History Highway

 
HISTORY HIGHWAY
Rediscover America one mile marker at a time!

Telling It Like It Is

       Traveling down the road in a canary yellow classic '55 Chevy is definitely a perk and certainly catches everybody's attention, but it is not the star of the show. Rick doesn't consider himself the star either. He wants the stories of American History that shine through and be the star.

       In each episode he travels to new locations in search of historical markers that have stories few people have ever heard of before. Even when he visits a familiar sight, he digs deep and researches until he finds new information. He doesn't want History Highway to be another stale TV show that leaves the audience bored.                                                        Rick, is not a big fan of being politically correct either. So, much so, he considers himself an equal opportunity offender. He says that history is good, bad and ugly all at the same time. He refuses to revise. His goal is to get as much truth revealed as possible.                                                                So, buckle up tight, History Highway is coming your way!

The History of History Highway
       As far back as the year 2006, Rick was kicking around the idea of doing a history based TV show. Amidst the production of his docudramas on Wild Bill Hickok and Crockett's Tennessee Trails and Tales, he wrote a pilot-script for a traveling history show.                                                            One of his favorite things to do when he travels is to stop at the metal historical markers alongside our nation's highways. When he discovered there are nearly 140,000 markers in the United States, he realized there would be and endless road of stories to tell.                                                          He played around with several titles for the show before he locked in on History Highway. Even though the concept is truly unique, getting a production company to spend their own money is near impossible sometimes. Two separate production companies affiliated with the Discovery and History Channel rejected the pilot-script. 
       In early October of 2019, Rick was filming a tourism video for Stewart County, TN at the Fort Donelson National Military Park. He was working with Ken Andrus, who is a video producer from Murray, KY. 
      While taking a lunch break at a local restaurant, Ken complimented Rick on his knowledge of American History and his abilities in front of a camera. He then went on to ask, "If you could do your own TV show what would it be about and what would you call it?"
       Without hesitation, Rick answered, "History Highway." Being stunned, Ken quipped, "Sounds like you've thought about this before." With a smile and a nod, Rick replies, "Yep, I sure have."
       From that point, he explains the concept to Ken, who lights up like a Christmas tree as the idea is revealed. The fact they had been around historical markers all day and used them as backdrops for the tourism video, it took very little explaining. Before lunch was over, Ken offered to help Rick produce a pilot for the show, and the game was on.
      By mid-October, the first scenes were being shot, and History Highway was coming to life. From day one, the excitement began to brew and show took on a life of it's own. Edutainment had a new vehicle to travel in.

Rick and Ken Andrus at Fort Donelson, TN