Ozarkian Folk Chronicles - Your Podcast About the Ozarks

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!

The Chronicles is not only interested in learning about our Ozarks past but also learning about the exciting, creative things Ozarkers are doing today! Brandon Moore is a wonderful example of that creativity; he is a singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist who has poured his life and talent into the "Springfield sound," and in this episode, he brings that talent as well as his open-hearted enthusiasm to the podcast! Rounded out with another "Story about the Storytellers," this is another episode we know you'll enjoy!

Missouri's Old Lead Belt vampire--Orlin Eaton (maybe)--was accused of leaving his grave and poisoning children. While the historical record concerning Orlin was sketchy, the historical context is not: World War I was raging in Europe, child mortality was on the rise in the mining camps, Hungarian immigrants in the Lead Belt were held in suspicion, and the miners needed someone to blame. Out of the subsequent riots emerged a folktale with roots in the blood libel of the Middle Ages, and the Chronicles digs deep to show the continuing relevance of such stories to our own time. History, folklore, and ethnology converge in this episode with disturbing implications for us all.

Nick Sibley is a highly regarded jingle writer--think O, O, O, O'Reilly . . . auto parts!--and musician who currently is playing back up with Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Captain Sibley, Nick's son, spent his eighteenth year touring with Tony Orlando--Captain plays bass--and now with Lee Greenwood. The Chronicles unites father and son in this special episode featuring the original music of Nick and Captain Sibley. Ozarks music is alive and well, and these gentlemen are the proof! This is a special episode we know you'll enjoy!

In her book Yellow Jack and Turpentine, Mara Cohen traces the travels and travails of a group of Jewish refugees from Odessa, Russia, to the port city of Hamburg, Germany, to New York City and eventually to the banks of the White River near Newport, Arkansas. The group set out with the intention of becoming a farming community only to find an inhospitable land of poor soil, a flooding river, and disease bearing mosquitoes that would eventually defeat their experiment. "Yellow jack" was the idiom for yellow fever, and turpentine was the ostensible cure, but perseverance characterized their settlement in the Ozarks. Mara's story is one you're sure to enjoy!