Letters Home to Widener’s Valley

About Letters Home to Widener’s Valley

A project to share and contextualize the letters sent home to Widener’s Valley, Virginia, by my great-grandfather, Oscar Widener between 1918 and 1919 during the First World War. In addition to reading the letters, some background and context are provided.

Publisher

Ross Brown

Category

history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 Feb 2024

Latest episode

18 Jan 2025

Latest episodes

7 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 Jan 2025

   Episode 7 - October 21, 1918

   In episode seven we read the first letter we have from Oscar Widener to his wife, Myrtle Wright, after his arrival in France. Additional context is provided concerning the American Expeditionary Forces.

2. 

   2 Jan 2025

   Episode 6 - October 6, 1918

   This episode features Oscar Widener’s first letter home from France with information about his trip across the Atlantic Ocean and the letter’s recipient, his father, David Campbell Widener.

3. 

   2 Jan 2025

   Episode 4 - September 10, 1918

   We explore Oscar’s last letter home to Myrtle before he is shipped off to the battlefields of Europe. The episode includes more information about the Widener family, including Oscar’s Revolutionary War veteran Michael Widener.

4. 

   29 Oct 2024

   Special Episode: Music from the Valley

   A detour from Oscar Widener’s letters as we listen to music sung by Charles Jackson Brown, Sr., a contemporary resident of Oscar and Myrtle Widener. Recorded in the 1960s, the songs range from old ballads to a church hymnal. Joining Brown are long time Washington County residents, Howard Litton and Katherine Mock.

5. 

   26 Aug 2024

   Episode 3 - August 9, 1918

   August 9, 1918 letter from Oscar Widener to his wife, Myrtle Widener. In this, one of his longest letters, Oscar talks more about his camp experience and we try to understand Myrtle's world back home.

6. 

   22 Feb 2024

   Episode 2 - August 5, 1918

   Oscar Widener’s second letter home to Widener’s Valley from Camp Lee, Virginia. Addressed to his wife, Myrtle, and dated August 5, 1918.

7. 

   22 Feb 2024

   Episode 1 - August 2, 1918

   Oscar Widener’s first letter home to Widener’s Valley, addressed to his newlywed wife, Myrtle Wright, on August 2, 1918 from Camp Lee, Virginia.

Reach and audience

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

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 3 / 100

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

Quality

7

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.