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In the spring of 1967 record producer extraordinaire Jerry Wexler brought Aretha Franklin to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record a single at FAME Studios. After recording the song, “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)”, FAME’s owner and head producer Rick Hall got into a fist fight…
Read moreEven before the newspaper story, even before anyone reported it, a man named Urban Raef awoke in the middle of the night with a foul odor in his nostrils. It was so awful it made him sick. He stumbled into the bathroom and vomited until he was weak. His wife,…
Read moreOn the night of October 9th, 1871 sailors on the deck of the schooner C.I. Hutchison two miles off the coast of Wisconsin in Lake Michigan saw something incredible. Wind driven cinders fell from the sky, setting the boat’s rigging on fire. Five miles further out, flaming roof shingles landed…
Read moreThe smell was something awful. It wafted in on the breeze, making the members of Mrs. Moore’s bridge party curl up their lips and comment on it. Mrs. Moore phoned Monnie Bliss, the owner of Blisswood Cabins and asked him to check into it. Monnie tracked down the smell. It…
Read moreIn 1995 the richest casino in the world was not located in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. It was located in Ledyard, CT. Foxwoods Resort Casino operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Indian tribe enjoyed gross earnings exceeding $1 billion, with net earnings in excess of $300 million. Because it was…
Read moreCrime of the century? The words conjure up thoughts of a single shocking offense, a crime so appalling it stands out above all the others. But in fact, many crimes have been labeled as such. The O.J. Simpson case (1994), the Patty Hearst kidnapping (1974), the Manson murders (1969), and…
Read moreWhen I first learned of the ghost towns of New Jersey, I could hardly believe it. How could a state with more than 1,200 people per square mile have ghost towns in it? In New Jersey there are people everywhere. And the traffic? Hell, you can’t even make a left…
Read moreFor those of us who enjoy classic television, few shows hold such a warm place in our hearts as The Andy Griffith Show. Running for eight seasons between 1960 and 1968, the show about Sheriff Andy Taylor and the good people of Mayberry had something few other shows could match,…
Read moreFor three months in the spring and summer of 1993 rain pounded the Mississippi River basin relentlessly. From Minnesota to Missouri, rivers were out of their banks. Engorged tributaries carried flood waters into the Mississippi. The great river rose steadily. By July 13th the river was fifteen feet above flood…
Read moreIn early autumn of 1903, something bizarre and terrifying happened in the town of Van Meter, Iowa. People have been talking about it ever since. On the night of September 29th a farm implement salesman named U.G. Griffith was returning late from his rounds when he saw something odd. It…
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