The other night some friends and I had a conversation about local murders that have taken place in our county.  Because we are a rural county, murders here are few and far between.  A resident city council member who is also a local historian gives a yearly presentation, usually on Halloween, detailing the murders in Williams County, Ohio.  Because many people know everyone else, he doesn’t cover anything past the 1950’s, but I was able to find some information on my own.  For the incidents that did take place a long time ago, many of the circumstances are interesting as they reflect the moods and cultural attitudes of times past.  Being both a researcher of local history and a true crime buff, I’ve attended several of these presentations and decided to share the notes I’ve taken for those who are interested:

Williams County Murders

6/20/1847 – W. Unity – David Schamp murdered by Andrew F. Tyler and Daniel Heckerthorne.  Buried in German cemetary on Cty Rd. K.  Botched ransom kidnapping – family farm is 1/2 mi. W of US127.  4 pg article in Bryan Times on 150th anniversary.  In 1939, Ralph Gall wrote several articles in Inside Detective Magazine (June, July, Aug) about the crime.
3/23/1865 – Bryan – Conrad Rutman murdered by unknown – found hung in outhouse
12/1/1868 – West Jefferson – Unknown female infant by unknown
12/3/1873 – Bryan – Peter Himes by Ben Evarts
4/8/1875 – Bryan N. Main St. – unknown infant found in cigar box just N of RR trks
5/17/1877 – Denmark – unknown male infant
2/21/1878 – Bryan – unknown male infant
7/25/1878 – W Unity – Infant Loveless by mother, Lucy Loveless.  Father of infant was mother’s brother in law.
4/7/1880 – Edgerton – Unknown f infant
6/3/1880 – Edgerton – James Marshall by unknown
9/11/1880 – Bryan, dwntwn, N side of square – John Burchell, Jr. by William Everett – gut cut in fight
5/2/1883 – Melbern – Jacob Nihart killed with ax by mentally ill wife, Saloma Nihart.  Both buried in Brown cemetary.
7/21/1889 – Edgerton – Sarah Hoadley (71) and Christian Newman (72) by Hiram Hoadley, Jr. (45).  Murder / Suicide – in process of divorce, didn’t want to pay $2,000.  Divorce announcement in same issue of newspaper as the murders.
8/26/1891 – Montpelier – Milton Hogue by Perry Yoder
1/11/1892 – W. Unity – Infant Hayes – female, by Dr. Frank O. Hart
2/20/1892 – Bryan, SW corner of Beech and High.  Tom Murphy age 63 by unknown
5/4/1892 – Bryan.  Alley next to Christmas Manor went thru to High St. before Central School building was there.  Arthur Brown, about 22 yrs old, was at a saloon bragging about having a lot of money.  He was murdered by George and Michael Burchell, Walter Plummer, and William Elkins.  Witnessed by little girl from window of her house on W Butler.  Story featured in “Native Sons Gone Wrong” booklet.  Victim buried in Old Pulaski cemetery across from Winery.
5/8/1898 – Florence – Unknown Male infant
7/2/1904 – Bryan, just N of overpass.  Noah Schartzer shot by unknown.  Buried in Brown cemetery.  Case of mistaken identity.  Stopped and checked every train between S Bend and Toledo.
6/7/1905 – Montpelier – unknown infant
9/21/1905 – Montpelier, E of Bryan on RR trks – August Julius by unknown
2/7/1914 – Bryan, W side of Portland St. 2nd blk. Portland and Mulberry – murder/suicide – Blanche Stauffer by Charles Stauffer.  12 pg suicide letter – “She was a hard person to live with.”
11/10/1914 – Pioneer – Joe Varada by Joe Dohon.  argument over wheelbarrow, shovel over head, both Hungarians.
3/14/16 – W. Unity – Mrs. Andre by Wilson Andre
6/12/18 – Montpelier – Alex Grant by James Morgan.  Morgan (Afrcn/Amer.) wanted to get from Chicago to Detroit, didn’t have any $, so he hid in the btrm on a train where Grant was conductor.  Morgan was executed in Columbus, picture from OH Dept. of Prisons
9/29/27 – Montpelier – James Andrews (Afrcn/Amer.) by unknown
12/11/27 – Stryker – Celina Huber by Camiel Clark who was fined $125 for liquor violations.  Huber, age 39, was cut during fight, went to lay down, bled to death.
1/4/32 – Bryan – Fred Wonser, Jr. and Margaret Wonser by Lewis Wonser
12/28/36 – Bryan – Frank Lewis by William White
12/1/38 – Edgerton – Vern Eck, age 42 by Nona Goeltzenluchter.  Murder-suicide.  Having an affair, though both married to other people.  She was accusing him of seeing yet another woman.
6/14/45 – Pioneer – Murder/Suicide.  Mary Jane, Earl, Alice May, Betty Lou, Alva Stoner by their father, Alfred Stoner, age 38, just gotten back from WWII, distant cousin of Mark Kelly (murders in Wms Cty speaker).  Drove himself and kids into gravel pit S of Pioneer while wife was in hospital giving birth to baby 6.  Over 1,000 people showed up to watch the search for the bodies.
9/19/46 – Bryan – Emily Abernathy, age 30 by James Engle, age 21.  Jim was drinking a coke across the street at the bowling alley when the body of his victim was found in the library – rumor has it he watched them secure the crime scene as he was sipping his coke.   She had been strangled, beaten, and cut with a pen knife, died from strangulation.  Jim confessed – said he wanted to see what it was like to kill someone.  Paroled in 1974, moved to Bryan in 1989, currently resides in local nursing home.  Crime was chronicled in tv show “The Big Story”, but the show upset Bryanites.
5/5/1948 – Bryan – John (age 56) and Pearl (age 63) Gabriel by Ervin “Bud” Ingle, age 14, “King of 8th grade”.  They were his neighbors, and he wanted to borrow their car.  There is a rumor that Mrs. Gabriel liked young boys, and John did the killing.  Years later, Bud was a chauffer for the governor, and the governor thought highly of him and wrote a book.  There was a photo of Pearl’s body in the newspaper.
1/2/50 – Edgerton – Helen Bigger by Vernon O. Bigger – father in law of victim, possible molestation.
5/5/50 – Melbern – George and Evalina Fisher by their grandson, Jack Hartman.
9/12/51 – West Unity – Celia Walters by Edwin Walters
8/18/59 – Pioneer – James W. Elliott by unknown
9/11/59 – Blakeslee – William Bigger by Harold H. Bostater
12/29/61 – Blakeslee – Howard Tanner by Ned Eugene Tanner
8/18/63 – Montpelier – Dean Allen Nichols by David W. Nichols
6/22/64 – Pioneer – Dr. William Crall by Frank Patalon
5/21/66 – Montpelier – John McCamis by Raymond Burgess
8/31/68 – Stryker – Eben Henry Harney by William O. Bolster
10/12/71 – Stryker – John F. Meisner by Thomas E. Elliott
9/30/72 – Stryker – Judi Hagerman by Jon Garber
4/28/76 – Edgerton – Deborah Unger by Jeffrey Ailiff
3/15/77 – Bryan – Danny Hanisko by Lawrence E. Finn
6/19/90 – West Unity – Genieve Willene and Orlo E. Ansley by William Ansley
2/2/91 – Montpelier – Travis Pospeshil by Timothy Kelley.  Invol. mansltr. released from prison 9/11/06
2/7/92 – Montpelier – Torilyn Contreras by Jonathon Leggett – Invol. Mansltr.
9/30/96 – Melbern – Brenda Sue Kafai by Rocky W. Kafai – invol. mansltr. released 9/23/06
2/15/98 – Edgerton – Beth Garber by Shane Frisbie
12/6/98 – Edgerton – Terri D. Swearengin by William M. Swearengin
12/7/00 – Holiday City – Mary Kosier by Jason Crawford and James Jones Jr. – they kidnapped Mary who was an employee of Econolodge near toll road for robbery, killed her near covered bridge
6/30/01 – Bryan – Thomas G. Flint by Linda Ames (**NOTE** – a reader left a comment below containing additional info about this event.  I have not verified the source and am still in the process of research)

I don’t really believe in psychics.  I believe that some people may have a gift where they are psychologically in tune with others and / or nature; leading them to be able to predict happenings or events with some accuracy.  For instance, I used to be able to tell who was calling when our phone was ringing (in the days before caller ID).  It’s not that people called us at regular times or intervals, but I could just “feel” who was on the other end of the line.  Not that I think I’m psychic or anything; I think I just learned the behavior patterns of the people who called our house.  So I believe that people can have what could be called psychic abilities, especially if they practice and hone their skills, but I don’t believe anyone can see the future or anything like that.  And I don’t believe the self-proclaimed psychic Sylvia Browne possesses any special skills other than the abilities to defraud and manipulate people, if you want to call those things abilities.

While flipping channels and feeding the baby the other day, I came across the Montel Williams show.  Apparently Montel is on his way out after 17 years of being on the air.  During the episode the other day, he got teary-eyed as he bid his weekly guest Sylvia Browne good-bye.  It got me to thinking; does Montel believe that Sylvia is psychic, or did he just like his audience’s reception of her?  After a few internet searches on wikipedia.com and youtube.com, I was armed with evidence that Sylvia Browne is a fraud (not that I really needed any, but I found plenty anyway).  Here is the first example where Sylvia tries to tell a greiving woman that her missing boyfriend is in water.  The woman is confused because her boyfriend was a fireman killed in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and no trace of him was ever found.  Watch as Sylvia tries to cover her tracks, backed up by Montel, I might add, with some lame excuse about how the boyfriend might have drowned when they were extinguishing the fire at the World Trade Center.  What?!?  That doesn’t even make sense!

 Not only that, but she was on Larry King Live a mere 8 days before the September 11 attacks and didn’t say a word about the impending doom.  After the attacks, she claimed that she had dreams full of fire in the weeks before the attacks – yet she failed to mention such premonitions on her September 3, 2001 appearance on Larry King!

One more example is the case of Shawn Hornbeck, a preteen who went missing in 2002.  Sylvia Browne told Shawn’s devastated parents that he was abducted by a dark man with dreadlocks and murdered, and she also provided details about where they could find his body.  Four and a half years after his abduction, Shawn was found with Michael Devlin, a white man who had abducted Shawn – a far cry from the so-called “dark man with dreadlocks” who “murdered” him.  In this case, it’s a very good thing she was wrong – those parents got their son back alive, but one can only imagine the pain they felt when this so-called psychic told them that their son was dead.

There are plenty more examples of this woman’s fraudulent behavior – I’m just not going to waste my time writing them nor your time reading them.  If you want to see more, go to youtube.com and do a search for “Sylvia Browne”.  For fun, you can add words like, “wrong”, “fraud”, or “lie” to your search and see what you come up with.  There is also an interesting site called stopsylviabrowne.com that’s maintained by one of her biggest opponents.  He talks about his experience encountering Sylvia, how she hired a private detective to research him, and his experience at one of her live shows.

Well, enough of that, like I said, I consider the woman a fraud, therefore she’s not worth any more of our time to go through the hundreds of instances that prove she is full of BS.  I don’t know how she can live with herself when she toys with the emotions of the grief-stricken.  I suppose she could tell herself that she is helping to give them closure, but if that’s the case, I would say to her, “Stop fooling yourself lady, you’re causing more harm than good!”

Not quite a list, because my interests are varied, but some of the things I like to do, all G-rated of course. (I have a daughter or two who may read this. Yes, they are all over 16, but they are still my
little girls.)

I like insignificant bits of trivial knowledge. The more trivial the better. Knowledge that Diners Club was the first independent credit card (1949) and that is when the middle man started handling our money is interesting. Knowing that it came about because one of the first partners forgot their wallet at dinner is the cake. Knowing that partner was a man named Frank X. McNamara is the icing. Finding out what his middle name was would be, as they say, priceless.

I like reading. Of all sorts, but I tend to read Science Fiction, Fantasy (Swords/Sorcery), Mysteries, and Trivia on the web. Will read almost any well written book. Great rainy day time filler.

Computers… Yep, I can’t get enough of them. I work 8 hours a day on them and then I come home and spend free time on them… You would think I would get tired of the little buggers.

Cooking occasionally. There are times when I really want to whip up a special meal, I just don’t like doing it everyday. But, you have to eat…

Time spent with friends. I’m glad to say I have a few people in my life, that don’t seem to mind having me around. My wife used to call this “Adult Time”. Sometimes, I think we adults act a bit like children, but that is part of the fun.

Softball and Baseball. Baseball is the only sport I ever really followed (I played at one time too). No matter how old I get, if I can still swing a bat and toddle down to first base, I plan on playing softball as often as I can. If I would do it more often, I imagine I wouldn’t be as sore the next day….

Theater. In my college years, I never would have thought I would want to get on stage in front of people. Wasn’t me at all in my early years. I’ve had a lot of fun doing my ham-bit on stage.

Science and math. Things that make my logical little brain tick. You’ve got to keep the gears greased to keep everything running smooth, and that’s what the Science ant math does for me….

A bit of wood working. I really like destruction the best, but I like using power tools. The smell of cut wood is something too.

And last but certainly not least, I like my family. Every dang one of them. They helped form the person I am today (along with many others I’ve met along the way) and since I tend to like the person I became, I guess I could thank them once or twice… Nah, it would go to their heads wouldn’t it.

It has been just over a week since Emily’s memorial service; however, I had to include one of the most emotional moments. A soloist sang a song that I knew that I had to know but at the time could not remember from where. It was THAT powerful. While listening to my library of songs on my itunes shuffle, the song For Good from the musical Wicked played. AHAHA. Just hearing the words to the beautiful song took me back not only to the service but through many of my most cherished moments with Emily. Amazing the power of the gift that she helped me cultivate for so many years.

I’ve heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don’t know if I believe that’s true
But I know I’m who I am today
Because I knew you…

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You’ll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend…

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
Because I knew you
I have been changed for good

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I’ve done you blame me for
But then, I guess we know
There’s blame to share
And none of it seems to matter anymore

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood

Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood
Who can say if I’ve been
Changed for the better?
I do believe I have been
Changed for the better

And because I knew you…
Because I knew you…
Because I knew you…
I have been changed for good…

Everyone has at one time turned to someone be it a parent, sibling, friend, teacher, or even a complete stranger and been changed profoundly in some way. Thank you for being that someone to not only myself but to all those whose lives you touched, For Good.

Wicked (Piano/Vocal Selections) (A New Musical) By Stephen Schwartz. Songbook for voice, piano and guitar chords. This edition is in standard piano/vocal format with the melody in the piano part. 120 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (HL.313267) See more info…

The final game at Yankee Stadium had an effect on this true Yankee Hater…. For years I’ve rooted for any team but the Yankees. If the Tigers weren’t playing, my favorite team of the day was whoever was playing the Yankees. That said, Yankee stadium was one of the last great baseball parks. So much history will be lost.

In the American league only Fenway remains as one of the “Old” parks. In the National league, only Wrigley field (home of the cubs) remains as one of the old parks. 1912 and 1914 respectively these two ball fields are the last to stand up to the Test of Time. From the Green Monster to the Ivy covered walls, baseball is just a bit different at these two parks.

These are not the cookie cutter parks from the 60’s and 70’s with their artificial turf and half circle outfield walls. The old parks do have some home field advantage. These are not the parks from the 80’s and 90’s that had closer to little league dimensions (ok, I’m stretching it a little), but check out the dimensions of Camden Yards and Jacobs Field (excuse me Progressive Field). The old parks, Yankee Stadium, the old Tiger Stadium, even Cominsky park and Cleveland’s Municipal park had character.

They have tried to do that with some of the recent ball fields, but only time will tell if they made good decisions. Ballparks that were new in the early 70’s are now gone too.. Why didn’t fields in Houston, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh last more than few decades.

I’m not sure of the future of the two oldest ballparks in the major leagues, but I would love to see both last until at least their 100th anniversary. I’m sure there are plans in the works, if not already in development for these cities, but wouldn’t it be something if they could hold off until 2012 and 2014. We need more things that can pass the test of time…

I’m not a huge Coen brothers fan, but I do find their movies interesting.  Like many of the Coen’s movies, Burn After Reading is about normal people who come across an illegal way to make lots of money, become obsessed with it, and consequently watch their lives unravel.  Frances McDormand, a Coen brothers movie regular (and I found out why – she’s married to one of them), was great in this movie.  She plays a woman named Linda Litzke, a gym employee who is obsessed with reinventing herself via plastic surgery.  She, along with a gym co-worker played by Brad Pitt, come across a CIA agent’s (played by John Malkovich) disk at their gym and bumble through a scheme to use it as blackmail.  They are truly a couple of idiots, and Brad Pitt’s performance as the big doofus Chad is hilarious – might have been my favorite part of the movie, and this is not coming from a Brad Pitt fan or anything like that.  Not that this movie is a comedy, don’t get me wrong.  I suppose it could be classified as a dark comedy, but I would say it’s more of a suspense film with some comedic moments.  As with any Coen brothers movie, there are numerous twists and turns, so I’m going to cut my synopsis short for fear of revealing any spoilers.  Go see it, watch how the events unfold, and you’ll be entertained.  Besides Brad Pitt’s character, my favorite part of the movie was how they told the story – as a case file being discussed by a couple of FBI agents.  If you’re a Coen brothers fan already, then I’m sure you’ll love it – it is everything Coen: money, foiled scheme, setting – the Coens are famous for making the setting of their movies very integral in the plots, and this one is no exception.  Washington, DC and the surrounding area of Virginia is the locale of choice for this one, and it’s all very important to the relation of the events and how they unfold.  This movie features a few Coen movie regulars like Frances McDormand, George Clooney, and Richard Jenkins (who also gives a great performance as the forlorn gym manager, by the way – they really make you feel sorry for his character).  Better than No Country for Old Men, The Ladykillers, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Burn After Reading is second only to Fargo when comparing it to other Coen brothers movies in my opinion.  An entertaining 96 minutes at the movies – this one goes by fast.  And make sure you pay attention; if you miss something, I could see where it would be difficult to catch up – a lot happens in those 96 minutes!

As you’ve probably heard by now, the Chicago Cubs have clinched their division.  They WILL be going to the playoffs in 2008!!!!  YAY!  It’s been a great year; even though with my busy schedule I only got to see less than 10 games.  But that’s ok – I always said I won’t plan my life around baseball.  Tempting, but I won’t do it, at least not until my kids are grown and I have nothing better to do.  A prime example of this is the fact that we’ve planned a trip to Florida during the playoffs and world series.  If the Cubs make it to the world series, I won’t get to see that either.  Luckily, we’ll be home in time for game 4 of the world series, so I’ll at least be able to see one game, possibly more if they need to play them.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  First the Cubs have to make it to the world series.  Given the way the team has played all year, I think there’s a pretty good chance, but all we can do is wait and see.  For now, it’s comforting to know that they’ve already clinched their playoff spot and I got to watch that happen!  GO CUBBIES!!!!!

I got an email today called “What do you remember?” – it’s a list of tv shows that aren’t on anymore.  You add your name and a show you used to watch to the list and send it on.  It made me think of a kids’ show I used to love called, “The Roller Coaster Gang”.  I wasn’t totally positive that was the name of the show, however, so I did a google search – and that’s how I found what sounds like the coolest roller coaster ever!

It’s called The Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster, but unfortunately for me, it’s on the other side of the world at the Warner Bros. Movie World theme park in Australia.  It’s a haunted house / roller coaster combined, and here is the press release about it that so intrigued me:

November 30, 2002
Guests will be treated to a hair-raising journey complete with laser lighting and sound effects, animatronics and a kaleidoscope of colour, depth, height and trickery of dimension this holiday season thanks to the Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster Ride.

A $13 million indoor rollercoaster ride inspired by the first feature film shot at Warner Roadshow Movie World Studios on the Gold Coast starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini and Rowan Atkinson, the Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster Ride is not a ride for the faint hearted.

Featuring carefully replicated coaster cars from Scooby-Doo the film, guests enter the creepy dimly lit courtyard and move into the heart of Spooky Castle, where ghouls, gargoyles and the odd talking suit of armour may appear!

Housed in a 25 metre high building, the Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster Ride features two distinctive experience zones, thrilling guests with different aspects of laser lighting.

While the laser lighting embraces and creates the entire illusion, maintaining it throughout the experience and simultaneously performing for multiple audiences moving through three dimensional space at high speed, the ride continuously alters direction, velocity, elevation and trajectors.

Warner Village Theme Park Chief Executive John Menzies explains that Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster is a world first and is a unique combination of two different types of entertainment experiences.

“Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster is completely innovative, no other ride in the world can be compared to this combination of experiences – the classic haunted house utilising the latest technological advances and lighting and sound effects and the adrenalin pumping thrills of an indoor rollercoaster,” said Chief Executive John Menzies.

The first experience zone further develops the Spooky Castle theme into a ghost train ride featuring the best in traditional movie inspired themeing and amusing animatronics.

Just as guests begin to think their journey is nearing conclusion, they find themselves drawn up over 17 metres into the castle’s creepy tower. This unsettling experience heralds their reversed entry into the rides second zone as guests are then pushed into a darkened void.

Disoriented in the dark, riders are now subject to the will and influence of the ghouls and gargoyles that Scooby-Doo warned of earlier.

Then, it’s time to be afraid…..be kind of afraid!

Perched precariously on an elevated turntable the car is turned 180 degrees to face the fate awaiting its anxious passengers.

Transfixed by an apparently infinite tunnel of emerald green laser light the riders are lurched forward into the shimmering abyss as the Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster Ride propels riders through infinite voids, passing ghost-like through shimmering walls, floors and ceilings of light and speeding into tunnels of green swirling mist.

Finally, plunging over seven meters on the adrenalin-pumping journey, guests are hurtled towards a grotesque creature and the ‘ring of life’.

The Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster Ride with its ever-changing web of penetrating green laser beams, bumps, breathtaking drops and special effects thrills and excites every rider.

The multi-million dollar blockbuster, Scooby-Doo, was filmed at Warner Roadshow Movie World Studios on the Gold Coast in 2000/2001 and is the highest budget production ever filmed in Queensland to date.

Join Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Gang for the scariest, spookiest, spine-tingling rollercoaster ever created – Scooby-Doo Spooky Coaster Ride.

Visit Warner Bros. Movie World on Australia’s Gold Coast – where movie magic happens everyday!

I’ve never heard of Warner Bros. Movie World, but it sounds pretty neat.  Too bad I didn’t make it over there a few years ago – I also found out they used to have a Marvin the Martian 3-D movie, but they replaced it with Shrek 4D.  That stinks; I would have liked to see that; I’m a big fan of Marvin the Martian.  Oh well, hopefully by the time I get to Australia they’ll still have the Scooby-Doo coaster.  If only we could increase the budget we have for the haunted attraction we’re building by a few million so we could add a coaster…

And I didn’t end up using “The Roller Coaster Gang” as my show to put on the list.  By the time I was done being distracted with looking up Australian thrill rides, I thought of another show I put instead – one whose title I was sure about.  Belle and Sebastian was a Nickodeon cartoon that was about an orpaned boy named Sebastian and his big white dog, Belle.  Each episode would follow the pair (along with a small dog named Poochie who would fit into Sebastian’s pocket) as they ventured through the mountains looking for Sebastian’s mother.  People would always mistake Belle for a ferocious dog or sometimes even some kind of snow monster.  I loved that show – wonder if Sebastian ever found his mother? 

Quote made by George Herman “Babe” Ruth As of now, Jose Molina holds the distinction of having hit the final home run at Yankee Stadium. Opening day April 18, 1923 The Babe hit the first home run: a three run shot that helped the pinstripes defeat the Boston Red Sox 4-1. Since then, the Yankees have won 26 World Championship titles and 39 American League Pennants. Love them or despise them the legacy left at the stadium will leave an indelible mark long after the last brick is hauled away and the new stadium is opened mere feet away.

Not only has Yankee Stadium been home to the Bronx Bombers, there have been multiple other events staged at the cathedral. 4 popes have said mass. Boxing matches have been held. The New York Giants played their home games from 1956-1973. Multiple movies have been filmed there (Die Hard with a Vengeance, Big, Anger Management, and of course The Pride Of the Yankees to name a few). George Costanza worked there as the “Assistant to the Traveling Secretary.” Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, and Simon and Garfunkel have all performed concerts at the venue.

My earliest memories of the stadium were during the 1977 World Series and Game Six of the series when “Mr. October” himself hit three home runs. Only 4 years old, but yes, I do remember watching it on television with Howard Cosell’s luminous tones broadcasting. I also do remember the Reggie Bar. Of course, I was raised on stories of the Greats: DiMaggio, Mantle, Whitey Ford, Yogi, and more.

So, although the Bombers will not be present in the post season for the first time in (I believe) 12 seasons, the cathedral was closed tonight in style.

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Final score: Yankees 7, Orioles 3. Andy Pettite gets the win and Jose Molina indeed hit the last dinger. Ironically, a Yankee pitcher hit the first and a catcher hit the final homer. Now… GO CUBBIES!

Ok… today (all right, yesterday) was the second annual Theatre Softball Game/Picnic. When I arrived, I saw people decorating the pavilion where we were to meet decorating for a birthday party. Unfortunately, the sheet that claimed our group’s rental had fallen off. However after the offer was made to share the space, the birthday revelers graciously set up at another nearby location.

So after the large contingent of theatre regulars and new recruits ate, the time had come to do battle on the softball diamond. The teams were chosen and the game commenced. I again amazed myself by getting on base 4 out of 6 times. the first at bat being a strike out. Happily, I hit a triple but almost caught up with the runner in front of me; I kept shouting… “GO, C____, GO!” The fielding however, not so good. Although, I was instrumental in turning a double play at first base. I kept offering to let someone else take the position, but… However, after 7 innings of play, my team had 19 runs to our opponents 18. Not too bad for a group of thespians out having a day of fun. Yes, I WOULD say that had my team lost. I did see the tell-tale sign of the buzzards circling our territory as they did last year looking for any fresh meat that happened their way.

The festivities continued at the wonderful home of some of the best people anyone could ever have the great pleasure of knowing. We watched the 1994 Kevin Spacey starring film Swimming with Sharks. For anyone who has ever wanted to get into the film industry, this is DEFINITELY THE MOVIE FOR YOU. A very dark, but hilarious tale about a little guy getting revenge.  The movie tells the story of a young man who hopes to break into the business who has the boss from hell (played marvelously by Mr. Spacey). The young assistant grows so tired of his demanding, overbearing, rude, obnoxious boss that he kidnaps him and well… you just have to see for yourself. Also in the cast is Michelle Forbes who appeared as Ensign Ro Laren on Star Trek The Next Generation.

The evening ended long after most everyone else had left. Three of us were trying to convince our fourth wonderful friend to join us for a few days in Florida next month. She promised that she would consider it (look at her syllabi, try to get off work for 4 days, etc). Honestly, we were not trying to force her to join us; we just thought it would be so great to have her come along. But, she promised to let us know soon.

So, yet another fun day with great friends.