Amazing Tales from Off and On Connecticut‘s Beaten Path-logo

Amazing Tales from Off and On Connecticut‘s Beaten Path

History Podcasts

Noted story teller and former journalist Mike Allen narrates amazing tales about people, places and events from Connecticut history. His style and enthusiasm make history relatable, interesting, fun and informative and he occasionally features special guest interviews. You certainly don‘t have to be from Connecticut to enjoy these stories -- you just need to find history interesting and to love a good story. Episodes are never more than two weeks apart, and are often available more frequently. Episode times vary -- as Mike subscribes to the adage: you should always take the time it takes to tell the story the right way. Theme music (Musical Interlewd 1, intro; Musical Interlewd 2, outro) by Christopher Cech. Podcast logo design by Ashley Cech. This podcast is a production of True North Associates, LLC.

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Location:

United States

Description:

Noted story teller and former journalist Mike Allen narrates amazing tales about people, places and events from Connecticut history. His style and enthusiasm make history relatable, interesting, fun and informative and he occasionally features special guest interviews. You certainly don‘t have to be from Connecticut to enjoy these stories -- you just need to find history interesting and to love a good story. Episodes are never more than two weeks apart, and are often available more frequently. Episode times vary -- as Mike subscribes to the adage: you should always take the time it takes to tell the story the right way. Theme music (Musical Interlewd 1, intro; Musical Interlewd 2, outro) by Christopher Cech. Podcast logo design by Ashley Cech. This podcast is a production of True North Associates, LLC.

Language:

English

Contact:

(973) 517-1345

Episodes

What Remains of CT’s Earliest Turnpikes

5/24/2023
During COVID, a Connecticut resident tracked down – and then drove – all 100 of Connecticut’s original turnpikes, which serviced all but five of the state’s municipalities. Some are interstate highways today; others are neglected, torn-up, and nearly forgotten paths through woodlands. John Schwemmer, an aerospace engineer from Windsor Locks, had to match up ancient and current maps to even find the present-day locations for many of the turnpikes. Hear his fascinating story on this episode.

Duration:00:21:41

Hidden Revolutionary War Treasure

5/17/2023
We know that vast sums of money passed through Connecticut during the Revolutionary War to pay soldiers for their service. Rumors remain to this day that two shipments were stolen, buried, and never recovered. These stories – from East Thompson and East Granby – involve millions of dollars in gold coins, banknotes, and possibly other relics. Many have searched for this missing Revolutionary War treasure, but none have found it. Hear Joe Iamartino, President of the Thompson Historical Society, recount what we know for sure.

Duration:00:17:45

The Mystique of the Old Connecticut Path

5/10/2023
There’s a nearly forgotten, 100-mile-long trail that brought the founders of Connecticut from the Massachusetts Bay Colony nearly 400 years ago. The gorgeous and rustic Old Connecticut Path runs through northeast Connecticut’s so-called “forgotten corner” in Windham County (including the towns of Thompson, Woodstock, Eastford, Ashford, Willington, Tolland, Vernon, Manchester, and Hartford). Much of the trail is still in its natural state and the Massachusetts man who has rediscovered and publicized the trail’s existence, Jason Newton, thinks it should be preserved for future generations before it’s too late.

Duration:00:21:40

The Ice Man Cometh in Connecticut

5/3/2023
Refrigeration, as a technology, is only about 100 years old. Before then, people kept food chilled in an insulated ice box. You needed to routinely place large chunks of ice in the ice box to make sure food didn’t spoil. For 150 years, the harvesting of ice from ponds and lakes in Connecticut was a big business. We’re going to learn how this was done from the Research Director of the White Memorial Conservation Center in Litchfield, CT, James Fischer, where one of CT’s larger ice operations was based.

Duration:00:20:30

Putting the Spotlight on CT’s Lighthouses

4/26/2023
Connecticut has 21 active and inactive lighthouses – from Greenwich to Stonington. Some are on land, and some are built on rock outcroppings in Long Island Sound. Each lighthouse “blinks” in a unique rhythm, or character, so sea captains know which lighthouse it is. The oldest lighthouse museum in the country is in Stonington, and we’ll hear from the Executive Director of the Stonington Historical Society (which owns the museum), Elizabeth Wood, about lighthouses in the state and what the life of a lighthouse keeper was like.

Duration:00:19:20

On a CT Whale Hunt, They Found the President’s Desk

4/19/2023
The story of how the famous Resolute Desk in the President’s Oval Office came to be is full of twists and turns – with CT playing a critical role in making it a reality. You simply won’t believe how an expedition to hunt for whales brought such a piece of furniture to the White House. Hear the story from the Executive Director of the New London County Historical Society, Steve Manuel.

Duration:00:23:09

Timing is Everything: CT as Clock-Making King

4/12/2023
Connecticut produced a lot of “firsts” for the new United States. Among them was clock-making. Plymouth, Bristol and Waterbury were the leading clock manufacturing centers in the country for more than a century. While the technology for making clocks was brought here from England, an ingenious advancement by Eli Terry brought a breakthrough approach to mass production that was copied by other businesses as the industrial revolution grew. Terry’s pupils included the venerable clock maker Seth Thomas. Terry’s activities also spawned the Waterbury firm that created the famous TIMEX watch. Even Mickey Mouse had a role to play in advancing the industry. Hear the story from the Executive Director of the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol, Patti Phillipon.

Duration:00:19:53

UFOs Over Connecticut

4/5/2023
Ever since The New York Times reported in 2017 the existence of the Pentagon’s secret UFO tracking program, and both government and academia now say there’s something to UFOs, the matter has come out of the closet. In Connecticut, many sightings have occurred over the years, including a famous series of incidents over the western portion of the state in the 1980s. From the Roswell, New Mexico incident to the U.S. Navy pilots who were stunned by what they tracked on radar over the Pacific Ocean, we’ll discuss the issue with Mike Panicello, State Director of the Connecticut Chapter of the Mutual Unidentified Flying Object Network (MUFON).

Duration:00:25:45

200 Years of Fatal Train Accidents in Connecticut

3/29/2023
Rail travel in Connecticut is nearly 200 years old and during that time the state has suffered numerous fatal train accidents. Several incidents set records for accidents in the history books. Seven crashes - in Bridgeport, Darien, East Thompson, North Branford, Norwalk, Ridgefield, and Trumbull - dating back to 1853, killed 85 people and injured hundreds of others, many quite seriously. Host Mike Allen recounts the backstories behind these incidents.

Duration:00:18:00

When Hungarian Soldiers Came to Rural Connecticut for the Winter

3/22/2023
Rochambeau’s French Army helped the Americans win the fight for independence against Britain in 1781. Yet, they had to overcome multiple cultural and economic hurdles to do so. Among the issues: Hussar Soldiers wore colorful and distinctive uniforms and were brave fighters, but they only spoke German and occasionally pillaged livestock and crops from the citizens of rural, English-speaking Lebanon, CT where they spent the winter of 1780. Yet, the locals were happy to have the money they spent on supplies. Revolutionary War expert Dr. Robert Selig explains this oft-forgotten aspect of the Revolutionary War and Connecticut’s role in it.

Duration:00:23:14

The Making of Candlewood Lake - CT’s Disneyland

3/15/2023
Connecticut’s largest lake is actually a major hydroelectric generating facility. Candlewood Lake, bordering five towns in western CT, is nearing 100 years old. It’s been generating green electricity since long before the term came into vogue. The story behind its creation – the clearing of 4,500 acres of land, the building of a massive earthen dam to hold 46 billion gallons of water, and the flooding of two former villages – is not well known. Hear the details from two officials with the lake’s owner, First Light Power: External Affairs VP Leonard Greene and the company’s Senior Manager of Land Management, Brian Wood.

Duration:00:24:59

Thanks CT for Cleaning Up U.S. Rivers

3/8/2023
Connecticut’s rivers – like so many around colonial America – were the waste receptacles of their time. Sewage and industrial waste, bulky garbage and many other items clogged and polluted the waterways people depended on for drinking water and transportation. The rivers smelled horrible and were unhealthy. What turned them around were pivotal court cases involving New Britain’s use of Piper Brook, towns using the Naugatuck River, and Danbury’s pollution of the Still River. Local historian Bill Devlin explains how the courts helped Connecticut lead the way in improving stream quality, which paved the way for the federal Clean Water Act.

Duration:00:20:22

Connecticut Radio Turns 100

3/1/2023
Radio has been a part of Connecticut for 100 years. Some of radio’s pioneers came from Connecticut and played a key role in making both AM and FM come to life. And, the famous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast impacted listeners in the state as well as the rest of the country. Hear from an expert, Brandon Kampe, who has compiled the definitive history of the state’s earliest radio stations.

Duration:00:20:30

Bell Town USA is in CT

2/22/2023
The bells that are (1) on all Good Humor trucks, (2) marked the rounds between Mohammed Ali’s iconic boxing matches, (3) gave Clarence his wings at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, and (4) open and close trading on the New York Stock Exchange each day all have one thing in common – they were made by Bevin Bells in East Hampton, CT. East Hampton – or “Bell Town” as they call themselves – has been the center of U.S. bell manufacturing for the past two centuries. Bevin Bells is the last bell manufacturer left. Hear their history – and literally hear the difference in tone that shape, material, and size make – in this unique episode, featuring company Chief Operating Officer Cici Bevin.

Duration:00:20:15

Whaling in CT

2/15/2023
Whaling was a critical part of the Connecticut economy for 200 years, ending only in the 1920s. Of the 2,700 wooden whaling ships built over that time, only one remains – the Charles W. Morgan, anchored at Mystic Seaport in CT. Voyages lasted for several years, with 60 whales caught on each trip for blubber, oil and bone. The oil literally made the Industrial Age possible by lubricating machine parts. It’s an amazing story, as told by the woman who has led demonstrations aboard the Morgan at the Seaport for decades, Mary K. Bercaw Edwards.

Duration:00:20:32

When Cleveland Used to Belong to Connecticut

2/8/2023
In the 1600s and 1700s, Connecticut owned a wide swath of land all the way across the country, ending at the Pacific Ocean. They gave all of it to the federal government – except for 3 million acres in Ohio (the so-called Western Reserve). Today, many town names in northeast Ohio are based on Connecticut namesakes – including Cleveland. This very early “wild, wild west” story includes land speculators, wagon train settlers, and distasteful tactics to push Native Americans off the land, to make way for European settlers. Hear the story from expert Alex Dubois, Curator of the Litchfield Historical Society.

Duration:00:20:03

Driving the Oldest Ferry Boat in the U.S.

2/1/2023
It’s the longest-running ferry service in the United States, having started back in 1655. It only lasts 4 minutes and covers about a quarter mile, but nautically, the ever-changing currents, tides, rain, wind, and fog make it quite challenging. While its capacity is just three cars, the Rocky Hill-Glastonbury Ferry is a crucial service for thousands of commuters and other riders each year who need to cross the Connecticut River. Hear Master Ferry Captain Blaise Clemente explain the history and operations and why his is the best job in Connecticut.

Duration:00:20:00

Why Nathan Hale is Connecticut’s State Hero

1/25/2023
Nathan Hale is Connecticut’s official State Hero, so designated by the Legislature. Yet, there remain some aspects of his famous capture and execution by the British as America’s first spy that are subject to different accounts. There is even some uncertainty as to whether he actually said the famous final words attributed to him: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” We’ll separate the fascinating fact from fiction with Anne Marie Charland, Site Administrator at the Nathan Hale Homestead Museum.

Duration:00:20:55

How Connecticut Thumbed its Nose at Prohibition

1/18/2023
Through the late 1800s, the temperance movement built up political strength and by 1919, Congress passed a Constitutional Amendment ushering in the Era of Prohibition. The making and sale of alcohol was prohibited. Just two states refused to ratify it – and Connecticut was one of them. There were 1,500 speakeasies in the state, rum-runners operating on Long Island Sound, and only a dozen federal agents assigned to enforce the ban statewide. Liquor flowed through Connecticut almost as if the ban wasn’t in effect. Take a step back in time with Danbury Museum Executive Director Brigid Guertin.

Duration:00:20:35

When the Devil was Accused of Murder in Connecticut

1/11/2023
It remains the only time in U.S. history when a murder defendant pleaded not guilty by reason of demonic possession. The so-called Devil-Made-Me-Do-It Murder Case from 1981 in Brookfield, CT continues to draw attention internationally, mainly due to the incredible backstory that accompanies it. Amazing Tales CT host Mike Allen covered the case as a journalist, and he shares the details that made this such an unforgettable case.

Duration:00:20:34

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