Latest Rihistory Podcast Episodes
68. ANIMALS: Oscar, the Cat Who Could Predict Death
Weird Island - February 28, 2023 11:32 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsOscar seemed like an ordinary kitten when he was adopted by Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation center in Providence, RI. But the staff and residents at Steere House quickly suspected Oscar had a unique ability. He seemed to be able to predict when someone was going to die. Heads up, this ...
WEIRD ISLAND CHECK IN: Taking a (Little) Pause
Weird Island - January 24, 2023 12:09 - 3 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsHey all! I’m taking a tiny pause on new episodes for a little while to work on some other things that inspire me. I’ll be back before you know it! And, in the meantime, I still have a couple of episodes to drop. So, I hope you’ll stick around. If you’re looking for something new to listen to w...
67. MILLS: From Cotton Cloth to Space Age Textiles
Weird Island - January 03, 2023 10:00 - 23 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsWhile researching RI mills, I came across this one little snippet about the Ashton Mill in Cumberland, and had to know more: “Owens-Corning Fiberglas Company bought the mill... They operated in the mill until 1983. They made tire cord, drapery, and beta cloth for spacesuits for the Apollo Moon m...
66. MEET ME AT THE BILTMORE: Dutee Wilcox Flint
Weird Island - December 06, 2022 10:33 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsThis week, I’m joined by Amanda Quay Blount, who just released her new book Meet Me at the Biltmore this October. She brought me a story I’d never heard before about this Rhode Island based Ford dealer. His name was Dutee Wilcox Flint, and he was one of the earliest and most successful Ford deal...
65. THANKSGIVING: Revisiting the Origin Story
Weird Island - November 22, 2022 14:38 - 25 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsThis week, as many get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, I wanted to revisit the story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving that many of us learned as kids. Because, I found out as an adult that I didn’t really learn the full story–I learned a mythologized version of it. And I learned that ...
64. MURDER: Amasa Sprague and the Trial of John Gordon
Weird Island - November 08, 2022 10:00 - 25 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsOn December 31, 1843, Amasa Sprague was found murdered near his home in Cranston, RI. An Irish immigrant named John Gordon was tried and convicted of the crime, but even at the time, many believed he may have been innocent. Episode Source Material: Opinion/Harrington: Mystery still shrouds mu...
63. HAUNTED: The Conjuring House
Weird Island - October 25, 2022 10:01 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsHave you seen The Conjuring, the 2013 Hollywood film so successful it spawned a franchise of supernatural horror films? Did you know it’s loosely based on the haunting of a Rhode Island family? The old colonial farmhouse in Burrillville, where they lived and experienced paranormal phenomena in t...
62. MILLS: Ann & Hope
Weird Island - October 11, 2022 10:10 - 27 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsAnn & Hope… were two women. Then the words became the name of a ship, followed by a mill, and later a store. This week, I’ll bring you along as I learn the story of the Ann & Hope Mill and the discount department store that shared its name. And along the way, we’ll even uncover a bit of a myster...
61. Windswept: The Pain-Killer Mansion
Weird Island - September 27, 2022 09:33 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsHave you ever been to Scarborough Beach in Narragansett and noticed that beautiful stone ruin just beyond the sand? Well, it turns out it’s the remnants of an old carriage house that once stood beside this mansion overlooking the water. The mansion was called Windswept, but locally it was known ...
61. WINDSWEPT: The Pain-Killer Mansion
Weird Island - September 27, 2022 09:33 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsHave you ever been to Scarborough Beach in Narragansett and noticed that beautiful stone ruin just beyond the sand? Well, it turns out it’s the remnants of an old carriage house that once stood beside this mansion overlooking the water. The mansion was called Windswept, but locally it was known ...
60. FIRSTS: First Oyster Bar in Providence
Weird Island - September 13, 2022 09:28 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsLong before the quahog became Rhode Island’s iconic shellfish, oysters dominated local waters. In this episode, I’ll be diving into the stories of black innovators and entrepreneurs who shaped the oyster industry–including Manna Bernoon, who established Providence’s first Oyster and Ale House in...
59. CYCLEDROME: And the First New England NFL Champions
Weird Island - August 30, 2022 09:00 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsIn 1925, a massive bicycle racing track was built on North Main Street in Providence. Later that year, it would become home to the Providence Steam Roller, remembered today as New England’s first NFL Champions. Episode Source Material Rhode Island History | November 1977 Providence Cyclodrome...
58. WRITERS: H.P. Lovecraft
Weird Island - August 16, 2022 11:00 - 25 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsSo, you’ve seen his face on t-shirts and posters and on the covers of anthology books all over Providence, but who exactly is H. P. Lovecraft? Tune in to the first episode of Season 2 to find out! I cover a number of Providence locations in this episode, and you’re welcome to visit them while li...
57. GHOST TOWN: Hanton City
Weird Island - May 24, 2022 09:00 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsIn Smithfield, Rhode Island, out in the middle of the woods, there are the remains of an old village that disappeared over 100 years ago. A ghost town known as Hanton City, sometimes called Haunted City or the Lost City. To Visit: Walk the Hanton City Hiking Trail, starting from 70 W. Reservo...
56. PPAC: Providence’s Movie Palaces
Weird Island - May 10, 2022 10:44 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsHave you ever been to see a show at the Providence Performing Arts Center and marveled at the gorgeous building? Well, you might be surprised to know that when PPAC opened in the late 1920s, the theater showed a different kind of show–movies! I’m joined by special guests Lynn Singleton and Alan ...
55. MURDER: Carter Jackson Monument
Weird Island - April 26, 2022 09:00 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsIn South Kingstown, there’s an odd monument hidden away in the bushes off Tower Hill Road. It’s a four-sided granite pillar covered, from top to bottom on all sides, in a written inscription. And this inscription tells a story. But not one of a famous battle or prominent leader or politician or ...
54. DINERS: Modern Diner
Weird Island - April 12, 2022 10:14 - 22 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsThe history of the classic American diner started right here in Rhode Island. It began as something called a Night Lunch Wagon. But over time the diner grew and changed, following trends in the workforce, the American family, and food culture to become the uniquely American restaurant we know an...
53. DINERS: Haven Brothers
Weird Island - April 05, 2022 09:45 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsIf you’ve been to Kennedy Plaza, you’ve probably seen the big, shiny stainless steel piece of Providence late-night culture that is Haven Brothers diner. Maybe you’ve even eaten one of their famous Murder Burgers. But did you know that Haven Brothers traces its origin back to 1893, making it one...
52. WEIRD NEWS: When the Wright’s Chicken Farm Kids were Kidnapped
Weird Island - March 22, 2022 09:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsWhen a friend said to me, “What about an episode about that time the Wright’s Chicken Farm kids were kidnapped?” I had to know more. Today’s episode comes right from the newspaper archives, from March of 1979. Episode Source Material: State v. Ballard :: 1982 :: Rhode Island Supreme Court De...
51. STRANGE STREETS: The Mystery of Ridge St. and Pidge Ave.
Weird Island - March 15, 2022 09:00 - 27 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsEpisode Description: On the border of Providence and Pawtucket, there’s a strange intersection. One single road changes its name from Ridge Street to Pidge Avenue. With Ridge and Pidge being just one letter apart, it always seemed like a mistake. With the help of Providence Journal reporter Pa...
50. SUMMER MEMORIES: RI’s Historic Carousels
Weird Island - March 08, 2022 10:00 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsCarousels are playful and whimsical, bright and colorful. They evoke memories of childhood and innocence. Here, in Rhode Island, they’re not only time capsules of happy summer moments, but museums of folk art from the golden age of the American carousel. To Visit: Looff Carousel | Crescent P...
49. WEIRD ANNIVERSARY: Part 2 | Fun Facts
Weird Island - March 01, 2022 11:17 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsSometimes when I’m researching, I waste a bunch of time researching something only slightly related to the episode topic. Like the time I read an entire book about apples while researching the Tree Root that Ate Roger Williams. Today, instead of a regular episode, for each topic I’ve covered, I’...
48. WEIRD ANNIVERSARY: One Year of Weird Island
Weird Island - February 22, 2022 10:39 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsI've been making this podcast for a year! So instead of bringing you a normal story, I thought I'd tell you my own.
47. WEIRD FOOD: Cuffy Cockroach’s Sea Turtle Soup
Weird Island - February 15, 2022 10:44 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsPeople began eating turtle soup in the 1700s, and they kept eating it through the early 1900s. Companies like Campbell’s and Heinz made canned turtle soup (and something called mock turtle soup). And it wasn’t just available. It was a real culinary obsession. In the early days, there would be th...
46. FIRSTS: First Oval-Track Auto Race
Weird Island - February 08, 2022 10:43 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsIn 1896, the very first auto race on an oval track took place at the Rhode Island State Fair, just one year after the first city-to-city auto race in the world took place. Cars were so new, no one knew what to call them. Horseless wagons? Motor wagons? Motocycles? Electric Traps? Episode Source...
45. ARCHITECTURE: Turk’s Head Building
Weird Island - February 01, 2022 12:20 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsHow did the Turk’s Head building get its name? Well, it’s actually built on the site of a colonial house and a store that had an unusual sign mounted outside--a wooden carving of an Ottoman Sultan. The store became known as "at the Sign of the Turk's Head." To visit: 1 Turk’s Head Place, Provi...
44. BUBBLERS: Cogswell’s Infamous Fountains
Weird Island - January 18, 2022 10:28 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsIn the middle of downtown Pawtucket, there’s an old, no longer functioning drinking fountain that most people assume is just a statue. But it’s one of only a handful of remaining Temperance Fountains, donated to the city by a man who believed that the solution to drunkenness might just be a glas...
43. WRITERS: Edgar Allan Poe in Providence
Weird Island - January 11, 2022 12:30 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsEpisode Description: While he never lived in Rhode Island, Edgar Allan Poe famously spent time here at the end of his life. He courted a Providence writer, Sarah Helen Whitman, and spent time at her East Side home, Swan Point Cemetery and the Athenaeum. Episode Source Material: About… – Ed...
42. ANIMAL ESCAPE: Frosty The Polar Bear
Weird Island - January 04, 2022 10:00 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsA mini episode this week, with another animal escape. Frosty the Polar Bear escaped from the now-closed Slater Park Zoo, twice! Episode Source Material: Life After Slater Park Fanny the elephant to be freed Newport Daily News Newspaper Archives, May 25, 1979, p. 13 Newport Daily News Newspa...
41. WATERFIRE: In the Renaissance City
Weird Island - December 31, 2021 16:35 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 151 ratingsWaterFire is the quintessential Providence experience, centering around a series of nearly 100 bonfires along the three rivers that pass through the middle of downtown Providence. But just 40 years ago, you might not have even known that those rivers existed. If you think WaterFire isn’t weird, ...
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