Diary Discoveries

Sally Ivey and Jeff Richards

If you were to read an old diary, what could you discover? Secrets? Mystery? Romance? Travel and adventure? Inspiration? Since 1987, Historian Sally Ivey has collected and researched original diaries, journals, and letters from around the world. In this podcast Sally will share unique and captivating stories selected from her extensive collection. Stories forgotten over time but now shared here. Welcome to Diary Discoveries.

  1. 11 мая

    #67 Dadi & Mia - Their Secret World. 1930's

    In this episode, we go through Sally's method of detective work to discover who wrote a 1930's era diary she had aquired. This diary intrigued her due to the unusual names and the mysterious way it was written. The diary did not have a "flow" as most do and it seemed the author was being secretive and not wanting to disclose certain things. Some diary authors will write their name in their diary but this person had not. We take you along on Sally's discovery process and reveal to you the story of friendship and love between two people, and a connection to a famous jewelry empire.   Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

    36 мин.

  2. 12 февр.

    #66 The Chateau Lafayette & The Women It Captivated - 1921

    In Mary DeForest Denny's 1921 diary, she wrote of a journey to France with a good friend, artist Clara Greenleaf Perry. It was a trip filled with experiences: dining, sight seeing, French language lessons, conversations with fellow artists, and most importantly, a visit to the Chateau of Lafayette--the "Hero of two worlds"-- America and France. In this episode you will get to hear some of Mary's entries (mostly to do with the time spent at the Chateau) and the important work being done there to care for children. Many of whom were orphaned during WW 1. We also tell you a bit about the Marquis de Lafayette and finally, an interview with Stephanie Dray, the best selling author of a novel entitled "The Women of Chateau Lafayette". Interestingly, this historical fiction novel mentions several of the women our diary's author was friends with and visited while she and Clara were on this trip--a first for Sally in her years of research!  Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

    1 ч. 15 мин.

  3. 16.12.2025

    #65 Diary Sampler 3 - Mississippi Guide, Premonition, Mexico Drug Trip.

    In this episode you will hear stories from three diary's. The first is about a woman who explored the Mighty Mississippi River year after year and shared her knowledge by publishing her own guide books. Next, a diary where the author experienced a premonition that sadly came true. Her diary has a gap of almost three years to when she recorded the life altering event. Lastly, we read entries from a drug fueled trip through Mexico in the 1990's. There are several funny quotes, a few weird encounters, and some introspective thoughts written by this young man-- who may have been high when he wrote them!       Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

    48 мин.

  4. 24.10.2025

    #64 Diary Sampler 2 - Basic Needs, Chair Pusher, Crime Of A Dastard.

    In this episode, we share three stories from three diaries. In the first, you will hear about a young school teacher who wrote out her idea of "The Basic Needs Of Every Life". She beat Abraham Maslow and his "Hierarchy of Needs" by twenty years, as her ideas and his are very similar. Next, we visit the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair. We share diary entries by a 21 year old man, who had a unique job at the fair.  His very first entry mentioned "danger from fire" and was written months before a tragic fire that killed 12 Firefighters in full view of fair goers. The final diary for this episode was written by a soldier in the Spanish American War of 1898. He transcribed two newspaper articles in his diary regarding a "dastard" who committed a crime "worse than cold blooded murder".  Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

    1 ч. 2 мин.

  5. 19.08.2025

    #63 The 1859 Gold Rush and A Lonely Heart

    The 1859 gold rush to Colorado is on! "Pike's Peak or bust!" was the saying of many a fortune hunter who headed out west, but what about those left behind? In this episode, passages from a newly married woman's diary are read, and we discuss some aspects of the gold rush itself. Mira missed her husband Ziba dearly and she wrote down her deepest thoughts. Imagine today having to wait months to learn about a loved one's situation, or possibly hearing nothing at all until they returned. There were physical and emotional hardships on both ends during a time when many people died separated from each other. Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

    39 мин.

  6. 29.06.2025

    #62 Mountain Girls, Moonshine Shootout, and The Metropolitan Holiness Church. 1911

    "Holy Jumpers", an Immigrant girl named Olga, and a shootout between a "revenue posse" and a moonshining family in the hills of Kentucky, all of which have a connection to Effie Waller Smith, the teacher and poet from our last episode.  Sally's favorite Diary was written by Olga, and in this episode we explore the connective threads from Effie to Olga in the Metropolitan Holiness Church and then Effie's connection to the shootout. You will hear a "colorfully" written newspaper article read by us with a little "extra" added because this article simply demanded more from us-- for you! Fiddle music by Charlie Smith, from Arkansas. Recorded on the street in Salida, Co Shotgun, rifle, and pistol sound effects from: Free Sounds Library www.freesoundslibrary.com and Sound Effects + www.soundeffectsplus.com Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

    37 мин.

  7. 20.05.2025

    #61 Restoring A Writer's Legacy- A Tale Of Two Effie Smith's - 1906

    Two women born the same year-1879, both given the same first name, both poets, and living only 150 miles apart. One was a black woman, the other, a white woman. Both eventually were known as Effie Smith. What are the odds? In this episode, we uncover the fact that one writer's work has been credited to the other. Sally aquired a 1906 diary and two journal like composition books filled with short stories, essays, and poems. The author's name was not in any of the three manuscripts but when Sally read the diary and used the clues within, she discovered the author's name; Effie Smith!  But which Effie? Listen and you will find out. We would like to thank writer/poet Leatha Kendrick for her scholarly work on this subject and the time she gave us in our interview. Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

    1 ч. 7 мин.

  8. 31.03.2025

    #60 "Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction"...An Almost Unbelievable Diary Experience. 1938 - 2018

    This is the amazing story of the most serendipitous experience Sally has had in her years of collecting and researching vintage diaries! It is an almost unbelievable occurance that began in 1938, originating with a diary written by a twelve year old girl.   Send us Fan Mail Please go to: https://diarydiscoveries.com to see episode photos and read our blog. Thank You.

    51 мин.
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If you were to read an old diary, what could you discover? Secrets? Mystery? Romance? Travel and adventure? Inspiration? Since 1987, Historian Sally Ivey has collected and researched original diaries, journals, and letters from around the world. In this podcast Sally will share unique and captivating stories selected from her extensive collection. Stories forgotten over time but now shared here. Welcome to Diary Discoveries.

Информация

  • Автор
    Sally Ivey and Jeff Richards
  • Годы выхода
    2021 - 2026
  • Выпуски
    68
  • Ограничения
    Без ненормативной лексики
  • Авторские права
    © 2026 Diary Discoveries
  • Сайт подкаста
    Diary Discoveries

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