Welcome to another grab bag episode from recent locations.  We are missing George and Dr. Jess today, so there is no telling where we might end up!  Enjoy!

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

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

Welcome to Big Bear Lake, California, "Southern California's Winter Playground!"  Located about 25 miles northeast of San Bernardino, Big Bear Lake has become a popular recreation destination.  With a population of just over 5,000, the number of people staying in the area can swell to over 100,000 during many weekends of the year.  The area is a popular destination year round destination and as a shooting location for the film industry.  The area was used for films including Old Yeller, War Games, Paint Your Wagon,  and Better off Dead to name a few.  In addition, Heather O'Rourke, the child actress who played Carol Anne in the Poltergeist movie series, lived in the town in the mid-80s.  We hope you enjoy our visit to Big Bear Lake!

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

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

Welcome to Hopkinton, Rhode Island!  The town is the southernmost town along I-95 in Rhode Island.  Hopkinton is named after Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, when the town was partitioned from Westerly and incorporated in 1757.  Prudence Crandall, schoolteacher and activist, was born in Hopkinton in 1803.  Crandall taught the first integrated classroom in the US when she admitted a 20 year old African American female student into her Connecticut boarding school in 1832.  Although things did not go well at the time, Mark Twain lobbied the Connecticut Legislature in 1886 and she was awarded a pension and a resolution honoring her was passed.  We explore several other notable residents and aspects of Hopkinton in this episode.  We hope you enjoy!

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

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

Welcome to Bonners Ferry, Idaho, "Idaho's Most Friendly Town."  The town is located in Boundary County, ID, and shares its northern border with British Columbia, Canada.  When gold was discovered in the East Kootenays in British Columbia in 1863, the surge of prospectors caused Edwin Bonner to establish a ferry where the Wildhorse Trail crossed the Kootenai River in 1864.   When the town was officially established in 1893, it retained the name of the original owner of the ferry.   Mining and lumber fed the towns early economy.  When the valley was drained in the early 1900s, the fertile farmland it created earned the area the nickname "Nile of the North".  In 1974, the Kootenai Tribe, the original inhabitants of the area, declared war in the United States and required travelers to pay a toll to use the main highway into town.  The money collected was used to care for elderly members of the tribe.  Ultimately the US government provided a 10.5 acre land grant to be used as the Kootenai Reservation to settle the dispute.  The town was once called home by American spy, Christopher John Boyce, and silent film actress, Claire Du Brey.  We hope you enjoy our trip through this neat little town.

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

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

Happy New Year!  As we wrap up the holiday season, we take a trip back to Thanksgiving in some of our recently visited towns.   Enjoy this fun run little run through the holidays.

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

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