Forgotten Tales of Pennsylvania Read online

  Published by The History Press

  Charleston, SC 29403

  www.historypress.net

  Copyright © 2009 by Thomas White

  All rights reserved

  First published 2009

  Second printing 2010

  e-book edition 2013

  Manufactured in the United States

  ISBN 978.1.62584.326.5

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  White, Thomas.

  Forgotten tales of Pennsylvania / Thomas White.

  p. cm.

  print edition ISBN 978-1-59629-812-5

  1. Pennsylvania--History--Anecdotes. 2. Pennsylvania--Biography--Anecdotes. 3. Curiosities and wonders--Pennsylvania--Anecdotes. I. Title.

  F149.6.W47 2009

  974.8--dc22

  2009036415

  Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  For Justina, Tommy and Marisa

  Acknowledgements

  Writing any book is a time-consuming and tedious process. This book was no exception. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people who helped and supported me while I was working on this project, especially my wife, Justina, and my children, Tommy and Marisa. Also, I want to thank my parents, Tom and Jean, and my brother, Ed, for their support. Elizabeth Williams, Aaron Carson and Paul Demilio were a great help in proofreading this manuscript. Their input and constructive comments were vital. I would also like to thank Hannah Cassilly and the rest of the staff at The History Press for allowing me to write the Pennsylvania volume in their Forgotten Tales series. Many other people made important contributions to this book in one form or another, including Tony Lavorgne, Emily Jack, Kurt Wilson, Ken Whiteleather, Brian Hallam, Vince Grubb, Renee Morgan, Brian Rogers, Brett Cobbey, Jon Halpern, Dan Simkins, Art Louderback, David Grinnell and Bob Stakeley.

  Introduction

  Sometimes Pennsylvania can be a fascinating state. For over a decade, I have studied the history of the state in a professional capacity in one form or another. As an archivist, curator and professor, I worked with documents and artifacts from the cradle of liberty in the East to the workshop of the world in the West. I have spent countless hours reading books and articles dealing with everything from the French and Indian War to the Cold War in Pennsylvania. But those stories are familiar to many, and that is not what this book is about. This book is about the things that you stumble across when you are researching all of the big events. This book covers the strange stuff. It is about the bizarre anecdotes, trivia, legends and mostly forgotten stories that you do not normally see in a history book; the kind of stories I, and hopefully you, like best.

  Writing this book reinforced for me just how interesting—and weird—Pennsylvania’s history is. For example, you probably did not know that there were werewolves and giant snakes in Pennsylvania (at least that’s what they tell me) or that there are several lost treasures hidden or buried here. You might be surprised to learn that a Pittsburgh dog once had an obituary in the New York Times, that a gypsy queen is buried in the Shenango Valley or that giant skeletons were excavated in some of the state’s ancient burial mounds. One day, the midafternoon sky even went black over much of the state.

  The tales presented here cover a wide variety of topics, in addition to the ones already mentioned. They include witches, tornados, floods, bandits, explosions, strange animals, legends, unusual people, hoaxes, meteorites, cannibals and the end of the world. I cannot say that I had any strict criteria for a story to be included. It only had to be unusual, relatively unknown to your average person and to have happened in Pennsylvania. A few of these tales may be known in one part of the state and not others. The tales were compiled from a variety of sources, including old newspaper accounts, obscure books and journals, court documents, weather reports, interviews and oral histories. I hope that you enjoy reading these unusual stories because I certainly enjoyed writing about them.

  Forgotten Tales of Pennsylvania

  A BAD DAY AT THE MCGRATTIN HOUSE

  A series of bizarre accidents befell the boardinghouse of Charles McGrattin, located in Rankin, during one twenty-four-hour period in mid-July 1891. The body of twenty-nine-year-old David Bell, one of the boarders, was found in the river one afternoon. He had apparently fallen in and drowned while drunk. Two hours later, a lamp exploded in McGrattin’s house, burning it to the ground and killing two of his sons, Robert and Charles. The next morning, two other boarders, Harry Rowe and Peter Knee, returned to the burned-out ruins to see if they could retrieve any of their belongings. The remains of the brick chimney collapsed on them, killing Rowe outright and severely injuring Knee. A Dr. Cope was called to the scene, and despite his attempts to save Knee, he ultimately died. On his way home, Dr. Cope’s horses darted from his buggy, causing it to crash. The doctor was severely injured, and it appeared that his wounds could be fatal. There were no follow-up articles in the newspapers revealing the doctor’s fate, but given the circumstances, it looks like the odds were against him.

  CANNIBALS AT THE HOTEL

  When P.T. Barnum brought his traveling act to York County in May 1872, he stayed at the Pennsylvania House Hotel in the city of York. Among his entourage were four “genuine” cannibals from Fiji. His advertisement described them as “the Four Wild Cannibals, Captives of War, lately ransomed from King Thakembau by Mr. Barnum at a cost of $15,000.” During their stay, one of the cannibals, who was a dwarf, became ill, refused to eat and could only be heard repeating the word “Fiji.” Late one evening, when a doctor attempted to give him medicine, he fell backward and died.

  The cannibal’s body was placed in a casket and locked in an adjoining room until burial arrangements could be made. S.S. Smith, who was watching the body, left for less than thirty minutes. When he returned, he discovered that two of the other cannibals had somehow entered the room and were chewing on parts of the dead man. Only the fourth cannibal, a female who had been converted by English missionaries, refrained from feasting on the corpse. The body was buried in the potter’s field the same evening to prevent further incidents. One local paper, the True Democrat, called the story a hoax perpetrated by Barnum to capitalize on the death of one of his “performers.”

  JUDGE SAVES GOATS FROM FLOOD

  During the Great Saint Patrick’s Day Flood of 1936, much of Pittsburgh and the surrounding neighborhoods were under water. A section of Judge Michael A. Musmanno’s nearby hometown of McKees Rocks was also flooded. While traversing the area known as “the bottoms” in a rowboat, the judge heard a noise. It came from a small herd of goats and their owner marooned on a rooftop nearby. The judge rescued the goats and the man in his small boat, making two trips. As a reward, the owner of the goats gave the judge a small white kid. The judge named the kid Bottoms.

  GIANT SKELETONS

  In 1885, a team of scientists from the Smithsonian excavated an Indian mound near Gasterville. Beneath the mound of earth was a crude stone burial vault. Inside was the skeleton of a seven-foot, two-inch giant. The skeleton was said to still retain some of its long, coarse black hair. On its head was a copper crown or band. Nearby were the remains of several children. All were lying on straw mats and animal hides. The stones that made up the burial vault were inscribed with petroglyphs that c
ould not be deciphered.

  During the 1921 excavation of an Indian mound near Greensburg, archaeologists discovered a giant skeleton that measured between eight and nine feet tall. Dr. Holland of the Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh was directing the opening of the one-hundred-foot-long, twelve-foot-high mound. The team also discovered a partially mummified body, which they estimated at the time to be as many as four thousand years old.

  A WEREWOLF IN CLINTON COUNTY

  Henry Shoemaker, one of Pennsylvania’s early proponents of regional folklore, was told the story of the Clinton County werewolf by Peter Pentz in 1900. Pentz’s own aunt, a midwife, had a frightening encounter with the creature in the 1850s. One night, when she was returning home from assisting with a birth, she spotted an enormous black wolf or dog creeping nearby. When the creature noticed her, it stood upright on its hind legs and began to pursue her. She managed to evade the werewolf long enough to make it to her cabin and alert her husband. He grabbed two bullets wrapped in “sacramental wax,” went outside and shot the creature as it approached him. Before their eyes, the dying werewolf turned back into one of their neighbors. He thanked them for ending his torment as he died.

  AN EARTHQUAKE IN BEAVER COUNTY

  A minor earthquake was reported in Beaver County on September 22, 1886. The shaking was felt about 8:45 p.m. and was initially thought by many to be some type of natural gas explosion. The quake lasted for about thirty seconds, and though buildings swayed, no major damage was reported.

  AN ALLIGATOR IN THE SEWER

  George Moul, an employee of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Highways and Sewers, made an unusual discovery on the job in September 1927. He was assigned to fix a blocked sewer on Royal Street in the city’s North Side. Moul removed the manhole cover and began to clear an obstruction when he realized that a set of “evil-looking” eyes was staring at him. After the initial surprise faded, Moul realized what he was looking at. He managed to grab the head of the three-foot alligator and drag it out of the sewer. After tying a rope to the alligator, Moul took it to his home on Lockhart Street. He and his co-workers never figured out how it got into the sewer or how it had traveled so far north.

  A YORK MAN’S HEALING HANDS

  A rather miraculous healing was reported in York County in September 1884. A former sheriff named James Peeling had taken ill with severe pain throughout his body. He could not get out of bed, so the family doctor was called. The doctor believed that he suffered from intercostal rheumatism and asked if a second doctor could be brought in to confirm his diagnosis. Peeling declined, and his condition continued to get worse. Later in the week, his brother convinced him to allow a man named Edmund Meyers to visit. Meyers was becoming known in the community for his unusual ability to heal by touch.

  When Meyers arrived, he placed his hand on Peeling’s forehead and ordered him to take a deep breath. Peeling said it was impossible, but when he tried, he found that it was not as painful as it had been. As he exhaled, his pain continued to decrease. By the time Meyers was ready to leave, Peeling was able to walk him to his front gate. After word got out, hundreds of people came to Meyers for relief, and many left with their own stories of healing. Meyers never claimed to have any supernatural power and did not know how his ability worked.

  TROLLEY CARS COLLIDED IN FOG

  The morning of September 23, 1908, was an extremely foggy one in Philadelphia. Two trolley cars loaded with workmen were making their way through the city on their usual routes. What neither of the operators knew was that the signal box that controlled the trolley traffic had been deactivated by an angry striker. When the two cars spotted each other in the fog, it was too late to stop or even slow down. They slammed into each other at full speed, sending debris and bodies flying into the surrounding street. Seven of the men on the trolleys were killed immediately. Seventy-two others were strewn about with a variety of injuries, including crushed ribs, severed limbs, broken bones, cuts and severe bruises. Several passengers died later at the hospital. The identity of the man who tampered with the box was not ascertained.

  THE AFTERNOON THAT THE SKY WENT BLACK

  A strange phenomenon occurred in the sky over most of Pennsylvania on Sunday, September 25, 1950. The midafternoon sky turned to shades of red, yellow and purple before turning almost as black as night. The occurrence lasted for almost half an hour, and in some areas much longer. The phenomenon caused confusion on the ground and resulted in one death.

  In Tyrone, a sixty-five-year-old man was killed while crossing the street by a driver who could not see him in the sudden darkness. At Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati double-header had to be played under the lights. Two drivers in a race in New Kensington were injured after their cars crashed in the darkness. The black sky even confused animals on farms in many counties. Chickens returned to their coops to roost in the middle of the afternoon. Many other incidents were reported throughout the state.

  Astronomers in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were puzzled by the phenomenon, and none could recall ever witnessing such an occurrence before. It was believed that a heavy layer of smoke from forest fires in Canada was blown over the state because of a change in weather patterns. A few disagreed with the explanation, stating that there were no confirmed forest fires of substantial size in Canada at the time.

  AWARD-WINNING SHRUNKEN HEAD

  A shrunken head owned by William Gibson won a blue ribbon for “rarest exhibit” at a 1937 sportsman’s show in Washington County. Gibson had acquired the baseball-sized head in the late 1920s from the Jivaro Indians in Ecuador. He traded a small mirror for the head.

  OUT-OF-PLACE TIGERS

  In July 1986, a series of big cat sightings was reported in Wyoming, Lackawanna and Susquehanna Counties. A man walking along Route 92 near Nicholson spotted a large feline that looked like a tiger only fifty feet ahead of him. When it noticed the man, it darted back into the woods. The man reported the animal to the state police, who later spotted it in the woods from a helicopter. They were unable to catch it on the ground, despite several attempts.

  Two days later, another large cat was spotted in a backyard in Newton Township. It was described as having orange hair. The next day, a large beige cat was spotted by a photographer in Jackson. State police were inundated with many other reports of tigers and large cats. One person even claimed to have seen a white tiger. All attempts by police and wildlife officials to locate and trap the animals were unsuccessful.

  THE GRAVE OF THE GYPSY QUEEN

  In the spring of 1921, a gypsy carnival came to the Shenango Valley. It ended up being a carnival that the town of Sharon would never forget. Everything at the carnival was proceeding as usual until the fortuneteller, Lena Miller, became severely ill. She had developed severe pneumonia and seemed to be getting worse by the day. Lena was married to Frank Miller, the head of the gypsy tribe that ran the carnival. She was also the daughter of the king of the gypsies in America, Louis Mitchell. By May 10, thirty-two-year-old Lena was dead.

  Soon, thousands of gypsies converged on the area. Sample Funeral Home laid out the gypsy princess in one of the large tents at the fairgrounds. Her body was decorated with colorful silk robes and jewels. A feast was held on the site for her family and relatives. Her body remained in the tent until May 13. Over one thousand gypsies attended the funeral service. She was to be buried at Oakwood Cemetery, a short distance away. The funeral procession was so long that it took thirty minutes to pass. It was led by an Orthodox priest and the carnival band.

  Over five thousand gypsies gathered at the cemetery in Hermitage. When the gypsy princess’s casket was lowered into the ground, visitors passed by and tossed coins onto the lid. The grave was marked with a simple sandstone obelisk, engraved with only her name and birth and death dates. The gypsy king paid the $360 funeral bill with gold coins. For many years after, gypsies would pass by to visit Lena’s gravesite. The unusual funeral was not soon forgotten in the Shenango Valley, and the story was passed down to younger gene
rations by those who witnessed it.

  THE GIANT SNAKES OF THE BROAD TOP MOUNTAINS

  Since 1927, there have been reports of giant snakes in the Broad Top Mountains in Bedford and Huntingdon Counties. Most witnesses have described the snakes as about twenty feet long, but some have claimed to have seen snakes as long as forty feet. They are usually described as gray in color, with white or yellow markings on their heads. Very large tan-colored snakes have also been sighted. The snakes have usually been spotted crossing roads, clearings and other open spaces where they would be easily noticed. At least one hunter claimed to have watched a giant snake feeding on a deer. The region is heavily forested and riddled with abandoned mines. It has been suggested that the mines may be the serpents’ homes. The most recent sighting occurred in July 2000, when three men in a truck spotted a snake that was at least seventeen feet long crossing Enid Mountain Road.

  THE WOMAN IN BLACK

  For several weeks at the end of 1886 and the beginning of 1887, residents of the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys were terrorized by a strange specter known only as the woman in black. Towns throughout the coal-producing region reported sightings of the mysterious dark figure. The first encounter happened in the Pine Brook section of Scranton, where the woman supposedly attacked some girls who were walking home from a ball. In the nights that followed, the woman was seen again in a variety of locations around town and could apparently vanish at will. One evening, the specter was spotted near Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company’s mill, and some of the braver citizens decided to pursue her. The woman in black went into an abandoned mine and did not emerge.