In 1962, Continental Airlines Boeing 707 Flight 11 crashed in Unionville, Missouri. It had been hit with enough force that a tornado was originally to blame. But was it really a tragic accident, or had something far more sinister caused the crash? Sources Missouri Office of the Secretary of State; Jefferson City, Missouri; Missouri Death […]
Episode 83: Was the 1962 Crash of Flight 11 Really An Accident? Read More »
It was just another day for James Clarity. He and his wife, Georgia, lived in Chicago, Illinois, with their five children. Born in Minnesota, Clarity had served in the Navy during the Second World War. After he left the service, he had become an advertising sales representative with Wallace’s Farmer, a prestigious agriculture magazine
Was the 1962 Crash of Flight 11 Really An Accident? Read More »
While investigators were dealing with a devastating plane crash near the Iowa-Missouri Border, they had no idea that a man named Gayno Smith was about to commit one of the most horrific crimes in Iowa history only an hour away. Sources 45 Die in Iowa Jetliner Disaster. The Courier, 5/23/1962 Massive Hunt for Killer.
Episode 82: Gayno Smith Massacres Five People in Southern Iowa Read More »
Carefully, the fireman removed the man from the fuselage. He lay on his back, stretched across three passenger seats. Everything inside had been tossed around in the crash, leaving a tangle of seats, luggage, and bodies. Slowly as they could, the rescuers put the injured man on a stretcher and slowly carried him to a
Gayno Smith Massacres Five People in Southern Iowa Read More »
As the Great Depression gripped the nation, two mass murders claimed Iowa families only two months apart from each other. The details are as saddening as they are horrifying. Sources Mother Kills Six Children, Self. The Des Moines Register, 8/30/1937 Mother Kills Six Children, Ends Own Life. The Gazette, 8/30/1937 Mother Kills Self and
Episode 81: Two Mass Murders Claim Iowa Families Only Two Months Apart Read More »
August is always hot in Iowa. The sun beats down mercilessly, baking the ground and raising shimmering mirages from the asphalt highways. Worse is the humidity, filling the dry air like water fills a sponge. The only thing that does seem to like the oppressive, unrelenting heat is the corn. Some farmers say that
Two Mass Murders Claim Iowa Families Only Two Months Apart Read More »
Villisca is a sleepy town in southwest Iowa. While there’s not much there now, it’s still full of the reminders of a much more prosperous and prestigious past. There are many beautiful and well-kept Victorian and Queen Anne houses, and the town square, the heart of the town, is comprised of turn of the century
The Ball: A Kitchen Table Historian Short Story Read More »
When you wander around the dark by yourself for hours at a time, sooner or later you start to wonder what might be out there in the dark with you. During my senior year at Iowa State University, I worked as a campus security officer. While I was keeping an eye out for people doing
A KTH Short Story: Music from Beyond Read More »
In this short story that your grandma didn’t want you to hear, a campus security officer has a brush with the supernatural at a midwestern university. What happened to them on that long ago night?
Episode 72: KTH Shortcast: Music from Beyond Read More »
In 1947, a woman’s mutilated body was found on Credit Island, near Davenport, Iowa. Little did investigators know, the case was going to be one of the most brutal crimes in the history of the region. Sources “Margaret Beatrice Treese” – Iowa Cold Cases – Margaret Treese “The Tattooed Lady:
Episode 71: The Body on the Island: The Final Days of Margaret Treese Read More »
