Manhattan Pickle Emporium Still Has Juice (NPR)

From NPR News:

by Sarah Reynolds


"What good is a steak or a hot dog without pickles? Everybody has their own taste. I like half sours, my mother loves sours" - Len Zurling, customer

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113763154

Journey into Nebraska Podcast: A Traditional Scandinavian Christmas on the Plains

Christmas is Santa Claus, mistletoe and the giant tree at Rockefeller Center. But It’s also so many smaller seasonal traditions and customs.

One such regional traditional Christmas can be found in Elkhorn, Nebraska. It was there on the Prairies and the Great Plains that many Scandinavians made their home.

This heritage is celebrated each year at the Little Scandinavian novelty shop on Main Street, the Old Lincoln Highway.

Christmas traditions from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland are to be found being celebrated. There’s food and music and customs in the midst Norwegian sweaters, Scandinavian textiles, candles napkins and other novelty gifts. There’s a Scandinavian Deli, and even free coffee and Scandinavian Ginger Snaps.

In this “Journey into Nebraska” we speak with Leona Anderson of the Little Scandinavia about her little corner of Scandinavia in Nebraska and how they celebrate and preserve their traditions at Christmas-time there.

Yopu can hear the podcast @ http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=325

Podcast: 50 Years of Rocky the Squirrel & Bullwinkle J. Moose

On November 19, 1959. Rocky and Bullwinkle first went on the air. “Tongue in cheek dialogue” contrasted with the simple plots in which Rocky (Rocket J. Squirrel) and Bullwinkle Moose tangled in Cold War fashion with Soviet bad guy Boris Badinov and his wife, “The Beautiful” Natasha (who worked for Mr. Big).

Other popular features on the show included “Fractured Fairy Tales” (with Everett Edward Horton), “Bullwinkle’s Corner” and the Adventures of Sherman and Mr. Peabody (an intelligent talking dog). In 1961, the program was re-named the Bullwinkle Show, though characters and format remained the same.

Joining us to talk about it and more is regular “Journey into Hidden America” contributor Bob Thompson, the Trustee Professor of Television and Popular Culture at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture.

You can hear the podcast @ http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=315

Podcast: Road trips to Prepare for a Traditional Thanksgiving

“Over the river and through the woods” goes the song.

Many of us have a mental picture about the perfect Thanksgiving. Some of su extend tis image beyond the Thanksgiving to the preparations for Thanksgiving Day as well.

In this Journey into Hidden America, we speak with contributor Elizabeth Muse from A Days Outing about some ideas for shopping which can take beyond the mega-Super Market and the local parking lot to places beyond the interstate and off the beaten path – places for superior food and a quality life experience too.

You can hear the podcast @ http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=313

Podcast: Frankenstein Friday

We talk with Ron MacCloskey, founder of Frankenstein Friday and The Franky Awards.

This holiday has been designed to honor and celebrate the “mother” and “father” of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and Boris Karloff. Every year a different venue is used to celebrate the occasion. In years past it has included a torchlighting ceremony, film festival and awarding of THE FRANKY.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=301

Lincoln Highway the Way It Was: Tiny stretch of bricks keeps Omaha suburb alive

Folks doing business in historic downtown Elkhorn know that they are in the midst of a much larger city, having been annexed by the City of Omaha a couple years ago. But they still have their brick streets in the mingle of quaint restaurants and shops as well as one of the most pristine remnants of the old Lincoln Highway – in the original brick and narrow lanes. It has sparked a neighborhood revival.

Leona Anderson of Little Scandinavia from Elkhorn joins us to talk about it in this “Journey into Nebraska”.

http://conversationsontheroad.podbus.com/?p=291

A Triple XXX Family Restaurant

It’s not what it sounds like.

The Triple XXX Restaurant in Lafayette, Indiana is not only a family-friendly place, it has been revered by adults and kids alike for generations.

Based on a famous line of root beer, it is now serving up a new generation its classic cuisine and atmosphere.

Owner Craig Ehresman explains some what continues to make the Triple XXX so meaningful and make it a place to go.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

A Path to Great Weekend Trips: A Day's Outing

We’re not the only ones around who can lead you to intersting places beyond the interstate and off the beaten path.

A Day’s Outing is a free online guide to find activities for day and weekend trips, based on your specific location and your personal interests. All you have to do is answer four simple questions and you are on your way. Just state where you are starting from, select the types of outings, whether it is a farmers’ market, a museum exhibit or wine festival, then determine the amount of time you have available to reach the outing itself, and finally, supply the day you want to go.

A Day’s Outing reveals the undiscovered activities that surround you every day, wether you are starting from your home, or are visiting an unknown city while on a business trip or vacation.

We speak with A Day’s Outing founder Elizabeth Muse about how she can help you find some of the great weekend happenings that are just around the corner.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Orphan Motor Company: Nebraska’s last Packard Dealership gets new life

Bob Cox lives on a sprawling ranch in the Nebraska Panhandle. He sells ag real estate and insurance. He collects old cars, cars that are now orphans. Packards, Plymouths, Oldsmobiles. He also restores and sells a few, prefers to drive old Mopars like his rare 1963 Chrysler 300H and a 1965 Barracuda. A year ago he bought and restored the state’s last surviving Packard dealership in Scottsbluff. The dealer went out of business shortly after the last Packard rolled off the assembly line in Indiana. Today there’s a 1946 Packard in the showroom again, reminiscent of the one that his folks brought him home in from the hospital.

In this “Journey into Nebraska”, we speak with Bob Cox about the Orphan Motor Comapny, and just what it has meant to him, others and the community.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

How a Texas Business Became a Destination: A Nursery, Tea Room & The World’s Largest Teapot

Located on Hwy 6 in Navasota, 15 minutes south of Bryan-College Station and just an hours drive from Houston, Martha’s Bloomers opened in 2000 as a Home and Garden store and has grown into a dining experience and all-day shopping destination.

We speak with Sturat Thompson, founder of Martha’s Bloomers about how he started this business and how it has evolved over the years. We were especially interested in the World’s Largest Teapot, which came as an outgrowth of a tea room he installed to go along with the garden shop.

It also has one of the largest green houses in the area filled with lush tropical plants.

In addtion, there is a pottery house , which was originally a 90 year old, barn-type treasure, was spared from demolition and moved from its original location in Brenham to Navasota. The pottery house is overflowing with glazed and terra cotta pottery from around the world.

It’s a unique success story that we are happy to share with you.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Where They throw Rolls at Those Dining

Lambert’s Cafe is known as “Home of the Throwed Rolls”. Though it is distinguished from other restaurants by its policy of providing large 32 oz.. drinks, a list of side items that are passed around to all customers, and free refills on nearly all entrees, it is most famous for throwing their homemade dinner rolls to the customers.

We speak with Jerry Johnson from Sikeston, Missouri about the roll-throwing tradition, and how Lamberts has pleased customers from its early days on Main Street in Sikeston until today – where Lamberts touts three locations (Ozark, Missouri and Foley, Alabama) and brings loyal customers from far away.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

"The World's Biggest Cupcake"

You may have recently seen the picture on the internet – that of JodiLee Knops celebrating the setting of the Guinness record for the world’s largest cupcake at Mall of America in Minneapolis on Saturday July 18, 2009. It weighed in at nearly 151 pounds, including 15 pounds of fudge filling and 60 pounds of yellow icing. It was one foot tall and two feet wide.

We speak with JodiLee about just how and why she did it.

You can see that picture of JodiLee celebrating at:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31985149/displaymode/1176/rstry/31994119/

BTW, it appears this record was short lived. We read on MSN.com that a new record was ceritifed by The Guinness folks just a month later – this one a 1,224-pound triple vanilla cupcake with pink frosting. You can read about it at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32438528/ns/us_news-weird_news/?GT1=43001

We, nonetheless, hop you’ll listen to and enjoy our interviews with the the title holder.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

The Nebraska Town Where Glen Miller Honed His Skills

Andela Taylor joins us in this “Journey into Nebraska”. Andela is the economic developer in Cambridge, Nebraska - a south central Nebraska community that lies along Highways 6 and 34, the old DLD [Detroit-Lincoln-Denver] Highway.

Each year she and her mother, B-n-B owner Gloria Hilton, organize an event as they celebrate the big band music of Glenn Miller who played with the Tommy Watkins [he was a Cambridge native] Orchestra in the second floor ballroom downtown known as Thorndike Hall.

The ballroom is listed as one of Heritage Nebraska’s Fading Places and a move is afoot to restore the space. Watkins was credited with finding the young aspiring musician [Miller] in Denver and helping him hone his skills in a Nebraska community.

Miller later moved on to California and started his own band.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

The Worlds’ Only Lifesize Chocolate Moose

Home-made chocoalte is a New England tradition in places like Route 1 in Scarborough, Maine.

Len Libby has been a regional fixture since the 1920’s. But since 1997, Len Libby has become a destination ofr something else as well.

There, at their retail store, one can have the experience of coming across
Lenny, the World’s Only Life-size Chocolate Moose, all 1700 pounds of him in chocolate.

We speak Maureen Hemond from Len Libby about Lenny and other Len Libby traditions.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Branch Rickey’s Effort To Save Baseball from Itself

July 27, 2009 marks 50 years since the founding of the Continental Baseball League.

If that does not mean much, it’s not suprising. In fact, the Continental League never played a game.

But the story behind the rise and demise of the Continental League remains a fascinating one these many years later.

We speak with author Michael Shaprio about his book, “Bottom of the Ninth – Branch Rickey, Casey Stengel and the Daring Scheme to Save Baseball From Itself”. It is a strong historical record that resonates today. A big-time “what if” can not be ignored.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

The A&P Historical Society

In the mid-1950s, A&P was the dominant food retailer. In a few markets, A&P had up to 75% of the market share, with stores in 39 states.

The company was first founded in 1859 as The Great American Tea Company by Geroge Huntington Hartford and George Gilman in New York City. It was renamed “The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company” in 1870.

Over the years, in mnay ways the A&P story reflects the story of America (and Canada).

In this conversation, we mark 150 years of A&P by talking with Craig Grybowski of the A&P Historical Society.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Walt Disney’s Railroad Story: A Fascination that Led to A Kingdom

Few people realize the significance railroading played in the evolution of the Disney empire. Encouraged by Walt’s family and railfans inside and outside the Disney organization, Michael Broggie has chronicled the tale of Walt Disney’s personal involvement in railroading.In this conversation, Broggie, author of Walt Disney’s Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom (Pentrex, 1997) shares with us the private realm of Disney railroading.

Walt Disney’s love affair with trains began in his hometown of Marceline, Missouri. His first job was selling tobacco, candy, and newspapers on the Missouri Pacific line. By 1950, his enthusiasm for realistic model trains had evolved into an elaborate backyard live steam railroad. Walt’s Carolwood Pacific Railroad included a 46-foot-long trestle, loops, overpasses, gradients, an elevated dirt berm, and a 90-foot tunnel underneath Mrs. Disney’s flower bed!

Broggie shares this history and more with us in this discussion.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

The World's Biggest Catsup Bottle

If you’re driving on Route 159 just south of Collinsville, Illinois, you’ll see a water tower in the shpe of a cataup bottle. 170 feet tall, it’s described as the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle.

The water tower has a fascinating story behind it.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the bottle, and they’re celebrating in Collinsville to mark the occasion.

Mike Gassmann joins us from Collinsville to share with us the stories of the World’s Largest Catsup bottle. the first was in 1949 when built. The second in the 1990’s when it was threatened with demolition but the community rallied to save it. the third chapter continues today as the catsup bottle continues to be celebrated.

This conversation is another part of that ongoing celebration.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

The Museum of Patriotism

The National Museum of Patriotism in Atlanta recently its new facility downtown.

By its very name, you may think you know what the place is all about.

This shrine to patriotism is a flag-waver, but not in the traditional sense.

We speak with Executive Director Pat Stansbury about the museum, its origins (It was founded by Nicholas Snider, a retired UPS executive who created a large collection of sweetheart jewelry), its function and just what it represents to Americans and those beyond our borders.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

The New Deal Story of America thru its Foods

As part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal response to the Great Depression, he created the Federal Writers Project, sending writers to various parts of the land to write on various topics - including food. The project, called “America Eats”, was abandoned in the early 1940’s because of World War II and never completed. Instead the files were archived in the Library of Congress.

Food historian Mark Kurlansky joins us to discuss the book he wrote based on these lost files. “The Food of a Younger Land” brought the unassembled materials to light and created this version of the guide that never was.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

National Bathroom Reading Month

Since 1988, the Bathroom Readers’ Institute has headed a movement to highlight this specialized pastime. In this conversation, we speak with Gordon Javna from the Institute, who is also publisher of Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader about National Bathroom Reading Month, the Bathrrom readers’ Institute and about Uncle John.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.com

The Legacy of Charles Kuralt at Chapel Hill

On July 4, it will be 12 years since the passing of Charles Kuralt - the CBS News journalist best known for his “On the Road” essays.

In this conversation, we speak with Donald Shaw from North carolina who shares with us his passion for Kuralt and what his work represented.

We hear about how Kuralt’s work and his CBS office have been preserved at the University of North Carolina’s Charles Kuralt Learning Center (Kuralt is buried on campus at Chapel Hill).

We also talk of what Kuralt meant and continues to represent these years later.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Introducing journeysinto.com

Anyone that's been in our neck of the woods knows that we could have used a re-branding a long time ago.

Some good content. Multi-media. But to more than afew folks, it was more than a bit confusing.

With this in mind, we have created a new umbrella place to go. It's called http://journeysinto.com.

Once there, you can take a journey into Hidden America, Canada, Beer or Hockey (with others to follow).

The content and the feel, hopfully, remain. And, with any look, less confusion.

The Dawn of American Radio

Long before the internet, another young technology was transformed–with help from a colorful collection of eccentrics and visionaries–into a mass medium with the power to connect millions of people.

When amateur enthusiasts began sending fuzzy signals from their garages and rooftops, radio broadcasting was born. Sensing the medium’s potential, snake-oil salesmen and preachers took to the air, at once setting early standards for radio programming and making bedlam of the airwaves. Into the chaos stepped a young secretary of commerce, Herbert Hoover, whose passion for organization guided the technology’s growth. When a charismatic bandleader named Rudy Vallee created the first on-air variety show and America elected its first true radio president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, radio had arrived.

In Anthony Rudel tells the story of the boisterous years when radio took its place in the nation’s living room and forever changed American journalism, politics and entertainment.


In this conversation we speak with Anthony Rudel, author of “Hello Everbody: The Early Days of American Radio” about those early days and just how in many ways those days were similar to what we see today.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Remembering Benny Goodman at his centennial

Benny Goodman would have been 100 on May 30, 2009.

Though gone since 1986, the music and legacy of the King of Swing live on.

In this journey, we speak with Alan Bache who is part of a series of concerts and programs this year honoring Goodman and his music during this centennial year.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Going on the Road with a Purpose: Heritage Travel, Inc.

A new online community is being launched this Spring via Heritage Travel, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

This new community is being designed as a catalyst to capture and harness passion for experiences and places alive with heritage, history and culture. It’s intended for those who want to do more than just go on “get-away” vacations – travel with a purpose, explore the world, connect with people who interests. It can redefine the meaning of “Travel.”

We speak with Heritage Travel, Inc. CEO John Williams about this community and how it is part of an evolution (ourselves included) in how we think of community and how we go about making community in the 21st century.

For more on Heritage Travel Inc., see: http://gowithapurpose.com/

On the Smithsonian’s Re-opened Museum of American History

A favorite stop for tourist and native alike in Washington, DC is the Smithsonian’s Musuem of American History.

After being closed for renovation, the museum is now open again. We speak with Washington Post columnist about the museum - what iit was, what it is and what that means to us all.

At: http://conversationsontheroad.com

Great American Beers: Twelve Brands that Became Icons

Beer has always been an important part of American culture. Bill Yenne wrote a book that looks at the history of a dozen brewers (Acme, Ballantine, Fallstaff, Hamm’s, Lone Star, Lucky, Miller High Life, Olympia, Pabst, Rainer, Rheingold and Schlitz) and what made them matter. It’s about beer but its’ about much more.

Bill Yenne joins us for this Journeys into Beer.

At:
http://conversationsotheroad.com

Traditional Rural Mardi Gras Run

Mardi Gras is best known in New Orleans. But the tradition is not limited to the Crescent City.A traditional Mardi Gras is to be found in the form of a Courir de Mardi Gras in Church Point, Louisiana, On Louisiana’s Cajun Prairie northwest of Lafayette.

The object of the Courir is to go from farm to farm in costume and on horseback or by wagon and collect ingredients for a communal gumbo to be served at the Church Point Saddle Riders Club. The meal is accompanied by live Cajun French music and dancing.

We speak with Todd Richard about the Courir de Mardi Gras (actuall two - one for adults and one for kids).

A more complete description of the event follows or can be found at the event website: http://www.churchpointmardigras.com

The podcast can be heard at:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Bowling Across America

For Mike Walsh, the answer was simple: bowl. Propelled by a curiosity to see America through a common, if beer-framed, lens, he quits his job and sets out to meet the people who populate the country’s bowling alleys. His adventure becomes much more than a simple bowling trip as he veers beyond the game’s ten frames and into the heart of America. The result was a book, BOWLING ACROSS AMERICA: 50 States in Rented Shoes.

We speak with Mike Walsh about the inspiration for his trip, the trip itself and how the experience changed him.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

Honoring Abraham Lincoln in the Style of his time

Col. Theodore Henry L. Henry - Commander & Band Manager, 10th Illinois Volunteer Calvary Regiment NFP - joined us in this conversation.

Colonel Henry leads a 19th century period orchestra that is played at a Bicentennial Ball to be held at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of President Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

The Cowboy Yodeler at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering

Wylie Gustafson is a singer/songwriter who has toured nationally and internationally with his band, Wylie & The Wild West (formerly Wylie & The Wild West Show). The band is known for its blend of Western swing, classic country, cowboy, rockabilly, folk—and yodeling—served up with infectious energy.

Wylie is best known for his yodel, which has become a symbol for Yahoo on its commercials.

Wylie Guftason is a fixture at the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada.

We speak with Wylie about his life on the range, his career, his music (and yodeling), and what makes the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko so special.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com

First Night Boston

A New Years Eve tradition since 1976, First Night Boston was the first event of its kind.

It is one night festival for the arts offering a diverse multi-venue offering of events and activities.
This conversation talks about the event then and now.

At:
http://conversationsontheroad.com