Forgotten America

John Hood is back on the Forgotten America podcast to discuss his latest installment in the Folklore Cycle! Waterfolk takes on the formative period of American history between the 1830s and the 1850s. He shares with Garrett some of the unbelievable historical events and relationships that inspired scenes in his story. He also dives into some of the popular and lesser-known folktales and cryptids that appear throughout the novel. John and Garrett discuss the role restraints play in unleashing creativity, and we even get a sneak peek into the fourth adventure in the Folklore Cycle.

Additional Resources

Waterfolk: https://folklorecycle.com/

John Hood, President of the John William Pope Foundation, https://jwpf.org/team/john-hood/

Episode 20: Mountain Folk https://forgottenamerica.libsyn.com/ep-020-mountain-folk

Episode 48: Forest Folk and the Return of John Hood https://forgottenamerica.libsyn.com/ep-048-forrest-folk-with-john-hood

Bud Collyer – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Collyer

Kraken: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraken

Water Panther: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_panther

Water Maidens, Welsh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwragedd_Annwn#:~:text=Gwragedd%20Annwn%2C%20(singular%20Welsh%3A,Teg%20or%20Welsh%20fairy%20folk.

Bear Springs, New Mexico: https://bearsprings.wordpress.com/

Monongahela, Monongy https://uppermonriver.org/do-three-legendary-monsters-inhabit-the-monongahela-river/

1st book favorite character: Nanyehi Nancy Ward, Cherokee woman https://wams.nyhistory.org/settler-colonialism-and-revolution/the-american-revolution/nanyehi-nancy-ward/

2nd book fav: Real Life Ichabod Crane, https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-figures/halloween-story-real-ichabod-crane/

3rd book fav: Sam Houston, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston

Garrett Ballengee, Host President & CEO - @gballeng Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer & Audio Editor Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13 Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Follow: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Support: Donate, Newsletter

Andy Fowler, Communications Specialist for the Yankee Institute, joins us for an episode to discuss Connecticut! Although he wasn't born there, his family has roots in the state that go back to the turn of the 20th century. Garrett & Andy discuss the reputation of Connecticut, its role in the colonial period and the founding of the United States, and the importance of learning about your home state's history. They also joke about the difficulty of pinning down a defining stereotype for people from Connecticut. If you enjoy pizza, the colonial period, or Gilmore Girls, you'll enjoy hearing about the Nutmeg State.

Additional Resources:

Nutmeggers: nickname for people from Connecticut

Learn more about Andrew's work at the Yankee Institute here: https://yankeeinstitute.org/author/andrewfowler/

Hidden in the Oak: https://yankeeinstitute.org/category/hidden-in-the-oak/

Andrew Fowler: @afowlxc on Twitter

Milford, CT: https://www.ci.milford.ct.us/

Waterbury, CT: https://www.waterburyct.org/

Hartford, CT: https://www.hartfordct.gov/Home

Mystic Pizza https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystic_Pizza

Gilmore Girls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilmore_Girls

Fairfield County: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfield_County,_Connecticut

Griswold Inn in Essex: https://griswoldinn.com/ (George Washington visited there.)

Silas Deane: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silas_Deane

Yale: https://www.yale.edu/

New Haven: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Haven,_Connecticut

Yukon Huskies: https://uconnhuskies.com/sports/mens-basketball

Connecticut Compromise: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Connecticut-Compromise

New England: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England

More information about the lack of county governments in Connecticut: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2015/rpt/2015-R-0274.htm

Connecticut's Nicknames: https://portal.ct.gov/csl/research/state-nicknames?language=en_US or https://connecticuthistory.org/the-storied-history-behind-connecticuts-nicknames/

Does Connecticut even have its own accent? https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-connecticut-accent-or-does-connecticut-even-have-one/ or https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/05/nyregion/accent-what-accent.html

New Haven style pizza: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Haven%E2%80%93style_pizza

The Stepford Wives: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stepford_Wives

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art: oldest art museum in the US https://www.thewadsworth.org/

Nathan Hale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Hale

Roger Sherman: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Sherman

Prudence Crandall: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/prudence-crandall

Father Michael McGivney, Founder of the Knights of Columbus: https://www.fathermcgivney.org/

Greenwich, CT: https://www.greenwichct.gov/ (one of the wealthiest places in the United States)

Louis' Lunch: https://louislunch.com/

Pepe's Pizza: https://pepespizzeria.com/

Lobster Rolls were actually invented in Milford, CT: https://lobsteranywhere.com/new-england-style/history-lobster-roll/

Garrett Ballengee, Host President & CEO - @gballeng Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13 Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Nate Phipps, Editor & Producer - @Aviv5753 Follow: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Support: Donate, Newsletter

Clayton Rasche is a first-generation Louisianan who adores his home state. He joins Garrett on this episode of the Forgotten America podcast to share about the incredibly rich culture of Louisiana. The Pelican State has deep French roots which can be seen in everything from the architecture to the political system to the food. We learn a little bit about the differences between Cajun and Creole culture and about the variety of small and large cities to explore. If you enjoy music, soulful food, and nature, you'll love this exploration of Louisiana through Clayton's eyes.

Additional Resources

Grand Isle, Louisiana https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Isle,_Louisiana

Louisiana State Symbols https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/louisiana/state-nickname/pelican-state

Zydeco music: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zydeco

Buckwheat Zydeco: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckwheat_Zydeco

Lana Del Rey & her husband: https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a62103404/who-is-lana-del-rey-boyfriend-jeremy-dufrene/

Parishes instead of Counties: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parishes_in_Louisiana

Cajun: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajuns

Creole: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Creole_people

Some history and differences between Cajun & Creole culture and meaning: https://www.hnoc.org/publications/first-draft/whats-difference-between-cajun-and-creole-or-there-one

Mandeville, Louisiana: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandeville,_Louisiana

True Detective: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2790174/

Liz's Where Ya At Diner: https://lizswhereyatdiner.com/

Baton Rouge: https://www.visitbatonrouge.com/listing/louisiana-state-capitol/238/

Tiki Bar in New Orleans: https://latitude29nola.com/

Beach Bum Berry's Latitude 29: https://latitude29nola.com/

Follow Clayton on Social Media

Instagram @claytonrasche

Facebook /claytonrasche/

Garrett Ballengee, Host President & CEO - @gballeng Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13 Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Nate Phipps, Editor & Producer - @Aviv5753 Follow: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Support: Donate, Newsletter

Chris Ingstad is the President of Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation and an 8th generation Iowan. He joins the Forgotten America podcast to discuss life in Iowa. Chris explains why he hasn't seriously considered leaving the state despite its harsh winters, and he talks about the food, culture, economy, and heritage of the Hawkeye state.

Additional Resources

Follow Chris's work at Iowans for Taxpayer Relief Foundation: https://itrfoundation.org/staff/

Grant Wood and American Gothic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Wood

University of Iowa Writer's Workshop: https://writersworkshop.uiowa.edu/

Field of Dreams: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097351/

"Our liberties we prize, and our rights we will maintain." - Iowa State Motto

https://publications.iowa.gov/135/1/profile/8-1.html#:~:text=On%20the%20white%20center%20stripe,in%20red%20below%20the%20streamers

Okoboji, Iowa https://vacationokoboji.com/

Garrett Ballengee, Host President & CEO - @gballeng Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13 Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Nate Phipps, Editor & Producer - @Aviv5753 Follow: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Support: Donate, Newsletter

For this Halloween Special, Lyndsey Quinlan, Digital Marketing Associate for the Cardinal Institute, and Jessica Dobrinsky, Staff Writer for the Cardinal Institute, join Garrett Ballengee to discuss horror films set in rural locations. They share their favorites and explore themes of folklore, rural horror, and hicksploitation. They also take a deep dive into what makes a good horror film and look at literary themes, the power of music and lighting in film, human psychology analyzed through film, and some history behind scary movie genres. If you enjoy horror films, and even if you don't, you'll enjoy this riveting discussion of top horror films set in rural America.

Follow Jessica & Lyndsey

Follow Jessica Dobrinsky on Twitter https://x.com/jldobrinsky

Follow Lyndsey Quinlan on Twitter https://x.com/its_Lynds_

Films Discussed

1. Night of the Hunter
2. Night of the Living Dead
3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
4. Children of the Corn
5. Evil Dead 2
6. Sleepy Hollow
7. The Blair Witch Project
8. The Witch

Additional Resources & Mentions

Nightmare Before Christmas - film

Hicksploitation – theme/trope

Film Noir - genre

Harry Powers – serial killer

West Virginia Penitentiary a.k.a. Moundsville Penitentiary

Horror Film - genre

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms – Hymn

Once Upon a Time There Was a Pretty Fly – Song

White Zombie – film

Slasher – genre

Head Cheese – food

Video nasty – type of film

Stephen King – author

Carrie – novel

Comedy Horror – genre

The Evil Dead – film

Necronomicon Ex Mortis – fictional book from a film

Ash vs. Evil Dead – TV show

Sam Raimi – film director

Bruce Campbell – actor and producer

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – book

Atmospheric Horror – genre

Found footage – film technique

Flying Ointment

Garrett Ballengee, Host President & CEO - @gballeng Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13 Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Nate Phipps, Editor & Producer - @Aviv5753 Follow: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Support: Donate, Newsletter

Emma Ayers, a native of East Tennessee and Religion & Culture Writer with the Washington Times, joins us today for the second half of our discussion of Hurricane Helene disaster recovery. She shares her perspective on the culture, economy, and people of East Tennessee and how they are responding to the unprecedented natural disaster of Hurricane Helene. She also shares a little about mule trains and other non-traditional ways that Appalachians are helping each other in their time of need.

Additional Resources:

East Tennessee Hurricane Helene Recovery Resources: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2024/10/10/east-tennessee-flooding-rescues-resources-hurricane-helene-relief/75608482007/

Tennessee Disaster Recovery Map: https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/hurricane-helene-recovery.html

Barstool Conservatism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barstool_conservatism

Mule Trains: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/sep/30/north-carolina-residents-use-mule-trains-to-delive/

Social Trust: https://www.socialcapitalresearch.com/trust-and-trustworthiness/

Follow Emma's work at the Washington Times: www.washingtontimes.com

Ways to Donate & Support:

Samaritan's Purse: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricane-helene/

Look for actual individuals who live in the area who are looking for help on the ground.

Garrett Ballengee, Host

President & CEO - @gballeng

Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy

Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer

Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13

Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy

Nate Phipps, Editor & Producer - @Aviv5753

Follow:

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Support:

Donate, Newsletter

(We had some unusual technical difficulties when recording this episode. So please forgive any choppiness that may result – we did what we could to edit it as smoothly as possible.)

Brooke Medina, Vice President of Communications for the John Locke Foundation, joins Garrett Ballengee to discuss the impact of Hurricane Helene on Western North Carolina and how these Appalachian communities are responding to this unprecedented disaster.

Additional Resources:

John Locke Foundation: https://www.johnlocke.org/about/team/brooke-medina/

Samaritan's Purse: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricane-helene/

Baptists on Mission: https://baptistsonmission.org/

Cajun Navy: https://www.cajunnavyrelief.com/

Donate to Hurricane Helene Refief: https://www.johnlocke.org/help-support-hurricane-helene-relief-efforts-in-western-nc/

Shop to Support Relief Efforts: https://johnlockestore.com/collections/restore-western-nc

Carolina Journal: https://www.carolinajournal.com/

Hurricane Helene: https://www.axios.com/2024/10/04/hurricane-helene-deadliest-us-storms-death-toll

Garrett Ballengee, Host President & CEO - @gballeng Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13 Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Nate Phipps, Editor & Producer - @Aviv5753 Follow: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Support: Patreon, Donate, Newsletter

Shawn Peterson, President of Catholic Education Partners and long-time resident of Minnesota, joins this episode of the Forgotten America podcast to weigh in on the selection of Tim Walz as the Democratic VP nominee. He also shares about the political history of Minnesota and its cultural history and shifts. If you're curious about the Upper Midwest and its Scandinavian roots, Garrett's discussion with Shawn will be enlightening.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Red Wing boots from Minnesota

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Borlaug

Minnesota Iron Range: beautiful old towns up there that have fallen into disrepair, very hard-working salt of the earth people

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_Gilbert

Norwegian Lefse

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/18082/norwegian-lefse/

Catholic Education Partners

https://catholiced.us/

Garrett Ballengee, Host President & CEO - @gballeng Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13 Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy Nate Phipps, Editor & Producer - @Aviv5753 Follow: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram Support: Patreon, Donate, Newsletter

Dr. Barker is the President of Southern Wesleyan University in South Carolina and joins us today to talk about current challenges in higher education and the importance of an education that teaches values and not just skills. Fun Fact: his home state is West Virginia, so Garrett kicks off this discussion by asking Dr. Barker about his hometown of Clarksburg. Dr. Barker shares stories about the Italian heritage of West Virginia, his time as a military chaplain, and how he came to work in higher education. If you care about the future of post-secondary education and wonder how we got to a place with such a broken system, this is an episode you'll enjoy.

Learn more about Southern Wesleyan and Dr. Barker at https://www.swu.edu/about/who-we-are/our-president/

Garrett Ballengee, Host

President & CEO - @gballeng

Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy

Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer & Editor

Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13

Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy

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Support:

Patreon, Donate, Newsletter

J.D. Vance's selection as President Trump's Vice-Presidential running mate has kicked up a renewed firestorm around Vance's Appalachian bona fides and his book Hillbilly Elegy. Is he legitimately Appalachian? What does it even mean to be Appalachian? In this episode of Forgotten America, Garrett is joined by Anthony Hennen, journalist and fellow Appalachian, to discuss this Vice-Presidential pick and what it might mean for the region.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear's Commentary on J.D. Vance

https://x.com/douglaswburns/status/1817976888695951677

https://x.com/SeanPEngland/status/1815366244624740751

J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy

https://www.amazon.com/Hillbilly-Elegy-Memoir-Family-Culture/dp/0062300547

Follow Anthony's Work

https://expatalachians.com/author/anthonyh

https://tfas.org/news/tfas-announces-recipients-of-2023-24-robert-novak-journalism-fellowship/

https://www.thecentersquare.com/users/profile/anthony%20hennen/

Garrett Ballengee, Host

President & CEO - @gballeng

Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy

Amanda Kieffer, Executive Producer & Editor

Vice President of Communications & Strategy - @akieffer13

Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy

Follow:

YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram

Support:

Patreon, Donate, Newsletter