If you are from the Sacramento valley you know The Calaveras Jumping frog!
I always loved learning history but I hated history class. In school you are told dates and names and some basic things like “north good, south bad…” then are tested on whether you memorized these facts or not. But is that learning? I say no, and that is why I created this show.”
Hi, My name is Ricky Mortensen and I enjoy local History. I like all History but most of all I like LOCAL History. Why? well, it’s because here in the U.S.A we are a big country of many states and each state has its own unique and interesting History. The western states are so very different from the eastern states for example.
And yet, in school, we learn hardly anything of value. I can tell you some dates of certain events. I can even tell you the names of some famous people. I can tell you the basics of the civil war of North good South bad and that’s about it. The public school system in this country is a complete failure. I didn’t learn history the way my parents did or my grandparents did either. My great grandpa who dropped out of school in the 8th grade to be a farmer probably knew more about the history and culture of this country than I do today!
I believe that we need to focus on our own towns, our own cities, and our own history. Nowadays we are simply told that evil white guys invaded the land killed all the natives and then chopped down all the trees to destroy the planet for monetary gain. We are told all kinds of things in the media and now in our public schools. I created this show to highlight The Western USA History (mainly Northern California)
The History of the American West is extremely interesting. We are the place that had the gold rush, we had battles and crazy outlaws, we had amazing inventions and incredibly strong-willed people. We hold claim to some of the best writers and poets of America as well. The West is a treasure trove, a quarry of history, a gold mine of what I like to call Historical Tidbits.
This podcast is all about showcasing the amazing history of the west. I do my best to not make it about dates and names but rather stories. the point of studying history is not to simply know a date so you get a good grade or a point in some trivia event. The point is to learn from history, what is the lesson, or what is the inspiration you can take from it? That is the true reason. Could you imagine if all we did with ww2 history is just say Hitler killed a bunch of Jews and so he’s an evil guy? That is basically how history is taught and I am here to change that. At least, for the west.