Episode 165 - A New Year's Ode to Friendship: Mark Twain and Helen Keller's Extraordinary Bond

The Ordinary, Extraordinary Cemetery

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As we bid farewell to 2023, the Ordinary Extraordinary Cemetery Podcast team wishes you a Happy New Year! Don't miss this final episode of the year, weaving history, literature, and friendship into an Ordinary Extraordinary story. Jennie and Dianne are joined by author Pamela McColl as they explore the charming friendship between literary giant Mark Twain and the remarkable Helen Keller.
Discover the shared love of literature, Christmas, and adventures that bound America's most satirical storyteller
and a young Helen Keller together. Unveil how Mark Twain, despite the challenges of Helen's deaf-blindness, became a second father figure, treating her as the extraordinary individual she was.
In the second half, experience an dramatic performance by Charlie and Casper Johnson, embodying the voices of Mark Twain and Helen Keller. Hear the heartfelt letters exchanged between these two icons, a testament to a friendship that bridged the gap between the 19th and 20th centuries.
Resources used to research this episode include:
"TESSIE'S TIDBITS: Helen Keller and Mark Twain ." https://www.times-gazette.com. 12 Apr. 2021. www.times-gazette.com/story/lifestyle/2021/04/12/tessies-tidbits-helen-keller-and-mark-twain/7128616002/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Meares, Hadley. "Helen Keller and Mark Twain Had an Unlikely Friendship That Spanned More Than a Decade ." https://www.biography.com. 1 June 2020. www.biography.com/authors-writers/helen-keller-mark-twain-friendship. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Blakemore, Erin. "History’s Other Odd Couple: Mark Twain and Helen Keller ." https://daily.jstor.org. 4 Mar. 2015. daily.jstor.org/historys-odd-couple-mark-twain-helen-keller/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Flannery, Christopher . "Helen Keller and her remarkable friendship with Mark Twain ." https://metrovoicenews.com. 24 Feb. 2021. metrovoicenews.com/helen-keller-and-her-remarkable-friendship-with-mark-twain/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Twain, Mark. "Letter to Helen Keller from Mark Twain (St. Patrick's Day, 1903) ." https://www.afb.org. www.afb.org/about-afb/history/helen-keller/letters/mark-twain-samuel-l-clemens/letter-miss-keller-mark-twain-st. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Keller, Helen. "Letter to Mr. Clemens from Helen Keller (March 27, 1906, copy) ." https://www.afb.org. www.afb.org/about-afb/history/helen-keller/letters/mark-twain-samuel-l-clemens. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Keller , Helen. "Letter to Mr. Clemens from Helen Keller (December 8, 1905, draft) ." https://www.afb.org. www.afb.org/about-afb/history/helen-keller/letters/mark-twain-samuel-l-clemens/letter-mr-clemens-miss-keller. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Hale, Jen, and Susanna Coit. "The Frost King incident ." https://www.perkins.org. www.perkins.org/the-frost-king-incident/. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Jones, Josh. "Mark Twain & Helen Keller’s Special Friendship: He Treated Me Not as a Freak, But as a Person Dealing with Great Difficulties." https://www.openculture.com. 13 May 2015. www.openculture.com/2015/05/mark-twain-helen-kellers-special-friendship.html. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
"A Christmas Memory from Helen Keller ." https://www.aph.org. 23 Dec. 2020. www.aph.org/a-christmas-memory-from-helen-keller/. Accessed 24 Dec. 2023.
"Redding's Mark Twain and Easton's Helen Keller." http://historyofredding.net. historyofredding.net/Mark-Twain-Helen-Keller.htm. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.
Keller, Helen . "The Story of My Life." https://www.gutenberg.org. 1 Feb. 1903. www.gutenberg.org/files/2397/2397-h/2397-h.htm. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Chapter

1. Episode 165 - A New Year's Ode to Friendship: Mark Twain and Helen Keller's Extraordinary Bond (00:00:00)

2. [Ad] History Shorts (00:10:04)

3. (Cont.) Episode 165 - A New Year's Ode to Friendship: Mark Twain and Helen Keller's Extraordinary Bond (00:10:45)