Traditions have to start somewhere. I was present at the birth of a new tradition for a bunch of fellow Okies living in Kansas involving a favorite food from our home state. A few things had to fall into place before the tradition was born - like the invention of the Frito and for the daytime high temperature not to exceed a certain limit! SUPPORT …

The American Elm was the "go to" tree as the thing planted for shade in the mostly treeless Great Plains. As those Plains gave way to villages and towns and then to cities, the American Elm was the favored "street tree" that lined the streets in idyllic neighborhoods. There is an American Elm that has stood in Oklahoma City since before statehood, …

All the kids had been raised and the youngest grandkid was starting school, it was time for a new chapter for Emma Belle. The next big step required a high school diploma and a driver's license, two things she didn't have. What she did have was a lot of grit and determination...throw in a used Nash Rambler and the rest was history! The story of Mac…

Sometimes it takes decades for a story to come around. Years ago I made a deal to acquire a particular guitar and though many a day has passed since the agreement was made, the instrument has made it into my home. It's a story of youth, hopes, dreams and loss...but mostly about the friends you find through music. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Episode…

Chief Bowles or Duwali was a name familiar across the American Frontier two hundred years ago. As headman of the Cherokees west of the Mississippi River, he saw his people through many a trying time. His favor was curried by the many rulers and would-be rulers of the territories where the Cherokees resided. As a gesture of friendship, he was given …

In the early days of the 20th century, things were changing - and fast! Electric lights, flying machines and the automobile were pushing their way into the center of attention. Folks, especioally here Within The Realm, were a scrappy sort. When the autos did make their way to the streets of Stilwell, splendid Stilwell, a local took up the challenge…

There were some heroes from the Second World War that didn't get much further than a few miles from home to perform a service that resonated from the Heartland of America to halls of power in London. This is a story about quiet duty and humility, about the work of half of one's life and the British Plot in a part of Oklahoma that is Forever England…

There is a little out of the way place in the Ozarks, tucked down in the corner of Missouri, not far from Arkansas, not far from Oklahoma, that has carved out a name for itself during the Christmas holiday. A few things had to fall into place, even a little change of name, to give rise to this mountain tradition, one that is still going strong toda…

Octagon City was an attempt at establishing a vegetarian Utopia on the plains of Kansas in the mid 1850s. The Reformers of the Day were out to change the world through Phrenology, avoiding the evils of liquor, coffee and tea, limiting the spread of slavery and improving their life through a meat-less diet. A little spot on the banks of the Neosho R…

A serious technical glitch has not only prevented me from getting episodes out in the past couple of weeks, but has also lost most of my work over the past few months to the digital ether-world! The first thing I thought of when I digested the news? Less than comforting words from an old Mark Twain novel. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Check out all w…

On a hilltop in Kansas stands a weather-beaten monument to the Indian, who at the time of the placement of the statue was becoming a memory of days gone by. The statue continues it's vigil over the valley below but in the overgrowth of the hill, it is unseen, except for those who know where to look. The Indian, the statue, has a story that mirrors …

The Air Conditioning gave up the ghost this weekend, so I have a few things I'm juggling along with this podcast schedule, but it got me to thinking about a few things...so here are a few of those thoughts. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Check out all we have to offer at withinpodcast.com! Want to advertise, sponsor or otherwise support Within The Rea…

Even out here in the windswept section of the place where the Great Plains, the Ozark Mountains and the Indian Territory collide, small, sometimes forgotten things may have a bigger impact than you know. An important discovery near the little burg of Dexter, Kansas, or the lack of that discovery had a big impact on another burg, the Hindenburg whic…

Back in the day, local TV news was important, especially the weather forecast, here in Tornado Alley. One Weatherman here in the place where the Great Plains, the Ozark Mountains and the Indian Territory collide developed a great gimmick to get kids to watch the forecast. The gimmick? The chance to hear your name on TV and get a drawing from the we…

We believe our dogs to have a special bond with us. It's something sacred to those of us who have been forged into better people by the love of a little black rescue dog. Let me tell you about my dog, Boomer. SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Check out all we have to offer at withinpodcast.com! Want to advertise, sponsor or otherwise support Within The R…

The Spring of 1954, somewhere in northwestern Oklahoma. A group of upstart high schoolers form a marching band to represent their school at sporting events after the school could no longer send along the official band. From there, small gestures from folks in town made the idea work. A story worthy of a Hallmark movie, but packed with lessons how t…

Described as wild and beautiful creatures, the horses of Shannon County, Missouri are just that. The off spring of work horses abandoned by desperate Ozark farmers during the depression, they have survived and flourished on the Federal Lands around the Current and Jack's Fork Rivers. Once seen as a problem to be disposed of, they are now a protecte…

The Cookson Hills hold many a legend about the exploits of Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd and his amazing escapes from the clutches of the law through a hail of gunfire. But there's also the story about a collector, a clerk really, from a loan office in Fort Smith who was able to best the man who was soon to be Public Enemy No. 1 - without even …

You know Within The Realm as the place where the Great Plains, the Ozark Mountains and the Indian Territory collide, but what happens when too much on your plate, a little guilt over not getting a podcast episode out on schedule and a cover of a Tom Petty song collide? You're fixin' to find out. withinpodcast.com SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Check o…

I'm feeling philosophical about my walks with my assistant producer, Boomer, on the trail near our home. By applying a lesson I learned from the pages of the nerdy books I read when I was a kid, I have special outlook on not just the walks on the trail, but many of the things that happen around me. Withinpodcast.com SUPPORT INDEPENDENT ARTIST! Chec…

Most know the United States entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Just a few months before that fateful December morning, folks in Miami, Ok were already hearing the engines of foreign pilots over head. Miami was home to Churchill Field, a training school for British pilots. Over 2,100 would-be pilots came to this corner of the Soo…

Before he was on the Five Dollar Bill, before his words were memorized by schoolchildren through the decades and before he was hailed as the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln was a candidate for President...and it wasn't looking so good. He undertook a trip to Kansas to see for himself the violence and legacy of popular sovereignty, and maybe scor…

It's a story that can only take place in America. They had come west, illprepared, to a new home where they hoped to start fresh for themselves and their families. The new residents of Nicodemus, Kansas, mostly former slaves from Kentucky were unready for the rugged and harsh environment of the Plains, but a roving band of Native Americans came acr…

I took it as a challenge to find the history of a character from my mother's hometown in western Oklahoma. She had little to go on, but we found the story - not only the story about this figure from her childhood, one Percy Hook, but also that of the nature of the town itself. withinpodcast.com Special Thanks to Oleg Fedak for the use of "Breath" i…

One of the best physicists I ever knew my my first wrestling coach T. A. Shell. Never athletic enough to apply his lessons on the wrestling mat, I have applied them in other parts of my life with some success. T.A. Shell was my coach, yes, but a member of a family that my family has maintained a generations-long friendship. But it was as coach he h…

A Christmas Open House at my new friend Opal’s place got me to thinking…it got me to thinking about my feelings and attitude toward Christmas, described by some as Grinch-y or Scrooge-y. There’s a reason for my jaundiced eye cast on this winter holiday, but not because I dislike the good tidings it creates. It’s the real lesson of Chuck Dickens’ “A…

Back when I was a kid, there was Channel 8, Tulsa's KTUL. Channel 8 embraced the concept of local content for working stiffs, housewives, kids, lovers of moster movies...you get the idea.The news anchors and characters on these local shows were out in the small towns in their viewing area, in parades,at county fairs, whereever a crowd might gather.…

I've been running into a certain subject in my research, one that will make a few appearances in episodes to follow. It reminded me of the first time I really encountered the subject, standing in line at the Eagle Theater waiting for an Orange Fanta. withinpodcat.com The American Buffalo by Ken Burns: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-buffa…

Sometimes there are secrets so deeply hidden, made all the more mysterious by the silence of those involved. And so was the closely held secret of the strange visitor to our home that fall of the year I turned five. Not until years later, as a college student, did time reveal its secrets. withinpodcast.com Check out all we have to offer at withinpo…

Everyone who knows me, knows I am fascinated with Ozark Giraffe style homes. I've made note of a few that have fallen to the progress of time in the past few weeks. Here's a bonus episode with my tribute to the peculiar little houses that dot the Ozarks! withinpodcast.com Check out all we have to offer at withinpodcast.com! Want to advertise, spons…

There a lot wrong with the world, especially when you're looking for it. But there plenty of hope and sunshine, sometimes it shows up at your front door. Today's story is about a weary teacher, a fabled figure from American folklore and a guy with a heart as big as all outdoors. For more info about the great work being done by the Viebrock's non-pr…

The tragic tale of Reuben and Fred, two young cowboys on an errand to the Cimarron River salt flats in what is now Woods County, Oklahoma. Their final resting place is this lonely and windswept territory has been marked and remembered for the 155 years since the cowboys met their demise in one of the final chapters of the west when it was wild. Fre…

Dr. James Walker was an English professor, complete with a tweed jacket and a love for Mark Twain. But Big Jim Walker, his alter ego, was a guitar playing entertainer with his own transmitter free radio show. I learned many a lesson in the good doctor's classroom...and a few on the radio show, too! Check out the music of Randy Pease at: Randy Pease…

Some say a beloved entertainer, a star of television in it's early days, lies buried just north of Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Others say an imposter is at rest beneath the large granite headstone. In this episode of Within The Realm, we investigate the mystery of who is in Ed's grave. Check out all we have to offer at withinpodcast.com! Want to advertise…

The story was told about a thoughtless, coldblooded killing for years until it became lore. A closer look reveals two sides of the story, a clash of cultures that led to the death of "poor Mr. Dore." P.J. Dore had come to the Indian Territory to make his mark on this new frontier, but to Tandy Folsom, it was no frontier at all. It was his home. wit…

On our show, we reach back into history and family stories from the past for a lot of our content. Our goal is not to bask in the things of yesteryear, but rather to find inspiration to move forward toward a distant and unsure horizon. Lately, I've noticed a lot of people looking backward, wishing to go back to a particular time and place that they…

Every story has multiple ingredients to it, but this one is drawn together by a single sheet of paper, sitting forlorne in a dusty courthouse vault for years. The Document tells about a single event in the past, but once elements of the story are illuminated, in the most unlikely of places, the document reveals so much more! withinpodcast.com Check…

A soldier's story. The box held a medal, a government form and a letter. It was the letter, a quick note home from a GI to his family, that drove Matt Carlson to find the rightful owners of the little package he bought at the flea market. So many things fell into place, as if it were meant to be, for Matt's displaced items to find it's way home and…

A talk about self made men and proper credit, something due to the people who actually made these rugged individuals and, really, all of us. withinpodcast.com Link to referenced episodes: Within The Realm Blog The photography of Dani Wilson, Reason To Smile: Reason To Smile Our sponsors: [email protected] katchakid.com Music: The Right Dire…

Over the course of the fall and winter of 2020-21 two statues were stolen, one from a park in Kansas City and the other from the lawn of the Tulsa Historical Society. Besides being made of bronze, the other distinguishing similarity these two statues had in common was their subject matter. Both were of Osage women. The theft of the statues brings t…

It was an assignment, to write a biography of my Grandfather, to help me maintain my hours at school, but it ended up giving me a great education about his life, what made him and his character and what it meant for me. I heard stories no one had ever thought asking about, stories that would have been lost forever if not for the off handed assignme…

You might be surprised to hear some of the details about the advent of the shopping cart, but even as casual as our relationship with the basket on wheels is, it has had a profound affect on retail shopping. As omni-present these devices are, they may have never got off the ground if not for some quick thinking by a supermarket owner in Oklahoma Ci…

When I was a kid, my mother, on Nashville trip, picked out a guitar for me to replace a cheap, old model I had trashed. She was helped by a gentleman that, she learned later, turned out to be a guitar legend.withinpodcast.com Our sponsors: [email protected] Music: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers Martin Mountain Coffee: Small Batch Roaste…

Yield: The Little Sign That Could The familiar downward pointing triangle that allows traffic to keep flowing rather than stopping sprang from the mind of a Tulsa cop. No one gave his sign much respect, but he set out to prove them all wrong. withinpodcast.com Our sponsors: [email protected] Music: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers Martin …

They say the universe is ever expanding, but the cultural center of the universe is conveniently located closer than you might think. withinpodcast.com Support our show at Support Within The Realm Our sponsors: [email protected] Music: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers Martin Mountain Coffee: Small Batch Roaster for an Artisan Cup of Coffe…

It's our 100th episode and that's a big deal. A lot can happen over the course of 100 episodes. Join me for a retrospective of what I have learned through the the process of researching, producing and promoting that collection. Thanks to all of you who have been a part of it all. withinpodcast.com Support our show at Support Within The Realm Good f…

Before he was on the Five Dollar Bill, before his words were memorized by schoolchildren through the decades and before he was hailed as the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln was a candidate for President...and it wasn't looking so good. He undertook a trip to Kansas to see for himself the violence and legacy of popular sovereignty, and maybe scor…

Magic as a tornado precaution? Tiny Wakita, Ok was blown away in the 1996 Blockbuster Twister but a spell by an Old Cherokee has kept the place tornado free since 1893. withinpodcast.com A special thanks to storm chaser and Oklahoma's best DJ, Cliff Casteel! Our sponsors: [email protected] The Right Direction by Shane Ivers Martin Mountain …

This week I let a friend tell the story of his parent's whirlwind wedding that involved a ring locked away in a bank vault, a Billy Graham Crusade and a potential court-martial. It might sound crazy but it's kind of the norm for the family of Neal Hallford. withinpodcast.com More on Neal: nealhallford.com Our sponsors: [email protected] The…

We've all sung it, the second most played Christmas song of all time, but few know the story behind Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer. From a random assignment for the Montgomery-Ward Department Store Company, a Christmas institution was born, but not without a few obstacles in the way! withinpodcast.com Our sponsors: [email protected] The Ri…