Recent Posts
Frozen to Death on Lake Erie
This 1904 account from Lake Erie describes the terrible danger faced by men who crossed the ice in winter. Without landmarks, a traveler could lose…
NYC Subway Worker Buried Alive in Sand
In 1926, Clark was working on the new Eighth Avenue Subway in New York when he climbed into a sand bin to clear a clogged…
Omaha’s Wartime Charcoal Boom
War has a way of reviving old industries. In 1918, as World War I reshaped American manufacturing and pushed prices skyward, charcoal burning suddenly became…
Headless Body Discovered on the Pittsburgh Tracks
The discovery was as grim as it was puzzling. Early one October morning in 1915, the mutilated body of Miss Sophie McCallin was found near…
Americans Urged to Hold Nutting Parties to Win the War
During World War I, even the smallest scraps from the kitchen table could become weapons of defense. In 1918, Americans were urged to save fruit…
Cat, Dog, and Lobster Throw New York Restaurant Into Uproar
There are restaurant disturbances, and then there are restaurant disturbances involving a cat, a Boston Terrier, a fainting woman, a fallen waiter, and one extremely…
Telephone Girls Risked Their Hair for the Switchboard
Before headsets became lightweight tools of modern communication, early telephone operators wore heavy metal bands across their heads as they worked long hours connecting calls…
Texas Couple Frozen to Death on Pike’s Peak
In August 1911, a Texas couple set out to conquer one of America’s most famous mountains. What began as an ambitious afternoon hike up Pike’s…
70 Bodies Found After Finleyville Coal Mine Blast
In April 1913, the hills around Finleyville, Pennsylvania, shook with the force of a mine explosion so violent it shattered windows hundreds of yards away….
Missing Montana Miner Feared to Be Silver Lake Wild Man
In the summer of 1902, people traveling through the Silver Lake country near Anaconda, Montana, began telling stories about a strange figure hiding in the…
