The Nowhere Dispatch

In October 2006, the burning body of a young woman was found on an oil lease road in Kilgore, Texas. For the next 12 years, investigators, internet sleuths and police searched for her name, her identity and her killer. Progress was made but never fully realized...until very recently. Tune in to this episode of the Dispatch to learn about the tragic case of Lavender Doe and the amazing technology that may lead to her identification.

It's the early 1840s in East Texas and a gang of gun-toting outlaws have taken over Shelby County. Led by a violent, bloodthirsty colonel, the band does as they please and punishes all who oppose them. The penalty for opposing Regulator rule is death and their only enemy, the Moderators, have been driven underground. But, as so often happens, corruption and power soon reach their limits. In a story populated by characters, both wicked and wretched, who could only be found on the bloodstained pages of backwoods lore, all is nearly lost for settlers in the deep frontier, trying to find their place and purpose among the pines. Tune in for the conclusion to a two-part series on this dark, eerie chapter of my local history: the Regulator-Moderator War.

Land feuds are among the oldest conflict known to mankind. The right to say "I am in charge here" is not earned easily. It is often bought with blood and tears. In the 1800s, there was a piece of land in Texas called the Neutral Ground. After Texas became a state, the name faded away, but its legacy remained. A place where bandits and bad men hid out and preyed on settlers, this dark place among the pines was fierce and untamed. Some men rose up and tried to settle it but they were carried away by the lust for power. Others rose up to staunch the flow of violence and the result was only more bloodshed. Tune into this episode of the Nowhere Dispatch to learn about the largest land feud in the nation's history, one that surpassed even the Hatfields and the McCoys. This is the story of the Regulator-Moderator War, also known as the Shelby County War of the 1840s, a strange tale that left a bitter legacy.

That time of year has arrived again...when time begins to slow and things get quiet. Leaves die and fall, the air gains a sharp edge and our thoughts turn to old stories, the spookier the better. Last year, my friend Ashley and I read you some eerie stories to ring in our favorite holiday, Halloween. We had so much fun we decided to do it again. As the year wanes, we feel the urge to settle our bones into a good chair and share a ghost story or two...we hope you'll join us for a tale, nowhere wanderer, as the rain falls on the roof and the shadows get long. Perhaps you can share one of your own.

There is something about the land out here. Strange things happen without explanation and then fade away, sealed by time and fading memories. But the scars on the land remain. A freak windstorm that came from nowhere. A mysterious blackout that plunged and entire town into darkness. Fires that burned vast stretches of prairie and forest alike. The phenomena of the Piney Woods are unique and strange. Listen in and learn about the way nature takes its course in this part of the world.