One-Woman Show

Summary

Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities: Episode Summary – "One-Woman Show"

Release Date: November 12, 2024

In the "One-Woman Show" episode of Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities, listeners are taken on a captivating journey through two distinct and enthralling stories. Hosted by Aaron Mahnke in collaboration with iHeartPodcasts and Grim & Mild, this episode delves into the solitary life of Elsie Eiler in Monowi, Nebraska, and the historical phenomenon of Link Boys in Victorian London. Below is a detailed summary capturing the essence of both narratives, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps for reference.

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1. Monowi, Nebraska: The One-Woman Town

A. Introduction to Monowi Monowi, Nebraska, holds the unique distinction of being America's smallest incorporated town, with a population of just one: Elsie Eiler. Nestled near the South Dakota border in a county with merely 2,000 residents, Monowi feels both remote and secluded. The town's isolation is underscored by the fact that it is seven miles from the nearest gas station and sixty miles from the closest Walmart.

B. Historical Context Founded in 1902 as a stop along the Chicago North and Western Railroad, Monowi blossomed into a vibrant farming community by the 1930s, boasting 123 residents. The town featured essential institutions including a school, post office, church, grocery store, and even a jail. However, the tides of modernization and the escalating costs of farming machinery and labor led to a gradual exodus of its population. The closure of the railroad in 1978 marked the final decline, reducing the population first to two with the passing of Elsie's husband, Rudy, in 2004, and eventually to just Elsie herself.

C. Elsie Eiler: The Sole Keeper At 90 years old, Elsie Eiler embodies resilience and independence. As the mayor, treasurer, and librarian, she manages the town's affairs single-handedly, paying taxes to herself to maintain essential services like water and power. Her annual approval of her own liquor license ensures the continued operation of the Monowi Tavern, the town's lifeline.

D. The Monowi Tavern For half a century, Elsie has been the heart and soul of the Monowi Tavern, serving as both its owner and sole employee. The tavern is a hub of activity, attracting around 50 patrons daily and swelling further on Sundays when local farmers engage in weekly card games. Despite Elsie's solitary status, the tavern fosters a sense of community, with visitors from all 50 states and over 60 countries frequenting the establishment.

Notable Quotes:

• Aaron Mahnke at [03:45]: “Elsie adores her life in Monowi. She loves meeting all sorts of people who come to the tavern and tell her about themselves over cheap beers.”
• Aaron Mahnke at [05:30]: “Business is booming even if the population is not.”

E. Life in Monowi Today Elsie's daily routine is a testament to her dedication. From managing town affairs to running the tavern, she maintains a balance that keeps Monowi alive in more ways than one. The downtown area, now largely abandoned, features only three buildings: Elsie's residence, Rudy's library (which operates on an honor system), and the bustling tavern. Despite the lack of neighbors, Elsie's interactions with her patrons ensure she remains anything but lonely.

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2. The Link Boys of Victorian London

A. London's Nighttime Landscape Pre-Electricity Before the advent of electric streetlights, London’s nights were shrouded in peril. The late Victorian era was notorious for its poor street lighting, compounded by the pervasive green and black fog—the so-called pea soupers—resulting from the Industrial Revolution's coal emissions. Navigating the city after dark was fraught with danger, inviting criminals and mysterious figures into the murky streets.

B. Emergence of the Link Boys In this challenging environment, the upper class could mitigate risks with carriages and servants equipped with lanterns, but the majority remained vulnerable. Enter the Link Boys: young, torch-bearing children who offered escort services for a mere farthing per trip. These children, often orphans or those fallen through society's cracks, became indispensable yet exploited figures in London's nocturnal ecosystem.

C. Societal Impact and Exploitation While Link Boys provided a semblance of safety, their association with criminal gangs was a dark undercurrent. The low pay and high demand made them easy targets for exploitation, with fears of being led astray by unsavory elements contributing to their notorious reputation. Over time, Link Boys became emblematic of the city's hidden dangers, regarded almost as mythical tricksters whose true nature remained obscured by urban legends.

D. Decline and Legacy The gradual installation of electric streetlights rendered the services of Link Boys obsolete by the late 19th century. These children, who once illuminated London's foggy streets, were pushed into other forms of labor, often in hazardous factory conditions. Today, their legacy persists in the saying, “you can't hold a candle to them,” a linguistic nod to their historical role. Physical remnants of their existence, such as metal cones called snuffers, still adorn older London buildings, serving as silent witnesses to their bygone presence.

Notable Quotes:

• Aaron Mahnke at [07:46]: “Link Boys would use these devices, called snuffers to put out their torches after delivering a client home.”
• Aaron Mahnke at [16:22]: “They deserve to be remembered for their resourcefulness, their enduring spirits, and still burning long after the city closed its eyes.”

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Conclusion

The "One-Woman Show" episode masterfully presents two disparate yet equally intriguing stories, highlighting human resilience and societal evolution. From the solitary yet vibrant existence of Elsie Eiler in the dwindling town of Monowi to the poignant history of Link Boys navigating the treacherous nights of Victorian London, Aaron Mahnke weaves narratives that are both informative and deeply human. This episode not only entertains but also prompts reflection on the adaptability and perseverance inherent in individuals and societies alike.

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For those intrigued by these tales and eager to explore more curiosities, Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities offers a treasure trove of the unbelievable, unsettling, and bizarre, continuing to ignite the imagination of its listeners.

Transcript

[Aaron Manke]

Hey folks, Aaron here. Today is the day the first ever official Cabinet of Curiosities book has arrived and this is the week to grab a copy in whatever format fits your needs, hardcover, ebook or audiobook for audio lovers. We have a special guest to accompany me as we move through the Cabinet audiobook. Dana Schwartz, host of the amazing history podcast Noble Blood, joins me in the audiobook for little conversations in between the topical sections, adding a cool layer of insight into the stories that you'll hear. And of course, the hardcover is available everywhere. I specifically want to mention that Target has gone all in with me on this, putting the Cabinet of Curiosity's book into stores all across the country. Honestly, I'm blown away by the response the book has received in the lead up to launch. And here we are. So please, please, please grab a copy today, set it aside as a holiday gift for a history lover in your life, or selfishly clutch it to your chest and refuse to let anyone else touch it. You do you I'm just grateful that you fine listeners are here supporting the show and spreading the word and pointing friends and family to the book might be the easiest way to share Cabinet with others. Find all the links that you'll ever need [e-mail] curiosities and again, thank you so much for helping this book become reality. And now on with the show. Welcome to Erin Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of iHeartRadio and Grim and Mild. Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all of these amazing tales are right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities in Monowi, Nebraska. Elsie Eiler's Tavern is the only place to be. Well, that's because it's the only place, period. Because Elsie Eiler is the sole resident of America's smallest incorporated town, Monowi, Nebraska's population is 1. Monowi, located just over the border from South Dakota, feels remote and isolated. The county it sits in has just 2,000 people living there. It's seven miles to the nearest gas station and 60 to the closest Walmart. But Monowi wasn't always that small. The town was founded in 1902 as a stop on the Chicago north and Western railroad. By the 1930s, it was a bustling farming community. Back then, the town had a whopping 123 residents, huge by today's standards, obviously. It had a school, a post office, a church, a grocery store, and even a jail. Over the Years, though, the world moved past Monowai. Modernization and the high cost of equipment and labor led many farmers to just leave. By the time Elsie and her husband Rudy bought the Monowi Tavern in 1971, much of the town's population had already gone. When the railroad shuttered in 1978, that was the final blow. The population dwindled to just two, Rudy and Elsie. When Rudy passed away in 2004, that number dropped to one. Today, Monowi's main street is an unpaved dirt track. The downtown is completely shuttered except for three buildings, Elsie's house, Rudy's library, which runs on the honor system, and the Monowi Tavern. With no noisy neighbors or town meetings, you would think being the last person in Monowai would be peaceful, but you'd be surprised how busy it gets living in an empty town. 90 year old Elsie spends her days being a one woman town. She is the mayor, treasurer and librarian and she pays taxes to herself to keep everything up and running. She secures funding from the state for water and power and even finds time to approve a liquor license for herself every year. When she's not running the town, of course, she's running the Monowi Tavern, the beating heart of Monowai. For 50 years she's been serving up the coldest, not to mention the only beer in town. Step inside and you'll enter Elsie's world. Elsie is a diminutive figure. She greets customers kind heartedly from the grill. The wood paneled bar is covered with dusty paraphernalia, from vintage road signs to black and white pictures of the town. The bathroom is an outhouse outback and above the bar is a handwritten placard that reads, if you are grouchy, irritable or just plain mean, there will be a ten dollar charge for putting up with you. Inside the tavern, you will see that while Elsie lives alone, she is far from lonely. Around 50 people stop in each day to grab a burger and chat with Elsie. That number balloons on Sundays when local farmers join the weekly running card game. She can even count on some of her local patrons to jump behind the bar and wash dishes and sling drinks on a particularly busy night. Although she's got a close crew of regulars from the surrounding towns, people have come to visit elsie from all 50 states and 60 different countries. Although the town and the tavern have been Elsie's life For the past 50 years, she has no desire to change things now. As she's told reporters, she adores her life in Monowi. She loves meeting all sorts of people who come to the tavern and tell her about themselves over cheap beers. So if you're driving across Highway 12 in Nebraska and find yourself hankering for a bite, stop in and say hi. You can count on Elsie being behind the bar Tuesday through Sunday morning until night. Business is booming even if the population is not. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. This month is all about gratitude, and along with all the people in our lives we're very grateful for, there's another person we don't get to thank enough ourselves. It's sometimes hard to remind ourselves that we are trying our best to make sense of everything, and in this crazy world, that is not easy. So consider this a little reminder to say thank you to the people in your life, including you need help finding the courage or strength to do that? That's where therapy can be a big help. I know how important and helpful therapy can be when it comes to helping us see our lives with fresh eyes and to process it all better. And therapy isn't just for folks who have experienced major trauma. It can truly empower you to be the best version of yourself. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief question questionnaire to get matched with the licensed therapist and switch therapists anytime for no additional charge. Let the gratitude flow with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.comcuriosities today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. H E L P.comCuriosities this is Dr.

[Joy Hardin Bradford]

Joy Hardin Bradford from Therapy for Black Girls. There are millions of books on Amazon, so there's a reading feeling for everyone. So if you're after that excited haha feeling, like when you discover you have a lot in common with Vikings or something, Amazon has books for you. Or maybe you enjoy the sort of nervous haha that comes when the hero barely escapes the zombies. Or maybe you like the smug that comes when the villain gets what he deserves. You know Amazon has it all Amazon Books that reading feeling awaits.

[Aaron Manke]

Visit London today and you'll get the sense that the city doesn't truly awaken until after dark. From south bank to Covent Gardens, dusk brings a flurry of activity. Pubgoers spill out of awnings and congregate on sidewalks. Tourists embark on midnight Jack the Ripper tours accosted by hawkers and street performers. And on weekends, the Night tube never stops running. But it wasn't always like this. Before the late Victorian era Poor street lighting made getting around at night difficult. This was true in most major cities, but especially so in Britain's capital, which regularly grappled with waves of green and black fog. These pea supers, as they were called, grew worse and worse during the Industrial Revolution, when factories and homes pumped smog from burning coal into the sky, creating a dense, impenetrable haze. In a setting like this, going outside at night was a dangerous proposition, like stepping into a murky netherworld populated by criminals and mysterious figures. Members of the upper class could avoid it as much as possible, but every now and then you didn't have a choice. Say a relative fell ill and you had to fetch a doctor. Or maybe you just stayed at your club playing cards a bit later than you intended. And in these situations, what was a gentleman or a lady to do? Well, if you were very rich, you might have a carriage and a few servants to run ahead with a lantern to light the way. But most other people were out of luck. You couldn't hail a cab in those days, but you could do the next best thing. Call on the services of a Link Boy. These torch wielding children were everywhere in nocturnal London, as commonplace as double decker buses are today. For a small fee, they would escort you to wherever you needed to go, providing lights and directions so that you wouldn't get lost on the way. The name Link Boy comes from an outdated term for the cotton wick on torches that they used. They worked long hours for pitiful pay, typically charging just one farthing per trip. That would be roughly a quarter of a penny in today's money. So perhaps it's not surprising that some bolstered their income by partnering with thieving gangs. It was an easy task for a Link Boy to lead their clients in the wrong part of town, where older, more dangerous criminals were lying in wait. It's hard to say how often this actually happened, but it was a common enough fear that the Link Boys quickly gained a reputation for trouble. Over time, they became almost mythical figures representing the dangers that haunted London's streets. They were viewed as impish will o'the wisps, who were more likely to lead you to your death than to your destination. But however society saw them, the Link Boys were never demons. Almost all of them were young males who had fallen through society's cracks. Many were orphans trying to survive on the fringes of a city that had never loved them. Each night they faced dangers that terrified the city's adults without any kind of supervision or protection. Around the end of the 19th century, electric streetlights were gradually installed around London. These street lamps were significantly more powerful than the gas lamps that had preceded them and far more effective at cutting through the city's infamous fog. As a result, getting from point A to point B became easier and the demand for link buoys plummeted. Soon they vanished entirely. The children who had once lit up London's foggy streets would now earn their bread like the rest of the city's poor, toiling away in dangerous factories. Today, the Link boys are all but forgotten. The best evidence that they once existed at all is the metal cones which can still be found outside older London houses. Link boys would use these devices, called snuffers to put out their torches after delivering a client home. And thankfully, they live on. In a popular expression that we all know today, if someone wanted to say that a person they knew wasn't good enough to be their Link Boy, they would say, you can't hold a candle to them. It's yet one more piece of evidence of how these children were used, demonized and forgotten. They deserve to be remembered for their resourcefulness, their enduring spirits, and still burning long after the city closed its eyes. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities Podcast. The show was created by me, Aaron Manke, in partnership with How Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series and television show and you can learn all about it [e-mail] and until next time, stay curious.