Welcome to Lake Wylie, South Carolina, "Where geography, people, and economic vitality have fashioned Southern lifestyle!" Lake Wylie is located in York County 16 miles South of Charlotte, NC along the North and South Carolina border.  When the border was resurveyed in 2012, it was discovered that some of the properties in Lake Wylie were actually located in North Carolina.  The area is officially a census-designated place (CDP) instead of a town.  The CDP is located on a peninsula along the shore of the Lake Wylie.  The lake was formed in 1904 by the Catawba Power Company when it dammed the Catawba River to build a hydroelectric power plant.  The lake was originally named Lake Catawba, but was renamed Lake Wylie in 1960 in honor of one of the founders of the Catawba Power Company.  The lake has become a popular recreation area for the region.   We hope you enjoy our visit to Lake Wylie!

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov

Keith edits all of our recordings, which is a daunting task to say the least.  Unfortunately for Keith, he wasn't with us during the recording of this episode.  Of course, we couldn't help ourselves, and made it a point to screw with Keith during the entire recording.  Keith requested that this porch chat be included with the episode, and we decided to keep it in.

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov

 Welcome to Ipswich, Massachusetts, the "Birthplace of American Independence!"  The area was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony that was settled in 1630 by the Puritans.  Ipswich was established in an area that the local Native Americans called Agawam.  The town is 30 miles North of Boston on the Atlantic coast, and 11 miles South of Newburyport (our Disney Trash Water episode in season 1).   Early settlers were predominantly farmers, fishermen, and shipbuilders.  In 1684 the governor of the colony, Edmund Andros, imposed a tax on the colonists.  The citizens of Ipswich, led by Reverend John Wise, revolted and refused to pay the taxes.  The town leaders were arrested and taken to Boston.  The tax proved to be unpopular across the colony and was ultimately rescinded.  Andros was sent back to England.  This uprising led to the town's nickname,"The Birthplace of American Independence."  Ipswich is located about 15 miles from Salem, home of the Salem Witchcraft Trials.  Many of the accused witches were housed in the jail at Ipswich.  One resident of Ipswich, Elizabeth How, was hanged for witchcraft in 1692.  John Proctor, who was also hanged for witchcraft in Salem, was raised in Ipswich.  The oldest part of town has remained substantially intact with more "First Period" houses than any other community in America.  The town has four contiguous historic districts in the oldest part of town dating back to the 17th century.  Ipswich's history includes stories from nearly every major event in American history, a few ghost stories, and other local legends to sweeten the pot.  We hope you enjoy our trip to Ipswich! 

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov

Welcome to Decorah, Iowa!  Decorah is the seat of Winneshiek County and is located in Northeast Iowa.  The town is built on top of a nearly four mile wide crater created by a large meteorite about 470 million years ago.   The crater was filled in when an ancient seaway filled the crater with sediment and strange sea creatures that hardened into fossils.  One of the creatures is even named for the city, Pentecopterus Decorahensis.  The town is located in the Driftless Area, an area in the Midwest that was never covered by ice during the last ice age.  Because the area lacks glacial deposits known as drift, the landscape has steep hills, ridges, and river valleys unlike the the remainder of the Midwest and central Plains regions.  Decorah was settled by a large number of Norwegians who were instrumental in founding Luther College, a private Lutheran college in town.  The town also home to the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, the largest Norwegian Museum in the country.  Nordic Fest is held during the last weekend in July each year to celebrate the traditions and culture of Scandinavian cultures.  The town is also home to the Seed Savers Exchange and the Decorah Ice Cave, which is apparently extremely dark, cold, and dangerous.  We hope you enjoy our trip to Decorah!  

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov

Welcome to Seaside, Oregon!  The area was originally developed as a summer resort in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay.  The town was officially incorporated in 1899 as Seaside.   It continues to be a popular vacation site and offers all of the normal beach town activities.   The area was also the final westward stop of the Lewis and Clark expedition in the early 19th century.  In 1806, members of the expedition were tasked with building a salt cairn in the area to replenish their salt supplies.  The location of the salt works is now a National Monument and includes a replica of the original salt cairn built by the Lions Club in the mid 1950s.  The town has been called home by a number of notables including early sci-fi author E.E. Smith and Native American folklorist, Tsin-is-tum.  We hope you enjoy our trip the Seaside!

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov

Welcome to Deming, New Mexico, "An Enterprise Community!"  Located 35 miles north of the US-Mexico border, Deming was founded 1881 and was a major hub on the second transcontinental railroad.  The Silver Spike was driven in Deming to commemorate the meeting of the Southern Pacific with the Rio Grande, Mexico and Pacific railroads.   In recent years, several movies had been filmed in Deming.  Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Gas Food Lodging, and the Themyscira scenes in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice were all filmed in the area.  Most importantly (to Neil anyway), the town is location of The Great American Duck Race.  The annual event features duck race, a hot air balloon show, and numerous other events.  We hope you enjoy our visit to Deming!

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov

Small Town News--whose headline is it, anyway? @SmallTownNewsImprov