Mister Ron (Ron Evry) 
Mister Ron's Basement
| Sun, May 11 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1059 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Three of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'Knights of the Table Round' where our hero gets to hear the knights and Merlin the Magician spreading tall tales from 'the exaggeration mill.'
Mister Ron's voice seems to have returned to him, at least enough to start reading stories again! Time: approx fifteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... We are covering some utterly fascinating topics in the Mister Ron's Basement Blog. Just added to the blog is a collection of incredible resources for Public Domain research! Recently, we solved a 150 year old mystery and ran some cool info concerning Mr. Bowser! Do check it out and post your comments there about the Basement. We intend to make it a discussion place for folks who are interested in this sort of thing, and we will occasionally send out prizes and other goodies...You will find it at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/. Help support Mister Ron's Basement painlessly! Try clicking on the text advertisement on the blog page just once. Not once per visit -- just one time ever...You don't have to buy anything -- Thanx! It might be worthwhile to relay some tips on how to find your way around here. In much the same way you might browse through a well-stocked antique bookstore, you may want to scroll up and down the web page and randomly listen to some of the stories that you find. Undoubtedly, unless you've been a long-time listener, most of these authors will be unfamiliar to you. Yet, in their day, many of them were household names, who fell into obscurity over the years. Yet the great majority of these stories are still fun to listen to today! Of course, if you came here looking for a particular author, please do use your browser's 'find' command to dig up stories by that writer. But don't bypass the ones you haven't heard of, because you are in for a treat! I've always wondered if anyone has heard all (or most) of the stories here in the Basement. I would love to hear from long-time listeners via email. In any event, please have fun! That's the whole point of all this.... The first of our online catalogs is online! You'll find the entire first set of Mister Ron's GEORGE ADE stories carefully indexed for you! Just click here! Now, links to all of the Chapters of Max Adeler's 1880 novelette 'Fortunate Island' can be found at http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html The Best of Mister Ron's Basement is available -- a wonderful Three Audio CD Collection of the funniest episodes ever featured here, specially edited and presented for you! It makes a great introduction to the series, and a terrific gift! Read all about it at http://ronevry.com/best.html If you've already got the latest iTunes on your machine, then you can click here and iTunes will open up to Mister Ron's Basement! Comments are always welcome, and prospective sponsors should feel free to write. Listener and Download statistics are available at http://ronevry.com/MisterRonStats.html. Send your email to revry@panix.com Mister Ron's Once A Week has returned with new episodes! Do NOT miss our companion Podcast, Mister Ron's Once A Week, an audio magazine featuring fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humor, news, and whatever strikes our fancy. You can get it at http://slapcast.com/users/ron. Also, if you've been thinking of starting your own podcast, do check out http://slapcast.com -- they make podcasting a breeze! Tell 'em Mister Ron sent you.  |
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Posted at 10:38 PM |
| Mon, May 05 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1058 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features another rare Spoopendyke story by Stanley Huntley that originally appeared in Drake's Traveller's Magazine in 1883. It's called 'Hunt for a Nocturnal Garment in a Sleeper' and is pretty funny.
However, be warned -- Mister Ron has almost completely lost his voice from a nasty virus, and this is pretty difficult to listen to. Sorry. We will probably have to take a few days off until the frog leaves Mister Ron's throat... Time: approx eight and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:21 AM |
| Sat, May 03 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1057 |
| From 1886, we hear, perhaps for the first time, a theme that C. B. Lewis used quite often in Mr. Bowser stories over the next 38 years. Lacking a title for this story, we'll call it 'Colonel Bowser.'
Time: approx seven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:21 PM |
| Thu, May 01 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1056 |
| We're wrapping up a second week in a row of double-barreled Bill Nye stories!
Nye explores the science of telling one's fortune via the bumps in the head in 'Bill Nye on Phrenology' from 1884. 'Table Etiquette' from 1881 explains the proper manners one should have at a dinner in the inimitable Bill Nye manner. Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:57 PM |
| Wed, Apr 30 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1055 |
| We're back with a second week in a row of Bill Nye stories, and we'll be presenting two each day!
Bill Nye often made fun of his extremely bald head. Here's a couple of hilarious pieces dealing with his lack of fuzziness -- 'The Science of Baldness' from 1886 and 'The Stage Bald-Head' from 1882. Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  |
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Posted at 10:55 PM |
| Tue, Apr 29 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1054 |
| We're back with a second week in a row of Bill Nye stories, and we'll be presenting two each day!
Today we explore the stuff you put in your mouth -- food! -- with two stories from 1888 -- 'Health Food' and 'Joking and Eating.' Note -- this episode and the last few offered way too many exploding consonants due to technical difficulties -- bear with us and this problem will be solved! Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:36 PM |
| Mon, Apr 28 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1053 |
| We're back with a second week in a row of Bill Nye stories, and we'll be presenting two each day!
First, from 1888, we offer Nye's commentary on Washington, DC, 'Bill Nye on the Washington Fly' then we examine the terrible combination of flies and bald-headed men in 'The Fly' from 1881. Time: approx six minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:18 PM |
| Sun, Apr 27 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1052 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Two of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is actually called 'King Arthur's Court' -- and in it, our hero comes to the realization that he is not in a lunatic asylum, but actually thirteen hundred years in the past!
Time: approx thirteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:36 PM |
| Sat, Apr 26 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1051 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features THREE Stanley Huntley stories concerning shaving today -- first, an early effort from 1879 reveals 'Why Barbers Are Talkative.' Then, from 1881, a terrified customer at a barber shop gets 'A Shave.' Finally, Mr. Spoopendyke is thrown into a tizzy as he gouges his face while shaving in 'A Desperate Situation' from 1882.
Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:36 PM |
| Fri, Apr 25 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1050 |
| Mr. Bowser makes sure everyone around him gets his own brand of medical treatment -- whether they need it or not! -- in C. B. Lewis's 1886 tale, 'Dr. Bowser.'
Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:53 PM |
| Thu, Apr 24 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1049 |
| We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!
Bill Nye digs up a significant historical document, that reads more like one of George Ade's Turn-Of-Of-The-Century Fables in Slang, but honest-to-gosh, was written in 1881. It's called 'A Relic of Pocahontas.' Time: approx five minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:57 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1048 |
| We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!
Today we get a 19th Century lesson on birds, and singing, and bugs, and other stuff in 'Discoveries in Ornithology' from 1880. Time: approx six minutes |
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Posted at 12:02 AM |
| Tue, Apr 22 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1047 |
| We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!
From 1884, Nye gives a scientific-ish analysis of the mental process called 'The Thinkist and His Think.' Time: approx six minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:11 PM |
| Mon, Apr 21 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1046 |
| We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!
Today we feature TWO Nye pieces -- first we hear all about the information age in the 1884 tale, 'Gen. Sheridan's Horse.' Then we get some terrific suggestions for putting one's life in order in the 1881 piece, 'Advice to Young Men.' Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:43 PM |
| Sun, Apr 20 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1045 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter One of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- yes, there is an episode before this one, so go back and get it -- This one is called 'Camelot.'
Time: approx six and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:31 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1044 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers THREE funny Stanley Huntley stories today! First, a wild westerner visits a Brooklyn Bar looking for a taste of the real stuff in 'Couldn't Feel at Home' from 1881. Next, another, even wilder westerner visits a different Brooklyn Bar and gets a taste of the real stuff in 'A Mistake Somewhere' from 1883, and finally, Mr. Spoopendyke tries on a pair of gloves to wear at a funeral in an 1884 tale, probably from Drake's Traveller's Magazine called 'Rather Small for Him.'
Time: approx seventeen and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:19 AM |
| Fri, Apr 18 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1043 |
| 'Mr. Bowser Raises Chickens' from 1886, by C. B. Lewis. What more needs to be said?
Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:38 PM |
| Thu, Apr 17 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1042 |
| Presenting the concluding fifth part of an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle.
Perhaps the funniest part of this story, our heroes are stranded on a melting iceberg in the tropics, in 'Book Five -- The Deliverance, by Jules Verne, Jr.' Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:42 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1041 |
| Presenting the third and fourth parts of an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle.
The four travelers on ice manage to acquire food, housing, and deal with wild creatures in 'Book Three -- How to Sustain Life' and 'Book Four -- An Invasion, by Jules Verne, Jr.' Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 12:38 AM |
| Tue, Apr 15 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1040 |
| Presenting the second part of an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle.
Today, the four adventurers reach the Pole and must deal with the six-month long darkness in 'A Trip to the South Pole; Book Two -- The Pole' by 'Jules Verne, Jr.' Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:47 PM |
| Mon, Apr 14 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1039 |
| Presenting an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle. We will offer it over the course of four Episodes. Here then, is 'A Trip to the South Pole; Book One' by 'Jules Verne, Jr.'
Time: approx seven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:46 PM |
| Sun, Apr 13 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1038 |
| Today we begin a NEW Monday Book Serialization with a true classic -- Mark Twain's 1889 novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.' We start with the 'Preface' and 'A Word of Explanation.'
This is a long book -- expect it to take about a year reading a chapter every week. So take your time and enjoy! Time: approx seventeen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 06:40 PM |
| Sat, Apr 12 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1037 |
| SUNDAY SALAD has us laying our cards on the table with TWO Stanley Huntley stories from 1883 -- first a champion poker player from Dakota fleeces a pale and innocent Brooklyn man in 'Another Ranger' then 'The Spoopendykes Play Poker' in a rare funny tale from Drake's Traveller's Magazine.
Time: approx eleven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:27 PM |
| Fri, Apr 11 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1036 |
| Mr. Bowser displays his stubborn brand of idiocy in a theme that would be repeated quite a few times by author C. B. Lewis (writing as M. Quad) over the next 38 years. Bowser shows his wife that 'business is business,' even when buying ladies wear in a story we call 'Making A Dress' from 1886.
This was the third Mr. Bowser story ever published. Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 09:56 PM |
| Thu, Apr 10 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1035 |
| Just for the fun of it, we're presenting a Max Adeler story from 1873 that has nothing to do with his feud with Mark Twain, but is a nifty little tale of a liar, in the spirit of the Abner Byng stories. It's called 'The Persecution of Jones' and originally appeared in the Saturday Evening Post.
Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 11:34 PM |
| Wed, Apr 09 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1034 |
| The two Abner Byng stories we read in the last two episodes may have been warm-ups for today's tale, where Max Adeler attacks Mark Twain (who was known to use the pen name Carl Byng) as a phenomenal liar. Originally introduced in 'Beeton's Christmas Annual' in England back in 1878, it was finalized and included in Adeler's book 'Random Shots' in 1879. Here then, is 'The Adventures of Abner Byng; With Some Reflections Concerning Certain Moral Idiots.'
Time: approx twenty-two minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  A. B. Frost
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Posted at 11:50 PM |
| Tue, Apr 08 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1033 |
| Today we offer another Max Adeler story about the world's greatest liar, by the name of Abner Byng. Adeler had engaged in a long feud with Mark Twain, who once used the pen name of 'Carl Byng.' Were these 'Byng' stories digs at Twain?
Probably. Today we offer a story from 1879 called 'The Most Marvelous Shooting on Record.' We previously read this tale a few years ago in Episode #211, under another title, but it does take on new meaning knowing what we know of the Twain-Adeler feud. Time: approx six and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:32 PM |
| Mon, Apr 07 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1032 |
| Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and Max Adeler (Charles Heber Clark) engaged in a long-running feud, with each accusing the other of plagiarism more than once. Oddly enough, the two of them attacked each other indirectly in print, using names and circumstances that would be recognized by their targets.
In our first piece from 1870, Twain attacks Adeler in the Galaxy Magazine in 1870 without mentioning him by name in 'A Literary Old Offender in Court with Suspicious Property in His Possession' Then we offer an 1879 Adeler tale, the first of at least three where a character named Abner Byng (Twain previously had used the pen name of 'Carl Byng') is painted as the world's biggest liar. This story is called 'The Facts About Sam Snyder.' Time: approx fourteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:46 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1031 |
| Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series. Today we present the last chapter of the book, 'John Henry Plays Progressive Euchre.'
Reuploaded with slight correction Next Monday we will begin serializing one of the greatest funny books of all time! Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 04:57 PM |
| Sat, Apr 05 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1030 |
| SUNDAY SALAD gives you TWO Stanley Huntley stories today. In the first tale from 1882, a professor and a medium attempt to convince a farmer of their ability to contact the spirit world in 'A Doubter.' Then, in an 1881 story, we get to meet 'Mr. Spoopendyke's Dog.'
Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:38 PM |
| Fri, Apr 04 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1029 |
| Two weeks after introducing the character, C. B. Lewis, writing as M. Quad, brought back Mr. Bowser, coming much closer to his eventual development. Today we present the second Bowser story from 1886, which we call 'The System.'
Time: approx six and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:08 PM |
| Thu, Apr 03 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1028 |
| Meat or Meteors? From 1868, we present 'Brick Pomeroy's Account of the Great Meteoric Hail Storm.'
Time: approx eleven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:57 PM |
| Wed, Apr 02 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1027 |
| Here's a list of, well, somewhat useful tips for having safe fun on the ice by Brick Pomeroy from 1868, called 'Hints to Skaters.'
Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:18 PM |
| Tue, Apr 01 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1026 |
| Here's a very short, and extremely funny 1870 piece by Brick Pomeroy about the strange customs of Chicago called 'Speaking of Divorces.'
Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:49 PM |
| Mon, Mar 31 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1025 |
| Marcus Mills ('Brick') Pomeroy wrote some truly wacky stories when he set his mind to it. From 1869, we hear about a fabulous invention, the 'Wonderful Hair-Reproducer.'
Time: approx five minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:35 PM |
| Sun, Mar 30 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1024 |
| Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series.
Our hero's actor friend wants to be in a play in a bad way -- and that's exactly how he would play it. John secures his friend a nine-act play for eighty cents in 'John Henry on Would-Be Actors.' Time: approx six and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 06:34 PM |
| Sat, Mar 29 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1023 |
| SUNDAY SALAD brings you TWO funny Stanley Huntley stories from 1882 today. First we offer another episode of the 'Eagle Sunday School Library' featuring Susie Snydersklop, the devoted daughter of a missionary to the cannibals, and the Spoopendykes attempt to raise chickens in 'Building A Hen Coop.'
Time: approx ten and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:06 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1022 |
| Celebrating THREE YEARS of Mister Ron's Basement with a unique and significant find! From 1886, comes the very FIRST Mr. Bowser story, by C. B. Lewis ("M. Quad"), 'Election Day and Night.' We'll be focusing on the earliest Bowser stories in the upcoming weeks, and see how the character developed into the familiar old crank we have grown to laugh at and love...
Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 12:50 PM |
| Thu, Mar 27 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1021 |
| Concluding Women's History Month with the second half of a two-part story by Rose Terry Cooke from 1881, about a woman who seemingly loves animals more than people and is stuck with a French dancing-master in her home, called 'Miss Lucinda' (Part Two of Two).
Time: approx thirty-three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:57 AM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1020 |
| Celebrating Women's History Month with another week's worth of stories by 19th Century women authors. Today's story is a bit lengthy, so we have split it into two parts. Rose Terry Cooke tells a charming tale of a woman who seems to love animals more than people in 'Miss Lucinda' (Part One of Two) from 1881.
Time: approx thirty-eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:46 AM |
| Wed, Mar 26 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1019 |
| Celebrating Women's History Month with another week's worth of stories by 19th Century women authors. Today we offer what can only be described as an (ahem) odd piece from 1864 by Katherine Kent Child Walker called 'The Total Depravity of Inanimate Things.'
Time: approx twelve and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:27 AM |
| Mon, Mar 24 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1018 |
| Celebrating Women's History Month with another week's worth of stories by 19th Century women authors. Today we hear about a peddler and some worn out apparel in 'The Colonel's Clothes' by Caroline Howard Gilman from 1867.
Time: approx twelve minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:06 PM |
| Sun, Mar 23 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1017 |
| Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series.
Some of the humor in today's chapter may shoot past most people, but there still are some good laughs in 'John Henry Plays Pool.' Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:25 PM |
| Sat, Mar 22 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1016 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features TWO Stanley Huntley stories especially for Easter. First, we hear a tale of a Pastor engaged in a crucial card game with an errant Deacon in 'A New Element in Poker' from 1881, and Mr. Spoopendyke vainly attempts to haul a dozen potted plants to church in 'Easter Decorations' from 1883.
Time: approx twelve minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:34 PM |
| Fri, Mar 21 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1015 |
| Our favorite old crank becomes a benefactor to humanity by measuring the humidity in the sky in C. B. Lewis's 1899 story 'Mr. Bowser Making Experiments in Kites.'
Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... 
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Posted at 11:24 PM |
| Thu, Mar 20 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1014 |
| March is Women's History Month! This week, we have been reading fun stories from 19th century women authors.
Lurana W. Sheldon dropped out of medical school to become a successful writer and lecturer. Today's charming story, 'Sam Stebbins' Courtship,' originally appeared in 'Penny Magazine' in 1897. Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:38 PM |
| Wed, Mar 19 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1013 |
| March is Women's History Month! This week, we will be reading fun stories from 19th century women authors.
Harriet Beecher Stowe is, of course, most famous for writing 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' the best selling book of the 19th Century, which was so influential that when Abraham Lincoln met her, he remarked, 'So this is the little lady that started this war!' But for years before writing that, she was a popular author who wrote charming, light stories. One of her funniest came from her 1846 collection, 'The Mayflower; or Sketches of Scenes and Characters Among the Descendants of the Pilgrims.' The story concerns the woes of squishing in with many other passengers in 'The Canal-Boat.' Time: approx sixteen and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:48 PM |
| Tue, Mar 18 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1012 |
| March is Women's History Month! This week, we will be reading fun stories from 19th century women authors.
Even as a young student, Fanny Fern displayed a flair for humor. Here's a piece from her school days (circa 1820s) called 'Suggestions on Arithmetic after Cramming for an Examination.' Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:48 PM |
| Mon, Mar 17 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1011 |
| March is Women's History Month! This week, we will be reading fun stories from 19th century women authors.
Metta Victoria Victor was one of the most popular authors of her time, writing literally hundreds of dime novels under an assortment of male and female pen names. Today, we read a selection from her 1884 book, 'A Good Boy's Diary' called 'A Cat in the Dumb Waiter.' It's an amusing tale of a mischievous boy who gets into heaps of trouble! You can read a bit more about Mrs. Victor in the Mister Ron's Basement blog at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/.. Time: approx sixteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  |
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Posted at 10:28 PM |
| Sun, Mar 16 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1010 |
| Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series.
Today, our hero takes a challenge from a literate friend and pounds out a novel in 'John Henry's Literature.' Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:23 PM |
| Sat, Mar 15 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1009 |
| SUNDAY SALAD presents TWO Stanley Huntley stories -- In the first one from 1880, two old codgers swap ferocious winter stories in 'Early Cold Snaps' and the second piece is a rarer than rare find -- an 1883 Spoopendyke tale that apparently first saw print in Bill Nye's Laramie (Wyoming) Boomerang, called 'Spoopendyke and the Fiddle.'
Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  Why is this Frederic Opper cover here? Listen and find out! |
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Posted at 09:23 PM |
| Fri, Mar 14 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1008 |
| From 1900, 'Mr. Bowser Goes into Private Theatricals - and Out Again' by C. B. Lewis. Also, we have an intriguing announcement for Mr. Bowser fans!
Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:27 PM |
| Thu, Mar 13 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1007 |
| Our final Max Adeler story for the week concerns a disguised cistern, a deathly case of mistaken identity, and a phony telegram in 'Mr. Toombs, the Undertaker' from the 1879 book 'Random Shots.'
Time: approx sixteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  A. B. Frost |
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Posted at 09:51 PM |
| Wed, Mar 12 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1006 |
| Max Adeler (George Heber Clark) was a master of building up a story -- his tales would start off somewhat amusing, then get funnier and funnier as they rolled along. 'Jerome Pinnickson's Mother-In-Law' from 1879 is a classic example of this, building to a jaw-dropping conclusion that will leave you in stitches.
Time: approx twenty-four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  A. B. Frost |
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Posted at 10:07 PM |
| Tue, Mar 11 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1005 |
| Max Adeler had a sharp insight into the hilarity that ensued among the living when dealing with the death of a loved one, or two, or three, as we see in 'Mr. Fisher's Bereavement' from 'Random Shots,' published in 1879.
Time: approx fourteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  A. B. Frost |
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Posted at 09:41 PM |
| Mon, Mar 10 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1004 |
| Max Adeler's 1879 book 'Random Shots' offered some of the funniest stories ever written. Here's a delightful tale that starts off silly and builds to extreme hilarity . It's called 'How Jack Forbes Was Avenged.'
Time: approx twenty-nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  This beautifully drawn funny picture by A. B. Frost is even funnier after you've heard the story! |
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Posted at 10:30 PM |
| Sun, Mar 09 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1003 |
| Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series.
In today's chapter, our hero brings the Love of His Life to a high-class beanery in 'John Henry on Butting In.' Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:53 PM |
| Sat, Mar 08 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1002 |
| SUNDAY SALAD presents two extremely funny Stanley Huntley stories -- first, a Brooklyn policeman sorts out an argument on a snowy street in 'As to the Right of Way' from 1881. Next we offer one of Mister Ron's favorite Huntley pieces, 'Spoopendyke at the Falls' which originally appeared in Drake's Travellers' Magazine in 1884.
Time: approx fifteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:33 PM |
| Fri, Mar 07 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1001 |
| Mr. Bowser tells some extremely tall tales, to the consternation of Mrs. Bowser in C. B. Lewis's 1915 story, 'Why Bowser Exaggerates'
Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:32 PM |
| Thu, Feb 28 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1000 (Part Three) |
| EPISODE #1000 -- 'The Stanley Huntley Story' is so BIG that we have to present it in THREE PARTS!
Today, we offer Part Three, featuring a detailed look at Huntley's humorous writing for the Brooklyn Eagle, the invention of 'Spoopendyke' and a array of funny stories. We also are presenting Huntley's 1880 Brooklyn Eagle interview with Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, a truly fascinating newspaper piece. The episode wraps up with a look at Florence Huntley's life and writing after Stanley's death. Time: approx ONE HOUR and seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... It has been an overwhelming experience producing the world's first three-hour long Audio Podcast Documentary. Take your time, listen, an enjoy. Please drop by our blog at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/. Comments are very welcome. We will be taking a hiatus for about a week, and then we will be back with lots more of the funniest stories from the Public Domain...
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Posted at 01:19 AM |
| Wed, Feb 27 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1000 (Part Two) |
| EPISODE #1000 -- 'The Stanley Huntley Story' is so BIG that we have to present it in THREE PARTS!
Today we present Part Two, Stanley Huntley's legendary 1879 interview with Sitting Bull in the Canadian wilderness for the Chicago Tribune, and the fascinating aftermath. Please note -- When Huntley first meets Sitting Bull, the Chief says to him 'How Colonel.' This is a typo from the original 1879 newspaper story and should read 'How cola' (a greeting that means 'Hello Friend'). This is discussed in more detail on the blog page. Part Three will concentrate on Huntley's brief tenure as the humorist for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, where he created the immortal Mr. and Mrs. Spoopendyke, and will also include the twists and turns of fate that sent his widow Florence Huntley into strange paths as an author. Time: approx ONE HOUR and two minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... Comments are welcome at the Mister Ron's Basement Blog at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/.
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Posted at 12:38 AM |
| Tue, Feb 26 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1000 (Part One) |
| EPISODE #1000 -- 'The Stanley Huntley Story' is so BIG that we have to present it in THREE PARTS!
Today, we offer Part One -- concerning Huntley's early years as a remarkable reporter in New York, St. Louis, Washington, DC, and as the owner-editor of the Bismarck Tribune in 1878-79 -- the wildest newspaper ever published! Please note -- there is a minor error here -- early in the story, Eugene Field is called Stanley Field -- sorry! Part Two will feature Huntley's legendary interview with Sitting Bull, and the aftermath, and Part Three will concentrate on his brief tenure as the humorist for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, where he created the immortal Mr. and Mrs. Spoopendyke, and will also include the twists and turns of fate that sent his widow Florence Huntley into strange paths as an author. Time: approx ONE HOUR and three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... Comments are welcome at the Mister Ron's Basement Blog at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/.
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Posted at 12:11 AM |
| Sun, Feb 24 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #999 |
| Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series.
In today's chapter, our hero is stuck being surrounded by chattering ladies in 'John Henry in a Street Car.' Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... We have finally begun a Mister Ron's Basement Blog. Do check it out and post your comments about the Basement. We intend to make it a discussion place for folks who are interested in this sort of thing, and we will occasionally send out prizes and other goodies...You will find it at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/. Recent entries look at M. Quad, George W. Peck, and the Spoopendykes... We are just ONE day from episode #1000! It will be an extra special podcast spotlighting (in depth) the life, wit, and stories of Stanley Huntley! DO NOT MISS IT! As Mister Ron's Basement approaches its One Thousandth episode, it might be worthwhile to relay some tips on how to find your way around here. In much the same way you might browse through a well-stocked antique bookstore, you may very well want to scroll up and down the web page and randomly listen to some of the stories that you find. Undoubtedly, unless you've been a long-time listener, most of these authors will be unfamiliar to you. Yet, in their day, many of them were household names, who fell into obscurity over the years. Yet the great majority of these stories are still fun to listen to today! Of course, if you came here looking for a particular author, please do use your browser's 'find' command to dig up stories by that writer. But don't bypass the ones you haven't heard of, because you are in for a treat! I've always wondered if anyone has heard all (or most) of the stories here in the Basement. I would love to hear from long-time listeners via email. In any event, please have fun! That's the whole point of all this.... The first of our online catalogs is online! You'll find the entire first set of Mister Ron's GEORGE ADE stories carefully indexed for you! Just click here! Now, links to all of the Chapters of Max Adeler's 1880 novelette 'Fortunate Island' can be found at http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html The Best of Mister Ron's Basement is available -- a wonderful Three Audio CD Collection of the funniest episodes ever featured here, specially edited and presented for you! It makes a great introduction to the series, and a terrific gift! Read all about it at http://ronevry.com/best.html If you've already got the latest iTunes on your machine, then you can click here and iTunes will open up to Mister Ron's Basement! Comments are always welcome, and prospective sponsors should feel free to write. Listener and Download statistics are available at http://ronevry.com/MisterRonStats.html. Send your email to revry@panix.com Do NOT miss our companion Podcast, Mister Ron's Once A Week, an audio magazine featuring fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humor, news, and whatever strikes our fancy. You can get it at http://slapcast.com/users/ron. Also, if you've been thinking of starting your own podcast, do check out http://slapcast.com -- they make podcasting a breeze! Tell 'em Mister Ron sent you.
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Posted at 11:20 PM |
| Sat, Feb 23 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #998 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features TWO Stanley Huntley pieces -- first, in an 1883 story, a Montana man attempts 'Tapering Off' and in a story of which we have been unable to ascertain the original publication date, we offer 'Spoopendyke Contemplating His Last Moments.'
Time: approx eleven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:53 PM |
| Fri, Feb 22 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #997 |
| Our favorite old crank rounds up 'wavering' voters to avert the 'downfall of America' in C. B. Lewis's hilarious 1900 romp we call 'Mr. Bowser Saves the Country.'
Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:56 PM |
| Thu, Feb 21 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #996 |
| A last bit of sunny skies for the week, as this piece from George W. Peck's 1882 book 'Peck's Sunshine' warns of the catastrophe awaiting raw oyster eaters in 'A Trying Situation.'
Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 07:48 PM |
| Wed, Feb 20 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #995 |
| The sun is shining here in the Basement!
From George W. Peck's 1882 collection, 'Peck's Sunshine,' we get a lesson on 'The Uses of A Paper Bag.' Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:50 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #994 |
| Peck's Sunshine is brightening our days again this week!
From the 1882 book by George W. Peck, we present an inside look at the utter scandal regarding counterfeit meat in 'Spurious Tripe.' Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 12:32 AM |
| Mon, Feb 18 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #993 |
| We're spreading a bit more of Peck's Sunshine again this week!
From George W. Peck's 1882 collection, we offer a story concerning the kind of tasty treat that you can only get at a Railroad Station, in the tale, 'All About A Sandwich.' Time: approx six minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 06:54 PM |
| Sun, Feb 17 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #992 |
| Our newest Monday book serialization is Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' We've read from other McHugh books featuring the character before, but this time around we will be offering the entire first book in the series.
In today's chapter, John Henry plunks down more than he can afford to take his sweetheart to a play in a language he can't understand in 'John Henry at the Theater.' Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 10:34 PM |
| Sat, Feb 16 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #991 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features TWO great Stanley Huntley stories involving opening and shutting windows in railroad and street cars today -- first, a truly obnoxious woman drives a streetcar conductor nuts in 'An Uneasy Fare' from 1882. Then Mr. Spoopendyke tries to oblige his wife on board a railroad car in 'He Works at a Car Window', originally printed in the hard-to-find Drake's Traveller's Magazine in 1884.
Time: approx nine minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 08:35 PM |
| Fri, Feb 15 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #990 |
| Mr. Bowser demonstrates his superior memory powers to Mrs. Bowser in 'Matching Memories' from 1895.
Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:58 PM |
| Thu, Feb 14 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #989 |
| We are featuring insanely funny short pieces by George W. Peck this week, all from his 1882 collection, 'Peck's Sunshine.'
This extremely short story may be among the funniest we've ever presented. They sure don't write 'em like 'The Queerest Name' any more. Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:30 PM |
| Wed, Feb 13 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #988 |
| We are featuring ludicrously funny short pieces by George W. Peck this week, all from his 1882 collection, 'Peck's Sunshine.'
Today's tale concerns a group of newspapermen anxious to help the police in a story called 'Police Searching Women.' Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:42 PM |
| Tue, Feb 12 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #987 |
| We are featuring silly but funny short pieces by George W. Peck this week, all from his 1882 collection, 'Peck's Sunshine.'
There are many wonderful places for travelers to stay while on a journey. 'An Iowa Hotel' is not one of them. Time: approx three and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:46 PM |
| Mon, Feb 11 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #986 |
| We are featuring wonderfully funny short pieces by George W. Peck this week, all from his 1882 collection, 'Peck's Sunshine.'
We get things rolling with a cautionary tale called 'A Female Knight of Pythias.' Time: approx two and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:19 PM |
| Sun, Feb 10 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #985 |
| Our Monday book serialization is George Ade's 1903 collection, 'In Babel -- Stories of Chicago.' The stories in this book range from the hysterically funny to the pathetically sad. Altogether, they paint a fascinating portrait of turn-of-the-last-century Chicago.
Today we offer the very last chapter of the book -- a charming tale of a seventeen minute 'L' Train trip called 'When Father Meets Father.' Time: approx twelve and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:39 PM |
| Sat, Feb 09 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #984 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features TWO Stanley Huntley stories today -- in the first, an inventor attempts to get publicity for an invention that allows people to leap over tall buildings in a single bound in 'A Benefactor of his Race' from 1882, and Mr. Spoopendyke brings home a nifty contraption in 'Spoopendyke Buys A Printing Press.'
Time: approx twelve and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 09:52 PM |
| Fri, Feb 08 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #983 |
| Mr. Bowser spends a weekday off work, sitting in his yard and dealing with assorted nuisances who come by in 'Bowser's One Day,' written in 1903 by C. B. Lewis.
Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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Posted at 11:55 PM |
| Thu, Feb 07 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #982 |
| M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) wrote a variety of humorous stories over his lengthy career. This week, we are featuring some of his short American Fables from the 1884 collection, 'Sawed-Off Sketches.'
Today's fable is short but quite funny. It's called 'The Cat Died.' Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:21 PM |
| Wed, Feb 06 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #981 |
| M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) wrote a variety of humorous stories over his lengthy career. This week, we are featuring some of his short American Fables from the 1884 collection, 'Sawed-Off Sketches.'
A dying father bequeaths his sons appropriate legacies in 'The Wise Peasant.' Time: approx three and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:57 PM |
| Tue, Feb 05 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #980 |
| M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) wrote a variety of humorous stories over his lengthy career. This week, we are featuring some of his short American Fables from the 1884 collection, 'Sawed-Off Sketches.'
Today we hear a new twist on an old legend in 'The Boy and the Wolf.' Time: approx two and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:18 PM |
| Mon, Feb 04 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #979 |
| M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) wrote a variety of humorous stories over his lengthy career. This week, we are featuring some of his short American Fables from the 1884 collection, 'Sawed-Off Sketches.' Today, a fellow gets stuck in the mud and asks for help from Hercules in 'Didn't Care for the Gods.'
Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 10:49 PM |
| Sun, Feb 03 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #978 |
| Our Monday book serialization is George Ade's 1903 collection, 'In Babel -- Stories of Chicago.' The stories in this book range from the hysterically funny to the pathetically sad. Altogether, they paint a fascinating portrait of turn-of-the-last-century Chicago.
A shady hansom cab driver encounters a truly trusting babe in the woods at a train station in 'No Clarence.' Time: approx eleven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 11:18 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #977 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers something special today! For Stanley Huntley's entire run at the Brooklyn Eagle in the 1880s, he produced a column of one or two liner short jokes called 'Folly Shots.' Some of these jokes featured regular characters -- the Marrowfat family -- and here we present a collection of them from 1881 to 1884.
Additionally, we offer an hilarious story about a newfangled invention from 1883 -- 'Mr. Spoopendyke's Call by Telephone Upon a Business Friend.' Time: approx sixteen and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... |
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Posted at 01:58 PM |
| Fri, Feb 01 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #976 |
| Here's a slightly different story by C. B. Lewis from 1915 -- 'Mr. Bowser Laughs.'
Time: approx eleven minutes |
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Posted at 10:40 PM |
| Thu, Jan 31 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #975 |
| We are wrapping up a week of stories about animals with an 1886 Fish Story by George W. Peck called 'A Plea for the Bullhead.'
Time: approx eight minutes |
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Posted at 11:41 PM |
| Wed, Jan 30 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #974 |
| January 31st is 'National Gorilla Suit Day,' and in celebration, we present our second annual Gorilla Suit story -- 'Mr. Columbus Coriander's Gorilla' by Noah Brooks (sometimes wrongly credited to Max Adeler) from 1869.
This is a great story -- a true American Classic! Time: approx twenty-nine minutes |
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Posted at 11:44 PM |
| Tue, Jan 29 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #973 |
| We continue with stories concerning Animals this week!
O Henry tells a tale of a con man who takes up with a hog thief in 'The Ethics of Pig' from 1906. Time: approx twenty-one and a half minutes |
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Posted at 11:39 PM |
| Mon, Jan 28 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #972 |
| Stories about Animals lurk in the Basement this week!
Today we feature an 1868 tale about the nastiest canine ever in 'The Dog-Gondest Dog' by Marcus Mills ('Brick') Pomeroy. Time: approx ten and a half minutes |
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Posted at 10:03 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #971 |
| Our Monday book serialization is George Ade's 1903 collection, 'In Babel -- Stories of Chicago.' The stories in this book range from the hysterically funny to the pathetically sad. Altogether, they paint a fascinating portrait of turn-of-the-last-century Chicago.
Today's tale deals with a bored sailor, tired of working on a grain steamer up and down the river in 'Opening of Navigation.' Time: approx ten minutes |
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Posted at 09:22 PM |
| Sun, Jan 27 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #970 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features an ANNOUNCEMENT about our special episode number ONE THOUSAND coming in about a month, and also two great Stanley Huntley stories -- first we have a tale of a failed politician with a plan in 'Broken Up' from 1882 and the Spoopendykes struggle with a train schedule in 'Studying the Time-Table' from 1883.
Time: approx twelve and a half minutes |
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Posted at 08:34 PM |
| Sat, Jan 26 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #969 |
| Mr. Bowser comes up with a cure for a cholera epidemic -- not that anyone is looking for one -- in C. B. Lewis's 1904 story, 'Bowser's O.K. Remedy.'
Time: approx ten minutes |
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Posted at 11:23 AM |
| Thu, Jan 24 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #968 |
| Our final Bill Nye story for the week taken from the rare 1885 edition of 'The St. Jacobs Oil Family Calendar and Book of Health and Humor,' involves a futile attempt to get some sleep while camping out -- it is called 'A November Picnic.'
Time: approx five and a half minutes  |
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Posted at 11:09 PM |
| Wed, Jan 23 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #967 |
| In another extremely rare story from the 1885 edition of 'The St. Jacobs Oil Family Calendar and Book of Health and Humor,' Bill Nye points his devastatingly sharp pen on the traditional Fourth of July Barbeque. Fun stuff!
Time: approx five minutes  |
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Posted at 11:34 PM |
| Tue, Jan 22 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #966 |
| Here comes another of the rare stories by Bill Nye from the 1885 edition of 'The St. Jacobs Oil Family Calendar and Book of Health and Humor.'
From the month of May we offer a piece about a -- well -- a piece of pie, that maybe ought not be pie in the story 'The Rhubarb Pie.' A recipe is included! Time: approx six minutes |
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Posted at 08:28 PM |
| Mon, Jan 21 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #965 |
| This week we offer some truly scarce stories by Bill Nye from the 1885 edition of 'The St. Jacobs Oil Family Calendar and Book of Health and Humor.'
From the March calendar page comes Bill Nye's reflections on running for President in 'Vanity and Vexation'.'  Time: approx seven and a half minutes |
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Posted at 05:39 PM |
| Sun, Jan 20 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #964 |
| Our Monday book serialization is George Ade's 1903 collection, 'In Babel -- Stories of Chicago.' The stories in this book range from the hysterically funny to the pathetically sad. Altogether, they paint a fascinating portrait of turn-of-the-last-century Chicago.
Today we hear about a tough guy looking for trouble in 'Willie Curtin -- A Man.' Time: approx twelve minutes |
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Posted at 10:38 PM |
| Sat, Jan 19 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #963 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers TWO special Stanley Huntley stories taken from an actual copy of 'Drake's Travelers' Magazine' of July, 1885 -- first a quack inventor tries to get a plug in the newspaper from an editor in 'His 'Boss' Credential' and Mr. and Mrs. Spoopendyke attempt to dig up their dinner at the seaside in 'Digging Clams.'
Time: approx nine and a half minutes |
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Posted at 08:12 PM |
| Fri, Jan 18 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #962 |
| Mr. Bowser comes up with a fabulous idea to make millions of dollars in 'The Snow and Ice Tycoon' from 1900 by C. B. Lewis under the pen name of M. Quad.
Time: approx ten and a half minutes |
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Posted at 11:58 PM |
| Thu, Jan 17 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #961 |
| Like to find your way to Easy Street? Then listen to Thomas L. Masson's 1905 story, 'Directions.'
Time: approx three and a half minutes |
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Posted at 11:38 PM |
| Wed, Jan 16 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #960 |
| Today we offer THREE very short and funny stories by Thomas L. Masson -- A boy gets stuck with an opera ticket in 'Poor Willie,' a man's life from Kindergarten to senility is covered in a few paragraphs in 'Work and Play' and a rich man wants to leave a literary legacy in 'The Refusal' all from 1905.
Time: approx seven minutes |
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Posted at 11:35 PM |
| Tue, Jan 15 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #959 |
| A judge uncovers the cause of a raving lunatic's insanity in 'No Hope for Such as He' by Thomas L. Masson from 1905.
Time: approx three minutes |
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Posted at 10:41 PM |
| Mon, Jan 14 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #958 |
| Returning to Thomas L. Masson's 1905 collection, 'A Corner in Women,' we encounter a burst of inspiration from a widely-known playwright in 'It Was All Right.'
Time: approx three minutes |
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Posted at 10:03 PM |
| Sun, Jan 13 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #957 |
| Our Monday book serialization is George Ade's 1903 collection, 'In Babel -- Stories of Chicago.' The stories in this book range from the hysterically funny to the pathetically sad. Altogether, they paint a fascinating portrait of turn-of-the-last-century Chicago.
An old college buddy is recruited to back up a wild story in 'The Scapegoat.' Time: approx seven minutes |
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Posted at 08:33 PM |
| Sat, Jan 12 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #956 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers TWO Stanley Huntley stories -- from 1883, A Minister attempts to bring a request to the assumptive newspaper's editor in 'A Trifling Misunderstanding' and Mr. and Mrs. Spoopendyke search for a missing raincoat in 'Wanted His Waterproof' from 1882.
Time: approx ten and a half minutes |
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Posted at 11:59 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #955 |
| Mr. Bowser takes his wife fishing in C. B. Lewis's 1887 story, 'Woman's Luck.'
Time: approx seven minutes |
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Posted at 11:09 PM |
| Thu, Jan 10 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #954 |
| There are some folks who feel that you can't start a child's education early enough, and some who -- well -- hear it for yourself, in Thomas L. Masson's 1905 tale, 'What It Meant.'
Time: approx three and a half minutes |
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Posted at 10:27 PM |
| Wed, Jan 09 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #953 |
| A modern couple try for real, true, old fashioned romance in Thomas L. Masson's 1905 story, 'Modern Love.'
Time: approx four minutes |
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Posted at 06:41 PM |
| Tue, Jan 08 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #952 |
| A young robin gets some book learning about flying in 'A Delayed Flight' from Thomas L. Masson's 1905 collection, 'A Corner in Women and Other Follies.'
Time: approx five minutes |
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Posted at 10:34 PM |
| Mon, Jan 07 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #951 |
| Modern life and romance among modern men and women gets the spotlight in many stories from Thomas L Masson's 1905 book 'A Corner in Women and Other Follies.'
Today we hear the introduction to the book, 'The American Idea' and examine a new-style, practical marriage ceremony in the short tale, 'Modern.' Time: approx five and a half minutes |
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Posted at 11:02 PM |
| Sun, Jan 06 2008 |
Mister Ron's Basement #950 |
| Our Monday book serialization is George Ade's 1903 collection, 'In Babel -- Stories of Chicago.' The stories in this book range from the hysterically funny to the pathetically sad. Altogether, they paint a fascinating portrait of turn-of-the-last-century Chicago.
A new cook disrupts the smooth operation of a household 'Buck and Gertie.' Time: approx nine minutes |
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Posted at 06:22 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #949 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features TWO 1881 Stanley Huntley pieces concerning New Years Day visiting -- in the first story, a young man decides to modernize the traditional New Years visits using that very new-fangled invention in 'Calling by Telephone' and Mr. and Mrs. Spoopendyke argue over the list of who to visit in 'Some Difficulty About the Calls.'
Time: approx eleven |