
Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told
"Flower in the River" podcast, inspired by my book of the same name, explores the 1915 Eastland Disaster in Chicago and its enduring impact, particularly on my family's history. We'll explore the intertwining narratives of others impacted by this tragedy as well, and we'll dive into writing and genealogy and uncover the surprising supernatural elements that surface in family history research. Come along with me on this journey of discovery.
Podcasting since 2023 • 137 episodes
Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told
Latest Episodes
The Eastland Survivors and the Case of the Missing Bylines
Memory can vanish quietly—sometimes with a server shutdown. This week, we open the door to the Eastland disaster’s online past: from an early researcher’s dial-up “postcard pages” to an early Eastland website’s now-defunct archive. We ...
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Season 4
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Episode 136
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34:36

Excursion to Death — The Witness Who Finally Spoke
A tug’s line goes taut, a mandolin stops mid-note, and a sleek steamer rolls onto its side in six minutes. That’s the scene an eight-year-old John Griggs never forgot—and the memory he later captured in a gripping article, “Excursion to Death,”...
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Season 4
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Episode 135
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29:57

Visiting Every Grave - George Hilton’s Eastland Legacy
A century after his birth, George W. Hilton is still guiding our footsteps. This episode honors the transportation historian whose book Eastland: Legacy of the Titanic became the cornerstone of Eastland disaster research. After discove...
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Season 4
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Episode 134
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39:13

Buried by Omission: The Eastland Victim Who Disappeared
This week we take a deeper dive into the Claims and Libels files (In the Matter of the Petition of St. Joseph-Chicago Steamship Company, Owner of the Steamer Eastland, For Limitation of Liability) preserved in the National Archives Catalog. The...
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Season 4
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Episode 133
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34:08

True Tales from the Eastland: Admiral Rickover Remembers, Survivors Battle for Redress
Admiral Hyman Rickover—father of the nuclear navy and one of the most influential military figures of the 20th century—had a connection to the 1915 Eastland disaster that’s been virtually forgotten. As a 15-year-old Western Union messenger in C...
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Season 4
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Episode 132
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39:14
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