Curator 135

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In 1883 a man named Arthur Manby left his home in Lancashire, England and sailed to the United States with a few of his eight siblings. He'd read stories about the untapped resources and wide open spaces that the western frontier had to offer. He had big ideas and needed people to buy into them. Unpaid loans and undelivered promises left him a hated man in his hometown of Taos, New Mexico... a city he practically owned. 

How did he end up losing his head? Was it even his head? Find out all their is to know about the mysterious Arthur Manby and a shady cast of characters, all looking to be the rulers of the wild west. 

Welcome to Year 2 of Curator 135. 

Warning: This episode contains facts and mental images that some younger listeners may find disturbing. 

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In light of the recent school shooting in Oxford, Michigan. A listener suggested I take a look at the horrific Bath, Michigan bombing massacre of 1927. It was the first and largest school-related rampage killing ever in the United States.  Learn about Andrew Kehoe, his life, and what led him to murder 44 people on that May morning. A series of three blasts forever changed the tiny town just north of Lansing. 

Our 1 Year Anniversary Episode! 

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In Detroit, there is a mythological creature known as 'Le Nain Rouge'. Some consider him to be the harbinger of doom and gloom while others believe he is a great protector, warning residents when trouble is on the horizon. Whichever side you stand on, the Nain Rouge has been a part of Michigan folklore dating back to the early 1700's and possibly before. 

Let's learn more about the infamous red dwarf together. 

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Calumet, Michigan. Copper Country. The land of my ancestors. The home of numerous family reunions that took nine hours to drive to. 

With Christmas approaching, I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at the tragic events that ended a months long strike by the immigrant miners working for the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company. 

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I love sound. It's my favorite of the senses. Well placed sound effects, spoken words, music, things that go bump in the night. How do our ears work? Why do some work differently or not at all?

Curator 135 explores some of the strangest sounds that man, animals, nature, underwater, outer space and the unexplained have to offer. From a squeaky toad to icebergs running aground to the sound a star makes. 

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Back in 1518 the French city of Strasbourg experienced one of the worst recorded outbreaks of Dance Mania ever witnessed. The Dance Plague or Dance Epidemic struck almost 400 people and may have killed as many as 15 people a day. It lasted well over two months and left everyone puzzled. 

Demonic possession? Mold? Mass Hysteria? What caused this to happen and what did Saint Vitus have to do with it? 

We still don't know even 500 years later. But maybe a batch of sixth graders studying pathogens can figure it out. 

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What happens when we die? A question that's been discussed for centuries with no real answers to speak of. Heaven, hell, nothing? Well what about reincarnation? 

For a family in England, reincarnation became a serious subject after the loss of 11-year-old Joanna Pollock and her 6-year-old sister Jacqueline. Killed on their way to Sunday school after being hit by a car in 1957, the sisters reportedly came back as twins a year later. The family says they have more proof than they know what to do with. Do you believe? 

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As October comes to an end, we thought it would be the perfect time to discuss psychiatric hospitals and asylums. The look and feel of a spooky asylum has been the inspiration for some of our favorite horror movies, television shows and books.  

Curator 135 has been curious about what happens behind the walls of a mental institution since he was a little kid. 

Let's learn about two places close to his home outside of Detroit... Eloise in Westland and the Northville Psychiatric Hospital. 

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I've always wanted a Viking funeral. Set me in a longboat with a few of my favorite things, give it a good shove and then fire a flaming arrow at me. It turns out that a Viking funeral like that is almost 99% Hollywood. 

Join Curator135 as he discusses some of the more unique death rituals from around the globe. Sky burials, jazz festivals, bone turning and more.  

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Although many presidential children have left a mark in one way or another, no one comes close to leaving behind the legacy (good and bad) that Alice Roosevelt Longworth left behind. Learn all about Theodore Roosevelt's sassy, smart and spunky first child, Alice. She was adored by many, treated like royalty and knew she could get away with doing and saying whatever she wanted. She had a color named after her, smoked on the Whitehouse roof and had a pet snake that she carried around in her pocket named Emily Spinach. That's pretty great. 

You either loved the beautiful young woman or feared her enough to stay out of her sights. Nothing and no one was off limits. 

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