Recollections

RECOLLECTIONS

A podcast exploring history and culture through the collections of the Reece Museum at East Tennessee State University.

“Recollections” episodes highlight artifacts at the Reece Museum and other local sources by interviewing experts and exploring what those artifacts can reveal about human culture and history. The researchers and artists who lend their expertise to the podcast series include ETSU professors, local musicians, and graduate students. Five-to-ten minutes long, these short form episodes are a curated exploration of some of the items that make up the museum’s impressive collection of almost 25,000 artifacts.

Ep. 5 Jessie Ackermann

Jessie Ackermann was probably the most traveled woman in the Victorian era, conducting eight world tours and visiting every continent except Antarctica. But these weren't leisure trips. Jessie was on a mission.

Ep. 4 Uncle Dave Macon's Collar

For decades, Uncle Dave Macon was a star of the Grande Ole Opry. What can his collar tell us about old-time and country music cultures in the early twentieth century?

Ep.3: The Eastern Tennessee Mural

There’s a little-known Depression-era mural on ETSU’s Johnson City campus that tells a story of Appalachia in transition. The mural captures the dizzying industrial developments of early twentieth century Tennessee, and the migrations of its people within and outside the region.

Ep. 2: Women in the Elizabethton Rayon Strikes

In the late 1920s, two German-owned rayon factories began operations in the town of Elizabethton in East Tennessee. By 1929, a huge strike was underway at both plants, with the women workers leading the charge. We examine a matchbook ad in our collections that launches us into the women’s side of the story of the Elizabethton Rayon Plant Strikes of 1929.

Ep. 1: The Magical History of Bloodstones

The donor of our egg-shaped bloodstone said that the stone might date back to 19th century England, but the history of this item is largely a mystery. What we do know, however, is that cultures all over the world have used bloodstone as a magical tool for over a thousand years. 

Ep 1 Sneak Peak: The Magical History of Bloodstones

This sneak peak episode focuses on an egg-shaped bloodstone in the Reece Museum’s collections. While little is known about the item’s history, Lynch-Thomason interviews an expert in folklore to explore bloodstone’s historic, multicultural usage as a magical tool.