It's a true opportunity to sit down with someone who has owned an historic home, but who also has a rich and vibrant memory of their own history. This is John Reed. As superintendent of Newtown CT schools, he and I collaborated on a series called "Schools and Schooling." John with his vast knowledge of education, and me with my community studio anxious to have as many people use as possible. We were able to give high school students the opportunity to participate in the creation of TV programming and consider it as a possible career path.

John is moving from a house that was built as the first Library in Newtown in 1900. Small in stature but built to last, an it has, with just a few alterations in the 1930s to transform it in to a residence.

This first episode of season 3 was created to promotion for the sale this very weekend. While you may be reading this after the fact, consider the quest for hidden history your opportunity to see and touch the past before it os gone forever.

"10 buildings on one street in Greenwich, CT to be demolished" was all Martin Blanco and I needed to hear, and we were on our way to hunt for history, or get stuck in an attic while the wrecking ball moved closer. It was hot and exhausting and mostly empty, but we made the most ofit and found some treasure along the way.

In this quick episode Martin and I grab the gear and head to Hastings on Hudson to look for the elusive Wire Recorder used in the film "Death of a Salesman" which featured Dustin Hoffman. The home of a long-time film industry sound editor is also the place where numerous film props he collected can be purchased. Take a look at them while Matin and I power tossing a brick (prop) at either Frank Whalley or Nathan Lane.

"Stories From The Attic" Podcast:

A colonial estate in Wilton, CT is the setting for this episode. Greg and Martin stay in the Backyard and use a very old doll house to show where the treasure is sometimes hidden. Examples of things found in an old house are: A bag of 75 year old bird seed; An 1863 almanac from Rhode Island; An 19th century unopened jar of smoke flavor for meat, which ends the problem of your smoke house burning down all the time.

The dig so big...it needed two episodes. Note: we are taping shorter episodes now, and in the future they may get shorter. You're busy; we get that.

Back in the studio, Martin Blanco and I review the journey to Wilton and share before and after footage of the non-hoarder hoard. There was a lot in this house but the owners were just doing what everyone else tries to do - Live a full life and save little pieces of it.

When it's time to clear out and you want to keep history from becoming lost, and then have it preserved - somehow - call us first.

Reach out here!

A "hoard" can mean a lot of things. (I'll let that sink in.) The word is most often associated with someone who is a hoarder. That term is most often associated with someone usually living in putrefying conditions often as partly caused by a mental disorder. Let me clear up a few things. Not all hoards come from hoarders; not all hoards are in putrefying conditions.

Those who have lived a full life often lose sight of the first things they saved from work or family. As such, the last things they saved tend to erase the memory of the previous things. The inert matter, wood, fabric, paper decomposes at such a slow rate, the owner is unaware of its condition by the time they have to move to a more manageable sized living situation.

The point is - we can neither fault them for having these things amass, nor blame them for not curating them like they were museum pieces. Because of the owners' longevity, the things they collected are actually museum items. They have value because they are rare, they are nostalgic, which others appreciate, but conversely we cannot judge the owner for not having left these relics to us in the best condition. Truthfully, when they were stored, it was never for the purpose of public or economic appreciation.

The hoard, as it is titled, is a good example of how things can accumulate over time and become a blight and a slight against historic preservation. Merely a victim of circumstance we came to this house, not to bury, but to genuinely praise the owner, or one of them. it was too big for one 'cast, please stay connected for part 2 - the transition is amazing.

In this episode Greg and Martin must lay low as they reveal Confidential documents, essentially case files from the Counter Intelligence Corps as they operated in Italy after its liberation from the Fascist regime of Mussolini. Learn how Greg discovered these papers and how these samples of primary history reflect the arduous task of protecting citizens and keeping Italy safe from espionage and insurrection and further collapse. The gold in these documents is the challenge of this branch of intelligence to hunt down all leads and report on even the most mundane or mis-understood accusations. The first cases we chose at random are jaw-dropping and hilarious at the same time. Thank you for subscribing! There will be more to come if the ghosts of the CIC do come to get us first.

In this episode, Martin Blanco and I share our reaction to several newly discovered vintage commercials from the 1960s and 70s. Among the hidden history are often the products of a long career in advertising. These are just a few of the commercials, which prompted the creation of a new YouTube Channel! Retro-Media https://youtube.com/@retro-media411?si=qVIbQjF_hMLFGG_-This will be the place for not only Vintage commercials but Podcast extras from the studio recording sessions and a landing place for all the found media discovered during my expeditions. reel to reel tapes, records, cassette bits and more. please subscribe to Retro Media.