History Ago Go

Chuck relives his many stories of the presidential candidates and campaigns that made their way through the Gem City.  From being a delegate for Jimmy Carter when other Illinois leaders were Kennedy men to setting up an event for President Obama at the Civic Center, he recounts numerous stories and friends from the past.  The discussion covers Carter's riverboat connection, Mondale's stop at the Neisen Farm outside of Burton, Dukakis' huge speech on the Square, the connection to President Clinton through an old friend, Al and Tipper Gore on the riverfront, the impressive John Kerry, and Barack Obama filling sandbags.  Chuck talks about getting stuck in a bathroom when he was supposed to meet a presidential candidate and how the Secret Service dealt with an overzealous local sheriff.  Join the discussion as he takes you into Quincy's political past.

New York Times best-selling author Larry Tye discusses his new book Demagogue on the life of Senator Joseph McCarthy.  He explains how he became interested in the topic and why a new book on McCarthy is important.  He details the early life of Joe, his boxing background and his military service where he got the nickname "Tail Gunner Joe".  Larry covers how McCarthy got into politics and how a speech in Wheeling, WV changed the tide of American history.  Through lying, bullying, aggressiveness and baseless accusations Joe McCarthy rose to national prominence at a time when the country was fearful of communist infiltration and nuclear war.  Larry talks about the team McCarthy put together including a talented young attorney Roy Cohn who would eventually become the mentor to Donald Trump.  The books covers the enablers, the victims and the conspiracies left in the aftermath of McCarthyism.  The conversation concludes with Senator McCarthy's political downfall after challenging the U.S. Army and he death from alcoholism.

HOST:  Rob Mellon

FEATURED BREW:  Dirty Bastard Scotch-Style Ale, Founders Brewing Company, Michigan

WEBSITE:  www.larrytye.com

MUSIC:  Bones Fork

Nancy Benz discusses her research into the Women Ku Klux Klan (WKKK) that developed in the early 20th century.  She explains the formation and early history of the KKK and the group's revival after the release of Thomas Dixon's The Clansman and D.W. Griffith's famous film The Birth of a Nation.  Benz talks about how the Progressive Era played a role in increasing the profile of women in the KKK.  She goes into the history of William Joseph Simmons in Georgia and how he used publicity experts Edward Clarke and Elizabeth Tyler who became known as the "Empress of the KKK".  The discussion covers the expansion of the Klan in the 1920s into a national-level organization with new targets such as Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.  She delves into the expanded role of the WKKK and their importance to the movement.  She explains the concept of 100% Americanism in the growth of the organization.  The conversation goes into the Klan in the South that developed in the 1960s and the societal changes that brought countless rural whites to the KKK during the Civil Rights Movement.  

HOST:  Rob Mellon

FEATURED BREW:  Zon Belgian-Style Witbeir Ale (Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, MO)

MUSIC:  Bones Fork

Former Mayor Chuck Scholz details the life of service of Illinois Senator Paul Simon.  Chuck talks about how Senator Simon grew up and his start in politics in southern Illinois.  He has an uplifting story of how Paul Simon and the "Father of Conservatism" Barry Goldwater developed a friendship that endured after Senator Goldwater retired.  The chat includes when Senator Simon honored Hattie Josephine "JoJo" Williams the mother of Barry Goldwater who was from Bowen, Illinois.  Rob discusses the amazing life of Josephine Williams Goldwater and her influence on the Senator Goldwater.  Chuck explains the nature of the Election of 1964 where Lyndon Johnson defeated Goldwater in one of the largest landslides in American political history.  In the end, the seemingly opposite personalities of Simon and Goldwater teach us a lesson about how to treat each other today, even if we disagree politically.

Mike Moyers details the history of local radio in Quincy and the importance of covering local sporting events to the fabric of a community.  He discusses his time with WTAD and WGEM and the great local play-by-play announcers of Quincy.  The talk will take you down memory lane with a host of clips from the past, including the 1971 game between Quincy Notre Dame and Quincy High School.  Mike honors a great list of area personalities such as baseball Hall of Famer Bill King, Jim Woods, Jeff Dorsey, Jim Roberts, Ralph Oakley, Chuck Mahon, Derrick "Boots" Bush, Eric Ervin, Ron and Tim Kinscherf, Matt Longo, Mike Lawrence, Jeff Myers, Mel and El Tappe, Jeff Wellman, Sean Secrease, Broc Hampsmire, and others.  He explains the excitement of Blue Devil basketball in the 1980s with some amazing finishes.  He finishes with an evaluation of the current media landscape and the future of radio.

HOST:  Rob Mellon

MUSIC:  Bones Fork

The video creator and host of the wildly successful Tasting History on YouTube explains how he started cooking ancient recipes and his passion for history.  He details the history of important Roman writer Pliny the Elder and speaks about the difficulty of replicating ancient dishes.  He covers Apicius and the oldest book of cookery in western civilization the De Re Coquinaria.  From Ancient Rome he moves on to talk about Medieval cookery starting with the use of bread as a plate known as trencher.  He explains the history of finding food cures for the bubonic plague and the four humors.  From there the discussion focuses on recipes from The Forme of Curry and King Richard II's extravagant feasts, including the famous Feast for the Duke of Lancaster which changed history.  Max clarifies the use of sugar in medieval recipes and whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable where he agrees with the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled on the matter.  He explains the importance of Hannah Glasse and her art and perspective on cooking, and offers a recipe for Syllabub (try it - it sounds amazing).  He also covers his trip to Bathe, England and tasting the Sally Lunn Bun - try it too.  He finishes with how to cook salmon founding fathers style in his 4th of July meal which John Adams was sour about until he died on the 4th of July in 1826.  Want to know how the Union Army fed convalescing soldiers, Max covers that too.

HOST:  Rob Mellon

FEATURED BREW:  Hot Buttered Beer of Tudor England (Tasting History)

YOUTUBE:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsaGKqPZnGp_7N80hcHySGQ

MUSIC:  Bones Fork

Former Mayor Chuck Scholz describes the monumental challenge of dealing with the Great Flood of 1993 as the mayor of Quincy, Illinois.  He details working with city, state and federal officials, including with the Illinois National Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers.  Chuck explains how President Clinton contacted him and pledged to help in any way that he could.  Enjoy the storied effort of Illinois and Missouri residents and the fight to open the river after the bridges on the Mississippi River had been closed.  Join Chuck and Rob for interesting tales from the Gem City on this History Ago Go reoccurring bonus episode.

Dr. Lynn Snyder a Zooarchaeological Researcher who has worked for the Smithsonian and the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece describes how a farm girl from a small town in Illinois became one of the world's preeminent zooarchaeologists.  She discusses her early studies and what motivated her to become an archaeologist.  The discussion focuses on her book, The Agora Bone Well and her work at the Agora in Athens, Greece.  She details the location of a mass grave in an ancient Athenian well.  The discovery of the remains of hundreds of infants and dogs in the well led to a group of archaeologists attempting to unearth the real truth of the Bone Well.  Her team in effect became Crime Scene Investigators for a mass grave that was used centuries ago.  She speaks about how the Greeks treated newborn infants, the Greek child naming ceremony, and how the first few days of life in the ancient world were truly perilous.  Dr. Snyder goes into great detail about the study of the skeletal remains of dogs in the well.  She explains ancient purification rituals and the difficulty of examining the bones from the Bone Well which had been altered by bronze deposits dumped into the well by ancient Greek artisans.  She finishes with the three hypothesis for the mass grave 1) Epidemic 2) Infanticide and 3) Natural Mortality.  Listen to find out what the team of archaeologists concluded about the reason for the ancient mass grave in the Agora Bone Well.

HOST:  Rob Mellon

FEATURED BREW:  Single-Wide American IPA, Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, MO

BOOK:  The Agora Bone Well

MUSIC:  Bones Fork

Dr. Patrick Hotle a decorated and award winning historian and professor discusses the amazing and important history of the Byzantine Empire and the ancient city of Constantinople.  He explains the division of the Roman Empire under Emperor Diocletian and establishment of the city of Constantinople by Emperor Constantine.  The professor emphasizes the geographic and economic importance of the location of the Byzantine capital.  The concept of "Nova Roma" and the difference between the Eastern and Western Roman Empires are emphasized.  Hotle details the reign of Emperor Justinian including his territorial ambitions, building projects, and the establishment of the Justinian Code.  He tells of General Belisarius's military conquests and his role in defeating the Nika Rebellion.  The Empress Theodora, her history and her importance to Justinian are the focus of the second half of the discussion.  Dr. Hotle explains the impact a divided empire had on Christianity, and how we are in debt to the Byzantines for preserving Greco-Roman culture.  He completes the conversation with an description of the Hagia Sophia, the rise of Islam in the region, and the eventual fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453.  Istanbul, not Constantinople remains a cultural hub for Christians and Muslims alike.

HOST:  Rob Mellon

FEATURED BREW:  Schnickelfritz Bavarian-Style Weissbier Ale (Urban Chestnut Brewing Company, St. Louis, Missouri

MUSIC:  Bones Fork