Today we wrap up our story about legendary Appalachian explorer, longhunter and guide Simon Kenton, who went from explorer and longhunter to owning hundreds of thousands of acres of frontier land, businesses, and a small fortune...only to have it all ripped away from him by the end of his life.

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Today we have a story so big we had to split it into two parts!

Simon Kenton was an Appalachian explorer, longhunter and guide. His life was so filled with adventure that it became the stuff of legend, second only to Daniel Boone, Kenton's close friend. Numerous buildings, schools, and other places bear Kenton's name in those states that border the Ohio River, testament to his place in history.

Today we begin to tell his amazing story.

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In 1890 the circus came to Alderson, West Virginia. When the circus moved on, it left a new resident of the town, which became loved by all, well, except for one traveling salesman.

Today we tell the story of a gentle and loving lion named French, for the circus that brought him to town, another one of the stories of Appalachia.

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Today we tell the story of a man who refused to let a "disability" keep him down.

Linguist, athlete, amateur astronomer, adventurer and genealogist James Brownlow Lawson from Sevier County, Tennessee, lived the life he wanted, despite the loss of his arm as a young man.

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In February, 1972, a coal company muck dam along Buffalo Creek in Logan County, West Virginia, collapsed after a winter of heavy snow and rain. The resulting flash flood of water and gob destroyed homes, businesses and took several lives in that Appalachian holler.

Today we tell that story.

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Otto Wood was headed in the wrong direction from a young age. As a child he learned how to make moonshine while in the care of his relatives in West Virginia, to whom he had run away from home.

One thing led to another and before you knew it Otto was a wanted man in at least six states.

Thing is, the authorities in those states just couldn't keep Otto locked up for long, since he was always escaping.

Today we tell the story of the Appalachian escape artist and outlaw, Otto Wood.

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Did some Braxton County, West Virginia, kids see a UFO back in 1952? Some folks thought so, especially after locals began exhibiting strange symptoms. Today Steve and Rod tell the tale of the Flatwoods Monster, or the Phantom of Flatwoods, as it was also called. It’s another story that makes up the history of this place we call home.

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In 1938 a Roane County, Tennessee, hermit felt the pull of time. Concerned about how he was going to be remembered after he was gone and wondering if anyone cared anyway, he decided to plan and hold his funeral service...while he could experience it.

Today we tell the story of Uncle Bush's magnificent funeral...

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There was once a cabin down by Sinking Creek at the foot of Droop Mountain in West Virginia, or so it's been told. That cabin was the home of a mysterious man known as "Old Hell."

Some folks around there said that hell was the right name, for that house became known for hellish sounds and otherworldly lights. It was also found to have more to it than that, though, and this bit of folklore is today's story of Appalachia.

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Doris Payne was born in 1930 to a coal miner in Slab Fork, West Virginia.

She didn't stay there. In fact, she ended up traveling the world for decades pursuing her chosen path in life.

International jewel thief.

Today we tell her story.

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