In this week's Classic episode: Were it not for the coal mine, the town of Vulcan, West Virginia may well have never existed. As a rural and geographically isolated community, Vulcan relied on a single, small bridge for its connection to the larger world. When the bridge failed, the town repeatedly tried to get financial assistance from the local and state government -- with no success. In a state of increasing desperation, the Mayor of Vulcan wrote the Soviet Union for help... during the Cold War. Tune in and learn what happened next.

CLASSIC: Prohibition, Prescriptions and the Rise of 'Medicinal' Booze
31:41

Fort Sauerkraut: North Dakota’s Strange, Ill-Planned Origin Story
38:02

The Bizarre Tale of the 1909 Catnip Riot
35:52