Tales From Southern Indiana

Mitchell’s Persimmon Festival is right up there with the Potato Festival on the old Andy Griffith Show on the list of great fall harvest festivals. In olden days these festivals also promoted fertility, and there’s some bad news for Lawrence County on that front. But good fortune still shines down on the Persimmon and its best and most tasty use, Persimmon Pudding.

Back in the day, there were a lot of brain eaters in southern Indiana -- pork brain eaters, that is -- because they were a bargain at 15 cents a pound and we needed to make money stretch.  Recalling that cuisine reminded me of my favorite scary movie and my favorite scary movie tv show, Nightmare Theater.  Listen at your peril, as you may end up with a habit of checking your shoulder to...

Smoking at age 9 and drinking coffee at age 3 were not uncommon sights in Southern Indiana when I grew up. Hear about the unhealthy effects of cigarettes on leeches and other news of note regarding caffeine and nicotine back in the day.

All about the strange phenomenon of tv when it first arrived in Southern Indiana in 1930, the Indiana farm boy genius who supposedly made a million bucks with his TV invention, and my own experience as a Nielsen family.

In the days before embalming, being buried alive was apparently an irksome event - here are some accounts of Hoosiers narrowly avoiding premature entombment, plus the lighter side of being buried alive, and helpful tips for surviving the whole ordeal.

There used to be panthers all over the place in Southern Indiana until we killed then all - but now they’re coming back, and they have a long memory! Fortunately the government has some advice on what to do if you encounter a panther.

Restaurant dining options in Mitchell Indiana in the '60's - the combination salad, Persimmon pudding, and important safety tips on toaster repair.

More details of the Oolitic mob of 1906 that avenged the honor of a dead man through immediate civic action, plus tales of the "toy gunman" of Mitchell, the perils of making nitro bombs with light bulbs, neck carbuncles, and dangerous charity chicken. TLNsv61IXRgaid8tczcb

Catching up on local news of the day back in the early 1900's in and around Lawrence County, shedding new light on the dangers of mixing love with dynamite, speaking ill of the dead, and chewing tobacco to excess.

My big brother is the source of many of the stories in this podcast, so following his recent passing it seems only fitting to share a few of his stories about himself.

The best known cave near my home town was Donaldson's Cave. Its namesake was a fascinating person - polar bear hunter, world traveler, and wealthy - and, not surprisingly, not all that well liked by the local residents. Here is a bit of his story.

Recollections of buildings burned and destoyed under suspicious circumstances, including revenge for the Moody murder, and the 1908 purification by fire of Mitchell's only university, SIN College.

"Rough on Rats" was a popular pest poison from the turn if the last century that was used so often by women to poison their spouses that it might have been called "Rough on Husband's". Sharing storiea of some historical murders in Southern Indiana, including my home town.

Thoughts about Indiana high school basketball, my little home town's only trip to the state basketball tournament finals in 1940, and embalming.

How time flies now, and how time crawled when I was a kid. Recollections of the things we found to do to pass the time.

Memories of Thanksgiving in Southern Indiana a ways back, with seldom seen relatives who kept whatever they were grateful for to themselves.

My three day Career as a postal worker taught me respect for the hard work postal employees do, and appreciation of my own limitations.

Lots of prejudice and not so much pride describes a lot of the history of Southern Indiana that I recall, including persecution of and armed warfare against Italian limestone quarry workers. Hear the graphic gunfight descriptions in the old newspaper articles from the early 1900's, which included reports of considerable violence against shoes.

The clouds where I grew up in Southern Indiana weren't just made of moisture - some were floating cement dust. Also sharing a related memorable explosion from 1961.

One thing a lot of folks from southern Indiana are simply unwilling to do is bargain for something - it just goes against the grain of who we are.

My home town's version of the Keystone Cops makes a big bust in 1959, nabbing 5 poker players (including my father), 5 decks of cards and $110, striking a righteous blow against the evils of gambling. Hear the complete newspaper report from page one of the May 2, 1959 edition of the Bedford Daily Times-Mail!

Fond memories of switches and paddles at home and school, and the rules and practices that went with them.

Where I grew up, shooting at people and missing, or shooting them with a shotgun with shells filled with rock salt, was not considered an arrestable offense.

You can buy a real haunted house for sale in my home town. It's located not too far from the remains of the Limestone Replica of the Great Pyramid.

Our Scoutmaster was the school janitor. He was also the smartest Man in town.