Pennsylvania Oddities

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The Haunted Lumber Camp of Betula Oct 15, 2021

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Once a thriving lumber camp on the banks of Potato Creek in McKean County, the village of Betula lies halfway between Smethport and Emporium. The few people who call this backwoods location home are friendly folks, who are likely to point you to the best fishing spots or give you directions to nearest gas station. However, during the height of the lumber boom in the early 20th century, Betula was known around the region as home to some of the meanest characters who ever wielded an axe-- and home to the ghost of a murder victim named Edward Ralph.

Buried Alive! The Murder of Mary Newlin Oct 01, 2021

Show notes

On a sunny Sunday in June, 1907, a pretty little girl with golden hair walked the short distance home from her grandfather's farm near the village of Avondale in Chester County. Accompanying five-year-old Mary Robbins Newlin was her little sister, Fannie. At a fork in the road where an old, abandoned church stood, the sisters parted and it was at this lonesome spot where Mary was last seen alive.

Louis Moff: The Vice King of the Coal Region Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

The history of the Pennsylvania Coal Region wouldn't be complete without one, or several, chapters devoted to organized crime. During the Prohibition Era, crime rings could be found in just about every nook and cranny of the anthracite region. The nefarious plots of many mobsters were hatched in dozens of area "houses of ill repute", such as the notorious Sunset Inn in Numidia, which was just one of the many seedy establishments owned by Louis Moff, who met his death in a hail of gunshots outside his Atlas home in 1931.

A Blood-Stained Dress and Other Lessons From Gnadenhutten Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

Somewhere in the historic Cross Creek Cemetery in Washington County, about thirty miles west of Pittsburgh, there is a lost grave that holds the dust of a frontier wife named Mary Wallace, whose death in 1782 led to one of the most famous, and horrific, massacres in American history.

The Last Ascension of Wash Donaldson Aug 15, 2021

Show notes

This is the story of famed balloonist Wash Donaldson and how he came to be buried thousands of miles away from home, in a graveyard north of the Arctic Circle. It is also a tale of unsolved murder; many believe that Donaldson intentionally "disappeared" after throwing a passenger from the basket of his hot air balloon in 1875.

George Pletz: The First Casualty of American Aviation Aug 01, 2021

Show notes

Seventy-five years before the Wright Brothers flew into the history books, a pair of eccentric brothers from Dauphin County built a flying machine.

The Ghost of Reverend Nowak: The Pond Hill Tragedy Jul 15, 2021

Show notes

On a hot July evening in 1921, a mysterious fire claimed the lives of Reverend Felix Nowak, his wife, and their three children. Was this a case of arson or a tragic accident? Those who encountered the ghost of the dead preacher are likely to say it must have been a case of cold, premeditated murder.

Lover's Leap, Accident, or Murder? Jul 01, 2021

Show notes

On the cold, dreary Monday morning of January 10, 1916, two sets of parents awoke to discover their children were missing. Those who knew Clayton Mengle and Helen Hepler insisted they had gone to Maryland, where Helen's tender age wouldn't be a deterrent in obtaining a marriage license. Whether they ever reached Maryland is unknown; for three months no one saw or heard a thing from either Clayton or Helen. Whatever events took place during that time remain a mystery, but when the young lovers were finally found, many believed that Clayton and Helen had never made it out of sight of their Schuylkill County homes.

The Fantastic Disappearance of Captain Rehrer Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

Like his father, Erasmus Godfrey Rehrer seemed destined for success. After serving honorably as an officer in the Union Army's engineering corps and attaining the rank of captain, he entered the coal mining business. As superintendent of the Tremont Coal Company, Captain Rehrer, along with two partners, saw an opportunity to strike it rich. After discovering a previously unknown vein of coal near Donaldson, they formed their own company, obtained a lease on the land and sunk all their savings into drilling a tunnel. And that's when things went horribly wrong.

The Lost Confederate Grave of Wildcat Falls Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

It's impossible to say how many generations have been enchanted by the beauty of Wildcat Falls in York County, but it is known that hundreds of years ago the Susquehannock tribe had a village here, where Wildcat Run cuts a magnificent gorge through the rocky hills before taking a 150-foot plunge on its short course to the Susquehanna at a point across the river upstream from Marietta. It was here, on the site of the old Indian village, where a hotel was erected in the late 19th century.

Though largely forgotten today, the Wildcat Falls Hotel was a local landmark. During the early 20th century, cottages and cabins were erected along River Road, and the locale became a popular weekend getaway for many York and Lancaster County residents. But even after the last traces of the once-prestigious hotel had disappeared, there were still a few locals who kept a close watch on the grounds. One of them was George Wilson, who, for decades, upheld a little-known local tradition-- decorating the grave of an unknown Confederate soldier who was hastily buried at Wildcat Falls after a scouting mission gone horribly wrong.

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