Stories-a History Of Appalachia, One Story At A Time

In 1927 the wife of the Roane County, Tennessee, sheriff managed to persuade two escaped prisoners to return to the jail in Kingston without using a weapon of any kind.  That's a story in and of itself, but it's only part of Lillie Ladd's story, which includes not one but two twists at the end!  You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Spotify, IHeart Radio, TuneIn and more. We're also have a YouTube channel, at Stories, A History of Appalachia. Thanks for listening to our stories about Appalachian history.

In May, 1934, a man wanted for the robbery of a bank in Ewing, Virginia, made a daring escape from the Cocke County, Tennessee, jail.  Thus started a summer of carjackings, highway robberies, moonshining and high speed chases from Knoxville to Cumberland Gap that came to a tragic end on August 22.  Today we tell the story of Clarence Bunch, another part of the history of Appalachia. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, IHeart Radio, and on our YouTube channel. Thanks for listening!

Today we tell the story of the first Republican elected governor of Virginia since the Civil War, who also happens to be the father-in-law of one of the state's current senators, and who also happens to have been raised in the Appalachian town of Big Stone Gap... You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, IHeart Radio, RadioPublic, YouTube and more... Thanks for listening, y'all!

In the 1860s a Cherokee witch doctor arrived in Bristol, Virginia, to assist in the local Confederate hospital with her salves and potions.  After the war she invested her meager savings into a building on State Street, from which she operated what became Bristol's largest brothel, the Black Shawl.   Today we tell her story, and more. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Spotify, IHeart Radio and on our YouTube channel as well. Thanks for listening.

Back in the 1800's a preacher named Abijah Alley from Scott County, Virginia, made a name for himself when he began traveling around the world.  He also was a bit of a prophet, as he foretold the Civil War, emancipation and the defeat of the South.   Today we tell his story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, IHeart Radio, RadioPublic and more.  

You've probably seen the movie "Thelma and Louise," about two housewives who hit the road for a bit of adventure that eventually goes wrong.  Today we're going to tell you a story about a real life pair of Tennessee housewives whose adventures on the road lead to murder in the 1930's. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, IHeart Radio, Deezer and more. Thanks for listening!

From Kona, in Letcher County, Kentucky, came one of the tallest men in the world, a true giant. Martin Van Buren Bates traveled the world as a circus performer, which allowed him to meet the love of his life, Anna Swan, one of the tallest women in the world.  Together, they still hold the Guinness record as the tallest married couple ever.  Today we tell that story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, IHeart Radio, Spotify, TuneIn and more. Thanks for listening!

On this episode we tell the story of Sara Jane Moore, the second woman to attempt to assassinate a president, who was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, and more. Thanks for listening, y'all!

Today's story is from Clay County, Kentucky, and involves a man who was arrested for allegedly killing his father and stepmother, but who escaped justice for years by breaking out of jail again, and again, and yet again before he was finally captured for good.   You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, IHeart Radio, TuneIn and more.  

William Richardson Mullins made his living as a photographer in Eastern Kentucky and Southwest Virginia.  Starting in the Great Depression, he traveled the mountains taking pictures until, eventually, he had amassed a collection of thousands of photographs that documented life in central Appalachia during the mid 20th century.  He also earned the nickname "Pictureman" for his work. Today we tell his story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Deezer, RadioPublic, IHeart Radio, Spotify and more. Thanks for listening to our stories of Appalachian history...

Football is big in Appalachia, just like it was 94 years ago when two teams met but only one, apparently, was there to play.  Today we tell the story of one of the most lopsided high school football games ever played, between Kingsport's Dobyns Bennett High School and the Raiders from Norton, Virginia.   You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Spotify, Feedburner and more. Thanks for listening to our stories...

Today we tell how Adolf Hitler came to be in eastern Kentucky after World War II...not.  It's actually a story about a massive con job on post-war Nazi sympathizers all done from Middlesboro, Kentucky.   You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Spotify, IHeart Radio, and more. Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories of Appalachian history with your friends.  

Today we tell the story of Lillian Grace Browder who, with her husband Carl, robbed the Farmer's Bank in Louisville, Kentucky.  In the process she earned the distinction of being the first woman to be convicted of that crime in the state. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at our website, www.storiespodcast.net, on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, Radio.com, Spotify, and on many other apps. Thanks for listening!

In 1982 a man in Nashville managed to con enough people to earn a spot in the Nascar race in Talladega, Alabama.  He made it a few laps, earned a little prize money, then vanished, leaving behind several bounced checks and no clue who he really was.   Today we tell you the story of a man who called himself L. W. Wright. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, RadioPublic and on many other podcast apps.  Thanks for listening!

In 1907 a woman was killed in a cemetery that straddled the border between Virginia and Tennessee in Bristol.  Newspapers of the day soon turned this crime into a media circus, especially after it was linked to a prior homicide in the city.   In this, our 300th podcast episode, we tell you that story. The Stories podcast is available at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening, y’all!

In 1937 a devout Christian man in Sequatchie County, Tennessee, was instructed by the Lord to begin a fast.  He did as he was told and at the same time attracted the attention of a nation in the grip of the Great Depression.  Today we tell his story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, TuneIn and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening.   Keep yourselves safe.  

A few weeks ago we told about the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic that swept across Appalachia.  Today we return to tell more of that story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, RadioPublic, Spotify and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening.  Keep yourselves safe.

In the 1940's workers, scientists and the military came to Anderson County, Tennessee, and built a city in which to develop an atomic weapon.  The weight of what they were doing came to be too much for one Naval ensign.  Today we tell what happened. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, TuneIn, Spotify and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening, folks...

At the start of the Civil War, the Appalachian part of Tennessee voted 2-1 to remain a part of the United States in that state's secession vote.  When Tennessee left the Union and joined the Confederacy, those loyalists defended that Union, leading to summary executions and marshal law.  Today we tell their story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, IHeart Radio, RadioPublic and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening!

Appalachia is filled with unique and colorful characters.  Today we tell the story of one of them: journalist, baseball entrepreneur, self-promoter and chronicler of life in southern Appalachia through the medium of Super-8 movie film, Virgil Q. Wacks, of Lee County, Virginia. The Stories podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Spotify and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening!