Nestled within the busy streets of downtown Los Angeles lies one of the most infamous buildings in horror lore: the Cecil Hotel. Since opening its doors in 1927, the Cecil Hotel has been plagued with unfortunate and mysterious circumstances that have given it a perhaps unparalleled reputation for the macabre. At least 16 different murders, suicides, and unexplained paranormal events have taken place at the hotel — and it’s even served as the temporary home of some of America’s most notorious serial killers.
The original sign on the side of Los Angeles’ Cecil Hotel
The Grand Opening Of The Cecil Hotel
The Cecil Hotel was built in 1924 by hotelier William Banks Hanner. It was supposed to be a destination hotel for international businessmen and social elites. Hanner spent $1 million on the 700-room Beaux Arts-style hotel, complete with a marble lobby, stained-glass windows, palm trees, and an opulent staircase.
The marble lobby of the Cecil Hotel, which opened in 1927
But Hanner would come to regret his investment. Just two years after the Cecil Hotel opened, the world was thrown into the Great Depression — and Los Angeles was not immune to the economic collapse. Soon enough, the area surrounding the Cecil Hotel would be dubbed “Skid Row” and become home to thousands of homeless people.
The once beautiful hotel soon gained a reputation as a meeting place for junkies, runaways, and criminals. Worse yet, the Cecil Hotel ultimately earned a reputation for violence and death.
Suicide And Homicide At “The Most Haunted Hotel In Los Angeles”
In the 1930s alone, the Cecil Hotel was home to at least six reported suicides. A few residents ingested poison, while others shot themselves, slit their own throats, or jumped out their bedroom windows.
In 1934, for example, Army Sergeant Louis D. Borden slashed his throat with a razor. Less than four years later, Roy Thompson of the Marine Corps jumped from atop the Cecil Hotel and was found on the skylight of a neighboring building. The next few decades only saw more violent deaths.
In September 1944, 19-year-old Dorothy Jean Purcell awoke in the middle of the night with stomach pains while she was staying at the Cecil with Ben Levine, 38. She went to the bathroom so as not to disturb a sleeping Levine, and — to her complete shock — gave birth to a baby boy. She had no idea she had been pregnant.
A newspaper clip about Dorothy Jean Purcell, who threw her newborn baby out of her hotel bathroom window
Mistakenly thinking her newborn was dead, Purcell threw her live baby out the window and onto the roof of the building next door. At her trial, she was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity and she was admitted to a hospital for psychiatric treatment.
In 1962, 65-year-old George Giannini was walking by the Cecil with his hands in his pockets when he was struck to death by a falling woman. Pauline Otton, 27, jumped from her ninth-floor window after an argument with her estranged husband, Dewey. Her fall killed both her and Giannini instantly.
Outside Los Angeles’ Cecil Hotel
Police initially thought the two had committed suicide together but reconsidered when they found Giannini was still wearing shoes. If he had jumped, his shoes would have fallen off mid-flight. In light of the suicides, mishaps, and murders, Angelinos promptly dubbed the Cecil “the most haunted hotel in Los Angeles.”
A Serial Killer’s Paradise
While tragic calamities and suicide have contributed heavily to the hotel’s body count, the Cecil Hotel has also served as a temporary home for some of the grisliest murderers in American history. In the mid-1980s, Richard Ramirez — murderer of 13 people and better known as the “Night Stalker” — lived in a room on the top floor of the hotel during much of his horrific killing spree.
After killing someone, he would throw his bloody clothes into the Cecil Hotel’s dumpster and saunter into the hotel lobby either completely naked or only in underwear — “none of which would have raised an eyebrow,” writes journalist Josh Dean, “since the Cecil in the 1980s… ‘was total, unmitigated chaos.’” At the time, Ramirez was able to stay there for a mere $14 per night. And with corpses of junkies reportedly often found in the alleys near the hotel and sometimes even in the hallways, Ramirez’s blood-soaked lifestyle surely raised nary an eyebrow at the Cecil.
Richard Ramirez was ultimately convicted of 13 counts of murder, five attempted murders, and 11 sexual assaults
While some episodes of violence in and around the Cecil Hotel are attributable to known serial killers, some murders have remained unsolved. Such stories of violence are not simply a thing of the past. One of the most mysterious deaths ever to take place at the Cecil Hotel happened as recently as 2013.
Elisa Lam
In 2013, Canadian college student Elisa Lam was found dead inside the water tank on the roof of the hotel three weeks after she had gone missing. Her naked corpse was found after hotel guests had complained of bad water pressure and a “funny taste” to the water. Though authorities ruled her death as an accidental drowning, critics believed otherwise.
Before her death, surveillance cameras caught Lam acting strangely in an elevator, at times appearing to yell at someone out of view, as well as apparently attempting to hide from someone while pressing multiple elevator buttons and waving her arms erratically.
After the video surfaced publicly, many people began to believe that the rumors of the hotel being haunted might be true.
Horror aficionados began drawing parallels between the Black Dahlia murder and Lam’s disappearance, pointing out that both women were in their twenties, traveling alone from L.A. to San Diego, last seen at the Cecil Hotel, and were missing for several days before their bodies were found.
Thin though these connections may sound, the hotel has nevertheless developed a reputation for horror that defines its legacy to this day.
After a brief stint as the Stay On Main Hotel and Hostel, the hotel closed. It underwent a $100 million renovation and was turned into $900 to $1,200-a-month “micro apartments.”
On December 14, 2021, Cecil Hotel Apartments opened. The 600 units range between 160 and 175 square feet and the common areas include bathrooms and kitchens, which is similar to the hotel’s earlier days. It also offers guarded entry and case management services on-site.
The rooms are exclusively available to rent by low-income Los Angelenos who earn between 30% and 60% of the area’s median income of $24,850 annually. With rent ranging between $900 and $1,200 a month, tenants can use Section 8 housing vouchers to help pay. Three months after it reopened, the building was boarded up against unwanted visitors and discreetly serves its visitors.
Might there be another reason for all the deaths, spawned much further back in history? Stay tuned for part 2 of The Cecil Hotel…..
In honor of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, I’m posting some rather easy and quick picnic desserts.
No Bake Cheesecake Flag Cake
The base for this dessert is a no-bake Jello Cheesecake (mix in a box). Prepare according to directions. Then you add raspberries and blackberries to complete the flag look.
Red, White and Blue Trifle
In a large glass compote, layer either store bought pound cake or angel food cake chunks with whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries.
Patriotic Chocolate Cake
Your favorite brand of chocolate cake mix, some whipped cream and fruit (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries) will make this memorable dessert a breeze.
Memorial Day Pizza
Brownie mix makes a wonderful crust for this holiday pizza! Prepare brownie mix as directed and bake in a round pan. Top with either vanilla or cream cheese frosting, add fruit and mint leaves and you’re done!
Strawberry Poppers
This dessert is an easy, pick up and go dessert. Cleaned strawberries are sliced diagonally twice (but not apart) and then whipped cream is inserted using a star tipped pastry bag and a blueberry is placed on top.
There you have it! Easy to prepare, spectacular to see and delicious to eat recipes for your Memorial Day picnic!
Treasure hunters claim there is gold in the hills of Pennsylvania, but is that fact or fiction? I am talking about the legend of Dent’s Run, an area in Western PA which had been under scrutiny from the FBI because treasure hunters claimed to found the place where a Union payroll of gold bars has been hiding since the Civil War era.
From the Courier Express:
In 1863, a Union wagon train left Wheeling, W.V. with 52 bars of gold, each weighing 50 lb., which were meant to pay Union soldiers. The wagon train was to travel northeast through Pennsylvania to Ridgway and then head southeast to Harrisburg. It made it to St. Marys and that was the last time it was seen. The wagons and dead soldiers were found later — but not the gold.
stock photo Civil War reenactment
In 2012, Finders Keepers said it found the gold, but federal law kept them from digging for it.
According to current market value, the gold bars would be worth more than $55 million. But Burke isn’t sure that if the search is successful that all of them will be found there.
You see, Finders Keepers aren’t the only ones who have been looking for the legendary Civil War era gold haul. Jim Burke, a historian has too.
“I’ve looked for the gold and have had a private investigator from Washington, D.C. go through our archives (at the historical society),” Burke said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.
He said the story of the gold is multi-layered — some of it rooted in legend and other elements in documented fact.
According to the story Burke has pieced together over many years, three men came out of the gold train alive.
The person who was leading it, Lt. Castleton is said to have come down with typhoid fever and in his delusion, divulged the secret of what the wagon train was carrying somewhere around its last stop in St. Marys.
Other characters on the trip were a man known as O’Rourke, who was a ruthless character, as well as a man known as Conners. There are 10 said to have been in the train in total and not all of them have been accounted for.
Legend has it that Conners and two other unnamed men walked out before the wagon train met its storied end. Legend has it that Conners said that end was “over Thunder Mountain near Hicks Run.” All three went into the Civil War, but only Conners survived. He is said to have gotten drunk on numerous occasions on his return from war and would tell others in the bar — “I know where there’s gold back in the hills of Pennsylvania.” Ultimately, he died while building roads in California.
Another part of the story Burke found in searching for the gold is that when a company was surveying the Elk and Cameron county lines when Cameron branched out on its own, seven skeletons were found in the hollow of Bell Draft, near the tributary of Hicks Run.
At that time (circa the late 1800s-early 1900s), the Pinkerton Detective Agency came to the area and lore has it that 3.5 gold bars were found. After some of the detectives left the agency, they were said to have spent the rest of their lives in the area looking for the rest of the gold.
Pinkerton Detective Agency
Moving forward, to the 1990s, Burke said a man named Jack Schall, who currently lives in North Carolina, came to the region to do studies on elevation marker accuracy for the government. During his stint in the region, he is said to have met a man in a St. Marys drinking establishment, who said he kept a bar of gold under his bed. According to Burke, Shaw claims the man showed him the gold bar, which he took out of a canvas basket. After this, Shaw started to travel around the county lecturing about the lost gold.
Burke said at one point his partner in the search went to a “soothesayer” in New York state.
“He didn’t tell her what he was looking for. She went into a trance and said you’re looking for gold buried in Pennsylvania,” Burke recounted, adding that she also said she heard the voice of a man, whose description fit that of Lt. Castleton, saying, “I’m stuffed down in the hole. I can’t get out. There’s a bobcat licking my face.”
While Burke, in his retelling, often paused in uncertainty about the factuality of what he knows, he said that if it is true, he doubts the FBI will find what it’s looking for.
“Let’s suppose the Pinkertons found 3.5 gold bars. That tells me there was a division of gold,” Burke said. “If they do find a box of gold on the hill (in Dents Run) it was hidden by somebody, but it’s not the whole batch.”
When asked if he thought the search would be successful, Burke said frankly, “I hope it’s not. But, it might not be the end of the story if they do. And the first thing I’d ask then is how many bars did you find. I think somebody left with some of that gold.”
And if this site doesn’t pan out, Burke has one in mind, saying only that he has found a weathered rock with an important marking scribbled on it which has yielded some notable artifacts nearby.
The Courier Express article ends before the results of the FBI investigation were finished and released. Since then, the FBI, who conducted their search and diggings out of the public eye, claim they have excavated the site and have found nothing. Believable? Perhaps, but the entire story has some serious flaws.
This excerpt is from an interesting site called The Pennsylvania Rambler and this is from a post on February 16, 2020:
The treasure has divided people like no other legend within the borders of Pennsylvania. People have argued and debated the legend, with each bringing their evidence to the table to defend their side of the argument. I admit at one time, I was taken in by the legend and I too wanted to seek out and discover the fortune in gold. However, the story which first captivated me years ago is now an amusing piece of my past as I watch and read how people continue to scour the woods of Elk and Cameron Counties for a treasure that does not exist.
Yes, you read that last line correctly – in my opinion, the treasure that the FBI was accused of going in at night, digging up and stealing away with does not exist. Now I’ve read countless message boards and articles about the treasure and I find it strange that people are so committed in their belief that this treasure exists that they are willing to spend a small fortune on the continual search for it.
So why don’t I believe it exists? Allow me to present my evidence.
1). The most obvious answer is – I’m almost as old as the legend of the Lost Treasure of Dent’s Run. This piece of evidence is the biggest problem with the legend of the lost treasure. The oldest record of this tale is from a 1973 issue of Treasure Magazine. The article, written by a Sandra Gardner – who may or may not have actually existed – was the first telling of the tale that I can find. Since then it has appeared in numerous guide books and regional histories and with each retelling, the story gets more details added. The story fails to appear in Beers’ History of the Counties of McKean, Elk, Cameron and Potter, Pennsylvania (1890) and while this history is definitely missing some pieces, if the event had happened, I cannot imagine it would have been omitted from the history. In fact, the first time the story appears as an “official” part of Cameron County’s history is in the History of Cameron County, Pennsylvania (1991).
Note: I have found mention of the legend being as old as 1965, but the story that is recorded in that message board is the same as Gardner’s version. The article posted there had nothing with it to state where they obtained the story from, so at this point I’m still going with the oldest version being from 1973.
2) The characters mentioned do not exist. I’ve contacted so many U.S. Civil War historians to seek out Lieutenant Castleton and Sergeant Mike O’Rouke that most of them have me on a block list. There’s no solid proof anywhere that the two men existed. One version of the story states the unit assigned to transport the treasure was from either Indiana or Illinois, but again no state records there show the two men being a part of any regiment.
As far as Conners, the citizen guide who supposedly led the group through the mountains of central Pennsylvania, he remains a mystery. Recently I read that there was a man named Conners who was killed near Benezette, but – as far as I can tell – that Conners had nothing to do with the Civil War or the lost gold.
Note: In a recent conversation with a friend, we were discussing the lost treasure and he made an interesting suggestion about the name Castleton. In the Benezette Valley is the community of Castle Garden and maybe the writer used the community name to give Lieutenant Castleton his name. “Castle Garden to Castle Town to Castleton.” He also suggested Conners might have been a corruption of Connelly, an outlaw shot in the Benezette Valley in 1820. I can’t say this is correct, but it is an interesting theory that might hold some truth in it.
3) The route taken. This is one of the biggest problems I have with this legend. It makes absolutely no sense and the more I have looked into this route, the less sense it makes. They leave Wheeling, go to Pittsburgh, drive north along the Clarion River before arriving at Emporium. Then they go overland to St. Marys to Driftwood, where they planned on floating it down stream. First, if you’re in Wheeling, put it on a train, go to Pittsburgh and then to Altoona, to Harrisburg. A lot faster. Second, if the Bucktail Regiment could not float rafts down the West Branch, then why a couple years later would the U.S. Army think they could float a couple million dollars worth of gold down it?
The argument to this point is usually “The Battle of Gettysburg was going on at that time.” The fabled group left Wheeling in June. That’s a whole month before Gettysburg. The nearest major battle would have been the Second Battle of Winchester in early June, but even so, there would have been enough time to put the treasure on a train and send it to Washington, D.C. by rail.
4) The “Henry Shoemaker Theory.” No, I’m not accusing him of making this story up, although he would have if he would have thought about it. To be honest, I never thought I’d use Henry Shoemaker and his writings to defend my beliefs. The “Henry Shoemaker Theory” is the treasure probably does not exist, because he did not write about it. Although many of the stories that Shoemaker wrote were from his own imagination, or moved folktales from other parts of the world and set them in the wilderness of Pennsylvania, he did take a number of regional stories and retell them. Shoemaker seemed fascinated about lost treasures and focused a lot on another treasure in the region, the silver bars hidden north of here near the small community of Gardeau. I cannot help but believe, if the Lost Treasure of Dents Run existed, Shoemaker would have written about it because he had set a number of his stories within the Sinnemahoning Region. Note: more about the lost treasure of Gardeau can be found here: Blackbeard’s Treasure.
Two other questions arise in regards to the Legend of the Lost Treasure that I feel need to be addressed.
1) Were human bones found? The point most treasure hunters make is that human remains were found, along with other Civil War relics, proving there was a massacre. I have not found any reliable source pre-1973 to prove that human remains were found while either surveying the county line or while widening any of the roads. However, with there being numerous family cemeteries in the region, it is possible a forgotten cemetery was discovered and is the source of the story of human remains being found.
2) Where did it happen if it did happen? The lost treasure was supposedly buried along Dents Run or nearby Hicks Run. However, that has not prevented newer versions of the story – which are claimed to be the “correct” version – from changing to location. The treasure has been reported to have been buried near Caledonia, under a “concrete slab at the top of Winslow Hill” and in Driftwood itself. I personally love the Driftwood version because it states the reason the Bucktail Monument was moved from the center of Route 555 was because the state recovered the lost gold buried beneath the monument.
Bucktail Vista
If I’m correct in my belief the Lost Treasure of Dents Run does not exist, then the question must be asked: “Where did the story originate? My personal belief is the legend is a corruption of Shoemaker’s story about Blackbeard’s Silver Bars. Both have a lost treasure being transported overland by wagon and are set in the Sinnemahoning Valley. Mix into the story some elements of truth – the Bucktail Regiment came out of this region and a short distance south was the fight between army deserters and U.S. troops. Add into this mixture of history the similar stories of lost Union or Confederate gold and silver existing in other parts of the state and in the mountains of Appalachia and there is a story that becomes a part of regional lore that has just enough “fact” in it to make people believe it is true.
Note: Strangely, most of the stories about lost Civil War treasure first appear in the late 1960s and early 1970s.I’m not sure why these stories all seemingly appear roughly at the same time and – in my mind – there has to be a connection to why these stories suddenly became a part of American culture, but I have not been able to make any type of relevant connection to their origins.
Final Thoughts
I always thought it would be exciting to go on a treasure hunt, but it seems legends cloud the actual facts and it’s difficult to know if there are indeed undiscovered treasures still buried deep beneath the ground. Did the FBI uncover $54 Million in gold bars and whisk it away under cover of darkness? Hard to say, but with the current state of the FBI, it would not be surprising at all.
The Tayos caves of Ecuador are a legendary vast natural underground network of caves spanning many kilometres, very little of which has been officially explored. The Tayos caves (Cueva de los Tayos) reached worldwide attention in 1973 when Erich von Däniken released his bestselling and controversial book ‘The Gold of the Gods’, in which he claimed that piles of gold, unusual sculptures, and a library of metal tablets had been found in a series of artificial tunnels within the caves. Tayos was also mentioned as the location of Father Crespi’s collection of mysterious golden artifacts, given to him by the indigenous people of Ecuador. Ancient Origins recently carried out the first of a series of expeditions to the caves to explore just what lies within this enigmatic subterranean world. Here are some of the never-before-seen photographs of the caves.
Hidden Entrance
Taos Caves
Rock Formations in Tayos Caves
Walking thru a small alley in Tayos Caves
Rapelling down a Tayos Cave
Legendary Metal Library in Tayos Caves
The elusive Metal Library in the Tayos Caves
Library of Metal Books
Map of massive Caves of Tayos
Father Crespi plays a big part in this story because the local tribes’ people liked him and gave him artifacts as gifts. They gave him so many artifacts throughout his 60 years of being a missionary in Ecuador, that he displayed them and opened a local museum for all to see.
Neil Armstrong the astronaut and treasure hunting? That’s correct. Neil heard about Father’s Crespi‘s collection and he traveled down to see them. It wasn’t long until people came to the realization that points to one fact; these artifacts must have come from a nearby area, and the local tribes know of their whereabouts.
People started to research and even though the village people were closed-mouthed of the location of more artifacts and where they came from, people learned of a great mystery. The local tribespeople knew of an ancient site that they deemed spiritual and secret. People started to learn that these modern day village people knew of a great underground city that they have been protecting for hundreds, maybe thousands of years.
After further inquiring, people learned that the local people were not as friendly about this story and inquiries as they thought. These village people gave the gifts to Father Crepsi out of love and respect but these local tribes didn’t want outsiders to learn about the ancient site.
Neil Armstrong and his large group of professionals and military men did learn that there was a massive cave system not far away.
Could this be the site where Father Crepsi’s artifacts came from? After a large man-scaled hunt, Neil Armstrong’s group did in fact find a cave system. In this cave system, they did find man-made structures, carved tunnels, rooms, and more. It was an exciting find. Newspapers and magazines wrote about the discoveries and the world thought that the collection of artifacts from this lost civilization would be found. The hunt wasn’t unsuccessful but Neil and his group didn’t find the lost treasure that they were hoping to find.
(Header image: Mosaic uncovered at the Domus Aventino apartment block development. Source: Domus Aventino)
Rome is a place where many archaeological treasures and remains continue to be found. The latest discovery is a luxury villa with many remarkable artifacts and spectacular mosaics. This luxury Roman villa is providing us with new insights into how the elite in Rome lived up to 2000 years ago.
The villa — dubbed ‘Domus Aventino’ — is located at the foot of the Aventine Hill. A region of the city occupied by the regular citizenry (or ‘plebeians’) during the Roman republic, the area became home to the wealthy patricians in the time of the empire, when the villa would have been built. It was located close to the Circus Maximus, as well as a port on the River Tiber
From the discoveries made at this site, we can certainly say that the Roman elite lived in opulence. The domus was found at the foot of the famous Aventine Hill in central Rome in 2015. Originally, this hill was inhabited by poor people, but by the reign of Agustus was where the Roman elite, including senators, made their home, and it’s “not far from the Circus Maximus,” reports Wanted in Rome.
The Aventine Hill, where the Roman luxury villa was discovered in 2015, as seen from the Palatine Hill in central Rome. (Walter T Crane /Public Domain)
Ancient Luxury Roman Villa Found In The Heart of Modern Rome
The Roman luxury villa was uncovered, completely by chance, during the earthquake proofing of a 1950s building in central Rome. Archaeologists found a large villa that had been occupied for several generations at the foot of a modern condominium. Their work continued even while a new 180-apartment development rose-up around the archaeological site.
Forbes reports that “The dig revealed six different strata of historical remains, ranging from 8th century BC to 3rd century AD.” This time period stretches from the birth of Rome to the peak of Imperial Roman Power. Among the most important finds were the remains of an 8th century BC stone tower. The Daily Mail reports that “Excavations also revealed a defensive wall from the time of the Roman republic (509–27 BC).” These findings are helping researchers to better understand the topography of Rome in ancient times.
Remains of the upper-class Roman luxury villa unearthed by archaeologists in central Rome. (Domus Aventino)
Ancient Roman Villa: A Lavish Home Full Of Treasures
The ancient Roman villa, which would have been known as a domus, was once a sumptuous residence that included many artifacts and wonderful mosaics in its series of rooms. Based on this evidence, “archaeologists believe that the domus belonged to a ‘person of power’,” reports Wanted in Rome. The owners may have been members of the senatorial order because the villa was so luxurious. Daniela Porro, an archaeologist and official who works for the Italian capital, told Forbes that the family who lived here were “probably linked to the imperial family.”
Rome: An Archaeological Jewel At Every Level
Since its discovery in 2015, the archaeologists have unearthed a treasure trove of artifacts in this Roman luxury villa. Among the finds were a hammer, lamps, needles, hairpins, and lacquered bowls decorated with figures from Greek mythology. Also found was a vessel that contained garum fish sauce, which was a delicacy extremely popular with the Roman elite. These finds show that the Roman elite had a very high standard of living.
Though the remains of some great frescoes were also found in the villa, its mosaics are considered to be especially spectacular. The mosaic sections were laid down over a period of two hundred years, beginning in first century AD. The Daily Telegraph quoted Mr. Porro as saying that “Rome never ceases to surprise us. It’s an archaeological jewel.”
The frescoes and mosaics discovered in the ancient Roman villa are considered to be among the finest ever found. (Domus Aventino)
Spectacular Mosaics In The Luxury Villa Tell Us A Lot
The mosaics unearthed in the Roman luxury villa were made in the style known as “black and white” because they are almost entirely made from black and white stone cubes. They consist of thousands of tiny cube-shaped stones that are known as tesserae. Black and white mosaics were popular from the 1st century AD onward and have been found all over Italy and beyond. One of the villa’s black and white mosaics has a small section depicting a colorful green parrot. Another one shows a grapevine growing out of a pot.
One of the surface artworks found in the villa was very unusual. It consisted of a series of figure of eight patterns. Robert Narducci, who took part in the villa excavation process is quoted by the Daily Mail as stating that “We’ve not seen it before,” in reference to the figure of eight pattern. At least one of the black and white mosaics contains a Latin inscription. These mosaics would not have been laid down solely for decorative purposes: they were intended to express the splendor and power of the owner of the villa and his family to the wider community.
The Ancient Roman Luxury Villa Is Now An Underground Museum
The elite Roman luxury villa and its artworks have recently been turned into a subterranean museum. To reach the museum, visitors have to enter the newly built apartment complex and go down a staircase. Anselmo De Titta, a senior director with the company that owns the new apartment building told the Daily Mail that “It’s quite a challenge to allow access to the site while protecting the privacy of the condominium’s residents.”
Entrance to Villa
Video projections have been added to the museum’s attractions to enhance the experience. “The walls of the space now enclosing the villa are illuminated with video projections of a Roman senator and his wife walking amid marble busts and ornate furnishings,” according to the Daily Mail. Initially, the villa and its mosaics will be opened two days a month, but if they prove popular, the opening hours will be extended.
I came across this list the other day: The funniest Town Name in Each State by mentalfloss.com The list was posted in 2017, so hopefully the towns are still there!
1. ALABAMA // SCREAMER
2. ALASKA // UNALASKA
3. ARIZONA // WHY
4. ARKANSAS // SMACKOVER
5. CALIFORNIA // ROUGH AND READY
6. COLORADO // NO NAME
7. CONNECTICUT // HAZARDVILLE
8. DELAWARE // CORNER KETCH
9. FLORIDA // TWO EGG
10. GEORGIA // CLIMAX
11. HAWAII // VOLCANO
12. IDAHO // SLICKPOO
13. ILLINOIS // SANDWICH
14. INDIANA // SANTA CLAUS
15. IOWA // WHAT CHEER
16. KANSAS // GAS
17. KENTUCKY // BUGTUSSLE
18. LOUISIANA // UNEEDUS
19. MAINE // BURNT PORCUPINE
20. MARYLAND // BORING
21. MASSACHUSETTS // BELCHERTOWN
22. MICHIGAN // HELL
23. MINNESOTA // NIMROD
24. MISSISSIPPI // HOT COFFEE
25. MISSOURI // TIGHTWAD
26. MONTANA // PRAY
27. NEBRASKA // MAGNET
28. NEVADA // JIGGS
29. NEW HAMPSHIRE // SANDWICH
30. NEW JERSEY // LOVELADIES
31. NEW MEXICO // CANDY KITCHEN
32. NEW YORK // NEVERSINK
33. NORTH CAROLINA // WHYNOT
34. NORTH DAKOTA // CANNON BALL
35. OHIO // KNOCKEMSTIFF
36. OKLAHOMA // GENE AUTRY
37. OREGON // ZIGZAG
38. PENNSYLVANIA // INTERCOURSE
39. RHODE ISLAND // WOONSOCKET
40. SOUTH CAROLINA // KETCHUPTOWN
41. SOUTH DAKOTA // MUD BUTTE
42. TENNESSEE // DIFFICULT
43. TEXAS // DING DONG
44. UTAH // MEXICAN HAT
45. VERMONT // SATANS KINGDOM
46. VIRGINIA // BUMPASS
47. WASHINGTON // HUMPTULIPS
48. WEST VIRGINIA // LICK FORK
49. WISCONSIN // BOSSTOWN
50. WYOMING // CHUGWATER
Pat’s Note: I have been to Intercourse, PA…it’s not far from Blue Ball…have we got a sense of humor in PA or what?
(I have edited this a bit – go to the link for the entire true story.)
Charlotte Holmes, who has lived with Danny in Mammoth for 48 years, was admitted to Cox South Hospital in Springfield after she went for a routine checkup with her cardiologist and was sent directly to the hospital when her blood pressure spiked at 234 / 134.
Charlotte Holms
“I’ve always had trouble with my blood pressure, and I’ve been in the hospital two or three times before when they put me on IV medication to bring it down,” she said. “That time, in September, I’d been there three days, and I was hooked up to all the heart monitors. They had just given me a sponge bath in my bed, and they were putting a clean hospital gown on me when it happened. I can’t remember anything about that moment, but Danny said I just fell over, and one of the nurses said, ‘Oh my gosh. She’s not breathing.”
Danny told her later that her eyes were wide open, and she seemed to be staring. The nurse ran out of the room, and called a code, bringing a crowd of medical personnel rushing into the room. One got up on the bed and began the chest compressions. That was the moment, Charlotte said, when “I came out above my body. I was looking down on everything. I could see them working on me on the bed. I could see Danny standing in the corner.”
Stock picture
And then came the wonderful fragrance. “The most beautiful, wonderful smell, like nothing I’d ever smelled before. I’m a flower person; I love flowers, and there were these flowers that had this fragrance you can’t even imagine,” she said.
The flowers were part of a scene that suddenly unfolded before her. “God took me to a place beyond anything I could ever have imagined,” she said. “I opened my eyes, and I was in awe. There were waterfalls, creeks, hills, gorgeous scenery. And there was the most beautiful music, like angels singing and people singing with them, so soothing. The grass and trees and flowers were swaying in time with the music.”
Then she saw the angels. “There were several angels, but these were humongous, and their wings were iridescent. They would take one wing and fan it out, and I could feel the wind on my face from the angels’ wings,” she said. “You know, we’ve all imagined what heaven will be like. But this … this was a million times more than anything I could have imagined,” Charlotte said. “I was in awe.”
Then she saw “the golden gates, and beyond them, standing there smiling and waving at me, were my mom and dad and sister.”
Charlotte’s mother, Mabel Willbanks, was 56 when she died of a heart attack. Charlotte’s sister Wanda Carter had been 60-something when she too had a heart attack and died in her sleep. Her dad, Hershel Willbanks, had lived into his 80s but then died “a very sad death” due to lung problems, she said. But there they were, smiling out at her from just beyond the golden gates, looking happy and healthy. “They had no glasses, and they looked like they were in their 40s. They were so excited to see me,” Charlotte said.
Her cousin Darrell Willbanks, who’d been like a brother to her, was there too. Darrell had lost a leg before he died of heart problems. But there he was, standing on two good legs and happily waving at her.
A blindingly bright light streamed from behind her loved ones and the huge crowd of people standing with them. Charlotte is sure the light was God. She was turning her head away to save her eyes – the light was so bright – when something else caught her eye. It was a little boy, a toddler. “He stood there in front of my mom and dad,” she said.
For a moment, Charlotte was confused. Whose boy was that? she wondered. But as soon as the question came into her mind, she felt God answering it. It was her and Danny’s son, the baby she had miscarried nearly 40 years ago when she was five and a half months pregnant.
“Back then, they didn’t let you hold the baby or bury it when you miscarried that far along. They just held him up and said, ‘It’s a little boy.’ And that was all. It was over. I went through a long, deep depression after that miscarriage, wishing I could have held him,” she said. Seeing her little son standing with her parents, she said, “I couldn’t wait to hold him. I had missed that.”
It was all so wonderful, heaven was. And, from beyond the golden gates, she felt God saying, “Welcome home.”
“But then, I turned my head away from that bright light again and looked behind me. And there were Danny and Chrystal and Brody and Shai,” she said referring to her and Danny’s daughter Chrystal Meek and her adults kids Brody and Shai. “They were crying, and it broke my heart. We know that in heaven there is no sorrow, but I hadn’t walked through the gates. I wasn’t there yet. I thought how I wanted to see Shai get married and Brody get married to make sure they were OK.”
At that moment she felt God telling her she had a choice. “You can stay home, or you can go back. But if you go back, you have to tell your story. You have to explain what you’ve seen and tell my message, and that message is that I’m coming soon for my church, my bride,” Charlotte said.
About that time, as Danny was watching the emergency responders continue the chest compressions, he heard one of them ask, “Paddles?” apparently referring to an electro-shock defibrillator.
He heard the person in charge answer no and instead order some kind of shot. “And then he said a guy comes running in, and they give me the shot, and he could see on the monitors that my blood pressure was going down,” Charlotte said. And then, Danny told her afterward, he saw one of Charlotte’s eyes blink, “and I knew you were coming back to me.” Charlotte had been dead 11 minutes.
When she came to, she started to cry. Danny asked her, “Mama, are you hurting?” Charlotte shook her head no. And then she asked him, “Did you smell those flowers?” Danny had messaged Chrystal the moment Charlotte had stopped breathing, and Chrystal had rounded up her kids and they all rushed to Springfield, arriving at Charlotte’s side just as she was being taken to ICU. When she saw Chrystal coming toward her, the first thing Charlotte said to her was, “Did you smell the flowers?”
Chrystal turned to her dad and said, “Huh?” Danny shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “She keeps saying she smelled flowers.”
Charlotte was in the hospital another couple of weeks, and during that time, “I couldn’t stop talking about it. I’ve got this burning in my life and my soul. I got to see something so amazing, and I’ve just got to tell people about it. Heaven is a million times better than you can imagine. I stop people in the grocery store. I even stopped my mailman and told him. I’m not bashful. I want to share this story wherever I can.”
When she was in heaven, she felt God telling her that, when she went back, she would see angels. “And just in the last month, I’ve started seeing them. I can see people’s guardian angels behind them,” she said.
Charlotte has always been a devout Christian. She and Danny are part of the band that provides the music at Mammoth Assembly of God. “But now, more than anything, my favorite thing to do is pray with people. Danny even built me a prayer closet. He knows if he wakes up at 3 a.m. and I’m gone, that’s where I am. It’s so important to me, and in doing this, I’ve heard from so many other people with their testimony.”
(Caption: Charlotte Holmes, center, and granddaughter Shai Meek, left, delivered Christmas cookies Wednesday to Century Bank of the Ozarks, where employee Lowana Collins accepted the treats from Gainesville Health Care Center. Times photo/Norene Prososki
Charlotte has told her story at several churches and meetings of other groups in the area. “I just can’t keep from talking about it. And there’s so much more to the story. I don’t want people to think I’m crazy – well, I don’t care if they think I’m crazy. I know what the Lord showed me, and I can’t quit saying how wonderful and merciful God is,” she said.
Eerie Pennsylvania is not about Lake Erie, or the town or the county either. Instead it refers to the WEIRD stuff found IN Pennsylvania. And trust me, there’s some weird stuff! ( I’m saving the creepy, spooky stuff for October though!)
The Haines Shoe House in York
The giant Haines Shoe House
Without a doubt, one of the strangest and most popular roadside attractions in PA has to be the Haines Shoe House. Located along Route 30 east of York, the Shoe House has been drawing curious stares since it was completed in 1949. The Shoe House was built as an advertisement for a local shoe company and never served as more than a temporary residence. Today, it is open for tours, which offer the chance to learn more about this amazing oddity.
Whistler’s Mother Statue in Ashland
Enchanting, isn’t she?
Located in Ashland, PA, which is better known as the gateway to Centralia and the home of the Pioneer Coal Mining Tour, the Whistler’s Mother Statue is well worth a quick stop. Known officially as the Mother’s Memorial, it was designed to appear like like 1871 painting “Arrangement in Grey and Black: Portrait of the Painter’s Mother” by artist James McNeil Whistler. The statue was completed in 1938 by the Ashland Boys Association to honor the mothers of the world. The statue is very stark and appears rather humorless and severe, which is quite different from how we typically picture mothers today. The phrase “A mother is the holiest living thing” appears on the statue. It claims to be the only statue dedicated to all mothers in the country.
Flying Saucer in Mars
With a name like Mars, you gotta have a flying saucer somewhere in town!
A miniature flying saucer might seem out of place in western Pennsylvania, but when the town’s name is Mars, it almost seems logical. That’s right, in a small park in the center of Mars, Pennsylvania, is a small UFO statue. The flying saucer stands three feet tall and is six feet around. But what it lacks in imposing height or intergalactic history, it certainly makes up for in humorous curiosity. While visiting the town, take a few minutes to walk around and notice some of the humorous Mars stores, such as “Mars Travel” or “Mars National Bank.” The Flying Saucer in Mars, Pennsylvania, is located at 100 Pittsburgh St., Mars, PA 16046.
The Reading Pagoda in Reading
The Reading Pagoda is a beautiful and odd spot in eastern PA. Located high atop a hillside above Reading, Pennsylvania is a curious sight. The Reading Pagoda is a Japanese-style pagoda that was built at the beginning of the 20th century and was planned to be one part of a resort that would site on the top of Mount Penn. However, the rest of the resort never came to be. While the Reading Pagoda can be seen from throughout the valley below, you can also drive right up to it and enjoy breathtaking views of the surrounding area. Visiting in the evening offers the chance to see this amazing spot lit up at night.
Sherman Memorial Lighthouse in Tionesta
Towering above the small borough of Tionesta, in the middle of Forest County, rises the Sherman Memorial Lighthouse which serves absolutely no significant purpose. In fact, the lighthouse is located roughly 60 miles from the closest navigable body of water, Lake Erie. The 75-foot tall lighthouse was completed in 2004 and was built by local Jack Sherman as a memorial to his family and to hold his large collection of miniature lighthouses.
The Giant Cowboy
If you are driving along Route 422 just east of Kittanning, you can’t miss another roadside oddity in Pennsylvania: the Giant Cowboy. Located outside of the Cadet Restaurant since 1962, this 30-foot cowboy known as Sam welcomes guests with a giant hamburger in his right hand. Interestingly, Sam was one of many characters made from the same mold in the 1960s. The first was a Paul Bunyan statue that was placed in Flagstaff, Arizona. The statues would be commonly seen outside of car shops holding a muffler and became known as a “Muffler Man.” The Giant Cowboy can be found outside the Cadet Restaurant at the following address: 13514 US-422, Kittanning, PA 16201.
Schaefer’s Auto Art
Schaefer’s Auto Art is located a few minutes south of downtown Erie and is the work of local artist Richard Schaefer. Schaefer uses old cars to create interesting sculptures that are well worth taking the time to see. In the front yard of his house, visitors can see everything from a giant bumblebee to a rocket and a two-headed dinosaur. Visitors are welcome to park and walk amongst these strange, but quite awesome creations. Schaefer’s Auto Art is located at 3705 Hershey Rd, Erie, PA 16506.
The Statue of a Hooded Man on the Gallows
The Statue of a Hooded Man on the Gallows is located in the heart of Mahanoy City and pays tribute to the Molly Maguires. The Molly Maguires were comprised of Irish immigrants that worked in the anthracite coal mines in northeastern PA. In the 1870s, there are labor issues in the mines that threatened to upend the systems that had been created. Whether the Molly Maguires were a real secret society or more of a boogeyman, at least 20 miners were hung in Schuylkill County between 1877 and 1879 for crimes associated with the group. This statue, which is somewhat hidden behind a stone wall (presumably because of the subject matter), is a sad reminder of this history. The statue can be seen at 212 W Centre St, Mahanoy City, PA 17948.
The Pioneer Woman and Child Statue
Without a doubt, the Pioneer Woman and Child Statue in Frackville is one of the strangest roadside oddities in Pennsylvania. Located just off of I-81 in Frackville, the statue consists of a 15-foot tall mom in pioneer clothing being clutched by her daughter. While the subject is certainly nice, the actual statue is somewhat disturbing. The large mom is clutching a pie and has a rather odd look on her face. No matter how strange she is, however, it’s nothing compared to her daughter. Standing about half as tall as the mother statue, the daughter is clutching her mother’s leg and holding a giant decapitated doll. The strangest part, however, is the daughter’s head, which would be more appropriate looking on the statue of a middle-aged man. This is simply an odd statue that seems totally out of place in the middle of Pennsylvania’s coal country.The Pioneer Woman and Child Statue stands next to the closed Granny’s Restaurant at 115 W Coal St, Frackville, PA 17931.
Every day at 11am, the five Peabody Hotel ducks leave their “Royal Duck Palace” on the hotel’s roof and waddle to the elevator. They ride the elevator 12 floors down to the lobby where they walk single file down a red carpet lined with adoring guests. Then they hop into the fountain where they will stay until 5 pm when the whole process occurs in reverse.
The tradition began back in the 1930s when Frank Shutt, General Manager of The Peabody, in Memphis, and a friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a weekend hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had a little too much Tennessee sippin’ whiskey, and thought it would be funny to place some of their live duck decoys (it was legal then for hunters to use live decoys) in the beautiful Peabody fountain. Three small English call ducks were selected as “guinea pigs,” and the reaction was nothing short of enthusiastic.
In 1940, Bellman Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer, offered to help with delivering the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the now-famous Peabody Duck March. Mr. Pembroke became Peabody Duckmaster, serving in that capacity for 50 years until his retirement in 1991.
Kenon Walker, a current duckmaster, describes his duties and activities:
“Every three months, we rotate our ducks and release the current group to live on a nearby farm. The first marches of the new team happen in front of everybody. I try to line the red carpet with people all the way from the elevator to the fountain so they form a human tunnel; otherwise, I get a lot of cardio. I’ve literally had to chase ducks into the gift shop, behind the bar, and out to the valet stand. After about two weeks, they get accustomed to it.”
“The $200,000 marble Royal Duck Palace on the hotel’s rooftop has a glass wall that gives the mallards gorgeous downtown views. They even have their own miniature Peabody Hotel replica to crawl inside for a nap. On weekends, the hotel sets up a bar next to the Palace so guests can sip cocktails and watch the ducks at sunset.”
the Royal Duck Palace on the roof
“I feed the ducks scratch grains from a silver platter twice a day. The hotel has a French restaurant, but we don’t serve any duck in the hotel. Ours might be the only French restaurant in the world that does not have duck on the menu.”
From The Peabody’s own website: 10 Fun Duck Facts
1. Ducks were not the first residents of The Peabody’s lobby fountain. Rumor has it that turtles and baby alligators each briefly graced the fountain in the 1920s.
2. The Peabody Ducks are five North American mallards – one drake (male) with a white collar and green head and four hens (females) with less colorful plumage.
3. Duck is not served anywhere at The Peabody and has not been seen on the hotel’s menus since its 1981 reopening, quite possibly making Chez Philippe the only French restaurant in the world that does not offer duck.
4. The Peabody Ducks do not have individual names. However, the very first team of ducks were Peabody, Gayoso and Chisca – named for the three hotels owned by the Memphis Hotel Company in 1933.
5. When off-duty, the ducks live in their Royal Duck Palace on the hotel’s rooftop. The $200,000 structure is made of marble and glass and features its very own fountain with a bronze duck spitting water. It also includes a small house – a replica of the hotel – where the ducks can nest with a soft, grassy”front yard.”
6. The Peabody Marching Ducks have appeared on “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” “Sesame Street” when Bert and Ernie celebrated Rubber Ducky Day, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and in People magazine and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
7. The Peabody Ducks have been a question on the TV game show “Jeopardy” and in the board game Trivial Pursuit.
8. Original Duckmaster Edward Pembroke held the position for 50 years.
9. Raised by a local farmer and a friend of the hotel, each team of Peabody Ducks lives at the hotel for only three months before retiring from their duty and returning to the farm, where they are free to live as wild ducks. With a return to the great outdoors in mind, the hotel recognizes its resident waterfowl as wild animals and does not domesticate them or treat them like pets.
10. The Peabody Ducks are mentioned in the 1999 Jimmy Buffet song “Math Sucks” in a line that says “quackin’ like those Peabody ducks.”
***I will be away for a few days and Filly will be in and out. See you soon!***
Open THIS box and remove the turnovers from the package and bake as directed. (These cannot be improved upon without much fanfare and mess! I know, I’ve tried!)
Step 3
When the turnovers have finished baking and are cooling, prepare a simple drizzle icing. I use powdered sugar (start with a cup and experiment) and a teaspoon of water at a time–mixing well before adding more water. (If you use too much water, the icing will just run off the turnovers and be wasted.) If the icing does get too runny, add a little more powdered sugar. When you get the consistency you desire, drizzle it over the turnovers. Enjoy!
Variations:
“Work smarter, not harder.”
Scrooge McDuck
BON APPETIT!!
***I will be away for a few days and Filly will be in and out. See you soon!***
Sew Colorful 