Conversations on The Road

Long before Plymouth and even before Jamestown there was Thanksgiving in what is now called Canada. The year was 1578 when English explorer Martin Frobisher gave thanks for a long journey (which failed in finding a northern passage to the Orient).

That, we are now told, was the first Thanksgiving coming out of a European tradition (Of course, there were Native celebrations on this continent long before that).

That “First Thanksgiving” provides the foundation for Thanksgiving in Canada today. Unlike its counterpart south of the border, Thanksgiving in Canada is a time of thanks celebrated to correpsond to the successful completion of the harvest.

We speak with Larry Blondell from Kitchener, Ontario about Thanksgiving generally in Canada, and locally where there is a big Thanksgiving Day Parade – part of a larger Oktoberfest in Kitchener and Waterloo.

 

 Thanksgiving-Canada [15:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Burgoo is a soup made from chicken, beef and vegetables, cooked for several hours until the flavors have blended and the ingrediaents have become a thick stew. Its origins are said to have come from the hills of Kentucky.

Each October the small central Illinois community of Utica stages a Burgoo Festival. Gerald Hulslander from the LaSalle County Historical Museum, which stages the event, speaks with us about the origins of Burgoo locally and what happens each year at their Burgoo Festival (especially how the community pot of burgoo is prepared).

We try (without success) to garner some of the sceret ingredients that make the local version of Burgoo special to thsoe who keep coming back every year.

 

 Burgoo [14:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In his time Gene Autry was the real thing. To those who know he remains big.

Known as “the Singing Cowboy”, he made his mark in records, film, radio and television.

This September he would have turned 100.

To mark the occasion, folks at the Gene Autry Museum in Gene Autry, Oklahoma celebrated the man and the culture he represented in a big way.

Mary Schutz of the Gene Autry Museum speaks with us about Gene Autry, his legend, and the way they are celebrating his life this year. She also tells about the museum and even the town named after him.

 

 Gene Autry Turns 100 [13:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Prof. Robert Thompson, professor of Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University, is an author of six books and a leading authority on the impact of television on popular culture.

He speaks with us about a series of television shows celebrating milestone anniversaries and their impact on television and on our society – they range from Bachelor Father to Thirty Something and a lot in between.

 

 TV and Popular Culture [19:18m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download