An Old Timey Podcast

111: Floyd Collins Is Trapped in a Cave (Part 1)

Floyd Collins had a dream. He dreamt that one day, he’d emerge victorious in the Kentucky Cave Wars. In that era, people made easy money turning beautiful, awe-inspiring caves into tourist destinations. The tough part was *finding* the cave. Finding a cave took months of dangerous, exhausting work, but Floyd Collins was up to the task. In January of 1925, he felt certain that he was digging his way toward a magnificent one. Then he got stuck. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from:  Collins, Homer, and John Lehrberger. The Life and Death of Floyd Collins. Cave Books, 2001. David R. Kem. “The Kentucky Cave Wars.” The Kentucky Cave Wars, July 5, 2025. https://kentuckycavewars.wordpress.com/ [https://kentuckycavewars.wordpress.com/]. “George Morrison (U.S. National Park Service).” https://www.nps.gov/people/george-morrison.htm [https://www.nps.gov/people/george-morrison.htm]. Kem, David Randolph. The Kentucky Cave Wars: The Century That Shaped Mammoth Cave National Park. David Randolph Kem, 2014. Murray, Robert K., and Roger W. Brucker. Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins. University Press of Kentucky, 1982. https://archive.org/details/trappedstoryofst0000murr [https://archive.org/details/trappedstoryofst0000murr]. Reilly, Lucas. “The 1925 Cave Rescue That Captivated the Nation.” Mental Floss, July 13, 2018. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/544782/1925-cave-rescue-that-captivated-the-united-states-floyd-collins [https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/544782/1925-cave-rescue-that-captivated-the-united-states-floyd-collins]. “Stephen Bishop (U.S. National Park Service).” https://www.nps.gov/people/stephen-bishop.htm [https://www.nps.gov/people/stephen-bishop.htm]. Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast]. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

110: Did William Howard Taft Get Stuck In A Bathtub?

We’ve all heard the story. President William Howard Taft got stuck in the White House bathtub! A bunch of dudes had to yank him out!! They replaced the old bathtub with a new one, BIG ENOUGH TO HOLD FOUR WORKING MEN!!! …except did he *actually* get stuck in the tub? In this episode, we do a deep dive into how this story got started and how it eventually got stuck in the bathtub of our collective imaginations. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Kristin pulled from: “Popular Lore Claims That William Howard Taft Got Stuck in a Bathtub. New Research Sheds Light on the Legend’s Forgotten Origins” by Howard Dorre for Smithsonian “Taft bathtub is world’s largest,” The Altoona Times, Jan. 27, 1909 “President Taft’s giant, bathtub, Woodrow Wilson’s wife,” by Gwen Bagni and Paul Dubov for The San Francisco Examiner, Jan. 23, 1979 “Chief justice, not president, was William Howard Taft’s dream job,” by Erick Trickey for Smithsonian Magazine “William Howard Taft is still stuck in the tub,” Alexis Coe by The New York Times “50 years on the Ol’ Mississip’” by Lewis R. Freeman for American Illustrated Magazine, Volume 107, 1929 “Backstairs at the White House,” by Movie Lovers on YouTube “Taft stuck in phone booth,” The Jeffersonian, Aug. 1, 1908 “Taft opens great tunnel,” New York Herald, Sept. 24, 1909 Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast]. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

109: JC Penney Loses *Almost* Everything (Finale, Rebroadcast)

Howdy, History Hoes! This month, we’re getting some rest and relaxation. We’ll be back in July to bring you some piping hot stories from history. But for now, we thought you might enjoy a replay of our series on the history JCPenney – the greatest department store in the world. And if you miss us, you can get new content on patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast] [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast]. For just $5, you can binge our catalog of monthly bonus episodes and chitty chat the day away in our Discord! The Great Depression hit James Cash Penney hard. It decimated his finances. It worried him. It humbled him. After some soul searching, he came to realize that he could make a comeback.  JC Penney the man proved to himself, and the world, that he still had something to offer. But the story didn’t end quite as sweetly for JCPenney the store. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from:  Currey, Mary Elizabeth. Creating an American Institution: The Merchandising Genius of J.C. Penney. Dissertations-G, 1993. Kruger, David Delbert. J.C. Penney: The Man, the Store, and American Agriculture. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2017. Penney, James Cash. Fifty Years with the Golden Rule. Harper and Brothers, 1950. Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast]. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

108: JC Penney Becomes Rich *and* Cool (Part 3, Rebroadcast)

Howdy, History Hoes! This month, we’re getting some rest and relaxation. We’ll be back in July to bring you some piping hot stories from history. But for now, we thought you might enjoy a replay of our series on the history JCPenney – the greatest department store in the world. And if you miss us, you can get new content on patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast] [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast]. For just $5, you can binge our catalog of monthly bonus episodes and chitty chat the day away in our Discord! James Cash Penney had an ambitious dream. He wanted to own 50 Golden Rule stores. Over the course of just a few years, he achieved that dream and then some. But tough lessons in his personal life taught him that financial success wasn’t everything. So, he pulled back. He reevaluated his life. He travelled. He sought counsel from his pastor. He even bought a ticket on the Titanic!  Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Currey, Mary Elizabeth. Creating an American Institution: The Merchandising Genius of J.C. Penney. Dissertations-G, 1993. Kruger, David Delbert. J.C. Penney: The Man, the Store, and American Agriculture. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2017. Penney, James Cash. Fifty Years with the Golden Rule. Harper and Brothers, 1950. Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast]. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

107: JC Penney Was a Hustler! (Part 2, Rebroadcast)

Howdy, History Hoes! This month, we’re getting some rest and relaxation. We’ll be back in July to bring you some piping hot stories from history. But for now, we thought you might enjoy a replay of our series on the history JCPenney – the greatest department store in the world. And if you miss us, you can get new content on patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast] [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast]. For just $5, you can binge our catalog of monthly bonus episodes and chitty chat the day away in our Discord!  Say what you will about James Cash Penney Jr. Just don’t say he didn’t work his booty off. After he left his hometown, James tried desperately to succeed as a businessman. He found work as a sales person. He bought a struggling butcher shop/bakery. With each effort came failure. Then he discovered a new kind of business. It was called the Golden Rule Dry Goods Store. The store featured low-priced goods in a clean environment. The store owners treated their customers with respect. James went to the store, hoping to be hired. He knew that if he could get his foot in the door, he’d one day find success. Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Currey, Mary Elizabeth. Creating an American Institution: The Merchandising Genius of J.C. Penney. Dissertations-G, 1993. Kruger, David Delbert. J.C. Penney: The Man, the Store, and American Agriculture. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2017. Penney, James Cash. Fifty Years with the Golden Rule. Harper and Brothers, 1950. Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts! Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast [http://patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast]. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.