A central feature of Virginia’s colonial backcountry was the Great Wagon Road. Imagine water pouring from a pitcher, arcing as gravity pulls the liquid down into a glass. In a similar way, Scotch-Irish, German and English settlers poured down…
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What’s in a name? Radcliffes and Ratliffs in England…
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At the time of writing, Great Britain is mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II. It seems like a good time to take stock of family connections across the pond. Specifically, the origins of the name and the family in England. Most Ratliff histories…
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Lost in the Woods
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by Walter Ratliff On a hot summer day in June 1996, I set out to cover a story in a remote part of New Mexico’s Gila National Forest. Hours later I found myself face down on the trail, consciousness fading.…
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Wheaton Magazine’s “Truth-Telling and Inquiry” Q&A
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Wheaton, the alumni magazine for Wheaton College, recently posted an article about its former students working in the field of journalism. Wheaton is an evangelical liberal arts college and graduate school in the suburbs of Chicago. I completed a master’s degree…
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New Book! Between Faith and Power: Religious Freedom as Dynamic Engagement
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My new book is out! I think you’ll find it lively, readable and compelling. In part one of the book, I take a “drive through history” with the major figures who helped define religious liberty as a human right. The second…
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Happy Birthday KLYT-FM!
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September 20, 2016 marks 40 years since KLYT-FM in Albuquerque, NM went on the air. It’s the station where I got my start in broadcasting, and it’s been an important part of the lives of its listeners for four decades.…
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Retracing the Great Trek: Return to Ak Metchet
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View Great Mennonite Trek to Central Asia in a larger map (June 6, 2007) Resting now after a long day…Here’s what’s happened since Sunday. On Monday we visited the emir’s ark/fortress in Bukhara. We also found some daily-life photos from…
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Interlude in Bukhara
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View Bukhara in a larger map (June 4, 2007) We spent most of the day visiting many of the historic sites in this Silk Road city. At the museum in the city’s main fortress, we found a photo of the…
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Back to Serabulak
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View Larger Map (June 3, 2007) Today we made the journey from Samarkand to Bukhara, with one very important stop along the way. About two hours into our bus ride, we took a detour to see the village of Serabulak.…
