Ozarkian Folk Chronicles - Your Podcast About the Ozarks

Ozarks historian, Dr. Brooks Blevins, discovered an excerpt from a diary of Vance Randolph and passed it along to Curtis. The entry recalls a 1932 trip that Randolph took with Thames Williamson, author of The Woods Colt, from Fayetteville to Mountain View, Arkansas. While in Fayetteville, the two men met up with Charles Morrow Wilson and Charles Finger, both prolific and highly regarded Ozarks authors. Join the Chronicles for this special road trip through the Ozarks of a century ago!

Jacob McIntosh is a ninth-generation Ozarker who's been fish gigging since his grandpa took him out at the age of 14. Jacob brings his extensive experience and knowledge to the Chronicles on what is perhaps the most Ozarkian sport of all, gigging suckers. Then Curtis, Crystal, and Hayden join Jacob on the James River to take a turn at fish gigging themselves. At twenty-eight degrees, the river air was chill, but the experience was fantastic! Warning: Gigging and cleaning suckers is not pretty, but the eating sure is good!

Travis Holt, Ozarks author and blogger, returns to the Chronicles with a Pope County, Arkansas, story, this one about the lay-in-wait shooting of a peddler. Drawing from meticulous research, Travis shares this true crime tale and ponders exactly who did what on that fateful day. What we do know is this: The hills harbor thousands of stories that are profane, profound, preposterous, and impressive, and we, along with many others including Travis, are doing our best never to let them slip into oblivion.

In 1859, a group of Irish Catholics led by a dynamic and resourceful priest, Father John Hogan, attempted to create a settlement in the southeastern Ozarks. Of course, the clouds of war were already gathering on the horizon, and all too soon those clouds broke with all the ferocity of a hurricane. Situated as it was between Union and Confederate forces--not to mention its vulnerability to bushwhackers and other opportunists--the little colony was destined for extinction. Crystal and Leland Payton poured their hearts and labor into learning all they could about Father Hogan and his ill-fated flock. Join the Chronicles for a look at another "Movement on the Margins," the fascinating story of the Irish Wilderness.

After the notorious bushwhacker Alf Bolin was killed, soldiers decided to take his body to Ozark. On the way, however, they decapitated Bolin and buried his body. No one knows exactly where the grave site is, though a description of the site was recorded by Doug Mahnkey, a prominent Taney County lawyer. Join the Chronicles as Jeff Michel and Tammy Morton, both experienced grave dowsers, take their dowsing rods into the field in search of Bolin's body. Do they succeed? That's for you to decide! In any case, we know you'll enjoy this fascinating intersection of history, folklore, and the ancient practice of dowsing.

May Kennedy McCord is an Ozarker of legendary status, a beloved defender of hillbillies, and a gentle Renegade of Folk. From collecting ballads to sticking up for Vance Randolph to sharing the story of the Ozarks across the country, May Kennedy McCord promoted, protected, and persistently loved all things Ozarks. Dr. Kris Sutliff is well-situated to talk about May because she is co-author with Patty McCord, May's granddaughter, of May's biography: May Kennedy McCord: Queen of the Hillbillies published by the University of Arkansas Press. May was an author, radio personality, and ballad singer, and we know you'll enjoy getting to know her better!