Possessed by Cherry Blossoms

Nowhere else would troubles fade

in charming pink cascades

except within a citadel

of cherry blossom shade

~ diedre

 

 

Just looking at the map of where I’ve virtually been this past week makes me almost glad I’m not really driving!  I say almost because this is truly some breathtaking country, at least during this particular season. I imagine the amount of snow you must get in these parts is not good for cactus, so you can keep it, but do the Cherry blossoms smell as heavenly sweet as they look?  If I happen to be nosing around in your neck of the woods, I hope you’ll speak up ;-)

Is there a method to this madness? Absolutely! What began as a quest to visit oddly named places has simply expanded to include my favorite pastime—chasing ghosts and exploring ghost towns!  If a strangely named place happens to have ghost or two, I’ll consider it a bonus :-)

First Stop:  Athens, Ohio -  The Ridges

Before the Ohio University took over, The Ridges was called Athens Lunatic Asylum and surrounded by an enchanting, park-like setting; complete with fountains, gardens, orchards, a dairy and a carriage shop. It was also a place which, for over a hundred years, was known for its extensive lobotomy practices. It might be easy to imagine the hauntings a place like this could have, considering a report of a crude message carved in a windowsill that reads “I was not crazy”. But only one story seems to have any merit and that is of a female patient who went missing for so long that by the time she was found in an abandoned building, her decayed body left a permanent stain on the concrete floor.  However, Room 428 at OU’s Wilson Hall dormitory is reportedly sealed off due to the hauntings of a female student killed there, and at the nearby West State Street cemetery, the Angel of the Unknown Soldiers is said to flutter a wing or shed a tear from time to time.

Moving on:  Centralia, Pennsylvania – The Burning Ghost Town

The exact cause remains a mystery, but upwards of fifty years ago a fire erupted and spread throughout a labyrinth of underground coal mines; torching trees and buildings and spewing toxic fumes above.  Despite the over 40 million dollars, allocated to relocate residents of this once-bustling mining town, by 2010 it was reported that a total of nine stalwart people remained; though it is estimated that the fire could continue burning for well over 250 years. Conversely, I was astonished to discover that the Conemaugh River Lake contains at least six underwater ghost towns!

And then there was:   Claremont, New Hampshire - Topstone Mill

After sitting empty for several decades, the new owners of this former shoe and furniture factory began to think perhaps it hadn’t been abandoned after all when patrons of the new Bar & Grill kept getting bitten by invisible teeth! Staff resorted to ‘travelling in twos’ when strange sounds and voices were heard throughout the building, and faces were seen in the windows of unused floors. The owner himself couldn’t stand on a ladder without it being shaken by an unknown source. When an EVP team was brought in, many of these claims were substantiated, but they too, were unable to place the source.

Have you visited any of these places? Would you? 

Happy 4^th of July!

 

Hell for Certain - Bootleggers!

“I’m told it’s a step closer to heaven. But I’m not so certain,” ~ Coleman Larkin

All but hidden in the primitive terrain of the central Appalachian basin, a small unincorporated community most often referred to as Hell For Certain, Kentucky, reposes near a river by the same name. Although the proper name given to the ‘town’ is Dryhill, area residents tend to prefer the environmental description to that of the prohibition status of the county.  Conversely, the Bluegrass Brewing company of Louisville named one of its beers after Hell for Certain and the National Geological Society has borrowed the name for a hardened volcanic swamp ash commonly encountered in mining operations. But the story, passed down through generations is that a missionary; having travelled there in search of prospective new followers, and asked where he’d been upon his return, replied “I have no idea, but it was hell for certain”.

“It was just a paradise for a child,”

The remaining few inhabitants are generational legacies of an unassuming lot; long gone and largely forgotten. Except by one Ms. Sally Jane Begley who, at an astonishingly spry 93, remembers well the glorious days of her childhood.

Would you think twice about stopping if you saw the name Hell For Certain on a road sign? 

There’s something about these lush country backroads that reminds me of stack cakes, stew, and smooth aged whiskey; which I’d have to travel for if I liked it, because this particular county has been dry since the Prohibition Era.

Ah yes, the infamous era when Boardwalk Empires emerged in flagrant homage to the remarkably adept management of Organized Crime, as Speakeasies hummed behind every closed door (at one point NYC had over 20 thousand!) and Bootlegging became a lucrative and much sought after form of employment.  The 21^st amendment saw the end of much of this, but not the end of Organized Crime, which seems to be doing as well as ever.

Years later, the fruits of prohibition were (and are) ripe as ever and continue to bring prosperity to most any setting imaginable.

Based on an actual problem Coors Brewing Company was having in transporting the product beyond certain state lines, celebrated stuntman Hal Needham came up with the idea of a movie about bootlegging Coors beer.

“Smokey and the Bandit” was the second highest grossing film (behind Star Wars) in 1977, capitalizing on the growing CB fad and spawning similarly themed films such as ‘Convoy’ and “Breaker! Breaker!”  In addition, the movie sparked a five year, wildly popular romance between Burt Reynolds and Sally Field and brought Jackie Gleason out of what had seemed to be an early retirement to play the role of the Smokey (sheriff) who chases the Bandit across the southern backroads and byways. 

Gleason reportedly enjoyed occasional ‘hamburgers’ on the set - which was code for a glass of bourbon – and insisted his scenes be filmed first in case poor health prevented his attendance later.  Sally Field went on to star in several more romantic comedies with Burt Reynolds, Smokey and the Bandit boosted country singer Jerry Reed’s career considerably with his hit song “Eastbound and down”.

While Smokey and the Bandit had two sequels, the third was deemed the “worst bad movie ever made” and Burt Reynolds and Sally Field didn’t even appear in it, but the first one remained a favorite of Alfred Hitchcock’s and incidentally, was the last film he ever screened.

Funny thing about wandering; you just never know where you’ll end up ;-) Thanks for coming along!

Have you seen the movie? Do you wander down backroads? Do you live in a dry county?