Pennsylvania Oddities

Life was finally beginning to look up for James Buggy. It had been three years since his beloved wife Kathryn passed away during the birth of their first child, leaving him with the seemingly impossible challenge of keeping a steady job in the mines that would allow him to raise his infant daughter on his own. 

And then, in January of 1917, James' prayers were answered. The thirty-year-old single father met and fell in love with a young Italian woman who also lived in the Edgewood neighborhood of Shamokin. With hair as dark as the anthracite mined in the nearby hills and piercing eyes that flashed with youthful passion, twenty-three-year-old Annie Compolo swept the lonely widower off his feet. And, much to James' delight, his new flame took an immediate liking to his motherless daughter, Eleanor. 

Four weeks later, James would realize that he had made the biggest mistake of his life.

The small town of Montgomery in Lycoming County was thrust into the national spotlight on Thursday, November 23, 1899, after a chilling discovery was made under a haystack. Wrapped in bloodied burlap were the bodies of a young widow and two small children. The bones of another child, just a mere infant, were later found under a manure pile in a horse stall. Suspicion immediately fell upon a temperamental rag peddler whom the widow had married just one week earlier. This is the story of William Hummel, the cold-blooded killer who committed one of the ghastliest crimes in the history of Pennsylvania.

Chambersburg played a role in many important chapters of American history, from the French and Indian War to the Whiskey Rebellion to the Underground Railroad. Chambersburg also holds the distinction of being the only northern city that was burned down by Confederate forces; the order given by Gen. John McCausland on July 30, 1864, reduced much of the community to ashes and smoldering rubble.

Chambersburg played a role in many important chapters of American history, from the French and Indian War to the Whiskey Rebellion to the Underground Railroad. Chambersburg also holds the distinction of being the only northern city that was burned down by Confederate forces; the order given by Gen. John McCausland on July 30, 1864, reduced much of the community to ashes and smoldering rubble.

Eight miles north of Emporium, in the wilderness of McKean County, lies the ghost town of Gardeau. Once a prosperous lumber town with over a thousand residents, Gardeau is home to more rattlesnakes than humans these days. Although it is a lonely place today, Gardeau does boast one unusual and mysterious tourist attraction-- the  mausoleum of Colonel Noah Parker.

Eight miles north of Emporium, in the wilderness of McKean County, lies the ghost town of Gardeau. Once a prosperous lumber town with over a thousand residents, Gardeau is home to more rattlesnakes than humans these days. Although it is a lonely place today, Gardeau does boast one unusual and mysterious tourist attraction-- the  mausoleum of Colonel Noah Parker.

On St. Patrick's Day of 1934, a 23-year-old taxi driver named Albert Shinsky murdered a woman near Ringtown, in Schuylkill County. But this was not a cold-blooded killing; according  to Shinsky, the reason he put a lead ball through the heart of Susan Mummey was because a Pennsylvania Dutch witch doctor had told him that  it was the only way to remove the evil spell that Mrs. Mummey had placed on him. This is the tragic tale of Albert Shinsky and Susan Mummey-- a  tale of murder, superstition, ghosts, and modern-era witchcraft in the  Mahantango Mountains.

On St. Patrick's Day of 1934, a 23-year-old taxi driver named Albert Shinsky murdered a woman near Ringtown, in Schuylkill County. But this was not a cold-blooded killing; according  to Shinsky, the reason he put a lead ball through the heart of Susan Mummey was because a Pennsylvania Dutch witch doctor had told him that  it was the only way to remove the evil spell that Mrs. Mummey had placed on him. This is the tragic tale of Albert Shinsky and Susan Mummey-- a  tale of murder, superstition, ghosts, and modern-era witchcraft in the  Mahantango Mountains.

In the spring of 1856 one of the saddest chapters in the history of Bedford County was written, after the two young sons of Samuel and  Susanna Cox wandered away from home and into the mountains. The search for the two boys lasted for two weeks and culminated in a gruesome discovery beneath a large tree on the shady  banks of Gypsy Creek. And had it not been for a prophetic dream, the whereabouts of George and Joseph Cox might still remain a mystery.

In the spring of 1856 one of the saddest chapters in the history of Bedford County was written, after the two young sons of Samuel and  Susanna Cox wandered away from home and into the mountains. The search for the two boys lasted for two weeks and culminated in a gruesome discovery beneath a large tree on the shady  banks of Gypsy Creek. And had it not been for a prophetic dream, the whereabouts of George and Joseph Cox might still remain a mystery.