Prussia, he didn't survive the journey.

The king didn't care that giants make terrible soldiers. Slow, uncoordinated, and massive targets in combat, these seven-foot men existed purely as eye candy for a ruler who stood just five-foot-three. Wilhelm made them parade in 18-inch hats, used them as a human canopy over his head, and even woke them in the middle of the night for private viewings from his bed. When Russia's Peter the Great offered giants in trade, Wilhelm exchanged them for the priceless Amber Room. He even launched breeding experiments, pairing his giants with tall women in an early genetics program that caught Charles Darwin's attention.

This is the forgotten story of Europe's most useless regiment and the captive men who couldn't escape because they were too tall to hide.

Subscribe to Hometown History for forgotten American and world history stories every week. New episodes release Tuesdays.

Show Notes:

Prussia's five-foot-three Soldier King obsessed over soldiers based solely on their height
How kidnapping became official royal policy when tall men refused to join his army
The Bavarian carpenter murdered by being nailed inside a shipping crate
Peter the Great traded giants for the famous Amber Room from Berlin's palace
Darwin's fascination with Prussia's early experiment in human breeding programs
Why seven-foot soldiers are actually terrible fighters in modern warfare
The tragic fate of men held captive simply for being unusually tall

Key Figures:

Friedrich Wilhelm I - Prussia's "Soldier King" who stood 5'3" and worshipped height
Peter the Great - Russian czar who traded giants as diplomatic gifts
Frederick the Great - Wilhelm's son who finally disbanded the useless regiment
Charles Darwin - Noted the Potsdam breeding experiment in "The Descent of Man"

Tags: Potsdam Giants, Prussia history, Friedrich Wilhelm I, 18th century Europe, military history, kidnapping history, forgotten history, European history, true story, historical obsession, Prussian military, Soldier King, Frederick the Great, Peter the Great, Amber Room, Charles Darwin, bizarre history

Category: History

Chapter Markers: 0:00 - Introduction: The Soldier King's Strange Confession 1:30 - Why Giants Make Terrible Soldiers 2:45 - The Kidnapping Campaign Across Europe 4:15 - Death in a Wooden Box: The Bavarian Carpenter 5:30 - The Amber Room Trade and Breeding Experiments 6:45 - Conclusion: The Giants Finally Go Free

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Madam C.J. Walker: First Self-Made Millionaire, Part 2 Jul 13, 2021

Show notes

Indianapolis, Indiana. In time, her local business brought in enough of a salary that she was able to quit working as a laundress. Her level of success was already admirable, and Sarah had no intention of keeping it at a local level. She knew there was a growing national market that needed to be tapped into, but she lacked the business knowledge to pursue it. Opportunity came knocking on her door. She met Charles Joseph Walker. He was a Denver newspaperman who took a liking to Sarah. They married in 1906.

TIMELINE
1910: In 1910, Madam Walker decided to consolidate the Denver and Pittsburgh offices and make Indianapolis the central headquarters of the Walker Manufacturing Company.
1916: In 1916, Madam Walker commissioned an Italian-style villa to be built in Irvington, New York.
1917: In July of 1917, the news broke that a white mob murdered more than three dozen blacks during a riot in East St. Louis, Illinois.
1918: A Republican representative from St. Louis, Leonidas C. Dyer, introduced the Dyer anti-lynching bill in 1918.
1931: Alila continued living in the mansion until 1931, when she died of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by hypertension.
2018: December of 2018 marked the centennial of Villa Loaro, as well as the date the New Voices Foundation acquired the property.

WHY THIS MATTERS
The story of Indianapolis is a reminder that the events that shaped America didn't always happen in the biggest cities. What unfolded here left marks on the community that are still visible today. The full story is more complicated, and more human, than the version most people know.

Episode 28 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

If you liked this: Episode 180 (Hagerstown, Indiana)

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Madam C.J. Walker: From Cotton Fields to Empire (Part 1) Jun 21, 2021

Show notes

Indianapolis, Indiana. How do you measure success? For some of us, it's about money or material possessions that reflect our social status. For others, it's more about looking back on where you started and how far you've come. You may have not heard the name Sarah Breedlove, but odds are you've heard of Madam C.J. Walker. Sarah Breedlove was her given name for the purposes of this episode until we reach the point where Madam Walker gets her business going. We will refer to her as Sarah.

TIMELINE
1865: By the time the war ended in 1865, the south had been largely devastated by the destruction of railroads, homes, and factories.
1867: Sarah Breedlove was born on December 23, 1867, near Delta, Louisiana.
1877: A few years later, in 1877, the sisters and Lavinia's husband, Jesse Powell, moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi.
1885: In June of 1885, the couple had a daughter, Lila, who would later go by the name Alila.

Episode 27 | Hometown History | Hosted by Shane Waters

If you liked this: Episode 180 (Hagerstown, Indiana)

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Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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