Lily Flagg's Signal

The Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll is one of my favorite reenactment events, as it's a time that thousands of Huntsville residents come out to see local historical figures "come alive".  As one of the sixty or so costumed character actors at this year's stroll, I thought it would be fun to share a little bit about my character - Mrs. Bessie K. Russell - and walk you through a day at the stroll. F...

The Lily Flagg's Signal Preserving Huntsville History series is a collection of interviews with local historians, preservationists, storytellers, and other experts passionate about saving and sharing the history of Huntsville, Alabama.  In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with Heather Adkins,  Manager of Special Collections at the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (HMCP...

Who was Huntsville's first mayor?  When I looked online, everywhere I found said the leader from 1812 to 1816 was "unknown," and that just wouldn't do.  The search for the answer to this seemingly simple question lead me down a rabbit hole of historical figures, terminology (was it "president" or "mayor"?), and eventually to the discovery that the internet and other modern writings are s...

I knew an older fellow who once used the phrase “looks like the southbound end of a northbound horse” to describe things that were just a little bit... off in appearance. Horses are one thing, but what about houses? What if your house was supposed to face south, but the person in charge of building it had no idea how to read the blueprints and ended up having the house built facing north? Then wha...

Any story that starts off "It was a dark and stormy night..." is sure to be dramatic, but did you know Huntsville has its own such tale?  This mini-episode (12 mins) tells the story of a group of 1930s Army pilots - a.k.a. "Birdmen" - in need of a place to make a night-time emergency landing and how the bright lights of the Russel-Erskine Hotel led them to Huntsville... except it was 1930s Hu...

Welcome to Lily Flagg's Signal, a lovingly-researched podcast that explores the fascinating history of Huntsville, Alabama.  aSeason two will begin on January 23, 2023 with even more fun facts, interviews, and findings from the archives!  In the meantime, you can follow along on the show's Instagram (@lilyflaggpodcast)