Your History Your Story

Holly Campbell gave birth to her son, Jake in 2007. At just two and a half months old, Jake suddenly stopped breathing and was rushed to the hospital. The following day, Holly and her husband were told the devastating news that their baby was not going to survive. In their grief, they wanted to give their son a legacy and help others, so the selfless decision to donate Jake’s heart was made. Durin...

Thomas Smallwood was born into slavery in Maryland in 1801. Smallwood, a shoemaker, later moved to Washington DC where, at age 30, he was able to purchase his freedom. While living in Washington, he witnessed the day to day activities of slave traders who were involved in selling enslaved blacks into the Deep South, where they would work on cotton and sugar plantations. The domestic slave trade of...

During the first months of World War II, in anticipation of bombing raids and a possible invasion by Hitler’s Germany, the British government ordered the evacuation of children from London and other cities that might become potential targets. The effort was dubbed “Operation Pied Piper” resulting in hundreds of thousands of children being evacuated to rural areas of the country. Two such children...

The Nothnagle Log Home is an historic log cabin located near the Nehaunsey Creek in Gibbstown, Gloucester County, New Jersey. The cabin was built by Finnish settlers in the mid 17th century using tongue and groove construction without the use of any nails. It is considered to be one of the oldest log cabins of its type in its original location in the United States. In addition to its early Finnish...

Jimmy Hawkins is a classic TV and film actor known best for his role as Tommy Bailey in the iconic 1946 film “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In addition to this Christmas classic, he has appeared in various other films and television shows throughout his career including, Leave it to Beaver, Petticoat Junction & the Donna Reed Show. Jimmy also appeared with the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley in...

Born in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania on June 25, 1886, Henry Harley Arnold, later nicknamed “Hap”, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1907. Initially commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the infantry, a role he disliked, Arnold later jumped at the opportunity to train at the Wright Brothers Aviation School in Dayton, Ohio. It was there, in 1911, he became one of the first...

Justin Breen was only thirteen years old when his dad passed away. Thankfully, Justin’s dad, who was a US soldier in Europe during WWII and a gifted storyteller, had left a diary. The diary included detailed descriptions of his perilous war experiences and demonstrated to Justin his father’s instinctive ability to survive and succeed. By reading his father’s diary, Justin was able to learn more ab...

Dwight David Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas on October 14, 1890, the third of seven sons of David and Ida Eisenhower. Not long after Dwight’s birth, the family moved to Abilene, Kansas where he grew up. Dwight later attended West Point Military Academy, graduating in 1915 and soon after met Mamie Doud, who would become the love of his life. The two would be married for over fifty years. Eis...

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans , also known as the “King of the Cowboys” and “Queen of the West”, were household names throughout most of the second half of the 20th century. Following several failed marriages each, they married in 1947 and remained married for over 50 years until Roy’s passing in 1998. During their successful careers, the couple starred in numerous western films, often alongside Roy’s...

Cuba’s revolutionary history dates back to the early 1950’s when the seeds were first planted for the eventual armed overthrow of Fulgencio Batista’s government by Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries on January 1, 1959. Against all odds and despite many attempts to remove him from power, Castro remained as Cuba’s leader until 2008, after nearly 50 years as the nation’s leader. Our guest on this e...

In this episode of Your History Your Story , we will be speaking with Mike Purdy . Mike, who is a presidential historian, author and media commentator was a guest on a recent episode of ours titled “Presidential Friendships: How They Changed History” (S7 Ep 06). While working on that earlier episode with Mike, we learned that he was in the process of battling metastatic prostate cancer and had jus...

In the early 19th century, Americans seeking to escape crowded coastal towns and cities, began to settle further inland, away from navigable waterways. Since passable roads were scarce at that time, it became necessary to develop a transportation system that would enable the movement of goods across inland routes. The canal system was a man-made waterway, where boats and barges powered by mules wo...

The very popular situation comedy, “Happy Days” ran for eleven seasons beginning in January 1974 and ending in July 1984. The series was set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the 1950’s and early 1960’s and was centered around teenager, Richie Cunningham (played by Ron Howard), his family and friends, Potsie, Ralph and the local tough guy, Arthur Fonzarelli, known as “The Fonz”. A prominent figure in the...

Music is a universal language that often brings people back to a feeling, time or event in their lives. In this episode of Your History Your Story , we will be speaking with Roger Hall , who developed a website that preserves historical American music. Roger is a composer and Music Preservationist who holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Theory and Composition, an M.A. in Ethnomusicology and a Ph. D...

Back in 2004, a young UC Berkeley engineering student, William Hung quickly rose to stardom following his rejection from the widely popular television show, American Idol.  William, along with his mother and father, had immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong in 1993 when he was 10 years old. While adjusting to a new language and culture, he developed an early love for music by singing kara...

Throughout the history of the United States, many Commanders In Chief knew each other and their lives intersected in a number of ways.  Sometimes their political and personal interactions would result  in conflict and other times in harmony. However, in some instances, relationships developed into strong personal friendships and mutually beneficial political alliances.  In this epis...

Once proclaimed “The Eighth Wonder of the World”, the iconic Brooklyn Bridge was constructed between 1869 and 1883 to span the East River and connect what used to be the two independent cities of New York and Brooklyn. Applying  masterful engineering, fortitude and determination, Chief engineers John and Washington Roebling used new technological innovations to plan and build what is now one of Am...

In this episode of Your History Your Story, we will be speaking with author and college English professor, Gretchen Weiss Dubit.  Gretchen was a previous guest on our show (S2 Ep09) along with her brother Carl & sister Christina. Together, they told the story of their grandfather, Dr. Carl A. Weiss Sr., who was accused of being the assassin of controversial Louisiana Senator, Huey Long in 1935. Du...

In June 1913, a little over a year since the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic, the Karluk , which was the flagship of a three vessel Canadian Arctic expedition set off from British Columbia, near the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The expedition’s mission was to conduct geographical and scientific exploration in an area lying between Alaska and the North Pole. The leader...

Jim Meskimen is a professional actor, comedian and impressionist and those are only a few of his talents! Jim is also the son of America’s favorite mom,  Marion Ross , who played Mrs. Cunningham or commonly called Mrs. C on the hit television show, Happy Days .   Jim’s acting credits include the movies, How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Apollo 13. He has also appeared on television...

Today, we begin season 7 of Your History Your Story with a popular returning guest, Marty Blumberg . Marty was on our show back in season 3 talking about his first book, My Brooklyn, My Way.  Marty has recently published a second book called “ Going Back to Brooklyn ”. It’s a fun, coffee table book filled with stories and poems about his experiences growing up in Brooklyn during the 1950’s. H...

As Hitler’s army advanced through Western Europe in the spring of 1940, Democratic President, Franklin D. Roosevelt was faced with an extremely serious situation. He was keenly aware of the need for the United States to confront global fascism, yet he also knew the overwhelming sentiment of the American people at that time was one of isolationism. As a result of the horrific losses suffered during...

Jim Thorpe was born in the late 1880’s in what was then known as Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma. Thorpe who was predominantly of Native American descent, was a member of the Sac & Fox Nation. However, his father who had some European blood, felt that it was important for his son to attend school and assimilate into the English speaking culture.  After a series of tragic perso...

As we enter the 2022 Christmas season, many of us will be decorating our homes, purchasing gifts, listening to our favorite holiday music and settling our plans to visit and celebrate with friends and loved ones. However, as we busy ourselves with many activities of the season, we should pause to remember Christmas’ from long ago and reflect upon how those memories and traditions from our childhoo...

*This is our 1st live video recorded in a studio!* In this episode of Your History Your Story, our guest is author, inspirational speaker and passionate animal advocate, Charlie Cifarelli. Charlie will talk about his recently released autobiography “14th & 2nd” and will share stories from his life journey, which brought him from the streets of New York City to the cornfields of Nebraska. Charlie,...