The Rivertown Review Podcast

After some time away, we got an invitation to guest on another podcast, which made us realize that it had been way too long since we had sat down at Megan's kitchen table to expound about our favorite town. We cover our new "mellow" friends, another season of river cruise ships and catch you up on what's new with us.

It would be safe to say that a favorite topic of discussion in just about any setting is ... food. McKenzie Disselhorst is back to talk about our favorite foods and where to find them in and around Hannibal.

Our guest is McKenzie Disselhorst, the Executive Director of the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce. We cover the best way to get a guided tour of General Mills and the Marion County Jail, along with planning for the future in such a way that stuff actually gets done.

We begin by reacquainting you with all the things that Hannibal has going on these days, followed by an in-depth discussion of perhaps the most "interesting" portrayal of Mark Twain we have ever seen.

After a 31 month partially COVID-induced hiatus, Megan and Harold are back with Season Three. We take a look back at surviving the plague and what we have planned moving forward.

Never in our wildest dreams did we forsee doing a pandemic episode. We have talked a lot about history, but this time, we talk about the history we are smack in the middle of. Harold is still at work, while Megan is working from home ... and so the conversation begins.

It was 100 years ago the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was certified, finally giving women the right to vote. Did you know the first woman to vote in an election after the certification was a Hannibalian? Our guest is Jessica Jones Capparell, a history buff, a former college classmate of Megan's, and works with the League of Women Voters in Washington, D.C. How do you do a show about politics and not "get political?" Listen and find out.

Yes, we know it's been a looooong time since the last time we got together. This is a catch-up episode, with you and with each other. And, we'll look back at Hannibal's just concluded Bicentennial celebration. What was your favorite part of the year-long 200th birthday party?

We sat down with a complete list of our episodes and marveled at all the neat people and topics we've covered. This time around, we reflect on our favorites, plus, we have updates on a couple of past guests - the Small Town Big Deal episode hosted by our new best friends, Rodney Miller and Jann Carl featuring National Tom Sawyer Days is out, and the latest on "The Wall on City Hall."

Our guest is Ray Harvey, whose specialty is BIG works of art. To be more specific, he is the artist of the mural on the wall of Hannibal City Hall. This is not Ray's first Hannibal mural, and, we're told, won't be his last. The story of how the mural on, "The Wall at City Hall," came to be, is the subject on Episode 53 of Hannibal's Original Podcast.

Recently, "the discovery of a lifetime" was made in Mark Twain Cave. After decades of searching, the signature of a young Sam Clemens was found among the 250,000 names that had been scrawled on the walls of the cave over the years. Our guest is cave owner Linda Coleberd, one of those who was in on the discovery. Along with the discovery, we cover the authentication process, and how this find is only the beginning.

The first person to say nice things about the podcast in print was John L. Davis IV. John is our guest on our "Area 51" episode. John has written a new book, entitled, "Average Joe." It's the story of a regular guy who sees something very wrong and decides to do something about it. Our discussion covers human trafficking, standing up to the bad guys ... and zombies.

The Big River Steampunk Festival has become a Labor Day weekend tradition in Hannibal. But, just what the heck is steampunk? To find out, we went straight to the expert - the one and only Doc Phineas, who takes time out of his busy schedule (which includes prominent roles in TV shows like Pawn Stars and Mysteries of the Museum) to sit down with us.

Mary Lynne Richards is back with us. Along with her regular responsibilities with the Hannibal Parks and Recreation Department, she found herself in charge of the unearthing of the time capsule that was buried in 1969 for our sesquicentennial. We cover what they found and the lessons learned as they prepare another time capsule for the bicentennial.

A little over a year ago, author, investigative reporter and area native John Wingate joined us to talk about his book about The Lost Boys of Hannibal, three young men who went exploring in Hannibal's cave system in 1967 and disappeared without a trace. John is back to talk about his follow-up book, "Souls Speak." This is, frankly, a stunning and slightly troubling account of three individuals who independently shared with John their visions of what they believe really happened to the lost boys. But did it?

As we sit down for episode 47, the quadrennial Clemens Conference is taking place in Hannibal. One of the presenters for the conference is Melissa Scholes Young, an Associate Professor in the Department of Literature at American University in Washington, D.C. She is also a Hannibal native (who looks for any good excuse to come home) who wondered what the result would be to reimagine Mark Twain's classic duo of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn as women in Hannibal during the Great Flood of 1993. The result was Melissa's first novel, "Flood," first released two years ago and now out in paperback.

This is part two of our conversation with Rodney Miller and Jann Carl, the hosts of the TV show, "Small Town Big Deal," who were in Hannibal to tape a future episode of their show, featuring National Tom Sawyer Days. This time, we talk more about the show, and give Rodney and Jann a VERY good reason to come back to Hannibal (think Labor Day weekend).

This time, we visit with a couple of folks who were "just passing through" for National Tom Sawyer Days. The nationally syndicated TV show "Small Town Big Deal" brought their crew to town to shoot video for a future episode. The hosts of the show, Rodney Miller and Jann Carl, sat down with us to talk about how the show came about, their first impressions of our town and what the heck do you call people from Hannibal?

Did you know that what is now one of Hannibal biggest employers came to town because of one man who was a Mark Twain fan? That, some other random stuff, and a teaser alert on episode 44 of the podcast.

We cover a lot of ground in episode 43, from the spirit of the Midwest rallying to keep the rising river in check, to an update on the new "ornamental" lighthouse, to a history lesson on Hannibal's Central Park, and more.