What Was Lost? What Can We Still Learn?

In the movement west, European-Americans found strange and mysterious earthen mounds - some of awesome size - and reflecting a great amount of communal cooperation and common purpose.  The often migratory, hunter-gatherer populations of the East, Southeast, and Middle regions seemed removed from what were clearly a more urban minded people.   Using a mindset that equated cultural development solely with specific types of society, they often dismissed any connections, could not accept that social history could be anything but linear, and  devalued anything not meeting preconceptions of an "important" or "civilized" society.

As a result, although many early and large earthen works or "mounds" were  recognized, protected, and preserved, many others were grazed, robbed, and otherwise destroyed.  Valuable information about the earliest community activities in North America were lost without study, record, or concern.  Some questions will never be answered about migration patterns, materials, methods, and relationships because valuable data was lost in the hurry to find mythical "treasure."   The lessons of the Spiro Mounds Archaeological Park in Spiro, Oklahoma are worth noting.  Hailed as an American "King Tut's Tomb" - not for its gold but for its rare information on early occupation.  Yet, it was nearly destroyed, robbed of its information, its contents desecrated with cruel abandon.

For most of the mound building cultures, these earthen works were part of sacred rituals of burial, death, and beliefs in the afterlife.  Archaeologists were seen as 'tomb robbers' and their actions synonymous with going to the local graveyard to dig  up a loved relative.  In most cases, you see, the occupants did not disappear but are connected to various groups who continued to develop and evolve as revealed through customs, linguistics, DNA, and cultural stories.  It was often seen as personal affront and sacrilege of sacred spaces and disturbances of final resting places. 

Spiro Mounds is the gem in Oklahoma but other sites stretch from the Canadian border to Middle America; from the Virginia hills to central plains.

What remains a mystery, however, is how these early groups functioned, what they believed, and how they might have related to other people groups.  These may never be fully answered due to the wanton destruction of some of these sites across the continent.  Their artistic style was as unique to other Native American art as Etruscan art was to Roman art.  They offer a rare glimpse into a more full understanding of human occupation and the connections and cultures of ancient humans.

In the assumptions about social development, definitions of civilizations, cultural superiority and prejudice rare pieces of history were lost - perhaps forever. As new theories of migrations,  multiple approaches to settlement, and new evidence continues to come to light pushing further and further our understanding of time lines and influences, what might yet still be there to be learned and what was lost?

AWFUL, MORBID, GRUESOME

No, not the National Press Club. These are terms used in the newspapers of early Oklahoma City to describe a serious of awful finds in the city dump. "Mountains of mangled flesh" or bodies most "dreadfully abused and mutilated." People pondered often in the midnight dreary what monster walked among them. Not even twenty years past the dreadful "Jack the Ripper" crimes of London Town - there was much for the imagination to contemplate. One story told of the finding of a small infant whose tiny body had been horribly "mutilated" by skilled hands and then the tiny body tossed on the "ash heap." One headline questioned what awful ghouls were prowling the gas lit streets of the new capital? The slasher in this morbid tale was none other than the local medical school, Epworth College. Or, to be more precise, the janitor of the facility. It seems that he had simply taken the discard body parts, bloody cloth, tumor removals and even corpses used in practice dissections, to the local city dump.   

WHO WAS VIVIA THOMAS?

One of the longest and most intriguing tales of the Sooner state involves a woman who masqueraded as a man.  Various versions have been shared but all have the same basic tale:

"One of the most interesting stories associated with Fort Gibson National Cemetery is the tale of Vivia Thomas. Legend has it this high-spirited daughter of a wealthy Boston family met and fell in love with a handsome young lieutenant at a ball following the Civil War. After several months of courtship, they announced their engagement, but shortly before the wedding he left, leaving only a note that he desired to go West in search of adventure. Broken-hearted and bitter over the abandonment, Thomas went in search of her lover. After learning that he was stationed at Fort Gibson, she set off on a journey of revenge. She cut her hair, dressed in men’s clothing and joined the Army. The disguise worked, as the former fiancé did not recognize her. One night as he was returning from a visit with his Native American girlfriend, she ambushed and killed him. Despite an intense investigation, the murder went undiscovered. However, Thomas grew remorseful and began to visit his grave late at night. Eventually she contracted pneumonia from the continued exposure to the cold and collapsed near his grave, dying a few days later. Rather than condemning her actions, her army colleagues were so impressed with her courage in coming alone to the frontier and carrying out a successful disguise that they awarded her a place of honor for burial in the officer’s circle." (http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftgibson.asp)  Her grave is  in Section OC Grave 2119.


Of course, in such a ceremony all are notable by their service, their valor, or their leadership.  If you pause to find Vivia, stay long enough to tip the head to :


"Medal of Honor Recipients
Private First Class John N. Reese Jr., (World War II), U.S. Army, Company B, 148th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division. Paco Railroad Station, Manila, Philippine Islands, Feb. 9, 1945 (Section 2, Grave 1259-E).
First Lieutenant Jack C. Montgomery, (World War II), U.S. Army, 45th Division. Padiglione, Italy, Feb. 22, 1944 (Section 20, Grave 963).

Others
Talahina Rogers - Cherokee wife of General Sam Houston - Section OC, Grave 2467
Captain John P. Decatur - Section OC Grave 2101
Major Joel Elliot - Section OC Grave 2233
Nelson P. Fonseca - Section 14 Grave 675" (ibid.)

But - who was she?  She is listed in the Post Cemetery Records for Fort Gibson, Indian Territory showing a death date of January 7, 1870. (Ancestry.com. U.S. Military Burial Registers, 1768-1921[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.  Original data: Burial Registers for Military Posts, Camps, and Stations, 1768-1921; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M2014, 1 roll); Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92; National Archives, Washington, D.C.)  No other identifying information is indicated in the record.   


There are other deaths without such details and that appeared to be the standard practice for those considered non-military.  So that leaves her place of burial to offer clues as to  
the truth of the basic story and the strength of the legend to stand the test of time.

MAY THEY REST IN PEACE: Another Urban Legend Bites the Dust - UPDATE

The cemetery has now been opened, the final graves appear to all be gone, and only the memories of those who lived, died, and grieved there remain.  The city park has expanded, walking trails go past the old cloistered corner with its sentinals of scraggly pines.  If you walk or run in the area, slow down and remember those who once rested there.
For many years, an urban legend floated among community members that the cemetery on the northwest corner of the Eldon Lion's Park in Bethany had to be haunted - it was overgrown, shady, and secretive. It looked the part.   It was the cemetery associated with the St. Joseph's Children' Home.  Bizarre tales emerged fed as much by anti-catholic sentiment as any real fact; but some times in perpetuating urban legends that is enough.  Recent televised explorations of sanitariums in Kentucky and Ohio have added a new word to the lexicon of urban legends.   The term 'death tunnel' is spoken  in hushed sounds as if nefarious acts were to be associated with such a feature of an institution.  Thee truth is less attractive and far more practical.  In some settings such a hidden avenue for the removal of the dead was a necessity.  It provided them some last privacy and, in settings such as hospitals and orphan care facilities, some protection to those who resided in the facility as well.  It was also very practical when the location was one where long winters or protracted rainy seasons might preclude being able to bury a body in a timely manner.  There is some indications that such a feature was at the Bethany location, according to sources who wish to remain anonymous.  However, long before the facility closed, it was sealed shut and had not been used in decades.  The people who had been buried there - the orphans who had died of fevers, the nuns of old age, and the older people who had come there to end their days - were respectfully interred.  When the facility closed, the nuns and priests buried there were transferred to another burial site.  If any graves remain in the tiny shady corner, let them rest in peace.   As you pass, whisper a tiny prayer and grant them respect and dignity.

St. Joseph's Children Home, Bethany, Oklahoma

Top image is late 1960's shortly before it closed at the Bethany location.

The sport fields between Route 66 and the front of the institution, as they appeared in the 1940's.

St. Joseph's Children Home, Bethany, Oklahoma c1927

n is top

St. Joseph's Children Home, Bethany, Oklahoma c1912

THE ORPHANAGE ON THE HILL

THE SAINT JOSEPH CHILDREN’S HOME

A Brief History based on an entry in the Bethany Centennial History Book (2009)

By

Marilyn A. Hudson

Just three years after Oklahoma statehood, 27 ½ acres of land were purchased to create the “St. Joseph Orphanage Asylum and Industrial School.”  The land was excellently situated near the half-way point of the new “El Reno Interurban” rail line connecting Oklahoma City and Yukon. With 60 acres by 1913, early promoters noted the gardens, truck produce, farming, and livestock of the orphanage would advertise the rich farming potential of the area.[1]  The facility grew to include various tracts of land and included   the “north farm” where the present day St. Francis Center for Christian Renewal and Resurrection Cemetery are located.

Overseeing this scale of a charitable endeavor in the Roman Catholic Church of Oklahoma required strong leaders.  The Very Rev. Bernard Mutsaers, James Maney, and His Excellency the Right Rev. Theophile Meerschaert, Oklahoma’s first Bishop, proved to be those leaders. The Rev. John M. Kekeisen, late of Newkirk, assumed the position of first director of the orphanage. Other Directors were Fathers P.P. Schaeffer, James Garvey, and A.A. Isenbart.[2]

On August 1, 1912, Sister Mary Scholastica, Superior, and Sisters Mary Anthony. Mary Raphael, Mary Ambrose, all Sisters of Mercy, arrived to receive the children. On October 6, 1912, Bishop Meerschar performed a solemn service of blessing celebrating the new facility.

In 1921, Father P.P. Schaeffer, foresaw a need for infant and elderly care.  The Article of Incorporation at that time to “St. Joseph’s Orphanage and Home for the Aged.”  Father Garvey, starting in 1928, used a popular annual parish picnic to raise funds to reduce the orphanage indebtedness. The result was that by 1934 the mortgage on the orphanage was fulfilled.

Over the years, the large brick building set on a gentle knoll, saw a gymnasium added, a chapel, and classrooms.  It was central to many of the charities of its day for Catholics in Oklahoma and the people they helped.  The history of the Oklahoma Catholic Charities also begins at St. Joseph, as they were headquartered at the orphanage until 1926.

Over the next sixty years, the orphanage would see many changes in its structure, outreach, and workers.  More than seven orders of women religious served there (Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of the Blessed Carmelites, Benedictines, Missionary Sisters of the Most Blessed Trinity, Sisters of St. Joseph, and the Divine Providence Sisters)[3].  

In 1965, the Children’s Home relocated to an area off Eastern Avenue in NE Oklahoma City with a modern set of dormitories, cafeteria, and chapel.[4]  Changes in society were making orphanages less common[5]. In 1973, however, the original facility, empty for three years, sold to become the general offices of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church.[6]

From its opening in 1912 to 1955, St. Joseph provided care for some 5,000 children.[7]   Many were like the child a Sister Providentia recalled.   A tiny girl, neglected by her family, asked the Sister if it was true they “really received three meals a day…”[8]  Happily, the St. Joseph Orphanage could and did provide three meals and much more.

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[1] “Orphanage plans more buildings” Daily Oklahoman. 4/14/1912; special thanks to James Weinmann , Heritage Room Director, Catholic Pastoral Center, Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

[2] “Diocesan Charities Office Has Cared for Thousands.” Southwester Courier: Golden Jubilee, n.d., pg. 96-97.

[3] “St. Joseph’s Children’s Home.” The Sooner Catholic. Sunday, Sept. 5, 1976.

[4] “Empty Orphanage a Tranquil Store of Memory.” Daily Oklahoman. (5/27/1973, pg. 22).

[5]  “Necessity for Orphanages has virtually disappeared.”  Daily Oklahoman (12/26/1974), pg. 87).

[6] “Church to move headquarters to City.”  Daily Oklahoman (8/7/1973, pg. 11).

[7] Quoted in “St. Joseph’s Children’s Home”. Sooner  Catholic, Sunday, Sept. 5,1976.; “Empty Orphanage a Tranquil Store of Memory.” Daily Oklahoman.  (5/27/1973, pg. 22).

[8] St. Joseph’s Children’s Home.” The Sooner Catholic. Sunday, Sept. 5, 1976.

DARK SPRING - Unsolved OKC Murders

Spring times are supposed to be about life and renewal and second chances.  Once upon time in central Oklahoma City the spring was dark and filled with visions to cause nightmares.

The first body parts showed up in April 1, 1976, in an abandoned house at 325 NE 8th in Oklahoma City, utility workers exploring an abandoned house found the head and body parts of a 18 year old Cathy Lyn Shackelford. At the time, however, she was unidentified and was labeled a 'Jane Dow'.   

Fast forward to April 19, 1979 when several grisly discoveries are made between mid-April and the first of May. All around the 300 block NE 10th and 200 block NE 7th in Oklahoma City.  The  second known victim was named Arley Bell Killian.

A strange gap of seven  years followed before another find was made.  On March 6, 1986, the body of   23 year old  Tina Sanders was located at 507 N. Lindsay.  A fourth has been suggested but unverified.

There are interesting similarities which might provide links to similar crimes and bring closure to this cold case. All the women were Native American, they either lived on the streets and/or worked as prostitutes, and were all probably killed within the same one mile radius where their bodies were found. The killings were in the spring, they were not rushed, and due to the ease with which the body parts were created and discarded, the killer had to have been familiar with his surroundings (the Stiles Circle - Lincoln Terrace neighborhood; now generally covered by the Centennial Expressway and the OU Health Science buildings and related structures).  Each body had an incision in the lower lip, massive body mutilation and dismemberment, and certain parts of the bodies were never found.

The chronology of the murders -1976, 1979 and 1986 - indicate there may have been a pattern at work.  Another killing (5) might have occurred in 1982-1983.  Just as possible, however,  the killer could have been in jail, in the military, or out of state on some job during the seven year break.  It is likely other killings, as of yet to be found,  may be fit that pattern.(Oklahoma Cold Cases) It would be atypical for such a killer to have such a long 'cooling off' period but not impossible.

Some suggest that another body was found April 22, 1995 and pulled from missing head, hands and feet, from a shallow grave 50 miles west of the city.   Authorities were said to note 'similarities' in the manner of the dismemberment. (Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes, 2009,p. 291) The time period is shortly after the Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City and that story was the major news for several days and no report was found to confirm that suggestion.

In 1993, the combined efforts of Andra Medina, Sgt. Norma Adams, Norman forensic sculpture Betty Pat Gatliff, and well known Oklahoma based anthropologist , Dr. Clyde Snow brought closure to the first Jane Doe.  DNA identified her as Shackleford ("DNA Tests Identify '76 Slaying Victim". Steve Lackmeyer, Oklahoman, Nov. 30, 1993, pg.1).

There were also some 'interesting' bodies in eastern Oklahoma, not for from the I-40 corridor in Shamrock 1975, Wellston 1985 and Broken Arrow 1989. Also possibly other locations in 1985 and the early 90's.    Body parts or dismembered bodies of young women who apparently went missing unnoticed and unidentified.  The 1960's through the 1990's were especially violent with serial killers springing out of their dank worlds to grab headlines through gory acts: Kemper, Bundy, Rader and so many others.

What happened to the killer? Where did he go?  One notorious killer confessed to some of these deaths but the confessions are considered by most as suspect, the last minute greedy attempt by a sociopath to get attention.  If that is true, then chilling questions remain. When the region was razed by bulldozers and new building rose over the bloody grounds, what secrets were lost?  Are there other victims  out there - somewhere? Victims of this monster who stalked the streets to prey- at leisure -  on women struggling just to survive?

Oral History Collections Highlight Women’s History Month

(March 17, 2011 Stillwater, Okla.) – Great resources for Women’s History Month with an Oklahoma focus are just a click away. The Oklahoma Oral History Research Program (OOHRP) at the Oklahoma State University Library hosts three online digital collections documenting the contributions of women in Oklahoma.

“Gathering oral histories provides an opportunity to pursue answers to questions left silent in what little archival material exists for these women, said Juliana Nykolaiszyn, assistant professor, OOHRP. “We invite you to explore the following websites and meet women who blazed trails, overcame obstacles and continue to inspire a new generation of women in Oklahoma.”

Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oral History Project

http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/owhof/

Since 1982, the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame has recognized women who served as pioneers in their fields, made significant contributions to the state of Oklahoma, championed other women or women’s issues, or served as public policy advocates for the issues important to women. In 2007, the Oklahoma Oral History Research Program at the OSU Library started interviewing inductees of the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame in order to fill a gap in primary source documents concerning women in Oklahoma. This website includes brief biographies, interview transcripts, interview audio, video selections and links to other resources.

Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project

http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/wotol/

During Oklahoma's first 101 years (1907-2008) only 77 women were elected to the Oklahoma Legislature. Forty-six of these remarkable women have now shared their stories as part of the project. Taken individually, these interviews reflect the careers and interests of the legislators; taken collectively they constitute a narrative of the role of women in the Oklahoma Legislature over time. This website includes lesson plans for teachers, transcripts of each interview, downloadable poster of women legislators and links to resources on women and politics.

Dust, Drought, and Dreams Gone Dry: Oklahoma Women and the Dust Bowl

http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/dustbowl/

Prior to the start of this project in 2000, many interviews had been conducted with people who remembered the whirling winds of the 1930s, but they presented a primarily male perspective of this event. Again and again men spoke of their wives and their mothers as being the glue that held their families together during these incredibly hard days. Between 2000 and 2002, the OSU Library located and interviewed more than 100 women individually or in groups about what they recalled from living during the period of 1932 to 1940 in the area of Oklahoma typically identified as the epicenter of the Dust Bowl. This website includes interview transcripts, interview audio, along with a bibliography of the Dust Bowl era.

These oral history collections are projects of the OOHRP. Formally established in 2007, the OOHRP at the OSU Library has collected and preserved firsthand accounts from individuals who have played a part in Oklahoma’s history. The Program explores the lives and contributions of Oklahomans from all walks of life. To learn more about the OOHRP call 405-744-7685, email liboh@okstate.edu, or visit http://www.library.okstate.edu/oralhistory/.

Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant system that cuts across disciplines to better prepare students for success. Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, OSU improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach. OSU has more than 35,000 students across its five-campus system and more than 23,000 on its Stillwater campus, with students from all 50 states and 118 nations. Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 200,000 students who have made a lasting impact on Oklahoma and the world.

Contact: Bonnie Ann Cain, APR

OSU Library

lib-pub@okstate.edu

###

EARLY OKLAHOMA MINING TRAGEDIES

I

In Cheswick, PA in 1904 over 100 men were killed when an explosion ripped through the Hartwick Coal Mine igniting gas and trapping the  miners.

Oklahoma mines tended to fill with gas too and these ' windy tunnels' - exploded from sparks, lamps, and other accidental ignitions.  Roofs collapsed under the strain of thousands of tons of rock and dirt being bored by ax, pick and dynamite (Coal Mining Disasters). 

1892 - Jan. 7, Krebs, I.T. - 100 men killed, 150 injured

1902 - June, Dow, I.T. - 10 killed in the Milby and Dow Company Mine.

1906 - Jan., Poteau, I.T. -  14 men killed

1908 - Aug, Haileyville, OK - 31 miners die in coal mine fire Mine #1 near McAlester in eastern Oklahoma

1910 - April 1 - 6 men die in Great Western Mine # 2

1910 - Oct 19 - Buck, OK - 2 men killed in #6 mine (*)

1912 - Feb. 23,  20-40 men reported dead in coal mine explosion.

Additional mining accidents occur in the 1920s and 1930's, but safety measures improved and there was generally less loss of life.

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Bibliography of Oklahoma Coal Mining Disasters

(*) - One book on ghost stories, Haunted Homeland, cites 'Mine # 6' in Buck, OK but mis-dates the event and mis-identifies victims.

MINING DISASTERS: 1892 Krebs, Indian Territory

Krebs # 11

It was cold that January 7th in 1892 and a cold winter raced across the Indian Territory.  It was to be the last day for many in the Osage Coal and Mining Company mine shaft #11.   Mining was dangerous business no matter what time or place.  Workers from mining regions were brought in to work the mines for their expertise and skill. They were brought in from Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Russia, Italy, Wales, England, and Poland.  Miners from Pennsylvania and Virginia also came in to the region as well.  The mine had a reputation for being poorly managed and maintained. Under trained workers labored long hours in unsafe conditions. It has been suggested that immigrants were encouraged to come work in the Territory just for that reason. Poor English skills meant few demands and opposition to conditions.  On that cold early January day, 100 men were dead, 150 others wounded, and the region had seen its worst mining disaster of all time.  Nuns closed the local school so they could visit house to house to care for the injured or comfort those who had suffered loss.

A list of the causalities here.  It was not until 2002 that the victims of this disaster were memorialized with a public marker. It is clear, however, that the impact was memorialized in the hearts and soul of the area for decades.

ANATOMY OF AN URBAN LEGEND: The Tale of Augusta

In the landscape of Oklahoma legends and myths one tale continues to rise to the top and be repeated periodically.  A scanning of websites with the story produces at least a dozen sites repeating the tale of the ghost of the house which now holds the Stone Lion Inn.

Sans any stories of hauntings prior to the early 1980's, the house had been a home and once a funeral home.  The charming and heartbreaking tale of a little girl who stayed to play in the halls and stairs of the old house were shared with the sadness of life cut short at such a young age.

The childish ghost was said to be Augusta Houghton, the 8 yr old daughter of Fred and Bernice Houghton.  She had died from an accidental overdose of cough medicine given by a nurse or maid.  The story assumed a life of its own, repeated despite local researchers indicating they could not find a record of such a death.  

Independently researchers from OKPRI and Cullan Hudson, author of Strange State came to the conclusion the specter, if there, could not be Augusta.   Owner, Beth Luker, would later admit to making a mistake in naming Augusta, but by then the story had assumed a life of its own. Repeated by writers and paranormal researchers without fact checking, the story became enmeshed in the folkloric weave of the state.

What was the truth?

Searching US Federal Census records revealed in 1900 in Guthrie, Logan Co., OK a family living at 702 Noble Avenue.   Fred E. Houghton (1854-1943), his wife Bertha (1872-1958), his children Grace (1885), Gladys (1896), Alma (1899), Augusta (b.1892, Sept), and Frank E. (1900) were enumerated on the census.

In 1910, the family is living at 1016 W. Warner Street (the location of the present inn).  There is no Augusta listed on the 1910 census, although children Grace, Gladys, Alma, Frank E., Adolphe (1903), Dorthy (1907), Russell (1908), and Irene (1910) are listed.   

In 1910, Augusta was no doubt the young  18 yr old woman listed in the Wichita, Ks census of students attending Mt. Caramel Academy.  

The family is found again on the 1920 Census for Logan County and is enumerated in 1930 in Enid, OK, where daughter Alma had married into the Suddeth family and is listed with son David at the West Main address.

Rootsweb, a genealogy website, indicated a family history record for a Coralee Augusta, daughter of Fred and Bertha Houghton, born Sept. 17, 1892 and who married in 1913 a William Houser.

The only child NOT carried over through the ever expanding family listed on the US Federal Census was daughter Irene, listed as newborn in the 1910 census when the family lived at 1016 W. Warner, Guthrie.

A death record has not been located for the Irene Houghton listed on that 1910 census and so caution should be exercised.   One website assumed she died the same year as the census because of the -0- listed by her age but that was often used for children/infants under the 1 year mark.  There are questions to be answered because an infant could not be the 'child' presence noted by so many 'research teams.' She is not listed on several genealogical websites, although they site the census record where she is listed. And strangely, Coralee Augusta is not listed on several such websites despite citations referring back to the census of 1900.

If Irene was the 7-8 yr old who died, then a death record or grave should exist for her from the 1917-1918 time period.  Since the family is enumerated on the 1920 census in Guthrie, then the likely place of death could be there.  However, she had older sisters who were already married and could have been living elsewhere with them during the census.  Assumptions cannot be made until verified by documentation.

The urban legend of "Augusta" is a classic example of the need for real, in-depth historical research to ferret out the truth from the tall tales and guesswork.

HAIR CUSTOMS

Wondering through an antique mall I chanced upon something I had not seen since a tiny child.  A small class container with an ornamental lid.  It was similar to the one which had sat on my grandmother's dresser.  It was explained to me that when she was a girl, ladies would brush their hair and then they would pull the hair caught in the brush out and collect it in the small container. This hair would be saved until enough had been collected to create small padded forms to add height or build the illusion of thicker hair for a French bun or topknot.

This got me to thinking of all the other hair care customs from over the years. Brushing hair 100 times before bed.  Washing hair with eggs. Rinsing hair in vinegar or lemon juice.  Bangs.  Never brushing wet hair. Curling hair with scraps of cloth, bobby pins, or brush curlers.  Home permanents. Using  DRY shampoo (sprinkle in and brush out).  Saving orange juice cans to use as curlers. Ironing hair straight.  Never cutting hair and adopting a bald look.   Only wearing long hair as a child. Always having short hair as a mature woman.  Only wearing hair loose as a youth.  Never wearing hair loose as a mature or married woman.

The great mystery here is - why in the world did women do all these things?  Hair is pretty personal yet we as a gender have allowed others to dictate how we wear our hair, how long we wear our hair, what colors our hair should be, and a dozen other choices.  Why?    Clean hair worn in a manner that pleases the individual donning that hair, and not society or elements in society, should be the goal of every person.  What I might like or dislike should not be the determinate for another's style.  So why go into a salon and get the same hair 150,000 others have gotten that week?  Just to fit in? Just to conform?    I had an ancestor who belonged to a sect in Northern Ireland called the 'Croppies' because they kept their hair cropped.  According to family legend, he was allowed to not adhere due to the respect in which he was  held by many people.  Be a wise woman, or man, and find that which suits you and your lifestyle.  Let there be no mystery here - even if there is a lot of history - hair freedom once and for all!

PHOTOGRAPHIC INNOVATION ca.1910

Having enjoyed a class in the history of photography, when I saw this jewel in a second hand shop, I decided to pick it up for my collection of 'unclaimed' portraits.  It is unique.  This innovative cardboard photo holder has a long tailed bird embossed (it may be a peacock).  It is from an old studio in Norman, Oklahoma (OrenBaun's).  There is no name on the holder or the photograph to identify the woman.  The image/holder is the size of a smaller bookmark so would have easily fit in an envelope or a jacket pocket (to be held close to the heart?).  The woman appears in her late twenties or early thirties.  The high coat collar and hat are similar to styles worn between 1910 and 1918.  Who was she and who did she send the photo and the soft smile to so many years ago?

Shady Lady Ghosts and Others

Here are a few of the locations brought to my attention.  If you have a story of a fallen, shady, or merely unsteady lady associated with a hotel, mansion, or drawing room, please contact me.

Tombstone, Arizona

The place called 'Big Nose Kate's, in the heyday of Tombstone when they licensed about 3,000 ladies of the night.  Her real name was Mary Katherine Harmony and she haunts her place.

Flagstaff, AZ

The Museum club , built in the 1930's, may be haunted by past owner Thelma and her husband.

Hotel Monte Vista, has a story of two women from the 'red light district' to the south who were a) murdered in one of the rooms, or b) were thrown from the windows in one room. The room is the 'Gary Cooper', named for one of the Hollywood actors who would stay there while filming nearby.

Jerome, AZ

The 'Inn' boasts a shady lady who remains to taunt guests and staff named ,'Jennie'.  Once a booming mining town with heavy traffic in sin some inhabitants may linger.

Dorrington, California

In the hotel of the same name, the love of the builder is said to still haunt the place in a calico dress from her time in the 1870's.

Jersey Bridge, California

A Spanish woman was said to have been lynched there in 1851 during the summer.  She had murdered a man who made unseemly advances toward her and local town folk took exception. A men's club in a nearby town had her skull for many years for secret rituals - so no wonder if she walks!

Grass Valley, CA

In the hotel Holbrooke, a blond ghost is said to walk.

St. Louis, MO

Bissell Mansion Resturant, a womann is said to haunt the building in a white gown and an otherworldly glow.

Chicago, IL

A woman in red had been reported in windows and photos in the Excalibur Club in downtown windy city. She appears to be in her 30's-40's and may be wearing clothes from the time of a deadly fire nearby in 1915.

Santa Fe, NM

Lo Posada claims the ghost haunting them is Julie Stabb who was severely depressed after the death a child that she stayed in her room, the present # 256, until her death in the 1890's.

La Fonda Hotel claims until the 1990's a woman in white hung around their place and may have been a bride murdered shortly after  her wedding.

Cloudcroft, NM

A  young ghost named Rebecca is said to haunt the lovely hotel.

St. Joseph's Children Home, Bethany, Oklahoma c1914

Unidentified girl feeds some of the chickens kept on the 'farm' of the Children's Home, c1914

1912 Blessing of St. Joseph Orphanage, Bethany, Oklahoma

The St. Joseph's Children's Home, or the St. Josephs Orphanage and Industrial School as it was also called, was dedicated Oct. 6, 1912 by Bishop Theophile Meerschaert.  It has been home to at least seven religious orders who supervised its ministry and work with children and the elderly. These orders included: the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the Sisters of the Most Blessed Trinity, Carmelites, Benedictines, Missionary Sisters of the Most Blessed Trinity, and four 'strong and colorful priests' - Fathers John M. Kekesisen, P.P. Schaeffer, James Garvey, and A.A. Isenbart (The Sooner Catholic, Sept.   5,1976, pg. 6).  The original property included 32 1/2 acres purchased partly by the Disocese and partly through a gift from James Maney. In 1913, additional acquisitions expanded the land to 60 acres, and then in 1919, 45 more acres were added a few miles north. This last would later be known as the "north farm",  and would be sold to form the St. Francis Center for Christian Renewal on NW Expressway.  The facility removed from the Bethany location in the 1960's and it was sold in the early 1970's to the International Pentecostal Holiness Church for their denominational headquarters.

St. Joseph's Children Home, Bethany, Oklahoma 1914

The orphanage was just a few years old when this photo was taken.  The surrounding areas were still a combination of flat plain and black jack oak forests. The facility was designed according to the latest trends in orphan care by combining living facility with industrial trades.  Children in this time period were encouraged to learn and practice skills. They planted, cared for and sold crops to support themselves.  Self-sufficiency was the goal of such institutions across the country.   In time, the facility expanded to provide elder care as well allowing generations to mix.  The build still stands - with some significant upgrades in exterior/interior structure- as the headquarters of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church and adjacent to Southwestern Christian University.

ELIZABETH, EFFIE, AND WHO ELSE?: Hunting Down A Multi-State Legend

In Oklahoma City she is known as 'Effie'.   A poor woman who loved not wise but too well and found herself pregnant with a married man's child.  She a) either killed herself , b) was imprisoned by the married man, or c) was murdered.   She has been said to haunt the Skirvin Hotel in downtown Oklahoma City since the 1920's.

In Goldfield, Nevada there is the story of "Elizabeth" associated with the historic Goldfield Hotel, who was a poor woman who loved not wise but too well and found herself pregnant with a married man's child.  She a) either killed herself , b) was imprisoned by the married man, or c) was murdered. 

It should be remembered that in Oklahoma City when it was opened as the result of the Land run of 1889, there were 'working girls' on the next train into town.  "Big Annie" Wynn Bailey was a strapping girl in her mid-twenties fresh from the lucrative mining towns of Colorado. She saw opportunity and bought land, opened businesses in the heart of "Hell's Half Acre".  Soon she controlled much of downtown Oklahoma City through real estate and a system of well placed bribes.  

These "girls" as the prostitutes were sometimes called were a social subgroup with their own status, traditions, and behaviors.   Did they also share a common 'folklore' of cautionary or fear tales to warn each other, and potential customers?

So who came first, "Emma" or "Elizabeth," or perhaps some yet to be discovered woman?  It would be interesting to see how many of these tales of 'fallen' women with names beginning with an "E" might exist, identify when they first emerged, and discover if there movement could be tracked.

Other famous 'soiled doves' include Jerome, AZ's 'Julia' and 'Maggie' in Cripple Creek, CO.  Over all the motif is similar to the cautionary tale of the 'Cry Baby Bridge', which I feel is a transference of the  old Irish song, "Mary of the Moors."

NOTE: Anyone with knowledge of a story about a 'fallen women', 'scorned woman,' or 'compromised maiden' associated with a  hotel or other town site, please contact me for an upcoming work.

AX MURDERS - UPDATE

The "Good old days" might mean different things to different people. The list of death and murder in a time so often envisioned as idyllic, is unsettling. The truth of the matter is that people have always been - good and bad - people. These 'clusters' or 'outbreaks' do give pause and make one wonder if it was something in the water that drove people to such violent lengths. Here is an update with some additional ax murders added to the time line.

1901
• In November of 1901, the Wilcox family of Los Angeles was 'knifed horribly' while they slept. (“Horrible Crime”, Oklahoman, Nov. 29, 1901, pg. 1).


1904
• In Nov. 1904 the entire family of Julius Weber was shot and stabbed before the house was burned in Auburn, Ca (Oklahoman, Nov. 12, 1904, pg. 1).
• In March 1905, San Rafael, CA a man “Murdered His Entire Family”, Oklahoman, May 25, 105, pg. 7).


1909
• In October 1909, James McMahon confessed to killing the Van Royen family in Kansas City. (“I Killed Them” -Yells Murderer”, Oklahoman, Oct. 27, 1909, pg.11).
• In November of 1909 in Bluebird, W. Va. a George Hood family was killed and the house burned down to try to cover the deed. (“Charred Bodies of Four found in Ruins of House.” Oklahoman, Nov.2, 1909, pg. 10).
• December 1909, Cleveland, OH woman Josephine Mangero and her two children fatally stabbed. (“Mother and two children Slain”. Oklahoman, Dec.5,1909, pg. 1.).

• 
  
  December 1909, Cleveland, OH the body of Anna Lloyd was found with wounds from a knife or ax along the railroad in or near the Canal Ridge section.
  
  1910
  • In March 1910, the New Orleans area saw the murders of numerous families.

In October 1910, Cincinnati, Ohio, the body of Mary Hockney was found alongside a railroad with her "head crushed" and gashes all over her body. She was found along the Canal Ridge section near a railroad line (theorized Railroad connections were preceived in Iowa,Texas, and Kansas deaths). This body was found in the same place and condition as one earlier in the year at News Years.
• In December 1910, Savannah, Georgia a race war almost ensued after the deaths of Mrs. Elizabeth Gribble, Mrs. Carrie Ohlander, and Mrs. Maggie Hunter. The local police rounded up over a hundred local African Americans to be 'questioned'. (“Woman Slain by Fiendish Negro.” Oklahoman, Dec.12, 1909, pg. 18).


1911
• In January 1911, Rayne, LA an unnamed mother and her four children were killed.+
• In Spring 1911, Lafayette, LA the Norbett Randall family was killed.+
In August 1911, Booneville, Indiana, Richard Lee, his wife, and son where killed in their sleep “skulls caved in” by an ax and a fire started to hide the deed. Another son charged but doubts linger.
•In September 1911, Colorado Springs, Co. People in several neighboring houses were discovered dead with crushed heads while they slept. Victims were a H.C.Wayne, his wife and child; a Mrs. A. J. Burnham, two children (including a one year old).*
•In October 1911, in Monmouth, IL a William E. Dawson, his wife, and daughter were killed.
•In October 1911, in Ellsworth, Kansas a William Showman, wife, and three children were killed as they slept.* (“Showman Family of Five Murdered.” Ellsworth Reporter, Oct.11, 1911).



1912
• In February, 1912, in Beaumont, Texas a family was killed. +
• In 1912, Crowly, LA a family was killed as they slept. + (+=Some assume these LA and TX murders to be racially motivated as they are all African-American family units. Some included 'Mulatto' or mixed race children which further complicates and confuses the matter. The simple truth might also be that these families were convenient kills providing a prey separated from the major part of the society by racial prejudice, thus making them targets of ease. Others suggest some obscure church of sacrifice was involved yet the evidence appears weak to non-existent for this line of reasoning.)
• In 1912, Lake Charles, LA, a family was killed as they slept.+
• In April 1912, San Antonio (Police suspected the man was using the Southern Pacific Railroad since November 1911. (If the theory of the killer using the rails was correct he would next hit there and he did).
• In June 1912, in Paola, Kansas a Rollin Hudson and wife were murdered. (“Murder Came in the Night”, Western Spirit, June 14, 1912).
• In June 1912, in Vilasca, Iowa, eight were murdered as they slept. Victims: J.B. Moore and wife, four children, and two local girls, guests of his children. (“Recent Ax Murders”, Oklahoman, July, 14, 1912, pg. 1).
• In December 1912, two women were killed in Columbia, Missouri. (“Horrible Murder Committed”, Columbia Herald, Dec.20, 1912).



1913

In 1913, in Muskogee, Oklahoma several lone people were murdered by an axe welding killer (“Second Hatchet Murder Mystery Stirs Muskogee”, Oklahoman, Nov. 29, 1913, pg. 1).

In June 1913, Harrisville, Missouri sees Arthur Kellar, his wife and daughter attacked as they slept. The husband, and 7 year old daughter died.


1914

In July 6, 1914, Blue Island (Chicago), IL a family was butchered as they slept. Victims: Jacob Neslesla, wife, daughter, and an infant grandchild.* (“Axe of Assassin Deals Death to Sleeping Family,” Oklahoman, July 7, 1914.)

Summer-Fall, 1914, Braggs, Oklahoma, in under six months three people were killed or attacked in the night. Killed were Anna Martin Braggs; injured William Herzog, Braggs; killed were Charles Everett and B.F. Richardson, Muskogee.


1919
• In 1919, New Orleans, more axe murders thought to be the work of gangs but also as likely a serial killer. Perhaps the work of the same killer?

1920-
• In 1920 in Turtle Lake, N.D. eight are killed on the Jacob Wolf farm. (“Police Seek Clues in Dakota Murder”, Oklahoman, April 25, 26, 1920, pg. 2, 33).

1922-29
• In January of 1922, a mother and son are killed in Chicago. (Oklahoman, Jan. 23, 1922, pg.12.)
• In November 1928, Omaha was stricken by a 'hatchet slayer' who killed at least three times. (Oklahoman, Nov. 21, 1928).

FEATHERED SERPENTS, LOST LANDS, AND THE NEW WORLD

Meso American history is full of legends of their ancestors and gods who were best described as being tall, thin, and wearing long feathered or multicolored coats. Their physical description led to the use of the term 'feathered serpents.'

Who were these tall, thin faced people some sources suggest had blue eyes? Where did they come from? The legends suggest that they went away one day and were expected to return. When the Europeans arrived in the 15th century, they were heralded as the returning gods. So - where had these strange serpent looking gods gone in the first place?

Is there any evidence of a people resembling 'serpents' in look, movement, or speech? There may be. One clue is from ancient UR in Mesopotamia where the Ubaid 'lizard statues' were found dating as far back as 6,000 BCE. With their elongated faces, slit like eyes, and protruding noses they do resemble an upright snake.

Middle American temples are structurally closer to the Ubaid style than the later Egyptian. Other peoples represented on Mesopotamian temples, and later Egyptian, reveal a wide variety of ethnic groups. Dominate traits (eye shape, clothing, weapons, hair styles, etc.) were used to characterize and individualize these various people groups.

It might be argued that the slit like eyes, facial structure, and elongated body features might be abstractions of an emerging art form. Yet, some groups in the middle east associated snakes/serpents with wisdom and knowledge. Some associated them with a vast body of arcane technology or beliefs (sword making, herbal medicine, makeup, and other secret guild-like information).

So, how might that same serpentine elite have also emerged across the globe? Independent development is one answer. Another idea has been suggested that is intriguing and that is that early explorers came to these shores. Yet, another idea is that the Platonic story of a lost land in the Atlantic might not be just a myth but have roots in an area we know as Cuba. Andrew Collins does just this in his work, Gateway to Atlantis. His reasoning is sound and his evidences hard to dismiss.

When every year campsites and bones come to light pushing back human occupation and new connections based on research connect eastern seaboad US with Europe at an earlier and earlier date - maybe a sound, fair, and evidence based approach to the Atlantis story would not go amiss.

The Theater!

In ancient Greece an art form emerged from the annual worship of local gods. A competition then developed and poets worked through human conditions crafting tragedy. The three masters of the art form reflect three different periods of Grecian social, literary, and religious development.

Aeschylus wrote from a high religious purpose and motivation. He wrote plays that celebrated the faithful rituals and actions. In places within his work there is a glimpse of the traditionalist and the fundamentalist. In his work lurks the superstitious awe of the simmering mountaintop, the striking lightening bolt, or the rattling earth.

Sophocles wrote from the context of a social and intellectual transition period, where society was questioning the old ways, the old gods but still felt it important to pay lip service if nothing else to the old thoughts. They provided respectability, acceptance, and recognition through a common pantheon. More and more there is the touch of the cynic, the jade, and the disbeliever.

Euripides wrote in a Grecian post-modern era where many wished to deconstruct the past and recast their future free of the restrictions of their 'primitive' past. Yet, Euripides saw, as many of the authors did, that under the mythic stories of the Gods and their challenges could be found metaphor for the realities of human life.

Wealth stays with us a little moment if at all: only our characters are steadfast, not our gold.
Euripides

WARRIOR WOMEN? REALLY!

The idea of a woman as warrior is not merely a 20th century feminist agenda item. From ancient times come tales, images, and facts supporting women as warriors in a variety of cultures.

Despite centuries of carefully preserved preconceptions and biases about how women functioned in history there is ample historical, archaelogical, and mythological resources to indicate the horizon was wider than many suppose. In all times women were daughters, wives, mothers, heroes, cowards, gladiators,warrior queens, battle leaders, soldiers, and marauders.

There are some who even postulate that there were battle units in ancient Biblical culture. The women in Exodus who 'sit beside the door of the tabernacle' may have been an honor guard of female soldiers. Deborah, the prophet and judge, had to accompany the army or the general would not go into battle. A mysterious phrase in the Old Testament refers to 'hornets' who swept through and fought off opposing forces. Could Deborah, whose name is traditionally said to mean 'bee', have relly been instead a 'hornet'? Her 'name' could then have been a title or label referring to her activities as a soldier or warrior.

Ancient Greek historians promoted the derogatory idea that a tribe of warrior women, who have come to be called in total Amazons, cut or burned off a breast in order to better shoot an arrow or throw a lance. Obviously the idea was to suggest, as Greek culture did through various of its philosophers, that women were inferior and had to be like a man to be able to do anything outside their own narrow construct of the home or the bedroom. Aristotle wrote that women were merely 'deformed men' ; human seeds who had failed to become the fully human male of the species.

A good article with links to some fine art is here.

Recently the US Army named its first female 'Best Warrior of the Year', 26 year old Sherri Gallagher. Of this soldier the US Army wrote: "Sgt. Sherri Gallagher of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, who represented U.S. Training and Doctrine Command at Best Warrior, beat out 11 other competitors from the Army's major commands. Gallagher, who is currently stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., is one of the top long-range rifle shooters in the country."

ALL THE LITTLE CHILDREN

All the Little Children. M. Hudson. 2011.
In the land of Ozzie & Harriet Nelson, I Love Lucy’s crazy simple life, and our stereotypes of how good the ‘ old days’ were, it is unsettling to review some criminal cases.

In April of 1947, a tornado wrecked havoc in Woodward, Oklahoma and a little Joan Gay Croft, 4 yrs old, was taken from a make shift trauma ward in a basement by two unidentified men, and was never seen again. Strangely, a 12 year old girl was found after the storm and no one ever came forward to identified her or another girl of about Joan's age (who was also blue eyed and blonde haired). 

Most disturbing was California police had found a small girl of roughly the same age in the hands of a pedophile in that state who had been terribly abused. Initially, it was hoped she would be the Croft child but that was not the case.

The previous month a little 8 year girl was taken from Fort Atkinson, Wis. Georgia Jean Weckler was taken Mar. 27 (1947). Like Joan Gay Croft, the unidentified children of April 9, and others at the time, their full story remains unknown.

This early connection of the Croft girl to pedophiles, the similar kidnapping, and the unidentified child’s body,  raise disturbing questions based on known behaviors and preferences of child molesters. In our continuing naïveté we assume ‘sex slaves’ and ‘child prostitution’ is a modern situation. Unfortunately, people have been dealing in children as commodities for a long time. It has been theorized that some abductions of children over the decades have been to supply the demand for children to be used in this manner. This brief survey is limited to female victims but if enlarged to include males and other locations it  could provide some clues as to trends and identify possible perpetrators.

In March of 1953, Spring Valley, NY the bodies of two girls Marjorie Boudreau (8) and Esther Nagy (5) were found in Rockland County. One had been stabbed and the other died from a blow to the head, apparently from a rock. They were found in a wooded area not far from a stretch of road called Hungry Hollow. [“Two Little Girls Are Murdered.” Oklahoma (March 9, 1953) pg.1]

In July of 1954, 7 year old Judith Ann Roberts of Miami, Florida was taken from her home in the night. Her nude and blood covered body was found in a thicket on the shores of Biscayne Bay. She had been bound, blindfolded, and her head battered. [“No Clues Found in Child Slaying”. Oklahoman. (July 8, 1954) pg. 40]

In April of 1955, 7 year old Barbara Gaca was raped, stabbed and beaten not far from her home in Detriot. She had vanished on the Thursday previous on her way to school. Her body had been found in a secluded dumping ground. [“7-Year-Old Child Brutally Murdered.” Oklahoman (April 1, 1955), pg. 43].

In 1956 a mystery emerged between Kansas City and Oklahoma City when the body of a child of about 3 or 4 was confused with another child. [“Riddle of Slain Child Deepens.” Oklahoman (March 31, 1956) pg. 1]. Again, it appeared children could disappear and no one care.

In August of 1960, a Merced, California 6 year old, Angie Stewart, was found, her body showing indications of murder, in brush within Yosemite National Park. An army Warrant Officer, on orders to ship out to Korea, had been picked up. [“Missing Girl’s Body Located”, Oklahoman (Aug. 16, 1960), pg. 1].

In February of 1961, the body of 4 year old Edith Kiecorius was discovered in a littered room on a rooming house. Her body, showing evidence of being raped and beaten, was found amid dozens of empty bear cans and an empty whiskey bottle. [“Girl’s Body Found in Littered Room”, Oklahoman (Feb. 27, 1961) pg. 31).

In April of 1962 the bodies of two 6 year old girls, Stephanie Hanna and Paula Cram, were found in an abandoned refrigerator in San Fernando, California. Paul Cram was a foster child living with the Hanna’s and she had been raped while Stephanie had been knocked out. Both girls were stuffed in the refrigerator where they suffocated. [ “Girls Found Slain in Old Refrigerator”, The Oklahoman (April 25, 1962) pg. 45].

In June 1966 in Aurora, Colorado a nine year old, Paula Steinbach, was found in a cave under a shed used as a playhouse. It appeared her clothes had been disarranged. [ “Body of Girl Found in Cave,” The Oklahoman (June 30, 1966) pg. 42].

In December of 1969, six year old Kathy Adams was found in an abandoned farm house in Rice County, Kansas after being kidnapped by a man. The man then drove her to an abandoned area, had her remove her clothes, and then left. She made her way a couple of miles and saw the empty house, broke in and covered up with an old blanket. The owner of the property luckily found her the next morning, alive and unharmed. [“Officers Find Missing Girl”, The Oklahoman, (Dec. 27, 1969) pg. 32].

In May, 1967, 7 year old Cindy Cleland, of Sierra Vista, AZ vanished from her home on an army post. Four days later her nude and mutilated body was fond in dense undergrowth on military land. Initially, an area teen was arrested. [“Arizona Had Missing Girls Mystery Also”, Oklahoman (Aug. 9, 1967) pg. 9]

In late June of 1967, a 6 year old, Janelle Haines, whose father was also in the army, went missing. Some eleven hours later, her body was found between her home and officer’s club. [“Arizona Had Missing Girls Mystery Also”, Oklahoman (Aug. 9, 1967) pg. 9]


On Thursday July 6, 1967, Judith Elwell, age 5, disappeared from near her home in northwest Oklahoma City. To this day no one has seen or heard from her. [Greiner, John. “Case of Two Missing Girls.” Oklahoman, (Aug. 8, 1967) pg. 1]

On Thursday, August 3, 1967, Brenda Lois White, age 6, disappeared from near her home in Midwest City, Oklahoma (a suburb of Oklahoma City). A witness said he saw her in a white car with ‘fins’. In early November, her body was discovered in eastern Oklahoma County. It was in a shallow grave on an isolated old farm lot. [ Rogers, Jim. “Boy’s Description of Car Spurs New Kidnap Quiz,” Oklahoman (Aug.10, 1967) pg. 1; “Remains of Brenda White Believed Found…” Oklahoman, (Nov. 20, 1967) pg. 1]

August 11, 1967, two sisters, Roberta Barili (6) and Cecilia Barili (7) had gone missing on Wednesday and their bodies found the next day in Los Angeles. They had been raped and strangled. Nearby were footprints and eight empty beer cans. LA Police had suggested a possible link to the Oklahoma City-Midwest City disappearances. [ “2 Los Angeles Tots Slain”, Oklahoman, (Aug. 11, 1967), pg. 11]

August 13, 1967, in Oklahoma City four children were forced into a white, four-door sedan but escaped when the man stopped in a parking lot. They were identified as: Leellen Scott, 12, Leonard Scott 8, and Mike Bradshurd 12, and Patsy Newberry 10. [Rogers, Jim. “Four City Children Abducted”, Oklahoman, (Aug. 13, 1967) pg. 1]

In August of 1967, a 3 year old Hutchinson, Kansas girl named Rene Talbot went missing and Oklahoma City police and Midwest City police explored a possible connection to their two missing children. [“Police Study Kansas Case”, Oklahoman (Aug. 23, 1967), pg. 19]

In September of 1969, the body of 7 year old Donna Golish of Sherman, Texas was discovered in a pasture. She had gone missing on a Wednesday and her body was discovered on a Thursday. Her parents had lived on Perrin Air Force Base in Sherman. [ Rogers, Jim. “City, Texas Child Killings Compared.” Oklahoman (Sept. 12, 1969) pg. 9.] .

One of the gauges of a truly good society has to be how do we treat the 'least among us' ? The elderly, the handicaped, and the children? When children - those society should gather to itself and protect from harm - are abused and murdered we all must grieve. We must all assume the task of keeping it from happening again. We must all decide to protect and love 'all the little children.'