Hometown Chronicles USA

About Hometown Chronicles USA

Welcome to Hometown Chronicles USA, the podcast where every small town and city across the nation has a story to tell. Join hosts Frederick Murphy and Kyle Scharf as they uncover the rich tapestry of America's historic sites, weaving together the echoes of the past with the vibrancy of present-day happenings. From forgotten landmarks to bustling community events, they dive deep into the people who shape their hometowns who have been pivotal in building their community's legacy and those carrying it boldly into the future. Each episode celebrates the resilience, culture, and spirit of these local stories, highlighting the unique heartbeat of every corner of the country. Whether it's a historic main street, a thriving local business, or a tradition passed down through generations, Hometown Chronicles USA brings you closer to the places that make America Extraordinary—one community at a time.

Publisher

Hometown Chronicles USA

Category

society & culture · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Dec 2024

Latest episode

27 Feb 2025

Latest episodes

5 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   27 Feb 2025

   What's Going On With Our National Parks?

   America’s Public Lands Are In Trouble Murph and I love our National Park Service and all our public lands. Hiking is one of our favorite activities to do and since taking up landscape and wildlife photography, I can’t wait until the next time to get out and get some great new photos of this beautiful place. Between the devastation brought about by Helene to Western North Carolina and now the political devastation brought about by the current administration, we’re quite concerned about our natural spaces and their longevity. There are two points we discuss in this episode; the first being the firing of thousands of NPS workers, primarily park rangers. During recording, we said 1,000-2,000, but after finishing this episode, I heard figures up to 5,000 personnel fired. To make a bad situation worse, many more seemingly have left thanks to the offer to federal employees to resign and keep their pay through fall, a promise which I am personally skeptical about. The second issue is the stripping and sale of our public lands to individuals and organizations who want to harvest them for resources. It’s hard to keep abreast of the things going on in the country right now, because the current administration is - according to their own words - using a “flood the zone” strategy. This strategy involves creating so many headlines that the average person cannot keep up with all of them. It’s working. As a net-conscious person myself, I have missed so many things as they happened, because I was busy thinking about learning about something else. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, I am sure that you are also in the dark on many things happening right now due to the onslaught of headlines the current administration is utilizing. Because of this, we wanted to focus on an issue that is very near and dear to our hearts: National Parks and public lands. More Hometown Chronicles USA: Our Homepage: www.hometownchroniclesusa.com Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hometown-chronicles-usa/id1785986848 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7xnuMS7t2iUohQOzNDgUZz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hometown_chronicles_usa/reel/DEaDaISJe6B/ Sources: Lost Jobs, Broken Hearts and Harms to National Parks - NPCA.ORG Parks Group Responds to New Order Threatening National Monuments - NPCA.ORG SO 3418 - Unleashing American Energy - The order itself Firings At National Parks May Impact Summer Vacations - FORBES.COM National Park Service restores some jobs of fired employees, pledges to hire 7,700 seasonal workers - APNEWS.COM Trump’s firing of 1,000 national park works raises concerns about maintenance and operating hours - APNEWS.COM Nevada residents outraged as famed Joshua trees are bulldozed to make way for solar farm - INDEPENDENT.CO.UK Who’s buying up land around Joshua Tree National Park? And why? - LATIMES.COM As cuts hit national parks, Joshua Tree is still scarred from 2019 - MSN.COM These 13 national monuments may be ‘at risk’ of losing federal protections, advocates warn - USATODAY.COM Trump admin scrambles to rehire hundreds of nuclear weapons workers - USATODAY.COM

2. 

   6 Feb 2025

   James Vester Miller Trail in Asheville, NC (W/ Ali Rivera)

   James Vester Miller was a mastor mason and bricklayer who was born to an enslaved mother and grew up to build much of downtown Asheville. Many of his projects can still be seen and enjoyed today and as an homage to his legacy, his descendants have put together a walking trail to learn more about these historic buildings. In this episode, we're joined by his great grandaughter Ali Rivera to learn more about James Vester Miller, her heritage, and the walking tour which you can see today for FREE in Asheville, North Carolina. Learn more about the James Vester Miller trail at their website: https://jamesvestermiller.com/ Check us out at: https://www.hometownchroniclesusa.com YouTube: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hometown-chronicles-usa/id1785986848 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hometown_chronicles_usa/reel/DEaDaISJe6B/

3. 

   17 Jan 2025

   Our Own Hometowns

   Kyle and Murph wax poetic about their hometowns and the histories they know as well as their experiences growing up in completely different towns. While Murph grew up in an area rich with history and generations of people who are all connected to the same place, Kyle grew up in a much younger community, only really developed within the past 70 years. Hometown Chronicles USA is your passport to small town America and the stories that make up our incredible country. Join us as we explore these stories!

4. 

   31 Dec 2024

   Ghost Town Chronicles USA

   Hometown Chronicles USA is your passport to small town America. On today's episode Murph and Kyle discuss some ghost towns across the country and decide if they'd ever purchase or live in a ghost town. Kyle recalls a few ghost towns he's visited in the past and shares stories of other generally ghost-themed places he's been to. For more Homeytown Chronicles USA check us out at: Website - www.hometownchroniclesusa.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hometown_chronicles_usa/ More Murph - www.historybeforeus.com More Kyle - www.kylescharf.com

5. 

   16 Dec 2024

   Meet The Hosts

   Episode 0 of the Hometown Chronicles USA podcast introduces our hosts, Frederick Murphy and Kyle Scharf. Kyle has a background as a professional photographer and Murph is a counselor turned documentarian. Meet the hosts of Hometown Chronicles USA as they kick of their newest venture into the world of podcasting.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

121,589

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Podcast Authority Score: 46 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

39

Social presence

91

YouTube

86

Engagement

0