American Countryside

Missing for Three Days After 9/11

Tom — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 05:01:03 +0000

For three days Joe Torrillo’s family thought he’d died in the terrorist attack at the World Trade Center. However a mix-up at the firehouse resulted in an unlikely outcome for Joe and a happy ending for his family. We look back at the events of 25 years ago…

Surviving Two Building Collapses

Tom — Thu, 10 Sep 2026 05:01:02 +0000

Joe Torrillo survived not one building falling on top of him, but two. Against all odds, he made a dash for his life in lower Manhattan on September 11^th, 2001. We look back 25 years…

An Understanding of Engineering

Tom — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 05:01:01 +0000

Amid the tragic loss of life at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, one man saved the lives of dozens of rescue workers. It was not because of his strength or heroism, but his understanding of engineering. Today we look at the important decision one firefighter made before those buildings collapsed…

Turning the Wheel to Lower Manhattan

Tom — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Joe Torrillo was ready to unveil a new action figure for a giant toy company in New York City. However, the ceremony would not take place that day. Instead, Joe’s intuition told him to turn the wheel of the car and head to lower Manhattan. We remember 9-11 25 years later…

Looking Back 25 Years

Tom — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 05:01:58 +0000

Today we begin a series of programs as we look back 25 years to the events of 9-11. Our guest is a man who was a firefighter on site that day…

The Temperance Tavern

Tom — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 05:01:15 +0000

Most taverns are places were you can sit down and get a strong drink. That’s what makes this tavern quite unique, for it served no alcohol and became an important spot for another secretive operation…

Returning Home After a Professional Baseball Career

Tom — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 05:01:45 +0000

If you were one of the most well-known players in major league history, perhaps it would be hard to come back to your small town and live a normal life. This man returned to the farm and today large crowds, including some of the best pitchers in the game, come to honor him each year…

The Best Pitcher in Baseball

Tom — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 05:01:13 +0000

The best baseball pitcher in each league receives this award – an award named for arguably the best pitcher to ever throw a baseball…

Dents on the Family Barn

Tom — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 05:01:12 +0000

This well-known baseball pitcher got his name because of what his throws did to the family’s barn…

A Very, Very Large Sunflower

Tom — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 05:01:10 +0000

Kansas is the Sunflower State, so it shouldn’t surprise you that in Goodland, Kansas you’ll find a very, very large sunflower…

Throwing Cow Pies

Tom — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 05:01:27 +0000

Most of us have heard of cow chip throwing contests. Maybe you’ve even been a part of one. The novelty event today is actually tied to an important means of survival when settlers were heading west…

The Changing Routes of the Cattle Market

Tom — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 05:01:26 +0000

Maybe you once watched old shows like Rawhide and Gunsmoke. Those shows depicted cattle drives in the late 1800s. What you may not realize is those shows were tied to the changing routes that cattle were moved north to market…

Moving Cattle to Texas

Tom — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 05:01:25 +0000

In the days just after the Civil War there was a large financial incentive to move cattle from Texas to points northward. What resulted were cattle drives of immense size moving north on the high plains…

The Cemetery That Drew a Crowd

Tom — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:01:24 +0000

Most cemeteries are peaceful memorials to those who have passed. That was the case here, until one of the newly interred brought so many visitors, he had to be moved…

The Waters

Tom — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 05:01:21 +0000

When the first pioneers set about buildings homes and towns they often looked for a good water source to sustain the settlement. That’s the case here, and the water source even became the very name of the town…

The Unusual Goat Gland Doctor

Tom — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 05:01:50 +0000

You can still find the mansion and the hotel here in Del Rio, Texas of a once prominent and controversial doctor who touted his cures around the world. His chicanery brought him riches, but also brought him to the courts…

A Million Watt Radio Station

Tom — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 05:01:47 +0000

We are thankful for the many stations that air our broadcasts every day, but nothing could match the power of this renegade station and the man behind it. He was the doctor with a million watt station…

A Rebel With a Home Town

Tom — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 05:01:37 +0000

It’s the hometown of the creator of Garfield, Jim Davis…but it’s the other hometown hero that gets the big celebration…

A Hometown Hero

Tom — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 05:01:36 +0000

He was just 24 years old when he died in a traffic accident…yet for the annual celebrations of his life and career in acting, one might think he lived for a century…

Uncovering Treasure in Lost Luggage

Tom — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 05:01:33 +0000

Some describe it as a hunt for lost treasure. Others think it would be like hitting the lottery. It’s a unique hunt through the lost luggage of the airlines to see the valuable and not-so-valuable items we’ve left behind…

Losing Parts of Your F-16

Tom — Fri, 14 Aug 2026 05:01:21 +0000

Who would pack a surfboard in their luggage to go on an airplane? Someone did, and then lost the surfboard. Someone else took a pair of McDonalds golden arches – and then there’s the person that lost the guidance system to a F-16. The unique menagerie all wound up here…

Where Does Lost Luggage Go?

Tom — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 05:01:19 +0000

Where does lost luggage go? Perhaps you’ve wondered that if you’ve ever landed at an airport and your bags didn’t arrive. Today we tell you where that luggage most likely gone if you don’t soon locate it…

Leaving Your Mark

Tom — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 05:01:18 +0000

If someone makes a difference in the world, we may say they’ve left their mark. Well this spot is known today for the literal mark one man made on it. It’s the equivalent of graffiti in the early 1800s, but because of who wrote it…it’s historic…

Pompey’s Pillar

Tom — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 05:01:33 +0000

He was the youngest member of the Lewis and Clark journey. Although he didn’t make the entire trip, he ended up having one of the biggest landmarks on the trip named for him…

St. Paul’s Church

Tom — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:01:10 +0000

Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran…there are many labels that may be placed on churches. However, during the early years of this church, the label was either “British” or “Revolutionary” and those who stepped inside the building were most likely not going to hear a sermon…

A Church That Looks Out of Place

Tom — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 05:01:55 +0000

Just outside of New York City proper, yet well within the urban corridor, there sits a church in the suburb of Mt. Vernon, New York. It looks out of place as business and industry surrounds it. However, the reason it remains is because it is a symbol of the struggle for freedom that took place here…