Front Porch Radio - History's Hook

This episode of History’s Hook features the Vietnam reminiscences of Mr. Bill McEwen. A native of Columbia, Tennessee, he graduated from Columbia Military Academy. He attended the University of Tennessee, where he holds both bachelor and master’s degrees. He joined the military in 1966 and after attending Officers Candidate School, was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps. He served i...

Eliza Johnson was hugely influential on her husband Andrew Johnson’s life and career. Married when she was just 16, Eliza was the youngest future first lady to marry. Together, Eliza and Andrew Johnson enjoyed a marriage that lasted some 48 years. She is credited with largely educating her young husband, who had had a difficult childhood with little opportunity for learning. As her husband’s polit...

Cemeteries as we know them today came about in the 1830’s. Prior to that, the dead were typically buried in churchyards and backyards. But with this change, the often elaborate planning of cemeteries resembled park settings, where people went to picnic, hunt, have races…and commune with the dead. Cemeteries were filled with benches and in the absence of museums and galleries and botanical gardens,...

As part of a series on life in the segregation era, History’s Hook hosts, Tom Price and Jo Ann McClellan interview Judge Randolph Baxter who graduated from Carver-Smith Highschool in 1963. He attended Tuskegee University and the University of Akron School of Law. While there he was an ROTC student, Mr. Baxter served his country in the Vietnam War from 1968-1971, achieving the rank of Captain. He w...

Sarah Polk is considered by many historians to be one of the most influential of the 19th century First Ladies. In a time when the position of first lady had no official capacity, Sarah Polk wielded a power seldom enjoyed by women of her age. Having no children of her own, he immersed herself in her husband’s long political career and became his closest advisor. Some historians, including today’s...

Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Spence Armstrong went on to a stellar military career which began at the United States Naval Academy, before transferring to the Air Force to become a pilot. While serving, he became an aerospace engineer and test pilot, flying many different aircraft. By the time the Vietnam War started, Armstrong was a veteran pilot with 11 years flight experience. As a major, he...

Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Spence Armstrong went on to a stellar military career which began at the United States Naval Academy, before transferring to the Air Force to become a pilot. While serving, he became an aerospace engineer and test pilot, flying many different aircraft. By the time the Vietnam War started, Armstrong was a veteran pilot with 11 years flight experience. As a major, he...

From 1861-1865 Tennessee was a battleground during the American Civil War. For the majority of the war, much of Tennessee was occupied by Union troops. What was it like for Tennesseans to live in occupied territory? Conversely, what was it like for Union troops to live in a seceded state? In this episode, hosts Tom Price and Barry Gidcomb are joined by author and historian Dr. Thomas Flagel who di...

On this episode of History’s Hook, hosts Tom Price and Dr. Barry Gidcomb discuss one of the great transformative movements in 19th century America…the Second Great Awakening. This movement brought about a serious upswing in religious thought in America following the Revolutionary War. From this religious awakening came a dramatic increase in membership to various church denominations as well as th...

February 25, 1946 was a pivotal day in the history of the country, but no one knew it at the time. Gladys Stephenson and her son James had a disagreement with a local store over their treatment, and an altercation ensued that sparked a serious racial conflict in a community that had a history of strained race relations. The governor called out the National Guard, blood was shed, and people died. M...

For four generations, the Finney/Kennedy family have been reporting the news in Tennessee. The editors of both local and state newspapers, they have also been involved in politics and radio reporting. Join History’s Hook host Tom Price as he interviews Delk Kennedy and Elizabeth Blackstone about their family’s ties to media and politics in Tennessee.

February 25, 1946 was a pivotal day in the history of the country, but no one knew it at the time. Gladys Stephenson and her son James had a disagreement with a local store over their treatment, and an altercation ensued that sparked a serious racial conflict in a community that had a history of strained race relations. The governor called out the National Guard, blood was shed, and people died. M...

Elias Polk was born into slavery North Carolina, but grew up in Tennessee. The majority of his life was spent serving James K. Polk who would eventually become the 11th President. His life, however, spanned some eighty years, through emancipation, where Elias became politically active in Tennessee. Join Tom, Barry, and Jo Ann and listen to Elias’ story as told by author and historian Zacharie Kins...

From 1846-1848, the United States waged a war against Mexico. In a year and a half, the United States fought across Northern and Central Mexico to “the Halls of the Montezumas” finally capturing Mexico City. A treaty was signed that brought five hundred thousand square miles of territory into the possession of the United States. For the first time, the United States became a truly continental nati...

As part of the series on Tennessee’s three presidents, this episode of History’s Hook focuses on the first of them: Andrew Jackson. Old Hickory, the first populist president changed the face of American politics. Join hosts Tom Price and Dr. Barry Gidcomb as they speak with Marsha Mullin, Vice President of Collections and Research, and chief curator at the Hermitage, The Home of Andrew Jackson, ju...

The Vietnam War was a long, costly and divisive conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam, backed by its communist allies against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The conflict was intensified by the ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. More than 3 million people (including over 58,000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War...

In 1912, Booker T. Washington of the Tuskegee Institute and Julius Rosenwald, philanthropist and president of Sears Roebuck, built state-of-the art schools for African-American children across the South. The effort has been called the most important initiative to advance black education in the early 20th century. At its height, there were some 5300 Rosenwald schools in 15 states that educated more...

Join host Tom Price and former Cold War NSA spy Bob Jones, as they explore the world of espionage in Europe in the early 1950’s. Mr. Jones will tell his harrowing stories of intelligence gathering against America’s enemies and allies as the United States and the Soviet Union vied for global domination.

To assist the formerly enslaved in their transition to freedom, the federal government inaugurated a program called the Freedmen’s Bureau. Created in March of 1865, its initial purpose was to "direct… provisions, clothing, and fuel, as may be deemed needful for the immediate and temporary shelter and supply of destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen and their wives and children." Over the ne...

Starting life off from the humblest beginnings, Andrew Johnson rose from a simple tailor to a statesman. The only Southerner to remain in the Senate following secession, Johnson was chosen by Abraham Lincoln as his vice-president in 1864. Following Lincoln’s assassination a few months later, Johnson found himself hated by many of his fellow Tennesseans and distrusted by the Washington establishmen...

Tennessee boasts three presidents. Host Tom Price begins his three part presidential series by interviewing the long-time director of the President James K. Polk Home and Museum, John Holtzapple. Polk is one of the least-known presidents in American history, but as you will hear, deserves to be remembered as one of the most successful. His accomplishments include starting the Naval Academy, the mo...

In 1954, Mr. Bob Jones was just 21 years old, but already an experienced spy for the American National Security Agency. One of the very first NSA field agents, his missions frequently brought him to Europe where he was tasked with gathering information about America’s allies as well as its enemies. His is a story full of intrigue, violence, and espionage. Mr. Jones has recorded his incredible stor...

In the summer of 1977, forty-two people perished in the worst jail fire in Tennessee’s history. The tragedy garnered national news attention and led to many new laws pertaining to jail safety. Author Cindy Tinsley talks about the tragedy, heroism, and how her research culminated in a book, “Tragedy in Small Town Tennessee.”

History’s Hook hosts Tom Price and Jo Ann McClellan discuss the lives of several African-Americans who started life in Maury County, Tennessee and went on to national acclaim in various pursuits. Included are the stories of renowned chef to the rich and famous, Rufus Estes; Moses McKissack, a brick maker whose descendants include some of the most highly sought-after architects in the world; and Re...