The Shenandoah Valley Radio Program

Karl Rhodes, Author of Peggy’s War, has released a new book. Susanna. Valley Folkways, Folklore, Traditions & Culture are still a part of the Shenandoah Valley of today 

• The Interview: Karl Rhodes’ latest book, Susanna, The True and Tragic Story of Susanna Heatwole Brunk Cooprider, follows his book about his great-great grandmother, Peggy Rhodes. 
• The Narrative: The Valley’s early folkway traditions and folklore have Scots Irish and German roots, and are also influenced by Civil War history. Today, they still help define the culture of the Valley
• The History Moment: In the autumn of 1927, the Strasburg News announced a new book about Valley history by Dr. John A. Wayland, A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia. It remains in print as a major Valley history reference book. 

The latest book by Valley historian Jonathan Noyalas features walking tours that bring Winchester, Virginia's complex Civil War story to life. Also: A look at the early days of radio broadcasting in the Shenandoah Valley.

• The Interview: Johnathan A. Noyalas' new book, Winchester and the Civil War: A Walk through History is a guide for exploring a city where Civil War history still reverberates throughout its many historic streets, buildings and landscapes. 
• The Narrative: For the first time in history, the phonograph brought recorded music performances into living room. Radio expanded on that concept and ruled for many years. Some early Valley radio stations were early pioneers and many Valley radio performers went on to become legends.
• The History Moment: During the 1920s, Shenandoah National Park was still under development and its lands were still being studied. To get a composite photo of the park, a cutting-edge technology was used: Aerial photography from an airplane

Description: Brocks Gap is tucked away in the mountains of northwest Rockingham County. It had been a “Gateway to the West” and has been the home of families living there for generations. Also: From Native American trails to today’s interstate highways: Valley transportation history.

• The Interview: Rockingham County historian Pat Turner Ritchie’s Brocks Gap family roots go back several generations. She’s spent a lifetime researching and archiving local history and is the driving force behind the annual Brocks Gap Heritage Day, an event that regularly draws visitors from over a dozen U.S. states.
• The Narrative: The Shenandoah Valley has always been a major transportation route, running along Native American paths that early immigrant settlers, American pioneers and 19th century commerce would later follow. Travelers still use it today. The story of Valley Transportation history. 
• The History Moment: A raging 1924 fire in the town of Boyce, Virginia, had taken out local businesses and was threatening several other buildings. Then the wind suddenly changed direction and gave firefighters the break they desperately needed.

Description: There were two waves of German Immigration in the Valley during the 1700s and 1800s. Germans brought a way of life to the Valley that is still evident today. Also: The French and Indian War was a global conflict but early Valley settlers endured its terrible effect. But it also helped form George Washington as a military and national leader

• The Interview: The Frontier Culture Museum's Dorette Sobolewski discusses early German immigration in the Shenandoah Valley. Born and raised in Germany, she now lives in the Valley and provides her own, unique perspective.
• The Narrative: The French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War, was about France and England fighting over what had been Native American lands. For a young George Washington, it was a prelude to his leadership in the fight for American independence, as Native American raiders were bringing the war home to Valley frontier settlers.
• The History Moment: The Valley is celebrating Independence Day during this year's America 250. What were the American Centennial festivities like in Harrisonburg, Va. on July 4th, 1876?

Description: The Great Awakening movements of the 1700s and 1800s transformed religious life in the Shenandoah Valley and in America. They are being still felt today. Also: Iron Furnaces in the Shenandoah Valley once boomed, but not before devastating vast areas of Valley forest land.

• The Interview: Nathan Stalvey gives insights into the two Great Awakening religious movements that occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries. The impact of the transformative changes they brought about in America is still being felt today.
• The Narrative: The old, stone iron-making furnaces that once served a booming Valley industry can still be seen here and there throughout the Valley. They played a part in the Revolutionary War, but they also devastated Valley forest land, which ultimately help lead to their own demise. 
• The History Moment: “Cousin Ben” steals the show at an 1871 concert in Front Royal, Virginia.

Description: The Battle of New Market was one of the most unique engagements of the Civil War: In 1864, 257 young Virginia Military Institute cadets were forced into a pivotal role on the front lines of the battlefield. We also explore the broader context of Shenandoah Valley Civil War History.

• The Interview: Sarah M. Hebert, assistance site manager and educator at the Virginia Museum of the Civil War shares her insights about a battle that has been called, "Field of Lost Shoes."
• The Narrative: A comprehensive look at the Civil War history in the Shenandoah Valley, exploring the strategic importance of what had been the "Breadbasket of the Confederacy."
• The History Moment: "Automobilists" stir up a 1905 "share the road" controversy in Staunton, Virginia's Gypsy Hill Park.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Andrea Weeks, Professor of Botany at George Mason University and Director of the Ted R. Bradley Herbarium. Dr. Weeks shares how her own research led her to the story of a remarkable Valley native.

Highlights of this episode:

• The Trailblazing Lena Artz: Originally a Valley school teacher in the 1930s, Lena Artz followed her passion to become a professional botanist. We explore her life as an independent woman who navigated significant gender-related barriers to make vital scientific discoveries in the Massanutten Mountains.
• Cyrus McCormick – Inventor or Innovator?: A look at the man behind the mechanical reaper. Was his true genius in the invention itself, or in the business innovations that changed agriculture forever?

Join us as we bridge the gap between 20th-century botanical history and the industrial innovations that shaped the Shenandoah Valley.

Description: Can you dig it? Explore the Valley’s hidden history with Mike Kehoe, from Native American artifacts to Civil War archaeology. Plus, the story of Claudius Crozet’s 19th century, “crazy” engineering feat: boring a mile-long rail tunnel through solid Blue Ridge rock.Explore the Valley’s hidden history with Mike Kehoe, from Native American artifacts to Civil War archaeology. Plus, the story of Claudius Crozet’s 19th century, “crazy” engineering feat: boring a mile-long rail tunnel through solid Blue Ridge rock.

• The Interview: Mike Kehoe grew up on a Shenandoah Valley farm discovering Native American and Civil War artifacts in plowed fields. Having participated in his first official archaeological dig at age 14, he has dedicated his life to Valley history, working with the Archaeological Society of Virginia, the VA Dept. of Historic Resources, and the U.S. Park Service.
• The Narrative: The idea of boring a rail tunnel nearly a mile through hard Blue Ridge Mountain rock seemed impossible in the mid-1800s. It took the engineering genius of Claudius Crozet to prove the skeptics wrong. Today, the Blue Ridge Tunnel is a premier destination for hikers and history buffs alike.
• The History Moment: Dispatches from the archives of old Valley newspapers.

Historical assumptions have long existed about how enslaved people in the Shenandoah Valley actually had lived. But do they tell the real story? After Emancipation, the Readjuster Party was a brief, but major force in Virginia politics during the 1800s and an early champion of civil rights.

• The Interview: Shenandoah University history professor and author Jonathan Noyalas talks about his book, Slavery in the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War Era. It examines Black History in the Valley, from enslavement to Emancipation.
• The Narrative: What was the Virginia Readjuster Party all about? How these late 19th century progressives helped shape today's political parties in Virginia.
• The History Moment: Dispatches from the archives of old Valley newspapers.

Description: Meet “Dunmore’s Nemesis” and the “Last Men Standing” as we dive deep into the history of soldiers who secured Virginia’s soil during the American Revolution.

• The Interview: Historian and author Gabe Neville discusses his work The Last Men Standing, providing a definitive look at the 8th Virginia Regiment in the American Revolution.
• The Narrative: A profile of Andrew Lewis, the frontier hero who led American patriots to oust the last vestiges of British rule from Virginia.
• The History Moment: Dispatches from the archives of old Valley newspapers.