Dan Clark and guest Kent Sissel, restorer and resident of the 1878 Alexander G. Clark House, discuss Black History Month events including a Feb. 22 observance and other recognitions of Clark's birthday and legacy. Dan describes the show's month-long special emphasis as "White Folks Talking Black History." More on A.G. Clark at http://alexanderclark.org.

Dan Clark's guest Lee Miller is author of Crocker's Brigade, a new book telling the story of four Iowa infantry regiments combined under command of Marcellus M. Crocker after the April 1862 Battle of Shiloh. Many of the men were from the Muscatine area. Dan and Lee are joined by another local Civil War author and previous TTT guest, Jeff Shay. Learn more about Lee Miller and his book at http://www.muscatinejournal.com/articles/2009/01/09/news/doc4967744f5824d970374432.txt .

Dan Clark's guests are Dave Ales and Al Brotherton, talking and playing music to get us in the mood for the 15th annual Eagles and Ivories Ragtime festival coming January 23-24-25. Al leads the local band Mad Creek Mud Cats, and Dave is the festival organizer for the Muscatine County Arts Council http://www.muscatineartscouncil.org/eagles%20&%20Ivories.htm. Hear the previous pre-festival show at http://muscatinetours.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=419741 (Jan. 6).

Dan Clark's guest is Jay Logel who started his 42-year career at Muscatine Power & Water as a power plant maintenance helper and is retiring this month after serving in nine positions, the last 11 years as general manager at Iowa’s largest municipal electric utility http://www.mpw.org/.

Dan Clark's guests Chris Clark and Duffy DeFrance represent Muscatine County Arts Council http://www.muscatineartscouncil.org/ which sponsors the 15th annual Eagles and Ivories Ragtime Weekend coming up January 23-24-25. More about John Brown's last trip across Iowa 150 years ago and an acclaimed puppet show based on that real-life saga, "FREEDOM STAR: Gertie's Journey on the Underground Railroad" http://www.puppetspuppets.com/about/birthday/favorite/favorite.html . Includes music cuts from ragtime artists slated for the 2009 festival.

Dan Clark and Shirley Calvert observe three years of doing this show (already!), and guests Molly Cantrell-Kraig and Laura Liegois talk up a new initiative to Keep Muscatine Beautiful. The fast talk and fun includes comparing Facebook experiences. Contact Molly via http://www.your-storyonline.com and Laura via http://ci.muscatine.ia.us/pw/transfer/index.htm . You may contact Shirley through Dan.

Dan Clark and Shirley Calvert talk about Christmas and family. Dan reads "The First Christmas Tree" by Shirley's father, William D. Randall (Little Known Stories of Muscatine, Vol. 4). Next, Dan speaks with archaeologist Steve Hanken about John Brown's last trip across Iowa 150 years ago. After "liberating" slaves in Missouri (Dec. 20, 1858), Brown led a dramatic Underground Railroad trek to a real train car in West Liberty and on toward freedom. The saga continues over coming weeks as we track Brown's party into southeast Nebraska and across Iowa.

Dan Clark speaks with Paul Rumler, executive director of the Quad Cities Passenger Rail Coalition ( http://www.qcrail.com ). Callers share memories of train travel and express support for future passenger service.

Dan Clark speaks with Mallory Smith and Kathy Vance about an oral history project that gathered residents' stories of using and enjoying natural areas in and around Louisa County, just south of Muscatine. The interviews will be featured at a new interpretive center and preserved for future study. Learn more at http://www.tri-rivers.org/Reflections.html.

Dan Clark speaks with Frank Best and Connie Street about museums and other history efforts in one of Iowa's first counties, Louisa County, just south of Muscatine. Learn more at http://LouisaCountyHistory.com.