Stories

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I’ll share with you the people I’ve discovered…

Accident or Foul Play: The Dennison Poisonings

During Prohibition, a desperate search for alcohol led two men to drink a toxic concoction. On the night of Monday, January 19, 1931, Kentucky-born Ben McAtee (1881-1931), an unemployed laborer and former railroad worker, met with Adam P. Ludwig (1900-1931), an unemployed pipe fitter, in Dennison, Ohio. During the time of national Prohibition, both men…

by Noel Poirier

The Mae Eberly Mystery of 1911

After vanishing from an Ohio country road, Mae Eberly protected her stalker’s identity until her death. In January 1911, the brief and mysterious disappearance of Edna Mae Eberly (1889-1912) dominated front-page headlines in the New Philadelphia press for days as the newspapers tracked every dramatic revelation. The disturbing backstory began around 1907, when Mae, the…

by Noel Poirier

The Great Swiss Cheese Heist of 1931

A three-year-old mystery involving 800 pounds of stolen Swiss cheese finally cracked open in 1935. On a Saturday night in November 1931, a massive quantity of Swiss cheese was stolen from a cellar near Stone Creek at the dairy operated by Swiss immigrant Samuel Knutti (1873–1943). The heist was carried out by Kenneth Umstead (1894–1961),…

by Noel Poirier

A Fatal Eviction: The 1954 Murder of Harvey Johnson

Kicked out of his apartment, a Dennison man took his rage out on the World War Two veteran who evicted him. Content warning: This post contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here…

by Noel Poirier

A Most Mysterious Affair: The 1887 Death of Belle Merrick Albaugh

Four weeks after her wedding, young Belle Merrick Albaugh was fatally shot. Was it suicide or murder? Content warning: This post contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Click here for resources to find…

by Noel Poirier

Two Lives Lost: The 1909 Midvale Boiler Explosion

Tragedy struck Midvale when a violent boiler explosion claimed the lives of two young workers. On the morning of December 17, 1909, the Royal plant of the Robinson Clay Product Company in Midvale, Ohio, was operating a battery of eight horizontal tubular boilers under approximately 95 pounds of pressure. At 7:10 AM, a catastrophic explosion…

by Noel Poirier

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© Noel B. Poirier, 2023.