Curious Cousins OK Podcast

Episode 188: Trail of Tears pt 2

How do we move past statistics to understand the true human cost of forced migration? In part two of this series on the Trail of Tears, Tiff moves beyond court decisions and executive orders to examine the primary historical record, giving voice to those who lived through the brutal forced removal of 1838–1839.

This week we will hear from Jane Bushyhead, a Cherokee schoolgirl whose March 1838 letter captures the quiet dread of an uncertain future; Reverend Daniel S. Butrick, a missionary who chronicled the catastrophic winter journey in real time; and Rebecca Neugin, who recalled as a survivor decades later the terrifying moment soldiers rounded up her family and her father hunted game to keep their party alive.

Tiff concludes with the Cherokees' grueling arrival in Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma) by March 1839, highlighting that reaching the destination was not the end of the tragedy, but the beginning of a complex rebuilding process on lands already inhabited by other Native nations. The episode highlights the resilience of the Cherokee Nation—from re-establishing its capital in Tahlequah under Principal Chief John Ross to the distinct ongoing histories of both the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina.

We will also examine the distinct experiences and resistance of the four other Southeastern nations:

• The Choctaw: Early signatories whose extreme winter suffering defined the early human cost of the removal policy.

• The Muscogee (Creek): Transported under harsh military guard following years of land conflict and the Creek War of 1836.

• The Chickasaw: Leaders who self-funded and managed their own removal to retain greater control, though still enduring immense hardship.

• The Seminole: Armed resistance in Florida leading to the Second Seminole War and key leaders like Osceola, resulting in split sovereign communities in Oklahoma and Florida.

Your favorite cousins conclude with a vital reflection: history was not inevitable, but the result of specific decisions made by governments and individuals. While the loss was staggering, the ultimate story of these nations is not just one of tragedy, but of political continuity, cultural survival, and enduring sovereignty.

Sources:

• National Park Services

• Library of Congress

• Oklahoma Historical Society 

• Digital History

• US Forest Service

• Cherokee Phoenix
  

In observance of Native American Heritage Month, this episode delivers a sobering, essential look at Oklahoma’s history and how the state came to be known as Native America. Stripping away dry textbook summaries, this episode confronts the harsh realities of the forced removal of indigenous peoples, focusing deeply on the Cherokee Nation's harrowing plight and the systemic political decisions that led to one of our nation's darkest chapters.

Key Topics Covered

• The Human Cost of Removal: Moving beyond dates and numbers to examine what it meant to be driven from ancestral lands without warning, leaving behind homes, farms, and centuries of heritage.

• The Five Tribes & Beyond: Exploring the forced relocation of the Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee (Creek), Chickasaw, and Seminole Nations—collectively known historically as the "Five Civilized Tribes"—alongside other impacted nations like the Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Delaware.

• Sovereignty & Legal Resistance: Tracing the Cherokee Nation's fight through the American legal system, including Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and Worcester v. Georgia, and the Supreme Court decisions that were ultimately defied.

• The Indian Removal Act & The Treaty of New Echota: Examining Andrew Jackson's 1830 legislation, the controversial 1835 treaty signed by a minority faction against the wishes of thousands of Cherokee citizens, and its ratification by a single Senate vote.

• The Journey West: Detailing General Winfield Scott's military roundup in 1838, the harsh conditions of the detention camps, and the grueling overland and water journeys that resulted in the tragic loss of thousands of lives.

The Trail of Tears was not a natural disaster or an unfortunate accident—it was the direct result of policy, power, and choices made by the U.S. government. This episode lays the groundwork for understanding how the descendants of those who survived shaped—and continue to shape—the future of Oklahoma.

(Note: Part two of this story, featuring first-hand accounts and survivor voices, continues next week!)

Sources:

• National Park Services

• Library of Congress

• Oklahoma Historical Society 

• Digital History

• US Forest Service

• Cherokee Phoenix
  

Ep 186: Henry Lee Johnson

In this episode, Jess dives into the tragic 1980 killing of 15-year-old Henry Lee Johnson in Idabel, Oklahoma, exploring the deep-seated racial tensions of "Little Dixie," the resulting civil unrest, and the systemic failures of the local legal system.

Examines the night of January 19, 1980, when Johnson was shot outside the whites-only Black Hat Club, sparking massive protests, martial law, the deployment of the National Guard, and the eventual destruction of the club.

Details the flawed investigation, the suppression of the shooter's confession, and the controversial 1981 acquittal of Walter Anthony "Tony" DeShazo by an all-white jury.

Connects the historical tragedy to McCurtain County's recent history, including the 2023 leaked audio scandal involving local officials discussing racial violence and corruption.

Sources:

• Wikipedia - HLJ

• Wikipedia - McCurtain County 

• History Encoded by Diana Butler Bass 

• The Washington Post

• The Oklahoman

• UPI.com

• Marta Wiggins 

• GenXpletives 

• OKCounties.org
  

Welcome to Episode 185, where Tiff digs into the history, tragedy, and lingering spirits of Oklahoma’s Sacred Heart Mission.

In the late 1800s, Benedictine monks fleeing French secularization laws struck a deal with the Potawatomi Nation to establish a Catholic sanctuary in the heart of Indian Territory. What began on 640 acres quickly became the birthplace of the Catholic Church in Oklahoma—a sprawling complex with a monastery, schools, a college, a model farm, a printing press, and a bustling bakery where nuns baked hundreds of French loaves daily.

However, the history of Sacred Heart Mission is deeply dual-natured. Behind its rapid growth and architectural achievements lay the painful reality of forced Native American assimilation, where children were separated from their families, stripped of their culture, and subjected to harsh punishments. When a catastrophic fire swept through the grounds in January 1901—its fiery glow visible 30 miles away—it marked the beginning of a long decline that eventually left the site a secluded ghost town.

In this episode, we explore the rise and fall of Sacred Heart, its transition into modern-day ruins, and the eerie paranormal encounters that keep investigators and thrill-seekers looking over their shoulders.

Key Discussion Points

• The Founding & Expansion (1876–1900): How Father Isidore Robot and Brother Dominic Lambert established the mission, built schools for Native boys and girls, founded Sacred Heart College, and produced the Indian Advocate newspaper right out of the mission bakery.

• The Infernal Night of 1901: The devastating dining room fire that consumed the monastery, schools, convent, and church—and the lingering debate over whether lives were lost despite official reports.

• The Dark History: The reality of forced cultural assimilation, stories of unmarked graves, severe disciplinary practices, and dark rumors that continue to cloud the mission’s legacy.

• The Present-Day Ghost Town: Exploring the remaining structures on Bald Hill—including the two-story bakery, the standing church, log cabins, and the four distinct cemeteries.

• Hauntings & Unexplained Phenomena: Reports of phantom French hymns, ghostly apparitions of priests and children, floating lights in the graveyards, a statue said to weep blood, shadow figures in the basement, and EVPs addressing investigators by name.

Listener & Visitor Note: Sacred Heart Mission is now located in the unincorporated area of Konawa, Oklahoma. The site is monitored by local law enforcement and a private caretaker, with strict "No Trespassing" enforcement to prevent vandalism and arson. Official tours are available by appointment only—please respect the historical grounds, religious history, and neighboring cemeteries if you request access.

Research Sources

• Wikipedia

• Facebook

• Oklahoma Historical Society

• Oklahoma Haunted Houses

• RootsWeb

• Gateway to Oklahoma

• Visit Shawnee

• KOCO Channel 5 OKC

• YouTube

• Z94

In this week’s episode, Jess takes a special listener request straight from her own parents to explore one of Tulsa's most beloved historic landmarks. While breaking her usual rule of not covering back-to-back Tulsa stories, she dives deep into the fascinating evolution of Swan Lake—originally known as Orcutt Lake—tracing its journey from Creek Nation allotment land to a roaring 1910s amusement park, and ultimately into an elite midtown neighborhood.

What we cover: 

1. The Early Days: From Creek Allotment to Amusement Park

• Indigenous Roots: Before it was a public park, the natural spring-fed water feature sat on an 800-acre Muscogee (Creek) Nation allotment belonging to Annie Hodge Orcutt and her husband, Samuel Augustus "Gus" Orcutt.
• Tulsa's First Playground (1909): Capitalizing on the oil boom, Gus Orcutt expanded the pond into an artificial lake and opened Orcutt Lake Amusement Park.
• Trolley & Coaster Thrills: The park served as the final turnaround stop for Tulsa's expanding electric streetcar line. By 1911, it featured Tulsa’s very first roller coaster—a 40-foot-high wooden giant built for an astounding $7,600 (nearly $268,000 today)—alongside a natatorium, dance pavilion, open-air movie theater, carousel, and a small zoo.

2. The Shift to Elegance (1917–1930s)

• Creating "Swan Lake": As oil wealth pushed residential areas eastward, developer E.J. Brennan bought the land, dismantled the noisy roller coaster, coined the name Swan Lake, and donated the water basin to the City of Tulsa.
• Architectural Showcase: The surrounding neighborhood transformed into an architectural display of Italian Renaissance villas, Spanish Eclectic homes (including "The Natatorium," built directly over the former swimming pool site), steep-gabled Tudors, and classic 1920s courtyard apartments.

3. Folklore, Rumors, & Local Mysteries

• The Dynamite Myth: Debunking the persistent local legend that the lake was formed by an accidental wagon explosion of dynamite (though dynamite was used in 1911 to alter the dam).
• Tragedies & Mysteries: Examining surrounding historical rumors, including a nearby mid-century neighborhood drowning in a rain drainage stream and modern conservation struggles with abandoned "dump ducks" and trumpet swan health.

4. Swan Lake TodayVisitor Quick Reference

• The $2.2M Restoration: Highlighting the major infrastructure overhaul that restored the dormant 1938 WPA stone fountain to full operation while adding underwater aeration and filtration systems.
• Gus & Annie: Introducing the resident pair of swans living on the lake, permanently named in honor of the original founders, Gus and Annie Orcutt.

Visitor Quick Reference

• Location: 1596 Swan Dr, Tulsa, OK 74120

• Features: Half-mile walking loop, multi-level stone terraces, restored 1938 WPA fountain, and active waterfowl habitat.

• Pro Tip: Located in Midtown Tulsa, making it an easy companion visit to the nearby Philbrook Museum of Art.

  
  

  Research Sources

• Tulsa People

• Wikipedia

• Local Wiki

• GPS My City

• OHS

This week, we delve into the haunting, forgotten history of George Jefferson Hassell—one of the most prolific yet overlooked family annihilators in American true crime. While infamous figures like Lizzie Borden or the Axeman of New Orleans dominate popular lore, Hassell quietly picked off two entire families across California and Texas between 1917 and 1926, ultimately taking the lives of 13 innocent people.

What We Cover in This Episode:

• The Concept of Family Annihilation: Defining the psychological phenomenon of familicide and comparing Hassell to well-known modern figures like John List, Chris Watts, and Ronald DeFeo Jr.

• Early Criminal Roots & Military Desertion: Hassell’s troubled beginnings in Smithville, TX, his early prison sentence in Huntsville, and his repeating loops of joining and deserting the U.S. Military.

• The Whittier "Death House" (1917): How a WWI financial dispute led to the brutal strangulation of his common-law wife, Marie Vogel, and her three young children—whose remains lay hidden under a garage in California for nearly a decade.

• The Farwell, Texas Massacre (1926): The horrific week-long slaughter of his second wife, Susan (widow of his late brother Thomas), and all eight of her children in rural Parmer County, Texas.

• The Investigation & Unraveling: How an astute sister-in-law in Pittsburgh connected the dots from national newspaper headlines, guiding police to the buried California victims.

• Trial & Execution: The lightning-fast 1927 trial in Farwell, Texas, Hassell's total lack of remorse, and his eventual death in "Old Sparky" at Huntsville Prison in 1928.

Key Episode Highlights & Quotes:

"So I had started and Lord-God I would have given anything in the world if I had not made the first lick, but I had started it and I finished it."— George Hassell, on beginning the Farwell family massacre

• A Striking Pattern: Exploring author Mitchel P. Roth's classification of Hassell as a "serial mass murderer," examining how he repeated the exact same operational blueprint across both massacres a decade apart.

• The Surviving Son: The story of Delbert Laughlin—Hassell's biological son from his first marriage—whose mother fled in 1910 out of fear for their lives, saving them both from Hassell's violent nature.

• Legal Aftermath: Why California dropped prosecution and allowed Texas to proceed directly with electrocution, alongside the ultimate probate handling of the Oklahoma farmland tied to the estate.

  
  

  Victims Honored in This Episode

• Marie Vogel, 32

• Gerald Vogel, 7

• Rita Baker, 2

• Anthony Baker, 1

• Susan Frances "Susie" Hassell, 40

• Alton Hassell, 21

• Virgil Hassell, 15

• Maudie Hassell, 13

• Russell Hassell, 11

• David Hassell, 7

• Johnnie Hassell, 6

• Nannie Martha Hassell, 4

• Samuel Hassell, 1

  
  

  Sources:

• Wikipedia

• NY Times

• Medium

• Man with the Killer Smile by Mitchel P Roth

• The Bookmark 

• Eastern New Mexico News
  

Ep 182: The May Rooms

Step back into the high-stakes, wildcatting days of early Tulsa, where oil, money, and vice built a boomtown overnight. This week, Jess dives into the history of The May Rooms, Tulsa’s longest-running and most infamous brothel. Operating on the upper floors of the 1918 Jacobs Building (310 E. First St.), the enterprise survived over four decades of vice raids, Prohibition front-shops, and strict 17-minute time limits—all under the watchful eye of its formidable madam, Pauline Lambert.

We cover the jaw-dropping lore of the 1970s armed robber who complained to Channel 8 news when the brothel called the cops on him, the 87-year-old sting operation that finally brought down the house, and how this secretive second-story labyrinth froze in time until its modern revival in the Blue Dome District. Plus, stick around for the spooks: phantom footsteps, the legend of "Aspirin Annie," and the ghostly encounters Jess experienced firsthand on a Tulsa haunted pub crawl!

So snuggle in! It’s the start of spooky season, and this tale, will leave you ready to go physically (or spectrally) visit some of these iconic locations!

Sources:

• Haunted Oklahoma Brothels and Saloons by Brooke Montoya

• Tulsa TV Memories

• KTUL  

• Tulsa World

• Tulsa World - Pauline Lambert 

• Newspapers.com  

• Find A Grave

Ep 181: Flames, Factions, and the Fall of Oklahoma’s Prison System

Was anyone a fan of the show “Prison Break”? Anyone? 

While major, full-scale prison takeovers have dropped sharply since their peak in the 1970s and 80s—thanks to modern architectural containment zones and specialized Tactical Emergency Teams (CERT)—Oklahoma’s history holds some of the most violent and costly uprisings in American history. In Episode 181, Tiff breaks down the macro history of American prison disturbances and traces how a deadly cycle of severe overcrowding, extreme heat, understaffing, and volatile gang dynamics turned Oklahoma's correctional facilities into powder kegs.

From the historic 1973 uprising at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester to the chain reaction of medium-security revolts through the 1980s and the modern gang-driven lockdowns of today, this episode explores what happens when a state system reaches its breaking point.

Sources:

• Wikipedia

• OHS: McAlister

• TikTok

• The New York Times

• The Oklahoman

Welcome back, cousins, to Season 5 of your favorite Kooky and Spooky podcast, about your favorite state, Oklahoma! This season, Jess starts us off with a little state fair history…

From deep-fried treats and livestock shows to the roar of the midway, state fairs represent classic autumn nostalgia. But behind the neon lights of the 1987 Oklahoma State Fair lurked a nightmare that would leave two native sisters dead and trigger a decades-long battle for justice against institutional corruption.

In this episode, Jess takes a look back at the history of Oklahoma’s iconic fair traditions before diving into one of the state's most frustrating cold cases: the September 1987 disappearances of Cheryl Genzer (25) and Lisa Pennington (16). After leaving the fairgrounds with two men, the sisters vanished. A month later, their remains were exhumed from a shallow grave in northwest Oklahoma City—both dead from headshots fired by two completely different caliber weapons.

Who did it? Will we ever know? And could new legislation blow this, and many more, cold cases wide open? Listen now! 

Sources:

• KOCO - NEWS 5

• Oklahoma Cold Cases - Lisa Pennington

• Oklahoma Cold Cases - Cheryl Genzer 

• FOX 25 News

• Oklahoma State Senate

• OHS 

• The Oklahoman

🎙️ Ep 179: Lawton Dogman (Season 4 Finale)

📌 Episode Overview

In the Season 4 finale, Tiff dives deep into one of the Sooner State’s most famous and unsettling urban legends: The 1971 Lawton Dogman. What began as a series of strange sightings in Southwestern Oklahoma quickly escalated into city-wide panic, emergency police calls, and hospitalizations.

The episode traces the deep roots of werewolf lore—from ancient Greek writings and medieval European witch trials to Turkic shamanic traditions—before dissecting Oklahoma's own bizarre history of upright canine encounters. Tiff also explores broader state hotspots (including the Kiamichi Mountains, Lake Thunderbird, and the Red River Valley) and contrast modern "cryptid" hunters with traditional Indigenous perspectives on shapeshifters, dark medicine, and the legend of Deer Woman.

🏷️ Episode Credits

• Written & Produced by: Jess Burnett & Tiff Murray

• Editing: Jess Burnett

• Social Media: Tiff Murray

• Theme Music: "It Comes to This" by Moments

• Cover Art: Jess Burnett & Tiff Murray

Catch up on past episodes now! "Curious Cousin OK" will return with Season 5 this September.

Sources:

• Z94

• Paranormal World Wiki

• The Oklahoman

• Veil of Fear on TikTok

• Strange State: Mysteries and Legends of Oklahoma

• Haunted Oklahoma by Jeff Provine

• Wikipedia

2. The 1971 Lawton Panic3. Oklahoma Cryptid Hotspots4. Cryptids vs. Indigenous Traditions