PBS' original series, HISTORY DETECTIVES, returns for a fourth season of fascinating and educational investigations. The series combines the latest forensic technology with old-fashioned, pavement-pounding detective work. Each one-hour episode of HISTORY DETECTIVES features three investigations that delve into family legends, local folklore and stories behind potentially extraordinary objects in everyday American homes, cities and small towns. The series premieres on PBS Monday, June 19, 2006. Check local listings. HISTORY DETECTIVES is again hosted by the four intrepid fact-finders: Wes Cowan, independent appraiser and auctioneer; Elyse Luray, an independent appraiser and expert in art history; Gwendolyn Wright, professor of architecture, planning and preservation, and professor of history, Columbia University; and Tukufu Zuberi, professor of sociology and the director of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. The following are some of the stories to be explored in the new season of HISTORY DETECTIVES: * A contributor in Parkersburg, West Virginia, owns what could be an extraordinary piece of memorabilia: a pocket-sized card, apparently dated 1886, with a picture of a strange-sounding beverage. Could this card be a unique piece of early Coca-Cola advertising? HISTORY DETECTIVES follows the lead to Coca-Cola's headquarters in Atlanta to trace the legacy of the soft drink empire and examine its influential role in American commerce and advertising. * A Chicago man was replacing roof insulation in his home when he realized that the old material contained scores of old posters for a "Harry Houdini" magic show. The theater where the performance allegedly took place no longer exists. HISTORY DETECTIVES sets out to determine the poster's authenticity and to learn what kind of show Houdini put on in Chicago. * A man in San Jose has a letter that he believes will prove his grandfather invented the twin-cone roller rock bit, which historically has been credited to Howard Hughes Sr. HISTORY DETECTIVES travels around the country to explore the mysteries of the Texas oil industry and the Howard Hughes dynasty. * A baseball given to a Seattle man by his father is autographed by baseball icon Dizzy Dean and dated July 12, 1944. The man's father claims he played catcher in a wartime ballgame that brought together two legendary pitchers: Dizzy Dean and Negro League star Satchel Paige. HISTORY DETECTIVES travels to Washington State, Indiana and Illinois to investigate whether the autographed ball could be evidence of the influence of America's national pastime on post-war racial integration. * After the Civil War, more than six million cattle were herded from Texas to the railhead in Kansas, along the so-called Chisolm Trail, in one of the greatest known migrations of animals. In the small town of Donna, Texas, near the Mexican border, a historic marker declares that the famous trail ran through this area, yet many dispute the idea that the trail ever made it this far south. A local historian wants to set the record straight. HISTORY DETECTIVES heads to the heart of Texas to help solve a local mystery and shed light on this key chapter in American history.
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