American Countryside

An average Wal-Mart SuperCenter has 140,000 items.  Steve Hartley runs a store much smaller in size, yet carries over 75,000 items, and he’s competed and succeeded in a town with a Wal-Mart for several decades... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the type of store you can get lost in.  Not because the layout is a maze, but rather because you just don’t know what you may find around the next corner.  It’s a unique blend of new and nostalgic... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You might think Steve is operating a business that died long ago.  After all, almost all the other similar stores have disappeared.  But Steve is not only surviving, he’s prospering... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

His business is truly a time capsule.  When Matthew Edel died in 1940, the doors were closed and no one entered until decades later... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You most likely have never heard of Matthew Edel.  You might never have known him if not for the business he left behind... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

She is probably the most well known Native American woman in our country’s history, a lady vital to the success of an incredible journey two centuries ago... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes what we wear tells us a bit about who a person might be.  In this area, the clothing styles of old may not tell the full story though... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes a person’s last name gives a clue to where their family originated from.  In this community, it may tell you which side of town they live on... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In southeast South Dakota you’ll find a community that celebrates some of the early settlers who homesteaded the area.  Their story was one of persecution and migration in Europe before finding a home here... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lots of people plant flowers in their yard and around their house.  That’s somewhat the case here, although in this town, the entire community comes together to help make it happen... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is power in prayer.  For the residents of this city, the results of their prayers are still celebrated every year to commemorate an event that took place over two centuries ago... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What you know about this battle probably comes from a song you’ve heard.  So today we’ll “Take a little trip along with Colonel Jackson” to see how much is fact and fiction... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was Christmas of 1814 and the residents of New Orleans knew the British were heading their way.  Soon they’d be on the ground intent on invading their city.  But could they repel the larger army and keep their freedom?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before you can get a group to move toward a goal, you have to get them working together.  That was the biggest challenge facing this leader in his effort to save an American city from falling to the enemy... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Wessington Springs, South Dakota you’ll find a building that may seem out-of-place compared to the other homes and businesses in town.  However, a stop by this cottage will reveal an amazing story of a teacher who made a big trip and came home with an idea... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We think of Yorktown as the place where the United States secured its independence.  However, this battle over three decades later kept the young nation from losing the freedoms for which it had fought... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He owned one of the largest ranches in Texas in the late 1800s and he might just have the biggest grave marker of any rancher in the state... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Bay City, Texas you’ll find a place that displays artifacts from a doomed expedition that arrived here over three centuries ago See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The explorer LaSalle was determined to sail to North America and find the mouth of the Mississippi River.  He missed it by a few hundred miles and wound up here.  This is the story of that wayward explorer and the mark he left in the New World... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many people like reminders of their heritage.  For the residents of this small town, the reminders is one very large…windmill.  This is the story of a windmill that took quite a trip... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the largest of its kind and the story behind it is one of hard work, entrepreneurship and constant reinvestment into what had already been created... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When a couple marries they often incorporate traditions from both of their families.  But for the immigrants from this nation, they found they were losing centuries old customs within one generation of coming here... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Immigrants from many countries came to the U.S. during the 19th century, but the young men from this country often came because the farms in their homeland were simply too small to support more people... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Go down an interstate highway and you’ll find plenty of trucks.  While many look similar, there is really a great variety in what travels down our rounds.  This place will amaze you with just what has hit the highways for well over a century... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Bill Moon opened a truck stop in 1964, he perhaps didn’t imagine his passion for trucking would someday result in one of the largest museums of its kind... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.