Within The Realm

The old Arapaho Powderface had been named a "Chief" by the Federal Government, one of a few tribal headmen to treat with and later ignore. The newspaper called him "obstinate," and it cost him his life. And the story was soon forgotten, how the "Chief" had been shot by a Dewey County Deputy while resisting arrest, left in the yellowing pages of old newspapers in an archive in Oklahoma City. Except...

Up to early March of 2026, only one tornado had struck tiny Wakita, Ok - the fictional storm in the 1996 movie Twister. Folks in those parts said a more than century old Indian blessing was the reason. In the late night hours of that March night, Wakita's first (non-lethal, thank heavens!) tornado touched down. In this episode we re-listen to the story of Wakita. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! SUPPOR...

Wiley Post made headlines. He crushed the record for circumnavigating the globe and then broke his own record a year later with the first solo trip around the world. He reached unheard of heights in his plane, the Winnie Mae, verifying the existence of the jet stream. His final flight ended in headlines reporting his death and that of his traveling companion, Will Rogers. A short but spectacular p...

It took years to get the ball rolling but the Texas County landscape would soon have a good sized body of water provided by the Corps of Engineers. It was to provide all the usual things a lake would, especially high-paying government jobs and money flowing through local businesses. As the construction wore on, conditions kept getting dryer and dryer. Just as dollars were not flowing into the loca...

A milestone - a marker on a real or figurative trail that allows you to know how far you've come and how far you've got to go. Here on our 150th episode, I take a moment to consider this particular milestone. Episodes featured : From Kansas to the Keiper Belt Granddad's Prayer Aid For The Tenth Leper The Music of Clearviews: Clearviews - Band Camp page   SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! SUPPORT INDEPEN...

For this episode, we will depart from the usual back road or mountain trail, far from where the Great Plains, the Ozark Mountains and the Indian Territory collide for the cobble stone street of London, 1854. This story has all the elements of a good Within The Realm tale: A significant event in an overlooked place, this time just with an English accent! Our story involves a doctor on the cutting e...

The Piggy Bank, that most useful tool in teaching thrift and saving for a rainy day. The idea has been around for centuries, but the concept of a little slotted-back pig in every child's room is pretty recent and from the unlikely starting point of White Cloud, Kansas. The bank was inspired by Pete the Pig, sold by Wilbur Chapman to lend aid to the world's lepers. Pete's inspiration eventually ins...

An old fan used by my Grandfather to provide a little respite from the Oklahoma summer heat had a history. It had been purchased three decades before I became fascinated with it, listening to it's ancient blades whir during his afternoon naps. I later learned it figured prominently in a sad chapter in the family story and represented progress during a tumultuous time in American history.     SUPPO...

Katie DeWitt had come to the Oklahoma Territory to get herself a piece of the disappearing American Frontier. She taught school there in what would become Dewey County, perfected her claim to a farmstead,married and had a child, all by the age of 29. On July 6, 1905, She made the trip into Taloga, the County Seat, to file for divorce from her husband Luther James. Two days later during a trip to v...

Traditions have to start somewhere. I was present at the birth of a new tradition for a bunch of fellow Okies living in Kansas involving a favorite food from our home state. A few things had to fall into place before the tradition was born - like the invention of the Frito and for the daytime high temperature not to exceed a certain limit!   SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! SUPPORT INDEPENDENT VOICES!...

The American Elm was the "go to" tree as the thing planted for shade in the mostly treeless Great Plains. As those Plains gave way to villages and towns and then to cities, the American Elm was the favored "street tree" that lined the streets in idyllic neighborhoods. There is an American Elm that has stood in Oklahoma City since before statehood, overlooked an ignored, that is, until April 19, 19...

All the kids had been raised and the youngest grandkid was starting school, it was time for a new chapter for Emma Belle. The next big step required a high school diploma and a driver's license, two things she didn't have. What she did have was a lot of grit and determination...throw in a used Nash Rambler and the rest was history!   The story of Mack and Emma Belle's sudden wedding!: Keeper of th...

Sometimes it takes decades for a story to come around. Years ago I made a deal to acquire a particular guitar and though many a day has passed since the agreement was made, the instrument has made it into my home. It's a story of youth, hopes, dreams and loss...but mostly about the friends you find through music.   SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Episode archive, news and more! Check out all we have t...

Chief Bowles or Duwali was a name familiar across the American Frontier two hundred years ago. As headman of the Cherokees west of the Mississippi River, he saw his people through many a trying time. His favor was curried by the many rulers and would-be rulers of the territories where the Cherokees resided. As a gesture of friendship, he was given a sword by soon-to-be Texas President Sam Houston....

In the early days of the 20th century, things were changing - and fast! Electric lights, flying machines and the automobile were pushing their way into the center of attention. Folks, especioally here Within The Realm, were a scrappy sort. When the autos did make their way to the streets of Stilwell, splendid Stilwell, a local took up the challenge to make one for himself. In this epsiode: An exce...

There were some heroes from the Second World War that didn't get much further than a few miles from home to perform a service that resonated from the Heartland of America to halls of power in London. This is a story about quiet duty and humility, about the work of half of one's life and the British Plot in a part of Oklahoma that is Forever England.   SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Check out all we h...

There is a little out of the way place in the Ozarks, tucked down in the corner of Missouri, not far from Arkansas, not far from Oklahoma, that has carved out a name for itself during the Christmas holiday. A few things had to fall into place, even a little change of name, to give rise to this mountain tradition, one that is still going strong today and one you can take part in! SUPPORT INDEPENDEN...

Octagon City was an attempt at establishing a vegetarian Utopia on the plains of Kansas in the mid 1850s. The Reformers of the Day were out to change the world through Phrenology, avoiding the evils of liquor, coffee and tea, limiting the spread of slavery and improving their life through a meat-less diet. A little spot on the banks of the Neosho River was chosen. The vegetarian emigrants also bel...

A serious technical glitch has not only prevented me from getting episodes out in the past couple of weeks, but has also lost most of my work over the past few months to the digital ether-world! The first thing I thought of when I digested the news? Less than comforting words from an old Mark Twain novel.   SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Check out all we have to offer at  withinpodcast.com ! Want to...

On a hilltop in Kansas stands a weather-beaten monument to the Indian, who at the time of the placement of the statue was becoming a memory of days gone by. The statue continues it's vigil over the valley below but in the overgrowth of the hill, it is unseen, except for those who know where to look. The Indian, the statue, has a story that mirrors the Indian, the people.  The Indian c. 1920 The In...

The Air Conditioning gave up the ghost this weekend, so I have a few things I'm juggling along with this podcast schedule, but it got me to thinking about a few things...so here are a few of those thoughts. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Check out all we have to offer at  withinpodcast.com ! Want to advertise, sponsor or otherwise support Within The Realm? Visit with us at  contact@withinpodcast.com...

Even out here in the windswept section of the place where the Great Plains, the Ozark Mountains and the Indian Territory collide, small, sometimes forgotten things may have a bigger impact than you know. An important discovery near the little burg of Dexter, Kansas, or the lack of that discovery had a big impact on another burg, the Hindenburg which exploded as it was mooring in New Jersey in 1937...

Back in the day, local TV news was important, especially the weather forecast, here in Tornado Alley. One Weatherman here in the place where the Great Plains, the Ozark Mountains and the Indian Territory collide developed a great gimmick to get kids to watch the forecast. The gimmick? The chance to hear your name on TV and get a drawing from the weatherman himself! The weatherman was the legendary...

We believe our dogs to have a special bond with us. It's something sacred to those of us who have been forged into better people by the love of a little black rescue dog. Let me tell you about my dog, Boomer.   SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Check out all we have to offer at  withinpodcast.com ! Want to advertise, sponsor or otherwise support Within The Realm? Visit with us at  contact@withinpodcast....

The Spring of 1954, somewhere in northwestern Oklahoma. A group of upstart high schoolers form a marching band to represent their school at sporting events after the school could no longer send along the official band. From there, small gestures from folks in town made the idea work. A story worthy of a Hallmark movie, but packed with lessons how to make things happen! withinpodcast.com Other stor...