Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury, IN: Nicht Das Authentischste (but a Colorful Scene)

Into Indiana! While I have no video evidence, the rest stops remained equally sparkling and airport-like in the Hoosier State as in Ohio. One even had a field of purple thistles growing wild outside and I had to take a...

Elyria, OH: Historic Architecture and a Study in Contrasts

We reached Elyria, Ohio, our overnight stop, as torrents of rain poured down. Rather than explore local eateries in town which I usually prefer to write about, out of convenience in the rainstorms we ducked into the Red Lobster outside...

Over the Alleghenies, to Ohio

Crossing the Allegheny Mountains, I was excited to go to my first truly Midwestern state, Ohio. Green rolling hills, lush foliage and rural scenes comprised the views on the drive through Virginia and Pennsylvania into the Buckeye State. I thought...

Honeysuckle Roads on the Road: The Start of a Midwestern Odyssey…

Hello again! Have you ever wanted to go somewhere not necessarily well-known, but that holds deep significance for you? For me it was Quincy, Illinois, a town that loomed large in the lore of my late father's family history. I...

Honeysuckle Roads Introduces a New Character to YouTube…Betty the Flapper

When learning more about the Marland Mansion in Ponca City and the 101 Ranch, I grew more and more intrigued by the 1920s. It was an era of early films....daring cowboys (like Tom Mix), dashing sheiks (Rudolph Valentino), new American...

Lloyd Price (1933-2021): Singing a History of American Music in Rhythm and Blues

When I first heard of Lloyd Price's passing this month, I felt a bit of a shock because not too many days before I had a particularly spirited impromptu sing-along to his 1959 hit "Personality." Often known as "Mr. Personality"...

“La Levatrice,” The Midwife in My Family: When Nonna Piera Stood Up to the Germans (and an Italian Partisan Tune)

You've seen many of my Western-themed posts, but to cap off Women's History Month, we're going far from the West, over the Atlantic to the town outside of Milan (Italy), Bollate, where my great-grandmother "Nonna Piera" Grassi lived. She was...

Why The Pogues Should Be on a Western Soundtrack: A Comparison of “Dirty Old Town” and an Old Cowboy Tune

With St. Patrick's Day last week, many of Irish extraction (and those who just want a good soundtrack for their Guinness) listened to a few tunes by Irish bands along with the wearin' of the green. Continuing with the Western...

Wild West Women: Cowgirls of the 101 Ranch and a Bit of Family History

This post strikes a personal chord as it's linked to the history of my grandmother, Hetty Morris Stanley (nee Spicer). While I never met her in person, I knew of her through family lore as a "goer"-slang for an adventurous...