An American recording icon of the early 1900s, Cal Stewart created the popular Uncle Josh Weathersby character; Josh's town, Punkin Center; and the many colorful characters who inhabited his fictional town from Way Down East. Stewart's recordings were among the bestselling of the period, and through his satire he showed life in a fast-changing world. The actor, singer, songwriter, and author performed across the nation with his Cal Stewart & Co. group, consisting of his wife, the Indiana violinist Hazel "Gypsy Rossini" Waugh, and her younger brother and sister. For millions, Cal Stewart was the king of rural comedy.