In this episode of Stories of Appalachia, we tell the remarkable tale of Talmadge Judd, a backyard innovator from Kingsport, Tennessee, whose vision and mechanical abilities led to the creation in 1945 of the Humming Bird, an automobile far ahead of its time.  

With no blueprints, Judd built the Humming Bird in just four months—a subcompact marvel that boasted impressive fuel efficiency and a sleek design decades ahead of its time.  

Join Steve Gilly and Rod Mullins as they tell another one of the Stories of Appalachia!  

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Today we tell a story with echoes of the Wild West…along with a twist! We unravel the mysterious life of Jack Vermillion of Mendota, Virginia, a man who many say once walked the dusty streets of Tombstone, Arizona, alongside the legendary Earp brothers.  

Join hosts Steve Gilly and Rod Mullins as they journey through the tangled tales of a figure many believed to be the notorious Texas Jack Vermillion!  

Was the Jack Vermillion laid to rest in Mendota the same man who earned his fame in the deserts of Arizona?  

Subscribe and listen to the Stories of Appalachia podcast on your favorite podcast app to join us on this fascinating exploration of the history of this place we call home, Appalachia.  

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In the heart of Appalachia, a legend looms as large as the mountains themselves. Today, we tell the story of John Wesley Wright.

Born in the Elkhorn Valley of Kentucky, John Wright's life was a mix of adventure, violence, and survival. From his early days as a Confederate soldier making a daring escape from Union forces, Wright's exploits during the Civil War set the stage for his legendary status. But his story doesn't end with the war. Wright's journey led him to the circus spotlight alongside his uncle, the famed Kentucky Giant, Martin Van Buren Bates, to the shadowy world of manhunting with the Pinkerton and Baldwin-Felts detective agencies.

As a lawman, Wright's reputation for meting out justice was as formidable as his skills with a gun, earning him the nicknames "Bad John” and “Devil John” from those outlaws he pursued and captured.  But his life was not solely defined by bullets and bravado. Wright's complex personal life, fathering over 30 children with multiple women, paints a portrait of a man as multifaceted as the hills he called home.

Join us as we explore John Wright's story, from his encounters with outlaws and feudists to his final days, when he sought redemption and left his devilish nickname behind. It's a journey through Appalachia's past that's as captivating as the landscape itself.  

Don't miss this episode of Stories of Appalachia, available on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, or your favorite podcast platform.  

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Today we venture into the untamed wilderness of the late 18th-century Appalachian frontier, along the Ohio River. In this episode of Stories of Appalachia, Steve and Rod unearth the life and lore of Lewis Wetzel, a man whose name is etched in the annals of history as a fearless pioneer, frontiersman, and Indian fighter.    

Join us on a journey through time as we trace Wetzel’s origins from uncertain beginnings to his rise as a formidable force known for his exceptional weapon skills who earned the name “Deathwind.” We’ll recount his harrowing escape from capture at just 13 years old, his notorious reputation that stirred a mix of fear and admiration, and the long, dark ponytail that became his trademark among the ladies of the frontier.    

But Wetzel’s story is not without its shadows. We explore the controversial actions and the thirst for vengeance that drove him to extremes.  From daring jailbreaks to a life’s end shrouded in mystery, this is a tale that mirrors the complexities of the Appalachian frontier itself.    

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Step into the world of Appalachian giants with the incredible tale of Joseph Jefferson Copeland, known to all as Big Joe, the strongest man in Tennessee. In this episode of Stories of Appalachia, Steve Gilly and Rod Mullins bring to life the legend of a man whose feats of strength and size became the benchmark for tales of might in the 19th century.  

Join us as we explore the life of Big Joe. We'll share anecdotes that are as heartwarming as they are jaw-dropping, including a Kentucky challenger who learned the true meaning of strength—not through combat, but over a meal and a barrel of whiskey.  

Don't miss this extraordinary episode that proves, once again, they grow them big in Appalachia. Subscribe to the Stories podcast on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, or your favorite podcast platform.  

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In this captivating episode of Stories of Appalachia, we delve into the lucky discovery that forever altered the lives of a father and son in Monroe County, West Virginia. Join Steve Gilly and Rod Mullins as they recount the day in 1928 when a simple game of horseshoes unearthed a treasure that would remain hidden in plain sight for 15 years. 

Hear the tale of the Punch Jones Diamond, an alluvial gem weighing a staggering 34.48 carats, and its journey from an ordinary backyard to the record books as North America's largest diamond of its kind. But riches and records aside, this story takes unexpected turns, from a World War II tragedy to a family's unique claim to fame that even caught the eye of President Franklin Roosevelt.

Discover the mystery of how the diamond ended up where it was, the theories that abound, and the legacy left behind by the Jones family. It's an Appalachian story of luck, loss, and the twists of fate that can change fortunes overnight. 

Don't miss this glittering episode of the Stories podcast. Subscribe on Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, or wherever you get your favorite podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode.

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Discover the fascinating tale of George Maledon, the legendary hangman for Arkansas' Hanging Judge Parker, and his peculiar path to Tennessee's Mountain Home veterans cemetery. 

Uncover a piece of Old West justice on our latest podcast episode.

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Today we tell the story of the deadliest mine disaster in Eastern Kentucky history, the explosion in shafts number 15 and 16 at Hurricane Creek near Hyden, Kentucky.

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Russell Bean was the son of William Bean and his wife, Lydia, the first people to settle in what's now Tennessee and for whom Bean Station is named. Russell, considered the first child of European descent to be born in the future Tennessee, was a large, strong man with a temper who most folks avoided that temper came to a boil.

Andrew Jackson was a judge on the Tennessee Superior Court, hearing cases at the Washington County Courthouse in Jonesborough at the turn of the 19th century. He also had a reputation of being a strong-willed man with a temper.

And one fateful day the two came face-to-face near Jonesborough.

Today we tell that story.

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In the 1880s and 1890s a bloody feud was happening across two Appalachian counties, with conflicts over hogs, shootings, ambushes, cabins set on fire and the threat of the governor to call in the state militia to stop it.

This feud was NOT between the Hatfield and McCoy families in Kentucky and West Virginia. This one was about a hundred miles to the southwest, in Hancock and Hawkins counties in Tennessee and was so violent it's remembered as the Greene-Jones War instead of the Greene-Jones Feud.

Today we tell that story.


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After the Civil War, as the South lay in ruins, a group of freedmen decided to depart the Mississippi plantation on which they had been held as slaves in search of a promised land.

They found it...in the mountains of Appalachia.

Come along with us as we tell the story of one of the first successful black communities in the south, the Kingdom of the Happy Land.

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