Our American Stories

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Latest Episodes:

The Careful Art of Caring for Your Horse, Escaping the Sex Industry and He Travels the Country Reviewing... Onion Rings? Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, regular contributor Bill Bryk brings us another adventure in riding and teaches us just how meticulous the grooming routine can be. Harmony Dust Grillo shares how she was seemingly trapped in the commercial sex industry and struggled until a new friendship led to a change in her life. Tyler Groenendal of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has perhaps the most interesting side gig of all-time... reviewing onion rings—and he's been doing it for years and has no plans to stop.

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Time Codes:

00:00 - The Careful Art of Caring for Your Horse

12:30 - Escaping the Sex Industry

37:00 - He Travels the Country Reviewing... Onion Rings?

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EP349: There's No Smell Like Home and The Inventor of Jelly Belly Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Randall Haley shares how the scents from So Delta Candle Company helped alleviate some of her homesickness. Here is the amazing true story of David Klein, an eccentric candy inventor from Los Angeles, who is the creator and founder of Jelly Belly jelly beans.

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Time Codes:

00:00 - There's No Smell Like Home

12:30 - The Inventor of Jelly Belly

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EP348: The Time A Kid Sued Pepsi for A Harrier Jet, Escaping the Viet Cong and Treating More than Cancer Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Sean Kernan of Medium helps us tell the story of Leonard v. PepsiCo Inc. A law school classic that helps kids navigate the curious world of contract law, but in 1999 it was serious business. Hoat Hoang tells the story of his family's escape from South Vietnam when North Vietnamese communists began to ambush his village and his journey to becoming a surgeon in the U.S. Loma Linda University Health has sought to not see patients as customers, but as individuals, through a focus on whole person care.

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Time Codes:

00:00 - The Time A Kid Sued Pepsi for A Harrier Jet

12:30 - Escaping the Viet Cong

37:00 - Treating More than Cancer

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EP347: Making Peace with My Sister’s Killer and John O’Neil On The First B-17 To Bomb Berlin Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Jeanne Bishop tells us the story of the brutal murders of her beloved family members and how a change of heart changed her life and so many others. John O'Neil, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, tells the story of his father, the tail and waist gunner on the B-17.

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Time Codes:

00:00 - Making Peace with My Sister’s Killer

37:00 - John O’Neil On The First B-17 To Bomb Berlin

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EP346: Ketchup King: The H.J. Heinz Story Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Greg Hengler tells us how Heinz food products have been a part of American culture for more than a century. Though Heinz Ketchup is one of the most recognized corporate symbols in the world, few people know anything at all about its creator, H.J. Heinz. His hard work, innovation, and obsessive kindness proved one of his favorite sayings: “To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success.”

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Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EP345: Grant and Twain Christopher Klein, The 46 Year-Long Journey to Finding My Sisters and Buck O'Neil's Lesson on Dealing With Defeat Like a Man Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Christopher Klein tells the story of the former president and Civil War hero, Ulysses S. Grant, and how he raced to complete a literary masterpiece that saved his wife from destitution with the aid of Mark Twain. Years after finding out she was adopted, Traci Huguley discovered she was not the only child adopted out. Bob Kendrick tells the story of former Negro Leagues Baseball player Buck O'Neil and how Buck handled being rejected from the National Baseball Hall of Fame "like a man".

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Time Codes:

00:00 - Grant and Twain Christopher Klein

12:30 - The 46 Year-Long Journey to Finding My Sisters

37:00 - Buck O'Neil's Lesson on Dealing With Defeat Like a Man

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EP344: Possum for Supper, The Day a Soviet Nuclear Attack Submarine Rammed an American Aircraft Carrier and From Tech-Startup to Making a Wooden Pen with His Dad Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Joy Neal Kidney, our regular contributor and recipient of our 'Great American Storyteller Award' tells the story of what her family ate during the Great Depression years. The History Guy gives us the story of the 1984 USS Kitty Hawk collision. Chad and Jess Schumacher tell us how their lives seemed to be going really well and as "according to plan" as life could... and then life took a number of sharp and unexpected turns.

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Time Codes:

00:00 - Possum for Supper

12:30 - The Day a Soviet Nuclear Attack Submarine Rammed an American Aircraft Carrier

25:00 - From Tech-Startup to Making a Wooden Pen with His Dad

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EP343: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions, The Museum Dedicated to Bad Art and The Opportunistic Patriot Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, author, Andrew Thompson shares another slice from his ultimate guide to understanding these baffling mini mysteries of the English language. tells us about the museum in Somerville, Massachusetts with a collection of over 600 examples of bad art. Bill Bryk tells the story of America's first practical politician, Aaron Burr, in a tale of skill, bravery, honor, deception, and memory.

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Time Codes:

00:00 - The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions

12:30 - The Museum Dedicated to Bad Art

25:00 - The Opportunistic Patriot

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EP342: Strength in Loneliness is Still Loneliness, Jason Wolfe Paid His Own Child Support and When Truman Came to Town Jun 08, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Edie Hand was always told by her mother that she was strong... but strength isn't always enough. Jason Wolfe tells the story of figuring out to be the father he didn't have. Rod Stanley of the Dexter Museum tells the story of how President Truman won the state of Iowa and another term in office in 1948.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

Time Codes:

00:00 - Strength in Loneliness is Still Loneliness

12:30 - Jason Wolfe Paid His Own Child Support

37:00 - When Truman Came to Town

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

EP341: The Angels of Bataan, Tempest Tours: A Stormy, Sightseeing Vacation and More Than Just a Summer Job Jun 08, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of Our American Stories, Anne Clare tells the story of a nurse who served in the Philippines during World War II, and shares the experience that she and others like her went through after the Japanese invasion there. Martin Lisius, founder of Tempest Tours, and Kim George, Customer Relations Manager, talk about the companies origins and what it's like being on the road in midst of extreme weather. Brent Timmons shares the story of his first job at a crab house in Delaware.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

Time Codes:

00:00 - The Angels of Bataan

12:30 - Tempest Tours: A Stormy, Sightseeing Vacation

25:00 - More Than Just a Summer Job

Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.