Mister Ron (Ron Evry) 
Mister Ron's Basement
| Wed, Jul 02 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1109 |
| As often as we've read George W. Peck's stories, we have rarely featured his most famous creation, 'Peck's Bad Boy.' We will be rectifying that this week with stories from the 1883 book 'Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa.'
Today's bit of mirthful nastiness is called 'Peck's Bad Boy in Love' Time: approx eight and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... We are covering some utterly fascinating topics in the Mister Ron's Basement Blog. Be sure to check out our collection of incredible resources for Public Domain research! Dig through and read about how we solved a 150 year old mystery, and offer fascinating insights on the authors we read. Do check it out and post your comments there about the Basement. We intend to make it a discussion place for folks who are interested in this sort of thing, and we will occasionally send out prizes and other goodies...You will find it at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/. Help support Mister Ron's Basement painlessly! Try clicking on the text advertisement on the blog page just once. Not once per visit -- just one time ever...You don't have to buy anything, but if enough listeners do this, the it will help our research just to click -- Thanx! It might be worthwhile to relay some tips on how to find your way around here. In much the same way you might browse through a well-stocked antique bookstore, you may want to scroll up and down the web page and randomly listen to some of the stories that you find. Undoubtedly, unless you've been a long-time listener, most of these authors will be unfamiliar to you. Yet, in their day, many of them were household names, who fell into obscurity over the years. Yet the great majority of these stories are still fun to listen to today! Of course, if you came here looking for a particular author, please do use your browser's 'find' command to dig up stories by that writer. But don't bypass the ones you haven't heard of, because you are in for a treat! I've always wondered if anyone has heard all (or most) of the stories here in the Basement. I would love to hear from long-time listeners via email. In any event, please have fun! That's the whole point of all this.... The first of our online catalogs is online! You'll find the entire first set of Mister Ron's GEORGE ADE stories carefully indexed for you! Just click here! Now, links to all of the Chapters of Max Adeler's 1880 novelette 'Fortunate Island' can be found at http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html The Best of Mister Ron's Basement is available -- a wonderful Three Audio CD Collection of the funniest episodes ever featured here, specially edited and presented for you! It makes a great introduction to the series, and a terrific gift! Read all about it at http://ronevry.com/best.html If you've already got the latest iTunes on your machine, then you can click here and iTunes will open up to Mister Ron's Basement! Comments are always welcome, and prospective sponsors should feel free to write. Listener and Download statistics are available at http://ronevry.com/MisterRonStats.html. Send your email to revry@panix.com Mister Ron's Once A Week has returned with new episodes! Do NOT miss our companion Podcast, Mister Ron's Once A Week, an audio magazine featuring fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humor, news, and whatever strikes our fancy. You can get it at http://slapcast.com/users/ron. Also, if you've been thinking of starting your own podcast, do check out http://slapcast.com -- they make podcasting a breeze! Tell 'em Mister Ron sent you. 
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Posted at 11:31 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1108 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Ten of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'Beginnings of Civilization,' where the boss sets to work bringing nineteenth century technology to the sixth.
Time: approx eleven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:19 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1107 |
| SUNDAY SALAD SURPRISE! We have discovered two or three so far unread SPOOPENDYKE stories!
No doubt we will really run out of them soon. But in the meantime, we offer a very short Stanley Huntley story about a woman placing an obituary advertisement called 'One Item of Expense,' then Mr. Spoopendyke dishes out the grisly details about dueling to his wife in 'The Code Fully Explained.' Both stories are from 1882. Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... We are covering some utterly fascinating topics in the Mister Ron's Basement Blog. Be sure to check out our collection of incredible resources for Public Domain research! Dig through and read about how we solved a 150 year old mystery, and offer fascinating insights on the authors we read. Do check it out and post your comments there about the Basement. We intend to make it a discussion place for folks who are interested in this sort of thing, and we will occasionally send out prizes and other goodies...You will find it at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/. Help support Mister Ron's Basement painlessly! Try clicking on the text advertisement on the blog page just once. Not once per visit -- just one time ever...You don't have to buy anything, but if enough listeners do this, the it will help our research just to click -- Thanx! It might be worthwhile to relay some tips on how to find your way around here. In much the same way you might browse through a well-stocked antique bookstore, you may want to scroll up and down the web page and randomly listen to some of the stories that you find. Undoubtedly, unless you've been a long-time listener, most of these authors will be unfamiliar to you. Yet, in their day, many of them were household names, who fell into obscurity over the years. Yet the great majority of these stories are still fun to listen to today! Of course, if you came here looking for a particular author, please do use your browser's 'find' command to dig up stories by that writer. But don't bypass the ones you haven't heard of, because you are in for a treat! I've always wondered if anyone has heard all (or most) of the stories here in the Basement. I would love to hear from long-time listeners via email. In any event, please have fun! That's the whole point of all this.... The first of our online catalogs is online! You'll find the entire first set of Mister Ron's GEORGE ADE stories carefully indexed for you! Just click here! Now, links to all of the Chapters of Max Adeler's 1880 novelette 'Fortunate Island' can be found at http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html The Best of Mister Ron's Basement is available -- a wonderful Three Audio CD Collection of the funniest episodes ever featured here, specially edited and presented for you! It makes a great introduction to the series, and a terrific gift! Read all about it at http://ronevry.com/best.html If you've already got the latest iTunes on your machine, then you can click here and iTunes will open up to Mister Ron's Basement! Comments are always welcome, and prospective sponsors should feel free to write. Listener and Download statistics are available at http://ronevry.com/MisterRonStats.html. Send your email to revry@panix.com Mister Ron's Once A Week has returned with new episodes! Do NOT miss our companion Podcast, Mister Ron's Once A Week, an audio magazine featuring fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humor, news, and whatever strikes our fancy. You can get it at http://slapcast.com/users/ron. Also, if you've been thinking of starting your own podcast, do check out http://slapcast.com -- they make podcasting a breeze! Tell 'em Mister Ron sent you.
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Posted at 11:11 PM |
| Sun, Jun 29 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1106 |
| Our favorite crank has a 'happy evening at home' in C. B. Lewis's 1908 story, 'Bowser Has Grouch.'
Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... We are covering some utterly fascinating topics in the Mister Ron's Basement Blog. Be sure to check out our collection of incredible resources for Public Domain research! Dig through and read about how we solved a 150 year old mystery, and offer fascinating insights on the authors we read. Do check it out and post your comments there about the Basement. We intend to make it a discussion place for folks who are interested in this sort of thing, and we will occasionally send out prizes and other goodies...You will find it at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/. Help support Mister Ron's Basement painlessly! Try clicking on the text advertisement on the blog page just once. Not once per visit -- just one time ever...You don't have to buy anything, but if enough listeners do this, the it will help our research just to click -- Thanx! It might be worthwhile to relay some tips on how to find your way around here. In much the same way you might browse through a well-stocked antique bookstore, you may want to scroll up and down the web page and randomly listen to some of the stories that you find. Undoubtedly, unless you've been a long-time listener, most of these authors will be unfamiliar to you. Yet, in their day, many of them were household names, who fell into obscurity over the years. Yet the great majority of these stories are still fun to listen to today! Of course, if you came here looking for a particular author, please do use your browser's 'find' command to dig up stories by that writer. But don't bypass the ones you haven't heard of, because you are in for a treat! I've always wondered if anyone has heard all (or most) of the stories here in the Basement. I would love to hear from long-time listeners via email. In any event, please have fun! That's the whole point of all this.... The first of our online catalogs is online! You'll find the entire first set of Mister Ron's GEORGE ADE stories carefully indexed for you! Just click here! Now, links to all of the Chapters of Max Adeler's 1880 novelette 'Fortunate Island' can be found at http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html The Best of Mister Ron's Basement is available -- a wonderful Three Audio CD Collection of the funniest episodes ever featured here, specially edited and presented for you! It makes a great introduction to the series, and a terrific gift! Read all about it at http://ronevry.com/best.html If you've already got the latest iTunes on your machine, then you can click here and iTunes will open up to Mister Ron's Basement! Comments are always welcome, and prospective sponsors should feel free to write. Listener and Download statistics are available at http://ronevry.com/MisterRonStats.html. Send your email to revry@panix.com Mister Ron's Once A Week has returned with new episodes! Do NOT miss our companion Podcast, Mister Ron's Once A Week, an audio magazine featuring fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humor, news, and whatever strikes our fancy. You can get it at http://slapcast.com/users/ron. Also, if you've been thinking of starting your own podcast, do check out http://slapcast.com -- they make podcasting a breeze! Tell 'em Mister Ron sent you.
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Posted at 08:13 AM |
| Fri, Jun 27 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1105 |
| We are presenting some really, really early stories by Stephen Leacock, that originally appeared in Truth Magazine in the 1890s. They're brilliantly funny.
Ever have trouble telling the difference between a bicycle and a horse? We all do. So here is an instructive piece from 1895 called 'Reflections on Riding.' Time: approx six minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:13 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1104 |
| We are presenting some really, really early stories by Stephen Leacock, that originally appeared in Truth Magazine in the 1890s. They're brilliantly funny.
Do you get impatient with people doing card tricks? Here's some tips for you in the 1895 story, 'A Model Dialogue.' Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:08 PM |
| Wed, Jun 25 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1103 |
| We are presenting some really, really early stories by Stephen Leacock, that originally appeared in Truth Magazine in the 1890s. They're brilliantly funny.
Here's a truly sad and hilarious story from 1896 about someone who simply couldn't walk out on anyone -- 'The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones.' Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:42 PM |
| Tue, Jun 24 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1102 |
| We are presenting some really, really early stories by Stephen Leacock, that originally appeared in Truth Magazine in the 1890s. They're brilliantly funny.
Today's tale in circular logic is called 'On the Old Homestead.' It was also published with the title 'Uncle Oatcake Explains.' Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:01 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1101 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Nine of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'The Tournament,' where we find out what knights do for entertainment.
Time: approx fourteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:36 AM |
| Mon, Jun 23 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1100 |
| SUNDAY SALAD, sadly, presents what may be our final Spoopendyke story -- an 1880 tale of the infamous 'Morey Letter' that almost cost James Garfield the Presidential Election -- 'Not Altogether Satisfactory.' We also include another story about the letter by Stanley Huntley from the same edition of the newspaper -- it's called 'A Business Proposition.'
If any of our listeners know of any Spoopendyke stories we have missed, please drop us a line! Time: approx thirteen minutes |
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Posted at 10:22 PM |
| Sat, Jun 21 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1099 |
| In last week's Mr. Bowser episode, our favorite old crank went on a boat excursion with the 'Gay Old Boys Club' -- today we learn about his investiture in that organization in 'Initiation of Bowser' from 1907.
Time: approx ten and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:19 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1098 |
| We're presenting some extremely short but fun recipes (of a sort) from the 1922 collection 'The Stag Cook Book -- Written for Men by Men.' We wrap up with a couple of recipes from Booth Tarkington (whom we have yet to feature in the Basement, but will eventually) -- the first is called 'Corn Flakes.'
Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 06:41 PM |
| Thu, Jun 19 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1097 |
| We're presenting some extremely short but fun recipes (of a sort) from the 1922 collection 'The Stag Cook Book -- Written for Men by Men.' Today's tasty dish comes to us from the witty pen of George Ade -- as we learn some secrets of 'Scolloped Oysters.'
Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:27 PM |
| Wed, Jun 18 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1096 |
| We're presenting some extremely short but fun recipes (of a sort) from the 1922 collection 'The Stag Cook Book -- Written for Men by Men.' Today's recipe by cartoonist Rube Goldberg is pretty funny -- please don't try this at home -- 'Hash.'
Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  |
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Posted at 09:42 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1095 |
| We're presenting some extremely short but fun recipes (of a sort) from the 1922 collection 'The Stag Cook Book -- Written for Men by Men.' Today we feature a recipe by Ellis Parker Butler called 'Bouillabaise Joe Tilden.'
Time: approx two and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:38 PM |
| Mon, Jun 16 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1094 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Eight of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'The Boss,' where we learn exactly why our hero chooses that title over any other rank.
Time: approx fourteen and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:29 PM |
| Sun, Jun 15 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1093 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers some fun Stanley Huntley pieces today -- First, an accused drunkard literally takes over a courtroom in 'Wanted to Help the Judge' from 1880. Then from the 1883 book, 'The Spoopendyke Papers,' comes the Preface of that book and the only Spoopendyke story in it that we haven't presented yet -- it's called 'The News of the Day.'
Time: approx twelve and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:20 PM |
| Sat, Jun 14 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1092 |
| Here's a later Mr. Bowser story, written by C. B. Lewis back in 1910 -- Bowser takes a boat excursion with a club called 'The Gay Old Boys' and drinks his fill of (ahem) ginger ale in 'Bowser's Day Off.'
Time: approx ten and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 03:25 PM |
| Fri, Jun 13 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1091 |
| In 1921, The Authors' League of America published of book of 'the Personal Confessions of Well-known American Authors as to their Literary Beginnings' entitled 'My Maiden Effort.'
Some of these included authors have been featured at times in the Basement, and we are reading their contributions to the collection this week. Irvin S. Cobb explains how he achieved his first success as a fiction writer due to a bet, and as a bonus, we include his 'recipe' for 'Hog Jowl and Turnip Greens' from 1922. Time: approx eight and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:28 PM |
| Thu, Jun 12 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1090 |
| In 1921, The Authors' League of America published of book of 'the Personal Confessions of Well-known American Authors as to their Literary Beginnings' entitled 'My Maiden Effort.'
Some of these included authors have been featured at times in the Basement, and we are reading their contributions to the collection this week. Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon has been a favorite of Mister Ron's for a long time. Here we include one of her earliest published efforts, from McClure's Magazine of December 1900, concerning a kindergarten student with a mean streak. It's called 'The Madness of Philip.' Time: approx twenty-nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... 
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Posted at 11:30 PM |
| Wed, Jun 11 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1089 |
| In 1921, The Authors' League of America published of book of 'the Personal Confessions of Well-known American Authors as to their Literary Beginnings' entitled 'My Maiden Effort.'
Some of these included authors have been featured at times in the Basement, and we are reading their contributions to the collection this week. Today we discover George Ade's earliest published work from 1881, called 'A Basket of Potatoes.' Time: approx seven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:30 PM |
| Tue, Jun 10 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1088 |
| In 1921, The Authors' League of America published of book of 'the Personal Confessions of Well-known American Authors as to their Literary Beginnings' entitled 'My Maiden Effort.'
Some of these included authors have been featured at times in the Basement, and we will be reading their contributions to the collection this week. Today we offer Ellis Parker Butler's piece, and as a bonus, we also read that Maiden Effort, an 1896 story called 'My Cyclone-Proof House.' Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:21 PM |
| Mon, Jun 09 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1087 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Seven of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'Merlin's Tower,' where things go Boom!
Time: approx fourteen and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:44 PM |
| Sun, Jun 08 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1086 |
| SUNDAY SALAD has TWO Stanley Huntley stories today -- first an early Salad story from 1879, where a down-on-his-luck fellow is 'Looking for Work' and then an incredibly rare and funny Spoopendyke story from an 1885 edition of Drake's Traveller's Magazine called 'Spoopendyke's Pie.'
Once again, we are quickly running out of Spoopendyke stories. Suggestions are welcome for future Sunday episodes when they are all gone. Please write, or post on the blog. Time: approx fifteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:29 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1085 |
| From 1887, we offer what might be one of the earliest of C. B. Lewis's Mr. Bowser stories to deal with the old grouch's reaction to illness. We call it 'Taking Care of Bowser.'
Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 03:56 PM |
| Fri, Jun 06 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1084 |
| We wrap up our second week of stories from Bill Nye's 1884 book, 'Forty Liars and Other Lies,' with the title story, 'The Forty Liars.'
There are all kinds of inside jokes that most modern listeners won't get, but it is ultimately quite funny anyway. Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:00 PM |
| Thu, Jun 05 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1083 |
| Bill Nye sends his regards to a fellow newspaper editor in 'Our Compliments' from 1884. Short, but sweet.
Time: approx two and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:19 PM |
| Wed, Jun 04 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1082 |
| Bill Nye takes a westerner's view of an old legend in 'The True Tale of William Tell' from 1884.
Time: approx five minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:28 PM |
| Tue, Jun 03 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1081 |
| We can't resist, so here comes another week of wild western stories from Bill Nye's 1884 book, 'Forty Liars and Other Lies.' Today we offer a tragic cautionary tale of the fate of a true desperado, 'The Death of Big Nose George.'
Time: approx three and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:01 PM |
| Mon, Jun 02 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1080 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Six of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'The Eclipse,' in which our hero performs a miracle...
Time: approx fourteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:25 PM |
| Sun, Jun 01 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1079 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features a pair of weather-related stories by Stanley Huntley -- first, a grizzled old-timer explains why he is freezing during a Brooklyn heat wave in 'Warm Weather' from 1883, and we learn how predictions are made in 'The Spoopendykes on Weather Forecasts' (date unknown).
Time: approx eleven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:54 PM |
| Sat, May 31 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1078 |
| Mr. Bowser demonstrates his unique Fatherly Skills in 'Bowser Brings Up Baby' from 1887.
Time: approx seven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:57 PM |
| Fri, May 30 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1077 |
| Bill Nye's 1884 collection 'Forty Liars and Other Lies' is full of wild and wooly western humor -- Today's may be the wildest and wooliest story ever written -- it's called 'They Let Him Stay.'
Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:20 PM |
| Thu, May 29 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1076 |
| Bill Nye's 1884 collection 'Forty Liars and Other Lies' is full of wild and wooly western humor -- today we hear about a boy that grew up putting his best foot forward in 'Strive to Excel.'
Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:34 PM |
| Wed, May 28 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1075 |
| Bill Nye's 1884 collection 'Forty Liars and Other Lies' is full of wild and wooly western humor -- today's short tale concerns a young lad who decides to get a drink of water in a rude way in 'The Eccentric Squirt.'
Time: approx three and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:37 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1074 |
| Bill Nye's 1884 collection 'Forty Liars and Other Lies' is full of wild and wooly western humor -- today we get the point of view of the very first pick of the season in 'Soliloquy of the Watermelon.'
Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:33 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1073 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Five of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'An Inspiration' -- in which our hero gets the goods on Merlin.
Time: approx twelve minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:38 AM |
| Mon, May 26 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1072 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers a couple of very short Stanley Huntley pieces from Drake's Traveller's Magazine, and Mr. Spoopendyke plans to go after some ducks in 'A Hunting Excursion' from 1883.
Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:32 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1071 |
| Here's another Mr. Bowser story from the first few months of the character's existence. By this time, author C. B. Lewis had pretty much gotten old Bowser down pat, and his characteristics would amuse readers for almost forty years afterward. From 1887 comes 'A Picnic.'
Time: approx seven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 06:26 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1070 |
| 'Sketches from Texas Siftings' from 1882, by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy, is wrapping up for its second week with a tale of how the bigger out-of-town newspapers get the scoop on local ones in 'A News Factory.'
Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 06:08 PM |
| Wed, May 21 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1069 |
| 'Sketches from Texas Siftings' from 1882, by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy, is back again this week. Today we get the straight scoop on the unique weather in the Lone Star State in 'The Texas Climate.'
Time: approx six minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:14 PM |
| Tue, May 20 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1068 |
| 'Sketches from Texas Siftings' from 1882, by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy, is back again this week. Today we learn the secret of acquiring a train ticket for almost nothing in 'A Foiled Book Agent.'
Time: approx five minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:38 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1067 |
| 'Sketches from Texas Siftings' from 1882, by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy, is back again this week. Today's piece describes 'That Typical Texan' and why you won't actually find him anywhere in Texas...
Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:33 PM |
| Mon, May 19 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1066 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Four of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'Sir Dinadan the Humorist' -- where our hero is subjected to some truly dated, perhaps petrified humor, along with a death sentence!
Time: approx eight and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... Also, if you've been thinking of starting your own podcast, do check out http://slapcast.com -- they make podcasting a breeze! Tell 'em Mister Ron sent you.
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Posted at 09:04 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1065 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features TWO Stanley Huntley stories this week -- the generation gap in politics is hammered out in the 1882 piece, 'Convincing the Governor' and a complicated issue is made even more puzzling in 'Mrs. Spoopendyke on the Tariff' from 1884.
We are definitely running out of Spoopendyke stories, but there's lots more Stanley Huntley humor available. Are you interested in continuing Sunday Salad without the Spoopendykes, or should we move on to something else? Please drop us a line and let us know! Time: approx eleven and a half minutes |
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Posted at 12:17 AM |
| Sat, May 17 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1064 |
| From 1887, we feature a Letter to the Editor of the Detroit Free Press complaining about Mrs. Bowser, and a fun tale we call 'Mr. Bowser Fixes Up the House.'
Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:08 PM |
| Thu, May 15 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1063 |
| Ever wonder how newspapers made money back in the old west? Get a taste in the 1882 tale, 'He Wanted A Notice' from 'Sketches from Texas Siftings' by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy Knox.
Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:40 PM |
| Wed, May 14 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement # #1062 |
| Another short but funny piece from 'Sketches from Texas Siftings' by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy Knox, published in 1882, reveals what brings folks to the Lone Star State in 'Why He Came to Texas.'
Time: approx three and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:17 PM |
| Tue, May 13 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1061 |
| Here's a great story from 'Sketches from Texas Siftings' by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy Knox, published in 1882 -- It's called 'The Texas Desperado.'
Time: approx six and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  W. H. Caskie |
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Posted at 11:06 PM |
| Mon, May 12 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1060 |
Today we feature the book's Preface and a look at the man who runs the trains -- 'The Conductor.' Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  W. H. Caskie |
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Posted at 09:45 PM |
| Sun, May 11 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1059 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Three of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'Knights of the Table Round' where our hero gets to hear the knights and Merlin the Magician spreading tall tales from 'the exaggeration mill.'
Mister Ron's voice seems to have returned to him, at least enough to start reading stories again! Time: approx fifteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:38 PM |
| Mon, May 05 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1058 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features another rare Spoopendyke story by Stanley Huntley that originally appeared in Drake's Traveller's Magazine in 1883. It's called 'Hunt for a Nocturnal Garment in a Sleeper' and is pretty funny.
However, be warned -- Mister Ron has almost completely lost his voice from a nasty virus, and this is pretty difficult to listen to. Sorry. We will probably have to take a few days off until the frog leaves Mister Ron's throat... Time: approx eight and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:21 AM |
| Sat, May 03 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1057 |
| From 1886, we hear, perhaps for the first time, a theme that C. B. Lewis used quite often in Mr. Bowser stories over the next 38 years. Lacking a title for this story, we'll call it 'Colonel Bowser.'
Time: approx seven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:21 PM |
| Thu, May 01 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1056 |
| We're wrapping up a second week in a row of double-barreled Bill Nye stories!
Nye explores the science of telling one's fortune via the bumps in the head in 'Bill Nye on Phrenology' from 1884. 'Table Etiquette' from 1881 explains the proper manners one should have at a dinner in the inimitable Bill Nye manner. Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:57 PM |
| Wed, Apr 30 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1055 |
| We're back with a second week in a row of Bill Nye stories, and we'll be presenting two each day!
Bill Nye often made fun of his extremely bald head. Here's a couple of hilarious pieces dealing with his lack of fuzziness -- 'The Science of Baldness' from 1886 and 'The Stage Bald-Head' from 1882. Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  |
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Posted at 10:55 PM |
| Tue, Apr 29 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1054 |
| We're back with a second week in a row of Bill Nye stories, and we'll be presenting two each day!
Today we explore the stuff you put in your mouth -- food! -- with two stories from 1888 -- 'Health Food' and 'Joking and Eating.' Note -- this episode and the last few offered way too many exploding consonants due to technical difficulties -- bear with us and this problem will be solved! Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:36 PM |
| Mon, Apr 28 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1053 |
| We're back with a second week in a row of Bill Nye stories, and we'll be presenting two each day!
First, from 1888, we offer Nye's commentary on Washington, DC, 'Bill Nye on the Washington Fly' then we examine the terrible combination of flies and bald-headed men in 'The Fly' from 1881. Time: approx six minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:18 PM |
| Sun, Apr 27 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1052 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Two of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is actually called 'King Arthur's Court' -- and in it, our hero comes to the realization that he is not in a lunatic asylum, but actually thirteen hundred years in the past!
Time: approx thirteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:36 PM |
| Sat, Apr 26 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1051 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features THREE Stanley Huntley stories concerning shaving today -- first, an early effort from 1879 reveals 'Why Barbers Are Talkative.' Then, from 1881, a terrified customer at a barber shop gets 'A Shave.' Finally, Mr. Spoopendyke is thrown into a tizzy as he gouges his face while shaving in 'A Desperate Situation' from 1882.
Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:36 PM |
| Fri, Apr 25 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1050 |
| Mr. Bowser makes sure everyone around him gets his own brand of medical treatment -- whether they need it or not! -- in C. B. Lewis's 1886 tale, 'Dr. Bowser.'
Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:53 PM |
| Thu, Apr 24 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1049 |
| We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!
Bill Nye digs up a significant historical document, that reads more like one of George Ade's Turn-Of-Of-The-Century Fables in Slang, but honest-to-gosh, was written in 1881. It's called 'A Relic of Pocahontas.' Time: approx five minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:57 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1048 |
| We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!
Today we get a 19th Century lesson on birds, and singing, and bugs, and other stuff in 'Discoveries in Ornithology' from 1880. Time: approx six minutes |
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Posted at 12:02 AM |
| Tue, Apr 22 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1047 |
| We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!
From 1884, Nye gives a scientific-ish analysis of the mental process called 'The Thinkist and His Think.' Time: approx six minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:11 PM |
| Mon, Apr 21 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1046 |
| We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!
Today we feature TWO Nye pieces -- first we hear all about the information age in the 1884 tale, 'Gen. Sheridan's Horse.' Then we get some terrific suggestions for putting one's life in order in the 1881 piece, 'Advice to Young Men.' Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:43 PM |
| Sun, Apr 20 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1045 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter One of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- yes, there is an episode before this one, so go back and get it -- This one is called 'Camelot.'
Time: approx six and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:31 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1044 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers THREE funny Stanley Huntley stories today! First, a wild westerner visits a Brooklyn Bar looking for a taste of the real stuff in 'Couldn't Feel at Home' from 1881. Next, another, even wilder westerner visits a different Brooklyn Bar and gets a taste of the real stuff in 'A Mistake Somewhere' from 1883, and finally, Mr. Spoopendyke tries on a pair of gloves to wear at a funeral in an 1884 tale, probably from Drake's Traveller's Magazine called 'Rather Small for Him.'
Time: approx seventeen and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:19 AM |
| Fri, Apr 18 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1043 |
| 'Mr. Bowser Raises Chickens' from 1886, by C. B. Lewis. What more needs to be said?
Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:38 PM |
| Thu, Apr 17 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1042 |
| Presenting the concluding fifth part of an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle.
Perhaps the funniest part of this story, our heroes are stranded on a melting iceberg in the tropics, in 'Book Five -- The Deliverance, by Jules Verne, Jr.' Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:42 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1041 |
| Presenting the third and fourth parts of an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle.
The four travelers on ice manage to acquire food, housing, and deal with wild creatures in 'Book Three -- How to Sustain Life' and 'Book Four -- An Invasion, by Jules Verne, Jr.' Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 12:38 AM |
| Tue, Apr 15 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1040 |
| Presenting the second part of an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle.
Today, the four adventurers reach the Pole and must deal with the six-month long darkness in 'A Trip to the South Pole; Book Two -- The Pole' by 'Jules Verne, Jr.' Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:47 PM |
| Mon, Apr 14 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1039 |
| Presenting an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle. We will offer it over the course of four Episodes. Here then, is 'A Trip to the South Pole; Book One' by 'Jules Verne, Jr.'
Time: approx seven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:46 PM |
| Sun, Apr 13 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1038 |
| Today we begin a NEW Monday Book Serialization with a true classic -- Mark Twain's 1889 novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.' We start with the 'Preface' and 'A Word of Explanation.'
This is a long book -- expect it to take about a year reading a chapter every week. So take your time and enjoy! Time: approx seventeen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 06:40 PM |
| Sat, Apr 12 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1037 |
| SUNDAY SALAD has us laying our cards on the table with TWO Stanley Huntley stories from 1883 -- first a champion poker player from Dakota fleeces a pale and innocent Brooklyn man in 'Another Ranger' then 'The Spoopendykes Play Poker' in a rare funny tale from Drake's Traveller's Magazine.
Time: approx eleven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:27 PM |
| Fri, Apr 11 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1036 |
| Mr. Bowser displays his stubborn brand of idiocy in a theme that would be repeated quite a few times by author C. B. Lewis (writing as M. Quad) over the next 38 years. Bowser shows his wife that 'business is business,' even when buying ladies wear in a story we call 'Making A Dress' from 1886.
This was the third Mr. Bowser story ever published. Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 09:56 PM |
| Thu, Apr 10 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1035 |
| Just for the fun of it, we're presenting a Max Adeler story from 1873 that has nothing to do with his feud with Mark Twain, but is a nifty little tale of a liar, in the spirit of the Abner Byng stories. It's called 'The Persecution of Jones' and originally appeared in the Saturday Evening Post.
Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 11:34 PM |
| Wed, Apr 09 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1034 |
| The two Abner Byng stories we read in the last two episodes may have been warm-ups for today's tale, where Max Adeler attacks Mark Twain (who was known to use the pen name Carl Byng) as a phenomenal liar. Originally introduced in 'Beeton's Christmas Annual' in England back in 1878, it was finalized and included in Adeler's book 'Random Shots' in 1879. Here then, is 'The Adventures of Abner Byng; With Some Reflections Concerning Certain Moral Idiots.'
Time: approx twenty-two minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  A. B. Frost
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Posted at 11:50 PM |
| Tue, Apr 08 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1033 |
| Today we offer another Max Adeler story about the world's greatest liar, by the name of Abner Byng. Adeler had engaged in a long feud with Mark Twain, who once used the pen name of 'Carl Byng.' Were these 'Byng' stories digs at Twain?
Probably. Today we offer a story from 1879 called 'The Most Marvelous Shooting on Record.' We previously read this tale a few years ago in Episode #211, under another title, but it does take on new meaning knowing what we know of the Twain-Adeler feud. Time: approx six and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:32 PM |
| Mon, Apr 07 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1032 |
| Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and Max Adeler (Charles Heber Clark) engaged in a long-running feud, with each accusing the other of plagiarism more than once. Oddly enough, the two of them attacked each other indirectly in print, using names and circumstances that would be recognized by their targets.
In our first piece from 1870, Twain attacks Adeler in the Galaxy Magazine in 1870 without mentioning him by name in 'A Literary Old Offender in Court with Suspicious Property in His Possession' Then we offer an 1879 Adeler tale, the first of at least three where a character named Abner Byng (Twain previously had used the pen name of 'Carl Byng') is painted as the world's biggest liar. This story is called 'The Facts About Sam Snyder.' Time: approx fourteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:46 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1031 |
| Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series. Today we present the last chapter of the book, 'John Henry Plays Progressive Euchre.'
Reuploaded with slight correction Next Monday we will begin serializing one of the greatest funny books of all time! Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 04:57 PM |
| Sat, Apr 05 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1030 |
| SUNDAY SALAD gives you TWO Stanley Huntley stories today. In the first tale from 1882, a professor and a medium attempt to convince a farmer of their ability to contact the spirit world in 'A Doubter.' Then, in an 1881 story, we get to meet 'Mr. Spoopendyke's Dog.'
Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:38 PM |
| Fri, Apr 04 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1029 |
| Two weeks after introducing the character, C. B. Lewis, writing as M. Quad, brought back Mr. Bowser, coming much closer to his eventual development. Today we present the second Bowser story from 1886, which we call 'The System.'
Time: approx six and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:08 PM |
| Thu, Apr 03 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1028 |
| Meat or Meteors? From 1868, we present 'Brick Pomeroy's Account of the Great Meteoric Hail Storm.'
Time: approx eleven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:57 PM |
| Wed, Apr 02 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1027 |
| Here's a list of, well, somewhat useful tips for having safe fun on the ice by Brick Pomeroy from 1868, called 'Hints to Skaters.'
Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:18 PM |
| Tue, Apr 01 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1026 |
| Here's a very short, and extremely funny 1870 piece by Brick Pomeroy about the strange customs of Chicago called 'Speaking of Divorces.'
Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:49 PM |
| Mon, Mar 31 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1025 |
| Marcus Mills ('Brick') Pomeroy wrote some truly wacky stories when he set his mind to it. From 1869, we hear about a fabulous invention, the 'Wonderful Hair-Reproducer.'
Time: approx five minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:35 PM |
| Sun, Mar 30 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1024 |
| Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series.
Our hero's actor friend wants to be in a play in a bad way -- and that's exactly how he would play it. John secures his friend a nine-act play for eighty cents in 'John Henry on Would-Be Actors.' Time: approx six and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 06:34 PM |
| Sat, Mar 29 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1023 |
| SUNDAY SALAD brings you TWO funny Stanley Huntley stories from 1882 today. First we offer another episode of the 'Eagle Sunday School Library' featuring Susie Snydersklop, the devoted daughter of a missionary to the cannibals, and the Spoopendykes attempt to raise chickens in 'Building A Hen Coop.'
Time: approx ten and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:06 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1022 |
| Celebrating THREE YEARS of Mister Ron's Basement with a unique and significant find! From 1886, comes the very FIRST Mr. Bowser story, by C. B. Lewis ("M. Quad"), 'Election Day and Night.' We'll be focusing on the earliest Bowser stories in the upcoming weeks, and see how the character developed into the familiar old crank we have grown to laugh at and love...
Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 12:50 PM |
| Thu, Mar 27 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1021 |
| Concluding Women's History Month with the second half of a two-part story by Rose Terry Cooke from 1881, about a woman who seemingly loves animals more than people and is stuck with a French dancing-master in her home, called 'Miss Lucinda' (Part Two of Two).
Time: approx thirty-three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:57 AM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1020 |
| Celebrating Women's History Month with another week's worth of stories by 19th Century women authors. Today's story is a bit lengthy, so we have split it into two parts. Rose Terry Cooke tells a charming tale of a woman who seems to love animals more than people in 'Miss Lucinda' (Part One of Two) from 1881.
Time: approx thirty-eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:46 AM |
| Wed, Mar 26 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1019 |
| Celebrating Women's History Month with another week's worth of stories by 19th Century women authors. Today we offer what can only be described as an (ahem) odd piece from 1864 by Katherine Kent Child Walker called 'The Total Depravity of Inanimate Things.'
Time: approx twelve and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:27 AM |
| Mon, Mar 24 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1018 |
| Celebrating Women's History Month with another week's worth of stories by 19th Century women authors. Today we hear about a peddler and some worn out apparel in 'The Colonel's Clothes' by Caroline Howard Gilman from 1867.
Time: approx twelve minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:06 PM |
| Sun, Mar 23 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1017 |
| Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series.
Some of the humor in today's chapter may shoot past most people, but there still are some good laughs in 'John Henry Plays Pool.' Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:25 PM |
| Sat, Mar 22 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1016 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features TWO Stanley Huntley stories especially for Easter. First, we hear a tale of a Pastor engaged in a crucial card game with an errant Deacon in 'A New Element in Poker' from 1881, and Mr. Spoopendyke vainly attempts to haul a dozen potted plants to church in 'Easter Decorations' from 1883.
Time: approx twelve minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:34 PM |
| Fri, Mar 21 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1015 |
| Our favorite old crank becomes a benefactor to humanity by measuring the humidity in the sky in C. B. Lewis's 1899 story 'Mr. Bowser Making Experiments in Kites.'
Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... 
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Posted at 11:24 PM |
| Thu, Mar 20 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1014 |
| March is Women's History Month! This week, we have been reading fun stories from 19th century women authors.
Lurana W. Sheldon dropped out of medical school to become a successful writer and lecturer. Today's charming story, 'Sam Stebbins' Courtship,' originally appeared in 'Penny Magazine' in 1897. Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:38 PM |
| Wed, Mar 19 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1013 |
| March is Women's History Month! This week, we will be reading fun stories from 19th century women authors.
Harriet Beecher Stowe is, of course, most famous for writing 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' the best selling book of the 19th Century, which was so influential that when Abraham Lincoln met her, he remarked, 'So this is the little lady that started this war!' But for years before writing that, she was a popular author who wrote charming, light stories. One of her funniest came from her 1846 collection, 'The Mayflower; or Sketches of Scenes and Characters Among the Descendants of the Pilgrims.' The story concerns the woes of squishing in with many other passengers in 'The Canal-Boat.' Time: approx sixteen and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:48 PM |
| Tue, Mar 18 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1012 |
| March is Women's History Month! This week, we will be reading fun stories from 19th century women authors.
Even as a young student, Fanny Fern displayed a flair for humor. Here's a piece from her school days (circa 1820s) called 'Suggestions on Arithmetic after Cramming for an Examination.' Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:48 PM |
| Mon, Mar 17 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1011 |
| March is Women's History Month! This week, we will be reading fun stories from 19th century women authors.
Metta Victoria Victor was one of the most popular authors of her time, writing literally hundreds of dime novels under an assortment of male and female pen names. Today, we read a selection from her 1884 book, 'A Good Boy's Diary' called 'A Cat in the Dumb Waiter.' It's an amusing tale of a mischievous boy who gets into heaps of trouble! You can read a bit more about Mrs. Victor in the Mister Ron's Basement blog at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/.. Time: approx sixteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  |
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Posted at 10:28 PM |
| Sun, Mar 16 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1010 |
| Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series.
Today, our hero takes a challenge from a literate friend and pounds out a novel in 'John Henry's Literature.' Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:23 PM |
| Sat, Mar 15 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1009 |
| SUNDAY SALAD presents TWO Stanley Huntley stories -- In the first one from 1880, two old codgers swap ferocious winter stories in 'Early Cold Snaps' and the second piece is a rarer than rare find -- an 1883 Spoopendyke tale that apparently first saw print in Bill Nye's Laramie (Wyoming) Boomerang, called 'Spoopendyke and the Fiddle.'
Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  Why is this Frederic Opper cover here? Listen and find out! |
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Posted at 09:23 PM |
| Fr |