Recent Posts
Sick Children Were Once Tapped With a Blacksmith’s Hammer to Cure Them
For centuries, the village forge was a place of transformation. Cold metal entered the building and emerged as tools, weapons, horseshoes, and household objects. To…
Loaded Evidence Gun Fired in Philadelphia Courtroom, Shooting Reporter
A Philadelphia courtroom was waiting for the judge to take the bench when a revolver suddenly fired inside City Hall. Court reporter Leon Alexander had…
This Was Considered One of Wisconsin’s Most Modern Restaurants in 1922
When King’s Cafe opened in its new brick building on West Second Street in 1922, local readers were told they were looking at one of…
Lightning Struck Crowded Iowa Fair Tent, Killing 4 and Injuring Dozens
When rain began falling over the county fair in Indianola, Iowa, men, women, and children crowded into the poultry exhibition tent for shelter. Then lightning…
Chicago Mayor Threatened to Call Out Troops as 1905 Strike Spread
Chicago stood on the edge of a wider labor conflict in the spring of 1905 as striking teamsters, determined employers, imported strikebreakers, and hundreds of…
Spokane Conductor Said His Body Parts Were Stolen Before Court Declared Him Insane
Albert D. Finch was a familiar figure in Spokane, where he worked as a conductor for the Great Northern Railway. When the 58-year-old husband and…
15-Year-Old Girl Hid in Virginia Woods and Eluded Searchers for Days
For several days in the summer of 1926, authorities searched the woods near Falling Creek for a 15-year-old girl dressed only in a bathing suit….
Sweden Ordered Citizens to Learn Swimming to Reduce Drowning Deaths
In 1926, Sweden reportedly launched an ambitious campaign to turn the entire country into a nation of swimmers, or, as one American newspaper dramatically put…
New York’s “Quiet” Fourth of July Was Filled With Explosions and Bloodshed
New York celebrated Independence Day in 1926 with packed beaches, exploding fireworks, stray bullets, and at least one violent confrontation between police and revelers. An…
2 Men Drowned in Mississippi River While Their Wives Watched
What began as a summer picnic on a Mississippi River sandbar in 1925 ended in tragedy when a swimmer was caught in the current and…
