Diary Discoveries

This is one of Sally's favorite diaries! A young woman begins writing  this diary January 1st, 1934 following a New Years Eve party, where she met a man named Vic. Over the course of a year, Violet's life with Vic is like a rollercoaster ride and something that could be written as a novel or made into a movie! This is the first of twelve episodes--each covering one month of Violet's...

This experience was a first in 35 years of diary collecting for Sally. In this episode we discuss what happened and talk about the interesting story within this diary. The quote Jeff couldn't remember exactly was by Heraclitus: "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man". Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydis...

In this heartfelt story, a daughter learns  her mother's lost 1944 diary had been researched and subsequently sold by Sally. Bridget contacted Sally to ask her help in recovering the diary. She explained her mom was suffering from Alzheimer's disease and perhaps the diary could help with her mother's memory.   You will hear how this went-- including Bridget's voice as she recou...

Sally discusses her trip to Vienna,  Austria to speak at the TED talk about diaries and the untold stories  within them.  We then transition to the early 1900's and Vaudeville, as Sally had an autograph album from 1908 owned by a Vaudeville performer, who asked other artists to sign the pages. Several of the autographs are by famous performers who were celebrities in their time! Enjoy a littl...

In this episode we give an update on ep. #12, share an exciting announcement, and then give a little background on a ghost town trip we took to the site of the 1910 Wellington Train Disaster--which is  the location of the deadliest avalanche in US history. Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com  to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

A 1950 travel diary takes us on a journey by train, plane, automobile, and ship. Our author writes terrific entries describing the journey, the parties, the food and drink, and notes many famous people from Hollywood including her best friend, an Oscar nominated actress. An interesting connection to a famous and beloved race horse was discovered from this diary as well! Send us Fan Mail Please go...

A photo album from 1898 was the starting point for Sally to discover the amazing stories of a pioneer family who were instrumental in settling areas near San Francisco--The Mizners.  In this episode you will hear about the seven Mizner children, some of the exploits of two who became quite famous, and the interesting story of the middle kid Henry-- the main subject of the photo album. He wasn&apos...

A young woman named Georgia wrote about her stay in a Tuberculosis Sanitarium in 1927. In this episode we discuss her story, give you some TB facts, recite a poem found tucked into the diary we believe written by our author, and discuss the impressive facility built specifically for TB patients.  Music in this episode: Porch Blues by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/4232-porch-blues L...

From Idaho to Fairhope Alabama,  Henry's life changes as he settles in to live on the Ten acres of land he would call "Tolstoy Park". In this episode we tell you more about Henry, the home he built by himself, and discuss the impact he made on others. You will hear Author Sonny Brewer who wrote a novel inspired by Henry and his unusual home. Henry lived simply and in accordance with...

Our discoveries from the 1911 journal of Henry Stuart took us to DeLamar Idaho, once a bustling mining town and now an almost entirely non existing  ghost town. His story starts there and then takes us to Alabama where Henry built an unusual beehive shaped hut, was known as "The Hermit of Montrose", and the barefooted old man.  He made an impression on many people including well known pu...

Sally occasionally collects handwritten items that are not diaries and this episode is about a collection of Gibson Hotel Detective Call Slips from 1933. We had a little fun with these and hope you find these stories light and fun like we did. Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com  to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

Imagine living at 9000 feet in the Rocky Mountains. The challenges, the weather, struggling to make a living-- a very difficult life but one our diary's author would never have traded away. The story in this episode is about a family that pioneered an area called Pingree Park in Colorado. We also share the unique experience we had during our time researching this diary and the special discove...

Often in Sally's researching a diary, it takes her down rabbit holes of interest. She never knows what she will discover! The story we tell here is a bizarre murder case that happened in Africa in the early  1960's. Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com  to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

SPOILER ALERT: if this is your first Diary Discovery listening experience you may want to go to episode #1 before listening to this one. Our Legendary Passenger's name is revealed in this episode. Thanks to all who played along. You will see why we called him "Legendary" as you learn about this man's life. It had been written this man never kept a diary. He kept at least one! S...

In this episode, our passenger reaches his intended destination. In his diary he writes of his activities as he awaits the arrival of some special guests. Their arrival begins a series of adventures that include fierce thunderstorms, travels by train, horse, and foot, and even an account of people being struck by lightning! The diary concludes with his final entry, and leaves us with some question...

This episode begins with our author preparing for a peaceful night's sleep in his cabin aboard the SS Orotava. Suddenly everything changes as the ship is wrecked! We read his first hand account of this calamity and bring listeners along using his own words. Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com  to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

Sally purchased a diary containing the description of a shipwreck that occurred in 1897. As she read through the diary she began suspecting the unknown author was a noteworthy man. He had not written his name in the diary. Using clues within its pages and researching online, she found articles and books that coincided with what was written in the diary.  In an exciting moment of discovery she real...

Welcome to the Diary Discoveries Podcast! In this introduction we give listeners a little background on Sally and the work she has been doing the last 34 years.  We talk a bit about some of the diaries in her collection and the type of stories we will be telling on the podcast. Thank you so much to Stacy Cochrun for her graphic design talents and to Bret Cochrun for his help with the intro. Send u...