Foxfire is the bioluminescence created by some species of fungi present in decaying wood. It is a wonderfully evocative word selected by a teacher and student over 50 years ago to be the title for their new project to document life in the southern Appalachians. What started initially as a student project has live on […]
Do you ever wonder how authors and historians can keep writing new books about the same ‘ole history? Shouldn’t it never change because it’s all in the past? The truth is anything but. No one can explain that better than our guest, Dennis Frye – having been involved in everything from giving tours to leading nationally important […]
In a world where rational, scientific explanations are more available than ever, belief in the unprovable and irrational – in fringe – is on the rise: from Atlantis to aliens, from Flat Earth to the Loch Ness monster, the list goes on. Enter Colin Dickey, Cultural Historian and Tour Guide of the Weird. With the […]
It has been historically all too easy for the places associated with underrepresented communities to fall through the cracks of the historic record. To a degree, that has been the case with the overly-simplified history presented of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. But with the recent spotlight on the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment, new research […]
Gettysburg is a special place and has been since the ground was made hallowed by soldiers nearly 160 years ago. Today, as America grapples with its history – especially its Civil War history – places like Gettysburg are critical to the understanding of who we are and where we are headed. Today’s guest is responsible […]
When most people think of a historic site or landscape, they don’t think about the future. Today’s guest is not most people. Siân Phillips is a renewable energy specialist with the National Trust of England, Wales and Northern Ireland – a legendary preservation organization which is charting a new course for historic places – they’re […]
Few names have become as synonymous with grit, determination, and liberty as Harriet Tubman. A Moses for her people, Tubman has become an almost mythical character who represents the best of the American spirit in the face of incredible suffering and inhumanity. Yet, for many years, she lacked a rigorous and scholarly biography. Today’s guest, […]
Nestled among the verdant fields and winding streams of the Genesee River Valley in upstate New York is one of America’s largest living history museums. Founded in 1966, the Genesee Country Village & Museum features 68 historic structures from the 19th century, moved from locations throughout Western New York, a gallery of sporting art, and […]
The story of where we live is uniquely personal. Many historic homes have been preserved and opened to the public – places that tell a story about the way we once lived. However, American public housing – places built and maintained by governments – has been long been overlooked, forgotten, and worse yet, maligned. Today’s […]
As America confronts, commemorates, and questions its history – preservationists like Catherine Fleming Bruce are helping to frame those conversations and providing powerful examples of how historic places can help us in these challenging times. Bruce is the author of an award-winning book on sustaining the sacred spaces of civil rights, human rights, and social movements and […]