Members of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were responsible for nature preservation and park construction across the country.  From construction updates and literacy initiatives to silly poetry and inside jokes we'll never understand, the newspapers of Huntsville's CCC camps offer a fun look into the day-to-day lives of the men who built Monte Sano State Park.

Did you know Huntsville has nine historic cemeteries, some of which are still active and all of which require constant maintenance and preservation? Join me as I talk with Tara Sloan, the interim director of the city's Cemetery Department, about monument restoration, documenting headstones, and more!

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts) at lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com. You can also be awesome like patrons like Allison, Emily, Laura, and Hector by supporting the show monthly at patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

This week's episode is an interview with John O'Brien, local author and historian, on the who, why, and where of how the "Huntsville" we know it was shaped. Join us for a chat on place making, Huntsville's red light district, the early housing authority, urban planning, the city beautiful movement, and a place called Boogertown. 

In modern times, we’d call it doom-scrolling: aimlessly flipping through articles filled with frustrating, frightening, or otherwise ominous news.  In Fall of 1918, though, it was just called reading the news.  From war to an influenza epidemic to power outages to literal snake oil salesmen, there was a lot going on, and as such I wanted to combine these reports with what we know now of the time to paint a picture of a few months in town over a century ago.

*And now for something completely different*

(Logo made by Craiyon, inspired by the art of ???)

Whether it’s a relaxing health retreat in nature, a destination to party all night, or a way to attract wealthy investors into town, there’s (apparently) nothing like a resort vacation, and for a short time in the late 1800s, Huntsville was home to one such resort.  The Hotel Monte Sano offered prime examples of luxury amenities for its guests, whether they were there to take deep breaths of mountain air to try to cure their ailments and/or if their goal was dancing to the music of live orchestras at extravagant galas (one of which was of course in honor of a cow). However, the hotel was also home to money issues, dubious quality rail transportation, and apparently a good bit of soup.

When people talk about LGBTQ history, they'll often mention Stonewall in New York, Harvey Milk in California, or maybe HIV/AIDS protests in the mid-Atlantic region. Rarely does the American South first come to mind, but that's not due to a lack of historical places, events, and groundbreakers. The Invisible Histories Project (IHP, invisiblehistories.org), for whom this live panel was a fundraiser, is dedicated to collecting, archiving, and educating on queer history in the south, and believe me: there's a lot of it.

In this live panel, I was joined by IHP co-founder Joshua Burford (he/him) and Tristan Wildharber (they/them) to talk about this history, how it's preserved, and how the past relates to the present. From Victorian diary pages, "confirmed bachelors", and Cracker Barrel to labor unions, intersectionality, and "the gayest story you've heard all day", it's our longest episode yet, and you're sure to learn something about LGBTQ life in the south!

Want to donate to IHP? Check out invisiblehistory.org/donate or their Patreon at patreon.com/invisiblehistoriesproject to chip in!

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts) at lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com. You can also be awesome like Emily C. and support the show monthly at patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

The event venue for this live episode is sponsored in part by WeAreHuntsville (wearehuntsville.com, @WeAreHuntsville on social)

Dr. William Henry Burritt was a lot of things: a homeopathic doctor, a car guy, an inventor, a world traveler, and the eccentric brains behind one of Huntsville's weirdest homes. In part two of this two-part show on Dr. Burritt, I'll be discussing his third wife, his second mansion, and the city's first museum, as well as a custom car and herd of dairy goats (not a typo).

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts) at lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com. You can also support the show monthly at patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

This episode is sponsored by WeAreHuntsville (wearehuntsville.com, @WeAreHuntsville on social)

Dr. William Henry Burritt was a lot of things: a homeopathic doctor, a car guy, an inventor, a world traveler, and the eccentric brains behind one of Huntsville's weirdest homes. In part one of this two-part show on Dr. Burritt, I'll be discussing his "origin story" as well as the construction and destruction of the first of his two X-shaped mansions (spoiler).

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts) at lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com. You can also support the show monthly at patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

This episode is sponsored by WeAreHuntsville (wearehuntsville.com, @WeAreHuntsville on social)

You know I love a good primary source, and when it comes to early-statehood-Alabama there's no source like travel writer (and convicted "common scold") Anne Royall.  Unafraid to bash the manners of "high society" women, call out hypocrisy in the church, or insult the appearance of those she met, Royall also was responsible for documenting much about 1810s and 1820s Huntsville life, including descriptions of the city, its citizens, and the first recorded tornado in the area.  

For more Huntsville, Alabama, history you can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @lilyflaggpodcast, and check out our website (with show transcripts) at lilyflaggpodcast.wordpress.com. You can also support the show monthly at patreon.com/lilyflaggpodcast

This episode is sponsored by WeAreHuntsville (wearehuntsville.com, @WeAreHuntsville on social)