Doty Land Podcast

04/04/2025

Are you tired of all the winning? How many more days of these victories can you stand?

11/07/2023

How I looked when working at WDOR..minus the sunglasses...of course.

The softer tone of our politics is recalled from the days when a young WDOR radio reporter put on a shirt and tie to cover national politicians. Driving a Chevet to the Labor Day rally with Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro or thrilling to the enormity of President Ronald Reagan stumping for this tax policy, there is a reminder that our politics while still rough and tumble, allowed for less bombast and meanness among the electorate. If you yearn for politics the way it once was, this professionally produced podcast by Gregory Humphrey is your free trip to the mid-1980s.

https://dotyland.buzzsprout.com/750500/13198507-nostalgic-recollections-of-walter-mondale-geraldine-ferraro-and-ronald-reagan

11/07/2023

The softer tone of our politics is recalled from the days when a young WDOR radio reporter put on a shirt and tie to cover national politicians. Driving a Chevet to the Labor Day rally with Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro or thrilling to the enormity of President Ronald Reagan stumping for this tax policy, there is a reminder that our politics while still rough and tumble, allowed for less bombast and meanness among the electorate. If you yearn for politics the way it once was, this professionally produced podcast by Gregory Humphrey is your free trip to the mid-1980s.

The softer tone of our politics is recalled from the days when a young WDOR radio reporter put on a shirt and tie to cover national politicians. Driving a Chevet to the Labor Day rally with Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro or thrilling to the...

03/06/2023

Hear the podcast with author Rita Atkinson, first novel is a winner! Of The Embers.

The 1883 blaze at the Newhall House in Milwaukee killed approximately 100 people. The interesting people who had lodged at the hotel the night of the blaze, including Tom Thumb, an actor, politicians along with two chambermaids from central Wisco...

03/06/2023

Hear the podcast with Rita Atkinson!

https://dotyland.buzzsprout.com/750500/12819183-author-rita-atkinson-of-the-embers-historical-mystery-set-in-milwaukee-wisconsin

03/06/2023

Tri-County Graduate Rita Atkinson Publishes First Book About Deadly 1883 Hotel Fire, Gives Podcast Interview

On a bitterly cold Milwaukee night in 1883, with winds whipping off Lake Michigan, one of the premier hotels in the country, the Newhall House Hotel, burns to the ground. It is thought that roughly 100 people perished in the blaze. Tri-County graduate and former Plainfield resident Rita Atkinson has published “Of The Embers”, from Fulton Books, a historical mystery about the tragedy which includes not only the notables who stayed at the hotel but also a cast of interesting personalities she has woven into a compelling narrative.

Among the guests that evening was General Tom Thumb of sideshow fame, popular stage performers, inventors, prosperous businessmen, railroad executives, and politicians. Atkinson draws readers into the pages as the complications of fire-fighting efforts grow with sub-zero temperatures, multiple telegraph wires around the hotel interfering with fire ladders, while the speed of the spreading flames raises the panic of those inside the hotel. The mystery picks up its pacing as the chapters alert readers to the missing guest register and unwind the suspicious activities of some of those lodging at the hotel that night.

The first-time author sat down for a Doty Land podcast interview where she explained the book is not just about the blaze and its cause but rather about the individuals who were at the Newhall House. She spent over a year researching the lives of those who survived it and with creative dialogue shaped a novel that gives insight into how they were affected by the experiences that night.

The wide-ranging interview with Madison podcaster Gregory Humphrey, Atkinson’s fellow Tri-County classmate, can be heard wherever one listens to podcasts or linked directly below.

Atkinson spoke about her writing process, why she dedicated her book to a co-worker, the mystery of the fire along with how the press reported the event, and what might follow her first book. “Of The Embers” can be found on Amazon and soon in bookstores.

The 1883 blaze at the Newhall House in Milwaukee killed approximately 100 people. The interesting people who had lodged at the hotel the night of the blaze, including Tom Thumb, an actor, politicians along with two chambermaids from central Wisco...

10/05/2023

Rita Atkinson, authored "Of The Embers" and is seen here at the Doty Land podcast table. The podcast link is here.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/750500/12819183

10/05/2023

Tri-County graduate writes a historical mystery about the 1883 Milwaukee hotel blaze that created much attention, with details about those who stayed at the hotel the night of the inferno. Rita (Williams) Atkinson's "Of The Embers" is published by Fulton Books. She sat down for an interview on my Doty Land podcast, the link is below.

"The 1883 blaze at the Newhall House in Milwaukee killed approximately 100 people. The interesting people who had lodged at the hotel the night of the blaze, including Tom Thumb, an actor, politicians along with two chambermaids from central Wisconsin are part of a story about the intersections of life at the time of a tragic fire. What brought those to the Newhall House that night? What caused the fire? How did those who survived do it, and how were they affected by their experiences that night? The book focuses on a handful of those who were at the Newhall that night through their lives before the fire, their activities the night of the fire, and in the years following the fire. "

The 1883 blaze at the Newhall House in Milwaukee killed approximately 100 people. The interesting people who had lodged at the hotel the night of the blaze, including Tom Thumb, an actor, politicians along with two chambermaids from central Wisco...

30/09/2022

With fondness and laughter Bruce Miller, George Manesis, and Gregory Humphrey trek back 41 years to reminisce about the Wausau, Wisconsin broadcasting school. From how these young men saw themselves at the time, to how radio impacts their lives today, this podcast episode surely mirrors the hundreds of graduates over the years. From the school owner, Ray Szmanda, to the iconic Scott Street Pub these three guys regale memories that will transport all those who once harbored ‘radio fever’ to a place of youthful nostalgia. An episode that has a professional touch, a human connection. Darius Rucker, The Knack, and Connie Smith add the melody.

With fondness and laughter Bruce Miller, George Manesis, and Gregory Humphrey trek back 41 years to reminisce about the Wausau, Wisconsin broadcasting school. From how these young men saw themselves at the time, to how radio impacts their lives t...

29/08/2022

My new Doty Land podcast with some funny recollections of my first day on-air at WDOR radio. Included is Dan Rather's funny story about his Sunday morning on a Texas radio station, and how a severe thunderstorm in Sturgeon Bay knocked a Milwaukee Brewer baseball game off air the first night flying solo at the station. Elvis plays his role, too in another Doty Land professional-sounding podcast. (12 minutes0

Fond memories of Gregory Humphrey's first day on WDOR radio with Elvis' music, recollections of Dan Rather one Sunday morning on a Texas radio station, and a severe thunderstorm in Sturgeon Bay when a Brewer baseball game is knocked off the air as...

26/01/2022

With contemporaneous accounts of smiles and trying times while dealing with a friend's Alzheimer's disease come stories of laughter and also tenderness in this podcast episode. The final chapter of the life of Albert Trull, and the way it weaved with the personal life of podcaster Gregory Humphrey as his father was dying, makes for a somber podcast. But one that is aimed to reach out and ask what role all can play with the elderly people needing friendship and companionship within our communities.

https://dotyland.buzzsprout.com/750500/9925143-sparking-moments-of-joy-and-remembrance-during-the-long-goodbye

26/01/2022

With contemporaneous accounts of smiles and trying times while dealing with a friend's Alzheimer's disease come stories of laughter and also tenderness. The final chapter of the life of Albert Trull, and the way it weaved with the personal life of podcaster Gregory Humphrey as his father was dying, makes for a somber podcast. But one that is aimed to reach out and ask what role all can play with the elderly people needing friendship and companionship within our communities.

https://dotyland.buzzsprout.com/750500/9925143-sparking-moments-of-joy-and-remembrance-during-the-long-goodbye